The life and adventures of Intrepid Dawn before, during, and after Luna's return.
As the end of Luna/Nightmare Moon's exile approaches the Light Bringers are preparing for an increase in monster attacks and other catastrophes. In the midst of these preparations, Intrepid Dawn is born and raised. As the son of a captain in the Light Bringers, much is expected of him, especially as his skill with a blade and his quiet strength are revealed, however a chance meeting with a unique changeling may change his path forever.
The Chronicles of the Light Bringers The Founding of the Light Bringers
3 B.E. In the old royal castle at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Enduring Light made his way quickly and quietly through the halls to the royal court of the Lunar Princess. He was surprised to find the princess alone, not a guard or servant in sight. As he entered her presence, he bowed and said.
“You summoned me your majesty?”
Princess Luna replied, “We did indeed summon thee, Enduring Light. We have been watching thee and have found in thee the qualities and traits we need for a mission of critical importance that may extend far beyond thy lifetime.
“I am at your service, your majesty.”
“We are pleased to hear that. Thy task is to create an organization to help and protect the ponies of Equestria in the coming years of darkness. We expect thee to find other good and trustworthy ponies to help thee in forming the organization and in training up the next generation of members for it.
“Pardon my interruption, your majesty, but what do you mean coming years of darkness?”
“Enduring, we do not know what form the darkness will take but we know that it is coming and that it will involve us and that it will continue for a very long time. We hope Celestia survives it but whether she does or not thee must still carry out thy task and protect our little ponies no matter the cost.”
“Of course, your majesty; I will do as you ask.”
“We know thee will Enduring that is why we asked thee to carry out this mission. We have also prepared a list of ponies we know are loyal and reliable who can and will probably join thee. We wish thee the best of fortunes in this endeavor, go with our blessing.”
“I will your majesty and thank you for this honor.”
“We only hope you will still consider it an honor when you realize the cost.” Luna whispered to herself as the door closed behind Enduring’s retreating form.
And thus the first of the Light Bringers was charged with their task: to protect the ponies of Equestria from the darkness.
Months passed quickly as the Enduring began recruiting ponies from Princess Luna’s list and from those among his friends and family he knew were trustworthy and would take him seriously. As the Light Bringers ranks swelled so too did its resources as each new recruit brought useful skills and new ideas into the organization. Along with the list of ponies Luna had given Enduring Light, she also gave him a tidy fortune in bits and land rights. With said bits and land rights, the Light Bringers created a series of safe houses, hideouts, and bases all throughout Equestria from which they could operate as they worked to protect their fellow ponies.
For Princess Luna the months passed slowly as she felt something dark beginning to take its hold over her heart and mind. As she realized this was part of the darkness she had seen coming she sent a letter to Enduring and then wiped her mind of any memory of Enduring and the Light Bringers, so the darkness would not learn of them from her own thoughts and memories. As the darkness grew stronger it turned Luna’s darker emotions against her and her sister until one day the pony that Luna once was had been smothered until it was just a smoldering ember in a heart and mind ruled by darkness. With darkness ruling her heart and mind Luna, now Nightmare Moon, attacked her sister. When Celestia realized she could not reignite that smoldering ember with the power she had, she instead banished Luna to the moon.
With the appearance of Nightmare Moon many monstrous creatures not seen since Discord’s reign began to reappear and attack the ponies of Equestria. The Light Bringers were ready and quickly moved to meet each threat as it appeared. Legends grew around the actions of these heroic ponies even as the organization as a whole remained unknown. The Light Bringers and the legends surrounding them became beacons of hope in the dark days that followed Luna’s exile. As Celestia worked to restore her reign and take over Luna’s duties as well as her own, the Light Bringers ventured far and wide to protect their fellow ponies and meet threats Celestia either didn’t know about or was too busy to stop. As the legends grew, other ponies began to follow in the Light Bringers footsteps fighting monsters and protecting their kinfolk and friends. Some of these ponies were invited to join the Light Bringers bolstering the organization’s ranks and helping it to grow ever larger. Sadly heroic actions rarely come without cost and a number of Light Bringers and other ponies who stood against the monsters died. Although their sacrifice was not without cause for many lives were saved.
