Vespertine

by Orthios

Chapter One

A lot can happen in a year. Plans, places, ponies, everything changes over time. After accepting Princess Luna’s offer, my life changed immensely. The days I used to spend tending to the library and freely glancing over whatever information caught my fancy were instead filled with intense study and training in both magical and mundane areas. At the time I had no idea why she wanted to cover so many things so quickly, but seeing her actually happy for once, even if it was my ability to keep pace, barely, with the insane teaching, more than made up for the exhausting effort. To maximize the amount of time spent on lessons, and because my teacher didn’t approve of my previous living arrangement, I was moved away from my cozy, if somewhat run-down, apartment in the slums of Canterlot and into a recently refurbished chamber in the cast that practically oozed luxury. Not that I actually used it much after my initial lessons anyway.

Every teacher has a different method of teaching; as fas as I could tell Celestia and Twilight Sparkle preferred verbal styles, talking and reading through material. Princess Luna on the other hoof, teaches best with a physical style. She’s an especially strong believer in learning through application and experience. I ended up barely spending any time in my new residence, most of my waking hours, from mid-afternoon into the night mostly, were spent relaying messages across Equestria and beyond. After each message was delivered, I was given free reign to explore and study whatever new place I found myself. Between six hours and two weeks later, I would receive a request to return to Canterlot.

And so, ten months later I received a letter after a week and a half visiting a native Equestrian tribe asking me to return again. As always, it was not a request, so I packed up and left the buffalo in the outskirts of Appleloosa, only to end up lost in the middle of Canterlot Castle during my less-than-impressive, supposedly triumphant return.

I checked my mental map of the palace again against my surroundings. By the stars, why did every hall have to look the same? It certainly didn’t help that this far in the halls was mostly deserted, except for the occasional patrolling guard. A few heading to or from their stations gave me a cursory glance as I passed but nopony said anything. Either I was supposed to be here or they would have the pleasure of removing me, and not in the gentle way.

It was one of the few times I regretted not staying in the castle long enough for more than a couple guards to recognize me. At least then, one of them could have directed me to the throne room. As it was, the combination of my pride as a stallion to never ask for directions and the occasional nightmares about being dragged out of my bed by the guard for being “an abomination” prevented me from asking one myself.

A gentle breeze tickled uncomfortably at my chest, offering a pleasant distraction from my thoughts. My horn ignited in a soft turquoise glow, projecting an aura of the same color that readjusted the buttons of my shirt. The click of my silver shoes on the polished marble floors echoed down the halls. “Please don’t notice the obviously lost unicorn,” some little part of my mind quietly pleaded at the newest guard to glance my way.

After ten more minutes of random wandering, I reached the doorway to the throne room, a brief nod to the two guards keeping an eye out, and I was through. Or rather, I would have been if a navy blue aura hadn’t snapped into existence around me and pulled me into the air just before I entered. And I didn’t scream like a small filly at the sudden lack of gravity. Trust me on this, I didn’t.

The aura itself felt cool, relaxing, and very familiar. I was turned slightly to find a pair of eyes matching the hue of the magic surrounding me.

“Hello, Princess.” I greeted the lunar princess as respectfully as I could. Turns out you can’t really manage the proper respect while wildly flailing in the air trying to readjust your aerial position to face the member of royalty addressing you. Just in case you ever wondered. All I managed to do was flip myself upside down.Very few ponies could get away with calling the princess by her name without adding any kind of honorific. I’m not one of them.

She stared at my ridiculous position in her usual stoic way. “Hello my student, I did not expect you to arrive so quickly.”

For anypony else, being held in the air by one of the princesses probably would have been grounds for an all-out panic of epic proportions. Unfortunately, at this point I was pretty much use to it. Luna tended to be… enthusiastic during her lessons. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for anypony in the castle to find her galloping from one room to another with me in tow. Often times, in situations very similar to the one I was currently in.

I squirmed a little in Luna’s magical grasp in order to retrieve the rolled piece of parchment from the left side of my saddlebags. “I returned as quickly as I could once I received your letter. What sort of test am I to be presented with?” Ugh, I really hate having to be this formal, but one must always be respectful to the princesses. Or with Luna at least, Celestia tends to be more laid back.

