The Darkest Star In the Sky

Cadence's study was lined with books. Much like Twilight, she enjoyed reading though she was not as overt with it. Most of the old tomes in her personal library were journals and spell books written by famous and obscure unicorns alike, such as Starswirl the Bearded, Farsight the Blind and Grayson Tenuous. There were a few that were even written by Celestia and Luna. However, there was one journal in her possession that she was morbidly fascinated with.

The journal of King Sombra himself.

He kept a detailed account of his life for many years. It started with his days growing up in the Crystal Empire as Shining Moon. It eventually led to his successful coup of the government and his defeating the then Crystal Princess, Mi Carinosa Cadenza. Cadence was certain that there was some filial connection between herself and the previous princess, but she had not been able to find anything confirming this, save for the similar names that they shared. This book was one of the few records of the previous days of the Crystal Empire that still existed.

There was a knock at the door. Cadence quickly closed the book and put it away. She was worried that it might be Shining Armor, who did not particularly like her reading King Sombra's journal. He did not outright say or do anything about it, but she could tell by the look on his face when she brought it up that he did not care for his wife taking interest in the diary of malevolent warlord. She continued to read it behind his back, of course. She did not like keeping things from him, but this book was far too interesting to be let go. After she had stowed away the book, she called out. “You may enter!”

The door opened to reveal a Crystal Guard, a unicorn. Cadence was partially relieved. “My princess, there is someone here to see you.”

“Who is he?” Cadence asked, not expecting any visitors today.

“He says that he is an old friend of yours,” the crystal guard answered. “He calls himself Alexander Kane.”

Cadence's eyes widened and she gasped.

The guard recognized the usual calmness of his princess vanish. “Is there something wrong, my princess?”

Cadence took a deep breath and composed herself. “No...no there isn't,” she lied.

“Shall I send him in?” the guard asked.

Cadence did not answer for a long time. Alexander Kane....that was a name that she had not heard in years. It was also a name that she never wished to hear again. She shook her head. “Send him away,” she finally answered. “And see to it that he leaves this city immediately.”

The guard bowed and asked no further questions. “Yes, princ-” He froze in place.

Cadence stood up, raising a curious eyebrow. She approached the guard. He had completely stopped moving. “What the-?”

“We needn't involve anyone else in our little conversation.”

The Crystal Princess's heart sank when she heard that familiar voice. She turned around and saw the red Earth pony with shaggy black and white hair standing behind her. He was smiling smugly. “Don't worry about him, my dear,” he said, looking at his hoof nonchalantly. “He'll be fine. I just gave him a little something to make sure that he doesn't interfere.”

Cadence made a run for the door, but it was locked down tightly. The stallion chuckled. “Now Cadence, don't be so rude,” he warned in a sickly-sweet tone. “If I did not know in a better, I would think that you weren't delighted to see me.”

Cadence turned to face him, trying to look him directly in the eye. It was not easy. “What are you doing here, Alexander?” she asked in a voice that warranted no joking.

“Can't I pay a visit to one of my favorite little ladies without being accused of anything?” he asked, feigning hurt.

“You're supposed to be dead,” she said, sounding more than a little surprised, but mostly irritated.

“I'm supposed to be a lot of things, my dear,” Alexander answered, still smiling.

“You still haven't answered my question,” Cadence reminded, now over her initial fear. Her horn glowed with energy. “What are you doing here?”

Alexander did not look the least bit interested or frightened. “Stronger princesses than you have tried to kill me and failed. Congratulations on the crown by the way. I'm sure that you have earned it.”

“Thanks,” Cadence said without any kind of real gratitude. “You do realize that means that I'm never going back with you, correct?”

Alexander chuckled as if Cadence has just told a joke. “Is that what you think this is about? I hate to break it to you, but I found a replacement for you many years ago.”

Cadence's shock registered on her face. She tried to compose herself again, but Alexander already saw it. “Then why are you here?”

“Believe it or not,” Alexander began. “I'm here to provide you with a warning.”

“You mean a threat, don't you?”

