The Darkest Hour

by Anemptyshell

Ramifications and Other Assorted Details

"I received a missive upon waking from our friends atop the mountains. This much, you know. However, the context of their request has become all the harder as of now. For that, I apologize. I hadn't predicted Her Majestey's seeming fixation on her newest noble. Thusly, we are trapped in a very finite schedule that will make or break our not so far off future."

I pursed my lips and rubbed my hooves across my temples. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. I watched Solemn flinch at my uncomfortable stare. Bright seemed intrigued in his own way. I doubted Sabre felt much better about this than I did, though I could only guess as the noble knight was placed at an angle outside my sightline. Solemn had my full undivided attention, so Sabre's remarks could wait for the time being.

"So, mind explaining what upset Nightmare so badly? I mean, I can almost see her being annoyed at one of her pet projects being hidden away. But to be upset enough that you're worried we are in any more danger than any other day is unnerving."

I took another sip from my tea and tried to stiffen the twitching in my ears. Solemn nodded along and parsed out his own thoughts even as I spoke.

"I felt much the same before she stalled my exit as the Night Court ended. She had looked almost pleasant until she'd cornered me. It wasn't a very long nor very constructive conversation. Though as the topic at hoof was your whereabouts, I'm sure the depth of said topic ultimately still holds weight in your mind."

"You're talking around the topic. Solemn, just tell us already. This will he, won't he schtick is super played out, you know?" Bright said, prodding Solemn on the snout. "We're all waiting for the climactic reveal."

I tossed my hooves in Bright's direction in overt agreement. Solemn gave a polite cough and continued his explanation.

---

"I'd meant to leave as soon as possible so as to deliver the news from above to you all. I hadn't made it to the throne room door before I felt a shadow envelop me in the shade. I'd no sooner turned about that I was staring eye to eye with a terse alicorn."

"Solemn Mind, leaving so soon?" Nightmare asked. I was caught unawares, it seemed.

There she was, all the same. I hadn't even heard her descend from her dais. I felt a lump hang low in the back of my throat as I tried to put on a welcoming smile.

"As swiftly as it pleases, Your Highness. My time is yours."

It seems my smile hadn't gone over as well as I'd have liked. Nightmare had narrowed her eyes, a chill running from my neck to the base of my tail. The alicorn, all the same, continued to watch my squirming.

"If that is so, perhaps you can assist us with a ponderance. Thou are of sharp mind and tact. Surely such a quandary would be well within your powers, yes?"

Thus caught off guard for the second time in as many minutes, I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Your Highness. If it is within my power, I will answer any question you may have."

I knew going in it was a trap. Nightmare knew I knew, and still, she let me play the lackey and waited patiently for my answer. It was the same game she played with the Court at large. She rarely knew less than any other and more often knew more than she let on. Since her return from the moon, it had taken her time, but she had taken to ruling like a fish to water.

"Then this shall be but a swift delay for us both. My question is simply, where was my newest noble, your student, this night?"

My heart dropped. I felt my mouth mime words for a brief moment before I found my voice. The queen seemed to take some semblance of amusement from this. The tiniest smirks could be seen at the edge of her lip as I rallied my sense.

"I apologize, My Queen, but Stargazer is, as of my current knowledge, still with Blueblood finalizing the first of your star maps. If not there, then finishing the reading, I had him assigned."

"So, he did not arrive at court tonight?" Nightmare asked. She rubbed her chin, looking away as if digesting my response. I knew she knew, and she knew I knew. The cycle of which she seemed to relish like one might enjoy delicate seasoning.

"No, My Queen."

I knew it was the wrong answer the second, Nightmare's gaze returned to me. Her bright blue slits peered past the veil of mortal senses and froze my body and my soul. To the seeming eternal state of such a being, my life was little more than an instant. I was and then wasn't without much more than a cursory notice.

"Might I ask why?" Nightmare's voice was barely above a whisper as she craned her neck down to level herself with me. The sneer at the end of her question had me writhing in place.

"It did not seem appropriate—"

Nightmare's hoof rose, and I went quiet mid-thought.

"It did not seem appropriate? Would claim that a noble of whom I laid claim as my own should not be present for my Noble Court?"

