Cracking Dawn

by Didily Winkles

Chapter 13: Glory for Everypony

Chapter Thirteen

Dawn had just dropped off April and her parents. She was now relaxing on her balcony, enjoying the warm evening June breeze from the east. They had settled on an apartment they found after lunch. Either it was because they found out Dawn had written down all their inane complaints or the lunch in their bellies but they had very few bad things to say about the apartment. The rent was still appalling but well with in the budget of a Canterlot weather pony captain. The job was courtesy of the Princesses who both put in a good word with April's transfer. Dawn let out an exhausted sigh as she looked up at the full moon.

It had been two moon cycles since she had met Luna. She was surprisingly a pony of habit. "Good evening Luna." She said as her horn started to tingle with the presence of a full moon Luna pulling herself out of the void.

"Did we have a good day Dawn?" Luna asked, taking a seat next to her student.

"Long, but productive." Dawn shrugged. Luna and Dawn would, every night before Luna joined her night court, talk where ever Dawn was at the time. They would share each others days. Then Luna would typically ask an out of the blue question, ranging from pony mannerisms to meta-magical or physical. They would talk like this until Luna's royal duties interrupted them.

"Long days can be the best of days." Luna said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose."

"Tell me." Queue tonight's discussion topic. Luna paused to think of her question more thoroughly. "What do you think of the summer sun celebration?" Luna's voice was more hesitant compared to her normal questions.

Luna's hesitance took Dawn off guard. She turned to look Luna in the face. "Princess Celestia does the same thing she does every day but in front of a crowd." Dawn said plainly. What does Luna want from this conversation. "I guess, I think it is... funny."

"Yes it is." Luna agreed hastily with a vigorous nod of her head. "But what about 'what' the celebration is about?" Luna asked, regaining her hesitant voice that came with the first question.

Dawn thought hard, recalling her history classes. "The return of the sun... and the banishment of you?"

"Yes." Luna answered, that small tinge of doubt still lingered in her voice.

"I suppose it's..." Dawn looked for an appropriate answer. This was obviously close to Luna. "Crude." Dawn paused to read the night princess's face. Positive reviews! "The evil Nightmare Moon got banished but so did you... I suppose I could see that as a problem."

"Yes that is exactly what I argue to Celly." Luna agreed, pausing to rethink her words. "She wants me to be by her side, every year. I hate it." Luna didn't dislike any thing beyond olives and walking, she doesn't even loath the high society as her sister does. "I do not think Equestria will fully heal from my mistakes until they are forgotten."

"Perhaps..." Dawn started to talk before she thought. "Perhaps you should start your own celebration." Well that's a good idea. "On the winter solstice." Yes it is. "Make it into a bigger celebration than hers, with gambling and night clubs." Dawn said excitedly. Both good things I haven't done in awhile.

Luna looked down at the excited mare and her imaginary celebrations. "That seems like a lot of work." Luna concluded after some consideration.

"Yah. Forget the whole thing then." Dawn agreed.

"I expect you to be by my side for that day. The celebration attracts the strangest ponies."

Dawn looked back to the starry sky. "Hmm alright. As long as I don't have to shake no ponies hooves."

"Deal." Luna looked up at her sky deep in thought. "Bring April too." She added, thinking miles away.

The Night goddess and her student sat there, looking out to the stars. The quiet pair lost in their own thoughts, let the rest of their night pass as they star gazed. Luna, the only other pony other than April I can enjoy silence with.

-----

"Luna is annoyed but still wants me there. And 'I' want you there..." Dawn was on her back, laying on April's floor in her house back in Wingopolis. She was trying her best to look adorable to get her way, it was not working.

"I can't Dawn. It's my last week here and I have so much packing to do." April said as she shoved linins into a box. "Plus I don't want a bunch of stuffy unicorns that will be my classmates know I am friends with the princesses."

"Then let's disguise you." Dawn excitedly devised.

"I'm sure that will turn out well..." April said, still ignoring Dawn's rolling around. "When did I get so much stuff?" She muttered quietly to herself.

"Come on, Luna is at full moon and waning, she's unbearable." Dawn stood up to walk over to April. A direct attack is needed. She bowed down to the sky blue pegasus like she had seen so many other ponies do for the princesses. "And with the summer sun celebration coming up, I end up getting all the torments she can think of." Dawn pleaded with all the urgency she could muster.

April looked to the pathetic sight of Dawn bowing low to the ground. "Ask her to stop or ask Celestia." April deadpanned.

