On Wings Of Black And White

“That’s one hell of a sunset.” Mysteeri mused as Starburst approached the large expanse of Sweet Apple Acres, the sun’s golden glow illuminating the many, many trees that surrounded them on their path to the barn “Even the place I was born didn’t have sunsets like this. Well, not unless you went to the top of the volcano.”

“Hm?” Starburst hummed “What kind of place do you come from, anyway, Mysteeri?”

Mysteeri chuckled as she looked into the orange sky “It’s a place called Hawaii. Bunch of islands in the ocean, it’s an absolutely beautiful place. Tons of exotic plants and trees, beaches everywhere and the view from the top of the volcano is something else.”

“Woooow…” Starburst’s eyes sparkled at the sound of such a place – there had to be somewhere like that in Equestria, too, surely “Maybe after all this over, I could come visit your home!”

Mysteeri smiled at the idea “Perhaps, yeah.”

“Howdy there!” A southern voice called out to the two, Starburst whipping her head around to the find the pony responsible “Over here, y’all!”

Just by the door to the barn stood an orange earth pony with blonde hair, green eyes and a brown stetson hat upon her head, a trio of apples adorning her flank, Starburst mouthing an “Oh.” upon noticing her. Mysteeri poked her head out by Starburst’s side to get a look at the pony herself.

“Mighty fine lookin’ cat you got there.” The pony commented “What’s your name, sugarcube?”

Starburst cleared her throat “It’s Starburst, Starburst Nova. I assume you’re Applejack?”

“Yep, that’s me.” Applejack nodded “What can ah do fer ya?”

“Oh, ah, well, have you noticed any strange occurrences in the last week or so? Since, say, Hungaar appeared in the sky?” Starburst gestured skyward, Mysteeri jumping off her unicorn companion’s back and sitting on the floor beside her.

“That’s an odd question, but…hmm…” Applejack hummed to herself, rubbing her hoof on her chin. A moment or two of silence passed as the farm pony thought, Starburst and Mysteeri exchanging a glance “Actually, yeah, now you mention it, ah did notice some strange occurrences deep in the orchard.”

“Oh, really?” Starburst’s face lit up in apparent excitement “Oh, ah, I should probably explain why we- I’m here.”

Applejack nodded “Alright then.”

“Recently some strange, black creatures have been appearing. A lot of people don’t seem to be taking them seriously, but I do. So, I’m asking the Elements of Harmony for help in removing the source of them, which I theorize is coming directly from the comet.”

Applejack nodded as Starburst spoke “Right…well, ah wouldn’t say it’s too far fetched for the things ah’ve had to deal with. Maybe it would be worth havin’ a look, see if there’s a connection between the strange things ah noticed in the orchard and these things comin’ from the comet.”

Starburst stood proud in response “Worry not, Applejack, we- I’ll get to the source of this!”

Applejack blinked “Riiiight…” She slowly nodded.

Applejack led Starburst and Mysteeri through the many trees of the orchard, sunlight glistening through the leaves on their way through. Finally they came to a rather distant spot in the mass of trees “Was right around here that ah noticed the strange changes. First ah saw somethin’ weird crawlin’ through the leaves-“

Before Applejack could finish, Mysteeri leapt off the floor, springboarding off Starburst’s back and landing neatly one the branches of a tree. She turned to the ponies and gave them a mew before disappearing into the leaves.

“…Could she understan’ me?” Applejack asked, keeping her gaze fixated on the tree.

Starburst hesitated for a moment before responding “Mysteeri is a very…strange cat. I swear she does seem to understand me on occasion. Often to do exactly what I tell her not to do.”

There was a brief rustling in the tree, followed by a pair of pigeons bursting from within it and flying off. Mysteeri dropped from one of the unseen branches with an apple so black it was like it wasn’t even there dropping right by her. She mewed again and licked her paw as Starburst lifted the apple up with her magic, her and Applejack closely examining it.

“Yep, ah saw this, too.” Applejack confirmed “After ah saw the strange thing scuttling through the leaves, when ah came back the next mornin’, there was a few of these scattered around.”

