The Black Sun

by Super Ponyman

Prologue: Black Sun Reborn

Author's Note:

Hello everyone, it's Super Ponyman, it's time again to dive headfirst into the world of Burning Star Saga!

If any of you remember from Sundered Universes, a one shot villain named Black Sun was introduced and promptly curb stomped by Burning Star, and left for dead...

Well, this is what happened to him.

(Disclaimer: This Chapter has gore and dark content, viewer discretion is advised.)

Also, Burning Star has a chat with the Princesses...

(Everfree Forest, Castle of the Two Sisters. Two Days Before Doom Star...)

To the ponies of Equestria, The Everfree Forest was full of abnormalities.

The weather changed on its own...

Plants grew as they pleased...

And primal, uncontrollable magic was everywhere...

Of course the reason why they considered this abnormal is because they had the ability to control the weather, influence plant growth, and bend magical forces to their whim.

The castle of the Two Sisters was a treacherous place, even if it wasn't located near the very heart of the Everfree, powerful magic irradiated the ruins.

Currently, a thunderstorm was dumping a torrential rainstorm upon the castle, it soaked everything to the bone...

Including a lone figure slogging through the woods.

The figure was a unicorn pony, and the body shape was that of a stallion. He wore a broken set of black and gray armor that sparked and sputtered with magic flecks every so often, thanks to the rain pouring down on him in sheets as thick as yak wool.

The figure spotted the ancient castle, and pushed open the door with his magic. He walked over to the old throne of Celestia and sat down, trying to somehow dry himself. No matter how many fire spells he cast to create a campfire, nothing would dry quickly, further angering the figure.

The pony removed his black and gray helmet, revealing an Ivory furred head with a Mane of blond hair, which was currently hanging around his face, absolutely drenched with water.

The pony lifted his mane off of his face, revealing the grumpy and bothered face of the Prince of Canterlot and Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood Morningstar.

The Prince thought to himself, "Curse this wretched rain, curse this wretched forest, and curse that wretched Burning Star! He should not be conversing with the powerful noble houses of Canterlot, while I sit more wet than a mare in a brothel."

Blueblood took his helm in his magic grasp and laid it down on the throne's peak before saying out loud, "If there was any justice in this world, I will arrive back in Canterlot and have the Royal Guard execute him for the crime of beating me senseless!"

The Prince stood up, saying in an unusually angry tone, "For Faust's sake, I am Prince Blueblood, nephew of Princess Celestia, descendant of Princess Platinum, the first leader of Canterlot..."

A hiss-like voice called out from the doorway, "And you're just the stallion I wanted to see..."

Blueblood looked to the doorway to see another pony standing at the end of the hall, he was obscured by the darkness...

The Prince called out to the shadowy figure, "Pardon me, but who are you?"

The pony took a few steps forward, a flash of lightning illuminating his form. He wore black robes with a hood that hid his face.

The Prince couldn't tell if it was a mare or a stallion, so he repeated his question, "I asked you something, you stalker. Who are you?"

The shadowy figure flashed a visible smirk, his white teeth glinted in the dim light. "Who I am doesn't matter, what I want does, Blueblood..."

Prince Blueblood snorted in frustration, "Excuse me?! I am a Prince, you creep! You will refer to me as-"

The shadowy figure suddenly roared, sending a large shiver of fear down Blueblood's back.

"YOU ARE NOT A PRINCE TO ME."

This shout caused Blueblood to quickly activate his suits magic casters and point them at the hidden pony.

Blueblood responded, fear in his voice, "S-Stay back, being of darkness, I have a powerful weapon with me."

The Shadowy figure let out an unholy wail similar to a writhing spirit, then lunged at the Prince, it's blazing blue eyes the only thing visible.

"GIVE ME THE WEAPON OR DIE!"

Blueblood squinted his eyes shut and screamed as the Shadow lunged at him, his wails echoing throughout the castle.

(Canterlot Castle, Burning Star's Room, Six weeks later...)

Canterlot Castle was quiet and peaceful, after all it was the middle of the night. It's ivory towers and purple parapets were being lit by the light of Luna's great moon.

While most ponies would be asleep, dreaming their dreams at this hour...

