> Stories in Stone, Reign of Night
>  by TDR
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Prologue




Time has been called many things. Some say it is a straight line— unchanging, unfaltering in its steady progression through the ages. Some say it is like a circle— everything that has happened before will happen again like a spinning wheel. It has even been called a big ball of timey-whimey... stuff. While I do not profess to understand the last one, I do know what time really is.

Time is a river.

It has a beginning and it has an end, though it is what happens between those points that is important. The water is a rolling mass of choices; they can either branch out and widen the banks the more of them are made, or narrow to a stream when there is no choice.

There are changes in the currents as well where some choices will send the water in two different directions, only for the 
change to sort itself out on the far side of the obstruction in the river. With enough time, even these small changes will be worn down and erode away by the unrelenting flow until one questions if any choice had ever even been made at all.

Then there are the big choices, the ones that don't just change what dress you wore that day, or if you called in sick or not, or even if you decided to side with one group or another in a war. There are choices that will alter the flow of time completely, causing the river to split and flow in another direction.

Sometimes these choices will end the flow of time prematurely, dead ending into a destination far short of what the original course was going to be. Sometimes, however, this new river of time flows on just as long or longer than the main branch before reaching its end. Sometimes it even rejoins the first time line further along its path.

Splits like this do not happen often. They cannot, or time would be spread so thin it would be more like an ocean than a river. But sometimes a choice is so drastic that time itself cannot help but to diverge, even when the choice is something as small as choosing love or choosing duty.

That choice was presented to one stallion at a point in his life. He had served loyally and found love in who he served after many shared trials and tribulations. He had friends who would die for him and whom he would die for as well, who would follow him no matter his choice.

Fate offered him a cruel choice: to save the lands he was sworn to protect from a nightmare eternal, he needed to betray his love. His other choice was to let the world fall to darkness so he may remain at her side.

You are likely familiar with the first choice. Jer'rahd Kaisur, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, sided with the Goddess of the Sun, Princess Celestia, to defeat The Goddess of the Moon, Princess Luna, who had turned into Nightmare Moon by a lust for power and supposed jealousy of the Sun Princess. Nightmare Moon was sealed away and her love and his friends followed her into imprisonment.

That is where the river splits. That is where time diverged.

In this course of the river, Jer'rahd Kaisur looked up into the eyes of Nightmare Moon while he and Princess Celestia stood on the dais in the Royal Garden and did not see anger, grief, or sadness in them. He saw relief, joy, and love. When Princess Celestia saw those eyes, she moved quickly to protect herself from the choice that was made.

Before she could even feel her magic power build, she felt the cold steel of the Waning Moon erupting through her chest as the blade tore through her.

The sun goddess's fall spelled the end of the reign of Canterlot. Before her body had even cooled on the marble, Canterlot had fallen to the Lunar Republic. Many died that day, and many more were imprisoned or enslaved.

The other nations, of course, fought back as best they could, but against Nightmare Moon and the Five Beasts of the Moon, they might as well have been foals trying to hold back the sea.

The Harpies, The Griffons, and the Diamond Dogs were nearly wiped out completely within the first year. Even today, only a hooffull remain of each of the races. The dragons were hunted down and killed off to a whelp until the only dragons remaining in the world were the Bearer of Laughter and the eggs that remained in Canterlot and Winnysor.

In those dark years, the remaining Five Beasts of the Moon were granted the same powers as their leaders and became an even more feared force across the world. When the last opposing forces against her fell, Nightmare Moon declared herself empress of the world. She controlled the sun, the moon, and five of the most dangerous creatures ever to walk the lands; none were foolish enough to stand before her. Those that tried were made an example of; very few examples were needed.

This is not to say that it was all bad. Though the iron hoof of the new Empress was strict, it was also just. No one was punished without reason, and races that had nearly been destroyed were brought back from the brink of extinction. Half-Dragons flourished, as did the wandering tribes of the Elk and the even rarer Windigo, Snow Ponies, and River Ponies.

The Zebra, too, found new prosperity under the rule of the Empress and the Bearer of the Element of Kindness. The stigma of the Untouchables was removed and equality among genders became a way of life in the zebra lands. The whole country became the leader in the world for medical knowledge and discovery.

All of this was before my time, however. In my age, a curse has gripped the world and created tensions in places where none existed before. A new lower class has emerged despite the Empress's wishes and the best doctors’ greatest efforts.

Foals are growing up to adulthood without receiving their cutie marks in record numbers in recent years in all races that gain cutie marks. They are called blank flanks— talentless and soulless, the term adopted by most is “the cursed”. At the same time, the stars in the night sky are fading out, vanishing into nothing. Many believe there is a connection; many see it as the end of all things.

I have been studying for years to try and find a cure, to try and find the cause for this.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the First Student of Empress Nightmare Moon and servant of the House of Loyalty.

I am one of the cursed.



TDR
Presents


Stories in Stone,




Reign of Night

> “Ask not the sun, why she sets.....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stories in Stone
Reign of Night
By TDR





“Ask not the sun, why she sets.....





My name is Twilight Sparkle, First Daughter of House Loyalty,Youngest child of  the Noble Sparkle family, Squire to the Demon of Dullahan, Lord Kaisur, Student of The Goddess of Night and War, Empress Luna of New Equestria, the Nightmare Moon.

I am also a dead mare trotting.

I have no idea how it came to this, no, that is wrong, I know exactly how it came to this. I remember every little detail leading up to this point. Every failure, every plan, every encounter and problem that has brought me here. Ahh the perils of having a perfect memory.

So here I am in my last moments of freedom, writing my life story so I won't be forgotten. I started writing this months ago, when the Empress sent me to that wretched little town where this all started. I doubt she knew what would happen, or if she did, I doubted she cared.

I digress. I am writing this because I want some one to know what happened, someone to look at the events objectively  perhaps to see where I went wrong and how this befell me. I could only hope if they promote a new Grand inquisitor that my case will be noted then, but it will be far too late for me by that point. I am writing this because despite everything, I still have my love of books, to have my name as the author of one, even if it is my own pathetic tale is a better epitaph for me than any thing that could be carved on a  head stone.

I will explain everything as best as I can, as I do not know if you, the reader, will be familiar with the world as I know it, so I shall be making notes of it as well. The world that you live in may be vastly different than the one I inhabit now. The last few months have already changed the world irrevocably, the next few days may change it further, with or without my presence in it.

I shall start where this all began for me. Ponyville.

*************************************************************

There are six great houses in Equestria, Magic, Loyalty, Honesty, Compassion, Generosity, and Laughter. Each is based off on an aspect of the artifacts known as the Element's of Harmony and each is led by their chosen immortal bearers. 

It has been this way since Empress Luna and her Champions defeated the former ruler of Equestria. The Empress's sister, the Goddess of the Sun, known now by historians by the name of The Solar Flare.

Strangely there is nothing bad to say about the former Goddess's reign. The books I have read about her only state that she was weak. There is nothing about corruption or evil. Most books state she was simply unfit to rule. However she refused to stand aside when asked. Her refusal to step down from a position of power was what sparked the Equestrian Civil War, or what the other races call the War of Night.

After her sisters defeat and the reclamation of Canterlot from forces loyal to Solar Flare, the Lunar Republic began a campaign of securing Equestria from all potential threats.

The dragons had already been routed and the seaponies nearly destroyed utterly by the Lunar Guard before the war even began. The Diamond  Dogs gave up immediately considering how things had gone for them against the weaker sisters forces. A number of other  races either signed agreements or surrendered when ordered. 

The only two holdouts were the Griffons and the Harpies. For the first time in the history of both of the races, the waring avian cultures joined forces against a  greater threat to themselves.

The failure of that alliance is still regarded as the biggest faux pas in recorded history. 

The joined avians managed to destroy one Lunar Republic outpost near the edge of their territory. This attack, even at such a small target did not go unnoticed by the Empress, though despite what was expected she only sent a small force out to retake the outpost. A group numbering no more that thirty ponies.

The griffon and harpies pride was wounded by the reaction. They expected an all out war, not to be treated as if their army was little more than a pack of bandits that needed to be dealt with.

Imagine their surprise when this small force they thought was an insult, not only retook the outpost, but also the three aeries in the immediate area around the outpost, wiping out the inhabitants to the last before moving on in a progression that destroyed four more of the griffons aeries before the Harpies and Griffons could organize a retaliation. 

The Avians sent three waves of  battle hardened griffons and Harpies after this small band  of Equestrians.

None of the attackers came back and the extermination of aeries continued without even a pause. 

By the time the Republic force made it to the griffons capitol there were only three aeries left intact. Two of them had surrendered outright rather than face annihilation and by some small mercy their surrender was accepted. The last aerie where the leaders and the last of the Harpy race hid was not offered the chance to surrender. The small group was composed entirely of members of the 42nd, Luna's Hoof and was lead by those known as the Five Beasts of the Moon, Empress Luna's Generals.  

The resistance was offered nothing and not a soul inside was spared. The former capitol of the griffon Empire was turned into a macabre display  of gruesome torture and death. Like Cindervale before it,  the place was turned into an example of what happened  when someone crossed Equestria.

The world was changed after that. The Lunar Republic took control of the Griffon and Harpy lands as well as securing all of the former Dragon lands, tripling the land held by Equestria.  A number of races also met their end entirely during that expansion. The Orc's and Harpies were both wiped out to the last, and the griffons were reduced to little more than a fifth of what they once were. Their gods were killed and those left were given the choice to swear fealty to the Empress or join their leaders in death. 

Despite the harshness of her actions The Empress proved she knew mercy as well and allowed the remaining Griffons and even the scattered Dragons that were left to join the Lunar Republic. They were accepted as equals, not as the subordinate or a sub race like most expected. 

The following years were considered by many to be the Golden age of the Lunar Republic. Princess Luna declared herself Empress and Knighted her Generals to become the lords of her new Equestria.

The day's became shorter as the night  took dominance. The sun was still allowed to rise and fall so that the world didn't freeze and farmers could grow crops. It was the markets and the life of those who dwelled in the cities that changed the most. Night became the time which Equestria was most active as nobles and  workers still wishing favor with the new rule changed their schedules to be awake at night, and the rest of society followed.

Over the course of a thousand years a new subspecies of all the races seemed to evolve. There were still the three main races of Pony as well as the three half Dragon races that were based off the pony tribes, but now there was a difference between those who lived in the sun and those who lived at night.

Farmers and others who were awake during the day did not change from once was considered a stock pony coloration. Bright hues and fur coloration remained the same with them.

The majority of ponies however had taken to living at night, their coats and manes were just as varied as they had once been, but the colors were more muted, the trade off was the better development of night vision among those of the night.

One of the unfortunate side effects of this was since nearly all the nobles and 'important pony’s' coloration had changed with the generations. The ones that remained active during the day were easy to tell apart and a rift appeared between the nobility and the ones known as day walkers. It started as a insult and eventually became a stigma of a lower class or even a lower species of pony.

The Empress frowned upon the practice, but did little about it as she and her Generals were working on the beginnings of the six houses and could not be troubled to stop every bout of the growing racism until it was already ingrained beyond repair.

This persisted for several hundred years until a new crisis came about and a new lower class was created. 

A small number of ponies began to come of age without developing a cutie mark, at first it was considered an oddity, but as the numbers of those who's flanks were blank increased the worry did as well. 

Several studies were done, the ponies in question did indeed find their talents, though no mark appeared due to it. Fearing an epidemic of some kind,  when possible those affected were shipped somewhere else so as not to infect others with what was becoming thought of as a curse. The majority  of them somehow wound up in the farming community of Ponyville.

Concerned about this development the Empress decreed that all of the blanks be sent to Ponyville for both their own safety and to cease the muttered unrest and growing panic about a possible epidemic. The Empress then sent her best student to oversee the research being done on the blanks to possibly find a cure, or at least a reason for the curse.

This is of course where I come in.

===============================================

I shut my book with a soft thud wishing that I could become engrossed enough in my reading that the droning of the guards pulling my chariot could be ignored. Sadly they had slowly gotten louder and louder in their musings and complaints since we left Whinnysor.

“I still don't get this shit. Why the hell are we taking this damned mare all the way out here ourselves? Just dump her blank flank on the train and let her ride out here with all the other cursed.” the pegasus on the left grumbles.

“You received your orders same as me. Ours is not to ask the why of the order, but to simply carry it out.” responds the one on the right.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that, but I don't want to catch whatever the buck she has. Last thing I need to have happen is wake up and have my mark fall off my ass.” the first swears again.

“What planning on trying to stick your dick in? That's the only way you'll catch it.  Course that might be the only way you get any. Find a desperate little blank mare needing some action. Unless you swing the other way, but there's blank colts too.” the second Guard taunts.

“Buck you.” 

"Now see I don't swing that way."

I wince at their ignorance, though I am not able to help myself. The only cure for ignorance was knowledge, or removing them from existence, though the latter, while more effective, did not teach anything. I lean over the front of the carriage, nearly yelling at them over the wind, well at least I knew now why they had gotten so loud.

“It does not work like that. The curse only effects those who are without a cutie mark. They simply do not get them. “I respond completely disgusted with these two already. “ If you already possess your mark then there is no way for you to lose it unless you piss of a skilled mage and she burns it from your flesh.”

The pair flinched looking back as if they had not expected me to hear their conversation. If they had not wanted that then they should have talked quieter.

“Umm, our apologies Lady Twilight we were unaware you had woken.” The one on the right blurted out.Clearly he was the only one with any survival instincts.

The one on the left was clearly not as bright, granted his earlier words proved that. “ So you're saying the only way any pony can catch this thing is if they're still a kid, so any foals I have would get it?”

I sigh at having to explain this, but it was the mission tasked to me by the Empress. Find a cure or a cause, and this level of ignorance running about would only stifle that goal.

“As I  said the curse only affects those who have not gained a cutie mark. Still there is no guarantee that it will. Some children of  those cursed gain their cutie mark and some do not, like wise marked parents have a fifty fifty chance of their foal gaining a mark or not. The number has risen in recent years, but it is not yet an epidemic, just far too common for any ones liking.”

“Errrrr. I still don't get it.”

I slap my face with my hoof wondering if they had started waiving IQ tests for Guards. Perhaps there was a reason these two were on chariot duty.

“In simpletons terms you can mount any mare that you like, cursed or not, and your chances of having a cursed foal are the same.”

He ponders for a moment before grinning wide.

“Any mare I like huh? So how bout you and.....”

“If you finish that sentence I will order your wing mate to cut off your genitalia and feed it too you.” I snarl. “ Get me to Ponyville and then get out of my sight.”

“We still have a bit of time before them Miss.” the guard on the right comments trying to stifle a chuckle at his wingmates clear discomfort.

“The fly faster, and be silent. The longer I spend in the company of your mutual stupidity the more I like the idea of neither of you being allowed to procreate.”

The cart lurches as the pair redouble their efforts and I sink back down out of the wind picking up my book once more. This is why I hate dealing with ponies, it's always about status, bits, or sex with all of them.

===================================================

My name is Twilight Sparkle of House Loyalty, First Student of Empress Luna, the Nightmare Moon, ruler of the Lunar Empire of Equestria.

I have been tasked with an important assignment by my Empress. One that modern medical science has yet to be able to comprehend. So the Empress gave the task to the most powerful spell caster in the land which unfortunately happens to be me, her student.

A cutie mark is a ponies personal sigal. It defines who they are and what they are good at, though the mark itself is usually open to interpretation to it's meaning. Which is why a pony with three smiling flowers on her flank could be considered to have a talent for teaching rather than gardening. The main thing a mark does aside from help to identify a ponies place in society is that it is usually the sign of a pony reaching maturity, and that their  path in life is laid out before them for all to see.

While they still develop talents and find their way in life, the cursed are considered  to be a ill omen. They are often shunned by others of their age group and family. The suicide rate for the cursed is quite high and even if they continue with their lives, no matter how full, there always seems to be a part of them that is missing. There is a longing there that cannot be expressed into words properly. 

Trust me, I speak from experience in this case, as i suffer from this malady as well, but I choose to not let it define me. Despite the fact others choose to try and define me by it.

What the cursed can do with their lives is quite limited as very few of the more advanced trades, or jobs that require interaction with the public will accept them due to the stigma associated with them. There are exceptions of course. The military will always accept warm bodies, even with no one to fight the Empire always has a force ready just in case. Then there are the very rare cases like mine where skill trumps stigma.