Alexander continued as if she had not said anything. “There is a shadow looming over the horizon. The time has finally come for her to arrive. Very soon, Equestria will be in her grasp.”

Cadence gasped. “You mean...?”

Alexander nodded with a smile. “It will all be over soon...that is, unless you act now.”

Cadence let out an uncharacteristic growl. “What do you mean?”

“I won't lie to you, my dear. I still have a certain...affection for you. I would rather not see you perish at her hooves. I'll give you one chance to save yourself from your imminent demise by joining yourself with me once again.”

Cadence did not even blink at this offer. She spat at him, showing her teeth. “Screw you, Alexander Kane.”

Alexander was no longer smiling. He wiped the spit off of his face. “That was not very princesslike at all. Fine then, if that is your decision.” He started walking towards the door. “But there is something else you should know...”

“And what would that be?”

He started smiling again. “Nothing has changed between us. You are still the same little filly that I once knew. No matter how tall you get, or how many wings, horns or crowns you obtain, you will always be mine...my little Cadenza.”

Cadence scoffed. “I'm not so little anymore.”

Alexander laughed boisterously. “Like I said, I don't need you anymore.” He walked back towards her, smiling infectiously. He placed a hoof on her side, running it along her side. “This one seems like it will be far more cooperative than you. If my current arrangement doesn't work out-” He looked her directly in the eye. He leaned in close so as to whisper in her ear. “-I know where to find her.” He stood next to her for a few more seconds before leaving the room finally, closing the door behind him.

“-cess.” The guard made a move to open the door but Cadence stopped him.

“No,” she answered. “It's fine.”

“Excuse me, princess?” The guard was clearly confused.

“There's...there's no need to get him. He's already gone.”

“Oh...if you say so, my princess.” The guard paused and raised an eyebrow. “My princess...you're shaking.”

She realized that she was. “It's-it's fine. Can you...can you go get Shining Armor for me?”

The guard realized that something was wrong, but did not ask any questions. “Yes, princess.” He exited the room.

As soon as he was gone, Cadence fell to the ground, clutching her stomach. At first glance, it might have looked like she was protecting her...but she may have also been looking for protection herself.

*

The sun was shining brightly on this nice, midsummer day. There were a few cumulus clouds in the sky. The wind was blowing ever so slightly, causing the clouds to shift slightly and change into various shapes.

The scene on the ground was very picturesque. There was a field of wildflowers stretching out as far as the eye could see, past the horizon even. There were no trees or any other kind of fauna to be found, save for the wildflowers.

Running through them were two ponies: one small unicorn filly and one older unicorn stallion. The filly was purple and had a white mane and tail. The older stallion was also purple, but had a black mane and tail. The filly was giggling uncontrollably as she ran with the stallion, looking like she was enjoying herself immensely. The stallion looked like he was having fun as well, laughing at the filly's antics.

Suddenly, the filly stopped and picked up one of the wildflowers with her magic, casting a white glow around it. “Hey dad!” she called to the stallion. “Watch this!” She concentrated on the flower, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Small beads of sweat started to form on her forehead. After a few seconds, the flower changed into a butterfly and flew away. The filly opened her eyes and jumped up and down, very proud of herself. “Did you see that dad! Did you see it? I've been practicing that trick for weeks!”

The stallion roughed up her hair as he looked up at the butterfly going up into the sky. “Wow, that's incredible, my little sun and stars!” He picked her up and twirled her around in the air, bringing on another giggle fit from the little filly. “You're going to be the most amazing unicorn one day!”

The filly looked wide-eyed at her father as he stopped spinning her around. “Really? Do you think so?”

The stallion nodded. “Of course. They will call you 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'!” He set her back down on the ground and gestured towards the sky. Something looked different about it. The filly hadn't noticed because she was enthralled with her father's praise, but it had gotten considerably darker, even though the sun was still shining brightly. “Ponies all over Equestria will know of you. You will amaze and inspire millions upon millions of them.”

