Corruption of Harmony

Chapter 1

Mundanity

The entrance hall was dark, save for a single shaft of light from the open door behind me, sending my shadow stretching across the floor. My hooves clacked loudly against the marbled surface, echoing through the chamber as I advanced on the throne at the end of the hall. The door slammed shut behind me, submerging me in darkness. I couldn’t help but grin. Even now, she was still trying to intimidate me. I stood patiently, waiting in the dark. Soon enough, the torches mounted on the room’s side pillars flared into life, filling the area with a red, flickering glow.

Celestia stood by her throne, looking unusually bedraggled. I have to admit, the sight was rather uplifting. Clearly I’d been giving her some sleepless nights. Still, it wouldn’t do to be careless at this point; not with so much to lose. Rather than advancing down the chamber towards her, as she evidently desired, I remained in place and called out from where I stood.

“Celestia, how gracious of you to receive me!”

She recoiled as if bitten. When she spoke, her voice was strained and full of poisonous hatred.

“Princess Celestia. The least you could do would be to address me correctly.”

“Ah, but that would imply I felt you were worthy of the title. Calling me here for a ‘private audience’ is tantamount to surrender, and I assure you, that particular honour won’t be yours for much longer.”

My grin widening, I started the long walk up the hall. To her credit, Celestia held her pose, face as expressionless as possible, but her eyes gave her apprehension away. As I drew closer, the dark circles around them became even more obvious. It was almost humbling to see the effect I’d had on the monarch. I stopped at the foot of the steps beneath the throne. She stood over me, glaring. A lesser pony would have trembled under her ferocious stare, but a lesser pony could not have achieved what I had. Rest assured I was the one in control here. Fear shone through her gaze, despite her earlier show of bravado. Her final moments of power were upon her, and she was scared.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to when and where it started, shall we? It’s the journey that’s important, after all. Trust me; you don’t want to miss it.

***

I’ve always hated rain, and that evening’s was no exception. Icy cold water had soaked through my hood and was trickling slowly down my back. A muffled clinking from one of my saddlebags served as a constant reminder of my purpose in Ponyville, as well as the damage that a fall could do. Months of work dashed in an instant against the hard cobblestones. Unfortunately, staying on my feet was easier said than done, the water changing the road into a slick and treacherous sheet.

Wind whipped around my hooves and blasted the rain into my eyes as I moved up the deserted street. The shop windows were dark, shut tight against the elements. Of course the pegasi had to choose that night of all nights to organise a storm.

After an age, the library loomed into view. A great tree, hollowed out inside and made habitable. It seemed like a huge oversight in my opinion, choosing an extremely flammable construction (made out of, for example, wood) as the place to store a number of equally flammable books. Candle glow from the windows assured me that the resident was still awake, even at this late hour. I knew she would be. Fighting the risky urge to pick up the pace, I trotted up to the door, stumbling only once. I took a moment to compose myself. Whilst being completely drenched may not make the best possible first impression, I didn’t have much choice. Tree branches had been bent into a makeshift porch but they dripped continuously, if anything making me even wetter. Shivering (and disgusted at that sign of weakness), I rapped urgently on the wood.

***

Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure what to expect when she opened the door. The library had its share of late night visitors, but they usually called ahead. Greeting her on this particular evening was an unremarkable earth pony. He was soaked through, his cloak’s hood clinging to his face, masking his features. He was also loaded down with a ridiculous amount of saddlebags, each of them stuffed full until they were bulging at the seams.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

His hooves reached up to pull back his hood, revealing a handsome young stallion. His coat was light brown and his darker-coloured mane was plastered against his face from the rain. He brushed it aside casually and looked at her for the first time. Recognising her, his eyes widened and he fell down in a clumsy bow, bags shifting dangerously and threatening to send their contents spilling across the floor.

“Princess! Forgive me.”

Twilight sighed. Ever since she had got these damn wings it had been the same, no matter who came to see her. The only ponies who had shown any sign of getting used to it were her best friends, and even they sometimes bowed without thinking. It was just a matter of time, she told herself, as she had done so many times in the past. Soon enough everything would get back to normal, right? She shook herself back to the present. It was too easy to get lost on that particular train of thought. Right now she had a guest to deal with, and out in the rain no less. Twilight smiled warmly.

“Twilight Sparkle is fine. Twilight is easiest,” she told him cheerily.

The stallion struggled back to his feet, still avoiding eye contact.

“Of course Pri- Er… Twilight.”

Clearly it was going to take some time for him to get used to it as well.

“Well, come on in! Don’t just stand there!” she told him.

“Many thanks.”

Bowing his head, he stepped into the library.

***

With his bags piled in the corner and his cloak hung up to dry, Twilight levitated over a cup of freshly brewed tea. She had draped a blanket round his shoulders, which he’d gratefully accepted. Shortly after arriving he had dried himself with a spare towel, leaving his mane messy and matted. As he’d rubbed himself down, Twilight had observed his cutie mark with some curiosity: a single, white, five-pointed star, not dissimilar to her own. She’d looked up to see him staring at her with a confused expression. Twilight had muttered an inaudible apology and moved into the kitchen, blushing.

