The Dawn That Never Broke

by Shadow Quill

1 - The Summons

Twilight and her friends knew something was up. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had both passed urgent messages through Spike telling the mares that they were needed in Canterlot immediately. So, they were on the train to the capital, and the attitude within the private car was less than positive as the six mares brooded over what they might be needed for. For one thing, Twilight felt that it might have something to do with her new status as the Princess of Friendship, although she had no idea if this was some kind of test or something even more pressing. Yet the only information they had been told was that the royal sisters had received a message and that they were needed in the city at once to address the contents of said message.

The alicorn shifted on her seat as various possibilities ran through her mind, each more unusual and outlandish than the last. Her thoughts swirled in an endless storm as the group of friends sat in silent contemplation, the ride to the capital and the subsequent gallop to the castle gates completed in an unusual silence. Even the ever-exuberant Pinkie was in a subdued mood, her mane and tail hanging just a bit less poofy than normal and her usual rapid-fire ideas about what they might be facing being noticeably absent.

The six mares charged into the throne room, where Princess Celestia and Luna were seated side by side, their expressions serious as they gazed upon the heroines before them.

“Welcome, my little ponies,” Celestia stated with a strained smile, “I wish I could say it is good to see you all again but given the circumstances I am sorry to say that pleasantries will have to wait.”

“My sister and I received a message of unknown origin shortly before dawn,” Luna added, equally serious in her tone, “we have never encountered a spell of this type, nor have we seen a pony that looked anything like the caster before. We are uncertain of what should be done in response to this message, but the meaning of the missive was perfectly clear.”

“What was it, Your Highness?” Twilight asked, her wings fidgeting at her sides in nervous energy.

“A cry for help.” Celestia stated plainly, “One of the highest magnitude. There is much that we could discuss about the message and its mysterious sender, but I feel that time is of the essence, and we must make a choice as soon as possible. Come closer, and I will use a spell to show you all our memories, so that you may see what we are faced with, and so we can decide on what must be done.”

The six friends shared a look amongst each other, a collection of nods being shared between them as they stepped up to the base of the dais. Celestia and Luna stepped down from the thrones and stood in the middle of the mares, their horns igniting in a bright, shared glow as the throne room faded from sight around the ponies.

Twilight and company gasped as the night sky appeared from the darkness, a balcony appearing under their hooves that the young princess recognized immediately as the one the sisters used to raise and lower the sun and moon. A second pair of princesses stood to one side; their forms slightly distorted as the mares gazed about in wonder at the shifting shadows and light around them.

“The memory spell only passes on what we are aware of,” Celestia explained, “thus the balcony behind Luna and I will be less detailed, as we were focused on our duties above all else.”

The eight ponies watched as the past princesses raised and lowered their respective heavenly bodies, a soft smile being passed between them once the sun had crested the horizon. Yet the peace of the early morning didn’t last for long, as a thunderous cracking sound echoed across the city from seemingly nowhere.

Twilight and her friends gasped once more as the past forms of the princesses spun around, their horns alight with power as their gazes locked onto the cloaked form of a pony on the balcony behind them. Yet, fright quickly shifted to confusion, as it was immediately apparent that the pony was not truly there, due to their form flickering and shifting like an illusion that wasn’t cast properly. The princesses’ past selves looked on in shock as the pony lifted her head to face forward, her hood falling down around her shoulders and revealing the mare beneath.

Twilight and company were dumbstruck as they beheld the stark white fur and silver mane of the mare, her ice blue eyes reflecting some of the light back at them as her resolute gaze stared at a space between the past princesses. Twilight opened her mouth to ask her mentor what kind of pony they were looking at but was interrupted as the mare began to speak, “My…ame is La...y Moon Glow……dest dau…ter of House Lu…nos of ……I ask f-f-f-f-for your aid ……tling the Sol…ian armies that have laid siege…………taken the lives of many…friends……of battle. We are…numbered and overp…ered, and only the……our homeland keeps us safe……for our blood.” The message was heavily distorted, with sections of it completely unintelligible to the mares as the ghostly pony faded in and out of view, “…end help as soon as…or else we will…overtaken…destroyed……our lands burn. Please, you……only hope.”

With that, the message ended, and the last thing the mares saw was a flash of gold and the glint of metal to the mare’s side, leaving nothing but empty air in its wake. The balcony and early morning sky faded to black once again before the throne room rematerialized around them, the royal sisters taking a step back as the group of friends gathered their wits.

“That was the message we received,” Celestia stated plainly as the young mares before her shared uncertain looks, “and it is plain as my day that this mare does not originate from Equestria, nor is her plea for help one to be taken lightly.”

“Indeed,” Luna added, “she spoke of a grave threat to her people, a war that threatens the lives of her friends and family, thus why my sister and I are hesitant to respond.”

