The Rising Stars

Celestia’s brow creased in concentration, as she focused solely on the task in front of her. This was too important to mess up. Moving the knife in quick, even strokes, she felt a bead of sweat run down her face. Wiping away the sweat, she stepped back to admire her work, blinking away tears in irritation. Satisfied, she scraped the onions into the frying pan where they pleasantly hissed away.

After that, she poured in the eggs, where they blended together with the onions temptingly. A few minutes and a half dozen ingredients later, and a giant, golden-yellow omelet sat steaming in two halves upon the kitchen table. Pleased with her work, she took her seat at the table, waiting for her younger sister.

Not really sure why Luna’s still sleeping this late in the morning, Celestia thought. But whatever the reason, at least it gives me the chance to do something nice for her. As Celestia expected, it wasn’t long before Luna walked into the kitchen, freezing at the unusual sight of her sister there waiting for her.

“Good morning Luna! You certainly are up late this morning.” Luna stood motionless, blinking a few more times before a smile of joy spread across her face. She moved around the table and before Celestia could stop her, she pulled her older sister into a crushing hug. Celestia felt her face warm slightly at the obvious affection and happiness in her little sister’s embrace.

“Good morning to you as well, ‘Tia,” Luna said as she pulled away. “It certainly nice to see you... up, for a change.” Celestia shuffled about on her chair, flustered by Luna’s unusually exuberant greeting. She shifted her wings a bit, stretching them out and checking her feathers in a nervous habit.

“Well, we can’t both sleep all morning. Now, come and have some breakfast; it’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure I did a good job.” Instead of the eager look Celestia expected to see on her face, Luna expression fell, and she gave a sigh of regret.

“Sorry, sister, but I don’t have time. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“What do you mean, leaving?” Celestia looked closely at Luna, taking in the bag strapped to her back, the guilty expression, the secretive way she refused to look her older sister in the eye. “And where are you going exactly?”

“Just that,” Luna replied, evading the question as best she could. “I’m leaving shortly, and I’m not sure just how long I’ll be gone.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and she stood up to tower over her smaller sibling.

“Luna—”

“I can’t tell you where I’m going, because I’m not entirely sure where that is.”

“You can at least tell me why you’re going then,” Celestia remarked pointedly. “You haven’t left the tower in decades, and right after we make plans to leave, you tell me you’re leaving for someplace you don’t know, and you don’t know when you’ll be back.” Luna stood silently arguing with herself on just how much Celestia needed to know.

“Luna.” There was none of Celestia’s usual patience or understanding in her voice now.

“Right, yes, of course,” Luna said quickly, turning back to face Celestia again. “It has to do with Starswirl. I know what’s been causing his nightmares. Or, I should really say, who has been causing his nightmares.” Celestia’s expression darkened at the thought of someone harming Starswirl.

“It was Umbralaven.”

Celestia’s angry look turned to confusion. “Wait, I... what—” she blinked a few times as her eyes went out of focus for a moment. “That doesn’t even make any sense. Umbralaven might be a bit... harsh at times, but he doesn’t attack children. Are you sure it’s—”

“Of course I’m sure!” Luna said, louder than she meant to. She ducked her head slightly when her sister arched her brow in surprise. “Sorry; yes, I know it’s him. He’s sending someone to fetch me. I expect he’ll be here soon.” Celestia sat thinking for a minute before standing.

“Right, well, I’m coming with you. I admit, I don’t really trust him with you, not after that falling out you had.”

“No, ‘Tia, you stay here; that business between Umbralaven and myself was all my fault. You need to stay here and watch Starswirl. Besides, I have something I need you to do.” Luna levitated the moon pendant and scroll from her pouch, floating them over to Celestia. “I put a protective spell on Starswirl; it should be strong enough to keep Umbra out of his head. I put the spell down here, I just need you to cast it on this charm.”

“A more permanent solution? Good idea,” Celestia said, taking the items with her own magic. She rolled open the scroll and studied the instructions written within. “Of course, I’ll take care of it.”

“Now,” she continued after floating the scrolls behind her to rest on the table. “I know you have to leave, but surely you can have some of this breakfast I made before I go, right?”

