Friends of the Dawn

When I was young, and the Lunar Rebellion was in its infancy, Iron Pick reassured me that my father would return and everything would be all right. I believed him, at least until the sky turned dark for weeks on end, and the moon blacked out the sun. When the unbearable heat of the summer gave way to the endless cold of night, my family and I huddled together for warmth as we waited for news from the front. We worked when we could to bring life to the land, but the darkness sapped our energy, and we waited endlessly for the dawn to come.

Then the darkness broke. The sun rose again, the world warming in the embrace of our goddess. With the dawn of a new day, the war ended, and our family watched the horizon for the return of those we had sent to war. We waited for Father to come home. He never did.

The black stallion returned to us with the news of father’s passing. Soul Chase died in the Princess’s throne room as she made the final stand against Nightmare Moon. Were it not for him and the soldiers that stood in defence of the Princess, the night would have lasted forever.  The news broke our hearts, but coming from a pony like Iron Pick, it was bearable. When we learned that Celestia left the world to mourn her sister, Equestria seemed darker at her disappearance.

Life always finds a way of moving on, and in time, we put aside our memories of those lost and focused on the future instead. Plants grew, families grew, and Equestria was again at peace. But that peace would not last forever.

Heart Chase placed her quill across the inkwell and stretched her tired neck muscles. As the pen clattered against inkwell, she couldn’t help but notice how the limestone walls and endless pigeon holes of of scrolls echoed every scratch of quill and every exasperated sigh. Here she passed hers days beneath the ivory towers of Canterlot Castle as a ghost, rather than a mare of rank and standing.

For the past few weeks, a minor injury during training exercises confined her to a desk to mop up paperwork. Long after she’d healed, great piles of scrolls and ledgers found their way onto her desk in the scriptorium, each demanding the attention of a senior Knight of Friendship. The work poured in endless streams, flushed through the lines of command to whomever happened to be unlucky enough to fly a desk that week. Unlucky for Heart Chase, no pony else had fallen ill, and the chains of bureaucracy enslaved her to her desk. But the piles in her inbox wasn’t what drew her concern. It was a far smaller letter, bearing the seal the seal of her husband exiled a thousand miles away.

The letter loomed in the corner of her desk, simply waiting for the chance to  ruin Heart’s day. His last few letters were increasingly depressing, expressing the loneliness of exile and the desire to see his son and daughter-in-law again. Even worse, he’d never  seen his new grandson, and the ache of not knowing the new colt only served to deepen his regret. After all, he and Heart Chase had been the architects of the second war of secession. The aggravation of remembering her path to Canterlot was far more tiring than she wanted to admit, and a headache built her temples as she remembered Celestia’s return. Iron Pick shielded her from the fallout of her actions, and karma, it seemed, completely ignored her part in starting the war of secession. Instead, fate rewarded her with a commission in a unit of warrior diplomats. The Knights of Friendship, as they were called, were her reward for the massive act of disloyalty to the crown. Three years later, and the armor of a diplomat still didn’t seem to fit properly on her shoulders.

She picked up her letter and left the lifeless scriptorum. Where she was headed was unimportant, but anywhere was better than being cooped up inside that prison of work. The stone walls echoed her hoofsteps until she came to a branch hallway. The hall, filled to the brim with life and joy, filled her ears with the sound a dozen ponies going about their lives. It was as if everyone but her were doing just what their cutie marks suggested they do. Heart turned her attentions to the squads of royal guard patrolling the hallways with all the care and attention of a colt playing hoofball. Two younger guards leered at every mare’s flank that passed.

“Lookit that cutie mark,” said the tall blue stallion. “I’d like to fertilize her garden, if you know what I mean.”

“She’s practically a filly!” shot back the orange pegasus. “What you really want is a zebra. I’ll show you how to bag one. Stripes take all types, you know.” The two continued bantering for a minute more as their conversation degraded into little more than grunts and wolf whistles. Heart Chase’s emerald eyes narrowed into slits of hate.

“Boys,” she said with only the slightest hint of malice. The taller of the guards rolled his eyes in disgust as he looked to Heart Chase. His was halfway through his witty remark when bit his tongue and snapped to attention.

“General Chase, sir! Ma’am!” he stammered. “I thought you and your squad were out on assignment.”

