The Darkest Star In the Sky

The Citadel was in ruins. The battle had taken its toll on the old building. The ceiling was completely gone, turned now into rubble that was now scattered across ground. The walls were barely standing, transformed into haphazard, staggered sections all along the perimeter and insides of the once great Citadel. The floor was covered with potholes that reached down several feet below the foundation of the building.

The sky was dark and cloudless. There wasn't even a moon or any stars to be seen. The sky was completely black.

There was not a soul to be seen here...save for the three ponies standing in the center of what was once the great hall: a unicorn, pegasus and an Earth pony were all standing side by side, looking exhausted and battered. Before them laid another pony, an alicorn. She was sprawled out on the ground, unmoving and barely breathing.

“Did we get her?” the pegasus asked. He was very tall, far taller than the average pony. His wings were filled with brilliant light blue plumage, the same color as the rest of his coat. However, a few feathers had been seared and burnt and his left wing appeared to be injured. His mane and tail were multicolored with streaks of yellow, red and blue.

“She isn't breathing...” the Earth pony observed. She was far smaller than the pegasus. Although she was an Earth pony, she looked as graceful and beautiful as the most regal of pegasi. She was tan colored and had a light pink mane and tail. There were usually flowers interwoven in her hair, but those had been damaged or outright burned out of it.

“Don't let your guard down,” the unicorn said, not taking his eyes off the body in the center of the floor. He was much older than the rest of the ponies present. He was of average height and build. However, the most memorable thing about him was the beard under his chin. “She's an alicorn. She's been designed to be resilient.”

“And what do we do if she isn't dead, Starswirl?” the pegasus asked, giving the unicorn a stern look. “I don't know about you, but I'm not sure if I'm in shape for another fight like that.”

The Earth pony stepped forward, but immediately collapsed with a gasp of pain. The pegasus was at her side immediately. “May!” he exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

She gently pushed the pegasus away, standing up gingerly. “I'm...fine,” she assured. “It's just leg. Nothing to worry about, Wind.”

“We need to get done what we've planned,” Starswirl reminded. “There's only one way to truly keep her in check.”

“Are you sure this is the right way to go about it?” Wind asked, casting a worried glance at May. “If you – we fail, Equestria might lose it's one chance at stopping this monster.”

Starswirl lowered his head. “It's risky, but it's a chance we have to take.”

“There's no guarantee that that experiment will turn out better than this one,” May said. She sighed and smiled however. “But I trust you.”

“Thank you, May,” Starswirl said with a smile of gratitude.

“Trust him!?” Wind repeated in disbelief. He chuckled derisively. “Should I remind you who's fault it was that this...thing happened in the first place?”

“It was our doing, Wind Stryke,” May said gently, but sternly. “Not just Starswirl's.”

Starswirl looked away and humphed, which was his way of apologizing. “Even still...I don't think that this is the best way of going about this.” He looked Starswirl right in the eye. “This will be a disaster if it doesn't work...and hell if it does.”

“I know,” Starswirl admitted. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His horn began glowing pink, materializing out of thin air three necklaces. All three had pendants with red jewels in their center: one had a crescent, the other a star and the last had a circle.

“So, I guess this is it then...” Wind said with some finality.

“Once we put these on, we shall be forever bound to her,” Starswirl explained. “If she awakes again, we will be there to stop her.”

“So that's what you were planning!”

Starswirl's eyes widened. He looked over at the spot where the alicorn was lying, supposedly unconscious. She was not there anymore.

Then, everything happened at once.

Starswirl looked up to see the alicorn flying above all of their heads. He dropped the necklaces on the floor and fired a blast of energy at her. The alicorn vanished just as the blast was about to hit her, causing it to fly harmlessly into the air. Starswirl looked around for her, not seeing where she had vanished to.

May screamed suddenly and shoved Starswirl to the floor. Not even a millisecond later, a blast of energy disintegrated May into a pile of fine, smoking black powder.

“NOOO!” Wind cried out. Without a single thought, he immediately turned to the alicorn in the air and flew straight towards her in anger, heedless of his injured wing.

“Stop, Wind!” Starswirl called out, but it was too late.

Wind fell to the ground, a gaping hole in his neck from where the alicorn had stabbed him with her horn. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Starswirl looked upon the scene in despair. Both of his friends were dead, and their enemy was not yet defeated. And now...there was no way to stop her now.

The alicorn lowered herself to the ground, a victorious smile on her face. “Aww, what's the matter, Starswirl the Bearded? Did I just ruin your plans to imprison me?”

Starswirl would not allow her to see the defeat in his soul. He swallowed his welling grief and stood up to face her. “It will not be that easy to stop me. Did you really think that this was all I had planned?”

For a moment, the alicorn looked a bit hesitant. Her smile quickly returned, though. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, shaking her head. “Starswirl, Starswirl...you have nothing left. Your friends are dead and your plan is ruined.”

Before Starswirl could respond, the alicorn was on him, lifting him up into the air. She looked him directly in the eye. She was no longer smiling. “It's over, Starswirl the Bearded. Equestria, and the world...is now mine. And you are a nuisance that I can no longer allow to live.”