//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15 - Choosing a New Friend 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II 
// by bigsnusnu 
//------------------------------//

Choosing a New Friend

After being summoned by Princess Celestia, Dusk hurried to take the train from Ponyville to get to Canterlot Castle as quickly as possible. After all, he had been waiting for this call for several days.

After the events that occurred in the Tree of Harmony, Dusk had many questions that needed to be clarified. Especially, regarding what he saw after having recited the same curse that his teacher recited six hundred years before.

Once he arrived at the palace, Dusk crossed the doors of the great audience hall where Princess Celestia was already waiting for him along with her sister, Princess Luna. Celestia asked Dusk to tell her in as much detail as possible what had happened after reciting the cursed spell. Guessing that his teacher had the same suspicions as him, Dusk recounted in great detail everything he saw and felt in that ethereal place called 'Limbo'. At the end, Celestia put on a thoughtful look, while Luna looked at her sister in surprise as she also realized that the stories of Celestia's past, and the one lived by Dusk were identical in many parts.

“When you were both in that limbo… You heard the exact same voices?” Luna had seen the vision of her sister's past, but until now she didn’t know the details of what happened with Dusk when he used the curse.

Dusk and Celestia were silent for a few seconds, however it was clear that they both had something to say. Both knew that there was a very important revelation in joining both stories, but the implication that it had was so important that neither was sure whether to say it out loud or not.

"In that limbo, I heard three voices." Celestia finally said, looking at Dusk seriously. “The first voice was that of the creator of that curse. A dark being that sought to seduce us into falling into darkness.”

"The second voice was that old pony who saved the Princess." Dusk continued his teacher's train of thought.

"And the third voice was from someone who had also fallen into limbo and was by my side at the time." Celestia continued, narrowing her eyes. "I never knew who it was, until..."

"It was my voice... I called you when I felt your presence." Dusk said, guessing what his teacher was thinking. "And the fourth voice, the Princess couldn’t hear it because the old pony took the Princess out of limbo, while I stayed there."

"Wait a moment! You... You’re talking as if what happened to Celestia six hundred years ago had happened at the same time as what happened to Dusk." Luna said as she put the peculiar puzzle together. "Are you saying that Dusk traveled to the past!?"

"I don’t think so. Rather, 'limbo' is a space that remains outside of time. Or at least that's what I think." Celestia said thoughtfully, confirming to Dusk that they had both come to the same conclusion. “That would explain why our consciousnesses met when they were transported there. And that would also explain why I heard our teacher's voice there." Celestia added, looking at Luna.

"Your teacher? Wait…did that old voice belong to Starswirl the Bearded!?” Dusk asked almost in shock. "How is that possible!? I… I heard the voice of Starswirl the Bearded with my very own ears!” Dusk shouted euphorically, almost foaming at the mouth with excitement.

For Dusk, a unicorn who had grown up to become a student of magic, it was impossible not to know the name of Starswirl the Bearded. That was the name of one of Equestria's greatest heroes, mentor of Princess Celestia herself, creator of hundreds of magical spells still in use today, the kingdom's first recognized great Archmage, and a standard to which every student of magic sought to achieve. The legendary unicorn had been Dusk Shine’s hero for as long as he could remember.

“The last time I saw my mentor, he was on his way to Hollow Shades. When Starswirl didn't come back, I went looking for him. There, I found some ancient ruins with its entrance blocked. Still, I managed to make my way into those ruins, hoping to find him, but all I found was traces of a battle… That's where I found a wall with many ancient runes carved on it, where that dark curse was written.” Celestia said, remembering when she was younger. It was another of the many secrets she had kept from Luna in her youth. “The curse was protected with a very ancient magic, which made it impossible to destroy the wall where it was carved. However, what I could recognize was the hoofwriting of Starswirl, who wrote on the floor of the wall 'Never use this spell!' For years I followed the warning that Starswirl left, knowing that it was dark and dangerous magic. I avoided it… Until that fateful day.” Celestia added, putting on a look of pain as she remembered the desperation she felt that day she used the curse.

After giving his teacher a few seconds to forget that feeling of guilt she felt, Dusk looked at both princesses and spoke again.

“If Starswirl disappeared that day… And the voice we heard in limbo was his, that means he might be stuck in limbo!” Dusk said, excited to think that that legendary pony could still be alive. "If so, we-"

"No." Celestia immediately interrupted, staring at Dusk. "I know what you're thinking Dusk, but even if there is a very small possibility that Starswirl was alive in there, we can't do anything. I know you’re young and reckless, but you must understand that there are risks that are sometimes too high. The best example is my sister and I, do you know all the pain we cause others by our reckless actions? Believing that we could control dark magic, when in reality we were just their puppets... Dusk, you must promise that you’ll never use that curse again."

