Midnight Sun

by FluxFeather

Stellar And Rainia (Midnight Sun Reimagined)

Author's Note:

To celebrate one year since the first four chapters of this story were uploaded. And since I ain't doing an audio drama for this story or a sequel to it, I figured I should at least do something a little extra for it. And that is this. A gender-bent reimagining of the first part of the story. I hope you all enjoy it. 😊

(P.S. If any of you want to make an audio drama or a sequel to this story, let me know and I will tell you if you have my permission. Anyways, till we meet again. FluxFeather out! ✌)

Long ago, well, not all that long ago. It was just a few days before Prince Dusk Shine's coronation as the new leader of Equestria and everypony from every part of the land was preparing for this occasion. Solaris and Artemis have been ruling Equestria for over a thousand years, so this shift of power was going to be a big change. Stellar Gleam, who was at one point Dusk's student was getting ready to take his place as headstallion of the school of Friendship that Dusk had built and was headstallion for quite some time, but it was time for a change. "Hey, Dusk." Stellar greeted.

"Hey, Stellar." The lavender Alicorn replied as he packed up a few more things of his in boxes that were all around the castle as he was packing up to prepare for his move from Ponyville to Canterlot.

"Is everything ready for your big move to Canterlot?" He asked the prince as he looked at all the boxes that were around the castle. The place seemed kinda empty now to Stellar as he watched Dusk pack more of his necessities into a box.

"Almost." He replied. Then his expression changed from glee to saddened. "I just don't feel ready to leave. And this coronation is all that anypony's been talking about, but-"

"But what?" Stellar inquired. He could see the expression that Dusk's face held and just by looking at him, he saw one emotion that he knew all too well… fear.

"That I'm not gonna be what they're looking for," Dusk answered. "Even after all this time. Even after all me and my friends have done… I'm just not sure if it would be enough."

"If protecting Equestria from any sort of harm for years isn't enough, then I'm not sure what would be." Stellar reminded him. He then remembered all the obstacles he and his friends have faced over the years. And how they have always come out triumphantly.

"But I won't always have them there to help me! They'll be off living their lives and I'll just be doing everything by myself." Dusk exclaimed. "What if something goes wrong?!"

"Like what?" Stellar asked. "I've seen you be able to handle just about anything, I'm pretty sure that whatever comes your way that you'd be able to stop it. It's not like there's always a monster that threatens to destroy or rule Equestria-!" Stellar was interrupted by the sound of a loud bang outside. "What was that?!" They then took no hesitation and ran as fast as they could outside only to see a horrifying sight. A bugbear attacking Ponyville.

"A bugbear!!" Dusk shouted. A bugbear was a hideous bear-like creature but with a brightly-colored fur like a bee, along with bug-shaped wings, and four extra limbs of an insect that were twisted with thorns. The monster was powerful, angry, causing full destruction to the small town full of terrified ponies that watched helplessly from the safety of their homes as Dusk and his friends face the large monster. "Come on guys, we need to get this Bugbear away from the village!" Dusk encouraged of his friends.

"Easy for you to say; this thing is huge!" Rainbow Blitz yelled irritated.

"Stellar run!!" Dusk screamed for him to get as far away from the hideous monster attacking the village as soon as possible while he and his friends try to hold it off.

Stellar obeyed and tried to run as far as his hooves would take him. The bugbear caught a glimpse of him galloping away and it lunged its claws to attack him. Stellar turned to head and froze in terror as he saw the sharp claws coming towards him. But just as he was about to get scratched by the razor-sharp claws, a mysterious force zapped the bugbear with its magic, vanquishing it. Stellar and everypony there was astounded by the sight that had seemed supernatural. The pony who stood in front of and protected the now bewildered Stellar looked down at him. "Are you alright?" She asked him, holding out her hoof.

Stellar looked up at where the sweet angelic feminine voice was coming from and his eyes had locked with a pony who was so indescribably beautiful. She was a sky-blue pony with a blond mane and tail, as well as enchanting blue eyes. She wore a dark blue cloak that covered the rest of her body, all except for her tail and her bat-like wings. And she also had a horn. She was an Alicorn! But not like any that he had seen, or any of them have seen. He grabbed ahold of her hoof which was ice cold, which surprised him as the weather outside was warm and humid.

"You alright?" She asked him as she brought him up to his hooves. "You hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." He replied. "But, who are you? And what are you doing here? And how are you an Alicorn?!" She put her hoof to his lips.

"I will discuss all that later, right now it is best if you guys head home. I'll keep watch for any more monsters that'll threaten to attack the village." She said.

The ponies began to gallop back to the castle. Dusk turned around to face the mysterious Alicorn bat pony. "Thank you for helping us defeat that bugbear, um…" He began.

The mare turned her head. "Rainia. Rainia Songbird." She said. "And it was my pleasure."

Dusk smiled before he ran back to his castle, catching up to the boys. As he ran, he began to think. 'Hmm, Rainia Songbird? Such a peculiar name. And how is she an Alicorn?..." He tried to focus his thoughts, but there were just so many questions he wanted to ask.

Rainia had read his thoughts, but her mind was still focused on that one stallion… Stellar Gleam. She presumed. She turned to look back at Stellar who she caught a glimpse of him looking back at her before he immediately went back to looking in front of him.

Meanwhile, in the castle. Rainbow Blitz was lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling and its elegant design. "Ugh… I'm so hungry and so bored. How long do we have to wait in here?" He said irritated.

Elusive softly laughs as he cuts Butterscotch's hair. "Oh, I'm sure we won't have to stay in here for long, darling. And we have so much to talk about after all Rainia is the first Alicorn that can possibly be a princess!" Filled with the brim with excitement Elusive's magic pulls Butterscotch's mane leaning it to one side almost pulling Butterscotch to the ground.

With a small yelp Butterscotch taps the white stallion's leg "Um, Elusive, I'm thrilled that you're excited about Rainia, but can you um not pull my hair, please?" He asked him kindly.

"Oh, sorry, darling. But I'm just so excited!!" He squealed. "Did you just look at her?! She was so beautiful. Ahh." He pretended to faint.

