Do Not Go Gentle

by ShinigamiDad

Assignments

Luna returned to her quarters, with Reaper and Twilight following close behind. They found a mix of Night Guard and Royal Guard standing watch nervously outside the door.

Luna addressed the lead gold-clad pegasus: “Why are you here, Bright Point? Has there been some kind of trouble?”

“No, Princess,” he replied, eyeing Reaper nervously. “Your sister asked us to come down to your chambers and report back.”

“Well,” Luna responded, “you may go back and tell Celestia that all is well, and that there is no cause for concern.”

The chamber doors swung wide, and Celestia stepped into the opening: “I’ll be the judge of that!”

Both Guard units, black and blue, white and gold, fell back, making way for Luna and her companions to join Celestia inside Luna’s now-sunlit quarters. The doors closed with a heavy thud as they passed through.

“Where have you three been all night?” Celestia demanded. “I’ve had members of both our Guards out since dawn, looking for you!”

Twilight lifted the tattered books and fragments up for Celestia to see: “We discovered that Starswirl had another, secret study hidden below the one we already know about!”

“‘Tis true, sister,” added Luna, “there was clearly more going on with Starswirl than anypony suspected.”

Celestia walked over to the side table and took a scone from a hammered copper tray. Twilight noticed, and gave Celestia a quizzical look.

“What--these?” she said, lifting the scone to her mouth, “I saw you had some food and drink here already, so I had a guard bring a little more. I’m not a big fan of fruit, you know.”

She popped the scone in her mouth, and chewed for a moment.

She swallowed, and poured three goblets of cider, as she asked, “What do you mean “more?” More what?”

Reaper walked to the other side of the table and reclined on a low sofa: “He was working on spells and wards to block my ability to sense him, and to shield his dreams from Luna.”

Celestia furrowed her brow as she levitated two of the goblets to the other Princesses: “Why would he do that?”

Luna and Reaper glanced nervously at each other, as Twilight sipped noisily at her cider.

“This stuff is really good, Princess Celestia!” she said loudly and emphatically. “Where did it come from? It doesn’t taste local. I think I’ll bring some to Applejack and ask...”

“Twilight--please! Don’t try to stall!” Celestia turned to Luna sharply: “What is he talking about, Luna?”

Luna’s ears drooped: “He was using dark magic in an effort to unnaturally extend ponies’ lives, and he did not wish for me to see his dreams.”

“And, he bought himself an extra twenty years by way of a little dark magic and some good, old-fashioned subterfuge,” Reaper added.

Celestia couldn’t hide her shock: “But--but, why? Was he seeking power, was he looking to cure some infirmity he was hiding? Did it have to do with his portal trips?”

Twilight sat down on her cushions: “We don’t really know his motives, but we think we have a handle on his acolyte’s.”

Celestia’s eyebrows jumped, and she reached for more cider: “Acolyte? Who?”

Luna circled back around the table and levitated a scone for herself: “Do you recall the Highbrier clan?”

Celestia considered for a minute: “Yes. I especially remember old Burl at the groundbreaking for this castle.”

“We believe Starswirl’s secret acolyte was a scion of that family, named Gray Thorn,” Luna said.

“Do you know what he looked like?” Celestia asked.

Twilight stood and walked to her: “Touch my horn and I’ll show you the best image we have of him, taken from one of the few Starswirl dreams Luna has.”

Celestia leaned down and touched Twilight’s horn. They both closed their eyes and all was still for a moment.

Celestia lifted her head high, again: “I don’t recognize him, but I’m sure you’re right about the lineage, Luna: he definitely looks like a Highbrier, and that cutie mark is familiar.”

“The last Baronet and his young filly died some 500 years ago, ending the line,” Reaper said, peering into the vaulted ceiling, looking again for the eyes.

Celestia stared into the distance: “So many names and faces over so many years. I can’t keep them all straight. We’ll need to talk to the Royal Archivist and Genealogist.”

