//------------------------------//
// 7. By Night they Come 
// Story: The Scrolls of Harmony I: Dawnguard 
// by Sadie 
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“Normally it’s ten bits for the room, but for a member of the royal guard...” Twilight sat down on the simple bed. It was a mistake to leave everything but her weapons and armour back in Ponyville. The latter at least was enough to put the cost of a few meals and a place to sleep off until the next royal tour. “It’s yours for as long as you need it, though I take it this a short stop over. I’ll be in the tavern if there’s anything else you need.” The keeper, a grey maned mare by the name of River’s Bit left the room with that. Alone at that moment, Twilight gently pushed the door shut with her magic, more to block out the sound of cheesy folk music than for privacy. It still seeped through the spaces between the boards of her floor. By getting down and pressing her face to one of the spaces, she could get a pretty fair look at the group situated around the fire.

Adventurers and drunkards for the most part. A couple of mercenaries sat at odd ends of the room, and of course the bard himself, who wandered around the whole group with his lute. The pungent smell of all sorts of beverages continued to waft up towards her, resulting in a not very settled stomach. “It will be amazing if I can get any sleep at this rate.” Again, she only took off her helmet before lying back to rest. That she rested very close on the table beside her head. Now that she wasn’t soaking wet from the rain, and in a warm tavern instead of an open cave, there was no need for any sort of blanket. While keeping her armour on did make getting comfortable harder, it was preferable to somepony potentially stealing it, or worse. “Just paranoid, that’s all. There aren’t thieves in Baltimare, right?”

She lay there for the next hour as activities below kept her wide-awake. Another round of drinks with some songs. An argument that ended up becoming a four-way brawl. And at last, the drunken snores of gruff ponies who couldn’t even drag themselves out the door. Throughout all of that, Twilight struggled with the urge to go back down and beat all of them senseless. Even then, they would probably get better sleep than she would. She pulled the pillow over her face to scream. “I bet Trixie and Spring Heart are having a great sleep. Out in the Everfree forest, with only insects and tons of deadly animals to worry about. No warm bed, no walls to hide in. And they still get more sleep than I do.”

As she slipped the pillow back under her head, the light from below grew dull. For the first time that night, her eyes began to close without effort. Huddled inside the warmth of her armour, she let out a shuddering yawn as sleep finally took hold. Magic began to flow from her horn, silently gliding across the whole surface of her body until it enveloped her completely. Normally she would have panicked at such an occurrence. But that would require ruining the sleepy feeling that she had waited all night for. Even when her vision blacked out altogether, Twilight made no attempt to wake herself as rest came.

Not even two seconds passed before her eyes open again. This time, it wasn’t the view of her room in the tavern that filled her vision. “What in Equestria...” She was standing upright, on what she could actually feel was cracked earth. A good ten metres away stood a ring of bowls, filled with purple fire. In the centre of the ring, an open cylinder of stone waited. Trixie’s sarcophagus... As if confirming that thought, two ponies faded into existence outside of the circle, as if the very air itself had transformed into a physical form. One was definitely Trixie. She looked almost identical, if not a bit healthier. Glancing at the other caused Twilight to catch on her breath. Despite it having the essence of a dream, she could feel the magical presence of a powerful being.

She had the body shape of Celestia, and similar wings and mane style, but she was definitely a different point. Coloured in a mixed hue of lilac and blue, a mane that shined like liquid glitter flowed right to the ground. Her cutie mark was unlike anything Twilight had seen before, an eight ‘armed’ star that literally glowed in jade and grey. Her eyes returned to the apparition of Trixie as she spoke. “Will I ever see you again, Azura?” So that’s Azura... Twilight looked around again. The red sky, cracked earth, cold air. Somehow, she was not only seeing, but also experiencing a scene from thousands of years ago. The very hour that Trixie had gone to sleep, during the worst years of Sombra’s rule. And for the moment, she didn’t question how or why it was happening. It was a glimpse at something she had been gathering questions about ever since she first encountered Trixie. Answering just one of those alone was worth it.