I failed! Dawn got up from the ground. "Princess Celestia is getting as much of the crap as I am." Dawn admitted. "In fact she some how redirects Luna back at me. You gotta save me for a day or I will go crazy!"

"...er. Crazier." April giggled as her corrections sunk into Dawn, earning an amused look from Dawn. "Can you settle for a half a day? I really have a ton to pack and you are no help."

"I tried helping." Dawn defended.

April's eye twitched at the recollection. "No, you introduced complete chaos to my organized packing." She said, turning to look at Dawn proper. "I'm still fixing the boxes you 'packed'."

"Well it's not like you going to keep the stuff in the boxes forever..."

"Why not take Twilight or Trixie?" April asked, cutting off one of Dawn's overused excuses.

"They 'are' going. Plus they're not gonna help any, at least not when they're together. Luna might even recruit Trixie..." Dawn said, giving a little shudder at the two combined minds of malice.

April groaned. This wasn't going to end anytime soon. "I'll go on the condition that you pack my way and my way only." She said in a very authoritative voice, knowing she wouldn't agree to it.

Dawn growled in frustration. Makes no sense to pack your way. "Fine." She begrudgingly said.

"Luna is that bad huh?"

"Absolutely horrid. This morning she some how lined my entire room with a sticky gum. And don't get me started on what she did to my toothbrush..." Dawn shook away of the recent memory of the morning from her head. "I do not envy the enemies she once had. Those poor manticores..."

April giggled as Dawn's mind worked itself. "That's what you get for asking some pony who spent a thousand years alone on a moon for romantic advice."

"Lesson learned." Dawn gave out a heavy sigh as she started to will her magic to work, slowly and delicately packing one item at a time into a box labeled with its contents.

----

Princess Celestia was in a group of crowding ponies young and old, poor and rich alike. Luna looked to Dawn, Dawn looked to Trixie. Trixie stood at the ready, keeping an eye on Twilight and April, who were talking at a table of food. Trixie was in the clear. She spotted Dawn and Luna looking at her and gave the sign. Dawn and Luna flared up their horns, combining their magic into a bright purple cloud.

"It needs to be perfect Luna or it won't work." Dawn panted.

"Do not lecture me on magic." Snapped Luna.

They both strained, focusing their magic on one point. Luna supplying it, Dawn taking it and weaving it all to her will. All the ponies in the crowds near them could feel a magical surge pulsing near them. It took Twilight and Princess Celestia only moments to localize the source but it was too late.

The collection point between Luna and Dawn flashed brightly, birthing a large orb. The grins on Trixie, Luna and Dawn's faces would have been enough to warrant ponies to scream in horror. None did however. Before Princess Celestia or Twilight could even phrase a coherent thought to speak in protest, the orb shot up high above Canterlot, disappearing in the distance. Luna and Dawn were already on the floor laughing at what is to come. It was too late for any pony to do anything.

Twilight and the Sun princess had fully processed what could, would and in all likelihood will happen. They started to cast spell-reflection spells but it was too late. Where the orb of pure magic had disappeared, an explosion of purple magic quickly expanded throughout the city, passing through buildings and walls unhampered, inflicting its affect on everypony. In the few precious seconds before the spell took effect, Dark clouds wrote in the sky, 'Happy Summer Sun Celebration! Your new facial hair is courtesy of your Princesses. Enjoy!'

All the ponies in the crowd that had noticed the magical explosion were now reading the sky as their facial hair grew. Celestia and Twilight were giving glares of death at the two now bearded mares on the ground laughing, gasping for breath. They didn't bother checking their own faces. They knew what they would find.

April, who was right beside Twilight, had just finished reading the sky and was turning back to Twilight. "Uhh Twilight?"

"Yah... I know..." Twilight answered still delivering her glare.

April followed the line of Twilight's death glare to her bearded fillyfriend and the night goddess, who were both gasping for dear life. It did not take very long for April to connect the dots and to notice her fu-manchu mustache and goatee. April's face turned to a face of pure horror and embarrassment.

In a blinding light of magic, Princess Celestia the Bearded teleported, dragging the two culprits with her to the very empty throne room in the castle. As soon as Princess Celestia set her eyes on at the two bearded mares, who were still on the floor laughing hysterically, she started to over shadow them in a royal stance of aggression. "Do you two have 'Any' idea of what you two have done?" She asked, her voice cracking with anger.

"Did you see their faces?" Luna croaked in between her laugher, ignoring her sister completely.

"...There will be riots..." Princess Celestia mumbled to herself.

"Yah..." Dawn answered Luna in between her own laughing, also ignoring the imposing sun princess.

