The Darkest Star

***Introduction: Many Years Ago***

Celestia sighs with exhaustion as she closes her ledger. It was a good feeling to finish so much work. She was just about to blow out the dim candle before a slave knocked on the door frame.

"Your majesty, I have brought you something to drink." He says softly, still standing by the door. "It's coffee."

Celestia's ears perk up at the word 'coffee'. She turns around and smiles.

"Ah, Blackstar... You never cease to please me. Bring it here."

The slave rushes to her side, careful as to not spill the hot beverage on the ruler of Equestria. With her magic, Celestia grasps the coffee and sips on it happily. The slave doesn't leave her side while she drinks. When she is finished, he takes the cup.

"Don't worry, your highness," He says. "I'll handle the mess in the kitchens and clean your study, so you can go to sleep."

Celestia raises her hoof and shakes her head.

"Please, Blackstar, you have done so much already. There is no need for you to continue. You should get some rest yourself."

Blackstar shakes his head, holding the stained cup tight against his chest.

"I cannot, your highness," He says with a low bow. "Not until the job is done."

With the cup in his hand, he turns to leave the study and return to his duties. Celestia's eyes sadden. She didn't want Blackstar to leave, but the slave was already gone.

***Part 1: Falling Shadows***

Fives groans with pain. His whole body felt as though it was being engulfed in flames. He looks down at his arms. They were shredded, cut in a thousand places and bleeding badly. Fives yells as he looks around him, but yelling only caused his throat to swell and his lips to burn. The broken glass and rubble could be seen stretching into the dark horizon, and the flames burned high into the night sky.

"Twiliiiiiight!" He yells.

No one answered. Fives stands up shakily and observes the rubble around him. What remained of the Canterlot was already crumbling.

"TWILIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

Only dead faces surrounded him. Faces he knew. Faces he loved.

"There is nothing you can do to save them, Fives." A sinister voice says.

Fives knew that voice. With a barbaric yell, he swings his fist in the direction of the voice, only to meet empty air. The voice chuckles evilly.

"Show yourself, Simco!" Fives demands.

The voice continues to laugh as it drifts away. Fives growls with frustration as he picks up a piece of rubble to throw.

"You will drown by the weight of your failure..." The voice says.

Fives gasps. He was sinking into the rubble beneath him. He tries to throw the broken stone in his hand, but it sticks to his palm.

"NOOOOOO!" Fives screams as he sinks into the ground. "TWILIIIIIIGHT!"

***Part 2: Safe In Bed***

Fives bolts upright, sweating and panting. Twilight shifts in her sleep. Her eyes flutter open as she yawns, stretching her hooves.

"Mmm... What is is, Fives?" She asks. "What's the matter?"

Fives doesn't answer. He looks to his right and to his left. Canterlot was gone, and he was in his room. Finally, he shakes his head.

"N-Nothing... It was just a dream..." He says.

The purple unicorn frowns.

"You're a terrible liar, Fives." She says flatly. "Something is bothering you, and I'm not going back to sleep until I know what it is."

"If I told you, you wouldn't be able to go back to sleep..."

"Just tell me, Fives." Twilight snaps. "I can't help if I don't know what it is."

Far across the room, Spike stirs in his sleep. Twilight and Fives both silently agree to lower their voices.

"I was the gala..." Fives whispers. "The Grand Galloping Gala was destroyed... I don't know how or why, but..."

"But 'what'?" Twilight asks.

"Nothing... That's it." Fives says. "I woke up before I could do anything."

Fives didn't want to tell her about dead faces of their friends or the part about Simco.

"There is nothing you can do to save them, Fives." The sinister voice rings in his head. Twilight's gaze lowers. She places a soft hoof on her husband's cheek and kisses him on the lips.

"I'm sure it was just a bad dream..." She whispers into his mouth. "This is your first gala, after all... You're probably just nervous..."

"Um... T-Twi?" Fives stutters as he feels her hoof graze against his crotch.

