//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Dusk Star // by Axelsims //------------------------------// Day 5 For anyone who is reading this I wrote the last passage the same time I wrote this one as I didn’t really have access to my “new journal” when I was laying half dead in a hospital. I awoke to find myself in what I assumed was the same room as last night. It was a typical hospital room complete with curtains beds and lots of medical equipment that I didn’t even know existed in this plane of existence. I was sharing the room with some others; a doctor was going over paperwork. Twilight was lost in a book about medical history in the corner. Fluttershy was sitting next to her being as out of place as possible. Rainbow Dash was occupying one of the nearby beds while Rarity sat closest to me constantly shifting her attention between me and a dress that she was working on. What stuck out the most however was AJ who was farthest from me staring out the window. Even from just looking at her from the back anyone could tell she was in horrible shape. Perhaps because she had realized that it was because of her that I was in this situation. I don’t blame her mind you I had awakened thankfully without alerting everyone, so I quietly whispered to Rarity when she averted her attention back to me. Noticing that I was awake she smiled lightly, it was obvious that she was stressed with the fact that she had to continue her work even during more “inappropriate times”. Thankfully she noticed that I was trying to hide my revival at that moment and refrained from shouting out that I was awake which gave me enough time to ask her a few things. “Morning I assume?” I groaned lightly at her “Yes good morning, how are you feeling?” She replied “Sore, like I’ve been ran over by a train.” I continued despite the growing pains in my chest. “Also where are we?” “Well it wasn’t a train darling it was more like a huge branch.” She teased slightly. “Oh and you’re in a hospital by the way.” She was joking to lighten the mood, but I could tell she was really worried about me. I sat up at this point; Rarity assisted me as Applejack rushed over to my side in a panic. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry I didn’t even notice you were out there or that you were gone until this morning and when one of the royal messenger arrived on Twi’s doorstep announcing that you were in the hospital we were all so very worried about you. “ I felt like I was listening to Pinkie Pie and laughed slightly at that realization. The laughter caused the pain in my chest to come back and I coughed, much to the dismay of my present company. “I’m all right thank you for asking. I’m not particularly sure what happened to be honest I was heading back inside after that branched disappeared when I was knocked out I believe.” AJ’s face went white as her face twisted into a deeply pained look. I realized that it was her fault and that she was beating herself up about it pretty badly. “That would be my fault, I didn’t think that anypony would be outside during the storm, I should have looked out before dropping that branch. It must have hit you right on the noggin.” I was extremely touched by the girl. Just by recalling the event she looked as if she was going to burst into tears, which before that point I didn’t deem possible. I felt so bad that I did the only thing I could think of. I reached out of bed wrapping my arms around the mare and told her. “ It’s all right you didn’t mean to after all, and I’m not dead so it’s not so bad.” I never was real good at making people feel better, but it seemed to work. As I hugged AJ I looked around the room and noticed that the others were gathering around. They all seemed touched by the scene and approached to join in the comfort zone. Noticing this I quickly pulled back to avoid getting smothered to death. However Pinkie Pie didn’t take no for an answer and yelled “Pile on!” suddenly all of the others jumped on top of me, crushing me as we all started to laugh. I stopped soon after, partially because it hurt to laugh, and because I noticed that Rarity wasn’t joining in. She was looking at the scene but was still holding her recent project. It was a dress of some sort, it was of a deep blue fabric. She seemed upset, because she was too busy to join in the obvious joy of using me as a mattress. I winced as I noticed that slowly building pressure that was on me. However after seeing AJ almost cry I was unrestrained with my emotions and reached out for the white unicorn. She met me halfway thankfully and we held hands (or hand and hoof…. Or whatever) for a few seconds before the doctor came in wondering about the ruckus and then immediately shoeing the others off my damaged body. The doctor announced that after some medical procedures I would be able to return home within the next day. He then however looked down as he continued that while I would be okay, my leg had been damaged and I would have to use a cane for at least the next few weeks. Also because of my other injuries I was to avoid physical activity. I don’t mind to bad honestly, I would be lying if I said I liked running around. Walking is one thing but physical workouts are not my thing. After a few minutes of talking I fell back asleep and woke up in the middle of the night. I noticed that my journal had been brought in and opened it to prepare to catch up in my writing. As I opened my journal I found a small slip of paper stuck inside. I picked it up and read it. “Hello Last night we didn’t get the chance to fully introduce ourselves, We found ourselves intrigued by your behavior and there is also the matter regarding your hand when you brushed it past our hair. We would like to discuss this with you tonight outside if you are willing to make the walk.” Below the passage was a signature from a “Princess Luna” I wasn’t aware of multiple princesses but what bothered me the most was the fact that I had gotten a written letter from a pony. How In the hell did they write? I remembered what the letter contained and looked at my hands. On the right hand were several specks of light. They were of different variety some were dimmer or brighter than others, but were constantly