The rain fell slowly as a midnight breeze washed over the city, while moonlight flowed gently through the windows, creating a beautiful scene. Every corner was given the moon’s light, and this was by far the most relaxing thing that had passed through Canterlot in a long while. Night Star clenched her teeth to stop the scream that tried to force its way out of her very being. The knife at her throat would never match the one that was already at her back, simply because she had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was then that she knew what must be done.
* * *
It was a beautiful day in Canterlot, as the day after winter wrap-up was alway reason for the pegasi to keep the skies clear. Everypony was out and about, enjoying the sunlight, all but one. Night Star stayed inside, studying her aged tome as the sunlight danced across the page with the rhythm of blowing leaves.
The room was simple, with a couch along one wall and a chair in the corner. Along the wall was a bookshelf, organized in such a way so that the book’s old, rough bindings were visible at a cursory glance. The couch was russet brown with two tasteful crimson pillows decorating its mundane surface, while the chair, made of a much softer fabric, was an earthy forest green. Piles of papers lay in the unoccupied corner, all with the same tight, neat hornwriting on their surface. A frayed, seal brown rug lay on the wooden floor, supporting its current tenant, the diligent student.
“Come on Star, this day won’t last forever!” Star sighed as she tried to ignore the yellow pegasus, who ignorantly upset the neatly organized shelves, sending tomes that were older than the already ancient shelves they were on flying through the air in a discordant mess. The mare still flew headlong through the room, seemingly unaware of the havoc she was wreaking.
“Happy, I really need to get this work done. Please, for the sake of my sanity, leave me alone already!” Star looked back to her book and studied the ancient words with interest even as gusts of wind flipped the pages forward before she was finished with them.
“You promised me last year that you would go outside the day after next winter wrap-up!” Happy twirled her long, sky blue mane in her hooves as she came to a hovering stop, sending pages of Star’s notes flying every which way from the corner where they were formerly neatly stacked.
Star huffed at her friend’s indecorousness as she attempted once more to fathom the depths of the antiquated volume. Indecision clouded her mind for just a moment, and Star felt her resolve faltering as Happy looked at her with a look of triumph and excitement in her eyes. Finally, she rolled her eyes
“Fine. But only after I finish this chapter.” Happy nearly crashed into the walls as she expressed her excitement.
Star closed the book with a sigh, stood, cracked her joints and stopped to look in the mirror, frowning as she saw a tangle in the dark purple mess that was her mane. The tangle soon fell before the awesome fury of Star’s brush. On second thought, Star thought as she looked over the rest of herself her navy blue coat needed a good run through as well. Her cutie mark, a black treble clef with a powder blue starburst underneath it, was especially in need of brushing. Star started to brush out all of the little imperfections she saw in her coat until her narcissistic self-pampering was interrupted by her flying companion.
“Star, you promised me!” The look on Happy’s face absolutely radiated an undeniable urge to see the great outdoors, which was understandable, considering her cutie mark was a smiling sun in an open, blue sky.
“Alright already, I’ll be there in a minute!”
Star decided a few tangles weren't worth her friend’s impatience, and walked out the door to be greeted by the sight of a busy Canterlot street. Ponies walked through the streets, stopping to look at a street vendor’s wares or simply to enjoy the spring day. Happy flew recklessly through the crowded streets, disregarding basic manners. Star, on the other hand, stepped quietly and politely, apologizing for Happy as she went.
“Happy where are you going?” Star squinted at the light of the morning sun.
“Just follow me” Happy beckoned, seemingly ignoring the fact that Star could not fly.
"Land."
"Why? You're a unicorn" Happy looked as though she had just made the most obvious statement know to ponykind.
"Happy. I can't fly." Star shook her head a little at this statement, causing strands of her mane to fall into her face.
Star brushed them away with a hoof as she waited for Happy to simply see that fact. After about twenty-two and a half seconds, Happy had fully cognized the statement.
