//------------------------------//
// Failing Light 
// Story: Nascent Harmony 
// by divinearcadia 
//------------------------------//


Failing Light


The ground smoked and smoldered with fumes so noxious that any foolish enough to wander through them would find their flesh sloughing off their bones as if they had turned to water. Once, this land had been the greatest beacon of peace, power and even-handed judgment the world had ever seen, a sprawling metropolis of the mightiest race in the world. Now, there was only death and desolation.
Amid this hellish landscape, two lone figures stood side by side. They carried themselves with an easy grace and power that had no equal. Their crystalline armor, once majestic pieces of art and resolute barriers against harm, were now nothing more than shattered remnants, barely held together by metal framework and pure happenstance. They were two women of exquisite beauty, one with skin as flawless as alabaster, while the other was a rich brown in color. Their hair was unearthly; one bore the stars themselves and the night sky, while the other carried the pastels of dawn. 
They looked into the distance, staring as the sun set of its own volition for the first time in a millennium. They spoke no words until the edge of the sun touched the horizon, and when they did, it was a song of mourning so keenly felt that it was as though the world itself held its breath out of respect. As they sang, they began to glow with an unearthly light that cast no shadows. The light danced and shimmered as it spread out in a corona, tendrils coalescing and flailing about until they formed the shape of a budding flower. The light took on a silvery glow and seemed to solidify as six points of color formed in its center: Amber, azure, cerulean, crimson, pink and purple. Their radiance created an iridescent cascade of light that seemed to bring about a new dawn until it finally peaked so brightly that nothing would have been visible.
Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. The light blacked out and the only thing left behind was a small, glowing crystalline sapling bearing six bowed limbs, each bearing a small spherical gem reflecting the same colors as what appeared in the swirling vortex of light. As time passed, the tree's glow faded and it began to crack, tiny flakes of its substance floating away on what little wind blew through the area. Eventually, all that was left of it was the six gems resting side by side in the bottom of a small divot in the ground.