“But what would some strange comet creatures want to do with an apple orchard?” Starburst wondered aloud.

Mysteeri briefly considered her telepathy, but pushed the thought aside, either choice of who could hear her was going to blow her cover. She jumped back onto Starburst’s back to get a closer look at the apple for herself as the ponies talked.

“Well, I already went to see Fluttershy, she said she had something similar happen.” Starburst said, eyes fixated on the black apple.

“She did?” Applejack replied “What did she see?”

“Strange creatures hiding in the woods near her house. And I think I’m starting to see a pattern forming.” Starburst’s expression turned serious “Fluttershy was being watched by the creatures, Twilight and-“ She froze for a second once more, Mysteeri gently nudging the back of her head “…a friend had a run in with a strong one of these black creatures that possessed an old friend of mine. Ever since I got my hoofs on this stuff, the comet creatures have taken a notice of the Elements. Perhaps they know my plan…” Beads of sweat rolled down Starburst’s forehead upon such a revelation, dozens of thoughts flashing through her mind.

“Hey, hey, snap out of it.” Applejack gently nudged the unicorn, snapping her back to reality “Mah friends are more than capable of handling a few little shadow monsters, ah’m sure if these things are gonna make a move, they won’t last long. If anything, I imagine the fact they have the power of their element is what’s holdin’ em back from going for ‘em, they’re too afraid right now.”

Starburst nodded in agreement, hoof on her chin “You could be right…surely by now the ones near Fluttershy’s cottage would have waited for her to be alone and struck then.”

“Wouldn’t underestimate Fluttershy if ah were you.” Applejack chuckled “Anywho, whatever’s here clearly ain’t a toughie, he’s got us alone and ain’t jumpin’. Heh, lil’ coward.” She looked up to the apples in the trees “Shame to lose a few trees to it, but they should be right as rain when your plan goes through.”

“Like they were never here.” Starburst smiled “So, ah, I’ll need you to show up at Twilight’s castle in 4 days, that’s when the comet will make its closest approach. When everything’s set, we’ll use the Elements of Harmony to hit them where it hurts!”

Applejack tipped her hat “Can do.”

Mysteeri looked away from the ponies and up into the slowly darkening sky, eyes fixated on the comet streaking through the heavens. The strangest of noises slowly filled her ears, a combination of something like a light gust of wind and a strange groaning, occasionally joined by bizarre beeps and pings.

Her vision suddenly flashed to dozens of shaking images she had never seen before, yet so many figures in them seemed so familiar…a shrieking noise slowly built as the visions flashed faster and faster, finally lingering on a large, white alicorn staring her down before Mysteeri’s vision flashed back to reality, Starburst walking back through the path they entered Sweet Apple Acres from.

“Oh, Mysteeri, are you alright?” Starburst asked upon feeling movement on her back “You went oddly still for a while.”

“…Yeah.” Mysteeri replied, slowly laying down “Just had some things to think about…but are you sure it’s alright not to deal with these creatures while they’re hiding out here?”

Starburst sighed and shook her head “No can do, unfortunately, I would use magic to draw them out but I don’t think such a spell even exists. And I couldn’t use Moonlight Greatsword in such a place like that, anyway, not without causing major damage.”

Mysteeri’s ears perked up at the mention of the sword’s name “Moonlight Greatsword?”

A large, shining blue sword of magical energy burst forth from Starburst’s horn, filled with stars like the night sky itself “It’s a new spell I’ve been working on. But…” The sword quickly shattered, its pieces disappearing into thin air “It’s difficult to hold together for long, even after months of trying I’ve only held it together longer than a minute once.”

“You’ll get it eventually.” Mysteeri replied, going quiet once more as she focused on her own thoughts. Those visions…that white alicorn, what did they mean?

Starburst’s house, several hours later

Mysteeri sat in silence in front of Starburst’s roaring fireplace, buried within a book. Starburst had gone out to pick up some groceries, leaving Mysteeri on her lonesome to guard the house. The witch hadn’t really needed to do the guarding part, though, leaving her to focus on the book in peace.

