Darkest Star

by The1Ryu

Chapter Ten: Verse Polluesum

Chapter Ten
Verse Polluesum

Falling. Twilight Sparkle was falling, tumbling end over end as gravity brought her closer and closer her inevitable end. She shut her eyes at the thought as if denying her sight would somehow save her. It was a ridiculous, pointless gesture, the pure darkness that enveloped her was just as total as that which her shut eyes provided for her, if not more so.

Frightened, stupid, and all alone that was all Twilight Sparkle was. She saw the disappointed looks her family had given her when she had come to them scared of some non-existent monster or boogie mare haunting her room, Knowing of course that it was just a figment of her foalish mind. She felt the sting of her mentor’s mocking laugh at some mistake she had made in her studies, all her effort pointless, all her confidence was a lie.

She heard her friends’ excuses not to spend time helping her research. Friends? They were not really her friends; they were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, saddled with her because of her desperate desire to not be alone and finally please her mentor. Just look at all the trouble she had caused them since coming to Ponyville. The Princess must have forced them to take her in, that was the only answer that made sense. She could see her mentor giving them a speech about doing what they needed to keep Equestria safe, needing to sacrifice their precious time on a worthless mare like her.

But then they did not need to.

It would be so easy for her to become the brave, smart, and the beloved mare Twilight had believed she was. Yes, and powerful too… She could be so powerful that her friends would sing her praise, not sarcastically or forced by convention, but because they truly meant it. Princess Celestia too, she could finally become her mentor’s equal… or superior, besting her in mental duels of knowledge and wisdom.

And not alone… no, she would never be alone again. Ponies would worship her for her brilliance, her power, and even her beauty. She would no longer be just some unicorn; she would ascend and become something more, something greater than even the princesses.

Yes, she could do all this, and all she would need to do would be to just let the darkness in…

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes shot open, and she shook her head. Although the world around her was the purest darkness, she found she could still see herself. Her lavender coat could be seen perfectly against the darkness as if she alone were illuminated. However, the tips of her hooves were slowly darkening growing a deeper purple down from her knee to the tips of her hooves which were black.

The mare cried out at this and began rubbing vigorously at her lower legs trying to wipe away the darkness, but that only caused it to climb higher up her leg. Her own voice echoing through her mind that she would fail and that the darkness would help her if she let it.

Twilight Sparkle quickly realized that her fear was only feeding the darkness, like King Sombra’s trapped door it was showing her the worst of her fears and trying to consume her.

Taking a deep breath Twilight bit down on her lower lip and concentrated. She thought of her friends and all they had been through together. She thought of her family, her mom and dad, Shining Armor and even Cadence and how they loved her without condition. She thought of her mentor, beloved Princess Celestia, and all she had learned from her.

All their loved filled her, and her element started to glow then shot out a flash of light all around her. The darkness gave an audible shriek and seemed to recced away from her. Looking around Twilight Sparkle found that she was standing on solid ground, bare cobblestone beneath her hooves, the inky blackness not daring to approach. Thoughts and theories on what the inky blackness was and why it was here raced through Twilight's mind, but she shook them away; she had to find her friends right now.

“Princess Luna!” The purple mare called out taking a couple of steps, the darkness maintaining its distance. “Princess Luna are you there?” She waited and listened intently for even the slightest sound, but all she could hear was the thumping of her heart in her ears.

“Twilight Sparkle?” A voice rang out, breaking the silence.

“Yes, Princess it’s me! Where are you?”

“I am here Twilight Sparkle,” The voice called back, calm and even. “I cannot see thou, please come forward.”

The unicorn mare started forward eagerly for a few steps before halting abruptly at a thought. Had Dark Star’s ritual succeeded? The Princess sounded far too calm for a kidnapped pony trapped in the dark. If she had become Nightmare Moon again the evil mare could be leading her into a trap.

“Princess I can’t tell where you are,” Twilight Sparkle hated to lie, but she had to be cautious. “Come towards the sound of my voice.”

