The Darkest of Stars

Twilight Sparkle was at the epitome of confusion. Kassandra still had her pinned to the floor as the last of Starswirl's tome was burned in the black fire that the white unicorn had conjured up. There was hurt in the purple unicorn's eyes. “What are you talking about, killing alicorns!? And why did you destroy the book!?”

Kassandra quickly regretted mentioning that. She closed her eyes and looked away. Getting up, she let Twilight go. The fire died away, leaving a small black area where the book used to be. There wasn't even a piece of ash to be found. “There's something you need to know about alicorns...the species of pony that you are now,” she said reluctantly.

Twilight was just staring at the spot where the old tome used to be. She wasn't hearing anything that Kassandra was saying anymore. “You attacked me and destroyed one of most treasured possessions.” She spoke in a voice that left nothing to the imagination. Her horn began to crackle with brilliant energy. “If I see you in here again, I will deal with you myself.”

Kassandra backed up. She knew there was no hope for her in a fair fight with her. “But, I was only trying to--”

A blast of hot, purple energy silenced her. Kassandra backed out slowly before reaching the door. She sighed and turned back around. “Look into your heart, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “You might find that something in it has changed.” She left the room.

A tear flowed down Twilight's cheek. She was tired of losing her friends.

~

Radley Kane was waiting outside of the castle on a bench for Kassandra Tharsus. “So, it's exactly as we feared,” he said without greeting.

“Hey to you too,” Kassandra said, deadpan. She took a seat beside him, heaving a heavy sigh.

Radley ignored her. “You did your best in there,” he assured her. “If you hadn't destroyed that book, the residual casting might have been enough to complete the spell.”

“You know that's buffalo crap,” the unicorn spat. “There's no way a spell can be completed if the caster doesn't finish the incantation.”

Radley shrugged. “I'm just trying to make you feel better about destroying a tome steeped in history and magic so powerful it may have contained the solution we have been searching for all of these years.”

Kassandra punched him in the shoulder. “Thanks, you're a good friend.”

Radley tried to rub the pain out. “But seriously, it was either the book or Twilight Sparkle. It was a win-lose situation not matter what.”

Kassandra smiled bitterly. She turned to look at her old friend. “I hate this so much...I really do.”

“Which part?”

“This...this whole thing!” she exclaimed. “I want this to be over and done with!” She yanked at the necklace strapped around her neck, but it would not come off. “I'm just so sick of it...”

“We all are...” Radley said, looking up at the stars. They seemed brighter tonight. “But if we don't do it, who else will?”

Kassandra rolled her eyes. “We've had this conversation before.”

“Four hundred and seventy-eight times,” Radley mentioned. “And yet you bring it up for the four hundred and seventy-ninth time.”

Kassandra shrugged, smirking. “I guess this time it got a little personal.”

“You mean you actually became friends with her?” Radley raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” she answered. “I just miss having friends.” She noticed the look in his eyes and elaborated. “Not like you guys. We're always together out of necessity. Even if we wanted to break up, we couldn't.” She flipped the jewel of the necklace around her hooves.

“Seeing where we all are at all times does ruin that hope,” Radley agreed.

Kassandra chuckled bitterly. “You know...when he first gave us these necklaces, I thought they were pretty. Now I think they're the ugliest things in the world.”

“We bear the burden so no one else has to,” Radley stated, deadpan.

Kassandra shook her head. “That never makes it any easier.”

Radley got up and stretched. “It's the truth. Besides...” He touched her on the shoulder. “...this will be the last year we ever have to deal with this.”

Kassandra looked unimpressed. “And I suppose the last two attempts didn't count?”

Radley remained optimistic. “The last two times, we didn't have Twilight Sparkle and her friends on our side.”

The white unicorn cringed at the mention of Twilight. “And we still don't. She'll never forgive me for burning that book.”

“Don't be so sure,” Radley said. “I have a feeling she'll come around.”

Kassandra squinted at him, as if seeing him for the first time. “You really have changed a lot, Kandy Kane...”

Radley grimmaced. “Please, you know I hate to be called that.” He shook his head. “In any case, we need to meet up with Allis at the Citadel. We have to discuss how we should proceed.”

