Spectral Eclipse

by Relux_the_Relux

Ghastly Revelations

Two nights remain until the Nox Eterna Festival.

---

A young Dusk strained himself before the hay cart that held the key to his future: a purple dragon egg. Hatching it was the only task that stood between him and finally being accepted into the institution of his dreams: Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Where "mysteries of the arcane are taught and bright budding mages are guided into their bright magical futures!" The place which he had studied every single day to join. And now it was finally the moment he had waited for since he had witnessed the Princess' magnificence at the Summer Sun Celebration. The examiners were appraising his fruitless efforts. Judgmentally annotating every failed effort, every miscast spell, every flawed approach. He couldn't dare to ask how much time remained. He felt his dream slipping away by the seconds.

Just a bit more time. He just needed a bi—

“I think we have seen enough, Mr. Shine,” one of the examiners dryly informed the young colt.

Overcome with panic, his mind raced, trying to find a solution. It was not time for caution. The egg wasn't hatching. He couldn't fail, he wouldn't disappoint. The egg had begun to crack a bit; maybe he could still salvage it. Maybe he only had to push further. Force it out. No. Something else was needed. He needed heat. He focused on conjuring flames. Ones that could rival the heat of the magma chambers deep below Equestria.

Suddenly, not only the hay in the cart was in flames, but the fire had quickly spread beyond the cart itself, to the tables, the chairs, the curtains and quickly to the rest of the tower.

Princess Celestia stared down at him. Her imposing posture accentuated the surrounding blazing inferno. He heard ponies wheezing and coughing as smoke filled the room. The flames and black smoke backdrop, alongside her flowing mane, produced an ominous appearance as she looked sternly over him.

He looked past her at the egg. “I-I can still hatch it!” Dusk tried to rush towards it, but Celestia blocked his way with her wing.

“You have done enough,” she reprimanded him.

Dusk struggled, trying to escape the grasp of her wing. “N-no! No! I-I can still do this! I will do it! Please! Just o—”

His cries were disregarded as the princess quickly teleported him, his parents and the examiners out of the tower into the courtyard below.

Fireponies and other emergency personnel rushed to the tower. But try as they may, it seemed that water wasn't able to extinguish the magical flames. Watching this unfold, Celestia teleported herself above the tower. Her horn lit up as she spread her wings. Dusk watched as the fires practically jumped out of the structures and flaming helixes converged into a fiery sphere on her horn. She then strained herself and furled her wings, and as she did the sphere collapsed into itself and vanished without as much as a whimper.

Watching this demonstration of arcane mastery, Dusk felt the same unbridled awe he had felt at the Summer Sun Celebration. An awe-inspiring level of power, control and skill. He was sure nothing in all of Equestria could match the wonders of such magic. There was no doubt in his mind that no greater pony could exist. This was all he wanted to dedicate his life to: the study of sorcery and revel in the marvels of magic.

Having extinguished the fire, the princess descended back onto the courtyard and convened with the examiners. They were too far away for Dusk to hear, but he could still watch them discuss. The examiners were exasperated as they were frantically gesticulating with their forelegs. She lifted her left hoof, causing them to immediately stop, before shaking her head. After a short pause, she spoke. They looked at each other attentively. Then with their ears lowered, they nodded in agreement.

Having conferred with her advisers, she left them to finally speak to the family of the colt who caused the incident. Dusk's parents looked at each other apprehensively as she approached. His mother spoke up.

“S-so, will our little Dusk”— she swallowed —“be joining your school for gifted unicorns?”

Celestia looked towards Dusk before shaking her head and exhaling. “Little Dusk shouldn't le—” She interrupted herself before starting anew, “We've concluded it would not be best for Dusk to join my school for gifted unicorns.”

All his hopes and dreams incinerated. No, it couldn't be. He wouldn't let it end here. He needed to convince her he was worthy. No matter what. No matter how.

Dusk sat surrounded by a multitude of scrolls and books, as he pored over the written knowledge illuminated by the light of a single candle. He was older now, but his passion for magic was sill unabated. Even though a few years had passed, the colt remained cutiemarkless. It had been a long time since he last had attended school. He was now homeschooled as his progress far outpaced his peers. With the exception of his family and foalsitter, books were his only company.

Suddenly his focus on his studies was broken by a noise. Followed by the sound of a door creaking, a beam of light shone into the dark room.

“Duskie, are you in there?” It was the familiar voice of his foalsitter. It was morning already?

Dusk turned to see the pink alicorn standing on the doorstep staring back, wearing a ponytail. He couldn't see his foalsitter's expression due to the light shining from behind him.

“You shouldn't be reading in the dark,” he admonished his ward as he searched for the window in the ill-lit room. “It is bad for your eyes.” Finding the window, he quickly pushed aside the piles of books blocking it and drew the curtains, brandishing the bedroom with the morning light.

Turning back to look over the purple unicorn, who flinched when exposed to light, he asked, “Did you sleep at all?”

“I slept enough,” Dusk affirmed, before picking back up a few books he had knocked over when he recoiled from the morning light.

“Have you at least eaten anything? Want me to bring you a daisy sandwich?” Bolero leaned in, taking a closer look at the studious foal.