“You really should ya know,” an unfamiliar voice said from the table. Both sisters froze in shock before turning to look at who was speaking. To their astonishment, a smallish grey vesper mare was sitting at Luna’s place at the table, shovelling the last bits of Luna’s omelet into her mouth before sitting back into the chair. “Ahhhh, that was great.” The vesper grabbed a napkin and wiped some of the grease off her chin. “You sure you don’t want some? That has to have been the best omelet I’ve ever had.”

She blinked a few times as silence was her only answer, then shrugged and reached across the table to take Celestia’s half of the omelet.

“That’s mine,” Celestia said, grabbing the plate away from the intruder with her magic. The mare overreached trying to grab the plate anyways and slipped, sprawling over the table.

“Okay, fine,” she said, blowing a lock of her mane out of her now grumpy look on her face. “No need to be so grabby.”

“Grabby—!” Celestia half shouted in disbelief. “I made that for my sister, you—you—”

“I take it your my guide?” Luna cut in. The mare smiled and sat up on top of the table, hanging her back legs over the edge, swinging them back and forth like a bored foal.

“That’s me! The name’s—”

“Bright Eyes, right?” Luna asked slyly. The mare’s yellow eyes, which did have a remarkable sheen to them, widened in alarm.

“Ho-How did—?” she stammered out.

“Your grandfather told me about you the last time he visited me. Told me all about his daughter’s little ball of terror; a ‘yellow eyed devil’ he called you.”

“Okay, right, you know gramps, huh?” Bright Eyes relaxed again, her legs once again swinging away. “Call me Brie though, alright?”

“Well, Brie, I’m Luna and this is Celestia; though I assume you’re already aware of that.” Brie nodded several times. “Right, well, as pleasant as this has all been, I don’t want to waste any more time; let’s get going.” Brie jumped off the table and walked out of the kitchen humming to herself along the way.

Luna turned to her sister, but Celestia spoke first, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Luna,” she said with a smile. “Sorry you didn’t get your breakfast, though. Tell ya what, I’ll make you something every day till you get back, alright?” Luna smiled back, and Celestia walked off pushing the door to the kitchen open.

Luna sighed, but just as she started to relax, there was a loud splash followed by a hollow banging sound. She heard Celestia give a small cry of surprise, and she rushed out of the kitchen to see what had happened. Celestia stood just outside in a puddle of water, soaking wet, with a bucket dangling from her horn. Her eyes were wide with shock, but her face was twisted into an ugly scowl as she watched Brie lying on her back, kicking the air in laughter.

Luna quickly rushed past Celestia to Brie, whispering an apology to her sister, and grabbed the vesper by the ear with her teeth, dragging her up off the ground none too gently, and then pulling her whining out of the hall. Celestia stood motionless, listening as Luna dragged Brie off.

“Hey, watch the ear, I need that ya know. OW! Seriously, are you trying to rip it off!”

“Okay, I’m sorry, please just let go!”

Luna stood outside the tower, Brie’s ear still clamped between her teeth. Luna had walked her all the way outside like that, and while Luna wasn’t as big as her sister, she still dwarfed the small vesper. Brie had been forced to half fly, half jump on her back legs just to keep Luna from tearing her ear off.

Satisfied that Brie was done messing around, Luna let go of her ear. Brie collapsed on the ground, whimpering as she cradled her ear. After giving her some time to recover, Luna nudged her a few times with her hoof.

“C’mon, the day’s getting on.” The early morning chill was long gone from the air, and the sun could clearly be seen peeking over the edge of the tower’s walls now. “If we hurry, we can get to your home by the end of the day.”

“No, we can’t,” Brie whined in return. “It’ll take at least two days to get there.”

“Two days?” Luna blinked a few times before continuing. “It’s only been a few hours since Umbralaven and I... talked.”

“Yeah? Well, he sent me out to get you as soon as the colt set foot in the tower, three days ago. Getting back in two days is pushing it already.” Luna absorbed that bit of information in silence; whatever Umbra was planning, he was definitely several steps ahead of her.

“In that case, get up,” Luna said. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

“Fine.” Bright Eyes got to her hooves, still rubbing her ear. After stretching out her leathery wings a few times, she leaped into the air, holding herself aloft with steady strokes. Luna flew after her, keeping a close distance to her as they flew low over the trees of the forest.

