Ballad of the Dawn

by Takarashi282

Chapter III - Friendlier Company

“An errand, huh?” Trixie asked, following behind Discord. They were at the base of the mountain below Canterlot, still a sheer cliff all the way up. Just to their side were huge rolling hills. How the Earth Pony companies made it around and over those hills boggled Trixie’s mind.

“That took a while,” Discord remarked, a watch appearing on his wrist. He pivoted in the air, raising an eyebrow at her. “Why the sudden interest?”

“Well…” Trixie carefully hopped down a sudden drop. “It’s just, this doesn’t seem to be related to our main objective.”

He shrugged. “It isn’t.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Then why are we doing it? Couldn’t it wait?”

“It probably could,” Discord conceded, folding his arms. “However, if you recall, we don’t really have anywhere to go. Are you sure you’re not forgetting something?”

She sighed, sliding down a smooth rock face. “No leads. The Great and Powerful Trixie never forgets.”

“What did you have for breakfast this morning?”

Trixie bit her lip. “That doesn’t prove anything,” she blurted. “Opal and Celestia didn’t tell me anything more about these ponies… just that they exist and have mysterious black boxes.”

“And we don’t even know if they are the attackers. Is that correct?”

Trixie sped up her cadence, catching up to Discord. “Y-yes, that’s correct.”

“Pft,” Discord spat. “Then why worry? And who knows? Sometimes you find answers in the most unexpected places. Don’t you agree?”

Out of the side of the mountain, a cave appeared. It was low to the ground, puffs of moss covering the outer rim. Deep within was a dim light, flickering in the darkness.

“We’re here,” Discord announced, gesturing to the cave. He placed a claw on the stone, giving an open, sweeping gesture. “Ladies first.”

“Glad to see chivalry’s not dead,” Trixie mumbled to herself. She stared down into the cave. “Much better than the sewers.”

“That remains to be seen,” the draconequus said devilishly. “Oh, and mind the drop.”
Trixie glanced back at Discord. “The dro—”

He slapped her flank, and before she knew it, she was sliding forward, slick rock dropping downwards before her. She backed her forelegs up as best as she could. The light at the end of the cave grew ever brighter. Both her hooves and her rump went numb at the rickety surface of the rock.

The light illuminated a hole at her hooves, and the rock beneath them disappeared. She fell, spinning and flipping when water caught her. She spread her hooves out, gathering her bearings. She tried to ignore her mouthful of water when she spotted the light at the surface. She frantically paddled upward, her lungs burning from lack of air. When she thought she couldn’t bear it anymore, she broke the surface, gasping for air through the water in her mouth. She gagged, sputtering and coughing as she swam to the edge of the water. When her hooves hit land, she let herself dangle, coughing another fit.

Suddenly, a spearhead nearly nicked her in the nose. Then two. Then three. Trixie slowly raised her head in horror as she saw the three bearers. They all bore black and white striped coats, their manes short and bristly. On their faces appeared to be tribal markings, the foundation chalky white with red swirls on their cheeks.

Trixie caught a breath in her chest. Zebras?

With a pop, Discord appeared right in front of her, standing atop the spears, making the Zebras’ heads collectively pitch downward. “Ladies, ladies!” he exclaimed, and they froze in their tracks. “Please, she’s with me.”

There was a pause, and the draconequus picked up his feet and floated, the Zebras harnessing their spears shortly after. To Trixie’s surprise, they bowed, turning about face and marching off.

“That wasn't too bad, wasn't it?” Discord mused, planting his feet on the ground once more. “I mean, a free water slide! This place is full of thrills!”

Trixie’s face burned, her gut twisting in anger. She climbed onto land, shaking out her soaked coat. “Discord. Would you come a little closer, please?”

The draconequus shrugged. He stepped closer to her.

“Closer.”

He leaned down, his maw only inches from hers. “My, if you’re expecting a kiss, I'm afraid I'm spoken fo--”

Trixie lifted a hoof and let it fly. The back of it hit Discord square on the cheek, sending him sprawling to the earth.

