Rise and Fall of Dark Rise: The Origin of the Headless Horse

Our story takes place in a time long before the rule of our fair princess Celestia, before the three tribes had joined together to form Equestria. The story of the Headless Horse is a story of forbidden love, for back then it was taboo to mix blood with the other tribes.

Dark Rise was a unicorn who had studied all his youth to master the spells that raise and lower the celestial bodies and keep the flow of night and day. In his time, it was required in order to maintain the balance between the tribes and uphold the treaty with the earth ponies that saw the unicorns paid in food. His standing in society was high, and he garnered great respect among the other unicorns who worked the celestial magic. We begin on the day he is summoned by the king.

Dark Rise stood in the isle of a mostly empty throne room. Those that were present were Unicorn officials. Each wore a mantle bearing the royal crest opposite their cutie marks that proclaimed they were a part of King Suvrain’s personal council. They were ponies he had only dreamed of meeting and his excitement was hard to keep in check. He had made sure to look his best for this summons; his gray coat had just been groomed and his black mane was braided loosely down the back of his neck. It was not every day that you were brought before the king and his council members for an audience.

“My advisers have told me much about you, Dark Rise,” the king spoke from atop the dais. The council members stood at the bottom of the stairs, their eyes on Dark. “They say that your dedication to the Unicorn Tribe and your abilities have proven you worthy of being considered for a new appointment.”

The king stood and descended the small stairway. “After their arguments, I believe their suggestion to be in good council,” he said as he approached. “We have need of a pony to become the face of our negotiations with the Earth Tribe. To be frank you are being considered for this position because Sunblaze believes you have substantial latent potential within your abilities.”

Dark beamed at the thought of Sunblaze the Bald taking notice of him. He had worked hard for recognition from those above him, but never had he thought to catch Sunblaze’s eye. “Thank you, your grace,” he said.

The king looked him over a moment. “Do not thank me, Dark Rise. I have given you nothing. You have only yourself to thank, or curse, for this chance,” the king said severely and turning toward a side door and motioning for Dark to follow him. “We have much to discuss.” The councilors fell in behind them, the chorus of their hooves muffled by the carpet.

“Our population has grown substantially since we last negotiated with the Earth Tribe,” the king continued as they walked. “We have a need for a greater supply of food. Your task will be to convince the Earth Ponies of their need of us for more than just raising and setting the sun and moon. We have much to offer them if they can be convinced to come out of their archaic traditions.”

They entered a room with a large table surrounded by cushions. Each cushion bore the cutie mark of one of the councilors. Each began to find their place and take their seats. “This is the council chamber, Dark Rise,” said the king. “Take your seat.”

The king lowered his head, his horn pointing to the only blank cushion Dark could see. Suddenly threads came to life from within the pillow. Before his eyes, his half-sun, half-moon cutie mark was stitched into the pillow in perfect detail. Controlling so many threads with such ease and precision… Dark thought to himself, staring in amazement as the threads wove their pattern. The king was obviously a master of his magical craft.

When the stitching was done the king continued around the table to the only chair. It dominated the room with a high back, the royal crest carved into the wood across the top. Dark Rise took his seat and glanced around the room, still incredulous about the company he was in. Sitting next to him was Gold Stamp, the king’s chief advisor and steward. She wore her black mantle with violet edging bearing a golden work stamp that mirrored her name. Across the table was Stronghoof, Captain of the Royal Guard; his mantle was the royal purple fringed in silver bearing his spear and shield cutie mark in gold and silver.

However, the most notable to Dark was Sunblaze the Bald, the kingdom’s most powerful magician. His mantle was bright red, fringed in black sable bearing the bright gold sunburst that was his cutie mark. It was said he knew more about magic than nearly everypony else combined. What Dark wouldn’t give to pick that unicorns brain for a day…

“Now we can get to business,” the king said once they were all seated. Dark blinked and looked at the king. “Stamp, give Dark Rise a copy of the ledger and explain what we have in mind for him, if you would.”

A cloth bound booklet lifted magically from the table in front of Gold Stamp and was placed before Dark. He opened it, looking at the table of contents as she began. “This gives you an idea of what will be asked of you. It has a basic overview of everything,” said Gold Stamp.

