//------------------------------// // The Ambivalent Dawn // Story: Softening the Stone // by TheMyth //------------------------------// Autumn was in the air, as the leaves of trees started becoming weak in their links to the trees they grew out of. It would be a couple of weeks before The Running of the Leaves took place in Ponyville, many ponies already signing up for the event. On this particular sunny day, many ponies were outside enjoying themselves either through picnics or other outdoor activities. The same could not be said for Twilight Sparkle. Ever since Luna spoke her first word, she has been more proactive in her research to help the princess. This proved however even more challenges for her as their were not many books pertaining to the legendary parasite known as ‘The Nightmare’. The only books she heard of that seemed to have even the slightest knowledge of the parasite were folklore tales from different cultures around the world. Much to Twilight’s chagrin, she did not have the books containing them in the Ponyville library. So it was that Twilight was now sitting at her desk, sorting through every Equestrian folklore before and after Discord’s defeat. She sighed as she rubbed her eyes, the bags under them indicating to a lack of sleep. Once she was done with yet another book, she levitated it back to the corner of stacking books. “Spike!” She called out, only to be met with silence. Realization kicked in when she remembered he was now at school, busy learning either new things or just relearning the basics. Twilight smiled proudly as she was happy to see him finally becoming more socialized with foals of his age, especially with him being friends with three fillies. The three fillies were surprisingly the younger sisters of her best friends, save for the orange pegasus filly named Scootaloo who looked up to Rainbow Dash like a little sister. Twilight looked down with her smile dropping a bit. She was also a little sad, missing the company of Spike during the day. She chuckled lightly, realizing that this must be what every parent goes through when sending their child off to school or any other thing. Taking a break from her research, Twilight stood up from the desk and stretched her legs as they had become numb. The nerves in them started to spasm the legs, before finally submitting to proper functionality. She made her way to the kitchen, putting the kettle on for some tea. Twilight looked around herself to find the tea bags and a cup, but unfortunately she was not as well versed in the kitchen as either Spike or Celestia were. Opening each cupboard one by one, she reached the last cupboard at the far end. She opened it with her magic slowly. “Hi Twilight!” Letting out a less than refined scream, Twilight jumped backwards as a fluffy pink pony randomly came jumping out of the cupboard in front of her. “Pinkie Pie!” she exclaimed after catching her breath. “What in the Creator’s name are you doing in there?” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Grabbing the tea bags of course.” She held out the bags in question, showing them to Twilight “Where else would I find them except for in the cupboard?” Twilight sighed as she levitated the bags out of Pinkie’s hoof. She had learned that it was usually better to not question the crazy mare’s logic and just go with the flow instead. Though, how she ended up in the cupboard in the first place gnawed at the back of Twilight’s mind. “Thanks Pinkie,” she said trotting over to the teapot. “Would you care for a cup of tea while you’re here?” “Nah, I’m alright,” Pinkie responded with a smile. “I just had a big lunch.” “...Then why were you looking for teabags in my cupboard?” Pinkie laughed. “Because you were looking for them silly.” Twilight raised her hoof up, but paused before she could speak up.. It’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, she thought to herself over and over again, as she poured herself a cup of water. “So, what brings you around here today,” she asked attempting to pull her mind away from Pinkie’s antics. “Well,” Pinkie Pie began, suddenly putting on a much more serious, though almost humorously so, expression. “It’s been quite awhile since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came to visit, and there is something very important that we still haven’t done for them.” “Oh? And what exactly would that be?” Pinkie looked at Twilight as though she had suddenly turned bright green. “We haven’t thrown them a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party yet!