//------------------------------// // Morning Rush Hour (3) // Story: It's Just History // by musicman722 //------------------------------// Ever since college, Dusty always thought that Celestia had way too much time on her hooves. How else does she take that extra second to make sure the rising sun’s light strikes right in his eyes almost every morning? ‘It’s a bucking conspiracy, is what it is.’ Dusty’s mind blearily answered as he tried to snuggle further under his covers, ‘Bet she even has a whole team made to find ponies sleeping near windows to wake up like this. Precious tax dollars into Equestria’s most annoying alarm clock system. Buck, what time is it anyways?’ He poked his head out and searched for the clock on his nightstand. ‘Oh, its half an hour before the museum opens. Mmkay. Five more minutes.’ After a couple seconds, that statement finally sunk into his mind as that one neuron that knew what that meant and took its job seriously hit the emergency wake up button with its face. Dusty’s eyes shot wide open as he rocketed out of his bed and around his flat to get ready for work. All the while, he muttered “Buckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuuuuuuuuucck!” repeatedly. He stuffed his bag with important papers after putting some bread in the toaster. Just to be sure he didn’t forget anything, he packed in some random things from his nightstand and desk. A quick taming of his bed head and a toaster pop later, Dusty galloped out his door and down the stairs. Out on the street, Dusty weaved around stallions and mares who were on their way to work and foals running to school. “Sorry, sorry!” he shouted out with every close call and cut off he made as he ran. He muttered words of encouragement to himself, hoping to hold out until he reached the museum. Alas, it was in vain as his body was not suited to such intense exercise so early, and without stretching beforehand too. It wasn’t long until his leg cramped up. “OW! Sweet Celestia!” Dusty shouted before crumpling onto the grass of the park he was cutting across. At least the universe was kind enough to grant him some cushioning for his fall. “Great. Late and in pain.” Dusty muttered, “Can this get any worse?” glancing off to the side, he noticed that his bag flew open and scattered his belongings. Dusty sighed, “I had to ask, didn’t I?” Grumbling under his breath, Dusty limped over and started stuffing the papers back into his bag. “At least there’s no win-” His words died in his throat as one of the papers he picked up revealed a very familiar amulet. Remembering the events from the night before, Dusty chewed on his lip as he tried to decide if he should use it. ‘I still don’t know much about it. As much as I’d like to trust Nightmare that there’s no catch, I can’t really risk it.’ he thought, ‘Buuut, I really need to get to the museum on time, and it’s the only place to do some research on it safely. Just his once then no more until after further study.’ A quick look around, showed that nopony was close by or really paying him much mind. Dusty placed a hoof on the amulet, “Hey, um, don’t come out right now, but I wish I was teleported to the front of the museum with all my current items with me.” “Your wish is my command, Master.” Dusty heard from the amulet. Not a moment later, Dusty found himself on his hooves with his stuffed bags on his back in front of his destination. A quick glance showed him that the amulet was once again around his neck. “Huh. For a second there, I thought that wouldn’t work, or at least the way I wanted.” Dusty muttered. “I aim to please, Master.” Nightmare said, startling Dusty. He quickly checked around and luckily saw nopony nearby to hear the voice of the genie. “Can you not speak out like that in public?” Dusty asked, “I’d rather not explain why my necklace is talking.” Celestia, that would be an awkward conversation. Plus, he’d rather not have unsavory ponies hear about an amulet that could grant wishes, or the guard finding out he was holding the original Nightmare Moon around his neck. “Is this satisfactory, Master?” Nightmare said, but this time, it echoed in his mind. The sudden change caused Dusty to jump. “Are you in my head?!” He exclaimed. Once again, Dusty was thankful nopony saw his little outburst lest they send him to the mental ward or something. Nightmare, however, was perfectly calm about it. “No. I cannot enter the mind of another unless you command it of me, and even then there are severe restrictions to my abilities. Right now, I am simply speaking to you through telepathy so long as you are in contact with my container.” “Oh. That’s a relief.” Dusty said, now starting to limp around the building to the worker’s entrance. “Master, I can heal your injured leg for you, if you’d like.” Nightmare offered. “Nah, I kinda deserved that for sleeping in. Plus, it’ll heal itself by the end of the day. I’m fine.” To prove his point, Dusty limped faster to the door. “And can you please not call me ‘Master’? Just ‘Dusty’ is fine enough.” “Of course not.” Nightmare said, sounding offended, “You found me and you have control over me, therefore you are my master.” Dusty reached the work entrance, “I don’t have time to argue this right now. We’ll discuss this later.” He opened the door with his magic and limped in towards the check in station. “Yes! With a minute to spare too.” He stamped himself in and trotted over to his workstation. As he unpacked, a pegasus trotted over. “Heeeeyyyy, Dusty.” He said. He was a lanky Pegasus with a yellow coat and key lime mane and tail. His eyes were an ocean blue and gave an air of casualness like a pony at the beach. His mark was a fossil and a pair of shells. “So how was that lead you got?” Dusty gave him a dirty look, “It would have been better if you told me about the mountains I had to climb. You know I hate that, Seaweed.” Seaweed held up a hoof in defense. “Whoa, brah. I told you what the stallion told me. Plus he had a climbing mark, so I figured he knew the difference between a hill and a mountain. Don’t shoot the messenger, dude.” He glanced down and noticed the amulet, “Sweet necklace, brah. Swipe that swag from the cave?” It took Dusty a second to understand what he was talking about. He thought quickly to cobble together a lie to hold until he could figure out something better. “Oh, this?” he said as nonchalantly as he could, “Actually, I found this at an antique store the other day. I just wanted to bring it in to study it a bit. Maybe it could be from a few centuries ago? Or maybe it’s older than that? Either way, it looks good for its age.” Seaweed nodded, “Cool. Might go dig through them ‘tiki shops too. Lunch at Wubway?” Dusty noticed that he didn’t really pack a lunch in his rush to work. “Sure, why not.” After he left, Dusty concentrated on getting settled in. It wasn’t long until Nightmare spoke up. “Did you really mean that?” she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty. Dusty blinked, “Mean what?” he whispered. “What you had said. That I looked good for my age. Did you mean it?” she said. “Oh, that.” Dusty said, now nervous. He had never been the best when it came to mares on a personal level. “Well, I was talking about the amulet, which does look incredibly well preserved for something at least a millennia old.” That part was true, at least. “I do like to keep my container in perfect condition.” Nightmare responded with pride. Dusty gave a small sigh as he dodged that bullet. He’d seen enough college drama to know how to avoid a few conversation landmines. “Anyways, I need to start working. I’m supposed to get some of these artifacts documented and ready for the exhibit.” ’Would you like my assistance?’ Nightmare asked. “Ah… No, thank you.” Dusty said hesitantly, “I’m fine.” Though the thought of an assistant was appealing, the museum didn’t get interns often and he did not want to explain how his new assistant was the Bringer of Eternal Night. Plus, he didn’t think spirits had training with handling historical artifacts. ’I will be here until you need me. she said before becoming silent. Just to be safe, Dusty removed the amulet and tossed it into his drawer, placing a sticky note to remember to take it out when he leaves. “First order of business, order books about spirits.” He said to himself. While Nightmare seemed truthful for the most part, Dusty was still uneasy about some of her abilities, namely any side effects of being in contact with her. “Secondly, find any reference to her in Thestral culture, Pre-Banishment era.” It was probably going to come up as legend, or not at all, but he was curious and even myths and legends have a bit of truth in them. “A quarter past eight and I can already tell this is going to be a long day.” He sighed.