Agápe
The first sense that came back to Dusk Shine was hearing. The voices sounded oddly familiar, yet they were off somehow. As if the wrong ponies were using the right voices.
“I’m still going for a magical transformation accident,” a stallion’s voice said. “Have you sent a letter to the Princesses yet?”
“I did earlier in the day,” said another, much younger voice. “Celestia told me to keep him out of trouble, and...have you ever tried to keep Twilight Sparkle out of trouble? It was all I could do to get the flags up in time!”
The next sensation was of weight. Something was supporting his body, and it felt like somepony had put him onto his bed...no...Twilight’s bed.. Pretty remarkable nonetheless, considering that he had fallen onto the floor. The very hard, very painful floor...
“Spike definitely has a point,” a mare’s voice replied, thoughtful. “But, then again, we have this pony here, who claims that he’s just from a gender-flipped version of Equestria and he’s the version of Twilight Sparkle there.”
“Same Cutie Mark,” the stallion replied.
A third sensation returned-smell. The oddly same-yet-feminine whiff of the bed he was in. The slightly brassy, metallic scent of a dragon. Two familiar-yet-off smells, one a stallion and one a mare. But, they smelled so like somepony familiar that he wanted to pretend, for a moment, that it was them.
“There is that,” the mare sighed softly. “And...there is something else going on here. I can feel it, and I’d really want to talk to him.”
The words were starting to make some kind of sense, but Dusk couldn’t quite place the words or the context. There was this faint, blooming hope that somehow he had gone back home after…
After I lost consciousness when I read a scroll saying that Shining Armor, the brother of Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Cadence were coming to the library early for the Festival, he remembered. It was just the last thing of this whole Tirek-damned day that just was too much…
There was a blink of the eyelids, and he realized he was seeing again. Were my eyes closed? No, Dusk Shine realized in shock, they were open and I just could not see until now…
“Um...hello?” Dusk said nervously to the two debating ponies (and one defensive dragon) in the room. “I am awake now and I would like to offer my own opinions on what happened.”
The two ponies turned to face him, and he realized just how similar (and different) they were from their counterparts back in his home universe. Shining Armor definitely looked like a masculine version of his sister Gleaming Shield-more defined in terms of his body and muscle mass, square jaw and longer face, but the exact same shield-and-stars Cutie Mark, white fur and short-cut mane. It was Princess Cadence that threw him for the loop, as she was like looking at a distorted Mirror Pool image of Prince Bolero. Somehow, Prince Bolero was able to make pink fur and a three-tone mane look both masculine and cute. He always kept his mane and tail cut about as long as the pictures he’d seen of Twilight Sparkle, and his usual style was soft without being effeminate. Cadence, on the other hoof, was unquestionably feminine and a mare of obvious romance. Her mane and tail were nearly three times as long (and ended in the curl that Bolero always despised whenever his mane grew long enough to curl), and she stood with a mare’s grace and charm. Her Cutie Mark was the same as Bolero’s--a crystal heart surrounded with gold accents--but hers also seemed so...mare-ish.
“Are you alright Twilight?” Shining asked.
Dusk looked at the two of them, and sighed. “As Spike has already told you, I am not Twilight Sparkle. There has been no ‘magical accident’. When I went to bed last night, I had a sister named Gleaming Shield and the stallion I hung out with when I was younger was named Bolero. Standing here in front of me is, from my perspective, their opposites in gender. And, I was hoping that I would wake up back at home, as today has been so very sub-optimal.”
Shining Armor and Princess Cadence looked at each other, and the former sighed. “Look...I’ve got a hard time believing that. After some of the stuff that Twilly’s pulled when she’s played with her magic, having her swap genders and accidentally altering her memories wouldn’t surprise me at all,” he said, sitting on a corner of the bed.
Princess Cadence looked at Dusk and cocked her head slightly. “Do you remember the ladybug song?” she asked, genuinely curious.
Dusk rubbed his muzzle with his hoof and groaned. “Dear Helios, not the ladybug song! That thing is still stuck in my head, even years from foalhood, because every mare in class was singing and dancing it every chance they got!”
“So…” Cadence looked poised to shake her rump.
“I am not dancing that silly song,” Dusk grumbled, and shook his head. “I would ask if Shining Armor could check my memory as well, but my sister was not as good with those kind of analysis spells as I was. You are welcome to try, if you want.”
Shining looked at Dusk, and lowered his horn close to Dusk’s head. His horn glowed with magic, and he said after a minute, “From what I can tell, his memory hasn’t been touched. Checked him over for Changeling magic too, but he’s clean.”
“Changelings,” Dusk said, thinking all of a sudden, “Why did I not think of that! One second!” His horn glowed brightly, and it filled the room with solid color for a few moments. When the glow faded, nothing had changed. “It could not be that easy, could it?” he asked bitterly to the air.
“You thought we were Changelings?” Princess Cadence asked. “Why would you check for that?”
“Because every mare that I ran into today seemed to want to fall in love with me,” Dusk sighed. “Every. Single. One. And, of course, if they succeeded, would not that be a great source of energy to use?”
