Finding A Star

by Synthaholic

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Adventure, Dark
Length: 6161

Twelve chapters. Six ponies. Two twisted goddesses. One apocalyptic city. It's time to kick flank.

Discovery has always wanted to meet with the legendary Twilight Sparkle. But when two bolts of destructive magic impact upon the streets of New York, lives are lost, lives are changed, and life becomes more monstrous than anypony could've imagined.

This is the story of a unique group of mismatched ponies that find each other on a journey fraught with danger and death around every corner, and where love and friendship struggles to endure.

This is the story that questions all you believe in the Elements, Equestria and Fear itself.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-20 02:04:02 UTC

Prologue

Finding A Star - Prologue

A long time ago, planets floated silently in the sky, and their moons span just as soundlessly. Stars shone and sparkled, their billions joining a picture on the largest canvas in existence..

Now, where there was peace and beauty that was on a scale unimaginable, there is only the carefully orchestrated display of cruelty to the night sky. Stars no longer shone in kind, and the planets and their moons appeared to all as if a goddess had marred their surface with fear itself.

There was one world however, that persisted. Where all others were lost to the cries of the infinite universe, Equestria endured. It did so because it had to. It was a beacon of hope for those who had lost everything but their minds. But this choking fear which had claimed all other worlds, this fear that had the power to shape the beauty of a billion stars into a vision of hate, was only kept at bay by a single being. A pony. One that's name kept being heard. Twilight Sparkle.

~~~~~

"Hello, and welcome to today's show of The Mane News. Our special guest tonight is a pony who has braved the pelting of hail and the beating of the sea to rescue a filly after she was swept into the water after hurricane Clover hit New Ponyville."

Discovery looked onto the stage, and wondered not for the first time if she wanted to appear in front of millions of ponies on Manehattens' top news channel. Shaking her blonde mane from out of her eyes, she steeled herself with the fact that she would just have to play her part; the scared and grateful filly that everypony expected her to be; and she would have no reason to make a blunder.

"So, Swift Saddle, how is it you saw little Discovery in amongst the rain, hail and wind? That must have been quite some luck on your side."

"Yes, it was at that. I only managed to see a wing, but I couldn't be sure even then. It was the shine of a boat further in the distance that put my gaze in her direction. When I saw her, I realized I had to rescue her. I reached her just in time, too. The waves that broke the sea barriers came not seven minutes after we got to shore."

Her time to go on was just around the corner. She smiled as the carefully scripted lines started to further convince all listening to Swift that he was a hero. This was an essential part he had to play. A part he made sure was spot on.

"Unfortunately Swift, we will have to cut this interview - and show, fillies and gentlecolts - short, as I have just received information that an emergency nationwide broadcast is going out in five minutes. Until then, here's Cacophony, with her latest rendition of..."

Whatever else was said past Discovery by. She did not plan for this eventuality at all. I spent twenty damn minutes in that freezing sea, she thought. All that preparation, for nothing! She was about to throw a fit right there backstage, until somepony let out a cough behind her.

"Excuse me Miss Discovery, but you will have to leave now. We're sorry for cutting this short, but the broadcast is being sent by Twilight Sparkle herself."

Discovery stifled a glare. It wouldn't make sense that she would be angry for not appearing on the show - ponies would suspect something was amiss. If anything, she would be expected to be relieved.  So she put on a quiet and calm voice when she spoke. "Thank you, I'll just be going then." She smiled a, a fake, if convincing smile.

She left the building and stepped onto hard sidewalk. Turning, saw two stallions quietly arguing,  recognizing them straight away. She was moving toward them when their voices got louder, both with scowls on their faces and clearly anything but relaxed. Discovery looked at them with a disgruntled gaze. This is just what I need, she thought.

"Sparkles sake, Twister! I told you to watch out for this kind of incident, and schedule around it!" The first stallion yelled.

Twister met his hard stare with his own. "How do you expect me to foresee an emergency broadcast?"

That got Discovery thinking. She was always looking for answers. I wonder what the broadcast was about. Must be important if they were willing to tell TMN to shut down their studios for the day.