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never not thrown a new pony a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party before! It’s been over two months now and we still haven’t had it yet!” “Sorry Pinkie,” Twilight said. “But I don’t think it’d be a good idea right now. Princess Luna is still recovering and—” “Oh come on Twilight,” Pinkie interrupted. “Hasn’t she been doing a lot better recently? Can I please throw her a party for that at least? Just a teeny-tiny one? I promise that I’ll only invite half of Ponyville.” Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at her friends pleading. Asking Pinkie Pie not to party was almost like asking the Sun not to shine. In addition, she was right about Princess Luna. Ever since her first word almost a month ago, her recovery had rapidly increased. By the end of that week, she was moving her head and limbs around by herself. By the next, she could sit up in bed without assistance as well. This last week, she had taken her first tentative steps around the library. Now she was able to walk around, though she was still a bit weak in the knees as she did so. More importantly,however, was her communication skills. After her first word, it was another couple of weeks before she managed to speak again. Had it not been for her other progress, they might have been a bit worried about her. Eventually though, she did start talking again, though very little. She would only answer questions when she was asked, and usually with only one or two words. Even now, she very rarely spoke unless she was spoken to first. Twilight sighed and reached out a hoof to her friend’s shoulder. “Pinkie I’m sorry, but Princess Luna is in no condition for a party right now.” Pinkie’s mane started to deflate, and her smile turned upside down as she looked with moist eyes to the floor. “A-alright Twilight.” She replied to her friend, the mirth in her voice almost devoid. “But!” Twilight raised Pinkie’s chin. “You can plan for a gigantic party once she is fully recovered.” Twilight forced a broad smile, hoping it would infect Pinkie. It did, and the mane started to inflate and form curls again. Pinkie gave a toothy grin to Twilight and started bouncing. “I better get to it then! Bye Twilight!” She yelled out and zoomed out of the library via the window. Twilight’s ears perked when she heard the shuffling of hooves behind her. Looking back at the bench, a pony’s head popped out of the back shaking in fear. “I-is she gone?” “She is, it’s okay to come out now.” The pony behind the bench complied, albeit reluctantly. Taking a few cautious steps, Princess Luna was now out in the open. Even though she lacked an ethereal mane like her sister’s, her ribs were no longer showing and her coat was now shining clean. Her eyes were constantly active though, moving from one corner to the other as though being on the lookout for an unknown enemy. “Listen, Princess Luna,” Twilight began speaking, softly to ease the princess. “It’s okay, you’re safe here.” Luna didn’t respond. Instead her eyes kept darting back and forth as she cautiously made her way across the kitchen. “Is there something that you need?” Twilight asked trying to be helpful. “I could fix you a cup of tea if you’d like.” Without looking at Twilight, Luna shook her head while continuing to look around. It was obvious that she was looking for something in particular, but Twilight couldn’t tell what. “Well, if not tea, is there something else you would like to drink?” Another shake of the head. “Or, maybe you’d like something to eat. Are you hungry?” Success! Luna looked directly at Twilight and gave her a simple nod. Twilight smiled back. It was difficult sometimes figuring out what the princess was after, but at least she was showing real progress every day. “Well, I can whip you up something quickly if you’d like. I think that we’ve got some soup left over in the fridge. And I could also—” “Luna!!!” Though the cry from upstairs startled Twilight, Luna’s reaction scared her far more. Crying out, the alicorn jumped across the room diving for and hiding underneath the table. She remained there shaking as Twilight rushed over to try and comfort her while simultaneously calling out, “Down here Princess!” Not a second later, Celestia came running down the stairs, a worried expression on her face. As soon as she saw Luna lying on the ground, she quickly rushed over to her, nearly knocking her student over in the process. “Luna! Are you alright? What happened?” “She’s fine Princess,” Twilight said, straightening herself back up again. “She just got a little scared when you cried out.” “Oh? Oh…” Celestia trailed off as she realized what had happened. Turning back to her younger sister, she started running her hoof through Luna’s mane to try and calm her down. “I’m so sorry Lulu,” she said