Seeing the worried and guilty looks of both alicorn sisters, Dusk remembered how terrifying both had become with their dark alter egos. What Celestia said was totally true. In their madness, both sisters had threatened the safety of all of Equestria and hurt those they loved. At that moment, Dusk remembered when he woke up after using the curse. At that moment he saw all his friends hugging him, all covered in scratches and wounds, from struggling with the roots of the forest to get closer to him. Then the colt lowered his gaze guiltily, understanding very well what his teacher was referring to.

"I think the best thing to do would be... to erase that memory from my mind." Dusk said, looking guiltily at the princesses. "If I remember the curse, in some desperate moment, I might try to use it again."

ABoth sisters looked at each other with concern. What Dusk didn't know was that a part of his memories had already been blocked by Sunset Shimmer, by transferring Discord's curse to him. That implied that altering Dusk's memories again would be extremely risky. After all, the mind of a living being shouldn’t be altered in any way, and if it happened again, both sisters knew that Dusk's mind could suffer some irreparable damage.

"I trust you, Dusk. You’re my precious student, and I’m sure you’ll know how to keep your promise not to use that curse again.” Celestia said with a motherly smile. "And remember..." The princess added, approaching him and whispering something in his ear. To which Dusk reacted by blushing a little and then smiled tenderly.

After that, Dusk said goodbye to the princesses and left the main hall. Meanwhile, Celestia got ready to start with the hearings that day. While Luna simply stood motionless, looking where Dusk left, putting on a nervous and sad look.

"Luna, you feel lonely, don't you?" Celestia said suddenly, taking Luna completely by surprise. Then Celestia smiled and looked at her sister with a worried look. “You've been spending a lot of time locked up in your room lately, and whenever you come out, you almost always have that vacant look you have now like you’re lost in thought. I… I want you to tell me how you feel, I really do! But maybe it's good that you don't just count on me, but on someone else. With a friend."

Luna was taken aback, and then sadly looked away. Her sister wasn't far from the truth, except that sometimes she didn't think of 'something else', but rather 'someone else'.

Months ago, Luna had made the decision not to get close to Dusk and to focus only on her real obligations. She had even forced herself not to see Dusk at the Grand Galloping Gala when he himself went to look for her in her room. However, after the Gala, everything had changed. Luna kept thinking about how far she was from Dusk, both physically and emotionally. And all of that got worse after what happened with Sunset Shimmer, where Luna ended up feeling even more guilty for putting Dusk at risk. Day after day Luna became more distracted, and the ponies around her, including her sister, began to notice.

“I… I don't have time for friends or anything like that. I must fulfill my duties as guardian of the night and having… 'someone' around would only distract me from my duties.” Luna answered, looking at the ground with a sad look.

At that moment, Celestia stood in front of Luna, staring at her.

“It’s true that we must fulfill our duties, but for that, you must feel good about yourself. If you’re sad, distracted or nervous, you’ll not be able to do it properly.” Celestia said, looking affectionately at her sister. “I know that you’re also a princess, and I cannot order anything from you. So next thing, I order you as your big sister: Go outside and make a friend!”

“You’re ordering me to… make a friend?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow, incredulous both that her sister was giving her an order, and the very order she was asking for. "Wait, wasn't that what you asked Dusk Shine for when you sent him to Ponyville?"

"Hehe, indeed. And I recommend that you comply with my order. The last pony that didn't obey me woke up hoof-bound in a mail bag on the way to Ponyville.  With a much-needed haircut, might I add." Celestia answered, laughing as she remembered her student. She then put on a more serious look and looked fondly at her sister. “We are princesses, but we must not forget that we are also ordinary ponies. We have our duties, but we also need to laugh, cry, love…”

After Celestia's words, Luna was left with a very thoughtful look. Her sister was right. She was a princess, but she was also a mare. And just like her sister said, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, and also… she wanted to love.

“I promised that I wouldn’t put Dusk before my duties with the kingdom. And I’ll keep that promise! But in my free time… why shouldn't I enjoy my life?” Luna thought, having a great revelation. She opened her eyes wide and making a big decision.

Without saying anything else, Luna smiled with determination and quickly left the room, hurrying to catch up with Dusk before he left. She was determined to invite him to something she had been dreaming of doing with him for days.

