The Starlit

by Tzelael

Fear and the Unknown

Silently moving about the suite, Spike took special care to ensure that the entire room was as organized as Twilight would want it to be. He woke up far earlier than she did, and while he attended the dinner the night before with her, his participation in the festivities was peripheral, at most. Twilight had yet to confide in him just what it was she spoke to the Princess about, and it worried him some. After all, when Twilight gets upset at a problem it usually ends in disaster, and besides which, he did genuinely care for her well-being.

He did remember one directive Twilight gave him the night before. When she got back in, she mentioned to him, in between choked sobs, to ensure that she wakes up bright and early to be sure she gets to the Castle on time for another meeting with the Princess. Spike repeated the request again in his head, furrowing his brow and finding something odd about it... Namely that, most of the time, Twilight managed to wake up without being reminded just fine, and of course, the fact that she was sobbing after she had such a good time with her friends gave him everything he needed to know for sure that something was wrong. However, far be it for Spike to question the wishes of Twilight...

Spike approached Twilight’s bed slowly, keeping himself silent so he didn’t wake her up unexpectedly. He then reached a claw, but caught a few murmurs of Twilight’s sleep-talking before he could rouse her from her slumber.

“Nngh... No... I don’t want to go... Mmf... No... Please...”

“Um... Twilight?”

The unicorn suddenly shot up from her bed, panting as she looked behind her on the bed, the mattress soaked with sweat. She looked over Spike for a few moments, then sighed of relief. She then hopped down the bed.

“Thanks for waking me up, Spike... I guess housekeeping is going to need to get me some new sheets...”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight, it’s no big de- BRAAAAHRP!” Suddenly, a green flare shot out from the young Dragon’s throat, producing a scroll that dropped to the ground. Spike broke the seal on the scroll, unfurling it and reading its contents. “Let’s see... This is a reminder from the Princess to show up for another meeting at the Castle.”

Twilight examined the letter herself, nodding slowly after confirming its contents. She activated her Horn’s magic, levitating a saddlebag over toward her. She folded the flap upward, placing the scroll inside and latching it shut. She turned over to Spike and smiled faintly.

“I’ve got some things to take care of with the Princess... You go hang out with everypony else.” She opened the door, rushing out and closing it before Spike had the time to protest. Twilight’s legs rushed her out of the suite and out into Canterlot, moving with all due speed toward her destination. She was tired of delaying what was to come, and no matter what it was that may lay before her, she’d have to face it eventually.

It might as well be now.

* * * *

After Twilight was escorted into the castle, she found the door to Celestia’s chamber already opened, the guard standing in front of it moving aside for Twilight to enter. Twilight shut and locked the door behind her after she entered, the guard having long since left. When she entered, Celestia and Underhoof were on opposite sides of the room, with the Alicorn Princess standing on the balcony and the leader of the Starlit standing in the dimmest corner of the room, lurking there like some sort of ragged bat. Upon the sound of Twilight’s hoofsteps, Celestia turned and smiled, bowing her head gently.

“Twilight Sparkle... It’s a genuine pleasure to see you again.”

Twilight returned the polite gesture, then turned over to Underhoof. “A pleasure to see you as well, Princess... And... Sir.”

Underhoof stepped out from the shadows, bowing his head. His milky right eye seemed to be looking past her, only his left, good eye meeting her own gaze. Twilight couldn’t help but stare at the Cutie Mark on his flank... What did it even mean? A Tree made of Worms? She couldn’t begin to tell what his talent was supposed to be, just that his Cutie Mark looked different from a distance than it did up close.

Underhoof cleared his throat and assumed a dispassionate, almost regal tone before addressing Twilight. “First of all, we can’t call you ‘Twilight Sparkle’ during business that concerns the Starlit. Our real names are incredibly dangerous in this line of work.”

“So Underhoof isn’t your real name?” Twilight tilted her head in curiosity... She didn’t realize that a pseudonym would be necessary upon working with this group.

