The Darkest of Stars

“I think it's high time we got an explanation out of you three,” Applejack said.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle were all sitting in Twilight's room in the Canterlot Castle. Rarity had insisted on having an embroidered pillow to sit on, though the other five were fine without. Radley Kane, Kassandra Tharsus and Allis Yahn were all sitting together opposite of the six Elements. Luna and Celestia were resting, having been completely exhausted by the days events. The six and the three had decided that it would be best to fill them in later.

“Yes, you're right,” Radley agreed. He looked to his two friends. “But the question is, where do we begin?”

“How about the beginning?” Pinkie suggested. “That way no one gets confused!”

Everyone stared at her after this completely reasonable idea. “That...makes sense actually,” Rarity admitted. “Too much, in fact.”

“Before we do begin, we have to know,” Allis started. “How much do you know about this country's history?”

Twilight decided to speak for everyone. “Well, Equestria was founded by six ponies looking for a new place to--”

Kassandra shook her head, making a buzzer noise. “EHHH!! Wrong answer, Sparkles. That Hearth's Warming Eve story is a load of bunk.”

Radley nodded. “The only true part of that story is that there was a lot of conflict between the three races of ponies. But I can tell you now that it wasn't solved by reminiscing around a campfire.”

“That can't be right,” Dash interjected. “I've heard that story since I was a little filly.”

“But that doesn't make it true now does it, weather pony?” Allis said with a smirk.

Dash looked like she was about to say something, but decided not to. Allis continued. “In order to hear this story, you must let go of all your preconceived ideas.”

Kassandra added, “Including how Celestia and Luna came to be here.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Who exactly are you guys?”

“That will all come in due time,” Radley said. “For now, we should begin.” He turned to Kassandra. “If you please.”

Kassandra nodded and closed her eyes. Her horn began pouring out black smoke. It spread across the floor until everypony was sitting in it. Rarity stood up, looking uncomfortable. “What...what is this?”

“Oooh, spooky!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down. She stuck her head down in the fog and then quickly spat. “Ugh, black licorice!”

“I would advise you to sit down, dress maker,” Allis said. “And I would also advise you not to eat the fog, pastry chef. It has the potential to place you into a coma for at least a year.”

Both Rarity and Pinkie sat down, the former with a bit more hesitation than the latter. “Umm...what exactly are you doing...?” Fluttershy asked. “If...if you don't mind me asking...”

“It helps to have visual aids,” Kassandra said with a smile. Her eyes had turned black and were producing the same black smoke.

Then, the room went completely black. The six began to murmur amongst themselves, looking around wildly. “I can't see a thing in here! What's going on here?” Dash cried out.

Allis leaned over to Radley. “Last chance, Kane,” he whispered. “Are you sure you want to involve these...hicks?”

Kassandra looked offended. “Hey, these 'hicks' happen to be the new Elements of Harmony. Have a little respect!”

Radley nodded. “She's right. We don't have much of a choice.” He stood up. “Come on, we have a show to do.” The three stood up.

Slowly, the light returned. But...they weren't in Twilight's room anymore. They were in the middle of some desert, surrounded by nothing but sand and dirt. A scorching hot sun hung overhead, further drying out any possible water there might have been in the area.

Fluttershy was the first to speak, oddly enough. “Oh my...where are we?” she asked, standing up.

“Technically, inside Kassandra's mind,” Radley stated. “We have a story to tell all of you. This is the best way to tell it.”

“This is incredible...” Twilight said, looking around.

“But why is it so unbearably hot out here?” Rarity asked, wiping sweat from her forehead. “If I'd known that this was where we were going, I would have brought a sun hat.”

“This is the desert just east of Equestria, otherwise known as the Badlands,” Allis explained. “Approximately 2,235 years before this present time period.”

“Whoa...” Dash said in amazement. “Sweet.”

“Wait...” Pinkie said, looking off into the distance. “Who are they?”

There was a group of ponies walking in a disorganized fashion a short distance away. They were dressed in tattered rags and various filthy garments. They looked even worse for wear. Their eyes were sunken in baggy, as if they hadn't eaten or slept in months. Their ribs betrayed their starvation even more. “They...” Radley began. “...they are the beginning of our story.”

“Oh my...” Applejack said, clearly startled at the appearance. “We need to help them! They all look like their fittin' ta collapse!” She darted forward to help, but Kassandra held her back.

