Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II

by bigsnusnu


Chapter 5 - A bitter victory

A bitter victory

After being blinded by Discord's magic, Dusk realized that he had once again been teleported. He looked around expecting that he had again been teleported to Canterlot Castle, however, now he was in an open-air area. The next thing that Dusk noticed was that Spike and his friends weren’t with him, which did little to ease his fears. Finally, Dusk remembered something important and touched his head, where he verified that he still held the crown with his Element of Harmony. Then he looked down to the ground and saw that under his hooves were the necklaces with the other five Elements of Harmony.

Seeing that the Elements were safe, Dusk should have felt relieved. However, the only thing Dusk felt was guilt. It made him clench his teeth hard and feel dejected and devastated by what he had done.

Moments before being teleported, Dusk had acted purely on instinct. He had felt that he no longer had magic reserve after using the Elements of Harmony twice in a row, so when he saw Discord raise his claw about to snap his fingers, he simply gave up. However, the last thing his logical mind thought before that was to protect the powerful Elements of Harmony. In that fleeting moment, Dusk used the last spark of magic he had left to grab the Elements with his magic. This is how he had managed to get Discord to inadvertently teleport him along with the elements of harmony... but at what cost!?

"I... I saved the Elements instead of my friends..." Dusk whispered in frustration, closing his eyes tightly and shedding a small tear.

The truth was that his magic wouldn’t have been enough to surround the bodies of his friends to save them. But even so, Dusk blamed himself for unconsciously having made the only and most logical option before Discord took him away from Ponyville.

After shaking his head, knowing that nothing would achieve blaming himself at that moment, Dusk raised his eyes again with a look full of determination. He looked around again until he could finally recognize the town of Ponyville, or rather, Chaosville, in the distance. So, Dusk could verify that Discord had indeed taken him away from the town, but fortunately he hadn’t teleported him as far as he had feared.

Determined not to wait another second to save his friends, Dusk took the first step to start his journey back to Ponyville. However, as soon as he took that first step, Dusk fell to the ground in complete exhaustion and dizziness.

"This... This is magical exhaustion..." Dusk thought, breathing heavily, not being able to move as he kept lying on the ground.

"And here I thought somepony as smart as you would know that it’s ill-advised to completely drain your magic." A female voice suddenly said behind Dusk, a voice that he knew very well.

"Sunset..." Dusk murmured, motionless on the ground, so exhausted that he could barely speak.

"Take it easy. I’ll give you some magic so that you can recover faster." Sunset replied calmly, standing in front of Dusk and touching the stallion's horn with her own horn. Then she illuminated her horn to transfer some of her magical energy.

As Sunset closed her eyes to concentrate, she also levitated the necklaces and crown with the Elements of Harmony and put them in Dusk's saddlebag. While this was happening, Dusk couldn't help staring at Sunset suspiciously, even though she seemed to be helping him.

"What are you doing here?" Dusk asked, annoyed as he waited for his magical energy to recover.

"When I woke up, I saw that you had fled, and I also discovered that someone had taken the Elements of Harmony. It wasn’t difficult to add two and two together and guess what you would do." Sunset replied calmly, keeping her eyes closed and her magic focused. "Now, could you tell me what happened?"

Faced with Sunset Shimmer's innocent question, Dusk opened his mouth to answer, after all, he owed her since she was helping him at the time. However, a sudden and terrible idea came to Dusk's mind, which made him narrow his eyes and look suspiciously at the yellow unicorn. The idea was a terrible thing, and yet… it was not far-fetched. Knowing Sunset's personality, was she capable of hurting all of Equestria by altering the Elements of Harmony in some way? Dusk well knew the answer to that question.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Dusk accused, feeling a mixture of mistrust and anger.

Sunset simply fell silent for a few seconds. Then she pulled her horn away and looked at him.

"I'm done transferring part of my magic to you." Sunset said with an indifferent look, ignoring Dusk's question. "With this you can move yourself and do basic spells until-"

"Answer my question! Do you know what happened in Ponyville!? Were you there!? Did you free Discord!?" Dusk yelled, standing up, feeling his anger rising.

"I wasn’t in Ponyville. I already told you, I woke up this morning and I came here to find you. Discord surely teleported you here because you were part of the deal I made with him." Sunset replied, annoyed at Dusk's questions. Who, on the other hoof, looked at her angrier when realizing something. "I know what you're thinking, how do I know that Discord teleported you here? It's so obvious! Who else has the power to exhaust you and get you out of town all the way here!? Would you take a minute to just stop blaming every disaster on me?!! Everything I do is for the two of us!" Sunset added, with a mixture of anger and sadness.

Seeing that look on Sunset, Dusk looked away annoyed and closed his eyes tightly. He didn't know if what Sunset was saying was true or just another one of her tricks, he couldn't trust her anymore. Try as he might, every time Dusk tried to trust Sunset, the memory of that time she left him instantly returned to his mind.

Eventually Dusk left the yellow unicorn’s presence, knowing that there were more important things to do. He walked determinedly to Ponyville to try and sort out this mess.

"Where are you going?" Sunset asked confused when she saw that Dusk avoided looking at her face.

"I'm going to rescue my friends." Dusk answered without taking his gaze off Ponyville.

"No, you won't." Sunset said suddenly, using her teleportation to appear in front of Dusk and stopping him in his tracks. With a look just as serious as the one Dusk had at that moment.

Dusk's anger seemed to rise to levels never seen before when the unicorn tried to stop him. And the straw that broke the camel was the cold look that Sunset had. A cold gaze that had haunted him throughout his childhood.

“Get out of my way!” The lavender stallion growled.

Dusk's horn fired sparks and with a look full of fury, he pounced on Sunset, making her fall backwards. Seeing that look full of anger paralyzed Sunset with fear.

"Those eyes… I've seen them before!" Sunset thought, scared for a moment as she remembered something from her past.

"You're just a selfish mare who will never understand the value of friendship!" Dusk yelled as he was face-to-face with Sunset, his eyes so full of anger that for an instant they seemed to glow red. "I am going to save my friends and there is nothing you or anyone else in Equestria can do or say that will stop me!”

Dusk shut his eyes tightly for a second and opened them again with the same burning glare. However, the initial rage he felt slow began to dissipate. He knew that this wasn’t right. His parents and Princess Celestia taught him to be a gentlecolt and control his emotions. No matter what Sunset had done to him and his friends, he knew that acting so violently wasn’t him. His mind drifted back to the only time he felt such violent rage; when he punched Hoity Toity when he thought that he was the one who had hurt Rarity. His stomach churned at the memory. It was that day he realized that friendship could have a more negative effect on his passive and rational character than he initially thought.

Finally Dusk got off Sunset and closed his eyes with a look of guilt and pain, feeling that the frustration of not having his friends was getting him out of control. For her part, Sunset remained where she was with a very different expression than Dusk had at that moment.

"I… I'm not selfish. I did the same as you did." Sunset finally said, slowly standing up and looking at Dusk with a sad look. "I made a deal with Discord so that we would both be safe, just like you disobeyed the Princess to save your friends. The only thing we both want is for our friends to be safe."

Dusk lowered his gaze sadly and then looked at Sunset, who kept looking at him with a sad expression. Dusk didn't know what to say to Sunset or if he should believe her. Did she really still see him as a friend? Her only friend? Had she changed? Was she telling the truth? Or maybe it was another trick to manipulate him?

"Those mares… Are they that important to you? Couldn't we just go and enjoy our friendship? They’re only five mares with nothing special about them! We can save all of Equestria if we let Discord have them." Sunset said, looking confused and concerned at Dusk.

Dusk merely sighed at the mare’s weak justification. Apparently he had already expelled all his anger and could now think more calmly. No matter how insensitive Sunset's words seemed, she just couldn't understand it.

"I can’t. I want them to… go back to being the same kind and loving mares they are. And my town be the same as always... For everything returns to normal…" Dusk replied, looking at Sunset again with a sad smile. That made Sunset widen her eyes and then close them quietly, as if she had made up her mind.