Burning Star, the Alicorn of Fire, was wide awake.

Burning Star had adapted to his new appearance change rather well, his mane no longer hung around his neck, but it now was similar to Celestia's Mane. Howver, instead of it being composed of rainbow light, it was made of red and orange flames that danced above his head and billowed as if it was being blown by some invisible wind.

It had been six weeks since the "Sundered Universes" event had concluded...

Six weeks since he defeated Doom Star forever...

Six weeks of rather unusual peace...

The Alicorn of Fire sat atop the roof of his quarters, staring out onto the Everfree Forest and letting his mind wander.

"Well, tomorrow is the big day. Shadow Armor's wedding, I hope this goes well and with little to no conflict. Last thing I need is somepony or something like Doom Star popping up again."

He closed his eyes and ignited his horn, calming himself in adavance. He was meeting with somepony extremely important tomorrow morning, and he couldn't afford to lose his temper.

Burning Star felt a gust of air from a silent flap of wings, and he wheeled around and drew his sword, the deadly blade known as Deicide.

The point of the sword stopped at the nose of an ivory colored Alicorn as well as a dark blue Alicorn, both of which were standing absolutely still.

Behind Burning Star stood The Alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna!

He said to them, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "Didn't anypony teach you two how to approach somepony without them noticing? Because if that was your attempt to sneak up on me, it wasn't great."

Luna responded to Burning Star's statement, "We doth not mean to approach you in without thou noticing, Alicorn of Fire."

Celestia added in, "Lulu, your speaking in archaic again..."

The Princess of the Night cleared her throat, "We, I mean, I am sorry sister. It is a bad habit I'm trying to break."

The Alicorn of Fire turned to face the sisters, he mockingly bowed before them and said, "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna... what have I done to earn the pleasure of an audience with thee?"

Neither sister responded, both of them raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Burning Star smiled, then let out a chuckle, "Hahaha! I'm just messing with you. But in all seriousness, why did you seek to meet me at this hour?"

Celestia responded to the Alicorn, her tone warm and friendly, "I came to speak with you personally. My sister has told me that you have some grievances with me concerning what happened to the village of Firebrand about 20 years or so ago."

The Fire pony's glare turned flinty, "I do have quite a few... what was it you said? Right... grievances, I do have a few grievances with you Celestia."

Princess Luna carefully watched Burning Star, watching for any movement to draw his sword and slash out in anger.

Burning Star however, relaxed his body and spoke, "But I took a long hard look at them and a lot of talking with somepony a lot like you, and I've realized that they aren't worth fighting over any longer."

He continued, stretching out his massive wings. "So, I'm guessing you are also here for the wedding of Shadow Armor and Fluer? I'm not gonna stop you from attending, but on one condition."

Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes, "What would that be?"

The Alicorn of Fire's tone turned serious. "That you two help with the security of the ceremony. After hearing about what happened at the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, I'm not going to take any risks with security, especially when it concerns my family and friends."

Princess Luna nodded her head, "I think that's fair, but what about us officiating the wedding?"

Burning Star smirked, "Sorry, sisters. I've already got that covered, Prince Eclipsio will be officiating, since he is unbiased."

Princess Celestia's eyes widened and she said with some annoyance in her voice, "Are you suggesting that I am biased, Burning Star?"

The Alicorn of Fire nodded, "No Celestia, I'm STATING that you are biased. You have always been strongly opposed to ponies as dark as Shadow Armor getting what they want."

Celestia uncharacteristically slammed her hoof down in anger, she said now truly annoyed, "Lord Burning Star. You know that I have been trying to accept beings like your "Shadow Armor" into Equestrian society... are you assuming that I will not allow this marriage? What made you speculate this?"

The Alicorn of Fire's gaze hardened till it was like steel, "Oh I don't know, your reaction to King Sombra becoming an Alicorn and the information that he is my father did upset you quite severely, did it not Luna?"

Princess Luna suddenly felt cornered, "I... may have observed that but I do not think my sister is biased."

It was evident that Celestia's incredible patience wearing thin when she said, "Well I'm sorry that I was a little hostile with you and your father when I found out about those little issues... but King Sombra had been one of our greatest enemies for over 1,000 years, Burning Star. Finding out that the pony that married my student was related to him did understandably shock me."