Twilight, Trixie, and April teleported in with the help of Twilight. Princess Celestia relaxed, falling back on to her quarters.

"...Oh curse it! The delegates from the griffin high council." Princess Celestia recalled, talking to herself.

"What can I do to help Celestia?" Twilight asked, offering a comforting hoof to the disheveled sun princess.

"Trixie!" Dawn and Luna called out in unison as if cheering for a victorious hero.

Twilight spun around to see her fillyfriend walking over to the pranksters. "Trixie?" Twilight dropped her hoof to start a march over to the periwinkle colored unicorn.

April matched Twilight's march to a pink unicorn with an orange and purple mane. "Dawn, what have you done?" Dawn was still laughing hysterically with Luna, completely oblivious to the pegasus. "Hey!" April yelled, trying to drown out their laughter. She failed. "I'll just have a talk with you later." She mumbled under her breath.

The sun goddess was near catatonic still talking to herself. "...Riots, panic, chaos, foreign delegates wanting to wage war..."

Luna was able to control her laughter now. "I must say that was the best prank I have ever pulled." She said, wiping a spare tear from her face. "Do you think it will forever be remembered as 'Celestial beard day'?"

"Trixie you were part of this?" Twilight asked in a very hurt voice, referencing her beard with a spare hoof.

"Yah kind of... A small part maybe..." Trixie downplayed.

Dawn, now in control of her own laughter as well, wiggled on the floor to face Luna. "Ha, I don't know. You should have seen my high school on senior ditch day." Dawn ignored the glares she was receiving from April.

"How could you?" Twilight asked still in such a hurt voice.

"Celestia, how can I help?" April asked, flying in front of Celestia's face breaking her thousand yard stare,

"They can be really convincing..." Trixie admitted to Twilight.

"Is that some kind of holiday I am unaware of?" Luna asked, tipping her head in curiosity to Dawn.

Princess Celestia blinked a few times to clear her thoughts. "Yes. I need help. I need to spread the word to not to panic." She concluded.

"No, it's when all the seniors ditch..." Dawn deadpanned, momentarily forgetting who she was talking to.

"This was a big day for your princess, my mentor... and you just decided to ruin it?" Twilight asked, laying the guilt thick on poor Trixie.

"Dig holes?" Luna guessed, scratching her chin with her hoof.

"I also should make a public example of those involved..." Princess Celestia said with a frightening amount of resolve.

"No it's to be absent from school." Dawn clarified.

"...Banishment." Princess Celestia said, not thinking about how such things worked in the present era. "Yes that will do... to the northern expanse." Logic escaped her.

"What?" April gasped at Celestia.

"Oh... so what did you do?" Luna asked, whipping her tail in excitement.

"Well you remember my musical orbs."

"Oh, that was the prank it was invented for?"

"I flooded my school with orbs that produced a loud low tone that resonated with the very buildings, shaking them violently. The teachers were cursing my name until I walked away for good." Dawn regaled.

Ignoring April, who was flying in her face, "First thing is first... Banishment than we help the citizens." Princess Celestia concluded.

"Umm perhaps you should help the citizens first?" April criticized.

"Are you questioning your princess?"

"Yes." April said with an absolute tone, getting up close into Princess Celestia's face.

"Ho, did you hear that Celly? My student is a natural at this." Luna called out to her sister, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.

"Banishment..." Princess Celestia whispered under her breath.

"Well you did well with that spell." Dawn said, sharing the praise.

"Trixie I am so angry right now..." Twilight whispered to Trixie.

"We can not forget the many uses that Trixie had. The backstage pony that made it all possible! I will sing songs honoring you for decades." Luna sang out.

Twilight teleported out of the room, leaving no trace of where she might have gone.

April, flying away from the scary looking sun goddess, came into view of Dawn. "Ohh... sexy facial hair April." Dawn wrapped her aura around the pegasus and started to pull her to her. April started to fly against the pull, only for the magic around her to get stronger. "Oh come here, lemme enjoy that smexy face while it lasts." Dawn cooed as she pulled the unwilling mare into a kiss filled hug.

"Great Twilight is mad at me..." Trixie said as she glared at the forced affection.

"Sister you need to relax, the spell only lasts for ten minutes." Luna had gotten up to comfort her seething sister.

"No, Stop. I am not ready to forgive you yet." April said as she tried to push away the offending unicorn.

"The panic Luna, you did not think this through in the least." Princess Celestia said, regaining her senses and logical thoughts.

"Yes, you are." Dawn giggled right before she took advantage of one of April's tickle spots. With her magic she gently grazed the hairs of April's fur. Two rips from the bottom on the left side. Cut the pi in half.

