The Darkness in the Stars

Chapter 1

My name is Scarlet Ink, and I'm a reporter for Equestria Daily. Just over a week ago, I was assigned to write an article on the infamous pony known as Darkstar, who you all know as the colt that nearly destroyed Ponyville in a psychotic rage. I only thought of it as a way for our company to sell more newspapers, but what I discovered may have changed my views on life forever. This is my story, the story of an innocent colt corrupted by his own memories. Memories I wish I had never discovered.

I couldn't believe it! My first assignment after being promoted was to do an article on Darkstar. Just a couple of months ago, nopony had even heard of the name. It wasn't until just over a week ago that he started making the front page of every major newspaper in Equestria.

I still remember the day it happened. I was working late in the office again, finishing up my article that would eventually get me promoted. Out of habit, I would gaze out the window and immerse myself into Equestria's beautiful landscape. It was quite a view from Canterlot, especially at night.

Instead of seeing a peaceful evening however, I found myself witnessing the fires that destroyed seven homes in Ponyville. The blaze emitted a powerful, orange light into the sky, accompanied by a tower of black smoke that was just barely visible. Even though Ponyville was quite a distance from Canterlot, it stood out like an orange among apples in the darkness.

The office was packed with my co-workers an hour later. We had never sold so many newspapers before in the company's history. We found out later that a colt by the name of Darkstar had been arrested and was already locked away in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle.

I'll admit it, I was shocked. I would have expected a dragon or some monster to cause the fires, but an Equestrian? Why would one of our own do such a horrible thing? Well, it was my job to find out. This was going to be the biggest article of my career and I had only been just promoted.

I started out by attempting to gather personal information about Darkstar. It was extremely difficult considering he had no personal information. I checked with the castle's records and it shows no evidence of a Darkstar being born in Equestria. My theory was is that he wasn't delivered in a hospital and his birth parents never had him registered, but I couldn't know for sure.

My only other option now was to interview the ponies who have had direct contact with him before the incident. I spent hours going through our archives if anything related would turn up. When I was about to give up, I finally found something.

To my surprise, it was an article that I wrote! I had completely forgotten about it! The story is dated about six months ago, just after I got my job for the paper.

The Apple family of Sweet Apple Acres had quite the scare last week when a pegasus colt crash landed through their barn roof, at around noon. The owner of the farm, Applejack, quickly rushed the colt to the Ponyville hospital where he received emergency treatment. The pegasus awoke the next day, unable to remember who he was. The colt had no identification on him, and no records of him could be found. If anypony has any information of the colt pictured below, contact -

I ignored the rest of my article and looked down at the picture. It was Darkstar, sleeping in a hospital bed peacefully. His appearance was rather odd. Not many ponies have fur that's as black as night, and his mane was a rather unique style. Not only was it blood red, it was spiked back past his ears. I compared it to a more recent photo of him from the trial, and his eyes shared the same shade of red. His photo from the trial also revealed his cutie mark, and a rather odd one indeed. You couldn't tell at all what his special talent was. What was normally a simple mark to identify your talent, Darkstar had strange symbols circling around a star. It's probably connected to his name somehow.

The only difference between the photos was his facial expression. In the newspaper article, he was sound asleep in a coma, resting like a little foal. In the other photo however, his eyes were lacking emotion. It was as if every feeling had been sucked out of his soul, leaving an empty vessel behind.

According to the article, Applejack was the first pony to make contact with him. Not wanting to waste time, I grabbed my travel bag and set off towards the train station. In case of article emergencies, I always kept a pre-packed bag in my office and at home on the rare occasion I had to travel somewhere. I felt relief that I wouldn't be too far from home, but I was also afraid to go to Ponyville. The village was still trying to recover from the inferno.

I almost cried when I arrived. The burnt wreckage of homes remained, becoming the center of attention for tourists and other media outlets. I noticed that Royal Guards were inspecting the wreckage, a vain attempt to find anything related to Darkstar. As I trotted past a burnt home, I saw a unicorn filly crying and hugging her parents.

"I still can't believe it's gone!" the filly whined. "Everything is gone!"

