My Little Pony: Lights and Shadows - Part II

by OmegaTale

Chapter 9

“I don’t understand…” Twilight said, her head lowered. “What happened?”

The throne room was uncomfortably quiet. Following the collapse of the summit, she and her friends were brought to Canterlot along with Cadence and Shining Armor. The delegates brought to the summit were staying in the castle under Celestia’s orders, until a certain decision would be made.

“Everything was going so well,” Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. “It looked like everyone was finally listening to each other.”

Cadence slowly shook her head, confused. “Why would the dragons and griffons attack one another? And what happened to Discord?”

The mention of the draconequus made Fluttershy cringe; he had run away the moment he was able, leaving the cause of his agony during the fighting a mystery.

“You don’t think he caused the fighting, do you?” Shining Armor asked.

Celestia, who had been sitting silently as they all discussed the situation, finally spoke. “No, it was not Discord.” Everypony turned to her, although the princess’ gaze remained lowered.

“Sister,” Luna reached out to Celestia. “When you were alone, what did you see?”

King Sombra’s threat tore at Celestia’s heart. His magic had grown stronger, and if he were to return during a war between the nations, he could very well reclaim his throne. Equestria did not have the strength to both face his magic and stop a war between Fireglow and Griffonstone. Their attentions would need to be split, and she herself only had power over one outcome.

“Something was there and tricked the nations into attacking one another, of that I am certain. That, I shall handle on my own.” Celestia said, looking to the Princess of Friendship. “Twilight, do you believe that you and your friends can find a way to end this war before it begins?”

Twilight felt the subtle urgency in her mentor’s voice. She knew she had to try, for the sake of Equestria and the lands beyond it. “Yes, I believe we can. With my friends by my side, we can overcome anything.”

Celestia nodded, managing a small smile that lasted but a few moments. “Good.”

Luna looked at her sister, seeing past the strong veil that her subjects could not. Something had to be terribly wrong for her elder sister to have the look of pure defeat hidden within her eyes. It was a look she knew very well, one she had felt long ago.

Shining Armor was first to bring up the next topic. “What do we tell the citizens of Equestria? If they were to know about a war to the east, there would be a great panic.”

“But we can’t just lie to ‘em,” Applejack pointed out. “If that there conflict spreads to our coast, there would be an even bigger panic.”

“We need to figure out what to tell the delegates,” Shining Armor said, turning to the princesses. “They won’t like it, but if you command them to keep the war a secret, I’m sure they will listen to you.”

“But Applejack is right!” Rainbow pitched in. “All of Equestria needs to be ready if we do get pulled into this war!”

“There won’t be a war!” Twilight said sharply, silencing the other ponies. “I will organize peace missions to Griffonstone and Fireglow, we will find a way to stop them from fighting.”

“Twily,” Shining continued. “We know you’ll try your best, but we need to have a plan in case the fighting can’t be avoided.”

“So….” Fluttershy said quietly. “How do we decide?”

The uncomfortable silence returned, no pony wanting to answer the question without having the solution in mind. Shadow remained quiet and still, having offered nothing for their talk. His worry over the recurring memories had been overshadowed by this monstrous threat that now had everypony on edge. He had no advice to give on the subject, and so he stood in silence long past the others.

“I need to go see somepony,” Twilight said, not able to think of an answer to the question. Before Starfall had a chance to react, she looked to him and shook her head. “I need to go alone.”

“Very well,” Celestia replied. “You should all go get some air, I shall call for you when Twilight returns.”

Everypony else walked out from the room, most of them in pairs while Celestia and Luna sat alone in the empty chamber. Luna had not looked away from her since, telling her sister, without speaking, that she needed to know.

“I love you Luna,” Celestia said without looking to her, which made the dark blue alicorn worry. “That is why you and you alone must know the truth.”

“Celestia…” Luna began to say.

“I need to know that this conversation will stay between us,” Celestia continued, finally looking at her sister. “From one sister to another.”

Luna had never seen her sister act this way, and it only deepened her fear. “Of course, sister, now what is it? What happened?”

Celestia looked upon her sister; she had grown to be such a strong alicorn. Her trials and hardships helped shape her into the mare she was, no longer tethered down by the mistakes of her past. Looking upon her, Celestia felt only love and pride.

“Celestia?” Luna asked, unable to read her sister’s gaze.

Raising her chin, Celestia said, “When I am gone, the responsibility of ruling Equestria shall fall to you, my sister.”