Stellar caught Elusive in his magic and brought him back up to a standing position. "We know, she's beautiful." He chuckled.

"Oh, and don't forget she could be a princess!" Elusive reminded them. "Maybe she might ask me to the Gala. And we would dance, and maybe even share a kiss or two." He blushed softly just thinking about it.

"But did ya see how she looked at you though, Stellar? I think she likes ya. As in like likes." Applejack teased her.

Stellar laughed. "Pfff. Please. I don't need no mare to come in and sweep me off my hooves." He remarked.

"Uh-huh. And what about that Sunnyflare gal? You seem to take such a strong liking to her?" Applejack went on; making Stellar blush.

"What?! No, I don't!!" Stellar shouted while blushing bright red that even Dusk could notice it from the other side of the room.

Everypony started laughing, then the castle doors flung open, and standing there was Rainia, letting them know that the coast is clear. "Well, everything's fine. There shouldn't be any more attacks any time soon." She said.

Dusk ran up to her. "Thanks, Rainia." Then he had an idea. "Hey, would you mind joining me tomorrow on a trip to Canterlot to see the Royal brothers?" He requested of her.

"Um… sure." She said nervously. She wasn't really sure if she was going to be up to it though. As it would involve digging deep into her past. "But where am I going to stay tonight?"

"Oh, right," Dusk remembered. "Me and Stellar will set you up with a room here for the night if you want." He told her.

"Oh, okay." She replied calmly with a sigh. She really wasn't sure if she wanted to do this, but it looks like she'll have to, even if it means reminding her about her past.

Later that night, it was late and everypony was asleep, well, almost everypony. There were still some ponies awake, mainly those on night shifts at their jobs. One Royal guard at Canterlot castle was packing up from the day shift and as he was about to head inside he heard the sound of hoofsteps. She turned to see no pony there. "Hello? Who's there? Show yourself!" She commanded.

"Hehe." A masculine voice giggled softly. The guard quickly turned towards where the voice was coming from. She saw a figure of a pony, specifically a stallion. She lit up his horn to get a better look at him.

"Oh, why hello." She said in a flirty kind of way. As the stallion she sees in front of her was probably the most beautiful stallion she's ever seen in her life. He was a unicorn that had a marine-blue coat, a turquoise mane and tail, and beautiful green eyes, his cutie mark was a lightning bolt. "What are you doing out so late?" Just as she was about to walk closer to him another pony landed behind her. The guard pony quickly turned around to face the pony behind her. "Who are you?"

The pony let out a sigh before coming into view. She was an orange Alicorn with bright red eyes, her mane was long and shone like fire with a yellow and red mix. Her cutie mark was a sword, meaning that she must've been some kind of warrior. "It's always the same inane questions, isn't it? Who are you?"

"What do you want?" The stallion egged on while smiling menacingly at the guard pony, joining in with the Alicorn.

"Why are you doing this?" The orange Alicorn continued on. She glared down at the guard pony who was in fear with menacing eyes.

Out of nowhere, another pony flew down. This one had a blond mane and tail both with brown streaks going through them. She was green-coated and she wore glasses as well as a green bandana around her neck which matched her coat color. She was a pegasus, but she had bat wings instead of normal wings like regular pegasi. "Flurry. Let's not toy around with our victim here." She said.

Flurry sighed. "Fine." She then trotted up to the mare. "Now, we'll let you go if you answer this one simple question." She told the guard. "Where is Rainia Songbird?!"

The guard pony coward down in fear, looking up at the Alicorn petrified. "I… I don't know…" She answered.

"WRONG ANSWER!!" Flurry half yelled half screamed at the guard pony before she charged up her horn and shot a blast of magic next to the guard pony to scare her. "Now, let's try this again… Where is Rainia Songbird?!"

"I already told you. I don't know!" The guard pony said terrified. "Now, will you please just leave me alone and let me go home?"

"What should we do, Flurry?" The stallion asked. His eyes focused on the guard pony.

"Well, that should be quite obvious, Silver, my dear." Flurry said. "What do you think, Lunar Night?"

The green bat pony looked up at Flurry. "Whatever you tell us to do, Flurry Flight." She answered.

Flurry smiled. "Kill her." She said. "And disintegrate the body when you're done." As she flew off, Silver and Lunar jumped on top of the guard pony and as Lunar bit her, Silver shot a death spell out of his horn. The only thing that was heard was one blood-chilling scream that came from the guard pony before she was no more.

The next day, Rainia flew around with caution with a small gaze towards Dusk. It was early in the morning and they were heading to Canterlot castle to introduce her to the Royal brothers as she was a mysterious Alicorn that had bat wings and Dusk had thought they would know what all this is about. He was very ecstatic as he was flying her to Canterlot. He was talking very fast that some of his words slurred into sentences that would leave one perplexed.

"Um… Dusk?" Rainia spoke up to try to get the lavender Alicorn's attention.

Dusk looked over at her curiously. "Yes? What is it, Rainia?" He asked.

"I'm not sure if I really want to do this." She replied. "I just don't think I'm ready."

Dusk put his hoof around her. "I can assure you that nothing will happen. Don't be afraid. I'm here and I know Solaris and Artemis won't let any harm come to you." He reassured her.

"It's not that," Rainia said. "I know they won't hurt me." Her facial expression didn't change.

"Then what is it?!" Dusk asked in a kinda demanding tone, wanting to know the answer.

"My past." She answered. "That's why I'm afraid to come back here. I might run into old comrades, or foes, or something like that."

Dusk looked at her with sympathy. "Rainia, you can't run away from your past. One day it'll catch up to you and you'll have to face it head-on." He told her. "It's time you stop running away from your problems, and it's time you start facing them, starting with this visit."

Rainia sighed. "I guess you're right. But what if-!" She was interrupted by Dusk putting his hoof over her mouth, shushing her.

"Rainia, it's gonna be alright, I'm going to be there with you, so there's nothing that you have to worry about," Dusk said, sympathetically.