For the others, with no work or chance at bettering themselves, many turn to life on the streets often being cast out of their homes when their cutie mark fails to appear. This has caused a rather ridiculous spike in crime rates as well as a increase in dissident in the Empire. The Empress realized this was a growing problem and took measures to prevent a new lower class from being created with only marginal success.

Which brings us to Ponyville.

The town was founded as a refugee camp at the end of the first dragon war. It has served as many things over the years. A hub for trade, a mining community, a home to powerful spell casters, the birthplace and end of the Followers of the Sun resistance, a battle field, and a mass grave site. It was also the birthplace of two of the five Lords of the Empire,  Lord Kaisur and Lord Pelt.

The influence of these two has kept the town from simply being removed from the map, though once again it has a purpose beyond simply a place for the Empire's subjects to live.

The Empress had all of the cursed that were either abandoned or wished for something more  brought to the town with the intention of running it and turning it back into a thriving community. This plan worked quite well, though there were far more cursed than initial expectations and the town was expanded. Now at least  ninety five percent of the known cursed reside in Ponyville. With the announcement of my task of solving the mystery of the affliction the number will likely sharply climb.  Each of the great Houses will likely send a representative to this town as well since it has been announced that I shall be living here.

While there is no known infighting among the Houses there has been a great deal of tension  among them since the rift formed between  House  Compassion and  House Generosity.  No one but the Lords and the Empress know the reasons for it though it is rumored that the Lord of one house denied the other something.

The issues with the houses are not my concern however. I did not wish to move here to study the curse, but  it was safer for me here than in Winnysor Castle.

Being the first student of the Empress placed me into a position of power where I was on par with the heads of the families. I only need to follow orders from the house heads or the Empress herself. My words carried just as much weight as those who fought for their positions in the ever changing social ladder. Just by being chosen I made enemies. Had I minded my own business and stayed out of politics I might have been fine despite that. I made the mistake of trying my hoof at politics and law a few times.

The proper heads of my house, my brother, Lord Armor and Lady Cadence, his wife, expressed no issue with me one way or another. However I made the mistake of countering one of Lady Octavia's commands. Considering what she has been through in her life and how hard she has fought to prove herself worthy of the position she holds in House Loyalty, she has no respect for one who has reached the same level of power because they happen to be good at something. Still as long as I was the Empress's student she would be unable to touch me, for a while at any rate.

The Empress, as I later found out, is some what fickle in regards to her students. When one stops growing as a practitioner of magic or reaches their peak, then the Empress loses interest and seeks another first student to train, leaving the first to  their own devices.

One who has fallen from favor of the Empress will not be missed if they vanish.

While I have not yet reached my peak, I am no fool. Hence why I am here in this wretched place. Even if I fall from favor of the Empress now  I still have a task which the House of Magic and Loyalty are in support of  and thus remain untouchable until my work is complete, or I fail.

And if I succeed in curing this curse, my status will grow immensely, preventing anyone from daring anything against me. After all how would one go about killing a savior?

I do not profess to enjoy the manipulation I need to undertake, and if I had been smarter during my brief foray into the noble courts I wouldn't be in this position. Granted at this point in my life I am no longer a novice in it either.

===================================================

“Lady Sparkle we have arrived.” one of the cart pullers states. I assume it's the smarter one as the voice grates on my nerves far less than I expected.

I stand back up in the chariot,  looking down at the  town below me. In the moon's light it was easy to see a number of  points of interest. The town was awash with activity and a number of faintly glowing lights and bioluminecent flowers were being placed about the cities limits. The cart descended towards a group of ponies that seemed to be waiting for it and I saw the pink haired form of the earth pony mayor among them.

This was something else I had been dreading. Though I expected to be recognized, I did not however expect that I would be greeted as such. My prideful thoughts were quickly stifled as I noted the banners welcomed the Empress, not me. Torn between a mix of relief and annoyance at my own ego,  I quickly left the chariot as it landed letting the gathered ponies rush forward to take my bags as the mayor bowed before me.

“Greetings Lady Sparkle we have been expecting you.”The Mayor Mare states as she rises. “ Please excuse the state of things, the information about your arrival was lost in the preparations of the Empresses visit tomorrow for the thousand year anniversary of her victory.”

The Midyear Moon Celebration, a thousand years ago to the day The Empress and her companions  defeated The Goddess of the Sun and began the push to bring about a unified world. In my haste to prepare and get here  I had completely forgotten the event. Not as if it was widely celebrated  in any way within House Loyalty. Most of us followed Lord Jer'rahd's moods when it came to events and despite his stoic demeanor, it was clear to any from his house that he became far more morose and depressed around the Midyear Moon Celebration. It was also the time of the year he stuck much closer to the Empress. Considering how public their relationship was that he remained closer to her during this time wasn't noticeable to any pony aside from those who were closest to the pair. Despite spending most of my life near the Empress I never noticed her acting any different around this time of year.

“That is quite alright Mayor. I do not expect there to be any fuss over my presence any way. I am here for research, not to run the place.”

The pink haired mare barely hides a exhalation of relief. Most of the legislative branch of the government came from House Honesty or Generosity as both Houses tended to be well suited for the job of running things day to day. Mayor Mare, yes that is her real name, was from a side family of House Honesty. While not one of the cursed herself she was known not to treat them any differently than ponies who had their cutie marks, thus earning her the position here. When news of my arrival reached her ears she must have thought she was being replaced and been panicked by the idea.

“Alright then, this way please Lady Sparkle, the library has been set up for you. No one has really used it for several years since the unicorn that formerly lived there passed on. It should have all the facilities you need for your research. If it does not please let me know and I will do what I can to ensure that you have what you need.....”

She rambled on for a few more moments as we walked and I primarily tuned her out. It was the usual pandering to someone who was of higher rank and I already knew most of the lines.  Halfway to the library however  I was distracted by a number of shouts and curses from those carrying my luggage. Stopping to look back at the porters it seemed a pony had some how wandered into their midst and was tripping them up.

My eyes narrowed a bit as a rather dirty pink pony with straight darker pink hair steps away from the group muttering to herself. A few half hearted kicks were aimed her way that  the pony either ignored or took without so much as a flinch. 

The mare pauses lifting her head and meets my gaze, squinting a little as if she was having issue seeing what was going on, before she continues on her way stumbling over a few things as she walked.

“My apologies Lady Sparkle. I did not expect her to be out this time of night. I rather wish you had not seen her.” the mayor stammers as I watch the mare walk off  noting the slight bulge in her stomach and the blank flank she bore..

“Who is that?” I question.

“ Pinkamenia Diana Pie. She's one of the Day Walkers who tends the farm outside of town. There are only a few of them. I can have her thrown out of town if you wish.”

“No. Being a cursed and a day walker is bad enough without adding more to it. Besides she looks as if she is with foal. Just keep her out of the Empresses way tomorrow and everything will be fine.”

“Of Course Lady Sparkle.”

Day Walkers. One of the more polite slang terms  for the the ones who work during the day tending the farms or other jobs that need to be done while everyone else is asleep.

A thousand years after the fall of the sun Goddess and most of the races left in the world had taken up a nocturnal schedule as the Empress made the night last sixteen hours, raising the sun for a mere eight hours a day, just enough for crops to grow and to keep the world from freezing.

A selection of her subjects chose to live during the day to tend these farms, perform Guard Duty or other tasks that needed to be done in the waking hours. Most of the Day Walkers were ponies who either had talents around things that could only be done in the sun or did not develop  to adjust to the night like the rest of the world. Throw backs to another time.

While those who walked in the day had brighter colorations than those who were active at night, it was little more than cosmetic. The thing that made the day walkers different from everyone else was their eyes. Day walkers pupils were much smaller than those who lived in darkness, often they were completely blind, or needed a bright light source to even see during the Empresses beautiful night.

The Empress herself had once tried to prevent them from being a lower caste, but  even she had difficulty swaying popular opinion at times. As such they were more often than not regarded as the lowest class in society. At least until the cursed came along, to be a Day Walker who was cursed was quite possibly the worse thing many could imagine and as such it was often used as a insult. 

I had heard  that there were some day walkers here that were cursed, though I did not expect to meet one so soon. Out of all the pony types those that walked in the day had the lowest number of cursed leading some to believe that the night might be the cause. The Empress had the reports stifled immediately until more information could be gathered, it was one of the assignments she had suggested to test while I was here.

With this being the first time I had met a Day Walker personally, I had also expected to feel the revulsion or nausea of the bright colors of their coats that many claimed to experience in their presence. Strangely though I could only feel pity for the mare as she continued on with whatever task brought her out into the night.

=========================================================

“This is the Ponyville Library, Lady Sparkle. We have had it outfitted and have moved every ponies records here as you requested. There is a small apartment in the upper floor and a kitchen downstairs, the former librarian lived and worked here.” The Mayor droned on.

I looked up at the massive oak tree with a combination wonder and shock. The trunk and leaves were vibrant, far more so than any other plant I had ever seen. Most plant life had adjusted to life without  much sun and thus their coloration had dulled with time as they changed to suit the environment. This tree … , this tree was nothing like that. It was if it stubbornly refused to admit that darkness was greater than the day. It looked like images of trees I had seen in old books as a foal, it was far too bright and colorful to be real.

“Ahh I see you noticed the odd look. The legend is that this tree was blessed by the Empress herself when it was planted and that is why it has such vivid colors now. I really don't know myself, plants were never my thing.” The mayor continued on about pointless town history as the porters started gathering my luggage to move it inside.

“This will do nicely. Thank you. That will be all for now Mayor.” I state receiving a bow from the Mayor and the porters, though she lingered a bit as if wanting to say something else, whatever it was, was cut off by someone else.

“Ah certainly hope this'll do, since you ain't going ta be staying at mai place. Sides this here's the second nicest place in town, rather fitting for ah student of tha Empress ah suppose.” quips a voice .

My ears flatten as I turn my head catching sight of a pale orange coated mare with black stripes, sporting a sandy blond mane tied up with a cord at the end. Her body was partially covered in light armor that was festooned with pouches and pockets. A black, wide brimmed  western style hat rested on her head covering her eyes. Despite the fact she was standing nearly right beside me leaning against the tree, if she hadn't of spoken I likely would have never seen her at all. Still now that I noticed her I quickly identified the sigal marking her armor and groaned in annoyance.

The mayor and her entourage of porters spotted the half pony half zebra, clearly knowing who she was the group took off leaving my luggage at the door. It was never  good to get involved in house politics if they didn't directly concern you.

“I was wondering when one of you would show up. So how long has House Generosity been following me?” I snap, not liking that I was already being spied upon, despite knowing it was coming.

“Just since ya got off the chariot. Not like ah fly any way. Yah wern't exactly trying to be hidden in that big silver thing any way ah 'spect” the  orange and black pony states stepping away from the tree and closer to me with a wide smirk on her face.

My eyes ran over the mare noting  a number of hidden weapons and the usual odd components and gear of one of the intelligence gathering ponies that worked for House Generosity. The southern drawl and zebra markings announced her a member of the Apple family. The second great family of House Generosity right behind the Pelts. Her armor didn't cover her flank and her orange black coat was bare of any other markings. It seemed she was cursed as well, either that or she had covered her mark to get closer to me. One could never tell with House Generosity. 

“And what do you want?” I question.

“Just makin mai self known fer now. Smart mare like you prolly knew one or two of us were gonna be here any way so no sense trying to keep that a secret. Names Applejack by the way.”

“Eeerrr, right.”  I blinked in surprise at the straight answer. “No offense, but I didn't expect an honest answer from one of you.”

“Not all of us are secrets and lies Lady Sparkle. Some of us are a bit more diplomatic. Sides, everypony’s interested in finding out what causes tha curse. I'm here tah be tha contact from House Generosity, so get used tah seeing me. Also give me a hollar if you need help with something, got mai own vested interest in you succeeding in a cure.” Applejack chuckles a little.” Just a bit of warning for yah though. If yah ken cure this yer gonna make House Compassion look like foals. So it'll be them that yah need tha watch out for.” Applejack rambles on walking around me giving me the once over from under the brim of her hat.  I've summoned and controlled monsters  with claws bigger than me and yet this mare pacing around me made me feel more like a sheep staring at a wolf than any other thing I’d experienced.

“And how many of those are here?”

“Got a whole hospital full of um. My counterpart with them is probably there, trust me yah won't be able to miss her prissy flank no matter how hard yah try. But fer now you'll need tah deal with House Honesty's contact. Word is they're sending someone real important to keep contact and protect yah while your here.” Applejack points a hoof towards the sky. “Prolly them now judging by how fast they're going.”

I look back to where the zebra pony mix was pointing, seeing a shape glimmering in the moon light headed right for the library. I look back to Applejack to ask her a few more questions only to find the mare was gone.

“Delightful.” I grumble mostly to myself before looking back and watching the pegasus draw closer.

As the figure drew near it was easy to tell a few things about the mare. First off, providing that the Shadowbolt flight suit she wore was authentic, and there was no reason to doubt it was not, the mare was from House Honesty. Secondly judging by the silver pips barely visible on the collar of her  uniform she was a Squad Commander. While it was not that high of a rank, it was classed as officer rank and not a position I expected they would have pulled for guard duty, even for one such as myself. If that was what she was here for at any rate, while I had no reason to doubt AppleJack's word, I had no reason to trust her either, and with House Generosity it was better not to trust them too much. The sizable pair of saddlebags were another thing of note, clearly she was going to be staying here a while and had just arrived same as me. The last thing I noticed was her short mane, it was like a box of crayons had exploded and she had soaked her head in it. Her short cut tail was of the same mixed and rather bright coloration. 

This had me more than a little worried. I knew of only one pony who had hair like that, and to think that she was now here made me even more nervous about  my job. The mare lands lightly before be snapping a sharp salute to me with her pale blue wing, not bothering to remove her flight mask or goggles. With the large opaque disks covering her eyes I couldn't read her expression at all, couple that with the pair of wing blades she had strapped to her sides tucked under the mass of gear and i didn't know what to expect..

“Squad Commander Rainbow Dash reporting for duty as ordered, Lady Sparkle.”

Rainbow Dash, a name that I knew well. 

As a student of the Empress herself I was accustom to random tests and countless hours of study, honing my mind to be the best pupil I could be for her. This often left little time for any sort of socializing or anything other than practice and work.

I had it easy compared to some of the other Houses however. 

House Laughter had the Platinum Swan. Lady Scale's personal musical group. Those who had heard the group had claimed their music was beyond unbelievable and after hearing them play even one song any other musician sounded like an ally cat yowling at the moon. The thing was once you were in the Swan you had to be perfect, all the time, every time. The group's turnover was insanely high as the stress of this requirement eventually got to everypony who ever joined the group. If you left the group  however, you were done, you could count your musical career as finished for anything more than playing in a seedy bar somewhere. That was still better than the rumor of what happened if you failed in a performance. Generally any who did that simply vanished, some said the other members of the band killed them others say they simply fled as far away as they could get. The latter would explain why there were a number of wandering bards in the Zebralands.

The Swan was required to maintain the utmost decorum and perfection at all times. More than a few musicians had died while performing in the swan, but so great was their drive to play that no one noticed until after the performance was over and their bodies stopped moving.

House Loyalty had the Lunar Guard.  A group of soldiers who were so elite and so devoted to the protection of the Empress that they cut out their own tongues when they were admitted to the unit so there was no chance they would ever betray any secrets they might overheard. I was often surrounded by these individuals, their black dyed coats, obscured cutie marks and similar armors made them indistinguishable from each other. Each was hoof picked and personally trained by Lord Kaisur himself. Like the Swan the only way out was death,  also like the Platinum Swan admission to the guard was not mandatory, but it was strongly encouraged if you were selected by Lord Kaisur. My brother was one of these.

House Generosity was a little more lax. The Grand Inquisitor was simply to be a impartial judge of the law and it was a position that changed often when it was felt that the current Inquisitor was no longer impartial or wished to step down.

House Compassion's Surgeon General was much the same. A high position that oversaw all research into medicine and was in command of the medical corp, the Queens Cross. This tended to be a position that rotated a great deal as well, considering the stresses involved in keeping tabs on everypony’s well being.

