The Darkest Hour

by Anemptyshell

So, I too Shine Bright

My eyes flitted about as I struggled to find an answer that wouldn’t get me killed. A name, damn, of all times to lose yourself, I needed a name. Alright brain, what do we got? We know that the soldier is named Sabre, we know the Queen is Night Moon or whatever. A lot of nouns, nouns, and irony. So, that in mind. I need to come up with something quick. Sabre seemed to notice my dilemma. I swallowed hard and watched as the queen eyed me up.

“My queen, in all your grace, I think your newest servant may lack a proper answer as of his missing memory.”

Sabre gave me a sad look and watched as his queen scoffed.

“The mind has many tricks, and even those lost in their madness retain the beginnings of their being. I have enough faith that a thestral would keep more than their baser instincts intact, amnesia or no.”

No pressure then. What was it that I could use, nouns, actions, points of reference? I woke up from the dark and gazed at the stars, panicked. I mouthed an oh as something struck a chord. I just hope the queen liked it.

“Stargazer, your majesty, I’m Stargazer.”

I planted my face to the carpet once more as I bowed to hide the welling terror that could very well be the last thing I felt at all. I hope I was wrong about the mutant pony horse death games.

“Stargazer, I see,” The queen mused.

I looked up and gulped. She idled a look at one of the massive windows. A window that looked deep into the eternal cosmos above. The stars danced and the moon glowed softly. It was peaceful, a night to remember.

“A fine name indeed. Very well young Stargazer, we accept thine name and thusly claim you in the name of mine whims and for my purposes whatever they might be. A noble pursuit indeed.”

She looked down on me like an expectant child. My body felt numb as I nodded in understanding. “Of course, my queen. As you say.”

I had no idea what she meant, or what any of this meant. My mind was awash in frantic screams for help. Silent screams fell on the ears of none.

“Excellent, I’m glad we’re of like minds. Now, as fine a time it would be to learn all there is of my newest vassel. I still have much work this night.”

Queen Nightie turned to Sabre, who had sagged into morbid despair.

“I will for now entrust Stargazer to your hooves, Light Sabre. You will be in charge of getting him settled and prepared for his future part. I will afford him with lodgings in the east wing, see to it he makes it there. Now, dismissed.”

That last command was not to be trifled. Both I and my new handler rose with accordance and fled like a tiger was out our rear. Heck, she might very well have been one all things considered.

The two guards from before gave us knowing looks. The mossy one snickered as we retreated.

“Looks like you got a promotion Sabre, good for you.”

“Not now, Lucid,” Sabre said as he pulled me forward.

So off we trot, to the east wing I guess. I could feel the tension in the air, the solemn look on Sabre’s face. It really wasn’t his night I guess.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Do I look okay?” Sabre hissed.

I drew back and slowed my pace. I was of the mind he might need a little space. I’d be upset too If Moonie uprooted my prospects and made me an amnesiac's babysitter. Would it be baby, or foal, or? I shook away the thought. I was losing myself to another tangent. Focus, I needed to focus.

Sabre seemed to notice the distance between us and shook his head. “It’s not your fault,” he said.

I wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t talking to himself. It may not have mattered. We walked from one hall to another, maids and guards spattering the palace with life and movement. That said, it still felt too quiet.

When Sabre finally stopped in front of a door, I say “a” door not to indicate a select door, I say it because every single door looked identical. So it might as well have been nothing but a door, one of too many for me to count. In short, I was super lost and feared I might spend the rest of my life in a labyrinth of halls and doors, forevermore.

“Sir?”

I snapped out of my imaginary hell and noted a rather perplexed-looking Sabre, still waving a hoof about my face.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

Sabre eyed me for a moment and then pointed to the door behind him. “This will be your room, for the time being, the palace has many guest rooms, so we’ll need to get a plaque or some such made for finality’s sake.”

Well, that would help with the whole lost all-time thing. I wiped a hoof over my brow and smiled back at Sabre. “Great, thanks.”

Sabre snorted. “You’re a strange one, sir.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Well, amnesia aside. You’re by far the most jittery and least socially perturbed of the thestrals I’ve met.”

I blanked and felt my mouth dry up. “I’m sorry,” I offered with a nervous chuckle.

Sabre rolled his eyes and turned back to the door. With a single swift push, the door opened to my new lodgings. They were well, nice. One would expect a room of any kind in a place to be nice. It was clean, spacious and unlike the halls and throne room not washed-out shades of purple, grey and blue. So, more pleasant than anywhere else I’d been today.

“Neat.”

“That’s all sir, neat?”

