What Followed The Dawn

by Anemptyshell

Two Halves Never Whole

The feast dwindled out, and Bright finished his tales to the delight of Babble. The filly had drifted off into a food coma. That left the rest of us with one collective interest. The fall of the Hippogriff homestead. It was time for the retelling of Mt. Aris and the Storm King. Brook sat a plate of half-eaten food in claw. His eyes focused on anything but the inquisitive bunch that surrounded him. Bright had a notepad, and Tempest repeatedly looked off the port towards the ever-closing distance of Mt. Aris. It might not be our final destination, but it was a landmark, if nothing else.

"So, what exactly befell your people?" Sombra asked.

His question shattered the silence, and Brook sighed down at his plate. That question was getting a bit old at this point. I offered a pat on the shoulder from Brook's left. He put his plate on the makeshift table of crates and free boards.

"We left. We had little choice. So, as the Storm King ransacked our home, we fled Mt. Aris. Not all of us made it, but we couldn't stop, or none would make it at all."

"All too relatable," Blue said,

"Unfortunately," Sombra agreed.

"Queen Novo saved who she could. Those that got away have been living hidden away. Except for those, like myself, who try our best to free our brothers and sisters who are still slaves to the mad King."

"So, Babble?" Thorax asked.

Brook hissed. "Not anymore, never again."

"So the question is, where? Panthera, black skull, an uncharted island? To survive this long, you'd need more than to run and hide."

Tempest eyed the young hippogriff. The colt took several steps back, wilting under her concentrated presence. Sombra broke the spell stomping a hoof into the wood hard enough to splinter it under hoof. Tempest relaxed, at least relaxed for Tempest, and Brook managed to crawl back into the circle, eyes still thoroughly fixed on Tempest, who tried to ignore it to her best ability.

"She's not wrong," Sabre said. All eyes trailed to him. He offered a shrug. "They've put down roots somewhere. If there's a home, there is the potential of being found. So, what's the trick? How have you left the Storm King clueless?"

"It isn't that complicated, actually. We've been right under his nose the whole time. The Storm King might have taken Aris, but Queen Novo is not one you underestimate lightly."

"Oh ho, now that's how you foreshadow. I love it," Bright said, shaking in place with unkempt jubilation. His smile was so bright you couldn't look at it directly lest you go blind.

"Next thing you'll tell us is you've grown gills," Spade said. He wrapped a hoof around Bright's withers and pushed him back into his seat. Bright barely seemed to notice as he stared down Brook with almost as much force as Tmepest had moments before.

Brook coughed into a talon and shook his head. "Not quite. Well, I mean. It's complicated, okay."

"Wait, are you serious?" I asked.

"Well, Queen Novo has a pearl," Book said, motioning to nothing at all.

"And?" Blue asked. "One cannot simply hint at marine life tendencies and expect the mention of a pearl to explain everything."

It turns us into seaponies, similar to the Merfolk or Sirens. You know, except not those things."

I withheld a groan and focused on Nightmare spewing something about sirens and how even she finds them disgusting. In the meantime, Bright had rocketed into the air, giddily laughing. He even left his notepad and pencil spiraling in place as he streaked by one way and then the other. Then landed, only to catch his tools before they landed. No one reacted, so I assumed I'd lost my mind and left it at that.

"Another twist, keep 'em coming, Brook. This is great stuff," Bright said, leaning forward and eyeing the younger stallion with a starved look.

"Bad Bright," Bright yelped as a shovel conked down on his head. Spade shook his head and rallied his namesake for a second swing. Bright quickly pulled back, rubbing his head the whole way.

"So, gills it is then," Sabre said. Brook nodded slowly, still watching Bright, who was now sulking in his seat.

"Hmm, if the tales of sirens are to be believed, I would hope your adaptations did not favor them," Sombra said.

"No, just the ability to survive underwater," Brook confirmed.

"A sound strategy. The Storm King would likely never find the hippogriffs if this is all true," Tempest said. She leered over the ship's railing down at the waves below. The churning seafoam and all that lie beneath, a world all its own.

"So, um, how do the others meet Queen Novo? They don't have gills. Do you want me to go in alone? I can, but it'd be nice if everyone else could come. Sombra and Blue are trained in diplomatics. I just help the sick."

Thorax shifted in his seat. He chanced looks about the group, stopping on Brook. The hippogriff held up his talons in surrender to Thorax's uncanny nature as the most empathetic erovore in creation.

"No, it'll be fine. I think. The others can help when we get there."

"Where exactly is there?" Blue asked. He'd pulled a map from the bridge and gently placed it between everyone. He smiled, eyes twinkling with delight. A sextant floating at the ready.

"You have no idea what monster you have unleashed," I whispered to Brook. Who looked somewhat lost at this point.

"Strange, don't begin to describe you, weirdos," Brook whispered.