And then there was Rainbow Dash, the First Child of House Honesty. Lady Silvertail took a female foal from every generation and  trained them as her own daughter. This was not far from what the Empress did with her First Student, but the focus was more on the physical rather than the mental. The First Child of House Honesty was trained, drilled and brought up to embody everything that House Honesty stood for and to be the very best at everything they did. With the exception of Lady Silvertail herself, there was no better flier in the entire world than Rainbow Dash right now. That she was so young old and had already achieved a rank that ponies in their fifties had never gotten close to was a testament to her skill. Honesty did not cheat the system to promote the First Child, Rainbow Dash had earned everything she had. What troubled me was that the Lady of Honesty rarely ever let her chosen wander far from her sight. I had no desire to meet Lady Silvertail again any time soon, the few times I had the mare absolutely terrified me with just a stern look, and she didn't seem to have any other expressions.

“Why.... why are you here?  Is Lady Silvertail here?” I stammer looking around.

“Negative, Lady Sparkle. Lady Silvertail  has assigned me to act as her liaison here, act as your guardian, as well as assist you in any way I am able. She is at present still in Whinnysor.” Dash belted out in a rather crisp if some what annoyed tone.

“Really. She must think this task of mine far more important than anypony else does to send you here. This will likely be the first time in near history that the First Child has been present without the Lady Silvertail near by. I suppose i should be honored.” I respond, feeling my ego slowly build again now that I knew the Lady of House Honesty wasn't going to pop up.

“No offense Lady Sparkle, but for an egghead such as you, you certainly don't catch onto things very quickly. Either that or you are too full of yourself to realize why I would be sent here instead of anypony else. This is a town for the cursed and station really doesn't matter when everyone is afraid of becoming infected.”

I blink as the pieces falling into place.

“Of course you're cursed as well.” I hear myself mutter in disbelief. ”I never knew that.”

“I would expect you wouldn't. It's not something made common knowledge. Lady Sparkle. And by order it is still not to be made so.”

I growl lightly,not liking that I would have to deal with this mare. It was bad enough that Applejack had told me that all the houses had a representative here, now I had a bodyguard to deal with. Particularly one who clearly didn't wish to be here either and seemed to be trained to be as blunt and crass as possible.

“While I appreciate the offer I have to refuse, I do not need some pony watching over me while I try and save Equss here.”

“Lady Sparkle you seem to misunderstand. This is not a request. I assure you I would rather be anywhere else aside from dealing with a sniveling noble mage who thinks she's better than everypony else, but I have my orders, and short of getting Lady Silvertail to change them there is nothing you can do about it.”

“There is plenty I can do about it.......” I growl, as my horn starts to glow. I could probably just teleport her into a rock and be done with it. They would never find the body.

“Not to shove my own credentials in your face, but you know my standing Lady Sparkle, don't you think you have more than enough enemies without trying to make one of  the Lady of Honesty?” Rainbow Dash states not displaying a ounce of worry at the glow from my horn.

I let my horn grow dark as I mutter swears in a number of languages under my breath. I rub my hoof against my face in defeat. Though I still spot the slight smirk at the corner of the mares face.

“Fine, but you are not staying here and you need to keep out of my way.”

“If that is your command Lady Sparkle. I need to secure my own residence and move it into position as it stands any way. That is unless you need some help with getting settled in.”

“I'll manage on my own thank you very much.” I snap back.

“Fine by me. I'll be back at sunset Lady Sparkle.” Rainbow Dash snaps a salute and takes off into the air again leaving me positively fuming. She was right however, I couldn't touch her or any of the ones sent by the houses, no matter how much they might aggravate me, I was on enough thin ice as it was. I needed to ignore them and focus on getting set up and starting my research.

I was not fond of the fact that Rainbow Dash was correct in that I had a number of enemies simply from becoming the Empresses favored student. Octavia would surely end my life the moment  the option presented itself, perhaps even before then if she believed she could get away without a murder being traced back to her. So long as the spotlight of the Empress's attention was on me  I would be safe. 

I gathered the bags the porters left in my magic aura carrying it all inside. The longer it took me to find out some new information on the cursed, the closer I would be to my own demise. Right now though I simply wanted to get settled in and sleep, dawn was approaching faster than I liked after the tour of the town the Mayor gave me.

Stepping into the library I was greeted with the same garish decorating for the Moon celebration that I had seen outside around town. I was also witness to the one responsible.

The mare had no cutie mark so was obviously cursed as well, I really shouldn't have been surprised at this point. A well groomed  and pampered purple mane fell in stylized curls over her back and around her faintly glowing horn as she hung up more streamers. Her white coat positively glowed from her fore hooves all the way down to the curled purple tuft at the end of her serpentine tail. 

Seriously it was like the half dragon had some how polished her white scales enough to make them like mirrors. It hurt my eyes to look directly at her in truth. The day walkers had nothing on the glow this one had.

“Alright this is getting ridiculous. Who are you and why are you in here?” I snap, the half dragon yelps lightly whirling quickly, her polished rear claws clicking on the wooden floor as she turned to face me.

“Oh. I really didn't expect anyone else to come and help me. Be a dear and start putting up those streamers on the other side of the room there. This place clearly hasn't been touched in years. If I had the time to clean it up a little first I would, but there is still so much to do.”

“I'm not here to help you decorate. This is supposed to be where I am staying.”

“Don't be silly dear this is a public library, not a hotel. There is one at the end of the street on the left, very large building you simply cannot miss it.” the half dragon states, completely disregarding my statement.” If you would like I can show you the way, just let me finish up in here. I do so love these festivals, it will be nice to have a bit of cheer around here at least for a little while. And the Empress herself is supposed to come here. How gracious is that?”

I rub my head with my hoof, at this rate I was going to wear a bald spot in my temple.

“First off, this is where the Mayor told me I was staying, second off who are you and why are you decorating a library when the ceremony is going to take place at the town hall?”

“Oh I finished the Town hall hours ago and I had so many decorations left I decided to go ahead and decorate everything. Hmm, oh yes I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Dr. Reighnolds, though everyone calls me Rarity. And who might you be?”

“Lady Sparkle of House Loyalty.” I snap back. Her answers were only increasing my headache, surely she couldn't be this stupid and ditzy. Particularly considering her title, though knowing she was a doctor made the chipper attitude make a little more sense. She was a member of  House Compassion, she had to be in order to be a Doctor. While that didn't explain the decorations it did explain why she was the only one setting them up. Only a particularly caring individual would go out of her way to make sure that the whole town got to enjoy the celebration, not just those invited to City Hall when the  Empress arrived. That didn't make her any less annoying to have in my new quarters.

“Oh dear.... I'm afraid you caught me at a disadvantage. I didn't think they would put you here. I expected one of the manors on the north end of town would be where I eventually found you.” Rarity sighs, though she continues to set up decorations. “Hmm blue or purple? Which do you prefer?” She asks holding up two types of ribbons.

“It's doesn't matter, and why would you need to be looking for.... you know what, never mind.  I'm sure you're another rep sent here to get in my business. Well I’ve had enough for one day. Get out. Take your decorations and get out! The public library is now officially closed.” I rant shoving my luggage aside and throwing the door open with a spell.

“But I'm not done, yet... I still have the banners to put up.”

“I don't care about the bucking banners!” I scram, losing my cool enough for a small bit of flame to spark in my mane before puffing out. “ You are done. I want at least one night to get adjusted to this place before everyone comes out of the woodwork with demands or offering favors of me. So get OUT, OUT, OUT!” 

The half dragon huffs a little. A small puff of her breath blowing over the purple ribbon she held turning it instantly to ice. Her horn lights up and yanks down all the decorations that had been put up already. She growls a little and turns her nose up with a annoyed glare in my direction. She stops next to me the glare still evident.

“It may be your title Lady Sparkle, but you certainly are not a lady.”Rarity grumbles.

“I don't want to hear it. You want to bitch at me then do so later. I am quite sure I will be dealing with you again, no matter what I might want. For right now I want to be left alone. I have far too much work to be doing to be dealing with all this political nonsense already.” I growl back, noting a slight bit of pity in the annoyed glare the half dragon was giving. It was gone before I could respond and she strode out and I was able to shut and bolt the door behind her.

“What else can happen?” I curse. I regretted briefly that I yelled at the mare, but at the same time  meeting three house representatives in rapid succession before I had even set hoof into where I was staying had got on my nerves.  I may have actually walked in and surprised Rarity, but I doubted it, if Applejack knew about me then so would she. House Compassion and Generosity were rather close considering the on again off again relationship of their House leaders. Rainbow Dash was being truthful about her part in this. Those of House Honesty  did not lie. Of course did not mean that she was telling me everything she knew, or everything Lady Silvertail knew when she sent the First Daughter here. Pure honesty could be just as bad as a lie.

I sighed my horn glowing as I let out a small pulse of magic finding three  hidden recording crystals  just with that simple scan. Of course the place was bugged, though I really didn't care, I had no plans to do anything about them as I was doing nothing beyond what I said I was going to do. I didn't know if Rarity or Applejack had planted them or if it was one of a thousand others who wanted to keep an eye on the Empresses student. Better to leave them for now, and do a more thorough search tomorrow I could always turn them off or mask my presence from them if I needed to.

It did not take me long to find the bedroom, clean it up a bit and bury my head in the pillow. With a little luck I could at least sleep the full day away without any issues.

----------------------------------------------------------

I got EXACTLY what I asked for but only just. The sun had not even fully set when the pounding on the door started. I growled as I rolled out of bed sparing a last glance at the surprisingly comfortable thing I had just left before making my way down to the front door. I winced as the pounding grew louder, the entire door shaking from the blows. This certainly wasn't the Mayor.

I yanked open the door with my magic ready to scream at who ever was coming to bother me this early. Though the door had barely been opened a crack before it was forced open the rest of the way slamming into the wall with a sound like a cannon that knocked and entire shelf of books to the floor. A yellow pegasus with a long pink mane stormed in and immediately stomped up  getting in my face.

“I'm going to make this short and sweet because I bucking hate dealing with this shit. What ever horse shit you plan on spoon feeding the other representatives, I want in writing and for someone else to deliver it. I'm told I’m supposed to help you, but buck that! I want nothing to do with this stupid shit you are doing. Send me the letters and you won't even have to see me and I'm fine with that. My boss wants an update once a week. I don't care if the letter says nothing more than you found nothing, leave the flowery bullshit to me, I just want to be left alone, do that and you can expect the same. You don't send me something I will be back here and come down on your stupid purple ass like a bucking hurricane. Am I clear?!”

The mares teal eyes had locked with my own the moment she stormed in and practically froze me in place. It was like she was physical holding me with just the angry look.

“Who are you?” I stammered.

The mare blinked as if surprised at my comment, though the glare quickly returned.

“By the bucking stars you don't know anything do you. I knew this shit was a waste of time. I've got a cabin at the edge of town, six thirteen push cart lane just send the reports there. And hurry the buck up and fail this stupid shit already so I can go home.”

The mare whirls  around  her long pink tail nearly striking me in the face as she storms out. I wasn't certain, but I was sure the mare made a rude gesture with her wing before slamming the door behind her. I was certain however, that the gray rabbit on her back did indeed flip me off.

“What the heck was that?” I grumble wincing as another knock sounded at the door though the source didn't bother waiting for me to open it for her before the rainbow maned Shadowbolt entered the library.

I flatten my ears at the intrusion, turning away from Rainbow Dash and heading into the kitchen to see if there was any food or at least coffee. It was to early in the night to deal with this nonsense.

“I see you met Flutterbitch. She really hasn't changed much.” Rainbow Dash chuckles.

“Yes well, I don't even know who the heck she is.” I shout back glad the conversation at least was insulting to someone else for once.

“You're kidding right? She's the representative of House Laughter. Not sure of her last name, or even if she has one, but her stage name and the one I always knew her by is Fluttershy.”

I yank open another cabinet finding a collection of cans, the first few are empty though I am finally rewarded with a half full can near the back. I make a note to yell at someone randomly, who puts empty coffee cans back in the cabinet? No matter, sweet relief is only a brewing away. “Great that makes three delightful contacts and an assassin I have met since coming here. So what's her story any way?”

“Singing idol, was a star member of the Platinum Swan until recently, she got pulled from the group and sent here. I knew her as a filly, she was much shyer then, hard to get more than a few words out of her. Constantly bullied, Me and my friend Gilda stuck up for here every once in a while, but then Gilda got suspended for hurting some pony in a fight and I got taken away for training. Didn't hear about her again until she took over for the singer who retired from the swan. Supposedly she's a nightmare to work with, voice of a goddess though.”

“I can see the first part of that clearly. She dangerous?” I question getting a shrug from the Shadowbolt. Some body guard this one was turning out to be.

I sigh, my ears twitching a bit as the smell of coffee fills the air. 

“Well since she doesn't have a cutie mark she's going to be on my list of ponies to see. No matter what she thinks I am going to do.” I grumble glancing over at the pegasus.” Why are you here again?”

The cyan pegasus smirks.” Like I told you yesterday. I'm supposed to be your bodyguard and assistant.” Rainbow Dash chuckles.

I sigh waving a hoof, my horn glowing  as I fill a mug with the coffee, there wasn't anything to put in the cup and I was not a fan of having my coffee black, but anything was better than nothing Taking a sip of the black brew I looked over at her over the top of the mug. “Shouldn't you be calling me Lady Sparkle then?”

Rainbow Dash flinches a little though she shrugs in defeat. Score one point for me, if only a small one.

“Hehe, oops forgot who I was talking to for a moment Lady Sparkle. First assignment and I already screw something up.” Rainbow Dash snarks rubbing the back of her head.

I knew a number of nobles that would have had a fit for their title being ignored, heck I normally would be one of them. After seeing some of the other contacts from the Houses, and my spectacular first contacts with them, making nice to the one who was supposed to protect me might be the best plan. That the First Child was my guardian might keep some other ponies I had pissed off from trying anything. Even if the Empress eventually lost her interest in me, anything happening to the First Child would bring the entirety of House Honesty down around their heads with Lady Silvertail right in front. Suffice to say this rainbow haired mare was safer than I was in the political field. The Empress might forgive a screw up, but she would also forgive the repercussion if she felt it was warranted.  Lady Silvertail did not play the house politics game. If you did something she didn't like she either told you directly to stop, or if it was bad enough  simply removed you from being a issue. She and Lord Kaisur were quite alike in that way.

“Don't worry about it. If we are going to be working together the titles would just get long and annoying before long any way. Still in public make sure you use it. Otherwise just call me Twilight.” I say watching the confused expression cross the mares face. That was two points for me, i was on a roll today, yay for coffee power.

“Well this is a bit of a change from yesterday. Did I miss something?” Dash questions.

By the stars this mare was annoying, still I needed her. “ I got some sleep. “ I lied.

“Sounds about right I know a bunch of ponies who get like that if they don't get a nap. Alright Twilight call me Rainbow Dash then, or just Dash, or Rainbow, never Rainy though...”

“Alright .. Rainbow. I'll do that.” I roll my eyes, this was going to be the longest assignment of my life. Welcome to Ponyville Twilight Sparkle... ugh.







> “….why she shrouds her light away.....”
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stories in Stone
Reign Of  Night
By TDR







“….why she shrouds her light away.....”






House Loyalty is known as the core House of the Empire. Gender, age, and even species are irrelevant to belong to House Loyalty. Family ties, linage, and who you know are likewise pointless. In House Loyalty status is based on accomplishments. House Loyalty holds the primary might of the Equestrian military and is the leading edge in all magical and technical forms of innovation.

There are countless families and individuals that are sworn to House Loyalty, in each of these there are varying ranks of status and accomplishment. Status however, can change on a whim sometimes. For example, a pony might craft a flawlessly imbued gem and find themselves placed in charge of their task force as a result, or they may fumble several gems in a row and find themselves taking orders from some one who was a subordinate before. It doesn't really work like that exactly, but it is difficult to explain to those who have not lived it their whole lives, so this is a fair, if simplistic example.

There are three great families in House Loyalty, positions all but one of the families have held for generations due to skill and dedication. They are the  Sparkles. The Amores, and lastly the Melodys.  

House Sparkle is considered the one with the highest standing. Not in any small part due to my own position as First Student, but far from the only accomplishment to my family name. The current head of the family is my brother, Shining Armor. He is a ranking member of the Lunar Guard. His coat used to be white when he was younger, with a two toned  blue mane and tail, now like all the other Lunar Guard his coat is black and his mane and tail are a dull gray. He was never really a jovial sort, but admission into the Empress Personal Guard has made him much more dour, though despite the removal of his tongue  and what he has surely witnessed in the line of duty there are times I can see the old him Shining through.

