Dusk was lonely, there was no doubt about it. Ever since Poly was transferred to a different school he had been alone. He would often become so lonely that he would find himself searching for Dawn within the catacombs of his own mind, even though he knew better. He knew Dawn was gone. The problem was most of Dusk's memories from when Dawn was around had been ripped apart, everything was a blur. He felt cheated, like a month or so of his life had been ripped away. Tattered memories were everywhere, mocking him, he just couldn't piece them together. He remembered specific things but nothing altogether. He remembered Goody Good, he remembered Dawn, he remembered how much his mother feared Dawn, he remembered a dark ocean, he remembered a large house, he remembered blinding lights, and he remembered Poly Most of all, he remembered a promise. Everything outside of that was nearly gone, everything inside of those barriers was just blurry. Except for the memories with Poly.
He woke up earlier in the mornings now, even earlier than his own mother. The irony of the thought would occasionally bring a smile to his face, but often he would sit at his window and stare at the sunrise. They were never as beautiful as the sunrises over the dark seas in his memories but they would do for now. In his melancholy he would pick up his paintbrushes and take to a canvas. He would paint his memories, both the blurred and clear. Painting became a key for him, a key to a door that was closed after Dawn left. Questions arose constantly but some haunted him more than his memories. Where were his memories, why did Dawn's sudden disappearance rob him of them, why could he only remember Poly?
After Dawn had left Morning found herself worrying for her son more than when he was there. He was coming to the age where unicorns would begin to learn to use their magic yet he detested the thought. He found doing things by hoof was easier so she never questioned the subject twice. Morning had talked to many local doctors about his amnesia and depression. None knew what to say after she had mentioned the situation with Dawn and just told her it was a phase he was going through. Their "advice aggravated her, it was like they refused to try and cure what they could not understand.
For Dusk, his classes continued. Even with amnesia he stayed leagues ahead of the class because of his learning capacity. Every week they began a new trade to test for cutie mark compatibility and Dusk found each new subject to be something he excelled at. Painting, music, math, writing, science, gardening, baking, cooking, all of it was conquered within minutes. Many would ask to be his partner but he found that they only looked for the fame in being his partner. Once, someone had asked to be his partner so they could steal his work. Dusk had snapped at him as well and destroyed the bird house that he had built. The event caused him to be sent home and the class to fear him from that day on.
Time marched on and the weeks turned to months and months to years. Yet the weeks felt like months and the months like years. Every time he looked back at his flank he would compare it to others. Even as he continued his studies he had no cutie mark. By the time he had entered middle school everypony else had their cutie mark, he was still a blank flank. He became introverted and hardly ever spoke to anypony, not even Morning. This fact became a way of life for him and Morning eventually came to accept it, though she still wished he would speak to her. She knew Dusk had too much on his mind anyways, if he were to start talking he would break down. There was so much he had to say but couldn't, there was even more that he could not remember. Memories of Poly faded and when Dusk woke up in the mornings to paint or write he had no inspiration. His muse was nearly dead.
Dusk had odd jobs all around and became quite famous because of his many talents. Middle school was rough nonetheless, many ponies saw him as a loser or tried to use him for their own personal gain. The comfort of solace made him a target to those who did not know him and he would often lash out because of it. He had been suspended many times because of this but he never let his grades drop and he was always a gentlecolt to all mares, even if they were the ones to offend him. This hit him the hardest and he began a practice that he had ended a long time ago. He began to speak to the mirrors again.
In his darkest hours he would go speak to the mirrors trying to find a friendly face. He would get glimpses of memories when he would and he used that as an excuse anytime he questioned why he did it. He would remember Dawn and the company he would provide. He would even remember the promise that Dawn had made, to always protect him. Always. Somewhere deep down, Dusk wanted Dawn back. He wanted a wall to keep him safe no matter what the cost was. Near the end of his middle school years Dusk finally gave in to his temptations. He needed to find Dawn, he just needed to.
Dusk spent nights writing down memories when they came, they were usually just small snippets of descriptions though. In the mornings, he would paint what he had written down in the last night. After a week all of the pieces came together, he had painted a scene from many years ago. A scene that he knew had happened but he did not remember it entirely. The painting showed a decrepit house and in the upstairs of that house was a mirror. A single broken mirror.
He moved at night, he didn't want to be caught. If Morning caught him she would learn about his attempt to get Dawn back. There was no way she could know about this, not until the time was right. The house stood over him with all the spectacle and awe of a tower. Glass littered the grass and all of the windows except for the lower front windows had been broken. He was bigger now and fitting through the hole in the wall was no option so he attempted the door. It was locked and must have been for a while because rust encased it and formed a shell around the joints. Dusk circled to the back and crawled through a broken window, avoiding the shards of glass that looked as though they had been broken outward. He moved up the steps, eager to discover what was there. Eager to discover what he had forgotten.
Dust swirled as he strode across the floor, his formed over sets that had been made many years ago. Those sets where much smaller and looked familiar but it all eluded him once again. The mirror was where he had half remembered it, but it looked altered. There were more cracks and many pieces had fallen off. With each step Dusk's heartbeat pounded more and more violently, he stopped when he was as close as he dared.
...
"Dawn? Are you there?"
...
"It's been a long time Dusk. A very long time."
...
"Welcome home."