The Darkest of Stars

One Week Later...

Luna was at a loss. It had been a week since her sister had told her that she was dying, and she hadn't been able to think of anything else.

Celestia...was dying.

The thought whirled around in her head, but she wasn't able to process it. It just seemed so...unreal. Weren't they supposed to be immortal?

She couldn't think about that now. It was her turn to train Twilight Sparkle today. It wasn't going to be easy though, for a number of reasons.

The two princesses were in a large open area, similar to an arena in the middle of an amphitheater. The floor was decorated with dark purple and white mosaic tiles. The arena was huge, being about three-fourths of a mile in diameter. It was usually used to host olympic events and the like. Despite it's size, Twilight and Luna were standing just a few inches away from each other.

“Alright, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna began. “It's time to resume your training.”

“Uhh...okay,” Twilight answered. She looked a little uneasy.

“Knowing how to perform your duties as a princess is very important,” Luna said. “But becoming even more advanced in magic is also key.”

Luna paused as if waiting for Twilight to reply. A few seconds passed before she did. “Oh..uh...of course!” A pause. “So...what are we going to be doing?”

“Since you're already quite proficient in magic, there's no need to start with the basics,” Luna explained. “But I would like to know, what is it that you have been focusing on in your studies with Celestia?”

“Oh, uhh...” Twilight looked extremely nervous. “A lot of things. I never really focused on one thing.” She smiled, rubbing the back of her head.

“I see,” Luna said, looking deep in thought.

Twilight added. “I guess Cel – uh, Princess Celestia was making sure that I was well-rounded.”

Luna nodded. “Of course. Well then, let's continue with our lesson.” She lowered herself, keeping her head down. “We are going to have a magic duel.”

Twilight gulped. “A d-duel?”

Luna grinned, standing up a little. “Not a serious fight...” Then she added under her breath. “Not like before anyway.” She continued at an appropriate volume. “Just a friendly match. Are you ready?”

Twilight backed up a little, clearly apprehensive. “Fighting a princess? I-I'm not too sure about that.”

Luna still had a smirk on her face. “Are you afraid, Twilight Sparkle? It will be fun. Plus it will give me a chance to see what you are capable of.” Her horn began to glow with dark purple energy. “Prepare yourself.”

Twilight flinched a laser beam of energy flew towards her.

~

The sun was setting over the land, casting an orange light over the sky. It was quite pretty to look at. However, it's beauty was lost upon Trixie Lulamoon. She was running for her life through the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. She had no idea what was chasing her. It sounded like other ponies much larger than herself, but there was something about the hoofbeats on the soggy ground. They sounded...ethereal, as if they were reverberating. A fearsome whinny cut through the air, striking fear in her heart. It was high pitched, like the scream of a banshee scorned. All she knew was that she had to keep running.

At this point, she had no idea where she was going. It was all she could do to avoid running into trees and to keep from tripping over the undergrowth. She just knew that these phantoms or whatever they were would kill her if they caught up with her...if they hadn't already.

“You're pathetic...”

Trixie attempted to jump over a root, but mistimed it and ended up falling flat on her face in an unceremonious heap. She scrambled to her hooves before something knocked her down to the ground.

“You have absolutely nothing to fear...”

Trixie looked around to find the most frightening things she had ever seen. They were large, full-sized horses, but they were almost transparent with the moonlight cascading through them. They had manes and tails that looked like they were made of fire, displaying a vibrant red and yellow. Their eyes were dark and soulless. Their teeth were sharp and dripping with red liquid that Trixie did not have to guess about. She could only utter one word. “T-taraxippi...”

“These creatures are nothing compared to you...”

No matter what, she couldn't shake the feeling of inexplicable terror clouding her mind. She knew what these things were, but still that wasn't enough. The two taraxippi just stood over here, eying her like a fresh kill. She knew that she was going to be in a second if she didn't do something.

“Clear you mind, my dear. Realize that you are the one in control...”

There was something...or someone speaking to her. She didn't recognize the voice but it sounded familiar somehow.

“You are much more powerful than you realize. Take control of these simple-minded poltergeists! Show them who you really are!”

Trixie looked at the taraxippi again. One of them had it's mouth open displaying rows of sharp, gruesome teeth. She closed her eyes. “Stop...” she whispered.

She felt the teeth of the taraxippus in her neck.

~

???

Twilight looked like she was on the defensive again. “How can you say that, Kassandra?” she said, defending Starswirl's honor. “Starswirl the Bearded is one of the greatest unicorns that has ever lived! He created nearly half-”

“-of all the spells used by modern unicorns,” Kassandra finished, rolling her eyes. “That's the story written in the storybooks. You have no idea about what isn't recorded for all to read.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her yet again.

Kassandra turned to her, a numbed look in her eyes. “Haven't you wondered where we came from or why we look the way we do?” she asked. “Me with my black and crooked horn or Allis with his messed up wings?”

Twilight looked a little embarrassed. “Well...umm-”

“Don't be embarrassed,” Kassandra said. “You'd have to be blind to not wonder about it.” She paused, glancing at Starswirl's hat. “The answer is the unicorn that you revere so much. He was the one that did this to us.”

“What!?” Twilight gasped. “How is that possible? Starswirl has been dead for centuries!”

“Longer than that,” Kassandra corrected. “And we should be dead along with him. Radley, Allis and I are close to two thousand years old.”

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. “Two thousand years old!?” She repeated, dumbfounded. “That's impossible!”

“Without the right magic it is impossible,” Kassandra said. She felt the necklace that was forever tethered to her. “This is what has kept us alive time and time again.”

Twilight looked at the necklace in horrified wonder. “So that's why you all wear those necklaces...”

Kassandra nodded. “These necklaces...” she repeated.

“But it doesn't make sense,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “Why would Starswirl make you immortal? And wouldn't that be a good thing?”

Kassandra chuckled. “You're so naïve, Sparkles,” she teased. She quickly got serious again. “Before I answer that, you must first come to grips with something about yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“There's something about alicorns, something I'm sure Celestia hasn't told you about. This fact is what makes your new species live for so long.”

“You mean that they-I mean, we're immortal? I knew that already.”

“It goes a bit deeper than that,” Kassandra said, shaking her head. She sighed. “Remember when I told you to look into your heart for the answer a few weeks ago?”

Twilight closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Yeah...I think s-” She stopped mid-sentence. All of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. She looked down to find a black dagger embedded in her trachea. “K-Kassandra...” she said in disbelief.

Kassandra held up a hoof. “Take a deep breath. I stabbed you hard enough to cause any other pony to bleed to death. But what do you notice?”

Twilight stopped and thought. This was strange, she had to admit. She removed the dagger from her neck and examined it. It was completely clean, like it had just been washed. “There's...no blood. There's no blood!” Twilight looked at Kassandra and confusion. “What's wrong with me!?”

Kassandra stood a little closer to her. “You're an alicorn now, Twilight Sparkle. You no longer have a heart to speak of.”