“Each of us,” Gold stamp motioned to the other councilors, “has put together a dossier of the trade goods that we have to offer the earth tribe, and you will receive a copy of these documents as well. These trade goods are to be used in an attempt to increase relations and foodstuffs gained to insure the prosperity of unicorns.

“As a tribe we have grown substantially and the current arrangement will not sustain us should we continue to grow. Within this folder,” she tapped another dossier in front of her as she spoke, “are the economical listings for our tribe: average annual consumption per crop, average household growth…” Gold Stamp trailed off as Dark raised his hoof. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” he said with uncertainty as he lowered his hoof onto the opened folder before him, “but I can’t help but wonder what this could possibly have to do with me…”

“Ah, yes,” she said with a small smile. “It is true you were not selected for this because you excel in negotiations. You will be undergoing a lot of training for that and a small team of advisors will be accompanying you.” Dark sat listening to the king’s steward intently. “You have been selected for this role because, for the duration of the negotiations, you will be the sole unicorn raising and lowering the celestial bodies as a show of the ability of the unicorns.”

Dark blinked. He had never attempted such a feat. He didn’t know of anypony that had, or if it were even possible. The fewest number of unicorns he had worked with up to this point was five. “Is that even possible?” he asked, looking around the table uncertainly.

“It is.” It was Sunblaze that answered the question. “It has not been practiced for hundreds of years. In the old times rulership of the Unicorn Tribe was passed only to a pony who could raise the sun and moon on their own.”

“Sunblaze has assured us that he sees in you the potential to be able to achieve this great feat,” said the King. “You will be spending much of your time with him in the coming months working to hone your unique talent.”

Dark Rise’s eyes widened. Sunblaze would be teaching him personally. He barely managed to contain his excitement and bowed his head to the King. “I will do everything I can to succeed, Your Highness.”

Gold Stamp cleared her throat. “We do not doubt that, however, our concern is not primarily your magical ability. We need to know if you can fulfill the rest of the role that you’re to be groomed for. So, you will be granted quarters on the castle grounds and each day you will be meeting with myself and the other advisors to see how well you are able to retain the information.”

The second dossier lifted from in front of Gold Stamp and was placed next to the one that was open before Dark. He watched in silence as the dossier from Stronghoof levitated and was placed on top of the other. “That details the many different types of metalwork we have at our disposal and the different spells we can use to prolong the life of the metal and the performance of the equipment that they are used on,” said the Captain in a gruff voice.

Dark jumped as a small white colt with long chin hair set a folder on the table next to him and then ran back around the table to sit behind Sunblaze. He hadn’t noticed the child before. “That,” said Sunblaze, “lists several different potions my students and I have been developing for these negotiations.”

“Keep in mind,” chimed in Gold Stamp. “We do not wish to teach them to produce any of this themselves. Their dependence on us ensures a lasting agreement and puts us in the position of power in the relationship. I shouldn’t need to explain how this could change our current situation and how it could open endless doors for our tribe to progress. As it is we raise the sun so that they can grow food and eat, but if we withhold such in retaliation, we suffer just as much as they do.

“This is a lot of information to take in all at once,” Gold Stamp continued with a sigh. “I encourage you to take each of these folders and look them over tonight. If this is something you do not think you can do, alert me before tomorrow. We begin your training in the morning.”

The king and the other councilors began to stand and exit the room. Dark stayed seated, staring down at the folders, trying to process everything that had been presented to him. He had always wanted recognition, maybe even fame. This all seemed like too much though.

A hoof touched Dark’s shoulder and he jumped again. “Wait outside,” said Sunblaze to the colt. He bowed his head and ducked out the door, leaving Dark alone with the master mage.

“We are putting a great deal on your shoulders, Dark Rise,” he said softly. “We wouldn’t do so if I did not believe you to be capable of handling this burden.

“Do not get me wrong,” he continued, taking a seat next to Dark, “it will take a lot of effort and dedication on your part, but I assure you I will help you along the path as best I can.”

Dark was speechless. Next to him sat a legend talking to him as if they were friends from old. “Thank you, sir,” he said quietly, looking down toward the table.

“I will be the one thanking you, Dark rise, once you accomplish the tasks laid before you,” said Sunblaze with a small smile. Dark looked at the master for a moment. His doubts remained but they were now outweighed by a desire to please this stallion.

