> A sovereign twilight > by Celestial Twilight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: A fallen star > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took little time, everything was upside down and the world had become dominated by more than just darkness, it reminded her every day of her own failure, the beginning of the end and yet she felt nothing, no remorse and no sorrow. Why did it hurt so much then? Every day was night and every night was a nightmare, she couldn't stand the idea of twilight everlasting yet she never felt a thing about it until now as the world become a cascade of perpetual falling. Would it ever stop or has it already stopped? The pain, the sorrow, the mystery of what had went wrong never came to light again as the ponies hunkered down for the dark night, the moon was the only naturally binding light anyone could ask for, devoid of the supposed face of an even darker pony forgotten and alone. How did it come to this new world devoid of what seemed like hope and essence, she had to stay strong as ever now and guide the inhabitants of this world to a new era of darkness. Shadows bounced in the light from the shower of magical sparks filling the night, her long horn glowing a colorful purple filled with specks of yellow and white and icy blue. It was almost enough to stare at how beautiful her magic was while it lit her path through the dark everfree and yet it was so peaceful, animals had abandoned the woods for safer haven, not a bird chirped nor a wood pecker tapped in the darkness. Her head hung low as warm liquid drooled from the open gashes spread over her body and drizzled from the slashes and holes in her armor, barely clinging to her form by a few straps and threatened to be left behind forever. They had lost, the princesses scattered and the world turned to darkness, a sister had won but the other was gone, trapped in a fortitude of light never to be seen again, banished to the sun for one thousand years as punishment for her own desecration of the new queen, Queen Luna, the Nightmare of Night. With every step she was reminded of her own failure to protect Equestria and the throne of the two sisters, never had such devastation been seen in the lands since the dragon wars almost twelve hundred years ago. Even she had her hand in the pot when it came to stopping Nightmare Night... Luna from taking over Equestria but how did this happen now, at the height of the kingdom's beauty and power. The elements of harmony unfounded, stored away in secret locations only Celestia knew where and the ponies supposedly tasked with finding them had failed, faltered under the weight of the responsibility and with the trickery of the new queen. She could feel it now, the ground coming up to her face fast but it felt like eternity as her body hit the ground, tripped from a devious root or floundered by her own sheer exhaust it was undetermined, but she knew the end was coming, her weakened state made it neigh impossible to perform the required healing, broken left hind leg, multiple lacerations spread out over her body, one large stab wound on her left side just under her ribs but barely missing any vital organs, this must be it... Star Light... the Celestial Twilight of guidance, her grave would be here among the starry night, pale bluish-white light of the moon in a hostile wooded area many knew as the everfree forest and yet she didn't mind, there were worse ways to go, even the dragon inside of her could not find the beginnings of life in her deeply weakened state. The last thing she could remember was her magic waning, flickering and slowly being swallowed by the darkness as her magic shook its own life away along with her and she was left to listen to the silent night and forest and the cracking of leaves and branches in the distance getting closer. Every motion was like an avalanche of problems so she stayed still as her consciousness flickered much like her magic, looking into the dark as a pair of hooves lay there in front of her and the echo of a voice dimmed into the darkness of her own mind. She must not dream, she cannot, it wasn't worth reliving such a painful past, nearly twelve hundred years since that time as her mind warned her not to venture too far from the path, she could only feel what was once the happiest times of her life, to live out a dream of pure wonder and beauty while her lover gave all they could for her, looking up into the green eyes of a massive, strong and otherwise dominantly powerful being. Scales flickering in the waning life of her mind as she could remember her love, oh! The love of this once powerful dragon standing above her small pony body, he laid his claws on her side and smiled, showing off those dangerous teeth before her mind snapped back, recoiling from the dragon whom slipped silently back into the darkness of her mind and tears welled up, deep inside, ever fighting for control of her emotions. Days, weeks, months, who could tell anymore, the night never told, never showed and never cared for the days or years of the ponies, she stirred from her slumber on a softness she could only guess was a bed. She had no clue how long she had been out but it wasn't long until she began to realize she wasn't dead and nor was she necessarily safe, a banished princess in a hostile land that was Equestria now, she could only hope it was a friend that had brought her there. She cracked an eye lightly to look around, keeping her breathing slow as she examined the room around her, darkness was ever looming out of the windows but the interior was lit up nicely with lanterns and candles along with a warm and inviting fire lit to perfection where it should be. It didn't take much time for her to spot the pony that had supposedly saved her standing over by one of the various tables lining the sides of the wall filled with vials, potions, flowers and other such items used in alchemy and mixtures. This pony was hard to make out in her dazed state after waking up but it didn't take long to figure out who and what this pony was; Zecora, a zebra unlike any other, living in the everfree forest and made remedies and tending to Ponyville's many residents and their ailments. The realization she was in the care of a friend and a rather good friend made her heart flutter, she groans as she suddenly tried to stand up while her body ached all over she had never felt such pain before as stitched wounds threatened to tear open and she collapsed back to the bed. "Z-Zecora? W-what happened.." She stammered, the pain was too much to keep normal speech possible as the zebra gasped, running over and examining her patient before giving a sigh of relief and answering. "My Princess, your wounds were quite the issue despite most of the tissue used, rest is what you need or your countless pains will not heed. The forest almost swallowed you whole and so I must warn to not go alone." A good look at the zebra was all she needed, the pony looked exhausted, bags under her eyes had formed and bloodshot had filled much of the white and the cabin was worn down a bit, messy and littered with dead plants, broken bowls and glass vials swept under tables. The mare tended to her wounds and nearly ripped stitches, not talking much and a bit wobbly at the legs, days would pass before she was able to stand again with some pain from the damages, using her magic at times to help seal some of the wounds delivered by the halberd used by Nightmare Moon. The poor abused body of the pony princess of the celestial twilight greeted her eyes as Zecora brought a mirror over to give her a view of her own body, one of her draconic horns were a bit chipped, scratched from the battle and part of her ear got clipped, slicing it half ways through the tip of her long ear, that would heal over. She examined her body over, a rather large alicorn princess, half dragon half pony, it's what made her so powerful, being able to wield the power and magic of not only an alicorn but the untapped power of a dragon as well. She was Princess Star Light.. At least she was, now she was just Star Light, banished princess of Equestria, and her body was sore and bloodied, much of it was staining her white coat as she looked over the damage to her belly plates, silvery and magnificent to look at on a normal day, but today they were devastated. Dirty and scarred from battle, the wound that had barely missed killing her had found its way between the plates and shoved underneath, blood stains had colored the area to see. Looking back at her tail it didn't seem to have taken much damage, some of the fur tufts were cut and frayed for sure, dirtied by her time in the forest and near-death experience but otherwise undamaged, breathing a sigh of relief as her slitted eyes, softly glowing yellow like the stars of the night, looked back to Zecora. "Zecora, how long..." She was cut off by the sounds of wings flapping overhead, the silence of the birds was enough to heighten just about every sound in the world, a patrol she was sure, looking for her or other