The Dawn's Horizon

by T3mp3st

5

Song

Dawnstar opened his eyes to what he thought was the Dreamscape of Equestria, however, it was different than what he remembered. The large room in front of him was kept lit by blue flamed torches that were evenly spaced out. The walls of said room were filled with books from the floor to, what seemed to be, an endless ceiling above. There was a single desk in the middle of the room with a lone candle on it; Dawnstar slowing made his way towards the desk.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Silence was his answer; it strongly made its presence known, save for the occasional sound of books being taken of the shelves and restacking themselves. As he got to the desk, he could not help but notice a book floating above it. The book itself kept turning its pages by an unseen force, and there were no signs that it was being influenced by magic. Just before he was about to look into the book a strange voice from behind him spoke up.

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to show up; Master Dawnstar." Dawnstar turned around and stood in awe before a pony that seemed neither living nor dead. It had a light blue glow emanating from atop the robes it wore, which covered most of the figures body save for its face. The figure's eyes held great knowledge and wisdom in them and the long white beard it had could've been mistaken as Starswhirl the Bearded's. His facial features showed a great kindness and love that could have been mistaken for a parents. Before Dawn could question the figure, it spoke again, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am simple known as the Chronicler, and this," the figure pointed his hooves around the room, "is the Hall of Memories." The Chronicler stepped towards Dawnstar and the desk; causing the floor below him to light up and reveal the same sight as the area of the room going up; an endless void of books that moved to and fro with no sign of magical influence.

When the strange pony reached the desk, Dawnstar decided to go ahead and ask a few questions, "Hall of Memories? I have never heard of such a place even with the vast lore of the Canterlot Library. Why am I here, and What do you want from me?" The Chronicler gave a slight chuckle as he sat down behind the desk. With a wave of his hoof, several books appeared behind him along with two cups full of a warm liquid, which he offered to the young prince.

"All in due time young Master, please have a seat and enjoy the drink. You'll find the time spent here will put a little strain on your earthly body, the Spirit Brand will reduce the amount by quite a bit." Dawnstar took a cup and cautiously took a sip of the liquid, immediately he felt his body warm up as the coffee tasting substance surged through him. The Chronicler gave an approved nod and continued, "Now time is short and I must not keep you here long. You see the Hall of Memories contains the knowledge of everypony that has lived, dating back to before Equestria," one of the books behind him floated in front of Dawnstar; the cover reading a name that he could only guess was thousands of years old, "to the present." Another one read the famous DJ Vinyl Scratch. "It has never existed but has always been. It is my job to oversee that these books are organized and oversee that their knowledge doesn't fall to the wrong hands." The old keeper paused to take a sip of his cup before continuing on.

"As to why you are here, Master Dawnstar, I wish that you accept my invitation to receive some of the ancient knowledge that your ancestors uncovered eons ago. Just be warned, I can only bestow one ancestor at a time, for each time you visit, and there are very few of your ancestors I am allowed to bestow. I am not asking for anything in return, only that your ancestors knowledge not go to waste." Dawnstar thought for awhile before nodding his head in agreement; although he felt uncomfortable, he felt that if it would help ponykind, then it would be worth it. The Chronicler smiled and brought forth the third book behind him, the name on it read Tai Chi. "I will go ahead and bestow your first ancestor upon you. Master Tai Chi mastered the art of fighting using swift, fluid movements with deadly precision. I have read that you are a skilled fighter, and so I know that this books knowledge will not be wasted."

With another wave of his hoof the book opened up and a beam of light shot out and hit Dawnstar's horn. Almost instantly, images of an Earth Pony practicing his martial arts flowed into his mind and found their way deep into the confines of his memory. a voice deep in his mind spoke to him, "I am Tai Chi, may my knowledge aid you in times of great need." as the voice died down a brighter flash of light came from the book causing Dawnstar to shut his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again; the book, the Chronicler, and the Hall of memories were replaced by the warm, comforting surroundings of his guest bedroom in the Golden Oaks Library. He turned to the window to see that Princess Celestia had just started raising the sun.