Rainia felt a bit better, but her anxiety was still getting the best of her. "Alright, if you say so." She replied nervously, but a little more calm this time. She took a few deep breaths in and out, then followed Dusk in landing after such a long flight, her wings were tired.

They landed in front of the gate where two guards were seen laughing until they were near crying. Rainia's stomach churned when she recognized who those guards were. They were two of Artemis's guards that she had trained back when she was captain of Artemis's guard force until she was discharged. "Well, well, well, look who it is. Ms. high and mighty. Ain't you a sight to sore eyes. Lemme guess you're here for your royal crown and shoes?" One guard said laughing as hard as she could.

The other guard joined in. "Yeah, last time we saw you, Artemis kicked ya outta the guard force!" They continued to laugh as Rainia stepped back nervously. "Probably thought you were gonna end up taking his place as ruler."

Prince Dusk then stepped up. "We are here to see the prince's!" He declared. The two guards then dropped to the floor laughing hysterically. Dusk was not impressed by this inappropriate behavior towards his new friend. In fact, he was downright annoyed that royal guards were acting like this. Like they were young foals when they are supposed to act professional while on the job.

Immediately, the gate swung open and an angry mare stood at the gate displeased with the guard’s behaviors. "Hey, you two knuckleheads! It's time for the day swift, so pack it up!" Before she lets them go she pounds their heads together, almost knocking them unconscious, but hopefully enough to knock some sense into them.

"Y-yes, mam!" They rushed off in what would be considered a flash.

"That's Captain Sparrow to you two!!" The mare yelled. "Sorry about that. You can come in if you'd like." She gave them a smile. She was a bright orange pony with golden-yellow eyes. Her mane and tail were dark blue with dark purple streaks going through them. She was also a Unicorn. A unicorn who Rainia recognized and blushed a bit by.

"H… Hey, Lylac." She said, chuckling nervously while trying to hide her flushed cheeks.

"Ah, Rainia. It's good to see you again. At least there will be somepony I know that actually has a brain that'll be working with me. Glad to see you came back home all in one piece." Lylac said, with a smile.

"I've missed you too, my little sparrow." She said to her old marefriend, chuckling a bit and blushing bright red.

Lylac blushed a bit from her comment. But then went back to being serious. "Here is the door that'll take you to the throne room." She said.

"Congratulations on the position of captain by the way," Rainia told her before she gave her a small wink. Their eyes locked for a mere moment before Lylac used her magic to disappear to escape the void of an awkward situation.

Dusk looked back at them, wondering how Rainia actually was with Lylac and why they had split up. But he decided it was best not to worry about that as of right now because right now, all he was focused on was introducing Rainia to the princes. "This way." He instructed. "They're just through this door."

Rainia could tell that Dusk was just a bit too excited about this, but she thought it would be best if she did not call him out on it. "So, just through here?" She questioned him.

"Yep!" Dusk said, nodding. "Sorry… I'm just so excited!! You could possibly be the first Alicorn to be a princess and it's just-!" He blushed embarrassed. "Sorry."

Rainia chuckled, making Dusk blush even more with embarrassment. "You're fine."

Dusk shot off a glare that looked like it was saying, 'I'm watching you, Rainia.' But Rainia didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Alright, you ready?" Dusk said, putting his hoof to the doors to the throne room.

Rainia let out a sigh. "As ready as I'll ever be." She said before Dusk opened the doors.

When Dusk opened the doors they could see the throne room in complete chaos. Solaris and Artemis had a lot of paperwork they were looking at and they looked like they were at the point of full-on panicking. Dusk immediately ran to Solaris as fast as he could. "Solaris!! What's going on?!" He asked, concerned.

As Solaris wasn't responding, Artemis put a hoof on Dusk's shoulder before responding. "Thy brother is a little stressed this morning, with all the paperwork concerning a missing guard from his force." He said.

It took Dusk a minute to process everything he just took in from Artemis. When he finally processed it all, he was shocked. "What happened to her?!" He asked, worried.

“She went missing mysteriously last night while she was packing up to go home for the night,” Solaris said once he calmed down. “Her husband showed up last night asking Artemis where she was, then Artemis came to alert me about it and-” Solaris looked behind the lavender Alicorn to see another Alicorn behind her. One he recognized. He turned to his younger brother Artemis. “Brother, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Artemis nodded, then he began to walk up to the sky-blue Alicorn standing by the doors, making her nervous. But what made her more nervous was the stern expression he gave her before speaking. “Rainia. After all these years; thou finally returns to me.” He said, sternly.

Rainia coward down as she looked up at him and seeing his darting eyes glare at her. “H...Hi dad.” She finally said, nervously. And by the looks of it, she seemed to be sweating like crazy.

Dusk froze in place. He was astonished by the bat-winged Alicorn’s words. “Wait! Father?! You’re her father?!” He said, pointing a hoof at Artemis, freaking out. “But how did this happen?! With whom did this happen?!” He had no words. Just left confused and surprised. He would’ve never had thought the prince of the night would have a child.

“Dusk, calm down. This happened a long time ago, and now it is time that Artemis tells the truth about his past.” Solaris said, looking over at his brother, giving him a quick nod.

Artemis sighed. “Thy has not been very honest about thy’s past, but hopefully thou wouldst listen to thine words.” He said. Artemis took in a deep breath and exhaled, then began to tell them the story. “When Rainia was just a baby, thy and thy brother were trying to escape the Empire without her seeing Rainia, she would kill me if she was to know I kept the fact that Rainia was her daughter from her.”

“From who? Who is my mother?!” Rainia demanded to know. And she wasn’t going to stop until she did know. But she probably wasn’t ready for the answer she was about to receive.

“I don’t know the best way to put this, but… Your mother is Queen Sombre.” Solaris said.

Rainia stepped back; eyes widened. Her breathing became more shallow as she took all this in. "My mother is Queen Sombre?!" She blurted out. "The same Queen Sombre that tried to kill me over a thousand years ago in the war?! The same Queen Sombre that curs-!" She stopped before saying that last bit. She didn't want Dusk to know about her curse that was placed upon her by her mother.

