The Starlit

by Tzelael

They Choose You

Just a black room... Twilight looked around, seeing nothing in every direction. Lifting her hooves, she seemed to be able to see them just fine, though there was no light source. Looking up, the sky suddenly became a night-scape, stars dotting across it. A faint blue light fell upon the black ground, evidently the sky being occupied by a new moon.

“Where am I...?” Twilight looked around as the landscape slowly warped into something else. She heard hooves clopping in the distance– someone else was here! She turned around and saw a stallion walking toward her, far taller than most like it.

“Thank Celestia! I thought I was the only person here. Tell me, where are we?” As it got closer, Twilight saw that its face was totally blank. It then started to convulse and land on the ground, desperately crawling toward her. She gasped as the mass started to disintegrate. Its flesh began melting from its body, becoming a gray puddle on the ground. Twilight stared, her mouth hanging open as her mind screamed for her to run, but her legs refused to obey. While it melted, the skull became visible as it muttered in a breathless, pained whisper.

“Help...”

Twilight shot upward, seeing the familiar trappings of her room. She sighed of relief, crawling out of her bed as she rubbed her forehead with her hoof. She then heard the familiar sound of Spike belching out a new letter. He called out for her.

“Twilight! Twilight! You’ve got a letter from the Princess and it looks really urgent!” The baby Dragon waddled his way up the stairs to Twilight’s bed, holding up the scroll, sealed with the Equestrian Crest, labeled “READ IMMEDIATELY.” Twilight groaned and sat down. If it was from the Princess, it had to be important... She just wished it didn’t have to come after such an intense nightmare.

“Alright, Spike. Let’s hear it.”

The Dragon cleared his throat and read the letter.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle, My Most Faithful Student,

I’m sending you this letter with a great deal of urgency behind it. Enclosed is a ticket for the train ride to Canterlot. Upon request, I can provide transport for your friends as well. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose the nature of this meeting in this correspondence, and can only ask you to trust me and make haste for Canterlot. I hope to see you soon. In advance I send you my thanks and my regrets.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.”

Twilight furrowed her brow at the letter’s contents, then began to pace back and forth. Spike sighed heavily and put the letter down. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“Did you hear the letter, Spike? It was so... Formal, and secretive. The Princess NEVER keeps secrets from me in the mail! And that bit at the end... ‘I send you my thanks and my regrets’? What regrets could she send? What’s going on?” Twilight alternated direction over and over each time she finished a sentence, her head swiveling back and forth as though hoping that looking at another part of the room would somehow help make sense of this.

“Well... While you figure that out, Twilight, do you want me to send for more tickets for everypony else?” Spike’s head followed her movements as he spoke, the young dragon knowing his master’s distress when he saw it... She needed the company of her friends right now, and while he didn’t fully understand what was wrong (He was sure there was a lot Princess Celestia’s never told Twilight), he knew that it was bothering her, and that’s all he needed to know.

“I... I don’t know, Spike... The Princess made it sound like she wanted to tell me this alone.”

“That doesn’t mean everypony else can’t come. I mean, she DID offer to supply five more tickets if you wanted them to come with.”

Twilight sighed and considered the idea. “Well... I suppose it couldn’t hurt. I’ll go tell them that we’re going on a trip to Canterlot. I won’t tell them the nature of this trip... Besides, I can leave them to do whatever they want on their own.”

“Twilight, shouldn’t you tell them that this is... Well... Kind of serious?”

“Spike, I don’t even know what’s going on... And if Celestia isn’t telling me anything, obviously she doesn’t want anyone else to know about it. I’m her star student, and I’m not betraying her trust, even if it’s for the sake of my friends knowing about... Whatever this is.” She trot out the door, her head hung down. She inhaled deeply as she pushed it open, putting on her best smile for her friends that she would be seeing.

* * * *

Not long after, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash took the ride to Canterlot. Everypony on the way there joked and laughed with each other as they talked about past experiences and what they would do once they got there. Twilight couldn’t distinguish any of it... Her mind ran the same sentence in her head over and over again, the last of that letter. “In advance I send my thanks and my regrets.” What did she mean by that? Did something happen to her brother? Was something happening to the Princess? Was something going to happen to Twilight herself? She was too distracted to really think about it.