“No. While there’s little we can do about your... Celebrity, we can at least avoid having people know who you are if we’re talking about you. Given our foes, hiding our true names is a necessary precaution.” Underhoof looked over her for a few moments. “I shall call you ‘Nightfall’ from now on.”

Twilight raised a brow as he suddenly decided on the name. It seemed to fit in with her actual name, since Twilight DID herald nightfall, though trying to conceal her identity seemed pointless if she were to participate in any of the coming conflicts.

“So what about travel arrangements and training? You said in the letter we’d be going over that, too...”

Celestia stepped forward, her luminescent mane rippling in beat with her hoofsteps. “Due to how things tend to work with the Starlit, we can’t tell you where you’ll be going, but you’ll be taking a carriage ride with Underhoof to where they’re currently located. Once there, they’ll give you a primer on things you’ll need to know to operate among them.” The Princess stood stiff after reaching Twilight, her words becoming stilted and formal, as though giving a military briefing. Twilight, as a dutiful student, could only nod in response. The Princess was usually so cheerful around Twilight, and forgone a great deal of formality when she was around her. Seeing the Princess being so formal, while it was what was usually expected, tied her insides into knots.

“Of course, Princess...”

“Underhoof, take her out to the carriage. Twilight, I’ll be sure to tell your friends to head back to Ponyville and provide them with the due transport.”

“Thank you, Princess.” All Twilight could manage were the almost alien formalities between her and the Princess, almost like hearing her own mother giving military orders. She turned away, bowing her head one last time before following the Stallion out the door.

As the two walked down the stairs, Twilight couldn’t help staring at Underhoof. His body was covered in all kinds of marks of injury, not the least of which are scars, burns, patches of fur mysteriously missing, and of course, there was that jagged scar across the right side of his face, and the milky, indistinct iris of the right eye that never seemed to look at her so much as look past her. His entire body raised so many questions, though she couldn’t bring herself to ask any of them as the two finally reached the exterior of the building, a carriage surely enough awaiting their arrival. It was a most curious contraption, little more than a black box with a door on it.

“Our ride is here. Get in.” Underhoof stood in front of her and used his horn to open the door, allowing her in. The gesture would seem courteous if not for his brash and gruff attitude... Twilight simply complied. As she went in, she wondered to herself just what kind of people these Starlit were; everything Princess Celestia said gave her the impression that they were an odd people and weren’t to be trifled with. She contemplated attempts at small-talk, though quickly scrapped each idea knowing that she’d either never get a response to any of her questions, or the responses would be thoroughly unpleasant.

After at least half an hour by carriage ride, Underhoof finally spoke, his voice suddenly scratching across the room. “Scared, Nightfall?”

Twilight furrowed her brow for a moment and tilted her head. It took her a second to remember that Underhoof was talking to her, and that Nightfall was the name he- and everypony in the Starlit- would be referring to her by. “Um... Come again?”

“Are you afraid, Nightfall?”

“Afraid of what?”

“I’m sure Princess Celestia had told you something about us before you decided to come with us... So tell me, are you afraid of what you may have to face?”

Twilight swallowed for a moment. This was a weird way to start a conversation. Of course she was scared! She was stuck in a windowless, black box with a pony who probably has the world record of most scars on a single equine, and perhaps a contender for strangest Cutie Mark in Equestria! However, she was able to maintain her composure, but she believed this situation might call for a degree of careful honesty.

“Well... A little bit, yeah. I’m not sure I might be up to the task.”

“Nonsense,” Underhoof suddenly interrupted. “You wouldn’t have been chosen for this if you weren’t the best of the best. We never select those with no chance of survival.” While his words spoke grand praises, his voice seemed to carry the same tone of a judge passing sentence.

“When you put it that way, I guess I don’t have any reason to be scared.”

Underhoof then did something Twilight didn’t expect from the scarred Stallion. He started laughing in his seat, chuckling loudly for several seconds before quickly returning to his stoic, stalwart gaze at Twilight.

“Don’t be stupid. Of course you should be scared, you just don’t know why yet.”