Shining proved his worth by single hoovedly holding back the flood of water rushing from a ruptured dam with his magic to protect a village at the edge of the river. He held his place holding the shield for three days until the damn could be repaired and the escaped water dealt with. His actions saved hundreds of lives and millions of bits worth of property further down river. The act moved him quickly to the head of the Sparkle family. Once he was firmly in place as the house head he made a bold and completely unexpected move. One that caused a great deal of shock among the houses and permanently locked him into the head of the family House. He married Mi Amore Cadenza.

The  Amore's are the second great family in House Loyalty. One that has been jockeying for the position of  the greatest family with the Sparkles for hundreds of years. The one two punch of my own status  and my brothers act of heroism made it seem as if they would never catch up and would be the second greatest house in House Loyalty. While  the Sparkles are focused primarily on magical power and what can be done with it, the Amore's focus is on the technical aspect of magic, message crystals, recording crystals and many other things that ponies now take for granted that magic made came about due to the research and work of the Amore's. 

The family leader is Mi Amore Cadenza, while there is little of note in way of her personal accomplishments, at least compared to my brother any way, it should be noted that she is a pegicorn, or a winged unicorn. It is also something to note that  she was Empress Luna's student before me, and one of the few who have ever successfully used that status to keep a position near equal to that of what she had as the Empress's student. She and my brother had developed feelings for each other while I was still young and they kept it hidden for a long time. My brother refused to pursue her if he could not be her equal in status. It seemed as if he would never achieve it when she was made head of her house, though some how he still managed to pull it off. Their marriage brought an end to the minor feud between the two houses and it is considered that before long the two families may eventually become one.

The third family is the smallest and also the youngest, but it is considered by many to already be the most successful, and it is definitely the most dangerous. I cannot go into it without speaking first of it's head  Octavia Melody.

The Melody's were part of  House Laughter, a unicorn family in fact. While they were not good enough to be noticed by the Head of House Laughter, Lady Scale, they were prominent enough to be well known for their magically amplified musical ability. 

So imagine the scandal that it generated when a pair of gifted unicorn musicians had a child who was an earth pony. While it was before my time, it is no secret that her birth destroyed her parents marriage and careers, with the father blaming his wife for cheating on him, and the mother blaming her daughter for everything.

When Octavia turned four her mother had enough of the ridicule and blame that was forced upon her by everyone who believed she had cheated on her husband. Clearly she lost her mind as she tried to kill her daughter. Though in typical House Laughter fashion it had to be dramatic. The unicorn took Octavia to the tallest building in Los Pegasus and threw her daughter from the top of it.

Fortunately for Octavia, Lord Kaisur was present in the city visiting Lady Scale and saw the filly be thrown from the building. He caught Octavia in his magic before she was any where near the ground  and brought her to safety. Octavia's mother seeing what had happened leapt from the roof her self rather than be arrested for attempted murder. Lord Kaisur did not bother to save her.

Her father was investigated and found innocent of any wrong doing, but unfit to care for Octavia, as his fall from grace had nearly ruined him.

While it is unknown what happened next, the filly was granted to a small family in House Loyalty to raise soon after her rescue. For the first years she remained certain that she was worthless, despite what any one told her.  Again Lord Kaisur intervened on her behalf and spoke to her at length in private. No one knows what he said to the filly, but afterward the change in Octavia was immediate.

In her thirty two years of life Octavia Melody has mastered four musical instruments, two of which were thought to be unplayable by earth ponies. She turned around and took all of her pay from her musical career and she purchased a number of mines that were thought to be tapped out and useless for next to nothing. Some how, despite the belief that the mines were barren she managed to make them profitable again though various new mining techniques. She advanced the technology of Equestria by leaps and bounds. She  designed and built the first great airships and aided in the creation of several components for the new magic powered trains that are replacing the pony and coal engine trains.

The mare proved herself time and time again to be an absolute genius at everything she tried to do. She was also reported to have defeated an escaped maticore unarmed and by herself, She is often seen wearing it's pelt as a coat and it's head graces the space above her office door. Through it all she raised herself and the few friends she made into a family that rivals the Sparkles for the first position within House Loyalty. Octavia Melody is perhaps the greatest self learned prodigy that has ever existed.

Octavia is merciless, cold,calculating, and has no issues getting her own hooves dirty if need be. It is also no secret that she is completely infatuated with Lord Kaisur. Despite the favor he shows her and her new family over the rest in his House, Lord Kaisur is the Consort of the Empress and he will take no other.

Lady Melody has  unrivaled ambition, but she is not stupid, nor is she suicidal. Her Loyalty is to Lord Kaisur more than any other, but she would not dare cross the Empress as even the one she desires would turn on her at the Empress's word.

The Empress's student however, that is a different matter.

*************************************

Have I mentioned how much I hate these ponies already? I mean besides the obvious yellow bitch and her bunny, the drama queen half dragon, the secretive zebra mix, and the brutally honest body guard. There's also the power players like the Mayor, trying to get on my good side, thinking that will get them closer to the Empress, not like that was something I could do way out here in the middle of no where, but that fact seemed to elude most of them.

A one Filthy Rich a Jet Set, what I was sure where a couple of nobles from Winnyshire and other cities who were only there because the Empress was supposed to be coming. Given the distaste they showed and the fact that they likely never left their hotel rooms it was rather obvious they were not there for the  celebration itself.

Then of course there were the common rabble who simply wanted to gawk at me. It hurt my brain considerably to think I would be trying to ask this lot intelligent questions when I started my studies.

Then there were the inane questions , What did the Empress like for Lunch, what was her favorite Hoofball team? The inanity went on for what seemed like days..... unfortunately by the time I got them all to leave me be I found it was only lunch.

For bucks sake, the only pony I'd met so far that I don't wish I could straight up murder was the pink one that ran into my luggage last night, at least that interruption shut the Mayor up for more than five seconds, though I feel that my attitude will change once I actually speak with her.

Perhaps I am not being fair. I am not a sunset pony and one mug of stale coffee is not going to fix that. It also did not help that aside from that tin of stale coffee there was nothing else in the library to eat. The Mayor had neglected to stock the cupboards At the very least Rainbow Dash has the common sense to kick into the stoic guard mode when others are around. I can deal with that, even if she's here to watch over me, and watch me, I am sure I can handle the quiet when she's like this. Unfortunately it usually only lasts until the door closes. Then she paced and hummed. 

I'm not sure what it is with pegasi, but I have never known one to be able to sit still longer than five minutes with out flying, pacing, or doing something. Lord Kaisur seemed to know this fact and the castle guards were all earth ponies or unicorns. The Empress's Guard  of course has pegasi in it, but they were always put on recon and never stayed in any type of static position for long. Maybe it was an ingrained thing into their minds. 'If you stop moving you die' or some such nonsense. It would likely be a interesting field of study, but that was for some lesser scholar to ponder. I, Twilight Sparkle had a greater cause, yes Twilight must stop this curse at all costs............ Oh by the stars I'm thinking in third pony now, some one stab me and be done with it.

Any way back to Rainbow, I don't mind the pacing, her movements are like clockwork and the light hoof falls had a rhythm all their own that I could let drone on while I looked over the day's preparations. So aside from the annoying movements out of the corner of my eye even this I could get used to.

I digress, it is very easy to let my mind wander in situations like this. Once the brunt of the fools left the Mayor arrived again. Clearly she was looking to bother me about the budget or something and to make a long story as brief as possible, some how or another I got roped into checking on the plans for the Midsummer Moon Celebration. 

I'm really not sure when it happened, Mayor Mare droned until even the coffee wasn't keeping me totally coherent and the next thing I knew she was thanking me for agreeing to help and was out the door before I could even figure out what I had agreed to. I spent the next few minutes retracing the meeting in my mind trying to figure out what I had agreed to. Once I figured it out I was rather disturbed  to realize how good the Mayor was at the games of  politics. Everything else was clearly a distraction to get me to lower my guard enough for her to slip something in that wouldn't seem like an issue until after the fact.

The last mare in was a chubby blue earth pony who had some issue with her bakery. I mostly ignored her noting that she seemed mostly upset about another sweet shop that had opened in town and wanted it shut down. Something I couldn't do. I pretended to be interested as I looked over the paperwork the Mayor had given me. In all the checklist was not long, mostly they wanted some pony to make sure the Empress would be happy with what set up in town for her arrival. Something that should be easy to do as the Empress didn't give a flying buck as the most she would do would be' show up, raise the moon, wave a few times, and go home. Just like always with these things. I had been to a lot of them with her as her student, they were all dull.

I should have told the Mayor that the Empresses didn't give a minotaurs hindquarters about some celebration she was going to be part of for all of five minutes. Buck, that was if she showed up at all. She had a habit of doing that, if the Empress didn't want to do something, the only pony who could convince her otherwise was Lord Kaisur, and he rarely went against what she wished. 

Still I had quickly learned that the easiest way to get things done was to be nice to other ponies. Do them a small favor and they would do one for you at another point when you needed it. With nobles it went to a much higher level, but with common ponies simply a kind word or a small trick with a spell could change their entire attitude towards you. 

I decided to play nice  as I would be interviewing a vast majority of these ponies for my research and I wanted  to keep things, if not friendly, at least civil. That would get me more honest answers. And it seemed the fat mare was looking for a reason to expand her bakery int the new shop that was set up. None of that was in my power to give, that was the Mayors thing, did she really expect me to  pass this little bit of nonsense on to the Empress?

I digress a second time.

Back to Rainbow. I didn't mind Rainbow's pacing, it was the humming that got to me. I recognized the tune almost immediately, even in the off key and disjointed nature of the song.

Daylights End.

It was a small piece made by some composer or another from House Laughter, they were a big deal but I think we know by this point that music is not my thing. Any way, I had heard it preformed while I was still a filly by none other than the head of House Laughter, Lady Bleu Scale herself.  Despite her terrifying visage, the dragon had a voice that would make the stars weep.  The song was decidedly dark, written to honor the Empress and her victory over the cruel sun god a thousand years ago. But the tone and music it was set too was unbelievable. My hearing it from such a talented singer, spoiled me on any one else preforming it. It also had a rather profound side effect on me when I was younger, a effect that still is with me to this day.

Basicly if I hear even just a few notes of the song I can't help but run the whole thing through my head in it's entirety, from first note to the final trail off. It is a short song so that is normally not a issue.

Unless a stupid pegasus standing guard not a ponies length away from me keeps humming  the same two or three lines over and over again with no indication that they know the rest of the song or plan to continue the song in any shape or fashion. My brain was full of buck already and that song kept playing over and over again in it as a decidedly disturbing addition. 

Just as I was weighing the benefits of having House Honesty after me versus a few moments of peace and quiet, the pegasus mare uttered the most glorious thing I had heard all day.

“Hey,  Twilight... Wanna go get some lunch?”

=================================================================

Lunch is a surprisingly simple affair, word might have gotten around about my arrival , but thankfully not many of the locals seemed to recognize me. I was greatly enjoying this faux anonymity when I ordered my lunch , noticing most of the stares were directed towards Rainbow Dash. I suppose her mane color would make her stand out, either that or the fact she was still wearing her Shadowbolt armor.

In either case I was glad to stick to the background. Every pony in town would know my name and face soon enough. 

Rainbow was sitting next to me and barely seemed to be paying a bit of attention as to what was going on around her. She seemed fully focused on her bread, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, so focused in fact I wondered how she could be considered to be  my guard like that.

“I know that look.” Rainbow stated without looking up. “I used to get that a lot when I first started training. Trust me I am keeping a very  good eye on you.”

I blinked as Rainbow looked up at me staring intently at me with her red eyes slightly narrowed.

“I do not see how, you have been staring at your sandwich the whole time we have been at the table.” I stated.

“There are seventeen around us in the cafe. Six unicorns, eight earth ponies, four pegasi, and one griffon in the back assisting the earth pony chef. One of the unicorns is moving off to my left, at eight o clock holding a tray with garlic soup in his magic, green glow he has on a dark blue suit with a small stain on the sleeve of his right foreleg that judging by the color and smell is from basil and noodle  soup. The four pegasi are all at the same table, three mares one stallion, all four work with the weather patrol and are here on their lunch break, they are currently talking about  the latest local hoof ball game and attempting to get the only male to ask out  one of their number who isn't there with them. The two earth ponies on your four o clock are from House Generosity and are likely here watching you. They didn't follow us in, but they finished their meal before our order was taken and have yet to move since despite seeming to be ready to head out when we walked in, also neither of them are cursed. The unicorn mare who ordered the soup was just startled by how hot it was and lost her grip on the spoon... two, one....” 

I blinked in surprise hearing the clank of metal on stone. Looking over I see a teal unicorn mare  glancing down at a spoon laying on the ground before she tries to flag down the waiter for another. I look back to Rainbow who simply smiled.

“How in Equss.....?” I question.

“I found out when I was younger that I learned things at an almost insane rate so long as I was doing something else at the same time, usually flying, but it didn't need to be just flying. Mother brought in a number of ponies to help me train and refine it to the point that peripheral vision, sound, smell, even wind currents tell me anything I want to know about what's going on around me.  It works best in closed areas or if I'm in the air where there's not much variation in material to screw with the sounds, but I can use it to a lesser degree elsewhere too. Add in a damn good trained memory as well and  you got me. Gimme a bit more time just standing around the library and I can probably tell you where every single book is.”

I stare at her a moment, pondering the truth of this. I did believe her, not only for the little display of  her training she had just shown, but because of the house she represented.  While it was true members of House Honesty could lie, it was highly discouraged. With her being the First Daughter, and considered the prime example of her house right under Lady Silvertail, it was very likely drilled into her head enough to the point that she actually couldn't lie any more.

“That is actually quite impressive. I could have used an ability like that a great number of times in my lessons.” I respond.

“I get that a lot too. It's gotten so I can sort of do it in my sleep. Mother and a number of other Guards had a habit of dropping in on me  for surprise checks. Even when I was a little filly.”  Rainbow sighed.

“Really, you can't be that old?” I smirk. “Fifteen, sixteen?”

“Twenty one last season. I've been in training since I was six. I was pulled from my flight school one day. Was gonna race a guy that afternoon and never got a chance too. They took me out of class, told me I was the new First Daughter and well the rest is history, never got to talk to any of my friends again and well. You see how Flutters turned out. Makes me a little worried about what happened to Gilda, never heard anything about her again after either after I left.”

Hmm that put her two years older than me, she would have been chosen on the same day I had completed my test and was accepted as the First Student. My eyes narrow at a realization. Why was she telling me this? Oh wait, I should simply ask, House Honesty, duh.

“Why are you telling me this?” I question, my real voice not sounding nearly as sarcastic as the voice in my head did.

“I dunno. Figure you were gonna ask about my history sooner or later any way when you got into studying why I don't have a cutie mark. We're gonna be stuck together until you find a cure for what ever this is so I figured we might as well try to get along better. You're more civil than yesterday, but it still seems forced. I'd rather work with some one I'm cool with, rather than some pony who resents me being there.” Rainbow states flatly staring at me.” Plus it's not as if I really have had a chance to hang out with any one since I was six. I kinda missed it.”

She had a point, while I had already planned to attempt to stay on her good side, actually attempting to be friends with her would help out even if I failed. Still thinking like that did cause me a momentary pang of regret. Knowing I would be using her for my own ends. She may be as well, but it didn't seem it. And that bothered me a little. I had never met any one as upfront as she was. She didn't really have anything to hide from me, she was a guardian who had no issue telling me she was there to keep an eye on me and report to Lady Silvertail. Still I felt like I wanted to trust her, despite how dangerous such a thing could be. She really had little to look forward to in life. The first child often died young. Be it some reckless stunt in training, or in a conflict of some kind. It was not a position one retired from. They also tended to be encouraged to have foals about the time they hit 25 five to keep the blood line of a successful First Child alive. There was often a grueling contest for the position of the father.  Only the best flier would be allowed to mate with the First Child. The goal however was a female and copulation was encouraged  until such an off spring was produced. 

Oddly Lady Silvertail had no part in this event and often seemed disgusted by it. The lords of house Honesty however were adamant about such a thing and Despite her dislike Lady Silvertail let it happen so long as the First Child agreed with the end result.  Given the training  was not all done by Lady Silvertail, I was certain there were classes about accepting orders and what her role in life would be. Reflecting on that I actually felt myself pitying the cyan mare.