After the Luna’s exile and with the founding of the E.U.P. Guard (Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi Guard), life returned to normal for many of Equestria’s ponies but not for the Light Bringers or the princesses. With the founding of the E.U.P. Guard, the Light Bringers were able to fade into the shadows a bit more without failing their duties and Celestia was able to focus more on governing and less on protecting Equestia. The princesses’ old castle was abandoned and a new one was built, towns grew into cities, and new towns were founded. Decades passed and then centuries and inevitably Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon faded from ponies’ memories until only Princess Celestia and the Light Bringers remembered her. The Light Bringers continued to fight monsters and protect Equestria even as times grew more peaceful and Princess Celestia became used to her extra duties.
Year 980 of Luna’s Exile, January 15; Light Bringer Encampment, Everfree Forest
The moonlight reflected off the snow covered ground as Iron Bulwark, a young stallion, flew towards the infirmary. As soon as he burst through the doors the receptionist said,
“She is down the hall on your right, Captain Bulwark.”
With a quick “thank you” the stallion began running towards his destination. As he approached the room he was seeking, his father, Granite Hooves (an earth pony), called out, “Slow down, young whippersnapper your wife is fine; she is only going into labor.”
“Be quiet you old fool,” the stallion’s mother, Winter Gleam berated her husband hitting him over the head with one of her wings, “you were the same way when he was born, and it certainly doesn’t help his nerves that the foal is almost a week late.”
“Thanks mom and dad, but I should still be by her side tonight.” Iron Bulwark replied as he entered the room his wife, Moonlit Eve (a unicorn), was in. “How are you dear?” he asked his wife.
“Just fine” she answered with a sarcastic grimace right before letting out a scream.
“Alright keep breathing and now push,” said the doctor coming up to Moonlit Eve’s side “the foal’s head is almost through, one more push should do it.”
And with one final push and a grunt of pain a foal was born. As its cries broke free from its tiny chest, the doctor exclaimed, “Congratulations it is an earth pony colt! What do you want to name him?”
“Intrepid Dawn” his parents replied in unison as the doctor handed the white colt to Moonlit Eve.
“Quite a hoof-full of a name for the tiny fellow to live up to,” the doctor said with a grin.
Year 988 of Luna’s Exile, Everfree Forest (near Ponyville)
Intrepid Dawn, now eight and full of life, ran desperately through the underbrush of the forest trying to outrun his pursuers. As his pursuers crashed through the underbrush behind him he made a mental note to never try to study timber wolves close up again. With a burst of speed and a cry of relief he made it to the old path that led to the Princesses’ old castle, no longer forced to make his way through thick underbrush he was able to gallop at full tilt away from the two timber wolves chasing him. Just as he began to put some distance between himself and his pursuers, he slammed at full speed into something. Quickly getting up and then realizing that he had just run into somepony he said desperately “we need to run, there are timber wolves right behind me.”
The striped pony he ran into turned to him and said “fear not little one, Zecora will make sure this day is won.” With those words, she turned to face the pair of quickly approaching timber wolves and pulled a bottle from her pack. With an accuracy attained from long practice, she tossed it at the timber wolves and it landed directly in front of them and burst into flame. Unable to stop the timber wolves crashed through the fire and it spread to their limbs causing them to howl in pain and flee into the forest. And as suddenly as the fire started it died, Zecora then turned to Dawn and asked “little one are you alright? I hope I did not cause you too much fright.”
Dawn replied, “I feel fine, just a little tired. But who and what are you? Are those stripes real or painted? And what was that fire and can you teach me to do that?”
Zecora with a knowing grin replied “I will supply the answers for which you yearn, should we escape before the wolves return.”
With that answer and Zecora leading the way, they moved quickly along the path until they came to a hidden trail which Zecora took. The trail led to a small exotic hut built into a tree. Zecora opened the door and said “Welcome to my humble abode, enter and take a rest from the road.”
