The Dawn Mother’s Tale

My Little Pony fanfic by Ertzert

I own absolutely nothing featured in this story. Credit for everything goes directly to Hasbro.

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Part 1

Even though it was just past midnight, there was a massive crowd at the Ponyville graveyard, where colts were making attempts to woo their marefriends, and groups of mares were gossiping madly, though the topics were all the same: The 100th anniversary of the Day of the New Dawn, and the 80th celebrated. This day became special when a group of fighters led by Twilight Sparkle and friends defeated the returning Nightmare Moon. On every fifth anniversary, the queen, referred to by many as the Dawn Mother, would take an entire day to retell the story to any and all that would listen, before raising the sun.

The ceremony was usually held in front of the Ponyville memorial graveyard, and this year would be no different, though prince Dawn, the bright orange colt, with a mane reminiscent of the spring sky; and his sister Dusk, the genius mare bearing a striking resemblance to Princess Luna, save for her golden, starry mane, would be gracing the citizens with their presence. The queen had told them days before that she had important announcements for the anniversary. “My announcements will bring change to all of Equestria, and being the future rulers of Equestria, you will one day be Equestria. So no, you don’t have a choice,” were the queen’s exact words.

Whenever the story was told, ponies from all across the lands would journey for days to hear it, as it was always told with gusto, and left those that heard it filled with emotion.

The chatter started to die down when a large, purple alicorn, whose wings looked as frail as a twig, sporting an elegantly designed crown of ebony and ivory stepped on stage, and cleared her throat.

“Citizens; friends; family,” the queen began. “Before today’s ceremony starts, I have some important announcements. Firstly, I wish to state that this shall be the last time I tell of the Midnight War that took place a century ago,” the queen’s opening statement brought forth many gasps from surprised ponies. “As I was not born an alicorn, I fear that I have overstayed my welcome on Equestria, and I do not want anypony to be surprised when I die,” the princess briefly paused to allow the message to sink in, before continuing. “My grand prophecy has been fulfilled, my bloodline shall continue, and my rule has been seen as one of peace and tolerance, and it is for these reasons that I pass on the responsibilities of the sun and the moon onto my son and daughter, Dawn and Dusk Sparkle.” The queen’s second announcement was met with applause, roaring cheers, and the sound of three jaws simultaneously hitting wood. “In addition, my husband shall be taking over all governmental tasks, as he has yet to truly do anything more than sit on the throne eating pork rinds,” the queen noted, chuckling at her family’s reaction.

“B-but Twilight, sweetie, are you sure the twins are ready for that kind of responsibility? I mean, they’re still technically only children, and my magic is getting better, albeit very slowly...” the pale-coated alicorn known to all as King Honeydew, named for the fruit his palette resembles, nervously whispered to Twilight.

“Dear, I’m 126 years old, and you’re going on 129. We are not natural alicorns, we should have died decades ago. As well as that, our children need to grow up,” Twilight noted in the motherly tone she used so often. “They are the closest this world will ever have to the old pure blood alicorns, and your magic was always weaker than a newborn’s, and you know it,” Twilight continued with a hint of glee, before turning back to the audience. “To conclude, citizens, tonight will most definitely be the final Twilight Dawn,” the final announcement was met with a barrage of various negative outbursts, mostly from the younger ponies.

After a short time of loud jeers and thrown rocks, Princess Dusk began to feel her mother had dealt with enough disrespect. The young princess cleared her throat as loudly as she could, to no avail. With a quiet sigh, she yelled at the top of her lungs: “QUIET, YOU UNGRATEFUL CURS!”. Her outburst was met with a sharp whistle and a nervous chuckle from her brother, in addition to a wall of completely frightened faces. A number of foals could be heard crying.

“Er, thank you, Dusk sweetie,” Twilight remarked, her daughter’s face splashed with an overly satisfied grin. “As you all know, I and five other ponies defeated the spirit of chaos, Discord, one hundred and twelve years ago. What nopony knew until eight years after, though, was that he had siphoned what evil had remained in the moon princess Luna’s heart before our final confrontation. This evil had grown over those years into the being of pure hatred we all knew as Nightmare Moon. The story of the return and downfall of the greatest threat Equestria has ever seen, begins the day before she made her presence known, one hundred and four years ago...”

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“Thank you all so much for coming, you guys,” said Twilight Sparkle cheerfully.

“You really don’t need to thank us, Twilight, at least not if the princess told you to get us here to meet a chariot,” responded Rainbow Dash. “Seriously. Legally, we have to do anything she asks us to. ANYTHING,” she continued, suppressing a shudder.