But now he appeared comfortable enough, and was taking in his surroundings. Twilight remembered when she had first arrived at the library, and how it’d seemed to her then. The central room was surrounded with shelves holding books of every description, covering virtually every subject. A large staircase circled the hollow trunk, running up to the second floor. Halfway up, a small alcove was cut into the tree, housing a writing desk. The scale was still impressive to her now. It was always surprising to newcomers, and he was no exception. He took the tea with a thankful smile, and sat expectantly. Oh, of course. She’d been so busy making sure he was alright she still had no idea who he was, or why he was even here.

“Um… excuse me for asking again, but… How can I help you?” she repeated.

“Ah, introductions, my apologies. I’m Starbright; the emissary from Celestia.”

Twilight gasped. That was today!? Oh no oh no oh no. The library was a total mess! She’d given Spike the day off after helping Pinkie with Derpy’s birthday party, and she hadn’t got around to sorting it out since. Books were strewn haphazardly about the room, along with various pieces of paper covered in hastily scribbled notes. Not to mention the dust starting to collect.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot, I’ve just been so busy that I-“ Twilight stopped when she noticed his bemused smile and giggled nervously. “Normally I’d have Spike here to clean up, but he had the day off. I wasn’t expecting a visitor, let alone the emissary from the Princess!”

Starbright chuckled.

“It’s quite alright,” he said. “And it’s Star, please.”

“Of course… Star. You want to see your room, right? It’s just upstairs, if you want to come up?”

Starbright glanced nervously at the mountain of saddlebags.

“Oh, don’t worry about them, I’ve got it,” she assured him.

Twilight focused her magic around them and floated them upstairs. Starbright’s relief was palpable. He followed her upstairs, leaving the now-cold tea on the table. He hadn’t drunk a drop.

***

Yes, I took the name Starbright. Awful, isn’t it? Needs must, and all that. I couldn’t risk any of them finding out my true identity, and I actually had permission from the princess for that particular falsehood. Oh, you thought I made that emissary spiel up? No, Celestia herself had ordered me to head to Ponyville. Not that I didn’t… guide her hoof a little. That bought me enough time.

As far as Twilight Sparkle was concerned, she was naïve, but powerful. Her magic was incredibly advanced, easily matching Luna and Celestia in terms of raw ability, a lack of experience being her only shortcoming. Alicorns are never anything to be taken lightly, and Twilight was no exception. I would have to tread carefully around her, but beginnings always are the most difficult.

***

Starbright awoke the following morning to a pair of green eyes staring into his own. The creature yelped in surprise and fell backwards, landing heavily and grunting in pain. Star rose, clearly alarmed.

“Are… Are you okay?”

The dragon (for that’s what it was) groaned from the floor.

“Owwww, I landed on my tail.”

“I can see that. Here.” Star held out his hoof, which the little dragon grabbed and used to hoist himself up. His tail was a little bent from the fall, and he rubbed it gently, wincing.

“Heh, sorry about that. I was just wondering what you were doing in my bed.”

“Oh, this is your bedroom? Twilight said I could stay here.”

“Well sure, I didn’t think you’d just crept in here in the night. That would be weird, dude.”

Starbright smiled in spite of himself. He found himself strangely liking the dragon.

“I’m Spike, Twilight’s assistant,” he told Star, puffing his chest out proudly. Unfortunately, the only effect was to make him look fairly ridiculous.

Starbright shook the proffered claw. “Starbright. Princess Celestia’s emissary.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Oh snap, that was today!? Why does no-one tell me ANYTHING? So you got here last night? Even with all that rain?”

“Sadly, I can’t just drop everything because it’s a bit wet outside.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” agreed Spike. “Anyway, you should come down. Twilight’s making breakfast.” The purple dragon seemed nervous.

“Is that bad?” asked Star.

“No, no. Well, kinda…”

***

In Twilight’s defence, the cereal wasn’t burned. Unfortunately, everything else was. Starbright contented himself with just the cereal. He also seemed entirely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere at the table. The silence stretched out, punctuated by muffled crunching whenever Spike bit into a particularly burned slice of toast. Twilight poked mournfully at what apparently used to be waffles, but were now little more than piles of ash. You couldn’t fault her enthusiasm for the grill, at least. She caught Star’s eye and grinned, embarrassed.

“Sorry about breakfast. Spike normally makes it, and he only just got back. Speaking of which, where were you last night?” Her tone suggested that she was a lot angrier at Spike than her innocent question implied. The dragon fidgeted in his seat.

“Oh. That. Well, I was at Derpy’s party, and Pinkie… kept getting me to drink more and more punch. You know how she is. It all got a bit hazy for a while, and then I woke up there this morning…”

Spike gave what he thought was a winning smile. It didn’t work, and Twilight glared at him. It was a glare that Starbright did not want to be on the receiving end of, and if Spike’s expression was any indicator, he wasn’t particularly comfortable with it either. Eager to change the subject, Spike turned to Star. “So, why’d the Princess send you out here? It doesn’t seem like there’s anything big happening at the moment.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” replied Starbright. “It’s heavily classified. All I can say that it is very important to the future of Ponyville, and Twilight is one of few ponies who can assist me.”

Twilight blushed at the compliment. “But… how exactly can I help you?” she asked.

“Everything in good time, I need to go back to my room and organise my things. Um… thank you for the… breakfast.” Starbright did try to make his thanks sincere, he really did.