Artemis's facial expression changed as he stared at his daughter and the hatred for her mother that was held within her. He sighed. "Yes. That Queen Sombre." He said grimly.

"So, what happened to Rainia after you escaped from the Crystal Empire?" Dusk asked, more calmly now.

Artemis began to choke on his words as he began to speak. "Th… Thy had become so stressed with everything and having to be a strong ruler with a lot of responsibilities, and on top of that, thy had to take care of thine child all alone. Thy was afraid and thy… thy… thy can't." He stuttered, a tear shedding from his eye; left him unable to carry on the story.

"You… you gave me away…" Rainia said. Artemis could barely hold back his tears because as much as he didn't want to believe it, it was true. He did give her away.

"Rainia… daughter," Artemis said, trotting up to her and putting his hoof on her. She smacked it away. This broke Artemis's heart.

"Niece. Please." Solaris spoke up. Hoping he could get her to see reason. "Forgive your father, even though what he did was wrong and wasn't the best thing to do in that situation. He only did it for you and your happiness."

"What do you mean for my happiness?" Rainia questioned her uncle. "I would've been happier living with you and him rather than living with adoptive parents and not knowing who my birth father was until I was 98."

"He gave up his happiness, which was you, for your happiness. You wouldn't have been happy here." Solaris said.

"How would you know?!" She said angrily, demanding to hear a suitable answer that would satisfy her.

"Your father and I would be too busy with royal duties and meetings, we wouldn't have time to take care of you. You would feel neglected. And it just wouldn't work." Solaris tried to explain.

Rainia took a few minutes to calm down. "I won't be able to forgive him right now, but maybe eventually I will. But as of now, I just can't. Even after over a thousand years." She replied, though her thoughts were still focused on Queen Sombre being her mother. The thought of it disgusted her. 'How could her father ever fall in love with that?!' She thought.

"Okay." Was Artemis's only response to her statement as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Now, can we just please move on from this conversation?" Rainia pleaded. The Alicorn brothers nodded. "Now, what more about this missing guard?"

"We've told you all that we know so far. There hasn't been any more evidence to what could've possibly have happened to him." Solaris said. "Dusk, I'm afraid with this unexpected occurrence; your coronation will have to be pushed back a couple of weeks."

Dusk smiled. "Oh, that's okay." He replied with a wide grin, trying to sound convincing.

Rainia though could read right through him. She could tell he was afraid of leading the whole country.

Meanwhile, later that night, Lunar Night, Silver, and Flurry were still searching for answers as to the location of Rainia, but alas they had no luck. "If you hadn't had let her escape in the first place, we wouldn't have to be doing this!" Claimed Flurry.

Lunar glared at her insulted. "You're really blaming me that you couldn't keep an eye on one pony?!" She shouted.

Flurry trotted over and glared at her. "You'd best watch what you say to certain ponies, farmer girl. Oh wait, maybe they didn't teach you that on your family's farm." Flurry said, intimidating her. "So, maybe it was a good thing you got attacked by those vampire fruit bats."

"You take that back!!" Lunar exclaimed. "I've helped you search for this pony "princess" that you lost!!"

Flurry sighed. "Just shut up and help me with finding her, because this time I'll get my revenge on her and her father and uncle." She said, recalling what happened with her and Rainia in magic school. "They'll never know what hit them." She grinned as she schemed of a way to capture Rainia when they find her and how she's going to take out her revenge on her.

Meanwhile, back at Canterlot. "So, what is this about you and your coronation?" Rainia asked Dusk.

"H-How'd you know about that?" Dusk asked confused and nervously, as well as a little creeped out, but he didn't dwell too much on that last feeling.

"Oh, right, I forgot, I hadn't told you yet." Rainia began. "It was a gift from an old friend. It gives me the power to read the minds of those around me, and the more I get to know a specific person, the louder their thoughts are over those I don't know." She explained.

"So, you can read anyone's mind?" Dusk asked curiously.

"Well, anyone that doesn't have a mind block spell cast upon them." She retorted.

"Interesting," Dusk said as he continued to be intrigued by this ability of hers.

"I can also control minds with my eyes, and I can see into the past and future." She said, opening up about her abilities.

"That sounds amazing!" Dusk said. "Was this something you had to get used to when you first obtained your gifts?"

“Oh, definitely,” Rainia replied. “It wasn’t something that I was able to get used to overnight… it got annoying sometimes."

Dusk giggled into his hoof. He then stared off dreamily at Rainia. They had locked eyes for a brief moment before closing them and moving their heads closer to one another and before they knew it, their lips were together. The feeling was blissful, but once Dusk found out what they were doing, he immediately retracted himself off of her, blushing scarlet red. "Sorry! Sorry!" He freaked out.

Rainia put a hoof on him. "Dusk, calm down. It was just a kiss." She reassured him.

Dusk then calmed down, listening to her words from her sweet angelic voice. He couldn't help but get lost in her looks. Those beautiful blue eyes that shimmered in the night calling him in. "You're right. It was just a kiss… A very good one at that." He put his hooves to his mouth as he couldn't believe what he had just said. He blushed again.

"What?! Don't tell me that you're falling for me already?!" She teased him. Making him blush immensely. She chuckled as she looked at him.

Dusk couldn't stop blushing at her remarks, but he did begin to ponder. 'Did he like her?' 'And was he even ready for a relationship?'

"If you're not ready then that's alright. I wouldn't force anything upon you." Rainia said, reading his thoughts thoroughly.

"C… can we just please fly back to my castle? I don't really want to continue this conversation?" Dusk begged. She nodded showing her agreement to fly back to the castle of friendship and change the subject.

It was late at night that Rainia and Dusk had returned to his home in Ponyville; the large crystal castle that outstood every other building in Ponyville, even the town hall. Dusk flew up to the balcony with her following and he slowly lowered himself to the ground, landing softly just before Rainia did the same. “Well, I’ll be doing some reading before I go to bed. You can join me if you’d like?” He requested.

