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

Over the following month, Dark raised the sun alone daily, each day growing more and more accustomed to its weight. The first week was agonizing as he spent hours after each ceremony recovering from the strain. The second day was the toughest and he thought he wasn’t going to be able to complete the spell, but a simple look from Sunblaze was enough to spur him on. The following week they began having him lower the sun alone each night as well. By the end of the month he was able to raise and lower the sun without repercussion.

However, the moment he felt comfortable Sunblaze was there to press him further. “Now you must learn to hold the moon and the sun at once,” he had told him. “Tomorrow you begin focusing a second spell while you raise the sun.”

He started small by having Dark attempt to keep an orb of water floating in a figure eight as he pushed the sun into the sky. It proved almost as difficult as raising the sun itself and Dark was unable to keep the orb from spilling to the ground, let alone moving in a figure eight. To make matters worse, Dark was also introduced to the equations he would need to know to determine when to make the sun set in relation to when it was raised.

In the past these equations were never something he had to worry about; somepony would give him and the other unicorns a time for sunset and they would carry out the task. Dark counted himself lucky that the equations determining the distance the sun was from the earth were something he already knew by heart, and it’s placement in the sky was almost second nature. Coupling this new mental challenge with his struggles maintaining two spells, Dark lived in furious frustration with himself for the first week.

His mentor gave him exercises to begin practicing in his spare time, time which seemed to have disappeared since he was given this position. Now that he was sworn in, the other councilors seemed to have every moment of his time ear marked for some bit of study, which left Dark practicing the spells Sunblaze gave him deep into the night. They seemed simple enough; rotate one orb of water to the right. Once it was stable, form a second orb and rotate it to the left. Sometimes the forming of the second orb was enough to disrupt the first spell. It was aggravating to Dark that he could do something so astounding as raise the sun alone, but try to focus on two spells and he became as feeble as a foal in a school house.

Nearing the end of the first week, Dark’s frustration got the best of him and his anger boiled to the surface while raising the sun. “Why can I not get this to work?!” he yelled at no one in particular, as a water orb collapsed to the cobbles. In his anger he almost lost his handle on the sun.

Suddenly, the weight was lifted. He looked around. Sunblaze had instructed the others to take the sun and complete its raising. He turned his gaze on Dark and instantly Dark felt ashamed. He had let down the stallion he was striving so hard to impress.

That night Dark was dismissed from his duties lowering the sun as well. While he brooded alone in his quarters a knock came at the door. He ignored it but the pony without persisted, knocking again. Grinding his teeth, he stood and strode swiftly to the door, opening it. Sunblaze stood in the hallway; the surprise of the visit made Dark forget about his anger, and he invited the master in.

“Dark Rise, it disturbs me to see such anger in you,” he said as they sat by the hearth. “There is no need for anger. You have made great progress and have accomplished a feat nopony has managed to accomplish in generations.”

Dark shook his head, his frustration showing plainly on his face. “That is why it is so frustrating. I can raise the sun alone, but I can’t make two orbs of water rotate in opposite directions,” he said exasperated.

Sunblaze smiled. It angered Dark to see his mentor take his frustration so lightly. Sunblaze was always stern and calculating, demanding progress and efficiency while they were practicing; somepony that was completely focused on the task at hand. This was not something he wanted the master to take lightly. “Have you ever considered you are demanding too much of yourself?” he asked.

Dark didn’t answer, his eyes shifting down to his hooves and Sunblaze continued. “I think you are letting your emotions dictate your abilities, Dark,” he said. “You were determined to raise the sun, and we took many steps leading up to you succeeding in that task. Months of mental training for the weight alone, if you remember, before we even tried it.

“It feels like we are a ways down the path toward your destination. We are not. We are at the beginning. Ahead there is much more training. What you are training for is not an easy task. Juggling the sun and moon alone is possibly the most taxing thing you will ever do in your life. There is no shame in struggling with this.

“You need to take your emotions and personal pressures out of the equation and take each step as it is; one step.”

Dark met Sunblaze’s orange eyes and was unable to look away. He had so much respect for this stallion; he needed to do everything in his power to be successful. Slowly he nodded, his anger subsiding. “I will do my best, Master Sunblaze.”