She heard the sound of hooves clopping on stone coming towards her, and the unicorn strained her eyes staring into the darkness trying to see anything through the gloom. Finally, after several long moments, she saw the silhouette of a pony coming towards her, and after a few more she saw the distinct horn and wings of the princess’ and called out. “Princess I’m here!”

Suddenly the figure’s wings flared out, and with a strong flap the figure leaped into the air and came barreling towards her. The sudden burst of speed caught the purple mare off guard, and she had no chance to react before the figure had its hooves around her.

“Thank goodness Twilight Sparkle it is truly thou,” Princess Luna cried out in joy hugging the wide-eyed mare to her fiercely. “I was worried that thou’s voice was some kind of trickery. I am sorry if I scared thee.”

The striped maned mare finally found her breath, let out a sigh of relief and wrapped her hooves around the princess. She looked up at the princess but before she could speak the sight of the stars above them grabbed her attention. Looking back down and around them, she noticed that the inky blackness had receded further away from their paired form.

Once again shaking away her errant hypothesis she released the princess, and they separated a little. “I was worried you had changed back into Nightmare Moon and was trying to trick me too. Let’s not worry about that now Princess; we have to find the others before…”

“No, get away from her!” A venous voice cried out through the darkness then some unseen force slammed into Twilight Sparkle knocking her back from the princess. Princess Luna stared in wide-eyed shock for a moment, before the sound of flapping wings and hooves landing on stone snapped her back to reality.

“My Queen I-” Dark Star came into sight and fell silent as he looked upon the princess’ unchanged face. “No,” He shook his head unable to believe what he was seeing, then rage replaced the shock. “You should be Nightmare!” Dark Star shouted the broken sentence only half forming as he stepped forward and summoned up another hand with his magic and seizing her around the neck. “Have to be!”

“Put her down you brute!”

“Ya leave her alone Dark Meanie,” Rarity and Pinkie Pie shouted coming through the blackness as Twilight Sparkle stood back to her hooves. She saw that the blackness receded away from them as well, but not from Dark Star. With him is seemed to slither up his legs oozing into his body.

Dark Star’s eyes went black as he seized both mare’s in his magic and flung them back into the blackness. The purple mare heard her friends slam into a far wall Rarity crying out and Pinkie Pie giving a pained squeak then slump to the floor.

“Perfect! My plan… perfect!” Dark star cried out not giving the mares a second thought. He began to shake then, tears dripping down from his black eyes as he stopped shouting at Princess Luna and seemed to be speaking to himself. “It did not go wrong; it had to work…” While the Princess’ hooves grabbed at the hand around her neck, which slowly choked her, the mad false unicorn not even realizing that he might soon kill his would-be queen.

“Your plan could never have worked Dark Star,” the black stallion turned to see Princess Celestia walking calmly towards him, the blackness giving her a wide berth. Though by this time it had greatly receded from the large chamber, the far walls could be seen and even Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s shaky forms getting to their hooves.

“You! This all your fault! You…” Dark Star’s rage returned, the magical hand dropping the princess of the night and seizing the day princess in her place pulling her up to him. “Did something to circle that ruined the ritual! What’d you do?!”

“I did nothing,” The princess gasped as Dark Star’s magic began choking her. “You misinterpreted the spell… the proper translation is… ‘Thy true self for darkness’… it only works on subjects… who succumb to its… taint.”

“Lier!” Dark Star shouted tossing Princess Celestia aside and dismissed his magic allowing his wide mad eyes to be seen once again. He paced around erratically his eyes darting every direction. “Know her… true her… not brainwashed… you turned her… Nightmare Moon… truly who… she wants… could not fail…”

“No!” Princess Luna’s voice cried out, and Dark Star turned his mad eyes on the mare standing tall behind him. “Thou are wrong! I am not Nightmare Moon, I never wanted to become that evil witch, and no matter what thy does to me I’ll never become her again.”

Dark Star turned and started towards her his face shifting back and forth through a half dozen emotions, his steps were erratic as well. Before he could reach her, however, Twilight Sparkle winked back into sight with a flash of light standing between him and the princess. “Back off Dark Star, Princess Luna is never going to be who you want her to be, and we’re not going to let you hurt her anymore.”