“No thanks, I think I’ll be heading off to my room now if you don’t mind?” She said, rejecting his offer. When she read his thoughts and stared at him, she could tell he was a bit hurt by her response. Then she thought that it wouldn’t hurt to join him in his reading. "Fine." His expression changed from a frown to a smile.

Meanwhile, Stellar opened his door and peeked outside it, making sure the coast was clear before he made his way towards the library, his horn lit up to light the room. He examined the bookshelf, skimming around the book titles, looking for one that could explain more about Rainia's origins. But alas, he had no luck. "Ugh. There's gotta be one around here somewhere." He groaned.

He then looked up at the higher shelves. "Hmmm… maybe it would be up there." He said to himself. Being the quick-thinking unicorn he was, he used his magic to levitate himself up to get to the higher shelves in the castle library. He carefully read the titles of each of the books as he was skimming through to find an answer to all his questions. "C'mon! C'mon!!" He yelled in a whisper, agitated. As he trailed his hoof along the books, one titled 'Equestria's Creatures of the Night' caught his attention. He opened the book to the table of contents and skimmed through till he found one on bat ponies. "Page 373." He turned to that page and began to read.

Meanwhile, Rainia and Dusk were in Dusk's room reading, well, Rainia was mainly reading while Dusk just thought about her kissing him again. Rainia tried to focus as much as she could on the book just to ignore his thoughts, but with how loud they were it was very difficult to do that. "Um, Dusk? Could you maybe try to keep your thoughts to yourself?" She asked politely while trying not to hurt his feelings.

"Oh… sorry." He said apologetically. “But… how do I do that exactly?"

"Try thinking about something else. Focus your mind on that." She told him.

"O… okay. I'll try…" He stuttered a bit as he spoke, but tried thinking about something else, like the book he was reading. That is until he yawned. "Maybe I should go to sleep."

"You do look awfully tired, so I think that would be best," Rainia replied. "And while you do that, I'll go and look at some of the books in the castle library." She smiled.

He closed his book, placing it on the table beside his bed where his lamp stood; he turned off his lamp and went to bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Rainia chuckled as she watched him fall asleep before she went to head for the room that was the castle's library. Meanwhile, in that library, a lilac unicorn sat down reading about bat ponies to seek answers about their new visitor. "Hmm… cold skinned. Check." Stellar said to himself. "Wait, what's this?" He carefully read about how bat ponies used to be demons of Tartarus and of how they could either be fruit eaters or blood drinkers. The thought disturbed him a bit, but he kept reading. "Hollow Shades? What's that?"

"The town where the bat ponies reside," Rainia said, startling Stellar.

Stellar hastily turned around to face the Alicorn that startled him. "Ahh!! Don't do that!!" He exclaimed. "And what do you mean the town where the bat ponies reside?"

"I'm sorry for startling you." She chuckled. "Hollow Shades is a place where most of the bat pony tribe migrated to after the Everfree forest became corrupted. It was no longer suitable to live there after that. So they had to find a new home. They relocated east of Canterlot in a dark forest that had a canopy thick enough to block out the sun's light for most of the day. The bat ponies then constructed houses there for them to live in. And it is there they've stayed for centuries."

Stellar listened as she explained the history of the bat ponies to him, but another question came to his mind. "Wait, you had said most of the bat ponies migrated from the Everfree forest to Hollow Shades… so, where did the others go?" He asked intrigued.

"It was believed that they went to the Badlands." She said. "And it was there that they could live inside of a vast cave network embedded into the Badlands crags where they built large, underground cities, dimly illuminated by magic or other means… at least that it is what is believed. Not even I know for sure though." She stared at him as he stared back at her. He was unable to stop staring.

Rainia tried to study his thoughts, but every time she tried all she could get was absolutely nothing. 'That's impossible,' She thought. She couldn't read his thoughts and he wouldn't have a mind block spell cast on him. This is something that made her more curious about him, as well as more interested. "You okay? You seem to be staring." She chuckled.

Her remark made Stellar blush without any control. "Sorry," He said, grinning.

As Rainia stared into his indigo eyes she saw a glimpse of an amazing future. A future with him as her husband. And with their future children. She quickly inhaled and exhaled as she continued to stare at Stellar. Without thinking, she put a hoof to his cheek and slowly stroked his mane. He didn't mind at first, in fact, he quite enjoyed it. Part of him really did have feelings for her, whether or not he wanted to admit it to himself or anyone else.

Dusk stared at them from a little crack in between the doors of the library and he watched both of them and then realized that her and Stellar's friendship was much stronger than that of his and hers. Their friendship grew into a very unique relationship. This pained Dusk that all he wanted to do was go back to his room and cry his broken heart out, but as he ran back upstairs to his room, his thoughts were overheard by Rainia.

"Um, Stellar? Could you give me a moment?" Rainia asked before quickly giving him a little peck on the cheek.

"Um… sure." He said, without having any context to what was going on.

As she ran off to chase after the heartbroken Dusk Shine, a stallion was staring through one of the library's windows and he had an evil smile come stretching across his face.

Meanwhile, Flurry and Lunar Night were discussing plans for how Flurry could take her revenge out on Rainia, but came to no success… that is until Silver arrived. Once he arrived, he and Flurry started smooching up a storm as Lunar just turned to the side. "Lovebirds." She commented.

Flurry stopped. "What?" She replied to Lunar's remark with a tone that held a sense of annoyance. "Well?" She egged on.

"We need to focus on the task at hoof here. Which is finding and destroying Rainia Songbird." Lunar reminded them.

"Oh, speaking of Rainia. I found her!" Silver blurted out.

"Where?" Flurry and Lunar asked in unison. "Where is she?" Flurry then asked.

"In the crystal castle in Ponyville. And she was with some stallion." Silver told them.

"Maybe a coltfriend?" Lunar inquired.

Flurry turned to him. "Hmmm… maybe. But if he is her coltfriend then maybe I can take my revenge on her without having to lay a single hoof on… her." She said viscously as she began to devise an evil plan to take out her revenge for all those years of humiliation.

"It'll be perfect," Silver said with a menacing smile. "They wouldn't know what hit them."