Burning Star snorted, himself getting a little angry now, "Well you didn't have to light my father ablaze with solar fire when he showed up to dinner one night."

Princess Luna began to see smoke coming from Burning Star's mane, and she said, trying to diffuse the situation. "Well that is in the past, we should focus on the wedding. Tomorrow is supposed to be a day of peace and happiness for a newly-wed couple, not a day of conflict and anger over problems that were already addressed."

The Princess of the Moon wrapped her wing around her sister and said, "Sister, I recommend we both rest for tomorrow's ceremony. If this wedding is going to be as important as Burning Star thinks it is, then we need to alert all of our forces to watch for intruders that seek to disrupt this holy matrimony."

Celestia sighed, knowing that her sister was right. "Yes Luna, we all must get some rest for tomorrow."

Burning Star snickered and began to fly off, but Luna said to him before he could fly away, "That includes you, Alicorn of Fire. Sleep deprivation isn't good for a warrior king."

Burning Star hung his head and said, "Yes mom, I'll go to bed. See ya tomorrow morning."

The Alicorn of Fire flew down to his balcony and went inside, then laid down and fell asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.

Another pony was up at this time, he was currently sitting in his chambers, his mind wandering.

The Alicorn of Eclipses, Prince Eclipsio was always an odd fellow to say the least. He was reclusive and aloof only appearing at extremely important political meetings and when he was absolutely needed. Truthfully, he found politics a downright bore, mainly because he was a master chessmaster... so doing something as easily as saying the right thing to the right pony was much too easy.

Although, when you had the ability to travel to various different dimensions and alternate realities at a whim, being called "odd" is a genuine compliment.

The Alicorn of Eclipses was currently talking with one of his best friends, Discord, over a cup of chocolate milk, which Eclipsio adored.

Eclipsio spoke to Discord, "So Discord... how is the relationship between you and Fluttershy coming along?"

The draconequess responded, slicking back the tuft of hair between his mismatched horns, "Oh it's going positively wonderous, Eclipsio. My dear Fluttershy was once again put in charge of animal care and handling for the wedding tomorrow, and she has allowed me to bring along some of the more "rowdy" animals from the Everfree."

The Prince raised an eyebrow, "What do you intend to bring that Lady Fluttershy would consider "rowdy", Discord?"

Discord pulled at the collar of his fur, which stretched out as if it were a shirt collar, "Uh, well let's just say I may or may not have invited the Ursa Major and Minor that attacked Ponyville all those years ago..."

The prince's eyes went wide, "That is considered, ahem... "rowdy", discord? We have both dealt with beings that rivaled the gods in power, so an Ursa Major and Minor would be a honestly calm experience for once."

He flapped over to Discord and put his hooves on his chest, "Besides, we both know Fluttershy is some sort of animal whisperer, and if she can handle you... then I think an Ursa Major and Minor will be a walk in the park for her... provided she doesn't faint on the spot when you tell her."

Discord smiled sheepishly, "Uh... well about that, Eclipsio..."

The prince's eyes narrowed, "You didn't bother to tell her about this?"

The draconequess pulled at his fur again, steam visibly emitting from it. "Heh-heh, well I didn't want to tell her..."

Eclipsio sighed and pinched the bridge of his snout, "Discord you realize that those beasts are roughly the size of this very castle, do you not?"

Discord's face was starting to turn red, "Yes but..."

Eclipsio continued, "You also realize that creatures of that size would cause quite a bit of alarm for the city, yes?"

Discord's face turned beet red, "I know but..."

The Prince finished by saying, "And you do realize that if something angers those beasts, this ceremony as well as this city is pretty screwed, right?"

Discord sighed, "Uh... um... yes. I do realize the risks, but think about the reward, Eclipsio! I would be able to introduce the rather sheltered ponies of Canterlot to the more wild and wacky creatures of the Everfree. And don't you worry your pretty little head, if the two start to act up, I'll simply pop the both of them back to the woodland cave they call home."

Prince Eclipsio downed the rest of his chocolate milk and said, "Alright Discord, but don't count on me bailing you out if this goes awry, this is on YOU."