Dark Star’s head twitched as he looked from the unicorn to princess and back several times before his ears twitched a swiveled back his head snapping back a moment later. Behind him, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were standing next to Princess Celestia who had gotten to her hooves as well. Without warning, Dark Star slumped his flanks to the ground and began to speak.

“They’re all hurt…” He whined sorrowfully.

“He-he, princess’s has no magics,” He added with a giggle.

“I have magic!” He snapped suddenly.

“I hurt them without even trying…” He giggled again.

“I could kill them even easier,” He sobbed.

“No that’s too quick!” he shouted with a stomp of his hoof.

The mares all looked at each other with confusion, more than a little unnerved at Dark Star’s mental breakdown. Only Princess Celestia kept her eyes solidly locked on Dark Star and after several long moments of his mad conversation did she begin to take several tentative steps towards him. Holding up and wing and giving her sister and student a shake of her head to keep them from interfering. “Star Knight?”

“That’s not my name,” he giggled in a sing-song voice.

“Dark Star then,” She relented, and he did not respond, his face shifting from sorrowful to angry, but still with no verbal objection her continued. “Listen, Dark Star; we can help you if you let us. Everything will be all right if you just let us help you.”

“Sister,” Princess Luna whispered shaking her head in warning, which Twilight Sparkle mimicked with a whisper of, “Princess.”

“She’s the one I loved!” Dark Star snarled as if just remembering what the sun princess had meant to him.

“No I hate her,” He whined as he shook his head.

“I’m scared of her,” He added with a giggle.

“I know you felt that way Dark Star,” Princess Celestia said softly, not giving any indication which statement she was referring to. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you back then but I can now, I promise. If you come back to the castle with us, I promise I can help you. Please Dark Star, trust me.”

Princess Celestia stopped in hoof’s reach of the black stallion whose head was hung down and turned away from her. She reached her hoof out to him praying that her words had reached some stable part of his mind, some part the blackness had not yet reached and torn asunder. However, instead of reaching out for her hoof he simply turned to face her a manic grin spread across his face and tear pouring from rage filled eyes.

His horned flared to life with black magical energy and the dark aura spread across the room like a wave seizing the ponies in its grasp. They struggled against its grasp trying to free themselves, but it was useless as the energy squeezed them in a vice-like grip. Twilight Sparkle tried to summon up her magic to teleport away but when she did the aura around her crushed the air from her lungs snapping her concentration definitively.

“You think you’ve won?” Dark Star asked solemnly in his sorrowful tone.

“I don’t need Nightmare Moon!” He cried out hovering into the air

“I’ll bring pain and suffering the likes of which you’ve never seen,” He giggled mad, wide eyes staring up at the black hole in the night sky.

“You will rue the day you stood in my way!” He raged

“Hehe, ponies will curse Luna’s name for abandoning them to such a fate.” He laughed.

“You will go down in history for condemning pony-kind to damnation.” He sobbed and soared into the dark sky.

A mixture of primal neighing, hysterical laughter, and pitiful sobs heralded the evil pony’s departure into the black night sky. As the last sounds of the mad pony faded the energy holding the mare vanished and they dropped to the floor.

---

The thick silence of the Everfree forest was broken as Dark Star’s dark form crashed towards the ground. Branches were severed with loud cracks until his body slammed into the ground like a dead thing. The sound of his land was already more than enough to send every thinking animal fleeing from the area.

Most would not have been able to rise from such a fall, broken and shattered bones keeping the pony from moving, but Dark Star let loose a cry of anger and stood unhurt.

The yell turned to a sob and then a laugh as Dark Star staggered to a tree and slammed the side of his head against it shouting. “Shut up!” He beat his head furiously against the tree every time a laugh or sob escaped his lips as black tendrils of dark arcane energy writhed out from his form lashing out at anything nearby.

Their touch turned green life brown and shriveled, and soon they all turned on tree Dark Star beat his head against, slithering around it. Its leaves dried and shriveled falling from the tree like in a cascade with each slam of his head. Soon the trunk became flanked and shrunken, and with a particularly strong slam of Dark Star’s head against it, it splinted and fell with a thunderous roar of protest.