There was an echo in the unicorn's voice. “These events have already taken place and cannot be changed. Remember, you all are just seeing images from inside my head.” Her eyes were still black and her horn was still producing the eerie black smoke, though now it was dispersing before it hit the ground.

Radley continued. “These ponies have just escaped from captivity. Up until two weeks ago, they were slaves to the Ibex.”

“Slaves....?” Rarity repeated, looking faint. “Oh my, how terrible.”

“Indeed...” Radley nodded in agreement. “They've been trekking for days and even now they have yet to reach the end of their journey.”

Allis chimed in. “The Ibex Empire had at their disposal 896 pony slaves that day. 125 were killed attempting to escape, 586 will die on this journey of starvation or disease.”

“I should warn you...this is about to get hard to watch,” Kassandra warned. Just then, one of the ponies fell to the ground. He tried to get back up, but his failing legs would not allow it. A few of the ponies looked back at him. It was impossible to make out, but the fallen pony said something in a hoarse whisper. He held out his hoof, only to have it drop back to the ground uselessly. He started heaving violently before going still and silent. As soon as they were sure, the group that had waited jumped upon the carcass, tearing it to pieces. They devoured it hungrily in a matter of minutes, leaving not a single piece of carrion for the vultures circling overhead.

Rarity looked deathly ill. “Oh--” She burped. “--my.”

“This is...this is terrible,” Fluttershy said, tears welling up in her eyes. This was the second time this week that she had seen a dead body.

“This is what those few that made it had to do to survive,” Allis said. “And they still have a long way to go.”

Then, the scene around them vanished as they seemed to move forward in time. Lines of speed flew past them. As soon as it started, it stopped. Pinkie flew forward due to the perceived momentum, landing flat on her face. “Trippy...” she mumbled.

Unlike the desert, this area was lush and green and full of life and trees. There were many buffalo and bison roaming the land. Some were dressed in paint and traditional garb, much like the denizens of Appleloosa. Some of them were tending to fields and gardens. Others were hard at work building tents and other structures.

“Wow!” Applejack looked around in amazement. “This must be the buffalo's original homestead!”

Radley nodded. “Yes...it was.” There was a catch in his throat. “It's been four weeks since the ponies broke free from the bondage of the Ibex Empire. They are about to arrive....now.” He pointed behind him.

The now dwindling number of escaped ponies came forward, looking even more battered and starved. Their sunken eyes seemed to barely register their surroundings. Some of the buffalo eyed the strange visitors curiously. The ponies, looking like they had just seen the buffalo backed off, looking frightened.

“They must have thought that they had some relation to the Ibex,” Kassandra voiced.

Twilight spoke up, showing off her knowledge of biology and Equine Geography. “They do, albeit distantly. The buffalo broke off from the Ibex many years ago, didn't they?”

Allis nodded. “That was many centuries ago. They dissented from the Empire and came here to  forge a legacy of their own, one of peace and harmony.”

One of the buffalo stepped forward. He had on a large headdress and had his face decorated in many different colors, mostly blue and yellow. He was more than likely the leader of this tribe of buffalo. The ponies looked like they were ready to run back into the desert, but the lead buffalo bowed before them. The rest of the buffalo present followed suit.

“They're...they're accepting them,” Fluttershy said with a gleam in her eye.

“Cool,” Dash said simply.

“This would be the first day that the buffalo and ponies would forge an alliance,” Radley said. Another time skip followed, showing the buffalo and ponies eating together around a large bonfire under the stars. They were all laughing and enjoying each other's company. The ponies no longer looked like they were starving or frightened. Everyone was healthy and happy. Young ponies and buffalo ran around and played games together. Older ones sat and shared stories with each other. “They would live together in peace for quite some time--”

“--but not long enough,” Allis finished.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked, more curious than angry.

There was another skip in time. Now, there seemed to be a lot more ponies than before...quite a lot more. “Two hundred years have passed since the ponies arrived here.” He turned to the group. “How much do all of you know about reproduction?” Allis asked.

Pinkie had taken out two puppets from nowhere and was making them kiss. “Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much--”

Rarity covered Pinkie's mouth. “Now darling, we don't need details,” she said smiling nervously. She turned to Allis. “What's your point?”