princesses that have yet to flee. She didn't have time, it was not on her side, she had to get out of here as every second increased the likelyhood of being spotted and caught. "Long in the woods, I must say, nearly a week you were here my princess.. What will happen to us when you are gone, where is our trust?" The zebra looked at her with her tired eyes wide open, she was alert and scared and unsure what would happen. "Zecora, i'm tasking you with an important job, building the resistance here against nightmare moon, she cannot have this victory so easily, you are one I can trust, your skills at woodland survival is important to the future of Equestria and you cannot fail me, the very future depends on you, when I do return I will help lead all of us back to the light and get our beloved Celestia back." The mare stood there, eyes unbroken from the princess as she listened but nodded, standing up as much as she could. The sounds of the flight came back and the world became loud again as they both went silent, listening to the sounds of multiple wings flapping, this time however it didn't move on, it grew closer and closer until the sounds of hooves hit the ground and began moving towards the hut! "Blast, I need to get out of here, they are coming to search the place, where can I get out?" She whispered, trying to look around for an escape and moving out of the way of the windows, she spotted some old ragged clothing probably used as a costume for Zecora during nightmare night. The zebra pointed to a small hatch behind her kitchen area, it was hidden behind the counter and under a rug, she grabbed the clothes off of the line and placed the hood over her head but she was a big pony, about the same size as Celestia and it was hard pressed to hide her bright white fur. As she slipped into the crawlspace she realized it was too small for her body to go much further, so she laid there under the hatch, looking up at the movement of the floorboards as the rug was placed back over the hatch just as there was a raspy banging on the door of a hoof. "Zecora, we know you're in there, come out please we just want to talk in the name of Queen Luna, The nightmare." The muffled voice could be heard outside, he sounded familiar, possibly one of the royal guards once tasked with protecting Celestia? She couldn't tell what was happening only hear things and guess, the door opened and the two started talking in muffled mumbles at first before she heard Zecora raising her voice. "There is nothing here for you good sir, please vacate my premise, the queen does not need to bother me with trifle placate! You should be ashamed, shining, what would your wife think of what has became?" This made her freeze in her thoughts, her worst fears coming to fruition as she heard the name of the one speaking to Zecora, Shining Armor, the captain of Celestia's royal guard, a traitor!? Her heart raced and she wanted nothing more than to burst out, pin the royal guard captain to the ground and break every bone in his body! But she had to stay calm, closing her eyes and trying to think of anything else but that, her heart rate slowly began to slow down to a normal pace but missing much of the conversation while focused on keeping quiet. "Look Zecora, if you spot any princesses around, just... j-just protect yourself, don't anger the queen, we are all just trying to survive here and I know you are too, she is too powerful and we just have to do what needs to be done." Zecora huffed at this from the captain before slamming the door shut in his face and moving towards the window, watching outside while the guards get ready for flight formation. She could feel the sadness in the sound of Shining's voice, the strain and pain of having to say some of those words, it was rather clear he didn't want this but had to do it to survive, but it wasn't enough to abstain his judgement over his betrayal of the princesses, yet. > Chapter 2: Broken Solitude (NSFW)(Optional Chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It wouldn't be long until Star stepped out of the basement, she was worried what was happening to the world around her, the thought of even one so loyal as Shining Armor turning on everyone else was hard to bear. She could understand the will to live, to give into the will of the power shift just to survive, she may be able to turn this to her advantage but she may need to go to great lengths to do so. Star was scared, more so than ever before, her home had turned on her, the world flipped upside down, and seemingly did another full flip again. "Zecora... What is happening to the world we once knew?" The zebra stood at the window, silent and breathing heavily before turning to the princess, head down with the visual range of a broken pony. "My princess, only the heavens can tell, for you are the only hope this land has to come back from such a tale." Zecora took to brewing up some tea and looked exhausted, mentally and physically. Star Needed to do something to help raise the spirits of this pony as she was as important to the future of Equestria as any other, not much she could think of would help but perhaps one thing can. She was the princess of guidance and sometimes guidance took to the more passionate side, to help those who have lost all hope find the light again and see there is still something left in the world to love and enjoy, this was one of those times. Star had plenty of fun back before Nightmare Moon's reign, it was almost common place, she may have even made Cadence blush at the mere thought of how much love she spread, it was always for a purpose though, to bring many of the ponies in Equestria seeking some sort of light, some sort of reason to keep going, she helped to guide them to a place of wonder, pleasure even, and love, something normally reserved for Cadence but she didn't have what Star had, all the goods. Star was a hermaphrodite (futanari), a byproduct of her transformation long ago when the magic of a dragon, perhaps even their soul was imbued in her body to save her life during the great dragon wars, back then she was only a normal unicorn under the guidance of the much younger Celestia. This dragon just happened to be male and so her transformation the magic imbued into her gave her body a strange side-product, a knotted, spined stallion cock, despite still being mare everywhere else it was one of the few things her body added, the horns, fangs, slightly larger body than most mares, and a thick frame, her body was practically made for every sort of love conceived. It took her a couple hundred years to learn about her new body, to control the sudden raw power an added dragon's magic gave her horn, around the time she was finishing her studies as well was the time Nightmare Moon first came, the time all princesses knew that they had a similar side. After Nightmare Moon was defeated Princess Celestia offered her something every aspiring unicorn could ask for, a seat as a princess of Equestria, given as thanks for her hard work to secure the elements of harmony and help capture Nightmare Moon for the future. She looked over at the mare for a moment and moved closer, her body still ached and burned from movements as many of the wounds still resided around her body, she tried to ignore every bit of the pain and pulled the zebra close, nuzzling into their mane a bit. Zecora leaned against Star, tears flowing down her face, the stress of what had happened to the world, eternal darkness, the loss of many of her friends and practical enslavement of many of the ponies she knew must have been weighting her down. It didn't take much more than that to pull the pony close and into her lap, smiling down at Zecora as the mare blushed a bit, looking up at the princess eyes watery eyes and realizing that her body was pressed against a rather massive sheath, Star smiled down to the zebra and nodded. "I can help you Zecora, I don't want to hurt you, only help you get better and I know this will help you as much as it will help me, wha~" She was cut off as the smaller zebra grinds up against such a massive sheath, she wanted this. Or rather needed this, the mare didn't know what had come over herself but the princess was just too much to sit out on, and with being in the forest for so long her own needs were almost never taken care of, the musk or maybe the way Star cared for her it wasn't clear. Star sat back some, letting the mare do her thing as soon she could feel the wetness of the zebra's muff snuggling tight to her sheath and growing member, knotted and enough to make any mare blush and any stallion jealous until the smaller mare suddenly stopped and tried to move away. "P-princess... F-forgive me, I know not what comes over this body," Zecora was ashamed of herself, stopping her grinding and pulling away, she felt like she was losing control but it all felt.. felt so good! "No! Please don't stop Zecora, you did nothing wrong, you were only feeling what you needed to feel, what your body begged for, i'm certain it gets very lonely out here, especially