Dark Star gave a start of surprise as the tree was felled and grew silent, though his face still cycled through random hysterical emotions. He eyed the tendrils of black energy with a knowing eye as they reached for more life, stretching their length to reach out of the circle of death around him.

Dark Star took a deep breath the bruised and cut side of his head rapidly healing as he spoke fighting the urge to snarl at himself and give into anger. “Calm down, control yourself, you have to stay in control.”

“But they all abandoned me,” He answered with a laugh he forced down with a bit of his tongue.

“I know.”

“What am I going to do now,” He started to sob but shook it away.

“I don’t know.”

“I need to serve somebody,” He snarled a deep breath pushed back the anger.

“But who?” He asked with a single chuckle.

“There has to be someone,” He answered with a little sniffle.

“I just need to find them,” He gave only the slightest him of a growl.

With a last calming breath the tendrils of black energy disappeared retreating into his body. It was a simple matter to secure his magic once it was under control. The raging conflicting emotions were pushed to the back of his mind, not quiet but not in control either.

“First I need to make sure the princess and those Elements bearers can’t find me,” Dark Star noted as he began walking from the circle of death he had been standing in. He walked not deeper into the forest but instead circled back towards civilization, towards the ponies, that would be the last place they would look for him. Once day broke he would sleep, then he would find a new master.

---

In the weeks that followed, life in Ponyville returned to normal. The injured citizens recovered and went back to their lives with an ease and grace that only ponies who suffer disaster on bi-weekly biases could. Walking the streets of Ponyville, as Twilight Sparkle did now, one would not expect that it had been gripped in terror at all.

The purple mare quickly trotted out of town to Sweet Apple Acers where she had planned on meeting her friends for a picnic. After two weeks of worrying and searching for the false unicorn pegasus Dark Star, they were all eager to have a bit of fun and relax for a while.

“Hey Twilight, catch,” A voice giggled from above. The unicorn mare looked up just in time to have whatever was thrown to her land on her face obscuring her vision. Her horn glowed with a magical aura, and she lifted the thing off her face discovering, somewhat unsurprised, that it was Applejack’s hat

The thief landed behind her and giggled, “Good catch!”

It was Rainbow Dash of course, but the studious mare’s response was interrupted by the owner of the Stetson who came charging over a nearby hill shouting. “Why you lousy no good hat stealing varmint.”

The blue mare just laughed, “Ya Twilight, why’d you steal Applejack’s hat?”

“Don’t y'all go blamin’ other ponies,” the orange mare said snatching up her hat and putting it back on her head. Then she started around her purple friend after Rainbow Dash, who evaded capture by running around the other side of their friend. This caused the blond-maned mare to glare more fiercely at her friend, “Yer only makin’ more trouble fer yerself.”

“Ha, there ain’t no trouble I can get into that I can’t get out of.” Rainbow Dash laughed then leaped into the air ready to fly off and prove her point when suddenly in mid flap her wing cramped up and seized causing her to crash unceremoniously to the ground clutching the wing. “Ow, ow, ow!”

“Serves ya right,” Applejack said stubbornly, sticking her nose in the air and ignoring the pegasus’ moans of pain, for a few moments at least. It was not long before the cowpony signed, giving the pegasus a worried look, walking over to her friend she sat herself down next to the blue pegasus’ injured side and gently began massaging around the injured joint. “Ah honestly shouldn’t give y’all a lick of sympathy after what y’all did. Ah, thought y'all had recovered? That’s what y’all get fer not following Doctor’s orders, flyin’ ‘round like the feather brain y'all are. There, that better?”

The pain seemed to melt away the instant Applejack’s hooves touched her wing, but Rainbow Dash said nothing until the apple farmer was finished. “Oh ya much better,” She answered with a content smile.

Twilight Sparkle watched with muted fascination until Applejack remembered she was there and turned to give her a nod to sit down. “Y'all might as well settle down here Twilight, it’s as good a place as any fer our picnic and the longer we keep Dash off her wing, the better.” She turned back to the blue Pegasus and fixed her with another glare, “Honestly, ah thought y'all had recovered just fine and dandy last week.”