“A situation has arisen in the far north of Equestria,” Luna began, “My sister is briefing her pupil of the mission you both will be undertaking as we speak.

“Oh, you stopped using the royal we. That’s…” It took a moment for her words to process. “Mission?! What mission?”

A small but serious frown fell over Luna’s features. Her eyebrows furrowed and her left ear twitched ever so slightly, the usual tells of her thinking deeply. Funny, six months ago I thought it was adorable, not that I would ever mention it to her, now it just made me nervous. Her face relaxed again but her voice remained grave.

“My sister and I remain unsure of how or why but after a thousand years absence, the Crystal Empire and its inhabitants have returned.”

 “Seriously? What is with you ponies and the thousand years thing? Is nine hundred and ninety nine too difficult to say? What about a thousand and one?” I replied without thinking, even as my ears flicked forward to give her my full attention.

She stopped in front of a large oak door with a stylized crescent moon decorating it, some small part of my brain recognized the mark as a symbol for her private chambers, before turning back to glare. Bitter cold seeped into the magic projected around me as Luna made her unhappiness known. Oops, she wasn’t pleased about that last comment. It wasn’t so much disrespectful, but it was far too familiar for our working relationship. I quickly apologized and promised to remain respectful for the rest of the duration of my briefing. I even meant it this time.

“It was actually one thousand and sixty three years, but a thousand is easier to say and for most ponies to remember.” The slight bite to her words made it clear that my apology didn’t quite cut it. I was set back on the floor, a little more roughly than absolutely necessary, as the magic released me. Finally! I was starting to lose feeling in my hooves. The blood rushing to my head probably wasn’t that great for me either...

“The Crystal Empire?” I mused over it for a moment, repeating it a few times to see if the name brought up anything in my head. “I might remember reading mentions of it while I was working in the Archive but only brief mentions in one or two of the more obscure texts, nothing concrete.”

The alicorn simply nodded in response. “I didn’t expect you to, anything about it in the Archive would have been examined and stored away long before your time. Not even my sister and I know much about the Empire itself; Celestia was busy with the populace while I... I was having trouble with some darker urges at the time…”

She closed her eyes for a moment as a slight shiver ran down her spine. Luna is a strong mare, probably the strongest I’ve ever met, but even the strongest pony can be broken. The deep, bleeding wounds on her psyche were healing but I wasn’t sure the scars would ever leave her. I’d heard that after her return she suffered night terrors and panic attacks. I don’t know about the nightmares, but by the time she took me as a student, the panic attacks had been reduced to bouts of melancholy and periodic flashbacks when she came across a reminder of her time as Nightmare Moon. I could count the number of times I had seen even a glimpse of a break down on two hooves, including now.

I awkwardly stood next to her, unsure about how to act. Normal ponies wouldn’t hesitate to spring forward and wrap her in a hug, but after the glare I got for the slip in decorum I wasn’t sure it would be appreciated. It doesn’t help that I’m not big on physical contact with unfamiliar ponies either. And despite the fact that she had been personally tutoring me for a year, Luna was still very much a stranger.

 Luna straightened again, blinking away the moisture that had accumulated in her eyes while she put on a stoic mask. She wasn’t crying. Princesses do not cry and if I say anything contrary to that fact Luna will make me go sit in the Night Court and deal with Canterlot’s nobility.

Celestia once “talked” me into doing that when I walked in on her devouring an entire carton of rocky road ice cream for reasons I’m still unsure of. Never again…

I chose to take a seat near her, but not particularly close, on the plush carpeting of the room. Everypony has their creature comforts, it just so happens one of Luna’s is really soft carpeting. I guess I could understand, considering the shoes she has to wear at all hours of the night.

She took a deep deep breath and continued on as if nothing had occurred. “As I was saying, the Empire contains a strange but powerful magic that affects all of Equestria. If the Empire is filled with positive emotion, joy, love, kindness, then those things will be reflected across all of Equestria. If darkness is allowed to poison the Empire, then so shall Equestria be plunged into the abyss as well…”

Her words fell heavily on my mind. How could such a place exist outside of our recorded history? If it was that important how could have it have been allowed to disappear apparently without a trace?