Another pony entered the scene. She looked enough like Trixie to be a relative of some sort, and given that she looked older, presumably the mother mentioned before. On her back, she carried another object that had brought up so many questions in the present. She lowered her head to allow Azura access to the Scroll. For a moment, it appeared that she was going to read it, but instead transferred it to Trixie’s care. “I promise that I will return. When Equestria brims with life, and we no longer need fear the tyranny of the other Daedra. We will have all of eternity then.” Trixie turned towards the open sarcophagus at that moment. Even from a distance, Twilight could see a single tear that evaporated on contact with the ground. “Sleep Trixie. I will wake you. And may Meridia protect you from the nightmares of Vaermina.” The entire scene faded away at the very moment Azura finished speaking. Twilight felt the ground beneath her disappear, leaving only an empty void behind that she didn’t fall through. 

Only one thing remained in the emptiness, Azura herself. For a moment, it seemed like she was simply an after shadow from the previous scene. Until she began walking right towards Twilight herself. “Hello Twilight. I believe you have already worked out who I am in relation to all of existence. But, not who I am to you in particular.” Twilight looked around again. Until that moment, she had assumed that she was simply an observer of some sort of vision, separated from the events playing out. She hadn’t ever expected to be talking with another powerful pony, even though she knew virtually nothing about this one. “I come to you now, while your mind is open to my voice. There are many challenges ahead; several of them will not be pleasant. And it is important that you understand the ends to which you must guide your destiny. Balance must be maintained in Equestria, this is the duty that I was charged with at the dawn of time. And now, it is the duty that I ask you to undertake, in my name.”

Twilight expected that she was to make some response, but another scene began to materialize around them before she could even think of what to say. After a few moments, she could see enough to work out it was the balcony of Celestia’s room that was forming around them. Once the basic shape had formed, every surface began to solidify into what felt just like the real thing. “Look, Azura, I don’t understand half of what you just said. What are we even doing here?” Azura looked down at her. For a brief second, she could see the star from her cutie mark in the left eye. The right bore a crescent moon. The connection was broken as the ambient light began to change. Twilight turned her head in time to see a void of darkness envelop for the sun. For several moments, it swirled around in a black vortex, casting dark red light over the whole of Equestria. Eventually the void vanished, leaving behind little more than a faint red ring. It had taken a good few seconds for the process to complete, far too fast for her to believe.

“What you have just witnessed is the fulfilment of a prophecy, called the Tyranny of the Sun. A weapon from my time has faded into Equestria’s plane of existence once more. An arrow, cursed with the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbor has the potential to destroy the sun itself when fired from this weapon.” Twilight shuddered. Coldharbor, that meant Sombra. And he was the one who they had narrowly escaped Old Canterlot from. The prophecy was already sounding very evil. Azura continued to gaze at the bleeding sky. “Balance cannot be maintained if this prophecy is fulfilled. Remain observant, and my servants will guide you on the paths you must take. And do not turn your back on Celestia, for any reason. Especially for Trixie.” The floor beneath their hooves began to fade away, similar to what happened previously. Twilight was about to ask as to how they were standing on a surface that ceased to exist, when Azura’s last statement caught in her throat.

“I don’t understand. Weren’t you and Trixie...?” This time, Azura had faded away with the environment as well. After a few moments, a new object materialized in the void, though this time without an environment around it. All she could make out against the darkness was a spiked bowl of some sort, the contents hidden from view. It had a strong aura of evil magic around it. “Azura! What the hay is going on? How am I meant to locate this weapon? Why shouldn’t I prioritize Trixie over Celestia? And what does the Elder Scroll have to do with any of this?” A figure appeared in between her and the evil bowl, one she immediately recognized as Trixie. “Hey, what’s going on? Why does it sound like Azura doesn’t trust you anymore?”

On the other side of the bowl, a much darker figure rose up from the void, easily towering over both ponies. “Azura is a Daedra, just like Celestia and Luna, like Discord and myself. Trixie is a mere pony, one who abandoned worshipping me in search of Azura’s affections. As for you, Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot. You will come to serve me, as a leader among the slaves of Equestria.” A face peered out from the silhouette, causing Twilight to stumble back. Both eyes burned violently in a vile green; while a red tongue snaked down to entwine Trixie. “And I will feast on the traitor when the cursed sun is dead!” As Trixie was thrown up to be swallowed by the face of Sombra, Twilight felt the dream state around her fading away. “Remember me! And despair!”

Twilight’s eyes opened to the dull fire light of the Griffon’s Harbinger. The candle beside her had burned down to the base; several hours had passed since she first fell asleep. “Ugh, either that was the most up-the-walls random dream I’ve ever had, or I had way too much cider down there.” She pulled herself from the bed. No headaches or bouts of dizziness came to send her back there. “So I wasn’t drinking. Was it really just a dream then?” The smell seeping up from below began to make her sick again. Taking a walk outside to think about what she had just experienced easily became her plan for what remained of the night. Her helmet settled into place before she opened the door and left. “Just a dream, just a dream. Nothing to worry about.”