"It's gonna be okay Sweetiebelle, we're going to get a new home." her father replied, trying to cheer her up.

"No! I don't want a new home, I want OUR home!" she screamed, digging her face into her mother's belly.

I had to force myself to keep moving. Not only was the emotional trauma getting to me, but the overall scent of the wreckage made me want to vomit. Walking through that town was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I felt a little more at ease when I reached Sweet Apple Acres. Orchards of apple trees spanned for miles! The whole setup was way bigger than I imagined! My only knowledge of the farm was how great the cider was.

Despite how much I wanted it, I wasn't here for the famous cider. I slowly approached the front door of the farmhouse, and gave three gentle knocks with my hoof. A couple seconds later, I was greeted by a small filly with a big bowtie in her mane, but a huge frown on her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, in a rather deep southern accent.

"Uh, hi. I'm Scarlet Ink, a reporter for Equestria Daily. I understand that there's a pony by the name of Applejack here?"

"Oh, that's my big sister." the filly replied, quite dully. "Applejack, some reporter is at the door!"

I wish she hadn't of said 'reporter'. Most ponies aren't to keen on being interviewed, and I didn't have high hopes considering the gravity of the situation. Too my surprise, the farmer came to greet me.

"Thank you Applebloom, you can go back inside now." she stated, her little sister following the command without argue. Applejack turned towards me, a stern expression on her face.

"Look, I know the fires have been a mighty big issue an' all, but we're all sick an' tired of all the attention. Now unless you have anything to ask of more importance, I'm gonna have to ask you to kindly leave our property." the mare put it.

"Actually, I'm not here about the fires. I'm more interested about the pony that caused them." I replied. It seemed to grab her attention, considering how her eyes widened.

"You mean him?" said Applejack.

"Yes, Darkstar. You were one of the first ponies to meet him. Nopony seems to know anything about him, and I was hoping you could provide some information about him."

Applejack didn't seem to pleased. Her blank expression turned into one of anger, and she stepped outside to confront me.

"Now look here. This town has gone through a major crisis here because of that psycho, and talking about him ain't gonna make this any easier! Now please leave!"

Any other pony would have been halfway to Manehatten by now, but I was a reporter. It was my job to be persistent.

"Now you listen to me!" I yelled. "I'm not to pleased about what's happened here either, but everypony needs to know what made him snap! If there's anything you know that might help the ponies of this town and possibly Darkstar, I need to know! Equestria needs to know!"

Applejack was taken back by surprise. I was quite surprised myself, I normally never get that angry when trying to pursue a story.

"Sigh... do you really want to know about him?" she asked me, her anger turning into sadness.

"Please." I replied. "We'll be able to understand him better if we knew who he was."

Applejack remained silent for a while, the only sounds being of sorrow from the nearby town. Applejack stared off in the distance, a tear slowly traveling down her fur.

"All right, I'll tell you everything I know." she said as she sat down in an old rocking chair. "I first met him around six months ago, after he crash landed in our barn."

A loud crash and the sounds of falling debris startled the two earth ponies. A couple pieces of wood were hanging from the ceiling, accompanied by a gaping hole that let the sunshine in.

"What in tarnation was that?" shouted Applejack, startled.

"I think something fell from the sky sis!" Applebloom replied.

Applejack slowly approached just under where the hole was. She stepped back though, when a broken plank dropped from the ceiling. It fell out of sight behind a pile of hay, where it made contact with the ground.

"Ack..." a voice let out in pain.

The farmer pony studied the ceiling, watching for any more debris. When she was sure it was safe, Applejack passed the pile of hay to see what had destroyed a part of her property.

A pegasus colt was laying on the ground, eyes just barely open. Streams of blood were flowing out of his mane and making a small puddle on the floor.

"Oh sweet Celestia, he looks pretty bad!" Applejack screamed. "Applebloom, go get Big Macintosh! We have an injured pony here!"

"So, he just crashed? Out of nowhere?" I asked.

"Yeah. Didn't think there would be enough force to break through that metal ceiling, but Big Mac was fixing a leak in the roof earlier. He was lucky to have hit that soft spot." Applejack answered.

"And then you took him to the hospital?"