Wit that, the Prince of Eclipses teleported away in a silver flash of light, leaving Discord alone, until he then popped off as well.

(Canterlot Castle, Vision Pool)

With his conversation concluded, Eclipsio returned to his main duty...

Staring at his vision pool and looking at the past, present, and futures of the many worlds across the Multiverse.

"Let's see what evil is going on tonight." he said to himself, eyeing the pits of Tartarus first, seeing Tirek struggling in futility to free himself. He spat various curses at Celestia's name, Luna's name, and the names of any gods out there that had confined him to this hellish prison.

This got a chuckle from Eclipsio, "Poor bastard, you were so close to victory, but the power of friendship and Rainbow Power beat you down so easily."

He turned his attention to the battle between Doom Star and Pure Star, despite six weeks passing since the chaotic battle that nearly destroyed two worlds and the space time continuum itself, space-time was still healing from the massive blast that came from Doom Star's demise.

"Burning Star got extremely lucky nothing too severe was damaged in space time, He stopped the "God of Destruction" just in time before a total event collapse could occur." he thought to himself.

A spike in evil went off during that event that caught Eclipsio off guard, the resulting force sent him flying away as a dark aura seeped from the past event like blood from an open wound. It was frightening to behold, that is for sure.

Prince Eclipsio got to his hooves and shook his head to get his focus back before saying, "What in the name of my sisters was that? It felt like concentrated, pure evil. I haven't felt such potent negative energy since Doom Star appeared, although this was different..."

Just to be safe, Eclipsio created magisteel axe and held it tight as he approached the pool on his hind legs in order to peer into the past event.

When nothing dangerous came out, he said to himself as he ignited his horn, "I better go check this out... I'm not liking something this evil being unknown to me."

Prince Eclipsio pointed his horn towards the past event and he disappeared in a flash of light.

(6 weeks earlier... Castle of the Two Sisters)

The Prince of Eclipses arrived in his shadow form and slunk into the shadows to observe, carefully making mental notes on what he saw.

He looked at one of the two figures standing in the dark...

"Prince Blueblood?! What are you doing here?!" Eclipsio thought to himself, now looking closer at the Prince.

He was wearing some sort of armor, although Eclipsio didn't know what armor it was... but it looked damaged.

Eclipsio heard another sound, a frightening screech coming from the door.

He looked towards the door and saw a figure wrapped in black cloth slowly inching forward, for some reason, Eclipsio couldn't see him, even with his night vision on.

Blueblood squinted his eyes shut and screamed as the Shadow lunged at him, his wails echoing throughout the castle.

He fired the magic casters in all directions, trying to keep up with the shadow as it leapt about like a mad cat. bolts of magical power impacted the walls and floor in rapid succession, leaving black scorch marks behind.

Eclipsio had to jump to the shadows on the ceiling to avoid being torn to bits from the hail of magic bolts, he reached a safe spot and continued his observation.

Blueblood heard the unholy screech of that shadow again and fired at a large vase, reducing it to dust. His shots lit up the empty castle with a glowing red yellow light.

Another roar, this time coming from his left. The Prince of Canterlot yelled as he fired another storm of magical bolts, shattering the windows and letting the torrential rain into the castle.

Blueblood screamed like a filly as he fired wildly, trying to keep up with the jumping shadow as it bounded around the hall. It finally jumped straight up through the roof, causing debris to rain down on Blueblood and Prince Eclipsio to dodge out of the way of the collapsing support beams.

Prince Blueblood fired a explosive blast of magic that blasted the rubble before it could crush him, he was covered in dust from it.

Blueblood looked at his dirtied Mane and groaned, "Damn this filth... I'm going to have to wash my mane for hours to get all of this out!"

A voice called out from behind him, and a hoof grabbed his throat, yanking him out of the throne and pinning him to the ground.

The shadow spoke to the prince, his voice raspy and frightening, "You have bigger things to worry about than your appearance, Blueblood."

The Prince sneered at the figure, "I told you, it's Prince Blueblood, and I will have you know-"

Blueblood was suddenly lifted into the air decked across the face, sending him skidding across the floor.