Shining Armor looked at Dusk, despondent. “Celestia, I knew that Twilight was having a bit of a hard time after the Ascension, but how bad was it for you today?”
“Hunting packs,” Dusk shivered a bit. “And, the Elements of Harmony were more than ready to pony me immediately.”
Shining and Cadence turned to each other. “Shining, may I ask for a few minutes by myself with him?”
“What?” Dusk started to get onto his hooves, looking at the two of them.
“My word that all I want to do is hear about what happened to you today,” Cadence said calmly. “I will stand right here and not move if that would make you feel better.”
“Cady,” Shining started, “if something bad happened to him…”
“Nothing bad like that happened,” Dusk interrupted. “But...I would feel more comfortable talking with Cadence by herself. I promise to tell you what happened today, as well, when we are done.”
Shining looked at the two of them, and sighed with a grump. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” and he used his magic to open the door and leave the room, closing it behind him.
Cadence smiled gently and said, “Dusk, if you would start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened, I would love to hear it.”
About twenty minutes later, Shining Armor had finished assigning the guardponies that had come with them to their duties and gave his second in command a Royal Voucher to get them all hotel rooms for the night. Princess Cadence silently opened the door to the library and quietly trotted over to Shining Armor. She coughed to get his attention and looked into his eyes. “Shining Armor,” she said, formally.
Shining looked at Cadence and felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. The last time she had that fixed, bright expression on her face was when she tried to stop the fawning hero-worshipping of her by the Crystal Ponies back home. That had not turned out well, and she had that same expression when she realized just how bad things had gotten. “Cady?” Shining Armor asked gently.
“If you could be a dear,” she said in a too-controlled tone of voice, “I’d like to borrow enough of the guards to gather up the other five Element Bearers. I need a place to meet with them that is large enough and private--I think Mayor Mare’s office is big enough--and I wish to see them within the next half hour. And, make sure to tell the guards that the Bearers’ participation in this discussion is not voluntary.”
“What happened with them and Dusk?” Shining asked, his eyes widening at the expression on her face.
“I think he’ll tell you all about it,” Cadence answered, her voice still tightly controlled. “There is a story there, and one that might have a happy ending. If, of course, the bucking idiots don’t screw things up even more.” The last few words came out in an angry hiss.
Shining Armor realized just how angry Cadence was, and he motioned to one of the guards.
Shining Armor came into the library with his travelling bag on his barrel. “Dusk Shine?” he asked carefully, looking around.
“Over here,” an odd voice replied, and Shining trotted over to where Dusk was working. A dozen magic books were floating in the air, held up by his magic. “After we talked, I started to do research on brane shells and dimensional travel. Twilight Sparkle has a very well-organized and complete magical library. Admittedly, nothing on the library at Canterlot, but I am not even getting hints at what could have happened.” Dusk closed the book he was reading with a loud slam, and looked at Shining. “There are a few very vague hints about a mirror of some kind a thousand years ago, created by King Sombra. Different name from Queen Ember, but I think the same pony. Some references about a Rainbow Bridge ten thousand years ago. But, other than that, nothing. I will probably have to go to the main library in Canterlot and search there.”
Dusk sighed sadly, and looked around. “I...and, I hate to say this, I want to go home. This is not where I belong, my friends are probably worried sick about me, and this is where Twilight Sparkle should be. And...I do not want to be a lightning rod anymore. All day, I was chased and propositioned and...well, one incident that should remain between her and I.”
Dusk turned on the chair and looked at Shining. “I want to give your sister back to you, it is wrong that I...took her?” he sighed.
“How bad was it for you today?” Shining asked, pulling up another chair with his magic.
“I feel a great deal of sympathy for mares now,” Dusk replied. “Especially ones that get propositioned by ponies that are too persistent. I am interested, I am even attracted, but I cannot leave myself in a situation where I might be responsible for a bastard foal. This magic might reverse itself tonight, in a day, in a year, or never. I do not want to take that risk.”
“What about birth control?” Shining considered. “I assume that since you were a unicorn stallion, you got the lecture.”
“The lecture and the spell, spells actually,” Dusk sighed, his right hoof playing with a ball on the table. “I did, back home, a statistical analysis. The procreative power that I possess now...most of the contraceptive spells have a one-in-five to one-in-ten failure rate. And, with the exception of two of them, they cannot be layered. The failure rate of those two spells, layered…” Dusk shrugged, his wings fluttering open for a second in frustration. “And, that assumes that the mare is not wanting to become pregnant as well. And you are the last pony I would have suggest a simple rutting.”
Shining blushed for a second, and answered, “Live with the Princess of Love for a couple of years as her husband and watch her council ponies on their issues. You get a more...pragmatic sense of how to handle some things. And, how much gets ruined because some ponies angst over it so much.”
“A definite possibility,” Dusk conceded. “But, I do not want to break the heart of anypony. The issue becomes...how do I do it without that happening?”
Shining considered that, and scratched his chin with a hoof. “Don’t know about that one, but I think Cadence will have some ideas. Here’s a question for you-do you play RPGs?”