“The disastrous has already occurred, the one who displaced it has returned as well. The former ruler and a former apprentice of mine, is a dark hearted unicorn named Sombra. He was banished from Equestria after seeking and acquiring dark knowledge while studying under me. Your task is to defend the citizens and prevent him from reclaiming the empire as his own.”

Great, I thought, I have to deal with a power hungry one.

Her serious expression darkened once again. “Be warned, at the very least he is an accomplished necromancer and a master of dark magics even. That is without considering whatever else he may have done to amass power while hidden from our sight.”

Scratch that. I have to deal with an insane, mind-numbingly powerful unicorn, his undead army, and whatever else he has planned. Oh goody… My head lightly thumped the ground repeatedly. At least the oppressive atmosphere had lifted, I should probably have found it strange that talking about something that could kill me was less difficult than dealing with being respectful. If I were the introspective type of pony, that would probably say something unflattering about me. Luckily, I’m not an introspective pony.

She took my silence as acceptance, and began to brief me on what lay ahead. “I’ll have to make arrangements for you to travel north. The train my sister’s pupil and her friends shall be using this afternoon should have more than enough room to take you as well.” My teacher made me hold eye contact as she very clearly stated, “Although you most likely will be in different areas for most, if not all, of you time in the Empire, please behave if you find yourself in their presence. They are very important individuals.”

Honestly, after that speech there wasn’t much I could even think about besides agreeing with her. At least, nothing remotely productive. “Yes princess. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Thank you, my student.” Luna nodded before fixing me with an analyzing stare. Don’t twitch, don’t twitch! I really dislike ponies staring at me. “Your appearance has changed. Have you grown again?”

“Yes.” I forced myself to once again be still under her gaze. Where before the top of my head came up to her neck, now it was eye-level for her. “My best guess is that the most recent magical surge affected my physical growth pattern. Or it’s possible that I inherited more from my father’s side than I thought. Or both.”

“Interesting hypothesis, that’s not the only part that’s changed or even the most noticeable.” I gave her a curious look as a thoughtful expression found its way onto her face. Her eyes swept across me, thankfully much quicker this time. “You seem older… More mature perhaps. Whatever the case may be, it suits you. In fact, you remind me of a pony I once knew.” A flicker of something crossed her face for a moment, too fast for me to catch, before continued in a much quieter tone. “She was a curious mare with a vast intelligence to match. It was her curiosity that drew us together, but in the end it was the same trait that separated us.” Luna sighed wistfully. “You even have the similar coloring, grey fur but you have a lighter blue mane.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Luna, Equestria’s reclusive princess just compared me to one of her friends. At least it sounds like they were friends, I didn’t want to think about if she just compared me to an enemy. I like looking at the moon but I don’t have any desire to see it up close. How in Tartarus are you supposed to answer to that?! Wait… Did that mean I had a mare’s coloring?

 Either oblivious to my inner turmoil or deciding to ignore it, Luna returned to business. “Now, the train will leave tonight at eight. What shall you do until then?”

Luckily, my mouth doesn’t need my brain to think for it to operate. “I planned to unpack what little I have while preparing what supplies I’ll need.”

A slow smile spread across her muzzle. Not the warm, cute, slightly infectious one she usually had, no this one made the fur on the back of my neck raise and made me want to not run but sprint in the opposite direction. Before I even had the chance to turn around, I found myself floating in Luna’s magic again.

“I have already procured your supplies. Your newfound growth, however, has presented us with a problem. I can’t allow you to be unpresentable…”

The rest of the day was filled with a few necessary lessons on Equestria’s frozen north, a really unpleasant trip to the royal tailor to refit an entire new wardrobe, and a painful sparring session with a feathering alicorn. Luna informed me, while telekinetically slamming me into the ground again, the more I practice fighting something much more powerful than I currently am, the better prepared I’ll be if such a situation actually occurs. Personally, I think she just like bouncing me off of the walls and dirt in the guard training area. Eventually I did escape Luna’s clutches, but it took a lot of convincing.

No, I did not whine. No matter what she says about it.

