The Darkest Star In the Sky

Queen Chrysalis was not in the best of moods.

It had been several months since she and her people had suffered their defeat at the hooves of Cadence and Shining Armor. Ever since then, they had had to scavenge for the love they needed to survive, moving from village to village, town to town, inside and outside of Equestria. They were able to sustain themselves, but it was not nearly enough for them to thrive like they needed to. Chrysalis contemplated invading Canterlot again or perhaps even the Crystal Kingdom. After all, there would be enough love in the Kingdom to keep them going for many years to come. However, it was far too heavily guarded and her army was in no position to overtake them.

She hung her head in shame. What kind of Queen had she turned out to be? This was not how it was supposed to be. He had told her that she would have power beyond her wildest dreams, that she would be the leader and shining light to her subjects. But this...

Chrysalis looked at her hooves forlornly. It was difficult to remember the days when she was but a simple Earth pony growing up in Canterlot...

“It's too late for second thoughts, my dear...”

Chrysalis recognized that voice. She almost tripped down the side of the mountain as she turned around. She bared her teeth at the visitor, clearly not pleased to see him. “Alexander...” she spat. “What are you doing here?”

Alexander looked hurt. “No one seems happy to see me today,” he voiced. “Do you know how that makes me feel?”

“Like the insect that you are?” Chrysalis jabbed.

Alexander laughed boisterously. “Oh my dear, Chrysalis. You are the last pony in Equestria that should be calling anyone 'insect'.” He grasped one of her wings and flexed it. “Have you ever heard of the expression-”

Chrysalis cut Alexander's jibe short by knocking his hoof away. In the same motion, she morphed one of her hooves into a sharp dagger and placed it underneath his neck. “Don't you ever touch me again,” she commanded and in a voice that warranted no argument.

Alexander coughed and grinned. “Duly noted, my-”

She pressed her daggered hoof harder against his throat. “And I am not your anything, Alexander Kane.”

“Of course,” Alexander responded. “After all, I only ever gave you everything that you asked for.”

“You cursed me,” Chrysalis accused, spitting in his face. She lowered her hoof, but never took her eyes off of him. “You promised me greatness and yet you gave me-”

“-exactly what you asked for?” Alexander finished. He walked around her as he spoke. “Everyone wants something and everyone thinks that they know what they want. Once they get it, it's only then that they realize that it isn't what they wanted. Then they start crying out that they have been cursed. You see, blessings and curses are one and the same.”

“Does that help you sleep at night, you filth?” Chrysalis asked with nothing but hatred in her voice.

Alexander chuckled. “Don't hate me because you turned out to be a poor leader. I gave you all the tools you needed. It isn't my fault that you have no idea how to use them.”

Chrysalis turned away from him, walking back towards the cliff. A few minutes passed before she spoke again. “Why are you here?” she asked. She no longer sounded angry, but she was still irritated.

Alexander joined her. He was no longer smiling. “I've seen what has become of your people. Nothing is going as you thought it would, is it?”

Chrysalis looked down. “What do you care?”

“A great deal, actually,” Alexander answered. There was no sarcasm in his voice. “I can tell that this has brought you nothing but grief and despair. It is nothing to be ashamed of. As I said, blessings and curses are one and the same.”

Chrysalis turned away. She did not want to show Alexander that he was right. “You still haven't answered my question.”

Alexander pulled her head back towards his, placing his hoof on her cheek. A power flowed through Chrysalis that she had only felt once before in her entire life. She took a deep breath as the power overtook her. She could feel her skin peeling off of her and yet...it did not hurt at all. Suddenly, the power was gone. Alexander stepped back and pointed towards a small rock with a reflective surface. Chrysalis slowly walked towards it, feeling very apprehensive. She looked down into the rock...and saw someone that she had not seen in many years.

She saw a beautiful mare with a light purple mane. Her eyes were the most golden shade of yellow and her coat was of a pale silver. She had wings with the largest and most gorgeous plumage. This was one pegasus that Chrysalis never believed that she would see again.

“If it is your choice,” Alexander began. “I can give you back what was lost. You will be the beautiful pegasus that you once were.”

Chrysalis kept staring at her reflection, still not believing that it was her. “...why?” she asked, starstruck.

“Call it a...loving gesture,” Alexander said.

She looked back at him, disbelief in her eyes. “You're lying,” she accused.