"Ohhhh OK. Make wings!"
Star just walked along, on the ground, like any normal unicorn would. Happy ignored her, but managed to keep out of almost everypony's way. They came through the bustling streets into the public gardens of Canterlot, pathways winding between beautiful trees and immaculately pruned flowers. A large white unicorn with a two-toned forest green and spring green mane was in the process of moving some heavy-duty pruning equipment. The stallion’s face brightened up when he saw the two friends.
“Hey Star! Hi Happy what’s up?”
“Hey little brother!” Star smiled at him as he rolled his eyes.
“I’m not little!” Regal looked down at his surrogate elder sister.
“At least you’re close enough to be a brother to Happy and me.” Star looked off to one side as she thought of the circumstances that led to their meeting.
The royal guards had taken her away from her mother, who she didn’t even remember, and thrown her into the streets. She survived, with the help of Happy, a mare who had been living out on her own for far too long, and Regal, whom she met a few years later. They had survived ever since, even having a pegasus named Derpy Hooves take them in. It may not have been the best of ideas, but the motherly care in Derpy's mismatched eyes had convinced Star.
“Come on you little ponies, I have something to show you!” Happy startled Star out of her reverie.
They followed her down the mountain, closer to the Everfree forest. The trees almost seemed to be alive as the wind shook their bare branches. Star looked nervous as Happy took a winding path that led directly into the forest, as she flew above all of the muck that the two unicorns were forced to walk through. Star walked tentatively into the dark forest, looking to the right and the left to ensure that there was no danger of attack. Happy led them on and on, deeper and deeper into the forbidden woods until they were near the center of the Everfree Forest.
“Really? You dragged me outside for this?” Star's face was the picture of disappointment as she looked up at the stark stone wall that stood in her way.
The wall went up and up until it ended in long-ruined battlements, and it spread outward to two aged turrets that gazed at the trio with empty eyes. The forest path wound around the castle, disappearing from view around the corner.
“No silly, there’s a lot more to it than that!" Happy flew through the forest, leaving the old path behind as Star and Regal dealt with multiple scrapes and bruises caused by stray branches.
Star was frustrated, but that wasn't saying much, and she hid it well. Star looked over at Regal, seeing that the sun had climbed well into the afternoon as it left mottled patterns on the forest floor.
"You don't have a good poker face you know." Star stifled a chortle as she saw Regal’s face, twisted in a macabre mockery of impassivness.
"Shut up Star" Regal moved purposefully through the trees, hiding his blush as he walked away from his laughing friend.
“It should be right through here!” Happy shouted from overhead as she spiraled down into a clearing, feeling the ground as Star looked over at Regal.
“Just humor her” Star sighed as she heard Regal’s admonishment.
* * *
That was ten years ago, the three were only eleven then. They didn't know what they would uncover, the pain that would be caused was unknown. Now, the pony that held the knife at her throat would never know who she was. He was an earth pony, that much was obvious.
“Now you don’t make a sound Y’hear?” The pony whispered in her ear, his voice was rough, almost panicky.
The crack of faraway thunder combined with the ever so slight glow of the lightning, provided Star with the perfect opportunity. She felt her horn glow, then the song came, Star never knew why, just that it always came whenever she used her magic. The earth pony tightened his grip on her neck as Star wove the song to create a tapestry of relaxation. The song was so convincing, Star could almost feel its effects. Almost. The pony was not so lucky, and he collapsed. He lay there, sleeping, as Star galloped to the scheduled rendezvous point.
Two buildings stood opposite each other, each one exactly mirroring the other. They were the second tallest buildings in Canterlot, second only the royal Castle. They were also the perfect meeting place, and as Star approached, she saw a speck of yellow flying down from the sky. It was Happy, and she did not look like she was successful.
“Nothing in the cellars” Happy shook her head
“I didn’t find anything in the rest of city either.”