The train car seemed to be an indistinct blur to her... Her mind was far too occupied to even pay attention to whatever zany antics Pinkie Pie was up to. Applejack laughed for a bit, but stopped after getting a good look at her friend.

“... You alright there, hun?” Applejack’s eyebrows rose up, her face showing clear concern for her friend’s lack of reaction to whatever it was Pinkie Pie did. Twilight tried to put on a smile for her and nodded slowly. Applejack was clearly not convinced, and neither was anyone else.

“You sure? Because you usually react to Pinkie’s crazy... Er... Things that she does,” Rainbow was quick to point out.

“Yes, darling, you at least laugh or roll your eyes... You look distracted,” Rarity decided to pipe in. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie leaned in to her.

“Is something wrong? I mean... If it isn’t any trouble for me to ask... We’re just...” Fluttershy looked away after she asked the question, muttering something indistinct before Pinkie would resume the thought... At least, her version of the thought.

“Yeah! Because usually you’re so excited to go to Canterlot, because there’s always something fun and amazing going on there whenever the Princess calls you!” She counted off each previous time just to make sure she got her facts straight. “The first time she called you back to Canterlot, we saved the world, then we did the Hearth’s Warming Eve Pageant, then it was your Brother’s Wedding-!”

Holding up a hoof, Rarity managed to silence Pinkie Pie just long enough to abridge the collective thoughts of the others. “What she’s trying to say, darling, is that you seem so... Glum. We are your friends, you can tell us anything and we promise we’ll keep it secret.”

Twilight sighed heavily... She knew she could trust them with a secret, and they trusted her with theirs. It’s not like there was much she could tell anyway. “Well girls, to tell you the truth, I don’t know what’s going on in Canterlot... See, the Princess sent me an urgent letter summoning me to the castle. She did offer to let you all come, but... She told me that she couldn’t say what the nature of the meeting was in the letter.”

Rainbow blurted out a “WHAT?!” right after she finished her sentence, hovering above the ground and throwing her fore-hooves about with each syllable. “But she totally trusts you! You’re her star student, she never keeps secrets from you!”

“I know! That’s what’s got me all bothered... She wrote that she couldn’t tell me what was going on. What’s happened, or what’s happening, that could be so bad that she can’t tell me in a letter?”

“Maybe she has a big surprise party planned for you! But your birthday isn’t for a while... Ooh! What if she’s promoting you or something!” Pinkie Pie seemed to be doing her best to cheer up her friend, though Twilight seemed unresponsive.

“I hope it’s just that, Pinkie... I really do...” Twilight leaned back in her chair, looking out the window as she saw the scenery pass by. She knew very well that whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant. “My thanks and my regrets,” the letter said.

Applejack reached over and pat Twilight’s rear leg. “Tell ya what, hun. When you finish whatever your business is with the Princess, we’ll go out for dinner. Hey, Rarity, you’ve been around, know any good places?”

Rarity eagerly nodded. “I’ll be sure to find Fancypants, I’m sure he knows where to find the finest cuisine. We’ll have a ball, darling, even if the news from Celestia is... Less than pleasant.”

Twilight smiled at her friends. She could always count on them to make her smile... At least she had them even for the unknown crisis that lay before her. “Thanks, everypony... I... I feel better already.” She gave her best smile and leaned back in the chair, waiting for time to pass by as the train barreled to its destination.

* * * *

When they left the train, Twilight and her friends headed toward the Princess’ castle, looking between the three of them. Twilight herself gulped and looked back at her friends.

“Thanks, girls, but I need to go this alone,” Twilight managed to breathe out after swallowing the sensation of dread deep down in her belly. The other five seemed reluctant to let her be on her way, but understood that this was something she had to do.

“Alright... I’ll be back for you when you’re done with whatever you’re doing. Next thing you know, you’ll be eating fancy food with everypony else!” Rainbow put forth her most reassuring manner, projecting her voice and holding her head up high with a smile. Twilight cracked a lopsided smile, musing to herself about her friend.

