• Published 12th Feb 2012
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The Stars of Darkness - D4ftP0ny



Specters from Luna's dark past return to haunt her and her friends.

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Chapter 6

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, every last pony from Whinnyapolis was gathered before the stage in the town square; off to the right of the stage stood a line of ponies, including Applejack, all ponies who were willing to provide shelter for the refugees. Twilight made her way up to stand near the front of the crowd, her eyes wide. She knew the number of ponies who had arrived; a total of one hundred and twenty five ponies had wandered into their small town, seeking refuge from the tragedy of their own homes… but somehow, having them all crowded into the town square all together made the number seem much, much bigger. Twilight glanced around, trying to catch sight of her friends, but Applejack was the only one clearly visible. She smiled slightly. I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised. Rainbow and Fluttershy are helping Nurse Redheart with the injured, Pinkie is still baking, and Rarity no doubt is working furiously…

“Hello, Twilight darling!” Rarity’s voice interrupted her thoughts as the unicorn slid up beside her in the crowd.

Twilight blinked at her in surprise. “Um… hi there, Rarity…” She opened her mouth then closed it again; then she shook her mane slightly. “Uh, not that I’m complaining that you’re here, Rarity… but didn’t you tell me that you had a lot of work to do? A lot of sheets to still make?”

Rarity nodded emphatically, but her smile stayed in place. “Oh I do, but I’m here to make sure that Morning Mist can find me!”

“Morning Mist?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow. “I’ve never met her. Is she..?”

“One of these poor displaced ponies, yes!” Rarity placed her hoof against her chest dramatically. “I met her when I was walking back to town, and Twilight, I just couldn’t leave her to fight for a spot to sleep in, so I invited her to stay at the Boutique with me!”

Twilight stared at her, ignoring the beginning of Mayor Mare’s speech in favor of Rarity. “Do… do you have enough room for another pony there?”

“Greetings, citizens of Ponyville and our honored guests- I am Mayor Mare, and I welcome our friends from Whinnyapolis…”

“Oh of course I do! She can use Sweetie Belle’s room; after all, she’s not going to be visiting me for a while, and even then, Sweetie can just stay with me in my room!” Rarity pranced in place. “Oooh, it’s going to be ever so much fun, Twilight! She’s so absolutely graceful! I just know we’re going to get along splendidly.” Rarity’s bright blue eyes became distant as her smile grew. “Why, just think… with a pony of her poise staying with me, I’ll be able to have another fabulous mind to bounce ideas off of! Another pony of taste to lend a hoof designing… well, perhaps something I’d never think of!”

“…Unfortunately, Mayor Quill cannot be here to speak to the ponies of Ponyville himself, as he is lying in the hospital with a broken leg, but he has given me a small statement to read. *ahem* ‘Ponyville, we owe you a debt of sincere gratitude…’”

Twilight sighed. “Rarity, you don’t even know Morning Mist. How can you invite a strange pony into your home?”

“Twilight, I’m surprised at you! Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?” Rarity locked eyes with Twilight, and when the white unicorn spoke again her voice was soft and sincere. “Helping out ponies in need? Opening our doors and our hearts to them? That’s what we’re supposed to be doing, isn’t it, darling?” Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but the look in Rarity’s azure eyes was full of compassion and a desire to help… so she sighed and smiled as she shook her head minutely.

“And you’re sure that this has nothing to do with how graceful and elegant she is?”

“Absolutely not!” Rarity retorted, tossing her mane in indignation. However, Twilight held her gaze, and after a few moments Rarity blushed ever so slightly. “Well, all right… maybe it has a little to do with that.”

Twilight giggled, but even at Rarity’s confession she knew that her friend was sincere in her desire to help. Rarity was the embodiment of the Element of Generosity, after all, and deep down Twilight knew that she would have taken somepony in from this group. But it helps that it’s somepony that she looks up to. “All right, Rarity, all right. I know you and Morning Mist will get along great, and I’m so proud of you, helping out like that.” Twilight’s heart swelled with pride, in fact, and Rarity gave her a sweet smile as she turned back to the Mayor, who was just wrapping up her speech.