when walking into Ponyville and watching all your friends forced into such a sad state..." Star looked down at the mare, gently rubbing her sides and rather thick flanks for such a little one, though most of the ponies looked little to such a large alicorn. The zebra stopped and looked up at the princess then back down at the swelling, thick hybrid cock, gasping at the size internally, her eyes were locked with the alicorn's member and the musk, oh did the musk beg her to return! In a moment she was grinding her whole body on the growing shaft of the alicorn, it was too much to not want, to not dream of and she had only ever dreamed of such a monster filling her folds. The moans of the zebra filled the cabin, the silence outside didn't help to muffle their enjoyment either as Zecora opened her mouth, wrapping it around such a thick flared horse cock, grinding her needy muff against such a monster, it was like a dream come true and it was coming from the last pony she ever thought would care. Soon the knotted equine cock thickened a bit as soft spines extended out of the bottom and the top of her member just before the knot and this made the mare drool in need, she had never experienced such a thing before, it was odd at first but she wanted them inside! Zecora took a moment to stare at such a massive hybrid member before laying back, spreading her flanks and thighs for the much larger princess to mount her, she wasn't unfamiliar with breeding practices but she was out of tune. In moments the large hermaphrodite slipped over Zecora, planting that thick member into the folds of the mare and slowly spreading them around her massive, goddess-like shaft and after a howl of pleasure, Zecora flopped to the ground, heavy panting and moaning, the size alone was like nothing the mare had felt before, it easily overshadowed any stallion she had mated with and this one broke her almost the moment it slipped inside! She clenched madly around the thick member being stuffed into her folds so deep and passionately, thrust after thrust drove it deeper, a bulge moving about in the smaller mare's belly as the monster moved about inside of the mare, every movement, every moment was like heaven! It didn't take long for the spines to drive inside, making the mare wiggle about and grind hard against every movement as the spines prodded, rubbed, expanded her lovely mare walls at every movement and was driving the mare crazy with how it felt. She couldn't take too much more as Star thrusted deep and hard, kissing that knot against her folds over and over again, signalling what was to come as pre cum drooled inside of the walls of this mare in such an amount few could fathom but the pre cum alone made her belly bulge a bit and swell despite the thick bulge of princess cock inside. Every movement drove both into a frenzy of love and lust, pleasure and deep, sweet sensations as star pulled the mare into a deep and passionate kiss, moans filling the air and lust dominating the hut deep inside of the forest, soon the rest of the world and its responsibilities would come crashing in but not for a few more moments. Minutes later both were crying out into each other's mouth as first Zecora came, coating the mare's thick hybrid cock with sweet female honey followed by Star's own orgasm, pumping load after load into the mare and forcing the swelling knot into the mare's folds and locking both together for an hour at least, hot seed pumping into the mare's womb and sating that deep lust and need that Zecora's body complained about constantly. The mare's belly bulged as her womb filled with its first gallon of cum, then a second gallon before the flow began to slow, ending up pumping nearly 3 gallons of seed into the mare's womb, able to handle it due to being a zebra which was used to oversized loads but nothing like this still, Zecora lay there in complete bliss, unable to think and unable to function. Star lays down with the little mare and wraps her wings and hooves around Zecora and both slowly drifted to sleep, the two no longer caring about the rest of the world at this moment, just the blissful mating that was done and sleep. In her sleep, Star Light was falling, deeper into the darkness and unlike the darkness of night, there was no light, no moon and not a single soul to share it with, above her were two purple slitted eyes, glowing softly and a somewhat twisted but familiar laugh could be heard as she fell. Every moment felt like an eternity, thoughts of pleasure and lust filled her mind, controlling the minds and lust of all ponies, she wanted more and wanted the world to be her own and every second she fell she only wanted more. She must have been tossing and turning in her sleep as Zecora could be heard yelling in her ear, then a sudden pain and jut striking her face and her eyes flung open, gasping and giving off a deep growl as she readied for a fight. "My princess! Star Light!.. you were having a bad dream, do not fret and don't attack." Zecora was looking at Star Light with quite the concern, unsure how to feel about the mumbling, tossing and turning especially when she was still on that monstrous member which had finally sunk down into her sheath once more. Star Light panted and looked around the candle-lit room then down at Zecora and sighed, her fur was a bit matted with sweat and her mind was trying to jog what had happened but failed. "J-Just a dream... Falling in darkness, forgive me Zecora as I did not mean to frighten you, I am fine now." Star Light slowly slipped out of bed, looking around the room and sighing, she could remember what happened the night before but this dream, it scared her. There one moment and gone another, she had no choice but to give up on trying to remember all that had happened but she felt like it wasn't just any dream at all, it was something more as if a message, desperate to warn her but being held back, stifled and hidden from the truth. Star Light took a moment to look out the window, based on the clock dial Zecora had above the fire it should be midday but it was still dark outside, however life had come back in some regards, crickets were chirping and birds were fluttering, the world almost seemed normal again; If only that were true... > Chapter 3: Descent into darkness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star Light stared into the dark for minutes, her wounds had healed remarkably well and she was ready to get on with things, her future was waiting and she needed to get on the road to find her way northward, Equestria needed help and she needed to find the 6 ponies tasked with finding the elements. Something was stirring though, despite nightmare moon conquering the kingdom something felt off, inside herself and the rest of the world, the darkness stirred almost like a liquid around her, small spots of life being seen past the veil and she had no clue what was causing it. The dream still haunted her mind, it was clear that something was wrong with her, something awoke but what was another matter, she had to push on for the future of Equestria and their inhabitants and began packing her stuff into some saddle bags. Some potions to use in case of emergencies, blankets, sleeping rolls and rope as well as some tools like a shovel and pickax in case some heavy work was needed and food rations, hay grass sandwiches, and some non-perishables for long journeys. She bid her farewells to Zecora, giving the smaller mare a kiss on the cheek, drawing a deep blush from the zebra and causing her to recoil a bit with a bit of insecurity which melted away quite fast and permitted a tight hug from her around the tall dragon pony princess as tears well up in her eyes. "P-princess, I owe you a hearth of warmth and a wish you would not go, stay in my home and you will not be torn by your trivia of responsibility..." She looked up at Star Light whom stared back with sad, tired eyes and licked the tears from Zecora's eyes before lifting a hoof up to the mare's chin and gives a kiss smack on the dark lips of this zebra. "I'm not looking to do this because I want to my dear Zecora, I have a mission and as the last known princess in Equestria I have to find the 6 that were tasked by Celestia to bring Nightmare Moon to justice... This is something I have little choice in sweetie and... Well I don't even know where to start or who Celestia gave this task to." She had been on her own exploits, touring northern Equestria to help the governor of Manehatten resolve a food shortage when Nightmare Moon defeated and scattered the 6 tasked with defeating her and ultimately defeated Princess Celestia, banishing her to the sun. Exhausted would be an understatement for her and every minute Nightmare Moon was gaining further control over the masses, time felt like it passed at a snails-pace, it had to be nearly 10:00 AM by now, the sun would normally be dominating the sky. Though as she rose to the moon's height, head held high in hopes to find the sun, Celestia's prison on the horizon there would only be disappointment as