"Here... Let me relieve you of some of that stress..."

***Part 3: News From The Front***

Nearly half an hour later, Twilight was wiping her hoof against her lips, cleaning off what was left of the... mess... Fives did feel much better. Maybe, Twilight was right. Maybe, it was just a dream.

"No..." Fives mutters to himself.

It couldn't have been just a dream. It had felt so real. Fives looks out of the window just in time to see Celestia's sun rise over the mountains. He smiles. The rising of the sun always filled his heart with warmth. He felt as though it was his mother's warm embrace comforting him.

"She'll be arriving by carriage personally to take us to Canterlot." Twilight says, almost like she was reading his thoughts.

"When?" Fives asks.

"This afternoon. Two o'clock, I think."

Fives really was excited. His first visit to the Grand Galloping Gala was something he knew he would remember for years to come. He could see it all now, the lights, the food... Pinkie Pie was going to have a blast. Fives' train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Fives announces as he jumps out of the bed, pulling his briefs and pants up along the way.

He rushes down the stairs and into the library. The door booms again as Fives reaches for the nob.

"Who is it?" Twilight asks sleepily from the top of the stairs.

Fives opens the door. Standing before him was a human officer and Rainbow Dash.

"Good morning, Fives." Commander Appleton greets with a smile.

"Good morning, sir." Fives returns. "What can I do for you?"

Appleton opens his mouth as thought he is about to speak, but Rainbow Dash beats him to it.

"I need to talk to Twilight. Thank you!" She says as she rushes past him.

Appleton shrugs.

"I'm just here 'cause asked nicely." Appleton admits. "You know how these mares get."

Fives blushes as he recalls the 'treatment' he got from his wife that morning.

"Yeah... I know what you mean... You need some coffee, sir?"

The Commander smiles.

"Please?" He asks as Fives motions for him to come inside. "Oh, and there is no need to call me 'sir'. If anything, I should be calling you 'your highness'."

Fives sighs as he begins preparing the coffee machine. That was the only downside of being reunited with his mother.

"Please, don't..." Fives begs.

Appleton holds his hands up in mock surrender.

"I know, you specifically asked not to be identified as royalty, but you can't change that you are. You know, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been working their flanks off to keep the media away from you."

Fives looks over his shoulder. Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked like they were deep in an important conversation.

"Don't you remember when they personally stood guard outside of your room in Canterlot while you were on your honeymoon? They kept the paparazzi at bay for five hours while you and Twilight were-"

"What's the news on Simco?" Fives asks.

Appleton's eyes narrow. He hated that name. Just the mere mention of it was enough to ruin his whole day.

"No word..." He grumbles. "He and Silvershield vanished after the battle at the old castle. Our forces have been engaging his armies all along the boarder of the Everfree, but these are only minor skirmishes. I can't help but think something big is coming..."

Fives' heart sank. Now, he felt even worse about his dream. Something big was coming...

***Part 4: Into The Woods***

"Tell me, how does my hair look?"

Toby shrugs nervously.

"Uh... Your hair looks good, General Simco, I guess..."

Simco spins around, his nostrils flaring angrily.

"Good?" He demands. "Good?!"

Toby shrinks away.

"My hair must look perfect! My apparel must be spot on!"

Simco dashes past the assassin to a drawer containing several lotions and brushes. Toby looks at the soldiers by the tent's entrance. One of them makes a fake gun with his fingers and pretends to fire it into his head. The other soldier snickers.

"Should... I ask why?" Toby asks.

"Why, to attend the Grand Galloping Gala, of course!" Simco says with an evil grin. "I want to look my very best for such an important Equestrian event."

"But, sir, you're a wanted war criminal by the Equestrian forces. Besides, our own regiments haven't even been able to break out of the Everfree Forest. Equestrian troops have us pinned down."

Simco places both of his hands on the assassin's shoulders.

