Dawn came, bringing with it a warm day and an insistent tapping on Smoky Nights’ bedroom door. Even in her half-asleep state she could tell by the tone of the tapping that whoever was outside her room had been knocking for some time. For a while she considered burying her head under the covers and going back to sleep. Exhaustion still sat heavy on her bones, not to mention the well-earned ache that pulsed in her wings and shoulders.
But the knocking continued, on and on, and there was no chance of sleeping through that racket, not anymore.
Smoky finally dragged her sore body out of her bed and pulled the door open only far enough to stick her head out, along with all the tangled hair attached to it. The old guard standing on the other side continued to knock by butting his head against the door, his darkly ringed eyes closed against the dim light in the hall.
“Yes?” Smoky said.
He started as if he had been falling asleep. “Oh, there you are. Luna wants a report on… something?” He shook his head to clear it. “Nope, it’s gone. Sorry, Smoky.”
“It’s ok, Mossy, I know what she wants.”
“Good. I’m off to bed, then.”
Smoky watched him go with a flare of jealousy, knowing it was selfish. She shook it off as best she could and stepped back into her room just long enough to straighten her mane and tail, take a few bites from a bag of trail mix, and collect her notes from her discarded saddle bags. Once she had everything sorted she took one last chance to try to stretch the ache from her muscles before starting the long walk to Luna’s study, assuming that was where the princess would be.
Before she reached the study she found Wisp Light pacing in the hallway outside. He galloped straight at her the moment she stepped into his line of sight, barely managing to stop before they collided. An open letter fluttered after him, held up by his magic.
“You can’t go in there,” he said, pale underneath his new armour, “Celestia had a vision,”
Smoky took a step back and shifted her wings nervously. “What are you talking about?”
Wisp thrust the letter at her but didn’t give her a chance to read just yet. “A mail pony just arrived with this. Celestia had a vision last night about a thousand years of darkness and now she’s coming here to talk to Luna about it.”
“What’s that got to do with me not seeing Luna?” Smoky asked as she tried to catch the letter out of the air. Wisp whipped it out of her reach and moved closer to her, almost trembling now.
“No one’s seeing her. We can’t risk triggering another bad mood.” He stamped his hoof, not angrily but out of nervousness. “What do you think will happen if Celestia gets here and Luna’s already angry? What happens if they fight? Like, really fight? What if she blames us?”
Smoky put her hooves on his shoulders and gently pushed him down until his was sitting on the cool marble floor. “Wisp, when was the last time you slept?”
The unicorn’s face screwed up in an effort to fight back tears. “So you’re dismissing me too,”
“No, I’m just worried you’re not thinking straight. I’m sure Luna is feeling much better today and you have nothing to worry about. So why don’t you go to bed and let the rest of us worry for a while? I promise we’ll be careful.”
Wisp hung his head. “Ok,”
He walked away without looking up, leaving behind the letter and a lingering unease. Smoky sat herself down where he had been to read the letter he had left behind. It began as all royal missives did, with mention of any vision not appearing until near the end.
It is with heavy heart that I must reveal the heart of the problem which drives me to seek out my sister. I received a vision in the night of a terrible darkness that covered all of Equestria for a thousand sorrowful years. I fear the urgency of this warning cannot be ignored. In order for us to prepare for whatever it is might be coming I must ask you to prepare the palace guard and its staff for the worst, and to advise Luna to begin seeking out any possible source of the oncoming danger.
I sense we will be the only ones who can stand against it, together, or else Equestria is doomed.
Smoky read the letter three more times before making her way to Luna’s study. The princess smiled at her as innocently as a child as she welcomed her student inside.
“Did you get enough sleep?” Luna asked sweetly, “I know you prefer to sleep the daylight hours away, but I’ve been looking forward to your report with too much excitement to wait.”
“Princess,” Smoky began, holding out the letter with its broken royal seal, “Celestia is coming to speak with you about a terrible vision.”
Luna regarded the letter with cool indifference. “Tia can be easily upset by nightmares, I’m sure this latest one can wait.” She lifted the letter off Smoky’s hoof with her magic and sent it to settle on the top of an unsteady pile of paperwork on her desk. Smiling again, she brought out a pair of large magenta cushions and sat down on the fluffiest. “Sit, Smoky, tell me what you found in the north. You were away so long, you must have found something.”
Sighing, Smoky settled on the second cushion and watched as Luna’s magic opened her saddle bags and drew out her copious notes. “I’m afraid the opposite is true. I couldn’t find anything.”
Luna’s brow twitched with a second of worry before bending into a frown. “Did my maps fail you? How can there be nothing left?”
“I flew over the area dozens of times. I spent days walking every inch, searching every cave, and I couldn’t find any signs there was ever even a single house there.” Smoky lowered her head, anxious of the frustration that was clearly building in the princess’ tense posture. “I’m truly sorry, but it’s as if the Crystal Empire never existed. There’s nothing but snow and ice where it used to be.”
Luna shuffled through the notes with increasing annoyance. “You couldn’t see even a hint of magic in the air? Nothing at all?”
“I did everything you told me to. There was nothing to see.”
For a while the only sound in the room was the agitated rustle of paper as Luna searched and found nothing at all. When she finally threw them down Smoky was braced for anger and shouting, not tears.
“Luna,” Smoky said, appalled, “please don’t cry! I’m sure we’ll find something else.”
“There isn’t anything!” the princess wailed, “Do you think I’ve been idle here? Not even Star Swirl’s journals have a hint of a spell that could banish my nightmares.”
“Maybe I could go back to the zebras and see if they found anything since last time,”
“So I can choke down more useless potions?”
Luna got up suddenly and stormed across the room, scattering Smoky’s notes. She had no destination in mind, no purpose. Instead she marched back and forth, releasing frustration and despair with each heavy hoof step. Smoky watched in despair, wishing the weeks spent searching had yielded something, anything. She wondered if she should have stayed longer, if the empire had miraculously returned the moment she turned for home. Maybe if she left immediately and flew harder than she ever had she would find it there in its glorious beauty, with the Crystal Heart nestled at its centre.
It was a ridiculous daydream made all the more the painful for how badly Luna needed it to be true.
Finally, drained of frustration and tears, Luna halted in the middle of the room and turned wearily to catch her student’s eye.
“Thank you for trying,” she said quietly, her voice rough with emotion, “I’m glad I have you here for me.”
“I’ll always be here for you,”