"I don't know!" Swift started. "What I do know is that this was our one chance to get our message to Twilight Sparkle on the air, and then you-

"Listen, Swift. I may be able to get into their building and take a peek at their calander, but I can't read her mind!"

Discovery stepped in before a really heated argument could take hold. "If the broadcast is being sent by Twilight Sparkle, then we can use it to hijack the enchantment line it's being sent across. I'm of a mind to believe that she could be more convinced to converse with us if we orchestrate ourselves into this correctly."

They turned to her, startled. They didn't even know she was there until she spoke up.

Discovery looked upon Twister. His unassuming gray coat and brown mane might've hid his talents from other ponies, if not for his shiny gold (but most importantly, unlocked) padlock of a cutie mark. His talent; he was very good at opening things that ponies didn't want opened.

A far cry from Swift Saddle, Discovery mused as her gaze moved to the left. The hot headed stallion had his personality clearly reflected in his appearance. His glaring white coat was a stark contrast to his dark orange mane. His cutie mark of an open flame behind a unlit candle was not a testament to his temper however. This unicorn had a talent for using the sun as a tool. He could warm the hearts of other ponies, or encourage wilted crops to grow. He even boasted he could magnify the suns rays on a particular area. Discovery suspected this was mostly a white lie. She knew he could warm things, but using the sun directly as a conduit? She thought this was unlikely. No pony had that power.

"Discovery, warn me next time you intend to give me a heart attack." Twister said, smiling. The contradictory wording had Discovery smiling back.

Swift was just irked further by the Pegasus and Earth pony's nonchalant attitudes. "Don't be a foal, Discovery. You know the best way to talk to her was through publicity. If there was any other way, you would have thought of it. Or am I mistaking your talent to solve problems as over-confidence?"

He added that last part out of frustration, and Discovery knew this.

She was here to calm the situation, not intensify it. With this in mind she said: "Swift. You trust me and my talents. It will be those talents that will turn this around, I assure you. But it will be your trust in me that will let this succeed. I promise."

Swift sighed. She was right, he realized. "Fine. But first we must find out what the broadcast was about. And since it will have likely passed by the time we return to New Ponyville, I suggest we book a few rooms."

Any reply was either forgotten or was unheard.

Two incredibly bright bolts of white and dark blue stuck the Empire State Building, sending a blitz of magical fire outwards. Its superstructures blew apart, sending huge chunks of flaming debris in all directions. Screams and gasps of horror radiated around the three ponies, while they and a distant purple Unicorn sitting in the Rockefeller Centre, looked on in terror.

Ash

Finding A Star : Chapter One - Ash

Bleary eyed, Discovery looked up at the empty night sky. She immediately wished she hadn't. The glance brought with it another wave of depression. Another reminder of the gray clouds of ash, another reminder of what she had lost.

She was currently standing guard while two ponies caught their sleep. Swift, all energy and anger, seemed to have been drained from him, leaving in their place misery and sadness. Twister, the level headed earth pony, seemed less affected, but it was all there under the surface. The pain was simmering beneath his calm demeanor. It was a pain they had all lived with for a long time now.

Discovery mulled over the idea that being in this park in the dead of night was not the wisest of ideas, but dismissed it. The only dangerous creatures likely to approach them would not be deterred by stone walls. She could smell the burning, choking scent of smoke and ash. This was common now.  It had been for the past ten years. The Swayback Volcanoes must be more active than usual, she mused. But then her muscles went taut. Her instincts were telling her something wasn't right. She always listened to them. Discovery inhaled deeply through her nose, and fought back the urge to cough. The smoke smelled different. It was the ash of burning wood, there was none of the usual fiery scent that was in the Sway ash.

So somepony.. or something was making some sort of fire nearby, she thought.

She decided to investigate.

****

Brightfield awoke while the sun was starting to make its way across the sky, dispelling the harsh black of the night, and replacing it with a worse vision of gigantic gray clouds. They were filled with ash, and more importantly, sulphur dioxide. Mix those with the moisture from the nearby Hudson river, and you had acid rain. He decided then that he would need to fix up the roof with more layers of sheet metal.