Dusk looked at Shining’s saddle bags and smiled. “Please tell me you have a copy of Obiluletes and Obelisks.”
“Fourth edition,” Shining replied. “How about we get some characters created and run a short adventure. Perfect for getting your mind off of things.”
“Let me see the rule book,” Dusk waved his hoof.
Mayor Mare’s office was near the top of the central tower that was Ponyville’s City Hall. It took up a good third of the top, had a very impressive set of windows, and a very nice desk.
It was behind this very nice desk that Princess Cadence sat, steepling her hooves as she heard the voices come from outside the door and down the spiral staircase that lead up to the offices. A knock on the door, and a yellow pegasus in Guard armor stuck his head in. “Princess, the Elements are here,” he said.
“Thank you, Flash Sentry,” Princess Cadence said, “please show them in and close the door when they’re all in.”
Flash pulled his head out, preceding the arrival of five mares being prodded in by Guard ponies. None bound or forced, but it was Rainbow Dash who was most offended by the nature of the situation. “Hey, you don’t need to keep pushing me,” she said, angrily hissing with every reluctant step.
With all five finally gathered in the centre of the room, Flash closed the door. The first thing they all noticed that there wasn’t a single chair in the room other than the one Princess Cadence was sitting on. After a brief pause, she spoke from behind her steepled hooves. “Ladies, thank you for coming. We have quite a bit to talk about at present.”
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash pivoted to look at Cadence, “Why the rough treatment to bring us here?”
“Because,” Cadence replied, “you five ponies are some of the biggest bucking idiots I have ever dealt with,” and she slammed her hooves into the desk. “Do you realize just how close you came to ruining any chance you would have had with Dusk Shine, let alone breaking several laws in the process? Between pre-planning the whole wedding party, starting multi-generational family planning, chasing him across the meadows like a scared rabbit, offering to pony him like a rutting animal, and drugging him… You should be thankful that he’s just shocked and confused, not angry.”
“I just wanted to have some fun!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“I...I didn’t mean to scare him like that,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Well, it was going to be a really big party for the wedding that I had planned,” Pinkie Pie commented.
“Ain’t going to deny that I was wanting to see him do the right thing by all of us,” Applejack thundered.
“I wanted to help him deal with all the hemming and confusion he had,” Rarity said in a dignified tone. “Oh, and I wanted to be first, but that’s merely a minor issue.”
“You wanted to be first?!?” Applejack looked at Rarity and yelled. “Some Generosity you are! All of us get sloppy seconds?”
“Sloppy, nothing,” Rarity reared up and looked at Applejack angrily. “He’s still a virgin, you can tell just by how he talks. You were all going to get the better experience after he got over his nerves!”
“Um, she does have a point,” Fluttershy said. “You won’t believe how nervous some of my friends are for their first time.”
“So, we clearly have to make it into a party!” Pinkie Pie cried out.
“Hey, all he has to do is be there and we’ll help handle the rest,” Rainbow Dash smiled.
“Not like how you were going to do it,” Rarity shook her head. “You would have just tossed him at a cloud and had your way with him!”
“Better t’an using pills to get him in the mood,” Applejack snapped, taking up an oddly defensive posture.
“Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered, “that wouldn’t have worked very well, but I do thank you for trying to help after I scared him and everything…”
“Oh, and we got you! Chasing him all over the landscape like you’re any better than the other winged nut!” Rarity yelled at Fluttershy.
“Oh no, that is not fair,” Pinkie Pie yelled, getting up into Rarity’s muzzle.
“SILENCE.”
She didn’t yell. She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t even do anything, really. But, every single pony in the room stopped talking, turned their heads, and looked at Princess Cadence.
“I am very, very unhappy with all of you,” Princess Cadence said, hammering out each word in a grim voice. “But, you are very, very lucky that Dusk Shine is as forgiving of these kind of mistakes as Twilight Sparkle would be under the circumstances. And, he does think a great deal about you. Princess of Love, remember?”
She looked across as the five mares, and pushed her hooves against the desk, raising herself to her full height. “So, we are going to save the possibility of this relationship. But, I am going to ask this now and once and may Faust help you if you lie to me; because I will have absolutely no mercy if I find out otherwise. If, if, he agrees to it, would you be willing to have a polyamorous relationship with him? Fully agreeing to share him and his love? And, Rarity and Applejack, I know the two of you love each other and are just too bucking stubborn to admit to it. So, here and now-are you willing to share or are you willing to lose if another mare wins?”
The five of them were silent, and looked at each other. The first to raise her front hoof was Applejack. “I got no problem with sharing,” she said. “And...me and Rarity need to talk about this before we go further.”
“I...I can share,” Fluttershy said in a near-whisper. “I think he’ll be nice and treat us all well and everything.”
“I can agree as well,” Rarity nodded. “And, Applejack...our problems are mine, mostly. You are a beautiful mare and I wish we weren’t as angry with each other as we seem to be.”
“I can share,” Pinkie Pie smiled. “After all, a party needs a lot of ponies to make it a happy one.”