***

Back in the privacy of his room, Star flipped open one of the smallest bags with his teeth. Inside was a set of intricately crafted bottles, filled with liquids of various colours and consistencies. Each had a small label affixed to the glass. On them were written things such as “Jealousy”, “Fear” and “Greed”. He sorted through them meticulously, then, unhappy with the results, snapped the bag shut again with a contemptuous snort.

Not yet, he thought. There’s still more to learn before I end up jumping the gun. I have time yet, better to pace myself.

Scanning the room for a place to hide them, Starbright’s eyes settled on the bed, and he brushed the bag beneath it. He smiled. This was going perfectly.

***

The day passed uneventfully. Star busied himself with various books, most concerning Tartarus, and a few about transitioning through planes of reality. Twilight thought it best not to ask. It was clear they were important to his task from the princess, but he had already told her all he could. It seemed the “help that only Twilight could provide” was simply a means to find the books he needed. Hardly exciting. What concerned her was that all of the titles he asked for were easily available at the castle’s vast library. Why did he need to come to Ponyville for them? The only possible conclusion was that something was going to happen in or near Ponyville itself, and Starbright needed to be close by when it did. Given the subject matter in question, that was not a reassuring thought.

Several times, Twilight caught him staring at her pensively instead of reading. Each time she did he would scowl and look away, as if she had somehow interrupted his train of thought. Perhaps she was more important than a simple book repository after all, but there was no way to tell if that was the case. In the meantime, she had her own studies to contend with: various writings on the more subtle points of magic use. Boring reading at the best of times, but with a companion studying the depths of hell on the other side of the room, it was nigh on impossible to concentrate.

The hours drew on. The sun burned its slow path across the sky, deepening from orange to red as the evening closed in. At some point Spike made them both lunch. Other than that brief interruption and the occasional request from Starbright, they worked in silence. Twilight didn’t mind. In fact, it was a nice change from her usual company. Especially Pinkie. As the sky darkened and the first stars began to appear, Starbright declared himself finished for the day. After a quick meal, courtesy of Spike once again, he retired to his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

***

Later that evening, Twilight was studying by candlelight. It seemed she did so more and more these days; perhaps part of that was because she had spent so much time away from her friends. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend to time with them (in fact quite the opposite), but she was a princess now. Everywhere she went she was sure to turn heads, and slowly but surely it had started to form a divide between them. Her wings fluttered restlessly. Yeah, flying was great, but truth be told, she hadn’t left the library in days. Seclusion was her only respite from the crowds of ponies bowing and paying their respects and a whole host of other inane things they did to try to appease her. She just wanted things back the way they were. Before the wings and everything that came with them. Sometimes (though she would never admit it) she hated Celestia for this. The princess had never told her what it would be like, had never offered her a choice. She had just stuck wings on her and decreed her to be “Princess Twilight Sparkle”, and in doing so, had left her horribly, utterly alone.

What was the point, she sometimes mused, on making her learn the meaning of friendship purely to tear it away when she had? Was it so she could appreciate what she had lost? That seemed unnecessarily cruel. Had Twilight done something wrong? Was her slow separation from her friends somehow her fault? Either way, her inability to sleep was almost certainly caused by those thoughts. She could avoid them during the day, but at night, in the dark and the quiet, they rolled ceaselessly through her mind, inescapable. So here she was, sitting at her desk for the countless night running, staring at the candlelit pages and still thinking rather than reading.

“It’s late.”

Twilight jumped. She hadn’t heard Star at all. The wooden floors were normally as creaky as physically possible, or so it seemed. How was he so quiet?

“Ah, yeah, I guess it is. Sorry, it’s just… Busy study schedule.”.

Starbright nodded sagely. “Of course. It must be difficult content if you haven’t even turned the page in the last half hour.”

It wasn’t, but she hadn’t been reading a word of it. She frowned as she took in what he’d just said. As she opened her mouth to ask, he interrupted her.

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand. I haven’t been here long. I just went to the kitchen to get a drink. When I came back you were still here, still on that page. What is it, may I ask?”

Twilight slammed the book shut and shunted it off her desk. “It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it!”

“Okay…” Starbright remained understandably doubtful. “Hey, try to get some sleep.” His eyes showed genuine concern.

“I will,” she assured him. “I have a little more to do first.”

Starbright nodded and started up the stairs. As he neared the top, Twilight called out to him.

“Starbright?”

“Hm?”

“I… Thanks.”

He nodded again, and headed back to his room, closing the door softly behind him. Sighing, Twilight stared at the candle flame, slowly burning down the wick. It was sputtering by the time Twilight finally blew it out and headed to bed.

***

The next day passed much the same as the first. Starbright absorbed himself in his work and Twilight tried to do the same, with little success. Each time she tried to focus, the letters in front of her swam together and became unreadable. What was wrong with her? She never had this difficulty before. Studying had gotten more difficult recently; knowing that this was all there was for her. Previously she had enjoyed it, now it seemed like a way to waste her time until the next day, when she would do it all again. And now here was Starbright, showing up out of nowhere and effortlessly falling into his work, as she used to. On the other hoof, there was something a little… off about him that Twilight couldn’t quite place.

Perhaps it was him staring off into space every now and then, or even at her occasionally. Perhaps it was that he was reading the same titles over and over. Perhaps it was the way he sometimes spent a good hour on the same page without looking away. Perhaps it was that she recognised all of those as things she herself had done in order to pretend she was studying, when in reality her thoughts were a thousand miles away.