---

Starfall had been walking with Rainbow and Rarity, but separated from them to spend some time on his own. The thought of visiting a few friends came to mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t focus on anything else except the situation.

Not knowing what to do, the pegasus found himself walking around the castle grounds as he remained deep in thought. Twilight wanted to go on peace missions to the warring cities, but doing so would put her at great risk; her need for a guardian was going to be greater than ever. No doubt he would get help from the princess’ friends, but this had already begun spinning too out of control.

A war? What could be more challenging to stop? The griffons were too prideful, and this new king was only building up that ego beyond the clouds. The dragons on the over hoof loved to brawl, most of them likely looking forward to the chance at fighting the griffons.

So much in so little time, how did Twilight keep up with all of this? She and her friends constantly fought back these threats, and always managed to hold fast alongside one another, at least in the end. Words could not describe how Starfall felt to be the one chosen to guard them. Such a thing was the greatest honor he could imagine, and no matter the opposition, he would never wish anything otherwise.

All of this thinking got away from him, and he ended up near the courtyard entrance to the Canterlot Archives. Honing in on the structure, Starfall trotted towards it. If he was going to stand by Princess Twilight, he was going to do everything in his power to help her. Although he was never any good at researching, he knew that he had to give it a try.

Entering the doorway, books and scrolls filled every inch of his vision. A maze-like complex of shelves, all curved and spiraling around to the open area in the center. Histories, spells, potions, documentaries, blueprints…just about everything there could be in Equestria.

Having almost forgotten how massive the Archives were, Starfall quickly realized he was in way over his head. He wasn’t a mental giant, he knew that, but he was determined to find at least one piece of information to help Twilight in some way.

Walking in towards the center, he stopped, seeing a pegasus sitting at the table with a large stack of books beside them. Her cerulean mane and black fur with silver rings around the wings put a smile on Starfall’s face. Her eyes moved back and forth, reading the text from the book carefully.

His smile turned into a smirk and he backtracked around several other aisles, coming up behind her. She continued to read without a hint of knowledge to his presence, which was almost enough to make Starfall chuckle. Now only within a few feet, he took in a quiet breath to deepen his voice.

“This area is off-limits to civilians, miss.” He said sharply.

She was startled, but only jumped a bit, not turning around. She took in a steady breath before saying, “I already told you, Thunder Hoof, I have permission to be in here.”

Oh this was going to be too rich.

“And who, exactly, gave you permission?” Starfall asked, almost giving away the surprise as his voice nearly faltered from smiling.

With an annoyed sigh, the mare turned. “Captain Star…*gasp* Starfall!” In one motion, she stood and spun around, giving him a hug.

Starfall chuckled to himself. “Don’t tell me you’ve been here ever since I let you in, Moon Frost?”

Moon blushed a bit, shaking her head. “N-no, I’m on vacation. I was going to head to Ponyville next to visit you and Princess Twilight.”

The pegasi both sat at the table, wanting to catch up with all that’s happened with their friend. Moon started.

“How’s the job going? Has everything been alright since Shadow moved to Ponyville?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Starfall grimaced. “Well, Twilight is safe, that’s what matter most.” Moon nodded as he continued. “But things haven’t been going so well recently.”

Moon tilted her head. “Did the summit not go well?”

“Wait, how did you know about the summit?” he asked her in return.

“I’m a detective, remember?” she replied confidently. “I make it my business to know important things like that.”

Starfall wasn’t surprised when he remembered that; Moon Frost deduced where Shadow had been hiding in Manehattan in a matter of seconds, surely she had enough time to figure out about a gathering of the nations’ leaders.

He shook his head. “It ended in catastrophe.” He said, knowing Moon enough to know she wouldn’t go around telling everypony.

She looked down. “I see…I can only imagine what that means is happening in the east.”

The royal guard chuckled again, shaking his head. “You know, I’d be willing to bet Princess Celestia would want to hire your services….you are really good at this.”

Blushing again, Moon swished her mane aside with her hoof. “….thank you.”

“So how about you?” Starfall asked. “How have things been in Manehattan since last time?”

“Oh, well, all just about the same.” She answered, letting out a sigh. “Been missing that excitement from before, maybe I should travel around with you and the princess more often.”

Starfall scoffed. “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

The two became quiet afterwards, the both of them tapping their hooves as they tried figuring out what to say next.

“Soooo….you looking for a book?” Moon asked him.

Remembering why he had come in here, Starfall reluctantly nodded. “I wanted to find something that could help Twilight figure out how to calm the nations, but I doubt there’s a ‘How to Stop Two Nations from Going to War 101’.”