"You know that the world isn’t that simple. The law of equivalent exchange dictates that you always have to give something to receive something." She said, opening her eyes and staring at Dusk. "Tell me, Dusk... What are you willing to sacrifice in order to save your friends and your town?" Sunset added, beginning to move her next piece on the chessboard in her mind for her final move.


Things were just as crazy in Chaosville as the last time Dusk was there. It wasn’t surprising given Dusk had been only a few hours outside that crazy town. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the number of ponies running around town acting chaotically due to Discord's magic. Also, apparently another train had arrived at the town station, magically diverted from its course and appeared there in Chaosville. So now there were many more ponies waiting in line for Discord's wishes, waiting for the mighty draconequus granted them a wish without even imagining that they were selling their soul to be trapped for life in that crazy town.

With so many ponies around, it wasn’t difficult for Dusk Shine and Sunset Shimmer to enter the town without being seen by Discord. The really difficult thing now was finding Dusk's friends. The previous time, Dusk had spent the whole day looking for his friends and the task of getting them out of Discord's trance hadn’t been very easy. So Dusk feared that he would have to go through the same process and take the same amount of time.

"Dusk!" Spike suddenly yelled, excited to see that his brother had returned. However, when running towards Dusk, Spike stopped in his tracks when he saw that his brother was accompanied by Sunset Shimmer.

"Spike! Are you okay? Are you falling under Discord’s influence?” Dusk asked, relieved to see his little brother, but worried that he might be in a trance again. So, he walked over to him and inspected him carefully from side to side.

"Uh... No, I'm fine." Spike replied slowly, glaring at Sunset with utter mistrust. Then, feeling Dusk open his eyes to check that they weren't gray, Spike finally stopped staring the yellow mare and focused on Dusk. "You were only gone for a couple of hours, so I think Discord's magic hasn't affected me yet. But the girls… well, you better see for yourself." Spike added, looking worriedly at Dusk.

Dusk and Sunset ran to follow Spike until they neared the center of town, where the greatest concentration of ponies in trance seemed to be affected by Discord's chaotic magic. There, Dusk was reassured when he saw that all his friends seemed to be together, which was good, since he wouldn’t have to search for them all over town like before. The other good thing was that their coats and manes still had their normal colors, although their eyes had turned gray again. Dusk had hoped that this meant that the mares were not as deep into Discord’s trance as before and could therefore snap them back to reality quicker. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed that his friends were under a different type of trance altogether.

In the center was Rarity wearing a long purple cape fit for a queen, using her magic on all the objects she saw, making them more ostentatious, bright and colorful, thus obsessing over beautifying everything that was in her path. On the other side was Applejack, who was no longer wearing her signature hat and instead wore an elegant black tie around her neck, with an unfriendly look as she held up a map of Ponyville and muttered about expanding the farm and expropriate land to form a big apple-selling company, as if she had always been a business pony. Elsewhere Pinkie Pie was wearing terrifying evil clown makeup painted on her face, running and throwing pies in the face of everypony she saw, taunting them, carrying the bad jokes to a new level. Then there was Fluttershy, who for some reason had vines surrounding her body and mane as if she were a mare that had lived her entire life in the wild. She laughed maniacally as she commanded hordes of bunnies and birds to destroy everything that wasn’t natural, as if she were the self-proclaimed guardian of nature and wanted to end civilization. Finally, it was difficult to get a good look at Rainbow Dash despite the fact that she attracted the most attention. She was flying circles at full speed around the town and from time to time she flew so hard and so close to the town that it made small sonic explosions that devastated everything in her path.

It wasn’t difficult for Dusk to understand that this time his friends hadn’t fallen into a trance that was influenced by a lie, or that had turned them into the opposite of who they were. Now it was the opposite, the trance they were in seemed to have pronounce their talents and tastes to a ridiculous level, where they didn’t care how they affected others by exaggerating their tastes. Thus, leading to a Pinkie Pie obsessed with comedy, a forest-loving Fluttershy, a beauty-mad Rarity, an Applejack blinded by her apple business, and a Rainbow Dash one hundred percent focused on flying and being fast.

"I already tried talking to them, but they won’t listen to me." Spike said, concerned to see that Dusk had been stunned seeing these new behaviors of his friends taken to the extreme.

"Discord made sure the five of them were the most affected by his chaos magic... I realized that the first time I snapped them out of their trance." Dusk said with a worried look as he tried to think of a plan. "Their coats aren’t gray yet, meaning that we should be able to pull them out of their trance more easily. The real problem is… how to do it…?"

"What are you talking about? Just do the same thing you did last time." Spike said nonchalantly.

"I don't want to have to use magic on their minds again, it's dangerous. Also, I don't think it’ll works... The last time Discord fooled them with an illusion, and I just had to activate their memories to make them remember their true essence, since Discord's magic made them act totally opposite to how they normally were." Dusk said with a thoughtful look. "However, now it’s not as if they are acting against their own essence. Now they’re acting according to their own tastes and interests, only they are exaggerating them... There is no illusion to break!"

"Hmm... If you don't have a plan, I have an idea." Sunset said suddenly, who had also put on a thoughtful look, reaching the same conclusion as Dusk after seeing how those five mares behaved. "We have to get everypony to come here and pay attention to us even for a few seconds."

At the words of Sunset, both Dusk and Spike looked at her suspiciously, knowing that as long to accomplish her mission, Sunset Shimmer was able to do anything. And in this particular case, maybe do something bad and irreversible to their friends.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt them, I promise." Sunset said with a serious look, guessing what Dusk was thinking. "If you keep your promise, I'll keep mine." Sunset added as she stared at Dusk, who understood what the mare was referring to; something that made Dusk look away for a second in dread. Then he looked at his friends under Discord's trance and looked back at Sunset.

"Okay. Tell us your plan." Dusk said, with a look full of determination.

Following Sunset's orders, Spike and Dusk began to separate their friends from the rest of the crazy ponies that were in that part of town, trying to gather them one by one.

The first one they tried was Rarity, who just ignored Dusk and Spike's requests as she continued to use her magic to 'beautify' everything she saw. It wasn't until Dusk saw an old couch floating by that he tore it apart and showed it to Rarity. Upon seeing it, the unicorn ran after it to try to beautify it. So, Dusk used it as bait for Rarity to follow him back to Sunset. When the yellow unicorn saw her first victim, she immobilized Rarity's hooves so that she couldn't flee, although Rarity didn't even realize that, and only dedicated herself to ostentatiously decorating that ugly broken couch.

Next was Applejack, who was only focused on drawing plans for a future large apple orchard, which she would plant in the middle of Ponyville. It seemed that the magic of Discord had given the country mare great knowledge about the operation of a company and the laws of property ownership. So, it wasn't until Dusk used his magic to create a fake deed to the Golden Oak library that Applejack finally paid attention to them. And after promising that they would give her the title to remove the huge oak tree and thus plant a big apple tree, Applejack finally followed Dusk and stayed where Sunset was.

The third was Pinkie Pie, whom neither Dusk nor Spike could get close to, since she ran everywhere, simply throwing pies at everypony she saw, Dusk and Spike included. Knowing that Pinkie Pie had boundless energy to do crazy things and easily escape from them, the only option was for Pinkie to come up to them. Spike came up with the plan to bring a big box that looked like a birthday present, to which Dusk installed a handle next to it to make it look like a surprise box. Then, seeing the huge surprise box, Pinkie Pie ran over to where Dusk and Spike were and started cranking the handle to reveal the surprise inside the box. Something that would never happen, since there was no such surprise, but it served to distract Pinkie Pie, and thus keep her in one place.

Fluttershy giggled wickedly as her horde of bunnies nibbled on the ponies to drive them away from town. The first attempt to get close to the yellow pegasus was a failure, as the bunnies menacingly showed their rabid teeth at Dusk and Spike when they tried. Spike then saw that the leader of the bunnies was none other than his eternal arch enemy, Angel Bunny. The dragon didn’t know if he was also under Discord's trance or just liked that new aggressive attitude of Fluttershy; but Spike took it upon himself to distract all the bunnies so that they would chase him and not continue to come between Fluttershy and Dusk. After that, Dusk approached Fluttershy and tried to talk to her, but she was only obsessed with taking care of the forest, animals and plants. And after much thought, Dusk took a flower that was in the way and tore a petal from it in front of Fluttershy. That enraged the normally calm pegasus, and served for her to chase after Dusk, and thus finally to catch her with the others.

