Dusk stood silently by the door, his eyes drifting from pony to pony -hadn't the guard said that it was just the princesses? Why were the bearers here?- as he swallowed roughly. He had no idea what to do, they were just there. Smiling, happy and alive. He wanted to move, to hug them, to apologize for his mistakes to his friends' counterparts but he couldn't move. No matter how many times the stallion tried to lift a hoof, he simply couldn't. It was as if his body was frozen solid.

The moment he heard the familiar voice, his body somehow fell back into old habits. It may have been the wrong timbre, the wrong tone but it somehow had the same... it somehow had the same core as somepony he knew. He couldn't explain it, but his body certainly knew and reacted accordingly.

He stood straight, a slightly awkward and wistful smile on his face, "At your service, Prince-" His voice hitched as he blinked and the sight of Prince Solaris disappeared, leaving only his counterpart. He swallowed roughly and tried to salvage his statement, "Prince- Princess..." he trailed off, hoping that they hadn’t caught his slip.

Faust... That was pathetic. The slight wince from the ponies in the room made it obvious that he didn't hide it nearly well enough. His eyes shifted up to stare into the familiar rose-coloured ones as he tried to convince himself that it was indeed Prince Solaris-

Faust... They all looked so similar. Dusk rubbed his face with a hoof. This was growing frustrating and not the good kind. He exhaled roughly and tried to stare elsewhere but the moment he looked to the side, he found himself face to face with his... counterpart? Flinching, he began to back away immediately. Under normal circumstances he would've attacked, but his better judgement held him at bay. Given that would’ve led to him fighting three alicorns, it was probably the right call.

"Yes?" He asked his counterpart hesitantly, his form tense as if expecting some kind of secret attack.

He didn't get an answer because the mare seemed rather busy given how intently she was staring at him, something that had immediately unnerved him. It felt as if he was being dissected and he absolutely hated it. Several moments passed and he growled a warning, indicating that if she continued to do so then she had better be ready for a fight.

"...What?" He snarled, his teeth bared as he leaned further away. He made sure that his back was against the wall and he faced all of them. It felt as if they were trying to figure out his weakness through his counterpart. If that was the case, then he needed to get ready for an attack. His eyes flicked from his counterpart to the others who continued silently watching what's happening and he clicked his tongue. "What do you want? If you're asking me to pay for you're hospitality" He spat the last word with hostility, "Then just say so-"

Dusk was cut off when light yellow pegasus abruptly hugged him, his words hitching in his throat and his hoof, prepped and ready to strike his attacker instead stopped. What’s going on? He tried to get away but the more he tried the more he just felt something... what was this sorcery!?

She was murmuring something but he didn't care. She was too close and that in and of itself was a problem. With one mighty heave, he managed to push her back towards her seat -if the cutie mark on the throne was any indication- and immediately backed away. He rolled his shoulders and neck and got ready for a fight. if they thought to weaken him with the fact that they looked like someone he knew then they had no idea what was coming for them.