Despite the sour topic of the book mentioned, Moon managed a small laugh. “I wouldn’t know anything about that, but if you’re looking for something to try and appeal to their natures and make them listen, I’m sure we can find it.”

Starfall stood stepped aside. “After you then, detective.”

With a nervous chuckle, Moon walked past him, the two entering the aisles of books.

---

It proved more difficult to find her friend than Twilight had anticipated; she wasn’t at her house, Twilight’s old study, or the library. Fortunately, she remembered one other place that the unicorn could be.

Donut Joe’s was just as busy as it always was. He hadn’t changed much since the last time Twilight visited, and had that same welcoming feeling that was rare in Canterlot. Immediately upon walking in, Twilight was overjoyed to see Moon Dancer sitting at a table reading a book while eating a donut.

“Moon Dancer!” she said happily, trotting over to her.

Moon Dancer’s face lit up with a big smile. “Twilight!” The unicorn stood up from the booth and the two hugged. “Oh it’s so good to see you again!”

“May I join you?” Twilight asked.

“Of course! Here, let me move my books over.” She replied, using her magic to scoot her pile of books over while closing the one she had just been reading. The two of them sat down, Moon Dancer looked beyond excited to see Twilight. “Are you visiting long? Minuette and I are meeting up with Lyra and Bon Bon today when they arrive on the train.”

Twilight smiled and chuckled, shaking her head. “Afraid not.” A moment of seriousness was all it took to calm her. “My friends and I are having a difficult time with something important. You were the first pony I thought of who could help me decide what to do.”

“Oh?” Moon Dancer said, pushing her glasses back up with her magic. “I’ll be glad to help in any way I can, so what’s the matter?”

Since it was such a delicate subject, Twilight knew she had to go about it cautiously. “How do you decide whether or not to tell a group of ponies about something important when knowing would cause a panic, but not knowing would undermine security on the matter?”

The question puzzled Moon Dancer, and she rubbed her chin. “I suppose that comes down to circumstance; how important is this information? Could not knowing it end up with somepony getting hurt?”

Twilight could already tell where this conversation would end up. “It is possible, yes. But the panic would undoubtedly have similar results.”

Moon Dancer thought hard once again, cupping her hooves on the table. “Hmmm, that really is a difficult one to decide.”

This was a risky move, but Twilight had no other alternative with explaining it without giving it all away. “If I tell you, and you can honestly tell me it would be better to keep it a secret, would you keep that secret between us?”

“Yes.” Moon Dancer answered without hesitation. “I swear I won’t speak a word of it to anypony.”

Twilight nodded, taking in a deep breath. “The Griffon Kingdom and the Dragon Lands are preparing for war against one another.”

The unicorn reacted just as Twilight thought. Taken aback by this news, Moon Dancer covered her mouth to stop a loud gasp. “Another Eastern War!?” she said in a hushed tone. “Who started it!?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Twilight replied. “But I have a theory that neither of the nations started it and that a third party is responsible.”

Moon Dancer, like Twilight, had read all about the previous war between the griffons and the dragons, knowing full well the effects it had on Equestria. “Twilight…” she said, not seeing any moral way out of it.

Twilight could tell. “We can’t keep this from the public, can we?”

“They should know the truth.” Moon Dancer continued. “But…you’re friends with the new Dragon Lord…you’ll stop it, right?”

The purple alicorn nodded. “Yes, yes I will.”

---

Pinkie and Fluttershy hadn’t spoken since the apology. They weren’t spiting or ignoring one another, but because of what had happened, they felt ill at ease with themselves.

Pinkie kept hearing her friend’s harsh claims wherever she went. Usually, when other ponies said anything mean to her, she could just shrug it off and try her best to make that pony smile…but now, now everything was different. Was she really so ignorant to the feelings of others? Did her antics make matters worse for ponies in pain? Was she really laughing and smiling at others without seeing that it hurt them? All of these questions kept the pink mare silent and slow, something everypony would catch onto very quickly.

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, couldn’t believe how mean she had been to Pinkie. That outburst was worse than the time Iron Will made her more assertive, and it felt like her soul had shied away from herself in fear. Why did she act that way? Was her aggressiveness returning like some kind of bad dream? How come, in those few moments, protecting Shadow with harsh words felt like the only option? The shy pegasus had never felt more shameful in her entire life.

