Twilight Daylight: Dawn of Equus

by thedarktome

Chapter 18 - Hello, Truth

Electricity crackled between three parties. Maheera Dark, staring up to Narmeelah, or the ghost held within, and the animalistic stares from the International House of Trade. Dawn could feel the fear melting off of all of them.

"Oh, this is not good," First Light said.

"I agree," Dawn muttered.

Celestia was the first to speak. "How did you get out of the Mecrah Portal? Arcadia locked you in there."

"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Narmeelah rose back to the hooves that weren't her own and smirked casually to Maheera. "She was the one who let her out. I knew something felt off down there."

"Princesses?" Maheera raised a hoof and gestured in a come hither motion. "Step away from the bubble. This mare is the greatest threat Equus has ever faced."

"Oh, Maheera, always so dramatic. I believe it is the complete opposite. You see..." Narmeelah and the filly stepped forward and out of the bubble, as easy as walking through an open door. "I'm not going to hurt any pony..."

"I'm here to fix everything," she continued through the filly. No one responded. "Oh, come now."

The filly jumped from the ground onto a loose piece of rubble, standing at the same height as Celestia. "Surely, you understand and have witnessed the world at its worse."

"...you're the threat that Arcadia was always so afraid of?" Luna whispered.

Narmeelah turned in her direction. "Fear is merely a reaction, a result when faced with the unknown. We've all experienced fear. When we live different lives..."

"...when we travel to faraway places..." The group immediately split away from Gardeen. Now her eyes were changed. A smile graced her face.

"Or when we are in danger." They backed away from Princess Merry before she slumped and rubbed at her head.

The filly jumped on the back of the mare once more. They both opened their mouths and spoke at the same time through the same tone.

"All that matters is how we handle it. We can either fight against the inevitable, or we can embrace it with open hooves."

"Let me guess." Dawn pushed her way out from between the legs of her guards. "You want us to embrace Equus' Reset."

The mare leaned in closely. A wide maniacal grin spread across her face.

"So, you've seen my diary," she said.

"Mother told me a few things. She's the only one who knows what's in there, inside and out."

"And even she's gone into hiding." She faced Maheera Dark and the veil entrapping them. "Alas, she fights from afar. My granddaughters are the greatest of generations. Intelligent, strategic..." She glared back down to Dawn with disgust. "Magical."

"What do you want?" Celestia asked.

"I want my diary of your own free wills." She narrowed her eyes and stalked down the steps, right when Odega and the rest of the Legends of Psera landed, alongside Sky Duster, Tritanium, and Sun Waves.

Odega knew that look. "I thought Arcadia had lost her mind when she told me of your possible return. But then I remembered: you disappeared. There was no body."

"A goddess does not die, old friend." She looked past Odega to Maheera. "They merely sleep."

"No one knows where the diary is held." Narmeelah swiveled her head in Gardeen's direction. "The only pony who knew is Arcadia Nova, and I'm sure she's hid herself even from you."

"We'll see." Narmeelah backtracked into the bubble. "You have five days to return my diary to me."

"Or what?" Dawn challenged.

"Or I begin picking the memories of all of you. A painful experience. I am giving you a choice, allowing you to practice your wills and freedoms. Do not take advantage of it, for the end, it has finally come."

The mare's eyes shut and reopened. Her pupils normal, a deep brown. The filly dropped on her face, instantly sleeping.

"Wh... What happened? Where am I?" She asked herself.

No words were said until Dawn spoke. "You are in Equestria. All of Psera had to be evacuated." She faced IHT and Psera's leadership. "Let's get comfortable. We have a lot to speak about."

"I agree." Luna pointed into the remains. "Despite the destruction, the hall remains intact. We can converse in there."

Right. Before Dawn could take anymore steps, Celestia stopped her with a raise of her hoof.

"I suggest you put someone in charge in case danger approaches."

"Odega." Odega appeared next to Dawn saluting. "You're the oldest and second strongest Pseratep here. You know Psera inside and out. I need you to be in charge while we meet."

"Out of curiosity, who's the first strongest?"

Dawn turned around and faced the pony held at bay by weapons of all kinds. Maheera, staring right back. Facing the fury of all of Equus.

"Why did mother let you out?" Dawn asked.

Maheera poked at a spear. "Queen Arcadia thought you could use a little help. Your magic, while strong is still untamed. If you hope to defeat Narmeelah, you're going to need backup from the only pony who ever fought her."