(̴̡͔͎̮̫̭̱͉͇̯̪̹̲̄̾̾̋̀̈́̋̽̈́̏́͒̐́̈̐̓̕̚͠█̵̡̢͕̹̻̯̪̝͙̞̥̗̹̗͇̜̩̼̫̝̳͖͛̈͐͑̇̿͊͛̚͜͝͝█̶̺̮̺͉̥̬̬̥̱͔̘͕̱̲͔͚͍͆͐̾̄͛̓̽̇͠ò̷̡̡̖̼̱̙͎̣̲̮̮̠͙̭̦͎̹̖̗͕̝̤̬͕͗̾͂̽͌̓̎̋̌̾̊̂̏͑̾̓͂̄̓̈́͑͜͜͠ ̵̧̨̣͕̠̟͔͙̮̹̥̮̺̼͙̤̱͎͉̜͖̠̙̫̻̮̬̫̘̫̍̆͛͂̋̍͒̇͂̊̈̅͂̈́̈́͑̌̅̃͑̈́̉̔̄̍́͑̚͠͠͠ͅ█̴̨̺̟͇͓̰̼̩̼͍̬̞͋͂̀̃͜ͅͅͅ█̴̡̡̛͙̯̻̞̎́̊̈́̐̓̍͊͑̆́̾̾̅͂͒̽͛̚̕͘͠ ̷͙̟͙̋̇̾̐̑̉̈́̍̈́̉̈͊̋͐̇̆̋̒͆͗̄̋̏̃̃̑͂̕͘̚͜͝͝█̵̢̢̧̨̡͇̠̫̭͇̠͚͚̠̱̠̮͕̮̭̼̱̠̝̭͖̲͇̫̮̰̦̹͔̀́̒͌͊█̶̡̞̯̭̺̯͆͑̔̃̄́̄͋̑̽͒̓̔͛̍̇̀̅̀͠͝͝ư̷̢̡̧̛̛̦̟̗̩̰̺͚̟͎̲̭̮̭͈͖̥̟͚̗̝̰̠̖̯͔̰̰̙͑̏̂͑́̌̈́͋̈͗͐̓̃̎́̉͋̀́̅͊͌̆͑͜͠͝ ̵̧̧̢̭̘̭̥͈̙͍̘̭̗̬͚̻͍̝̞̺̞̺̯̅̀̊̓̈̈́͋͌̒̉̽̿̾̈́̆̀͑̂͜͜͠ţ̶͓̪̣̫̟̭̹̰͕̺̿̊̏̏̅͐̉ḩ̸̡̧̧͔̪͎͍͔͇̖̥̯̥̺̼͔̼̙̭̯̻͖̣̩̻̖͈̬̯͕̺̈́͒́͜█̵̢̢̢̻͉̗̤̜͔̯͕͎̯̩̤̩̣̏́̎̽̾̂͂͐͂̔̃̓̅̊͑̋̓̔̉̚͘̚̚͜͝█̷̨̧̨̡̨̛̭̪͉͙̙͓̬̘̳̯̘̺͓͉̮͚̜̠̘̝͚̙͈̭͇̩͆́̌͐̎̓͆̎̋̃̍͂̈́̅̒́̀̃̍̈́̋̆̈͒̂̐͑̄̉̃͝͠͝͝k̸̢̧̨̢̨̗̲͔̟̟̫̪̺͔̫̦̫̗͎̻͓̫͎̰̹̯̻̣̙͓͚̮̀ ̵̧̛͉̰͍̭̭͓̯̟̪͓͇͓͛͊͗̍̎̿̔͗̈̿̉͒̿̒̋̈͋̚̚̚̕ͅę̶̢͓̝̘̪͓̖̘̹̲̫͍̩̪̳͕͈͙̼̥̤̻̳̱̉̀̈̀͒̀̑͐́̅̓̎̉̑͊̾̅̓͗̅͋̆͆̈́̍͌͒͌̕̕̕̕͝͝͝ͅͅ█̸̨̢̨̣̣̻̼̪͙̟͓̟̣͉̠̩̥̗͖̗͙̟͚̝̟͖̔̓̇̇́́͊͂͐̏̊̽̀̓̅̊́͆̄̓̇̊̒̂̈́̉́̚̚͝͠͝͠ͅͅ█̶̛͓̰̈́͒͐̐͂̽̋̉̂̅̈́́́̎͗̽͊̀̐͆̓̈́͐͘͜█̵̢̧̨͚̳͔̠̠̱̮͈͇̰͕̟͂͒̄́̑̓̆̊̽͑̈́̑̐̀̾̉̉̿́͆̔̀̕̕ͅ█̷̧̧̧̣̟̝͔͕̻͙̥̙̰̠̖̮̫̻̻̪̱̙̱͕̣̆̐̃̈́͠ͅ ̶̧̖̱͈͍̦͕̥̲̮̩̜̙̬̟̙̜̻͎̫̺͓͇̰͆̿͆̾̄̊͂̓̿͌̏͠ͅt̷̨̨̧͔̭͚͈̜̗̖̬͍̬̮̞̮̥̭̮̹͍͍̦̳̖̬͔͉͔̹͎̽̃ͅ█̴̡͔̫̠͔̞̤͌̀̂̌̒̎̿͗̌ͅͅ█̵̧̨̡̛̛̝͚̫̳͉̝̜̞̘̯̦̥͍̩̘͉͎̼̬̎̉̃̾͂̎̓̄̾͋̃͊̅́̉͆́̈́͗̔̓̾̕̕͘͘͝͝͝ͅ█̴̡̢̨̛̭̼͓̭͎͚̩̹̲͎̣̬̜̬̘̟̻̹̘̉̌́͆̈́̍̆͑̆̉̔̅̈̍͗͑̍̒̍̎̍͆̎̑̌̓̍͊͘ͅͅ ̷̨̨̨̡̛͔͚̻̲̙̦̪̟̣̞͓͕͓͕̩̼̦́͂̿̆̾̐̎͆̈͛̎̉̄̉̄͝͠ͅͅͅ█̵̨̮̖̘̙̗̲̱̜̫̳̱͔̖̮͖̦͖͉͖̱̖͚̼̼̺̪̮͈̙̻̪͔̀̇̓͑̎͑̂̇ͅ█̷̡̨̛̲͔̩͉̣͇̹̗̥̥̙͚̮͉͚͈̭̔̒̎̑̈́̊͛̅̐̿̽̅̎̎̒̃͛̿̎̈̿̇̓̚̚͜͝͝͠͝ ̷̢̢̫̬͇̹̹̹͕̙̝̺̯̱̗̯̠̠̹͈͓̣͊̆̈́̇̈́͋̍̃̃̋̍̒̒́̎̚͝ͅ█̵̢̥̫̹̠͔͕͉̦͗̑́̓̈́͗͌̾̏͝█̸̢̨̡̨̛͙̝͉̠͓͍̘̻̠̥̯͕̰͎̫̩̠̗̙͓͕̻̫̟̗͚̦͙̬̣́̔͗̂͒̓͘͜e̸̢̙̤̘̱̙̣̣̘͙̮̠̿̓̊ ̴̨̲̪͉̩̥̳͈̗̬̫͖͉̤͕̳̞̹̙̖̪̦̥͚͉̥͇̥͈͈̺̜̰͍̊͛̿͒͂̌̂̑́͘ͅf̵̜͈̖̪̘̞̞͙̰͙̤͇͇̫͉̠͙̯̠̣̤̟̔͐̃͑̔̇͗̾́̒̇͌͐͆͋͊͛̂͊̌͘͝͝͝͠█̴̧̳̘͔̦̤̣̦̖͍̫̥̦͚͎̘͖̹͖͔̳͙̜̺̬̹͖̈́̀̽̓̅̈̿͗̃̇͆̀̂̾̀̿̇́̋̉̈́̚̕̚͜͜͝͝͝͠͠█̴̛͈̯͍̝͊́̃̃̔̅̆̓̆́́̉͐̑̓̉̏̒̍̓͝█̴̢̞͔͉̖̘̬̭̳̤̖̪͉̞͒̚̕█̴̡̡̧̨̛̫͓̙̙̘̱̠̟̫̹̜̻͖̞̝̬̳͍̥̼̈́͛͊͋̿̂̓͛̔͂͘͜͜͜ͅ ̷̨̗̞͐̾̿͋̔͘͝ ̴̧̧̥̟̰̜̪͍̖͎̹̳̗͚̞̦̹̀̅̓̕͘̕█̵̧͙̜̟̳̹̗̲͕̹̝͚̹͖̰̍̊̒̃̔̀͌̇̌̇̽͊̃̇͊̓̉̚͝͝l̸̞̤͙͙͎̼̲͈̬̥̯̫̤̣̄█̶̢̣̙̲͉̫͓̐͂̊̆̇͂̃̈́̒͆̔̐̈́̎͒̍́̊͜͠͝█̸̢̧̧̧̝̠̖̭̝̠̣̠͓̳̹̞̟̝̺͇̻̬͓̻̌͑̇̂̆̌͑̋̆͑̈̑̐̎̽̏̀̕̚̚͜͠͝█̷̢̤̜̦̖̗̩̫͎͍̘͚̦͉̺̟̼̪̖̥̪̳̗͙̣̭̭͆̐͊́̽̅͌͊̽̀̓̇͘͝ͅͅͅ)̴͓͇̩͔̐̎͐̃͒͋̏́̈́̉̈͑̅̈́͐͑͐̀͒̈́̆͗̔͌͒̅͋̀͆̚͘͘͠͝ͅ