"Silence, you worthless royal brat. I came here for something you have and I'm going to get it." Said the shadow, his gaze like ice towards the Prince.

"W-who... what are you?"

The Shadow picked up the Prince and pulled him close, Blueblood could feel the hot breath on his face as the shadow spoke.

"What I am and who I am does not concern you, what does concern you is this."

The shadow pointed towards the helmet Blueblood had tossed away. This prompted the prince to say, "What? What do you want with my armor?"

The shadow bared his teeth, sharp canines visible as a flash of lightning briefly lit up the castle.

"Your armor is what I want, Blueblood. I have an offer that may be of interest to you."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow, "What is this offer you speak of, fiend?"

The Shadow tossed Blueblood like a sack of wet cement to the stairs, where he hit his head hard upon the stone steps, causing blood to trickle down his head from a cut. It stained Blueblood's perfect white coat a dark red... much to his dismay.

The shadow approached Blueblood, who was currently kneeling, trying to stop the bleeding. It said to him, "My offer is simple, you give me the armor and teach me how it works."

Blueblood found the courage to say, "And if I refuse? What then? You kill me and you will have all of Equestria looking for you and my auntie's military ready to strike you down for the crime of regicide."

The Prince tried to stand, but found a long, jagged knife pressed against his throat.

The shadow's tone grew grim, "No Blueblood, I will not kill you, that would be a mercy to us all, I will do worse. I will inflict pain so bad that will make you wish for the final gasp of death. If you still refuse, then I will torture you further. I will bleed you dry and make you scream in agony. I will break your will and spirit until you will tell me anything I want to know about the armor, anything to make the pain go away..."

The shadow turned the knife slightly, causing a small cut to appear on the Prince's neck, Blueblood clenched his teeth in pain as he saw more blood drip onto his pristine white coat.

The Prince of Eclipses got a bit closer, jumping down onto a broken wall sconce and perching there like some sort of bird of prey.

He heard the Shadow speak again, voice hushed but furious. "The way you walk out of here alive and mostly intact is simple, you siniveling cur, is to give me that armor... NOW."

Blueblood had the balls to respond with, "And if I refuse? What? You will do all of those dreadful things to me? I highly doubt it..."

Prince Eclipsio watched in horror as The Shadow pulled the knife away from Blueblood's neck and brutally stabbed him in the left leg, causing the prince to scream in pain and clutch the rapidly bleeding gouge in his left leg.

Blueblood crumpled to the floor, before the Shadow picked him up and stabbed him in the back right leg, then tore a gash across it length wise, coating the knife with crimson blood and causing Blueblood to tremble in fear, realizing that this Shadow meant business.

The Prince of Eclipses could only watch as the Shadow picked up Blueblood and threw him into his sisters old throne, shattering it and dropping rubble on Blueblood.

Blueblood tried to lift the debris off of him but the Shadow lifted his hoof over his head and brought it down hard.

Eclipsio cringed as the Shadow brought his hoof down on Blueblood's horn, crushing it to dust and causing the rocks to slam down on Blueblood's back, pinning him down.

The Shadow ripped Blueblood out of the rubble and said to him in the most icy tone possible...

"You're right... I'll just kill you as brutally as possible."

Prince Eclipsio watched as the Shadow pulled out a larger knife that looked more like a fat-bladed sword and leveled it against Blueblood's neck.

Blue blood blubbered like a child, "I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't mean to test you, dark thing! I can give you whatever you want! Just let me live!"

The Shadow replied, "I want that armor, and I will carve it off your dead carcass to get it..."

With a quick slash of the blade, Blueblood's neck burst open in a spray of red upon the Shadow's face, which bore a unnatural and terrifying smirk.

With that, Prince Blueblood died... alone and without Allies.

Murdered in cold blood by a shadowy killer who stood below Eclipsio, smiling at his work.

The Shadow then looked at the bloody red blade, seeing the blood drip from it slowly.

It then stuck his tounge out and ran it across the bloodied surface, licking up the red liquid like a filly would lick a lollipop, then swallowed it with a gurgling gulp.

The Shadow then began to carve into Blueblood's corpse, humming creepily as he pulled off bits of flesh connecting the armor to Blueblood's body.