Applejack and Spike both looked at one another, and then back to their two crestfallen friends. “Y’all alright?” the orange mare asked. Pinkie and Fluttershy looked to her, but then lowered their heads again. “Yeah….ah get it….”

The earth pony couldn’t deny that she too felt out of sorts. Every passing day has been spent thinking about her lie to Apple Bloom. The feeling loomed overhead, sapping her spirit. So many times she wondered if it would have been better to have just told her little sister the truth.

Seeing his friends so down made Spike sad. He knew that the failure of the summit had been weighing down on them, but he couldn’t help but think this was all stemming from something else. Were Rarity and Rainbow like this too? And what about Twilight? All of this worrying was going to make him sick unless he did something about it.

“Hey, you girls wanna get a donut?” Spike asked.

A few muffled sounds and shaking of heads gave him a cold answer.

Spike crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Darn, that one usually works….um, how about some ice cream! My treat!”

Applejack sighed. “That’s mighty kind of ya Spike, but no thanks.”

The little dragon looked over at the other two. “Fluttershy? Pinkie? Ice cream?”

“I’m fine, thanks though.” Pinkie said, sounding diminished. Fluttershy just shook her head without looking Spike’s way, her sad expression not changing for a second.

Shadow came galloping around the bend behind them. “Celestia just called us back to the throne room!”

---

“Are you sure Twilight?” Princess Cadence asked, looking uneasy. “Maybe Shining Armor is right, perhaps it’s better if this-”

“No…” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “The ponies of Equestria need to know and be ready in case….” She stopped for a brief second, remembering to keep her hopes high. “In case the war begins and spills over into our land like it did the last time.”

“We’ll stop it,” Starfall said to her, making the princess turn to her guard. “We will.”

“Yeah, all of us will.” Rainbow added in. “Right everypony?”

Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all managed smiles in return, nodding as they pushed past their turbulences to support Twilight. Their actions may have left them shaken, but not broken. Starlight and Spike both nodded as well, with confident expressions.

Celestia was made happy by the strength in Twilight’s friends, but her happiness dwindled as she was reminded of her own situation. “Very well,” she spoke, gaining the attentions of everypony. “We will speak with the delegates and explain how they are to handle the reaction of the public; it will be difficult, but we must make it known to our subjects that hope is still very much alive.” It was sad for her to listen to the words she spoke.

Luna looked at her sister with a growing pain. It was taking every ounce of her willpower to stop her from telling Twilight and her friends about what was to happen. She remained silent, unable to keep her eyes off of Celestia.

“All of us together should-” Celestia began to say.

The throne room door shot open and a royal guard galloped as fast as he could to reach everypony. “Princess Twilight! Urgent letter for you from Ponyville!”

Twilight turned with a look of uncertainty on her face, accepting the letter from the unicorn guard and opening it. As she read, her eyes grew wide, her mouth voicelessly wording what was on the letter.

Dropping it with a gasp, she turned to her friends, specifically, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have gone missing!”

Simultaneously, the three ponies were joined by Shadow, saying, “WHAT!?”

Twilight turned to Celestia, her look telling the elder princess everything she wanted to say. Celestia nodded, “Go. Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor and I shall see to the delegates.”

“To the station, quickly everypony!” Rarity shouted, she, AJ and Rainbow the first to gallop out from the room, followed by everypony else.

---

Twilight and her friends had left immediately for Ponyville, joined by a detective from Manehattan by the name of Moon Frost. Celestia hoped for them to find the three little fillies, and then extinguish the flames of war that were rising in the east.

The delegates were briefed and commanded to keep hope alive as they told Equestria about the upcoming conflict. Soon after, Cadence and Shining Armor returned to the north, and Luna flew to her tower.

The night was dark, the moon’s light dimmed by a sky of gray clouds. The halls of the castle were silent, as they usually were. Guards posted around stood motionless and ever-watchful. This silence was all Celestia could feel.

Lying in her bed, her eyes remained open as she was unable to sleep. Luna would undoubtedly be watching her dreams that night, and so Celestia did not want her sister to see it. The fear of choosing to leave.

The choice was clear the moment Sombra spoke his offer. There was no other alternative, no way around this decision. If her being with Sombra stayed his wrath against Equestria, even for a time, she needed to take it. Twilight had enough on her plate, what with King Gale and Dragon Lord Ember at each other’s throats. Celestia had failed her friends too many times, so now she was going to set things right.

A strange feeling caught the princess’ attention, making her sit up in her bed. A quiet, subtle sound reached her ears; the silence of the castle had been disturbed….that never happened without a reason.