Dusk winced at the sudden pang of pain that blossomed throughout his skull and given how concerned the ponies of the room now looked, he didn't seem to hide it well. What in Tartarus? What just happened? His jaw snapped towards the blue pegasus that had flown a bit too close for his liking before he remembered where he was. If he’d been able, he’d have smacked himself. This wasn’t his world!! He couldn't afford to show weakness! He’d been too lax and forgotten a long-learned lesson. It was unacceptable.

"Get to the point! What do you all want?" He snapped again, wanting this over with. The sooner they told him what they wanted the sooner he could finish it and escape with his life, along with the things he’d stolen. He just hoped that they wouldn't notice and take umbrage with him, putting him back in a cell.

"We want you to relax-" Dusk's brow twitched at what the Solaris-wannabe said but he otherwise remained still and waited for her to continue. "And we want you to explain your situation to all of us."

"And if you meet these demands, then we will grant you temporary citizenship and a monthly stipend for a.." As she continued to list off her 'demands,' Dusk just gaped as the deal continued to lean in his favour.

What’s her game? A few moments passed until the white alicorn had finally finished listing all of her demands and silence blanketed the room as they waited for his answer.

The demands had been… they were so... easy. He didn't really know what to think about that. Put simply, they were asking him to explain his situation and what had transpired since his arrival and in exchange, they would give him a monthly stipend of two hundred bits for a year. During said year they had offered him temporary citizenship with the end of the trial serving as when they would make the decision of whether or not he was allowed to stay in this Equestria.

There were other little agreements here and there such as the stipulation that he should have a job for at least three months before the trial ended and that he shouldn't do anything illegal, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

At the end of the whole spiel, he still didn't know what to say. Everything had just been so easy. There was no catch? His eyes carefully read through the contract they’d presented to him, hooves trembling. As he finished reading it for the fifth time, Dusk carefully brought the paper down. The mares all waited in silence and the stallion could almost feel the tension in the room. What were they waiting for, he wondered.

"What's the catch? There's always a catch when it's too good to be true and this is too good to be true. What do you want?" He softly murmured, he just wanted the truth. He just wanted to know if this was a farce or something genuine. He knew better than to hope. Hope was a slow poison and he had no desire to swallow something so painful.

"Is it wrong to want one of my little ponies to be happy?" Was the alabaster mare’s simple answer, though it was what followed that caused his breath to hitch... "Everypony deserves happiness. Even you Dusk Shine."

The pony in question looked away, the paper crumpling slightly as he gripped it tightly with his hoof. He wouldn’t cry. He’d gone through far worse struggles than this and they hadn't drawn tears from him and neither would this. He sniffed and rubbed his eye with a free hoof, taking a small feeling of relief when he felt that his eye was dry.

A few more moments passed in tense silence before he gave his answer to the white alicorn.

"Fine, I'll accept responsibility." Of what happened after his outburst and of what he’d inevitably do during his trial. They were giving him a chance, it was the least he could do to accept gracefully and be as responsible as he can during his stay.

The spitake and rather painful sounding coughs that followed his statement confused the scarred stallion. Was it something he’d said?

A Dusk's New Dawn

by ThatWritingDragon

7- Why?