The night air hung still around the circle. The crickets chirped wildly, the clock tower in the distance signaling that midnight had arrived. The pony at the center circle, covered in black robes, raised her hoof, the chatter that had been in effect immediately silenced. The only sounds heard now being the crickets, and the howl of the wind, brushing harshly against the trees.

The center pony spoke up, her voice loud and without hesitation. “My followers! My people! You know why we have gathered here tonight. We are in celebration of our ruler! Though celebration in the sun seems to be more adequate, we cannot praise out there. It would burn us, and not a speck of us left . Tonight, we rejoice over our God!”

The circle of members applauded, hooves tapping on the ground in an uproar. Again, the pony in the center raised her right hoof, silencing everypony. “And on this night, we shall bring forth a new era of life! For every pony that has been under the dark rulers spell, this will be their revelation! Their pathway to eternity! All hail the Solar Empire!”

Again, the crowd cheered ecstatically. The pony that stood on the altar stepped off of the stage, replaced with a young pony, shaking and obviously scared. This was the pony’s initiation. Her first meeting, she wasn’t sure what to do, surrounded by all these cult members. Instead, she let herself be pushed around, the hooves and the shouts frightening her to pieces. On stage, she looked cute. Her strawberry-colored hair shone in a glower under the moon’s rays, her cutie mark illuminated by the lanterns that sat in the grass at the center of everypony.

For hours, she was quizzed on everything, from Celestia to even her friends. The cult knew better than to let secrets go unheard. From the experience heard of Nightmare Moon, it was known that secrets made a pony vulnerable to the other side’s capture. This pony would be no mistake. When questioning had ended, the cult officer stepped up onto the stage, defiantly speaking to her subjects again.

“As dawn approaches, we must chant! Welcome the newest member to the Solar Empire! To a new li!”

The ponies all sang the choral in unison. Each voice was drowned by another, all sounding the same to the young filly at the altar. The louder the chorus got, the brighter the altar seemed to glow.

In fact, it wasn’t the altar glowing, but the sun, which rose slowly behind the young mare. She was too busy with her eyes closed to notice it.

“Ruby Star! Ruby Star! Ruby Star!” The crowd kept getting louder and louder with each second passing.

The leader of the group had set up a contraption parallel to the sun’s rays: A large stick, made from a tree branch, with a hole in the shape of a sun carved out. She walked up to the altar, positioning Ruby in such a way that the sun cutout would hit her directly on the flank.

“S-stop it! I can’t do this! Please!” Ruby whimpered out her words, carried away by the sounds of all the other ponies. The only one who listened was the dark leader, bright in color, who turned to face Ruby.

“You have come this far. Celestia needs you, as now you are part of her empire. Do not take it too seriously. We need you, Ruby Star. Fulfill your destiny.” She walked off of the altar, her eyes becoming narrow as she walked away.

Her own name was Black Sun. Her story was simple. Having been chosen by Celestia as a young filly, she was to lead the Solar Empire in tyranny against the New Lunar Republic. It was said that Black Sun had been as old as Celestia herself, but many people, even her followers, didn’t believe it. Either way, today was bound to be the day that Black Sun had been waiting for. Everything had been arranged perfectly, and even Celestia knew not of what was to come.

“Everypony, we welcome our newest member, Ruby Star!”

The sun glazed through the hole in the wood, landing on Ruby’s flank. It instantly began to burn, a mark being imprinted within her, erasing her cutie mark and replacing it with the image of a sun. Her tears fell to the altar, her screaming inaudible among the cheers of the crowd. Black Sun looked up towards the sky, watching Celestia fly from her tower.

It was known that today would mark the Eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, and Celestia was to fly to all the towns to make sure everything was set for the raising. On this morning, her first stop was Manehattan, directly in the path of the sun. Black Sun looked down, a devilish grin on her face.

The smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air, suddenly interrupted by a silhouette among the pattern. All the ponies looked up to behold Celestia flying for the sky. Nopony noticed what was occurring with Ruby Star, screams now able to be heard to the edges of the Everfree Forest.

Celestia herself looked majestic flying through the sky. She was heading over to Manehattan, ready to make sure that all the decorations for the show were presentable. Everypony knew that she would fly over the sun on the eve, to give a reckoning of what was to come. It was marveled by ponies across Equestria, and a treat to take part in.