“I don't have time to eat right now. I need to study 'The Unabridged History of Northern Necromancy',” he justified, sitting back down and opening a purple tome.

The pink alicorn looked at the dozens of mail scrolls strewn around. “Pushing yourself this way hasn't made auntie change her mind. Don't you think it is time to stop? There is more in life than just magic.” Since that grim day, Dusk had sent multiple reapplication pleas, attempting to salvage his dream. Resulting in the many scrolls that littered his room which was already a mess from the scattered tomes and school supplies.

“That just means I need to continue to focus on my studies. I won't improve by getting distracted,” he rebutted.

“I... I don't think auntie will change her mind.” He tried to reassure his ward. “It is not because of your ability with magic.” He sighed, looking at all the piles of scrolls of rejection once again. "You cannot pursue this forever."

“If I manage to convince her, I won't need to.” He finally blew out the now pointless candle. “I can't falter now if I am to ever match her expectations. I know my magical skills aren't lacking, I just need to show her.”

“If you're not going to sleep, why don't you at least join me and Gleamie for a picnic in the park? She would love to be able to spend time with her L.B.B.F.F. again. And you're ahead of the coursework by plenty already. It is ok to take a break sometimes.”

“I don't hold myself to the standard guidelines of some board of education. The only opinion on my arcane proficiency that matters is that of the princess.” Turning away from the pink alicorn, he began picking up the rest of the books he had knocked over. “And as such, I can't afford to slack.”

Day after day passed. With book after book being studied. With letter after letter with appeals. Followed by letter after letter of rejection. With attempt after attempt to sway the princess, letters continued to accumulate. Eventually, answers came no more, leaving his requests ignored. His foalsitter kept trying to dissuade him from pursuing his ambition. But he would never falter in his conviction. For he knew the only future for him was in the arcane arts.

There was no other answer. He was sure that he just needed to be more persuasive. The absence of his cutiemark was surely a sign that his current situation couldn't be his fate and he had to convince the Princess of this. Everything else was insignificant in comparison.

Eventually, even Bolero had stopped coming. Probably a combination of his new duties as a prince, himself becoming older and Celestia trying to cut possible connections to her to discourage him from trying to reach her. But that was foolish. No matter what, he would find something that would bring her to acknowledge him. He only needed to continue to push further.

Galloping south across the plains, he was held back by the neglected health of his body but driven forward by the tenacity of his obsession. His studies led him to discover the impending disaster, that a great threat would be returning to Equestria today. Such discovery was exactly what he needed to prove his capabilities to Princess Celestia. In fact, when he wrote his findings to Her Highness, it finally prompted a response. However, it was only to try to dissuade him from pursuing it further.

My most eager aspirant mage Dusk Shine,

Your dedication to your studies, although impressive, can be quite unhealthy to the mind. As apparently is evident from seeing omens of end times in old foals tales.

There are other pursuits besides studying the arcane and occult. Isolating yourself in your room is good for neither your body nor your mind. After all, my sun is for all to enjoy. Maybe even together with other ponies. Maybe we could even arrange a meeting with your old foalsitter.

Please stay safe and healthy,
Princess Celestia

Not that such words would dissuade him. Unfortunately, he had apparently been banned from the trains by a royal decree, as he soon discovered. But if she thought that would be enough to deter him, she was mistaken. Just the fact she would take precautions meant he was right. He would just gallop into the Everfree Forest by the strength of his own legs if necessary. Not only that but a response meant she was still reading his letters and was not actually just ignoring them. No matter how much he progressed, no matter how much he surpassed his peers. This should be finally enough to prove himself to the princess. He had been able to independently uncover an ancient threat to Equestria lost to the centuries.

How long had he been traveling? Maybe he had underestimated the difficulty of traveling the countryside by hoof but he couldn't stop now. This might be his last chance. But something was amiss. Was it really still night? He was definitely not the fittest, but it felt like he had been traveling long enough for it to be the dawn of a new day, especially during the summer solstice.

As this realization hit him, he saw himself once again standing before the purple egg in a hay cart. Scrutinized closely by ponies as he continued to fail at the task that could grant his greatest life desire. Nervously floundering until, once more failing his task and causing unintentional arson. Having to watch Celestia's magnificent display and being rejected. All his dreams slipping away.

Him redoubling his efforts and focusing on his studies. Slowly isolating himself. Reporting to Celestia of his progress in magic. Only to be repeatedly rejected. Ad nauseam. Letters accumulated again. His foalsitter abandoned him again. Celestia began to ignore him again. Until he finally made a discovery so great that she couldn't just ignore it. From him trying his best to arrive at the ground zero of the disaster he had uncovered so that she would finally recognize him.

Discovering Celestia's attempt to keep him from leaving and feeling being revindicated by it. In his fervor, rushing towards the south for hours on hoof. Then realizing the grave implication of the aberrant surrounding darkness. Only for when this realization hit him, to find himself, he was where it had all begun and underwent his trials and tribulations once again.

When he found himself before the examiners for the third time Dusk knew that his dreams were repeating his memories and this was a lesson from his Teacher. He would be forced to relive them several more times before it could be finally over.