“We ain’t been out on assignment in a year, soldier,” said Heart Chase. She glanced at the other soldier standing at rapt attention. “What are your names, soldiers?”

“Private Butterfly, Ma’am!” announced the tall blue stallion.

“Privatel Dusty Rose, Ma’am!” stammered the shorter orange pegasus.

“Tell me, corporals,” said Heart Chase as she paced before them. “What do you know of Zebrica?”

“It’s ruled by zebras?” asked Dusty Rose.

“It’s mostly grasslands?” stammered Butterfly.

“Yer forgetting something important,” said Heart Chase, tapping her hoof against Butterfly’s helm. “Tell me what yer forgetting.”

The two looked at each other for a moment, as if trying to delve into the depths of the other’s minds. The answer eluded them until Heart Chase shook her head in disgust.

“Fer one thing, zebras are just like any other mare,” she said. “And I ain’t sure they’d appreciate what ya’ll are saying about them. Second, Princess Celestia banished the Lunar Rebels there, which means we’re gonna have potential hostiles on the castle grounds this weekend.” She shifted her gaze between the two guards. “I suggest y’all concentrate more on your patrols and less on cutie marks for the remainder of the week. Do I make myself clear?”

Pale with terror, the guards nodded before dashing away. As they spun around a corner, Heart Chase could only sigh in disgust. In truth, she didn’t much care that palace guards weren’t doing their duty, nor did she care that they were ogling the flanks of the mares that passed by. After all, she had engaged in that pastime herself. The feeling was far less understandable, as if something were gnawing on her insides, and setting every nerve on edge. It was like a current  her head, just waiting for a spot to ground itself.

Walking past another pair of servants, she couldn’t help but notice the brand new pearls in the mare’s ears. The symbol of a new marriage made her look to her own earrings, thinking back to that day nearly three years ago when she said “I do” to a stallion that she didn’t love for a chance at a throne of her own. The aftermath of that ceremony led directly to the civil war that enveloped Equestria and nearly toppled the reign of Celestia. Then again, If it hadn’t been for her and her friends, Equestria would have fallen under the brutal hoof of Nightmare Moon’s general, Glaive.

For their actions, Celestia saw fit to gift Heart Chase and her friends with Knighthood and charged them with the mission of spreading peace and harmony throughout the land. The combination of Bard’s magical talents, Constance’s sultry persuasiveness, and Ridgeline’s incredible physical power made for a team perfectly suited to all things both diplomatic and aggressive. But as the ranks of the Knights swelled, more teams began to match the prowess of their founding squad. Younger Knights with new ideas and high ideals ventured forth into the lands around Equestria, bringing peace to the world. The founding squad found itself adventuring less as the months passed, and this year, they hadn’t left the palace grounds.

As if summoned by thought, Bard and Constance appeared from around the corner, arguing as they always were, and oblivious to the rest of the traffic in the halls. Heart Chase couldn’t help but watch as they argued, the subtle lines of weariness growing on Bard’s face. Constance, years younger and far more sprightly, only smiled at her tiring companion in a way that left Heart Chase with a pang of jealousy. Their argument echoed through the halls, leaving other ponies tittering in their wake. Younger Knights only shook their heads as they passed. Bard looked up, paused mid sentence and replaced his glare with a warm smile.

“Mother of Luna, you are alive!” said Bard. “I thought Celestia had locked you away in the scriptorum forever.”

“I’m sure she’d love to do that,” said Heart Chase. “I ain’t up fer retirin’ just yet.”

“I certainly think that mares of our age shouldn’t even dream of letting the fillies and colts take over everything,” said Constance with a smile.

Truthfully, Heart Chase was glad to pass the torch to a younger generation. Though she wasn’t that old, the things she and her friends had seen in the past few years left her face lined with the wrinkles of stress. She wasn’t the only one of her group to have suffered the fate of premature aging. Bard, who was no spring chicken to begin with, had already started to go grey around the temples, giving his sky blue coat an air of dignity. He looked more like his mother each day, which Constance felt the need to chide him ib regularly. Constance, on the other hoof, seemed to get more beautiful as the days passed, and Heart Chase found herself lingering on her soft curves for perhaps too long.