All this was conducted in silence; intermittent page turns the only noise in the otherwise still library. At least until Starbright broke the quietness, a little after noon.

“When I arrived, Spike was at a party. You weren’t?”

“Huh?” The question took Twilight aback somewhat.

“I was just wondering why. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask.”

“No, it’s fine.” She searched for an acceptable answer. “I was… busy.”

Star said nothing.

“With my work,” Twilight finished, lamely.

“Is that all?” asked Star. “You were just busy?”

After a pause, Twilight continued. “Well… no. The thing is… I’m a princess now. I have responsibilities. Duties. I can’t just go out to parties whenever I feel like it anymore. It’s not… regal.” She spat out the last word, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.Twilight cast her eyes to the floor. “Not that they would have wanted me there anyway,” she added quietly.

Now it was Starbright’s turn to be surprised. “Why wouldn’t they want you there? Aren’t you their friend?”

“Well, yeah. I was, at least. Ponies treat you differently as a princess. It’s flattering, but also… difficult. They think more about me, about how I see them, my personal opinion of them. If I was there they’d be so worried about whether or not I was enjoying it that they wouldn’t be able to have a good time themselves.”

“You didn’t go because you were worried they wouldn’t enjoy having you there?”

“It’s not quite like that.”

“Then how is it?”

An awkward silence drew out between them, the afternoon sun shining on the dust motes floating lazily in the library air. Twilight shook herself and her expression hardened. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Aren’t you supposed to be busy anyway?”

Star realised he had gone too far. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Your affairs are your own.” He paused, lost in thought. “I’m just going to take a break.”

Twilight said nothing. She didn’t look round as he climbed the stairs.

***

Star’s mouth cracked into a malicious smirk the second the door shut behind him. It was so obvious, he had no idea how he hadn’t noticed it sooner. After her late night he’d decided to probe a bit, and it seemed his hunch had been spot on. He quickly locked the door and dragged the small saddlebag out from its hiding spot. Star dumped the contents onto his bedcovers and quickly began to sift through the bottles. It didn’t take too long to find the one he was looking for. He stuffed the remaining flasks back into the pack and pushed them under the bed. The bottle he’d selected was full of a dark red liquid, with the rough consistency of water. He placed it in an empty spot on his shelf, and began mumbling under his breath.
“….caution……mustn’t……..susceptible…….dragon…….get rid of……….”

There was one word on the small printed label affixed to the flask.

“Loneliness”

***

Spike didn’t trust Starbright. He did seem fairly dedicated to whatever assignment he had in Ponyville, spending virtually all his time in the library or his room. Then again, often his behaviour was more than a little worrying. Spike had noticed the surreptitious glances at Twilight, and the times he quietly stole away to his chambers. He’d listened at the door on one occasion, and had heard strange clinking sounds and muttering. Trying to open it surreptitiously, he discovered Star had locked it.

Whenever the earth pony had engaged him directly he had been nothing if not courteous, but sometimes there was an odd tightness to his voice, as if he was holding himself back for their benefit. Part of that probably came from being a higher-up in Canterlot society. In that sense, Star was well adjusted to the more casual tone used in Ponyville. Sometimes it seemed that there was more to it than that; a general disdain for whomever he happened to be talking to, be that Twilight or Spike. Twilight didn’t get out that much anymore, and as far as Spike knew she hadn’t told a single one of her friends that Starbright was even in town. He wasn’t quite sure why that worried him so much.

The more he thought about it, the odder the whole situation appeared. He had arrived in the middle of the night with no ceremony, despite obviously being thought of as very important by Celestia herself. His motive was unknown and he seemed perfectly content to sit in the library all day, accomplishing… well, just what, exactly? The books he chose all concerned Tartarus in some way, why was that important? Spike had studied the books himself a little after Star’s interest, but had no idea why it was relevant or significant to the Sun Princess. Tartarus had been kept well under control for thousands of years, and with the Cerberus guarding the entrance (from both intruders and potential escapees) there wasn’t any reason to suspect danger. Even if there had been, why Ponyville? Star had made it clear that the location was important, and yet after arriving he’d holed up in the library and had at one point directly refused an offer from Spike to tour the town.

Spike couldn’t help but shake the nagging suspicion that Twilight herself was heavily involved in all of this. She clearly had no idea (years of being her assistant meant Spike could read her like a book), but he couldn’t help remembering Star’s glances at her.

Perhaps he was overthinking it. Starbright was here on the order of Princess Celestia, that much was certain. Spike had received the letter himself, official seal and all.

To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

I’m writing to inform you of a visitor you will be receiving three days from now. He is on an important mission that I myself have given him, and I would ask you to offer him accommodation and full use of your library while he is in Ponyville.

His task must remain secret for now, but he may require your help. I request that you give him any aid he asks for.

I know I can count on you.

Princess Celestia

It was proof enough of Starbright’s reputation. Spike had even urged Twilight to write a letter to Celestia informing her of Star’s arrival. The princess’ reply had been curt and she’d sounded almost irritable, but hadn’t expressed any confusion or concern, so Spike decided that settled the matter. He was just jumping at shadows.