What followed was a relatively uneventful day of travel. Brook had been pulled aside by Blueblood and had spent over an hour mapping out our course. The rest of us had little to do as we left the harpies behind, which I didn't mind whatsoever—well, trying not to. The more profound ramifications of Nightmare and I's shared existence was still writhing in the back of my mind. Which was made all the worse by Nightmare, who had taken to goading me as much as possible. Tapping her hoof and fidgeting didn't strike as unmarred confidence, no matter how much she said it was.

"You dare?" Nightmare asked. She balked and flung a hoof in my metaphysical direction.

"I do."

"Then dare not, mortal."

I shrug. "Too late."

"You learned nothing since we last talked. Yet, here you stand to request some insignificant unity. Nightmare Moon has no need of your kinship."

Nightmare shook teeth grit, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. I shrugged again. I didn't need to explain. She was there. She and I both knew. The fact remains, even after waking up, after helping Brook and Babble. The thought sat a gash across our shared psyche.

"I learned enough. Nightmare, what are we? Are we really who we think we are? Discord saved us, but as much as The Elements don't kill by design, Discord doesn't leave things well enough alone."

Nightmare grunted. "The first thing you've said that has bore any distinction of fact, whelp."

"Well then?" I asked.

Nightmare fell onto her haunches. The anger fell away. All that was left was a weary angst. Her eyes still glowed faintly, pools of frosty blue emotions. She met our gaze, and I followed her lead, taking a seat.

"Broken."

"Well, that's morbid."

"You requested an answer, foal, so I granted you one."

Nightmare and I sat in dreadful silence. The abyss watched us, two wandering souls, twisted by fate, lie exposed and incarcerated by our chains. It wasn't a prison for Nightmare Moon. It never was. It was a prison for both her and me. It always was. I was cold. In a mental construct, I was chilled. It was almost painful, a biting, creeping cold that ran up my spine.

For how long we'd sat in the void, I couldn't say. The concept faded away in the dark. It was timeless, featureless, infinite. I felt sick, and bile clung to the back of my throat. Nightmare hid whatever she felt far better than I. She sat stock still, prim, imposing, eyes locked to me.

"Foal, Stargazer."

My ears flicked in Nightmare's direction. I let out a slow breath. "Yes."

"Can we be repaired?" she asked.

My breath caught in the back of my throat. I restrained a gag. The bile churned hard in my stomach. The shadows danced. Even here, they cast darkness in the void.

"Can we?"

I shook in place. First, there was fear, dread, then boiling all-consuming rage. Then as quickly as it stirred, it died, and I was cold once more.

"We're two halves of two separate puzzles. We are missing too many pieces to rebuild alone. I don't."

I felt the tears trail down my face. Then I collapsed.

"Star?"

I wanted to be alone. I need to be alone.

"Star?"

Leave me alone. Please, go away.

"Star."

Something warm wrapped itself around me. Why?

My eyes shot open. The void was gone. Nightmare was no longer in front of me. Instead, I sat back to the rail of the Incondesence. Thorax had pulled me into a tight hug. I almost laughed. Only Thorax could find someone having a mental breakdown and react with a hug.

"I'm awake," I said. My voice cracked as I collected my thoughts. My throat was raw, and my eyes stung. The tears had been confirmed. No matter what else happened in the void, that was real. The chill was no better.

"Want to talk about it?" Thorax asked. He pulled away, giving me a brief survey before releasing me completely. He took a step back and watched as I groggily stood.

"Not really."

Thorax frowned. "Let me rephrase my request," Thorax said and cleared his throat. "We are talking about it, Star."

That was that, then. I pursed my lips. "Seems we are."

Thorax nodded. He returned to a content smile and motioned for me to begin. I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips. The question was about more than what to say but where to begin. Thorax certainly wasn't going anywhere, and we were still some ways off from this magical undersea paradise, Brook mentioned.

"So, I uh, well. I mean, we're broken."

Thorax's frown had returned. "Star, you are not—"

I held up a hoof. "No, I mean, in a more literal sense."

Thorax remained silent. I took another shaky breath.

"Nightmare and I, well, we're more or less just stitched together. Pieces of both, but neither whole. It was all Discord could do to do that much. That's what I believe. He was working with what he had at the time.

"And that means?" Thorax asked.

"In a literal sense, Nightmare and I are one and the same. In a more technical sense, Stargazer did die back then."

I had no time to react. My cheek stung. Thorax's hoof stayed pinned in the air. The look in his eyes. It brought the bile back twice over. I felt sick.

"You are never allowed to say that, ever again."

I rubbed a hoof over my slapped cheek. I blinked away the dots that danced in my vision. "Thorax."

"No! You are never to say that, ever again."

Thorax's hoof was shaking, no, his everything was shaking. I had never seen Thorax angry, not really. This was something a step further. I took a step back, my flank bumping the rail behind me.

"Thorax, it—"

"No!"

I fell silent. Thorax fell silent. The sick continued in the back of my throat. The shadows reached out like spindly black fingers. They grasped mindlessly at Thorax. They fought aimlessly to reach him.

