//------------------------------// // The Eyes of History // Story: Shadow of the Sun // by moguera //------------------------------// Chapter 7: The Eyes of History Twilight Sparkle and Arkenstone were followed by Wight Shade into Princess Luna's audience chamber. The first thing that struck Twilight was that the chamber was a good bit smaller than Celestia's, barely more than half the size. The ceiling was lower, and the windows much smaller. Torches burned in sconces partway up the arches running up the walls and across the ceiling. Where Celestia's audience chamber had elaborate chandeliers, Luna's were hung with what appeared to be large lanterns, emitting a soft, mild light. The stonework was different as well. Rather than the gleaming marble that almost all the rest of the castle seemed to be made from, the walls, ceiling and floor of Luna's audience chamber were carved from dark granite. Furthermore, most of the walls and floor were obscured with hangings and thick carpeting of dark blue, purple, and red shades. Because of this, Luna's audience chamber was much darker than Celestia's, even if one factored the fact that night was coming. However, it wasn't a foreboding darkness, but rather, a comforting one. All of the decor combined to give Luna's chambers a comfortable, cozy, cavelike atmosphere. At the far end of the room was a raised dais, much like in Celestia's room. However, the floor before it was strewn with cushions. The dais was dominated by a single large cushion. Upon that cushion rested Princess Luna. At the sight of her, Twilight's eyes widened, not because the Princess was there, but because it was apparent that Princess Luna was fast asleep. A flicker of light drew Twilight's attention to Luna's horn, which glowed with the deep, dark-blue of her magic. "What's going on?" asked Twilight, turning to look at Wight. "What else," replied Luna's majordomo with a shrug, "She is holding court. It might surprise you to learn that Princess Luna sleeps through most of the night." "Why" asked Twilight. A grin spread across Wight's face. "Why don't you find out for yourself." He gestured to the cushions before Luna's throne. "To hold court with her, you must sleep as well." "Huh?" For a moment, Twilight was completely baffled by Wight's instructions. However, she suddenly remembered something she had heard from Rainbow Dash, who had been telling Twilight about the fateful camping trip where she and Scootaloo had bonded. Scootaloo had been having nightmares as a consequence of Rainbow's scary stories, but had been moved to overcome her fears by the intervention of Princess Luna in her dreams. "Oh!" "What?" asked Arkenstone softly. "Princess Luna's going to speak to us in our dreams," said Twilight, looking up at the sleeping princess, "Geez, I wouldn't have bothered coming to Canterlot if it had been so simple as sending a snoozogram." "It's not so simple as that," commented Wight with a chuckle, "Just as with her sister, Princess Luna does not like to show too much favoritism to her ponies. She doesn't tell me much about it, but she can't necessarily pick and choose which dreams to enter unless the ponies having those dreams are in close proximity to her, hence the need for an audience chamber. Otherwise, Princess Luna could hold court over Equestria without having to leave the comfort of her own bed." "I see," said Twilight. She and Arkenstone moved to the cushions and settled into place. Already, the warm, dark, comfortable atmosphere of the audience chamber was beginning to take effect. Twilight felt her eyes drooping. She leaned up against Arkenstone and relaxed. "Pleasant dreams," bid Wight as he left the audience chamber, closing the door behind him. Twilight closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. She drifted through an endless void. All around her, stars winked in and out of sight. Twilight looked around, taking everything in. As far as she could tell, she was in the night sky itself. Looking down past her hooves, she half-expected to see Equestria laid out below her. However, instead she simply saw more darkness and twinkling lights. "It certainly is humbling." Looking next to her, Twilight saw Arkenstone, as though he had just materialized at the moment he had spoken. Turning, the stallion returned her look and Twilight's eyes widened in shock to see his warm, brown eyes once again. "Arky!" Arkenstone turned and eyed his own hooves. Looking more closely, Twilight noticed that Arkenstone seemed a good bit younger than he really was. "What happened?" she asked, "Why are you younger all of a sudden." Arkenstone frowned and turned to look at Twilight. "I suppose it's because this was the age I was when I lost my sight, the last me that I saw with my own eyes. I don't really have much of a notion of what I look like anymore. The concept of