---

Then after the last repetition of his memory, he found himself before his mentor, Nightmare Moon. They were sitting on the banks of a lake. An abnormally large and bright full moon in the cloudless sky was perfectly reflected on it. Dusk recognized this lake. It was where they had first met. A picnic blanket lay between them with a cup of black tea before each of them. His mentor merely watched and waited for her pupil to recollect himself.

As her pupil recollected himself, she asked, “Do you wish to explicate to me what motivated you to vandalize a tavern, to trespass into the magistrate's bureau and to mar Miss Scratch's jamboree?” She sipped on her tea, not breaking eye contact, as she waited for a response.

Dusk felt paralyzed, like a foal being confronted by their mother about their uncovered mischief. Multiple scenarios of possible punishments flashed through his head, from the mundane to the catastrophic. He grasped his cloak as if it could be suddenly taken away at any moment. Afraid that he would lose it too. What if she abandoned him in his dreams, never to awake? Being forever tormented by what he has done.

Unable to face her wrath, he avoided her gaze.

She brought one of her wings below his chin and pressed his head up, forcing him to look at her.

Dusk stared unto his mentor's unflinching expression for several moments. He swallowed and with a trembling voice, he confessed, “I just... I did what I deemed to be necessary to catch the 'Ghost'." He then gritted his teeth and stated with some assurance in his voice, “None of this would have happened if the triumequat had cooperated.”

In response, his master raised an eyebrow in a way that made Dusk unsure if it was from genuine curiosity or performative interest. “So my triumequat has not welcomed thee as We had ordered?”

“No.” He then straightened himself to maintain his composure. “From the very first night, they have refused to share any information on the ongoing investigation.”

She leaned forward, staring directly into his eyes. “And why hast thou not informed me?”

“I didn't want to disappoint you...” He looked down at his tea to avoid her stare. “I wanted to show I could do it by myself... one way or another...”

After receiving this answer, Nightmare Moon sipped from her tea, leaned back, and stared at the lake for a while. Dusk also took the time to take in his surroundings as the lake was completely silent, with no bugs, birds or fish to disturb their meeting. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and sighed before sipping on her tea and turning back to her pupil and answering, “This, however, shall not be without consequences,” she warned, “but fear not. We shall not abandon you.”

With this, silence befell them, which the pupil tried to break but was unable to muster any further words whenever he opened his mouth. In the end, he nodded awkwardly, before finally partaking in the tea and enjoying the scenery, slowly calming himself.

As he watched the moon's shimmering reflection, he reminisced on the day he met his teacher as he was passing by this very lake.

---

He was just passing by the banks of a lake, as his fervor diminished after hours of pursuing the key to fulfilling his dreams and the fatigue was starting to catch up to him. Unable to continue, he slowed down, eventually stopping to take a quick breather. This permitted him to finally take in his surroundings. Was it still night? He would have expected to see the first rays of sunshine already.

Looking at the skies above he saw a dark mist coming from the south, where the Everfree Forest lay, making its way towards Canterlot. As it neared him, the mist simply continued its way high above, disregarding the purple colt. But Dusk knew this mist wasn't natural. Not if his research was right. And he knew he was right. This proved he was right.

Unable to stand to continue to be ignored, he yelled to the skies, “You're Nightmare Moon!”

With this, the mist abruptly stopped just above him. A moment later, the dark cloud agitated and began spinning incredibly fast. It descended in a vortex, and as it engulfed him, he heard a chuckle.

“So, there still exists somepony that remembers Us!” Now a manic cackle seemed to come from all around him. “We would have thought Our dear sister had tried to expunge my existence from history.” He then saw the head of a dark alicorn emerge from the mist. Teal eyes with catlike pupils, her sharp teeth formed into a predatory smile.

Dusk tried to back away, only to be stopped by the mist that seemed to have taken more solid properties. “Well, it is not commonly available information.”

“Ooooh, and which other facts about Our elusive Selves has Our little colt been imparted with?” She asked it the same way one asks a foal who just discovered a mundane fact.

He narrowed his eyes, not wanting to show any fear. “I know you want to bring eternal night, and that Celestia banished you to the moon a thousand years ago.”

She pressed her face onto Dusk's own so that her eyes stared directly into his. “And what else might such a knowledgeable colt as thyself be doing all alone in the back of beyond?”

Knowing he couldn't falter now, he gritted his teeth and stared back at her. “Proving your existence and finding the means to defeat you.”

“Art thou doing this all for our Sister?” The whirlwind of darkness constricted even closer. “It does not seem she appreciates your efforts. Considering she left you all alone.”

“I am sure she will finally recognize my resourcefulness and tenacity and will forgive—”

“So thou trottest towards unknown doom even though thy not-mentor does not trust thee?” She punctuated her question with a hearty laugh. “How naive. Only fools would think Our sister would ever give others recognition.”

Dusk hesitated for a moment but refused to let her get to him. “No. Celestia is without fear or favor. She would never do something for such petty reasons.”

The ancient horror before him only laughed in response, before brandishing her predatorial teeth. “And how wouldst thou escape thy current predicament?”

