Dark Pony Brotherhood

Twilight

A lavender coated mare with violet colored hair with a pink stripe running through it, was tossing and turning in bed.

It was a little past midday, she usually didn’t sleep in this late, but she was up all night studying a strange book she bought from a traveling sales pony. The pony didn’t even know he had the book in his inventory until she pointed it out. She got it for only a couple of bits.

It was an odd book; it was about a being she never heard of before, referred to only as the Dread Father through the entire book. From what she could gather, this being wasn’t so much a deity as it was an embodiment of Death and Cruelty. It was frightening but it intrigued her to no end.

When she had finally decided to go to sleep, she was plagued with strange dreams. Of death and of a dark pony she didn’t recognize. And she heard the words “Welcome Home.”

Giving up on sleep, the pony named Twilight Sparkle got out of her bed, and went to the first floor of her Library home. Spike had woken up and gone out already, to run errands and to go see Rarity. It was rare when Spike woke up before Twilight. He was sure to tease her about it a little later.

She went to the small kitchen in her home and made a quick meal, and then went to where she left the book the night before. As obsessed as she’s become with the book, she has yet to figure it out. What was its purpose? Who wrote it?

She let out a sigh and used her magic to close it. “I’ll get back to it later,” she said to no pony in particular.

She headed to the door, “maybe a walk will help me clear my head,” she thought aloud, leaving her home and heading towards Fluttershy’s house. Maybe she could get some tea there to help her sleep; Fluttershy seemed to know a few herbs and mixtures, and maybe she could even confide in her soft spoken friend.

Twilight thought about how the shy Pegasus would respond to the subject of a book about an unknown embodiment of death. She shook her head. That wasn’t a good idea.

..........

Twilight came to Fluttershy’s small house on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She went to the door and knocked, and heard the soft voice of her friend inside. “Y-yes?”

“Fluttershy, it’s me, Twilight, can I come in?” she asked. A few seconds later, the door was unlocked and opened, a yellow Pegasus holding the door open for her.

“Oh, hello Twilight, yes, please come in,” the quiet Pony said, inviting Twilight inside, closing the door behind her. “What can I do for you today? You look pretty tired,” she commented, noting Twilights exhausted appearance.

Twilight nodded “I had some trouble getting to sleep last night, I don’t suppose you would know anything that would help me get to sleep, would you?” she asked her.

Fluttershy thought for a moment, and fluttered to her kitchen and started to look through her cabinets, and brought out a small bag with some crushed herbs in it. “You can mix this with tea before bed, it’s a little bitter, but it’ll help put you to sleep,” she suggested. “But be careful not to put too much in,” she warned. “It can be dangerous.”

Twilight looked to her, “well, okay then, how much is too much?” she asked, a little curious as to why Fluttershy would have anything even a little dangerous.

“Well, I got it from Zecora, Angel was having a little trouble sleeping, she said that about a quarter of a teaspoon would be enough to help a pony sleep, but Angel needed much, much less. And she warned me about what could go wrong with a dose that’s too large, so I used a little bit less than what she suggested, but it works really well, Angel had the first good sleep he had in a long time,” Fluttershy explained.

Twilight looked at the small bag of herbs, “so, what happens if too much is put in?” she asked.

Fluttershy looked down, the subject making her uncomfortable. “Well, Zecora said that if some pony had too much of it, they wouldn’t wake up,” she said.

Twilight visibly gulped at the thought of going to sleep forever. “I, I think I’ll use about half of what Zecora suggests for ponies,” she said with a bit of a forced smile, taking the bag.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded, “I understand, it should be more than enough, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said.

They continued having small talk, though the entire time, Twilight’s thoughts kept going back to the book of the Dread Father. She still wasn’t sure why she was so interested in the subject. It was frightening, both the book and her obsession with it.

She thought deeply while Fluttershy was speaking. Maybe Zecora would know more about it. It was a long shot but Twilight felt she needed to know more.

The sun was getting low in the sky when Twilight decided to head back home. She took the bag of sleeping herb with her, and said goodbye to her friend, and then went back into town. Maybe she would page through the book a little bit before trying some of the herb in tea.

As she was walking through town she spotted another friend of hers, Applejack, with a Pony she’s never seen before. He was black in color with a black mane and eyes.

He seemed very mysterious, but why was he with Applejack? She wondered.

Applejack saw her, and waved to her, inviting her to come closer, probably to meet the strange new pony. Twilight made her way to them, curiosity momentarily overwhelming her exhaustion.

…………..

Lucien looked to the lavender pony that was approaching them, she piqued his interest. He had noticed the unicorns and pegasi, though he wasn’t sure what it all meant, besides the obvious physical differences and the ability to fly by the latter. But there was something strange about this one, she was obviously tired. He also noted that her horn was glowing as was the bag floating beside her. He was sure they were related. He could probably ask about it later.

Twilight came to the two earth ponies, and greeted her friend before turning to the stranger, “Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle, your new here aren’t you?” she introduced herself with a friendly smile.

Lucien smiled to her, “It’s a pleasure, Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “My name is Lucien Lachance,” he told her. “And I am new here, I wondered in and Applejack gave me a job for a few days,” he said. “This is a lovely place though; perhaps I can make it my new home.”