Sabre was giving me another weird look. I’m not sure what the thestrals had done to him, but it was pretty clear I was not walking in lockstep. That could become an issue. I doubted everyone would take the whole amnesia excuse for every action I took. I would need to in short order learn what m new peers were like, or this could end very badly. With a plan in mind, now I just needed some research material.

“Um, Sabre, could I ask you something?”

The guard seemed taken aback by my request. I offered a shrug to which he leered at me like he was looking for something unseen.

“Ask.”

I licked my lips and looked down the empty east wing hall. “You wouldn’t happen to know where a library might be, would you? I was thinking I’d try to jog my memory.”

Sabre seemed to mull the request over before relenting and hoofing me to follow him. “This way, sir.”

Step one, complete. Now, all I needed was some books, history ones would be nice. Culture would be useful as well. Step two as it were. Then the final step was to make it back to my room and hope with all my soul this cram session would pay off.

“That wasn’t your name, was it?”

I jumped wings akimbo in a waffled flap. I could feel my heart in my ears and it was going more than a mile a minute. Sabre grinned over at me. There were no eavesdroppers in the hall at least. We don’t need any snitches at this time thank you.

“I--I don’t know what you mean.”

The words barely strung together as my throat went bone dry. One wing was refusing to go back to my side and I tossed a glance at the nearest window.

“Stargazer, simple and obvious. If I didn't buy it, do you think the queen did?”

If I could, I’d have willed myself into the ground. I gave the window another look and sighed. It wouldn’t do me any good.

“So what now?” I asked.

“We go to the library,” Sabre said with a shrug.

My head shot up, “Wait--you, we, what?”

“You asked.”

Sabre started at a placid stride and it took me a minute to rally any senses and shuffle off after him. Sabre marched with a smile if only a concealed one. I was pretty sure guards weren’t allowed to feel happy. None of the other ones we passed did. My thoughts spiraled into a cycle of hope and folly. All Sabre had to do was rat me out and I would be up a creek with no paddle.

Several more minutes passed as we returned through hall after hall. Unlike the East wing, the hub center of the palace seemed to define what was where with a little more clarity. The smell of food, that of the dining hall, the rabble of busybodies in their studies or courts, and last but not least, the library, dust, and paper tasted in the winds.

“And here we are, sir.”

“Thank you, uh, Sabre.”

I offered a hoof. Sabre’s brow rose but after a brief respite, just long enough to make me ponder a faux pas before he bumped a hoof of his own to mine and waved for me to follow him into the library proper.

“So, sir, what is it you wanted from our archives?” Sabre asked.

Row after row of books, tomes, scripture, and scrolls filled a room worth fifty of my room. It was awe-inspiring and just the saddest bit intimidating. Apart from the reading material, there were plush seats, tables, and desks and as per the rule of library etiquette, a single very annoyed-looking librarian sorted through this or that.

“Well, I mean to say, If I’m going to regain my wits and serve the queen in all her stellar glory, I might want to read up on current trends, proper courtly squire work, and the whole of it. You know, so I don’t embarrass myself.”

I offered a smile and found it near impossible to meet Sabre’s gaze. For his part my guard, if he is mine, maybe rent-a-guard, not sure. He rolled his eyes and pointed down a series of shelves.

”Might want some culture of bat as well. You’ll end up more than embarrassed at this rate. That’s if you even make it that far.”

It was nice to know I had his undying support. Well, since he suggested it I won’t any the more suspicious. Step two was all but checked. I let out a yawn and pawed, hoofed? At an eye as the night started to catch up to my near-constant state of fear.

“Sabre.”

The guard turned back from his musings of quality not get killed literature. And nodded.

“You wouldn't happen to know what time it is would you?”

“About two in the afternoon, why?”

I blinked, Sabre blinked in response. I blinked again. I locked my jaw closed with all my might while struggling not to bite my tongue at the same time and screamed inward so hard my face turned an unhealthy shade of purple if my muzzle was anything to go off of. For a solid twenty seconds, I screamed, and when I finished. I let out a single sniff, refilled my smile, and nodded to the guard. Who by his own stalwart nature managed to hold back the clear face of object humor. He was laughing at me, the bastard was holding back laughter. I hated today, I hated the day that was not day. The moon was out, why was the moon out at two effing o’ clock.

“Right, two, got it, thanks,” I managed in a rasp. “Lead on.”

So began my perusal through the endless archives and other literary pursuits. The systems the library itself had in use were simple enough. Section key, genre, alphabetical, sub-genre, easy enough once you had a go of it. That and having Sabre giving directions made it all the easier. I only managed two shushes and three baleful glares from the matron of this fair of knowledge. It was almost relaxing enough to forget the rest of my day. You know, until I realized that even all the knowledge in this realm of fantastical mutants couldn’t replace the empty tome of my mind.