“In conclusion, this situation will be tough for us all, but together, I know we can do it!” All of the ponies in the town square clopped their hooves on the ground and cheered; everypony had been equally motivated by the Mayor’s speech apparently, and Twilight scolded herself for not listening. What would the Princess say about that kind of behavior? She thought to herself. This could be a speech quoted in books for years to come, and Twilight had missed it, even standing right in front of the stage! Mayor Mare smiled broadly out at the ponies gathered and raised her left hoof, indicating the line of ponies off of the stage. “These fine ponies have agreed to open their homes to our friends from afield. Most of our citizens can only house two or three, so we ask those who have young fillies or colts to stay with them, but this group can handle a much larger percentage. Applejack, proprietor of the Sweet Apple Acres orchard outside of town, has room for over a dozen of you.” Applejack stepped forward and tipped her wide-brimmed hat, blushing slightly at being singled out. “We have turned the barn on her property into a temporary dormitory. It has been furnished with beds, but I fear that while the Apple homestead is large, their amenities will be hard pressed to deal with so many. Therefore, I recommend that few if any fillies or colts be asked to stay there on that account. Exceptions can and will be made, but that is my recommendation.” A murmur of agreement answered her, so she nodded and continued. “If by the end of the afternoon somepony from Whinnyapolis has not yet found a family to stay with, please come to me and I shall personally find somewhere for you to stay. Now that that business has been concluded; Ponyville, let us find shelter for our friends!” Another cheer went up, and immediately ponies began milling about as citizens of Ponyville stepped forward from the edges of the town square to interact with those who needed a place to stay. Twilight smiled and made her way across the front of the stage towards Applejack, who stepped forward to meet her.

“Wow, Twilight… I guess I didn’t realize how many ponies were comin’ from Whinnyapolis. This is just… overwhelmin’.”

Twilight nodded, her mane bobbing around her face. “It is, Applejack, but I know we’ll pull through, as long as we work together.” She trotted up to her friend. “Also, I know Mayor Mare said that she would discourage young foals from staying with you, but there’s a favor I have to ask.”

“Name it, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a wink. “Anythin’ you need.”

“There’s a pony named Thistledown and her filly, Honeysuckle. I promised them I’d make sure they ended up at Sweet Apple Acres because they seem to love gardening, so I thought it would make them feel more comfortable.” Just at that moment, Twilight caught sight of the aforementioned pony and filly, slowly threading their way towards Applejack and herself. “Here they come now,” she said, lifting a hoof to wave at Thistledown.

As they approached, Honeysuckle broke away from her mother and darted forward, stopping only once she had reached Twilight, her bright pink and white mane bobbing as she bounced in place. “Mizz Twilight, are we gonna go to that orchard?? What was it? Sweet Achy Apples?”

Applejack laughed and took a step forward. “No, lil’ filly, that’s Sweet Apple Acres,” she said, a wide grin on her face. The orange earth pony leaned down to the smaller, lighter orange filly. “An’ you must be Honeysuckle, am I right?”

Honeysuckle nodded, her eyes bright. “Yeah, that’s me! And you must be Mizz Twilight’s friend, Mizz Applejack!”

“Sure am!” Applejack said with a chuckle. “But y’all can drop the ‘Mizz’. I’m just plain ol’ Applejack to you, lil’ missy.”

“Alright, Mizz Applejack!” Honeysuckle opened her mouth to continue talking, but suddenly blushed slightly. “Um, I mean, Applejack.” She grinned sheepishly, and Twilight giggled.

“Applejack has agreed to let you stay with her,” she reported proudly as Thistledown finally reached them, and Applejack nodded, tossing her blonde mane over her shoulder.

“Yup! Y’all can stay with me in our house; we have a spare room or two, an’ that way I can make sure the lil’ one here gets whatever she needs.” Applejack raised a hoof and tousled Honeysuckle’s mane. “That’s most important. ‘Sides, she’s about Apple Bloom’s age; I think they’ll get along just fine!”

“That’s what I thought,” Twilight agreed with a nod. “Well, now that we’ve got that settled, I’m afraid I have other duties to attend to.” She smiled at Honeysuckle and Thistledown again. “I’m sure I’ll see the two of you soon.”

“I certainly hope so, Twilight,” Thistledown said, nodding in her direction.