Trixie looked at the sky in awe, unaware that the sky was getting darker with each word that he was saying. The sun had started to grow dimmer as it sunk beneath the horizon at an unusual rate. His tone was growing as dark as the sky. “Ponies will tremble and kneel before your awesome power and strength. You will be the greatest before them and they will know that there will be no hope of challenging you. You will be the greatest ruler the world has ever seen.”

Trixie finally sensed that something was wrong. She looked back at her father and screamed at what she saw. He had changed into some grotesque bastardization of himself. His smile had grown into this sickly grin that spread all the way up to his ears, his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. His eyes had lost their color and were now without pupils. His body had grown skeletal, thin and scraggly. He stared down at his daughter, his mouth not even moving as he spoke.

“Welcome to your destiny...Princess Blackstar.”

*

The library was being turned upside down. Spike and Twilight had been working almost non-stop to find more information about the Order of the Darkest Star. Suffice to say, the information had been a bit scarce. Books were stacked up as well as scattered and half-read all across the floor. The lack of sleep for Twilight Sparkle and Spike had begun to take it's toll on them.

Spike yawned as he looked through a copy of “1001 Unusual Pony Afflictions”. “Are we done yet?” he asked, eyes drooping.

Twilight shook her head as she perused through “Ancient and Mysterious Organizations of Equestria”. “No Spike. We need to find out more...or even something about the Order of the Darkest Star and this Princess Blackstar that they were talking about.”

“But we've looked through all of these books five time already!” Spike complained, sliding the book aside. “We haven't even been able to find out why they look so strange!”

Twilight had to admit that it was strange. There was not a single record or even a mention of anything called the “Order of the Darkest Star” in any of the library's books. “Perhaps...” she murmured.

“What?”

“Perhaps we're looking in the wrong place,” Twilight said a bit louder. She suddenly perked up. “That's it! Spike!”

Spike was a bit taken aback by the sudden enthusiasm. “What is it? Did you find something finally?”

“Where did you put that book with the section on the Mirror Pool?” Twilight asked.

“Right back where we found it,” Spike answered, pointing to the shelf. “In that secret cabinet thing.”

Twilight bolted for the shelf, quickly opening the door. Inside, just as Spike said, was the book containing the legend of the Mirror Pool. She pried it open, flipping through it's pages. “This book...it has more in it than just the Mirror Pool,” Twilight thought out loud.

“You mean it might have something about this Darkest Star thing?” Spike asked.

Twilight nodded. “That's what I'm hoping for. I didn't get a chance to read all the way through it because of all the Pinkie Pie business. There's a lot in here that's been overlooked.”

Spike sat next to Twilight, his curiosity overriding his exhaustion. A few minutes passed before Spike placed his hand on one of the pages. “Wait...what's this?”

Twilight took a closer look to see what Spike was talking about. It was a single page with nothing but three symbols in a triangular formation. There was one of a femininity symbol with demonic horns, a crescent and finally a sideways “v” with a dash. “Those are...those are their cutie marks...!” Twilight realized. She suddenly felt strangely woozy.

Spike glanced at her, noticing that his friend had begun to swoon. “Twilight? Are you okay? Oh man, we've been up too long.” He grabbed Twilight, attempting to drag her up to her bed, but she pushed him away.

She shook her head, trying to stand up. She staggered a bit before falling down to the ground. She continued muttering. “No...why would their...their marks be in this...this book...cutie marks...are unique...unless...unless...” Her eyes closed and she stopped talking.

“We might be a lot older than you thought.”

Spike gasped. He turned to see Radley, Kassandra and Allis standing there. Radley approached Spike and looked down at him with apologetic eyes. “I'm really sorry about this, Spike the Dragon.” He lifted Spike up by his chin, raising him up into the air with a single hoof. “We can't have you interfering and there's no time to explain.” He threw him fiercely against the wall, knocking more books off of the shelves. The baby dragon hit the floor, unconscious.

“That was a bit over the top,” Kassandra commented, standing over Twilight.

“No moreso than your knockout spell,” Radley retorted.