Eventually, the time for me to leave came around. Though some crazy pony broke out in song at some point in the day, I think they were singing something about being unprepared, but I didn’t give it much attention. Luna gave a grave farewell at the castle’s entrance when it came time to depart, just before quickly hoofing me a large box with orders to not open it until I was already on the train and disappearing into the castle.

So, I stood at the empty train station’s platform with my one piece of luggage, waiting for my ride to probable doom. Thinking about it, it was a little depressing that this wasn’t that far outside of the norm for me. The wind tugged at my saddlebags while I scanned the tracks in one of my new shirts.

Glancing down at my covered barrel, I had to fight down the faint sense of approval to keep up my unhappiness at the rude tailor. Even so, I had to admit to the quality of her refitting, you’d never be able to tell it had been adjusted. A dress shirt covered my chest, forelegs and most of my barrel, the crisp white material and long sleeves definitely helped tone down the exposure to the stiff wind tugging at it. Apparently the shirt itself was from an up and coming seamstress from some small town who was trying to branch out from just making dresses. It wasn’t uncommon for artists, and I’m sure she considered herself an artist, to put their mark somewhere on their work. This mare wasn’t any different, leaving three tiny gems on the inside of the left cuff to mark it as something she created.
 
I quietly mused over why I felt so much more comfortable with the shirt on. Regularly worn accessories are common among ponies, shirts obviously being mine. After a while it sort of becomes part of your persona. Ponies start associating it to you, even assuming that something’s wrong when it’s not with you, and you feel uncomfortable without it.
 
I was so deep in my thoughts that I almost missed the group stepping onto the platform as the train finally pulled in. Six mares and what appeared to be a young salamander carrying a stack of suitcases that dwarfed him. The pale yellow one on the far left, hiding ever so slightly behind the orange one seemed familiar but I couldn’t place her for my life. The aforementioned orange one stopped for a moment to adjust the Stetson on her blonde mane. The middle left one, the lavender colored unicorn, seemed seriously nervous about something. Was she claustrophobic? Maybe I should offer her some of the relaxants I use to keep mine under control. No wait, the middle right one calmed her down. The porcelain white unicorn with purple hair, patted Lavender gently on the side. She must have said something, but I couldn’t hear from the other side of the platform. The pink one bounced in place with a smile that had no business fitting on her face, I swear I felt my sanity flinch a little when my gaze swept past her.

Bloody Tartarus, where did she get that cannon? Oh good, it just shoots confetti.

 And finally floating above the group was a cyan colored pegasus with rainbow colored hair. I idly wondered if she dyes it.

Once again, I was extremely thankful for the old, battered pair of brass goggles covering my eyes. Besides being a parting gift from my father, I had layered several enhancements on them. The spell on the lenses was one of the most used for eye-wear in the world, the spell would periodically measure the amount of light in an area and darken accordingly. With the sensitive eyesight of noctis ponies and my habit of being awake in the daylight hours, it was one of the first spells I ever learned. As for the other enchantment in place, I’d once heard of a story in which a gryphon used certain enchantments to change his appearance into that of a normal pony, unfortunately such spells were far beyond my grasp. Instead, the runes scratched into the inside of the worn headband were for a very minor, but very useful illusion to make idle glances tend to slide off of me. Better to not be noticed at all than worry about a high level spell failing under duress.
 
Of course, the universe had to prove any and all preparations I made absolutely useless. Rainbow mane apparently noticed me watching her curiously, she swooped low and back up in a surprising display of aerial agility. She shot a wink and a smirk over her shoulder as she flitted into the open cabin.
 
…What the what?
 
Shaking my head, preferring not to think about whatever that was, I stepped into a separate, blissfully empty cart. A moment later the train whistled shrilly and started with a violent jerk that knocked me off of my hooves. I groaned as I stood again. Hopefully those mares were already in their seats.
 
Carefully, I slipped my single suitcase into one of the overhead compartments before settling onto one of the benches. After a few futile attempts to get caught up on my reading, the gentle rock of the cart on the tracks lulled me to sleep.

 
I ended up being the last pony off of the train, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I stepped out onto platform. Immediately, the bitterly cold wind began trying to slice through my clothes while the powdery snow picked up by the gusts cut my face. Luckily, the contents of the box Luna gave me were an immense help.
 