“See you later, Mizz Twilight!” Honeysuckle shouted, waving her hoof frantically as Twilight turned and made her way back towards where she’d left Rarity. The unicorn rolled her eyes and giggled slightly.

“Mizz Twilight…” She still thought it sounded a little silly, but deep down she admitted that she liked the sound of it. She’d heard the same kind of ‘mizz’ applied to Cheerilee when she was teaching at the elementary school… and that made her smile. She worked her way back through the crowd just in time to find Rarity talking excitedly to another white unicorn… but as Twilight gazed at Rarity’s companion, she froze, and suddenly the feeling of cold and despair she’d felt earlier ran through her from muzzle to flank. That… that’s her. Rarity spied Twilight and bounded forward, leaving the unicorn to trail behind her.

“Twilight Sparkle, I was wondering where you got off to!” Rarity was positively beaming as she held up her hoof to indicate the other unicorn. “This, dear Twilight, is Morning Mist.”

Morning Mist bent a foreleg, dipping into a bow that dropped her multi-hued mane before her face. “A pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. Twilight blinked dumbly at her. Rarity was right about one thing, at least; Morning Mist had an aura of grace about her, almost as if she was royalty, or she’d grown up very close to some very proper ponies. She raised her eyes and met Twilight’s lavender gaze, and that now-familiar chill raced up Twilight’s spine. Those are definitely the same eyes, she thought. There was certainly no doubt about it; this was the same pony she’d seen through the crowd before.

“Um… ch-charmed, I’m sure.” Twilight gave her a large smile that she hoped didn’t look as fake as it was.

“The pleasure is mine,” Morning Mist said softly, tossing her mane back out of her face so it fell around her shoulders again. “I do have to apologize for giving you a fright earlier,” she continued. “When I saw you through the crowd, I almost came to you immediately with my concerns about our placement, but I thought to myself, “She must be a very important unicorn, so I shan’t bother her.” And as fate would have it, you are not only very important, but very talented as well, according to dear Rarity.”

Rarity nodded, and Twilight could almost see the adoration forming stars in her eyes as she gazed at Morning Mist. “Oh she’s ever so good! Why, she’s saved Ponyville more times single-hoofedly than I could mention.”

Twilight blushed at the compliment and started to modestly deny doing it all herself when something flashed across Morning Mist’s eyes so quickly that for a moment the lavender unicorn found herself speechless as her brain tried to decide if it had indeed seen something. It had been the barest flicker of emotion, unidentifiable because of its speed but so strong and forceful that Twilight could not deny that something had been there. She blinked, and then with a start realized what she was supposed to be doing. “Oh… well, it wasn’t just me alone, obviously,” she said, but before she could continue Rarity cut her off.

“Oh now I won’t hear any of that nonsense, darling! What about the Ursa Minor? Hmm? Nopony helped you there!” Morning Mist arched an eyebrow and Rarity quickly explained the night when Twilight had lulled a cranky Ursa Minor back to sleep after certain small unicorns had decided to wake it up. “And I can tell you this; nopony could have done as well as our Twilight did,” Rarity concluded with a sharp nod.

Morning Mist turned back to Twilight and her smile was mysterious. “Well well… it seems you have quite the talent, Miss Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “I may have to stop by and visit you while I’m here in Ponyville; I’m sure you know a great many spells that the general laypony would not.” Her dark eyes swept Twilight from hoof to mane, and she felt as though the newcomer was looking through her, not at her.

“Yes, well, I’m sure she does,” Rarity said suddenly as she interposed herself between Twilight and Morning Mist, effectively cutting off the conversation. Twilight blinked at her friend, who had only moments ago been singing her praises; now Rarity looked like she would rather be anywhere in Equestria than right here. “Twilight is lovely, but for right now why don’t I show you the Boutique where you’ll be staying, hmm? After all, I’m sure Twilight has a great many things to deal with…” She laughed lightly, but it sounded hollow to Twilight’s ears. “Anyway, away we go!” She laughed again, sounding even more forced than last time, and hustled Morning Mist away without even saying goodbye to Twilight herself. The purple unicorn blinked yet again.