It was during this debacle I learned something most beguiling. Amid my searching, I accidentally tripped over, well I just tripped. My collision however was with another patron, a guardmare, that’s what a female was I think. I knocked the book she was looking at right from her, I’d say grip, but she wasn’t holding it.

The shock on my face was doubly present on hers. You’d thought I’d landed on her baby or something. What followed was similar to Sabre’s introduction at that. She stumbled back and apologized, not even making eye contact. She simply not grabbed, her book and floated it away right behind her. So, in short, these crazy feudalistic mutant alien horses have psychic powers too. I was all the more fearful of their many secrets.

“You okay sir?” Sabre helped me up and seemed to be panning the room and the sudden chilly quiet. It wasn’t the kind of quiet that befalls a library. It was, something else. A shiver ran down my back as I too looked about.

“I think we have enough,” I muttered to my paranoid companion.

“I believe you’re right, sir.”

That decided I made a beeline straight for the checkout. That was a mistake.

“What a disaster that was.”

I had to near freezeframe to prevent the sudden collision with some jackov who jumped in front of me like he was itching for a coffin. I did manage to stop just shy of the speaker. When I did take note of him, I was bemused to see it was well, one of me, another Thestral that is. His sudden traffic violation had me on my back hoof, and he was loud. Now, I of course mean volume, but even his victorian suit top was loud. That aside, I got why guards had armor, but the longer I’d been out, the more it felt odd that most denizens of the palace wore clothes or the top half anyway. Well, except the maids, they went the extreme mile, no that it left much to the imagination either way.

“You poor thing, that dreadful horn-brained nag had the gall to trip a distinguished noble and then run off like the whole of the room did not see her malicious attack.”

All I could muster was a slack jaw as the thestral, in all his conformist, fancy rich jerk glory raved on.

“I’m sorry?” I said.

“Oh no, no, no my friend she will most assuredly be the sorry one as it were. But enough of our lessers. I do believe you are a fresh face here at the palace. So allow me, Bright Pitch, to be the first to welcome to the hallowed halls of Thestral Pride.”

“Well, I in fact do feel welcomed, you are most talented at that, I’d say.”

I’m rather confident that the librarian caught my lie like a slap to the face judging by the look she was giving me from behind my new loud-mouthed acquaintance.

“I’m glad to hear as such. We don’t have many new nobles these days, a pity all the more. But we can discuss more over tea, yes?”

It was now that I am certain Bright Pitch was functionally blind. As I could not nope any harder if my life depended on it. I struggled in Pitch’s grip as he swung a limb over my shoulder and began to walk me to the door.

“Bright, do you mind if I can you Bright, Listen I’d love to, but there is just--”

As I struggled to think up anything that would get this loon off me. I was saved by my night knight in mild mirth. “Sir, I do well not to remind you, that her highness wished to see you shortly. I would fear your new friend's health should he delay her request.”

I had never seen someone freeze and disentangle themselves from another being of any species faster than Bright pulled himself away from me.

“Oh my, my apologies, I hadn’t meant to hold you from her highness. At least your mudblooded servant is diligent in his work,” Bright said before making a brisk trot toward the door.

I leaned over and nudged Sabre, who seemed rather pleased with his work.

“Thanks.”

He nodded and motioned back toward the librarian who too seemed rather pleased. “You still need to check your books out, sir.”

I nodded and with that step two came to a swift conclusion. I’d managed to learn a thing or two outside of the books as well. Now, came step three, a dull afternoon of reading and hoping not everyone I talked to would be either crazy, terrified, or capable of ending me with a thought, or even better any combination of the three.

Well if nothing else, I had Sabre and that was as good a start as any.

I still wish I had psionic brain powers though. That’d be sick. That thought lingered in my head till we made it back to my room where I could collect my thoughts and do some deep diving on what nuclear fallout created this nonsense fairytale I’d woken into. The stars still hung high, or no higher I suppose than when I’d woken from my nightmare, though I had a feeling that stars or not, there were still plenty of shadows left to hide from.

Comments

[Witchery]

“I--I don’t know what you mean.”

“Wait--you, we, what?”

Typically stuttering uses a dash and a space or a single dash, not two.

“Bright, do you mind if I can you Bright

call

[Fallingraptor19]

“Oh my, my apologies, I hadn’t meant to hold you from her highness. At least your mudblooded servant is diligent in his work,” Bright said before making a brisk trot toward the door.

I know this is probably just referencing the fact that earth ponies usually work in the fields and such but i cant help but be reminded by mudbloods from harrypotter.