"Having her on our side would definitely be a plus," First Light agreed. "She knows more than any pony else here. Even Mom."

Fresh Dawn sighed deeply through her nose and looked to Gardeen for her input.

"Let's give her a chance," she asked.

It was probably for the best. She pointed to Maheera. "After what you did, all eyes will be on you."

Maheera bowed humbly. "That is fair, Queen Dawn."

The decision was made. Dawn looked to Captain Smalls, and with a single nod, the order was given.

She turned around and walked into the castle with the rest of IHT, leaving the guards to aim upon and escort Maheera in behind her.

While IHT moved, Flurry just had to ask. She caught up to Dawn. "Are you sure it was a good idea to bring her in?"

"The fight is no longer against a basic pony, Flurry," she answered. "The threat? It's more dangerous than mother, let alone Maheera. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

They soon entered the Trade Room. Stone, dirt, and debris littered every space, but all of what was in there prior to the attack remained. Horns were lit and debris was pushed to the side.

Ponies took their places and seats were taken. Alas, Dawn didn't have one. Psera never joined.

"You may sit here, Queen Dawn." Luna presented another chair next to Flurry Heart. It wasn't of the same design, but it was pretty close. Maybe in the future when all of this is sorted out she would have her own. A smile of pride burst from her face. She eagerly trotted over and sat next to Flurry who bumped her with a wing.

"Welcome, Queen Dawn," she said with a wink.

"Thank you, Princess Flurry."

Maheera stood to the side, guards lined the room and the cracked jagged edges of missing walls around them. Generals, commanders, personnel, the available Legends of Psera and IHT's Defense packed the room out.

A smile shone bright from Celestia's face. She stood up and became the center of attention. "Look at this. Ponies, both young and old, from far and wide, have finally come together. All of us."

Such a sight. The International House of Trade was finally whole. An entire room full of warriors, fighters, magicians, scientists, historians, and legends from lands far away.

Luna stood. "Before we begin, before we take these steps to reclaim this world as ours once again, I would like to thank all of you. Times have grown tiring, to say the least. It seems that with every year, a new threat shows its face, worst than the last. But all of you have persisted. None of us would be here if we didn't trust each other."

She looked to Dawn and bowed briefly. "Thank you, for trusting us, Queen Dawn. I know that after recent events, this seemed like a bad idea."

"Make no mistake, Princess Luna, that my decision to come to Equestria was fueled primarily for a means of survival..." Dawn sighed and looked around the room. A smile itched at the corner of her mouth. "But, if all goes well, I, personally, would like to revisit the relationship between The House and Psera."

Celestia and Luna shared a look. One of excitement. Finally. All knew of Psera and her power. For them to be aligned with IHT...

"I sense a wonderful future for all of us," Madam Singe said. "Now, how about we finally pursue it?"

"I agree."

Celestia nodded. "Very well. It seems the enemy of enemies has showed her face, in a matter of speaking. The threat that Twilight Sparkle feared for so long. Narmeelah."

---

The sun tickled Arcadia's fur. A warmth that pricked at her heart. The pyramid loomed in the distance, magical technology that even Psera would have trouble recreating.

She walked along a golden road, leading to a large space overshadowed by a forest of palm trees in the back. A garden ringed by flowers of all colors. In the middle of this garden was a single fountain, overflowing with water and splashing at her hooves. Made out of diamond, it was unbreakable. Prismatic rays bounced through its structure.

On the four corners of this garden were tall golden poles with floating rubies at the top. An affectation, surely, but serving a purpose in all rays of life.

Arcadia stopped at the fountain and reached into the water. The rubies shone bright, the water even brighter. Arcadia covered her eyes and gently withdrew her hoof. One does not simply yank out a foal.

An orange alicorn filly hoofing at the air. Arcadia chortled. Such beautiful life. Innocent through the pain and suffering of the outside world.

She leaned down and nuzzled her belly. The filly reached out and swiftly struck her hoof across Arcadia's face.

"Yikes!" Arcadia shot her head back in surprise. "Well, at least you can protect yourself. I didn't estimate for this to work in such a way."

Regardless, Twilight turned around and carried the foal out of the garden back towards the pyramid, for this child would be one of many. A new race, a new pony.