“Um… bye then…” What had gotten into Rarity? It wasn’t like her to hustle off like that unless she was taken by inspiration… or busy… or hungry… or- “Oh, who am I kidding. That’s not unlike Rarity at all,” Twilight muttered. She sighed and shook her head. “You’re just getting tired, Twilight,” she said to herself. “All that worry about Dark Star yesterday, and today-,” She stopped in mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open as a horrible, creeping suspicion swelled up in her heart. No… oh no nono, it can’t possibly be… There’s no way that something like this could happen because… But if…

She shook her head, sending her mane flying around her face. “That’s not possible… is it?” She bit her lip as her mind worked furiously. They had just found out about Dark Star yesterday… and yesterday was when that dragon had attacked Whinnyapolis… “No, that’s… that’s just ridiculous… or… is it?” Again she shook her head as question upon endless question pounded into her mind. Finally, after wrestling with possibilities and arguments and reasons, she came to one decision that she knew was correct: “I need to get back to the library.” And with one final glance after Rarity and Morning Mist she dug her hooves into the ground and dashed off towards her home.

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

“Report.” Princess Celestia’s tone was short and firm, and it was clear that she was in a foul mood. The Royal Guard snapped his white wings in close to his body and saluted with his hoof.

“Yes your Highness.” His golden armor shone in the sunlight that streamed into Celestia’s throne room in Canterlot Castle as he returned his hoof to the floor. “We flew as close as we could without being seen, and by our best count, Dark Star has gathered five hundred ponies to the ruins of Whinnyapolis.” He swallowed, and even as Celestia opened her mouth to ask another question, he spoke over her, further proof of his disbelief. “We double-checked this number, your Highness. Double and triple checked; that’s why it took us so long to come back.” He shook his head in bemusement, and Celestia couldn’t blame him. Five hundred wasn’t as large as she had feared, but it was certainly more than she had hoped.

“Thank you, Captain. You may return to your duties.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hoof; he bowed low, spreading his wings wide as he retreated a few steps before turning and making his way out of the room. Celestia rose and ruffled the feathers of her wings into a more comfortable position as she walked to the window, her eyes clouded. “Five hundred,” she muttered. “Why…? What is he planning to do with them?”

“Just as he told us he was going to,” answered Luna from the corner of the room; the one corner in which the shadows of the setting sun were darkest. She stepped out into the sunlight, her sea-green eyes sad as she stepped up next to her sister. “He’s planning to invade Canterlot with them.”

“With so few? You know as well as I do that Canterlot could be defended against five thousand ponies, ten thousand, even more. Do we even know if he has any pegasi or unicorns? If it was only five hundred earth ponies, then we have even less to fear.”

Luna shook her head sadly and cast her eyes out onto the city of Canterlot and the plain beyond it. “It matters very little, big sister,” she said softly. “Even if he does not recruit another single pony, he has enough.”

Celestia turned her eyes on her sister, but her gaze was soft. After a long moment of silence, she spoke, her voice gentle. “What aren’t you telling me, little sister? What do you know?”

The Princess of the night sighed heavily and stamped her hoof in despair. “I know too much,” she said, her voice tight. “I know because I gave him the very powers he now uses against us!” She turned away from the window and walked back to the center of the room, her wings betraying her restlessness as they fidgeted. “How foalish of me to hand out such power!” she said loudly. “How could I have been so blind?!” She stamped her hoof again, and this time it echoed about the throne room like a clap of thunder, her roiling emotions lacing her actions with magical power.

Celestia sighed and hurried to her, eager to keep her from bringing the castle down around them. “Peace, Luna,” she said soothingly. She extended her wing and brushed the feathers lightly along Luna’s mane; Luna leaned into the caress, sidestepping under Celestia’s wing for comfort. “Peace, little sister,” she repeated. She lowered her head and smiled knowingly as she met Luna’s teal gaze. “We know why you did it,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You were young, full of anger and bitterness… and you were in love with a handsome young stallion who promised to help you make everything better.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth as Luna gasped.

“You knew..?” she asked, and Celestia couldn’t help but giggle slightly.