They stood in disappointment for a few minutes, then Happy cried out. The city of Canterlot was suddenly bathed in an eerie cyan light, as the spotlight searched the streets for any sign of trouble. It made its way through the streets, coming closer to the two friends.
Star sang. She sang a song of well-being, of peace and calm. But she added a slight element of fear, as nopony could be at peace now. The light passed over them harmlessly and she and Happy galloped out of the city.
* * *
Star galloped through the Everfree forest, branches whipping into her face and tangling her mane. Happy flew above and Regal trailed behind her, limping. Star stopped to help, making her way through the tangled brush. Regal collapsed, weakened by the wound.
“Go! Run! I'll kill you!” Regal’s voice changed pitch, darkness creeping into his voice.
Tears streamed down Star's face as she realized what her brother had done and the world blurred around her. Regal’s white coat looked like it was diseased as black spread outward from his wound
"Leave!" Regal’s voice now sounded almost like it not his own.
Star ran.
* * *
A blinding light filled the streets of Canterlot. It spread throughout every street, killing all, pony or animal, that weren't inside their homes. Star galloped out of the city, sliding to a stop just before the glow of certain death touched her.
That was too close
Her muscles ached from searching the city. She just knew that the Elements of harmony would be in the arcane wing of the castle, but Happy was right. It took too long to get in there after sunset, only to scurry out of the city two hours later.
They galloped down to the only safe haven that they knew of. Ponyville. Neither of the them had been there before, but Star knew somepony that had been there for her as an elder sister, Ditzy Doo, though everypony called her Derpy. As best as Star could remember, she had moved to a small town called Ponyville, her mismatched eyes undoubtedly watching over everypony with a sisterly affection. She had been at the market that horrible day...
Star snapped out of her reverie when they reached the quaint little town. She reasoned that the largest structure with the lights on should have ponies willing to help in it. When she saw the library, she had to shake her head several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. It was a tree. A huge, monstrous tree with windows. Star knocked at the door, and a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane opened the door.
“Can we come in?” Star asked quietly.
“Well yeah! It’s a library isn’t it?” The mare ushered them inside.
“You two sure look tired!” A purple unicorn looked concerned, and maybe a little surprised.
“So where are you two ladies from?” A white unicorn spoke, she sounded like she was from Canterlot with that distinctive accent so many of them carried.
Star was struck by the question. It was odd really. She didn't seem to know an answer that could satisfy without a very long explanation. Finally she managed to stammer out a simple statement.
“I-I don’t know. We’ve been left without a home since, well for far too long.”
That’s as close as they’re gonna get to the truth
“You could always stay here, there’s plenty of space!” The purple unicorn’s suggestion came with a familiar tone to it, something Star had not felt for a very long time.
“If it’s not too much trouble, I would love to have a trunk over my head, as it were.” Star smiled.
Smiling seemed strange to her, almost alien. No matter what happened now, she just knew she was safe.
* * *
Untold Stories. The weight of that one statement hung over Star like a six hundred pound weight suspended by a single string as the never ending sound of a ticking clock echoed through her mind. This was deeper, it was through her soul. Her song failed her. The clock was ever louder, then the sound itself struck her, pain lancing through her body. Star awoke, gasping and disoriented by the nightmare. The morning sun had just managed peek its way above the horizon. It’s rising seemed forced, as though the power that raised it did so almost against her will.
Star trotted over to the mirror. She laughed to herself as she looked at her reflection, seeing her ‘purple mess’ in such a state of disarray. Star could actually afford to take the time to brush out every bit of chaos in her mane and coat. She felt clean for the first time in months, and turned to admiring the library.
Everything was pristine, books lined the shelves in alphabetical order, the floor seemed almost to shine. There was a table in the middle of the room, with a very strange centerpiece on it, along with several very organized quills and ink wells. The room just gave off a sense of order, something Star could appreciate.