The dark vortex further enclosed him, as he felt thin clammy tendrils crawl up his legs. He needed to think quickly. Her control of the weather cut off all immediate escape routes. He could try to teleport out of this eolic trapping, but he wouldn't be able to get very far, and doing so would exhaust him beyond the point of fleeing, leaving him easy prey. He needed somewhere to hide, something not easily done in the open plains they were in. A distraction was in order.

“Time is fleeting,” she taunted him.

“Look down.” He smirked, trying to project confidence.

“’Down’?” She questioned mockingly. He had been heating the air between the grains of soil, causing the ground to erupt upwards, hurling a mix of dirt and grass toward his assailant's face.

This was his opportunity. Using almost all his remaining energy, he held his breath and teleported. He wasn’t able to travel very far, just a few feet off the banks of the nearby lake into its waters, hoping that she might continue on her way. He could find a way to defeat her after that. It wasn’t too late, he still could salvage this situation. All he needed to do was to hold his breath for long enough. However, physical endurance had never been one of his strengths, and he was exhausted from his journey.

But then he exhaled; not because he could no longer hold his breath, but because something grasped him by his tail and pulled him up. Nightmare Moon stared at the drenched colt she was currently holding upside down with a misty tendril. Being held upside down by his tail gave him a feeling that he had only felt twice before: the feeling he had felt when observing glimpses of Celestia's prowess.

The claw of mist raised him to face his assailant once more. He could barely gasp for air, and his body burned with exhaustion whenever he attempted to budge. Instead, he simply hung limply by his hind legs with his lids half-open, staring at his captor.

Her voice was laced with anger and, something he was all too familiar with, disappointment. “Wouldn't it be better to follow somepony who acknowledges your acuity? Somepony who doesn't simply ignore thee? Hast thou considered Celestia ignored you for she feared your abilities could steal her limelight?”

She stared at him, almost expecting an answer, but the half-conscious unicorn only managed to cough out the lake water, letting it trickle over his face and drip onto the ground.

Assuming a more neutral expression, she released her tendril’s grasp, dropping him to the ground. She ascended back to the sky as a dark cloud. Dusk laid on the ground, exhausted and drenched, watching as the dark alicorn continued on her path of conquest to Canterlot. He didn't know how long he laid there, alone and tired. It could have been one hour or several. Eventually, as his strength returned to him, he lifted himself up and began trotting again. However, this time, not to the south, but back to the north.

---

Expectedly, as Dusk descended into the kitchen, the table had already been set and Cockcrow was already eating his omelet. Unexpectedly, however, sitting on the breakfast table alongside his housemate was a certain grey pony sipping on his black tea. Cockcrow seemed pretty excited to converse with whom Dusk guessed was a foalhood friend. Octavius' expression remained as dull and enigmatic as ever, but he seemed at least engaged enough to give short answers whenever Cockcrow allowed for pauses in his speech. They suddenly stopped their partially one-sided conversation as Cockcrow noticed his companion standing by the stairs.

After a moment of silence, Cockcrow gave Dusk a trembling smile. “S-so, has a good night of sleep helped you calm down a bit?”

Dusk ignored his companion and addressed their guest. “To what do we owe your visit?” He approached the musician without bothering to sit himself. “I wasn't expecting... guests.”

Passing a judgemental look over Dusk, the musician sipped before answering, "Your teacher requested me to check up on you after you woke up." He took another sip. “And she can be quite persuasive.” Dusk nodded. “Definitely not something I expected to have to do during my vacation.” The cellist put down his empty cup and jolted up, making Dusk almost flinch. “Also, if you want to find some insane murderers, you probably shouldn't go out looking like one."

He then took out a wide-tooth comb and began disentangling the archmage's mane. It proved to be a more difficult task than he had expected.

“Hey, no need to be so rough!” Dusk protested, feeling as if more than just a bit of his mane was going to be pulled out.

“Just be glad that it is not my sister that is here,” he commented while trying to tame the mane. Then, after judging the mane to be in satisfactory shape, he spat out the comb and added, “I don't think you would have retained your scalp in that case.”

Then, he straightened Dusk's cloak. “There. At least you don't look like a vandal. Honestly, one would think at least some of Elusive's grooming habits would have been burnt into your mind by now.”

Cockcrow simply stared, perplexed by seeing the archmage being forcefully groomed by the cellist.

Having finished grooming Dusk to an acceptable state, Octavius queried, “So, no longer feeling the urge to destroy other ponies' property, your excellency?”

Dusk ground his teeth while averting his eyes from Octavius' own. “No...”

“Good.” Satisfied with the answer, he sat down to enjoy the rest of his pancakes. Dusk stood unflinching and glaring at him.

After taking a few bites, he began talking without turning to Dusk, “I do understand the reason Nightmare Moon likes you, and that you lack the… experience with dealing with other ponies. This might be acceptable within the confines of the castle, where they are... accustomed to your behavior.”

Biting his cheek, Dusk wanted to retort but decided it would probably only give him more fuel.

“However, here in the outside world, you need to learn how to engage with other ponies. Ponies that aren't Nightmare Moon. And no matter how powerful a pony might be, they will fail if isolated. You can not expect to brute force your way out of every situation with magic. If you treat ponies solely as obstacles, they will respond as such. Not even Nightmare Moon rules truly alone.”