“Alright, might take a bit for me to settle down, but that is a good idea. I will be having enough trouble with everything else it would be nice to have some one I can. Well no offense, mostly trust on my side to help out.”

“None taken, if the order came down to do so  I'd snap your neck in a heartbeat.  But I'd at least let you know it was coming.” Rainbow commented taking a drink from her cup. “Not very long before mind you, I don't fancy dodging magic.”

“Well I have that going for me at least.” I sigh not having expected much else, though I doubted such an order would come from House Honesty, they were not fans of some of Octavia's dealings, and money rarely could sway them.


”Well if that's cleared up there is one thing you can do for me already that will be a big help.” I comment taking a bite out of my sandwich.

“Oh? What's that?”Rainbow asked.

“Stop bucking humming that song!” I snap.

===========================================

The celebration preparations would not take long. In fact I could have simply summoned those I wished to speak with to me in the library. But now that I was out of the library I realized that it may be best to investigate the living conditions of those here and see if there may be anything that might give me a clue as to the cause of the curse. 

I had no great expectations of a revelation like that, and countless other studies  had been done on the subject of  the environmental impact of the curse. But I was a stickler for hard data, and the only pony I trusted to give me information untainted by their own views, was myself. At least until I could train Rainbow in the proper method of collecting data, her little trick could be used to my advantage.

Looking over the list left by the Mayor there were  four items I needed to check on. The food, which would be provided by a farm at the towns edge, the decorations in and around the town hall, which should be fine if Reignolds was doing them, the musical accompaniment, and the weather patrol.

Thankfully that last was as easy to tell simply by looking up at the cloudless sky. The Empress's glorious night was on full display, stars dotting the heavens and a nearly full moon just  rising above the horizon.

I rather enjoyed the night, not just of course because of my position as the Empress's student. Looking up in the night sky one could see countless points of light in the sky. Mostly void, partially stars. There were many who believed them to be  the souls of the dead watching over us from the afterlife. While this is a belief that Lord Jer'rahd and the Empress both share, I believe that each of the stars is another sun, likely circling around a planet much like the sun does on Equss. The movement would explain why they twinkle and they are so small because we are viewing them from a vast distance.

Preposterous I know, but I would rather believe they are planets with limitless potential for other life and possible future exploration, than remnants of the past judging us from on high.

But I digress, I truly need to cease my ramblings as I am writing this or I shall never finish.
> or why she hides her glowing gaze
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stories in Stone
Reign of Night
By TDR






or why she hides her glowing gaze






House Magic is the smallest house of the six. It boasts only two members currently, sometimes it  only has one and rarely three. In fact, if not for the fact the Empress runs it, it would hardly be considered a house.  The only other member of House Magic is the First Student, namely me.

Times in the past, at least twice since the war of Night, The Empress has taken two students. On average there is usually ten years between the time when the First Student leaves House Magic and a new First Student is found. The times have been as little as three days and the longest recorded time was ninety three years, not counting the hundred or so years it took  to settle Equestria after the War of Night.

While the position of First Student is a great privilege and it gives one the ear of the ruler of Equss, it is also quite a burden. You need to constantly be improving yourself in the magical and social arts. Your goal has to be to become a paragon as there is no other way for you to remain in  the Empresses favor. She does not like lazy students, she does not like overly ambitious students, Lord Kaisur does not like students who get too personal with the Empress The nobles don't like it if you don't belong to their house. The general population doesn't like some one who has the ear of their Goddess. You get the idea.

It is speculated that the reason the Empress adopts a young foal to be the First Student is that she enjoys raising them, as she has no foals of her own. Whether of personal choice, or that she or her consort are incapable of having foals has been a matter of quiet speculation for a long time. I saw quiet be cause no one with any sense wishes to make Lord Kaisur angry by saying his dick doesn't work. Given Empress Luna is a goddess no one believes she's barren. Having known him since I was four I do not understand why so many fear him. While I do not crush on him as Octavia does I have known Lord Kaisur to be one of the most level headed and kind individuals I have met.  He is a intelligent stallion and he surely knows what is being said about him and that ponies fear him, though he does nothing to encourage nor dissuade those fears, serving only his own house and the Empress

Unlike the Empress who is the epitome of a caring, if strict, teacher to me, Lord Jer'rahd comes off more as a doting, if slightly stern grandfatherly type, despite the fact he looks no older than thirty at the worst. He also does not blindly follow the Empress as some suspect, I've seen him bend or out right break her rules and tease her like he was a school colt messing with a filly he liked.

The Empress seems to respond in kind to his jabs and flirting with her own, the pair of them at times almost seem like a newly married couple, and while I know for a fact he maintains his  own quarters in the Castle, I will tell you, it is rare he spends his days there.

I expect there is more to them both than that however. Both have seas of blood on their hooves, but neither seem to notice or are even bothered by it. Or so most think. I know better. As a filly I snuck into  Lord Kaisur's quarters, having seen the library he kept there once before in passing. To my eager little mind a secret library was the most enticing thing ever.

I recall being highly disappointed by what was there. Hundreds of books and all that was in them were names and dates. Later in my training I realized what they were.

Death dates.

Lord Jer'rahd has kept the names, rank, date of birth and death of every solider that has ever served under his command. There were also notes on their places of death  and where they hailed from, and any little quirks they might have had he knew about. Despite there having been no wars in hundreds of years, there are still disasters, monsters, bandits, and misguided rebellions against the Empress. Guards still die and he still keeps his tallies.

It's rather sad when one thinks about it.

=====================================


Have I mentioned that I hate other ponies?

Not any one individual pony specificity mind you, I take that back there are a few I really don't like,but ponies as a whole. I suppose it would be more accurate to say I hate the herd. I know a number of  delightful individuals that I actually enjoy spending time with. And a few random Ponies I meet in passing tend to be pleasant as well. I haven’t spent time with any in a long while mind you, and I only have some contact with some of my foal hood friends before I became the Empresses student........

One of these days I will manage to fill one of these sheets without  going off into a rambling tirade. This is likely why I shall never write a proper book. I cannot shut up once I start putting words on parchment.

Back to what I said before, I hate ponies. Especially in large groups.

The check list I had was rather simple and I could easily check off two things on the list the Mayor gave me. The weather was perfect and it was easy to see that. And Rarity had decorated pretty much everything for the celebration and it looked like she and some others were still at it in other parts of town.

I decided to avoid her, I could see the decorations were fine as they were.

Getting past the throngs of ponies who wanted' a moment of my time' was much harder. I was swarmed from the moment I left the library  until the edge of town. At that point I had enough of the questions and was about to turn one particularly insistent stallion into a frog, when Rainbow intervened.

I hadn't given her any orders so she mostly simply stuck close to me, staying in the air. The moment the stallion reached out a hoof to touch me and try and pull my attention back around to him I was greeted by three loud snaps and a scream before I could even turn my head to look at him.

Rainbow had landed between me and him, broken his foreleg in what sounded like three places  on the limb he touched me with and shoved him back into the rest of the crowd forcing them all back away from us. In the same movement her wings fanned out wide, wing blades presented as she glared down the rest of them as if daring them to move closer ignoring the lightish red stallions shrieks.

“Do not touch the Empress's Student. This is the only warning you get. The next time you get a burial plot. Now get out of here. Lady Sparkle has things to do today and none of them involve answering more questions.”

The gathered nobles and officials seemed to pale at her words, impressive given the already muted colors their coats had.  They dispersed rather quickly carrying off the wounded stallion with them.

I blinked as the pair of us were left alone before looking over at Rainbow.

“A little excessive there, wasn't that?”I muttered.” Good job though, that was getting tedious.”

“Were you going to blast him or turn him into a hamster or something?” Rainbow asked gesturing to my horn. “I saw that start to light up and I figured this way would be less traumatizing to some one. Besides. I'm supposed to be protecting you, I can't do that with a wall of milling ponies around you, any of them could have had a knife.”

“Frog.” I admitted. “So what? Maintain three pony lengths from the Empress's student at all times huh?” I snarked getting a shrug from the Pegasus.

“I could handle two lengths.” Rainbow responded.

I honestly didn't doubt that statement.

===================================================

The musical accompaniment was something I was dreading from the moment I read the name on the  ticket. But it still beat heading out of town to look into the feast preparation. Sweet Apple Acres was rather famous, it was also where I knew Applejack would be, along with a very large collection of  Apple's and Pelts.

Rather than wander into the vipers nest first thing I decided to visit the growling dog first.

The place Fluttershy was staying at wasn't a grand hotel as I expected but part of a complex of cabins. Evidently some noble had once tried to set up a retreat for 'roughing it' for  ponies with the bits to spare at the edge of the Everfree Forest.  After the Empress made Ponyville a settlement for the Cursed no one wanted to rent in a place that close to town and thus the property was sold and quickly purchased by a local entrepreneur who turned it into a place for the rich to send their Cursed relatives to live in enough comfortable they wouldn't cause a scene. It was surprising how well it seemed to work.

We found Fluttershy at a cabin at the far back of the compound, as deep into the forest and as removed from all the other cabins as she could get. The cabin was a fairly nice structure with a small stream running along behind it.

We slowed in our approach noting the large gathering of birds and other small animals that had collected around the cabin. It was rather creepy to be honest as all of them sat in rapt attention staring at the cabin. With the clack of our hooves silenced and Rainbow's wing beats stopped I could hear the faint strains of a voice from inside the cabin. Moving closer as quietly as I could my eyes widened at  the song coming from with in the cabin.

I had heard something like it only once before and that was when I had heard Lady Scale sing. Though this was a different song than the one Lady Scale had sung, but I couldn't suppress a shudder at the tone and inflection used in it. This was the voice of a master.

The song was one rarely used by any one, though it was a well known song given as Lady Bleu refused to let any one forget it or the one who sang it.

The real name of the song was lost to every one but Lord Jer'rahd and Lady Bleu, but due to the historical impact of the place where the song had first been sung, for the last time, by Platinum Scale, the long dead sister of Lady Scale, it had gained another name.......

“Walls of Dullahan..” Rainbow muttered seeming drawn as deeply into the song as the animals around the cabin were.

At her words several of the nearer animals finally took notice of us and darted away, the others following suit in a veritable wave of  life as they scampered and flew back into the forest. The sudden rush of wings into the air silenced the singer inside and I felt a bit of regret for disturbing her.

That regret was completely thrown out the window when a bout of harsh swearing sounded in the cabin  followed by hooves stomping over to the door and flinging it open.

“WHAT THE BUCK DO YOU WANT!?” she screamed out, her eyes locking onto me and nearly freezing me in place like they had before at the library.

I felt myself stammering a moment when Rainbow cut in.

“Rather nice singing Shy. You've improved.” the blue Pegasus stated.

Fluttershy blinked, her attention turning to Rainbow  Dash, eyes widening at the sight of the pony in Shadowbolt gear.

“Dashie?”

“Yeah....”

“What the shit happened to you you magpie mother bucker?”Fluttershy swore, though there was a great deal of anger in her tone, it was far less than when she spoke to me.

“They made me First Child.” Dash sighed as if that explained everything. It seemed that it did as Fluttershy only nodded.

“Why are you here then?” her tone leveled out as she looked back at me, her eyes not as menacing though still narrowed in annoyance.”.... with her....”

“Duty. Mayor has her running errands and we needed to check on the performance. Doesn't sound like there’s an issue.” Rainbow shrugged.

“Of course there's bucking not. I'm the one singing.” Fluttershy growled.

I had figured a few things out by this point. The first was the obvious these two knew each other, and I mentally kicked myself  for leaping to such a simple conclusion first. The second part was the fact she was part of the Platinum Swan, according to Rainbow, and she was here. That didn't happen. The thought process was less that she was sent here to watch me and more sent here as ponies were still nervous around the Cursed. The mare was clearly that and the Swam may have gotten her to come here rather than keep her around other superb musicians who might be complaining about her lack of a mark. So at the moment I figured I might have a in. One way to find out.

“There is a little more to it than just that I am afraid. Despite your... request, I am still going to need you as part of the study group. There are not enough Pegasi from your region around here for me to compile the data I need. Given the status the three of us have being unmarked I would think at this point it would be obvious that you are not likely going to be able to return unless I develop a cure.” I stated watching the mares ears flatten and the faint twitch of her face that confirmed my statement. “I shall endeavor to make sure that as little of your time is taken up as possible, and a Rainbow has been assigned as my Guard you can take the time to catch up if you wish.”

That was evidently the wrong thing to say  as the mare glowered at me then glared at Rainbow.

“What makes you bucking think I would want to catch up with this winged ass?” Fluttershy growled.” Fine, I'll deal with your shit, cause even a chance for this to be over is better than nothing, but I make the bucking schedule.”

Before I could respond to that the door was slammed in my face and I could hear deadbolts clicking.

I stared at the door a moment reviewing what I said trying to find out where I went wrong.

Rainbow simply chuckled.” That went well.”

I turned to look at the mare like she had grown three heads wondering how in Tartarus she thought that went well.

==============================================

Musical accompaniment dealt with I decided to go for broke and started to make my way out towards the ones providing the food.  There was still a bit of time before midnight, though my lack of anything other than coffee that morning was starting to tell as my belly growled. I reluctantly hoped that the Apples would have food samples for me to try despite the fact I expected them to try and poison me.

Rainbow Dash had been silent since the encounter with Fluttershy and  I found myself oddly wondering what she was thinking.

“Something wrong?” I heard myself asking my mind darting between interest and not really caring.

“No not really. It's just I had heard her whole personality changed, but to see it like that...” Rainbow Dash muttered. “ You ever experience that? Some one you knew as a foal being completely different once they grow up?”

I thought about that for a moment, mind darting to the few friends I had in magical kindergarten before I gained the interest of the Empress. I still see some of them.

I see Moon Dancer the most, as she has become the head librarian of the court. Lyra  is one of my sister in laws body guards so I still occasionally see her and despite being able to kill a pony with a strand of her own tail hair she's still ridiculously chipper and talkative as she used to be. I've seen neither Minute nor Trixie in years however and the five of us were rather close. Granted I was only ever a rival to Trixie and the few times she did show up after I was accepted by the Empress  it was usually to challenge me to see how strong I had gotten. Trixie had a bit of an ego and she couldn't accept that I had been accepted and she had not.  With the Empress as my teacher it was no real trouble to out do her, but she kept trying. Then one day she challenged me and when I arrived at the spot she never showed up. I found out later her family had moved out of Whinnyshire and went off to the lands under the control of House Laughter. Her father was a stage performer or something, it doesn't matter.

“I suppose I cannot. Of those I recall as a foal at least two of them barely seemed to have changed and the other two I am unaware of where they went.” I admitted , hearing a small grunt of acknowledgment from the Pegasus.

I was still not sure why I had begun treating Rainbow Dash as more than a Guard. Keeping her friendly was one thing, talking to her like we were friends over something like this was not something I had expected to do. Perhaps it was because of my House. Loyalty the Empress first, to family after, then to friends. The former was a given, the latter something I never had time for. Perhaps I did now, as there was something about her. I couldn't quite place it.

It took me a moment or two to process what I was thinking. Thankfully Sweet Apple Acres was a good distance outside of town on the other side of Ponyville from the Lazy Oaks cabins. We had opted to take the long way around town to avoid anyone else who might have questions or requests of me and hadn't caught wind of the earlier encounter.

I realized a number of things about the mare assigned to protect me. The first was how at ease she was. Despite her position and her orders she seemed to simply accept things for how they were. She wasn't upset over my attitude, she wasn't upset over  Fluttershy's reaction, and it wasn't that she didn't seem to care, she just pushed it aside as needless information and continued on.

It made me wonder what sort of training she really had gone through. I expected physical simply by the merit of how her muscles rippled under her coat as she moved and how every step or flap of her wings was fluid and smooth without a hair of movement wasted. While I was no frail librarian myself, being born into House Loyalty meant I was physically fit and being the Empresses Student meant I often joined Lord Kaisur in some of his morning training sessions and the Empress’s as well, I was better than most. But still I could never hope to reach the peak that Rainbow was in.

“Staring at my flank are we?” Rainbow stated suddenly causing me to stumble. Crap I lingered my eyes too long and forgot that ability of hers.