“Please, Twilight, refresh my memory...why did the princess need to see us?” inquired Rarity.

“The letter she sent me just told me to gather you here, because the princess felt something big and bad was going to happen soon, and that Luna and her didn’t feel safe,” Twilight stated, slightly annoyed at having to repeat herself.

The sound of three sets of hooves hitting the ground sounded outside, immediately followed by the clatter of wheels, signalling the arrival of the chariot.

“That was fast. Might as well return the favor and hurry along, y’all,” Applejack stated, before trotting out the door.

“Spike, take care of the library while we’re at the castle!” Twilight called, following Applejack.

The ride to the home of the royal sisters would be long, and the chariot would be filled with the sounds of the six ponies speculating on what could make the princesses feel endangered.

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As they arrived in Canterlot, Twilight and her friends were greeted by Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as a large group of armed guards.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” the solar princess greeted the six mares, clearly nervous. “I apologize if I worried you with my letter, but Luna says-”

“The stars told me that something terrible is coming, and that it’s going to usher in a time of...of...just all sorts of horrible things!” Princess Luna blurted out, not even trying to hide her fear.

Celestia let out a sigh. “Yes, exactly. We’ll explain later, after dinner. In the meantime...” the princess continued, gesturing for a group of guards to follow each of the Elements of Harmony. “Allow these guards to escort you to your quarters. Please, for your sakes, do not leave them.” Celestia and Luna turned and left, but not before calling back: “We shall send for you all when the meal is served. Please, make yourselves at home.”

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An hour had passed since the Elements’ arrival in Canterlot, and Twilight was trotting through the castle hallways, searching for the royal library, her protectors keeping pace. The sun was just setting when a loud bang was heard, followed by the continuous hum of energy.

“Augh! Guards, guards!”

The sudden cry for help caught Twilight by surprise, and sounded like it came from the other side of the castle, though that didn’t stop her and her escort from galloping towards it.

“No, Luna, run, while you-” the cry was cut off by another loud bang, followed by a thunderclap.

“Augh! Guards, hurry! There’s an intruder on the main balcony!”

Twilight had arrived at a balcony to see a huge hole in the wall, an entire platoon of dead guards, and a large, cloaked pony standing above the heavily wounded princesses, cackling manically. Soon after Twilight’s arrival, at least half of the remaining royal guards, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie had appeared.

“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” called one of the armored ponies.

“You fools. You have all just walked into your deaths. Specters, take them all, then search the castle for the Elements. They must not escape, not after what they did,” roared a familiar, although mysterious voice. Immediately after the order was issued, three spirits flew through the crowd of guards, sucking out their souls as they passed overhead. The now soulless ponies began to attack all in their path with what seemed like an unquenchable thirst for blood.

Nopony saw Princess Celestia get up through the chaos, and she used that to her advantage. Celestia’s horn began emanating a golden light, which formed into a ball of pure energy. As the princess launched the ball, the assassin turned to see it immediately before it impacted their side, igniting their cloak in bright flames.

As the fire cleared, the assassin shook herself back to her senses, before glaring at the princesses. “How DARE you assault the mighty Nightmare Moon!" roared the clearly weakened alicorn that was disguised just moments before. As the assassin’s rage grew, her horn began arcing with dark lightning, striking down guard and zombie alike.

“I suppose you are this 'great evil' that we were warned about?” scoffed Celestia, barely managing to stay on her hooves. “I also suppose that you want something from us."

“Yes, and I don’t plan on leaving here without it,” replied the black mare, slowly approaching the princesses, horn glowing.

The standing princess grinned. “Well, too bad for you, then. Guards! Retreat!” Celestia called, as calmly as she could. “I’m sorry, Luna, but this is the only way we can save our citizens,” whispered the princess of the sun darkly, as Luna struggled to get up.

“Do it,” replied the darker princess as she rose to her hooves, revealing a large charred hole in her side. The royal sisters’ horns began to glow in unison.

As tendrils of shadow shot from Nightmare Moon, the two princesses floated up into the air, surrounded by a shield of pure magic, before being replaced by a single orb of gold and silver light. Everypony stopped to admire the orb, which shattered into three smaller spheres that shot towards Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash before disappearing.

“You heard her, men! Fall back! Protect the Elements we have!” ordered one of the few sane guards remaining.

“Wait! What about Fluttershy, Rarity and AJ?” cried the cyan pony, as the ponies fled the bloodbath.