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Rainia galloped up to the room of Prince Dusk Shine in what could be mistaken for a flash. "Dusk?" She asked as she opened his door just a crack. "You okay?" She could hear him crying and decided to walk over to his bed.

"Go away!" He said sobbing. Rainia felt guilty seeing him like this, but it wasn't her fault. Stellar was the one she was meant to be with, not Dusk.

"Are you sure that's what you really want?" Rainia asked him.

Dusk pondered for a moment. 'What did he want?' As he continued to think, the answer came to him. "What I really want is you." He said, letting it out. "There, I said it! Happy?"

Rainia sat back. She knew he liked her and she liked him, but she didn't know that she was gonna fall for Stellar. "No. I can't help it though. It wasn't my fault! I wish there was a way that I could make you both happy." She said, looking at him full of sorrow.

"I'm an Alicorn, meaning I could live forever. I could be there with you for all eternity. Stellar will eventually grow old and die; leaving you." Dusk said, making her think of the cold hard truth that was her future. A future without him.

"You never know. He could eventually become an Alicorn. Like you, he could complete a prince-worthy deed and become an Alicorn like you, or he could become one as I did…" Rainia paused.

Dusk now seemed very intrigued by this statement. "Wait… what do you mean by as you did? How did you become an Alicorn?" He asked, perplexed and curious.

"Well…" Rainia began, unbeknownst that Stellar was standing right outside with one ear on the door, eavesdropping on their conversation, albeit Rainia couldn't find out since unlike Dusk, she couldn't read his thoughts. "It was a long time ago and I was just a unicorn at the time. During the war with Queen Sombre and the Crystal Empire. I was just 17 when I fought with my father and my uncle Solaris against my mother, who I didn't know was my mother at the time…"

"So, what happened?" Dusk interjected. "I want to know." He seemed very interested in what she had to tell him about her past.

"Well, I was severely wounded in the battle by my mother, and while the battle raged on, I was hospitalized with no hope of survival." Rainia continued to tell the story.

"But, you did end up surviving as you are here now to tell me this story. So, how was it you survived?" Dusk begged for her to tell.

Her expression changed. "When I was on the verge of death my father came to my side after the battle was over and he used his magic to change me into an Alicorn… but I'm guessing with me being a pony born into the night and shadow, my transformation was different from most others. Instead of normal pegasus wings, I got bat wings." She said.

"So, are you nocturnal? But I've seen you awake in the day, so that can't be…" Dusk said, wondering how she is awake during both the day and the night.

"Actually, I don't sleep at all," Rainia said. "I never get tired, I don't catch my breath, I don't have to eat. It's quite different from normal Alicorn's. There's supernatural hearing, supernatural sight." She smiled.

"That's amazing, even without your gifts," Dusk said, quite astonished.

"Yeah. On the topic of my gifts… I can't read Stellar's mind and I highly doubt he has a mind block spell cast upon him. And I can't see just his future alone. The only time I can see him in my visions is if it's with me. Which has only happened once." She explained.

Dusk looked at her. "So, is it true?" Dusk asked. "Is he really the only one for you?"

"I do believe so…" She said with a grin. "I do believe you will find the one for you soon enough, Dusk."

"You really think so?" He asked in high hopes. Because he wants to be happy as well.

"Yes." She said nodding. "I do think so. And whoever they are, they will be a very lucky mare for having a stallion such as you."

Dusk blushed bright red from her compliment. He giggled a bit. But as they were sharing a "moment", the doors to Dusk's room soon fell open with Stellar falling to the floor. The sight had left both Dusk and Rainia bewildered. Both of them speechless by his little eavesdropping stunt.

A long time ago. It was a cold and dark morning out on the farm that was located in the middle of nowhere. A young mare was harvesting the grain early in the morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Most likely not even Solaris had woken up yet. But that didn't concern the mare. She had always gotten up early to harvest the grain for the day… but she didn't know this was going to be her last time. Out in the orchard lurked a vampire fruit bat, or at least that's what it seemed to be at first.

As the green pegasus began to harvest the grain, she tightened her bandana around her neck and pushed her glasses back to their correct position on her face. While she was harvesting grain, a noise came from the bushes that caused her ears to perk up. She stopped what she was doing and went to investigate what caused the sound. She cautiously trotted to the bush, making her way closer to the source of the disturbance in the orchard. And as she began to peer behind the bush, she immediately retracted herself as a sharp pain emerged in her neck. "Ow!" She yelped. She started rapidly shaking her head to try to get whatever was biting her neck off of her.

Once the creature left, she put a hoof to her neck only to see blood and lots of it. The last thing she got a glimpse of was a bat flying off into the distance. Then everything went black as she passed out on the ground.

Lunar Night shot up from her bed nearly hyperventilating, terrified. "Oh good. You're up!" Silver said.

Lunar Night stared at him almost in anger. "What did you do?" She growled at him.

Silver giggled. "Oh, just a little nightmare/flashback spell. Nothing much." He said cheerfully with a smile.

Lunar sighed. "Why you sonuva-!" She growled, slightly aggravated.

"Tee hee. Oh, I know." He said unable to control his giggling.

Lunar stretched her forearms and forelegs and rose up out of her bed. "So…? What is so important that you had to wake me up from my peaceful sleep?" She asked annoyed.

"Oh, why I'm sorry, your majesty." He replied in a snarky tone. "But after what happened last night with Rainia, Dusk, and Stellar, I found out that she is going to be staying with his father for a few days in Sire's Hollow."

"And?" Lunar egged on, ready to just be done with the whole conversation.

"And Rainia is joining him, meaning it'll be easier to take out my revenge on her." Flurry spoke up. "She will rue the day she ever crossed hooves with me!! Cause I'll make sure that this'll be something that she won't forget."

"What was it that happened last night, Silver?" Lunar inquired.

As Silver tells the story, the scene transitions to the castle of friendship the night before, where Dusk, Stellar, and Rainia were in Dusk's room, where Stellar had got caught in the act of eavesdropping on their conversation.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed in you, Stellar… What were you thinking, eavesdropping on our conversation?!” Dusk exclaimed.