Having finished his meal, he smiled towards Cockcrow and complimented him, "Cockcrow, the pancakes were outstanding. It was a pleasure to meet you again after so long.”

Suddenly brought back from his aghast state, Cockcrow hastily and cheerily answered, "Oh! Thanks! You’re always welcome to visit another time!”

Octavius glanced at the archmage. “Let’s just hope I don’t have to do it.”

Dusk Shine rolled his eyes.

With his unwanted guest leaving, it was time to start tackling his night's itinerary. He knew he had to deal with the consequences of his previous actions, but he didn't want to talk to the triumequat just yet. Maybe he should check the breach beforehand.

---

Having left Crockow a bit behind, he approached the opening in the fence. Even with the hint, finding the actual location of the breach was a bit tricky. The thick vegetation in this part obscured it. But after scouring the area for a bit, he could finally see it. There was where the fence had been broken in, with vines spreading out of it and trying to creep further in. After I've done what I am here for, I should probably report it, Dusk thought. The breach was not very big; just enough for a pony to barely pass through.

Now he only needed someone that wouldn't look out of place buying illicit drugs beyond the fence. Good thing he had met the perfect mare for the job yesternight. He focused on the polymorph spell, and from his horn, his fur changed color to cyan, his mane straightened and grew blond, then wings sprouted from his sides as it seemed his horn vanished. He then undressed his cloak and carefully folded it, hiding it in one of the nearby shrubs. It pained him to part with it, even if temporarily.

He then carefully stepped through the breach. Beyond it, he could see the overgrown playground he was told about. Swings for which the seats had long fallen to the ground. The broken see-saws, rusty spring riders and tilted merry-go-rounds truly made this foal playground foal-unsuitable. He approached one of the benches slowly but without hesitation. He sat upon it, leaving ample space for whoever might be joining him. Then he knocked on it three times and waited. He heard the rustling of leaves nearby and after a few moments, a mare appeared from somewhere behind him.

The mare then sat beside him. She wasn’t a unicorn, but he couldn’t tell if she was a pegasus or earth pony due to the ragged brown cloak she wore. From the angle he was sitting, he could see that she had a long straight brown mane flowing down her right side. He wanted to try and take a better look at her but didn't want to appear any more suspicious. Any more suspicious than someone that goes into an abandoned playground to buy illicit goods, that is.

“Already got rid of all your stock?” she inquired with a bit of incredulity in her voice.

“Uh… yeah, some yellow pegasus and red earth pony couple took most of it,” the fake mare explained, deliberately keeping ambiguous whether they stole or bought it. “By the way, have you seen the pair? I might... still have business with those two.”

She answered with annoyance in her voice, “Well, that is a bit vague. Somepony takes most of your stuff and all you got is 'some yellow pegasus and red earth pony couple'?” She snorted in contempt. “Seems like you should have taken a better look at the ponies you deal with.”

“I mean they seemed to want a lot of the stuff, like got almost all of my stock.” He just needed to string her along long enough to get a lead. “Thought if somepony were this interested in it, you might have caught wind of them.”

This yielded no response but silence at first, worrying the undercover Dusk a bit. He then noticed that she was slowly tapping the plank of the bank with her hoof as if she waited for him to say something more.

He needed to make her interested. “Well, I kinda still need to get my bits from them. Thought maybe you could have heard of them.” He then added, “My bits are then, of course, your bits.”

This caused her to hum in thought. Eventually, she relented. “You better manage to get those bits then.”

The fake mare nodded. “Of course!”

She scratched her chin. “Well, the only ones that would come to mind are one of those phantom guys. I've heard some hanging out at the Copper Shoe Shack. Or at least doing some business there.”

“And no, I am not going to help you. It's your responsibility to take care of your things.” She looked directly at Dusk. With her sky blue staring directly into his, she warned him, “But if you do go, remember: you do not know us, you haven't spoken with us and whatever trouble you get in with them is all your fault. We don't want to lose possible clients. Don't make any unnecessary trouble for us.”

Dusk tried to give a smile. “Don't worry. No unnecessary troubles.”

With that, she stood up and began to leave as he remained seated. But as she was a few feet away, she stopped and looked back. “Be more careful next time. Your stupidity is tiring,” she bemoaned before letting out a grunt and continuing on her way. “I don't know how you didn't get caught yet.”

---

Having acquired as much intel as he could have from the dealer, Dusk decided it was time to move on to the next point in his schedule. The next one that did not involve the triumequat, that is. He rejoined Cockcrow to visit the next crime scene, Nightmare Moon's Shrine. The trip wasn't as quick as Dusk had hoped. Apparently, the statue was previously in a distant, neglected and overgrown part of town, as some locals used to fear it as a bringer of bad luck. Not that Dusk would've thought that, considering its current condition.

The small clearing it had stood in had been expanded. A cobblestone path had been built leading to it. The surrounding vegetation had been cleared, and now it was surrounded by a flower garden instead. Dusk could even recognize some of Nightmare Moon's favorites, like the night phlox and the night-blooming cereus. A four-column rotunda gazebo was erected to shelter the likeness of Her Majesty, and a silver plaque with the inscription, "In honor to the herald of the stars and keeper of dreams." was placed onto the pedestal. A donation box was propped up next to it. Lit candles at different stages of melting and a few burnt-out ones dotted the top of the pedestal and surrounded its base. The garden made Dusk reminisce about his mentor teaching him how to care for such flowers while Cockcrow simply marveled at the newfound beauty of this spot, apparently, he hadn't come here after it had been renovated.