The first present from princess Luna was a navy blue, double-breasted guards coat, an old style based off of the ones once worn by officers in the Equestrian Guard. Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference between it and a greatcoat but the note attached insisted on my using the correct terminology for it.

My teacher has weird tastes.

 My new coat held up against the harsh wind nicely while the other part of the gift, two star-shaped cufflinks, in my shirt held heating charms to stop me from freezing to death. Finally, the matching cravat pin in my lapel just seemed silly to me but Luna seemed to be literally old fashioned.
 
Oddly enough, those tiny bits of silver made me smile. I’m not much for jewelry, it just seems like a waste of time and bits for something I wouldn’t wear, but they were a gift. The tiny copies of Luna’s mark were a display of her officially recognizing me as her apprentice. Until now she had never done anything, or even tried to say that the training and lessons were about me being her protégé rather than just a temporary arrangement.
 
“Note to self: Thank Luna for the presents when I get back,” I absently murmured, after a thought of why I was in that forsaken wasteland I added, “If I get back.”
 
The group of mares was apparently the only other passengers, at least the only ones getting off on this forsaken stop. They were gathered around a rather tall stallion while purple conversed with him but they didn’t seem to notice me. Just behind them, the little salamander sprinted around in a futile effort to catch a few scarves that the wind had picked up. I quickly pulled them back in my telekinetic grip and lowered them to his reach before they could get away. He happily grabbed them, blinked in confusion as I seemed to appear from nowhere when the action broke the illusion surrounding me, giving me a nod of thanks while folding them and starting to pack them away again. I snagged one of them again, the purple one, and wrapped it around his neck before closing the suitcase.
 
Honestly, what was the kid doing here without a jacket? I thought about giving him my coat, but it would probably try to eat him.
 
With the child more or less taken care of, I made a mental note to help him with the overstuffed luggage when the group started moving again, I drifted a little closer to listen to white male hollering directions.
 
 “-Keeps trying to get in. We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place.” He was quite speaking loudly to compensate for the wind.
 
Finally, they started moving in what looked like a random direction. There were no paths cut through the snow but the stallion seemed to know where he was going. I followed through on my note, making sure to grab the heaviest suitcase from the salamander as well as my own.
 
Purple seemed surprised by the news from the stallion but pressed on for more answers. “But Princess Celestia said I was being sent here to find a way to protect the Empire! If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected.”
 
A bestial growl cut through the howling storm, making Yellow freak out. “Th-That's one of the things, isn't it?”
 
…What things? I wasn’t informed of any ‘things’ prowling in this storm! My teacher was going to pay if something tried to eat me again.
 
The stallion called for everypony to keep moving to the Empire but the column of shadows suddenly rising up behind us rooted them all in place
 
He recovered the fastest, darting forward to grab the salamander in his magic, simultaneously scattering the rest of the little guy’s luggage as well, before turning and sprinting towards the Empire. I grabbed the luggage in my own aura and took off the running group.
 
“Almost there!” The stallion called as the shimmering barrier protecting the Empire came into view. I paused just outside of the bubble to see him turn around and blast the mammoth shadow chasing us. The tightly controlled beam passed through the shapeless mass harmlessly while it descended on him.
 
“Oh, no you don’t.” I grunted while tapping into the energy that lay simmering beneath my skin, begging to be released. There are many different ways for a magic user to focus their raw energy into a specific spell, from rings to totems to pentacles, I’ve even heard of somepony using hymns. Personally though, I fall back on a method that’s been around in one form or another for millennia, runes.

The first runes were written to allow whatever species created them to externally focus their magic. Each one had a specific meaning and use. As the centuries passed, methods of stringing different symbols together to expand or change the use of the individuals. For example, if a rune for a wind spell were linked with one for force, the result would be something like a hurricane force gale being released. Eventually, they fell out of practice as easier to learn methods were developed.

The symbols smoothly came from memory as I focused magic into my horn just like every time before. By now the action came to me as easily as breathing. Rather than the concentrated beam the evidently insane stallion used, this spell was meant to spread the impact into a wave of force. Instead of a diffuse wave of force meant to momentarily distract being released, a feathering wall of turquoise energy erupted from me, momentarily blinding myself and shoving the creature back.