Alexander shrugged. He waved his hoof in front of her. Suddenly, Chrysalis felt her skin crackling and moving. Pain swept over her and she fell to the ground, groaning. A few minutes passed before the pain stopped. She looked back at the rock, finding herself to be back to the insect-like creature that she had been for so many years. She looked up at Alexander, but he had already started to walk back down the mountain. “It's your choice, Queen Chrysalis,” he called out over his shoulder. “You can continue as you are now, or you can return to your former self...Christina.”

*

Twilight was awakened by the smell of burning incense. It smelled like lavender and orange peels. Her vision was blurry and confused and her head was pounding. She felt a lot of pressure on her two front legs, like she was hanging from something...or on something. She couldn't see very well at all, but she felt that her legs were crossed over each other, stuck in position. The same was true of her back legs. The position that she was in was also causing her a lot of back pain. She tried shifting her weight around, but couldn't find a comfortable position. Then, she realized what she was hanging on.

A cross.

“The guest of honor has finally decided to join us.”

Twilight immediately recognized the voice of Kassandra. She was one of three ponies that she did not want to speak with ever again. She wanted to unleash a string of curses upon the white unicorn. She opened her mouth to speak. “Fffffaaahhhgggeeeyaaaaawwww...” she managed to say. That was not exactly what she had in mind.

“I would advise that you not speak, Princess Twilight.” That was Allis speaking. She wished that she could see straight. “The spell that Kassandra inflicted you with was meant to sedate a fully grown Ursa Major. There is a possibility that you will swallow your own tongue if you attempt to speak again.”

Twilight closed her mouth and instead decided to focus on casting a spell of her own, perhaps something that would vaporize these liars? However, when she tried to think, she was greeted by a splitting headache. She grunted in pain and hung her head, almost knocking herself out again.

“I would also advise that you not attempt to use your magic either,” Allis added. “You do not quite have the focus for that.”

They had her trapped, Twilight realized. She needed to find a way out of this, even though her head was in a complete fog.

“I must offer my apologies, Twilight.” This belonged to Radley. “You see, we had to make sure that you would cooperate with us. I'm sure that you must have...mixed feelings about seeing us again.”

Mixed feelings, Twilight thought. She hated them wholeheartedly. There was no doubt about that in her mind, no matter how disoriented she felt.

“Radley...we don't have a lot of time left,” Kassandra pointed out. “We should get this done soon.”

“In a minute, Kass,” Radley said. “She deserves an explanation at the very least.”

That was putting it mildly, Twilight thought. Her vision was starting to clear up. She saw that she and the Order of the Darkest Star were in a cylindrical chamber made up of black stone. There was a chandelier hanging above them, which was the only source of light in the windowless dungeon. There was a tray with a bunch of tools in it. None of them looked that friendly. She looked down and saw the ponies that had tricked her into this situation. They were all looking up at her. She searched their faces for some kind of expression: remorse, triumph, happiness...but there was none.

“Do you know what you are, Princess Twilight?” Radley asked her.

Twilight could feel her head clearing up, but she still couldn't focus enough to conjure up any magic. “I'm a pony...an alicorn princess...” she answered. At least she could speak.

“That isn't what I meant,” Radley responded, shaking his head. “You are the last hope for Equestria...and us as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked. Her head was starting to clear up. If she could keep them talking, she would be able to use her magic again and get out of here.

“We were not lying to you when we told you that we were the Order of the Darkest Star,” Allis admitted. “We have been tasked with keeping Blackstar in check for millennium upon millennium.”

“So you mean...?” Twilight realized it now.

Kassandra nodded. “Yep, you are looking at the Order's only members right here! We have been alive for over three thousand years.”

“How is that even possible?” Twilight asked.

“When we stopped Blackstar at first, we were cursed with a spell that infected us with dark magics,” Radley explained. He gestured to his friends as he spoke. “Allis lost his ability to see and his form was forever changed. Kassandra's horn was malformed and she was cursed to suffer whenever she used her unicorn abilities.”

“What happened to you then?” Twilight asked Radley. From the first time she met him, she noticed that he was the only one of the group that looked normal.

Radley hung his head. He was silent for a while but then continued as if Twilight had not asked the question. “There is only one way that we can break the curse that was cast upon us: by defeating Blackstar once and for all.”

“But up until this point, we have only been able to keep her in check,” Kassandra said. “You see, alicorns are damned near unkillable. Even with the abilities that we've been granted, we can never stop her on our own.”

“Despite our best efforts,” Allis picked up. “Blackstar always manages to rise again. Every time it appears that we have defeated her, but it turns out that we have not.”