“Glad someone’s this confident, Rainbow...” With great reluctance, she turned her head toward the Castle and took a deep breath, moving her front hoof forward onto the stairwell. She looked back and waved at the others, then continued her ascent. Approaching the door, Twilight’s spirits suddenly rose as she saw a familiar face.

“Sh-Shining Armor! I mean, Captain, sir... I mean...”

“Relax, Twilie! Princess Celestia sent me down here to personally escort you to her chambers... Said she had something important to talk to you about. Am I going to be expecting a graduation party soon?” He smiled lightly as he led her indoors, the nearby guards saluting him. Twilight struck up a conversation with her brother, trying to extend this pleasant moment before it would be broken by whatever it was she was called for, doing everything she could to avoid the topic of why she was actually here.

“Well... That depends, when can I expect to be an auntie? How have you and Cadence been doing?”

Shining Armor smiled and humored his sister. “Well, we haven’t had much of a chance to try, what with the aftermath of the Changeling Invasion and all... Once everything is all settled down, we might give it a few tries... We’ve been doing fine otherwise, though I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had much time to see her lately.”

“How’s she taking it?”

“Well... She says she’s okay, but you know how it goes. She’s still lonely. Don’t worry though, once everything settles down, I’ll be able to get some leave. Between the Princess and my superiors, everypony thinks I deserve it and...” He snickered lightly. “I’m even starting to believe them.”

Suddenly, rapid hoofsteps clopped past Twilight and Shining Armor, shoving Twilight aside. As he ran past, Twilight got a glaring glance at his cutie mark, which looked a bit like a dead tree. “Ow! Jerk! Can you believe that guy? Who is he, anyway?”

Shining Armor fell silent after Twilight asked, then took a deep breath. “He’s... Well... Officially, we’re not supposed to talk about him. I’ll just tell you this... If that guy’s here, there’s something serious going on.” He continued leading her up the stairs. “But... Then again, we never hear about it, so it’s probably nothing you have to worry about.” He gave Twilight a warm smile while he led her up the stairs. It seems the whole world is trying to cheer Twilight up before facing what it is that the Princess has to say to her.

The conversation ran dry. That unicorn that ran past the two of them, Shining Armor saying that whatever reason he was there for was serious... Twilight’s thoughts grew heavy with worry, though her train of thought was interrupted when Shining Armor finally stopped. Before them stood the door to the Princess’ Chambers, the Captain of the Guard turning to Twilight with a smile on his face.

“Here we are, sis.” He rapped his hoof on the door. “Your Highness! Your guest has arrived!”

The door briefly glowed, then slowly creaked open. The Princess lay in front of her balcony, bowing her head when she saw Twilight at the door. “Aah, my prized pupil... Please, come in. Captain, keep an eye on the door, let me know if anyone else is coming.”

Shining Armor bowed deeply. “Of course, your Majesty.” Twilight gingerly moved inside the room, using her own powers to shut the door behind her. She inched toward the reclining Princess nervously, keeping her head low, though it was hard to tell whether it was out of respect or out of dread about what might be said to her.

The Princess rose up and smiled, reaching her hoof over and lifting Twilight’s head up. “My most faithful student... I’m glad you came. There’s a matter of great importance I need to discuss with you, and it was imperative that no one else hear these words.” Twilight’s mouth quivered, trying to form a sentence, though her voice couldn’t make a sound, much less string any words together.

Celestia rose up and turned over to the balcony, heading toward it as she spoke, her voice quivering slightly, almost the way Twilight’s voice would be if she mustered the ability to make a sentence. “I... Know exactly how you feel, Twilight Sparkle. I don’t even know where to start with all of this...” While walking toward the window, she’d suddenly change direction, then did so again and again, as though she couldn’t quite figure out why she even bothered heading toward the window to begin with, trying her best to delay whatever it was she had to say... She didn’t want to talk about it any more than Twilight wanted to hear about it.