River’s Bit was sitting in one corner with a book in her lap. She removed a pair of glasses as Twilight made her way down the stairs. “There’s a door out through the kitchen, I highly recommend you go through there if you’re planning on a walk. It’s safer at this time of night.” Twilight nodded as she altered her path to the kitchen instead. Great, so Baltimare has its share of thieves and perverts. Nice to know. The kitchen itself was comfortably warm. Far cozier than her own room. And the thick smell that often lingered around such establishments was dampened by the herbs hanging from above. It gave her a moment to gather her thoughts before exiting through the far door.

The atmosphere was pretty much how she expected it to be. Crisp air, cool winds coming off the ocean. The typical smell of salted fish for exporting to Griffonia. It was close to a new moon; only the fire light of guard ponies as they made their patrols lit the small area around them. “Geez, why do I feel like this is way too perfect for a robbery?” Nothing disturbed her while she pulled the door shut and walked down the short alley. Even when she entered the main marketplace, now an open space that lacked pony life, she felt no sensation of being watched. “Fine by me.” It left her with the silence she had wanted to ponder on her experience. Stranger things have happened, like being called as Celestia’s personal understudy on initiation day. A visit in her dreams from not one, but two ancient ponies. One who apparently wanted to help her, and the other who obviously wanted to eat Trixie and enslave Equestria.

Her right ear flicked. Something was approaching, stealthily. So much for a quiet night. It would be impossible to load a bolt into her crossbow without alerting the one approaching. Once she felt the approach had gone on for long enough, she drew the silver sword from its sheath. “Back off. I don’t want any trouble, and I don’t have anything worth stealing on me. I’m sure you don’t want to get into a fight with a highly trained guard for a few pieces of armour and a crossbow.” A figure dropped from one of the nearby rooftops without making a single sound. Some sort of spell kept the pony shrouded in darkness. A variation of invisibility, more for intimidation than stealth. In that regard, it was certainly working. Her magical hold on the sword began to fluctuate. “Well, what are you waiting for? If this is some contract being filled out, might as well get it done with.”

The shadowy spell cast over the pony began to dissipate. A pair of bony wings were first to emerge. To one side, a jagged blade forged from twisted ebony unsheathed under the influence of red magic. Twilight’s eyes were drawn back to the face as the darkness withdrew, leaving two long fangs to glint in the minimal moonlight. “Death to the Sun, and all her servants!” Silver clashed against ebony. Twilight was pinned to her position beneath the solid hilt of her blade as powerful magic pushed the evil sword dangerously close to her face. Of course. Of course, they’d find me and want revenge. It wouldn’t be very interesting if I spent the night in Baltimare without incident after all. She shoved the struggle to her left while moving to the right. It threw her attacker off long enough to free her sword and swing again. It plunged through the sturdy leather armour into his left shoulder blade.

Another hoof wrapped very tightly around her neck. Wings began to beat heavily as the second assailant lifted her into the air. She grasped wildly for her sword before it was out of reach again, firmly planted into the first attacker. “Nice work on choosing town guards!” Her right hoof swung upwards to smack directly into the female’s jaw. It released the hold on Twilight, leaving her to fall eight metres back to the ground. The impact came dangerously close to pushing her right shoulder out. Many muscles in that area were heavily strained instead. By then, a third pony had moved in to attack, and the first only seemed partially hindered by the sword sticking out of his leg.

When moving to retrieve her sword, a hard kick to her side knocked her to the ground. She pulled the crossbow from her back just in time to block the next sword swing. The third attacker was clearly in some sort of bloodlust, fury burned in his very expression. Pain continued to build in her hooves as they held the crossbow in front of her. A single falter would allow the blade to slice right down her face. As she felt the female fly down behind her, the muscles in her right shoulder gave out. The blade in front of her grazed her cheek when her crossbow fell out of her grip, and hooves grabbed her throat from behind once more. There was little point in struggling, especially against the miraculously strong grip that forced her head to one side. Her neck was completely open to the third pony.

“Incredible. It only takes a minute at most to bring a Dawnguard to her knees. A shame that all of the town guard are now under our control, it would have made this, more fun.”