As expected, any signs of murder here had long since been removed. But it was not necessarily just for the crime scene that the archmage had come here for. He knew a shrine keeper must be somewhere near. Looking around, he eventually found a navy blue mare watering one of the flower beds. Her cutiemark was a burning red candle. Her black mane was partially tied into a bun with a few strands hanging loose.

Dusk approached the mare. “Excuse me, but are you the keeper of this shrine?”

“Yes, I am. Do you wish to light a candle? Let me—” she began offering as she put her watering can down to greet the new visitors. “Oh!” She squeaked as her smile quickly collapsed, pursing her lips as her eyes widened. Recuperating from the shock she spoke almost whisperingly, “Archmage, have you come here to pay your visit to the shrine?”

“Not exactly, I just wanted to ask you a few questions,” he explained.

“Oh, sure!” she eagerly nodded.

He then continued, “More specifically, about the incident three weeks ago.”

“Oh... sure...” She nodded slowly, now much less excited.

He readied parchment and quill. "Could you, please tell us what you did witness?”

She hesitated, as she collected her thoughts. Wetting her lips she recounted, “As I approached the shrine that night I could see something was off. It seemed someone had made a big mess with rubbish and graffiti... At first, I was afraid it could be some vandalism.”

“Please continue,” Dusk asked.

“But when I managed to see it...” Her breathing started getting uneven. “It wasn't paint staining the statue... It was blood! 'Was serving her worth it?', it said... a-and then she was just... laying there... bloodied from the bottle shards around her... Seeing her like that, I...”

'Like that'? Dusk thought. “Did Berry Punch visit the shrine before the incident?”

“Well... Yes. Quite often actually. I had often the displeasure of having to carry or chase her away due to her... inebriated state. Not to mention the bottles she littered the shrine with.” She sighed. “Eventually she began visiting outside the hours I generally take care of the shrine.” Then, as if predicting a question from Dusk, she added, “But I knew she had been here because... well, because of what she left behind.”

Dusk raised an eyebrow. “What was left behind?”

“Well, you know...” She lifted a hoof to gesture, before elaborating, “Empty bottles, the booze smell and... vomit and other bodily fluids.” She groaned. “Definitely not the most fun part of the job.” Then in a quick moment of re-realizing who she was speaking to, she hastily added, “Not that I dislike my job, honorable apprentice.”

Seemingly unsatisfied with this answer, Dusk pressed further. “I imagine overindulging in alcohol wouldn't be a unique trait to her in this town. Couldn't another inebriated pony have left those behind?”

“I mean... it would seem like an incredible coincidence for them to start appearing after I stopped seeing her,” she explained. “Also, this isn't exactly a popular drinking spot. It is kind of far away from the town while risking being reported for it.”

If this was so rare, it brought a question to Dusk's mind. "Why haven't you reported the desecration of—”

Suddenly, they heard somepony calling them from above. "Oh! So there you are!" Looking up towards the sky they saw a robed figure. It was Scarlet Scar. "We've been searching for you the whole night!" At this moment, he noticed a few other figures flying in the distance.

As the part of this night which he had dreaded the most now came, he quickly put his utensils back into his cloak's pockets. He thanked her for her cooperation. She hesitated for a bit before looking at the approaching supreme inquisitor and retreated back to her plants, still cautiously observing from a distance while feigning work.

However, the archmage was only concerned with the triumequat member that had appeared. She slowly descended to Dusk's level. She looked almost... relieved.

“Just follow me,” she instructed, signaling with her head. “You'll understand when we are there.”

---

That the triumequat would want to speak with him was unsurprising to Dusk. The place where Scarlet was taking them was slightly less expected. Since, as they followed the supreme inquisitor, it soon became clear that she wasn't taking them to their base of operations, but instead to Ponyville's General Hospital. And waiting outside it were not only the remaining members of the triumequat, but also Mayor Mare and Redheart. The former three looked a bit... uncomfortable.

Scarlet Scar quickly approached the group, leaving her companions to catch up to her.

“Well, here he is!” She presented Dusk like a cat would present its latest to its owners. Her companions eyed each other before, hesitantly looking almost pleadingly towards her. “Hey, I did my part.” She raised her hooves shrugging. “Now one of you two will have to do the speaking.” She excused herself while slowly backing away.

Midnight Oil and Cardinal Zannia looked at each other in hesitation. Then Midnight sighed, defeated, and stepped forward. “I fear that we might have started out... on the wrong hoof. And we've heard some... convincing arguments to change our policy on your... participation in the investigation.”

Considering how her demeanor has so quickly changed, the reaction of the sleeper must have been quite a sight to behold. He felt bad for whoever was filling the role of the sleeper, the pony who was assigned to sleeping duty so that they can be easily reachable by Nightmare Moon.