***

Pinkie Pie was having a good day. Most of her days were, but today was a super good day, because today she was going to see Twilight Sparkle. The pink pony hopped along, watching the birds soar across the sky. It had been too long, she thought. When had she last seen Twilight? She was definitely there at Applejack’s barn-raising last month, though come to think of it she had left pretty quickly. Pinkie’s smile faltered slightly. Had she seen Twilight since then? If she had done she couldn’t remember it, although she’d seen Spike at Sugarcube Corner pretty frequently.

In fact, Twilight hadn’t been at Derpy’s party the other night. That was strange, even for her, and none of Pinkie’s other friends had commented on her absence. That was super specially strange. Pinkie decided it didn’t matter. Twilight might be feeling a bit down, but that was exactly why she was going to cheer her up! The smell of freshly baked cupcakes wafted up from the basket she carried in her mouth, and Pinkie hummed happily.

Twilight didn’t open the door. Neither did Spike. Instead, Pinkie was greeted by a brown stallion she hadn’t seen before. “Can I help you?” he asked, cautiously.

“Mmmf! Mmmf mm fmmm mfff mmmmf!” Pinkie shouted at him, waving her forelegs manically.

Star’s eyes widened in alarm, and he glanced left and right, hoping he wasn’t alone with this clearly insane pony. “Um, is there any chance you could say that again? This time without the basket?”

Pinkie dropped it unceremoniously on the step, and began shouting excitedly at incredible pace. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, it’s someone NEW! This is so exciting! We’re going to have to have a welcoming party! And then another party after that because we can’t just have one party because some ponies might feel left out… Oh! We could have a party for every pony in Ponyville! Can you imagine!? There’d be so many parties, wouldn’t that be awesome?! And everyone would get a chance to feel special for a day, which would be great, and everyone would get their own da- Oh, but then some ponies might feel left out because it wasn’t their day, so we should have a party for everypony all on the same day, but then you wouldn’t get your welcome party, so maybe if we have a party for everypony else after that one, but then what about you, you might feel left out on that day and-“ Pinkie stopped abruptly, as if coming to a sudden realisation. “Wait, who are you again?”

Star looked at her blankly. He could have been quicker answering her question if he wasn’t trying to process that entire speech at once. Pinkie just smiled patiently. This was something she was very used to. Once his brain caught up, Star finally spoke. “Um, I’m Starbright. Pleased to meet you.”

The instant Star finished his sentence, Pinkie launched into another incomprehensible monologue.

“Starbright! That’s a great name, but then I think everyone’s name is great because it’s who they are, y’know, and it even matches your cutie mark, which is also great by the way, and OH WAIT! I haven’t even introduced myself yet! I’m Pinkie Pie, though you probably already know all about me if you’re staying with Twilight. How long have you been here for? I don’t remember seeing you around, so it must be fairly recently, though Twilight hasn’t left her house in FOREVER! That’s actually why I came round today; I guess she must be pretty upset for some reason, so I brought her some cupcakes, because everybody loves cupcakes, right? And then Twilight will be all cheered up and she’ll start spending time with everyone again!”

Starbright took a deep breath. Pinkie was certainly a… unique character. Her mane bobbed crazily in his face and her grin was so wide it seemed to break all known laws of physics and anatomy. Before he had a chance to compose himself, she spoke up again.

“So, what’re you doing in Ponyville?” Pinkie asked.

That took Star more by surprise than her previous outbursts. Going from those speeches to a single innocuous sentence was a massive leap. He decided he would have to tread carefully to not provoke another explosion of madness.

“I’m here on orders of Celestia. I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly why tho-“

“Oooooooh! Is it a surprise!? I love surprises!”

“Ah, yeah, sure. It’s a surprise,” Starbright said. Pinkie’s unrelenting enthusiasm had backed him into a corner.

“Fantastic! I can’t wait! Okay, coming in!”

Before Star could react, Pinkie lowered her head, clamped her teeth round the basket handle and charged forward, bowling him backwards into the library. So this is it, Star had time to think as the world spun in his vision. I’m going to die. The floor rushed up to meet him and he smashed heavily onto the solid wood.

***

Pinkie bounded into the library, paying no heed to the pony lying insensible on the floor. She dropped her basket onto the table, and then screamed at the top of her lungs.
“TWILIGHT? HELLOOOOOO?” There was no answer.

Pinkie scratched her head in confusion. She was sure Twilight would be here. Sudden realisation dawned. She must be up at her desk! That would explain why she sent Starbright to open the door! Not that she could ask Star if that was indeed the case; the poor stallion was still far beyond answering any questions. Or basic movement. She pranced up the wooden stairs and a familiar purple pony rose into view.

“Twiliiiiiiight!” Pinkie yelled again.
Twilight’s head suddenly darted up, as if realising for the first time that someone else was actually in the library. The fact that she hadn’t heard Pinkie originally was rather surprising, as most of Ponyville were currently cowering from what they assumed to be an apocalypse.

“Oh, Pinkie, it’s you,” Twilight said, sounding strangely distant.

“Well of course it’s me, silly! Who else could it be?” Pinkie smiled cheerily at Twilight, who for some reason couldn’t keep eye contact with her. She kept looking into the corners of the room, or out of the window above her desk.

“I guess no one could make an entrance as loudly as you did…” Twilight conceded, causing Pinkie to break into a bashful grin. “But I still don’t know why you’re here…”

“Oh that’s easy! I’m here to cheer you up!”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Cheer me up?”