“Something troubling you, dear?” asked Constance.

“Me?” asked Heart, snapping back to the conversation at hand. “Uh, nope, everything is...” She paused and looked around for a moment. “Well, frankly, I’m bored outta my mind.”

“I understand the frustration,” said Bard. “We should have our choice of assignments, yet her majesty hasn’t sent us anywhere.”

“I bet she’s saving our unique talents for something special,” said Constance.

“I think she’s just tryin’ to keep us safe,” said Heart. “With what’s been goin’ on in Zebrica, I can’t blame her.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Constance with a flip of her silky mane. “I’m sure we’ll get to go somewhere fabulous and exciting soon.” She tousled Bard’s greying mane. “Even if this old stallion probably won’t survive the journey.”

“Mare, I swear to Celestia, if you keep calling me old, I will do things to you that will make you miserable beyond belief.” Papers and dust tumbled through the hall along the magic-summoned breeze as Bard’s horn glowed with a dull light.

“Oh, forgive me for not falling at the altar of the Great and Powerful Bardiche!” sneered Constance. “I had forgotten you were the mighty wizard who summons gusts of wind!”

“Look here you rose-flanked temptress...”

Heart only sighed as she left the two to argue. She’d meant to invite them to do something, but they seemed focused on trying to maim each other with words. Perhaps later would be a better time. She continued her walk through the halls of Canterlot castle, taking in the new frescos that lined the walls.

While leaving the castle itself untouched, the war had changed the hearts and minds of many ponies. They had chipped away at the royal seal of sisters to replace it with only Celestia. Every portrait of Luna disappeared behind fresh plaster, and every crescent became part of a sun. A few odd reliefs remained unbroken, but even those would fall beneath the chisel of the masons. None spoke of the Night Princess anymore; they only spoke of her darker half and of the night that lasted too long.

Heart shook her head to clear her mind of the parallels from her own family and focused instead on the windows of the palace. Outside, storm clouds gathered, spilling rain onto the land and bringing life back to the world after the long winter. The castle halls eventually emptied into a courtyard where a massive copper coated stallion sat in silence as the rain pattered down upon him.

Poor Ridgeline, thought Heart Chase. Though the youngest of the group, his life had been a mess since he was just a colt. The patchwork of scars that lined his coat only hinted at his hardships. The roguish eye patch gave him an air of mystery, but the eye he’d lost in the battle for Canterlot had given him perspective far beyond his years. Though never much of a talker, he had been quieter as the adventures waned, and had taken to simply sitting in silence in the courtyard no matter the weather. His efforts in the year off adventuring seemed to be of an academic bent, rather than his usual regimen of brutal physical training, as he tried to exorcise the demon from his mind. He was no more clever for the effort, but he, much like everyone else, had changed.

It finally hit Heart Chase as the source of her worry. Everything had changed, and it was so gradual that she didn’t even notice there was a problem. Her friends drifted away, more concerned with other projects than their relationship. Next, after some increasingly depressed letters, Iron Pick stopped writing entirely. The unopened letter arrived almost two weeks ago without a sign that more were coming. She’d meant to ask Bard if he could teleport her down to see him, but he’d been busy with a “secret project” and couldn’t be bothered.

The halls eventually led Heart Chase out of the castle along a pebbled path. Though entitled to palatial quarters, the quiet walks to her apartment every day gave her time to think about her troubles. Troubles like Celestia’s return to power and how she threw the Knights at every problem that came across her desk. They solved most of them, but in the past few months, squads sent to check on the Lunar Rebellion exiles hadn’t come back, and nothing was being done about it. Celestia said nothing about it even when questioned directly, and the silence of the monarch worried her more than a casual dismissal of the losses would. Heart considered each and every one of her Knights a friend, even if she didn’t know them as well as she should have. It was her duty to keep them safe, and Celestia’s refusal to do anything about the missing emissaries ground against her mind like her hooves ground upon the gravel path.

Droplets of rain spattered on the stone sculptures of ponies long passed as she walked along the path. Each was labeled with a bronze plaque, exalting their deeds and proclaiming their greatness through the ages. Many were saviors of Equestria in one form or another, and a few even predated the kingdom. They were reminders to all that Equestria, when not absorbed by its petty concerns and desires, was a family willing to make sacrifices for the good of the world. It gave Heart hope that the Knights would one day be counted among the ranks of those that had done so much good. It wasn’t until she came to the statue of the draconequus that she gave pause.