“Good,” he said as he pushed himself up. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the sun raising.”

-

The following days were excruciating and slow. Progress seemed nonexistent and Dark struggled with his anger. As the days went on, Sunblaze seemed to grow distant, withholding his judgment until the practice was over. Each day it was always the same. “Your anger is holding you back.”

At first this only made Dark angrier. Each night was a sleepless struggle with the practice spells, and each day he fell prey to the scrutinizing eyes of Sunblaze. It became hard for him to enjoy returning to practice; he expected his own failure and feared what Sunblaze thought of him. He had to get back in the master’s good graces. After a week of struggling, he sat alone in his quarters after the sun had been set, fuming over the latest spilled orbs. You need to take your emotions and personal pressures out of the equation, echoed Sunblaze’s voice in his head.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused on the image of the sun. He fed all other thoughts into its flames until all that remained was the sun. For the first time since trying these spells, his mind was clear. He opened his eyes and focused on the bowl of water drawing forth the first ball of water and setting it rotating to the right. He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, focusing on the image of the sun in his mind’s eye.

Opening them again, he saw the orb continuing to rotate. He focused again on the bowl of water and formed a second orb. Briefly the first shuddered, but continued on its course. He kept his attention on the second orb and began rotating it to the left.

I’m doing it, he thought excitedly and the orbs gave a shiver. “Shit,” he said aloud as the orbs crumpled and splashed to the ground. He recollected his composure, cleared his mind, and tried again, each attempt carrying him farther into the spell, and deep into the night.

The next morning, Dark Rise could not wait to show Sunblaze what he had accomplished and was the first to the courtyard. Again he cleared his mind and brought forth the orbs and set them rotating. He kept his mind clear and focused on the spells until Sunblaze arrived. After letting them rotate a moment longer he replaced the orbs in the water and smiled to his master.

Dark had expected praise. What he got was a nod of approval. “Now juggle one while raising the sun.”

Dark turned and did as he was bid. This task was much more of a struggle and it was all he could do to keep the orb afloat while he worked the sun. With a week’s time he was able to master the practice spells and keep them flowing without much effort; two and he was able to rotate the orb while raising the sun.

It did not take long for his pride to begin surging again now that he was able to see he was making progress. Focusing on two spells had become easy when he was working with water. Adding the weight of the sun added a complication that was hard to overcome, but he had done it. Repetition at dusk and dawn was taxing, but rewarding and Dark looked forward to every session again.

It was in midwinter that Sunblaze told him he felt Dark was ready to attempt to control both celestials alone. Dark beamed with pride at this news. He was not going to disappoint his master again.

The night before the attempt he wasn’t able to sleep due to the amount of his excitement. The dawn hours could not arrive more slowly and he found himself watching the stars, waiting for them to rotate into position. After what seemed like an eternity, Dark left his quarters and walked through the halls to the castle grounds, his mind oddly clear after the long, restless night.

Outside, Sunblaze stood with the others, waiting for him. No words needed to be said; this was merely routine now. They waited for him to take his position and prepared to take the weight should something go wrong. He strode out to the edge of the yard and took a deep breath. He focused his concentration on the moon as it sat high above. With his mental grip firmly in place he prodded below the horizon where he knew the sun was waiting for the dawn and took hold of it as well.

The moment he began to try to push the globes, his brow broke into a sweat. He felt nothing move and his eyes closed as he tried to bring his mental focus solely on the two celestial bodies. Seconds that felt like years passed as he pressed with all his might before he felt something budge and he let out his breath. He hadn’t even realized he had been holding it. Breathing deeply he steadied his mind and pressed on inching the two bodies farther along their paths.

Sweat poured across his back as the sun and moon began to pass each other. He wasn’t certain he would be able to complete the transition. His breaths were rapid and he felt as if the sun and moon were crushing him. Suddenly, in the depths of his mind, he heard a voice. It was his voice. You will complete this, it said sternly. You will not fail before Sunblaze again.