sight itself is starting to lose its meaning." He looked at her and smiled. "Going by that logic, I half-expected to see you as a filly here. It looks like I was mistaken. You really have grown into such a beautiful mare." Dream or not, Twilight's blush felt very real to her at that moment. Their conversation was cut short as the mass of stars in front of them began to swirl together before something emerged from them. It was a tall and willowy pony, her coat a dark-blue color that was nearly matched by her eyes. Her mane and tail were the starscape itself, stretching forth from her to enshroud the entire space around them. "Twilight Sparkle," said Luna, giving Twilight a happy smile, "It is nice to see you. Rarely have I had a chance to visit with you in my own domain." Twilight smiled back and bowed slightly. Arkenstone, though he had not been addressed yet, did the same. His motion attracted Luna's attention. "I see," she said, "One of my sister's Knights has accompanied you." "Greetings Your Highness," said Arkenstone politely. As Luna smiled, Twilight looked around. "Where are we exactly?" she found herself asking. "We are in the world of dreams Twilight Sparkle," said Luna, her eyes twinkling, "Have you already forgotten falling asleep in my audience chamber?" "Well yes," replied Twilight, still fascinated by their surroundings, "But why meeting in dreams? What about your court?" "Do you not understand?" asked Luna, spreading her wings wide, "This is my court." "I...I don't understand," said Twilight after a moment. Luna favored the lavender mare with a smile that was more than a little reminiscent of Celestia's whenever the Day Princess had a special lesson to impart to her dear pupil. "It may surprise you to hear this Twilight Sparkle, but I am not actually nocturnal. I sleep during the night as well." "Huh?" "I am the Princess of Night, but also the Princess of Dreams, during the night, I wander amongst the dreams of my little ponies. I help when I can. I soothe little ones during their nightmares, help confused ponies work through their...issues. I see a great many things in my wanderings...Though quite a few of them seem to involve ponies taking a test they haven't studied for while naked." Twilight didn't know what to say about that last one. After all, how could anypony not study for a test? Luna pressed on. "In truth, I have no sleeping dreams of my own." She lifted a hoof and one of the little stars surrounding them zipped in to alight atop it. "In a sense, you could say that my little ponies' dreams are my dreams. My sleep is always thus, wandering amongst these little stars." Twilight frowned. "Are you sure you should be telling us this?" "You did ask," Arkenstone pointed out, earning himself an irritated glare. "I mean," said Twilight, turning back to Luna, "You witness the dreams of ponies, some of their most intimate thoughts and feelings..." "I understand," replied Luna with a smile, letting the star on her hoof drift away, "However, this is the way I am. Ever since I took the mantle of the Night, I have drifted through the dreams of ponies. You're right. Ponies' dreams are very private places. I never specifically speak of what I see there. With my sister's help, I had a geis placed on myself to keep me from breaking the confidence of those through whose dreams I wander. I cannot speak of what I see unless it is to the pony whose dream I'm speaking of." "I see," said Twilight softly. A blush lit her face as she imagined Luna walking through some her more...scientifically detailed dreams. Luna chuckled. "But enough about the details of my domain. Tell me, what brings you here?" "We..." Twilight hesitated, "...I needed to talk to you about something. It's very personal and I'm afraid that it might bring up bad memories for you..." Twilight trailed off. Luna's smile did not waver. "Twilight Sparkle, you are one of my dearest friends. You and your friends saved me from the depths of my madness and pain. When I returned on Nightmare Night, you were the one who went out of her way to help me reconnect with my little ponies once again. You have my eternal respect and gratitude. Please do not be afraid to ask me anything." "It's about..." Twilight gulped. "It's about Nightmare Moon." Luna's smile faded and a troubled expression overtook her face. "I see," she said, "What is it that you wanted to talk to ask me about?" "Have you heard of a phenomenon known as the Eyes of Nightmare?" asked Twilight softly. Luna was silent, a contemplative look washing over her. However, that look soon faded to into one of slight disappointment as the term failed to register with anything in her memories. "I cannot say that I do," she said, "The name seems to indicate that these 'Eyes' you speak of have some connection to my darker image. What are they?" "They are a condition," said