“Gold Stamp has somepony waiting to show you to your quarters. You have a lot to read and even more to think about,” he said. “You should get some good rest tonight. If you choose to accept this opportunity we have a lot ahead of us.”

Sunblaze stood and Dark followed levitating the folders after them.

“I hope to see you tomorrow morning first thing to start your conditioning at the rising of the sun.”

-

Dark Rise spent the following months in heavy study, poring over ledgers and working on his magical talents. The most grueling parts, he felt, were studying the needs of his tribe. It was endless numbers and projections for the future. By the end of a day’s meeting with Gold Stamp, Dark’s head was swimming. His favorite parts of the week were when he was working with Sunblaze and his students.

He had spent the majority of his adult life trying to perfect his abilities, and now he was being coached by a master of magical craft. Those days were easily the longest but felt like the shortest. The first practice Sunblaze gave him, he thought was a joke. Sunblaze was not impressed with his chuckle.

“You must learn to keep your focus while under extreme pressure,” he had said, his steely stare quelling Darks mirth. “Levitating yourself will not only begin to prepare you to lift greater weight, but will also force you to still your mind and your body.”

At first the spell seemed impossible, but slowly he was able to get himself off the ground. Often times it was only briefly and he would end up in a heap. Once he was able to hold the spell for over an hour without a struggle Sunblaze nodded in approval.

“Very good,” he had said. “I expected no less. Now, for your next exercise.”

Sunblaze had lead him from his students’ study to the main courtyard where the raising of the sun occurred. Sitting in the center was a boulder as large as his room. “You will need to be able to levitate this,” he told Dark. “Once you are able to hold this boulder off the ground for one hour the students will begin casting spells to make it denser and harder to hold until I determine you are ready.”

For the coming weeks the boulder became Darks world on the days he studied with Sunblaze. His studies with the other councilors became a sweet release. To their surprise Dark was taking quickly to their subjects and began earning each of their approval. In all honesty he only cared for Sunblaze’s praise, but he knew he had to master the knowledge as well as the magical craft to succeed in this task and ultimately please Sunblaze.

It took time to master his practices, but by the end of the third month Sunblaze arranged for Dark to raise the sun while the others focused on lowering the moon. As the day approached Dark’s nerves began to get to him and he decided to pay his mentor a visit.

“You give yourself far too little credit, Dark. Trust yourself. Trust your teacher. Besides,” he added with an almost imperceptible twinkle of mirth in his eye, “the other students will be ready to assist you, should you require it.”

The promise of assistance seemed like a challenge to Dark, and while it calmed his nerves it added a new pressure to the task. The day before his test he asked to cancel all his other meetings and spent the day in the courtyard practicing holding and catching the boulder. He went to bed that night exhausted but at least he felt ready.

Morning arrived almost too quickly and Dark was standing in the courtyard again. It had been a while since he had worked with the celestials themselves, but he remembered where to feel beyond the horizon to find the sun. On Sunblaze’s signal he took hold and began. The ordeal was tougher than he had expected. By the end of the raising he was drenched in sweat and was barely able to keep his hooves under him. As he panted, he stared up at his work. The sun hung in the sky, blazing brightly, proclaiming day had begun. His pride swelled and he smiled to himself. All he wanted then was to sleep.

While he was recuperating in his quarters, King Suvrain sent him a summons. When he arrived in the throne room, the councilors were already assembled and waiting with the king atop his dais.

“Dark Rise, my councilors have made steady reports to me on your progress. It has been very encouraging to see you rising so quickly to the challenge. It seems that you will be able to meet the needs we have for an ambassador.

“You have been brought here, before gods and ponies, to determine if you will accept the task for which you are training, and is now offered to you. Do you swear your life to the Unicorn Tribe, on pain of death?” The king asked getting straight to the point.

“I do,” Dark Rise replied, his eyes glancing to where Sunblaze stood smiling softly.

“Then kneel,” he commanded. “I, King Suvrain, with the power given me by birthright, hereby declare you to be chief overseer of the treaty negotiations with the Earth Pony Tribe,” the king said from the dais of the throne room. “Arise, Ambassador Dark Rise.”