A couple weeks had passed since Dawn had gone out with Cobalt for the first time, she was now much more secure around him and she was happy to let him nuzzle her affectionately pretty much whenever he wanted. Quizzy had sniffed out that Dawn had suddenly gained a special somepony like a bloodhound, demanding to get to meet the lucky stallion the moment Dawn was happy to let him anywhere near her parents.

Poor Ratchet didn’t really stand a hope in hell when he found out, he cuddled his embarrassed daughter tight, going on and on about how he was proud of her but she was not allowed to take him to bed with her, not even to use like a cuddly bear.

Dawn had been surprised by with flowers and books she had passively mentioned not being able to get her hooves on, Cobalt was like that, resourceful but soppy. If anything, Dawn had to say that she was getting quite attached to the dopey blue stallion, so much so that she was looking past how romantically hopeless he was. If anything, Dawn found his over endearing demeanour quite adorable.

It was the next of their lecture-tutorial-things with Lucid Dreams that week, Dawn wasn’t sure whether she was looking forward to it or if she was absolutely terrified to sit in that seat and face that mare again. Cobalt kept reassuring her that she was safe and that he would protect her no matter what, but Dawn was still just uneasy enough to want to skip that class out of fear alone.

Quizzical knocked on the door, asking if she could come in.

“Yeah mum, it’s fine.” Dawn said in the general direction of the door, focusing on the book she was reading.

Quizzy opened the door, holding a dark blue envelope in her teeth, “It ok if I sit Darling?” She asked, closing the door and beginning to sit on Dawn’s bed.

“What’s the letter?” Dawn asked, finishing her paragraph and closing the book, leaving her page marked by a piece of ribbon.

“I don’t know, it says that only you are to open it though.” Quizzy mused, passing the envelope over to Dawn.

Dawn turned it over in her hooves, reading the intricate, flowing script in a delicate silver ink, stars seemed to have been drawn around the address by a careful magical grip. Dawn noted that the calligraphy ordered that only ‘Miss Moonlight Dawn’ was to open the letter.

“Never been addressed as a miss before Mum, guess i’m growing up.” Dawn joked to her mother before flipping the envelope open again and carefully splitting the seam and opening the beautiful package. Inside was a letter written on silken paper with an ink so dark it was as if the midnight had been used to scribe the flowing lines and scratches on the parchment.

Dawn began to read the beautifully stylized letter.

‘Dear Miss Moonlight Dawn,

I have been informed by one of my officers, a miss Lucid Dreams, that you are a rather remarkable little Pegasus. I have learned that you have the ability to walk between dreams rather like myself. I also understand that my dreamguard scared you terribly last time you met her and I wish to extend to you a royal apology for her unnecessary actions and I do hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive her transgression.

I understand that it had been your lifelong dream to become a member of my dreamguard and that every academic action you have taken is to forward your ability to fall into the ranks of my guardsponies. As the public leader of the dreamguard, and its founding member, I would like to extend to you an invitation to come and meet with me in Canterlot Castle to discuss a possible place for an amazing pony such as yourself within the ranks of the dreamguard when you have completed your studies.

I will not lie to you that joining the dreamguard can be a difficult process due to the physical taxations that will fall upon you as well as the necessary ceremony. But besides this, from what I have learned, you will have a full application to become a well respected name within the guard and I wish you luck.

If you are to take my invitation, please come to Canterlot Castle the next time it is possible for you to and present this letter to any of the royal guard, they have been instructed to allow you in to speak with me privately and if you encounter any problems, I will be just a dream away.

Yours truly,
Princess Luna of Equestria’

At the bottom of the letter was an intricate drawing of the princess’ cutiemark inlaid with a devastatingly complex arcane circle that even Dawn couldn’t entirely work out.

Dawn sat there after finishing the letter, absolutely speechless. In her hooves was worth more than gold dust. “Oh… my… Celestia.” Dawn managed to whisper after a moment of clutching the paper to her chest.

Quizzy offered to take the letter from her daughter and Dawn obliged, gently hading the paper over to her mother like it was an infant. Quizzy spent a couple moments reading the letter, then gasped when she realised who it was from, then read it through again another three or more times before folding it up carefully and grabbing Dawn.

“I’m so proud of you.” Quizzy said, embracing her daughter tight and making her squeak with embarrassment. Dawn was given a little nuzzle on the forehead by her endearing mother before Quizzy skipped off to tell Ratchet about Dawn’s letter.

Dawn sat on her bed in silence for a while longer, staring at the letter, a little bit intimidated by the royal blue envelope and flowing, spidersweb like writing that adorned it, accented by the tiny stars dotted around the silver script.

There was little to say about it, Dawn found herself on a train to Canterlot three days later, she was going with her mother who had a convenient appointment. They were to stay for two days in total. Dawn had made sure she wasn’t going to miss any important lectures and that she would be able to catch up with any work. Cobalt wasn’t overly happy to be left alone for two days, but he was cheered up when Dawn showed him the letter from the Princess.

They had an overnight train ride to Canterlot, Quizzy slept most of the way, used to long journeys. Dawn couldn’t sleep for most of it so she finished her book, finished two essays and was three quarters through a romance film when her mother stirred and Canterlot station trundled into sight through the window.