He attached a large sheet of metal to a dangling length of rope. Using a row of wooden planks suspended by two other, longer ones, he climbed up to the roof. He had to put both forehooves on the third step, and he pushed up with his rearhooves. He made a small leap, and landed on the next set of steps. It was an unconventional method of reaching the roof, but without the use of his wings, he had no hope. The thought gave another pang of wistfulness in Brightfield, but he had come to terms with his lack of ability to fly nine years ago.

When he reached the roof, he yanked on another piece of rope, and the pulley slowly lifted the metal upwards. He then started a careful decent down the planks. He did this entire routine four more times.

By the time Brightfield was finished welding the metal to it's worn out counterparts beneath it, the sun had reached the middle of the sky, and the clouds had gathered above the city.

He pulled all his equipment with him down the makeshift ladder, and stowed the rope, remaining metal and blowtorch in the cellar beneath his building. He didn't call it a house. It wasn't his home. But it was his.

The first drop fell. It landed next to him, and instantly burned through the tiny weed that had managed to grow through the choking ash and lack of sun.

Leaving whatever insignificant equipment was left behind, Brightfield galloped as fast as he could to the entrance of his building. Several drops of the burning rain had impacted on the broken Pegasus' wings. Fortunately, he could not feel pain from them anymore. If he could, he would be screaming in agony. As it was, he was simply in a lot of pain. Two drops had managed to land in the centre of his back, and had burned to the skin, scalding it. His roof was holding against the rain, even if it was a particularly strong storm. A very good thing he reinforced it when he did, or the entire roof might've collapsed, and he would've been dead in minutes. The sun had awoken him just in time. The first thing the sun has done usefully in a long time, he thought.

****

It was nearing dusk, and Brightfield reflected how unproductive the day had been. He had used up a lot of his metal supplies, and had not scavenged for more, or searched for food or water. Instead, the storm had lasted all day, and he was forced to stay indoors.

After the rain had finally stopped, he ventured into the browned and blackened garden behind his building, and decided he needed to eat. He had eaten a packet of crackers and drunk water, but could now start a fire. First, he needed to dry out the ground, as to not to let his hooves dissolve from the acid in the soil. He set out strips of chipboard, then made three thin lines of gunpowder down their lengths, and one down the middle, interconnecting the strips. He lit a fragment of chipboard with flint, and stood back before flinging it on the powder.

The chipboard burned extremely quickly, almost vaporising the moisture in the ground.

Finally, with a path into the garden, he gathered his firewood from the immensely large stores in his cellar, and turned them into a small, but hot fire efficiently and swiftly. He ate soup, which he previously bought from a traveller with a coat and a pair of shoes. It was a harsh world, and he had plenty of spares. In fact, he had spares of pretty much anything. Scavenging for long periods of the day, as well as the fact that there were a lot less ponies around to use them, had made supplies that don't expire quickly extremely plentiful.

****

Discovery found the source of the fire. In a secluded area, she spotted an apparently derelict white and red building.

The rain had struck not ten minutes before she set off, and thankfully, an abandoned warehouse had sheltered all three of the ponies from the worst. She was tired from being the lookout for the last half of the night, and now it was almost dusk.

Slowly and carefully, she moved around the damp patches of the ground. It would be agony if she stepped in loose mud or worse, a puddle.

As Discovery approached, she realized the building was not as empty as she once thought. Looking into the window, she could see an electric generator, and a large cupboard stacked high with food. Cans and cans stood in line with powdered packets. They were the few foods that survived the last ten years.

The front door was locked with more than five padlocks. The windows didn't look like flimsy glass either. So, she chose option three. Spreading her golden hued wings, she leapt into the sky.

Discovery glanced at the horizon, from her higher viewpoint. She saw the ash that covered everything that wasn't moving, she saw skyscrapers that were starting to fall apart, some with great chunks missing from their frames. She saw plants reclaiming the world. Her white coat, that used to shine with luscious radiance, now was closer to grey with dirt and ash.

She landed upon the roof with a metallic twang and upon looking down, she realized why. Her next logical leap was that there was no entry here either. Frustrated, she stomped a hoof. What happened next was completely unexpected.