Twilight, "You see, after you became Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia sealed you away, there were ponies being born in the world with eyes like Nightmare Moon's, eyes like a dragon's or a cat, now that I think of it. The group that caused you so much grief before, the Order of Celestial Light, termed them the Eyes of Nightmare and claimed that the ponies born with those eyes were demons." Luna shuddered at the mention of the Cult Solar's original name. "Now there is a term that brings up painful memories," she said softly, "I now think I understand what you are talking about and what these Eyes of Nightmare are." "You do?" asked Twilight, in her eagerness briefly forgetting Luna's pained expression, "Can you tell me more?" Luna sighed. "Yes. It is a mysterious thing, those eyes. I don't think they had a name before. I have no idea where they came from or what caused them." "I thought so," said Twilight, "Your eyes were there before you were Nightmare Moon, weren't they?" Luna nodded. "The first time it happened was when Tia and I were battling Discord. "It was a fierce battle for us, though not for him. We never had any hope of winning it. After all, Discord is chaos incarnate. The laws of cause and effect were putty in his claws. Simple things, like the idea that our blows or spells could harm him were things that he ignored at his whim, while he simply tormented us with tricks and jokes. The entire fight was one giant game to him." Luna grimaced. "I remember that he seemed especially fond of dropping anvils on my head." Twilight, who'd been on the receiving end of such an impact herself (followed by a variety of other objects), winced sympathetically. Luna took a deep breath and continued. "At our most desperate, I was laid low by absolute despair. Discord had laughed away our greatest efforts as though they were nothing. We lived only because we continued to supply him with entertainment when he could have easily wiped us from existence with a snap of his claws. Terrified beyond reason, I attacked him with everything I had, digging deeper than I ever had before or since. As usual, nothing happened. But Discord made a passing comment on how my new eyes complimented me quite well. In confusion, I turned to Tia and found her staring at me oddly. She later described the very phenomenon you mentioned." "What happened after that?" asked Twilight eagerly. She knew it was getting off-topic, but this was an opportunity to get a firsthoof account of the Royal Sisters' battle with Discord. "After that, our battle continued. It was a long and grueling one. In truth, Discord was merely toying with us, batting us around for his pleasure, baiting us by offering the illusion of victory one moment, only to snatch it away in the next. When we were at our limits, he banished us from his presence so that he might hunt us down again to begin the game anew, treating the whole thing like hide and seek. "During one of those times, Tia and I stumbled across something remarkable in a gorge not far from the space where the site of our old castle was to eventually be. It was a beautiful tree of glowing white crystal. From its branches hung five gems of different colors, with another resting at its trunk. Upon our touch, the crystals opened and deposited six magnificent jewels into our care. We had no idea what to make of it. Tia thought it some sort of sign and we confronted Discord once again. When we did, the Jewels reacted to our combined magic. To our shock and surprise, Discord's power failed to work against us. In that instant, I realized that these artifacts were the key to our victory. Tia and I united and we drew forth the power of those artifacts and successfully sealed Discord in stone." "So that's how you found the Elements of Harmony," said Twilight Sparkle. "I admit, at the time, the whole revelation seemed much more profound," mused Luna, "But simply relating the account doesn't do it justice." "Perhaps we can explore the topic in more detail another time," said Arkenstone, finally cutting in, "You already mentioned that Princess Celestia described your eyes having changed." Luna nodded. "After the battle, she told me about what had happened to my eyes. I was not the first pony to experience this phenomenon. Even before the reign of Discord, there were apparently ponies who displayed the trait. However, little is known about them. Those eyes were an object of fear and suspicion even then. Tia vowed to keep it a secret between us and so we did." "I see," said Twilight, frowning, this was proving to be less informative than she hoped. With this, they knew that the Eyes of Nightmare preceded Nightmare Moon. But that did nothing to help her figure out their cause. "And what about Nightmare Moon?" asked Arkenstone, making Twilight jump before she turned to gape