Kassandra clicked her tongue in an irritated fashion. “We could have taken her right then and there if her friend had not come along.”

“Need I remind you two that we have a time limit?” Allis stepped in, not the least bit amused. “We also have the other Elements to worry about, along with Blackstar herself.”

“Allis is right.” Radley shouldered Twilight onto his back, not looking at all burdened by the load. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner Equestria will be safe from the likes of Blackstar.”

“I wonder if we could have just asked her to agree to this without knocking her out?” Kassandra mused.

“Would you say yes to something like this?” Allis asked.

Kassandra grinned. “Oh if someone offered to kill me right now that could actually pull it off, I would say yes in a heartbeat.”

*

The moon hung high in the sky during this particularly cloudless night. Even though it was her time to watch over Equestria, Luna still felt extremely restless. She needed to be awake anyway, but felt that even if she needed to sleep, she would not be able to. There were far too many questions in her mind. She needed to talk to somebody...but felt like it was too soon to speak with her sister.

She looked up at the statue of Starswirl the Bearded. It was positioned over a fountain that spewed water from tiny holes placed around the perimeter of the pool. The statue itself was three times her size. The artist that had made it clearly had an eye for the grandiose. Starswirl was posed to stand on his hindlegs, rearing up towards the sky. His long and uncut beard was blowing in the nonexistent wind along with his cape. He was staring off into the distance to his side, looking serious and strong. Both his cape and hat were decorated with carved stars and crescent moons. He looked just the way that Luna remembered all those years ago.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She tried to regulate her breathing so that it was going at a slow, even pace. After a few minutes of this, she got it low enough so that even her heartbeat started to beat slowly. Pretty soon, she collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap.

*

Luna found herself in a vast, white area. She knew it to be the Astral Plane, the place where all dreams take place. Usually, this area was populated with trees, fields, buildings or whatever else the dreamer was picturing in their heads. However, this area was always blank and empty for her. She had the ability to walk in the dreams of others, but she herself could never dream on her own.

“It has been quite a long...moon of my life.”

Luna looked ahead to see the one that she had come to see, Starswirl the Bearded. She smiled and ran forward to hug him. “Father!” she exclaimed, tearing up. “It is good to see you again.”

Starswirl smiled as he returned the embrace. “Heh, you can come to see me anytime that you wish,” he pointed out. “Why are you crying?”

Luna pulled away from the hug and wiped the tear away. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “I guess coming here to see you just reminds me that you are no longer with me or my sister.”

Starswirl chuckled. “You know as well as I do that unicorns are never truly dead. Their spirits live on in the Astral Plane for the rest of eternity.” Then, Starswirl turned serious. “Now...what is the matter?”

Luna looked a little surprised. “What makes you think that something is wrong?”

Starswirl shook his head. “Luna, I raised you,” he reminded. “I can tell when you're lying. Besides, you are dreaming right now and I can hear your thoughts.”

Luna wilted. “Oh...that's right.” She sighed.

“Tell me. You clearly came here for my guidance.”

“Someone...or something visited me while I was lowering the moon. She spoke as if she knew me, but...”

“...but you did not know her?” Starswirl finished.

Luna nodded. “She said that I was...her daughter.”

“I see.” Starswirl looked away.

“You know who she is, don't you?”

“Her name is Blackstar...” Starswirl revealed. “Princess Blackstar.”

“She's an alicorn?” Luna surmised. “There's another alicorn princess around that my sister and I haven't heard about her?”

“You were gone for quite a while...” Starswirl explained. “There are many things that you missed.”

“So Celestia knows about her?” Luna gleaned. She looked more than a little hurt. “Why hasn't she told me about her?”

“You never asked,” Starswirl said, trying to make light of it. When he noticed that his daughter wasn't smiling, he cleared his throat and continued. “Besides, she probably thought that the Order of the Darkest Star had finished her.”

“The Order of the Darkest Star...” Luna repeated with familiarity. She gasped. “You told Celestia and me stories about them when we were fillies. You mean they're real?”