As he entered Dawn was stunned by the exotic decorations and furniture. As he looked around in amazement, he began to notice the tools and ingredients of an alchemist. “So are we safe now?” He asked.
“We are safe now, protected by poison joke’s bough,” Zecora replied. “My name is Zecora and I am a zebra. My stripes are quite real, and the secrets of alchemy you shall soon unseal.”
“When do we start?” Dawn asked. “Oh and my name is Intepid Dawn,” he stated abashedly.
“We begin immediately, if you are ready.” Zecora replied.
“I am ready!” exclaimed Dawn.
And with that statement Dawn’s apprenticeship to Zecora began. After returning home later that day with “orders” to read Super-Naturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls that are Simply Super, Dawn talked with his parents and the next they went to meet Zecora and thanked her for saving Dawn’s life and taking him as an apprentice alchemist.
As days turned into weeks, Dawn split his time between learning the ways of the Light Bringers and becoming an alchemist. He gained knowledge of potions and how to make them and soon learned how to collect the ingredients himself. As he was taught where different plants and other ingredients for the potions were found he began to explore the forest more and more on his own, learning many of its secrets and gaining knowledge of its many hazards and creatures. With his apprenticeship to Zecora going well, Zecora began to train his body as well as his mind, focusing on developing the natural inherent agility that the children of a Pegasus pony typically possess even when they are not pegasi themselves.
In the Light Bringer encampment Dawn learned the history and purpose of the Light Bringers and began training in the many areas in which a Light Bringer must be proficient including the martial arts, stealth, physical fitness, monstrophy (the study of monsters), leadership, and fighting as a team. He also learned of the many dangers that he might one day face as a Light Bringer and of the mostly forgotten Alicorn princess of the moon who had formed the Light Bringers. While he trained and developed these many skills, he grew and matured as a colt and dreamt of the day he would finally put them to use as a Light Bringer.
Intrepid Dawn, now ten and big for his age, moved quickly through the Light Bringer fort as he approached the gate, after sneaking around the guards he moved stealthily into the forest. Once he could no longer see the camp he leapt agilely into the treetops and began to travel from tree branch to tree branch across the forest following a path that existed only in his head. After about half an hour of travel he dropped down to the ground and made his way carefully through a patch of brambles into a small glade. After reading from the books he had brought with him, the quiet day, warm sun, and peaceful atmosphere wove their enchantments upon him and his eyes slowly closed as he let out a yawn. Soon he was snoring as the day quietly wore on.
With a start he awoke as a rainbow explosion sent ripples of colors and sound across the sky. Blinking the last of the sleep out of his eyes, he looked up to the sky in wonder for a grand total of one second, just long enough for him to think “what is that hurtling towards me?” before getting hit by what felt like a small meteor. After sliding for several feet he looked to his side to see what had hit him, he saw a huddled mass of white.
Shifting carefully he nudged the quivering mass with his nose and quietly asked “Are you alright?”
The shivering mass uncurled, becoming a small alabaster filly. She blinked her brilliant blue eyes and nodded her head to answer his question. Then she carefully tried to get up but her right foreleg crumpled beneath her weight and caused her to cry out in pain and begin sniffling. Intrepid carefully got up favoring his side. He walked back to where he had been sleeping and grabbed his saddlebags. After pulling a length of cloth from the saddlebags he moved back beside the filly and began to bandage her foreleg intrigued by the shape and substance of it.
“Is that better?” He asked.
Once again the filly nodded but this time didn’t try to move.
“My name is Intrepid Dawn, what is yours?” Intrepid asked.
“I don’t know.” she quietly replied.
“How can you not know?” Intrepid asks.
“I don’t know, I just can’t remember,” the filly replied her voice shaky. “All I can remember is an explosion of color and then falling.”
“Let me see your head, your memory loss could be from hitting your head when you crashed.” Dawn stated as he approached the filly again. Looking closely at her head he quickly realized that the filly was not a pony and that her head had sustained some injuries which probably had caused her memory loss. Once he was finished with his quick analysis he said “It looks like you did hit your head pretty hard when you landed, and I am not able to treat such an injury, however I know who can and she lives close by. If you can climb on my back, we will get there quite quickly.”