Discord held his cheek in a combination of surprise, pain, and dismay. He propped himself up on his elbow. “What was that for?” he yelped.

Trixie stormed to him, standing over his draconic body. She brought her face close to his so that their muzzles almost touched. “Don't you ever touch me like that again!” she hissed.

Discord put his claws up as if surrendering, his expression nonchalant. “Okay, alright? I'm sorry.”
Trixie brought her face closer so that their noses were touching. Her face burned in furious fire as she lit her horn. But Discord was still unfazed. She grunted, stepping off of him. “Do whatever you need to do,” she growled. “Trixie will make you pay for this later.”

Discord frowned, disappearing and reappearing with a pop, this time upright. He turned. “Follow me,” he commanded in a low tone, gesturing in front of him.

And so Trixie followed. As she did, she found herself awestruck at the sheer enormousness of the cave itself. It seemed to be the size of two hoofball fields, maybe three. The roof of the cavern soared above them, it's rough body covered with spiky stalagmites.

Soon, she realized that she was walking on a wooden drawbridge, its ropes caked in dirt but otherwise well-kept. Curious, she strafed to the side, peering over the edge. Below them was a lake with an odd glow. Could it be enchanted? she thought, pulling away from the edge once more.

When they crossed the drawbridge, the tribe's village came into view. They were all wooden structures, built in ways that Trixie wasn’t familiar with. They were topped with layers upon layers of wood and straw. She could've sworn she saw to adults and a child on one roof, the child bouncing up and down. She grimaced each time his hooves hit the roof.

But when they caught her eye, they stopped dead and bowed, almost kissing the ground. Trixie looked about at both sides of the line of houses, and realized families coming out of their huts if not to see her. But Trixie realized that they were not groveling at her. Discord stood tall, walking royally as little children took excited peeks at him.

She knit her eyebrows. “Discord?” she asked. “What’s going on? Who are these zebras?”

“And to think that one has the audacity to call our lord by his name?” The voice came from the left, in front of a fork between buildings. The zebra was thin and sickly, the blacks on his coat faded. He had yellow markings above his eyes like the rays of the sun.

“Boona,” Discord said as the zebra bowed. “I see that this village is well.”

“Indeed,” he replied. He stood, his hooves shaking. “They’re my family as well as yours.” He peeked over his shoulder at Trixie, a look of disgust forming on his face. “What is this farda doing here with you? Don’t you see that she blasphemies?”

He waved a claw in dismissal. “It’s fine.” He stepped forward. “But I need to talk to you, if you have a moment.”

Boona bowed his head. “Anything for you, m'lord.” He straightened up, gesturing to the road behind him. “Come. Let us discuss.”

He took a step forward, but Trixie lit her horn and grabbed his arm. He was yanked backward. “Discord, what’s going on?” she demanded.

The draconequus gave her a grave expression. “My distant past.” He lifted the arm that was covered in Trixie’s aura. “If you would?”

She knit her eyebrows once more, letting her horn dissipate. The aura faded from Discord’s arm, and he wrung that same claw. “Thank you,” he mumbled, turning and trudging toward the fork in the road.

She stood in silence, the wheels in her head turning. His past? She thought. She didn’t figure that anything remained of his past. It had been a millennia since then. But now…? What was Discord not telling her? Who was Boona to him?

“Wow,” a tenor voice not unlike a creaking door sounded. “You definitely know how to make an appearance.”

Trixie turned. Behind her was another pony with an orange coat and blond mane. On his flank was a four-sided star, an anvil and hammer. His mane covered half on one blood orange eye.

“I guess,” she said, looking back toward the fork in the road. Discord was gone. She looked back at the colt. “Who are you?”

“Not very polite, are you?” He laughed to himself as Trixie gave him a scowl. “All the same. My name’s Spark. An apprentice blacksmith.”

He held out a hoof, and she hesitantly took it. “Trixie,” she responded, shaking it.