April convulsed in stifled panic as she hovered in Dawn's pink aura. "Damn you." She finally screamed.

"Say you forgive me" Dawn teased.

"Fine." April screamed.

"Fine... what?"

"I forgive you." April said, muffled by her own attempts to muffle her panicked laughter.

Dawn set down her fillyfriend to let her catch her breath. "That was easy." She chuckled as she stood up to take Luna's side with comforting Princess Celestia.

"You, this was all your doing." Princess Celestia said, pointing an accusing hoof at Dawn.

Luna stepped up in front of her sister's hoof. "Do not blame her sister. It was my idea. Dawn just saw it come to fruition."

"I live to serve my princess." Dawn said in a mocking tone.

"I can not believe you two. No... I can believe it. I can not express my anger with you two because pony kind has not experienced such anger in many millennia." Princess Celestia was glowing with the fury of the sun she controlled until she drooped, falling on her quarters again. "There will be so many angry nobles..."

"I doubt that. My student figured out everything." Luna said with pride.

"I made a medical dark magic spell that gives a pony an absence of pain. I added a mild affect to the spell. The denizens of Canterlot are in a mild euphoria right now." She concluded with a positive resolve. "At least the ones that didn't cast a shield over themselves." Dawn turned to the bearded Trixie. She was pouting at the ground. "Go explain to Twilight it's not as bad as it looks." Dawn said as she summoned dark smoke to surround the periwinkle unicorn.

"I will..." Trixie said as she disappeared into the void.

"You two..." Princess Celestia said, pointing a hoof to Luna and Dawn. "...are going to deal with all the nobles that come to complain about your prank."

"I will handle all the nobles sister. I Promise." Luna said with all diplomatic grace she could gather. Such a good pony my teacher is.

"No." Princess Celestia said bluntly. "Dawn helps too. She needs to stop indulging your pranks." She is so bad at diplomacy...

Dawn groaned. Wait... "There will be no complaints." Dawn said with founded confidence.

April had regained her composure and had walked up to Dawn and the princesses. "You said Luna was pranking you. Not that you two were pranking Celestia." April said, raising her voice with her accusations.

"Yes well..." Why are words so hard to come by when April is wearing that face. "It seemed like an appropriate lie to get you to come here." Dawn admitted, earning a face hoof by both of the princesses.

"I need to go back to the celebration and calm down the crowds." Princess Celestia said, quickly. "Let's go Luna." Both princesses teleported out of the room with a flash of Princess Celestia's magic, leaving Dawn and April alone.

April looked like she was searching for words to yell. Her wings twitched in the struggle. Finally, she closed her eyes and said, "You are horrible, take me home."

Something in Dawn just obeyed without thinking, collapsing the void around them both, bringing them into April's empty living room lined with boxes. "Are you mad?" Dawn asked with the words fumbling out of her mouth.

April still had her eyes closed. Her face contorted in many different directions at the question as she thought of a response. "Mad? No. Angry. Furious." She answered with crescendo, ending with a growl. Startled by her own voice she opened her eyes to look at Dawn. "How could you do something like that? To every pony? To me?" She asked her voice laced with pain. "How could you lie to me like that?" Dawn's gut churned with April's words, pulsing with a pain that shot up into her throat.

Dawn couldn't look at those grey eyes of hers any more. "Luna said..." She started to mumble to floor.

"Luna is not Dawn." April corrected, cutting off Dawn's excuse.

Maybe the eyes are gone. Dawn looked up at the pegasus. Nope still there. She looked into April's eyes, trying to bare with it. "It seemed like a good cause..." She tried to add to her excuse.

"A good cause?" April's face changed to a face of anger and confusion. "You humiliated our princess and every pony in Canterlot." She finished saying, stifling her anger the best she could.

April has never been this angry. "April it isn't that bad..." Dawn started to say offering a comforting hoof.

April shrugged Dawn's hoof away and started for her room. "Go away Dawn. I need to think." April said with the little amount of emotion she couldn't hide.

"April listen to me." Dawn called out to the turned about mare. Dawn's insides were crying out in pain. What did I do that was so wrong?

"Leave me alone." April said as she slammed the door behind her.

Dawn walked to the door. I could blast it down... That would not end well. "I will not. Please... do you even know what that celebration is about?" She asked through the door, grasping at straws now.

"The return of rising of the sun." April answered with a hint of insecurity. Dawn could tell she was on the verge of tears.