“Okay,” the filly said carefully climbing onto Dawn’s back.
Dawn moved back through the brambles surrounding the glade, and once through started moving through the forest at a quick trot, careful to watch for any signs of danger. As he as he got closer to his destination his speed increased until the hut he had been looking for appeared through the foliage. He approached the hut at a gallop yelling for Zecora, when she appeared he quickly told her what happened and carefully laid the now comatose filly on a bed in Zecora’s home.
“Heat some water and get my medicine bag, also grab some bandages and a rag.” Zecora ordered. “We must reduce the swelling to start her on the path of healing.”
“Okay, Zecora,” said Dawn as he rushed to do as she asked.
Zecora examined the filly’s wounds while waiting for the water to heat. Finding only minor injuries other than the head injury and broken leg, she cleaned the minor injuries and bandaged them. When she had finished with the minor injuries, she set the broken leg. She then began on the head injury cleaning it carefully and then placing a poultice on it and wrapping a bandage around the filly’s head to keep the poultice in place. When she had finished wrapping the injury, she turned Dawn and said “Well that is all I can do until she wakes, now let me check your ribs for any breaks.” With a grimace Dawn submitted himself to Zecora’s prodding hoof letting out a hiss of pain when her hoof came in contact with the ribs the filly had hit when she crashed. Zecora carefully wrapped Dawn’s barrel and said “No breaks just a very bad bruise, take it easy for a few days and be sure to snooze.”
“Alright Zecora, I will and do you think the filly will be alright?” asked Dawn.
“Her body should heal up well, her mind only time can tell. However she is a changeling, so my predictions may mean nothing.” Zecora replied.
“A changeling! I am learning about them in training, although she seems different than the monsters described by the instructors. According to my instructors changelings are fearsome creatures covered in black chitin, able to both fly and use magic, and who feed on the emotions of ponies. Supposedly they rarely fear anything and most are part of a hive mind controlled by their queens and under-queens incapable of independent thought.” Stated Dawn.
“Your instructors are right, but they only teach what they can confirm by sight. There are strange magics at work here, and I do not know where they will lead for I am no seer.” Zecora said. “Your decision to help this changeling filly has set you on a dangerous path, for you may incur many ponies’ wrath.”
“I know but she was hurt and I couldn’t just leave her there to die!” Dawn exclaimed.
“I know you wouldn’t leave her to die, but not all ponies are as kind and helpful as you or I,” said Zecora. “Some may have even killed her outright, or left her to die at the crash site. You must be careful my friend, for there are those who will work to bring about your and her end.”
“I will be careful Zecora and thank you for taking care of her. I will be back tomorrow to check on her. Good bye,” said Dawn as he prepared to leave.
“I bid you good bye, I will guard her from any unfriendly eye,” Zecora said.
Dawn trotted off into the forest still favoring his bruised side. As he traveled through the forest back to the Light Bringer encampment he considered Zecora’s advice to be careful. By the time he had sneaked back into camp, he had decided not to tell anyone else about the changeling filly at least until he knew more about her himself. Already known as a loner and daydreamer despite his young age he was left to his thoughts as he plodded along the path through the encampment to his family’s house. As he entered the front door, he was greeted with a tackle ambush from his younger brother, Gear Box and sister, Star Song, both unicorns. He quickly faltered under their combined assault and collapsed to the ground faking his own defeat. “I am slain” he cried dramatically as he fell.
“Yay we won, Gear, we beat the monster!” shouted Star as she jumped onto Dawn’s injured side causing him to gasp in pain. “Dawn are you okay?” asked Star her voiced laced with concern for her older brother.
“It is just a bruise from earlier, I’ll be fine little sis.” said Dawn.
“From all the noise coming from in here I would guess Dawn is home,” said his mother from the kitchen, “and just in time for dinner too. Wash up my little munchkins and come sit at the table, dinner is just about ready.”
“Okay Mom,” said Dawn for himself and his siblings.
As soon as the children were done washing their hooves and faces, their father, Iron Bulwark, entered the front door and announced “I’m home!”