The one that was obviously saved for last was the hardest to catch. Rainbow Dash just kept flying in circles, so fast that there was barely a rainbow trail in the sky. And the most troublesome thing of all was that Spike was no longer there to help Dusk, as he had simply disappeared after running away from Fluttershy's bunnies. But finally, Dusk thought of something that might interest his friend more than the need for speed. Dusk got into position and yelled with all his might: 'Free Wonderbolts autographs!'. It only took a second for the rainbow trail to rush down to where Dusk was and collide with him. After the sudden blow, Dusk quickly used his magic to restrain the blue pegasus, and thus be able to take her to where all the others were.

"Well... here they are all." Dusk huffed, using his magic to prevent Rainbow Dash from flying away, who was struggling to fly again after seeing that there were no Wonderbolts autographs there. "Now... what do you plan to do?" Dusk added, looking suspiciously at Sunset Shimmer.

"You said it yourself. They’re acting according to their own tastes and interests." Sunset said, approaching Dusk. "You just have to look for something that interests them even more."

"Something that interests Rarity more than beauty? To Applejack more than apples? To Fluttershy more than nature? To Pinkie Pie more than pies and pranks? To Rainbow Dash more than speed? Good luck with that." Dusk said with a small nervous sigh. "Maybe we should-"

At that moment Dusk fell silent and widened his eyes when suddenly Sunset kissed him.

What the yellow unicorn did was totally unexpected, so much so that Dusk completely forgot to keep using his magic to hold Rainbow Dash. However, it wasn’t necessary. As Sunset continued to kiss Dusk for several seconds, with Dusk Shine totally shocked by that, the five mares, who had been so focused on themselves, were finally distracted by seeing that kiss. The five of them stared speechlessly as that yellow mare was kissing that lavender stallion sweetly… THEIR lavender stallion!

"What do you think you're doing!?" The mares shouted at once. The five of them looking with a mixture of surprise and anger at Dusk and Sunset. That was the catalyst that the five mares needed to get themselves out of Discord’s trance.

"W-What happened? Deja-vu?" Pinkie Pie said, dizzy and confused, having come out of a strong trance twice in a single day.

"You were in a trance. Dusk and I saved you." Sunset said to them with a cold gaze.

After seeing that the five mares had come out of the trance, Sunset had immediately broken the kiss with Dusk and stared at the mares, without looking at Dusk again. However, despite trying to hide it, Sunset's cheeks betrayed some emotion and were slightly blushed. For his part, Dusk was speechless. Sunset's kiss had taken him completely by surprise, and it took him several seconds to realize that this had happened because Sunset discovered that the five mares had a strong interest in Dusk, so much that it had been enough to bring them out of the trance. It was brilliant! Pure and cold logic.

"That kiss… Was she just doing it because it was the logical thing to do?" Dusk thought, touching his lips.

Dusk honestly thought he would feel aversion for being kissed by a cold and calculating mare like her. However, it had been the opposite. Sunset's kiss had been sweet and tender, full of warmth, totally contrary to the appearance that she externally emanated... Contrary to what Dusk expected, this kiss didn’t resemble the kisses without feelings like those that the maid twins had given him.. If Dusk had to say it, that kiss... it was more like the kisses that his friends had given him... But that was impossible!

"No! That's impossible! She's just playing with me! It's another one of her tricks!" Dusk thought, terrified at the idea that his heart could confuse him again. Thus, unlike other kisses that had made him feel happy, surprised or confused, this time he felt a new feeling, one that he would only discover what it later.

"Wait... what the hell are you doing here!?" Rainbow Dash suddenly accused, after coming out of her confusion and seeing that Sunset was next to Dusk.

"I already told you. Saving you." Sunset answered back in annoyance, as if every time those mares looked at her defiantly, she got more and more angry.

"Yeah right, as if that was true..." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically as she glared at Sunset. Supported by her four friends, who also looked angrily and distrustfully at the yellow unicorn.

"Girls. It's... It's true. She helped me get you out of Discord’s trance." Dusk said quickly, getting between Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer. "There’s no time to argue. What we need to do now is stop Discord." Dusk added, looking seriously at his five friends.

"Wait... We already did that... And it didn't work." Applejack said, holding her head as her memories slowly returned to her.

"I know, but this time, we’ll not fail." Dusk said with a tender smile, levitating the necklaces with the Eements that were in his saddlebag and putting them on the necks of his friends. "Trust me."

Always trusting in what Dusk told them, the five mares touched their necklaces and looked at Dusk full of determination, ready to follow him wherever he went, trusting in their friendship, and more importantly, in their hearts.

The group of ponies went again to the train station, where Discord was still on his floating throne. And since there weren't any more pony in line for wishes at the moment, Discord was focused on writing a list.

"Let's see… Since Chaosville is finally complete, I should invite some other chaos beings to enjoy it. Hmm… I could invite Bill… No! That psychopath if far too power-hungry even by my standards. And for a triangle, he’s far too square. Maybe invite Chaos… Nah! I have an allergy to blue cats... Maybe Mr. Mfrsptk... Mrclptrf... Mxyzr... oh, forget it! I can't even pronounce his name!" Discord grumbled as he crossed names off his list. "In any case, traveling between dimensions is such a hassle, no one would come. I think that only I’ll enjoy this town alone… Just me…. Always… me." Discord added, trying to smile, although he looked away with a clear feeling of sadness when he said that, again feeling that strange emptiness in his heart that he couldn’t explain.

Averting his gaze, Discord was surprised to see Dusk Shine approaching again with his friends. That made him smile evilly again, thinking that he could at least kill time by taunting Dusk Shine again.

"Huzzah! The great hero arrives again to fell the great evil!" Discord yelled laughing, transforming his body to make his stomach sound like a drum, his nose like a trumpet, his claws like accordions, and his head like repeatedly clanging cymbals. Thus, transforming himself into a one-man orchestra, making fun of the arrival of Dusk and his friends. "So, what now? Do you think the third is the charm?" Discord asked mockingly after returning to normal.

"It doesn't matter how hard you try. Our friendship never-" Dusk said with a look full of determination, until Discord interrupted him, putting a finger in his mouth.

"Yuck! Save yourself the silly friendship speech." Discord said with a disgusted face. "If you insist so much, I’ll let you try to defeat me one more time. Just make it quick. I'm missing some excellent chaos here." Discord added, making a clock appear that was going backwards, and then teleporting to his throne again, closing his eyes and yawning as he waited for Dusk and his friends to put on their little show.

"Alright girls, one more time!" Dusk said with a serious look, shining his horn and the Element of Magic on his crown. Then his five friends approached him and their elements also began to glow.

Slowly the six ponies began to glow, and just as slowly, they began to float. Unlike the previous two times that they had used the Elements against Discord, it seemed that this time the magic of the Elements worked slower for some reason.

"Yaaaawn… What’s the matter? Is someone hesitating to use the magic of the elements?" Discord said, opening his eyes when he realized that Dusk's magic seemed to waver for some reason.

Right at that moment, when Discord opened his eyes, two things happened. The first was that Dusk's magic finally managed to fully activate the Elements of Harmony, and for the third time that day, a strong rainbow beam shot into the sky, then plummeted towards Discord. That would have worried the mighty draconequus in other times, however he already had insurance to counter the magic of the Elements. One that had already worked twice, so there was nothing to worry about. However, the second thing that Discord noticed was that not far from there watching in the distance was Sunset Shimmer, looking at everything with an indifferent and cold gaze.

"What is she doing here?" Discord thought, confused for just a millisecond. And instantly his eyes widened in horror at the realization of the truth.

In just a second, Discord understood Sunset's true plan, yet it was too late. At that moment, the powerful rainbow beam hit Discord squarely, who in horror tried to move his claws to counter the powerful magic. But it was all in vain, the magic of Harmony was already working on the Lord of Chaos. His elongated body soon began to freeze and cement into cold stone. First his claws, then his tail and legs, slowly petrifying up his chest until it ascended to his head.

