Prologue
"You're sure this isn't just another one of your blown-out-of-proportion 'emergencies', Twilight?" Spike pressed, his fingers forming bunny ears to emphasize the word "emergencies". As he spoke, he was hard at work gathering various supplies his surrogate sister had requested for her night out with Princess Luna, which included, amongst other things, her telescope, quills and parchment, and her copy of The Constellations of Equestria, a Guide to the Night Sky, written by Starswirl the Bearded.
"Well… no, Spike, I'm not sure, but that's why I'm meeting with the princess tonight to try and confirm what I've been seeing." the purple-hued mare replied as she paced about collecting last few things she'd need for her meeting in the field just outside of Everfree Forest. "She would know better than anypony if what I've found means anything, so I can't just sit around; this could be a very important discovery!" Spike rolled his eyes as he carefully packed the picnic blanket in with the rest, which sat neatly in their little red wagon that Twilight always brought along for picnics and other outdoor activities. Spike yawned, bringing one of his clawed hands to his mouth as he did so, his eyes half-lidded, which brought a warm smile to Twilight's face. "In the meantime… I think it's time for someone to get some sleep."
The juvenile dragon appeared indignant, at first, but quickly relented as a second yawn stifled his rebellious words before they could be formed. "Yeah… alright." he managed before turning to begin the climb upstairs towards their bedroom, but stopping at the halfway point to glance back down at his sister. "Just… don't be too disappointed when the princess tells you you're worrying over nothing, ok?" Still smiling, Twilight nodded once. "For once.. I hope it really is nothing to worry about; it's been quiet around Ponyville, lately, and I'd kinda hoped that it would stay that way for a while." Spike scoffed as he resumed his climb. "Sh'eah, wouldn't that be something?" Twilight giggled quietly to herself and shook her head as she turned to leave their treehouse.
Falling Stars
By Dreamscourge
Falling Stars(part one)
Not an hour prior, the sun had given way to the moon, which was steadily climbing in the night sky, meaning that Twilight would soon have a visitor. She'd set up in the field ahead of time, her picnic blanket spread out on the lush grass, the soft surface broken only by her own hooves and the three prongs upon which sat her telescope, which was currently aimed upwards into the night sky. Alongside the mare's arrangement sat the wagon, which still held her quills and parchment, as well as Starswirl's atlas on the stars.
The rustling of leaves and the change in the breeze foretold the princess's arrival, causing Twilight to take notice as she pulled herself away from her telescope. Turning her gaze towards the heavens, she watched as Princess Luna descended from on high, as graceful and as beautiful as even her mentor, the fair Princess Celestia. As Luna's glistening hooves met the grass, so too did Twilight's muzzle as she bowed low to the ground, quick to humble herself in the presence of royalty, as was customary.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Princess Luna, I-" her words were cut short as she felt a hoof gently lifting her up by the shoulder. Looking up, she could see the princess with a friendly smile gracing her otherwise regal visage. "This is a private rendezvous, Twlight Sparkle. For tonight, I shall just be Luna." Twilight returned the princess's smile as she straightened her stance. "Then thank you... Luna... for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice. I hope I'm not keeping you away from more pressing matters." she added, bowing her head with a look of slight apprehension on her face. The princess tilted her head slightly to one side. "Not at all. I cleared my schedule for this evening after sensing the urgency in your letter, although... my sister did mention to me, briefly, that you have a tendency to... 'blow things out of proportion'."
With a sheepish chuckle, Twilight turned away from Luna and towards her telescope. "Yeah, well..." she cleared her throat. "Um, I found something odd while I was studying the various constellations that Starswirl the Bearded documented, here." The Constellations of Equestria suddenly rose from its place in the wagon, surrounded by Twilight's magical aura as she levitated it towards herself. Luna began to make her way towards the telescope(even though she was capable of viewing the night sky perfectly without it), listening diligently as the mare continued her tale. "I've been viewing all of the known constellations charted in this book for the past few days, and recording my thoughts. I... guess you could say it's become something of a hobby of mine."
Luna smiled to herself as she took her place beside the violet-colored mare on the picnic blanket. "It is nice to know that I am not the only one with an appreciation for stargazing." Twilight paused to shoot the princess a polite smile before continuing with her narration. "As I was taking down notes on the uppermost stars within Canis Major last night, I noticed something... odd." Luna had already lifted her gaze to the stars above at the mention of Canis Major, a constellation she was very familiar with. Her eyes narrowed slightly as Twilight continued ever on. "It's the lowermost star in the constellation, Adara. When I first looked through my telescope, about two days ago, it was there, right where Starswirl the Beaded said it was, all those years ago. But... last... night..." Twilight trailed off as she turned her attention from the telescope to see Luna standing eerily still, seemingly frozen with a look that Twilight could only fathom was of the utmost shock. "By the night... Adara... it is gone!" she gasped.
"Um… Princess Luna?" Twilight called timidly, reverting back to using Luna's proper title out of uncertainty. Luna, meanwhile, was too busy franticly scanning the area around Canis Major to answer, almost as if she was hoping to find that Adara had merely shifted positions. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and continued to press the princess for answers. "What could this mean?" Luna stood in place and blinked for several seconds, mouth still slightly ajar before daring to respond. "I… I do not know, Twilight Sparkle."
"Y-you don't?!" Twilight went from uncertainty to sheer disbelief as the midnight-maned mare continued to search the night sky desperately as though possessed. She looked as Twilight would imagine a mother would having discovered her child was missing. It was unsettling, to say the least, seeing the monarch of moonlight appearing so utterly lost. "I have never encountered something like this, before; stars will occasionally die, but they never simply vanish. It may take weeks, months or even years before it is no longer visible to the naked eye, but for one to disappear so suddenly..." she trailed off.
"I-I don't understand. You're telling me that a star has never just… not been there one night?" Twilight was now also searching the night sky alongside Luna, though she knew that she could never hope to see what the princess could. "Never. I cannot fathom how I was unable to see it, until tonight. Have I grown so out of touch with the night that I can no longer..." she went quiet, suddenly, and it took a moment for Twilight to realize that she had stopped talking, so concentrated on scanning the sky as she had been. Turning once more towards Luna, she found her staring once again into the sky, only this time with a more perplexed look that, for some odd reason, was more unsettling than her