Stellar looked down at his hooves, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry…” Was all he said.

Dusk turned around, looking away from Stellar before he coldly said, “I think it would be best if you leave.” A statement that shocked Stellar to the core. He had never been asked to leave the castle.

"B-but I don't have anywhere to go!" He exclaimed. He tried to reason with the Alicorn, but it seems like he just wasn't having it.

"What about your fathers in Sires Hollow?" Dusk suggested. "He might have a place for you to stay." Stellar shuddered in disgust at the thought of having to stay with his father, and in his old room from his teenage years.

"But what about Rainia? I'm not leaving without her!" Stellar said.

"I'll go with you," Rainia said, running to his side, leaving Dusk feeling betrayed.

"Fine," Dusk said, making himself clear with his answer before turning away from them and going out to the balcony of the castle and watching them leave, a tear trickling from his face as he did so.

"I thought he was my friend…" Stellar said nearly crying. "I can't believe he's doing this. Some Prince of Friendship. More like the Prince of hatred, because he can't even be a friend. All those times, thinking I was his friend when really all I was… was his pupil."

"He didn't mean it. I read his mind, he didn't mean it." Rainia said. "If only I could read your mind I would be able to figure out if you really meant what you said or not. You have to tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking we should head to Sires Hollow. At least for a couple of days. Until he calms down." Stellar said before he and Rainia headed off to Sires Hollow.

Silver watched the whole thing from a distance, in a bush, chuckling to himself. "Oh, Flurry's gonna love this." He said.

"So… Here's the plan." Flurry said before huddling together with them and discussing the plan cautiously and thoroughly with them.

Meanwhile, Stellar and Rainia were staying at Firelights in Stellar's hometown of Sires Hollow. He was very happy and surprised that he had come, as well as Rainia, but Firelight didn't look like he seemed to like Rainia all that much. Probably because she was with his son. But he didn't know that. He was just assuming. They stayed in Stellar's old room, which was just the way he left it. Which made him uneasy. "I don't think your dad likes me very much." Rainia blurted out while kissing Stellar upon the lips.

"Don't worry about him… he just has to get to know you a little better." Stellar tried to reassure her, but she didn't seem convinced.

"Your old room is quite…" Rainia tried to think of a word, but Stellar put his hoof to her mouth to silence her.

"Horrifying. I know. Now can we just please get back to what we were doing? Please?" Stellar begged of her.

Rainia looked at him, presuming what he was talking about… she wanted to, but her curse was the one thing that kept her from it, so without trying to seem suspicious, she said, "I'm sorry. Just not right now. I’m going to go get a few things from one of the shops down the way…" She stopped at the doorway. "Also, I was going to go with the word 'interesting'."

He faked a chuckle at her response. Then as she left he dropped his little facade and decided to go after him. Cause one thing was for sure, it was dusk, no shops were open. He went out to follow him, walking down the lonely streets of Sires Hollow brought back a lot of old memories of his childhood which he longed to forget. It was then that something caught his attention. It was the sound of his father's voice and it held a tone of panic. "Stellar! Stellar!! Help!!" The voice he believed to be his father’s said. He followed it.

"Dad? Dad?!" He ran over to a strange building that not even he remembered in a panic to save his father from whatever or whoever had him captured. He ran inside the building and closed the door behind him and searched every nook and cranny for his father, but had no luck. "Dad?!"

Laughter was heard from behind Stellar. He quickly spins around to face the voice. “Who are you?” He asks her.

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Flurry Flight.” She said. “Also, if you’re wondering; no he’s not here.” She cackles. Stellar was filled with two emotions. Relief and rage. Flurry laughed at him. “But you know. You just made it too easy, so I have a way of making things more… entertaining.” She lit up her horn to record everything she was about to do. “I’m going to make a short film about our time together if you don’t mind. Good. And action! Oh, this’ll break my poor little niece, Rainia’s heart.” She chuckled, getting closer to him.

“Rainia has nothing to do with this!!” Screamed Stellar. He stared into her menacing eyes that glared at him.

Flurry cackled again. “Oh, she does, I really think she does.” She said, intimidating him.

Stellar then teleported to the other side of the room and began to make a run for it. “An escape attempt! My favorite!” She teleported in front of Stellar; he froze immediately. Amused, she flings him across the floor like a bowling ball. He smashes hard into a mirrored column. Flurry filmed it all. “Ah, beautiful. Very visually dynamic as well.”

She approaches him as he puts his hoof to his head and finds out his head is bleeding. She grabs his blood-stained hoof tightly and yanks it closer to her. “You are so stubborn, aren’t you? Is that what makes you so special to her? Because if I’m being totally honest here, Which I am, I don’t see it.” She glares angrily at him. “But I must congratulate you. You’ve succeeded in pissing me off!”

She stomped on his upper leg as hard as she could. She could hear his tibia bone in his leg snap. Stellar screams in agony from the excruciating pain. It was enough to get his eyes to water, tears began falling to the floor uncontrollably. Flurry laughed. “Tell Rainia how much it hurts! Tell her to avenge you! Tell her! TELL HER!!” She screamed in his face.

“No, Rainia don’t!!” He screamed. Flurry then stopped recording. A large grin came across her face as she watched Stellar scream. But as she was to celebrate her victory she was suddenly grabbed by something and thrown across the room. She arose to see who it was, then she came face to face with Rainia herself.

Filled with anger, Flurry charges at Rainia, pushing her into one of the mirrored columns. "You're all alone. I don't know what makes you think you're strong enough to face me." She said, before taking Rainia's head and banging it onto the glass, making it crack.

"I'm strong enough to kill you!" Rainia smirked. Rainia then kicked Flurry into a mirror, making glass go all over the floor. "I'm sorry." She said when she rushed over to Stellar. She picked him up in her hooves then was about to fly off, but was stopped when her bottom right hoof was grabbed and being held by magic.

"Oh, no you don't." Flurry said before she threw Rainia to the floor which caused Stellar to be thrown to the floor, breaking some of his ribs from the impact. Rainia began to run over to him, but Flurry immediately grabbed her, enveloping her in her bright orange aura and launching her into a window, shattering it into pieces.