Just as Luna was hurrying out the front door, the maid twins came in, carrying some snacks for the princesses. For her part, Celestia smiled sweetly when she saw her little sister smiling again, thinking that her speech had finally managed to reach her heart.

“Where is Princess Luna going? I thought she'd have a snack here before going to sleep.” Sweet Caramel said worriedly, watching intrigued as her princess left the room.

"She's going to look for a new friend... Or maybe she's in such a hurry because she wanted to invite Dusk on a date, who knows." Celestia responded with a thoughtful look. Something that made the maid twins gasp, seeing that it seemed their princess had finally discovered the truth. “Pfft! Hahaha! Sorry, that's so absurd, can you imagine? That could never happen, haha!” Celestia laughed, showing that what she had said had only been a joke. Then the maid twins hit their faces with their hooves, unable to believe that the Princess of the Sun was still unaware of her younger sister's feelings for her student.

For her part, after leaving the main hall, Luna hurried to go to the main gate of the castle to catch up with Dusk Shine before he left. However, she stopped short in the middle of the corridor when she looked towards a window and saw that instead of leaving, Dusk was still there, walking through one of the side gardens of the castle.

"Dusk? What are you doing here? I thought you had already gone." Luna said in surprise, going out to the garden to be with the stallion.

“I was going to do that, but I wanted to take the opportunity to walk around the garden for a while. After all, when I was a young colt I liked to walk around here a lot... whenever I wasn't in the library, hehe." Dusk said with a bashful smile.

Seeing Dusk distracted by some flowers, Luna put on a look full of determination. She had an important question to ask Dusk, but since 'her prey' was distracted, she could well take advantage of the moment. She pursed her lips, looked away, and tried to subtly approach Dusk. Although all subtly went out the window with how nervous she was.

“What did that book say…?” Luna thought nervously, remembering a very cheesy seduction book that had become her bible to seduce Dusk. “Oh, I know! 'Pony Love' says: 'Catch your prey and surround it. And if your prey doesn't take hints, go straight for it!'” Luna thought, following the advice in that book and thinking of 'her prey' as Dusk. 

Then Luna discreetly stood next to Dusk, puckered her lips, putting them in a kissing position, and nervously approached Dusk, to give him a small kiss on his cheek.

"What's that?" Dusk said pointing to the side, not noticing Luna.

“N-Nothing! I-I was just whistled! Phewww-fweeet! Phewww-fweeet!” Luna began to whistle, red with embarrassment, pretending that she had puckered her lips to whistle and not to kiss. 

It took Luna a few seconds to realize that Dusk hadn’t referred to her when he spoke. She looked to where he was pointing and saw a kind of rat scurrying throw the window into the garden carrying a large sack of almonds and walnuts with its mouth.

“Is that an opossum?” Dusk asked curiously, approaching where the little animal was.

When the opossum saw that he had been caught stealing food, he froze.  Dusk got closer and could see that the opossum had a small bandage on one of its legs.

"That animal has been stealing food from the castle." Luna said, recognizing the animal. Then she blushed and gave a look of doubt, not sure if Dusk would like what she would say or not. “A few days ago, the guards set traps to catch it. And last night… well… I saw that this animal had been caught in one of the traps, but I was very sad to see it trapped. So… I released it and bandaged its injured leg.” Luna added sheepishly.

As if what Luna said had been a cue to remember, the opossum immediately raised its paws theatrically. Then he became shaky, as if he had been in agony and put on a pleading look, perfectly acting as if he were a dying animal.

“Hmm… If it's hurt, I could take it to Fluttershy. She could help it heal faster.” Dusk said, shocked by the opossum's surprising change in attitude.

Before the opossum could escape, Dusk locked it in a magic bubble. Something that seemed to surprise the little animal, who, being trapped, seemed to completely forget about his injured leg and simply crossed his legs with an annoyed look.

"Well, I think it's time to go. I'd better get this little animal to Fluttershy quickly." Dusk said, slightly bowing his head to say goodbye to the princess.

“W-Wait!” Luna said nervously, remembering that she had gone there to ask Dusk an important question. Then the alicorn blushed a little and shyly looked at the lavender stallion. “T-Tonight there will be a meteor shower, and… and I wanted to know if… if you… if you would like to see it… with me.” Luna finished speaking, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Meteor shower…? That’s right! It was today! I marked it months ago on the calendar! I almost forgot!” Dusk exclaimed and beamed happily at the lunar princess. “Of course I would like to see it together, it’ll be great! I’m a fan of astronomy. I'll take my books and my telescope up the hill to Ponyville tonight." Dusk then said goodbye and when on his merry way.