Rainbow Dash looked around and made a loud harrumph noise. “Well, I want to make sure he learns to fly well. He needs more practice! But, yea, I’ll share.”
Cadence lowered herself back into her chair. “Good. Now, we’re going to talk about exactly what you’re going to say to him later tonight when you go to apologize. And, you’ll have to practice it first.”
“Here is a strange thing,” Dusk said, looking over the copy of the rule book he had on the table.
After Cadence had left, Spike made dinner for all the ponies that were still there, and Dusk got a chance to look at the rules as the guard ponies got settled into their patrol routines.
“What is it?” Shining Armor asked, pulling out his dice bag and character sheets.
“Mind you, I was never a fan of the fourth edition of Obiluletes and Obelisks. But, as far as I can tell, with the exceptions of the names of the writers, the rules are identical,” Dusk considered. “If you had a copy of the third edition rules, I could tell better.”
“You’re a fan of third edition? Why didn’t I suspect that,” Shining sighed, shaking his head. “The rules made wizards and other magic users more important at higher levels than melee types.”
“It beats the special snowflake syndrome that you get in fourth edition, where everypony has something special they can do every couple of turns,” Dusk retorted. “But, regardless, I have noticed that the exchange between my world and yours is not exact. I mean, I looked in all the books and you do not even have lawyers in the Everfree.”
“Lawyers?” Shining asked.
“Scavenger that lives in forests,” Dusk explained. “It makes a very loud noise whenever anything approaches it, which attracts predators. Other animals do not eat it because the fur and flesh are nearly inedible. They then scavenge the remains of whatever is left.”
“Wow, sounds like lawyers in general,” Shining smiled. “Mind you, we don’t have things like that living in our forests.”
“Nor a lot of the more dangerous things I know about and have to worry about,” Dusk continued. “Which makes me wonder if the mare/stallion ratio here is because the world is well...nicer.”
“We’d need more statistical evidence,” Shining continued. “I do have to ask...what am I like, over there?”
“Gleaming has to put up with a lot of stallions that think they can do her job-and she proves them wrong every single day,” Dusk said after a few seconds to think. “Earned her post on merit, entirely. Prince Helios told me once that he wished he had more mares like her. And, she deeply loves Prince Bolero.”
“Now, that has to be weird,” Shining rubbed his ears with one of his hooves. “Princes of Equestria, not Princesses. What is Prince Helios like?”
Dusk had to think about that for a moment, then he said, “Disciplined. Five thousand years of ruling Equestria, a thousand of it without his brother...I think I was one of the few ponies he ever let his guard down around. I think I learned more from him in the few years I was his student, than most historians ever did. And, a long history it is--from fighting the wars that made Equestria to keeping the peace once there was an Equestria. He never asked anything from anypony that he was not willing to give himself. Or sacrifice.”
I might have been one of the few ponies to have seen an honest smile from him, tears when his brother came back, joy when Prince Bolero was married, Dusk realized to himself. How...lonely...his life has been. There was just him for so very long, raising and lowering the Sun, ruling the land, making the decisions that had to be made. He would never complain, never cry about it, but it was a lonely life and now there are ponies to share it with him.
Dusk shook his head. “Just had a thought about him,” he smiled sadly. “Lonely would be a good way of describing his life at times. No other pony that was as old as he was, until the Return. And, now, there are four alicorns.”
“Wow,” Shining said. “Celestia...well, she’s not quite as hooves-on, it sounds like. But, she does keep things as even as she can. Hey, what happened at our...well...their... wedding? Did you have a king Changeling or something?”
“No, there was only one queen, Queen Chrysalis. She pretended to be you, Gleaming Shield I mean, and everypony thought you were being a bridezilla. Wanting everything to be right in every way,” Dusk sighed. “I did not react well, I thought you were being so very stereotypically mare in how you wanted to get married.”
Shining teased one of his dice with his hoof. “Still...that does throw me and everypony else off a bit. And, our parents?”
“Dad edits the ‘Daring Do’ series. Another point of similarity-the name is the same, but Daring is a pegasus stallion, not a mare,” Dusk said after a moment. “Mom is a researcher and writes history books, and that sounds like it is the same.”
“Oh yes, Dad’s the researcher and Mom’s the editor,” Shining replied. “It’s how they met in the first place, Dad was writing his first book on the history of Stalliongrad and Mom was the editor they assigned to work with him. One thing after another and…”
“Mom waddled up to the altar pregnant,” Dusk finished. “It sounds like the same for both of us. Dad always said that you merely made them move their wedding up faster.”
“Dad says the same thing,” Shining grinned. “With the addition that Mom had gotten the Daring Do editing job-she knew A. K. Yearling before she got a job with the publishing house and Yearling wasn’t going to let anypony but her edit the stories.”
“Dad had the same thing…,” Dusk considered. “He was the only editor that Yearling would work with, something about ‘being the one that got it right’.”
“Spooky,” Shining shook his head. “Think you have an idea of what sort of character you want to play?”
Before Dusk could answer, there was a knock at the door. Shining came over, and looked out. “Yes?”