But it seemed that there were conditions attached, as the Supreme Inquisitor took out a note. “Furthermore, due to your transgressions, it has been decided that you will be helping the magistrate with duties she needs you for.”

Mayor Mare stepped forward and nodded, barely able to contain her joy at the prospect of using the archmage as a political prop. Dusk was less elated.

Midnight quickly interrupted, “And before you complain to us, this decision comes from a higher power.”

Dusk wanted to protest it, but considering the situation, he decided that he would need to bear with whatever the magistrate had planned.

“Fine,” he begrudgingly replied.

“Wonderful!” Mayor Mare commented, almost skipping with joy.

Sensing no further objections, Midnight continued, “Lastly, the damages done to civilian property in your last... excursion, are, of course, to be paid in full from your personal funds.” She pulled a fine notice from her cloak, “Here, this is yours.” Not bothering to read it, Dusk simply picked it up and put it into one of his pockets.

With this, it seemed that a least most of his matters with triumquerat had been settled, but there was still something in the back of his mind bothering him. “How did you know I had been in your office?” Dusk asked the magistrate.

“Well...” she explained hesitantly, “The papers in my office... had been... reorganized.”

Dusk had to exercise restraint to not crash his hoof into his face. When putting everything back into its place, Dusk must have unconsciously placed the documents in proper order. However, he would maybe disagree with it being reorganized.

Midnight sighed and stepped forward to explain. “So, after the magistrate informed us someone had broken into her office, we gathered two sentinels to check the room for any residual magic.” She looked at the magistrate for confirmation who just nodded meekly. Then returning her gaze to Dusk, she continued, “And upon examining it, we found vestiges of translocation and traced the teleport back to outside the town hall.”

“And considering the few candidates that would be able to perform such teleport and, most obviously, that your bodyguard had been a decoy, there was one main suspect.” Giving Dusk a deadpan glare. “So, if you have no other questions, it is time for you to meet the victims.” She directed herself towards the magistrate, “We appreciate your cooperation, Magistrate. We won't take any more of your time.” Midnight Oil motioned and Nurse Redheart led them, with exception of the magistrate, inside.

---

Down in the morgue, it was cold enough to make Dusk shiver a bit despite his cloak. The nurse walked in front, guiding them through the halls. They didn't see any other members of the staff while down there. Cockcrow's trot was unsteady, and his gaze shifted from side to side as he had to walk among corpses. Dusk guessed he was glad the corpses were hidden inside the cabinets on the walls.

The walk was a short one until they reached a chamber where a few bodies had been taken out of storage and placed upon dissection tables. They were still covered in blankets. Dusk, Nurse Redheart and the triumquerat congregated around one of the tables while Cockcrow stood back.

'Finally,' Dusk thought. At long last, he was before one of the victims and only a blanket separated him from the pony he wanted to meet the most. Dusk could feel himself mentally salivating at the answers.

“You may uncover him now,” Cardinal Zannia instructed Redheart.

She carefully pulled the blanket back. Behind it was a light amber stallion with a brown mane. He had cuts on his forelegs. It was as Dusk had expected, but then he took a closer look at the angles of the cuts. They went diagonally on the outer side going up towards the muzzle. This didn't make sense. The only way the cuts made sense was if the victim had done it to himself.

No, this can't be, Dusk disbelieved. Before somepony could stop him, he had lifted the blanket off the corpse next to it. The marks on its forelegs were identical.

He hastily attempted to uncover another one as Nurse Redheart reprimanded him while holding his hoof in place. “Stop.”

Midnight Oil walked to Dusk's side. “All of them have the same pattern of lacerations.”

And as if almost predicting Dusk's next question, Zannia disclosed, “There were no signs of drugs, outside some recreational stuff on some of the victims, nor residual volomancy in any of them.”

Cardinal Zannia then added, “Furthermore, it's not like ponies know about the circumstances of these deaths. Thus a mass of suicidal copycats remains highly unlikely.”

Dusk agreed with this assessment. The messages weren't suicide notes, they were threats.

---

They had reconvened outside the entrance, with the exception of Redheart remaining inside as she still had a shift. As a sign of goodwill, Dusk had decided to impart the triumquerat with the information of the possible insurgent activity at the Copper Shoe Shack. They were curious how Dusk had attained such information. Not bothering to explain, he had simply copied some of his relevant notes and handed them over to Midnight Oil. She had raised her eyebrows as she read it and her colleagues leaned in, as they hadn't expected him to actually find anything. At least they now would see he wasn't inept, and also, maybe even more importantly, now Nightmare Moon wouldn't see him as being uncooperative.

Even as they were back at home, he was still lost in thought, barely paying attention to his surroundings. Cockcrow had wished him a good dream. Dusk distractedly mumbled, “You too.” Happy with the reply, his companion went to sleep. This now left a confused Dusk in his room trying to organize his thoughts. Trying to do so, he started complementing his list with the information he had gained tonight.