“Good, you’re just in time for dinner honey,” said Moonlit Eve.
“I knew I smelled something good on my way in here,” said Iron.
With the whole family at the dinner table the meal was begun with gusto. As bellies were filled, conversation started with each member of the family telling the rest about their day to greater or lesser extent. With Zecora’s words echoing in his mind, Dawn said nothing about the changeling filly that had crashed into him and explained away his injured side as a training injury.
The next day Dawn was up bright and early, anxious to see the changeling filly again, however his chores and training had to be taken care of first. Both the chores and the training seemed to take an eternity to his anxious young mind. Even the antics and companionship of his best friend Harvest Moon didn’t help the time pass more quickly. As the training ended for the day, Dawn rejected the Harvest’s request to hang out with the excuse that he had something important to do and the promise that he would tell Harvest more about it at a later date. Then he was off quickly and stealthily to Zecora’s hut.
Upon his arrival at Zecora’s hut, he found Zecora ministering to the now conscious filly’s wounds. Glad to see the changeling filly awake and apparently on the mend he waited patiently until Zecora was done. As soon as she was done he asked the changeling filly, “How are you?”
She replied “I am still sore and injured but I feel better than yesterday.”
“Do you remember anything else?” Dawn asked.
“Not yet, not with any surety,” she said with sadness in her voice.
“Well I am sure you will remember it in time, for now though maybe we can go over what I have learned about changelings and see if any of that jogs your memory.” Dawn suggested.
“Sure” she replied, her face filled with hope.
With those words the great memory recovery and research project began. As the changeling filly healed, Dawn would come by each day and check up on her project many times bringing any books he could find on changelings or on memory loss. After about a week of this he mentioned that they should come up with a name for changeling filly at least until she remembered her own. She agreed to this and together they brainstormed names until they came up with Alabaster Enigma mostly because it described her and because the filly liked it better than the others they had come up with.
Two days after Alabaster Enigma took her new name some of her memories began to come back. Many were hazy at first and most were not very helpful other than as proof that she was getting her memories back. By the beginning of the second week of her recovery and her and Dawn’s project, her memories were getting clearer and many seemed to be about day to day life for a drone in the hive. Dawn recorded these memories for future reference. Finally after about three and a half weeks they had a break-through in what had happened on the day Alabaster crashed into Dawn and the week leading up to it.
"Two days before Dawn and I met so abruptly, I was summoned to Queen Ichoria's throne room. There myself and a group of fellow changelings learned that we were to escort a delegation of under-queens to a Diamond Dog clan that resided several leagues south of the Everfree Forest.
As the sun dropped below the horizon, we set off, planning to use the cover of night to conceal our movements. The first night of our journey went well, we kept up a good pace and were able to find a safe spot to spend the daylight hours. As dusk fell on the second night, we set off at a steady pace and flew many leagues. When dawn broke the next morning, we found ourselves over oceans of wheat. With no place to hide we flew on hoping that our speed would protect us where stealth could not. Unfortunately for us, our speed was not enough and within an hour we were spotted by a squad of Wonder Bolts. As they began to catch up to us, our under-queens ordered us to scatter and attempt to evade any ponies that came after us. As we scattered, I continued to fly straight and fast, hoping I would outrun the pegasi.
After what felt like an eternity of flying, I found myself over a sinister forest. When I looked back to see if there were any pegasi pursuing me I saw nothing but endless forest all around me and thankfully not a pegasus in sight. I continued flying onward, looking for a safe place to land. About an hour later, a flash of light caused me to look back and see an explosion of color behind me, as prismatic waves rolled towards me I frantically looked around for a spot to land and saw a clearing off to my left. I was able to aim towards it right before the waves hit me knocking me into a high speed dive rather than the gentle landing I had hoped for. The only thing I remember after that is hitting something. My next memory is waking up with Dawn standing over me.
And that is the story of how I ended up here." Enigma concluded.
"Well it seems you have undertaken quite the journey, I am glad you met Dawn and I and not some less kind pony," said Zecora. "Now you should get your rest, for tomorrow your magic we will test.