"No! Anything but this!" Discord shouted in desperation, understanding that this time couldn’t be released because he had been betrayed. "Send me to Tartarus! To a jail! Just don't petrify me! Cold! Loneliness! Silence! Darkness! Anything but that!" Discord yelled as petrification finally reached his head. A cry more like a desperate plea. And so finally, the mighty Lord of Chaos was locked up again.

After Discord turned to stone, the six ponies slowly fell to the ground as their respective Elements stopped glowing. They felt exhausted after having been radiating for so long the enormous power of the Magic of Harmony.

"Now... Now is it over?" Rarity cautiously asked, immediately turning around to look at the statue and saw that there were no cracks.

"Why was everything slower that?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking doubtfully at Dusk, as she had paid a lot of attention to Discord’s last words, about which Dusk was apparently hesitating when using the Elements. "Was it because you weren't sure about using the elements?"

"Girls, come closer, there is not much time." Dusk said with his head down, slowly catching his breath, as he had used a lot of magic, and he still had to use enough magic for what followed.

Noticing immediately that Dusk's voice seemed more tired and shaky than normal, the five mares came to Dusk and looked worried. Fluttershy was the last to join, since for some reason, she stared sadly at the now petrified Lord of Chaos.

"If we don't hurry, Discord will free himself again..." Dusk said slowly once all his friends were in front of him. Then he looked up with a sad smile at his five dear friends. "Everything will be fine now, I promise you. I’ll never let Discord play with your minds again." Dusk added as a tear fell down his cheek, activating his magic once again, blinding the five mares present.


After Discord was permanently imprisoned, the vast majority of the chaos magic invoked by him instantly disappeared. Only a few vestiges, such as a cloud of cotton candy that Derpy hid in her house, or a certain stallion that from that day on was irresistible to all the old mares of the town, were the remnants of all that chaotic magic that had invaded Ponyville. But everything else, like the houses, the animals, the trees, the sky, and mainly the enchanted ponies, returned to normal.

Soon the news that six great heroes had managed to stop the mighty Lord of Chaos reached Canterlot. A city that had initially been exempt from Discord's chaotic magic. However, after Dusk first used the Elements of Harmony against Discord, he had allowed the draconequus to break his end of the deal as well, and with just a snap of his fingers he had made the capital of the kingdom also rain chocolate and the houses began to fly. So as all that chaos stopped, all the residents of Canterlot breathed a sigh of relief to see that everything had been fixed. And all those residents of Canterlot, including most of the nobles of the kingdom, smiled happily when they learned that Princess Celestia had sent for the heroes of Equestria to give them a great ceremony of gratitude.

In just one day, a great ceremony was put together in Canterlot. With many of the city's ponies waiting in the royal castle to pay homage to their great heroes. While a few others waited with the guards at the train station, waiting for the six heroes of Equestria to arrive from Ponyville to escort them to the royal castle.

Celestia smiled on her throne, surrounded by the most important noble families of the kingdom. The doors of the great hall opened to admit the great heroes of Equestria, who entered being cheered by all the ponies present there. And among so many cheers of joy and applause, few noticed the surprised face of some nobles when they recognized the mares that entered, because the heroines they had wanted to thank so much for were precisely the mares that some remembered had ruined the Grand Galloping Gala.

Seeing that some nobles were speechless, Celestia couldn’t help but put a hoof in her mouth to contain her laughter seeing that those smug ponies should eat her words now, since Dusk and his friends would no longer be unknown ponies and frowned upon. If not quite the opposite, they would be remembered as great heroes of Equestria.

While Celestia was thinking about that, she saw how happy Pinkie Pie jumped, happy to be in what she thought was a great party, approaching where the princess was. After her came Applejack, who couldn't help but blush, seeing all those city ponies applauding her. Then came Rarity, who, as always, walked gracefull, as if on a fashion runway, used to crowds and bustle. Completely opposed to that attitude, Fluttershy entered with a shy smile, lowering her head a lot, feeling proud to receive a medal from the princess, but always fearful of crowds. Then Rainbow Dash followed, who always with a somewhat self-centered touch, smiled arrogantly and posed for some photos that some journalists took. And finally Spike entered, who unlike his five friends, didn’t enter the great hall smiling, but only kept a worried look as he approached in front of the princess, where his five friends were already waiting.

Seeing that Spike entered alone, and that behind him the doors of the great hall closed, Celestia raised a confused eyebrow. Surely the pony that had saved Equestria would be here with the rest of his friends. It had been her pupil Dusk Shine who, against her wishes, fled the castle and managed to save his friends, Ponyville, and all of Equestria from Discord.

"I’m sorry, but where is Dusk Shine?" Celestia asked, looking at the five mares and the baby dragon in front of her.

"Who’s Dusk Shine?" Rarity asked in confusion. The other mares shared the same gesture, who shrugged their shoulders at the princess's strange question, since none of them knew anyone by that name.

Celestia opened her eyes in fear, not understanding what was happening. Until her gaze fell on little Spike, who only looked up when the princess looked at him, and returned a sad look.

"That was the price... That's what Dusk had to pay..." Spike whispered slowly, closing his eyes in pain...

'Flashback of Sunset Shimmer.'

The day before, at the Golden Oak Library, minutes before Ponyville became Chaosville...

"So...we’re at a stalemate?" Discord said, raising an annoyed eyebrow after Sunset threatened to teleport the Elements of Harmony away.

"Not at all, I would never dare to face the mighty Lord of Chaos." Sunset said, looking away and then looking straight into Discord's eyes again with a big smile. "So tell me… Would you be interested in making a little deal?"

Hearing those words, Discord couldn't help but smile mischievously. He loved to make deals that backfired horribly on his victims. So, he decided to play along with that mare.

"So, what kind of deal would you like to make?" Discord asked, grinning wickedly.

"You can have with this town and do whatever you want with it. And in return, you’ll free the rest of Equestria from your chaos magic." Sunset said, also deciding to smile wickedly so as not to look weak in front of Discord.

"And why would I settle for this small town when I can make the world my chaotic playground?" Discord asked mockingly.

"Because I’ll convince Celestia never to use the Elements of Harmony against you again. So you’ll be free for all eternity, without having to worry that someone will ever petrify you again." Sunset said, analyzing every move and gesture to form a mental model of her adversary. "Let's face it, probably not even with all your magic you could destroy the Elements of Harmony. Your only chance would be to hide them, and that's a guarantee that someone could find them and use them against you. My method is safer."

"You could never convince that bore Celestia to accept that." Discord said, narrowing his eyes. That was the first sign of weakness in Discord that Sunset found. He didn't reject the deal outright, which meant he was open to accepting it if she managed to persuade him further.

"I’ll convince her. Trust me, I'm very persuasive." Sunset said with an arrogant laugh. "I’ll have to tell her that we’ll let the ponies of this town be free to go. But even if they’re free to go, that doesn't mean you can't 'motivate' them to come back and stay." Sunset added, glancing mischievously at Discord, who immediately understood what the unicorn was referring to and smiled wickedly as well.

"Yes… I could do that. I guess it would be fun to see how I trick the ponies into my town, and they never come out again, hehe…" Discord laughed wickedly.

"You see it? It's a good deal." Sunset said with a cheerful smile. "The only thing I would add would be that you promise never to use your magic on me or Dusk Shine. And besides I-"

"I haven’t even accepted your stupid deal, and you already want to put more conditions. You’re a lousy businesspony." Discord said, annoyed to realize that Sunset was apparently dumber than he thought if she thought he would accept the deal so easily.

"And besides I..." Sunset repeated again, pretending not to have listened to Discord. Deciding to risk it all and move her next piece to put together her plan. "…I'll tell you a way that they can never petrify you again. Even if they use the Elements of Harmony."

Hearing that, Discord stopped smiling for the first time and put on a shocked look. Which made Sunset smile when she saw that Discord had taken the bait.

"Do you know a way to prevent the magic of the Elements from affecting me?" Discord asked inquisitively, raising an eyebrow.

"We have a deal?" Sunset asked, also raising an eyebrow.

At that moment, Discord narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at the mare.

"Why should I trust you?" Discord asked seriously.