“We can’t risk going after them! We’ll just have to hope they get out alright!” responded the guard that ordered the retreat. “Just keep running, and lay low after you escape! We’ll make sure they don’t come after you!” the armor clad pony called as he and three other guards turned to face the charging onslaught of corrupt ponies. “See you in hell, friends.”

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Upon escaping, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie hid in an alley, discussing where they should go to hide.

“Maybe we could go to the Town Hall in Ponyville? We could try and convince everypony of what happened...” reasoned the cyan pony, restlessly pacing around as much as the enclosed space allowed.

“No, Nightmare Moon might expect us to hide somewhere in Ponyville, since that’s where our first encounter was, and that’s...that's not a risk I want to take...any ideas, Pinkie?” panted Twilight, before turning to face the party pony.

“Well, my uncle owns a business around here, so we might be able to hide there for a bit,” Pinkie said, peeking out of the alley. “Come on, it’s just down the street, I can take you there.”

A short time later, the three elements arrived at a bar. As the three mares entered the building, the bell above the door rung.

“Hey, it’s my favorite goddaughter an’ her friends! How are ya, Pinkie?” the aged brown unicorn behind the bar cheerfully said upon seeing the girls.

“Not too good, sir. Let me explain...” responded Twilight, interrupting Pinkie and talking over her objections.

“Alright, but first, lemme get you some drinks, on the house. Pick yer poison, girls,” the pony said, motioning to the wide variety of bottles he had arranged on the shelf behind the bar, including one labelled “Oak Brandy - Manliest drink in Canterlot!”.

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“So lemme get this straight...that crazy bitch Nightmare Moon came back again, tried to kill the princesses, and that three of yer friends are missin’, right?” asked Brandy, owner and sole barkeep of the aptly named tavern “Brandy’s”, after Twilight had finished recounting the events at the castle.

Brandy’s was a cozy little place, with an assortment of couches, stools, recliners, old radios, and a large brick fireplace on the wall opposite the door.

“Tha’s pretty...pretty mush it, *hic* Branny. Hey, gimme another bottle of whiskey,” slurred the extremely drunk Rainbow Dash.

“Little lady, you’ve emptied half my supply yerself. It’s a miracle you’re still conscious, let alone alive. Just...just go over there and take a rest on the couch, will ya?” responded Brandy, a combination of worry and annoyance evident in his words. Rainbow Dash grumbled as she stumbled over to the furniture the brown pony mentioned, before passing out on the couch.

“Any idea what could have caused that craziness, uncle Brandy?” questioned Pinkie, following Luna’s example on hiding fear.

“I’m not sure that even Pinkie could find a reason to be cheerful in this situation...” thought Twilight.

“I think I read something or other about that in one of these old books I got from the library,” responded Brandy, as he dug around behind the bar. “Ah, here it is!” he said as he slammed a dusty book on the bar. Opening the book, the bartender skimmed over most of the pages. “Right here. ‘True chaos never dies, and as such, is present in the hearts of ponies that once fell victim to it. As it can never be dismissed, it is possible for a being of great power to harvest the chaos, and implement it into something else, to halt the damage it could do...or release it, though the being in question would have to be as powerful as a god, and it can take anywhere between five years, to a full decade for released chaos to become powerful enough to do anything significant. In addition, only highly concentrated chaos - I.E an immense hatred towards somepony or something - would last long without a host.” Brandy finished, closing the book. “Know of anypony that could have done something like that?”

The two conscious mares sat, thinking, until Twilight spoke. “I can only think of one, but he’s not a pony...Discord. We defeated him about...what, eight years ago? Either way, he seemed to at least think he had a trick up his sleeve,” the intellectual unicorn continued. “And since it's Nightmare Moon, maybe Discord found time to take that chaos from Luna...”

“I guess it’s possible...did you find anything else, uncle?” Pinkie asked.

The brown pony thought for a moment before responding. “Well, since you mentioned orbs and spirits and whatnot, yes.” Brandy took out yet another book, and slammed it on top of the first. “This book says somethin’ to the effect of ‘to become a true ruler, one must possess three traits; Wisdom, the will to fight until the end, and a sense of justice. An alicorn possessing any of these traits may bless a pony they deem worthy with them, though the blessing involves splitting the spirit of the alicorn from the body. In addition, if a non-alicorn possesses a trait in great enough concentration, they may also pass it on, though only after death.’ The book’s description and yours are about the same,” continued the bartender. “Maybe the princesses passed those traits on to you three? I mean, you kinda assumed a lot just from who the assassin looked and acted like for one, Twilight.”