A part of her looked different as she fluttered over her keeping. She seemed duller than usual, her coat gleaming less brightly than it ever had. What nopony saw was the ray of light that travelled down the sun’s ray, still beaming on Ruby Star, hitting her directly in the flank. When they heard a loud thud, they all finally turned around, gasping simultaneously.

Ruby Star had been thrown from the altar, now just a heap on the floor. Her breathing was quick-paced, but the ponies weren’t worried about her. They were more worried about her looks.

Her naturally scarlet coat was now a bright red, her mane shining yellow in the sun. A trail of smoke rose up from where her cutie mark had once rested, which had been replaced…..with a moon.

In the crowd, voices were enraged. ‘She’s a spy! A Witch! We must burn her, Sun!!!!”

Hushed voices played telephone throughout the entire cult, as Black Sun rose up onto the altar. “She is not cursed, my subjects! The one we have been waiting for has arisen! Ruby Star is the key to our victory! She will lead us into war!”

Black Sun had expected this. She knew, from years of talking with Celestia, that if an initiation was interrupted by Celestia herself, then-

“Black Sun, my lord, we must leave! Others are coming, and from what Dancer said, they do not look happy…”

Black Sun looked Derpy straight in the eyes, pride being replaced with anger. “Grab the Chosen One!!! She must be kept alive! Any soldiers in the clan, you must stay back and fight! May Celestia be with you!”

All the others ran off, in the direction of Canterlot Castle, as fast as they could. They were being rushed, and it wasn’t a very happy time, being hurried along with an initiation, especially one so special as this one.

Ruby Star had passed out, now being carried on the back on one of the most faithful members of the group, Cannon. Most of the ponies in the cult had only a first name, save the special ones. It was priority, as if another pony were to find out their true identity, a lot could be at stake. Nothing was to go wrong.

Running through a forest that the cult of the Solar Empire had known for centuries proved to be helpful, easily keeping them hundreds of yards from the marauders that were in pursuit of a long-time hated cult. Fruitlessly, most of the group ran out of the forest. They all turned around to face a lone colt who was stumbling over the branches of the thick brush, apparently quite new to this. Nopony dared go in to guide him, and all had to watch as the killers came close. An arrow was seen whizzing through the forest, until it struck the colt in the neck.

The others wasted no time. It appeared that every soldier that had been on the front lines was now part of no-man’s land, and not a soul would dare to stick around to find out what had happened to the others.

~~~

Setting Ruby Star on the bed, the whole gang crowded around her, intent on her first reaction when she woke up. Black Sun tried to push the others away, but her attempts were in vain, the pushes becoming persistent until Black Sun was forced to give in.

“Do you think she made it….

“What happened to her

“Did anypony notice her coat changed colors?”

Ruby Star’s eyes fluttered open, quickly becoming wide with realization. “Where in Equestria am I!? What happened!? You hurt me!!!”

Black Sun put a hoof over the chatty pony’s mouth, hushing her gently. “Now, Ruby Star, this is a little hard for you, I know, but you have to listen to me.”

Ruby, as if in a trance, silenced herself, readjusting on the couch. She winced in pain, a quick stream of blood rushing to her flanks. She looked down and yelped quietly, but did not say a word, afraid she would be punished for it. She just glanced up at Black Sun, water in her eyes, and nodded to her, a single tear dropping onto the floor of the cottage.

“You have been chosen by Celestia, as I was long ago, to lead the Solar Empire to power. We do not know why she chose you…” Black Sun blinked quickly twice, muttering something inaudible. “But, we do know that you bear the mark of a Lunar Republican.”

Everypony’s eyes made their way to the moon on Ruby’s flank. “It is like something that I have never seen before, and it can only be the gift of our Goddess.”

Ruby stopped tearing up, tears replaced with revelations. “W-what am I?...”

“Part of us. Part of the Empire. We have inducted you, and I now must do something which I will take great pride in doing.”

Black Sun’s horn glowed a stunning golden color, the light being transferred to Ruby’s body. She was lifted into the air, blood dripping from her flanks. As it pooled, a bubble formed around Ruby, enveloping her in a way that no pony could see what was occurring inside of it. Black Sun spoke up again, her words loud and clearly heard.

“Bringer of day.

Light of my heart.

I welcome thee and I set thee apart.”

Her eyes were as golden as the glow from her horns now. A wave of energy was being strung to the bubble, stars in the night sky.

“New prophet of us.

You shall never grow old.

Now accept your path,

as your story unfurls!”

A large energy burst swept through the building, probably covering near all of Equestria. The ground rumbled, and a bright shine emanated throughout the hut, blinding all the ponies within.

As the energy subsided, all the ponies were rubbing their eyes, waiting for Ruby to speak up again. No voice was present in the room, and both Black Sun and Ruby Star were missing.

As the ponies sat in wonder, a little figure could be seen through the window. It appeared to be Black Sun, or at least her cloak, that was visible, a large object on her back. Headed straight for the Ponyville.