at him, horrified. He soldiered on, oblivious to her consternation. "It seems the Eyes reemerged when you transformed into your darker aspect. However, their nature appears to be separate from that." Luna looked at him oddly. "I am not so sure," she admitted, "In truth, my eyes were one of the catalysts that drove those idiot cultists to actively label me a demon in the first place." "What happened?" asked Twilight, in spite of herself. She didn't really want to bring Luna's unpleasant memories to the fore, but this could be a critical piece of information. "In its earliest forms, the Order of Celestial Light was relatively harmless," said Luna, a hint of mirth actually creeping into her voice, "My sister was utterly mortified by their shameless adoration. I think that her fear was mostly practical as she realized that their worship of her could lead to ponies holding Tia to a standard that she could never live up to. She wasn't a goddess after all, but they desperately wanted her to be one; especially their founder, some insufferable unicorn called Chat-Chatty-something-or-other. I can't remember her name anymore. She was utterly convinced that my dear sister was utterly infallible. I always remember how Tia's eye would start twitching when she had to deal with that mare. "In any case, I was largely ignored. At first, I found it amusing to watch Tia try desperately to talk those ponies out of worshiping her. However, it quickly grew old after a few decades. However, I began to realize that the cultists were not the only ponies ignoring or overlooking me. Nopony save the occasional astronomer came to my Night Court. Worse still, I began to hear rumblings of discontent regarding my role as the Princess of Dreams. "I had not made any great secret of the fact that I walked in the dreams of ponies, that I helped foals through their nightmares, that I aided others in interpreting their more cryptic dreams. I even took time to reassure ponies with the more bizarre ones that their dreams did not mean that they were deviant or deficient in some fashion. I also made sure ponies knew about the geis. However, many of them simply believed that to be a lie or deception. They believed that I used my abilities to pry into the deepest parts of their souls and use that knowledge for my own gain. "Though the earliest leaders of the Order of Celestial Light were at least earnest in their beliefs, however misguided they may have been, many who followed after them had more secular aspirations. They began to sell idols of my sister, talismans, and protective signs advertising that these objects would protect ponies' dreams from my intrusion." "Did they?" asked Twilight. Luna shook her head. "Of course not. It was mere superstitious nonsense. And many of those who made and sold those charms knew this fact, but continued to feed and propagate ponies' paranoia with me. At one point, I confronted a gathering of the Order with their actions..." Luna's horn flared, conjuring what appeared to be a window in space. It opened onto a stage where Luna stood, looking out over a gathering of ponies, many of whom had dressed themselves in ornate robes and various other over-the-top vestments. The front ranks cowered fearfully away from Luna as she swept her eyes across them. But all of them returned her gaze with looks of disgust or scorn. "Thy crimes art most severe," pronounced Luna, "Thou hast tried to profit by trafficking in lies and superstition. Is thy greed so vast thou wouldst defame thy own Princess for the sake of coin?" A voice shouted from near the back. "Tis not lies to offer protection to our fellow ponies against thy depredations. Ponies deserve sleep untroubled by the nightmares thou bringest forth from the abyss of the night!" "Aye!" concurred another voice, "Thou wouldst call us here to stop our work so that thine prey can be left open to thy invasion." "Again thou lie," snapped Luna, her eyes narrowing, "Thy amulets, idols, talismans, wards, and charms art nothing but cheap trinkets that do nothing. Thou knowest this, but thou continues to sell them, claiming that they ward me off." "Lies!" screamed one pony, "Lies from the demon's mouth! Everything the Nightmare says is a lie!" Almost immediately, the mass of ponies before Luna began to dissolve into an unruly mob, screaming insults and threats, many of them claiming defiance against Princess Luna as she looked on, her anger growing with each passing second. She weathered the storm, gritting her teeth as their shouts and jibes continued to tell against her. However, it was merely tightly fitting a lid over a boiling pot. The pressure continued to build. Finally, Luna's last thread of patience snapped. "ENOUGH!!!" she bellowed, cutting loose with the full force of the Canterlot Royal Voice, "THOU HAST SHOWN THOU ART FILTH OF THE LOWEST