Nopony was awake, so she looked at the various volumes on the wall and took one down for reading. It was a history book, not that old either. She saw a signature on the edge of the book, it said in bold yet elegant calligraphy: “Co-authored by Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna.” All of the ponies had been introduced to her last night, Twilight was the purple unicorn that welcomed her so well. She became engrossed in the history, beginning about one thousand years ago (or to be exact, one thousand twenty three years and six months) with the imprisonment of Nightmare Moon.
Star started as she heard the sound of hoofsteps on the wooden floor. She looked up to see Twilight with a platter full of muffins enveloped in a soft lavender glow.
“Well good morning! Whatcha reading?”
“Nothing much, but those muffins sure do look good!” Star smiled as she thought of the muffins her ‘elder sister’ loved so much.
“I usually save these for the mailmare, but you seem like you would enjoy them!” Twilight smiled
“Thanks!” Star took a muffin with a single note of her song.
Twilight gasped, her face going pale.
“Miss Sparkle are yo--” Star jumped as Rainbow Dash flew through the door, sending shattered bits of wood everywhere.
Rainbow took a second to shake off the effects of charging through a tree, and then spoke.
“Twilight, you gotta see this.”
Star followed Rainbow outside and wondered what could possibly be wrong, as the sunlight touched everything, giving it all a summery feel. The houses around Twilight’s home were quite beautiful, and ponies milled about between them. Then, one by one, they began to look up and point to the sky. Star followed their hooves, and she saw a cloud. A very pink, very sticky looking cloud. There was a pegasus seemingly trapped inside of it, chomping down delightfully on the sticky substance. Her face did not quite come away clean, as everything but her eyes were covered in the stuff. Those eyes, in fact, did not seem quite straight. Star gasped slightly at the scene.
Is that really her?
Star hadn’t seen her in years, not since that single day when everything changed. She thought about running over to her, but had to restrain herself as the bright-eyed pegasus would probably not recognize her after all these years.
"It tastes like candy!!" Derpy shouted triumphantly before chomping down on another portion of the cloud. Star couldn’t help but smile.
More pink cotton candy floated by, pouring chocolate rain on a very happy Pinkie Pie.The entire sky was being taken up by the floating food and the chocolate was beginning to pool on the ground
Happy came through the door undoubtedly awoken by Rainbow’s rude entrance. Her mouth opened as though she was going to speak, but no sound came out. Star trotted over to where Twilight was standing
“Umm, Ms. Sparkle?”
“Yes Star?”
“I think I know where the clouds came from.”
They gathered in the library. Star sat down as this was going to be a long story. Twilight looked at her expectantly, and Star began to relate the story. Happy took over at some parts, but Star talked most of the time.
“Ten years ago, my brother Regal, and my best friend Happy and I were going into the Everfree Forest.”
* * *
Happy finally found what she was looking for, a trapdoor, cleverly concealed as a hill in the ground. She headed inside, beckoning Star and Regal to follow. Dark. That was Star's first impression, not just a darkness that was ambient, but a darkness that shadowed the soul. Regal’s horn glowed, lighting the way ahead of them in cyan light. They walked for a little while, coming to a deep hole with very old stone stairs spiraling downward into darkness.
“Happy, I don’t know how good of an idea this is...” Star’s voice trailed off with the implications of what she tried to say.
Hayseed. She's not stopping.
“Awww, come on! It’ll be fun!”
Truth be told, Star felt almost the same way that Happy did. There was a strange attraction to the hole, the same kind of feeling that she got when she was hunting down a thread of research, that the answer to her question was just behind this door.
They walked down the stairs, coming to a tunnel. Regal led the way, followed by Happy, then Star. There was not a sound but for the scraping of hooves on the cold, damp gravel and the heavy breathing of everypony as the tunnel wound on and on. Star kept feeling the urge to go on, it grew stronger and stronger as the tunnel wound on. It floated on the air, almost charging it electrically. It was like she was famished and the tunnel led to a delicious meal. Star followed it on and on, even as the tunnel wound ever farther. Eventually, she started to see a light, but a grey light, one that made the tunnel easier to see. This same, grey, dreary light deepened the darkness of the soul.
