MLPFiM: The Stars of Darkness pt. 3

The sky over Whinnyapolis was dark, despite the fact that it was just shortly after midday.  A storm was brewing, the clouds dark and heavy with rain and smoke choking out the sunlight; firelight cast a dark red glow over the ruined city, making it look evil and deserted.  In the distance, the red dragon still raged to his heart's content, incinerating buildings and razing them to the ground.  Beneath his hood, Dark Star smiled as he watched the carnage.  His blood surged with the power he held over the dragon, feeling its hatred and anger as it destroyed the city.  He let it wash over him, savoring it; it was all he had, now.

He glanced to his left, down in a valley leading away from the city; at the bottom was the main road leading to and from Whinnyapolis, and it was choked to overflowing with ponies trying to escape the dragon's wrath.  Ponies of every age scrambled to put as much distance as they could between themselves and their burning homes, but Dark Star admitted himself surprised at their distinct lack of panic.  No pony caused a stampede, no pony screamed or shouted; the only sounds to be heard were the methodical clopping of hundreds upon hundreds of hooves and the occasional crying from a frightened filly.  He smiled.  That will soon change.  Once the others have taken care of the Elements of Harmony, all of Equestria will quickly understand that there is plenty to panic about.

A bright flash of light drew his attention back to the dragon; before the enormous creature, two points of light appeared, one white, one blue, and Dark Star felt the hate in his heart blaze hotter.  "Celestia…"  He muttered the word as if it were the vilest of curses.  The amulet glowed as he fed his hate to the dragon.  He saw Celestia and Luna talk to the creature, attempting to reason with it; undoubtedly they would try and ask the creature to leave the city peacefully.  Dark Star smirked.  Sorry to tell you… but that won't work Your Highness.  The stallion's eyes glowed a deep, dark purple, and in the distance the dragon took a swing at the points of light.  They avoided his claws easily, both flitting up above the dragon and out of his reach.  The lights touched for a moment, then blazed brighter than before, blue and white, drowning out the red of the fires with their intensity.  They separated faster than Dark Star could follow; they began to spin around the dragon so fast they left trails behind them, swirling about the creature like ribbons in a windstorm.  He heard more than saw the strikes that they landed on the dragon, each one a solid thwump that echoed across the burning landscape.  The glowing orbs increased their speed, the strikes coming so fast now that they sounded like a stampede of ponies running as fast as they could; the ribbons of light extended, swirling around the dragon as he swatted feebly after them.  The lights shifted, moving up and down over the dragon, their colors blending and swirling until they were but one color, a beautiful sky blue, covering the huge beast from tail to snout; then the sound of the strikes stopped.  For a moment there was no sound, not even that of the fires or the collapsing buildings or the dragon roaring- silence.  Beautiful, total silence as the two lights whirled out from behind the dragon and met with mind-numbing speed before him, the orbs warping with the impact.

The sound took a moment to reach Dark Star, a shockwave that blew his hood back and nearly knocked him off his hooves.  He watched in awe as the sisters' orbs shifted and blasted outwards into the light-covered dragon with a thunderous roar; the impact launched the enormous dragon backwards, bursting the huge orb of light that the sisters had woven around him and hurtling him out across the city, past the edge of the buildings, and into the forest beyond it.  Trees snapped like twigs and debris flew hundreds of feet into the air as the dragon tumbled and plowed his way into the ancient forest, finally coming to rest nearly a mile outside of Whinnyapolis.

Dark Star felt the hatred slipping from the dragon; the pain and surprise was beginning to free him from the stallion's thrall, but he held firm to the creature's mind.  Gritting his teeth, he forced his hate into the creature, driving him mad with it, making it his one desire, his one purpose in life.  From the trees the dragon rose, bruised and beaten; he roared his defiance and shot a column of red-hot flame at the two points of light as they came closer to him.

The fire stopped short of the orbs, bending around them like the water of a stream would bend around boulders in its path.  The orbs touched and began to spin together, the colors blending and swirling, faster and faster until from the point where the two touched shot a blast of the purest white light; it plowed through the dragon's fire and engulfed him, and for a moment the world was white.  Dark Star raised his hoof to cover his eyes.  "Blast you, Celestia!" he muttered; he felt the dragon's mind slip from his control, and his amulet became dark.