Roseluck couldn't help but smile as she made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. After hearing from Rarity that Dawnstar would be at her favorite place to go to during the peaceful mornings of Ponyville, who wouldn't be? Not to mention that the bag of bits that Dawnstar gave her was now in good use getting an official store opened up. Lily and Daisy insisted that she used the money for something else, however she persuaded them to allow her to open a shop and sell their flowers in an environment that'll allow them to sell more flowers longer. As she approached the farm, the sun was almost cresting the mountain that Canterlot sat on. The golden warmth of the sun fell on her beige coat, getting rid of the chill of the early morning fog. She smiled and hummed a tune to herself as she glanced at all the flowers opening up to receive the suns light. Lilies, daisies, honeysuckles, roses, and many other flowers bloomed as the awoke from their slumber; which in turn, added to the beauty of Ponyville. Rose was glad to live in a small town such as this; compared to where she used to live. Sure Manehatten was an okay place to live for a business pony, however, if you grow flowers for a living then things get pretty tight in the crowded city.

Rose trotted over the final hill that overlooked the pond, and gasped as she saw Dawnstar standing on the waters edge. His coat glowed a more brilliant gold in the morning sun, and his mane flowed with the slight breeze that was coming from the south. It was quiet at the pond, normally birds and insects would be singing their songs by this time and yet, it was almost as if everything was in a quiet calm. She stood in awe as she watched him, gracefully moving his hooves and body without so much as causing a ripple in the waters surface. It looked so natural to him, almost like he was born with that talent, she felt a small blush creep on her face when she noticed that she was staring. That's when she got the idea of trying to get closer, maybe even get a chance to talk to him! But what should she say? Would he be angry with her? What if he did? Maybe she should-

Before she could finish that last thought, a voice that sounded like Dawnstar's brought her back to reality, "Roseluck? Is that you?"

Rose let out a small shriek and jumped as she heard her name, which in turn caused her to loose her balance on the steep hillside. As she was rolling down the hill, and possibly hitting every small rock on the way down, she felt herself being lifted into the air. Carefully opening an eye, expecting to be fall off a cliff, she noticed a familiar red aura around her. The blush that had left her returned as she noticed that Dawnstar was caring her towards him. It left immediately when fear and embarrassment kicked in, he caught her spying on him and now he's going to punish her.... and not in the good way either! Her heart quickened and tears started to burn her eyes; any chance of being with him, gone, and for why? Because she couldn't resist a chance to see him.

When Dawnstar carefully placed her on the ground in front of him, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She started to sob in front of him like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. She didn't know what exactly why she was sobbing; either from being so embarrassed and scared, or from the number of scrapes and bruises she sustained during her fall. Either way she felt pitiful, that is until she felt a hoof under her chin and lift her head up. Through watery eyes; Roseluck could see a slight look of worry in Dawnstars eyes, and his tone had just as much worry.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Roseluck could only shake her head no as she tried to stop her sobbing, which caused the prince to ask another question, "What's wrong?" Two words. Two simple words that Rose was afraid to answer, mainly she didn't want to blurt out her secret to him, and maybe the whole spying thing. After a few sniffles and several seconds of rubbing tears from her eyes, she finally spoke to him.

"I'm sorry."

Dawnstar seemed puzzled for a little bit at the apology, for all he knew she was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres and he scared her when calling her name, causing her to fall. He sat down next to her and placed a wing around her in a small hug. He remembered his mother saying something about sympathy and comfort were great weapons in a prince's or princess's arsenal when dealing with saddened ponies. Something that he knew all to well considering. He felt her gasp as he wrapped his wing around her, her breathing slowed down a little and she had a small grin on her muzzle.

"Please, don't be scared, now tell me what's wrong and why you're apologizing." She lifted her head and glanced into his eyes, but immediately turned away.

"I'm sorry, I just... when I saw you here I just couldn't help myself. You were so graceful and amazing that I wanted to watch you and well, you saw me. I was so scared after I fell that you were mad at me that I couldn't control myself." Rose let out a small sniffle, but glanced up in puzzlement when she felt Dawnstar chuckle next to her.

"Afraid I was going to be mad, huh? How can I be mad when you've done nothing wrong. Tell you what, why don't you come with me to my Aunt Applejack's farm, she said I can have breakfast with them last night and I'm sure one more won't hurt." The blush returned on Rose's cheeks when he said this.

"R-really? Are you sure?"

"Of course, plus, we can get you looked at as well. Even though you fell a short distance, it wouldn't hurt to have a good once over."