“Well it’s obvious you’ve been down in the dumps lately, because you’ve been spending all your time in the library! So I said to myself, Pinkamena Diane Pie, what are you going to do about it? Because I mean, I can’t have one of my friends moping about all day and not getting anything done, so I-“

“Pinkie…” Twilight said, quietly.

“-and then I thought, well how long has it been? I mean, I definitely saw her at the barn-raising a while ago, but not for long, and she wasn’t at Derpy’s party at all, and that’s no fun whatsoever! So I decided that-“

“Pinkie.” Twilight said again, more firmly.

“-but then I realised I needed something more than just to turn up, so I started wondering what I could get you, and decided the best thing I could get you was CUPCAKES! Because I mean, well who doesn’t love cupcakes? CRAZY ponies, that’s who, so I got a load of cupcakes and put them in a basket, and then I met some weird pony in your library (who seemed nice, but he’s not very good at mid-air recoveries, you should get him to work on that) and then-“

“Pinkie!”

“-so afterwards we can go see everyone, and they can all stop worrying about you, and it can be like it was, right? So I brought you some cakes (they’re downstairs on the table by the way) and once we’ve eaten them-“

“PINKIE.” Twilight shouted, stopping Pinkie mid rant in surprise. She took a deep breath. “Look, I… I can’t talk to you right now.”

Pinkie’s face fell, hurt and confusion in her eyes. That didn’t make it easier for Twilight to say this to the one friend who still seemed to genuinely care about her, but she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t stand going with Pinkie Pie out to some party where everyone would stare at her; judging her with scorn in their hushed words. Where even the ponies she had considered her best friends would glare at her with jealousy and hate in their eyes. And how could she explain that to the fun-loving pony in front of her? Better just to turn her away, to let Pinkie hate her. It was probably for the best in the long run anyway. “There’s nothing for you here,” Twilight muttered.

“But Twilight…”

That was the last straw. Twilight exploded, weeks of self-loathing and crushing isolation bursting free. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want to talk to you! I don’t want to see you! I don’t want you here! No one asked you to come! Did any of my “friends” say this was a good idea? Did you even ask them? No, of course you didn’t. Because you know they would have told you not to.” The bitterness in Twilight’s voice surprised even her. She felt drained. Empty. “Just go,” she told Pinkie quietly.

“But…”

“Go!” Twilight turned back to her desk. Her legs were shaking and she’d gritted her teeth. She forced herself not to look as she heard Pinkie slowly trudging back down the stairs. Promised herself not to cry as she heard a few muted words between Star and Pinkie, and then the sound of the library’s front door as Starbright closed it behind her. In the oppressive silence that followed, she broke that promise.

***

The minutes ticked by. Twilight replayed it over and over in her head, working out what she could have said, what she could have done differently. Nothing seemed right. She couldn’t see any way to avoid irreversibly hurting Pinkie in the way she did. Again, she cursed the day she was given these damn wings. A soft thump to her right broke her out of her thoughts.

“Hey.” Starbright sat down next to her after depositing the basket on her desk. He didn’t say anything else, waiting for her to talk of her own accord. The silence stretched out, until Twilight could bear it no longer.

“I shouldn’t have said it,” she told him.

“What exactly did you say?” asked Star.

“That I didn’t want her here. That I didn’t want to see her, or talk to her. I don’t even know why I said it; I was lying. I just… Ever since I became a princess, it’s been getting worse and worse. My friends don’t feel like my friends anymore. They whisper behind my back, thinking I can’t hear them, or that I can’t see them. I tried to ignore it at first, thinking- pretending it would all get better in time. Now I can see I was being stupid. Maybe all this is my fault.”

“Did you ask for those wings on your back?” Star asked.

“Of course not, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy when I got them. Celestia never told me it was going to be like this.”

“Then there is no one to blame but Celestia. You didn’t ask for those wings. You didn’t ask your friends to treat you differently.”

Twilight shook her head. “Except, to begin with, I… I liked it. I liked being treated as royalty, and having ponies showering me with compliments. It made me feel… powerful, like I was better than them. And that’s why I am where I am. I let them treat me like that, and now I can’t stop it.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why did Pinkie come here if not to show you she still wants to be your friend? She even brought these cupcakes, which happen to taste fantastic by the way, I tried one downstairs.” Starbright took one of the cakes from the basket and proffered it to her.

“Yeah, because right now I really feel like eating,” Twilight snorted derisively.

“Trust me, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

And trust Starbright she did, taking the cake and biting a large portion of it. In the end it was that trust that would be her undoing. Perhaps if she had seen Star secretly applying the blood-red potion to it before bringing them to her, she would have been more hesitant. Maybe if she had known Star had asked Spike to go after Pinkie, leaving them alone in the library, she may have had second thoughts. As it was, she ate it readily.

As she bit into the cake, the events of the past few days ran through her mind. Starbright’s arrival, Spike’s clear distrust, the late night talks, the quiet studying, Pinkie’s visit. The overwhelming sense of aloneness resonated in her thoughts. Everyone was against her. There wasn’t a single pony that would care if she was gone. Maybe she should just pack up her things and leave? Nopony would miss her.