By the end of her question, she'd gone from a whisper to a growl. If any nobles had remained in her throneroom prior, they were gone now. It was Nightmare Moon, her guards, Lady Rarity, and myself. Thus I was on my own.

"I thought his lack of experience would have left him woefully ill-prepared to serve you in a meaningful manner."

Nightmare recoiled to her full height and stomped a hoof into the floor with a resounding snap. The flawless tile of the throneroom was no longer as such. A meter-wide spiderweb of cracks snaked out from beneath her hoof. I gulped silently as she looked down upon me. I thought at that moment I might die from her gaze alone.

"And who are you to determine what level of merit I seek? Who are you to speak above my authority? How am I to judge the merits of Stargazer if he is not present for my judgment? Tell me, Solemn Mind, as you speak with such insight."

"I simply wanted him to be his best self for you. I'm sorry, I was wrong."

I was shaking in place. My breath hitched between every frantic inhale. Nightmare continued to glare down at me, unblinking as I pondered what complete incineration would feel like. Painful, but for how long would such pain last?

"I have half a mind to put you out of my misery here and now. However, such an act would only seek to delay my request longer. I expect exceptional service from my servants. If this were any other crime, we would not be having this discussion. You will bring forth the young lost Stargazer to next week's Court along with his first star maps. Fail in this request, and you shall not be given another chance. Am I clear, cur?"

I sunk back further with each word, and she stepped forth to meet me. This could not possibly come at a worse time. My thoughts went back to the letter I'd received at night's start. The same letter I'd burned after reading. Such things could not be left to chance. Should any be found, the punishment Nightmare had prepared at this moment would seem merciful indeed.

"Solemn Mind!"

My attention returned in full as I nodded emphatically. "Yes, your Majesty, I understand completely. It will not happen again."

With naught but a scoff, the alicorn of the night turned and left. Lady Rarity had stepped out at some point, and even her guards had made sure they'd given their ruler a wide birth. I had little time to do more than shake off the adrenaline spike and leave as quickly as possible. There was still much to be done.

---

"Thus, I made my way back to my rooms to gather my wits. It was on my way here that I found Bright Pitch on course for this very locale."

Bright nodded and patted Solemn's shoulder. "Yep, fun times, it seems."

"Beats being chased through Ponyville and then getting threatened, I think, by Rarity. That settled, what of our friends from afar?" I said. The tea and biscuits had been finsiehd during Solemn’s retelling and that no distraction for the pièce de résistance.

"Very well. The missive was brief though their interest in new recruits, one being a thestral of all things, was clear."

Solemn let forth a restrained chuckle as he reread the letter in the frayed layers of his mind's eye. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing, as it were.

"And?" Sabre had stepped closer. The fear Solemn might run was all but gone. So, his need to watch the door was moot. He took a sear to Solemn's other side, leaving him boxed by an irritated Sabre and an all too excited Bright.

"As of their writings, they were, as I said, interested in gathering any new allies they can. They were more interested in Star's particulars, being who and what he is. The amnesia notwithstanding, of course."

"So, what, they want a meet and greet?" I asked.

Solemn shrugged. "Of a sort, I suppose. They wish for us to make our way to Canterlot. So to decide the best course of action for their newest trump card. "

My head tilted, and my ears splayed as I ran solemn's words in my head. "Trump card, laying on a bit thick, aren't they?"

"A lack of Thestrals who understand just what has become of Equestria, sir," Sabre said. He looked between Solemn and me and growled to himself. It wasn't just the rebellion that had thestral problems.

"So what, one in a million?" I asked.

"More like just us, Star. I mean the three thestral amigos."

Bright laughed at his own joke. Solemn's look was one of pained agreement. I was starting to see why the rebels were having such a hard time. No spies on the in-crowd would make any meaningful attack difficult at best and near impossible at worst.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked.

"That is where we may run into some issues. For we are to arrive in Cnaterlot next week."

Solemn sighed, messaging the side of his head and leaning over the table.

"So?"

Solemn looked back up at me. He looked tired, bags under his eyes, bloodshot, and weary. The older thestral seemed ready to collapse.

"On the same day, Nightmare wishes you to join the Night Court."