Kassandra got up from the bench. “Maybe we should talk to all of her friends first,” she suggested. “If we convince them we're on their side, then she'll follow suit.”

Radley nodded. “I agree, but we should still plan this out carefully. Let's get moving.”

Kassandra followed, but not before looking up into the sky. The moon was half full. “That's strange...”

Radley stopped. “What?”

“The moon was new last night, but now it's half.” She gave a concerned look to Radley. “It skipped two phases.”

It only took a second for him to understand. “That means...”

Kassandra cut him off. “I think we need to meet up with Allis posthaste.”

~

Four Days Later...

The last Zap Apple season had been the best Sweet Apple Acres had ever had. Zap Apple season was a tricky affair. As soon as it started, the apples would appear on the trees. Likewise as soon as it ended, the apples would just disappear. In total, the Apple family had about five days to gather all of the apples and about three to five days to sell them. Just as the apples on the trees would disappear, in picked apples would also vanish. This included any baked into pies or mushed into jams and preserves. They were very tedious to deal with, but very delicious.

It was a warm, sunny day in Ponyville. The brightest star in the sky hung high and proud, casting its joyous rays across the land. It was a wonderful day for plowing the fields, as Applejack found herself doing. It was backbreaking work. A hard day's work never killed anyone though, she thought to herself.

Sweet Apple Acres was primarily an apple orchard, but they grew other foods on the side like corn, oats and other grains. Apple season was in full swing, but it never hurt to give the Ponyville citizens something else to subsist on.

“'Ey der, Abblejack...!” It was the matriarch of Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith. She was hobbling up to Applejack, slow as the bluest moon. “I gots a question fo' ya...!”

Applejack unhooked herself from the plow and decided to meet Granny halfway. “Hiya, Granny! What's up?”

“I 'aven't seen lil' Abblebloom all day,” she mentioned. “I'ma startin' ta get a lil' worried 'bout her.”

“Well...uh,” Applejack started with a nervous grin. “It's noon, Granny Smith. You've been asleep for most a' the day.”

Granny looked confused for a second. Then, she started cackling. “Oh, heh heh heh!” She coughed for a few seconds before continuing. “I guess she's at school 'den, eh?”

Applejack looked at an imaginary wristwatch. “She should be out by now. She said she was gonna go to Zecora's place to help her mix up some potions or whatnot.”

Granny nodded in recognition. “Oh, I see.” She started to walk away. “So long's she's a'right.”

Applejack looked confused. “Come ta' think of it...she should've been back by now.” She looked around, as if she'd be able to see her little sister running around somewhere nearby. “I'd betta go check up on her.” She left the plow where it was and trotted off.

~

It was about ten or fifteen minutes before Applejack reached the edge of the Everfree forest. She had been in the forest enough times by now to know where she needed to go to reach Zecora's cottage. She walked by Fluttershy's own. She decided it might be worth it to see if she had seen Applebloom.

Applejack knocked on the door. She let a few seconds pass before deciding to knock again. No answer. The orchard caretaker decided that she must have been in town.

Continuing on, she entered the forest. Even the bright noonday sun had difficulty penetrating the thick canopy above. Still, she didn't have much trouble navigating the forest. It was just a matter of getting one's bearings. The rest was just watching out for tree roots and mud puddles.

She took about five minutes getting to Zecora's house in the cottage. Suddenly, she noticed two ponies were already there. A few seconds passed before she realized that it was Applebloom and Fluttershy standing in the doorway with their backs turned to her.

“Oh, hey there!” Applejack greeted. “I just came by to check and see if Applebloom was a'right. How're you two doing?”

Neither one responded. They both just kept standing in the doorway, completely still. Applejack grimaced with confusion. “Hellooo? Can you two hear me?” She tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder. Still no response. She nearly punched Applebloom in the shoulder. Even that didn't garner a response.

Applejack was beginning to get the feeling that something was amiss. “Somethin' smells worse than a barrel a' rotten apples on a summer's morn here...literally.” She started to get a whiff of some foul odor coming from inside the house. “What is that!?” She covered her nose almost gagging at the stench. She pushed past Fluttershy and Applebloom into the house. Then, she saw what the cause of their strange behavior was.