Dawn hadn’t been to Canterlot for years, but now she was seeing the majestic city for the first time as a young adult, she finally began to appreciate the tantalising beauty and fantastical engineering put into the city. She saw the low glow of magical runes and circles around the edge of the city, recognising the glyphs used for protection and weightlessness. Dawn didn’t really have to be Einstein to realise that the grand city needed those magical supports to remain affixed to the mountain and not plunge down into the little settlements below.

Quizzy started to stir as they passed the second waterfall, the train comically splashing through the low waters. Dawn Quickly closed down her horsemovie and stuffed her laptop into her bag before her mother could rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“We nearly there?” Quizzical yawned, only just managing to sit up with her mane sticking out like a porcupine.

“Yeah, not long now mum.” Dawn replied, grabbing the power cord for her laptop and wrapping it up before putting it into her bag. “You going to cover your sigil?”

“I wish I didn’t have to, fu-bloody racists.” Quizzy spat, pulling out a comb, tin of grey makeup and a mirror before making herself presentable.

Dawn sighed, being sort of glad she didn’t have the identifying mark of an abstract but at the same time being sad that she wasn’t more like her mother.

“All prepare to disembark!” A voice bellowed down the carriage, the conductor marching down the isle ordering the passengers to get ready to get off, he shouted a couple more times before walking into the next carriage.

Quizzical and Dawn were left on the platform, the plan was that Quizzy would walk Dawn to the castle then run to her appointment before coming back later for Dawn.

--==========================--

The castle was vast, enormous even. The spires and towers dwarfing everything around it them. Dawn got into the grounds easily enough with Quizzy, only having to go through a little bit of security which she expected. On the other hoof, Dawn ran into a little more trouble when she tried to get into the actual castle.

“Halt. State your business and where you are from.” One of the two guards approaching the pair of mares growled.

Before Dawn could speak, Quizzy smiled at the pair of armoured unicorns. “My daughter is her to see her majesty Princess Luna concerning a formal invitation she received two days ago… ish. So if you’d be so kind to show her to the princess, we’d be so happy. Oh and we’re from Fillydelfia.”

The guards paused, “We need proof that you are Miss Moonlight Dawn.” the other demanded, taking a step towards the pair of mares.

Dawn fished about in her bags for her letter, presenting it to the armoured ponies. The pair stared at it for a couple moments before nodding and smiling at her.

“Follow us please.” The first stallion said, turning round and beginning to walk away.

“Good luck Dawny, love you.” Quizzical purred to her daughter, giving her cheek a loving nuzzle before beginning to walk away.

Dawn followed the pair of stallions through the halls of Canterlot Castle, gawking at the high ceilings, the mirrored tiles and the countless pieces of art that adorned the cavernous hallways. Dawn stayed close to the pair of guards out of fear of getting lost before they could reach Princess Luna.

The walk was short and uneventful, the guards plodded along in silence before depositing Dawn next to a pair of double doors emblazoned with the Princess’ bright white cutiemark.

“Just knock, and don’t worry about formality, Princess Luna is rather casual in private.” One of the guards smiled at Dawn before the pair walked away, talking in quiet voices between each other.

Dawn turned to the imposing doors, suddenly feeling like an ant faced with a monolith. A lump caught in her throat and her legs nearly fell out from underneath her as she lifted her hoof up to knock on the door. It took Dawn about three minutes of hard breathing to pull herself together enough to squeeze her eyes tightly shut and knock three times on the imposing door.

There was a momentary pause before a bored voice came from inside the room, “Come in!”

Dawn’s legs were jelly again as she slowly turned the door handle and pushed the door open to reveal a comfortable looking bedroom… office… room. Princess Luna was sitting at her desk, reading a book with her hind hooves propped up casually on her desk. She was chewing her pen and her mane looked like it hadn’t been brushed in three days. On top of all of that was that she was wearing three of her horseshoes and her crown was tossed casually on the floor next to her bed.

“Hold on there, whoever you are. I need to know if - Oh hell yes! My headcanon was right!” Luna cheered, she was reading a Daring Doo book, the newest one. ‘Daring Doo and the Crystal Escapade.’

She folded an envelope in half and slipped it in between the pages of her book before dropping in on her desk with a satisfying thud. Luna looked over at Dawn a little confused, “Hello there? Are you lost?” She asked, then panicked, realising how disheveled she looked. “I am terribly sorry for the lack of appearance, I can be a little lavish when I am not attempting to keep up appearances.”

Dawn stammered, here was her idol, her lifelong hero, looking like any other old pony early in the morning. Dawn stood there, her eyes wide and staring as Luna struggled to put her hind hoof in the rogue horseshoe, eventually giving up and balancing her crown badly on her head.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Moonlight Dawn?” Luna asked after a long moment of Dawn working her jaw, taking pity on Dawn and her stammering. The tiny pegasus silently nodded in reply, slowly going into her saddlebags and pulling out the blue envelope.

“Ah! Good you got my letter, do you mind closing the door too?” Luna smiled and retreated back behind her desk. “I do apologise about my… informality… I must confess that I am not used to visitors this early in the morning.”