Dusk could hear something being said, and Shining trotted over. “Dusk, Cadence is back, and she wants to bring some ponies over to talk with you, and apologize. Are you up for it?”
Dusk looked at the gaming books, and sighed. “It has not been the most optimal of days. Let us get this over with.”
The two went to the door for the library and Shining opened it. Outside, just in front of the library, were the rest of the Elements of Harmony and Princess Cadence. They all looked chastised (or as much as Rainbow Dash could look like), and Cadence smiled. “I had a talk with the ladies here,” she said. “They all want to say something to you, Dusk.”
Cadence gave Rainbow Dash a nudge with a wing, who shot her a rude look. Then, she turned to face Dusk, and said, “Yea, look. It was wrong for me to just shock you like that earlier today. I’m sorry and I want to make it up to you tomorrow. Think you can help me with the weather prep for the Wonderbolts show?”
Dusk looked at her in amazement. “Do you think I can help?”
“Damn straight,” Rainbow Dash replied, bemused. “You’ve got the strength to do the job and we can use the help.”
“Then, about eleven in the morning?” Dusk raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Sure, see you then,” Rainbow Dash nodded.
“And, Dusk Shine,” Applejack said, “I’m a’sorry that I spooked you like I did earlier today. ‘Twas wrong of me and it won’t happen again.”
Dusk nodded at Applejack. “I am sorry that I yelled at you, as well.”
“I...I shouldn’t have just tried to leap at you,” Fluttershy said softly, taking a step forward. At a tap of Cadence’s wings, she spoke up a bit more. “I just see so many of my animal friends just resolving their problems that way that I didn’t think when I thought I had a chance with somepony like you.”
“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Dusk said. “And, I am sorry if I might have lead you on in that way.”
“Well, I should say that I was fully in the wrong, Dusk Shine,” Rarity said after Fluttershy took a step back. “It was terrible of me to do what I did, and you will have your jacket ready by tomorrow morning. You’ve demonstrated that you are a very noble and honorable stallion.”
“I will be there early, Rarity,” Dusk considered. “And, you...are a noble mare that deserves the best.”
Rarity blushed, but she nodded and waited. Pinkie Pie took a step up, then a few more, putting her muzzle to Dusk’s muzzle. Then, she said, “I was being really, really silly and I had a really, really bad reaction to the idea that you were here. I’m sorry and I would love to make it up to you with the best cake ever tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay,” Dusk said, and smiled. “And, everypony, I am sorry for my reaction to what happened. It has been a sub...it has been a bad day for all of us. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.”
Mostly because, Dusk thought, I hope to be safely back home tomorrow, Twilight Sparkle will return, and everypony can look back and laugh on it.
As the Elements left for their homes, Cadence came up and nuzzled Shining Armor. “I know the two of you were talking about gaming tonight, but it’s going to be an early morning for all of us. I’d like to get to bed early.”
Dusk started to yawn. “You are right, it has been a long and very tiring day. I think we should all get some sleep and be ready for an early day tomorrow.”
Spike stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Oh, Dusk, I re-made your bed. Clean sheets for you, fresh from the wash.”
There was a moment’s pause as everypony filled in what wasn’t said-and, the sheets don’t smell like Twilight Sparkle. Dusk shook his head, and said, “Thank you, Spike. Do not stay up too late, either.”
“Aw, I’ll be fine,” Spike smiled. “Don’t need as much sleep as ponies do. But, I will get a good night’s sleep tonight, I promise.”
“Then, I will see you all tomorrow,” Dusk nodded and trotted up to his bedroom.
After Dusk was out of hearing, Shining looked at Cadence and asked, “I assume that the performance was your responsibility?”
Cadence nodded. “They needed to know what the right words were, and I wanted to make sure that they said them. As much to each other as to him. I think…”
Shining nuzzled Cadence’s cheek, just behind her ear. “I think you did great, ladybug. However it ends up, at least they ended as friends. If he dreams tonight, I think Dusk Shine is dreaming of going home. And, I hope he gets what he dreams of.”
“As do I,” Cadence sighed. “But...if he is here for any period of time...I want him to be happy. He feels like the little brother I never had, and however much I’m going to tease him, I still want the best for him.”
“Let’s hope he gets what he wants,” Shining said. “And, if not, let’s hope gets what he needs.”
Dusk Shine pulled the covers over his body and took a sniff of the bed and pillow. He could only faintly smell the scent of Twilight Sparkle on the mattress and pillow. To a dragon like Spike, he suspected, there wasn’t any scent of Twilight Sparkle to be found.
Regardless, he thought, just before the inevitable wave of sleep overtook him. This is a comfortable bed and I need to get some sleep.
Maybe...just maybe, when I wake up...I’ll be home...
To this melancholy thought, Dusk Shine fell asleep.
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
713 users online
1,200,265 hits today, 2,151,698 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Wow. Thats was funny. I wonder if Dusk is going to meet Luna or not. That would be funny if she did visit him in his dreams. Thanks for the update.
Who said this? I thought Dusk was upstairs by this point...
Shining.
Looking forward to more.
C: "I, the princess of Love and Romance, will totally take care of this situation for you."