“What... no... I was lost in thought and your ass was right there......” I protested.

“Suuuure, go ahead and stare... I know I got a nice one.... get your gander in before some stallion claims it.” She laughed, though it seemed forced.

“How long do you have before you are expected to bear an offspring?” I question, curiosity getting the better of me. It was not something I knew and thus I wanted to know it. I tossed the idea that it was a tactless question away almost immediately.

“Should have already popped out a kid the moment I had my first season. I lucked out that the first time there were no worthy males around and the second lined up  with combat training. They had two lined up last year but neither wanted anything to do with a Cursed so I lucked out again. This trip'll probably keep me from getting a foal put in me this year too. Maybe longer depending on how this assignment goes.”

“You don't seem too thrilled about that either way.” I mention getting a shrug from the flying mare.

“Ehh I’ve grown up being trained how to fight and how to fly. Breeding’s just something on my to do list. Not even interested, my cycles so mild the first year they were not even sure I entered estrus.” Rainbow Dash explained. “Sw'hy I’m not really worried about you finishing this any time soon, I'm not fond of the idea of my flying suffering cause I have a foal.”

“Perhaps if you are lucky the first will be a filly.” I point out.

“Ehh maybe. Took my mom a few dozen tries to get a mare, granted it was my father that was the one descended from the last First Daughter.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.” Honestly I’m not sure I like the idea of having a filly and passing this crap off to her. The trainings fine, but the politics and stuffs just annoying ya know?”

“All too well.” I sigh.”On the plus side all you have to worry about is being a mother, I’ve got to worry about a knife in the back the second  the Empress gets distracted.”

“Lady Melody? Yeah I was briefed on her.” Rainbow stated. “Scary mare that. How'd you make her an enemy any way?”

“I'd rather not say.” I muttered.

“Nope, spill it. I told you my personal shit, your turn.” Dash insisted.

“ Fine.....I showed her up in front of Lord Jer'rahd. Tried my hoof at politics a long while back and picked apart her proposal like a teacher with a second grade essay. The others voting for her submission were moved more by my logic than her planning and thus it was thrown out. It cost her substantial bits, but I doubt she cared about that. What she did care about is she was proven wrong in a meeting with Lord Kaisur present. Since then she's been doing everything she can to make my life and my families lives as difficult as possible.” I grumble not sure why I was telling her this, but at the same time if Octavia came after me at least Rainbow would know why, if she didn't already and was simply making conversation.

Rainbow Dash didn't respond for a moment and I didn't hear her wings either. Stopping myself I looked around to see her a few lengths back on the path staring at something on the other side of a field.

I walked over to her looking at the field and seeing a figure moving along  the far side of it.

A pink mare was attempting to pull a plow through the dirt, her limp hair pulled up in a tight bun on top of her head, the yoke around her neck straining tight as she drug the plow though the dirt. Reaching the end of the row we watched as she flipped it around and started dragging it the other way. The swollen belly she carried barely seeming to slow her.

“What's a Day Walker doing up at this hour?” Dash questioned.

I shrug lightly. She was up about this time of night when I arrived as well. Though she was in town then. I suppose she might have been simply shopping yesterday.... Maybe she's trying to become nocturnal?”

“Why would she do that? She's a farmer not a politician or whatever like the Mayor.”

“Maybe she's preparing in case her foals not a Day Walker. I dunno, I doubt it's important, though......” I ponder wondering why the sight of the pregnant pink mare held my attention.

“You feel something too?” Dash asked.

“Maybe..... I don't know what, just a feeling of some thing off about her. She's on my list of ponies to talk too during my study so I'll see about figuring out what then. “ I sigh.” We need to get this list taken care of. One thing at a time.”

Pinkamenia Diana Pie, at the time perhaps I should have looked more into the mare. I would have spared myself a great deal of trouble later on if I did. Hind sight is always twenty twenty and all that.

=========================================================

I am not sure what I was expecting of Sweet Apple Acres. A trap, a secret training camp, one of those frivolous retreats nobles are famous for. I certainly however was not expecting a farm, an apple orchard to be exact. Granted this was the Apple family, but I didn't expect it to be so obvious.

I expected some one to come up and greet us  before we reached the gate, though there were a number of ponies I could see wandering the fields tending the orchards none of them seemed to spare a glance our way.

Rainbow seemed rather tense as she looked around , still not having seen any one come out to greet us.

“I don't like this. There's no way they didn't know we were coming....” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Course we did, though it's easier to wait and see what ya'll were gonna do rather than go out and meet  yah and git jumped. Was hoping yah'd talk a little more than yah did, information's gold and all, but ah guess seeing Miss Pie was too much a downer. “ A voice from the air stated.” Get that a lot bout her. She's a good worker though, even with a foal, bit temperamental though fer tha same reason I spect.”

Rainbow whirled her wing blades drawn glancing around quickly before focusing on a single spot in the road not far behind us. Having expected this sort of thing I still found myself flinching a little as the mare spoke.

“Don't bother to try and make me think that you didn't know we'd be out to check on the food preparations. I doubt  the mayor would be that tight lipped about something so simple.” I state turning my head to slowly follow Rainbow's gaze acting like I was simply nonchalantly turning around to the spot. No need to let her think I didn't know she was there, I didn't, but why give some one an edge.

“Over here.” The voice said again from the gate and I frowned as I looked back to see the hatted orange half Zebra pull the hood back of her red cloak with a chuckle.  The mare fluffed up her mane a little before pushing the short tresses back over her ears  and putting the black hat I had first seen her with back on her head.

Rainbow swore as Applejack chuckled.” Big open area like this got tah play havoc with them senses of yours First Daughter.

“Whatever.” Rainbow Dash growled glancing back at the spot she had been staring at a moment before turning to face the new mare.

“So the mayor convinced you to do her job huh? Not much a surprise, that mares sneaky, has tah be ta be parta my house. Head on up to tha house, Granny'll meet yah there and give yah tha three bit tour. I'll catch up in a minute” Applejack stated tipping her hat a little and stepping aside for us.

Moving past her I could almost hear Rainbow's teeth grinding, I wondered if the two had a history, perhaps it was something to ask about later when a better moment came up. Glancing back as we approached the farm house I could see Applejack talking with some one, reaching a hoof out to touch something in the air about the height of her chest. The motion seeming like it was to ruffle some ones mane, though I didn't see any one else there.

The Apple Family matriarch was named Granny Smith. She was an old Earth Pony who immediately launched into story mode about how the farm had come to be. While fairly interesting to find out the place had started at the third founding of Ponyville, it was also of interest that the entire farm was staffed by retirees. Most of them from the Apple Family, though a few from the Pelts and some other families under the umbrella of House Generosity. There were a good two hundred workers scattered across the farmland they owned which stretched for a number of leagues along the edge of the Everfree and around the base of the Maneterhorn. They owned the property on the western face of the mountain as well , but given how little sunlight that area received they didn't try and grow anything there , but used it for housing and storage before shipping it out.

While the majority of the farmland was owned by the Apples, not all of it was run by Apples.  Most of it was sharecropping with the Apples Loaning out land to smaller families and taking a share of what they made as well as providing shipping and packing services from the plants set up in the shadowed side of the mountain.

Sweet Apple Acres was the business hub of the orchards and farms. Sweet Apple Acres itself however had the majority of  Cursed working for them due to its nearness to Ponyville.

The farm here was responsible mostly for apples of course, given the place was the 'face' of the business it had a rather rustic, antiquated look to it on the outside, but inside was a differing story. The down stairs of the farm house seemed more like a business office save for the back which had a small dining room and a kitchen. Upstairs was supposed to be the families sleeping quarters and a few rooms for guests, though we didn't go up there. The building itself was rather crisp and clean and aside from numerous family photos in the main waiting area, it was almost sterile.

I took note of one that had a Zebra stallion and a rather pretty peach colored Earth pony mare with a  fresh straw colored mane and tail in it. Between them was a tall red colt with blond hair and a green apple cutie mark. Sitting on his back was a little orange half Zebra filly enveloped in a large black  western style hat. What I noticed about the image was that the colt showed no sign of being a half breed and bore no similarities to his Zebra father that I could see. Still I didn't have long to look at the myriad of images before I was escorted outside.

“See yah taking note of ma kin there Bright Mac and  Butter Pear. “ Granny stated.

“There were a lot of photos in there.” I respond, not sure which ones I’d been looking at that matched those names.

“Most of tha family in that room pictured has passed on. Kinda a memorial of sorts. That image is special. Applejack’s in it and she's still kicking, so's Bright Mac and Butter Pear. Those two are likely still in Manehatten though, they're the representatives of tha Apple's after all, need tah stay in tha city of Generosity.”

I nod in response as the mare continues.

“Nah that image is there cause of Lil Mac, well, I suppose he became Big Mac pretty quick. He joined tha Guard like every other colt his age, but he set out one day on a mission, just some garrison thing near tha Zebra border and next thing any of us know some gussied up officer shows up at our door with some medals a letter of apology and a folded flag.”

“I'm sorry.” I state not thrilled that I was getting a life story here, I almost hoped for poison instead.

“Ehh it's been a while, so don't worry about it, wasn't related tah Bright any way. Any who this tha mess...” Granny continued.

There were numerous outbuildings and small cabins for the workers and a barn that had been turned into a large mess hall for three square meals a day for the workers

The mess hall was currently ablaze with activity as the cooks worked to prep for dinner as well as prepare things for the festival the next day, given the amount of food that was being made and the care that was being put into each dish it was easy to tell they expected the Empress to sample some of their food. I happily accepted a few things here and there, my horn glowing with a spell before I sampled each.

With how enthused most of them looked I didn't have the heart to tell any of the cooks that even on the chance she did show up the Empress wouldn't eat anything that was not made by the Whinnyshire Chefs, composed of her Night Guard. Even in the relative peace of the era there were still those who wished to harm her. It was something that I too was taught early on, along with a purification spell that would remove any possible poisons from my food... as well as any taste. One of the Empresses students had been killed by poison when she ate something that was not prepared by the Guard cooks. It was another reason I hated traveling as my worry about Octavia had me purify everything I ate and drank. It made everything bland as mashed oats, but at least coffee still worked as intended other wise I’d have let my self be poisoned by this point.

It was about this time that Applejack showed up again. The half Zebra trotting along with a smaller pony. A pale yellow foal with red hair with a purplish bow holding it into a short ponytail. The foal was about the size of  the invisible thing Applejack had been talking with earlier. Still the foal seemed a full pony until one took note of her legs and noted the  faint darker yellow stripes around its legs. Not a half zebra, maybe a quarter, or at least some zebra was in the heritage. The foal also didn't have a cutie mark, though it still seemed to be too young to have gained one yet.

“So what do ya think, we got the food settled or what?” Applejack chuckled, reaching up to scratch her neck with a red wrapped hoof.

“It does indeed seem so. Though I doubted any one would fail in the face of the Empress, the Mayor was clearly not so sure.” I state getting a shrug from Applejack.

“Well shucks, that’s only cause she's paranoid as a chicken in a fox house most of tha time. Ain't nothing to worry about.”

I wince at the attempt at a countrisum noting that Granny rolled her eyes at and the filly tried not to chuckle at it. Applejack continued on oblivious.

“Any way everything’s set  though Granny's the real planner for this. I just kinda dropped in unannounced like usual.” Applejack admitted.

“Pfft we've gotten used to it by now.” Granny snorted.” If there's nothing else ah ken pack a bit of grub up for yah but ah'm sure yah still got business in town. We'll send any of our workers yer way if yah need them fer yer study, but try not tah keep um too long we got a harvest coming up and we need all hooves.”

“I'll keep that in mind, Mrs Smith.” I state.” I don't plan to keep any for too long  though I might need to come out and study how they work and where they live at some point. I'm looking into everything I can for a cure.”

“Right that's tha only reason and it ain't cause some of these farmers big strapping lads is it?” Granny cackled, though her laughter died off quickly as she found that none of the three of us was laughing  in the slightest. I knew why Rainbow didn't like the joke and personally I didn't find it funny, though why Applejack had a sour look on her face I don't know.

“So who's the kid?” Rainbow asked simply tilting her head to look over at the filly.

Applejack blinked at the sudden change in topic, glancing back to the foal that had been hiding behind her legs the entire conversation.

“Oh .. this is mai lil brother Applebloom.” Applejack stated stepping to the side to let us have a good look at the foal before the colt noted the attention and quickly ducked back behind Applejack's legs again. Applejack sighed though didn't move a second time. “Don't mind him. He's shy. Any how Miss Sparkle I'll stop by the day after the festival for mai interview. Ah got a bit of work tah do out here an ah don't wanna keep away from it for long if'n ah ken help it.”

I nodded in response rather certain that the foal was not a colt but a filly. Perhaps it was just a very effeminate looking colt. I knew little to nothing about foals so I simply accepted it. I did take note of the soured expression on Granny's face and the fearful looks the foal gave both myself and Rainbow, though my guard didn't seem to notice.

Thanking the trio after a little more chatter, Rainbow and I set off  towards Ponyville again and I lost myself in my thoughts. Once we were out of sight of the farm Rainbow did a quick sweep, flying around me, stirring up a great cloud of sand and dirt that she let billow out in all directions away from us. After a moment she nodded as the sand died down and allowed me to continue to walk.

“That filly was the one following us when we came to the farm.” Rainbow stated.

“You mean colt?” I asked, not sure myself.”In any event we expected to be followed remember?”

“Nah Applebloom's a filly. Doesn't smell like a colt.”

“Highly trained nose?” I ask curiously.

“Had all my senses trained excessively, I was born with a trick and my trainers exploited the fool out of it. Wonder why Applejack said it's her brother.”

“Not our business.” I admit, denying my own curiosity, though I had hunches. “Probably something to do with hiding her from Lord Pelt. He has been known to bed a mare from nearly every generation on a whim.”

“Yeah I’ve heard that too. Mom's not real thrilled with his antics, but I can say that about most of the Lords.”Rainbow Dash admitted.

Her saying that really wasn't much of a surprise. Lady Silvertail was well known to take a contrary view to most of the other House Lords actions. Her house didn't even follow the usual policies of the others unless the Empress ordered it personally.

Still it was something to think on as we made our way back into town. As we passed the farm where the pink earth pony had been working, we saw the fields were finished, though there was no sign of the mare.

=======================================================

I narrowed my eyes, my ears flat to my skull at the screaming and carrying on around me. Rainbow Dash tilted her head looking on with mild interest, though thankfully she had picked up on my calm and was copying it despite the occasional swish of her tail or flutter of her wings betraying her worry. Or that might have been her damned Pegasi inability to sit still, I couldn't tell with her.

To my knowledge the First Child had not met the Empress before, Lady Silvertail kept out of most house politics and tended to stay in Cloudsdale most of the time, only coming to Whinnyshire on certain occasions or when summoned, which only happened twice in the last fifteen years that I knew of. She and Lord Jer'rahd did meet to spar more often than not, though it was usually well away from Whinnyshire as the two tended to be a bit excessive in their spars. Neither was allowed to use their abilities and still there was excessive damage to the landscape. I was allowed to witness a spar once when I went along with the Empress. While Lord Kaisur was a superb swords pony, Lady Silvertail was better. Out of the ten matches they had  Lord Kaisur perhaps won two, one was a draw, and three were close, but in the rest of them she completely dominated him. It was one reason I had no doubt of Rainbows skill in combat if lady Silvertail was the one training her.

But as usual I’m off topic. The running and the screaming. The sun was still up over the horizon and I was awake, everything was wrong with the world. Thankfully unlike some of these idiots I had put on a small shielding spell to save my eyes from the harsh light and Rainbow Dash had pulled down her tinted goggles. Honestly not being able to see her eyes with the large black circles over them upped her intimidation factor by easily twenty percent.

The Empress was supposed to show up in less than an hour to lower the sun and raise the moon for a night of celebration and general merriment. Of course this meant that every one was in the last stages of preprep panic.

The band was playing softly in the background  with Fluttershy nearby the stage being fawned over a number of evident fans, though it was clear she wanted to be any where but here.

Applejack and Applebloom were nearby the food along with Granny Smith. The elder Apple seemed unconcerned as the rest of her workers ran around like mad, and Applejack seemed to be focused mostly on trying to make Applebloom a little more comfortable. I saw the 'colt' exchange a few words with a pair of fillies that had come for food. One was a pure white half dragon with pink and lavender mane, the other was a Day Walker Pegasus with stumpy wings a orange coat and some weird sort of purple hair. I didn't recognize either of them, though the  half dragon looked familiar.