****

Brightfield had just gone back inside, to get his equipment ready for scavenging, when he heard a stomp on his roof. Then the roof gave way. Immediately he ran into one of the back rooms. It was decorated sparsely, with peeling paint and nothing but a sizable cupboard inside. It was what was in the cupboard that interested him.

He grabbed the handle with his mouth and pulled, revealing an obscene array of weapons. Most were small barrelled  point n' shoots he used often while scavenging, to save on weight. But he had a select few that strapped onto his back, and could generate a hail storm of bullets, rockets or grenades. He used those in emergencies. He put this situation somewhere in the middle, and he drew his eyes towards the back of one of the shelves...

****

Discovery was a Pegasus. That much was fact. From when she was only getting past fillyhood, however, three things came to light. She was not ordinary. She was not even close to normal. Often ridiculed by the pretentious mares in New Ponyville because of these traits, she led a secluded life. Her preternatural beauty and golden eyes don't help her. She wears colored contact lenses to hide the golden shine, but her beauty she cannot hide. She wants to. She knows it is not normal to have the figure and face of a goddess.

She is walking down the Backstreets, an unofficial name for the more unkempt areas of New Ponyville. Although they are frowned upon by the aristocracy that live in the richer areas of the city, Discovery had found a place where she is not only welcomed, but the drinks there are incredible.

She finds friends among the crowd, the closest of which are two slightly older stallions. She learns their names are Twister and Swift Saddle. She does not know Twisters last name. And no one knows hers. They all often come here for a drink, and more than Discovery likes to admit, Swift and her end up in considerably more inappropriate situations. Always stuck on the friendship boundary, Discovery soon realized that she does not have the right feelings for Swift to make things serious. They still continue however, however many times they apologise to each other in the morning. This is until, on a particularly drunken misadventure, when the final of her attributes shows itself. It is let out of control, her alcohol levels freeing the bonds which her mind subconsciously kept tight. A burst of light is shone forth, and shatters windows. Swift is thrown onto his back, his head hitting the wall in the progress. His Unicorn horn reacts intensely to the incredibly strong magic released, and it glows a furious red.. All the while, Discovery's wings are aglow, still casting a blinding light that shines through the empty window frames to the streets below. Then it abruptly stops. The flow of magic cuts off, and it is shackled once again. Discovery is laying back, wings splayed, and is terrified of what has just happened. Then logic kicks in, and she goes to help her friend, who is currently unconscious.

After sending him to the best hospital in the Backstreets, Discovery tests her mind, to see what caused the outburst. To her surprise, she can now feel the taut chains keeping back the powerful magic. She tests the waters, and finds that she can move the chains. She doesn't dare try to release them, scared that if she does, she won't be able to reel them in again.

It is from this point, her life becomes dedicated to gain audience with the one being in all Equestria that could help her understand.

Twilight Sparkle.

****

Discovery woke up three hours after she landed in a heap in the middle of the derelict building. Not realizing how much time has passed, she expected to be lying in a mound of rubble. Instead she found herself in a warm and comfy bed. She moved out of the bed, landing quietly on her hooves, and gave the plumage on her wings a quick sorting out. Now she was alert. She took in her surroundings. A faded blue coat of paint covered the walls, with pink flowers dotted around the room. Discovery noted, with some concern, that she had been sleeping in a young filly's room.

She carefully made her way around the room, looking for any sign of danger. There were none.

Odd, she thought. Who would put me in a bed after I crash through their roof?

The answer came from a distance. Would you feel better if I killed you on the spot?

"Where are you talking from?"

I'm downstairs, Discovery.

"How do you know my name? What in Sparkles name is going on!?" She yelled into the darkness, her smooth voice magnified in an attempt to scare the strange voice out of hiding.

I know your name, I know your age, and what you are, miss Pegasus. I know you have powers you want no one to notice. I could not withstand these powers were they to be used against me.

Discovery was numbed to her core. Only Twiser and Swift knew of the powers she had. But none of us know how they work. Not really. It was thoughts like these that only chilled her further.

But enough of that. Come downstairs when you are ready.

Discovery wondered at this strange voices' ability to talk as if without speaking. Perhaps she was finally going insane. Ten years of gray ash and destruction does that to ponies. But then, how could she explain her coming out of sleep in a bed? There was only one way to find out.