***



~One Thousand Years Later~


In a room that was the the third highest in the city of Canterlot, only surpassed in elevation by that of the Archmage himself and that of the current Queen, sat a restless young woman just coming into the prime of her life. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she was bored in the extreme. She slouched behind her desk with an annoyed expression, head cupped in the palm of her off hand as she idly flicked the tip of her dry quill against the lip of her inkwell with a soft plink sounding every time like clockwork. She was a charming young woman who bore the slim but curvy figure that came from a largely sedentary lifestyle yet carried herself with self-assured confidence. Her hair was a rich, dark purple that had a rebellious shock of bright pink running through it. Centered upon her forehead was a lilac colored sliver of crystal that shone in the light coming through the window while high upon her cheeks was a mirrored pair of dark purple marks to mark her status as a minor noble while giving her a serious air to her visage. No matter how often one looked at it, the gem would never seem to reflect as much light as it received, as if some of the light were lost to depths unknown.
She wore the simple three-brown-tone robes of a scholar, but the embroidery that decorated it was nothing short of exquisite. It had been embroidered by both her closest friend and the Heir Apparent of the Solar Throne, Rarity Belle Platinum. They had been friends for years, as their families were very close allies, until they eventually had to separate for a few years with only the occasional meeting to catch up before they went their separate ways once again. Eventually, they would be reunited as their paths led them back to each other's side. Over the years, Rarity had been privately trained by her family's own tutors, vassals who had been sent to receive schooling and education above and beyond what they would normally receive in order to help put their lord's daughter on the throne. By the time her education had been completed, she had mastered all the skills and arts that she would need to become the next ruler of their mighty nation and embody all that it was to be a Magi. Twilight, on the other hand, had taken the path of the scholar, trained in all things arcane, and had been named successor to the Archmage of the Collegium Arcanus, Starswirl the Bearded.
To say that they were potentially the most powerful women in the nation would be to say that the sun rose in the east. The only thing they would disagree about would be how they viewed that power. While other Magi largely sought power to better their own lives, Rarity sought it for the sake of others. She cared not one whit for what she could do for herself when she saw how she could better the lives of the less fortunate. The other contenders still thought to this day that everything she did was a very clever ploy and distrusted her enough that they would even turn down simple birthday gifts.
Twilight had been similarly shunned as well, but for completely different reasons. Most of her life was spent in a very select company comprised primarily of Rarity, her family, and Spike, her adoptive younger brother. When she had passed the entrance exam for the Collegium, she had also caught the eye of the headmaster as well. The test had been to hatch a dragon's egg, and she had passed with flying colors where all others had failed. When he was hatched, Spike had been a full-blooded dragon, but he slowly took on a humanoid appearance as time passed and the innate magic of his kind worked its mysterious ways. At first, Twilight had been placed in several regular classes to see how proficient she was, and was advanced to the senior classes within the year as her love for learning was awakened. By two years' time, she was working at or above the level of the honor students in these most advanced classes and was receiving private tutoring from Starswirl himself.
But for the moment, Twilight sat with nothing to occupy her attention. Eventually, she sighed as she let the quill drop from her hand and stood to peruse the densely-packed bookshelves that covered every wall of her room. Eventually she picked up a tome that hadn't been read in years. She settled back down in her chair with a little sigh and wondered if anything interesting was going to happen that day when she suddenly felt an uneasy chill travel down her spine. Be careful what you wish for, she chided herself as she she shuddered. Chance and happenstance provide more than enough excitement for anyone. As she finished her thought, a sudden flare of viridian fire lit the room, and a strapping teenager a few years younger than her with vibrant green hair and darkly tanned skin stumbled into sight right before her. “Spike!” she said excitedly, bouncing slightly on her seat in shock. “What's wrong?”
“I got her father to say yes!” he crowed to the rafters. “Did you hear that?! YES!”
She knew immediately who and what he was talking about and was absolutely floored. The object of his incessant infatuation for years: Rarity herself. Now, that wasn't to say that it was an unrequited love, but up to now it had all the classic signs of being just that. "I can't believe that you two convinced her father to allow you to be her Chevalier! You're still in training, for goodness' sake!"
"I'm almost done with my training," he shot back with a cocksure grin. "Besides, Shining Armor would have intervened if he thought I wasn't ready for the responsibility."
"I suppose you have a point," Twilight replied grudgingly as a tired sigh escaped her. "Just... Don't get in over your head. You know exactly how serious dueling challenges can be and you do tend to get a little overzealous when it comes to Rarity..."
"As long as no one makes any serious offenses against her, I'll stay civil," he replied resolutely. "I know how she feels about dueling for its own sake..."
"Good," Twilight replied with a small nod. "So have you been registered yet?"
"Not yet. I still need to formally receive Rarity's favor and decide on a signet."
"Glad to see you haven't completely lost your head," she said with a chuckle.
"'A knight must remain in control of his emotions at all times, lest he bring dishonor upon both himself and his liege,'" Spike quoted automatically, before continuing in a slightly disparaging tone, "This may be the happiest day of my life, but I'm not going to make a fool of myself."
"Not too much of one, anyway," Twilight replied as she broke out into full-blown giggles. "You should see the dopey smile you have right now! It's funnier than the time Rarity gave you a kiss on the cheek and you didn't wash it for two weeks!"
"I see how it is," he mock pouted, turning his back to her. "My happiness and love is just a joke to you..." His teasing didn't last long as he couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up. They both shared a laugh at the absurdity of his youth. "So how are preparations coming along with the annual Gathering of the Tribes?"
"Ugh..." she groaned as she slumped back in her seat. "I can write a doctoral level thesis in a week but I can't write a welcoming speech with months of preparation..."
Spike snickered at her for a moment before he moved around the desk and sat on it. "Just ask Rarity if she can point you to a speech writer," he supplied with a shrug.
"But that feels like cheating..."
"Come on, Twilight... Even Rarity uses them and she's the heir apparent."
"I suppose you have a point..."
"Good. Now come on, let's go see Rarity..."