“So I figured.” He looked around. “Even when they come from outside, this whole village is one of troublemakers.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow, shifting her weight to one side. “What do you mean?”

Spark gestured around him, stopping at points. She followed his hoof and realized he was pointing to the zebras. “You saw them bowing before Discord, as if he were royalty or some sort of god.” He let his hoof down with a clop. “What does this tell you?”

She shrugged. “That they’re worshiping him.”

He rolled his eyes. “I thought unicorns were supposed to be booksmart,” he cracked wise to Trixie’s irritation. “But no, they’re Discordian. Have been a thousand years ago and will be to the grave.”

“And what is a teenager like you worshipping Discord too?” Trixie shot, glaring at him. Even though he was just a teenager, he was pressing the wrong buttons.

He placed a hoof on his chest. “I don’t worship him,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Celestia knows that we don’t need to encourage him.” He set his hoof down once more, pacing the ground in front of her. “I just meandered my way here and was captured. I’m not allowed to leave or they will kill me.”

Her glare losing its fire, Trixie felt a pit in her stomach. She would’ve felt differently had it been someone older. But he was only a teenager. Also, what implications did his capture have on her? She shook her head. Discord will figure something out, she thought. We’re just running an errand after all.

As if losing interest in pacing, Spark kicked at the ground. “In turn, they give me materials to work with to keep me from trying to leave. I’m pretty much their arms supplier now.” He sighed, sending a cold spike of pity through Trixie’s heart. “I do manage to trade some trinkets every now and again, but only when trusted traders come in every month or so.”

Trixie knit her eyebrows. “Your parents must be worried sick.”

He shrugged. “They’re a bunch of drunkards, really. Spend too much money on ale to even take care of themselves.” His eyes locked firmly to the ground below him. “I’m lucky that I’m the only child. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving any siblings behind.”

Spark straightened up, turning to face Trixie. “Well, enough boo-hooing about myself. I figure that the Zebras will be a little less than hospitable towards you. While you’re waiting for your friend Discord, why don’t you settle down at my place for a bit? I figure that he’s going to be a while. Boona really loves to talk.”

Reluctance stirred in Trixie’s gut. This colt was a brat, that much was sure. But then again, it would be far better than being on her own. She didn’t even know how long Spark must’ve been in seclusion in this tribe. The least she could do was spend some time with him.

“I guess,” Trixie mumbled.

Spark’s ears perked up a bit more, and for a split second his whole countenance changed. “Really?” Then, as if noticing the slip, the excitement dimmed from his eyes, and he cleared his throat. “I mean, I…” He let out a tiny snort, gesturing behind him. “Anyways, I’m just down this fork. Follow me.”

Trixie gave Spark a curious look. What was that all about? She shrugged it off.

Following his lead, Trixie headed down the right fork in the road, opposite what Discord took. She took a nervous glance down the other, hoping that she would see him. However, there was no sign of him as the first building swept the other street out of view.

It was a straight shot from there. Spark walked calmly down the street as Zebras turned their heads. Their eyes were sceptical slits when they landed on Trixie. She bowed her head a little, ears flopping down in a vain attempt to hide her face. She’d faced tough crowds before. Only this one had a prejudice in their eyes that she’d never seen before.

“Don’t mind them,” Spark chirped, taking a look back at her. He slowed his pace. “As you can imagine, they don’t take kindly to newcomers.”

“I know,” she said softly, accidentally bumping into Spark’s flank. “Sorry!”

Trixie caught a glance of a small smile. “Don’t worry. Hut’s just down here.”

He gestured to a staircase to the right. He approached it, stepping down smoothly to the bottom landing. However, as Trixie approached, her heart jumped into her throat. The wooden stairs were thin with very noticeable gaps giving a jagged window to the watery abyss below.

“C’mon, the stairs won’t bite,” Spark teased, probably noticing her widened eyes. “Thing’s been in tact for longer than I’ve been here.”