ORDER! WE DEMAND THAT THOU DESIST WITH THESE BASELESS ACCUSATIONS!" A hush spread over the crowd. However, it wasn't the quiet that Luna was hoping for. The assembled cultists looked on with wide eyes as they stared up at Luna, a visceral horror etched into their expressions. For a moment, Luna was befuddled by the change in their behavior. Then she caught a faint whisper midway back through the crowd. "Her eyes!" Immediately, Luna called upon her magic to conjure herself a mirror and look at her own face. To her stunned shock, a pair of turquoise, slit-pupil eyes looked back at her. "Behold!" shouted one of the ponies in the audience, "The demon shows her true nature. Thou canst not deceive us any longer!" "Thou art not a Princess!" shrieked another, "Thou art a monster. Those eyes of thine reveal the truth about thyself!" "Thou art not one of ponykind." "Thou art a phantasm of darkest dreams!" "A creature of nightmares!" "Nay! The Nightmare!" "Yes! Thou art the spawn of darkest night!" "Nightmare Moon!" "Stop!" cried Luna, no longer using the Royal Voice. Even with her draconic eyes, it was easy to see how much the cries against her hurt. Before her, ponies swore and uttered oaths, some made signs of protection, as though trying to ward off evil spirits. The crowd was completely out of control. Luna's cries were drowned out. The portal closed with a snapping spark and Luna turned away from the memory. Turning back to face Twilight and Arkenstone, she paused when she saw that Twilight had tears in her eyes. Before she could say anything, Twilight rushed forward and reared up to throw her arms around Luna's neck. "Princess! I'm so sorry!" Twilight pressed her face into Luna's neck, tears running freely. Luna felt tears of her own running down her face. Leaning forward, the Princess of the Night returned Twilight's embrace. "Thank you Twilight Sparkle," she said softly, the pain in her heart eased by her friend's concern. After a moment, Twilight let go and backed away. Both she and the Princess were smiling now. From behind Twilight, Arkenstone spoke up. "So that was the incident that led to you being called Nightmare Moon." Reminded of the true purpose of their conversation, Twilight felt her smile fade. Luna answered Arkenstone's observation. "Yes. After that, the story of my eyes began to spread amongst the ponies of Equestria. I have no doubt that the cultists did everything they could to accelerate the process. Tia did her best to protest this development, but her words were drowned out. The members of the Order declared that I was forcing Tia to lie against her will, that I kept her prisoner in our castle, that I trapped her in my web of deceit...Really, whatever excuse suited their purposes at the time. Finally, I could stand it no longer." Luna's form melted and was replaced by the armored specter of Nightmare Moon, her eyes clearly on display for her audience. A second later, the illusion melted away and Luna returned to normal. "Nightmare Moon was an outward manifestation of all my negative feelings, all my rage, my sorrow, my pain, everything that I tried to lock away in order to be a good ruler like my sister. It all came barreling out. I wrapped it around myself like armor and gave myself new shape. It was...liberating...I cared nothing for what ponies thought of me. I no longer cared if they saw my eyes. I enjoyed it. No longer did they fear me because of baseless rumors, but because I wished it. I had power over them. I was the one in control. I relished that feeling of control. I completely lost myself in those visceral, intoxicating feelings. I locked everything else out. "Tia tried her hardest to get through to me. But, in the throes of my madness, I could no longer hear her. In desperation, she used the Elements on me, hoping to dispel my magic. However, that power was not meant to be used by a single individual. Unable to control their power, she nearly destroyed me on the spot." "What?" exclaimed Twilight, "How could she?" "It was not her fault," said Luna, "As I said, it was the fact that a single pony cannot truly command the power of the Elements of Harmony. Tia could not guide the release of energy to purge me of my madness while leaving me unharmed. The released power threatened to consume me entirely. Left with no other recourse, she changed the spell into one of banishment, sending me to the moon. Even then, the power of the spell ensured that it would be a thousand years before I could escape." Twilight's face fell as she imagined how it must have felt to Celestia, to have her sister driven to madness by a religious order dedicated to her own worship, to be forced to choose between sending her away for a thousand years or destroying her completely. Twilight could understand why Celestia locked herself away during the first years of her sole