They flew in silence for a long while, Brie still rubbing at her sensitive ears and shooting dark looks over her shoulder from time to time. Every so often, Brie would startle Luna by tucking her wings and diving into the forest, but before Luna could go after her each time, Brie would fly back above the trees with a piece of fruit or bug firmly trapped in her fangs.

Finally, Luna grew bored of nothing but flying, and raced to catch up to the young vesper.

“Why did you do that to my sister?” Luna asked as she flew alongside Brie.

“Thought it would be funny,” Brie replied with a grin. “And, boy, was it.”

“I doubt she’d agree with you.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t do it for her.”

The sun had already passed its apex before Brie called for a short break; they landed in a small grove of trees on the edge of the forest. A small creek flowed nearby, and Brie immediately drank her fill while Luna settled in the shade of the trees. Luna opened up her bag, spilling out an assortment of fruit from the tower’s orchards.

Luna started to tuck in, but stopped when she saw Brie; she had settled down a few feet away, and was giving the meal a sideways look. With a small sigh, Luna pushed the food over towards her. Brie grinned widely and started eating with a relish.

“You’re certainly eating a lot of my food today,” Luna said, watching Brie down a cheese sandwich in a couple of large bites. Brie didn’t answer, just kept eating.

They continued eating in silence until Luna spoke up.

“So, how is your grandfather doing? It’s been a very long time since I saw him last.” Brie paused mid-bite, then slowly set her food back on the ground.

“Look,” she said, a wary look on her face. “Not that I don’t believe you or anything, but how exactly do you know Gramps?”

“He was a messenger for Umbralaven, same as you are now. He came to give some messages to me every so often, and we both did each other some favors on occasion.” Brie sat motionless, staring at the same spot on the ground for about a minute.

Brie grabbed an apple out of the pile of food sitting between the two, holding it up as she looked for any blemishes, turning it back and forth in her hoof.

“When I left, he was lying on his deathbed.” Brie avoided looking Luna in the eye, instead focusing all her attention on the apple. “I doubt he’s lasted this long.”

Luna sighed, hanging her head in regret, the familiar hollow feeling of loss settling into her gut. Losing friends hurt, but not being there when they died always hurt more. “I’m sorry; I had a great deal of respect for your grandfather. But, why are you here, instead of with your family?”

“He had great respect for you as well.” There was something about the way she said that that made Luna look up at her. A caution and reserve that made Luna curious.

“And you? I take it you don’t feel the same.”

Bright Eyes stood up, dropping her untouched apple. “You were the one in such a hurry. Then let’s get going.” Without waiting, Brie took off into the air again, and Luna scrambled to put the remaining food back in her bag and catch up.

The rest of the day passed in silence. Bright Eyes ignored Luna each time she tried to start a conversation, and Luna eventually gave up trying. They had flown northwest most of the day, but once the sun started to dip over the horizon, Brie turned straight west, flying towards a distant mountain range.

“Hold up,” Luna called out. “I know this area; there’s a small mountain village not far from here. It’s a family group of earth ponies, and some pegasi as well.”

“I know that,” Brie called back. “Where do you think we’re going?”

“Do you think they will let us stay the night?”

“I don’t think anyone’s going to mind.” Luna frowned at that; Brie didn’t sound... right. Luna didn’t have time to ask questions though, as they cleared the mountains into the valley and the village came into view, just as the sun sank under the other mountain range in the distance. The village was small, a smattering of wood houses along a single road that led in both directions towards the mountains.

Luna could tell something was wrong instantly; no candles burned in windows and no kitchen fires sent clouds of cheery smoke into the air. The entire valley was too quiet, not even the small movements of animals could be seen. Alarmed, Luna dove towards the ground, landing in the center of the town next to a large well.

“Hello!” Luna called out, but only the echoes answered. Running to one of the houses, she peered in the window. Nothing was inside, no furniture or other household items. Walking to the door, she was surprised to find it unlocked. It gave way with the slightest push.

The entire house was as empty as the view from the window had suggested. A thick layer of dust covered everything; whoever had lived here had left a long time ago. Shutting the door to the house behind her, she walked back over to the well where Bright Eyes was waiting for her, eyes fixed on the ground.

“I don’t understand what happened, the house was abandoned long ago.” Bright Eyes looked up at Luna for a second, then back at the ground.