"Well, trust is a vital thing among thinking living beings. Trust is the first step to becoming friends…" Sunset said feigning disinterest but glancing at Discord and his reactions. And seeing that the word 'friend' seemed to dislike Discord, she quickly took a mental step back and softened what she really wanted to search for on Discord. "Of course, I’m not saying that we’re friends. But trust is essential to be together with others, to not be… alone." Sunset added, emphasizing that last word, hoping with all her might that her suspicion was true and that her plan could work.

Just as Sunset expected, Discord made a slight gesture of discomfort upon hearing her last words. Which made Sunset start to move her pieces on her mental board, seeing that little by little she managed to disrupt Discord's defense and was getting closer to winning the game. Discord was an all-powerful being, but he was just a wild, sad and lonely fool; and those were the flaws Sunset's cunning mind would use to defeat him.

"Okay, deal. Now spit it out." Discord finally said, accepting Sunset's deal.

"You must use an 'Anchor Spell'." Sunset said, with a smile at the brilliant idea that had occurred to her.

"An anchor what?" Discord asked confused.

"An anchor spell, that's what they were called in ancient times. They’re prohibited nowadays, and they’ve another name: 'curses'." Sunset said, staring at Discord. "Anchor spells or curses are spells in which you use your magic to bind your soul to something, be it an object or another living being. It’s how many of the powerful ancient magical artifacts were made, that is why they have so much power."

"Save the exposition for the audience, know-it-all! I know very well how that magic works; I know magic that you can't even imagine!" Discord said, annoyed that Sunset believed he didn't know that kind of magic. "An object with a bound soul is very easy to find. It’s easier to hide it in a living being, but it’s very fragile, since it ties the life of the one who made the spell with the one who carries it... If that was your brilliant idea, you disappoint me." Discord added, feeling he had wasted his time.

"Don’t use it on an object or a living being. Use it on something harder to find and something harder to destroy." Sunset said with an evil smile, thinking that she was giving Discord one of the brightest ideas that had ever occurred to her. "Use it on the very Elements of Harmony."

"The magic of Harmony in the Elements is too much-" Discord said, before being interrupted.

"Not in the elements themselves, but in their carriers." Sunset said, staring at Discord. "And not in themselves, but in their memories. Use the anchor spell on their memories, one memory that they’ll never want to forget. For a unicorn it would be impossible to do. But with your magic level, it’s possible!"

Hearing that, for the first time Discord looked thoughtful. Certainly he knew that spell, in fact he knew it very well, because he knew another terrifying being who had used it. But the way Sunset was telling him to use the spell was so novel, he didn't know of anyone who had used that spell on a memory! It was a terrifying and wonderful idea!

Realizing that in this way, even if the ponies broke the deal he made with Sunset, he could go free without problems; a big and evil smile appeared on the Chaos Lord's face.

"And if you want a suggestion, I know the perfect memory you could use on those five mares. The memory of a lavender stallion that they would never voluntarily want to forget." Sunset said with an evil smile of her own.

Immediately understanding what Sunset Shimmer was referring to, Discord couldn't help but laugh wickedly as he saw that the mare in front of him had planned everything to perfection. So much so that she wasn’t only giving him the key to never being locked up again, but she was also making sure to totally take those five mares out of the game so that Dusk Shine fell completely into her hooves.

'End of flashback.'

"Whatever happened, I would win." Sunset thought with an arrogant smile, walking up the stairs inside the Ponyville library. "If Dusk and Celestia accepted the original plan, Discord would stay in Ponyville, keeping those five mares in an eternal trance. And if Dusk rebelled against the plan, as it finally happened, I could tell him the truth; and in doing so, there was only one way to break the anchor spell: erasing the memories of him from the minds of his friends. Be that as it may, Dusk's friends would get out of our way."

Upon reaching the second floor, Sunset saw that Dusk Shine was sitting on the edge of his bed. The stallion had a downcast look, staring into nothingness, knowing that now his friends would never remember him. Which made Sunset smirk.

"And the best of all, is that I told Dusk that before telling him how to beat Discord, he had to promise that from now on, both of us would always be together." Sunset thought happily, approaching Dusk and sitting next to him. "Now everything is going according to plan..."

"Everything will be fine." Sunset said with a tender smile and hugging Dusk. "Now we’ll be together, forever and ever." Sunset added, entwining her hooves around Dusk's body, as if she were a snake about to devour her prey.


Three days had passed since the ceremony in Canterlot, where the newspapers published the photo of the six great heroes of Equestria, without knowing that the true protagonist of that story was kept hidden in the shadows, locked in his room since he had erased the memories of his friends.

That morning, Spike was eating breakfast alone in the library kitchen. It was his routine ever since he came back from Canterlot. Dusk hardly left his room anymore, only occasionally to look for something to eat or to look for a book. Always having a sad and gloomy look, not listening to anything Spike said to him. And after Dusk, there was always Sunset Shimmer, who seemed to never leave him alone. She always went after Dusk with a big smile in contrast to the downright gloomy expression the lavender stallion had.

Not even at night Spike could talk to his brother, because since Sunset stayed with them, Spike couldn’t bear to see her, and preferred to sleep on the first floor. No matter how hard Spike tried, he couldn't bear to see Sunset. And it was no longer because of a fear of the past, but because of the disgust and helplessness he felt when he saw the mare who had manipulated and deceived his brother and felt that he could do nothing to help him.

Suddenly Spike stopped eating when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He got up and went to the main hall where Dusk Shine and Sunset Shimmer were now, both with the same expressions of depression and happiness respectively that they had had in recent days.

"We’ve finished reading 'Advanced Calculations for Space-Time Magic', how about reading 'Equestrian History of the Second Age, Volume Two' again? I remember you were very fond of ancient history." Sunset said with a big smile as she put a book on the library shelves and levitated another with her magic.

"Okay... I guess…" Dusk said without even looking at Sunset or the book, just turning around to go back up to his room.

Suddenly several voices were heard behind the door of the library, until it was opened, letting in five mares that everypony in that room knew very well. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack entered the library, laughing and chatting happily with each other.

"I tell you! You must read the last volume of 'Forbidden Love', otherwise everypony else will just spoil it for me." Rarity said, smiling at Fluttershy.

"Oh! Oh! You mean when Clarity got out of the bathtub and-" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, being immediately silenced by Applejack.

"I already told you Pinkie, no spoilers!" Applejack said looking seriously at her friend.

"Nah, I don’t know why you guys love those lovey-dovey comics so much.” Rainbow Dash said scratching her head. Of course, they weren’t aware that she was also secretly a fan of Lyra's comics.

"Oh! Hello dear Spike." Rarity said, noticing that Spike was in the library with two other unknown ponies. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but do you know if a copy of the last volume of the comic 'Forbidden Love' came to the library? It seems that it’s sold out everywhere."

"Uh... I... I-I think someone borrowed it yesterday." Spike said nervously, looking askance at Dusk, who just froze, seeing his friends with a surprised and hurt face.

When Spike looked away, Rarity couldn't help but see the stallion he was looking at, a lavender stallion she had never seen before, who for some reason was looking at her with a strange look.

"Uh... well, if you don't have it, I think we'd better go." Rarity said, feeling uncomfortable under the watchful eye of the stallion.

Like Rarity, the other four mares couldn't help but see the stallion that accompanied their friend Spike. Even Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy remembered that he was apparently the town librarian. But beyond that, they couldn't remember ever talking to him. They didn't even know his name. And more importantly, seeing him look at them with a strange look of pain, made them feel very uncomfortable, giving everyone a withering headache for some reason.

"Y-Yeah, let’s go. My head’s feeling ouchy." Pinkie Pie said, shaking her head to clear the withering headache she had felt, averting her gaze from the disturbing look the stallion had.

Then the five mares said goodbye to Spike and left the library.

"Don't you think the librarian looks a bit like the 'Dusk-Sempai' from the comic?" Applejack whispered as they all left the library.

"I don't think so... There’s something really...unnerving about him." Fluttershy replied sheepishly, closing the door behind her.

