Staining stars

So I'm kinda nervous and also excited.  First is the dusting. Here's my awesome husband who did a lot of the sanding, probably more than me.

 Then comes the pre-stain wood conditioner...

Next the stain....

Ok so it looks like years ago, something got spilled down the steps which made the wood softer in those areas, so it really sucked up the stain.  This could not be foreseen, there was no indication of any kind of marks at all before the we applied the stain.

What to do, what to do??!!&#*😳 After we recovered from the panic induced freak out.  Hubby called his wonderful brother, doer, and builder, fixer of many things.  His suggestion use tiny bits of steal wool on dark spots then touch up lightly with stain...... The result......

Spots be gone....it's a little dark now but should lighten as it dries....will cured pictures in a few days.