Rainbow Dash hid a smirk and said nothing while Twilight Sparkle began unpacking her saddle bags and setting up the picnic stuff. The rainbow maned mare had been staying at Sweet Apple Acers for the last several weeks while she recovered. She had intended to start rebuilding her house once her wing had healed, but had only succeeded in moving her undamaged belongings from her old home into her room at the farm. For some reason rebuilding her home was not as important as repaying the Apple family’s generosity by helping out on the farm, and messing around with Applejack now and then.

The fear that the farm would collapse without Applejack or Big Macintosh to work it, or from Pinkie Pie’s help, was quickly abated by the orange mare’s recovery. Big Macintosh had recovered quickly as well, thanks to his abilities, and was already back to top form.

“Hey, everypony!” A cheerful voice called out as Pinkie Pie, and Big Macintosh came out from a grove of trees. The large red stallion gave a startled jump, and the look of a colt caught with his hoof in the apple barrel spread over him even though his red coat hid his blush. Pinkie Pie was about to bounce over to join her friends when she remembered her coltfriend. With a giddy hop, she planted a kiss on the large stallion’s cheek, “I’ll see you tomorrow, ‘kay Mackie.”

This time the rest of the ponies could see his coat around his cheeks darken noticeably as his eyes darted from Pinkie Pie to the girls and back quickly. “E…yup,” he gave Pinkie Pie a nod then quickly hurried back into the grove out of sight.

Pinkie Pie giggled happily as she watched him go, then bounced over to the others. “Twilight you're finally here, I wanted to get the party started as soon as possible, but when I got here, there was no pony around, except Mackie. That was alright though ‘cause he was happy to keep me company.” Pinkie Pie explained as she sat down on the blanket and began pulling seemingly impossibly big and miraculously unmarred cakes from her saddle bags.

“So that’s where Big Macintosh disappeared to this afternoon,” A suspicious look spread across Applejack’s face as she eyed her pink friend. “What were y'all doin’ all this time exactly.” The orange mare asked before she reminded herself that she might not want some of the details her giddy friend would part with without a thought. Still, she could not help but be somewhat protective of her brother now that she knew he was dating somepony, even if that somepony was a close friend of hers. She stopped massaging Rainbow Dash’s wing and settled down next to the blue pegasus.

Pinkie Pie tilted her head at the question, then looked up and tapped her chin several times as if the answer was a deeper or long past problem. After a moment she simply shrugged, “We were talking,” Pinkie Pie answered with a definitive nod.

Rainbow Dash laughed out loud at this, “I never knew Big Mac to be much of a talker. Are you sure you guys weren’t doing something else with your mouths?” The rainbow maned pegasus suggested as she draped a wing over Applejack’s back.

Applejack gave a little start as the wing fell over her, pausing her inquisition of Pinkie Pie she turned to look at the wing than at its owner. “Ahh Dash?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at the confused blond mare next to her, then followed her gaze to her outstretched wing. “Oh sorry it’s just a little sore when I fold it up, does it bother you?”

Applejack shook her head, “Naw it’s fine. So what about this ‘talkin’’ y'all and mah brother been doin’ all this time?” Applejack continued to question Pinkie Pie, but the pink mare just erupted in a fit of giggles, and occasional snorts, as she rolled on the blanket and clutched at her sides. Applejack’s confusion was quickly replaced by annoyance and the fuming mare eventually shouted, “What in tarnation is so gosh darn funny?”

Twilight Sparkle remained a silent spectator watching, what she was thinking of more and more of as a family squabble unfold. She began to think that maybe she should say something to calm down her friends when another voice rang out over the air interrupting her.

“Hello dears, sorry I’m late.” The elegant voice of Rarity called out, and the ponies turned to see her and a package laden Spike approaching.

“It’s alright Rarity, Fluttershy’s not here yet either.” Twilight Sparkle said eyeing the heavy load of packages her assistant was carrying. “Where did you two get off to? I sent Spike to get you over an hour ago.”