One of those pieces managed to cut Stellar's broken leg and get stuck. Using his magic he pulled it out. That was the most he could do other than lay in a pool of his own blood. As Rainia sat up, Flurry walked over to Stellar and grabbed his right front hoof and used dark magic that pierced his skin, and burned as it did, making Stellar scream louder. She formed it into the shape of a circle on his hoof before she was grabbed by Rainia who pushed her down to the floor and savagely plows her through the floorboards.

Stellar watched the whole thing but was unable to focus because of the burning pain of the dark magic that was traveling through his veins that could kill him. All he was able to see was two figures twist and fight in and out of focus. His eyes suddenly opened when he saw the horrifying reality of Flurry kicking Rainia. The two were delivering what would be death blows to normal ponies, but since they were Alicorns they were able to withstand the attacks.

Rainia kicked Flurry into a wall then pinned her against it, both began to growl at each other until Stellar’s earsplitting scream fueled Rainia’s rage. His scream of pain slicing through her. She then charged up her horn with dark magic herself, then did the same thing Flurry did to Stellar. Rainia’s magic pierced through Flurry’s neck, flesh, and bone.

Flurry sent out an agonizing scream. Rainia realized she took it too far when her father and uncle Solaris made it to the scene. “Daughter. Stop! Remember who you are. We’ll handle this, Stellar needs you.” She nodded and rushed over to her coltfriend’s side. “I’m sorry it had to come to this… sister,” Artemis said before he and Solaris used their magic to kill Flurry.

Solaris and Artemis then rush over to the injured unicorn who screams again. Solaris works fast to assess his wounds, focusing on a massive bleed from his leg. But clearly, his hoof hurts the most. He writhes in pain. Solaris applies pressure to the gash on his thigh. “His femoral artery has been severed, he’s losing too much blood,” Solaris told Rainia.

"No, my hoof! It's burning!!" Stellar screamed.

"It's dark magic," Rainia said, examining the wound.

"Rainia, niece. You have to make a choice." Solaris began. "You can try and save him, or you can let it kill him."

"I choose to save him. I love him!" Rainia said, admitting her feelings about Stellar.

“Then you’re gonna have to be careful. Removing dark magic from a pony’s bloodstream is very dangerous if not done properly-! Rainia!!” He exclaimed as Rainia used his magic to try to absorb all the dark magic from Stellar’s bloodstream. Except it didn't work.

Rainia was beginning to panic. "No… NO!!" She cried out. She tried again. And again. And again. "Why isn't it working?!" Tears began falling from her eyes in fear that she may lose Stellar.

"Rainia, stop!" Solaris exclaimed. "You'll only kill him trying to remove the dark magic from him,"

"WHAT ELSE CAN I DO THEN?!" Rainia screamed through her tears. "ANSWER ME!!"

Solaris took a breath and exhaled. "The only other option is to turn him into an Alicorn," He said. "Then he'll be immortal and he'll live."

"What?" Rainia said. "No! I can't curse him to live forever and watch everyone he cares about die. I can't take his soul like that. There has to be another way!"

"There isn't," Solaris replied. "Unless you want him to die."

"I don't want that, neither of it," Rainia muttered.

"Well, you're gonna have to choose one," Solaris said. "By the looks of it, he doesn't have much time left."

"No," She said. "I won't be the one to choose." She turned to Stellar. "He will." She looked at Stellar, crying still. "Stellar? Do you want me to turn you into an Alicorn and you and I can be together forever. Or would you like me to kill you quickly and not be in any more pain? Stellar?"

"I want you," He said. "All I want is you." Him saying that made her smile and blush happily.

"Alright, so make you an Alicorn?" She asked him just to make sure.

"Yes," He said. He gave a smile as he looked at her beautiful face before his vision became very blurry to where he could hardly see her.

Rainia turned to Solaris. "How do I do the spell?!" Rainia asked in a near demanding tone. "How do I save him?!"

Solaris whispered in her ear. Rainia nodded. “Okay," She said. But she wasn't gonna do it here, so she teleported them all back to her place at the Canterlot Castle.

Once they were there, Rainia prepared the Alicorn Transformation Spell which could only be cast by an Alicorn and she used it on Stellar. After a few minutes, Stellar was all healed up, no broken bones or wounds. His body was stronger, harder, and a bit taller, plus he now had wings, but the ring scar on his right hoof was still there, he also had super hearing. Rainia wanted to cry seeing him alive. "Hey," She said.

"Hey," He replied, blushing bright red as he stared at her beautiful face which looked very different now through Alicorn eyes. It looked… even more, beautiful somehow.

When Stellar stood next to Rainia it actually looked like he belonged with her. Both of them had admired her creation she made.
The others had left the room to give them some alone time. Rainia looked deep into Stellar's indigo eyes just as he did with her dark blue eyes. The two were very quiet until Stellar broke the silence. “Well.” He started. “Now that I know you love me too, there's something I want to ask you.” He continued.

Rainia looked at him perplexed. “What is it, Stellar?” She asked him.

Stellar got down on one knee and held both of Rainia's front hooves. “Princess Rainia
Songbird… Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” He proposed. Rainia looked at him shocked, she didn't know what to say.
“Is that a yes or a no?” Asked Stellar.

Rainia smiled like she never smiled before. “Yes! Of course, I'll marry you Stellar Gleam!!” She said, hugging him tightly. What they didn't know was that the others were eavesdropping by listening through the door. Artemis cried tears of joy, his little girl was finally getting married.

Stellar puckered up his lips and moved them closer to Rainia's until at last, the two were kissing. Their kiss had felt eternal. Once they broke off their kiss they could hear the others through the door giggling. Artemis was crying, happily. “Forever and ever and ever.” Rainia murmured.

“That sounds just right to me,” Stellar responded. “I love you, Rainia."

“I love you too, Stellar,” Rainia said as they kissed again. Everyone was so happy for the couple as they now shared their Eternal Love, which would last for eternity.