many shades ranging of black to even the beautiful bluish-white of the full moon, with no sun to contest it the regal luna would never again eclipse for the next one-thousand years. Wind whipped at her body as she flew low over the canopy of trees that made up the vast ever free forest with nothing but sadness filling her mind and with every flap of her wings she could feel the stinking pain still shooting through her body, persistence was key and she had to, hundreds of ponies depend on her. Zecora's potions had done well to make her mobile again but she had not been given enough time to heal up, the fate of the kingdom rested upon her hooves but she could feel a nagging, fearful thought growing in the back of her mind, that dream, this world, Nightmare Moon had awoken something in her and it scared her to the core. Shaking her head of these thoughts and persevering was her only hope as she scanned over the treetops, slowing her pace some as a sound concerned her, fluttering of wings and screaming of birds as they vacated what seem to be their only safe home in the dark forest concerned her yet also intrigued Star Light, turning to investigate the event. "Show yourself." Star Light spoke out as she came to a clearing nearby the event and her guard was up, eyeing the trees around her as she could feel the tension practically seeping from the trees around her. A twig snapped and a shadow moved from what she thought was a tree itself and bulged the side of one of the dark trees before splitting off from the bark and began moving closer to her. She recognized them immediately as the shadow formed and took shape of the one that caused her exile... "Nightmare Moon! How dare you show your face to me!" Star Light felt her anger building up inside of her, fangs bared and pupils tightly slitted much like the queen standing in front of white alicorn, taking a few steps back and flaring out her wings in anticipation of an attack and ready to flee. "Oh my dear Star Light, how the mighty truly have fallen, look how low you have become, putting others in danger for your own survival! No worries though, that hack of zebra will enjoy our dungeons quite well I must say..." The black mare did not stop, walking straight for her and grinning the whole time she spoke, almost spurring on her speech with her own menace. "Or well she normally would if she had not been the one to deliver you right into my hooves! Hehehe..." This stunned Star Light, throwing her off, betrayed by one who she had trusted so much, how could this have happened in such a short time and the thought pulled eyes down to the floor as anxiety, anger and questions bubbled into her mind and chest. The weight of this had taken its toll already and that deep anger, dark rage bubbled to the surface, the same one that had filled her mind with fear in her dream before. Looking up at the dark mare gave her a jump as Nightmare Moon stares at her from only a few hooves away, giving a rather interested and analytically gaping stare at the banished princess, it only served to enrage her more. "No! You will pay for your actions Nightmare Moon and I will make you pay!" Star Light had only one willful bone left in her body on the edge of collapse as her rage was boiling over, she needed to keep herself in line and not fall prey to the lures... It was not enough and before she could restrain herself, body bulging, horn lighting with magic and power, with a kick at the ground from her powerful hind legs to the gusting flap of her wings she would charge. The full force of her body made it hard to dodge but easy to predict as Nightmare Moon merely stepped to the side and bowed down to dodge Star Light's wings as she swept the ground below the princess and knocking them over, a hissing and growl could be heard along with the pounding thump of her body hitting the ground. Star Light was dazed but not for long, her anger drowning what senses she had at the moment while her body began to change, bulging with muscle and size while her growls intensify, quickly rising to her feet and turning almost instantaneously as the queen and shooting a magical blast of power at the queen who did this as well, both beams hitting straight on and both held their ground almost perfectly while singing and scorching the ground below the beams and the blast resonating from both beams trying to fight for the upper advantage. She cannot be queen, there can only be one! Destroy her! Rang out inside of Star Light's head, letting out a powerful roar as she was now more physically draconic than her normal hybrid self, her power was only getting started but she had to press the advantage as her beam of pure power mixed with the power of her dragon half, pushing the queen's back until it burst like a small star exploding and sent both flung back. Star Light hit a tree while the queen smacked into a carved statue of herself from the old days of being Princess Luna, worn and already damaged from time and wear, neither had truly won but Nightmare Moon now looked a bit unsure of the outcome, looking over at the dragon that had sheered six trees with her huge body alone still settling under the pile of collapsed limbs and trees. They rustled and creaked as the white shinning scales of the dragon rose from the chaos and destruction, hurt but not out of the fight yet, she launched at the queen yet again, horn alight with power and magic but something in her eyes showed a break in the paragon, she was not alone and evil stirred inside of this hybrid dragoness the queen wasn't sure she could win against. "E-even now I can see you slipping and if you're not careful princess you will fall..." moon spoke with a tint of fear growing ever present in her voice, panting as she rises from the broken rubble of the statue, looking down at the familiar head and eyes of her more docile Luna and sighs with a bit of deep tinge of pain, Luna cried inside of the dark mare's mind. "W-what are you talking... about?" Star Light Groans and growls as she slowly rose, her body was bruised and scales scarred and scratched from being flung into multiple trees while her bones creaked and cracked back into place as her body was not severely damaged thanks to her armored scales. Nightmare Moon stood there trying to hide some burns from the draconic mare stunned, confused and unsure but also less damaged by the blast, panting and groans a bit but she knew this was not over, she could not allow that dark power inside of this mare to be released and attacked yet again. Charging at Star Light with her black wings wide open and magical mane and tail flowing feverishly behind her, this put Star Light on the back hoof and quickly shielded herself with her wings and a protective spell but the impact of the large mare was enough to still fling her back into another four trees. Creaking, groaning and snapping filled the air, the ground shook from the impact and the night sky was filled with crashes of trees falling to the ground before settling back into a still, soundless night. Star Light growls and groans in anger as her protective spell did its work almost too well, she was still shook by being flung like a hamster in a ball, slowly rising back to her feet and charging at the black mare, crying out in anger and pain though Nightmare Moon was ready, putting up her own shield to protect her was barely enough to contain the rage of the princess smacking into her shield, instantly breaking it and flinging the mare back into the clearing and rolling to a stop gasping for gulps of oxygen. Both were now exhausted, despite the power of both mares neither could gain a distinct advantage over one another as the moon rose above the trees slowly and shone its beauty over the clearing, showing the destruction the two had committed on the once beautiful area. Trenches of upended dirt and shattered, splinted trees broken by the power of the two brought a dreadful and war torn sadness to the area, Star panted and tried to catch her breath while the queen painfully rose to her feet, taking a look at the area for the first time brought a gut wrenching sadness to Star Light. Such destruction over one mare, two ponies with intense power caused suffering and pain to the poor forest and it wasn't over yet as Nightmare Moon marched herself ever closer to Star Light and was determined to see the end of this fight. Star Light growled in frustration and stepped back, just wanting to have this done and her will to fight was waning every moment this dragged on but what happened next would define her own future and that of Equestria, something snapped inside of her in that moment and a darkness consumed her for even the slightest of moments but it was truly enough. "You will never save Equestria Star Light, your friends, family, they all belong to ME!" With that Nightmare Moon laughed but it would be short lived, this cut a string within Star Light and forced her into a fit of rage, the once loving, caring and guiding mare let out an unnatural roar as her fur turned a dark purple. The sudden roar and