*

A young woman sat in the sunlight surrounded by scattered art supplies as she was absorbed in her current project, namely the design of the signet for her first, personally-chosen Chevalier. She had vibrant, cream-colored skin that seemed to glow with the flush brought about in her fervor of creation, and dark violet hair that glistened with the expensive and exotic oils that treated it every day. The shard of milky crystal that adorned her own brow shone with a slightly silvery sheen that seemed to make the light dance and shimmer within it, her cheek markings being a mirrored triplet of pure white slashes that only enhanced her beauty. She wore a simple wrap that many would say was far below her station, but the material it was made of shimmered with every color of the rainbow as she moved.
A timid knock sounded, pulling her from her labor as if being woken up from a dream. “Lady Rarity,” said a maid without any preamble. “Miss Twilight Sparkle and Sir Spike have arrived and are awaiting your audience in the main parlor.”
“Thank you very much,” she replied with a warm smile. “Please, tell them I'll be with them shortly. I have only a tiny bit to finish on this and I do not want to leave it unfinished as it involves Spike as well.”
“I'll let them know, milady,” the maid replied before promptly departing to do just that. After she had left, Rarity finished her work with a few minor strokes of her charcoal pencil and brought up a spray bottle of lacquer to set the image so it wouldn't smudge or rub off on anything. Drying it with a quick wave of her hand and a minor application of heat magic, she stood and brought her drawing floating behind her with a thought. She quickly made her way through the maze of halls and rooms until she arrived in a richly decorated room near the front of the house and walked in to see her oldest friend and her first Chevalier.
“Darlings, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked with a small smile as she closed the distance and settled demurely onto a chaise lounge.
“Twilight has need of one of your speech writers, milady,” Spike began with a teasing grin, causing Twilight to give an indignant squawk as an embarrassed blush bloomed on her face.
“Now now, none of that 'milady' nonsense in private, Spike,” she said with a wag of her finger. “In public, if you must, but we've been friends for far too long for you to start that up now.”
“Okay,” he replied with a grin that suddenly turned slack jawed as he finally saw the signet that Rarity had designed for him. To say that it was intimidating and beautiful at the same time would be to say that water was wet. It showed a stylized dragon, maw wide as fire burst forth and a set of claws reached to rend its prey while the other was held to its breast as it cradled a trio of diamonds. Every scale, talon and fang was rendered in immaculate detail. “Oh... wow...” he finally said as he found his words again.



“I'm glad you like it,” Rarity said with a giggle. “It took me so long to figure out what to do, but when it struck me, this is what came about.”
“It's certainly something,” Twilight said with a smirk at the obvious iconography.
“And what might that something be, dear?” Rarity asked in a mock serious tone.
“Obvious, for starters,” Twilight replied immediately. “Everyone knows that Spike is a dragon at heart, if his casual fire breathing and absurd strength has anything to contribute to that fact. I mean he moves around in unenchanted plate mail as if he were an Earthlander!”
“He may have the strength of one, but he most certainly knows how to apply it with finesse,” Rarity replied with a smile. “Have you seen how he duels? I dare say that if he didn't hold back, he would seriously injure his sparring partners.”
“He did in the past,” Twilight replied. “He broke several of his fellow classmates' wrists when he parried too hard.”
“I remember hearing about that all too well,” Rarity replied with a grimace of distaste. “Several of the fathers wanted him expelled from the program because he so grossly embarrassed their sons. If it weren't for the combined power of both our houses and those in alliance with us, Spike would not be where he is today.” She paused for a moment to breathe in and out in a cleansing manner. “Anyway, enough of this distasteful topic. If you need help with your speech, I'll send my best speech writer over tomorrow morning to get your notes on what you want.”
“Thank you so much, Rarity,” Twilight replied gratefully. “I wasn't making any headway...”
“Think nothing of it, dear,” Rarity turned to Spike and smiled warmly. “With that out of the way, what say we three go get the details of your entering into my service taken care of and set a date for both me giving you my favor and registering your signet. Then, of course, comes taking his measurements for his new set of clothes.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Spike answered with a grin. With that settled, Rarity took them off to make their plans and spend the day in the company of her dear friends.