That unexpected visit from his best friends was devastating for Dusk Shine. Seeing how they all looked at him without even acknowledging him was more than his heart could bear, causing him to lower his head and close his eyes tightly, holding back the tears while his chest ached like never before. That was the reason why he had been locked up for three days, because he was afraid to know what would happen when he was reunited with his friends. However, it had finally happened, and as he feared, it had been the most painful thing he had experienced in his life.

"Dusk, this doesn't have to go on like this!" Spike said, taking the opportunity he had to talk to his brother. He no longer cared that Sunset was present, he just wanted to help his brother. "Maybe they forgot that you were friends, but what does it matter! You just have to talk to them again and be their friend again! You don’t deserve to be miserable like this!"

"That wouldn’t be a good idea." Sunset replied, looking at Spike with a cold, indifferent look.

"Sunset is right..." Dusk added sadly. "Discord's curse is attached to the memories of the five of them. If I meet them and force our friendship again, I would be putting them at risk for them to relive those memories. And if they do, they would free Discord again."

Dusk lowered his head again and as if it were a body without a soul, he slowly approached the stairs to return to his room, and thus remain sunk in his depression. For her part, seeing Dusk so depressed, Sunset couldn't help but stop smiling for a second and look annoyed at Dusk.

"How much longer is this going to last!? Why is he still so damn depressed!?" Sunset thought in frustration, shaking her head and sighing to calm herself. "Don't worry, it's only a matter of time. Nothing is eternal, not even depression. Sooner or later, Dusk will end up forgetting about those stupid mares."

"Dusk, how about we hang out for a bit? You've been locked up for too long." Sunset said, approaching to touch Dusk. "How about we go visit your zebra friend? I remember you told me that you were a friend of one and I've never met one despite my travels."

At Sunset's request, Dusk turned around and just looked at her without any emotion, as if he simply no longer had any motivation for anything. Also, his friends had already seen him and they hadn’t reacted, which was the worst that could happen. Now there was no reason to stay locked in his room.

"Whatever you want." Dusk replied monotonously, knowing that he was doomed to simply follow what Sunset asked of him. His cunning and wicked friend had won her stupid chess game, and Dusk had no reason to confront her, since he had already lost everything.

Dusk and Sunset went to the Everfree Forest, heading in the direction of Zecora's house. Dusk was walking slowly, always with his head down and his gaze dull. While Sunset was smiling, enjoying being able to walk together, asking several questions about the forest or the old castle of the two sisters, trying to get Dusk to be interested and talk with her. Something that didn't work despite Sunset's enthusiasm, because to each question, Dusk only answered curtly and kept walking.

Finally, both ponies arrive at the rustic home of Zecora, a big tree surrounded by tribal masks and other artifacts from strange lands. After knocking on the door several times, Dusk was confused and decided to enter the huge tree. There, he saw that his second teacher didn't seem to be anywhere.

As Sunset stared in amazement at all the strange artifacts and potions that were there, Dusk simply ignored her and left the house.

On any other occasion, Dusk would have wondered why Zecora hadn’t come to meet him before arriving at her house, since she always took good care of her home. Furthermore, she wasn't inside her house either, which was even weirder. She could have gone on a trip, but she would have left a note, and wouldn’t have left half-made potions like the ones Dusk had seen when entering the house. However, none of those great doubts appeared in Dusk's mind at that moment. He just felt so downcast that he couldn't reason well. So, he just started his way back to Ponyville.

"Dusk! W-Why are you leaving? There are many interesting things here." Sunset said, leaving Zecora's house when she saw that Dusk was leaving. "These potions are unique! We could do some little experiments taking advantage of the fact that your friend isn’t here." Sunset added with a small, tender smile.

After having endured seeing that tender and fake smile on Sunset's face for so many days, Dusk simply couldn't take it anymore. However, he didn’t get angry or react, he simply closed his eyes, since not even his own heart had the strength to express his feelings.

"I… I'm sorry, Sunset." Dusk said slowly, remembering Zecora's teachings to concentrate, and thus be able to break the limit of his normal spells. "I know I promised that we would always be together, but… I need some alone time." Dusk added, using his teleportation to disappear from there.

Seeing that Dusk had left without even looking at her, Sunset was shocked. Then she lowered her head and glared at the ground. Sparks started to come out of her horn due to anger, and just as she stomped the ground with her hoof, she accidentally fired a strong beam of magic that destroyed a tree in front of her.

"Why is this happening!?" Sunset shouted furiously, full of frustration, not understanding Dusk Shine's feelings. “I won! I stopped those stupid mares from stealing Dusk Shine and I won! Why can’t he see that?!”

Moments before that happened in the Everfree forest, shortly after Dusk and Sunset left the library, Spike had taken the opportunity to finally enter Dusk's room. A room he hadn't entered in three days. But despite that, Spike had paid close attention to it, watching over it, listening from behind the door, and sometimes even leaning out to spy on Sunset the few times that she was alone when Dusk went to the bathroom.

Once he entered the room, Spike ran to Dusk's bed, under which was the saddlebag that Sunset had brought with her. Then Spike quickly opened it and searched, until he found what he wanted: a little red book.

Instinctively, Spike immediately tried to open that book, but as he already knew, the book didn't open, despite all the force Spike used. This was because it was Sunset Shimmer's diary, a diary that she herself had protected with a spell so that only she could open.

If Spike hadn't spied on Sunset all those days, he would never have known how to open that book. However, the day before, Spike had gotten to see Sunset open the book. To his surprise, Spike discovered that Sunset had used a spell similar to the one Dusk had used to close the chest where he kept the Elements of Harmony, a keyword lock spell. That had surprised Spike a lot, as it led him to think how much the two unicorns were alike at times. So much so, that even Spike came to think that, if it hadn't been for Dusk's five friends, perhaps Dusk would have ended up being just as cold and calculating as Sunset.

Despite the surprise and chill that Spike felt when he saw that Sunset had unknowingly created the same spell as Dusk, what astonished him the most was discovering the keyword that Sunset used. Three words that Sunset had uttered extremely softly when opening her diary, so that no one would hear her. However, due to Spike's keen dragon hearing, he did manage to hear her from the door he was spying through, and almost dropped his jaw at hearing the words.

Now that Spike was alone and finally had Sunset's diary in his possession, Spike whispered the three key words in the diary, causing the book to unlock with a soft click.

Spike's mission was to find some dirty secret to threaten Sunset with so that he and Dusk could finally have a reason to expel her from their lives. However, as Spike read the diary, his amazement grew and grew as he read things that he never thought he would read in that little diary.

"All of this was planned... All this time... All to... achieve her goal." Spike gravely whispered, finally understanding what Sunset Shimmer wanted to achieve.

Oblivious to the truth that Spike had discovered, Dusk walked alone through the streets of the town. After catching his breath after having teleported so far from Sunset, Dusk now walked aimlessly, just lost in his sad and desolate thoughts.

"Who would think that the first pony I see when I arrive in town is just the pony I’m looking for." A female voice suddenly said, landing right next to Dusk.

When he looked up, Dusk made a confused look when he didn’t recognize the mare donned in a cape and a hood. The only thing Dusk could know despite the cape and hood, was that she was a tall and thin mare. Then he narrowed his eyes to try to see the face hidden under the hood, where he could see big beautiful cyan eyes. And only then was it that Dusk's atrophied depressed mind finally recognized the voice that had spoken to him, and the mare to whom those characteristics belonged.

"Princess Luna?" Dusk asked awkwardly, coming out of his depressed state after three days.

"Something is wrong with you, isn't it? I knew it! I should have gone back to Canterlot sooner!" Luna said, concerned when she saw Dusk with a sad look. "I’m absent for four days and everything is a disaster! I find out that Discord was released and that you and your friends locked him up again... My sister said that the magic of Discord had already disappeared but look at you! Surely he cast a spell on your mind or some other trickery!" The alicorn said nervously, taking Dusk's head and opening his eyes and mouth, as if looking for some physical sign that Dusk was in some trance.

"I… I'm fine. You don’t have to worry." Dusk replied, turning his head away from the princess and forcing himself to smile to show her that he was fine.