“Dear sister, do you honestly think that something like that could be kept from me?” The white alicorn stepped away from her sister and walked towards the throne. “The Princess of the Moon and a Captain in the Royal Guard… it’s very romantic, and certainly not something that anypony could keep to themselves.” She turned back and winked at Luna. “The two of you may have kept quiet, but this castle has eyes and ears that never sleep. Not to mention that Brightsteel was once a very handsome, very eligible bachelor in Everfree; there were a great many mares who kept tabs on him, just as they do several of my Captains now.” She laughed. “As I recall, it was one of the maid mares whom I overheard complaining to her friend about how the Princesses get everything,” her voice changed as she mimicked the servant from all those years ago, “Including yon Captain Brightsteel, forsooth.” She giggled. “Oh, it’s been so long since I used forsooth, I’m not sure I used it correctly… but I digress.” Celestia gave her blushing sister an understanding smile as she walked back to her. “Luna, I don’t know why you seemed to think that the two of you would be banished for loving each other. I don’t know if the two of you could have been together as you wanted, but I certainly would not have stopped you from trying.”

Luna tried to regain some composure, clearing her throat before speaking. “Yes, well, I know that now, don’t I,” she huffed as the color faded slightly from her cheeks.

“Indeed.” Celestia stopped before her sister, and her gaze again became serious. “Dwelling on the why’s and how’s of the past won’t help us solve the problems in the here and now, Luna. The point is that you did these things, and for better or worse we all have to solve them together now.” Her eyes softened slightly. “And to be honest, I’m glad that you’re here to help me. The fact that you do know how his powers work gives us a great advantage over him. Alone, I shudder to think what mistakes I might have made in handling this situation.”

This seemed to perk Luna up. “You… you’re right, Celestia.” She nodded firmly. “I cannot change the past, but I can help fix my mistakes.” Suddenly she sighed, and her ears drooped. “But that does not make telling you this any easier.” Celestia frowned, and Luna continued. “He is using the amulet of Hate to bring these ponies to him. It was a spell that he’d spoken of once or twice, a spell that could give us reinforcements if we were in desperate need. It finds ponies, mare or stallion, with one of the aspects of hatred in their hearts; anger, jealousy, or fear. It doesn’t have to be in control, it just has to be more than your average pony. This spell takes that part of their hearts and uses it to control that pony, filling them with unfathomable hate, making them… little more than a puppet. They cannot feel, they cannot think for themselves. They will do as Dark Star commands unquestioningly and without hesitation… even if those commands take them to their deaths. Just like the dragon in Whinnyapolis.”

Celestia closed her eyes and felt her heart grow heavy; her greatest fear had been realized. She knew deep inside that it had to be something like that; similar to a Want-It Need-It spell, except that what they wanted wasn’t something physical, and it only targeted certain ponies instead of all of them. “So Dark Star has an army of five hundred ponies who will fight to the absolute bitter end for him,” she concluded for Luna. “An army that would face our legions of Guards without the slightest trace of fear and kill them all without remorse… or die to the last pony and never retreat.”

Luna merely nodded.

“So if… no, when he attacks Canterlot, we will have to face down an army of ponies who do not wish to die and never wanted to be a part of this fight in the first place.”

Luna nodded again, and she bowed her head. “I’m sorry… I wish there was something we could do, but even knowing how he’s doing this there’s nothing I can do to stop him. The Amulet of Hate is much, much stronger than I ever had dreamed it could be, and is beyond even our combined power to stop it from a distance.”

“We could teleport in, then; perhaps we can surprise him and take the amulet away from him.”

“Not likely; knowing Dark Star, he’s undoubtedly set up a protection field around himself.” Luna smiled slightly. “I showed him how.” She sighed again. “No, I fear that the only way to get the amulet from him is to defeat him in combat…”

“And that will only happen if he is challenged by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” Celestia could not keep the concern out of her voice; her student and her friends were very dear to the Princess’s heart, and she had secretly hoped that there would be a way to keep them out of this conflict… but it was quickly becoming clear that that was going to be simply impossible. “Then how do we go about calling him out? Forcing his hoof?”

Luna smiled sadly. “Tia,” she said, using a nickname that she had not used in years, even before her banishment, “Dark Star was a celebrated soldier in his time. The fact that we have this much information on him is simply because he wants us to have it. If we try to force him to make a move, it will end badly for us.”