“Even if we could send word back,” Celestia continued, “we do not know where this message comes from nor how long it would take to send aid even if we wanted to, and so Luna and I have asked you six to help us come to a decision regarding this matter.”

“Us?” Rainbow Dash asked, “I know we’re awesome and all, but are we really cut out for choosing the fate of a nation like this?”

“Come now Rainbow Dash,” Rarity retorted, “You don’t think the Royal Sisters would ask for our opinion if they didn’t think we were qualified. Although I do express similar doubts to Rainbow. Are you certain you should be asking us? You are far more experienced and wiser than any other pony alive.”

“While it is true that Luna and I have ruled for far longer than other ponies,” Celestia replied, “given the unprecedented nature of this message, and the potential hazards sending aid could bring, we felt a fresh perspective on the matter might be helpful.” A smile graced her lips as she added, “Besides, you six have done so much already to protect our lands, it is only fair that you have a say in potentially protecting another.”

Understanding mutters passed between the mares as Twilight stepped forward, “How can we help, Princess?”

The royal sisters’ faces lit up with surprise and a hint of pride, “You would provide aid that quickly,” Luna asked, “even with how little we know about the situation?”

“Does it really matter?” Twilight said, “That mare looked like she was making a desperate request, one that could very well mean the difference between life and death. I think we wouldn’t be the ponies you can be proud of if we didn’t try to help. After all, we are the Elements of Harmony, what would it say if we refused to help somepony in obvious need?”

Celestia stepped forward and nuzzled along the back of Twilight’s neck, a warm smile curving her lips as she spoke, “You continue to make me proud, my former student. If that is your wish, then we will do everything in our power to support it. Now,” Celestia’s regal bearing returned as she stepped back from the smaller alicorn, “we still need to figure out how to send aid to these ponies, and in what form it will take.”

“Send us, Princess!” Rainbow cried as she hovered above the group, “We’ll send those jerks packing and be home in time for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, “It’s like Twilight said, we wouldn’t be very good Bearers if we made other ponies do the work for us.”

“Ah agree,” Applejack nodded to the other mares, “they need our help and it’ll take too long to gather up a group as capable as we are if their situation is that serious.”

Celestia and Luna shared an uncertain look, “Are you certain of this?” Luna asked, “You do not know what trials you will face, nor the dangers that may await you.”

“We can do this, Princesses,” Twilight reassured them with a bright smile, “you can count on us to do our very best.”

A duo of nods met the purple mare’s determined gaze, “Then we must get to work right away.” Celestia said, “Finding a way to send you to aid these ponies may not be any easy feat, but we will do everything in our power to find a solution.”

A cheer rang from the group of friends, although it was cut short as a cacophonous crack echoed around the throne room, making everypony present covered their ears as a bright flash of light illuminated the space. The gathered ponies turned to see what had happened and were shocked to see that a glowing portal had opened up in the center of the throne room, its border rippling with huge amounts of power as a white tunnel spiraled off into the distance within the vortex.

Pinkie was the first to recover, a wide smile finding its way to her muzzle as she bounced over to the swirling portal, “Well that was easy. Looks like they gave us a way to get there all on their own.”

Twilight gasped as the pink mare reached out with a hoof, “Pinkie, stop!”

The party pony simply turned her head and winked at the others, “Last one there is a stale cupcake!” And with that, her outstretched hoof contacted the portal, her form seeming to stretch as it was sucked into the vortex.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow yelled as she flew headlong for the opening, “You’re not going in alone, not if I have anything to say about it!”

The prismatic pegasus was gone in an instant, the rainbow contrail of her rapid departure fading away as the others shared a look.

“Oh, if we must.” Rarity sighed as she trotted up to the portal, “I do hope this doesn’t mess up my mane, though.”

Applejack snorted as she pushed the fashionista with a hoof against her tail, causing the white mare to tumble screaming into the vortex before stepping up herself, “Honestly, you’d think she would be thinking of more important things than her mane right now.” The cowpony held a hoof over her hat as she turned to Twilight and Fluttershy, “See ya’ll on the other end.” And with a slight hop, she was gone.

Twilight turned to face her mentor one last time, a fond smile being shared between the two of them, “Wish us luck. We’ll make you proud.”

The alicorn stepped up to the portal with a wing over Fluttershy’s back, the quivering pegasus doing her level best to keep putting a hoof in front of the other. With one last burst of energy, the duo disappeared into the portal, the opening to places unknown closing with another thunderous crack, leaving the royal sisters alone in the throne room once more.

Celestia wiped a tear from her cheek as she whispered, “You already have, my little ponies, and good luck.”

Author's Note:

Whooooo boy, two chapters for the price of one!! How about that?! I hope you all enjoy the latest book to grace my shelves and be sure to leave a like and comment on what you all think below in the towel section. Comments are an author's food and I need fuel to keep these chapters coming!!

Hope everypony is doing well, and I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.