“Stargazer, did not die. He's right here," Thorax said and pointed to me. "Stargazer is right where he should be. With his friends." Thorax pointed behind himself at the rest of the deck. "With all of us."

"Sabre was right. I really do make things too complicated, don't I?" The words were barely a whisper, caught in the breeze and carried away.

"Of course you do."

I blinked. And looked past Thorax. It seemed the others had heard the kerfuffle. That is to say, everyone had heard. Sombra, Sabre, Spade, Blue Bright, Tempest, and Grubber. At the very least, Brook had made himself scarce, and Babble was still snoozing below deck. The crew had also cleared as much free space as they could. This was one heck of a kerfuffle, indeed.

Sabre stood, eyes narrowed. His gaze stopped on my reddened cheek, and he shook his head slowly. "You must have if you got Thorax mad enough to slap you like that."

"Fair point," I said. I offered a half-shrug as the others boxed me in from every angle. I sighed in defeat.

"Now, if you would. Please do tell. While we have the time, just what is going through that thick skull of yours," Blueblood asked.

"Not enough, it seems," I said.

"Seriously, Star." Now I had Bright glaring at me. One was bad enough. Thorax and Bright combined should be considered a war crime.

"It's like I told Thorax, When Discord picked up the pieces, well, there weren't enough. Then the Elements filled the gaps. Nightmare Moon and Stargazer are not two souls in one body. We're two halves of a new soul entirely. I'm not who I once was.

"Existential horror. I can relate to that," Spade said.

"Spade," Blueblood said.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Spade shrugged. "Sure."

"That said. It does explain why the earlier bouts of dark magic fade so quickly. A soul untainted would have more remarkable remains after casting. Yours faded far too quickly for it to be natural."

All eyes turned to Sombra, whose horn was alight. Whatever spell he'd cast had me feeling tingly all over. His brow furrowed, but any other reactions were lost to his stoic kinglyhood.

"Makes sense," I nodded.

"I swear if you add any more plot twists. I'll have a pretzel instead of a book. Not that there is anything wrong with pretzels, but still."

Bright tapped his pencil on his notepad. His eyes hazed over as he lingered in whatever world his imagination had conjured up.

"So, what do we do?" Sabre asked.

"Nothing," Sombra answered. His spell finished, and the King of the North tutted in disapproval.

"Nothing, Thorax asked.

"That is ominous," Bright said agreeably.

"Sombra."

Sabre's brow looked ready to rip away and find a place among the stars. His lower lip bled as he bit down. Sombra offered a cursory look before returning his sights to me.

"There is nothing to be done. We have no means of correcting this development. A development neglected for far too long."

I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided his look like the plague. Sabre was openly seething. Sombra paid no mind.

"So, we ignore it?" Sabre asked.

"I mean, Sombra has a point," I said.

"That is unacceptable. I won't just sit back and do nothing. We have the Elements. What if—"

Sabre's mouth was forced close, Sombra's magical grip restraining him as Sabre struggled in place.

"The Elements were directly involved in this incident. I have little faith reapplying said power will have any meaningful effect. We have other priorities at the moment. We may debate solutions to Star's spiritual predicament once the Storm King is dealt with."

"I agree, if begrudgingly," Blueblood said.

One could feel Sabre's disbelief, even held in Sombra's aura.

"Come now, Captain. One problem at a time. The princesses and the Hippogriffs need immediate aid. Star has survived months without falling to pieces. I have the utmost confidence he can survive a few days more."

Blueblood offered me a stiff upper lip. I returned it in kind.

"Sabre, he's right. I can wait for now. Starlight isn't that far behind. We don't have time to dilly-dally," I said.

"True," Thorax said. "I don't like it, but they're right."

Sabre stopped his resistance. Sombra released his grip, and Sabre all but slumped to the ground.

"I hate this," he grumbled.

"I can't imagine why?" Spade said. He patted Sabre's shoulder, who idly swatted the hoof away.

"Hate it or not. We've only a short time till we arrive at Brook's coordinates. We will meet Queen Novo, save my aunts, and be home in no time at all."

Blueblood slapped a hoof to his chest before turning on end and walking back towards the bridge.

"Sounds like a plan," Bright said. Then he was gone, flying around the main mast and up to the crow's nest. The idea of with seemed superfluous when the entire space above you was a massive balloon.

The others moseyed away, leaving me, Sabre, and Thorax.

"It'll be okay, Star. I promise."

I smiled at Thorax and allowed him to pull me into another hug.

"Thanks."

Thorax laughed into a hoof. "Now, if we could get to the root of your other problem, we might actually get somewhere."

"My, what?" I asked. But, Thorax had already skittered away.

"Does he always have to be so cryptic when it comes to emotional or personal affairs?" Sabre asked from his slump on the floor.

"Probably not."

If it wasn't one thing, it was another.