She took in a shaky breath, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Okay…” she mumbled to herself, putting a hoof out. Butterflies filled her stomach as her hoof fell, landing with a solid knock against the wooden stair. Relief flooding in her chest, she opened her eyes, not even remembering having closed them. She tentatively descended the stairs one step at a time before she reached the landing.

“Wo-o-ow,” Spark chortled. “Any longer and the wood would rot.”

Trixie growled. “Y’know, I’d be fine waiting for Discord on my own.”

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Do you even remember where you came?”

“It’s literally only two turns.”

The eyebrow flattened, and he bit his lip, crossing his front legs. “Well, I mean, I guess…”

Trixie sighed, squaring up to Spark. “You could drop the act. It’s not impressing anyone.”

He giggled nervously. “W-what act? I don’t even…” He rubbed the back of his neck, then he cleared his throat. “A-anyway. This—” His hoof flew in a grand gesture. “—is my humble abode.”

Trixie glanced the house over. It was like the other ones in make and detail. The only difference was the blackened walls. Curious, she scraped her hoof against it, and it came of clearly on its tip. Soot, perhaps?

Spark cleared his throat once more. “Anyway, head on in. I’ve got a bottle that I need to finish off, and I can’t do it alone.”

Warning bells sounded in her head. Even though she doubted that the teenager would do something nefarious, the whole environment was sketchy. She took a brief look around her. Even though the house was still close to others by a reasonable margin, it was farther away than the others were from each other. Not to mention the whole situation of a lone colt in stranger territory getting his hooves on the only other pony around, who just so happened to be her.

She took a deep breath and headed inside the hut. If the teenager tried anything, then she could just blast him away. Celestia knew that that was one of the only things she could do with her horn.

The interior was nothing special. A thin mattress stood on a box spring in the back corner, in the other a bucket, most likely for washing. To her immediate left, however, was a small blacksmith’s forge. The sheer amount of steel in that area made Trixie wonder how it hadn’t broken through the floor yet. A singular table stood a little ways from the opposite corner, with a greenish bottle perched atop it.

The door swung shut behind her, the only light coming from a single lantern hung on the wall. “Nice place, isn’t it?” Spark asked behind her, pride singing in his voice.

She kept her tail near as she slowly turned around. “Well, it’s not what I’m accustomed to,” she managed. The air smelt of spent fire and stale alcohol with a mix of chemicals. The mixture clung to the back of her throat, the tingling sensation making her want to gag.

“It may be much better,” Spark ventured, walking to the table. “If memory serves, you live in your own little shack. Is that correct?”

“Not recently,” Trixie answered, moving only two paces from the doorway. “In fact, the Great and Powerful Trixie has adopted a higher standard of living since then.”

The teenager whistled, pulling two glasses from a trunk by the table. “Really?” He set the glasses down on the table with a clack, then pulled open the cap of the bottle. “What town would so eagerly accept a unicorn such as you?”

Growling, Trixie glanced toward the doorway. Even if he wasn’t any real danger, his annoying demeanor was irritating enough that the tough looks from the zebras were better by comparison. She didn’t need to stay.

However, there was something about him that was off. Estranged from a zebra village, he must’ve adopted his facade to appear tough and independent. But the way his eyes lit up when Trixie agreed to visit him in his home reminded her of a childlike excitement, as if he was eagerly awaiting a situation like this.

Spark poured both the glasses, holding one out to Trixie. “Here,” he said, and for a second, his facade broke again. This gesture was more gentle.

Trixie managed a small smile, lighting her horn to take the glass. The cracks were showing, but if she could break him open and see who his true self was…

“Aren’t you a little too young to drink?” she asked. She held the glass out in front of her aways.

He shrugged. “The zebras don’t think much of it, so long as I’m content.” He took a big swig from his own glass, nearly emptying it. He let out a puff of air.

“Content, huh?” Trixie asked flatly. She placed the glass on a bench in the blacksmith shop.

The teenager knit his eyebrows. “Yeah. Content.” He stared down at his glass before putting it on the table.

She took a step forward. “Something tells me that you aren’t.”