Glancing over to the small medical area, I realized why the filly seemed familiar. The half dragon Rarity was double checking all of her gear out side of the small medical tent as a few other Zebras or medically marked ponies milled around the tent. Some were already tending sprains or a upset stomachs from over eating as well as the idiots who let themselves become light blind, though most of the doctors seemed to be preparing for the possibility of something worse. My suspicions were confirmed when the smaller half dragon brought a plate over to Rarity piled high with food. The older mare thanked the younger and the smaller one scampered off as  Rarity put the food aside with a bit of distaste at the mixed mess of it.

As I scanned the crowd again I found my eyes drawn to a few figures huddled in the back of the crowd near one of the buildings. The Day Walkers from the farm mostly, they seemed content to stay out of every ones way and avoid being noticed, though among them I saw the familiar face of Pinkamenia Diana Pie. She was with the other farm workers though none of them were talking with her, she also didn't seem happy with being there either. Odd given the usual state of events like this one expected everyone wanted to be here for the Empress. She seemed like she was being forced to attend. There were a few others like that too, but the annoyed indifference on Pinkamenia's face matched Fluttershy's in terms of disgust.

Twenty minutes later and at least four hundred askance of 'where was the Empress' directed towards me a silver chariot was seen in the air heading this way over the forest. Honestly I was a bit surprised until I noticed that the Guards pulling it were just regular Guard, not the Night Guard.

While every one else was getting super excited to the eminent arrival of the Empress I leaned over to Rainbow and let out a small sigh as she leaned in closer to hear me.

“Seems she had other things to do again.”I muttered.

“I noticed they weren’t Night Guard, who do you think it is then?”

“Either some noble or a messenger, most likely the latter.” I admitted.” Although knowing my luck it's probably Octavia.”

As the carriage landed even I was surprised by the pony who stepped out of it.

The Guard quickly unhitched himself and moved to the door opening it and allowing the pony inside to step out. The carriage itself creaked as a well muscled and scared hoof planted firmly in the dirt followed by another as the chiseled form emerged completely. The stallions gray furred form was crisscrossed with scars that had healed into black scales, making the marks stand out and giving him the look of a randomly striped gray Zebra. Every movement the figure took seemed to radiate the potential for power, unrivaled violence, and death. His short cropped mane and tail held a blondish amber coloration and his mane was slicked back over his head between his ears displaying a spiraled horn prominently,the amber colored hair continued along his chin in a well groomed beard. A suit of black and purple armor clung to his barrel barely protecting anything and seeming more ceremonial than useful. The silver trim seeming to glow with it's own soft light. A pair of dark goggles rested over his eyes, though a faint green glow from his horn lifted them off his face revealing a pair of heterochromiaic eyes slitted like a cats with the right being green and the left being red. A double edged blade with a slight crescent like curve rested at his right side, with another sword of similar make hanging off his left side.

The entire crowd fell silent, before all of them quickly bowed to the warrior as the moon rose behind him starting the longest night as the Lord of House Loyalty appeared.

“Citizens of Ponyville, please rise.” Lord Jer'rahd Kaisur spoke loudly, his voice carrying over the crowd, his tone both comforting and commanding at the same time. He smiled slightly as ponies, myself included rose, a hint of his fangs showing at the grin.

“I regret to inform you that Empress Luna needed to cancel this year, certain events have come up which require her full attention though she regrets being unable to attend and sends her apologies.” he continued.” Given this is my hometown however I decided to come down for the festivities in her sted, at least for a little while. A Guard's tasks never ends after all.”

There were a few chuckles at that comment and I shook my head a little as I smirked. As long as I had known Lord Kaisur he seemed to give off a odd grandfatherly sort of vibe. Despite how he appeared his tone and words tended to put everyone at ease, at least those who he was not currently targeting. Just from what I had heard and what I witnessed in the spar with Lady Silvertail, despite his loss in those matches he was not some one that any one sane would wish to make angry. He also tended to do his best to make sure that his reputation and heroics were well known. While his first Loyalty was to the Empress, then his Guards, friends, family, the citizens under House Loyalty were always treated well and cared for. He was often considered the most favored of the House leaders, usually after  Lady Scale as it was hard to dislike the comedic Dragon.

Which is why I found it odd, that while he greeting the Mayor, I caught a glimpse of Pinkamenia before she trotted away. She was giving Lord Kaisur a look of hatred that I had only ever seen matched by Octavia when she regarded me.

Curiouser and curiouser that one.
> …...when night turns........
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stories in Stone
Reign of Night
By TDR




…...when night turns........




House Honesty is considered one of the stranger houses. Not strange in the 'what the buck' way like House Laughter and it's constant holidays for strange reasons, but more strange in how it's built and how well it works.

There are no great families in House Honesty, beyond  Lady Silvertail's, and given she is the only one allowed to go by that last name, it is a moot point.  While the home city of Loyalty and Magic is Equestria's capitol of Whinnyshire, each of the other Element Bearers has taken a city as their home. Generosity in Manehatten, Compassion in Asclepius , and Laughter in Las Pegasus, Honesty has taken root in Cloudsdale.

The fact the city moves was not lost on any one and  Lord Kaisur thought it was perfect.

Like House Loyalty it is individual merit that shows your place. Just because your father managed to tame a level 3 tornado on his own doesn't mean any one gives a crap about you. A far cry from all the nobles living on the coattails of their ancestors deeds every where else  in Equss.

There are however four divisions in Cloudsdale that every one who lives there is part of. None are less than any other division despite what they say. Everyone has their tasks to complete and any one can advance in those divisions to have a seat on the joint council which governs. Even if you've managed to advance to be on the council, it is strongly advised that one doesn't quit their day job as while being on the council grants a great deal of sway over how House Honesty is run, it is a job that pays no bits as it is considered a civic duty rather than something to aspire too. Also if you are caught taking bits as a bribe while on the council you are usually cast out of the city, literally, after one of your wings has been ripped off.

Each of the Divisions has a differing number of representatives.  The Service Division has five, The Weather Patrol has four, The Wonderbolts have three, The Shadowbolts two, and the last is Lady Silvertail herself. This makes the total votes at fourteen with lady Silvertail only voting when a tie breaker is needed in a decision.

The First Division is the Shadowbolts. This is the military branch of  House Honesty and all of them are pegasi. There are few of them and and only those that have proven themselves worthy can make it into this division.

By contrast are the Wonderbolts. While they are also skilled fliers and militarily trained, they work more with the private sector. They are often Police, fire ponies, or utility workers. They also tend to run the day to day of the government and processing.  Unlike the Shadowbolts, non pegasi are accepted into their ranks and currently there is a Earth Pony sitting in one of their three seats on the council. While he was not the first non Pegasus to achieve that position it is still rare enough to cause a stir.

The third Division is the Weather Patrol. While they are the largest Division their numbers in Cloudsdale are small, primarily serving as Cloud home construction and weather maintenance, as well as creating weather in the factory.  The rest of their Division is scattered in offices across Equss in every major city and the majority of minor ones. Monitoring the weather in their areas and adjusting it accordingly.

The final Division is called the Service Division. This Division is the second largest and covers everything else that the others do not. Food prep, farming, transportation, janitorial, everything. When first formed they were considered the dumping ground for the useless by most of the other Divisions, in response Lady Silvertail gave them the largest number of seats on the council and informed the ones making the biggest fuss that they should not insult the ones that were the base supports of every other Division. Without the Service Division, Cloudsdale could not function.

Despite this Cloudsdale is not immune to the fear of the Cursed, though Lady Silvertail immediately made it illegal to segregate the Cursed by force, by passing the council completely to order this and as such the second largest gathering of Cursed resides in Cloudsdale. Unlike House Loyalty, while they did not throw out any of their cursed, they also did not accept refugees from other houses, letting Loyalty bolster its own ranks with those numbers.

And of course one cannot speak of  House Honesty without bringing up the First Daughter.

Like the Empress's student, there is usually only one in that position, though once there were twins, but that's irrelevant at the moment. Nearly every generation a new first daughter is chosen along a family line that  only Lady Silvertail seems to know perfectly. While the first daughter might be taken from the  same family line for generations, Lady Silvertail might suddenly decide the foal of a family that has nothing obvious to do with the other family is chosen.

Despite the randomness of it, the council has set up a plan to guarantee that the First Daughter's bloodline continues, regardless of who Lady Silvertail chooses.  Given the first Daughter is always a mare, by the time she comes of age numerous stallions have begin competing to be the one to sire the next generation. Only the strongest and smartest are chosen to ensure that the next generation has the best genetics possible. The forced procreation is continued  until the current First Daughter bears a filly. At that point she's free to stop having foals or whatever she wants.  Through all this the mare continues to serve as the First Daughter, which means participating in any conflict or emergency that Lady Silvertail or the Shadowbolts  are part of. Several times in the past both of these actions have resulted in the death of the First Daughter, either in foal birth, or through disaster.  Few of them have lived long enough to retire and if they do a new first Daughter will not be chosen until they die. There is only ever one First Daughter at a time.

While Lady Silvertail does not seem to like the required breeding she does nothing to stop it. When the first Daughter dies no matter the cause the entirety of Cloudsdale goes into mourning. This only ends when a new First Daughter is chosen, usually a few months later after Lady Silvertail has stopped grieving. No one knows where this tradition started save perhaps Lady Silvertail and the other House Lords.

When I first learned of this as a foal I likened it to the way a parent keeps buying a foal a new goldfish to pretend the old one didn't die.

While I was not corrected, I was instructed to never say anything like that near any one from House Honesty.




I was surprised with how well the celebration went. Lord Kaisur actually stayed for several hours and indulged in the food and festivities. Given what I knew about the immortal unicorn he was actually hardier than even The Empress, I was not sure he could be poisoned. The only thing that I knew that could hurt the Empress or her Element Bearers was a rare mineral that only existed in two places on Equss any more, the Spire in Whinnysor, and  Lord Jer'rahd's sword. 

The Waning Moon.

The tale of how he gained it was a favorite of his, as it signified the first real trust that was placed upon him by the Empress and how his friends came together to save him. Of course this was back before any of them but the Empress had acceded so poison was still a thing it seemed. Of course the mare responsible was long dead now. Once The Solar Flare was defeated the Garden Prison was mostly destroyed, only a few residents remain there for some reason. Mostly ones that the Empress doesn't recall what their crime were,are unable to safely deal with, or went voluntarily.

Of course I asked about some, and the tales of Forge Scale, Discord, and Claymore, were more than enough for me to lose any interest in what the prisoners had done while alive. Though from my under standing the last one was eaten whole by Lady Scale after some one figured out how to transmute him into a gemstone.

Lord Kaisur surprised me before he left pulling me aside to speak with me privately, sparing only a glance to Rainbow Dash to let her know to hang back.

“I don't suppose there's a point to asking how the study goes. With all that's been going on I bet you've been swamped.”

“You can say that Lord Kaisur.” I respond.

“Hey I said you can call me Jer'rahd unless we are in public...”

I raise an eyebrow at that as he blinks and shakes his head with a smirk.

“Forget I said that. Any way take you time with the research, you're a bright mare, I'm sure you'll get it. If you need any thing send me a missive I'll see to it you get it.”

“Thank you sir.”

“It's no problem.” He smiled though his expression fell just as quickly.” There is something else that has come up. While we are not sure if it is related or not to the Cursed, the timing is a little too close for it to be true coincidence.”

My ears perked as he spoke  a brief glance back allowed me to take note of a series of green panel shields that formed a box around us, cutting off the noise of the party.

“What is it then sir?”

“The stars are vanishing.”

“What?”

“Not many mind you, but a few constellations have lost various points of light from them and whole clusters of stars have gone dark.  We've had others looking into it  and the theories range from something eating them, to old mares tales. You know the ones, about stars being the souls of dead ponies watching over the world? The theories' that the souls are leaving.”

“The former is stupid and the latter only has a bit of merit. The constellations have changed  several times in the past, often enough that no one considers stars as proper navigational aides, just the moon as it's track across the sky doesn't deviate. This is likely another change like that.”

“We expect that as well, as the stars are not the same ones as they were even a thousand years ago, but for this many to vanish at once and no new ones forming is different.” Jer'rahd muttered. “ Still you've been warned in case any one asks, I doubt  it will come up as we're keeping it pretty well under wraps and only the Stargazers guild has noticed it so far.”

I nod at that.

He smirked. “ Now you have two ways to become a hero if you figure out either of these. You might just be a legend if you figure out both.”

I nodded again, more importantly figuring out either would keep me in the Emperess' good graces and out of Octavia's hooves.

“Any way that's all I needed to tell you, I'm sure Luna will be sending you more information as you need it. While I don't want to rush you, the quicker this shows progress the happier a lot of ponies will be. The calmer we can keep every one the better. Having Luna's Student on the case has eased a lot of minds already.”

“I truly hope I can live up to the expectations placed on me.”

“You will Twilight. I've got faith you'll figure it out. Any way I need to get back, I've a meeting to get to about some bandits sighted out past the unicorn range. You take care Twilight.” Jer'rahd nodded, his shields dropping as he made his way back to the carriage, offering a few waves and some comments as he climbed back in. The Pegasi Guard had been enjoying the party as well, though the moment Jer'rahd started moving towards the carriage they dropped what they were doing and rushed back to hitch themselves to it.

As the silver chariot took off I sighed heavily. Hearing the emperess' real name like that did nothing to ease me with how easily lord Jer'rahd spoke of her. Particularly that if she was using me to quell unrest if I failed now the Emperess would likely present me to Octavia personally. 

“What did I get myself into?”





The following night I was still mulling over what I was told. I sat on the balcony of the library next to a telescope I had brought with me staring wistfully at the sky.

Unfortunately I was only staring at clouds as the weather team had put off the rain until after the  celebration in order to make sure the hot summer wasn't made worse by muggy weather and puddles. Still the humidity was stifling and the river near the town  had lifted as a low cover of foggy mist. In the distance near the Maneterhorn the storm was being set off, flashes of lightning colored orange by the humidity danced along the clouds as the weather team started the process of the storm.

Rainbow Dash had picked up on my mood an had remained silent though she seemed curious to ask what was wrong. I broke the silence before she asked.

“I have a busy week coming..... no sense putting it off any longer. Do we have all the information from House Compassion?“

“If you mean the crate some hospital intern brought in earlier than yeah.” Rainbow Dash snorted flicking an ear towards the door back into the tree house. “ Not even sure how he got it inside, it's bigger than I am.”

“It should have all the data collected  on the Cursed from what House Compassion has compiled. It will make a lot of my questions irrelevant.” I respond standing to stretch as a soft roll of thunder echoed behind me.

“Well that wasn't ominous.” Rainbow snarked.

“What ever. Time to make some spread sheets.” I couldn't help let a grin cross my features. This was the fun part of all this. 

“Well you seem excited. Not sure why.” Rainbow muttered.

“Organizing  at least ten years worth of data into a legible form that I can easily reference is going to be the most enjoyable part of this whole thing.” I state packing away my telescope and taking it inside.

“Seriously?!”





It took me about three days to go over all the information. I had medical records for every resident of Ponyville including most of the Apple farms.

Granny Smith wasn't in the pile, though I did find both Applejack and Applebloom's files. The latter was listed as a colt, with both father and mother unlisted, though. Applejack's parents were both listed on her sheet, so why not on Applebloom's as they were siblings? It was something to look into later if I had free time to kill, now was not the time. Despite this I made a note to send back with the colts paperwork telling the records office to go over the paperwork again to make sure.

Studying my new spread sheet I took note of a number of things of interest.  The first was that there were only four Day Walkers on the entire list and aside from Miss Pie, all of them were young enough that they might not have gotten their cutie mark naturally yet any way.  

There were no other links that I noticed , though I did remove about fifty subjects from the pile as being within the several year age gap that one  got a cutie mark naturally. Some might be cursed and some might just be late bloomers. Taking them out  of the data would give me a more even flow.  There were no population discrepancies I could tell either aside from the Pegasus race, though that was because of Lady Silvertail's rule about not discriminating against the cursed, not many of them came here.