Except one. The one pony that had stuck by her side through all this. The one that had never doubted her, never questioned her, never treated her any differently because of a mock title and crappy wings. Even now, despite her outburst, he was here with her, taking her side. Believing in her. She turned to Starbright and met his brown eyes. There was no pity in them, unlike so many of the others. No anger, no jealousy. For the first time in months, Twilight had found someone that didn’t make her feel even more alone. Suddenly, impulsively, wonderfully, she took hold of his head in her hooves and kissed him. Star tensed at first, taken by surprise, and then slowly relaxed into her embrace.

***

The thing about ponies… well, the most pertinent thing about ponies, is how easy they are to manipulate. There was no way my plan would have worked without that fact. Emotions are the key. They are nothing but weakness, and yet ponies hold them in such high-esteem. They care about what they feel, to the extent where a princess, one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, can spend months holed up in a musty library.

The potion, as you may have guessed, was an amplifier, nothing more. It simply increases the extent a pony feels a particular emotion. In terms of its usefulness, I had to find the right weakness to exploit. You see, when anyone feels a negative emotion strongly enough, they reach out to whoever is there for them. Admittedly, I was lucky that Twilight Sparkle’s particular weakness was loneliness. Something like that is the easiest to corrupt. I was the centre of her entire world for those few days; her “knight in shining armour”.

The truth was that I had her wrapped around my foreleg, and the poor girl didn’t even know it.

***

Twilight fell backwards onto the bed, dragging Star with her, and pulling him in for another kiss. Star broke it and began moving down her body, kissing her all over, his warm breath tickling her fur and making her shiver in anticipation. Lower and lower he moved; kissing, licking, lightly nipping her skin. Twilight’s wings fanned out beneath her in excitement, and Star rubbed a hoof along one, forcing her to stifle a moan. Whether or not she wanted them, they were very sensitive.

Star had reached her hips, and began to move down one of her hind legs, avoiding the wetness that she so wished he would tend to. He reached her hoof, grazing it briefly with his lips, before roaming back up her leg towards her aching need. Twilight was lost to sensation, only feeling his warm mouth upon her, his breath on her skin. Starbright reached her hips again, and crossed over to the other leg. As he moved across, his hot breath passed over her lower lips for the shortest moment, eliciting a small squeak. Down her other leg he moved, all the way down to the hoof and back up to the waist. This was it, Twilight realised. There was nowhere left for him to go. Star reached her midriff and paused, drawing out his teasing for just a little longer, then his head darted forward and his tongue pressed against her.

It was enough for Twilight. She was done with teasing, she needed him now. Hooking her back legs around his neck, she pulled Star towards her. Star obliged her, pushing his tongue past her folds and caressing her sensitive insides. Twilight squirmed under this new assault. He seemed to reach everywhere; his muzzle was pushed against her, filling him with her scent. Every time Star exhaled, warm air brushed against her, exciting her further.

Twilight bucked her hips, desperate for his tongue to reach ever deeper. Instead, Starbright pulled back, and gently licked her clit. Her moans grew louder, close to her limit. She opened her eyes to see Star watching her attentively, playing on her reactions. All too quickly, Twilight climaxed: tensing and tightening her legs around Star’s neck. Her world vanished, replaced by waves of intense pleasure. Starbright gently continued as she rode out her orgasm, drawing it out even longer.

As Twilight shakily recovered, she found Star waiting, patient kindness in his eyes.

“Okay…hah...now it’s your turn,” she told him, breathlessly.

Star just had time to raise an eyebrow before her magic lifted him from the floor and held him in mid-air, his underside facing her with his hardness fully visible. “Twilight, what are you…?” his voice trailed off as she grinned mischievously.

“Just wait and see.”

Her magic had completely enveloped Star, holding him in place to the point where he couldn’t move his limbs. Twilight giggled as he struggled fruitlessly, her horn glowing in the dark bedroom. She scrunched her face up in concentration, and another layer of magic surrounded her horn. Star’s worry rapidly evaporated as he felt sudden warmth around his member, where Twilight had enveloped him in her spell. She looked up at his face with an innocent expression, as tendrils of magic began to stroke up his length, coiling around him.

Star swallowed as her magic began to stroke him. The tendril coiled around his shaft began rhythmically pumping while another flicked around the tip, squeezing out a drop of precum. Starbright tried to move, to push his cock further into her magic’s embrace, but she held him fast, leaving him able to do nothing but endure her teasing motions. Payback, he supposed, for his own teasing earlier. Twilight’s hoof dropped between her legs and began gently stroking herself, avoiding too much pressure after her earlier orgasm.

Star was not privy to the same luxury, her magic tightening around him, moving ever more quickly and roughly. He let out a harsh gasp from the treatment. Emboldened by his obvious enjoyment, Twilight stepped lightly off the bed and floated him down until his cock was in front of her. Held spread-eagled as he was, Star could do nothing but watch as she eyed his stallionhood. Now it was her hot breath on him, her in control, her teasing him. Grinning, Twilight pressed a hoof against his member, slowly rubbing him. Her horn glowed bright as ever while her magic continued its relentless assault. Star groaned low in his throat as she stroked him. She leaned forward and kissed the base of his cock, then slowly licked her way up to the tip, taking his head into her mouth and tasting him, salty on her tongue. Star whimpered, close now.