reign. "Interesting," mused Arkenstone, as ever, remaining on topic, "I believe that gives us some insight into how the Eyes work." "What do you mean?" asked Twilight. "What do the occasions where Luna's eyes transformed have in common?" asked Arkenstone. Twilight though it over for a moment. The first time had been during Princesses' battle with Discord, when Luna had attacked him in a fit of anger and desperation. The second time was when Luna had snapped at the cultists and their accusations towards her. The other time was when Luna finally turned into Nightmare Moon... "Anger..." Twilight mused, "No...more like survival instinct." "It would seem so," agreed Arkenstone, "It appears, in the normal course of things, the Eyes are triggered by some form of Fight or Flight instinct, their appearance coinciding when the one who carries the trait perceives having been backed into a corner." "Of course!" exclaimed Twilight, "That explains everything!" "It does?" asked Luna. "Yes. The legends surrounding the Eyes talk about them appearing when the one affected by them does 'Nightmare Moon's bidding,'" explained Twilight, "If the Eyes emerge in response to anger or somepony feeling cornered and desperate, then that would explain why they are associated with violence and dark emotions." "It would give the impression that the one bearing them was merely hiding her true nature, as the cultists accused you," said Arkenstone, looking at Luna, "So that's how the Cult Solar's legend was shaped." Twilight let out a sigh. "But that still doesn't explain where the trait originates from. In order to truly end this farce, we have to discover the true source of the Eyes of Nightmare." However, she smiled after that. "But this is a big help. Thank you Princess." Luna smiled at Twilight. "Thank you Twilight Sparkle. For a long time, Tia has been the only pony that I've been able to talk with about my darker time. I think that she was trying to protect me by not bringing this up. Can you tell me why you sought this knowledge?" Twilight nodded and related Dawn's story to Luna. Luna's eyes widened when she heard about Dawn's difficulties. "Truly Tia, you are too much sometimes," she muttered, realizing that Celestia had kept this information from her, "How could you allow this colt to suffer simply to protect my feelings?" "I think Princess Celestia was hoping for me to find out about the eyes through other channels," said Twilight, "And, to be honest, it never occurred to me to even approach you until Spitfire suggested it. I knew that you had the condition as well, but I thought that talking to you about it would bring up the pain of your past." "And it did," admitted Luna, who was smiling nonetheless, "But having somepony to talk to about these dark matters, not keeping it locked away like some deep secret has helped to ease my heart." Twilight smiled up at Luna, tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm glad we could help you even when you helped us Princess." "So am I Twilight Sparkle," replied Luna, "I take it you have gotten what you were looking for." "More than I could have hoped," said Twilight. She realized that she would still have to follow her other lines of inquiry later. "If it's not too much trouble Princess, could I bother you to come to Ponyville when you have the opportunity? I would like to run some tests on you to see if we can narrow down the common trait that causes the Eyes." "Of course," replied Luna, "And I would like my chance to meet this young colt. He sounds like a very interesting pony from what I have heard." "Thank you," said Twilight Sparkle. She and Arkenstone bowed their heads to Luna, who nodded. "Farewell for now Twilight Sparkle, Sir Arkenstone, I must return to my regular duties. My steward shall see you out." With that, the dream began to fade and both ponies found themselves returning to the waking world. Twilight awoke with a yawn. "Well, that was informative," she said. Arkenstone nodded and got to his hooves, took a step forward...and immediately tripped. "Bother," he muttered, his face having planted itself, fortunately, into one of the pillows strewn across the floor, "I hope it doesn't take too long for me to get used to not having eyes again." Twilight giggled. However, when she inhaled again, she caught a whiff of brimstone, a very familiar scent. Looking down, she saw that a rolled up letter had deposited itself on the floor in front of her while she'd been asleep. "A letter from Spike!' Twilight's magic lifted up the letter and she quickly unrolled it, her eyes scanning the contents. "Oh no!" "What is it?" asked Arkenstone. He took the letter from Twilight and ran his frog over the ink-covered page. "Oh." "We have to get back to Ponyville right away!" exclaimed Twilight, "Oh Dawn! And poor Fluttershy! I can't imagine what they're going