List of Tasks: D-4
As of necessary for: finding the “Ghost”

• ☑ Ascertain the location of the crime scene from the magistrate^{lied about the return of Scarlet Scar, remember to avoid her}

• ☑ Examine the location:

  • ☑ Why was it perpetrated there?^{besides being desolated, nothing noteworthy. Do they just lurk in a desolate place waiting for a victim?}_{the 'Ghost' must have been stalking him for nights before picking the best spot to strike in solitude along the doctor's wander path}
  • ☑ Who was the victim?^{Doctor Horse, physician at the Ponyville Hospital, returned from duty 2 weeks ago}
  • ☑ What was the cause of death?^{blood loss from scalpel-caused wounds}

• ☑ Find a lead to clandestine activities in Ponyville^{suspicious couple seen exiting the building hours before the explosion}
• ☑ Question Nurse Redheart^{Doctor Horse was mentally unwell, also she might be onto me, should be more careful}
• ☑ Find and interrogate the boat renter, Floating Rate, on the events of the crime night
• ☑ Find the red earth pony mare and the lime yellow pegasus stallion from Sugarcube Corner^{not living in the building, try to find a rohyponol supplier}_{check the abandoned playground tomorrow, disguise yourself}^{forwarded information to the triumequat}

• ☑ Get access to the corpse of the victim

  • ☑ Check for sleep magic, concussions and rohyponol^{nothing found by the triumequat}
  • ☑ Verify the wounds^{lacerations in unlikely angles for an attack}
• ☐ Find out why Doctor Horse was the victim
• ☑ Get access to the full list of victims to cross-reference attributes^{Not a full list but now we at least got one more data point: Berry Punch}_{visit the morgue again}

• ☑ Examine Berry Punch's death:

  • ☑ Check the Nightmare Moon shrine
  • ☑ find out how Berry Punch was killed^{stabbed with the shards of her own bottles}

There was something he was missing, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Volomancy had apparently been ruled out; no one was controlling their bodies. Had the assailant managed to injure them that way just to cause confusion? Oddly impractical. Eventually, he decided to go to bed. There were many questions that he still needed to answer. And he was fully intent on using the fact that the triumequat was more cooperative, or at least not detrimental, for his investigations. Now, his options significantly increased. He was definitely going to do his own examination of the bodies and to get access to the triumequat's files on the case.

However, as Dusk laid in bed thinking, 'Where could the 'ghost' be during all these attacks?' He couldn't sleep. How could there be no pony found that they had failed to kill? And just as he was about to fall asleep, the answer came to him. What if failures didn't matter because failures didn't leave explicit evidence behind?

Then something hit him.

“Cockcrow, wake up! We need to go!”

Comments

[Mix-up]

Happy to see an update on this story again after so long and it was very juicy one is finding out how Dusk was rejected as a student to CSfGU and how Nightmare Moon somehow managed to escape early when Dusk was still a colt, and that he contributed greatly to her taking power and overthrow Celestia. I wonder what cemented his loyalty to her, maybe by killing his brother/sister himself perhaps? I am taking the dream sequence was meant to show a nonsensical string of thoughts that is why there wasn't any markers for the different scenes, but when he came back to reality, I think a marker would have been necessary then.

I am guessing that NMM used some kind of mind control magic or used her dream magic to get most of the ponies of the court, wizard court, royal guard and the population to be on her side when she cams to power because it seems that Equestria is mostly long sense accepted that she was in charge and are compliant and still have a good number powerful magic users, for her inquisition, or had a cult that was ready to greet her to grab. I am guessing Dusk is probably one of the the least magically altered, and was rather personally manipulated/ brainwashed by NMM to be completely loyal to her and probably has more freedom of thought then most ponies had. Through I wonder if Dusk was one of her first and loyal followers in NMM's return then how come he is still just her apprentice and has to answer to other ponies above him, like the inquisition, and that there are some who are apparently more powerful and experienced then he is, I suspect that the brain wash magic theory is part of it, because no way NMM could have have enough loyal followers to be part of that group without Dusk being given charge of a lot of the stuff for her in just a decade of power if most of the senor mages and staff of Celestia were violently purged.

I wonder if Cockcrow was originally Pinkie Pie/Bubble Berry. Form the looks of it it seems that Dusk will have a different cast of characters to help fight against this obscure foe, Octavio, Coq Crow, nurse Red hearth seem to be logical choices, and I wonder if Dusk will sell them all out to gain the power defeat this treat of NMM? I wonder how is Octavio's 'sister' Vinyl Scratch maybe could she be a snooty ad the Cake/Gateau's are. I can'T wait to see how Mayor Mare with use Dusk to her benefit and what she will make him do to help get more prestige for herself.

I will very much be looking forward to see the next chapter dude, keep it up.

[Relux_the_Relux]

11516580

Thanks for the comment!

how Nightmare Moon somehow managed to escape early when Dusk was still a colt

Oops... it seems I was unclear, but NNM didn't escape early. Calls Dusk a "little colt" to belittle him (especially since he still lacks a cutie mark at that point). I probably should change the references around that to refer to him as a "young stallion" in the narration instead.

And about how NMM came to power and how Dusk became loyal to her will definitely be explored.

[Mix-up]

11516963
Then I take it this takes place much later after the pilot episode then?

[Relux_the_Relux]

11517043

The final part of the flashback is supposed to take place at the same time the first episode took place.

The story itself takes place several years after that

[Flora Blossom]

My Little Reviews & Feedback I did your review.