I made April cry? "Yes, that and the banishment of Luna and Nightmare moon." She answered, desperately trying to express her side. "You know Luna, she isn't a bad pony. Why should we celebrate something so horrible done to a good pony?"

"Nightmare Moon wasn't a nice pony." April answered as she started to brake down and cry.

I did, I made April cry... What did I do? "Luna isn't Nightmare moon. She just wants the celebration to stop so pony kind can fully heal from her mistakes." Dawn was quoting from a conversation she had with Luna a month ago, the night they planned the prank.

"You still don't know why I'm so..." April was sobbing so hard now she was unable to finish her sentence.

Dawn knew what she meant some how. The same question was burning on her mind. What did I do that was so wrong? "No." Dawn admitted.

"Princess Celestia was going to banish 'You'." April cried out. Her voice, cracking near the end, was filled with hurt emotions that just made Dawn's insides hurt even more.

Oh... "uhh..." Dawn was lost for words. How do I make this right?

"You did something that was so bad she was going to banish you. I was going to lose you forever." April went on to say.

"But..." Dawn tried to explain but words just couldn't make it through mire of pain in her chest. April is so sad. I did this? "But I'm not banished. She wouldn't do that."

"Nightmare moon was a bad pony she got banished." April went to explain. "You almost got banished what does that make you?" April's cries had accusation weaved into them. "Your a bad pony." April hates me now. Like Nightmare moon...

"I..." see. Dawn felt numb. She closed her eyes in an attempt to feel for something, anything. She hates me... When she opened her eyes, there was nothing. "She hates me." She admitted to the void. Dawn felt empty. Tears didn't come but there was a numb pain in her throat that made her want them to.

------

"April. Do you have a minute? I can not find Dawn." Luna was walking out of the shadows of the room. It was night out, making April's bedroom very dark. Boxes lined the room, all labeled with their contents.

April eyes looked like she has been crying all day. Though surprised to see the night princess coming out of nowhere, she was unable to look at Luna. "Last I saw of her was this morning after she took me home." She said, letting confusion slip through her teeth.

"So you do not know where she is?" Luna asked. Luna sounded very disturbed, her mane and coat looked dull with worry.

"Where did you check?" April asked.

"That is the problem. I never have to find ponies. I feel for them and walk through the void to them. I never have to find them unless they are asleep or..." Luna's voice betrayed her thoughts.

A chilling shock went down April's spine almost causing her to dry heave. An unbearable pain pulsed in her throat. "What does that mean?" April asked, already knowing the answer but not believing it.

"I do not know anything right now April. I can not feel Dawn anywhere. I was hoping to find some answers here." Luna said as she briefly looked around the room for clues as to Dawn's whereabouts.

"I..." The pain in her throat throbbed, choking her words. "What does that mean?" April finally managed to ask again.

"I haven't been able to sense her at all since I cleaned up the mess in Canterlot." Luna looked down to the sky blue pegasus on the verge of tears. Luna couldn't stand the sight, she looked away to be spared the pain of her.

"What does that mean?" April cried out, flying into Luna's line of sight.

April was painfully close to Luna, she could not look away. "It's not good April..." Luna admitted, wincing at the pain she had caused on the collapsing mare.

April was on the ground, her wings were unable to support her any longer. "What does that mean?" She asked again.

"She may be dead." Luna said, looking straight into April's shattering eyes.

April started to dry heave. "Dea... dea... dead?" Tears were freely running down her face, she curled into a ball on the ground at Luna's feet.

"Maybe she is just taking a long nap. I need to find her April. Where did she go? Do you know?" Luna was desperate for answers and the crying pegasus on the ground could not offer any. Luna laid down next to the mare, offering a comforting hoof.

"I..." April tried to give an answer in between her crying. "She can't be dead..." She cried out, curling tighter into a ball, quivering. "No... no... no... no... no.. no." She cried into her wing that covered her face.

All that Luna could do was hope this would pass quick enough for her to find Dawn, where ever she may be. Luna curled up next to her, trying to offer more comfort to the mare. Soon even Luna found herself in tears next to the curled up mare.

When April became numb to the blinding pain, she unrolled herself. "She..." April started to say. Luna looked at her expectantly. "We had a fight. It was a stupid fight. I told her she was as bad as Nightmare Moon." April started to crawl back into her ball once she saw Luna's reaction. "That's the last I heard of her..." She started to sob heavily into her wing again.

Luna got up unable to look at the pathetic looking pegasus any longer. "Pray to her." Luna said as she walked out of the room and into the shadows from once she came, leaving a sobbing mess of a mare in the center of the room accompanied by only misery and pain.