When the light faded, the dragon was lying still amidst the destroyed forest, never to rise again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Princess Celestia flew down to the ground amid the burning buildings of what was left of Whinnyapolis, her wings shaking dangerously.  She hit the ground a little harder than she had planned and stumbled, barely keeping herself on all four hooves as she came to a stop.  Her wings drooped to the ground as she panted for air, her chest heaving.  "Luna??" she called breathlessly.  There was no answer.  She raised her head, her sparkling mane blowing in the hot wind from the fires.  "Answer me, little sister!"  She scanned the sky for Luna, searching for her shape amidst the smoke.

Suddenly Luna was directly above her, careening towards the ground; her wings were loose and her eyes were closed, and it was clear that she was not in control of her descent.  Celestia gasped and shifted her weight to catch her sister.  Her horn glowed a soft blue, and the same color surrounded Luna, slowing her decent to a gentle pace; Celestia lifted her wings and nestled Luna carefully onto her back.  Celestia's knees quivered with effort, but the Princess managed to not fall to the ground.  "Luna?" she asked, her eyes full of worry.  She held her wings up as tightly as she could as she bent first one knee, then another, until she sat on the ground; she shifted her weight and lowered her left wing, allowing her unconscious sister to slide to the ground on her left side.  "Luna, please, answer me!"  She nuzzled Luna's cheek with her nose, but the younger Princess lay still.  "No… no, Luna, no, this cannot happen this way!"  She nuzzled her sister again, more firmly this time, but there was no response from her sibling.  Celestia felt her throat close and her eyes began to burn.  "I just got you back, Luna… please don't go…"  A sob caught in Celestia's throat, and she gently settled her head against her sister.  Her long unicorn horn pressed against Luna's, and for the second time in her life, Celestia felt truly alone.

Ever so slowly, Luna shifted her head to nestle against her sister.  "Luna?!"  The horrible empty feeling that had curled up in Celestia's chest suddenly swelled and changed into the most profound relief the Princess could ever remember feeling, causing her to gasp and sob.  "Little sister, are you…?"

Luna coughed harshly and opened one weary sea-green eye.  "It's… been a long time since we had to… work magic like that, big sister…  I'm just tired, that's all…"  She nudged Celestia's nose with her own, and Celestia pressed against her.

"Luna, I thought… I thought I had lost you again."  Tears poured down Celestia's white cheeks.

The dark blue Princess opened her eye again.  "So… you missed me while I… was imprisoned?"  There was no malice behind the question, no hidden meaning; Celestia was perceptive enough to see that.  But the question itself made her frown through her tears.

"Of… of course I did, Luna," she said.  "Why would you think that I did not?"

"You banished me," she said softly before coughing again.  "I thought that… you must have wanted me gone very badly to do that…"

"Luna… I…"  Celestia closed her eyes.  "I felt as though I died the day you were banished.  I never thought… I'd never intended to send you away for so long, little sister.  I thought perhaps…"  She laughed half-heartedly.  "It was meant to be more of a 'time-out' than a thousand year imprisonment, Luna, but the magic I used… I'd never wielded the Elements alone before.  It had always been… you and I."  She nuzzled her sister again.  "I was distraught; I'd just watched my sweet little sister become… powerful and angry."  She shivered at the memory; watching Luna's mane change before her eyes, watching the armor of Nightmare Moon materialize around her little sister and knowing there wasn't a thing in Equestria that she could do about it.  "When you were banished… when I found out what I had done…  I tried to fix it.  I tried to use the Elements of Harmony to bring you back, but… it could not be undone."  She lowered her eyes, and tears spilled out yet again.  "That guilt has weighed on me for a thousand years, Luna," she said, her voice quavering.  "I did not know what the longest day of the thousandth year would bring, but… but I knew one thing."  She sniffled and smiled shakily.  "I knew that I would get my little sister back," she whispered.

A tear traced its way down Luna's cheek, and she stifled a sob.  "I'm so sorry, Celestia… for what I did… for what I wanted to do…"  She worked her head underneath Celestia's chin and she cried, letting the shame and sorrow pour out of her as her sister held her close, crying tears of her own.  They had never spoken of any of this, and it seemed strangely fitting to Celestia that their healing begin in the midst of a burning ruin.