Twilight, having become just as nervous as Celestia was, suddenly blurted out as she watched her mentor in such great distress, the kind she hadn’t seen her in since the time she spoke of Discord’s escape. “Princess... Perhaps you should just be brief. I don’t think either of us likes what has to be said, but you wouldn’t have called me here if it didn’t have to be said.”

Celestia stopped and smiled, looking over her star student with a glint of almost motherly pride in her eyes. “You are wise beyond your years, Twilight Sparkle... I knew there was a reason you were my prized pupil.” Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finally mustering the courage to speak, though her words would occasionally stumble on each other, throwing off the Princess’ normal decorum and grace. “You see, Twilight... As a leader, I’ve done things that I, well, I made mistakes in the past, Twilight. I made all kinds of mistakes... Minor ones, serious ones, and some of them still haunt me today... Never speaking to Luna when she needed me was my worst, but this... This is a close second.”

Celestia walked over to the other end of the room, using her magic to pour herself a glass of water, downing it quickly and releasing a quick breath. She then wandered back toward Twilight again. “Not long after I sealed Nightmare Moon away, I was told a prophecy by a stallion named Burning Eyes. He said he knew something about what went on between my sister and...”

Twilight raised a hoof and spoke timidly, her voice gaining an abnormal squeak. “Princess... Please, brevity.”

“Of course... Burning Eyes had several other followers who seemed to know more about what went on beneath my notice, under the notice of all other ponies who slept during the night... They told me they needed absolute secrecy and permission to pursue their goals however they needed to.”

“Who, Princess?”

“They call themselves ‘The Starlit.’ They operated in absolute secrecy and were charged with ensuring loyalty to me, often by either... Dealing with dissidents and those who would betray me, or by striking against creatures too strange for anyone to think were real and giving me credit for their defeat... And I gave them the ability to do it.”

Twilight considered this for a moment... “Dealing with dissidents... You don’t mean they...”

“To this day, Twilight Sparkle, I’m not sure how many ponies they’ve killed to... ‘Ensure loyalty,’ as they told me...”

Twilight’s eyes widened, her pupils shrinking. Her jaw dropped as cold sweat trickled down her brow and rolled down her face... “How... How could the Princess do such a thing?! How could she approve of something like this?! Oh no... Maybe now that she’s told me, she’ll have to kill me too!”

“I... I see the fear in your eyes, Twilight Sparkle... I understand. Lately, they haven’t done such things, but they’re not above sacrificing the lives of other ponies to achieve their goals, nor are they beyond using dark magic to further their schemes...”

“Why do you make use of them?!” Twilight blurted out, then covered her mouth with her hooves, almost fearing being slaughtered for any stray words that wormed their way out of her throat.

Celestia’s movements stopped as Twilight asked, though instead of flying into a rage as the unicorn expected, the Princess simply looked away, tears welling up in her eyes as the question echoed through the chamber.

“I’ve been asking myself that for a long time, Twilight Sparkle... In fact... You were part of my plan to no longer have to use them. I thought you and your friends wielding the Elements of Harmony would be enough. I was even finishing arrangements to disband the Starlit for good, but then the Changeling War occurred...”

“Oh... Oh no... You don’t mean... I... We... We failed you that time, Princess, but I had no idea that...” Twilight seemed to fit all the pieces together fairly well, or at least, as many of the pieces as she had.

“It wasn’t your fault, Twilight... It was mine. I grew complacent, arrogant. I forgot you were all still young, and that you would have trouble in the face of unexpected danger... I thought I had everything perfectly planned and that I no longer needed the likes of the Starlit. I should have listened to what you said about Cadence- or rather, Chrysalis, and I can’t help but think that if the Starlit were there, they might have listened to you... Actually, it’s why I brought you here.”

“Wha-What do the Starlit have to do with me?” Twilight gulped as her voice shook, her gut wrenching at the idea that she probably already knew what she was going to say.

“They want you to join them... In fact, they wanted you to ever since you joined my school for Gifted Unicorns. Of course, nopony chooses to join the Starlit... The Starlit choose them. You would have been a part of them a long time ago if I hadn’t intervened and told them that I had other plans for you. They’ve insisted that they need you and you need their resources...” Celestia then moved over to the door and knocked on it.

