//------------------------------// // Dawn's Early Light // Story: In Her Name // by IpreferpI //------------------------------// The dark of night was always the worst time. What should be a calm rest from the labors of the day and a respite from the duties of life seemed, to Dusk Shine at least, to be full of nothing but the promises of shades, wraiths, and other unspeakable horrors. As he tossed and turned, he reflected upon how far he had come so far, and how far yet to go he had. Minister Dusk Shine, Duke of Canterlot, Mage-Apprentice of Queen Nightmare Moon, Sorcerer of Silverton, and the Scion of the House of Two Lights lay half-asleep in his sheets. His groping fingers found the corner of his sheets, and balled them up tightly. While magic surges were no longer a danger with his training and discipline, all unicorn mages feared the loss of control a true nightmare could bring. With Tantabus watching over all ponies dreams, ever ready to punish those with traitors or evil thoughts, nopony escaped the watchful eye of the Queen's dogs. "Mom, when can I apply? Most others in my class have already moved on to advanced school! Queen Moon's last apprentice just died, so she needs a new one! Mom sighed. "Dear, becoming an Arch-Mage is no easy task. You should follow your sister into the Royal Guard, or take up studies under a more... traditional master. The Royal Academy for Gifted Foals is not an easy school to get into. "Come on, honey. Let the kid live a little, huh? He was casting cantrips at three, and nearly burned the house down at five. If anypony can make it, Shine can." I smiled, looking at dad. "Someday, I'm gonna be her apprentice! Then I can help anypony I want to, and- He shook his head. "We don't speak like that. Remember: Head down, never doubt. Think no Evil, Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil. I felt the familiar frustration. "Think no Evil... Dusk Shine awoke suddenly to the sounds of heavy boots. Normally, his tower was to be left only to the two guards trusted to his safety, as he required quite a bit of rest and quiet for his studies. Beside him in her smaller bed, Barb stirred. "Dusk, what's going on?" she asked, stretching out and blinking slowly. "I don't know. Go back to sleep, I'll check it out." Dusk Shine rose, quietly donning his evening robe, slippers, and nightcap before padding softly downstairs to the door. Horn glowing, his magenta aura enveloped the door before pulling it open to reveal a startled colt in the armor of the Night's Watch with his fist raised to knock. Behind him, a Captain and a Lieutenant stood, carefully not meeting his gaze while the poor Corporal between them held a scroll under one arm. His eyebrows furrowed, Dusk shook his head. "Uh... yes?" "Sir! Corporal Fleeting Look. I have a message for you from Queen Nightmare Moon. She requires your attendance in her throne room immediately regarding an urgent matter. You will only be gone for a few days. Major Oak Leaf and Lieutenant Silver Bar will assist Barb in packing a travel bag, while I am to escort you to the throne room immediately." Frowning, Dusk looked at the sky. "It's a bit after midnight. I need a few minutes to change into something-" he started, before, surprisingly, the Major cut him off. "Sir, she needs you now. This matter concerns state secrets and is a matter of national security. Please follow the Corporal, sir." After another moment of indecision, the young unicorn mage nodded. "Ah, of course. Um, lead the way, Corporal." Corporal Fleeting Look lived up to his name, glancing at each of his superior officers as if to pray that one of them would accompany the third-ranking noble in the land before nodding once and about-facing, quickly marching away. Dusk Shine, however, rolled his eyes. Grabbing the Corporal's shoulder, he concentrated. Space folded inward on itself. Narrow vectors aligned while raw energy was pulled from the aether, powering the rampant abuse of the laws of physics to enable positional translocation. Their surrender was marked by a single, quiet 'pop', as Dusk Shine teleported himself and the poor Corporal to the gates of the throne room. While the dizzy pegasus tried to recover his balance (and keep his lunch down), Dusk Shine walked through the great arch to approach the Obsidian Throne, upon which was seated the Sovereign of Equestria, and before which he knelt, head bowed in both respect and fear before his monarch. Queen Nightmare Moon looked down upon her most faithful student and smiled. Her wickedly sharp teeth gleamed with the same white of the perfect moon in the sky that shown down from above, with only the faint flickerings of dawn marring the perfect night above. Slowly she leaned forward and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the one colt she had chosen to take under her wing in over three centuries. To her eyes, Mares represented all that was well and good with ponykind, but this one colt, so insecure and innocent, had awakened a malicious streak in her. After all, the more pure and innocent something (or somepony) was, the more fun it was to corrupt. Finally satisfied, she leaned back, looking down with a gaze that was at once cold and amused. "Rise, my most faithful Dusk Shine, and do not look so frightened. I trust you have no idea why you are here?" He nodded quietly, slowly getting to his feet and standing before his teacher. "Um... no. I mean, nothing was explained except that it was important