She stood from her bed and walked to the door, using her magic to open it and look down the hall. Again, the sound, lighter than a whisper, teased at her senses. With light hoof-steps, Celestia walked down the hall towards the noise.

Eyes peering over the railing of the stairwell, Celestia caught sight of something moving just out of sight. Spreading her wings, the princess dove down, sliding across the smooth floor, only to come upon a darkened hall. As she walked forward, she spotted the shadow of something moving at the very end, taking off after it again.

Now rounding another corner, Celestia caught a glimpse of the black dragon, only having a fraction of a second to see before it moved out of sight. With a new level of urgency, she pursued the intruder, being led down to the central castle hallway, the path to the ballroom. Hurrying to catch up before it reached the opening to the gardens, the princess landed down onto the floor, seeing the figure nearing the door.

“Arkane!” Celestia shouted, her voice echoing throughout the castle halls. The dragon stopped, his back still turned to the princess as the moon’s light cascaded down upon him. His golden mane of spikes shifted about slowly, the momentum of his stop making them flurry about a little. “Will you not speak to me?”

His gaze lifted up, and he replied, “The name’s Stormclaw now, princess.”

Celestia ever so slowly moved forward towards the black dragon. “What happened to you?” she asked him. “What have I done to turn you into this?”

Stormclaw turned around, his scarlet eyes locked onto the white alicorn. “You have done nothing. This is who I am.”

With a shake of her head, Celestia replied, “No, I won’t believe that.”

The dragon shrugged his shoulders. “Believe what you want; I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Then help me to,” she answered him. “Tell me why.”

Stormclaw remained still as she approached, his menacing eyes glowing through the veil of the night and light of the moon. “There is no why. All life does is make us suffer, and so all life must be extinguished, only then can we be free of this pain.”

Celestia stopped a yard or two away from him, wounded by his words. The two stood as opposite forces, the air between them still and void. “Oh dear Arkane….” She said sadly. “What has this world done to you….?”

“Given me vision.” He replied. “All of you ponies are the same; thinking your destinies are something that you choose. Destiny is unavoidable and absolute…and no one has power over it.”

There was no reasoning with him. Looking upon him now, Celestia realized that she was right.

“No matter what happens,” she spoke softly. “If I, or Luna, or even Princess Twilight stands in your way, it will make no difference. In the end, you and you alone will be the one to decide how your destiny ends.” Lifting her gaze for but a moment, Celestia nodded and looked back to him. “I still have faith in you, Arkane.”

Stormclaw stood unamused, his expression darkened further. Eyes narrowing and claws clenching, he took a step closer to Celestia, now only inches away from her. “In time, you shall understand. There is nothing left in me….no reason to exist but this.” Leaning his head past hers, he whispered. “There is no empathy, no compassion….and no mercy.” Pulling back, the dragon stood straight, staring the alicorn deep into her eyes. “I will destroy everything you have ever loved, and you shall watch it with sorrowful eyes before your end is met.” He tilted his head slightly. “Hope? Faith? They mean nothing in the face of oblivion.”

Celestia, although shaken, stood fast under the glare of the black dragon. “For some, it is all that they have.”

“What a pity,” he replied, beginning to step away from her. “Such waste of life.”

“Your destiny is not destruction,” she said to him with unwavering valor. “Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends have overcome great darkness before. Even should you prevail, they shall show you and your master what true magic is.”

Stormclaw billowed his deep laugh, turning to face the night. “Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Lord Tirek….they are nothing.” His head turned, one red eye fixed upon her. “Your precious princess has never faced anything like this before….and this time, she will fall.”

As the black dragon spread his wings, Celestia replied, “I hope you find happiness.”

Pausing momentarily, Stromclaw turned his head to her, seeing the sadness in her eyes. “Go be with your ponies, princess. Enjoy what time you have left.”

Like a shadow under torchlight, Stormclaw vanished into the night. Celestia walked to the opening, looking up into the sky. What dark times Equestria was soon to witness….but even within the deepest darkness, light always endures.

Author's Note:

More cryptic talk of destruction from the black dragon formerly known as Arkane. What does he have in store for the peaceful ponies of Equestria?
Finally the CMC's disappearance is noticed, but what can the Mane Six do to help find them?
What will become of all this? And how can our heroes fix it all?

I now have a YouTube channel dedicated to MLP reviews for anypony who wants to check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvoqQVCtIibOqzJyei6dPig

Stay awesome everypony!