She started to walk down the rickety stairs, listening to the creaks and groans. Giving a quick glance half way down, she could've sworn she saw a flash of metallic shine under that cupboard. She dismissed it as nothing major. She was made of sterner stuff than to be frightened of her own imagination.

No. She had much worse things to be scared of.

Fear

Finding A Star: Chapter 2 - Secrets

It took Swift less than several seconds to realize something was amiss. Discovery's bed of hard mattress and wool blanket had been disturbed. More importantly, it was empty. Her gun was missing, too.

The unicorn wondered for a short moment why she would need to carry a gun, when her unnatural magic could kill a pony as quickly as it could. Then he got back to the problem of where Discovery had gotten too. He was extremely irritated that she up and left before waking himself and Twister. If a mutated Manticore, or worse, a chaos infected Dragon had appeared, they wouldn't have had the time or offensive capability to defend themselves.

He decided first things first, he would wake Twister. Swift wouldn't make the same folly that Discovery had.

Trotting over to Twister's sleeping form; he took in the bleak scenery around him. Ash mounds and puddles of acidic slush gathered outside the warehouse. These were visible for only several hooves however, as beyond that, an eerie fog clouded anything and everything within them. The fog appeared each night, without fail. Swift's magic never seemed to clear it, and the one time Discovery had tried with her own, she had to spend several hours in the dark, alone and crying.

Swift placed a hoof upon Twister, and shook him gently. With a glint of silver as his only warning, a knife was at his throat in an instant. The words, Nothing Stays Closed, were embossed in the sharp steel.

Green pony eyes flickered, then regained focus upon the victim he was about to end. Then, with quick and stressed apologies, Twister used his incredibly dexterous left hoof to stow the blade in a side pocket on his right foreleg.

Swift realised his mistake. "Twister!" he exclaimed. "My Sparkles, how did I forget!? Even if for a moment, it is inexcusable."

Twister grumbled something that Swift couldn't hear, and looked at the ground.

Swift, concerned, tried to further console his friend. "Are you alright, Twister?" He asked.

"I'm 'kay." The earth pony replied softly, "I just want the nightmares to quit it. It's all I get every damn night, I swear it! I just want to have one peaceful nights rest. I mean, is that too much to.."

Whatever Twister was about to say was lost. Swift saw his eyes go large and round, widened with fear. With a gulp, Swift turned to face the direction the earth pony was looking, to see something monstrous.

A silhouette many times a pony's size moved lazily forward. It moved on its hind legs, thumping the ground with great smacks. Swift could smell rotting flesh.

Twister was yelling at him to run, to gallop out of the warehouse as fast as they could.

But it was the form emerging from the fog, which seemed to overload Swift's brain, his fear being pushed aside, with a surge of adrenaline.

Turning to catch Twister's strong body getting ready to bolt, the Unicorn finally caught up with his head, and galloped at breakneck speed, in whatever direction was opposite from the hulking beast.

****

Brightfield looked up from the small set of drawers he was putting back together. It was a tricky job if you weren't a unicorn.

Upon hearing the creaks and groans from the staircase, he started to put away the hammer and nail box under a glue and sawdust covered workbench.  He felt hard eyes upon him. Turning his head, he saw for the second time that day, if she was in much better condition this time, a startlingly gorgeous Pegasus. Unnaturally beautiful, he thought. Remember that.

He thought back thirty minutes ago when he started speaking through her mind. Reflecting upon this, he reflected it was likely not the best way to introduce one's self.

He saw the light yellow, almost golden hued Pegasus take a suspicious gaze over the room, before finally settling on himself. Her eyes narrowed, and she started towards him. Her first question was expected.

"Who are you?"

The melodic voice once again almost put Brightfield in daze. But he quickly collected himself. He knew this could well be an enemy. It was unlikely that a mutated pony knew how to disguise itself as a normal one. Still, he knew he could not dismiss her as a potential foe. And bandits were almost non-existent. A sliver of that passive kindness resided in each pony still, a leftover from the leadership of The Harmonies.

"You'll find out soon enough. Take a seat." Brightfield motioned towards another stool, across from him. He raised a hoof for her to shake, but Discovery glared at him with her golden eyes once again.