----
C: "What were all of you thinking?"
C: "As you should be! You're doing it WRONG! I'll tell you how to romance a prince..."
----
I can't help but feel that knowing Cadance/Bolero for much of your life would give you a danger sense for when you're being shipped...
5398485 Denial isn't just a river in Egypt...
Remember, both of them (Dusk Shine, Twilight Sparkle) have these huge blind spots in personal relationships...and understanding how they work. The Shipping Sense went off, but Dusk might have thought it was a false alarm this time. That, and Cadence is playing a long game here-get Dusk comfortable and relaxed, less worried about what's going on and what's happening.
Then pounce on him.
5398323 5398348 Fixed!
5398514 Until one day he wakes up and find that he is happily married to every eligible mare in Equestria, with a very satisfied Cadance across the room putting the last touches on her Ultimate Shipping Chart.
"...What just happened?"
"My masterwork is complete!"
"...No, seriously! I've only been here a week!"
Never underestimate Cadance.
5398576 You're right there's a week involved.
Seven days in a week.
Seven viable potential partners.
And, Cadence knows when it's time to say when.
But, oh yes does her Ultimate Shipping Chart have this very interesting orbital pattern right now...she just needs to add a Sun and a Moon.
5398604 She has two kids, Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie Pie to deal with.
She's either a badass or one bad day away from painting herself green and trying to burn down Ponyville.
This is going too smoothly.
Dusk needs to crush on Celestia and/or Luna. Mwahaha.
I admit to being curious as to how Twilight is coping in Stalliontopia. It would be hilarious if she's grasping the opportunities presented with both hooves, if only for poor Dusk's reaction when he gets home.
"Are you suuuuure you need to come home so soon, Dusk? I mean, we'd be happy to entertain Miss Twilight as our guest a while longer, if you still had things to do in that other world."
"Heh, 'entertain'."
"Heh, 'do'."
"Blitz, Berry, that was uncalled for."
I look forward to Dusk meeting the Princesses. Especially Luna.
Dusk: "I.. really... like.. how tall you are. Would like to have dinner sometime and mayb-" *faints*
Luna: "We have had more skilled suitors, but we must admit that this one is... what is the word you used about Twilight, Tia? Adorkable?"
5398606 "In the year 1003ANM the weekdays were changed, only Sunday and Monday remaining the same and the rest of the days being renamed after the elements of harmony, excepting magic. Many attribute this change to be in honour of the many victories of the brave mares who saved Equestria time and time again; however, official records recently discovered indicate that it was actually an update put forward to simplify Prince Dusk Shine's schedule, ensuring he would know who he was to sleep with that night."
5398648 I'd say you should check it out in the original fic here but at this point they're diverging more and more by the chapter, and have pretty much completely split off at this point. =D
5398648 Well, Dusk does have a bit of a man-crush on Prince Helios, and seeing the female version might be an interesting contrast...
The split between this story and One Of Those Days is pretty much a solid break here, but what happens to Twilight Sparkle in Dusk Shine's world in general is the same. The stories can still swap sugar for salt. Or cry pardons.
5398649 Less fainting, more temptation to faint. And, more surprises in store. And, Princess Luna will find Dusk Shine to be very adorkable.
5398669 That's entirely unfair to historians, the calender, and the ponies involved.
Besides, how do you explain to young foals what "Orgy Tuesday" is?
I got to say that I found Cadence's role in the story to be great. She comforted Dusk, reprimanded the girls, set them straight, and made plans for them to join with Dusk in the scenario where he ends up stuck in her dimension. BTW, nice twist making Cadence reveal that Rarity and Applejack have chemistry, as I didn't see that coming like the Dominatrix Rarity. Likewise, Dusk bonding with Shining was very sweet, particularly when Dusk reveals his views about the board games, his parents first meeting, his sister's wedding, and his perception of Helios' life. This was a great chapter and I hope to see how his meeting with Luna would be like.
I was a little off put by Cadance's behavior; she didn't even try to get them to understand Dusk's reasons for not getting into a relationship. In fact she blatant discards Dusk's concern on the grounds that he should be "happy" while he is in their world; forget how he would feel if he did end up home and never seeing them again. One would think the Princess of Love would be able to grasp that she is putting him in a no win situation unless they know he can't go back.
Man, dealing with actual ethical considerations takes all the fun out of shenanigans
When I saw Cadance seemingly looking out for Dusk I was like, YAY!....Then the polygomay came up and I faceplanted.
It's good to see another chapter up for this so soon. I'm very much interested in seeing how this story is going to develop.
That said... Cadance's role in this chapter leaves me feeling kind of unsure.
She started out promisingly, with her sincere disappointment in the Mane 5 and her genuine scolding of them. But then she turned her attention from the wrongness they have done to focusing on their failures at trying to court Dusk, and started actively conspiring with them to get them all mated to Dusk in a herd relationship.
I mean, I get that this is a romantic comedy story, and that Cadance is the Alicorn Princess of Love, so helping herds form is kind of her purpose in life.