I couldn’t waste time wondering how in Tartarus I managed that, the stallion still wasn’t moving and without any magic left I couldn’t use my telekinesis. Having to settle with awkwardly pulling him onto my back, we hauled flank towards the Empire. Risking the chance of breaking my neck if I slipped, I shot a quick glance around the bulky body behind me.

The creature had recovered from its surprise much faster than I had hoped, the inky tendrils of darkness from its form reached for us just inches away. The snow beneath my hooves shook as it growled nearly upon us with the Empire just a few steps away. I threw myself at the shimmering field with all of my might, slipping though it easily. My tail barely cleared the barrier before the shadow crashed into the shield. It lingered for a moment, trying to find a weak point or maybe just glaring at us before drift back the way we came.
 
I lay on sprawled with my stomach on the ground, the stallion still on my back, trying to remember how to breathe. What do they feed this guy? Some part of my mind questioned as the air was forced from my lungs by his weight.
 
Purple dove for the stallion, the combination of adrenaline, exhaustion from the spell, and instinct usually would have nearly made me use what was left of my magic to blast the sudden movement. All I really managed was to kind of flop uselessly. Ignoring me, she lifted the stallion and began fretting over him. I took a few more wheezing seconds to catch my breath.

I’m a scholar, not a hoofball player.
 
Now that we were closer, and I could breathe again, I had a chance to study the girls from the train more closely. It didn’t take me long to realize that I’d actually met several of them before.
 
Had I been thinking clearly, I would have recognized miss Twilight Sparkle and her ward Spike before we got on the train. They had shared the library with me whenever she had a late night/early morning study session, often Spike would help me organize the books Twilight would pull out and promptly forget to return. She continued to fuss over the stallion as he tried to use his magic. It fizzled as soon as it touched the crystals. Idly, I wondered if he was a family member, their magic looked and felt similar enough. I had been the ‘lucky’ pony to be sent to prepare the Golden Oaks library for Twilight before the Summer Sun Celebration so I ran into Pinkie and Applejack. Pinkie absolutely had to throw me a Welcome to Ponyville party when we met. Nice party too. Applejack, I only know in passing, she had given me an apple after accidentally running over me when I first entered the town. It was a good apple.
 
The other two I didn’t know at all. They must have been busy with preparations during my visit, or maybe out of town. Then again, with Celestia coming to town they probably didn’t leave. White stood enraptured by the gleaming city in the distance while Rainbow mane eyed me. I wasn’t quite sure what the meaning behind her rose colored eyes was, but I wasn’t sure I’d like it if I found out.
 
Mentally counting, I realized that I was missing one. Where was Yellow? My gaze swept over the group to spot the pale yellow pegasus. She looked much more familiar than the others but I couldn’t quite grasp the reason. No matter how hard I thought, it remained just out of reach. She was doing the same thing as I was, staying in the background and trying to remain unnoticed. She met my eyes as she turned away from the glittering city before us. Recognition hit me like a hammer, or Luna’s hooves. Fluttershy. Her eyes widened and she covered a gasp with her hooves. We knew each other of old.

I’m a little surprised she recognized me. While she hadn’t change much in the four-ish years since we last saw each other, I certainly had. The last time she had saw of me was a short, scrawny fifteen year old who puberty had made its bitch. Big dorky glasses, zits galore, braces, the whole nine yards, if you had put a cape on me I could have been called the Supernerd.
 
I cautiously walked over to her, watching for any negative reactions while giving her more than enough time to escape if she wished. Six nerve-wracking steps, and I was standing in front of her, both of us too shocked to speak. Moments dragged by, Twilight continued to fuss, Blue glared, White and Applejack took in the sights. The silence became increasingly awkward and oppressive. I was the first to break it, not that it had been any contest. Fluttershy was even less vocal than me.
 
I gathered my courage, hoping this wasn’t a mistake as I caught Blue and White straining to listen, only to fall back on the same greeting I had used when we awkwardly met for the first time years ago. My eyes closed as a brief application of magic slipped the goggles up to rest on the base of my horn. Grey eyelids flicked open to reveal bright turquoise irises around slitted pupils as I forced the words out with a weak smile, revealing my fangs.
 
“Uh… Hi, cuz.”