Dark Rise redoubled his efforts and his jaw clenched all the tighter. The two bodies continued to move and a ringing began to fill his ears. It was sheer force of will kept Dark on his hooves. Finally he felt the bodies reach their destinations simultaneously and he collapsed. His eyes fluttered open to see the sun hanging high in the sky and a smile passed across his lips.

The others ran toward him. They were saying something, but he could not hear through the ringing. He closed his eyes and let exhaustion claim him.

-

Dark pushed at the sun with all his might. He sucked a breath in through clenched teeth and fought to keep his footing as sweat poured from him.

“You are a failure,” came the voice of his mentor.

Dark’s hold on the celestials faltered as his concentration was broken and he looked toward the voice. Sunblaze stood behind him, his red mantle draped across his back, a deep scowl on his face. “You have failed the unicorns.”

“No!” yelled Dark Rise as he turned back to the sun. Somehow, it was coming toward the castle. He gathered his focus and took hold of the burning mass and tried to force it back to its position in the sky, but it wouldn’t obey him. It was all he could do to keep it from coming closer to the castle, closer to him.

“If you cannot put the sun back in the sky,” his master said behind him, “our race will perish.”

Dark struggled against the giant, gritting his teeth. He felt it moving away and he closed his eyes, gathering his focus. The progress stopped and the sun seemed to fight back, pressing harder against his will.

“I… Don’t… Understand,” he said with panted breaths. “Why…?”

“Your pride has doomed us all,” said a new voice. He recognized it and his eyes popped open. Before him stood King Suvrain. Dark yelped in surprise and lost his handle on the sun and the molten giant began falling toward the castle again.

Dark gathered his thoughts and grasped at the sun. “I can’t do this alone,” he said as he struggled to keep the sun from falling further. “I need help!”

“No one can help you,” said the king.

“You have brought this upon us,” said Sunblaze. “Only you can stop it.”

The weight of the sun was too much and Dark’s knees gave out from beneath him and he sank to the ground. “I can’t,” he half-sobbed, trying with all his might to simply hold the sun.

“Then you have doomed us,” said the king.

Dark could hold it no longer. He was exhausted. The sun was free. It was coming to claim him.

Dark awoke with a start. He blinked in the darkness, his heart pounding in his chest. It took him a moment to realize he was in his room, his bed. “It was a dream,” he said aloud. They were always the worst when he pushed himself too hard practicing with the celestials.

His throat was so dry. He kept a jug of water on the table near the hearth across the room and he tried to pour a glass magically but his horn did not respond. He was still too exhausted from his previous ordeal. He inched his way out of bed and walked gingerly to the table. It took great effort, but he poured a glass of water and drank deeply. The door opened behind him as he was pouring a second glass and he lost his handle on the jug, sending it crashing to the floor. He cursed under his breath and turned to the door.

“Ah, you are awake,” said the mare coming over to where the water had spilled. She began cleaning up the glass as she continued. “Gold Stamp will be glad to hear it. I’ll have your dinner sent up right away.”

“How long was I asleep?” He asked her.

“Since you finished raising the sun this morning. It is just after sunset now,” she told him. “Gold Stamp wished to see you when you awoke. I’ll have tea made and brought up.”

Dark spent the next two days recovering, each night bringing a new rendition of his nightmare. Being excused from magical practice did not excuse him from his other studies and the councilors seemed to be ever present while he was dismissed. By the time the two days were done, they were satisfied with his knowledge of their respective fields and Gold Stamp introduced him to the advisors that would be accompanying him to treat with the other tribes. One was a stallion that specialized in economics named Ledger and the other a mare who had worked with the previous ambassador named Everstar.

Their introduction brought about something that Dark was not completely ready for. “Dark Rise,” said Everstar beaming. “It is an honor to meet the unicorn that can raise the celestials alone!”

“Well,” he said, somewhat abashed. “I’ve only attempted to handle them both the-“

“But you did it, didn’t you?” said Ledger in a rush, causing Dark’s head to swivel and his ears to lay back before he regained his composure.

“Well, yes…”

“What a feat!” exclaimed Everstar and Ledger nodded in agreement. Gold Stamp cleared her throat. “Right. Sorry, Gold Stamp. Dark Rise.”