But still... Dusk Shine almost certainly elaborated on the very real problems that pursuing a relationship in Twilight's world would pose. Most importantly that, what happens to both him *and* the girl(s) of his dreams if the magic suddenly snaps him back to his own version of Equestria? And what about the children?
Cadance is all about promoting love, but there are genuine concerns and reasons for Dusk *not* to form a relationship while he's here, and she knows them.
So, to just dismiss these concerns out of hoof and focus on "he should be happy in the short term and just love the mares back"...?
It feels uncharacteristically shortsighted of Cadance, out of character. And it leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.
Not really sure what to think of the reveal that Applejack and Rarity are crushing on each other but won't admit it. In a gender rarity verse like this, bisexuality is naturally going to be much more common and socially acceptable, so on those grounds alone I have no fault with it. On the other hand, RariJack is, like, one of the most cliche Mane 6 yuri couples on the site.
The little D&D 3e vs 4e edition wars joke was kind of fun. But, personally? Speaking as a fan of D&D? I actually think there's stronger evidence for both parties to be fans of 4e than of 3e.
I mean, Twilight Sparkle/Dusk Shine? Boast Busters makes it a plot point that Twilight/Dusk is not only naturally humble, but honestly *afraid* of being seen as a showboating braggart like Trixie. Furthermore, s/he has a multi-tribal group of friends, s/he's an element of harmony (which is "all work together equally for the greater good", not "one is better than the rest"), s/he's even an alicorn (and thus a living embodiment of the strengths of all three tribes). So, yeah, that sounds to me more like a 4e fan than a 3e fan - which here is pretty much based on the logic "Twilight/Dusk was originally a super-powerful magical unicorn, s/he's the element of magic, so s/he naturally favors the mage-favoring edition".
Shining Armor feels a little more likely to be a 3e fan - he's older than Twilight/Dusk, so he's been involved in the older edition longer, so he's a natural candidate for nostalgia filter/grognardia/etc - but still, I think the 4e fan evidence is more likely. He's kind of overshadowed in his general life as it is (little sibling is a personal student of the Ruler of Equestria AND an Element of Harmony AND a hero who's saved the world multiple times AND responsible for saving him at his own wedding AND an alicorn, wife is an alicorn princess), so, yeah, favoring the "everyone can be equally special" edition makes sense.
But then, I may just be overthinking it, since I'm more of a 4e fan myself.
Looking forward to seeing more of these come in the future.
With, not WIth
Also, is this still the same day that Dusk woke up in Twi's Ponyville? I am a little confused on that part.
Should be Dusk, not Dawn.
5399333 First off, NO D&D FLAME WARS! Second, I took the same logic...and sort of inverted it. Sometimes it's the quiet ones that are the huge "BLOOD AND SOULS FOR MY LORD ARIOCH!" type of gamer, and I freely acknowledge the possibility that Twilight/Dusk might be "when nopony is looking, I'm a bit manic..."
If Rarijack is so common, it's because we've been teased with it in the series so much that they might as well just have the two of them get married and get it over with. Besides, yuri and yaoi shipping is a long-held fandom tradition!
5398950 It's amazing what being ethical does in those circumstances...
5398718 That's something that, if I decide to revise this chapter, I'm going to explain more clearly. Cadence is covering her bases-she's going to make sure that if Dusk vanishes tonight, he left...resolved? Not angry? Some form of adjective in there. But, if he's stuck for any long period of time, she wants him to be happy. Something in the Mane 5 makes him happy. She wants to see more ponies happy, because it calms the psychic love octopus in her head.
Plot hole detected! This is a blatant continuity error. Spike has often been shown that he needs to go to bed much earlier than anyone else and he has a tendency to sleep in later in the morning than others. It's the whole reason Twilight/Dusk has Owlowiscious.
I enjoyed how Cadance scolded the elements and Dusk Shine got to enjoy having a brother. I can understand Cadance's motivation, if Dusk Shine is going to be here he might as well experience love in some shape or form. How he switched places is still a mystery, but I doubt it was accidental. Somepony caused this switch. Now who do we know has blatantly abused the laws of inter-dimensional travel before? Someone who risked destroying not one but two worlds because of her selfish desires? No clear evidence yet and what possible reason or lesson one would achieve in 'swapping' around beings is uncertain. I have suspicions, but something like this was far too precise to be a mishap.
Looking forward to seeing Dusk interact with Luna. Seeing how composed, mature and understanding Cadence was I whole-heartily imagine that the other female Alicorns will conduct themselves accordingly. Right?
This is a wonderful story. Dusk shine's 'voice' and turn of phrase are just superb, as are everyone's reactions. I particularly enjoy his musings on gender relations and ratios between the two universes. Excellent work
5399884
He's technically a growing baby dragon, would make sense to me he needs more sleep. Besides, the average dragon isn't the most active of creatures at the best of times.
5398669
5398710
Speaking as a proof-reader for both stories, I'm actually a wee bit disappointed that the opportunity for these two fics to run completely parallel (with perhaps a joint final chapter) wasn't taken up on, as that's definitely something I've never seen before in terms of general fiction.