At the end of the tunnel, there was a large cave, bathed in the dark light, and it could not be natural. For one thing, it was completely spherical, but that wasn’t what caught Star's eye. There was a hotel in the middle of the room, decorated like it was five thousand years old, middle Equestrian era, with a lamp over the door.
The lobby was filled with elegant carvings, depictions of things that had happened long before the rise of Luna and Celestia. An earth pony stood at the desk, grey, with just a hint of green. His mane was completely white with age, but he stood alert. His cutie mark was strange, like a brain.
“Ahh, yes, I presume you are Regal Storm? Hello Star Song, Happy Dance. Your rooms are waiting.” His voice was sophisticated, almost like he lived in a Canterlot of years ago.
Star stared the pony, trying to understand what he was or, more importantly, how he could be here. Also who was this strange pony?
“I am the Mind.” He said directly to Star, almost as if answering her unspoken questions.
“There are certain things that have been ah, how does one put this, forgotten in Equestria.”
He took three keys from a rack behind him. Star saw that those were the only keys there, but then this whole thing had been weird. They walked down several hallways to a hotel room.
“Happy, this room is yours.” The Mind gestured her inside.
* * *
Star was suddenly interrupted by Happy.
“Now this is where I come in! The hotel room was really really dark, but I thought that was just normal cuz, you know, we were underground!”
* * *
Happy trotted into the hotel room. There was dance music playing, Happy’s favorite. There was something strange about this music though, it had major chords where there should have been minor, minor where major. There were ponies in the room as well, which stretched on much farther than it first seemed to.
It was dark. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it wasn’t a hotel room at all, but a dance floor. There were chairs and tables set up along the walls, with red and blue striped tablecloths. Ponies sat at the tables, looking like they were engaged in conversations. Then Happy noticed that none of the ponies were speaking, or even smiling. They all wore blank, soulless expressions. All of the ponies stood and stared at Happy. Happy waved at them, expecting at least a twitch in return. None of the ponies reacted.
These guys are worse than the royal guards. I could at least get one of them to crack the tiniest smile, even though he would never admit it
They all had the same cutie mark, a black, serpentine, dragon, head spiraling into its tail. Each pony looked as though they had grey mixed with their original colors. .
That's strange...
The ponies began to march toward Happy, slowly, but determined.
Ok, this is starting to get creepy.
Something caught the corner of Happy’s eye, a a single shadow hidden among the darkness of the room, but it was moving. When she turned, there was nothing there. She started to the door as panic began to set in. Happy broke into a gallop. She hadn’t trotted that far into the hotel room. Then she realized that she couldn’t move. She heard something behind her, and saw the same something out of the corner of her eye. Happy tried to turn to see what is was, but she still couldn’t move. All that she could do was brace for impact.
A gentle laugh echoed through the room, getting louder and louder. It soon turned to speech and said one word.
"Mine."
Happy knew that voice, she had heard it many times before. It was darkness, the force that haunts every foal at night but this was different, this was true Darkness. Not just a shadow trying to cause fear, but the caster of that shadow. She could feel it as it vibrated through her body and her mind, just as much that she could feel the blows that had bullied her in her foalhood. She recoiled instinctively, and she found she could move again.
Run! Get out of here! Happy’s mind screamed, but that same, dark curiosity urged her to stay.
The other ponies came closer, still with that same stare.
"Mine."
The voice echoed through her again. It wasn’t just one voice, she realized, it was many.
“Mine.”
The other ponies were converging on her now, marching in a disorganized unison, repeating that word over and over again.