“They’re all like that,” she said. Luna’s eyes narrowed, and she looked around the village.

“How can you know for sure?” Luna asked. “We haven’t looked in each building.”

“I know.” Again, her tone drew Luna’s attention. Brie noticed her attention, and sat up straight, taking a deep breath. “A couple of months ago, there was this colt.” Luna felt her face harden against her will. “He was a very long way from home, and he was terribly lonely. So when he found a trail leading across the mountains, he followed it, hoping it would lead him to others.
But someone else was watching him, someone greatly interested in his future. This person didn’t want the colt to become attached to others, he wanted him to keep wandering alone, so he ordered one of his agents to get rid of the villagers.”

“The colt is Starswirl, the someone is Umbralaven, and the agent is you,” Luna interjected with some impatience. “I know the players of Umbralaven’s game. What did you do to these ponies?”

Brie swallowed loudly. “The only source of water in this valley are three wells; I poisoned each of them.” Luna closed her eyes in grief and sat down as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt,” Brie said, regret thick in her voice. “It was non-toxic to ponies, it would just cause weakness and some nausea. Nothing fatal, just enough for them to have to leave the valley. And they did...”

“But?”

Brie sighed, and when she spoke it was with soul crushing guilt. “But, one of the foals had a bad reaction to the poison.

He died.”

A stunned silence stretched between the two. Luna stared in shock at the young mare, who for her part looked away in misery.

“Well, was it worth it?” Luna asked as she felt a fierce anger flickering in her chest.

“Umbralaven believed it was,” Brie responded defensively. “He said it was an unfortunate, but unavoidable—”

“No was it worth it to you?” Brie scowled, but when she opened her mouth to respond, Luna cut her off. “Was it worth it to break the first rule? ‘Never harm the innocent.’ And that’s exactly what you did.”

“You have no right to talk, traitor.” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed again in anger. “You broke your first rule as well, or have you forgotten already?”

“I did it, I did it!”

The small filly ran up to the shadowed figure, a bright blue flower floating magically in front of her. Umbralaven didn’t turn to face her as she stopped next to him, panting from the run and the excitement. He did float the flower away from the filly, studying it closely.

“You passed the test,“ he finally said, just as the sun dipped beyond the horizon. “And just in time as well.”

“So that’s it then?” Luna asked, gasping for breath. “You’ll teach me magic?”

“I spoke with your father and he gave his permission.” Luna’s face scrunched up in confusion; Umbralaven took notice. “You didn’t think I was going to take you away with me without his knowledge, did you?” If anything, Luna’s confusion deepened.

“So, wait, I have to leave to tower?”

“Of course,” he replied. “My home is far away from here. You don’t expect me to have to travel so very far every time you are ready to learn something new, do you?”

“No, I just—” Luna hesitated, looking back towards home. “I’d have to say goodbye to my parents; my brother and sisters.”

“It’s your choice,” he said without emotion, and Luna looked back him. He studied her from the corner of his eye. “You can come with me and have a chance to learn the secrets I know. Or you can stay at home, and let your family teach you. Whatever you choose, know you choice is final. I won’t offer you this chance again.”

Luna looked again towards home, at the tip of the tower sticking above the trees. She sat quiet, thinking for long minutes before turning back. Her face was set with determination, and stood as tall as she could.

“I’ll come with you,” she said. “I want to learn everything I can, and I can’t do that here.”

“Very well,” he said in reply. “Then we leave now.” Luna opened her mouth to protest, but Umbralaven cut her off. “Your mother and father already know you aren’t coming back, and they said you could leave now.” Umbralaven levitated a couple of small bags that Luna recognized as hers from behind a bush. Luna stared back and forth between him and the bags.

“You already knew I was going to succeed?”

“Now, If you’re going to learn under me,” he said without paying her any mind. “There is one rule that you must follow, and never break it. If you do, then your tutelage with me will end.” Umbralaven fixed the filly with a harsh glare, and Luna swallowed in nervousness.

“No matter what happens, you must never use anything I teach you to hurt an innocent person.”

“What you and I did are completely different,” Luna said, unable to keep the harshness from her voice. Not for the first time, she wished she had more of her sister’s calmness under pressure.