Twilight was taken aback by this response. Why was the head of the organization devoted to hunting down those who would endanger the Princess and the safety of the nation as a whole telling Twilight that she was supposed to be scared? “Perhaps this is a test of some kind... For now, I guess I’ll play along.”

“Well, Mr. Underhoof-”

“Just Underhoof.”

“Well... Underhoof... Why should I be scared? I mean, shouldn’t I be able to stare danger in the face without flinching? You guys do it all the time, I’m sure you’re not afraid.”

The last bout of chuckling evidently depleted the leader’s reserve of laughter, as he simply stared at Twilight for several moments. He finally managed to respond, “You have a lot to learn, Nightfall. I will teach you the first lesson about survival in the Starlit.”

“Isn’t the training coming up when I get to the destination?”

“This isn’t training. This is a lesson of survival.” The carriage briefly shook as it passed over a rocky path, Underhoof remaining steady even with the wood carriage knocking Twilight about, almost shaking her out of her seat. “When you learn about the creatures we hunt, when you face down those who have the capability to topple the Princess’ power... Be afraid, because you should be.”

Twilight furrowed her brow for a few moments, even more confused now than ever. She assumed that organizations like the Starlit focused on being brave and powerful, facing down the things nopony else can or will. She put on a smile and nodded slowly.

“Well... I guess I’ll just take your word on that...”

“It’ll make more sense when you start actually seeing what we deal with, Nightfall. Don’t worry. It’ll come naturally, and when it does... You’ll know what to do.”

“Not exactly encouraging...” Of course, she thought this, not say it out loud. In actuality, she simply smiled and nodded at Underhoof, just humoring the odd leader of this organization that URGES you to be afraid of everything you have to face. “Yeah... Okay then.”

Underhoof pursed his lips for moment into a sneer, his head leaning in further to get a better look at Twilight. “You seem unconvinced.”

“Oh, no, I just... Have that kind of... Well...”

The carriage suddenly stopped. The driver moved back and knocked on the wood of the carriage twice. Underhoof stood up and moved for the door. Before he left, he made eye contact with Twilight, this time with both eyes, even the milky one seeming to stare straight into her own eyes.

“This is my stop, Nightfall, but we’ll be working together very soon. Until then...” He leaped out of the carriage. Twilight bowed her head and respectfully. and leaned toward the opening.

“Alright, Underhoof, I’ll see you la-”

SLAM. The door shut in her face.

“...Ter.”

Twilight heaved a long, exasperated sigh, leaning back into the back of the carriage. “What is that stallion’s deal...? No, no, keep calm Twilight, given what this group is all about, maybe he had something important to take care of and didn’t have the time to spare.” Of course, saying this out loud didn’t convince her any further. The driver for the carriage started the move again, the wheels turning and rushing over a far smoother path now... Twilight took in the air that came into the chamber when the door opened. As long as she could, with what little was in the carriage, she enjoyed the cool, breezy quality of the air, the hints of grass, and the faint scent of apple blossoms... Her eyes shut, thoughts suddenly taking her back home.

“Wonder how everypony else is doing...” She then considered a moment and opened her eyes, looking at her hooves. She reached them upward, holding her head in them as she continued to think about the situation. “...Wonder what the Princess told them I was doing... That I’m doing extra studies for some kind of prestigious award? That I’m being called back for a family emergency? And what's happening with Spike while I'm gone? I just hope they’re not worried or scared... Scared...”

Underhoof’s words then started popping up in her mind. “Be afraid, because you should be.” A lesson in survival, he called it... Maybe this was just him telling her to be smart about what she would be doing. At any rate, her eyelids were slowly losing the will to maintain their upright position, as did her entire body as it slumped against the carriage seat. She dozed off, letting the rest of the carriage ride handle itself...

* * * *

Twilight was suddenly roused from her nap by four loud, echoing knocks from the roof of the carriage. She was hurtled back to the waking world, screaming in simultaneous fright and confusion as she was so suddenly woken.

“AAHOOWHA-?!” She then realized where she was, looking over to the carriage door. With a degree of caution, she reached to open it when it was suddenly swung open for her. She fell face first off the cart and rubbed her nose after landing. “Ungh... I guess we’re here.”