“Thinking about it, she does a grocery run awful late…” Mysteeri glanced to her side and into the night sky “Maybe the lack of people helps her get there and back faster…” She shrugged and returned to her book. Only a few minutes passed before there came a knocking at the door, Mysteeri sighed and rolled her eyes as she put the book down. Putting her revealed eye to the peephole in the door, she was met with none other than Princess Luna waiting patiently on the other side.

Mysteeri looked away with a face covered in confusion, then gently creaked the door open, her golden eye glimmering against the darkness “…What are you doing here?” She whispered in a hushed tone.

Luna looked to either side of her before responding “I can’t say it out here. May I come in?”

“…And who’s to say you’re not here to go back on what you said in my dream?” Mysteeri raised an eyebrow, gripping the doorknob.

“Because if I were here to do that, we would not be having this conversation.” Luna replied firmly.

Mysteeri grumbled something under her breath then pulled the door open, Luna making her way inside. She chuckled in amusement at the sight of the organised chaos that was Starburst’s home as Mysteeri closed the door behind her “Starburst has quite the way to organise things, doesn’t she?”

Mysteeri nodded as she walked back over to her chair “So, what’s so important that couldn’t wait until I fell asleep?”

The princess sat on the chair across from Mysteeri “Well, one of the comet’s creatures was spotted in Canterlot today. By my own sister, no less.”

Mysteeri crossed her arms and furrowed her brow “What was it doing near your sister?”

Luna shook her head “It ran off the moment it made eye contact with her, but I feel like it was scouting the area.”

“…Just like the ones that Applejack and Fluttershy encountered.” Mysteeri looked down, tapping her fingers against her arm.

Luna frowned at the news “So they’re going after Twilight and her friends already?”

Mysteeri grunted and reached to scratch that returning itch on her back, teeth grit in annoyance before she spoke “Yeah. Twilight and I had to fight one off earlier today. These creatures can possess ponies, too.”

“Oh no…” Luna gasped out as she put a hoof to her chest “What happened to the one it possessed?”

“Well, it took some doing, but we were able to drive the thing out of him. It took control of a Pegasus named Gael Force. Apparently, it had taken control of him only the morning before.” Mysteeri explained, the itch finally disappearing from her back “But I assume you’re not here to ask about that.”

Luna shook her head “I came to offer you my assistance.”

“Princess Luna!?” Starburst’s voice shattered the silent air of their conversation, the unicorn standing with her mouth agape, saddlebags filled to the brim with a large assortment of food on her sides. She bucked the door shut in a flash and immediately fell into a bow “It-it’s an honour to be in your presence!”

“Hey, how come you get all formal with Luna but when Twilight showed up ya didn’t freak out?” Mysteeri questioned the unicorn, head resting in her hand.

“I went to the same school as Twilight when we were younger, this is different!” Starburst turned her head up to look at Mysteeri, her shocked expression worsening when she saw Mysteeri’s lounging in the chair “And why aren’t you bowing!?”

Luna gestured with her hoof for Starburst to stand up “Please, Starburst Nova, formalities aren’t necessary right now.”

Starburst struggled under the weight of her shopping as she stood back up “So, um…what brings you here, Princess?”

“I came to offer you two my assistance in dealing with this growing threat. Since a comet creature was spotted in Canterlot this afternoon, it’s evident that they’re getting bolder by the day.” Luna explained as she stood up from her seat, Starburst letting out an even louder gasp as the princess bowed her head to her “Please, allow me to join you in your quest.”

Mysteeri shrugged as she stood up, a playful smirk on her face “Hey, I wouldn’t deny the help of a princess if I were you. We’ll need all the backup we can get.”