Reaper took a deep breath and faced Celestia: “Actually, Twilight’s going to have to handle that task. We need to know if there’s anything at all on Grey Thorn anywhere outside Starswirl’s known archives. We also need detailed maps of the old chambers and mines below the original castle--the ones that were closed-off in when the foundations were completed.”

“Why?” Celestia asked.

Luna chimed in: “It appears there are chambers even deeper below Starswirl’s study than the secret one we found. But they are blocked and magically sealed.”

“Somepony used a variation of the ward used to block me, then at some point the stairway was collapsed, and magical fire used to fuse the rubble,” Reaper explained.

“Alright,” Celestia said, turning toward the young Princess, “but why is Twilight alone tasked with this?”

Luna levitated a strawberry up into the dim recesses of the ceiling: “Reaper will be joining me in the dreamscape in order to double our lookout for Grey Thorn.”

Celestia’s wings suddenly rustled and flared out: “What?! You’re taking him through ponies’ dreams?!”

Luna nodded, and spoke reassuringly: “Yes, sister. I believe he can stay sufficiently obscured to prevent panic or nightmares, and he will double my ability to catch Grey Thorn before he strikes, instead of lamenting the dead afterward.”

Reaper stretched out on his sofa, and rolled to his back: “My only real concern with tracking Grey Thorn in the dreamscape, is he may sense our increased presence, and shy away from revealing himself.”

“But you can obscure yourself, yes?” Luna asked. “That should remove you as impediment to stealth.”

“Yes,” he admitted, “but I suspect he, like Starswirl before him, assumes my presence at all times, and wards against it.”

He sat up and sighed: “I guess all we can do is try, and see if he shows his hoof.”

Twilight finished her cup, set it down and chewed her lower lip: “What if you made things more inviting for him? Made it so he wouldn’t notice you so much?”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

Twilight tapped her front hooves together nervously: “What if you, Luna, darkened the dreamscape--not to nightmare levels, but something cloudy and ominous. Give some cover to your activities, maybe make him feel a little overconfident.”

Reaper rubbed his chin: “Not a bad idea! Maybe he won’t question the change in atmosphere. After all, the dreamscape has hardly been all that stable for centuries!”

“No--too risky!” Celestia said, slamming her golden-shod hoof on the side table for emphasis, upsetting a bowl of fruit. “He could strike again without either of you being aware in time!”

Luna frowned: “That is a risk in any event, sister. As we know from poor Dew Drop, he can strike now in mere moments. Perhaps a darker setting will put him more at-ease, as he clearly was during my time as Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia paced nervously: “I don’t like it. It puts our subjects in danger, it may even put you in danger, Luna!”

Reaper raised an eyebrow: “I doubt he’d try to attack her directly, especially not in the dreamscape, where her power is greatest!”

“That’s not the kind of danger I meant,” she replied sharply. “I fear for her if she starts to use darkness again, even if it’s for a good reason!”

Reaper pursed his lips, recalling Luna’s armor-scrap-salvaging “hobby.” He held his tongue.

“I appreciate the concern, sister,” Luna replied, “but Reaper has shown himself to be well-attuned to my fears and doubts, and their attendant risks. I believe, should I begin to drift, he would bring me back to my true self.”

Twilight stood up, walked over, and sat back down next to Luna: “I’ve been with these two for many hours now, and I’ve experienced some awful things. But I never doubted their dedication to solving this crime, and I’ve never doubted Luna’s commitment to her life here with all of us!”

She leaned over and hugged Luna.

Celestia smiled nervously: “I guess we don’t really have a choice. Twilight, whenever you’re ready you will have complete access to whatever staff or materials you need to get to the bottom of this Grey Thorn’s history.”

She walked over and knelt before Luna: “And you go do what you have to do, but be careful! I lost you to the darkness once--I can’t take that again!”

Luna hugged her sister and settled back into her cushions.

“What? No hugs for me?” Reaper asked, holding out his forelegs.

Luna rolled her eyes as Twilight giggled.

Celestia turned to him with narrowed gaze, eyes ablaze: “Get that monster, and we’ll see!”

Reaper grinned as Luna’s dream tendril reached out for his horn.