through!" "Calm down," said Arkenstone gently, his voice cutting through Twilight's panic, "It sounds as though Red River and Storm Front have things well in hoof. There is nothing we can do about the assassin at the moment. But, at the very least, she is no longer a threat." He lifted a hoof and rested it against Twilight's shoulder. "Have faith in your friends and do your part to help them by carrying on with your work. The thing that you can do that will help Dawn the most is solving the mystery of his eyes." Twilight nodded. At that moment, the door to the audience chamber opened and Wight Shade came trotting through. "Did everything work out alright?" he asked. Twilight nodded. "Good," said Wight, "Your brother is waiting outside. Apparently he got a message that's left him rather distraught. He would like to speak with you about it." Twilight looked at the letter that she had just received and wondered if that was what Shining Armor wanted to speak to her about. As she and Arkenstone made their way through the doors, Twilight pausing to cast one last look at Princess Luna as she continued to sleep on the dais, her horn still glowing with magic. However, she noted a contented smile on Luna's face as the door closed behind them. "What's going on?" "My Lord, Dame Twilight Sparkle has been seen within the palace." "What? When?" "Just this afternoon." "Why is she here?" "Apparently, she was seeking an audience with Princess Luna." "Since when does Princess Celestia's prize student need to request an audience? She should be able to walk right in and talk to Princess Luna if she so likes." "I do not know Your Lordship." "Ugh. Fine. I heard she was in Canterlot earlier today. Where in the palace is she staying?" "I do not believe she is staying in the palace Your Lordship. She appears to be staying with her family in the city." "Damn! Find out which way she'll be leaving through and tell me. With any luck, I'll be able to intercept her. This is my chance to seize control of the situation." "My Lord, it appears that she is not alone. There appears to be somepony else with her." "Who?" "His name appears to be Arkenstone. I have not found out a great deal about him, save that he met with Princess Celestia herself around a month ago." "What is his rank?" "He does not appear to have one Your Lordship." "Then he's probably a servant of some sort. No doubt he was appointed to Twilight Sparkle by the Princess herself. But he clearly holds no title. He's of no consequence. Now hurry up and find out which way she's taking to get out of the palace. "Yes My Lord!" "What's the matter Shiny?" asked Twilight as she came out of the audience chamber's entryway. Shining Armor looked up from a letter identical to the one she received. "Did you hear about this?" he asked. Twilight nodded and held up her own copy. The two of them frowned at each other as they realized that one of their worst fears had come to pass. The Cult Solar had found out Dawn's location. "Do you think it was Bedrock?" asked Twilight, referring to the belligerent stallion that Red River had apprehended. Shining shook his head. "No. We've been holding him here in Canterlot. Any inquiries from Colt Hollow have been answered with a message saying he's been charged with initiating a violent disturbance. There haven't been any efforts to follow up on those inquiries yet." "So then how did they find him?" asked Twilight, settling onto her haunches. "It may have something to do with Cloudsdale," remarked Arkenstone, "To those involved in the situation, Dawn was a very visible part of the conflict." Twilight's mind turned to what she had heard about the situation. "Could it have been Perlin?" Perlin Bluestreak, the mysterious colt that had been hired by Meadowlark's faction to serve as extra muscle had escaped arrest at the Battle of Cloudsdale (as it was being called in some circles) and was still at large. Given that he appeared to be a mercenary in a vein similar to Red River or Storm Front, it was quite possible that he had sold the information about Dawn's existence to an interested party. "According to what Rainbow Dash told us, he's supposed to be the son of Duke Torchlight in Trottingham. He's probably holed up on his father's estate." "Unfortunately, without definitive proof, I can't conduct an investigation of a duke's private holdings," said Shining, "According to the official record. Duke Torchlight's son is gravely ill and unable to leave the home. Ever since Torchlight's passing, the estate has been under the care of the family physician. However, so long as his son is still reputed to be alive, we still have to treat the holdings as under the protection of his title." "Will finding how word got out do us any good now?" asked Blueblood, looking around at the others, "Regardless of how they found out, this Cult Solar you've