No One's Star

Her eyes closed and within moments she was asleep. When she opened them again, it was to a weight on her bed and a pony’s face looking down at her. She tried to sit up, but ropes were holding her down. She attempted to light her horn, but something blocked that as well! She struggled for a moment, then yelled.

“Spike! Angel! Help!”

“Seriously? You expect a rabbit and a baby to help you? Celestia, no wonder it took you three nights to figure things out.”

Twilight tried to lift her head and get a better look, but the surge of light on the horn in front of her and the pressure on her skull told her she wasn’t going to be able to move without her own magic or some intervention. She took several deep breaths and tried to calm herself.

“Are… are they okay?” Twilight asked.

“They? You mean your pets? They’re alive, if that’s what you’re asking.” He paused. “Well… the dragon is. The rabbit I don’t know. He was limping away last I saw. He may not be.”

Twilight squinted, trying to get a better look at Lost Sun. The voice was the same, but his face wasn’t. Even in the darkness of her library she could see just enough to tell her that he was different from when she had seen him working with the police force. He didn’t appear to have facial hair, though she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light.

“Why did you wake me up, why didn’t you just murder me in my sleep like the others?”

“Asking a smart question! Good! You really are the princess’s protégé!” He said mockingly. Twilight heard a groaning from downstairs, which sounded like Spike. “Because I want you to try to prove you have an element of harmony! The princess said you have one! We were all told to just accept that you and your happy friends have them, but I need proof! I’m not some sheep, ready to dive into a pen when asked!” Some spittle flew from his lips and landed on her cheek.

He turned away and marched back and forth beside her bed, horn glowing the entire time. “You see, Twilight Sparkle, I know your type. From the city and a position of privilege. For you, everything falls neatly into place. You and yours have the means, the influence, and the bits.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s easy!”

“I never said it was! But your problems pale in comparison to ours. You never worried where your next meal was going to come from, did you?”

“No?” Twilight said, confused.

“Ah, there you go.” There was a click, and Twilight saw him lift something up to his mouth with magic. “I should really be saying this on the radio. Ponies need to hear.” He cleared his throat, then began speaking.

“Out here in Ponyville, it’s less likely somepony will starve, because there’s always a job here or there that needs doing. We make our own food, build our own houses, share our trials and tribulations, and we make the best of it. We help each other, knowing that it’s the community that makes us all strong. Letting your neighbor get by with less is unconscionable, because it would be like stabbing yourself in the hoof. If he prospers, you prosper.

“Nevertheless, ponies in bigger cities don’t understand that. I can’t claim to know where they think their food comes from, but it comes from here. We work hard until we have a surplus, and then we ask the city for items we don’t have in exchange. Bits change hands, but it’s in their best interests to keep us happy or they’ll have to get food from somewhere else. That’s where ponies like our little Twilight Sparkle and her friends come into play.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Lost Sun sealed her lips shut with magic before she could say anything and shook his head, a cocky smile on his face.

“See, when Princess Celestia comes down from on high to hold the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville, it’s a gesture of goodwill. She thinks we matter and wants to show that to us. But then, suddenly, an evil myth attacks! Nightmare Moon returns on the day of the celebration, ushering in permanent night! The horror! The shock! The terror!”

Lost Sun turned and spat on her library floor. Twilight grunted at him but he ignored her.

“It would seem all was lost, but then who should show up, but the protégé of the princess herself! She’s decided to live here in Ponyville from now on, working at the local library, and lo and behold, it turns out that she was the one who should be able to banish the eternal darkness and stop Nightmare Moon in her tracks! And then!” he stomped a hoof and barked a quick laugh, then flopped down on top of Twilight on her bed, She grunted in pain, coughing from the impact. “I’ll tell you right now, folks, it would seem so fortunate, and magnanimous, I might add, that Twilight Sparkle herself has decided to set down roots here, staying with us and her friends.

“The elements of harmony! It seems too good to be true, all living here in Ponyville! Which, I should add, is the main source of food for Canterlot, but that has nothing to do with it, right? It’s just Twilight and her friends living here, with direct connections to the princess and the castle, ensuring that Ponyville is well taken care of!” Lost Sun nodded, even though no one could see him do it.

“Now, I’m sure Twilight Sparkle and the other elements of harmony would say otherwise, but it seems a little too convenient to me, and I’ve never been anyone to take something at face value. The claims made are that they are all an element of harmony, from some ancient magic lost in the Everfree Forest. If there is a reason for her to be settling down here, and it is a magical defense reason, I want to see it! It shouldn’t be that much to ask, right? A little magic show and I’ll leave off! Simple as that! What do you say, Twilight Sparkle?”

The magic holding her mouth closed disappeared and he moved the microphone closer. Twilight worked her jaw a moment, then shouted.

“Help! Somepony, I’m at the—” she was muffled before she could finish speaking, Lost Sun’s magic holding her mouth closed. She grunted as loud as she could, but he pulled the microphone away.