~~~

Twilight was serene. She had spent the whole day organizing her books in preparation of the princess’ visit to Ponyville. She had given Spike the day off, which he gladly accepted to use as a free rest period. Twilight had just put the last book on the shelf, smiling at the success of her hard day’s work. Quietly, as not to awake Spike, she crept to her kitchen, grabbing a quick glass of water from the sink.

She sat down on her bed, the latest Daring Do book sitting beside her.

The library was normally the place to commute with her friends. It was a large library, big enough to fit a whole town in preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration. She even planned to hold a party, like the first night she had spent in Ponyville, when Pinkie went out of her way to do so, and annoyed Twilight in the process.

The books, of all shapes and sizes, were lined up neatly in categories among the tens of shelves she had in her library. At night, she would stare at the walls, photos of her friends littering the free space.

She smiled at all the photos, memories flooding her of past times, and thoughts of what times were to come. She smiled, a happy tear rolling down her cheek softly. She was in a faze from the photos, too entranced to notice that something was about to burst through her door.

Black Sun ran into the library as fast as she could, half-heartedly throwing Ruby on the ground from her bubble, wrapping her in the black cloak that encompassed Black Sun’s body. This revealed a lot of her own body. Sun’s cutie mark depicted the sun, obviously different than Ruby’s mark in many ways. Black Sun also had a large flesh wound across her stomach. by now, it was nothing but a scar, and a damn good one it was, at that.

“Somepony...please...help us. This mare needs to rest and get powerful magical help, NOW!”

The sound of another pony shouting had both awoken Spike and taken Twilight out of her reveries. “What’s going on!?” She yelled down to Spike.

“It seems like there are two ponies here. One is a unicorn with a large body wound, and the other is unidentifiable under all those clothes.”

Twilight rushed to the top of the stairs, staring down at the two intruders that had entered her library. Upon sight of Black Sun, she narrowed her eyes, a growl forming in the very back of her throat. “What...are...you...doing here…..”

Black Sun looked up at Twilight, a frightened look in her eyes. “Hey there, Ms. Sparkle….I’m sorry to come in it’s just…..a new prophet has been chosen today...and she needs a LOT of rest right now….”

At that moment, Twilight forgot all about her past with Black Sun. “We need to get her in the safe room, fast.” She lifted a hoof under Ruby’s covered body, nudging Black Sun to aid her.

With both of them working together, Ruby Star was on the bed in the basement in no time at all. Ruby groaned,a light shining in from the robes. “S-somepony….I need….water…”

As Spike brought down a glass of water, they lifted up the veil on Ruby, all stopping to gasp, Spike dropping the glass. It shattered on the hard concrete floor.

Ruby’s eyes were sunshine, livening up the room and bringing flowers to grow around her. All the other ponies stopped and bowed to her, which puzzled Ruby. Why were they bowing to her? “Can somepony tell me why you all are acting like I’m a god…?”

They all held up a mirror to her, and even Ruby couldn’t help but gasp.

She looked different, and her eyes had changed color. Now her coat was a gleaming white, her mane a flow of golden beauty.

“W...what am I?”

All stared back, and only Black Sun answered her question.

“You, Ruby Star, are the harbinger of Celestia’s powers.”

Author's Note

Hehe, this is a fanfiction I'm going to dedicate to all of my friends. They have pushed me so hard to continue working, while inspiration has just been so low because of other's remarks and the way my life has been. I really hope you all enjoy this story. You all have an amazing day :)