//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Dusk of the Dawn // by Dusk775 //------------------------------// I stood there, frozen with fear. Although it had been mere seconds since she had welcomed me to the "library" that she had claimed. I looked around; the walls were shelved with many books, with a couple tables, although they were covered in books except for one, which held equipment, probably used for potion-making or alchemy. I have to answer her. If I just stand here like an idiot, she will get suspicious, I thought to myself. "I ask you a question: if the library is about to close, why are you here as well?" I responded with a calm, collective tone. "I have special arrangements with the Princess herself that allows me to use the library anytime I want. After all, I am her star student." she said with a proud posture. Star student, eh? I wonder if she knows anything about me. My face was still shrouded, obscured by the cloak hood that I wore. Well, if she can't see my cutie mark, I will just appear to be just a random pony. Shaking my cloak hood off, I continued in conversation with her. "Well then, I am very sorry about, miss, I was just looking for a certain book-" The purple mare interjected, "A book? No problem! I know this library top to bottom, and I would be happy to help you find it!" Damn. Looks like I'll have to tag along with her. Losing her in a library this small would be impossible. "Aah, what was that book's name! Urgh! Young mare, I think I might've forgotten the book's name! If I look around a bit, my memory is sure to come back, if you would let me." "No problem, sir. If only my assistant were here to help you, but you know baby dragons, they need to get their sleep." Well, at least I wasn't dealing with two people. The less witnesses, the better, I darkly thought to myself. Wait, when did I become Dusk? I searched the shelves, but only as a cover. Between the sweeping of shelves, I looked around the library and observed the characteristics. The walls were painted over, probably covering up anything Luna left behind. The shelves also did a good deal to cover up anything that lay behind them. This place almost had a cheery feeling to it. A big contrast from the last memories I had of the place. Something else was bugging me, but it was much closer, and much more of a threat. No matter where I "looked" for a book, the purple mare followed. She was always a few feet behind me, watching me as I looked. Was she getting suspicious? Maybe I should say something, I thought. Right then, a light bulb went off in my head. "Young mare, did anypony ever tell you what this room was before it was turned into a library?" I asked, my face still facing the shelves. She searched her brain, but from her continued silence, it seems it turned up blank. "Well, that's a story I cannot let you leave without hearing. Is there somewhere we can have a seat?" "Of course!" She used her magic to bring two chairs over from two book-filled tables. We both sat down, and I began. "A thousand years before today, before Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon, this room was Luna's personal study. A lot of her time was spent down here, searching for something. Something that she hoped would finally allow herself to become stronger than her sister, so that she could show the whole world the beauty of darkness. The gift of immortality." "Immortality?" the young mare gasped at the word. "Yes, immortality." I answered. I continued. "Elsewhere, within the castle, lived a young stallion named Dawn. Dawn was the little brother of Celestia and Luna, but was so close to Celestia that she had adopted him as her son." I cleared my throat and changed tone. "The night of Luna's betrayal, Luna had almost everything she needed for her spell of immortality. She only needed one more thing: a test subject. Right then, Dawn opened the door into the study. The last words heard from him were, "Luna, it's getting close to sunrise, don't you think you shou-" I made a choking sound as I ended the word suddenly. The mare jumped back, my surprise making it's mark. "W-what happened next?" She quietly asked. "That's the thing, nopony knows. Some say that the thing that brought Celestia to tears was Luna telling her that she had killed her son. Some say that this was true, and Luna buried the body before she confronted Celestia." The young mare looked horrified at the thought of Luna killing another pony. "On the other hand, some ponies believe that the spell succeeded, and that Dawn walks the earth to this day, hiding from Celestia out of humiliation. All anypony knows is that after Celestia banished Luna to the moon, she hurried to Luna's study. When she opened the door, only to find a horrid sight. A table in the center of the study with belts at the head and foot, with an outline of a pony......in blood." At this point, the young pony was tearing up. I had really moved her with the story. "A decree went out from Celestia, officially striking Dawn from the history books, and was never to be mentioned in all of Equestria ever again. To this day, his tale lives only through us story-tellers, wanting, hoping that he is still alive to this day." I stood up, signalling that the tale was over. At this point, her tears were drying up. During the story, I had observed all that I needed to about the room, and was ready to take my leave. Making my way to the door, I heard the young pony say something. "W-wait, sir." I paused at her request. "Do-do you think that Dawn is still alive?" She said through her tears. I paused to think, but responded with a smile on my face. "I'm pretty sure he's still out there somewhere, wandering the world, hoping that some day Celestia will accept him back into her arms." I answered. I started to walk again to the door, but I paused. "By the way, to whom do I offer the gratitude of listening to my story?" "Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, sir." "Quite the beautiful name. Have a good evening, Miss Sparkle." "Wait!" I stopped again, facing the young scholar this time. "What is your name, sir?" I answered. "Celest. My name is Celest." I lowered my head, and my hood fell back onto my head. I stepped out the door, and closed it behind me. My mission was complete. The door opened, and Twilight stepped out. "Goodbye," she said, looking for the mysterious Celest that had stepped out the door. She looked around, but saw nothing. I had already hopped the wall, and was rushing back to the place that I told Dusk we would meet. Dusk was already at the waypoint when I arrived. "What took you so long?" She asked with a furrowed brow. "Sorry, I met somepony in the room. Apparently, it was turned into a library after the incident." "Huh, that's something. Did you find anything out?" "Yes, but let's discuss that back at the cave." I noticed that there was a pink, worn book in her saddle-bag. "What's with the book?" "Yeaaaaaahh, about that. I might have-" Her explanation was interrupted by a loud noise, coming from the heart of Canterlot. It sounded like an alarm. Wait, an alarm?! "WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME DID YOU DO?!" I exclaimed over the alarm, which seemed loud enough to alert all of Canterlot. In a slightly quieter tone, but still yelling, Dusk answered: "I MIGHT HAVE ALERTED CELESTIA THAT I WAS IN THE ROOM WHEN I FOUND THE BOOK UNDER HER BED! BUT NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR EXPLANATIONS! IF WE DON'T RUN NOW, THEY'LL FIND US!" I nodded, and we both made a run for it. Dusk had some serious explaining to do when we got back to the cave.