transformation caught the queen off guard and put her onto the defensive, that presence she had ignored could suddenly be felt through the air and coursing through the ground and her thoughts turned to her own deepest desires. Forbidden thoughts of subservience to the will of this mare flooded her mind and put her on the back hoof for a moment, Nightmare Moon was now exposed, distracted and as she cleared her head of deep, dark and even unknown sexual desire it was far too late, Star Light was upon her in a flash, eyes ablaze with the purplish-red fire of passion, desire and rage slammed ten fold into Nightmare Moon, multiple snaps and an overwhelming pain knocked the mare out entirely in a single blow. A huffing, panting and seething Star Light stood over the unconscious mare, this was not Star Light but a darker entity budding inside only slightly unleashed and that moment stood still, burning rage and broken bones, anguish and power filled the night in what seemed almost like a still picture. Before Star Light could finish the job the flood gates were closed in her mind and exhaustion took over, the overwhelming power and thoughts had done in the princess quite well, she had to get out of there before the queen's guards arrived and Star couldn't find the strength to fight them off either. Her memory was shot, nothing that happened could be recalled, the fight was a flash of pictures as she stumbled off into the dark forest, everything moved too fast around her as dizziness took over but she had to keep moving, life depending on how far away from that clearing she became. Nearly an hour of walking sufficed in bringing that mighty dragon mare to the ground and she passed out in the dark brush of the Ever Free Forest, creatures awoke and began to stir around her soon after, some stopped to examine her before moving on as the forest came back to life slowly but Star Light wouldn't for the next 12 hours as arousing thoughts filled her dreams and after that, nightmares of what had conspired that night. > Chapter 4: To begin again > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Welcome back Star, it's been too long truly and it felt so good to see you again." The voice was familiar yet so strange, perhaps it wasn't her it was so hard to tell, darkness shrouded her mind, thoughts of creating a new species of ponies, a dominant race of perfect creatures filled her head. What was going on, such rage and lust, she wanted no more than to impregnate every mare, make every pony into her perfect slave and create a dominant race of perfect ponies made to serve her, even Celestia and Luna would submit to her... "No! Nnngh.. No! Get out of my head, who are you!?" She was answered with silence, nothing around her, just darkness yet it all moved like smoke, everything was distorted and a sudden wave of pain and exhaustion hit her like a train, making her gasp and wobble on her feet. "W-what is happening!? A-answer me!" The silence was broken by foot steps, metal foot steps slowly waltzing closer all around her, surrounding her and she couldn't get out, they were getting closer and closer until all the sounds moved and focused onto one point off her left side. Taking a closer look she saw two specks of what looked like fire, purplish-red and glowing red from the center before shifting into a pair of eyes looking right at her, a slightly reflecting set of sharp teeth stared back at her from the darkness as the form slowly took shape, becoming separated from the dark clouds of smoke and black background. The deep purple form of a mare staring back at her took shape, a demonic looking mare at first yielded to a draconic mare she could barely recognize stopped just outside of the "light" she cast on the dark world. "Don't be afraid Star Light, you're not alone after all, the world betrays you and yet you still fight, I like that in you and myself as well, they should be bowing to us and yet that usurper sits on your throne, why is that?" The voice was so familiar yet couldn't put a face to it, it sounded a bit raspy, devious and pursed with a sort of melodic tone, every vowel and movement from word to word was smooth and transitioned almost hypnotically. She couldn't find the voice to speak with, she felt almost as if she had little choice but to trust this voice as if it was the most promising thing in days she had and Zecora's betrayal only made things worse. Her life was upside-down at this point, even her dreams were filled with melancholy and deceit yet she found herself staring into the eyes of her own doppelganger. A near-spitting image but this one looked scarred, eyes as black as the night, aura as powerful as aphrodisiacs, that familiar face roused trust in her but also a deep-set fear. She gave a growl at the being and it did not flinch, only grinned more and showed off familiar fangs and it drove Star to start to sob and lowering her head to the pitter-patter of tears on the ground. Everything was far too hard to deal with, she couldn't find the will to continue going on by herself and needed help, Star Light knew she could not defeat Nightmare Moon alone. This creature offered an easier path and the power to take back Equestria but at what cost would it take? The creature extended a hoof to the mare standing there and watching the pitiful sobbing of the once proud and strong princess wrought so low now. "Star Light!" Came a voice, something in the distance of the darkness, it wasn't her voice or the entity's and it wasn't familiar yet it knew her name, how did it know? "Star Light, Princess Star Light wake up, we need to leave..." the voice was drowned out by the dull throbbing of the darkness but it was enough to open her eyes, looking back at the entity made her gasp and jump back in surprise. Gone was the once scarred mare, proud yet deviously dark by feeling alone and in her place was a monster she had never witnessed, more dragon than mare now, scales and fur turned purple, eyes lit with a black-purple fire burning around the edges of her eyes. The sight of this dominance was both frightening and a powerful urge to give in, submit and to trust in this being as her power could probably be felt for miles but that devious grin turned to a frown. Then a growl escaped the entity's muzzle as her slitted blue eyes turned to anger and she tried to grab for Star Light. A sudden tugging snapped her away from the purple creature as if pulled by a string and all that was sucked away. As the darkness and the dark mare was sucked away into the distance left roaring out and trying to make chase but it was hopeless as the once bitter darkness was traded for a twilight black as what looked like the sun was rising in the far distance. The world came back into view, a light shining over top of her from an obscured source while her vision began sifting through the light and noticed a face began to appear through it. She must have been crying as the face looked sad, a hoof touched her cheek and seemed to wipe away the tears streaming from her face. Finally the light fades and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she stared up at a purplish pony with curly locks for her mane and pointed fur- tipped ears, thin membrane wings like her own but slightly different, more bat-like than a regal draconic pony. This mare smiles down at Star Light soon and picked her up slowly with a grunt and caused pain to shoot through Star, growling as her body was forced to move after the damage it sustained in the fight with Nightmare Moon. "W-who are you? Nnngh!" Star Light nearly collapsed right there but was caught by the mare that helped her up. "I'm surprised you don't remember me, Princess Celestia did introduce us at the gala 4 years ago." The mare smiled and gasps as Star Light pulled away, nearly face planting into the ground again and tried to help the princess of guidance walk. "STAR you are far too weak to try and keep up this pace, you're going to kill yourself, now I don't know what you did to yourself but you need to rest and heal up!" The mare was halfway screaming at her, it made the blood boil in her to the idea she needed another pony's help after what Zecora did but it was no use, in a matter of a few steps Star was back on the ground. "Star Light you stingy mare you are far too hurt, please don't move while I get some of these wounds healed." The bat hybrid mare lie down over Star's damaged body and her bright lavender magic began to course through the scales and white fur matted with red, glistening blood. It was a rather painful experience feeling gaping wounds being pulled and tugged and forced to meld together and left the mare panting from the magical exertion from only a few of the major gashes. "N-nightmare Moon... Gaa-aaahg! C-can you please be more careful!" Star cried out as the magic waned and ended up cutting one of the gashes open further. "S-star... I'm sorry your wounds are too much for me alone... W-wait, Nightmare Moon did this to you? You're lucky to be alive after that. Look my name is Cinnamon Music, you may be in