---

In the center of the trade room floated a three-dimensional rendition of the rune that burned its way to the surface of Psera. Around it, the destruction of Psera.

Dawn pointed to the image. "This is what was discovered after we left. This image hasn't been updated, so we have no clue if it's a growing rune or a static one."

"Narmeelah gave us a limited window to get to her the Diary of Narmeelah," Secretary Manny reported. "I like to think the diary is vital to her success."

"Are you certain?" Queen Novo asked.

"It could go both ways," Dawn explained. "Without the Diary, there's no way to know for certain."

"Careful, Dawn," First Light warned.

"It's okay," Dawn thought to her sister. "Today is the day and this the hour. I'll be here every step of the way."

"Then we have to locate the Diary," Shining Armor spoke. "It's in Psera possession?"

Secretary Manny cleared her throat. "It is located in one of our facilities... Back on Psera."

A round of groans and moans escaped the mouths of all in the room, save for Fresh Dawn.

"Dang," Sky Duster swore. "I was really hoping to show this Narmeelah how kick butt we truly can be without, you know, seeing her first."

A hoof settled upon Dawn's shoulder. She looked up to Gardeen, who in turn nodded. If she wanted to tell them the truth, now would be the time.

Dawn faced the room. Celestia proposed a plan to possibly infiltrate Psera under detection while Psera wondered if it was even possible to penetrate the veil.

"It's time," Dawn thought.

Tentatively, she raised her hoof. Slowly ever so gracefully. It stuck out like a sore thumb, and was spotted by Princess Novo.

"Yes, Queen Dawn," she acknowledged.

Here we go. Dawn rose from her seat.

"Actually... Okay, so, the Diary of Narmeelah. It..." She rubbed her hooves together. Strange. Luna raised an eyebrow. "The diary isn't, exactly, on Psera. Instead, it was hidden when we were on Psera. The one on Psera... That's fake."

Secretary Manny glanced around awkwardly. "What do you mean, Queen Dawn?"

Dawn took a deep breath and left her seat, all eyes on her until she was at the front of the room. She sat down on her haunches and took another deep breath.

"Mom knew Narmeelah would come back one day, so having the diary on Psera would make it too accessible. Less secure. So she met with the council under the eyes of Psera, rest their souls, and motioned to have the Diary secured in a location of which she determined to be the most secure."

"What is that location?" Shining armor asked.

Dawn shut her eyes. "Mom called it Vendulla."

Vendulla. Such a strange name. Celestia asked. "Is that another country?"

Luna shrugged. "I've never heard of it."

"None of you have ever heard of it." The response came not from Dawn, but from Maheera. She stared in disbelief. Mouth parted, eyes wide.

She carefully stepped out of her place and approached Dawn. "Vendulla isn't a country. It's not a city, it's not a town. Vendulla... It's another plane of reality. A reality that even I can't step hoof in, let alone leave my things."

All eyes turned back to Dawn. In silence. Interest. Disbelief. She sighed and shut her eyes. "I apologize for not telling you earlier. Our current state didn't warrant me that opportunity."

Before anyone could respond, Maheera beat them again. "I don't care that you didn't tell them. All I care about is how your mother got in."

"What do you mean, Maheera?" Sunset asked. "This is Twilight Sparkle we're talking about. She built a portal—"

"Yeah, to Earth, she told me. But Vendulla isn't like opening a door, okay? Anypony can build an entrance. This is an entirely different level. This is gaining access to another universe."

She turned back to Dawn before the room again. "Arcadia Nova didn't even know about Vendulla until after I told her, and I've been trying to get in there for centuries."

"Okay, everypony stop." Novo pointed to both Dawn and Maheera. "Clearly, you two know of Vendulla. But we don't. Explain it."

Dawn made to speak, but was, once again, beat to the punch. "Vendulla is the opposite of existence and magic. You only see the shadow of life, nothing more. It's a world of chaos."

She turned to Sunset Shimmer. "The reason Arcadia was able to get in to Earth was because everything there already existed. You can eat there, feel, smell, it's all real. Vendulla is the complete opposite. It's the overflow of dark matter."

Maheera used her magic to draw a multitude of circles in the air for them all to see. They floated around the room. "This is us. All of us. Different worlds, faces, creatures, realities, lives. All of it. I can walk forward, right? I can step here and feel the ground."