The two bowed their heads and they all took their seats, Gold Stamp resuming control of the conversation and bringing them back on task. At first it was hard to keep his focus. Inside Dark was beaming. He hadn’t left the castle grounds at all since all this started and he began to wonder who else knew his name.

He was forced to push these thoughts from his mind as Gold Stamp began to go over some of the ideal strategies she thought they should use when dealing with the earth tribe. Their discussion went on and on and in spite of their early outburst Dark had to admit that he was impressed by the amount of knowledge that Ledger and Everstar had. From then on, Dark ceased meeting with the other councilors, in order to focus on tactics with Gold Stamp and magical practice with Sunblaze.

Finally, he was given some release and was permitted to return to his magical duties. The days seemed to go by much faster now that the first attempt was behind him. He continued to struggle, but progress was apparent. For weeks he only took care of the dawn, then he began lowering the sun at dusk, eventually holding a practice spell as well as the sun at dusk, and finally he was handling both dawn and dusk alone.

His days were filled with meetings with the new advisors, going over strategies on how to make the unicorn trade goods seem more appealing to the simpler earth ponies and gain them more leverage within the negotiations. They were tedious, but far more interesting than memorizing trade goods and their uses, and Dark began to grow fond of his two new companions.

Everstar was, for the most part easy going, but very serious about the task at hand. She had grown up near the border with the earth ponies and had spent much of her childhood around earth ponies. When she had moved to Aethon her mixed knowledge of magic and the other tribe had eventually made her a shoe in as an assistant to Referendum the previous ambassador. Now she shared her knowledge of the other tribes freely trying to help gauge how this or that idea would be viewed by the earth ponies, as well as how the pegasi might view their efforts.

Ledger was more no nonsense. He had been born in Aethon and had an early aptitude for numbers. He had spent a large part of his life in the castles services and had recently been tasked with putting numbers to the other tribes needs in comparison to his own. Every idea he contributed was deeply tied to the logic, and the numbers, behind it. The two made an interesting contrast and their views often clashed. Together they brought a wealth of information and added much to their discussions of how they should handle the coming trades. Dark felt he learned more from these two than he had from the councilors before.

Winter Wrap Up approached and during a late winter council meeting the king summoned Dark Rise and announced that he was satisfied with Gold Stamps reports on Dark and his team. “In two days’ time you and your advisors will head south to meet with the earth ponies,” he said to Dark.

Dark bowed his head. “We will not disappoint you, your highness,” he said.

“Everything reported on your progress has spoken very highly of your abilities and your dedication, Dark Rise,” said the king. “I have no doubt you will do everything in your power to accomplish our goals.”

Dark beamed at the praise and inclined his head. He was excited for this new adventure, and even more excited to show his abilities to those that had never seen such power before. Beyond that he could not wait to prove his worth to the council.

The following days were filled with finalizing the negotiation strategies. Meetings began as soon as the sun was raised and lasted til it was time to raise the moon in its place. Details were checked and rechecked and slight adjustments to their plans were made.

These last days were long and Dark found himself checking out at times longing to work more with Sunblaze and his students. Now that he had mastered controlling the celestials alone, he wondered what was next. He wanted nothing more than to find that next challenge and he was sure Sunblaze had something more for him to study.

The night before they were meant to leave as Dark was making sure he had everything he needed packed a knock came at the door. Dark placed his things aside and went to the door, pulling it open. Outside stood Sunblaze. “Master Sunblaze,” said Dark bowing his head and stepping aside. “Please, come in. What do I owe the honor of this visit?”

Sunblaze stepped inside. “The king has had you a mantle made. I asked that I be the one to present it to you.”

Dark closed the door behind the Master and lead him to the sitting area. “Make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”

“Thank you, Dark Rise, but no. I’m fine,” said Sunblaze. He sat in one of the chairs by the hearth and looked his student over for a moment. Dark poured himself a cup of tea and joined the master by the fire. Taking a drink he realized Sunblaze’s calculating look and suddenly felt nervous under the stallions gaze.

“You said the King has had a mantle made for me,” he asked to break the silence. “Is this for my position as Ambassador?

