Dusk Shine
For the next three days most of what Spines and I did was hang out with Sabrina. Every day at lunch I would come over, hang out for maybe two hours talking about what it was like fly, how she could use her power over spring and music, and finally her telling me about her home.
“My mom was always trying to get me to act more sophisticated. But it was like teaching it to Applejack.” This got a laugh out of the three of us. “During one of many classy lesson I tricked the teacher into thinking someone was playing music during class. I kept changing the direction of the sound so she was looking all over the place.” Spines started tearing up, I did too. “The best part was that during all of this I was trying to use the my song magic to turn on the Fire Alarm and when I did I also set off the sprinkler system! The teacher didn’t even know until she was completely soaked!”
After we got all the laughter out of us, Spines burped up a letter.
“I was wondering when a letter would show. Once there’s peace somehow something comes along to get ya’ll into action.” Sabrina commented as I opened the letter.
My Faithful Student Dusk Shine,
It is about Eris. She claims to have some troubling news for the Elements of Harmony. Please come to Canterlot as soon as possible.
Keep Sabrina in Ponyville. I don’t want to know what she and Eris will do once they meet.
Your Mentor,
Prince Solaris
“What’s it say Dusky?” Sabrina asked.
Wanting to avoid telling her about Eris I turned to Spines.
“Spines tell the others to meet me at the library.” With a nod, the small dragonette ran off.
“What does the letter say Dusk?” Sabrina asked a little more angrily than last time.
“Nothing that you need to worry about.” I said as carefully as possible.
“Dusk Shine you show me that letter.” Sabrina commanded.
“Orders are orders Sabrina...” Before I could explain anymore, everything but the hoof holding the letter was covered in ice.
“Orders smorders,” Sabrina said while yanking the letter from the hoof. I could tell she read it when she gasped. “Female Discord! You’re going to see a Female Discord!”
I about to ask who Discord was when I remembered the Mare Version of our lives that she liked watching back home.
“Does she really have a lion paw, goat horn and two different sized red eyes?” She asked. I couldn’t speak cause of the ice around my muzzle. “Right forgot about the ice.” Once she said that all the ice melted. I shook off all the water in my coat.
“Sabrina Solaris said you can’t go and you won’t.” I explained.
“Good luck trying. You’re talking to the girl who can bend plants to her will and nullify the air around me to make me as silent as a breeze!” Sabrina yelled as I walked towards the library.
“I can’t take you. It would disobey a direct order from the Prince.” It was then I remembered I could fly.
So I did
After losing Sabrina, I flew straight to the library. Everypony was already there waiting.
“There ya are Dusk. What took ya so long haystack?” Applejack asked.
“Sabrina. I got a letter from the Prince. He says Eris wants to talk to us about something important.” They gasped when I said Eris.
“The embodiment of Chaos?! What could she have to say to us?” Rainbow yelled.
“Maybe she needs help planning a party! *GASP* Or maybe she made more clouds out of cotton candy but she made too much and tends our help getting rid of them!” Berry cheered.
“I don’t know what she wants Rainbow but Solaris wants in Canterlot ASAP so we should get going before Sabrina remembers how to get to the Train Station. Spines I’m going to have ask you to stay here and make sure Sabrina doesn’t follow us.
“That’s going to work well.” Spines mumbled.
“We should get going. Come on.” I suggested as the six of us ran off towards the station.
Once we got far enough Elusive asked me a question.
“Do you really think Spines can keep Sabrina here?”
“Probably not for long. At most maybe two hours, three tops.” I wasn’t saying anything bad about Spines but Sabrina could do a lot of stuff so she could come after us.
But as we ran, I got a bad feeling that I should let Sabrina come with us.
After a four hour train ride we arrived in Canterlot. As fast as our hooves could care us or, for my and Blitz, our wings we headed straight to the palace. The guards let us past seeing as how I’m the new Prince and they had no reason to keep me out of the palace. Before long Sparkling found us.
“Dusk, been looking for you. The Princes want to see you in the Royal Gardens.” She explained.
“I thought you went back to the Crystal Empire with Eros?” I asked her.
“I did but Solaris said he needed my help with Eris so I came back. I still don’t like the draconequus.” Sparkling said. Giving her a nod, we all ran to the garden.
Once I entered, I was immediately greeted by Eris.
“Oh why if it isn’t the newest Equestrian Prince? So Dusk Shine, how do you like the new wings?” She asked me while floating above my head.
“Why have you called us here Eris?” I asked her.
“Please, let’s all go sit with Solaris and Artemis before getting hostil. Hearing about how you and Rainbowhead still don’t trust me is getting boring.”