too much pain to remember me but I remember you and i'm only here to help you so please, just let me help you." Cinnamon sighed and slowly got back to her hooves, using what strength she had left to help Star Light back up, some of the healing did help to keep her on her hooves longer. "C-Cinnamon Music... I remember you now, you left right after that gala, I never got to talk to you before you left, I-I do remember P-rincess Celestia introducing us, nngh! I-i'm so sorry I failed to save her from her fate... P-please just leave me here I have failed Equestria I-I~..!" Star Light was cut off by the hoof of this bright purple pony pressing to her lips and muzzle and forcing her to stop her speech, giving a look up at the mare and Star knew tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Shhh... Quite down Star Light, you have done your best i'm quite certain, and based on your wounds you have given it your best, please do not beat yourself down because you are not alone in this, many of the ponies of Equestria still stand behind you and my 'Tia, and so do I." Cinnamon smiles down at Star Light and drapes a wing over the large princess, holding her close and using her magic to pull leaves and nearby bush branches over both of them to help camouflage them from any prying eyes. Star Light didn't know where the last night ended and the new morning began anymore and she had lost track of when sleep had come over her. Exhausted from the emotional ride and the fight, something inside of her was beginning to break and something else was beginning to overtake her mind, corrupting her thoughts. She was truly scared as a dark blanket seemed to inch its way into every fault and ever crevice of her mind and body. Dreams no longer filled her sleep this night, every night and always the nightmare continued. Star woke up after what felt like days asleep covered in leaves and the mare she had seen before was gone, leaving behind hoof prints and feathered. Star Light stirred from her sleep and slowly rose from the leaves but she no longer felt soreness or pain, her body felt new and unhinged from the physical memories of the fight with Nightmare Moon Looking around the area yielded little results to her mental inquiries, where did Cinnamon Music go now? How would she find the six ponies now and with the growing mistrust and darkness in her mind, how could she take back herself. Princess Star Light had no answers only more questions and building anxiety but she needed to move forward. Life reinvigorating her once beat and broken body and she took her first real limp-less steps since the near deathly encounter with Nightmare Moon. The cool night air seemed to shift and move around her and kept Star Light on a constant alert, scanning the shadows and the darkness of the forest until what felt like hours and she began to lose hope of ever finding the edge of this blasted woodlands. It seemed luck was on her side though as moments after she realized the forest had suddenly and abruptly ended, in the distance was the lantern lights of what she could only assume was Ponyville and beyond that was her lost home, Canterlot. The lights of Canterlot were limited as she could imagine smoke rising from the now wasted castle, halfway destroyed from not only one but two battles waged there, one by Celestia and the other by herself, both outcomes were rather known by now and it pulled a sigh from her chest. Turning away from the destruction and shame that washed over the disposed leader, she began to move southward towards more of the larger cities like Manehatten and Las Pegasus, it was certain that the six ponies had fled but she had to find them. Star Light's head hang low in the ever apparent shame she felt, every step tugged at her mind to turn around and try to depose Nightmare Moon, to take back Equestria once again. She needed to try but the rest of her body still felt the ghost pain of the two fights prior and was forced to keep moving forward, fighting would come soon enough. The flapping and beating of wings stopped her in her tracks suddenly, looking up and around for the owner made her gasp as Cinnamon was coming in with a blaze of glory and a lit lantern floating beside the mare. "Star Liiiiight!" Cinnamon Music shouted out, floating from the sky and landing beside the larger pony, huffing from the exertion and adrenaline of the rush. "W-where did you go? I was finding some food for us and I came back to find you gone but thankfully you're a rather large mare and your hoof prints dig into the ground deep, here." Cinnamon Music wasted no time to pull a fruit from her saddle pack slung behind her wings and handed one to Star while biting into the other, it was actually rather cute to watch this mare munching on what she could only distinguish was an apple or mango. "Thank you Cinnamon Music, It looks good and I actually didn't realize until now I had not eaten much of anything in the past day or two I think, and it's even more surprising they survived this long, bat ponies usually crave these things." Star Light munched on her own fruit, it was definitely an apple and so sweet that it could only have come from Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's established business she had to abandon after Nightmare Moon vanquished Princess Celestia. "Just Cinny is fine, it's easier to say and i'm no bat pony silly, I may resemble one but I do differ from them, I am a vampire.. err pony, most just call us Vamponies and before you ask, I am here because of family issues..." Cinny stopped munching on the apple and seemed to stare off into space after this statement and Star Light, though very curious now about the outcome of this family endeavor, did not press her luck with a mare she didn't know so well yet. There would be time for learning more about each other in the future but they needed to find a better mode of transportation before they could get to such a distant city like Manehatten far, far south. "So what are we doing, Star Light? I heard tales about six ponies that were tasked with the recovery of magical artifacts to try and stop Nightmare Moon and failed... Or maybe request the aid of the northern tribes, dragons or even go eastward to the barrens and perhaps find help outside of the empire? Perhaps try to find Princess Cadence, she is sure to have the ability to help us?" Cinny dragged on the suggestions ranging from ponies and creatures all over the world and it even made Star Light giggle a bit when she mentioned horse pony legends from the far eastern shores before taking the apple from Cinny and putting it into the mare's mouth. "All very fine suggestions and ones to keep in mind i'm fairly certain but Celestia chose those six you mentioned, they were destined to drive Lu... Nightmare Moon back and defeat her but they failed and I need to know why, they may know the location of those artifacts and they may be the only way to successfully defeat Nightmare Moon. So we are going to Manehatten, that is the most likely place to find at least two of the six and once we have found them our path to the last four will be much easier!." Star looked back at Cinny and both smiled at each other, It was obvious what both of them needed to do now and with a nod from the Vampony and a long journey ahead full of their own dangers and perils in the moon-lit sky. This would be a long and unknown journey, the world had changed for the worst and fear now made its ways into the ponies of this land and they needed to find their path forward from there, this was truly and only the beginning for what lay ahead no pony knew with the war brewing on the horizon of Equestria. > Chapter 5: Horns of war > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: Horns of war Manehatten 2 weeks later The night had grown to wear on her body and mind, eternal night wasn't all it had come to promise, crops died and her orchard was indeed on the bring of devastation for without the sun how could trees live and thrive. The apples were drying up all around Equestria and the try to keep her farm from foreclosing she had to get a job in Manehatten to try and balance her negative income. Cider had to be discontinued in favor of feeding the growing hunger of ponies around Ponyville and exporting her goods could no longer come to fruition as there was just too few apples. The orange pony sighed as she walked the darker-than-usual steppes of the bustling city of Manehatten, burning from the constant glow of the lanterns and building lighting around it. The moon hardly shone through much of the city already which made the warm glow of lanterns the only real light to be seen. Applejack didn't know how well the city had been working with the shortage of crops but rumor had it there was a mushroom found in the everfree forest that could survive at night and nourish the ponies as food shortages began plaguing all of the kingdom. Factories whirred nearby and the clanking of metal and machinery drowned out the steps of ponies trying to make it by in the growing intensity of the shifting economy, Applejack needed to find a new job and she was determined to save her farm if it was the last thing she did. Rarity had come as well on the same train Applejack arrived on, both had said their farewells and went their separate ways after the failure of their friends, Twilight went missing soon after and Fluttershy had delved into her own work of trying to help animals survive in the new world. Pinky Pie remained in Ponyville to try and help the ponies there survive with the dark, dreary new world and Rainbow Dash... She never did get over their failure, becoming reclusive in Cloudsdale there had been mention she was gathering steam on a rebellion of the Pegasus ponies that resided there, how that was coming along no pony knew yet. Applejack was so lost in her own thoughts about the past she didn't notice a hole in the sidewalk on her path to the nearby mushroom factory she was applying for a job to. With a splash and a bumbling crash the pony slipped and crashed into the concrete ground and in her desperation and flailing accidentally smacked into another pony who cried out and fell back in surprise. 