Rainbow could offer nothing on  her own, though she stoically helped me record the data, her hoof writing surprisingly detailed, though the mare was clearly bored out of her mind by this task and had taken to doodling or trying to balance quills and pencils on the table by the end of it.

I had not idea how she was bored, this was riveting.

There was no physical quality or coloration or even blood type that could be matched by all of them. And while the information I was given didn't tell me what house Compassion checked for, my own spreadsheet gave me the clues to rule out a number of obvious answers.

Diet was not likely to play a roll, but it was something I needed to check any way. Lifestyle could be a thing as well as mental state and possible enchantments.  

Basically I would need to interview everyone on my list. Unfortunately I only had a pool of about twenty Cursed pegasi  to draw from, rather than the excessive amount of earth Ponies and Half Dragons. And half dragons were not going to be that useful of a case study as they sometimes didn't even get cutie marks.

So aside from talking to them I wouldn't learn anything else.

“Joy... social interaction....” 

“Finally......” Rainbow sighed out.





“What can you tell me about your home life?”

“............”

“Umm okay what about your diet, what foods do you like to eat?”

“...........................”

“Any brothers or sister who might have issues?”

“..............................”

“History of mental illness, inability to gesticulate?”

“…........................”

This was less of a interview and more of a staring match.  Pinkamenia Diana Pie was clearly not much of a talker as from the moment  she came in until the moment she left she never said a word to either me or rainbow, she simply stared.

I had taken a few notes on the mare. She was well built like most Earth Pony farmers, there didn't seem to be an ounce of fat any where on the mare. Her mane was limp and flat hanging down over her face and back like a cape. I was rather curious as to why she kept it  that long as it would likely be a hindrance to her work , but she didn't answer that question either. Her fur was a reddish sort of pink and her mane and tail were darker colors of the same.  She was also filthy and had a smell around her that I did not find pleasant. It seemed less like the scent of some one who works all day and more like the smell of some one who is trying to be repugnant. Judging by her belly she was maybe a month or two away from having her foal at best.  Despite her scowl and lack of care she seemed to have for her own grooming and care she wasn't a bad looking mare. I wondered briefly if the reason she wasn't caring for her looks was the foal itself.





“You think it's wheat bran?” I asked blinking at the mint green and white maned unicorn  mare seated before me.

“Of course it is.  Generic mills is run by House Marmot under House Melody, when Lady Octavia took over the House she pushed them into a less profitable position and this is their revenge for it. A chemical in the wheat bran they make that stunts growth and causes this curse. Either to the still developing foal or something that sticks with the parents who then give birth to a cursed foal.” The mare ranted.

“What would even be the purpose of that?” I had to ask realizing after I said it that I shouldn't have given the mare any more leeway. If I gave her enough time I'm sure she would have produced spread sheets and a board covered with pins and string.

“It's simply it creates a whole new lower class for the rich to snub and an even lower class that even the Day walkers can feel good about being above, thus keeping them docile and away from any sort of uprising. The Lords and Empress may or may not know about it and allow it because it makes them look better by trying to help the new bottom class. Which would explain why you're here instead of some proper researcher.”

“That is a borderline treasonous accusation.” Rainbow Dash growled.

“I said may or may not. I don't know for sure. They might not know and the real culprit is banking on their lack of an investigation as they devote resources to fixing the result and not the source of the Curse.”

“I have to ask... how... How did you even come up with this theory?” I mutter.

“A while back I noticed that my favorite cereal changed their mascot and since then it tasted different.” the mare said flatly.

I stared at her as hard as I could, trying to see if I could witness her brain cells dying as she spoke, but no noticeable smoke came out of the mares ears so I simply let out a small sigh.

“Thank you for your input.  I will make sure I check up on this lead as well.” I comment.” You may go I have a lot of others to talk to today.”

“Alright... trust no one …..” The mare whispered glancing between me and Dash before trotting out the door.

Dash and I stared at the door for a few moments before the stoic mare broke down.

“What in Tartarus was that!?”

“ I'm going to make a note to check the chemical content of the blood samples the medical report has.”

“Seriously?”

“A stupid sounding lead is still a lead. “ I sigh jotting down the note.” And I'll take anything at this point.”





“You need to calm the buck down.” I growled.” Yelling at me isn't going to make this go any faster.”

Fluttershy glared at me as did the little black rabbit perched on her back.

“I've been forced out of my foal hood dream to come to this place because a couple of ass hats decided to bucking get rid of me rather than deal with their own tiny dicked predujeces.” Fluttershy growled back.” And you want me to calm down!?!”

“And exactly how is yelling at someone else who was sent here when they didn't want to be going to help you?” I snap.

“It makes me feel better!” Fluttershy shouted back.

I was starting to develop a feel for how Fluttershy worked. Where I didn't like ponies Fluttershy flat out hated  them and chose to isolate herself as much as she could away from them. It was almost a phobia with how she reacted, but rather than shy away or avoid other ponies she lashed out at them. Rather than hiding herself away she sought to drive others off, it would have  been a interesting study in itself, but unfortunately I had other things to work on first.

Fluttershy was beautiful, there was no other base word I could use to describe her. Pale yellow fur and wings, a pink flowing mane and tail that curled and ran over her form in a cascade.  She was fit, but not in the 'I work out daily' sort of way, she was a natural beauty with a voice that could make hardened soldiers weep, at least when she wasn't screeching like a harpy, which was ninety percent of the time.  I might have been crushing a  little if her personality hadn't killed it for me.

She had nothing to offer my investigation and she and Dash didn't exchange a single word the whole interview.





“Anything... Anything at all?”

“...”

“Can you say your name? Nod or shake your head anything?” I asked.

“...”

“I think her eye just twitched...” Dash offered as Pinkie Pie remained silent.





“So are you seeing any sort of pattern?” I asked Rainbow Dash.

“Not really, that last guy was checking out your ass , but other than that nothing  seems to stand out to me. Other than most of them being crazy.” Dash shrugged.

“ I think I'd be more worried if  he wasn't watching my ass.” I joked.” It's a nice one after all.”

“It's alright.” Dash shrugged with a smirk. “ Been watching it for a week already.”

“That is your job.” I sigh.” So who's next on the list?”

“The ones you've been dreading.” Dash offered as I groaned.

“Fine... lets deal with Applejack first then Rarity” I grumbled.





“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

I stared at Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie stared at me, neither of us saying a word.

Dash of course had had enough after the first hour.

“Oh come on......” Dash whined.





“Yah been staring fer a bit sugar, but you ain't said anything yet.”Applejack smirked.

The half Zebra leaned forward a little  resting her hooves on the table as she looked over at me. Rainbow Dash tensed a little though neither of them moved other wise.

“I'm trying to consider what to say here. What questions to ask. I have all your medical information, as well as that of your family, nothing physical  seems to  be different about any of your family.  Big Mac's records show he had his cutie mark and your little.. brother is still to young to get his yet.”

I took note that the mare flinched at both the mention of her brother as well as the hesitation when I mentioned her little sister. It was slight tell, but given I noticed it so easily it could have been fake, she was a member of house Generosity after all.

Or I could have touched a nerve, neither of those inspired me to press the issue. If Applejack wanted everyone to think Applebloom was a colt, that was her business.

“I basically have been setting up conversations to get to know every one a little better, to try and under stand what might cause the feeling of longing most Cursed have. To try and figure out what is missing from our lives.  Maybe see if you have any clues. I've had a few ponies give me their opinion on the matter.”

“Let me guess. Lyra's  cereal theory?” Applejack snorted.

“Among others.” I sigh.

“Well I'd  be wary of that one. Poor mare's been through a good deal, stress of trying to get into the Platinum Swan caused her to snap a few years back, did some time in therapy and never been the same since. Mighty nice player, but she can barely look at a lyre or harp with out losing it.” Applejack considered before leaning back and adjusting her hat. “ As for my longing. Ain't rightly got anything. Ah'm used to working hard for what ah have and ah worked my way up to mai position. Aside from a bit more time at home with mai family, there ain't much ah really desire... less yah know a way tah bring mai brother back from tha dead.  But last ah checked necromancy's still illegal.”

“It's not something I was ever offered to study so no.” I responded.

“As fer an idea on what it is? Prolly nothing. Next evolutionary step fer ponies. Night became longer  our colors faded to match it, eyes adjusted tah tha dark. We adjusted crops to work better with less light. This bit with the cutie marks. Could just be the next stage.  Us finally evolving out of needing to have our futures painted on our ass. Personally ah can't wait until everyone  doesn't have um.”

I blinked at that glancing down at the paperwork, taking note of the cutie marks of her family, in particular the large green apple with a crossed spear and sword behind it. A soldiers cutie mark, one often sought by recruiters.  Her dead brother had that one. A few things made sense now about this conversation.

“As fer tha rest of it, tha part yah didn't ask about.... ah couldn't tell yah, Ah ain't one who takes tha time tah star at tha stars lollygagging.” Applejack  offered

She must have noticed my eyes widen at that as she smiled.

“Loyalty and Magic ain't tha only ones who know about that little problem. But it ain't affected any one yet  so we ain't worried about it.”





“The only thing the majority of these ponies have in common is the longing. But there's no connections there, aside from it's something they never seem to try or can't. Lyra want's to play again but can't bring herself too, Applejack longs for her family, the others all have something that they seem unable to reach.” I mutter tapping my hoof to my cheek.” It's not just that they can't reach, but they hold themselves back like they're stunted.”

“What about you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Acceptance, praise, to be told I'm good enough “ I state simply. I sought that answer when I first learned of this longing issue and found what mine was.” I suppose I haven't asked you yet.”

“To be able to cut loose.”

“Hmm?” I ask looking back at Rainbow Dash.

“Since you asked that question in the first interview I've been thinking on it.  I want to break free. My whole life has been structured and mediated and tested and measured. Fly this way, move this way , obey this group, ignore this, focus on this. I don't..... I remember as a foal I was going to challenge some kid to a race. Before recess came I was pulled out of there. I never had a chance to cut loose after that. Everything was training, I never got to do what I wanted to or fly just to fly, it was always missions always proving myself. I'm not even sure I know how to cut loose any more.” Rainbow Dash explained.





“Honestly darling I'm not sure why you are asking me here. Most of my kind don't even get Cutie marks. My sister hasn't yet, though she is a bit obsessed over it.” The white half dragon waved a fore claw in the air, her tail curling around her as she shifted on the seat. 

Rarity was nearly twice my size, and her brilliantly shining scales  still forced me to squint when ever she was near a light source. Dash had simply pulled her goggles down and I wished I had a pair.

“There is still the possibility you might gain one. “ I offered. Applejack's theory might be sound  given half dragons didn't always get cutie marks and they had been breeding with other ponies for near a thousand years, some like Rarity here were more dragon than mare, while others looked like ponies  save a few small scales or fangs.  Others were completely pony unless one magically scanned them to see the dragon genetics.

“I understand . You are playing a number of more, esoteric leads as medical scans yielded nothing.” Rarity stated flatly.

“Exactly. House Compassion's records are not called into question here, but something is happening and I want to gather all the data I can on it.”

“An interesting practice miss Twilight. This curse has never been my field of study , but thinking it may be some sort of physiological trauma is a interesting hypothesis. I seem to recall some one else testing that before however.”

“Baelit the eighth. He studied this when it first came to be known.  Most of what we know about it still comes from his research. I'm hoping to expand on that information and see what might come of it. Though at current this is simply the preliminary meeting.”

“So I shouldn't expect you to scream at me and throw me out again?” Rarity arched a brow.

“Maybe. I want to keep this as fully on track as I can without any side delves into politics.” I grumble.

“Then ask yourself this lady Sparkle. What exactly would I have to gain  from  making things, political as you say?”

“Because if I fix this, it's going to make your house look bad for failing it.” I state flatly.

“Hardly darling. You have said yourself you are basing this study off Baelit the eighths work. And unless you plan to not name any of your research subjects like myself  in your reveal than my name will be attached to it as well. “ Rarity explained with a small fanged smirk. 

I narrowed my eyes. She was correct in this. Even being a small part of something that solved a problem of this magnitude would be enough to set her for life in House Compassion. 

“On top of that dear I fully expect at some point you are going to need some one with my medical skills for something. Hence why I am offering my services as more than simply a test subject.” Rarity explained.

“And as a way to keep an eye on me.”

“Of course, but you knew that was happening any way.”

“Fine. As I've asked the others. Is there anything you've been longing for?” I sigh.

“Well I've always wanted a prince to come sweep me off my hooves, but those are in short supply outside of breezy tales. “Rarity pondered. “ I suppose I have always wanted to try my claw at the world of  fashion. Stitching up a perfect dress can't be that different from stitching up a gaping wound can it?” 





“This is pointless.” I throw my hooves in the air  with a growl of annoyance. The pink mare hadn't said a word to me the entire interview.

She wouldn't answer questions, she wouldn't acknowledge anything, she just sat there until she was dismissed. She had done this three days in a row.

I was starting to believe she was mentally handicap or mute, though there was nothing about that on her medical records. So my other option was that she was just stubborn.

“Great I'm trying to save everyone and I can't even get all my test cases to cooperate!” I grumble looking back at rainbow Dash who offered a barely perceptive shrug in her 'guard mode'

“Bull shit.”

I blinked and turned back around to face the pink mare who was staring at me.

“What did you say?” I questioned unsure if I even heard the mare talk.

“I said it's bull shit.” Pinkie Pie stated again. “ You're not going to save anyone, you're just trying to rebuild the status quo and make your own damn self feel important.”

My eyes widened at that, though before I could respond Rainbow Dash had grabbed me and yanked me away from the table, her weapons drawn as she took up a stance between me and the mare.

Pinkie Pie however didn't seem to notice as she continued.

“All you fucking assholes care about is your own damn lives. All you house fucks, and nobles and stuck up self important shit stains on the Emperess' ass. You might cure whatever this cutie mark thing is and then what happens? Nothing changes! You nobles keep being shit and treating those that keep your sorry asses fed like garbage. Like we're property to be played with, the ones supposed to protect us from that do the same thing.” Pinkie snarled. “ The guards treat our every issue like it's beneath them like we're beneath them and without us all of you would wither and die. All because we chose to be in the day or were born with brighter colors than you drab gray scale fucks. My biggest regret in this is the damn curse isn't more lethal to wipe out more of you worthless mouth breathers. I hope you fail and the empress kills you and your whole damn family for it. The only reason I even showed up here is because I was forced to by the worthless sacks of excrement some one armed and slapped some gilded armor on. Because of them and you, I'm behind in my crops this season, so some faggoty asshole is gonna have to wait longer for his rhubarb ice cream or what ever the fuck you rich types do with ninety five percent of everything I grow. Loyalty's TAXES for being allowed to live on your fucking land despite the fact I was pulled from my family and forced onto this fucking plot to keep working just because I didn't have a fucking picture on my ass like the rest of you uptight shits. I'm behind because you want to be the self inflated fuck who fixes some problem that isn't even a problem. You can't even do something useful like fixing the real problems we have, you just focus on  trying to make sure every one has a happy little tramp stamp so you can accept the praise and fame that comes with it. I'd kill you right here and now and no one would miss you, your little protector might kill me, but you'd be dead before she could stop me, blades or not because I don't give a fuck about what happens to me, why would I want to live on locked in this shit hole of a life?!”

The mare had risen to her back legs during her rant, her hooves slamming onto the table with enough force to splinter it and send my paperwork flying. The whole tree seemed to shake as she spoke, I could feel the magic around her hooves flaring, being channeled into the ground around me. Books fell from the shelves, something crashed to the ground in the kitchen as the rumbling continued. What the fuck was this?

“The only thing keeping me from taking out as many of you rich fucks as I can before I die is that despite what you did to me...” Pinkie's voice softened as she placed a hoof on her gravid belly. “Is that she has nothing to do with this, and might have a chance at being better. And I'm not taking that away from her, not like it was taken from me. You want me out here? Fine, but fuck you and everything you stand for, because I'm going to be trying to make you fail just so you might feel at least some of the suffering I have. Now if you rich bitches will excuse me I have to make sure the rest of your pampered fucks have some variety in their food this year.”

With a turn that sent her chair flying to smash into and crumble against the wall, the pink mare whirled about and stormed out, leaving the a disaster for me to clean up.

As the door slammed shut snapping the bolts out of one of the hinges so it leaned slightly, Rainbow Dash relaxed, putting her blades away.

“That mare has issues.” the pegasus grumbled.