“Mine”
Oh hayseed... This is bad. Happy bit her lip as she prepared for the inevitable
The ponies hesitated for a moment in front of her, and then they struck simultaneously. Each terrible blow resonated through Happy’s body and it did not stop its unrelenting barrage. Pain lanced through her that was only half as terrible as the emotions the beating brought to fore. She always was the one foal without any parents. The blows brought back memories she couldn’t remember to forget, memories that had long since been buried.
Then as quickly as it had begun, the beating ended. It left her trembling as she lay there, helpless. She raised a hoof to her face to comfort the bruises just like she did when she was a foal, helping the physical wounds but not even soothing the emotional.. A pony stood before her, a very tall pony with a rough, scaled hide. A dragon then? No, this was far too small. What was three times the size of a normal pony.
B-but Demons are just a myth...
He stood with a broken dagger floating before him in a red aura. He spoke one word.
“Mine.”
Happy staggered to her feet, staring into those terrible red eyes. The Demon was scaly, like a dragon, but he sported a horn like a unicorn, yet it was curved like a wicked scimitar. Happy trembled still from the beating, but she knew well enough what needed to be done. Her heart hammered against her chest as she prepared to answer him.
“What ever you are. Whoever you are. I. Am. Not. Yours.”
The Demon sneered, exposing long, dark fangs.
“But you will be. Just one little cut, and you will be mine forever.” The Demon brought the knife closer to Happy’s forelock.
“Think of your lovely little friends, think of how much pain you could save them.” He sounded almost... friendly.
“If you submit now, I will spare their pitiful lives and let them return to the surface. If not...” The Demon paused, his face changing from kindness to rage.
“Their blood will be yours alone to bear.” He brought the knife closer.
“Your move.” The Demon sat back patiently as he waited for his words to take effect.
Happy stared at the knife, wondering what she could do. Maybe, just maybe she should let herself be cut, if only to save her friends from this Demon. It might not even hurt that much... The Demon smiled as he saw the indecision on her face and he waited. Happy sat there, thinking it over. Then she remembered something that Star had once said, that even if you do a bad thing for a good reason, that doesn’t change the fact that you still did a bad thing. That will stick with you for the rest of your life.
But even then, if the reason is to save a life at a terrible price, then couldn’t that justify giving in? Just one little cut... One small flash of pain and it would all be over. Her friends would lose her, but it would be over. Then she remembered the tales of the Demons. How all they needed was one little cut, one tell that the will had been surrendered, and they would say anything to get it. After that, no-pony knew, after all, Demons were just supposed to be a myth, a story to teach a moral about sin. But here he was, and he gave her an impossible choice.
On the one hoof, if she gave in, she would be sparing her friends this same horrid choice. On the other, this would gain the Demon release from his prison, and who knew what pain that would cause. The Demon looked impatient, the knife began to touch Happy’s leg.
“I’ve made up my mind.” Happy nodded as she came to terms with the choice she had made.
“No.” That one word forced its way out of her mouth.
Half limping, half galloping she ran to the door. The Demon followed her, grinning evilly.
“All that now occurs is because of you. This is your burden to bear now.” Those words stuck with Happy for the rest of her life.
She burst forth out of the door, and saw the Mind trotting down the hall with Regal and Star.
“Star, no!”
Star kept trotting, as though Happy wasn't even there. They walked on, a few hallways down and to the left. Happy galloped after them, seeking to warn her friends. She turned the corner and saw the Mind opening a door.
“This room is yours Star.” The Mind ushered her inside.
Happy charged the Mind, one purpose crowding out all other thoughts. Warn Star, get through to her somehow. The Mind wasn’t going to take her friend away, he wasn’t going to put her in the same room as that freak the Demon. She was so taken with single-minded purpose that at first she didn’t notice that she traveled right through the Mind. In fact, the world faded before her eyes, walls fading to trees, room doors fading to bushes. Happy stood in the middle of the Everfree, in the same clearing, it was night, and she was alone.