'Great now i'm all wet, miserable and still need to get to my interview on time and hit a poor pony!' Quickly stumbling back to her feet, sopping wet from her little slip. "Oh sugarcube! I'm so, so sorry about that, will you p-please..." Applejack's apology trailed off when she noticed who she had hit, laying on the ground before her was none other than a large white pony no doubt resembling Celestia herself. This pony however had an extra pair of horns swept back behind her ears and scales spread out under her white fur. The mare resembled that of a dragon with hardened plates protecting her belly and a lengthy, thick tail topped with a continuation of her brilliant star-covered purple and blue colored mane. Wings sprawling and thin membrane allowing her flight resembling that of a bat or dragons wings and all of it gave her a regal, powerful pony look and no doubt it befit a princess of Equestria. "S-Star Light! O-oh forgive me P-princess, you are the last one I woulda ever thought to bump into here of all places!" Applejack bowed as was customary. "No! I-I mean no... Please disperse with the formalities, i'm no princess as much as you are no longer in Ponyville, Applejack but it is very good to see a friendly face in such a hostile time." Star Light shook off the stars in her vision from the hit and steadily rose to her hooves again, smiling down at the yellow earth mare bowing before her. Applejack stood up and sighed in the realization of the truth but she still considered any royalty of Equestria to be a princess despite the events unfolding around the kingdom. "Your highness as much as the world is gone to you, you are still a princess in my eyes and not a darn one of these ponies or events can change that in me, but it raises the question of why you are here of all places so far from the throne?" Applejack wanted to get to the meat of this conversation fast as possible, there was no coincidence the princess was here. Star Light sighs and looks down over the orange pony as she sat down, wrapping a large draconic wing over Applejack, "Yes I am here for a multitude of reasons I must admit, I cannot beat Nightmare moon alone and all that I knew is gone dear Applejack..." Star trailed off for a moment, looking up at the dark sky, the only lights were the flicker of stars and the melody of the glowing moon combined with the warm lantern lights that would never cease to turn off at this rate. "Applejack I'm lost and I am on a hunt looking for a way through this darkness myself, the ones that were tasked with finding a way to stop Nightmare Moon are perhaps the only ones able to stop this madness, I have to find Celestia's pupil!" Her head lowered and looked over the smaller mare and finally realized tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Oh shucks princess! No need to cry, especially the princess of guidance, I know it's hard and a lot rests on your back to save Equestria but... Well Twilight and the gang split up a' while ago, we went our separate ways and I have no clue to reckon where she or many of the others went." Applejack hugged the large mare and brought a smile out from the hybrid princess but that smile was quickly replaced with a look of shock. "So wait, you knew her? You and your gang, does that mean you were a part of the group Celestia entrusted with saving Equestria from this calamity?" Star Light was indeed shocked by this, had she found the ones she was looking for all this time? The nod from Applejack made her jump up in joy, letting out a cry and a roar of excitement! "We need to go right now and find the others Applejack, you may still be the only ones that can help to make all of this right! W-will..." Star trailed off as Applejack moves away, sighing in her own disappointment and slowly crept away. "Princess, p-please I want nothin' else to do with all of this fiasco! I tried to do ma' part but it was just never meant to be, perhaps Rarity would be willing to help and she is some wheres in this city, buh' I have a job to do and a responsibility to do it, ma' farm is dying and bits are becomin' sparse." Applejack would turn around and look up at the princess with sad eyes. "Forgive me sugar cube, but this is all just too much for me ta' handle, I really do wish you luck in the future but I hardly know how I can help ya' with this, but if you do need ta' talk I will be around, I live only a few blocks away from here." Applejack looked up at the princess and sighed, lowering her hat on her head and moved past the large white mare towards her job in the factory, she was already a bit late and knew the boss wouldn't be too happy. Star Light didn't have words for this rejection, she was so certain the ones tasked with saving Equestria before would jump at the chance to right their wrongs. Applejack was right about one thing though, she needed to stay strong for the rest of Equestria, perhaps she could find Rarity and convince her to help and perhaps if Rarity were to help Applejack would follow! Giving a sigh and turning away from her failed attempt with Applejack she spread her wings and gave a few powerful flaps just enough to get up on top of one of the nearby apartment buildings. Scrambling to get on top of the smooth roofing with her hooves but finally using a chimney to steady her positioning, it was only a matter of time before she made a mistake and hurt herself on top of these roofs. She was forced to travel this way as flight may be seen too easily and give her away and street travel was just as bad, she doesn't exactly blend in. The night was quite beautiful under normal circumstances, Star Light always did find solace under the stars and the gentle glow of the moon, the one that was now corrupted and tainted with a maroon-purple. She stared off into the night, saddened by how the world worked now under corrupt skies, her ties with the stars was nearly severed by now and her path was much more unclear now. Joined by Cinnamon Music moments later on the rooftop the two talked about events and the path forward. "Did you find anything Cinny? I pray you did, my efforts with Applejack was quite underwhelming..." She trailed off with a tinge of sadness. "Not much sadly but I did run into this lovely mare, she even wove me this sash for nothing, it's at least a hundred bit sash but she was so generous after my pestering looking for Applejack, I think her name was Ra... Rara?" Cinnamon Music chuckled and shook her head, looking at the wonderfully woven sash lined with brilliant sapphire and methodical emerald stitching. Star was in thought but the mention of this pony drew her out of those thoughts quickly, mumbling the words of the pony Cinny had mentioned and the sash, the two couldn't just be coincidental! "Ra-Ra... Rarity? Was her name Rarity? I remember there being a boutique in Ponyville, I didn't know who owned it exactly but that's how I come to know about Applejack!" Her hope was restored a bit, she practically stared at Cinny with hopeful eyes. Cinny was indeed a bit surprised, she thought back to what was said between herself and the young mare and nodded, "Yeah! Rarity that's her name, she has a new shop just on Broad stroke street! Do you think she is one of the guardians..." Cinny trailed off as Star Light shook the roof with her powerful takeoff, pushing off from the chimney and getting low above the roofs right after she mentioned the location of the store, leaving Cinnamon Music to try and catch up yet again! Star Light bobbed and weaved through the buildings, agile on her wings as she made her way to Broad Stroke Street, she knew the area well enough from assisting with building Manehatten many years ago, she knew this area because it was one of the first few streets she helped build as a project to increase the living space in the kingdom. "Star Light wait up!" Cinny could be heard from behind Star Light but she was too far away to hear and already diving onto Broad