Allis explained. “Biologically, ponies are able to reproduce much faster than buffalo. Where buffalo only have one or two kits per birth, ponies had a minimum of three or four.”

“Plus their gestation period is far shorter,” Kassandra added. “They could give birth about twice a year.”

“Whoa.” Applejack thought for a moment. Realization dawned on her. “Wait...what about the land?”

“We were getting to that,” Radley said. “But I think you might be getting the idea already. There wasn't enough land to support both the buffalo and exponentially growing ponies.”

There was a small skip forward. There was one pony wearing a regal robe and crown. It was embroidered in jewels and gold trimmings. He was speaking to a buffalo wearing a simple headdress. They both seemed quite upset with each other.

“Oh my...they look angry,” Fluttershy said, backing up.

“They should be,” Radley said. “They're trying to convince each other that the other needs to leave this land.”

“What? Why?” Dash asked, getting upset herself.

“Like I said before,” Radley continued. “There wasn't enough land to support both groups.”

“But they were getting along so well before,” Twilight mentioned.

“Times have changed, princess,” Allis said. “That was over two hundred years ago. Everyone from then is dead and gone...along with their values.”

The pony and buffalo appeared to be in a heated argument now, right in each other's face. The pony yelled one final word before stamping off. The buffalo stalked off as well.

“What...what just happened?” Applejack asked.

“What you have just witnessed...” Radley began. “...is a declaration of war. The First Inter-Equestrian War has just begun.”

~

As far as Trixie could tell, the police investigation was over. It was unfortunate that the zebra had been killed, but she hoped that she had left something behind.

Unwittingly, the show magician had found herself involved in the investigation. She showed up at the cottage, scratched up by the brush and trees of the forest and missing her cape, it having been snagged on a low-hanging branch. After a lengthy amount of questioning, the police had ruled her out as a suspect and sent her on her way. A few hours had passed before they finished the search and removed the body for further examination. Trixie had snuck back in to search the premises for her query, the Alicorn Amulet.

So far, she had found nothing. She sat down in frustration. Trixie wondered if the culprit had been after the amulet as well. If that was the case, she might not be the only pony that knew of the legend. Also, she may be up against a dangerous opponent, someone who was willing to kill to take what they wanted. She gulped nervously.

Suddenly, a sparkle flashed on the edge of her vision. It seemed to be coming from a decorated book on a shelf at the back of the room. She took it off and glanced at the cover. On it was a stylized version of the Alicorn Amulet! Success! Even though she wasn't able to find the actual jewel, a book about it was the next best thing. Why hadn't she noticed it before, though, she wondered?

She dismissed the thought and opened up the book. There seemed to be more info in it than just the amulet. “Let's see...” she mumbled to herself. “...one person destined to unite the four nations....a book with the power to kill....” She turned several pages to the middle before she found another picture – this one of three symbols. The page was black and the symbols themselves were white. If she had to guess, she would say that they were cutie marks. She had no idea who they belonged to though.

There were a few paragraphs of information on the next page. “'The Order of the Darkest Star...',” she began. '...was founded many years ago. It was started by an unknown pony for the sole purpose of protecting Equestria from the Darkest Star, otherwise known as Blackstar.'” She paused before continuing. “'Blackstar comes only once every thousand years upon a comet known as the Darkest Star. She comes under the guise of a genie of sorts, to grant the wish of only one living soul. Only the person who has her heart may have their wish granted. But having a wish granted upon the Blackstar brings with it terrible consequences. The Order seeks to stop Blackstar once and for all, in order to keep the world safe from her twisted ways.'”

Trixie stopped reading. Her heart? What was this dusty old tome talking about? The old shopkeeper had said that only the Alicorn Amulet...

Her eyes widened. The Alicorn Amulet must be her heart! But what did it mean? Was it speaking figuratively or literally? She continued reading:

“'The Order of the Darkest houses itself in what they call the Black Citadel. A map of the area is provided on page--”

She turned to the page, seeing a map of where this Black Citadel was located. Trixie smiled devilishly. Perhaps it was someone from this “Order” had taken the amulet. She took a nearby knapsack and placed the book in it. This was valuable info. All she would need to do is sneak in and take the “Heart of Blackstar”, and then the wish would be hers. Terrible consequences? She scoffed at the thought. There was nothing that could keep her from her one true goal: to defeat Twilight Freaking Sparkle at her own game.