“Oh yes darling, I am so sorry about that, I just needed to do a bit of shopping and dear Spikey-Wikey was such a gentledrake and offered to come and help carry my bags.” Rarity said happily as she sat down on the blanket and Spike managed to waddle to the edge of it as well before collapsing under the weight of the parcels giving a weak, “I’m okay…”

“Ahh here Spike,” Rarity’s horn lit up, and she hovered the drake and a couple of packages over to her. Opening up one of the boxes, she removed a soft cushion from it and settled it down between her and Twilight Sparkle, placing Spike on top of it. “There you must be exhausted after all that hard work, so take a rest darling, here I brought these for you.” Rarity said opening the second package revealing it to be an assortment of gems.

Spike’s eyes got wide, and a little watery as his claw hovered over the package of gems, “For me,” He questioned in disbelief.

“Think nothing of it Spikey-Wikey.” Rarity said with a smile, then turned back to her friend, “Now what were we talking about?”

“Pinkie Pie was about to tell us what she and Big Mac were doing all afternoon, all alone together.” Rainbow Dash said suggestively hoping to steer the pink mare back a more coherent and detailed explanation.

Rarity’s eyes shot wide with shock, and she snatched up the first thing her magic could grasp, which happened to be the pillow Spike was lounging on and shot it across the picnic blanket at the pink mare covering her mouth with it. Spike was flung off the pillow just as he was reaching for a gem, he grabbed at the package in a feeble attempt to steady himself but only succeeded in pulling the box over and spilling its contents all over himself as he landed on his stomach.

“A lady does not talk about such things!” Rarity practically shrieked glaring at both her pink and blue friends.

Between Pinkie Pie’s and Rarity’s outburst everypony quickly decided that perhaps this was not the safest topic for discussion. Certainly, Applejack, who’s head was beginning to conjure rather unpleasant imagery at all the suggestive commentary about her brother and pink friend, decided she needed to change the topic. “Umm sure is a nice night for the Princess’ show.”

Everypony nodded at that, thankful for the change in topic. Rarity pulled the pillow away from the slowly suffocating Pinkie Pie’s face and realizing what she had done to her sweet drake quickly set about cleaning him and gems up, quickly getting them back in the box and him settled back on the pillow, which Spike clung to nervously with one claw.

They had gathered to watch a shower of falling stars that Princess Luna had orchestrated following the recent events and to announce her return to duties after her absents.

“Dashie did a great job clearing the sky. It was so cool watching her zooming around, doing loop t’ loops, backflips and all kinds of neat tricks!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly standing up and staggering around the picnic blanket in an almost mock re-enactment of the show.

Rainbow Dash sat up proudly basking in the praise until a voice next to her spoke up. “Ah thought y'all were takin’ it easy Dash.”

It was Rainbow Dash’s turn to look like a filly with her hoof caught in the apple barrel, and she quickly put on an air of innocents. “Well, I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the princess’ ‘I’m back’ show.” Then she quickly added under her breath, “Besides it was just a few tricks. No big deal.”

Applejack continued to glare at Rainbow Dash, but before the orange mare could chastise the rainbow maned mare Twilight Sparkle decided to lend her blue friend a distracting hoof. “Actually, when Princess Celestia sent me the letter telling me about what Princess Luna had planned she said it was really more of a thank you for all our help dealing with Dark Star.”

The group fell silent at the name, and a heavy air fell over the gathering, even Spike stopped crunching down his gem treats and clutched the edge box looking over to Rarity. Applejack felt Rainbow Dash’s wing tighten around her; she could imagine the phantom pain the memory must be causing her.

“Humph, I take it they still don’t know what became of that brute.” Rarity broke the silence sticking her nose up in the air as she spoke of the evil pony.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, “No I’m afraid not. With his skills and magic the Princess said that if Dark Star doesn’t want to be found, he most likely won’t be.”

“Let him run and hide like a coward,” Rainbow Dash snorted angrily, crossing her forelegs. “If he comes back will just kick his flank like last time.”

Nobody corrected Rainbow Dash’s assertions, but then none of them wanted to admit that Dark Star had beaten them at every turn either. It was only Princess Luna”s ability to force back the darkness and Dark Star’s madness that had allowed them to emerge victorious in the conflict.