“You sure are, filly.” The voice of a relatively young mare cut through the air and into Twilight’s now-earthbound face. A mare with a dark blue coat and a sky blue mane approached her, deep green eyes staring straight into Twilight’s. Her rear flanks had a black gemstone on them, which from a distance vaguely resembled an equine skull. The smirk on the mare (who Twilight could now tell was a pegasus) widened into a grin as she kicked Twilight up onto her hooves. She groaned after being smacked in the center of the body. Attempting to maintain an air of good humor, she extended a hoof to be shaken by the pegasus mare.

“Call me Onyx,” the pegasus abruptly said after shaking the hoof in turn. Twilight nodded and placed her hoof down, wobbling back and forth as she tried to reconcile falling on her face because a door opened before she could and being kicked in the ribs.

“Apparently, good social interaction isn’t their strong suit...” She smiled and nodded slowly, her mane tussled, her smile lopsided and one of her eyes refusing to open up. “...Pleasure,” she finally mustered as a breathless response.

“What’d Underhoof call you, kid?”

Twilight coughed several times in a row and finally managed to speak, albeit with a raspy groan lining each word. “Well... He called me Nightfall, but my name-”

“Nightfall it is then. So, you’re here, you’re the new kid, so this leads me to believe you’re here to learn the ropes about being in the Starlit.”

“Well-”

“Now, first my sincerest apologies for the delay. For whatever reason, the Princess saw fit to make us wait several years to even get you with us, so some of our itinerary will have to change a bit, but I think we can salvage you for the most part. Did Underhoof give you the first lesson?”

“Well, sort of, bu-”

“That you should be scared, good, that makes things easier on me.”

“Wish you would make it easier on me by letting me actually SAY SOMETHING!” Twilight’s smile was also playing host to rows of gritted teeth, very steadily grinding together as she was forced to just listen to the mare in front of her, speaking only when asked a question, and even then getting cut off in the middle of the explanation.

“First rule of survival here is to be scared, but the first duty of all Starlit is to the glory of the Princess above all else. None of us take any credit for anything we-”

“Princesses.”

“Sorry?”

“Shouldn’t it be glory to the PrincessES, seeing as there are two now? You know, Celestia AND Luna?”

“...Kid, you’ve got a lot to learn. From now on, you’re not allowed to talk until I ask you to, got it?”

“I-”

“Good! Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Glory to the Princess- Princess CELESTIA- above all else. We take no credit for our actions, no matter how awesome we are when we perform them. Surveillance reports will always, ALWAYS credit the Princess to our accomplishments.”

“Why?”

“What did I say about not talking?” Onyx swung her hoof across the back of Twilight’s head, the young unicorn yelling in pain as the hoof made contact. “How can I teach you anything if you keep interrupting me?!”

“I’m interrupting YOU?! Look who’s talking, you inconsiderate hag!” was what Twilight WANTED to say, though she held herself back with every fiber in her being, as terribly difficult as it was to do so. However, Twilight’s growing frustrations were reflected only by the smile disintegrating into a neutral expression combined with her eyelids drooping to obscure half of her iris.

Onyx, evidently oblivious to the signals being sent her way, continued on. “As I was trying to say, we take no credit for our accomplishments in order to maintain secrecy. We can’t exactly stay under the radar if we announce our grand accomplishments, now can we?”

Twilight remained silent. She already knew what happened the last time she spoke... She got smacked in the back of the head with a ho- “OW!”

After Onyx struck Twilight a second time, she emphasized the last part of her sentence again. “I said, we can’t stay under the radar if we announce our accomplishments, CAN WE, NIGHTFALL?!”

“Ow! Okay! Yes! We can’t!”

“Glad to see we’re on the same page.” Onyx suddenly calmed herself and started walking into a tree-line. “Come along, Nightfall. I ought to show you the ropes.”