“HEY!” Blitz yelled at Eris.
Elusive, Butterscotch, Berry and Applejack were trotting towards Solaris and Artemis waiting at a small table. It looked like we were having a picnic with the Embodiment of Chaos.
“My Faithful Student, thank you for coming.” Solaris greeted.
“We have to be quick. I don’t know how long Spines can hold her off.” I explained to him. He gave an understanding nod.
“Eris, mayhaps you could explain to them why they have been called here.” Artemis practically commanded at the draconequus.
“Why of course.” Eris floated over the table. She drank a glass filled with water and threw the water up in the sky. It turned into a seagull and flew off. “I’ve been feeling Chaos brewing for the four days. It hasn’t occurred yet but I can feel the anticipation for it.”
“And just what exactly do you think is going to happen? You could just be throwing us off your trail so you can create all the chaos you want!” Rainbow yelled.
“I could but I won’t. I’m reformed remember? Besides this chaos is familiar.” Eris explained.
“Familiar? What do you mean by that Eris?” Elusive asked while sipping the tea laid before him.
“I felt it while I was in stone during the wedding.” We all stopped.
“Changelings? But I thought Eros and Sparkling destroyed them?” I said, panicked.
“They blew them away with a shield.” Solaris explained. “Their numbers were hurt drastically. We have at least a hundred in the dungeon, thirty of which died during imprisonment and some scientists are running tests on them.”
“What exactly would they even try to do? The only event even worth disrupting was my coronation and I didn’t see a changeling there.” I explained.
“This is where the Chaos gets interesting. I also sensed some in Ponyville. Anything strange happen there lately?” Eris asked.
“YEAH! We got a new friend Sabrina. She can make it snow and she pulled a cool prank on us by using musi-” Applejack stuffed a hoof in Berry’s mouth.
“What did she use Berry?” Eris asked while using her chaos magic to move Applejack away from Berry.
“Music. It was really scary but when I found out it was a prank it was hilarious!” There we go. Now Eris knows about Sabrina.
“Thanks Berry, Eris wasn’t supposed to know about Sabrina!” Rainbow told him.
“That makes no sense. Why can’t she know? Do you know Eris? Eris?”
The Chaos Lord was frozen.
“Eris...” Butterscotch said.
“I guess it would make sense.” She mumbled.
“What?” I asked her.
“No she would need somepony...” Eris mumbled again.
“Have you discovered something Eris?” Solaris asked.
“Yes. Before I was turned to stone the first time, just after the first discovery of Changelings a prophet created an ancient prophecy. I don’t remember the exact words but I think it went like...
'A creature shall be born with the power of the song
She will be moved to the land under the power of the sun and the moon
An evil who feeds with love will use her power for wrong
But with her love by her side Harmony will return soon'
“I found no use for it. I wanted Chaos to stay so I forgot about it until just now.” Eris explained.
I turned to Solaris, scared of what this meant for Sabrina.
Before I could ask anything, something crashed a few yards away.
Blitz, Artemis and Eris arrived first.
“Dusk you need to see this!” Blitz yelled, somehow making me run faster.
Inside a small crater lied a cocoon just like the one Sabrina appeared in. Once Solaris, Berry, Elusive, Applejack and Butterscotch arrived it practically melted. Revealing a purple and green dragonling with a red earth pony.
“Red Gala! What are ya doing here?” Applejack yelled.
“Spines what happened!” I yelled.
“Could you help us out of here?” Spines asked.
I grabbed them both with my magic and pulled them both out of what was left of the pod. “Now tell us what happened? Where’s Sabrina.”
“Sabrina wouldn’t stay behind so we decided to have a sleepover. We invited Red Gala because Sabrina said she wanted to ‘talk to the silent farmer pony’. After about two hours...her house was attacked...” Spines gasped.
“Attacked? Attacked by what?” Rainbow asked them.
“Weird black ponies.” Red Gala explained. “Before Sabrina was grabbed by one she put us inside that green thing and shot us off.”
“Dusk,” Spines started, “Sabrina was taken by Changelings.”
Sabrina
Two hours ago. Just after the Guys Left to Canterlot.
“When I see that alicorn I’m gonna freeze him till he can’t feel his eyeballs.” I warned as Spines walked me to my bungalow or makeshift prison.
“Come on Sabrina, we can try to have some fun!” Spines yelled as my door opened for us. Sometimes I hate that parts of my house have a mind of their own.