Still, the main issue right now is making sure One Of Those Days gets updated on a regular-ish basis.
He is doing better than I would but Cadance isn't helping. The goal isn't to marry him off or pair him off. It is to get him home. I also have a feeling Celestia knows how, just as Helios does. They just need to be asked. I mean something like this has had to have happened before.
5400814 Hindsight being 20/20 and all that, perhaps coordination should have been better and more story parallelism should be involved.
Tho...a sequel where the swap is of the other ponies while Dusk and Twilight go home...story ending C?
5400819 Cadence is playing as many of the angles as she can.
Love the lawyers bit here too.
5398648 In the story this is based on, Twilight is getting angry enough that she has no room in her head for romantic or sexual attraction to anypony. All she wants by the point that has been reached, is to find a way home. Prince Helios will find himself dealing with an angry and homesick Twilight that may blast him if he tries anything.
5400819
Unfortunately, Celestia/Helios won't help Dusk/Twilight get home until they Pinkie/Bubble Swear to convince Helios/Celestia to go out on a date.
Yeah, that's a little narcissistic. You'd pick up some character quirks after a thousand years and more, too.
5403172 The scary part is I think they already know about each other. Like I said, I have money on this happening before and well as they say-Self Love is the best kind of love!
I gotta wonder if there is some sort of Element related reason for the rest of the mane six acting the way they have, like Twilight disappearing and Dusk showing up caused some magical friendship wires to get crossed in however their connection works.
I found a couple of things you may want to edit.
Dusk's name change to Dawn for some reason.
I don't want Dusk to go home at least not right now.
Please let him wake up with all the mares draped over him in the same bed.
It just seems funnier if in the end, all they said was to satisfy Cadance, and they could not control themselves after all.
5407612 You've never seen human women chase after a (very high status) male? It's not so much evil as "every biological instinct getting kicked into high gear"...
5409699 There's a reason why Cadence decided to change their hotel plans to staying at the Treehouse.
Well, besides that Shining Armor can create a force field bubble in his sleep...
Well, looks like things are wrapping up. Cadence just got bonus points for being an awesome pony and not acting crazy like the other mares in this town. To quote Twilight Sparkle, "Everypony in this town is CRAZY!" But thankfully, the royalty is cool. Can't wait for the next chapter. Hopefully, Dusk gets to meet Twilight on the way back and trade stories.
Cadence, what have you done?
You just tried to ship five mares with one stallion, who particularly does not want a relationship.
Bolero, What have you done?
You may have possibly attempted to ship five stallions with one mare, there simply are not enough orifices.
I want to see this story done with the CMC swapping places.
Reading this story for the first time, I laughed so hard I nearly headbutted the table my laptop is on. This story has so much good and very little bad. But the bad is... are women seriously this aggressive with a suitable male is around? I know that women will make themselves all fancy and dress up nice if someone famous is coming to town. But then I have not seen many examples of a polygamous place and how they hunt after a suitable and certainly fertile male, so I might be lacking that vital research.
Aside from that, I have to ask about the sixth chapter, mainly the part where Vinyl Scratch and Octavia come into the bakery. Are you a fan of the Vinyl Scratch Tapes, and thought to bring in the sort of running joke where Vinyl always calls Octavia's orchestra a band or did you just throw it in there because it struck you as funny? Either way, love it.
Hope ya keep this going and maybe even colab with Taranth if you haven't already for the last couple of chapters, just to make things seem super united or make things be as different and amusing as possible.
Good luck. Happy Hearth's Warming day/Merry Christmas.
To say I've been shocked by what Fluttershy's said would be an understatement. Not that she wouldn't have seen animals 'doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel,' but everypony's been extremely blatant about it. Or maybe that's just me and my modern Western sensibilities.
Why all the 'Faust?' I wouldn't think the ponies would be aware of her. Fausticorn, maybe.
5455115
Many fanfic authors use Faust as a mother/creation goddess
Wait, what? She's going to try to help them form a healthy relationship? I thought she was going to unleash the royal Canterlot voice for acting like rapists.
Because, you know... they were acting like rapists.
Only Rainbow Dash's and Applejack's behavior wasn't rattling the rapist's saber, but that's simply because they were the warm-up scenes before this fic dove into the pool of crazy hyperbole. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all decided ahead of time that they were going to pony, without even bothering to ask Dusk. You're walking along a very dangerous line of treating male rape like a joke.
To be fair, I'm still enjoying this fic. If your characters act like sane, rational ponies that respect each other's autonomyin the final chapters, then this fic should wrap up as a good read and a good laugh.
Celestia damn it, Cadance! You had one job!
5398669 you win the internet!
~Leonzilla
5540704 That is her one job. To ship all the ponies.
She's pissed.
5398514 Except Cadance isn't playing the long game, if she was then she would work on the girls' attitudes before letting them near Dusk. Instead she tells them how to apologize and how to approach Dusk to better get him to agree to relationships with them. Cadance doesn't even bother to ask them if they are willing to accept the chance that Dusk would only want a relationship with some or one of them, only if they are willing to share.
And damn you Cadence.