"Awww, aren't you just precious."  The voice drifted out of the smoke and flames, full of malice and disgust.  "Getting to pretend that your little sister loves you…"  The smoke swirled apart, and Dark Star stepped forward, his black armor rippling with the reflections of the flames.  His golden eyes were bright with hate.  "…It's so sweet, I might cry!"  He feigned wiping a tear away with his hoof, and Celestia's eyes narrowed.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find us," she said, rising to her hooves.  She swiped her tears away with one snow-white wingtip before stepping forward to meet him.  Luna tried to rise as well, but Celestia extended her left wing and gently pressed down on her.  The younger Princess raised her eyes to meet Celestia's, and she saw Luna's fear.  She was exhausted, and they both knew she couldn't hope to stand against Dark Star.  Celestia smiled slightly for her sister, and she knew Luna would understand: He's not after you.  Her eyes turned back to Dark Star as he advanced, picking his way carefully through the debris of the town.

"I'm surprised you had it in you to kill that dragon, Princess," he said as he nudged a small pile of boards out of the way with his hoof.  "I thought for certain that you would die trying to talk it back to its cave."

"I could sense your influence," Celestia answered, her eyes hard.  "I knew that all the talking in Equestria wouldn't change his mind; it would only get us hurt."

"Not hurt," Dark Star said, and his voice was as cold as ice.  "Killed; I was going to make that dragon kill you, Celestia."  The hate in his eyes was incredible; Celestia took an unconscious half-step away from him before she steeled herself.  Never before had she heard a pony speak so easily about killing another.  That didn't seem to concern Dark Star; he sighed and shrugged.  "But it seems I was asking too much of the creature."  His eyes narrowed, and his horn glowed with a dark blue light; the sword that hung upon his left flank slid out of its sheath with a soft rasping sound until the full length of shining steel was exposed and hovering before him.  "I guess the old adage is true: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

"Be careful, Celestia…" Luna whispered.  Celestia glanced back at her sister and gave her a smile that she didn't feel before turning back.  Her horn glowed with the same soft blue light as before, and the air in front of her began to warp, like a mirror that somepony was bending back onto itself.  It shifted and folded until it straightened itself out with a sharp snap, and revealed a beautiful sword suspended in the air.  The blade was long and slender, vaguely resembling the unicorn's horn that Celestia possessed; it shimmered with the light of the fires that surrounded them.  It ended in a guard that had been wrought out of white metal to resemble a pair of Pegasus wings, folding around the blade and in on themselves so that the leading feathers interlaced atop the base of the blade and the hilt; on the reverse side, nestled between the beginnings of the two wings, sat a sparkling gemstone that reflected even the firelight into a rainbow of colors.

Dark Star sneered at Celestia as he brought his sword around to his right side, blade held low.  "Don't be silly now, Celestia.  Are you forgetting that I am the one who taught you how to fight in the first place?"

Celestia's sword whipped around her in a shining arc before coming to hover before her, blade across her chest, the tip high by her left shoulder.  She smiled at him grimly.  "I haven't forgotten.  But you should also know that unlike you, I've had the last thousand years to practice."

Dark Star sneered at her, dug his hooves into the dirt and shot forward, his blade flashing through the air as he struck out at her left shoulder; Celestia's blade moved with her barest thought, the hilt flashing across her body to intercept Dark Star's blade and deflect it.  The two combatants kept their blades hovering close to their bodies; it was easy to let it get too far away from you, and then all your opponent had to do was slip his sword past yours and you were a pony-kabob.  Dark Star lunged, his blade lancing in towards Celestia's heart, but her own blade flashed upwards, sweeping his away.  His blade flashed in again, and again Celestia deflected it, stepping away from Luna as she did so.  She knew in her heart that Dark Star would never harm Luna intentionally, but in the heat of combat it was far too easy to misjudge a strike and the last thing Celestia wanted was for her sister to be harmed.  The Princess stepped quickly, her hooves moving with expert grace.  She hadn't been bluffing; in the thousand years since Dark Star had begun her training, Celestia had dedicated a fair amount of her free time to the art of the sword; she found it interesting and was now incredibly glad she'd kept at it.  She held her wings tight at her sides as she moved; they would make too easy of a target for Dark Star if she were to keep them extended for balance.