"Brought him over there pretty quick. Doctors said that if we arrived any later, he would have died. Considering what's happened in the past few days, we should have been late." she stated, looking towards the town again.

"...So what happened after?"

"After what?" Applejack quickly turned towards me.

"What happened after you brought him into the hospital?"

"Well, the colt didn't have any identification on him. Considering he was in a coma, the doctors had no luck finding out who he was. They even sent out a picture of him in every major newspaper so that somepony would claim him, but they got no replies."

"I understand that when he did woke up, he was suffering from amnesia."

"Yeah, unfortunately. Didn't even know his own name. I was in his room leaving a get well card when he woke up. Went completely nuts."

Applejack trotted into the colt's hospital room, where he was still asleep in the bed. The beeping from the nearby machine made sure that his heart was still going. Inside the mare's mouth, was a pink card with black text.

Get Well Soon

It had been just over twenty-four hours now since he was admitted to the hospital. Even after sending his picture out into the paper, nopony was coming for him. Applejack felt that it was her duty to be with him, since he had no one else.

As she was leaving the card on the end table, movement caught her eye. The pegasus colt squirmed around a bit, slowly opening his eyes. Applejack placed her forelegs onto the bed, observing him from above. The injured pony blinked a couple times, attempting to adjust his vision.

"Hey, you all right stranger?" Applejack asked slowly.

"Ugh... where... am I?" the colt replied just as slow.

"You're in a hospital, you've been in an accident."

"Hospital?"

The stallion's vision finally cleared, catching sight of the orange earth pony in front of him. She was much closer than the stallion found comfortable, and he started to freak out.

"This isn't right..." he said, eyes widening in fear. "It doesn't feel right!"

He lifted his forelegs into the air, only to stare at them in shock. His breathing picked up as he studied his hooves, as if he was looking at a ghost. His wings suddenly shot out behind him, knocking themselves into some medical equipment. The stallion twisted his head around to see what was moving in his back.

"What... what is this?!" he shouted. "What the hell is this?"

"It's okay, calm down!" Applejack replied. "Just lay down and relax, I'm going to get a doctor!"

"I have to get out of here!"

The beeping on the heart monitor slightly increased. The stallion frantically began to twist around on the bed, trying to free his body from the blankets.

"Hey! I need a doctor in here!" Applejack yelled.

The colt collapsed onto the ground, bringing the blankets down with him. The IV ripped out of his foreleg, sending small drops of blood onto the floor. Two nurses quickly rushed into the room, attempting to get the pegasus back in his bed.

"Sir, we need you to relax!" the first nurse stated.

"Get away from me!" the colt screamed, thrashing his legs about.

"He won't listen! We need to stabilize him!" the second nurse stated.

The first nurse levitated a needle over with her magic. In a quick second, she injected the anesthetic into the panicked pegasus. Within a few seconds, the colt began to relax before drifting back into sleep.

"Do you have any idea why he had such a massive panic attack?" I interrupted.

"My first thought was that waking up in hospital with no memory might have scared him pretty bad." Applejack replied. "But it was rather strange, the way he looked at himself. It was like he didn't know what he was. We just assumed it was because he hit his head really hard."

"So what happened after he was put out?"

"The nurses got me out of there, so I didn't see what they did afterwords. Probably to get his IV back in and see if ripping it out caused any damage. I was pretty freaked out afterwords, so I went home."

"When did he wake up again? Do you know if he had another panic attack?"

"Don't know, I wasn't there myself. They said he woke up in the dead of night. No visitors were allowed in case he hurt somepony having another panic attack. I went back the next day after learning he had woken up. The doctors were able to calm him down to the point where he was allowed visitors again."

"So you talked to him?" I asked with interest.

"I sure did. He was awful strange though..."

Applejack peeked her head in through door, making sure she wouldn't startle the stallion. She smiled when she saw he was reading her get well card.

"Although he looks fine now, he's pretty upset about his amnesia. Try to avoid the subject, if you can." the doctor stated.

"Sure thing doc."

The colt looked up as the orange mare entered his room. He dropped the card, using his forelegs to gently push himself backwards. Applejack picked up the card for him and placed it upright on the table.