and you needed me in the middle of the night... I mean, not that there is anything wrong with that, I serve at your pleasure and... uh, what is it you wished of me?" he said, realizing he was rambling and cutting himself off. "Actually, the reason I called you here has quite a bit to do with you. You sent me a letter earlier today via Barb and her lovely dragon breath ability. Something about the Return of the Sun, how on the shortest night of the thousandth year, the Solar Tyrant would escape her prison? It was... unusually lacking in details. Particularly one with your temperament towards disorder and improper procedure." He froze. There was a small chance that he may have had a bit too much wine (that was a pretty big glass after all) and sent partially incomplete research. The last time that happened... unpleasant occurrences followed. Being turned into a mare for a week would have been bad enough, but being made to dress as one, and attend several formal events including the Grand Imperial Ball was even worse. Prince Blueblood had actually propositioned him, not knowing he was a stallion! He shuddered as he remembered the lecherous gaze of the Lord High Marshall. Curse his effeminate frame! "I... ahm... meant to make it succinct as possible, since... you know, you are so busy?" "And the drops of wine on it were unrelated, of course? Well, luckily for you, my guards apprehended a Solar Cultist today." Once again, he froze. The Solar Cult, or the Rising Sun as they called themselves, were a crimminal and terrorist organization that were believed to be funded by greedy nobles from the Crystal Empire. King Sombra had long had his eye on 'liberating' Equestria, and was happy to exploit any internal divisions he found. "The Rising Sun? I thought they were stamped out a while back. Didn't Blueblood see to it?" "I tried, but certain elements in the government with a rebellious streak obviously worked quite hard to conceal a cell or two. After all, you should know from your studies how hard uprooting a homegrown insurrectionist faction can be, when they don't like being taken alive, right, my Poppet?" Prince Blueblood, the High Marshall and Executor of the Crown entered the room, giving a short, informal bow to Queen Moon. Turning to the beet-red Dusk Shine, he gave a mocking bow, pursing his lips in a kiss. Cheeks red and eyes wide, Dusk Shine fought to keep his breathing under control while several minor nobles in attendance snorted. "Queen Moon, auntie, we brought her here as you asked. Eris is, as usual, doing her own thing, but thanks to her Chaos magic we actually took one alive. She killed three guards and a Night Watcher, but I think the cost in intelligence was well worth it. We tracked one of the final cells of the cult to a small town called Ponyville. It sits in the shadow of our great city, and is part of the domain of the Duke of Canterlot, our own dear Dusk Shine. Of course, after his father's treason and execution... I have always had my doubts about the loyalty of the House of Two Lights. Not that you would ever betray us, right Duskie?" Dusk fumed. The prince had been rivals with his father for the title of High Marshall, and it was only by dredging up a few poor decisions from his past and doctoring some evidence that he had gotten his way to the top of the military chain. While nopony could be held guilty of the crimes of his father, Queen Nighmare Moon's choice to take Dusk as a ward of the crown raised many eyebrows (and objections, quietly of course), and even more questions until his power as a mage was revealed. Thereafter, he had been treated with respect even by his detractors, as everypony eventually needed a spell cast for them. And nobleponies were WEIRD in their requests. Weird, but well-paying for discretion. "Funny, I thought your report was complete, Blueblood. Maybe-" he started, before a sigh and an angry growl cut them off. Their hatred of eachother (or at least Dusk's hatred of Blueblood, reciprocated by wry amusement and condescension) was well known in the courts, even if Dusk rarely left his tower. "Now now, children. If I wanted a show, I would either have you strip and fight, or have that fool of a jester released from the dungeons. Dusk Shine, Blueblood is right about one thing. Ponyville is YOUR responsibility, and I think it would do you well to get some practical experience to go with all that studying of yours." She rose to her feet, and the room grew quiet. "Dusk Shine, you are to go to the town of Ponyville and investigate the rumors of the Solar Cult. If you find it there, I expect you to do your duty and stamp it out. However, Blueblood has expressed his doubts as to your... mettle. Therefore I think a demonstration is in order." She snapped her fingers, and the throne room doors opened again. Blueblood and I both turned to see the guards dragging a bloody, beaten mare between them. The blood stood out in stark contrast to her cyan blue fur and rainbow mane, but the white bone jutting out from her wings told the full tale of the horrors inflicted upon her by the Inquisition. Dusk could only stare as she was dragged between them and dropped at the feet of Nightmare Moon. With a rattling cough, she attempted to push herself up on her hands and knees, even though one arm seemed badly broken. However, it was only when Queen Moon raised her hand and enveloped her in magic, lifting her to her feet and turning her around that her most prominent