shifting. I found myself calmed from staring at the bizarre occurrence, except for one, dark spot surrounded by the other white lights, I tried wiping the specks off and failing that decided to get up. Thankfully the doctor was kind and had already secured a cane and left it beside the bed in case I wanted to stretch my legs and the gesture was appreciated. I found myself extremely sore and could barely stand, leaning on the cane however I found my way over to the door. Testing it I found it unlocked and walked through. I was in a dark hallway, unsure of which way I was supposed to go, so I decided to just head left. Thankfully I found out soon afterwards that was the wrong way and turned around heading into the main foyer. I wasn’t sure if the hospital had elevators and wasn’t sure if I could handle stairs so I was glad to know I was on the ground floor. To my surprise all of the night staff had fallen asleep. Whether this was coincidence or an outside force I was unsure of, but I had my suspicions that perhaps they had been put to sleep to ensure my leave of the building. As I hobbled outside, feeling like an old man I was soon met by the same dark blue alicorn as the night before. I nodded my head in respect as this was the same one who saved my life earlier. It was the least I could do since I didn’t wish to risk falling from bowing. Luna nodded in response and beckoned for me to sit at a nearby bench before continuing on. I took the opportunity and after sitting started to start the conversation. “So you are?” I asked “Luna, Sister of the Great Princess Celestia” She finished, I wasn’t sure what she meant when she stated her name, I sensed traces of respect but at the same time jealousy? “Do you have to state that every time you introduce yourself? I asked in return “It’s the only way people won’t run away if they are still standing when we appear.” She answered with a pained look on her face. “Sounds like there is a story behind that.” I remarked “Yes, we forget you are new here.” She continued “we were banished to the moon for challenging our sister for 1000 years. When I came back and tried again to take over I was defeated again, this time by the six you have already come to know.” “Really?” I commented, it seemed weird since I couldn’t imagine the alicorn as a kind of tyrant, but then I put her in the role of a rebel, she fit the role quite well surprisingly. Needless to say the view did not do well for my opinion on Celestia. “Yes but we did not call you out here so we could all remark about our sister or the past.” She finished covering her emotions as she got to the matter at hand. “So why did you call me out here?” I asked “Your hand, when it passed through our hair brought a few of the stars with it, this has obviously never happened before.” She demonstrated by brushing her hair with her hoof. As expected none of the sparkles in her hair fell out. “What does it mean?” I continued “We are unsure but it is definitely a matter worth looking into” Luna stated “Have you been able to remove the stars yourself?” “No I’ve tried brushing them off but no luck” I shrugged “We would like to continue to examine you, perhaps this is some foreshadowing towards the future, perhaps it is some minor trivial occurrence. Regardless if you would be willing to continue meeting with us and perhaps sharing on your experiences, It would help us greatly.” Instinctively I reached for my journal, It was more than half way filled with passages, filled with experiences, daily routines and other trivial things, but it was the best thing I could think of. Grabbing the book I handed it out to her. “What is this?” Luna asked as she lightly levitated the book from my grasp. “A journal, I’ve been filling it out for quite some time now and it has the recent events recorded inside it, perhaps it will help you with your Erm… research?” I questioned. “Indeed!” She exclaimed “It would be most beneficial to us.” She studied the book heavily before opening and turning a few pages, I decided to interrupt. “Luna or Princess if you prefer” I commented Still reading she stated “Luna I’d prefer if that’s all right subject, and yes?” “Would it be all right if I made a request?” I tried to be polite as possible “Of course” She returned “If you could, would it be possible to look for a way to return me to my home world?” She seemed taken off guard by the request “Does thou not like it here in Ponyville?” She returned with questions filling her dark blue eyes. “N… no that’s not it.” I stuttered, “I had a life back where I was from, you will probably see from my journal, and I would at least have the ability to, I haven’t decided if I really wanted to or not.” Was that true though? Not really, while it’s nice here I don’t think I would like to stay here, even if so far this world has been more interesting, was it really worth staying for? Of course not! A voice stated in my head. The people here are annoying, not to mention typical. First there’s AJ, a book definition of a cowgirl. Speaking of books there’s Twi, who is a bookworm and that’s it. And Pinkie oh man talk about a party animal, could you imagine living in the same country as her? She’s bound to get even worse over time. And there’s Rarity who’s just a… But Rarity wasn’t what I thought of at first, first impression was a selfish fashion obsessed highlife person who cared only about looking good. But that wasn’t all there was to it was there? She cared about her friends, she was a big sister, and at the same time held down a busy job. She was even so selfless to take in… “me..” I muttered to myself without even noticing I had finished my thoughts with my mouth. Luna noticed and as I turned to her I noticed her hair looked a tiny bit lighter in shade. It wasn’t as dark as the starless night, but looked a bit illuminated by the stars nestled in her hair. “Is something wrong?” Luna asked as she looked at me. “No no everything’s fine. Erm goodnight.” I turned to return to my room at the hospital, I instinctively looked to my hand and noticed that dark star embedded in the center of my palm. It seemed a tad bit darker, in fact if it wasn’t for the drugs I’m sure I was put on I would swear it would be glowing.