“And about the spirits?” questioned Twilight, before quickly adding: “Please don’t ramble on about it if you do know anything.”

“Can't say I do know anything," Brandy responded.

After a short silence, Pinkie spoke up, looking confused. “Hey, Twilight, what happened to your cutie mark?”

“What are you talking about, Pinkie? My cutie mark is...” Twilight responded, before looking at her flank. “My cutie mark is...gone! What about yours? Did it go away?” Twilight asked, panic evident in her voice.

The pink pony examined her own flank, almost falling off her stool in the progress. “Weeeeeeeeell now that you mention it, seems my mark is...some sort of scale? And are those wings?” Pinkie gasped. “Maybe Brandy's right, and I'm supposed to pass judgement on people, like that Death Note comic!” she continued in an excited voice.

“So I stand corrected,” the purple unicorn thought.

Twilight gathered her thoughts before speaking again. “Man, this is all so strange,” the lavender mare hung her head low, knowing that there were too many questions that needed answers she couldn’t supply.

The conversation had awoken Rainbow Dash, who trotted over to the group, only a little tipsy. “Speaking of cutie marks...” Rainbow turned, so the other ponies could see her side. “Mine changed, too. Looks like a blue fire or something. And if what you said is true, barkeep, then it must be...what did you say, gramps? A representation of the ‘Will to fight’?” questioned the cyan pony, attempting to make air-quotes with her hooves. The old pony simply glared in response to the derogatory remark.

“Ok you three, if Nightmare Moon is back, then you’d best do something about it,” Brandy said, suddenly serious. “Gather up all the ponies you can find, let ‘em know what happened to the princesses, why we’ve been stuck at dusk the past twenty-four or so hours, and tell them all to meet here say, a week from tomorrow. Just lay low in your homes when you’re done gettin’ recruits,” he continued. “This town ain’t safe anymore, bein so close to evil like that, and since I’ll be packing up to move to a new place in Manehattan soon anyways, here isn’t a good place to stay. I made a deal a few weeks ago, got a nice big hotel already paid for. You can all stay there when we arrive, free of charge,” Brandy said, before turning to Rainbow Dash. “Now, do you mind telling me how in the hay you sobered up so quickly?” The cyan pony simply chuckled nervously and shrugged in response.

Twilight bid farewell to Pinkie, as well as Brandy and Rainbow Dash, who were now arguing about how sober a pony would become after sleeping for an hour, and left for Ponyville to collect anything that she may need. “Early bird catches the worm, Twilight,” the unicorn said under her breath as she left the bar.

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Twilight’s first thought upon arriving in Ponyville was to head home and give Spike a list of ponies to send Brandy’s instructions to.

Spike was outside the library, watering the hanging plants, when he saw Twilight galloping towards him. A second before the mare impacted her assistant’s ladder, he had leapt into the library’s branches. “Woah, Twi. You gotta slow down some. You could’ve really hurt yourself,” the dragon said, as he landed on the ground, brushing the leaves off himself. "Or me!"

Twilight stood up, and shook all the debris from her crash off. She stood half as high as Spike did. “I’m never going to stop being amazed at how tall you got, Spike.” The mare giggled, looking up at Spike.

“Well, you were there when I became a teenager, so you of all ponies should know I’d be hitting a growth spurt. And seriously, you’ve got to stop saying that,” the dragon responded, crossing his arms. “Why were you running at top speed here, anyways? Does it have anything to do with the sun and moon being stuck where they are?”

“You're good, Spike. It's a long story. Let’s get some coffee, and I’ll tell you about it. Better get some parchment, a quill, and some ink, too,” responded Twilight, attempting to fake relief. Spike claims to have gotten over Rarity, but he regularly proved himself wrong. He would not be pleased with the news.

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“The week had passed, and all the ponies we had gathered met at the bar,” the queen said. “That meeting was the first of many to come, though the last in Canterlot. We all left for Manehattan the next day. It took us two years to do much of anything besides guerrilla actions, but when we did, we relocated to the metro, which we had made the official headquarters of what had been named the Rising Sun,” she continued. “We made no efforts to hide our intentions. We frequently bombed, assassinated, and burnt high value ponies and buildings. We showed them no mercy whatsoever, and they returned the favor.” Twilight paused briefly, and let out a sigh before continuing. “Everypony knew what was coming...but nopony knew when.” Next Chapter: The Second Week Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 19 Minutes