comfortingly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. You just scared me when you wandered off like that.” “It’s okay,” the younger alicorn whispered back softly. She had stopped shaking a bit and was beginning to stand back up again. “Well, I’m glad that you’re alright,” Celestia said, helping brush off her younger sibling. “You really should tell me when you want to go somewhere though, alright? Why did you leave in the first place?” “I heard voices…” Luna responded quietly keeping her eyes fixed to the ground. Celestia turned to Twilight with a worried look in her eye. “It’s alright princess,” Twilight explained. “Pinkie Pie just came over for a moment.” With a sigh of relief, Celestia turned back to Luna. “Well, no harm done then,” She gave her sister a warm smile. “Now, I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. Would you like something to eat as well Luna?” With her eyes still trained towards the ground, Luna nodded. “Excellent!” Celestia used her magic and lifted Luna off from the ground, trotting towards the kitchen. “Let’s have some broccoli stew, I know it will be good for you.” “Tia, can you pl—” “And after that, I think a nice hot bath will do you good too.” Celestia continued to speak, not hearing Luna’s protests. Twilight cocked her eyebrow, confused at what she was seeing. Before she could talk for Luna, the door of the library opened again. “I’m home!” Spike’s voice echoed throughout the room, and he saw Twilight standing alone. He walked up to her and gave her a hug. “Hi Twilight, how’re things here?” “Welcome back, Spike.” Twilight nuzzled her baby dragon softly and took the bag from his back. “Everything is well here,” she said, though her eyes looked to the kitchen with concern. “Any new assignments?” Spike just grinned and waved his claw at her. “Nothing I can’t handle.” He told her, going to his bag and reaching out a scroll for Twilight. “But I did get something from Miss Cheerilee, about an outing on Family Appreciation Day.” “Family Appreciation Day? But that’s months away from now.” “Hey, planning ahead. You know all about that I’m sure.” He told her, with a grin as he looked Twilight in the eye. Twilight’s blushed as she scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. “I suppose,” she then looked at the note. “Something I need to sign?” “Well for the ‘Family Appreciation Day Outing’, we can bring a guardian along.” He smiled brightly at Twilight, his eyes glittering in anticipation. “Oh..” Twilight’s breath hitched and she placed a hoof to her mouth. Can I really leave the library alone for a day?! What if the princesses need my help?! What if… She stopped and regarded Spike’s eyes, a tender smile forming slowly on her muzzle. She nodded and signed the paper. “I’d love to Spike.” “Yay!” Spike hugged her again. “Thanks Twilight!” Twilight’s eyes wetten as she nuzzled into Spike as she returned the hug. She held him close and slowly closed her eyes. Anytime, my baby. “Come on Fluttershy! You can’t really be serious.” Rainbow Dash moaned as she rolled over on the couch. Her head was hanging off the edge so that her legs were pointed up towards the ceiling. In this position, the scowl on her face could almost have been mistaken for something a bit more cheerful. Fluttershy ignored her as she floated around her cottage. She had a bright smile on her face and was whistling a happy little tune. Occasionally, she’d grab something lying around, giving it a quick look over before setting it in the basket she carried in her hooves. “I mean, you really shouldn’t be going to such great lengths to help her of all ponies out right now. You still need your rest you know.” With a sigh, Fluttershy picked up a loaf of bread from her pantry. “I’m fine Rainbow,” she said softly. “Really, I feel much better now than I did before. Besides, I’m just taking Princess Luna a couple of things that she might like. I’m not really overworking myself by doing that.” “Well, yeah…” Rainbow said rolling back over so that she was facing upright again. “But do you really think that it’s a good idea for you to be visiting her? I mean, after what she did to you—” “What happened was my own fault, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said a bit more forcibly that she was used to. “You can’t keep blaming her for that.” Turning back she gave her friend a sad smile. “Besides, Twilight already told us that she wasn’t even responsible for turning into Nightmare Moon in the first place. She needs all the support that we can give her right now.” “Well, I still don’t like it,” Rainbow Dash huffed as she slouched across the couch again. And I still don’t trust her, she thought to herself as well. Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I still feel like I need to help her out somehow, alright?” “Yeah, whatever…” With a sigh, Fluttershy turned and floated over to the doorway, the overflowing basket in her hooves. She briefly thought about inviting Rainbow Dash to come with her, but knew that offer would be quickly reject. “I’ll be back in a little while,” she said softly instead. When Fluttershy left the cottage, Rainbow Dash sank right on her haunches with her mouth agape. She shook her head in disbelief at her friend’s tenancy to do what was dangerous. Rainbow Dash sighed and flew over to a book she had specifically asked for from an old friend, a griffon by the name of Gilda. Once Twilight had told her and the others of the so-called-parasite, she wanted to do a little digging of her own. Turned out that the Nightmare was also well known Gryphionic Kingdom, as ponies possessed by it had burned down villages and ended the lives of hundreds; ponies and gryphons alike. Rainbow Dash was half way through the book pertaining to gryphon folklore, when her ears twitched to the sound of a critter. She turned to her side to see Angel Bunny munching away on a large carrot, looking content with his master leaving to visit a potential threat and disturbing Rainbow Dash from researching. “Can you eat somewhere else?” Rainbow barked at the rabbit, seeing as it didn’t care for Fluttershy’s well being nor Rainbow Dash’s need for concentration. Angel did respond however by blowing a raspberry to Rainbow’s face, spitting out a few chunks of carrot at her too. With the deed done, the rabbit hopped away from the fuming pegasus. Rainbow slammed the book shut and rocketed towards the fleeing bunny. “That rabbit is stew!” Blueblood sat in his study with a pony in a black cloak, who bowed to him in respect. He did not look happy. “So… you still have nothing to report?” The cloaked figure shook it’s head. “Other than a few young fillies claiming that they saw Celestia in one of the orchards, I haven’t managed to turn up anything else.” “And her student, Twilight Sparkle? What about her?” “No leads there either. She runs the library in town and hangs out with her friends. Nothing out of the ordinary for the mare.” Blueblood scowled. He knew that there was something going on in that sorry little town, but Celestia was doing too good of a job keeping it covered up. “Keep looking. Eventually one of them will make a mistake. When that happens, I want you there to uncover it.” The cloaked figure coughed. “Of course, my liege. Though spying like this takes a lot of effort on my part. I might be able to do a better job if I had a few extra bits.” Grumbling, Blueblood lifted a small bag from off the table and tossed it to the other pony. “Your regular fee, plus an extra five percent. If you bring me something worthwhile, I’ll make sure that you’re rewarded most handsomely.” The figured leaned down, grabbing the bits and pulling them within their cloak. “Very well sir. I will let you know the second I discover something.” “See that you do,” Blueblood said, turning back and heading towards his desk. “Now then, if there’s nothing else to discuss I suggest that you…” He stopped as he turned back around. Without a word, the cloaked figure had already dashed out of the room. Blueblood smirked. Even if he hadn’t found anything yet, he could not have asked for a better spy. Blueblood’s smirk slowly vanished, as it was replaced with a deep frown. He sighed and rested his head in his hooves, staring down upon the wooden carpentry. His head rose slowly, with his gaze landing upon a line of pictures. All of them had him in them, ranging from when he was still a foal till now. The last picture that caught his eye was of him and Celestia together. Using his magic to grasp the picture, he slowly pulled it towards him and looked down upon it with nostalgic eyes. He was just a foal of no more than eight, being held close in Celestia’s embrace. Blueblood still remembered how warm her hug was and how soft her feathers were when she held him close to her heart. When she loved him. Blueblood’s teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed, as his grasp on the frame became tighter. He let out a scream as he tossed the picture to the other side of the room, and heard the frame crack as shard of glass littered the floor. His eyes became moist as he calmed down, breathing slowly to ease the pent up rage within. “I don’t know what you’re planning Auntie,” he huffed out the last word with as much distaste as possible, staring at the shattered portrait lying across the room. “But I swear, I’m going to stop it. I’m going to make you pay for what you did to me.”