There had been several letters that Celestia had sent to Dusk, asking him if he was alright, promising him that as soon as she could, she would escape from her royal duties and visit him. And just as it was now with Luna, Dusk had simply assured her that everything was fine, even though in reality he wasn’t. That was because Dusk knew how important it was to keep Discord locked up, and the last thing he wanted was to worry the royal princesses with his silly depression. Just like Sunset said, having his friends lose their memories of him was a low price to keep them safe, both themselves and all of Equestria. The only one who had to pay the price was him, and no one would carry his depression more than him, no one else.

"Wait… did you say you just arrived in Canterlot today? I thought Princess Celestia had asked you and Princess Cadance to come back three days ago?" Dusk asked, wanting to divert the subject so Luna wouldn't notice his depression.

"Yes, it was. But when I was coming back from Vanhoover, I had to divert to the northern border of the kingdom." Luna replied with a thoughtful look. "Apparently there is a strange storm that is affecting the towns of the North. I have discussed it with my sister, and although it’s highly unlikely, perhaps it’s a sign of…" At that moment Luna fell silent, remembering that she was there to see that Dusk was okay, not to bring him more worries. "ENOUGH! I came here for another reason!" Luna added, forgetting for a second to speak in a normal voice and shouting in her loud royal voice.

"I... I'm glad to see you again." Dusk said with a small but genuine smile. One that made Luna blush when she saw it. For some reason, seeing Luna finally made Dusk put aside all his depression for a second, as his heart had longed to be able to see Luna again for a long time. "We haven't seen each other since that dream I had in Appleloosa." Dusk remembered.

"Y-Yes, well… My sister and I were worried about you." Luna replied very nervous, remembering something important, which made her lift a hoof and hide her face even more under the hood. "That… That time I said we couldn't see each other again. But… at the Grand Galloping Gala you made me promise that I would see you again…" Luna added, feeling embarrassed for contradicting herself.

The truth was that as soon as she got to Canterlot and found out about what happened with Dusk and Discord, Luna forgot everything and just flew directly to Ponyville, not caring about anything, just wondering if Dusk would be okay. And so improvised had her trip been, that she hadn't even realized that this was the first time that Dusk would see her in the way she was, without her full power. Fortunately, she was still wearing her traveling cloak, with which she could partially hide her figure, but for Dusk it would be obvious to note that she was shorter and less imposing than the figure he had seen of her in his dreams, where she used her true form. And the worst thing was that Luna had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t let Dusk see her in that incomplete form she was in, but now… She had broken that promise!

"Please don't put your hood on. I think… I really need to see a friend's face right now." Dusk said with a sad smile. Feeling that finally, after three days, his heart felt something again and he didn’t want to let it escape.

"Uh… but… but this is not me. Not the one you knew." Luna said, trying in vain to hide the fact that she was nervous. Averting her gaze so that Dusk didn’t see under her hood.

"You’re the same as always." Dusk said with a tender look, finally understanding what was worrying Luna. "Maybe your mane doesn’t wave as before, nor is your fur that dark. But when you arrived, I could recognize your beautiful voice; and seeing you in the face, I recognized your eyes, and that look of compassion and greatness that you had when I saw you in my dreams... Also, remember that I freed you from Nightmare Moon, so I’ve already seen your two forms, and I assure you that they’re both equally beautiful." Dusk added, to give Luna reassurance.

Luna couldn't help but blush at the words and after thinking about it for a few seconds, she finally agreed and lowered her hood. So Dusk could see that indeed this wasn’t the figure Luna that he remembered seeing the last time, but that it looked more like the figure of the first time that Dusk saw her when he released her from the spell of Nightmare Moon. With her blue fur and light blue mane, which seemed to be halfway to transforming into the ethereal mane that Dusk had seen in 'Lady Night'. But more importantly, as he himself said before, Luna's sweet and compassionate gaze remained intact in all her forms, and when he looked into her eyes, Dusk couldn't help but smile as he felt a renewed warmth in his heart. For her part, Luna shyly looked away when she saw that Dusk was staring at her, feeling ashamed to feel weak and small. But upon seeing Dusk's sweet and tender smile, she also smiled weakly, blushing and finally managing to look Dusk directly in the eyes as well.

"I-I guess it's okay for the ponies in this town to see me like this… After all, they managed to see me this form during the Summer Sun Celebration." Luna said timidly, then sighing and putting a more serious look, because no matter how hard Dusk tried, she knew that her reason for being there was for him, not for her. "Now, dear Dusk. Could you stop giving me evasions and tell me what is affecting you so much?" Luna asked, getting straight to the point, having immediately recognized that despite Dusk's smiles, his gaze hid a great regret that he struggled to hide.

Seeing Luna's serious and determined look, Dusk sadly lowered his gaze, feeling the depression was sinking him again. He didn't want to tell what happened, it was bad enough to know that he had lost his friends, and the last thing he wanted now was to worry the princesses. In those thoughts Dusk began to isolate himself, until he felt a warm hoof touch his side.

"'I used to believe the same thing. That solitude and confinement were the solution... But the truth is that we all need somepony...' Do you know who said those words to me?" Luna said, looking at Dusk with a tender look.

Dusk widened his eyes when he realized that those had been exactly the same words he had said to her when he asked her to fight Nightmare Moon and not blame herself for the past. Realizing that, Dusk closed his eyes, realizing that he, like Luna, had been isolating himself from everypony and suffering alone. Then he finally sighed and decided to share his pain.

"It’s a long story." Dusk said with a sad smile.

Dusk and Luna began to walk slowly through the town, with Dusk telling Luna everything that had happened since Sunset Shimmer's return in his life. Summarizing his stormy past, Discord's attack on his friends on the train, the deal Sunset made to keep Discord in Ponyville, how he freed his friends from Discord's trance, how the Elements of Harmony failed, and how Sunset finally revealed the truth to him, telling him of the sacrifice he had to make in order for Discord to be finally locked up.

"That's why… despite knowing that I did the right thing, I… can't feel happy. Because I can't forget what I lost." Dusk said sadly when he and Luna arrived at the library just as he finished telling his story.

"I... I didn't think things had gotten so complicated." Luna said, surprised and scared when she realized Dusk's sacrifice and everything that he and his friends had to go through. "But with everything you told me… Don't you think it could all have been a plan from that Sunset mare from the beginning? Just for you to lose your friends and… so you promise to always be with her." Luna added worriedly, narrowing her eyes at the realization of something horrible.

The alicorn realized that this was the perfect opportunity for her. Her maid, Sweet Caramel, had told her about the declarations of love from Dusk's five friends, something that had depressed and frustrated her since she found out about it. But now things could be different, now she would have no competition to fight for Dusk's heart! It was perfect! However, Luna knew that she couldn’t be so cruel as to take advantage of that circumstance. Not even she herself would do something as evil as force Dusk to erase the memories of his friends just to keep his heart.

"I know… Sunset is very clever. This was probably her plan the whole time." Dusk answered with a sad and dejected look. "But that doesn’t matter. She managed to find a way to deceive the Lord of Chaos and thus save all of Equestria. That's all that matters."

"No!" Luna said, looking seriously at Dusk. Making the decision to help Dusk, despite the fact that with that she would be losing her opportunity to win his heart just for her. "You can't give up, that's not the Dusk Shine I know!"

"But... There's nothing I can do..." Dusk said, astonished by Luna's gaze then looked away sadly.

"Fight! Fight for the friendship and love of your friends!" Luna demanded, raising her voice and looking at Dusk firmly. "There must be a way to keep Discord locked up so that your friends can get their memories back. And if there is no way, we’ll find one. The fight is not over! You must defeat Sunset and get your friends back, only then can you say that you won this fight! This is just a nightmare in life, and you must wake up! If your dream is to live happily with your friends, fight for that dream!" Luna motivated her beloved Dusk, wanting with all her heart to help him, and thus, to see him smile again.

At Luna's words, Dusk froze, feeling that courage returned to his heart and that his eyes regained their brightness when he felt that he regained hope. Until suddenly, with one word Luna said, Dusk's brain went back to working one hundred percent until a crazy, dangerous, but hopeful idea came to him.

"Dreams..." Dusk repeated with his eyes wide, a word that Luna had said and that stayed spinning in his mind. "That's it! It could work!" Dusk said excitedly, full of hope.