"You're Applejack, right?" he asked.

"The one and only!"

The stallion lowered his head. "Uh, sorry for uh, freaking out the other day. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No need to apologize, I would of done the same thing in your situation!"

"My, situation?" the pony replied with a frown.

Applejack realized what she had said, and awkwardly tried to fix it. "Oh, er, I meant uh... So have they been treatin' you good? The doctors?"

"...Yeah, I guess."

The two of them didn't say anything, leaving an awkward silence in the air. They remained like this for about five minutes, until the stallion spoke again.

"They said I crashed straight down into your barn. It was you who brought me here."

"Well, me an' my big brother. Can't lift a full-grown pony by myself, can I?" Applejack replied with a chuckle.

"I mean, thanks. For helping me." the colt said with a smile.

"Well, I sure wouldn't have let a fellow pony suffer after such a nasty- I mean, after such a, uh, intolerable displeasure." Applejack added, trying not to offend the stallion.

"Don't bother trying to cover it up, I know what happened to me. It's just a little hard to take in right now..."

Applejack sighed. "I'm mighty sorry this had to happen to you. I can't imagine how you feel right now."

"It's not so much my memory loss that bothers me as it is that no one has come for me yet." he stated, his eyes starting to water. "The doctors said they put my picture in the paper. Do I not have any family or friends that want me?"

"Hey, now don't go talkin' like that!" blurted Applejack. "Everypony has family and friends. I'm sure they either haven't seen the papers yet or they're just on their way here now. Just give it some time."

"... You'll be my friend, won't you Applejack?" the pegasus asked, staring at her with teary eyes. "I don't want to be alone..."

Applejack smiled. "Of course I'll be your friend! Everypony needs a friend!" She gave him a playful noogie on the head."

"Ow!" the stallion winced, with a small laugh. "It still hurts."

"Oh, sorry!"

"It's fine, the doctors gave me something and it doesn't hurt as much." he replied, rubbing his head gently. "So, if your name is Applejack, then what's my name?"

The earth pony thought for a second. "Hmm, I really wish I did know your name sugar cube. Awful shame you can't remember it though... but..."

"But?"

"But... you could make up your own name! For some reason they can't find you're birth certificate, so you could probably go by a temporary name until your memory recovers."

"My own name eh?" he smiled. "What would make a good name?"

"You'll have to come up with something yourself." Applejack chuckled.

"Well, I noticed your cutie mark has apples on it, and your name is Applejack. My cutie mark is... well... a star surrounded by symbols."

"So what? Symbol Star? Sounds kind of weird to me!" Applejack burst out laughing.

"No, I don't want 'symbol' in my name. I just like the star part."

"Well, some ponies are named after the color of their coat. You could be Black Star, or Night Star, or-"

"Or Darkstar."

"Darkstar. Sounds a little creepy, but it suits you!"

"Darkstar..." the pegasus repeated to himself. "Yes, that will be my name. Darkstar."

"Sweet Celestia, to think I helped give that psycho a name!" Applejack complained as I wrote down these details in my notebook.

"You didn't know about future events, so don't blame yourself." I replied, attempting to make her feel better.

"That is true..." said Applejack. "I just wish things didn't have to turn out like this."

"You and me both. What happened after all this?"

Applejack remained silent for a while, trying to get the courage to speak again. Tears began to fall from her fur as she thought about everything that happened.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about this anymore. I hope I was helpful enough." Applejack stated before running back inside.

"Wait! I still don't have enough information!" I yelled back at her, but she was already gone.

Horseapples! What I had wasn't helpful. All I knew was how he appeared and how he got his name. I had gotten pretty lucky with Applejack, but I wasn't sure how other ponies would react to being interviewed. Especially if it's about Darkstar.

Yet, it was my job. Have to make a living somehow. I turned around and set hoof back to Ponyville, but I was stopped by a somewhat familiar voice.

"I overheard you talking to my sister about Darkstar."

Applebloom looked at me with the same frown she wore when she opened the door. I was surprised to see her, I didn't think a little filly would be able to handle knowing what led to such a disaster, in her home town no less.

"Darkstar stayed with us after they released him from the hospital. I can tell you more if you like."