Starswirl nodded. “They have been the main force behind fighting Blackstar. We all thought that they were successful this time...but I guess that we were wrong.”

Luna looked like she was ready for a fight. “So, what do we do?”

“You mean 'you',” Starswirl pointed out. “You must find the Order of the Darkest Star, both you and your sister. Help them in any way that you-” He stopped talking suddenly.

“What is it?” Luna asked.

Suddenly, Starswirl was on her, grabbing her by her collar. Luna was greatly taken aback, almost falling backward. “Listen to me, Luna,” Starswirl commanded. There was something dangerous in his eyes. “You must find the Order immediately. Something has changed about them! They're trying to end Blackstar once and for all...at the expense of another.”

“Who's?” Luna asked.

Starswirl gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He let go of Luna and dropped to the floor, crying out in pain. He convulsed and turned over and over on the ground. Then, he went completely still.

Luna was at his side immediately. “Father! Are you alright?”

Starswirl did not answer. Everything was silent.

“Starswirl!” she called out.

Slowly, he got from the ground, swaying slightly. “Oh my...”

Luna stepped back. The voice was not his own and not one that she recognized. “Who...are you?”

Starswirl turned around, but it was not his face. There beard, cape and hat were still there, but his eyes, mouth and other facial features had been replaced with someone else's. “Goshdarnit, I forgot my manners again!” she said, smiling insanely. “My name is Cyril! And you must be Princess Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you!”

Luna gritted her teeth. “What have you done with him!?”

“You mean the dead unicorn?” Cyril asked. She tapped her chin, feigning nonremembrance. She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea! One second his spirit was there and the next-” She made a wide gesture. “-poof! It wasn't. I guess life really is fleeting, isn't it?”

Luna made a move to jump on this crazy mare, but her hooves were rooted to the ground. She pulled and pulled, but they refused to move. “What!?”

Cyril kept smiling as she threw off Starswirl's clothes. Her last move was to tear the beard off her chin. She examined it for a bit, then carelessly tossed it aside. “Sorry, princess...but this is my dream now.” She chuckled maniacally. “You aren't the only mare with special abilities.”

This wasn't right, Luna thought. She tried to use her unicorn powers, but they weren't working. It was if she had no magic to use.

Cyril walked closer to Luna, still smiling like a madman. “There's one thing that I've always wanted to do...” She ran her hooves over Luna's face, as if she were embracing a lover. “I never have gotten to taste alicorn before. I wonder what that would be like?”

Before Luna could react, Cyril sunk her teeth into Luna's neck.

*

Celestia walked around the castle courtyard. She knew that her sister liked to come here whenever she felt troubled. She had spent a lot of time here in the years before she became Nightmare Moon. Not a day went by that Celestia did not regret seeing the signs. However, those days were gone and their relationship was stronger now than it ever had been.

She found Luna lying next to the Starswirl the Bearded fountain, as expected. She usually looked peaceful when she spoke with their father, but...something was wrong. She was stirring a bit, making groaning noises and mumbling. Celestia rarely woke her sister up while she walked in dreams, but she felt like she had to here.

She forcefully shoved Luna, causing her to roll over on her back and into the statue. It may have seemed violent, but only such force was sufficient to wake Luna up, Celestia knew. Her sister opened her eyes in a panicked daze. Her eyes darted from left to right as if she had just gotten up from a nightmare.

“Luna!” Celestia  called out, rushing to her side. “What's wrong? What happened?”

Luna turned towards her sister, but she wasn't looking at her. Her eyes were glazed with fear and unfocused. Her breathing was heavy and uneven.

“Luna...” Celestia said softly. “Your neck...”

“Whuh...?” Luna said at last.

Celestia lifted her sister up so that she could see her reflection in the pool. There was a deep bite mark in her neck with fresh blood trickling from it. The drops fell into the pool, creating a crimson red tinge in it.

Celestia had a worried look in her eyes. “What happened when you were speaking with father?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

Luna took several deep breaths before responding. “We need to find the Order of the Darkest Star. Twilight is in trouble.”