Then, without saying a word, Dusk quickly opened the library door and lunged towards the bookshelves to search for what he needed. Finally Dusk found the book he wanted and quickly started flipping through it to find the spell he needed. While Dusk was concentrating, Luna also entered the library, and although she didn’t know what Dusk was doing, it was enough for her to see that he had finally regained the sparkle in his eyes and had returned to being the pony that she so much loved. That made her smile fondly as she watched him.

"Here it is! Mind spells!" Dusk said excitedly, pointing to a page of the book he was reading.. "I didn’t erase the memories of my friends, since completely erasing a memory is complicated and dangerous. What I did rather was block them, which is much more secure. But if I can delve deep into her memories, I could locate specifically where Discord's curse is attached, and thus destroy the curse without affecting my friends' memories."

Hearing that, Luna couldn't help but look worried when she understood what Dusk wanted to do.

"Dusk, mind spells are quite dangerous. Any mistake could irreversibly affect the minds of your friends." Luna warned, thinking that the hope she had given Dusk might have been too dangerous. "And the most dangerous thing is that you wouldn’t be trying to hide a bad memory, or putting a mental illusion, what you want to try to do is destroy a curse! Which is a thousand times more dangerous."

"I know. But with your help I can do it." Dusk said, staring at Luna. "You’re the only pony that can enter other ponies’ dreams, and just like you did with Applejack, you can make memories visible like no other pony can! Through the world of dreams, you can more easily access the memories of a pony!"

"It’s... It's true, I could do it, but it's still too dangerous!" Luna said worriedly, not wanting to think that by helping Dusk, she could be damaging the minds of five innocent mares.

At that moment, Dusk got closer to Luna and gently took her hoof, looking at her with a pleading look.

"Please, this is the only chance I have to get my friends back." Dusk said with a sad look. "I would never hurt my friends, I already thought it. If I cast the spell and serve as a catalyst focus, only I’ll be at risk, not them."

"Catalyst focus?" Luna asked, widening her eyes in terror when she discovered what Dusk wanted to do.

"You get it, right? Only I can do this, because the memories that we live together not only live in my friends but also through me." Dusk said with a small and sad smile. "Because of that bond, I can make sure that if I make a mistake and see that my friends' memories begin to deteriorate, the damage will be reflected in me rather than the minds of my friends. That way they wouldn't be in danger while I destroy the curse."

"But that means that all danger will fall only to you!!" Luna said in fear, finally losing her calm at the madness that Dusk was thinking of doing. "Enter the dream world, mirror their cursed memories with your own healthy memories, and destroy a powerful curse, all at the same time!? Dusk! It’s impossible!"

"It's not impossible, I'll just have to be careful... very careful and very patient, so as not to make any mistakes." Dusk said as he lowered his gaze, then raising it again and looking pleadingly at Luna. "I know it's dangerous, but please… I need your help. I...I can’t live like this anymore."

Seeing Dusk's gaze, Luna looked away, thinking that everything was too risky. If she had to do a calculation, she would say that Dusk had only a twenty-five percent chance of success, another twenty-five percent chance of failing without consequences, and the other fifty percent... of failing and suffering irreparable damage to himself. It was crazy! However, she had sworn to herself that if Dusk ever asked for her help, she would give all of herself to give it to him. After all, after having saved her from a horrible nightmare and pain that she endured for a thousand years, she couldn’t refuse what Dusk asked of her with such determination. He knew the risks, and yet he was willing to take them in order to win back his beloved friends.

"O-Okay... But... you must promise that you will be very careful... More than with any other spell you have performed in your life." Luna said, closing her eyes in pain, knowing the risk that Dusk wanted to expose himself to.

After having made his decision, Dusk stayed in the library, going over and over the mental spells that he should use, despite the fact that he had already read the book before. Meanwhile, Luna went to look for Dusk's five friends, who, seeing that the princess of the night required them for a special mission, accompanied her without hesitation.

Once the mares arrived, Luna asked them to stay in the center of the library. Then she used her magic to make the five mares fall into a deep sleep. The alicorn got closer to them and lit her horn into a spiraling shape from the immense concentration she needed to cast the complicated spell.

"I’ll transform this room into a reflection of the dream space. So you can run easier if… something goes wrong." Luna said as a mist began to appear throughout the library, gradually making the environment look more like the ethereal space that Dusk remembered feeling in Applejack's dreams. "You already know how powerful Discord magic is, so you can imagine how powerful the curse will be in your friends' memories..." Luna added, averting her gaze in fear, still unsure of what Dusk wanted to do.

"I know, plus my mind will have to bear the memories of five different ponies... Six counting my own memories." Dusk said, approaching Luna with a look full of determination. "I know the risks, and I accept them."

Seeing that despite her last warning Dusk was still determined to risk himself, Luna closed her eyes. She touched Dusk's horn with her own, transferring the shine that her horn had had after having touched the minds of the five mares.

"When you’re ready." Luna said, trying to hide her concern. "I can be by your side, but I’ll not be able to do anything, everything will depend on you. You’ll be the master of the spell."

"Thanks, but... I'll be fine by myself." Dusk said with a small reassuring smile. "Besides... There’s another even more important task that you could help me with." Dusk added, putting on a more serious look.

Minutes later, Dusk had finally begun to cast the powerful and complicated mind spell, which would partially materialize the memories of his friends, as if the entire library had become part of the realm of dreams. From outside the library, the windows of the library could be seen shining as a thick mist filled the interior, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening within that temporary ethereal space.

In spite of everything, it seemed that no pony paid more attention to the peculiar spectacle. After what happened with Discord, the few ponies who saw something strange happening in the library pretended not to have seen anything and ran off, frightened by any strange magic that could enchant them again. Only one pony seemed surprised and intrigued by what was happening, and she quickly walked over to the library.

Sunset had finally returned to town after Dusk left her. She had spent quite some time in the Everfree Forest, feeling that for some reason she felt more liberated in this desolate place than surrounded by ponies in town. But after returning to town and seeing that something strange was happening in the library, she immediately knew that Dusk was doing something suspicious. Then she ran to the door of the library.

"Stop." A female voice said suddenly, stopping Sunset before she opened the library door. Sunset looked up and was surprised to see that a blue alicorn, with a cape and hood fell from the sky and came between her and the door.

"You... You must be Luna..." Sunset said, hiding her surprise and looking with a small arrogant smile at Luna. "Or maybe you'd rather be called Nightmare Moon? The truth is that I don’t know, given how little of an impression you make nowadays." Sunset added, realizing immediately from Luna's gaze that she wasn't welcome there, so she decided to tease her immediately to see how she would react.

Knowing that the arrogant yellow mare only wanted to provoke her, Luna stood firm and dignified, showing no emotion, and without saying a word.

"If you don't mind, Luna, I'd like to come in to see Dusk Shine." Sunset said calmly.

"He’s busy. Right now, he’s performing a complicated spell, and he needs absolute concentration." Luna finally answered, keeping her gaze proud as she looked at the arrogant Sunset.

Upon hearing that, Sunset's sharp mind came up with various theories of what Dusk might be doing at the time, and no theory was very favorable, which made her feel uneasy, despite the fact that her face betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

"Huff... I guess you don't know." Sunset said sighing, then looked annoyed at Luna. "He and I made a deal. He promised that we would always be together, so it's my right to come in and see him."

"I already know everything. I know how you tricked him into making him your slave and forcing him to erase the memories of his friends." Luna said, finding it harder and harder not to show anger at such an arrogant pony. "Dusk warned me that you could come to try to prevent him from getting his friends back. So, I won't let you take another step." Luna added, glaring at Sunset.

Sunset lowered her gaze for a few seconds while her mind tied up some loose ends. Then she looked up again, only this time she looked at Luna with an evil and arrogant smile.

"Heh... It's been years since I faced an alicorn." Sunset said, getting into position to attack, lighting her horn. "I guess it’ll be interesting to see how much I’ve grown in power and magical ability, even if it's a duel against an incomplete alicorn like you."

Seeing Sunset's defiant look and hearing her arrogant words, Luna assumed the same attacking position and also lit up her horn. She was determined to protect the lavender stallion that she loved.

"Try if you dare... witch."

End of chapter 5