Stroke Street where she landed, giving a gander to the street up and down, her armored hoof boots clacking on the brick road as Cinnamon Music soon caught up. The purple mare panted and groans a bit from the exertion but Star Light was focused and looking around through crowds of ponies going in and out of the stores nearby but plenty stop and whisper as they noticed the two large mares. Silence overtook the crowds as they looked over both of them but Star Light failed to notice, pushing through the crowds towards some of the boutiques, searching over one after another. She began to get desperate as she moved from store front to store front, looking over them and not finding the mare she was looking for. Beginning to ask one after another of the shop owners but none of them would give more than a frightened squeak or a shake of their head before running off into their store. Cinnamon Music followed behind the desperate Star Light, concerned by all the ponies staring at them, few would move on with their business but many were too curious to find out what was going on and why they were here. "Star Light, we are frightening ponies around here, they know you are wanted by the queen... Star Light listen to me, we cannot find Rarity this way!" Cinny had to practically pull Star away from one of the store owners as the princess began speaking frantically and frightening the store owner into a pure stutter. Princess Star Light panted, sighing and lowering her head in ashamed defeat, she had no idea how to carry on from this point, Rarity was her only hope to keep moving forward. She looked at Cinnamon Music as tears began to slide down her cheeks, the vampony mare gave her a hug and sighs softly, trying to comfort the alicorn but hope was beginning to drain from her mind slowly. Canterlot Throne Room, 2 days later A statue slammed against one of the walls, barely missing one of the great stained glass window panes showing the great deeds and stories of Equestria, the queen was in a rage, crying out in anger despite her guards watching in fear that she might lash out at them. Nightmare Moon was stronger, more dedicated, she would be loved by her subjects and no other, who else could rule Equestria, no other pony could match her strength but Princess Star Light had shown an unknown strength, one she knew would not be possible for just any alicorn. What gave that brat so much strength, why did she deserve it over the new ruler of Equestria! "Gaaah! What makes her able to withstand my power, I had her right where I wanted her, something still gives that broken whelp power!" Moon looked around the castle for answers, seething with anger and her eyes land on the elements of harmony, all 5 of them taken from her sister's old castle, still missing the 6th but it was no bother to her. "They cannot be giving her power, that's impossible in every way, that's not how they work..." She paced faster and the guards watching her looked at each other nervously, sweat dripping from their armor. The doors to the throne room flung open and nearly made the guards jump out of their armors, scrambling to get their stuff together and stand at attention as another guard rushes in, the blast of air she made knocked the guards helmets off. "M-my queen! Forgive me for the intrusion but I have dire news from Manehatten! I~" She trailed off as Nightmare Moon stopped inches from the mare and seething with anger which had nothing to do with this guard but she was practically angry at anything that bothered her. "Spit it out you whelp! I swear to blast you into the next world if you don't spit. it. OUT!" Nightmare Moon was practically spitting on the mare but she made this guard barely flinch from it. "P-Princ... M-My queen! Forgive me... Princess Star Light revealed herself in Manehatten!" the guard thought she was going to have to dodge a blast from the queen but Nightmare Moon stopped there, eyes going wide and she went silent quickly. "What.. She couldn't have been so foolish, so ignorant to do such a thing.. Are you sure it isn't false?" The question from Nightmare Moon surprised the guard pegasus but she nodded and finally landed and looking up at the queen as she fell silent. This was the moment Nightmare Moon has been waiting for, growling in excitement and orders the army to be assembled by the other guards in the room which bow quickly and run off before returning her attention to the pegasus that had brought her this information. "Hmm... if this is true and she is there it will guarantee your promotion to lieutenant, you just made a queen very happy miss..." Moon trails off as she begs the question of this mare's name. "U-uh... R-rainbow Dash my queen! And thank you my queen I want nothing more than to.. serve." Rainbow Dash was excited and nervous at the same time at all of this. Her future was waiting and her information was genuine, things were looking up for the young, aspiring pegasus after all but something was begging the question of this princess, guilt was nagging at the back of her mind. Manehatten 2 days prior "Did I head someone say my name?" Star and Cinny look around for the voice before noticing a white pony was looking up at them, head tilted and a curious look on her face. Her purple and beautifully wavy flowing mane and tail, all perfect groomed made her rather stunning herself. Star was indeed stunned at the sudden appearance of this pony but smiled happily as she began to realize this had to be the one she was looking for! There was little doubt about that as the white pony smiled back and bows her head, noticing the two alicorns had to be royalty. "My name is Rarity but I think both of you knew that already!" She giggled and hmms softly before squeaking in surprise and even blushing a bit as Star suddenly hugs her. "O-oh! My... Darling please, thank you for the sentiment but what might I ask are you two looking for me for.. Princess?" Rarity pushed Star Light away for a moment and looked between the two of them in confusion at all of this happening so fast. Princess Star Light looked at rarity with budding excitement still but forced herself to take a deep breath and sighs gently before she responded to the mare's inquiry, "O-oh I'm so very sorry to startle you Rarity, please take my deepest apologies but we need your help, and we are getting a bit desperate..." Star Light paused and waited for a moment to let the mare take in the moment before resuming. "We need to find you and your... Uh, friends! The ones that were tasked with finding the lost elements of harmony and stopping Nightmare Moon!" She gave another pause for the mare to take in the information. Rarity stood there a bit stunned at the answer to her question, growing a bit antsy from the request, she didn't know what to say at first and looked away in thought as Star Light and Cinny waited anxiously for her answer. "Sweetie, please we are here because we need you, we met with Applejack already and she found little interest, perhaps if you were willing to help us out she might be willing to join us! We need to stop this calamity from continuing and if we don't do anything about it there's no telling what might happen, the economical collapse is already starting if you just wake up and look around!" Cinnamon Music pleaded with the mare who only seemed to get more anxious, eyeing the ponies gathering around as a few quickly ran off, perhaps with the intent to report them. Rarity clears her throat and nods to the crowds growing around them and pulls the two into a nearby shop, perhaps it was Rarity's boutique. "L-Look princesses, please know that I have only the hearts and minds of others in my best interests but assisting you to do this may not entirely be in my best interests!" Rarity gulped and sighed, looking down at the ground with shame and Star Light's heart felt like it dropped into her stomach. "It's dangerous to even be talking to you, princess, I have to also protect myself and my life, it's very possible you are already being reported to the queen, I... I just can't." Star Light's head drooped and she sits down in defeat, she couldn't just force Rarity and Applejack to do her bidding, it would hardly set her apart from her enemy, she just shakes her head and drapes a wing over Cinnamon Music, turning to leave. "We... We understand Rarity, forgive us for intruding on you and Applejack's lives, perhaps we should just leave now, I don't know where to go but..." She was cut off by Rarity clearing her throat for a moment and leaning in to look up at the princess for a moment, smiling. "Princess, please don't despair I think... There's something I can do to help you, I will talk to Applejack but I cannot be seen helping you, that doesn't mean I cannot help still!" Rarity gives the princess a hug and chuckles a bit. This news lifted Star Light's mood and she wraps wings around Cinny and Rarity, hugging them both close as excitement welled up in her chest, this may have just started for all of them, the beginning was here and she knew there was only one way this could go now!