“So that's why you came to me...” Twilight finished. She did not like these ponies still, but she had begun to feel sorry for them. “Because I'm the strongest alicorn?”

Radley shook his head. “That part was a lie. We came to you because you are the most expendable of the alicorns.”

Twilight gasped. “What!?”

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are needed to rule over the entirety of Equestria and also to raise the sun and moon,” Allis explained. “Princess Mi Amora Cadenza is needed to rule the Crystal Empire. You, however have no kingdom to rule over and no important tasks that only you can carry out.” Twilight felt like he was staring straight into her even though he had a blindfold on. “You are the first alicorn to be brought into this world that has no purpose.”

Twilight did not sense any hatred or disdain in Allis's voice. She couldn't help but realize that...he was partially correct. She did not have any kingdom to rule over. However, that did not mean that she was useless. “You're wrong,” Twilight answered. “I'm not useless. I have friends that love and care about me and we have saved Equestria many times. I don't know what you're planning to do with me-” Twilight focused on the bindings that were holding her to the cross. She vaporized them instantly and fell to the ground on all fours. She took a fighting stance. “-but I'm not going to go along with it!”

“She's right!”

Twilight looked behind the three ponies that had captured her. Her expression brightened when she discovered the source of the voice. “Rainbow Dash!” she called out. “What are you doing here?”

“She came with us.”

Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna lowering themselves to the ground. “Princess Celestia! And Princess Luna!” Twilight wasn't sure if she should be surprised or relieved. “How did you find me?”

“We received word that you might be in danger,” Princess Luna explained. “We came to find you at your home in Ponyville.”

“But I was already there looking for you,” Rainbow Dash picked up. “I thought that you might try to go it alone, but I found Spike saying that you had been kidnapped. The princesses and I decided to come find you.”

Celestia gave the Order of the Darkest Star a look that portrayed nothing but hatred. “And it's a good thing that we did. You will pay dearly for your crimes.” Celestia's horn glowed and crackled with her familiar yellow magic. “Surrender now. You have no chance of winning.”

Radley sighed. “We knew you wouldn't understand....”

Kassandra was looking up at the chandelier. It had begun to swing back and forth on its own. There appeared to be no wind or any other force at work in the chamber. “Radley...?” she said in a shaky voice.

“I know...” Radley said through gritted teeth. “We need to act now. Allis!”

Allis turned to Twilight and undid the blindfold that covered his eyes. Twilight barely had a second to see what they looked like before Princess Celestia teleported in front of her, blocking her view. “Your mission ends here, Allis Yahn.” There was a bright golden flash of light. Twilight shielded her eyes to protect them from the blinding light. A split second later, it was gone.

A second later there was a bloodcurdling scream. Twilight looked down and saw Allis rolling on the floor, screaming in agony and covering his eyes. The young princess gasped in horror as she noticed the flames erupting from under his hooves.

His eyes were on fire.

Radley and Kassandra looked equally surprised.  Radley turned to Kassandra, opening his mouth to say something. Kassandra spoke first, though. “Already on it!” Her eyes began to turn black as pitch as she started conjuring up a cloud of black smoke.

Suddenly, Luna ran straight towards Kassandra. Twilight braced herself for what looked like would turn into a painful impact. But, Luna ran...straight through her. Twilight blinked twice. Luna was standing on the opposite side of the two other members of the Order. Had Luna turned herself into a ghost or something?

Kassandra's cloud vanished and her eyes returned to normal. She blinked several times and looked around. “What!?” she exclaimed.

Radley looked at Kassandra, then at Luna and then back at Kassandra. “What happened?”

“I don't know!” the unicorn exclaimed. “It's like-urk!” She fell to the ground and began convulsing violently. Her body was shaking as if she were having a stroke. This went on for several seconds before the convulsions stopped. After that a sticky, black substance came pouring out of her mouth and tear ducts. It smelled terrible.

“You may have adopted the darkness, Kassandra Tharsus,” Luna said with menacing growl. “But I was born in it.”

Radley looked at the two of his friends, keenly aware that he was not in the best of positions. One was having his eyes burned out of his skull and the other just had a stroke and was choking on her own vomit. He raised his hooves. “Alright...I surr-”

He did not even have a chance to get the words out before Rainbow Dash flew in and kicked him hard in the jaw, sending him flying into the hard stone wall with a sickening thud. He fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Rainbow Dash spat at him. “And that was for what you did to Spike!”