The white alicorn sighed heavily and nodded, causing her shimmering rainbow mane to fall across her face. “I fear you’re right…” She looked up into her sister’s eyes and sighed. “I also fear that we are going to have to muster our forces around Canterlot. If we cannot force Dark Star’s next move… we can only be prepared for it.” She glanced out of the throne room at the rapidly setting sun, and she sighed. “It appears that dusk gathers,” she commented. “And that means that we have our jobs to do.”

Luna nodded, but before she turned to go she took the last few steps that separated her from her sister and gently laid her neck across Celestia’s. “Thank you for everything,” she said softly. “I am truly sorry that I can’t help more.”

Celestia smiled warmly and hugged her younger sister in return. “Don’t be sorry, Luna,” she said, her mane draping over Luna’s. “Be prepared. This journey will not be an easy one for anypony and least of all… you.” They stood there for a long moment, the two most powerful beings in Equestria, drawing strength from one another as only sisters can do. Finally, it was Luna who broke the embrace, stepping back and smiling up at Celestia.

“Well, I must go; the moon waits for no mare,” she said as she turned towards the wide windows.

Celestia smiled fondly. “Only for you, little sister,” she said quietly as she watched Luna launch herself from the throne room out into the darkening sky. As she turned away, she made a mental note to send word to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Whatever Dark Star was planning, he would have to get the bearers of the Elements of Harmony out in the open to target them, and when that happened, Celestia needed her student to be ready.

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

Ponyville was, for the first time that day, quiet. The moon had just recently risen thanks to Princess Luna, lights were going out in the buildings, and the refugees were finally getting bathed, fed and rested. Most of them were going to bed immediately, especially the young foals in the mix; most of them didn’t even make it past dinner time before they were snoozing in the first comfortable place they could find, and even the adults were turning in early because of all the hustle and bustle of the days before.

However, as the moon rose and cast its soft silver light onto the fair hamlet, there were three ponies who weren’t tucking in for rest just yet. Morningstar slowly made her way through the town, letting the moon and stars light her way to one of several parks that dotted Ponyville. She tossed her mane and gazed up into the clear night sky, a rare smile on her face. If there was one thing that she truly, truly loved, it was the night; it was one of the reasons she had initially been drawn to Dark Star and Nightmare Moon. Wild Star liked to give her a hard time because her name was Morningstar, obviously linking her more with Celestia’s tyrannical daylight, but she liked to remind him that the “morning star” was just the last star to disappear from the night. Not a bad thing to be, she thought as she stared upwards. Not for the first time since they had been released from their places frozen in time, Morningstar swore she would never sacrifice seeing the night sky again, not for anything.

“What did I tell you, Falling Star? That we’d find Morningstar staring up into the sky like a wide-eyed filly; don’t tell me I didn’t call that one.” The voice brought the white unicorn’s eyes back to the earth.

“I’m surprised to find you here at all, Wild Star,” she retorted, a sneer on her face. “I thought for certain that you’d have found something better to do.” Even at the height of her power, Wild Star had always seemed just along for the ride with Nightmare Moon, and Morningstar was more than happy to point that out to him at any opportunity.

The smoky-gray Pegasus flapped his wings rapidly, rising into the air a small distance before dropping himself directly back to the ground. “Oh Morningstar,” he said, his voice light. “You never did think I fit in.” The gem that symbolized his anger bounced around his chest as he landed, and Morningstar rolled her eyes.

“And you’re just going to wear that out in the open the whole time?” she asked critically. “You don’t think that Twilight Sparkle or any of her friends will think it’s a little strange?”

Wild Star snickered. “I think you’re giving them a little too much credit, that’s for sure. I wore it all day today and nopony said two words about it. The only thing that got it mentioned was the little hayseed, Applejack, told me that it might get in the way if I planned on working.” He shrugged, his wings rising and falling slightly with the gesture. “But it certainly didn’t raise any red flags, or keep us from getting two bunks on her farm to sleep in. And besides, the boss said that our Elements would help us get to Sparkle and her friends, so why not keep it nearby? I don’t see yours anywhere; how’s it supposed to assist in our decimation of a perfectly good team if you don’t even wear it?”