"The gala will change that, my boy. It will surly be the best night ever."

***Part 5: Mother, Sweet Mother***

"Come on, Fives! Move it, Spike!" Twilight barks from the door. "Celestia is here! Let's go!"

The human and baby dragon grumble as they lug their suitcases down the stairs. On top of his own, Fives was also carrying Twilight's.

"Just like old times..." He mutters happily.

There was no sarcasm in his tone. He was truly happy to do anything she asked, even though he was not her legal property anymore. Spike made it to the door first. A pegasus guard was there to help him with his carry-on. A human soldier helps Fives with his. Celestia was waiting by the carriage. A huge grin breaks onto her face when she sees Fives.

"My dear Fives, how have you been?" She asks as she wraps her wings around her son. "It's been a while since your last letter."

"I'm fine, mother..." Fives says as he struggles to break away from Celestia's iron grip. "I've just been... busy."

Her eyes scan is face, reading his emotions. It was almost as though she was watching a recording of his entire morning. She was good at that...

"Is that so?" She asks with a chuckle. "Well, if there is anything you require from me, you always have Spike."

"That's me!" The little dragon says proudly as he hops into the carriage.

Before Fives could do anything to prepare himself, Princess Celestia plants a huge kiss on his cheek.

"My son... You have grown so much... I wish your father could see you, now."

Celestia's attention turns to Twilight, who was climbing into the carriage.

"I trust your studies are coming along well?" She asks with an obvious wink.

"Oh, yes, Princess Celestia!" Twilight says eagerly. "I've just finished the tome you suggested to me on advanced teleportation spells. I loved the plot twist on page ninety-eight."

Celestia chuckles.

"I thought you might, but that is not exactly what I meant."

Fives gets it immediately, and his cheeks burn bright red.

"Mother..." He hisses.

"Oh, lighten up, Fives." Celestia counters as she pushes him into the carriage. "I want grandfoals some day, and I am hoping you and Twilight will be the ones to deliver."

Twilight joins Fives in the realm of pure embarrassment as her cheeks burn bright red. Spike looks up at them.

"I don't get it."

"I'll tell you about it when you're older..." Twilight mutters. "Let's just go, please..."

"Twilight is right." Fives agrees. "We don't want to be late."

"Late for what?" Spike asks. "The gala is tomorr-umph!"

Fives gives him a soft, but swift, kick, and he clears his throat loudly.

"Late for what?" Celestia asks, finishing Spikes' question.

"Uh... Twilight and I have a... reservation at the Diamond Dining Hall..."

Twilight cocks her head.

"We do?" She asks.

"We do, now." Fives hisses to her.

Celestia frowns. She looked as though she was about to say something, but the carriage jerked forward as the pegasus guards began their lift-off. The human soldier quickly jumps into the back of the carriage with them.

"I was not told you had any reservations for lunch in Canterlot." Celestia says, finally. "Why was I not invited?"

Ponyville was now far beneath them, and it was growing smaller by the second.

"Y-You can come, mother." Fives says. "Of course, you can come. It's just... Mother, this isn't exactly the best time..."

"No," Celestia snaps. "I think now is a great time. If you have something to say, I want to hear it, now. I don't like my family keeping secrets from me."

Twilight slowly steps forward, placing herself in between her husband and Celestia.

"Princess..." Twilight says with a deep sigh. "I... We... We have tried..."

"Tried 'what'?" The white Alicorn asks.

"To have a foal..." Fives says quietly.

Twilight was shaking.

"Princess... we can't..."

***Part 6: A Rough Landing***

"Sister!" Luna shouts as the carriage touches down on the landing pad. "How was the flight? I hope everything went... Whoa... What happened?"

Celestia, Fives, and Twilight dismount the carriage somberly. Spike and the soldier begin collecting the bags.

"Is everything alright, sister?"

"I'll tell you over lunch at the Diamond Dinning Hall..." Celestia mutters.

***TO BE CONTINUED***