Maheera walked forward and bumped into the table. "That table is real, and I know that because I just ran into it. But Vendulla.... Vendulla is the complete opposite. Over there, this table doesn't exist. It just looks like it does."

A thick line was drawn underneath all the bubbles, followed by a much larger bubble that consumed the lower half of the room. "This is Vendulla. It's unoccupied space filled with nothing but fading possibilities. It's a land of... Of..."

"A land of illusions?" Luna guessed.

"Yes! Nothing there is real!" She faced Dawn again. "The reason your mother was able to travel to Earth was because it was actually real. On the other side of her portal there was something there for her to connect to. A chair, a face, the freaking dirt she walked on. But there's nothing in Vendulla. It's impossible to connect to.

"I want to believe you, Dawn, I really do. Nothing would make me happier than to see what juicy secrets Narmeelah hid in that thing. But it's scientifically impossible to get into Vendulla. Almost magically."

Almost? Celestia rose up and asked, "But, technically, there is a way in. Right?"

Maheera sighed and shrugged. "I suppose, yeah. But that's the problem, it's impossible to do. The only way into Vendulla... Okay, there's a big thick blockage separating reality from Vendulla. The only way in... Ugh, I'm confused now too. The only way in is to, technically, not exist. Even if you somehow 'deexist' yourself, there has to be a lot of your deexistence to push against the barrier of reality and Vendulla. In other words..."

"You'd have to be really really dead," Hot Stop assumed. "Queen Arcadia's 'died' plenty of times."

"Yeah, but she would somehow have to kill the Diary of Narmeelah as well. They both have to not exist to get in. The last I checked, there is no crossing over into the great beyond for minutes at a time and then coming back without any brain damage whatsoever."

She faced Dawn once again. "Listen, Dawn. Unless your mother's fully, actually dead, I don't see how she could've got in."

Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, it's easy to explain, because she didn't."

Crickets chirped around the room. "But you said..."

"I said the Diary of Narmeelah was in Vendulla, I never said my mother put it in there. As a matter of fact, this was during her probationary period. She couldn't and didn't use any magic at all and had guards on her twenty-four seven. It would've been impossible to sneak, let alone do."

Luna humming to herself was the only response.

"So... How did it get in there?" Secretary Manny asked. "If Maheera Dark is speaking the truth, we're now even further from belief that it's there, and it still remains in Psera."

"Simple. Only one pony put it in there. The pony that dances on both the plane of existence and non-existence. I put it in there."

"...you?" Maheera asked.

It was time. Dawn sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "Many years ago, my mother and father got married. Mother was pregnant with me at the time. On their wedding day, someone tried to assassinate her. I was a few months old, maybe six or so. Most of you know.

"The arrow pierced my right ear. As an infant, I was extremely fragile. I was dying as fast as my mother. In an attempt to save my life, Arcadia used magic to save my life. What you don't know is the kind.

"Arcadia used dark magic. It gave me life. However, before she could cut the spell, she dropped into a coma. The spell continued, pouring more magic into my body until the inevitable. What I was supposed to be, who I was supposed to be.... I was replaced. I'm a pony, but..."

Dawn lifted her head and raised her hoof. She closed her eyes and let forth a breath she was holding within the silence; and with that breath flowed her body. Her hoof gradually evaporated, black wisps flowing graciously through the air. As if in a dance, they twirled out longer and longer, taking a majority of her body with her until she was nothing but smoke, sparkling with violet and red crystals.

Gasps flew from voices, chairs scuffed from their places, ponies rose to their hooves and observed in awe. Celestia and Luna already knew Dawn had a special kind of energy, a different kind of magic. One made of darkness. But this... They've never seen it with their own eyes, purely raw energy from this point of view.

"Faust," Luna muttered. Flurry reached out and lightly tapped at the wisps when they passed her features. It wrapped around her hoof briefly before returning back to its original path. Under Novo, around the guards and the rest of the room before appearing back at the front of the room. In a rapid manner, she condensed back into who she truly was. Queen Fresh Veola Dawn of Psera. She reached up and adjusted her crown back into its original position and offered a sheepish smile back to the forty-something ponies in the room.

Celestia walked from her seat over to Fresh Dawn. "I knew you were special. Arcadia told us when she was in the hospital that you were, her words exactly, 'a walking corpse.'"

"Sort of." Celestia lifted her wing and investigated her feathers. "Our life teeters on the edges of both existence and non existence. For example. What do you feel? Feathers, or magic?"