Dark Star snarled and brought his sword around in a lightning fast arc aimed for Celestia's knees; the Princess reared over the blade and brought her own up quickly and downwards, aiming a strike towards Dark Star's horn- if she managed to cut it off, he would be powerless.  But the black stallion's sword danced between them and intercepted her blade as quick as thinking, sending a shower of magical sparks into the air.

Faster and faster their blades danced, Celestia's sword blazing with light as she focused more and more of her magic into its movements.  Dark Star pressed her hard, his eyes still full of unimaginable hate, his dark sword seeking a hole in her defenses time after time after time.  Celestia moved to the left, her hoofsteps sure and light as she parried yet another lunge that would have taken her directly in the heart.  Sparks flew from the swords as each pony poured themselves into the battle; sweat began to bead on Celestia's forehead and neck, matting some of her shimmering mane to her skin.  Back and forth the two fighters raged, their swords moving so fast that it was becoming hard to keep track of them… but as the fight wore on, it was clear to Celestia that she was outmatched.  Try as she might, she just could not get past his defenses, even when she thought she saw an opening, and it was becoming very hard to keep his ever-seeking blade away from her hide.  Finally, she knew she couldn't keep up with him any longer; she landed an extra firm strike against his blade and knocked him back a half-hoofstep, taking advantage of the moment's respite to back up, bringing her sword close to her.  Her chest heaved with exertion, sweat trickling down her face as she struggled to maintain focus.  The fight with the dragon… drained me.  I used too much magic doing that… and now…

Dark Star's eyes blazed with triumph as he pressed her again; he was a seasoned warrior and was trained to see when his opponent was weak.  He reared back and charged; his blade slammed against hers once, twice, thrice in quick succession, driving it back against her chest.  Celestia cried out as the hilt of her sword dug beneath the golden neckpiece she wore; the decorative wings of the hilt pressed painfully against her chest, threatening to make her lose her grip on her magic altogether.  The black pony's horn glowed brighter as he forced his blade against hers, bringing it closer and closer to her graceful neck.  Celestia's eyes grew wide as she watched the razor edge draw closer to her.

"Well…" she said in a strained voice.  "It seems… that I underestimated you, Dark Star…"  She cried out again as the hilt of her own sword jabbed her; her focus slipped, and the blade of Dark Star's sword jumped another inch closer to her neck.

"Not for the first time, Princess," he growled, his eyes intense.  "But I can ASSURE you that it will be the LAST time!!"  His horn blazed, and his sword inched closer.  So… this is it, she thought.  Please, Luna… get to safety.  She knew that if she regretted anything from this life, it would be Luna's banishment, and even though Luna now knew her true feelings on what had happened, she still prayed that her little sister could forgive her.  But I guess… I'll never know.  Dark Star's blade pressed against her neck, and she closed her eyes.  Goodbye, Luna…

"No!"  Suddenly, Luna was there; she charged in from the side and slammed into Dark Star, knocking him aside with a tremendous whump!!  The stallion flew several feet before slamming into a still-burning home.  His sword fell from Celestia's throat as he crumpled to the ground, shaking his head.

"Luna..?"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!"  Luna's voice was filled with fear, and pain, and… anger.  The smaller pony's beautiful green eyes were ablaze with it, and all of it was focused on the stallion who was struggling to rise from the ground.  Her mane blazed with blue light, the sparkles in it dancing like a thousand stars reflected in an angry sea.  "Thou shalt not harm Celestia whilst I draw breath, villain!"  Her voice was full of power, and her posture made it clear that she was willing to use it.  "Thou wilt have to kill me first!"  Her wings bristled with outrage, and Celestia blinked at her.  She had only seen her sister like this once before, and then the anger had been directed at Celestia, and for a completely different reason; at that moment, the white alicorn realized just how much her little sister had grown up since returning from her exile.  Luna turned to her sister and smiled, but it was strained and tired.  "We're leaving," was all she said; she stepped close to Celestia, pressing herself against her older sister as her horn blaze with light, and in a flash the Princesses vanished.

There was a white flash in Princess Celestia's throne room in the castle in Canterlot as Luna and Celestia appeared out of thin air.  Celestia wobbled on her hooves and allowed herself to fall to her knees, her sword clattering to the stones next to her.  On her other side, Luna collapsed, her energy spent.  "Luna!" Celestia gasped.  Her horn glowed as she gathered Luna up against her wing; her sister's breathing was ragged and shallow, but she was alive.  Celestia tried to rise, but her legs absolutely refused to lift her.  "Oh Luna… you shouldn't have done that…" she chided softly as tears gathered in her eyes again.  "You were so tired…"  A single tear found its way down her cheek, mixing with the sweat and smoky dust that already adorned it.  She nuzzled her sister gently then raised her head to do something that she never, ever had to do.

"Help!" she called into the castle.  "I need help!  Please!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Dark Star lifted himself off the ground, shaking with laughter.  He raised himself back to his hooves and threw his head back, laughing loudly and maniacally.  Above him, the sky answered his laughter as lightning crackled across the low black clouds; rain began to fall, first in random, fat drops, then seconds later it came down with gusto, drenching what was left of the city and beginning to douse the fires.  His sword lifted from the ground and flew to him, sheathing itself in one smooth motion, and still he laughed.  "Oh, Celestia… how well you have done your work!"  He shook his head, tossing his black and blue mane about.  "She even came to your defense!  That kind of brainwashing takes dedication!"

His laughter died as quickly as it had come, and he shook his head again, slower this time.  "But no matter.  Morningstar and I will be able to sort our Princess out."  His lip curled.  "You've escaped this time… but next time you will not be so lucky."

Dark Star moved to the center of the square where he stood and closed his eyes as he raised his horn high.  The light from his amulet filled the square, pulsing across the ruined buildings and painting the black sky a violent shade of purple.  Slowly he began to murmur a spell, one so powerful he knew he would need the structure of the words to keep it from growing out of his control.

"Forces of the earth and sky,
Take the hate that will not die,
Cover all the lands I see,
Bring ponies full of hate to me."

Slowly, the light of his amulet intensified; on the ground around him a purple shadow grew, spreading out around him, washing the landscape in deep shades of lavender, fuchsia, amethyst and violet.  Suddenly it burst outward in a ring of dark color, racing across the land in an ever-increasing circle, like ripples in a pond.  It flashed over the edge of the city and into the slowly meandering crowd of ponies leaving Whinnyapolis; out of the multitude, several ponies turned back, their eyes glazed and empty.  In the silence, several voices raised.

"W-where are you going?  We have to get out of here… hey, are you listening to me??  Where are you going..?"  A mare turned on her husband as he started trotting back towards the ruins, her voice tight with worry and disbelief.

"Cloverleaf, what's the matter?  Is everything alright?  Clover… honey..?" a stallion stepped in front of his girlfriend only to be shouldered out of the way as she broke into a gallop back towards the very things that had scared her so badly mere moments before.

"Daddy?  Mommy, where's Daddy going?" a filly asked, watching her father turn and join the very small procession going back the way they had come.  "Daddy..?  Daddy no!"  The filly struggled against her mother as she tried to hustle her along.  "No!  I dun wanna go wiffout Daddy!!"  Tears streamed down her cheeks as her mother finally ducked her head under the filly's stomach and lifted her onto her back.  "Nooo!!  Dadddyyyyyyy!!!" the filly cried, lifting a hoof after her father.  Her mother could only shake her head and try to hide her own tears as four, five, six ponies in all made their way back to the city.

Back to Dark Star.

The ring spread, moving faster and faster each moment but growing weaker as it expanded, despite the power Dark Star had poured into it.  Such magic was taxing on the pony who cast it, and even at such a cost the results were minimal at best; not many ponies would turn towards this city and come to him.  But Dark Star knew the risks, and even as he sat down onto the soggy ground, his head low and his mane drenched, he could not help but smile through his weariness.  It was begun.  He may not get many, but even a small army was an army, and despite what Celestia had said about being able to sense his power and knowing when a situation was hopeless, he knew that the alicorn would NEVER hurt her subjects.  Ever.  And THAT was a weakness he would willingly exploit.

"Next time, Celestia…" he muttered as he glared up into the sky.  "…we will end this."

Out of the storm, six ponies appeared, and each met Dark Star's gaze unblinking.  The black unicorn smiled before rising to his hooves and shaking his mane out.  "Find me some shelter," he ordered.  "And we shall wait for the others."