For the first hour Spines tried to think of ways to have fun, I was thinking of ways to torture Dusk for just ditching me here. I knew my house would side at whoever wanted to keep me alive and wouldn’t let me out.
It wasn’t until a second hour was starting did I come up with anything.
“A sleepover!” I shouted suddenly.
“What?” Spines asked after she screamed.
“A sleepover. We could have a sleepover. It’s way better than calling this Home Arrest.” I said flatly.
“You do have a point. But who do we have over?” Spines asked me.
I thought about it. What stallion from My Little Pony did I know and want to invite and lived in Ponyville?
“Big Macintosh!” I thought.
“What’s the name of Applejack’s sister?” I asked Spines, not even bothering to ask why I didn’t meet her sooner.
“Red Gala. You wanna go get her?” Spines asked.
“Does a zebra rhyme, come on!” I told her as I grabbed her clawed and ran towards the door, which opened knowing I wasn’t escaping for escapings sake.
Running towards direction where I felt apples, I got ready to invite Red Gala to a Girl’s Night. I means what’s a better name to call a sleepover with a pony, human and baby dragon?
“Red Gala!” I shouted as I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. It was only slightly larger than expected.
Soon a red version of Mare Applejack came running towards us.
“Hiya.” I greeted.
“Hey Red Gala, nice to see you. All three of you.” Spines said before face planting on the dirt. Maybe I ran a little too fast.
“So umm... Spines and I were having a sleepover at my house. I was wondering if you wanted to come?”
Gala looked down at Spines, then back up at me and then back down to Spines.
“Eeyup.” Red Gala said, sounding almost exactly like Mare Applejack or MAJ as I’m now calling her to avoid confusion on my part.
“Awesome, just get what you need and head over. I’m looking forward to it.” I said as honest as MAJ before carefully picking up Spines with a blanket of snow.
After Red Gala got to my house we started doing simple sleepover thing. Like figuring out what to have for dinner (apple pizzas sound way better than one would think), I got some music playing (scaring Red Gala at first) so we had makeshift karaoke (after those two got the lyrics right).
Artemis was preparing to set the sun and it was four hours after I had been ditched here. I had changed into the nightgown Elusive made me and rejoined the girls downstairs.
“Now for my favorite Sleepover Game. Truth or Dare.” I told them.
“I was waiting for this game to come up.” Spines said.
“Let’s let Red Gala go first, RG?” I asked as I sat down on my hammock. I would have never set foot in this house if it didn’t have a hammock.
“Alrighty then, Spines Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.” Spines said after a minute of thought.
“Do you like that fancy pony my brother always hangin’ out with?” Spines blushed.
“You have to say the truth Spines.” I reminded.
“I should’ve known that question was coming. Yes I like Elusive.” Spines said.
“Nice job Spines.” RG said.
“Spines, now you ask somebody.”
I could almost see her wheels turning with what to do with me.
“Sabrina, Truth or Dare?”
“Definitely a Dare.” Take that Spines. No asking me questions about Dusk tonight.
“I dare you to...go out on one date with Dusk.” Why didn’t I think of that?
“You like Dusk?” RG asked.
“So what if I do RG? And fine Spines. One date after he gets back. Now it’s my turn.” I told her before she could say anymore. “RG, truth or dare?”
“Truth."
“We know who Spines like,” I could see her putting the question together, “We know who I like. So RG who do you like?”
Beneath her red cheeks I could see blush.
“You have to tell the truth.” Spines reminded.
“I like Butterscotch.” She mumbled.
“Who?” I asked.
“Butterscotch.” RG mumbled again.
“Couldn’t catch that one either RG.”
“Butterscotch.” She finally said.
“It’s always the quiet ones that end up together.” I said.
“Funny. Now is mine turn gain.” RG grinned.
*BOOM*
There was silence for a minute.
“What was that?” RG asked.
“I don’t know. You two stay here.” I commanded after carefully going to the back door. “Door you better open or I will rip you off the vines holding you to the wall.”
I took a careful step outside, using my song magic to try and find anything. What was really strange was I heard that Jesse McCartney song.
“I don’t want your love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul.”
Preparing an ice spell to get rid of this thing, I was ambushed by black ponies with holes.
‘Changelings’
“RG SPINES RUN!” I screamed as loud as I could. They walked outside to see the Changelings.
“What are those thangs!” RG screamed.
Not knowing what else to do, I used my plant magic and the back door to wrap around them and my Autumn magic to blast them off.
Just in time too because as they left the ground two of those changelings jumped on me.
“The King will be pleased to see you Human.”
“I’m sorry Dusk.” I thought as my world went black.