Twilight begged to herself that these ropes weren’t literal ones... She pondered to herself further about her predicament as Onyx led her into the patch of forest. Having been struck on the head numerous times, the forest looked a bit familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it... She was too dizzy to really tell what was going on. “‘You should be scared,’ huh? Well, if everypony is THIS crazy, I suppose I should be...”

* * * *

Well into the forest borders, it suddenly became darker and cooler. There was something comforting about the environment, even though everything about it really shouldn’t bring Twilight any sort of comfort. The plants seemed to run rampant, and she could swear she heard the occasionally skitter of something lurking in the bushes, but there was an unusual serenity about being here. In the middle of the forest, she saw some form of shanty-town with a train of Wagons at the center of it. The ponies there seemed to be ragged, grizzled folk, many of their manes unkempt, or at least any attempt to make them seemly was minimal. Their personal hygiene seemed to only go as far as to keep them relatively clean... That is to say, they weren’t covered in mud and didn’t smell like something rotten. They had the looks of wild, uncivilized horses, and the crazed looks in some of their eyes didn’t help things.

Many of the ponies present were moving around the camp, unloading food and supplies, including some esoteric tomes and some of the oddest-looking weapons she’d ever seen. Staves with entire sentences written in runes down the shafts with charms hanging off the ends, swords similarly inscribed upon that also curved at odd angles, and an abundance of hand-cannons with chambers filled with what looked like salt, not too different from Pinkie Pie’s Party Cannon, aside from it being far smaller and containing, well, salt.

Examining each of the ponies she saw there, many of them appeared to be researching something, looking over newspapers, personal diaries (evidently not theirs, since they would transcribe notes onto other books), and some of the unusual tomes that were brought in. “Well, at least I’ll be doing a lot of reading here...” Twilight smiled to herself as she looked at everypony else.

“You’ll be doing a lot of reading in this job, Nightfall, just a word of warning,” Onyx said, as though Twilight couldn’t already figure that out. “Half of what we do is research, finding out everything we can about all the creatures that we may encounter or about the conspirators that may attempt to supplant the Princess’s rule. We find out everything we can about them before we even consider going after them... Well... Usually.”

Twilight didn’t bother to ask why there would be instances that they might not do the extensive amount of research before handling the problem from time to time. It makes sense that for some things they encounter frequently, they may not actually need to research since they already did it. And of course, sometimes there are things that were never mentioned in any tomes that they’d have to find out on their own...

It’s funny, a few years ago, Twilight would’ve never thought any of these things. She thought that anything worth knowing was already known, or at least had an immediately sensible explanation, but after seeing Pinkie’s premonitions and Discord’s massive Chaos Magic and being fooled into thinking her beloved Foalsitter was a heartless monster when she was being impersonated by a changeling, she was far more open to unusual possibilities.

“Well, Nightfall, we understand you’re quite the reader, so go ahead and devour those books. Trust me, you’ll need them. And just one more thing, kid.”

Twilight, finally given permission to speak, tilts her head and responds in kind. “What might that be?”

“When you learn something in those books... Make use of EVERYTHING you learn. And I mean EVERYTHING.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” The request seemed redundant to Twilight. If she was to learn these books, wasn’t the whole purpose of looking through them to learn from them? Seems a bit silly to ask.

“That’s the spirit. Dig in, kiddo.”

Twilight lit up for just a moment, realizing that her scholarly skills would be stretched in this career path. A smile crept along her face as she dove toward one of the bound codices, gently pulling it open and turning a page with her hoof, feeling the sensation of the yellowed parchment across her hooftip. She immediately began reading, smiling to herself as each bit of information soaks into her brain like a sponge. She forgot about everything around her; the crazy ponies, the dark interior of a forest, the wagons containing weapons... It didn’t matter anymore. A whole new world was opening up to her on the pages of a very old book.

“This might not be so bad after all...”

Author's Note: While I'm a bit quick on the updates now, I'm going to be going at a more regular pace of every Wednesday. Depending on how fast I get chapters done, I may post more than one a week, but to keep to a schedule, I'll always post one Chapter every Wednesday.

Comments

[Morphile]

LOL I can see twi will like some of her new job