The unicorn sighed in irritation and her horn glowed a gentle pink; the air around her neck became distorted, like a halo of fog had suddenly formed around it and a moment later the fog cleared to reveal the bright green gem of Jealousy around her neck. “A simple concealment spell,” she said, tossing her wavy mane back away from the necklace. “That way nopony will think twice about it because nopony will be able to see it.”

“You’re using magic around a unicorn as talented as Twilight Sparkle?” Falling Star’s voice was quiet and harsh as he stepped forward to be heard. “Now which of us is being careless, Morningstar? You don’t think that Celestia’s brightest student would notice even the most carefully placed concealment spell?”

“She may be Celestia’s brightest student now, Falling Star, but once upon a time it was me!” she snapped, her eyes shining maliciously in the starlight. “A thousand years ago I was the filly that everypony looked up to.”

“And a thousand years ago I spoke against using your jealousy as one of the Elements of Destruction because you could not keep a clear head,” he said softly. “Remember; you are not here for your personal jealousy, Morningstar. We are on a mission, something that Wild Star and I know a little more about than you, having been former Royal Guards. You were a healer and magician, not a military pony, so I ask you to focus on our objective.” Morningstar glared hatefully at him, but the dark blue Pegasus merely shifted his mane so that the rounded gray stone he wore around his neck was more clearly visible. “If you do not think it prudent to wear our Elements openly, what do you suggest for Wild Star and I? We cannot use concealment magic.”

Morningstar sighed and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, do I have to think of everything myself? Pin it to a hat, hide it beneath a scarf or stash it in a saddlebag. As long as it’s close to you it will remain active and make it easier for you to nudge the minds of Sparkle’s friends.” Her horn shimmered for a moment; the fog appeared around her neck once again, and in a moment her own amulet had vanished. “This will work for now,” she told Wild Star when he opened his mouth to speak. “My target is Rarity, not Twilight Sparkle, and she seems no more talented in magic than you.” She was grateful that she managed to keep a straight face when she said that. As much as Rarity was her target, she found that she simply could not stand that lavender-coated, magic-wielding, sweet-as-could-be little librarian. Just the thought of Sparkle brought a fresh wave of jealousy to Morningstar’s heart, and she felt her chest tighten as she ground her teeth together. She knew that she could not simply let Twilight Sparkle go about her business, not while she was so close to her, so able to manipulate the younger unicorn, and even though it was not part of her very specific mission, Morningstar knew that she would not be able to stop herself. Dark Star will forgive me if I manage to bring down her, as well as Rarity, she thought. Finally, she regained her composure enough to speak. “Well then, if that’s everything,” she said, focusing once again on her companions. “I will send Dark Star a message tonight before I return to the Boutique and tell him that we are in place. Once you feel your target is sufficiently compromised-,”

“Inform you immediately and you will report to Dark Star,” Wild Star finished for her, feigning a yawn. “Yeah yeah, we know the drill. Just don’t get too comfortable; this shouldn’t take long.” The gray Pegasus flashed a roguish smile at his comrades as he raised his wings; with a rush of air he rocketed into the night sky and was lost among the stars. Morningstar stamped a hoof impatiently.

Honestly, he’s just like a foal. How do you put up with him, Falling Star?” she asked, but when she turned back to the other Pegasus, he was gone, as if he had simply melted back into the night whence he came. In spite of herself, Morningstar felt a chill creep up her spine. “I hate it when he does that,” she muttered. With a shiver she reached into the saddlebags she wore and removed a small piece of paper and a quill, which she set on the ground; her horn glowed again and the quill levitated, scrawling a simple message onto the paper before flitting back inside the bag. Her magic brought the paper off the ground and rolled it tightly before her; she closed her eyes and focused all of her will on this paper reaching Dark Star, and in a dull flash, the paper vanished, leaving behind quickly-fading bits of sparkling light that trailed towards the ground.

Morningstar smiled up at the moon. “We’re ready to begin, sir,” she said quietly. “Soon, nothing will stand between us and Princess Luna.” She watched the moon for a long time that night, but eventually she made her way back to Rarity’s house, where her real task would begin in the morning.

Tomorrow, the world would begin to unravel for Twilight Sparkle and her friends.