feature was shown. Dusk stared into her magenta eyes. Those eyes, despite the damage and pain inflicted upon the face and body of the one they belonged to, held a fire within them, a bright burning desire that stated clearly she would like nothing more than to lunge at a guard, grab his spear, and kill everypony in the room while laughing. "My dear Dusk Shine... would you mind disposing of this pest?" His heart stopped. He knew this mare... this was... the daughter of Rainbow Blitz? "Honey... I know what happened to Blitz has us all scared." "Treason? From a descendent of Hurricane? You KNOW he was only killed because he had evidence that could clear your name! Blueblood's accusations are-" His mother paced restlessly while Dusk Shine sat on the ground, playing Battleclouds with his sister. He and Gleaming Shield looked uneasily at eachother while their parents argued. "Look, the official reports say he froze during a training excercize. Accidents happen in training. The truth will set us free, I promise love. Besides, with Blitz gone someone will have to look after his daughter. I plan to sponsor her into that boarding school in Cloudsdale, the military one. It won't be easy, but at least she will have a chance at a decent life. Just don't go opening any gifts from strangers, okay?" At that point, the door opened while a filly with scruffy rainbow hair and tail entered, stretching. "Mister Night Light, when can I see Daddy?" she said, rubbing the sleep out of her red eyes. Mom and dad looked at eachother uneasily, before smiling at her. "Play with Dusk and Gleam for now, okay sweetie?" Shield and Dusk moved over to let her join their game. Her eyes met mine, and Dusk knew she recognized him. There was a long, slow, rattling breath before Rainbow Dash spat upon the ground, glaring her hatred at a onetime friend. "Well, my student? We're all waiting." Dusk Shine stared at her. Rainbow Dash, a onetime friend before she went to Cloudsdale Acadamy of Military Science, hhanging suspended in Queen Nighmare Moon's magic, glaring at him. A onetime friend, who he was expected to execute, in front of a room full of nobleponies and his most hated enemy, Prince Blueblood. His queen stared expectantly at him while his thoughts raced through his head, chasing eachother like timberwolves through the woods. Kill her? Out of the question, he was no murderer. Spare her? Also not an option, he could not help anyone if he was stuck in the dungeons or executed. A thought came, unbidden from his past, from his mentor. Queen Moon stood behind him, her sharp-nailed hands biting into his shoulders as he leaned over the projection of the complex translocation spell before him. "Remember, magic always allows for unexpected paths through a problem. Few know this, and if you ever repeat it to anypony, but I could not have defeated my dear sister through arcane might alone. My options seemed, at the time, to either submit to her tyranny or to fight and lose. However, I sought a third option, and called upon a daemon familiar to lend me strength and guidance. Information is far more useful than power, friends, money, or any combination of the three. With information, you can stop a war before it begins. You can bring an enemy low, or set an ally up high to help you. There is always another path, if you but have the information you need to make the leap of logic. He licked his lips, before a candle lit in his head. "Prince Blueblood... thank you" he said, biting back his bile as the polite phrase tried to stick in his throat. The room, filled with murmors and excitement, went dead silent. Blueblood's eyes widened, then narrowed while the Queen's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch. "Indeed?" Dusk Shine forced a smile. If there was any way to save his friend, this was it. Option Three. "Queen Moon, this pony is known to me. Her name is Rainbow Dash, the daughter of Rainbow Blitz, the traitor. He helped hide evidence that showed my own father was... disloyal. I mean... I know it may sound odd, but with the Prince's investigation only partly complete, I think information would be more useful than a gratuitous display of blood and gore? If Rainbow Dash knows anything about the Solar Cult, maybe I could get her to reveal it." Blueblood's eyes could not have gotten any wider. "Queen, I urge you to discard such a notion. She was captured with nearly half a ton of gunpowder being transported south from the Crystal Empire. We already know there was one traitor in the House of Two Lights, and he just admitted to knowing-" he said, before the queen cut him off. "Be careful, Blueblood. My nephew you may be, but Dusk Shine is my ward and apprentice. A slight on his honor or judgement is a slight upon the crown..." she said, smiling, as the prince paled. She looked pensive for a moment before nodding slightly. "I see I have taught you well, Dusk. Do you believe you can get something from her?" Dusk hesitated for only a moment before nodding, his heart pounding. "Yes! I mean, of course. I have not been to Ponyville before, and Rainbow would know who the other conspirators are. I promise to take charge of her." After a full minute of silence, during which her eyes were narrowed and one could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom, the queen nodded. "Very well. She will be remanded to the custody of Saw Bones, and from there transported to Ponyville. I trust you will not disappoint me, student.