Dawn managed to come in and close the door, she was in shock from seeing Princess Luna acting like just another pony. The little grey mare came in and stood in the middle of the room while Luna attempted to wrestle her mane into some semblance of order with a large, emerald studded brush.

“So, Dawn.” Luna began, finally managing to pull the rogue horseshoe onto her remaining hoof. “You say that the origin of your dreamwalking ability originates from your mother’s race?”

Dawn slowly nodded, “Y-yeah… M-my mum isn’t exactly a pony.” She stammered, trying not to get flustered by the presence of the monarch.

“If she isn’t a pony, then what is she?” The princess asked, sitting down at her desk and motoning for Dawn to sit in the comfy looking chair opposite to her. “And don’t worry about my sister and I taking repercussions against her, we do not wish to start war with another race.”

Dawn carefully sat down, taking her bags off her back and placing them carefully to her side. “Mum… Mum is an abstract, I don’t really know much about them besides that they can walk through walls and read minds.” Dawn took a deep breath, “She also doesn’t have a cutiemark, instead she has this thing called a sigil, they’re like a more solid cutiemark that gives each abstract a title, like mum’s is ‘Calming Guardian.’”

Luna nodded, “Your mother can dreamwalk too I suppose?” She asked, looking at Dawn inquisitively.

Dawn shook her head, “No, mum can’t, she said I get it off my grandma, she said that she could dreamwalk… I never met her though.” She said sadly.

Dawn and Luna kept up their conversation for the best part of an hour, Dawn becoming more and more comfortable in Princess Luna’s presence. Eventually, the subject came onto something Dawn was much more interested in.

“Dawn, you are interested in joining the guard, aren’t you?” Luna asked, making Dawn nod furiously.

“Of course I do!” Dawn squeaked, blushing a little at her excitement. “Ever since I saw them in action for the first time, I have wanted to join them.”

Luna smiled at the excitable mare in front of her, “I think I can get you a job when you think you’re ready for it.” She said, “After you’ve finished college of course.”

Dawn could barely contain her excitement, she had just been offered a job by the Princess of the Night to join the dreamguard. All she could manage was a half squeaked, “Th-Thank you.”

“Do not thank me Dawn, there are few that want to join the guard or have the necessary talents to qualify within our ranks, I should be thanking you for coming to see me about joining our military.” Princess Luna sighed, smiling, “You will receive more details in the mail soon, for now, go and enjoy the city. Meet with your family here in Canterlot.”

Dawn began to turn around and open the door when the princess cleared her throat, Dawn turned back around to face her.

“I have a gift for you Dawn, I’ll have it delivered to your hotel room” The princess said, smiling at her little guest before asking, “You are staying in the Strand Palace Hotel, aren’t you?”

Dawn smiled and nodded to the dishevelled princess, “What is it?” she asked.

“A surprise, be careful with it though. Now shoo and let me get myself tidied up.” Luna replied, straightening her crown.

Dawn smiled and nodded before bowing scampering from the messy bedroom, grinning like a foal given sugar. A pair of guards quickly appeared to escort her from the castle and into the streets of Canterlot, all the while she was trying to contain her excitement over being a member of the dreamguard… sorta.

--==========================--

After spending hours exploring the winding streets of the gleaming capital city, Dawn made her way back to her hotel where she was staying with her mother. Quizzy was already back and had made herself at home on one of the beds, turning her pillows and quilt into a nest of sorts where she was roosting happily, messing with her feathers.

She looked up as Dawn entered the room and waved a messy wing at her excited daughter. “Some random pony left a box here for you Dawn, said only you were allowed to open it.” Quizzy said, gesturing to the long case lying on the other bed.

“Princess Luna said she was giving me a gift, have any idea what it could be?” Dawn asked, her mother shrugged in reply. Dawn sighed and lifted up the case, it was rather heavy. The three buckles along the seam taunted her with their simplicity as she fumbled with her hooves. (Much to her mother’s amusement.)

After five minutes of struggling to pop the buckles, Dawn gave up and took a butterknife to them, popping them open one by one.

She gently prised open the black lid of the case to reveal a beautifully crafted sword, the blade shimmering with an ethereal sheen. There was a flawless, milky white gem embedded into the pommel of the sword that looked almost like an eye staring at the two marveling ponies.

There was a small engraving on the blade, near the hilt of the blade in a wonderfully detailed font.

“Xiphis…” Dawn breathed as she gently lifted the sharp edge out of the case, marveling in it’s beauty as she carefully turned it over in her hooves.

“Now that’s a pretty sword.” Quizzy whistled, “Careful with that, it's going to be sharp on both edges.”

Xiphis watched the two ponies marvelling at her, she knew who the smaller one was, Moonlight was the new wielder. But the older, grey mare… she was something different, something that could be dangerous.

Author's Note

Wait a second, the sword is sentient?!?!?!?!

This chapter was another that was needed, Dawn needed to get into the guard before this chapter, but I think I overdid the whole college thing unnecessarily.
Eh, time for Dawn to have a sword as long as her foreleg.
Happy Reading!