"I feel feathers."

"Those feathers are made of magic. They're not really feathers. As is the rest of me. But that doesn't mean I'm any less of a pony as the rest of you are. I just miss out on a few things."

"Like falling ill," Cadance assumed. "Your father told me about how you've never been sick. Because there's nothing to infect."

"Correct." Dawn politely took her wing back. "But that's only half of the story."

"And I'm guessing the other half is First Light, isn't it?" Luna asked.

First Light? Maheera sat down and folded her hooves. "I'm guessing that's another pony?"

"Here we go," First Light thought. "Are you ready?"

"I am. Are you?" Dawn asked.

"Let's just do it. What have we got to lose?"

Dawn cleared her throat. "Right. Yes. The spell continued and overwrote me into who I am. But it didn't stop. The magic continued to pile on, but it only covered so much. So, instead, it created a copy. Another entity. Another pony created entirely out of magic whose body merged with my own."

Sunset quickly asked, "Are you saying that Arcadia made a pony out of magic? Dark Magic? And she's you?"

Dawn nodded. "Yes. Her name is First Light. Think of her like another persona. Whereas I teeter on the edge of real and unreal, Magic and Flesh, First Light is entirely magic."

Before Dawn could move further, Queen Amira of Saddle Arabia raised her hoof and asked, "I hate to interrupt, but what does this have to do with The Diary of Narmeelah?"

"Because the pony who hid the Diary inside of Vendulla, the pony mother came to, was First Light. As far as she and I knew, and as far as history tells us, First Light, my little sister, is the first living force on this side of the plane who is able to travel to Vendulla with a single step. I don't know where she hid it. Despite us sharing the same body and the same mind, we don't really share the same knowledge or traits. We even speak differently."

"Then we'll have to speak to First Light," Queen Novo said. Now this Maheera would have to see. The first living form of magic... Who would've thought? Arcadia, you sneaky pony.

"Right, of course." Dawn backed away from the tables for space. "Now, before you see her, I need all of you to be aware that this is the first time First Light had such a large audience. She and I both agreed that it's going to take some getting used to. She may look a little scary to some of you, but I guarantee, she's a lot more scared of you than you would be of her."

Dawn sat down and closed her eyes. This was it. She was in a safe place. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Dawn took a deep breath in and dropped into unconsciousness, bringing to light the pony they all wanted to meet. When she opened her eyes again... Those weren't her eyes.

"Whoa," Flurry whispered. They were replaced with a liquid darkness. No pupil. Just black orbs in her head. Gradually, her coat turned black. Her fur flattened, matting to her body. Her mane straightened out. Her wings lost their fluffiness and took on a more sharpened shape. Her cutie mark from the sparkling crown to the same dripping red liquid.

The pony standing there held the exact same shape as Dawn. But it certainly wasn't. This was an entirely different pony. a different creature.

Fully changed, First Light rose up to her hooves and smiled loosely.

"Hello," she greeted. "I'm First Light, the second daughter of Queen Arcadia and King Madun. Nice to meet you."

Author's Note:

What do you guys think so far? First Light has finally been revealed1 Go ahead and drop those comments! I know you guys have been waiting for this moment, and it's finally here! Take a guess as to what happens next! I bet you're wrong!

Also, what do you think of Narmeelah so far? Leave those comments! I love reading htem!

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

I think this is the first time in here, where I'm so frickin confused??!!

[thedarktome]

11130823
Lol, what's confusing?

[nathanb]

Man, this serie is serious, epic and too crazy. I don't really feel it's mlp anymore because of this much crazyness. What the f**k, Twilight is doing ?????!!!!!!
I hope the end is near. Narmeelah vs the world baby !!!!!

[thedarktome]

11131053
I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

11130914

On "what" Dawn is, that she has a "little sister", and talking about that illusion dimension. ( I'm not exactly catching up with the chapters, so that's why I'm confused. Even then, what Dawn is talking about is like we are in the Twilight Zone?? No pun intended. )

Although, I'm a bit peeved that they are still working with IHT ( Which is a STUPID name to call themselves? What are they pretending to be? The U.N.??!! ), and that I'm still pissed at Psera for not trusting, and then betraying Twilight ( Or Arcadia, or whatever she calls herself now. ) like that.

No wonder so many of their people died like that, guess that's karma kicking them all in the balls/ovaries, right?