Once Dusk left, Luna couldn’t contain her joy anymore and began to jump in circles as if she were a little filly.

"He said yes! He said yes!" Luna said full of happiness while jumping. While on the other side of the garden, some guards looked at the princess in confusion, surprised to see the normally serious princess of the night so happy.





Once in Ponyville, Dusk immediately went to Fluttershy's cottage. There, Dusk released the opossum he had captured in the gardens of the royal palace and Fluttershy examined it.

“The opossum… Is it alive?” Dusk asked with concern. The opossum was motionless in Fluttershy's hooves. “Perhaps… It ran out of air in the magic bubble!?” Dusk added, scared of having killed the little animal without realizing it.

"I don’t think so. Opossums often play dead when they feel in danger.” Fluttershy replied calmly, noticing that the opossum was breathing normally despite being motionless. "Also, it looks like his paw is fine." The mare added after removing the bandage from the animal.

With his charade was being exposed, the opossum opened one eye. Then he saw that next to Fluttershy there was a huge sack full of seeds and acorns. It was then that the opossum stopped acting like a wounded animal and jumped squarely into the seed sack and sank into it.

"Hey! Weren't you hurt?" Dusk said surprised, approaching the sack with seeds. Then the opossum stuck its head out of the sack, its cheeks bulging, full of seeds and acorns. Then it looked at Dusk for a few seconds, smiled, and jumped on his head, quickly fleeing from Fluttershy's house by jumping out a window.

"Well... At least we know he's not hurt." Fluttershy said with a small smile. She stifled a quiet giggled when she saw Dusk had his mouth open and his mane full of seeds after the opossum jumped on him.  The colt was frustrated that both he and Princess Luna had been tricked by that little animal.

After saying goodbye to Fluttershy, Dusk began looking for clues to see where that elusive and tricky opossum had fled. However, he realized that that would be of no use, and finally, taking advantage of the fact that he was close to the Everfree Forest, Dusk took the opportunity to go visit Zecora, since he hadn’t seen her since their meeting in the Kingdom of Thicket.

It didn't take Dusk long to get to Zecora's hut. Once there, the zebra greeted him and began to tell him some things that she had learned with King Aspen and the deer.

"So, the King didn't give you permission to check out any books about the Tree of Harmony from his library?" Dusk asked, seeing that Zecora had several scrolls written by herself, where she had written some things that she had learned in the Kingdom of Thicket.

"No. The King is still very protective of his kingdom, especially when it comes to the Tree of Harmony.” Zecora answered, showing Dusk the other scrolls she had. “Still, the King knows that you’re my disciple, and yet he taught me many things. So I don't think the King doesn't want to share his knowledge with you ponyfolk, he just wants to share it with the right ponies." Zecora added, smiling at Dusk.

Listening to his teacher, Dusk remembered what had happened at the Tree of Harmony and how he had been willing to use dark magic in order to help his friends.

"Do you really think I'm worthy of everyone's trust?" Dusk asked, looking away with an uncertain look.

“Only you can give us that answer. You can make mistakes, and I assure you that you’ll continue to do so. But the important thing is knowing how to recognize them, learn from them and correct them.” Zecora said, affectionately putting a hoof on Dusk's back. “You know, I've been thinking about it, and I think I finally found something I have in common with the Princess of the Sun. I think we both believe that you have a great destiny ahead of you, and for that reason, we want to help you have the right tools. But ultimately, the one who will use those tools and decide how to use them, will be you.” Zecora added, making Dusk regain his confidence and smiled with the zebra.

After that, Zecora told Dusk how the magic of the deer worked, who had a strong magical connection with the forest, so they could feel the forest and nature around them in a unique way. Despite that, except for the Aspen King, it seemed like the other deer couldn't use magic on their own. Thus, Dusk learned that the link between the deer and the forest was increased by carrying those small barrels with magical dew, which apparently came from a spring that emanated from the Tree of Harmony itself.

“Deer can sense the plants and living things around them in a unique way. I even saw some deer walking through the woods in total darkness with no problem.” Zecora said after finishing explaining some things that she wanted Dusk to start studying. “Perhaps it’s their very connection to the Tree of Harmony that connects them to the Everfree Forest.”

"Do you think we could have that same kind of connection to the forest?" