The Darkest of Stars

The maroon Earth pony galloped with alacrity towards a dim light at the end of a dark, singular path. All around him shades of purple and black swirled maliciously and mysteriously, whispering loudly enough for him to hear but barely enough for him to perceive. His hooves ached with exhaustion. He had no idea how long how he had been running or even for how long. All he knew was that he had to keep running towards this light.

“Radley...”

Another voice, much more distinct than the others. He looked around but could not identify its source. Everything was so confusing, but he had to keep running.

“Oh my...is he going to be alright...?”

“I sure hope so. I want to kill him myself...”

More confusion. There was a conversation going on somewhere, but he just knew venturing off the path would mean the end. He knew once he reached the light everything would be alright. Just keep running.

“This is so bad. This is really bad...”

“Where did that witch go...?”

“I have no idea. She could be anywhere...”

Just keep running.

“We have to wake him up somehow.”

“Can't you use your magic, darling...?”

“That isn't what it's for. If I tried I would most certainly kill him. Hmm, on second thought....”

Just keep running.

“Stop it right now. Where's Twi? Maybe she can--”

A piercing scream rent the dense, muggy air. Suddenly, everything was shrouded in a bright white light. He must have done it! He must have reached the end of the--

Radley's eyes flashed open. He looked around hysterically, frantically trying to gather information about the world around him. He could see nothing except for the scene of destruction surrounding him. There was rubble everywhere. He guessed that he was in some sort of destroyed building. He tried to remember what he was doing there....but everything was a blur.

He stood up on shaky legs and tried to take things slowly. Taking a deep breath, he tried to sort through what he did remember. His name is Radley Kane. After turning around a few times, he saw that he had a maroon coat and a black and white mane and tail. Also, he was an Earth pony.

Radley jumped when he heard the scream again. It was even louder this time. He vaguely recognized its source....

Then he remembered.

With all the haste of a mother phoenix protecting her young, Radley followed the sound of the voice. Jumping over bricks and broken pieces of masonry, he finally reached the scene. He froze when he saw the body lying on the ground.

Before he could brace himself, a flash of teal blue collided with him, manhandling him in the air until he was pinned up against a piece of wall that was still standing. “This was your plan all along wasn't!?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!”

Radley tried to stand up for himself. “This wasn't what I--”

Rainbow took him off the wall and slammed him back into it, temporarily dazing him. He would have been impressed with her strength if not for the current circumstances. “Shut up! This is all your fault, Kane!”

Applejack walked up and tore her off of Radley, allowing him to fall to the ground. “Stop it, Rainbow,” she said firmly. “This is no time to be blamin' folk. There's no way this was supposed to happen.”

A pegasus with a deformed, demonic wing trotted up to them. He was purple with a long silver mane and a red blindfold over his eyes. “The orchard caretaker is correct,” he said with an unbelievably calm and even voice. “This was not our intention at all. Unforseen circumstances caused the situation to get out of control.”

Rainbow became even more furious. “Out of control!?” she repeated with contempt and anger, getting into the pegasus's face. She gestured towards the body lying prostrated on the ground. “This is what you call 'out of control', Allis!? Ever since the three of you showed up here, things have gotten way beyond out of control!”

Pinkie Pie came up, looking very worried but trying her best to keep a happy face. “C'mon, Dashie. Don't be so hard on them. They were only trying--”

Dash suddenly reeled on Pinkie. “This isn't a joke, Pinkie! This isn't like Nightmare Moon or even Chrysalis! For once can you scrape the cake out your brain and realize how serious this is?”

The usually joyful Pinkie Pie was reduced to sobbing and tears. “R-Rainbow...”

“STOP IT!!”

Everyone stopped and turned around to find the originator of the outburst, Fluttershy. It was obvious that she had been crying as well, but she had stopped herself for now. Despite her quiet voice, there wasn't a pony present that didn't hear her. “Everyone, just...just stop it! Why are all of you arguing at a time like this!? It doesn't matter--” She broke down, almost unable to continue. “--it doesn't matter. Nothing does anymore....” Her voice began wavering so much she could not get anymore words out. Applejack and Pinkie came to her side to comfort her.

Radley watched from the sidelines as everything unfolded, still lying on his back. He knew that he was to blame for what happened. Then a hoof reached out to him, giving him support. “Thank you, Rarity...”

The white unicorn nodded. “So...what is it that we do now?”

Radley walked back towards the body lying on the ground, thinking hard about the next move. “Everyone...” he addressed the group, head low. “...I am deeply sorry. This was my fault, my mistake.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but Applejack quickly placed her hoof over mouth and shook her head. “Just listen to what he has to say, ok?”

A unicorn with a crooked black horn walked up and stood beside him. She had a purple, straight mane and tail. “Don't be a hero, Radley. All three of us decided to do this.”

“Yes, but the final decision was mine and mine alone, Kassandra,” the Earth pony said, shaking his head.

“Don't be so hard on ya'self,” Applejack said, forcing a smile. “There's no way you could've seen this happening.”

Radley fell silent. Kassandra turned away. Allis merely stood stock still.

“Guys?” Pinkie asked, sounding even more worried.

“You didn't know this would happen...did you?” Rarity asked for Applejack again.

Radley sighed. “It's only fair that you know the truth now...”

Kassandra turned toward him, a stern expression staring daggers into him. “Radley. Don't.”

“No!” he said. “They've all been through enough. This went wrong and you know it.” He addressed the five Ponyville ponies again. “We...we did. We knew something like this would occur.”

Rainbow flexed her wings, looking ready to tear into the three strange ponies that came to visit Ponyville not too long ago. “So you did know! I knew it!” she exclaimed.

Radley shook his head. “We didn't know everything that was going to happen today...like what happened to your friend.” He paused, taking another long look at the regal white and pink pony lying lifeless on the floor before them. “The one thing we did know though...was that Princess Celestia would indeed die this day.”