My jaw hit the table as I joined Solemn in laying across it. The stars were aligning to spite me at this point. My past was a blur, my future uncertain, and even my present nothing but one near-miss after another. I grumbled and let Solemn move on.

"It seems we are at a loss. If we bide our time too long, the resistance may not be in a position to meet us at all. If we travel abroad, it will likely earn us the title of traitor. A miserable set of circumstances. One of my own creation. I would not blame your spite at this point. It is not your lives that should be in jeopardy for this old fool's miscalculation."

"Hardly, sir," Sabre said.

"Not really," Bright agreed.

"I blame Nightmare Moon. None of us asked for this eternal night crap. You are hardly the bad guy here."

I sat back up and looked over at the window. The brilliant diamond-studded sky, stuck in swirls of color and light. I managed a half-smile as I let the scene drive away the stress and complications of the night. It was all just another hurdle, a challenge to overcome.

"As that may be," Solemn said.

I held up a hoof cutting him off. "Nope."

"Star," solemn said, voicing rising in volume.

"Nope. No more blaming. Instead, we have one week to come up with a plan. So, pull your head from your plot, and let's get to some actual work, yeah?"

"Sir," Sabre agreed.

"The suspense is already killing me. The dramatic aspirations are overwhelming," Bright had leaped to his hooves and danced in place.

Solemn looked ready to argue. The brow of my mentor creased in a series of folds that seemed bent on devouring one another. After a moment of silent debate, the older stallion relented and nodded along.

"It seems we've little choice as of now."

"Good, now all we need to do, is not die in the meantime."

"So, what is the plan?" Bright asked.

I threw my hooves up. "No idea. That's why I have you three."

I laughed. Sabre planted a hoof to the side of his face, and Solomon looked away lest he catches the stupids. Then it struck me. A sudden impromptu thought. The conversation with Blueblood. The one after Solomon had been by.

"The snow. The place under the shadows," I said.

"Sir?"

"It's just a thought. Sorry, I recalled something Blue had said earlier. The place we discussed, the one missing from the atlas."

"The what now?" Bright asked.

"A place where crystals bloomed in light, deep in the snow and ice. It was something like that. I dunno. It was a dream, I think. A nightmare maybe, I'm not sure."

"And this may help us?" Solemn asked.

"No idea. Blueblood seemed interested. Who knows, maybe it means something. Maybe it has something to do with why I woke up in the woods, or maybe, I'm just losing my mind."

"Well, as you said. We have a week. Who knows what we might learn in that time. For now, perhaps we should retire. It has been a stressful night indeed."

Bright and I agreed. Though Sabre said nothing, he'd taken to giving me an odd look as the other two stallions rose to adjourn for the night.

"You okay?" I asked.

Sabre didn't respond, instead standing and joining the other two as they exited. I frowned but let them go. Sabre's look still etched into my head. I collected the tea set as soon as the door had shut behind them. It was probably nothing.

I looked back out at the stars and sighed. It was only going to get more complicated from here.

"I need some sleep."

The clock marked it as just past nine. So, maybe I could muster a shower first. Cemetery shacks aren't exactly the cleanest places to hide, and the trek itself had earned me some sweat stains. The thought of the crystals still buzzed around in the back of my head. I'd need to check back with Blue tomorrow. He might have found something or might have some fresh ideas on what to look for. If the place actually existed, that is. My dreams have been a one-stop-shop for the odd and unsettling.

I caught a shadow playing across the stars in my periphery as I turned towards the bathroom. When I looked back, I found nothing. I rubbed a hoof over my eyes and muttered to myself as I returned to my task.

"That's it. I'm losing it." I said as I entered the bathroom, and with one last look back, I closed the door. If It were important, I'm sure it could wait till morning. They should have come up with some new words for early and late-night when it came to this whole no-day thing. The vernacular involved would likely drive me mad if my dreams didn't.

Comments

[Anemptyshell]

11257127
Thank you, for the heads up--

[Witchery]

I hadn't predicted Her Majestie's

majesty's

"It did not seem appropriate--"

em dash

"I simply wanted him to bet his best for you.

be

unlinking as I pondered

unblinking

This is an interesting story. It hasn't really picked up yet, but seems like it will be soon. I'm intrigued.