Though she passed by the marble statue every day, today she paused and really looked at it. Spatters of mud nearly obscured the inlaid plaque describing the statue, and vines of wild ivy grew around the pedestal in great, thick curtains. The statue itself seemed to be singing, though why such a villain would sing was anypony’s guess. The mismatched pieces of creatures joined together in perfect discord, creating a beast unnatural to this and all worlds. The wrongness of it all turned Heart Chase’s stomach and she wondered why Celestia would keep such a hideous thing in the garden for the world to see.

“It’s all yer fault anyway,” said Heart Chase to the statue. “If it weren’t fer you, we’d all be happy.”

The distant rumble of thunder heralded the arrival of a downpour, leaving Heart Chase standing out in the torrents of rain. In a moment, rain soaked her coat to the skin, though she saw no reason to run for shelter. The rain washed over her in warm torrents as the path lead her back into her apartment.

The candle’s soft glow filled the room with pleasant light that reflected from her mirror in dancing fairies of light along the walls. Rain began to seep into the cracks of the worked stone, the walls weeping under the torrents of water. Outside, the rain drummed against the slate roof in a constant, soothing rhythm that brought on a world of weariness. For the first time in months, Heart Chase saw herself in the mirror and didn’t recognize the mare staring back at her.

Lines of worry and sadness creased her freckled yellow face in deep creases, and her orange mane hung sopping wet across her shoulders. Her shoulders sagged as if she’d spent weeks hauling a cart. In reality, she had nothing but time to rest. It wasn’t so long ago that she proudly stood for a portrait with the Knights, and anyone who saw it wouldn’t think that this mare was the same one standing in that picture. Rather than the spark of inspiration, her emerald eyes instead reflected only a weariness that comes with the crushing weight of worry. Everything that had happened in the past few months reflected back at her in those eyes, and it made her tired.

She sat on her bed, laying her head upon her pillow. The gentle scent of honey and ginger wafted from the sheets as a reminder of the mare that had shared her bunk not so long ago. It was a pity that she didn’t want to understand Heart Chase’s relationship with Iron Pick; they could have had a wonderful life together. But like many things in the past few months, Ginger left, and the emptiness filled Heart Chase again.

The mirror still reflected a beaten mare, unwilling to help herself out of the funk that settled around her life. She stretched her leg and dropped off the bed.

“This ain’t who I am,” she said to the mirror. With a swat of her hoof, the mirror spun backwards in the vanity, reflecting the room as it spun. “Orders or not, yah can’t keep me down.”

Heart reached into her closet and pulled her uniform coat from the racks of dresses she never wore. In a moment, the shiny brass buttons and soft wool adorned her chest like a badge of honor. The mirror stopped spinning long enough to reflect a proud military mare, standing with shoulders squared and eyes filled with ferocity. Today was a brand new day, and she was going to seize it.

The return trip to the castle took longer than she expected as every pony along the path stopped to talk or solicit advice from her. The starched wool collar and brass buttons of a Knight’s dress gave her the confidence she needed to act her station. She was going to march up to the throne room and demand a mission.

She first went to the courtyard where she’d seen Ridgeline earlier only to find that he’d disappeared. Only a dry spot remained on the rock he sat on, leaving a ghostly negative of his presence. The search continued through the palace for her friends, only to turn up empty-hoofed. Though her three friends were high profile, no one had seen the three since earlier that afternoon. In fact, at least two servants denied seeing them at all that day, insisting they’d left earlier on some sort of assignment. Heart wandered the grounds for a while hoping to find the trio in their offices. Instead, she found a hoof full of scribes quietly scribbling away on scrolls.

“Ya’ll seen Ridgeline?” asked Heart Chase. “Constance? Bard? Any of the Knights?”

“A thousand pardons, General Chase,” said a grey unicorn with a salute. “They left here an hour ago. They said they were headed somewhere, but didn’t say where.”

Heart Chase paused a moment, trying to process the information. “They... left?” she asked. “As in, went somewhere without me?”