The Shadow finally got all of it off, leaving Blueblood's corpse a mangled, bloodstained mess.

Eclipsio lost his lunch and upchucked his chocolate milk, his hayburger and fries, and anything else in his stomach.

He wiped his mouth and covered his eyes, trying to put that image out of his mind.

Which for somepony who had a photographic memory, was nearly impossible.

Eclipsio pulled his eyes towards the Shadow, getting a quick glance at him, and wishing he never saw him.

The figure was a stallion, but Eclipsio couldn't tell what species since he was covered in black cloth, and stood nearly as tall as Burning Star, who was one of the largest Alicorns (Next to Faust). His entire body was obscured by the black cloth, except for his eyes.

The Shadow turned upwards, and his eyes made the adult Alicorn shudder in terror.

His eyes were bright neon-blue colored, and glowed like little blue fires in the dark of the castle.

The Shadow pulled all the armor off and said while staring at the helmet, "This was all too easy, Blueblood was pathetic, unfit to bear this weapon properly. However, I will not be like him, I will use this weapon for its intended purpose, to the greatest efficiency possible... soon all will fear my wrath... the wrath of Black Sun, REBORN!!!!!"

Prince Eclipsio pulled himself out of the past event and shuddered in terror at the gruesome display he just bore witness to.

Prince Eclipsio was always a stoic figure, nothing could scare him or even faze him.

But this... this made him absolutely terrified. It shattered his willpower instantly.

Eclipsio curled up into a ball and started to sob audibly, his cries echoing around him in a haunting voice.

"Evil has survived. Evil has survived. Evil has survived. Evil has survived." He repeated as he rocked back and forth, too scared to stop.

His cries got the attention of Hiller, Prince Eclipsio's personal guard. He rushed into the room with his protopony whip-hoof active, seeing the prince sobbing he grabbed him and said with both worry and frustration in his voice, "Eclipsio! What happened? Why the hell are you crying? Did you see something that frightened you?!"

Prince Eclipsio shakily pointed to the vision pool and Hiller approached it, his bladed whip-hoof still active.

He peered into the pool himself, seeing the carnage of Blueblood by the shadow, then said in his most unnerved voice. "Holy crap man, I did want Blueblood dead but I didn't expect that. He was slaughtered like a helpless timber wolf. Killed in cold blood, even I wouldn't do that. I'd give him a good fight, at least. I wouldn't do... that..." he said, pointing at the vision of the lifeless corpse of the prince of canterlot.

Hiller continued, "What are we going to do now? Should we tell the guests about this issue?"

Prince Eclipsio shook his head, "No. it would only cause more chaos than a marriage already has..."

Hiller put away the whip and paced towards the Prince of Eclipses, "So we keep this under wraps? That is a great idea, since we have Him coming over... let's hope he can't hear about this, I don't want him to start a firefight with our Celestia, or even worse, Burning Star."

Eclipsio added in, "Yeah, he may boast that his body can withstand anything, I would hate to see Burning Star turn his Pure Star form on his special guest... I don't think he can withstand the heat of an exploding star. Hell... I can barely survive it. I asked him to practice it on me, to see how powerful he was... let's just say we blew up half of the Fortress of Nil with one Purity Starstrike."

Hiller raised one of his black eyebrows, "What is a Purity Starstrike?"

Prince Eclipsio shuddered when he said, "Think Burning Star's Starstrike Attack, with its power times 20. Yeah... picture that right now, how powerful that is."

Hiller let out a yawn, "Uhhh... I'm tired, I think we both need some rest, Prince Eclipsio, I will see you in the morning. Good luck on your sermon for the wedding. Ciao!"

With that, Hiller leapt off and towards his room, Eclipsio was now alone.

Remembering what he saw, he thought to himself, "On second thought... maybe telling him could help. He is a master of destroying evil, so let's just see how it turns out."

Prince Eclipsio went to his room and lay down on his king-sized bed, before turning out his light and falling asleep.

Comments

[BradyBunch]

Well, well, well...A strong start, a mysterious character, and genuine, un-corny evil that made me shudder. Just work on your run-on sentences.