The White Duchess - Elevator Pitch: Who is Dim Halhide? · 4:29am Jul 6th, 2023
This is my elevator pitch for The White Duchess. Consider it a bit of insight into what exactly I’m planning to be publishing here as my next big project. It will be a trilogy, and it’s going to be a very long time before I get to the end with it, so I’m dropping this today as the first of (what I hope to be) many sneak peeks. You can read a bit of a prelude to this in a previous post.
The White Duchess is a story about Twilight Velvet being given the task—directly from Princess Celestia—to seek the earth ponies of the former Petty Kingdom of Halihoof, and return their tribe to the fold of Equestria. To ensure that Twilight Velvet is capable, Princess Celestia grants her one year to accomplish her first goal: run a successful census.
Joining her is Night Light, a low caste, socially inept, basement-dwelling Canterlot noble; a contingent of young and inexperienced guards; and a still young, but capable set of officers.
Regardless of if they fail or succeed, Halihoof will return to Equestria.
The story takes place from Night Light’s point of view, and much of it pertains to his struggles to understand why Velvet loves him, and how he could possibly ask her to marry him. At the start of their journey west aboard the The Sunshine Line—affectionately named The Dragon—he commits himself to spending time with the EUP guards in an attempt to better himself as a stallion.
There is one pony by his side at all times: the bat pony Dim Halhide. He's not a part of the contingent of the soon-to-be-formed Western Guard, but rather a crucial outlier. He has an outside perspective of things, and his specialization in all things alchemy is sure to find use in the many dangers that the Halihoof region's flora and fauna—and even geography—present to the Western Guard. He's a second opinion for everything, and prone to having a different solution that most ponies wouldn't think of.
Like Night and Velvet, Dim's assignment also comes from Princess Celestia herself. Devoted to the guard as he is, he has trouble connecting with his contemporaries. He's not an unruly sort by any means—he’s actually everything a pony could want in a professional guard—but his abrasive nature is exactly what got him in his lonely role as a specialist in the first place.
He's restrained, but as he spends more time with Night Light, he lets loose his true nature. Night Light is a submissive sort, and despite Dim’s domineering nature, Dim realizes faster than Night Light that they have a lot in common. Chief of the similarities is Dim's natural inclination for things almost all Equestrians deem amoral, or rather, thoughts best not spoken aloud.
If Night Light is to achieve his role as a leader—standing alongside his seemingly always successful marefriend—it's prudent that he drop all pretenses of 'sin'. Through this, Dim takes him under his wing, and the two 'enjoy' a relationship that sees Dim call out every callous quality he can see in himself and Night Light, with Dim wanting only for Night Light to be better than him.
Dim Halhide
I hope you’ll like him.
Another Odd_Sarge longfic is always a good longfic. Looking forward to it!
5736607
Thanks, I hope I do a good job at blending OC-centric with a storyline that adheres to the show.
This sounds really interesting! I’m looking forward to reading it.
5736625
Happy to hear it! In the meantime, there are a couple inspirations I can credit now:
5736638
I’ll have to check these two out, as well. A story about two unlikely characters paired together (just like being in the military!) is always fascinating to me.
As a bonus for anyone looking back, here’s another glimpse at Dim!
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