“Oh dear. It would seem our guest isn’t really willing to show us what she can do. A shame really. It would have been so easy, you could have just given me a little sample of some of that harmony and you would have lived through the night. But as it stands, I should announce that you, Twilight Sparkle, are going to be my next victim. If anything is going to bring out the harmony inside, it will be the threat of imminent death, am I right!” Lost Sun laughed a wicked laugh.

“Now, Twilight Sparkle, protégé of the princess, how much will it take to get you to show me some of that harmony you are supposed to have?” he pulled a wicked-looking curved knife from a bag he had on the floor and leaned in close, waving it in front of her face. “What form does this magic of harmony take, hmm? Is it a beam? An aura? An item of some kind?”

Twilight’s eyes involuntarily flicked to where she was keeping the crown. She looked back at him immediately, but he had been too close, staring right into her eyes. He turned to glance where her eyes had gone.

“I checked the building before I came up here. Is somepony there? Some ‘thing’ there?” he stabbed the knife into her right foreleg. Twilight squealed in pain through her sealed lips and writhed on her bed. He left the knife there and went over to investigate.

He looked over the shelf, trying to find something odd enough to garner Twilight’s attention. He stood in front of one shelf, looking over at Twilight, but she was too absorbed in the knife stuck into her thigh, trying to get it out while she grunted in pain.

“Something caught your attention. I know it.” He began tossing books off the shelves, looking for anything out of place.

He threw books off the railing downstairs to pile up in the main room of the library. He pushed at the shelves behind them, trying to find some secret, until he finally found the little box in which she had been keeping her crown of magic. He yanked it open, snapping the flimsy latch, and pulled it out.

“This thing?” He trotted back over to Twilight and waved the crown in front of her face. She was panting through her nose, shaking her limb to try and dislodge the knife which had caught in the muscle.

Lost Sun sighed and ripped the knife out, taking a chunk of flesh with it. “Come on, little miss spoiled. Is this the thing?”

Twilight’s eyes rolled in her head from the pain, and he had to cuff her across the face to get her to focus. In her delirium, she only nodded stupidly.

“Really? So the harmony is an item? Well that’s stupid. Couldn’t just anybody use it then?” He put the crown on his head. It didn’t quite fit and tilted to one side. “Thing is uncomfortable as fuck. How do I make it work?”

Twilight shook her head at him. He stabbed the knife into her thigh, then carved some flesh out of it, tossing the chunk of meat onto her chest. She squealed and twisted, trying to get the horrifying piece of herself off herself.

“Come on, Twilight. You’re wasting my time. This is research, plain and simple. I’d have killed you already if you weren’t the focus of this entire thing. How does it work?” Lost Sun said. His horn flashed brighter a moment, and Twilight felt an impact in her newly-sliced wound, then the binding was gone from her mouth.

“Ahhhhhh! Oh, Celestia, why!? What is wrong with you!?” Twilight screeched the moment her mouth was her own. She felt an impact on her cheek and her head twisted to the side as he cuffed her in the head.

“Shut up! Just tell me how it works!”

Twilight grunted between breaths. Her cheeks flared as she struggled in vain, pain burning in her wounds. “It doesn’t! Not for somepony like you!”

“Oh, come on! You don’t expect me to believe that an item is attached to a pony, do you? Anypony can be harmonious. I’ll admit that I am not, so I’m not super surprised, but just tell me anyway: How. Does. It. Work.” He stabbed the knife into her side and twisted. Twilight tried to grit her teeth and bear it, but she let out a whimper despite her efforts.

“You need… friends.” Twilight huffed. “Friends to represent every *gasp* element of harmony.”

“Seriously?” He laughed scornfully. “You can’t even do it yourself? You have to have your friends with you? What happens when one dies, then? Is the whole thing useless? Do you replace them? What a stupid magical item!”

Lost Sun laughed. He took the crown off his head and placed it on Twilight’s. He kissed her messily on the mouth, then took the knife out of her side and wiped it on her mane. “We kissed, we’re best friends now. But actually I think I’m going to kill you just to see what happens when one of the elements is gone. How will it ever recover?”

Twilight coughed and tried to light her horn again, but something on it was blocking her channeling of magic. She gasped in pain and looked at him through vision blurred by pain. “Of course it will… I’ll die, and then, then… then somepony else will become the element of magic. I’ll just… be dead.” Twilight sighed and winced. “Death is… in keeping with harmony.”

“Harmony shmarmony. Why do you need friends to make it work? That’s stupid. It should be like unicorn magic or some of those magic tools I’ve heard of. Anypony should be able to use it when they get their hooves on it.”

Twilight let out a pained chuckle. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. Let me tell you about my friends.” She coughed and tasted something coppery in the back of her mouth. “We are six, two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies. Two of each race that keeps Equestria in motion.”

Lost Sun grimaced. “Seriously? Two of each make up the harmonious harmony that allows you to defend Equestria from danger?” He waved a hoof dismissively. “So why can’t you just get a group of six ponies like that together each time? Why do you have to be friends?”