Releasing him from her mouth, Twilight turned and flicked her tail away from her rear, displaying herself to him. “Let it out,” she whispered over her shoulder. Her magic redoubled its efforts, frantically milking his cock, alternating between squeezing and relaxing. Coupled with Twilight baring herself before him, Star could take it no longer. With an animalistic roar, he came, sticky ropes blasting over Twilight’s back and wings. White rivulets ran between her feathers as Star slumped in her magical grip. His breathing came in shallow pants.

Twilight lowered him onto the bed and examined the mess on her back. With a quick spell she cleaned herself, and then turned to the exhausted stallion lying on her covers.

“Are you ready?” she asked him.

“Forgive me… I think… I think I might need a… minute…” Star replied between breaths.

Twilight chuckled. “You sure?” she queried, as magic enveloped her horn yet again. Star’s breathing calmed. His softening member hardened once more as the previously spent pony in front of her rapidly returned to a full-blooded stallion. Starbright stared at her incredulously.

“That was… amazing.”

Twilight smiled at the praise.

“Maybe, but it wasn’t just for you,” she told him, pointedly.

She lay down on the bed next to him, taking his face in her hooves and kissing him firmly. Star took the hint and rolled on top of her, taking control again. Twilight could feel his hardness pressing against her stomach, rubbing her wet slit. Aligning himself with her entrance, Star quickly checked Twilight’s face to see if she was ready. In response, she pushed her hips forward, driving him inside of her. Both of them gasped at the newfound sensation. With a roguish grin, Star began to slowly push further into her. Twilight bit her lip and ground her hoof against the bed sheets. Star was finally entirely inside her, leaving her feeling wonderfully full. He began to thrust, slowly at first, her tight inner walls clenching around him. Both ponies were breathing heavily, lost in the moment.

“Faster,” Twilight whispered.

Star responded by driving deeply into her, making her gasp at the sudden change in pace. He reached over and caressed her sensitive wings. She shivered as his hooves ran over them, stroking to the rhythm of his thrusts. They stuck out beneath her, fully extended, and yet still they strained against his gentle touch. Starbright grunted. Her wet tunnel hugged his member tightly, and he began to buck his hips harder and faster, pounding into her. Twilight’s moans spurred him onwards, bringing them both close to the edge. With a loud groan, Twilight orgasmed for the second time, clamping down on him, urging him to finish. It was too much for Starbright. A final thrust, as deep as possible, and he came inside her, his warmth filling her completely. She pulled him in for another kiss.

“Okay…” he panted. “This time… I really am… finished…”

Twilight merely smiled, as her horn began to glow…

***

Star collapsed on top of Twilight, breathing heavily. She sighed happily and hugged him against her. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, she thought to herself. Finally she had found someone she could talk to, that she could spend time with, that could stop her feeling so alone. She opened her eyes to look at the pony that had saved her, and froze in horror. Where Starbright’s kindly brown eyes should have been were depthless dark voids. Black mist swirled in their emptiness, dissipating on contact with the air, and a nightmarish red glow emanated from the middle of his eye sockets where his pupils should have been.

Twilight wanted to scream, wanted to run, to struggle out of his grasp and escape, but she couldn’t. Even her magic seemed to be beyond her. Fear had sunk its cold talons into her, and she could do nothing but watch. The thing masquerading as Starbright spoke in a voice dry as paper. It seemed as if multiple voices were talking at once, echoing its words in quiet whispers.
“Twilight Sparkle, you are mine,” the thing said. It spoke flatly. There was no triumph in its voice, no joy in it’s words; it was simply stating the objective truth. Twilight couldn’t blink, couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. It spoke again, and a cold chill ran down her spine.
“As you have given your body to me, so give me your mind. Your soul.”

Twilight felt a sudden and unbearable sense of defeat. It was as if something was being wrenched from her body, torn from her very core. Darkness clouded the edges of her vision, and with a final sigh, the purple alicorn collapsed heavily onto the bed, unconscious.

Starbright smiled. The lights in his eye sockets briefly glowed bright purple before fading back into angry red. As Twilight slumped against him, he shut his eyes and shuddered violently. When he opened them again they had reverted back to his normal brown irises. Starbright hopped off the bed, tucked the cover over the inert princess, and headed for the door. He gave a final look into the room, his form briefly silhouetted against the candlelight in the hall. Star grinned happily, and then blew out the candle. His hoofsteps sounded down the hallway until he reached his own bedroom. Silence fell.

***

On the ground floor of the library was a display case. Inside, resting on silk, were five necklaces, each embedded with a different shaped jewel. In pride of place above the necklaces sat an ornately decorated crown, adorned with a huge pink crystal carved into the shape of a star. The same star, in fact, that rested on Twilight Sparkle’s flanks. As Starbright’s door shut quietly upstairs, the jewel began to darken around the edges. The corruption seeped through the gem, draining all colour from it. As the final dregs of hue blackened, the gem cracked through the middle with a loud snap, splitting in half. The element of magic had fallen.

***

And so the stage was set, and my plan was underway. It goes without saying that recruiting just one of the bearers of the elements of harmony would not be enough. If any of them remained uncorrupted, they could bring everything crashing down around me.

With Twilight’s fall, there were five remaining bearers. I would have to work quickly in order to avoid arousing Celestia’s suspicion. There was still much left to do, but I ended that night in high spirits. I had proved that my plan would work, provided I could execute it in time. Either way, I could tell that this was going to be fun.