I figured I should introduce my cast so I don’t have to explain things later on.
 
Quick Summary of my Dark Star AU:
 
This takes place in one of the alternate timelines introduced in The Cutie Remark, namely the Crystal War Timeline. In this timeline, Equestria is at war with the Crystal Empire, which is ruled by King Sombra. In the timeline, Twilight was taken in by Sombra and became his right hand mare, fighting by his side and ruling beside him. It was due to her knowledge of Canterlot that their initial invasion inflicted so much damage. In this timeline, Queen Chrysalis is dead and her changelings are hunted down by Equestrian’s ruthlessly, especially after it was discovered that they fled to the Crystal Empire. They are now considered enemies of the country and are to be killed on sight.
 
Now to introduce the royalty, cause war has changed them quite a bit.
 
Empress Celestia: After the invasion of Canterlot, Celestia attempted to make peace with the Empire by going to meet with Sombra. She was nearly killed in the ensuing battle. It was only due to the efforts of her sister, Nightmare Moon, that she survived, though she was told that she would only die by her hoof. Since then, Celestia has gotten a lot more cautious, ready at every moment for something to go wrong. She no longer leads her army herself, since the country still needs to be run, so her knowledge on the war is always second or third hand.
 
General Nightmare Moon: After being released from her thousand year imprisonment, NMM was shocked to find her sister waiting for her, seeking to make peace. She refused, proclaiming herself the sole ruler and fighting Celestia. Celestia tried to plead with her, since the war had only just started and she needed more allies to fight off Sombra. NMM claimed she could end the war herself and flew to do just that. She was able to injure Sombra but was ultimately driven back by Twilight, who was much stronger than NMM anticipated. After being brought home, she and Celestia made a deal. They would work together (since the night guard only listened to NMM/Luna) until the war ended and only after that, would they finish things between them. NMM now leads the army as well as her elite night guard who watch over their essential cities.
 
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza: As a means to instill peace of mind and moral to the troops, a political wedding was set up between the then Captain of the Canterlot guard and the newly ascended Princess of Love. Things were great except, the real Cadence was not present. Queen Chrysalis successfully infiltrated Canterlot and had resided there for over a year, fooling everypony since the war was more pressing than a few personality changes. Meanwhile, the real Cadence was trapped in the catacombs, being feasted on by changelings and tormented with the dwindling hope that someone, anyone, would save her. When Sombra and Twilight were sneaking into Canterlot, they ended up accidentally releasing Cadence, who quickly and ruthlessly avenged herself by killing Chrysalis while the queen was distracted. It was then that she ended up meeting her apparent husband, Shining Armor, whom she had never met before. She now acts as one of the chief strategists and is thoroughly distrustful of… everyone. She hates being touched, approached and is generally pretty dour despite being the embodiment of love.
 
Captain Shining Armor: Shining was generally the same kind of guy, though the conflicts occurring around him made him a lot more serious than before. He had lives to watch over so he couldn’t be too soft. Still, he’d smile and joke with his men when he could and keep them amused by telling them about beautiful wife and soon to be born child. Even with the random murders occurring an the strange instances of a pony breaking into the castle, Shining let himself be happy with his wife, Cadence, even though she wasn’t always the kind mare he’d fallen for. Then he discovered the truth, just as Sombra’s forces were attacking Canterlot. Chrysalis had disguised herself as Cadence, from beginning to end, to feed off of Equestria’s Love. Weak from her mind control, Chrysalis decided to just kill him, since she could hypnotize a pony conscious of it. As she was draining him of his love, the real Cadence showed up, stabbing the queen in the back and killing her. Shining was left alive but with all the love in heart gone. He was left with a heart shaped burn in his chest and a cold heart. He leads a special unit of guards tasked with hunting down and killing any leftover changelings.
 
Note: Cadence and Shining are still considered married despite not really knowing each other and the fact that neither really even likes the other. For the sake of public order, the canterlot wedding incident was covered up and the changeling purges were blamed on the changelings implied allegiance to the Empire, which later turned out to be true.