Spark gave a mix between a hiccup and a laugh. “That’s… ridiculous.” He picked up his glass once more, taking one final swig until it was empty.

“Is it?” the show-pony asked. Her mind slipped into a calm state. This was her stage now. “I don’t know about you, but I’d be pretty disappointed if I had to move from a higher class living to this. Secluded by everyone around you.”

Spark froze, his eyes wide. “You don’t know anything.”

“You thought you could make your own independent living. Moving out on your own.” Trixie stepped forward. “But it’s proving to be more difficult than you thought. So you turn to drinking to cope with your own stress. You try to shrug it off, adopting this ‘tough’ facade to make it seem like you’re okay. But it’s not okay. You’re just a wreck.”

“You don’t know anything!” The teenager tossed himself onto Trixie, flipping her on her back with a slam. Their muzzles were only inches apart, and Trixie lit her horn. In the light, she could see the despair in his wide eyes, his breath heavy.

Glass shattered to Trixie’s side, and Spark jolted upright. He scrambled to his forge. “Nononono…” he mumbled frantically, pulling out a small wooden crate now stained with the greenish fluid of the beverage, shattered glass sprinkled across the top of it.

Trixie sat up as he pulled the lid open, revealing stained straw inside. In between it all were six small black boxes with intricate, vine-like patterns etched into the sides.

When he gave a sigh of relief, however, her breath froze in her chest. Black boxes. If these were what she thought they were…

“Spark,” Trixie breathed. “What are those?”

The teenager straightened up, one eyebrow raised. “Antiques,” he answered slowly. “Why?”

The air crackled behind them. Trixie scrambled to her hooves, backing up into the table as Discord snapped into existence. His eyes glew with dying coals of irritation, his posture somewhat slumped over. He looked around, his eyes narrowing. “Nice,” he said caustically, his voice lower than usual.

“Thank you,” Spark chirped, the sarcasm obviously flying gracefully over his head.

The draconequus raised an eyebrow, blinked, then turned his gaze to Trixie. “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this…” He rubbed one arm with his other claw. “... But I actually, legitimately need your help.”

“Discord,” Trixie addressed in as calm a voice as she could. She gestured back to the box that still lay wide open. “Black boxes.”

His eyes flicked over to the box, then up to Spark, his eyes widening a little. “We’ll talk later,” he growled. He turned back to Trixie. “But there’s no time for that now, I’m afraid.”

“No time?” Trixie echoed, her mind going through a twist. She stepped forward. “Discord, what’s going on?”

Discord raised his eyebrows, holding up a claw. “Would you like the long version or the short version?” he asked, counting off on his digits.

“The short version.”

“Well,” the draconequus started, holding one digit up. He bit his lip. “I think Boona is trying to kill me.”

Author's Note:

This was a short chapter! I guess part of it could be that this chapter wasn't in the original manuscript, but mostly because I just saw a good place to leave off and decided against dragging out the chapter. The good thing about this is that the next chapter is going to be just about as short (maybe), and that I can string the story together better.

Comments

[Emperor]

I don't know what your headcanon of Trixie's approximate age is, but I would assume she's in her 20s. Which must make her encounter with a teenager colt who's been secluded from ponykind for probably years more hilarious, as he's undoubtedly horny and here's the first pony mare he's seen in quite some time. Of course, it's not hilarious from either of their perspectives, but from a neutral third-party it sure would make for some hijinks.

A reclusive zebra tribe that celebrates Discord as a religion...well, now I've seen everything. Of course, Discord isn't omnipotent and omniscient, otherwise he would have known right away who had caused the explosion at Twilight's castle, and even been able to stop it from happening in the first place. Likely he still has some sense of power where he can know where to go and follow leads on a gut instinct, and it's possible that the black boxes in Spark's house are what triggered Discord's sense that he had to come to this tribe and look around. On that same basis, if he's not omnipotent and omniscient, sooner or later the Discordant tribe may have radicalised to some extent where some of its members want to attempt deicide, and possibly could.