Silence hung heavy in the air for a few moments then was broken once more by Applejack. “Ah don’t get it Twilight, how come the Elements didn’t stop him fer good. How come he only lost his magic an’ why’d he get it back when his spell failed t’ turn Princess Luna inta Nightmare Moon?”

All eyes turned to Twilight Sparkle then, the same question reflecting in all her friends’ eyes, pleading to be answered. The purple mare folded and unfolded her legs uncertainly as she turned the question over in her mind, a question she had struggled to answer herself.

“What do you suppose would happen if we used the Elements of Harmony on Spike, would it change him?” She asked, a little embarrassed that she had started her explanation with such a silly rhetorical question.

“Hey what are you sayin’ Twilight, I’m not a bad dragon!” Spike protested the question with a glare at his unicorn friend.

“Nothing!” Pinkie Pie jumped in with an answer before Twilight could assure Spike she did not mean anything by the question. “Spike’s a good dragon so the Elements wouldn’t do anything to him.”

Both Twilight Sparkle and Spike looked relieved by Pinkie Pie’s answer, and the purple mare pushed on with her explanation. “But why is Spike a good dragon?” She asked earning her another glare from her assistant.

However, Spike suddenly found himself seized by a blue magic aura and spirited over to Rarity who wrapped one hoof around him in a hug and stroked the top of his head with the other. “Spike is a good dragon because he is brave, generous, loyal, kind, and honest and a joy to be around.” The white mare punctuated her point with a kiss to the top of the dragon’s head which caused him to practically melt in the mare’s hooves.

“Unn, you two want a room?” Rainbow Dash asked awkwardly, earning her an icy glare from Rarity.

“So they wouldn’t work on ‘im cus he has the same qualities as the elements.” Applejack concluded, ignoring the cold shiver coming from her friend.

“Exactly.”

“But that jerk Dark Star doesn’t have any of that stuff.” Rainbow Dash interjected looking away from Rarity.

“Doesn’t he?” Twilight Sparkle countered, “He may have tricked us at first, but Dark Star was also very up front about his motives and intentions. He fought Big Macintosh he wanted to have fun and ‘cut loose’ as he put it. He also showed kindness and generosity letting us clear the battlefield for their fight. And remember that his reason for doing all this was out of a sense of loyalty to Nightmare Moon.” She let out a downcast sigh, “All the elements are there, twisted by the evil magic Nightmare Moon used to transform him into Dark Star. So when the Elements of Harmony were cast against him, they could only banish that evil power from him, but because Star Knight became Dark Star of his own accord he remained the same.

“As for how he got this those powers back, well the spell he used summoned up a great deal of dark power which tried to coax Princess Luna into becoming Nightmare Moon again. When she rejected it that power tried to find another host to inhabit.” Twilight Sparkle paused looking from Rarity to Pinkie Pie who both gave a small shiver at the memory of being caught in the darkness. “We all rejected it, but Dark Star was a perfect vessel for it, and it infused him with dark magic again… powerful dark magic.”

“Great so we’re back to square one,” Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes in frustration.

“‘cept we ain’t got no clue as t’ what he’ll be up to this time,” Applejack corrected, “‘cept that he’s up ta somethin’ awful.”

“Well…”

“Applejack!”

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Twilight Sparkle was interrupted as the Cutie Mark Crusaders came bounding up to the group. Their voices crying out in panic, their faces streaked with tears and their eyes filled with terror.

The others quickly jumped to their hooves and ran to meet the fillies, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash leading the herd. The Cutie Mark Crusaders leaped into their sisters, surrogate in Scootaloo’s case, hooves as soon as they were close enough.

“Y'all gotta help!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“It’s Dark Star!” Sweetie Bell buried her head into Rarity’s chest.

“And Fluttershy, ya gotta stop him!” Scootaloo said trying to drag Rainbow Dash back the way they came.

“Dark Star kidnapped Fluttershy,” Twilight Sparkle gasped.

“No, Fluttershy followed him into the Everfree Forest!”