“Because… together we shared big adventures and had tons of fun. My friends each have beautiful hearts and are faithful and strong in different ways. They shared kindness with me which is no easy feat, seeing as how I’m a stranger, but what completes it is friendship, because friendship is—”

“—Magic!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she crashed through the window next to Twilight’s bed. A splintering of wood could be heard from downstairs as Rainbow Tackled Lost Sun, shoving him away from Twilight. His knife scraped across her face as he was blown backward, taking a chunk of her muzzle with it.

“Twahlight, are you okay?” Applejack called from downstairs.

Twilight still couldn’t use magic, but she was able to move. Lost Sun’s binding spell had been broken. She reached up and tried to pull the thing on her horn off, but her legs hurt too much and moving was painful. She instead just called down, letting them know she was okay. “I’m o—”

Twilight was interrupted by a burst of magic. Crackling lightning filled the library downstairs and she could hear all of her friends cry out in pain, there was the sound of fighting, and meaty thuds indicating hooves were impacting flesh. She dragged herself over to the edge in time to lean over and see Lost Sun down on the ground, hogtied with a hoof on his horn.

Fluttershy had been floating about the fight and she was the first to see Twilight. “Oh! Twilight, my goodness! You’re hurt!” she said as she flew up to the balcony. She had brought a first-aid kit and pulled it open, bandaging Twilight’s injuries.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. Spike is hurt too, have you found him?” Twilight said.

“I did, dearie. He’s fine, just a little embarrassed,” Rarity said. Spike was standing next to her, a little bruised, but otherwise appearing fine.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Spike said, head hung low.

“It’s alright, Spike. None of us could have known. I thought he was going to continue to show off, not target us directly,” Twilight said.

“You give me too little credit, Sparkle,” Lost Sun said. “And too much. I just wanted to see the elements of harmony for myself.”

Fluttershy pulled the magic-neutralizing device from Twilight’s horn, and she immediately lit it, standing up straight despite the pain of her wounds. “I don’t know what your name is, sir, and I don’t care to know. As the protector of Ponyville, I want you to know that most of your concerns are legitimate, but you do not deserve to have them addressed.”

“Didn’t think I’d get to see the elements of harmony work without causing it. Guess I was right. A demonstration is too much for you, eh?” Lost Sun spat, a dollop of blood flying from his mouth onto a book on her shelves. Twilight narrowed her eyes.

“Unfortunately for everypony involved, Ponyville does not have the capacity, for some reson, to harbor criminals. Nor do we have a proper judicial system, which are all things I am going to talk to Mayor Mare about.” Twilight felt a surge of pain from her thigh and had to shift to favor that side of her flank.

“Unfortunately for you most of all, sir. You attacked me directly and have scared Ponyville beyond the point it needed to be scared. Pinkie, do you recognize this pony?”

Pinkie Pie saluted. “Never seen him before, Twilight! Which means he has no friends whatsoever!”

Twilight gave Lost Sun a sympathetic look. “No friends at all? That’s very sad. No wonder you were acting out, why don’t we let you go home and think about what you’ve done?”

Everypony stared at Twilight like she had gone crazy.

“Wait, what?” Applejack looked confused.

“Why would you do that?” Rarity demanded.

“Is… is that safe?” Fluttershy asked.

“The elements of harmony are safe, we know what he looks like, and he knows he won’t get any further answers from murdering ponies. I think he’s learned his lesson,” Twilight said.

“I don’t believe that fer a second, Twilight!” Applejack said.

“He’s a great big meanie-pants! We can’t let him get away with it!” Pinkie said.

“We aren’t. He knows he won’t get anything more from us, or Ponyville,” Twilight said.

Lost Sun looked just as confused as the others. “Wait, you’re just letting me go?”

“You know all the answers you need. Are you satisfied?”

“What? No!”

Twilight shrugged. She lifted the horn ring with her magic and floated it down over Lost Sun’s horn. “Wear this until you’re out of sight of my library, or I will blast you clear to Canterlot, understood?”

Lost Sun didn’t respond for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Understood.”

Twilight smiled magnanimously and motioned for her friends to let him up. He stood, looked around with a hateful glare, then limped out of the library.

Every one of the ponies gave him a glare of anger at his flank as he left, and Twilight collapsed to the ground. Every one of her friends swarmed around her, making sure she was okay, but none of them saw the glance and slight nod she shared with Angel.

His paw was bandaged, but he nodded back with a glare and disappeared out the door after Lost Sun.

There was only one more murder in Ponyville before they stopped. A lonely pony nopony knew, found in a backstreet on the west side of Ponyville, dead from an excess of stab wounds. Curiously, the stab wounds were in the shape of a rainbow across the torso.

Although Twilight was certain the body found was Lost Sun, she still tuned her radio every night to the channel Lost Sun Radio had been on. She’d listen for a short while before turning it off, and usually there was nothing. But every so often she could swear she had heard a name, and the next day a pony would turn up dead. None were ever ruled as murders, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. She shared it with her friends, but they heard nothing.

She still keeps the radio on when she goes to bed at night, the hiss being a comforting sort of sound as she sleeps. The names a quiet lullaby, hidden in the static.

The end.