Before them all, in a large puddle of blood spilled chemicals and potions, lay the decaying body of Zecora the zebra. Only then did Applebloom and Fluttershy respond by letting out a loud and piercing scream.

~

Later That Same Day...

Celestia had lost count of how long she had been searching for her sister to no avail. The massive search party that had been gathered over the last few weeks had had little success. The Princess was beginning to wonder whether she would ever see her little sister again or not.

In the past two or three weeks, she had gotten maybe eight hours of sleep. It was completely impossible for her to sleep with the current situation. She couldn't stop worrying about Luna. Every time she attempted to close her eyes, he vision was haunted with images of her sister. There was some dark, overwhelming force following and tormenting her. She always awoke in a cold sweat. The only thing that eased the pain was for her to go outside and look up into the sky.

The strangest part of the whole affair, besides Luna leaving without warning, was that no matter how much she looked through the Teleyedoscope there was never any trace to be found. The magical telescope was able to see anywhere in the entire universe but was not able to find any image or trace of the the Princess of the Night. This worried Celestia to no end.

Celestia quickly pulled away from the Teleyedoscope. She began to cough violently. How long had she been using it? A few minutes? A few hours? She had lost track of time.

“Princess Celestia...?”

“What is it!?” Celestia reeled on whoever it was that was interrupting her. She softened when she saw that it was Twilight. “Oh...I'm so sorry, Twilight.”

“It's all right,” Twilight said, concern written all over her face. “It's pretty late. You should rest.”

“I can't do that,” Celestia said, shaking her head. Standing this close to her, Twilight realized just how...aged, the Princess was beginning to look. There were massive bags under her eyes. Her flowing mane was unkempt and riddled with split ends. Creases were beginning to form on her face. “I have...have to keep looking.” She was beginning to stumble from exhaustion.

“Princess Celestia, please,” Twilight begged, coming to stand beside her. “You've done enough searching for today. After all-” She paused to choose her words carefully. “-what would Princess Luna say if she saw you like this?”

Celestia stopped and thought. She heaved a sigh and relented. “You're right...you're right, Twilight.” She smiled and looked down at her most faithful student. “You're becoming more wise than your age would betray.”

Twilight smiled at the praise from her idol. “Thank you. Now please go get some rest. I'll keep a look out for Princess Luna.”

Celestia nodded and almost fell over doing so. She left the balcony without saying goodbye.

Twilight turned to look up at the sky. The moon was little more than a sliver of white in the sky. She thought for a moment. Wasn't the moon half full just four nights ago?

Just then, she saw movement in the sky. It was very hard to see, but there was definitely something moving through the sky. She decided to take a look through the Teleyedoscope...carefully this time.

Focusing on that flying thing, she tried to make out what it was. She gasped.

Princess Luna!

Excited, she turned to run to wake up Celestia. However, she turned back around to see Luna barreling towards her. Twilight screamed before jumping out of the way. Luna crashed into the wall, taking the Teleyedoscope with her.

“Curses...” she mumbled. “...this body...difficult to...control...”

“Princess Luna?” Twilight said, flabbergasted. “Is that really you?”

Luna turned shakily towards Twilight, rising up on unsteady legs. Twilight could tell that something was wrong. Besides her tattered regal attire, her eyes were completely bloodshot and there was dried blood on her horn. “Hello...” she answered in a wavering voice. “I'm...” Suddenly she gripped her skull and closed her eyes. “No! Get...get out...get out now!”

Twilight backed up. “Princess...? What's going on?”

Luna looked directly at Twilight. Her voice was strained, but urgency rang out in it. “Twilight...! Go now! I'm not...I'm not...” She gripped her head again, crying out in pain. Then the urgency was replaced with malice and hatred. “Give...give it to me! Give me back my heart!” She fired a blast of dark purple energy at Twilight, blasting her off of the balcony.

Twilight screamed as she approached the ground, but then remembered she had wings. Using a recovery move Rainbow Dash had taught her, she righted herself in midair before she could hit the ground. “Luna!” she called out. “What's wrong with you!?”

“The heart belongs to me!” Luna called down from the balcony in a voice loud enough to be heard. “I will have it back...even if I must take yours.”

Twilight's eyes grew wide as she saw Luna speed down towards her, eyes full of determination and anger.