Starburst looked to Luna as she raised her head, then to Mysteeri and then out into the night sky through the window before putting the shopping on her table and bowing to Luna once more “I-I humbly accept your aid, Princess Luna!”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief upon Starburst’s approval “Thank you, Miss Nova.” Her horn illuminated with magic before a deep blue bell materialised in the air before her “I would love to take the fight to them with you, but I’m afraid my duties as princess make that difficult, if not impossible.” The bell hovered over to Starburst, who took it in her own magic “Should you ever need my assistance, ring this bell and I will come as soon as I can.”

“Th-thank you, Princess!” Starburst bowed once more “But, um, if I may ask, have you met Mysteeri before?”

Mysteeri and Luna exchanged a glance, then nodded at each other “I met Mysteeri in her dream the first night after she arrived.”

“Surprised it took ya only a day to decide the situation was so dire.” Mysteeri chuckled as she leaned against the wall.

“I knew the comet’s creatures were an issue soon after we spoke. When I returned to the waking world, I felt myself surrounded by eyes. In fact, I had to fend one off who would not vanish with his friends.” Luna explained, looking to the comet in the sky herself “But to think they would become to bold so quickly. The scout earlier today, and now Mysteeri has told me they’re stalking the holders of the Elements, even going as far to attack Twilight Sparkle, they’re learning. Fast.”

Starburst placed the bell on the table “From tomorrow, we’ll only have 3 days until the comet is at its closest approach. They’ve gone from just targeting people to know about them to stalking threats to their existence already.” Starburst began pacing back and forth, Mysteeri and Luna watching her “Things may only get worse from here. Mysteeri.” She looked to the witch.

“Yo.” Mysteeri uncrossed her arms.

“We’ll need to get the rest of the Elements in on our plan as fast as we can tomorrow. After that, there’ll be two more things we need. A chunk of Magna crystal from the Far mountains and white gold from the Canterlot mountains.” Starburst pulled out a map from her bags, putting her hoof on a collection of mountains on one side of the map, then to the mountains near the capital “With those, I can use my magic to create a focusing lens for the magic of the Elements.”

Mysteeri chuckled, putting her hands on her hips “You got this all figured out, don’t you?”

“Well, it is a comet. And as big as it seems to us, it’s incredibly far away.” Starburst turned from the map to the other two.

“Well, you two seem to have this under control.” Luna gave them a warm smile “I shall be present to help you on the day you launch your final stage. Of course, ring the bell if you ever feel like you need my assistance.”

“You got it.” Mysteeri nodded, opening the door for Luna.

“It’s been an honour meeting you, princess.” Starburst bowed to the deep blue alicorn “Thank you for helping us!”

Luna chuckled “Thank you for having me.” She walked out the door and took off into the night sky, Mysteeri gently closing the door as she left.

“Can’t say I was expecting that.” She crossed her arms once more “You always get so nervous when you even see one the royals?”

“H-Hey!” Starburst pouted.

Mysteeri chuckled “Ahh, I’m only teasing ya.” She walked past the unicorn, picking up her book from the seat “I’m headin’ to bed…and you guys got some good books in this world.”

The following morning…

Mysteeri groaned as she pushed herself up, rubbing her eyes as the blur in her vision faded, that itch in her back was already there today. She went to scratch it, only for her hands to grab onto something. It felt…soft and jutted out from her back for about a foot. Moving her hand slightly, she could feel another one near it. The teenage witch went to move her feet off the bed so she could get a better look at these things in a mirror, only to find her legs stiff and an odd numbness in her feet. She couldn’t even bend them. Running a hand down them, nothing felt strange…

She threw the covers aside only to be met with a sight that made her choke on her own breath. Her legs had changed completely overnight, where once was human legs, now were long, rigid legs like the hind ones of the same ponies she was stuck with. Her feet had vanished completely, replaced with deep black hooves of her own. It was like her suit had completely overtaken where her skin was, its patterns adorning her legs, the diamond pattern openings on the back of her legs even feeling like they had merged with her completely, too.

She stumbled out of her bed, using the wall to help support herself as she balanced on her transformed legs. Looking down her back, the witch’s shock elevated further upon finding the things she had grabbed before were none other than small wings jutting out from her back.

And even further down, there was a small tuft of a tail.