She sat on the fairly uncomfortable wooden stool, before speaking. "I don't know your name, but you seem to know every detail about me. I'd say it's a little one sided, don't ya think?" Her tone was strong and firm, but it was trying to hide something too. Was it nervousness? Or anger? Brightfield couldn't quite tell.

"You're right of course. I apologise." He replied, then adding, "My name is Brightfield."

The lack of his last name did not go unnoticed by the Pegasus, he noted, when her eyes widened ever so slightly, and a light of curiosity sparked in her eyes.

He knew what the next question would be.

"No, I'm not telling you my last name. " He said, looking her in the eye.

"Like I said. You know every. Detail. About. Me." She punctuated each last word with a small stomp of her hoof.

"And like I said, my last name stays me own. I'm not opening up to a pony I've only known for less than a day." He retorted.

"Then why would you tuck me in freakin' bed, when you could've shot me on the spot!"

"Because I'm one of the few things out here that isn't some sort of pony eating monster." He looked the golden Pegasus dead in the eye. "My wings are broken, and now my roof, but not my heart." Brightfield said the last part darkly, then immediately followed up with a chuckle. "With that out of the way, would you like some carrot juice?"

****

Discovery stared incredulously at this strange Pegasus that called himself Brightfield. Not only had he taken care of her, and put her in bed of all things, but now he was offering her carrot juice after having the most heated conversation she's had with a pony that wasn't Swift or Twister in a long time. In fact, she realised, I haven't talked to anypony other than Swift or Twister in years. This thought soured her expression.

"What's the matter, don't you like carrot juice?"

Discovery once again looked at Brightfield with confused eyes, and then noticed something. She thought back to what he had said several seconds earlier.

"Your wings!" She exclaimed.

"That doesn't have anything to do with carrot juice." Brightfield said, smiling.

"B-But, how do you.." Discovery trailed off, and it was Brightfields turn to turn his expression sour.

"I don't want to talk about it, thank you," he said, quietly. "Maybe sometime. But not now."

Brightfield's expression was almost shy, and Discovery wondered just how in Sparkle's name he had managed to survive this long. Without the use of his wings, he's the same as a regular earth pony. Then, another thought crossed her mind. Her mind froze.

"B-Brightfield.. Are you different? Y-You know? Like me?" Discovery stammered, still reeling from this revelation.

Brightfield hesitated, then took a slow, deep breath.

"I don't know," He started. "I've never met somepony with my abilities. I still haven't really, your abilities are entirely different." He stopped, and entered into a deeply thoughtful expression.

Discovery looked on, eager to have met somepony even a little like her. Consistently though, her mind was calculating the ramifications of this. It meant there could be even more like her and Brightfield; ponies with talents, not seen or heard of ever in history. Half of her active mind was waiting on Brightfield, while her other half span with her imagination. There were ponies of all sorts enjoying themselves in a field, Pegasus, Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and even Alicorns, all with abilities beyond their normal reach. She imagined happiness. Remembering happiness was another challenge altogether.

The image cut off, interrupted by the Pegasus opposite her.

"How do you feel I tell you a story, Discovery?" He asked, his position on the stool changing into a more relaxed pose.

Now all of her attention was on Brightfield.

"It would depend on what it's about, I suppose." She shrugged, but her voice was eager, betraying her curiosity.

"This story is of my life before the events of ten years ago, when I was only coming out of my time as a colt. I'm going to tell you what I think caused them. I will also tell you how my talents changed the pony I wanted to be.

"I suggest you grab the pillow from the upstairs room. This tale is long and complex. As they say, I shall start, from the beginning."

****

Like I said, I had only just started becoming a stallion. I believed I knew everything about everything, like I was king of the world. You know, how the young often think of themselves. I had passed Flight School with flying colours. Quite literally in fact. According to the records, I am one of the very few that have pulled off a Sonic Rainboom. The only others before me were Wild Wing – the captain of the Wonderbolts before the incident – and the direct descendants of the legendary mare, Rainbow Dash.