Sunblaze blinked as if being pulled from deep thought. “Yes,” he said, “and no. It is to show your station on the council.”

“The council?” he echoed incredulously.

“Yes, the council convened last night for a vote to finalize your addition.” Beside him a small black hole blinked into existence and expanded. From within it a mantle was produced and the hole shrank in on itself and disappeared again. The cape was a midnight blue fringed in black sable. The right shoulder bore his half-sun, half-moon cutie mark and the left bore the royal sigil.

Dark beamed at the sight of the mantle. He must have impressed the other councilors with his knowledge and his abilities if he was to be a permanent addition to the king’s council. “I am hono-“

“This position holds great responsibility, Dark Rise,” said Sunblaze cutting him off, his tone serious. “I do not know if you are ready for it. You are still young and have much to learn about life. I have never before seen anger like I have found within you.”

Dark Rise was taken aback. He didn’t know what to say. “I assure you, Sunblaze, my life is devoted to our tribe.”

“I do not doubt that,” the master responded, looking Dark in the eye. “You must learn to control your anger or it will consume you. And when that happens, I fear for the lives of those around you.

“Take care of this mantle. It represents far more than an appointment to the council. This mantle shows that you would put any other unicorn’s life before your own. That your actions represent the needs of the tribe, not the needs of an individual. Taking up this position means that your life is dedicated to the service of the king and our tribe.

Dark nodded silently.

“Do not disappoint me, Dark Rise,” he said, standing and placing the mantle on the back of the chair. “We are putting great faith in you.”

After he had left Dark sat in front of the hearth staring into the fire. He barely noticed as the fire slowly died and the soft glow of the coals faded. Sunblaze’s words echoed in his mind. His mentor obviously did not think him ready for this. He trembled slightly. He feared letting Sunblaze and the other councilors down now. The weight of his task suddenly sat squarely on his shoulders and he could feel the enormity of it.

You will not let them down, a small voice said from within him. Your strength will never fail you. It was his own voice again, he realized. He nodded to himself, gathering his confidence. It was late and he would be leaving at dawn. Tomorrow he would begin the journey that would prove to Sunblaze he belonged on the council.

-

At last the day arrived that the party was to depart. Dark’s night had been fitful, filled with nightmares of the horrors that his mind said would befall the unicorn tribe should he fail. Sunblaze was not present for the raising of the sun. The task took a larger toll on him this morning, what with the lack of good rest, and the heavy cloud cover hid his work from him making it that much less enjoyable.

He trudged down to the courtyard where all the sample goods had been loaded into the wagon. A light snow had fallen in the night and everything glistened white in the morning light as more snow fell softly to the ground. The breath of his companions hovered briefly in the cold air as Dark approached.

“We are ready to set off,” Ledger told him when he reached them. “All the supplies for the trip as well as the trade materials are loaded.”

Dark nodded and placed his pack into the back of the wagon. “Very well. Send word to the Council that we will be departing,” he said to a nearby guard.

Their farewell was simple. The king and his councilors came down to see them off and wish them a safe journey. Each councilor had their own words of encouragement for the small party or a congratulation for Dark being voted onto the council; each except Sunblaze. He stood silently watching behind the others.

Dark expressed his gratitude and said his farewells to each that approached him. The last person of the group to speak with him was the king himself. “Do us proud out there, Dark Rise,” he said.

“I will, Your Grace,” he said, bowing his head to the stallion.

“I know you will, Dark,” he said with a smile. “That is why I accepted you to the council. I look forward to your coming years of service.”

Dark beamed and raised his head. “Thank you for your vote of confidence,” he said, glancing to where Sunblaze stood watching him and his smile faltered.

The king followed Darks gaze and smiled. “Do not worry about Sunblaze. He is entirely too cautions for a stallion as young as he is.”

“I thought he was-“ Dark began.

“He is,” said the king cutting him off with a chuckle, “and still too cautious. You have shown us your worth.”

Darks smile returned. “Thank you again, Your Grace,” he said. “You have put my mind at ease.”

“Good. Now off with the lot of you,” he said. “You have a task to complete.”