“They had their saddle bags packed and ready to go,” he said. “Weren’t you going with them?”

“I guess not,” muttered Heart Chase. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

She wandered away from the offices in a bewildered trance. While they had perhaps grown distant in the past few months, she never expect her friend to up and leave without so much as a goodbye. Had they been deployed? Had they finally grown tired of living life in the palace and set forth for adventure?

Whispers caught her ear as she continued her trot along the halls. Bits of rumors and conjecture that were barely loud enough to pass from one pony to the next danced in her ears as she passed. How did these other ponies know that she hadn’t been feeling well? Or that her friends were drifting apart? What other rumors swirled unheard about the palace?

Perhaps the temper of friendship that saw them through the darkest times had grown brittle in these long months of inactivity. Her friends seemed to thrive on conflict and without a challenge, they simply drifted apart. Perhaps it was time for Heart Chase to hang up her armor, and return to the farm after all.

The clatter of an armored salute drew Heart Chase from her reflection and snapped her back into the real world. With a quick look around, she saw that she had inadvertently walked to the majestic marble hall where Celestia sat in court. Two unicorn guards remained in silent salute. Heart Chase looked around a for a moment more.

“At ease, soldiers,” she said. “Is the princess busy at the moment?”

“No, Ma’am,” snapped the guard. “In fact, she just sent word that she wanted to see you.”

“Oh.” Heart Chase looked around again for a moment. “Well, thank ya kindly.” She ran a hoof through her mane, and gave herself a once over in the reflection of the guard’s armor. Celestia would forgive her for not looking her best, especially if it were that important.

The trailing carpet silenced hoof-falls as Heart Chase made her way through the hall and to Celestia’s throne. Glimmers of colored light danced around the stained glass of the windows depicting scenes of Equestria’s greatest triumphs. From the first windows depicting Equestria’s founding to the window depicting Discord’s downfall, the history lesson followed Heart Chase until she came to the window nearest the princess.

Instead of Luna raising the moon, it now held a portrait of Celestia defeating Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony. The sharp contrast of the gentle image of Celestia raising the sun on the opposite window gave Heart Chase pause. It was her fault the window was broken, having bucked the leader of the Lunar Rebellion through it three years earlier, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed they hadn’t replaced it with Luna. In fact, the only piece of the night princess that remained in the throne room was in Celestia’s heart.

“You’re thinking, ‘How quickly we forget history’,” said Celestia as she stood from her throne.  “Luna’s quickly becoming a non-pony, more of a memory than a mare.”

“You wanted to see me, yer highness?” asked Heart Chase, bowing before her princess.

“Yes, I did,” said Celestia. “Please stand. I’ve heard that you haven’t been feeling that well lately. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m...” Heart Chase paused, trying to think of an answer. “I’m fine, yer highness. Thank you for yer concern, but I’m fit as a fiddle and ready for whatever you need me for.” Celestia paused, and looked down at Heart Chase.

“I don’t need you for anything at the moment,” said Celestia. “Aside from the southern patrols, there’s been no new developments that require your attention or your team’s expertise.”

“We could investigate that,” said Heart Chase. “Shoot, I’m sure we’d be more than happy to get out of the castle for a few months.”

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” said Celestia. “Why don’t you take a few days off before the Gala? You look like you could use a spa day.”

“I...”

“I insist,” said Celestia. “I’ll have my chariot take you to the hot springs in the morning. You’ll feel like a new mare, I guarantee it.”

Heart Chase paused, if only because her princess was insisting. Normally, that sort of girlish excess was Constance's realm, and the idea of letting some stallion manhandle her just wasn’t that appealing. Still, if the princess insisted , then it was probably for a good reason. Perhaps a relaxing dip in the sulfur springs would do her a world of good after all.

“I’ll go, yer majesty,” said Heart Chase. “But only because it’s you insisted. Thank you.” She bowed, and walked in silence from the Princess.

“Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?” asked Celestia.

Heart Chase turned to face her princess. “No,” lied Heart Chase. “I think you’re right. I’ll go have a few days off, and get back to you on that.”

“Remember that your friends still love you, Heart Chase,” said Celestia. “Those three hearts of your flank aren’t just for show.”

“I’ll remember that,” said Heart Chase. “Thank you, Princess.”