“Just keep telling yourself that,” Brie retorted. “We both broke the first rule, don’t try and pretend that I somehow broke it worse than you did.” Luna swallowed her anger as best she could before speaking again.

“Why are we here, Brie?” Brie was caught off guard by the change in topic, but she recovered fast.

“To show you how serious Umbralaven is to get a hold of Starswirl. Now you know just what he’ll do to get him.” Luna’s brow furrowed as the anger started to swell again, but Brie ignored the obvious signs of her fury. “If you don’t want anyone else to die, then do the smart thing, and just hand him over.” Brie let her challenge hang there as Luna took several deep breaths through her nose to calm herself.

“You asked me before why I was here, instead of at my grandfather’s side,” Brie said. ’“I came because Umbralaven need the fastest; I came because I started this job, and I’m gonna see it through.”

“What was his name, Brie?” Brie’s face crinkled in confusion. “What was the name of the foal you killed?” Brie’s face changed to something unidentifiable for a split second before it changed to an amused indifference that chilled Luna.

“Why would I know that?” she asked, bemused. Before Luna could explode at her she turned and flew a few feet into the air before holding herself steady. “Get some rest, I’ll come and find you tomorrow when it’s time to leave.”

Bright Eyes flew away, leaving Luna in a ghost town, alone and in the dark and cold of ghosts.

“Morning, ‘Tia,” Luna said to her sister over the breakfast table as she took her seat. On second look at her though, she recoiled slightly. “Oh, wow, ‘Tia, you look terrible.”

“I feel terrible,” Celestia muttered over her toast. Her hair was a tangled mess and their were terrible dark bags under her eyes. “I didn’t get a moment’s sleep last night.” Celestia took another half-hearted bite of toast.

“You couldn’t sleep?” Luna asked in surprise, getting a half nod in return. “Why not?”

“Take a guess, Luna.”

Luna grimaced at her sister’s unusually harsh words. “Discord.” Celestia nodded in confirmation.

“He’s disappeared before, but never this long. I’m starting to worry he’s run off for good this time. Add that worry to what Father’s going to say when he finds out, and I can’t even calm down enough to sleep.”

Luna poked around at her food in silence, watching her sister eat as the time went on. As Celestia took her last bite of toast, Luna spoke.

“Well, I do know a new spell; I could help you out with your sleep problem.”

With a start, Luna jerked awake as the fire popped loudly from the fireplace. She shook herself free from her dream’s grasp, holding her head between her hooves as a splitting headache gripped her. Looking around the small house she had broken into to spend the night, she noticed the sky outside the window was still dark.

Of all the times to sleep lightly, you pick tonight, she thought to herself, the chill of having to stay in this abandoned home creeping up her spine again. The house was empty except for her.

I wonder where Brie is? Making up her mind suddenly, she threw off the thin blanket she had packed in her bag, walking out into the town. Wherever she is, she can’t be too far away, not if her job is too escort me.

Looking around she turned randomly down the single street, looking for the vesper, though whether to smack her in the face or yell at her or... something she wasn’t really sure. She just knew she wanted to see her. At the outskirts of the town she stopped; she was turning to walk back, when she saw something on a hill in the distance. What it was she couldn’t make out, but she headed for it anyways.

It took a few minutes of walking, but she finally reached the hill. To her surprise, she found herself in a small graveyard for the earth pony families that had lived there. What she had seen in the distance had been the gravestones. She walked among them now reading the names of those whose homes lay below, now abandoned; just like those buried here now.

As she turned to leave the dead to their rest, she heard a voice talking among the graves. Brie? Luna thought as she thought recognized the tone of the voice. Picking her way carefully between the grave markers, she stopped when she caught a glimpse of grey fur.

Peeking over a gravestone, she saw something that confused her: Bright Eyes hunched over a grave, her hooves hanging on the stone as she rested her head against it. Luna could see her shoulders shaking and her wings hung lifelessly against the ground. She was saying something, but Luna was still too far away to make it out.

Closing her eyes, she focused on using her magic to sharpen her hearing. Instantly, Brie voice clearly filled her ears.

“I’’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”

Luna opened her eyes in clarity and looked at the mare in uneasiness. Luna crept away without a sound, certain that she wasn’t getting any sleep that night.