been warning us about is already on the move. I find it hard to believe that they marshaled an assassin so quickly. It's only been a few days since the affair in Cloudsdale." "From what I have heard about how this Willow operates, it's likely that the Cult commissioned her services a while ago and she has been actively searching for Dawn since," remarked Arkenstone. "So now what?" asked Fancy Pants, "I understand that you wish to protect this colt. But if his enemies have already found out that he lives in Ponyville, then the only recourse we have is to send him into hiding." "We can't do that!" protested Twilight, "It's bad enough he was already being hounded to the point that he had to hide in the Everfree Forest for a year. I don't want to force him or Fluttershy through that." "Normally I'd say that it's our only choice," said Shining, "After all, we were lucky this time. Collateral damage was kept to a minimum. But, if this keeps up, then ordinary townsponies are going to get swept up into the conflict. If that happens, somepony could get killed. "However, that's what we hired Storm Front and Red River for. And now, once you get back to Ponyville, Arkenstone will be there as well." Shining looked over at Arkenstone. "Do you think, between the three of you, you can protect the town if worst comes to worst." Arkenstone nodded slowly. "I believe it is within our skills. We have...other assets in Ponyville as well. Assassins of Willow's caliber are rare in any case. It's highly unlikely that even a group like the Cult Solar would default to hired hooves on a regular basis." "What makes you say that?" asked Fancy Pants. Arkenstone gave them a thin-lipped smile. "The Cult Solar is a group driven by a doctrine called 'faith.' They believe that they are performing a righteous act in seeking out and trying to kill Dawn. Groups that are so driven find it...distasteful to frequently resort to hired blades who are more interested in money than the 'rightness' of their cause. In the most likely scenario, Willow's defeat will cement this idea for them and they will be even less-inclined to hire skilled killers in the future." "So, all we need to worry about is a bunch of bumbling zealots on some holy crusade," said Blueblood, "That's a bit more reassuring." "Are you sure?" asked Twilight, jumping back into the conversation, "A trained professional, like this Willow mare, is less likely to cause collateral damage. But a bunch of thugs driven by some insane dogma is much more likely to cause additional damage to ponies besides Dawn." "But we shall have less difficulty restraining them," replied Arkenstone, "The real trouble is that we cannot assume that the Cult Solar does not have somepony of a higher caliber within their ranks. We know next to nothing of their membership after all." Fancy Pants sighed. "And so we have another dark matter to deal with. I wish I could be of more help." He shook his head. "But I'm not cut out for matters of violence. I shall return to my work trying to rein in the Court. Farewell." Fancy Pants exchanged nods with all of them and left the audience chamber. Arkenstone swiveled his ears towards Twilight. "What now?" "I don't know," said Twilight with a soft groan, "I was hoping to find what I was looking for before the Cult Solar found out Dawn's location. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I just don't know where to go from here. I can keep working on my research, but somepony could get seriously hurt in the meantime. I...I need to think about this more." Shining Armor glanced at Arkenstone as Arkenstone's ears swiveled in his direction. The two of them nodded. "I think the two of us should discuss some plans to figure out what we can do to keep our problems in Ponyville from getting out of hoof." Arkenstone turned his muzzle towards Blueblood. "Your Grace, though it is rather presumptuous of me, could I ask you to escort Twilight back to her parents' home in the city." A friendly smile spread across Blueblood's face. "Of course Arkenstone. I don't know why you're being so formal." "Force of habit," replied the beige stallion with a shrug, "Given all my training when I was younger, I tend to default to it in situations like this." "Training?" Twilight glanced back and forth between Arkenstone and Blueblood. "Well then, I shall see you later this evening Twilight," said Arkenstone, "I won't be too far behind you, so don't worry." Arkenstone and Twilight's older brother left, leaving her alone with Prince Blueblood, a distinctly uncomfortable situation to be sure. Given the words they had exchanged before Twilight's audience with the Princess, it was obvious that the two of them weren't at ease in each other's company just yet. Blueblood and Twilight looked at each other. Almost simultaneously, an awkward grin spread across their faces.