“Captain Shining Armor.” The unicorn guard entered the room and stood at attention.

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“Send him in.”

“Right away, your Majesty.”

In that brief moment, Shining Armor returned with the stallion from earlier, a unicorn with brown, ratty fur, patches of his coat evidently having been burned off, jagged scars running down his face and all over his body. His mane ran long down the sides of his body, a deep black that covered most of his back. His horn seemed to have a chip off the top end of it, his eyes a hazel, almost yellow color, the right eye obscured in a milky white film with a jagged scar running down it. By the look of him, this was a Stallion who had seen more combat than even many of the Royal Guard ever had. Most peculiar, however, was his Cutie Mark; Twilight knew she saw him before, this was the same Stallion who shoved her and Shining Armor out of the way when they were going to the Princess’ chambers, though when she first saw his Cutie Mark, she thought it was a tree. Looking up close, however, she saw that it was actually four worms wriggling next to each other in a way that looked like a tree.

“Twilight Sparkle... This is Underhoof, Leader of the Starlit,” Celestia turned to the side to give the unicorn the floor. He bowed his head toward Twilight respectfully. A scratchy, gruff voice escaped his throat as he spoke to her.

“A pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. I’m quite pleased to finally be making your acquaintance.”

Celestia looked between the two and nodded after a fashion. “Twilight Sparkle... I’m allowing you to join the Starlit in their operations as my personal agent. You shall follow Underhoof’s orders and accompany the Starlit in their mission, but you shall report back to me as usual. As per the code of the Starlit, you will keep absolute secrecy concerning the activities of the Starlit. You are to make no mention of your actions or the actions of other Starlit Members to those outside of the organization save myself. Twilight Sparkle, do you understand and accept this mission?” Celestia spoke this time with a louder voice, each word clear and heavy with authority.

Twilight didn’t want to disappoint the Princess... She did do something horrid and regrettable, but it’s clear she had a plan. Twilight took some time to think about it... She decided that the Princess had kept her safe for this long, and she could be trusted. Twilight nodded after Celestia asked the question.

“I understand and accept this charge, your Highness.”

Celestia turned to Underhoof and nodded. “There. She is now yours to command. She will report what she finds to me and keep me regularly appraised of your activity as you normally would. All orders from me will go to her. Any requests you have of me, you can make through her and I guarantee that they will come to me. Her service to the Starlit will begin as of tomorrow evening. Is that understood?”

Underhoof grimaced for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Perfectly.”

“Tomorrow evening, you both shall meet here one last time to determine arrangements of travel and your next mission. Underhoof, you are dismissed until further notice.” Celestia bowed her head in salute to the Starlit leader, who returned the gesture and trot out the door.

Twilight almost walked out with him only to be stopped by one of Celestia’s wings. “Twilight... Before you go, I want you to remember something. I realize this is a tall order, considering I’ve hidden quite a bit from you, but... When you’re reporting to me about what you find when you’re dealing with the Starlit... Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. If someone does something that makes you uncomfortable, tell me. If someone makes you do something that you’re not comfortable with, tell me. Am I clear?” Celestia had the manner of a worried mother hen about her, staring at Twilight with eyes whose lids were heavy and whose brows desperately curved upward.

“...Yes, Princess. I understand.” Celestia pulled Twilight into a tight hug.

“And... For my sake, and yours... Be careful.”

Twilight only smiled and returned the embrace, leaning into her mentor’s neck and pulling back. She nodded after she did, then slowly walked toward the door. Before she exit with her brother, she turned around and put on her best smile for her teacher.

“I’ll make you proud, Princess. I promise.”

Comments

[FaceDeer]

Fascinating premise. I'd considered writing something short myself wherein the Elements take a little combat training with the Royal Guard due to their failure in that episode, but this is a much more interesting approach. Looking forward to seeing how Twilight's magic of friendship affects the Starlit. :)

[Tzelael]

710274 Actually, now that you mention it, having the Mane Six training with the Royal Guard does sound interesting. I'm getting giggly just thinking about Rarity and Fluttershy in a military organization.

...Go for it, man.