Here are some interesting things for you to think over. One, Wild Wing was helped to pull off his Rainboom by magical means. Very few ponies know this, and fewer yet believe. But it's true. Secondly – and this is the key – I have searched high and low for any family heritage to Rainbow Dash. I believed that if I had some lineage, then I could take a claim in their family fortune. Greedy, I know, but understand that it was hard for me to believe that I was the only non-descendant of her to perform the legendary manoeuvre without magical help.

What I had not expected to find were records and journals dating all the way back to when Twilight Sparkle herself was just a filly! Hard to imagine really. You may ask how I came across these when no other pony had stumbled across them. Well, let me tell you another secret. Twilight's vaults are not as secure as many make them out to be. Simply pretend to confirm a water leak in the vaults, and hire yourself out as a plumber. Of course I was accompanied by the powerful Unicorn's Royal Guards. They were, however, easily dealt with. Sleeping sprays were remarkably easy to find.

I had risked myself like this because of rumours. Nothing more substantial than that. But if they were true, then the one thing that could link me to Rainbow Dash existed there.

The journalsI  mentioned earlier did not only contain records of illegitimate foals and fillies of the Six families, but a terrifying secret.

Before I get to that, I will tell you that I am in fact related to the best flier who had ever lived. Illegitimately, true, but even that would have gotten me into the family. I could not have done so however, for two reasons. One, this would mean discovery of the fact I was the one who had infiltrated... no, that's too harsh of a word. Sneaked into. Yes, that will do. So, that would mean I would be revealed as the one who had sneaked into Twilight's vaults.

I couldn't do so for something else too. The secret I had learned. It has scared me, and it had shaped my life from then on.

For seven years after that revelation, I had committed myself to learn everything about the Elements of Harmony.

As you know, and therefore do not a lengthy lecture on, the Elements kept the balance of Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, and most importantly, Magic. The Six were the keepers of each Element. Without those ponies, the Elements would have continued to have their power drain into the void of space. So given embodiment, they could contain and release their energies at will.

What you will likely not have been told is that there resides another two Elements. Brilliance and Calm.

Three guesses where they resided.

Long before the Six were given their Elements, Celestia and Luna held Brilliance and Calm, respectively.

Luna's transformation was only in part caused by her jealously of her sisters Sun. Being the Princess of the night, Luna had explored space, and had millennia to understand it. She understood it, while we had only started exploring and examining it four decades before the incident. Or the moment. Whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, using my research and a stolen journal of Twilight's that contained her own theories, Luna had come in contact with Fear. I talk not of the emotion, but the taint that had consumed much of the galaxy.

It was this that corrupted Luna. Celestia was forced into imprisoning her to the moon. The giant satellite not only reflected light, it also acted as the first barrier against Fear. It repelled it, acting as a conductor for the Elements to channel its balancing energies into the void.

I suppose the Fear is at least partially conscious in its actions. It must have realised that the Elements were keeping it at bay. Luna was its gateway onto Equestria; a way to bypass the conductive nature of the moon. It attacked at the Element of Calm, attempting to twist it into an inverted version of itself. However, when Nightmare Moon was banished onto the side of the giant rock where sun does not shine, it could never push itself onto Equestria. It simply could not bend itself round to push itself in the direction it wished.

So for a thousand years, Celestia was without Calm, and without her sister.

But what does Brilliance transform into without a calming presence?

Arrogance and Greed were the result.

Over the thousand years of which Nightmare Moon was banished, Brilliance kept warping further. In a way, Fear had won by simply removing the balance of Calm.

Upon Luna's return, and Nightmare Moon's vanquish, the element of Calm was restored.

But Celestia, though struggling to be the ruler she knew she should, was too far gone. A thousand years of internal strife was far more damaging than the thousand years of simple anger that Luna was subject to.

So now the roles were reversed. Without the effects of true Brilliance, Calm became Complacency and Ignorance.

And so, both Brilliance and Calm were lost. All the while, Fear itself looked upon Equestria, and saw it's time. It saw the perfect opportunity to remove the last Six elements keeping it at bay.

Influencing Celestia's and Luna's decisions, warping them further, corrupting them from afar, it finally saw them fall.

That was the day when two bolts of blue and white impacted. The day when everything fell apart.

That was the day Fear gripped our world.