Twilight gave him another smile, “well, everypony here is very friendly, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble making new friends here,” she said.

The dark pony gave a smirk, and offered his hoof in greeting, “I’m off to a good start I think,” he said. Twilight took his hoof in hers, and locked eyes with him. She felt an odd sense of familiarity with him, and she thought to the dream she had last night. She shook herself from those thoughts as Lucien looked to the bag she was carrying with her magic. “What do you have here?” he asked her.

She looked to the bag as well, and moved it for him to get a closer look. He studied the bag and recognized quickly what it was. It was an ingredient often used to make Langorwine poison. The ingredient itself was dangerous, but added with others it could be used to make a false death, perfect for when someone owed a lot of money. He was a little surprised to find her carrying such a thing.

“My friend, Fluttershy gave it to me; I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping.” This got a nod from Lucien, he supposed that it could be used as a sleep aid in small doses, and horses may have a much stronger tolerance to such things. He would need to experiment sometime.

“Well, I wish you a goodnight sleep tonight then, and if I recall, Applejack told me you lived in a Library, I could use a few books to study on the history of this land, and I would also like a book on Biology and Botany if you have them,” he requested.

Twilight thought for a moment, “I’m sure I have some books you could use, let’s go see if we can find them,” she said, leading the way to her home. The large tree which served as her residence was only a little ways away, and Twilight quickly invited to two inside.

Lucien looked around in the Library, it was wonderful. He loved reading, mostly learning different ways to kill a person, but it was good to know the history of the country you planned to kill in. “This is wonderful, have you read them all?” he asked her.

A blush of embarrassed pride crossed her face, as Twilight proudly proclaimed, “Almost, there are a few I haven’t gotten around to yet,” she said. She went to the shelves and started to look through books that would answer to Lucien’s requests.

While she was looking through them, the dark Pony went over to a nearby desk, and found an old book with worn leather binding. “And where did you find a book like this?” he asked her, opening the cover. He felt his heart leap. It was a book on the Dread Father, his legend was already present here, though the book seemed ancient, it was probably regarded as a forgotten legend.

Twilight looked to him to see the book he was talking about, “oh, I just got that the other day, it’s very interesting, though I haven’t been able to make much sense of it,” she admitted.

“The Dark Legend of the Dread Father,” he read the title allowed. “I have to say I’m familiar with this, perhaps you and I can discuss it in length sometime,” he suggested.

She looked at him excitedly, “you read it before?” she asked. “That’s great, maybe you can help me finally understand it, I think it’s half the reason I need this herb to help me sleep,” she said, embarrassed a little that she had to admit she wasn’t able to figure it out on her own.

Applejack watched the exchange, and rose an eyebrow, “um, Legend of the Dread what now?” she asked, a little confused. She was by no means a dump Pony, but she wasn’t what could be called, Bookish.

Lucien smiled to her, “It’s nothing of consequence,” he assured the confused farm pony. He looked back to Twilight.

She seemed to be obsessed with the Legend. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. An unhealthy obsession could be manipulated very easily. And he certainly needed new Brothers and Sisters in this world. But that could be addressed later.

“Now, let’s gather up those books, it’s getting quite late, I’m sure we would prefer not to walk home in the dark,” he said.

The lavender Pony nodded and went back to gathering the books. She got him a rudimentary book on history, one of Biology, and another on Botany, she also picked out a few books on local legends and the like. She figured they would help him understand the local culture. Once all the books were gathered together, she grabbed up a spare saddlebag, and put it on his back, and the books inside.

“There, that should do it, if you need anything more, please feel free to ask,” she said with a smile. “And I look forward to what you can tell me about the Dread Father,” she said, a little excited about the subject. It was always great to find another Pony who was interested and knowledgeable in old mysterious legends.

“It will be my pleasure to teach you,” the dark Pony said. Neither Twilight nor Applejack noticed the slight change in pitch in his voice. It was small, but it was a habit that Lucien had, even in his previous life. When something got him excited, his voice would get deeper and crack a little. He always got most excited, either right before a kill, or when he was inviting another into the Dark Brotherhood. “I wish you a good night, and pleasant dreams, Ms. Sparkle,” he said, bidding her farewell.

She smiled to him, “and goodnight to you, Mr. Lachance,” she said, before saying goodbye to Applejack as well. Her mind was thinking of the dark and Mysterious, Lucien Lachance as the two of them walked out of her home, and she went to her desk, and began reading the book once more.

………………….

Lucien and Applejack were walking through Ponyville. The sun was just going down and the moon was rising. “Well, ah think you and Twilight get along rather well,” the orange farm pony teased lightly.

Lucien chuckled a little, “she’s a smart one, I can tell that just by talking with her, it’s sad to say I have met only a few who are as interesting,” he commented.

She smirked, “a couple of bookworms like you two gettin together, should ah come along to make sure you two behave?” she teased.

Lucien returned her smirk, “I don’t believe that would be necessary, Applejack, she and I are both adults, I don’t think we need a chaperone,” he told her.

Applejack just smirked as they went on.