Rose could not believe it; he wasn't mad at her, there was still a chance! She smiled and accepted the invitation, getting up onto her hooves and dusting herself off. As she and Dawnstar were walking up the road to the farm, Rose couldn't help but relish the feeling every time their bodies would make slight contact. His feathers would tickle her sides sending chills up her spine, while his coat felt surprisingly soft and warm. Casting occasional glances up at him, she couldn't help but admire how he carried himself; his azure eyes piercing ahead as he walked in a way that would've made anypony stop and-

*Pompf*

Rose paused for a little when she heard his wings flare up, stealing a glance at his eyes moving from her, to the clouds, above, to the road, to her, and back to the road again. A slight blush could be seen on his cheeks. Does this mean that he was actually looking at her like that? A darker blush made its presence known and she quickly lowered her head. Little did she know that he was kicking his own flank at the moment.

Dawnstar couldn't help the blush that was now making its home on his face. Especially when he just popped a wingy in front of one of his subjects, but, why? He knew exactly why; she was beautiful! Those sweet green eyes, her crimson and pink mane, her soft coat. He hated to admit it, but at first their bodies slightly touching each other were accidents at first, but the feeling he got from it was different from other mares he dated. He couldn't put a hoof on it but it was so much better. However, what really got him was her personality; she was a hard working, willing to donate thousands of bits worth of flowers for free, polite, and from the few times he saw her, unsure of herself at times. He dared to glance at her again and noticed a deep crimson on her cheeks. Great, way to make this walk awkward, Dawn.

The rest of the walk to the farm went with mainly small talk once Dawnstar's wing were under control. Before they knew it, They were at the farm, where Applejack was sitting on a rocking chair waiting. After explaining what had happened earlier that morning, and a quick bath for Rose, they found themselves enjoying a hardy Apple Family breakfast. Dawnstar decided to help Applejack with her chores after hearing Rose insist on helping clean the kitchen, since she wanted to thank them for the meal.

Song

Several hours went by and the two found themselves sitting under a tree by the pond. Rose had since fallen asleep and was leaning against Dawnstar. He looked down at her sleeping figure and smiled as he spread a wing over her to keep the breeze off her. He giggled when she nuzzled into his shoulder a little bit in order to get more comfortable.

"Sure is nice out t'night." Dawnstar's ears perked up as Applejack took a seat next to him. He nodded in agreement and replied.

"I can see why Twilight likes living here. There's just so much beauty here it makes Canterlot seem like a dump." Applejack laughed at his joke and then nodded towards Rose.

"Mighty hard worker that one, sure as hay s'prised m'self when she offered ta help 'round here." She then stared off towards the setting sun with Dawnstar as she continued, "Ya know its quite inter'sting, the whole time she was cleaning she was either watchin' ya, or humming a cert'n song that gets sung every year." Dawnstar turned towards the farmpony with a raised eyebrow, which made Applejack chuckle.

"You trying to say something here, AJ?"

"Ah'm just throwin' that out there, Ah know how ya are with that sorta thing. It's quite obvious that she cares a lot about ya for who ya are; not the prince, but the pony who is Dawnstar." Dawnstar turned back towards the sleeping Roseluck, who was muttering something in her sleep, and wrapped his wing around her tighter. Applejack smiled and stood back up turning towards the farm. "Well, Ah best be headin' on back ta tha farm, mah turn ta cook an' all that. Appreciate tha help today, Dawn, helped us a lot." With a quick goodbye from Dawn, Applejack headed back towards home.

He turned once again to Rose and sighed, "Guess we should be going as well." Being careful not to wake her up, He lifted her onto his back; taking note of her forlegs wrapping around his neck like a scared filly, and hearing her whimpering a little bit. Turning his head and giving her a reassuring nuzzle, he headed off back towards town and the Golden Oaks Library, thinking aloud, "It'll be ok, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

As Dawnstar headed towards town, he didn't notice a figure with a sleeked back black mane wearing a heavily starched red tie. "Oh my, won't Lord Blueblood love this." with his scouting mission done, the figure disappeared into the darkness behind him.

Author's Note:

Haha, first chapter over 2000 words! Well, things are starting to heat up a little bit, and Blueblood will be making his move soon. But not to soon, don't want to kill him off yet lol. Stay tuned, next chapter is being drafted now, and I expect it to be better than this one. As always let me know what you think stay Awesome!

Comments

[Emerald Knight]

Cool chapter, and blueblood is a dick like always, but cool none the less can't wait for the next one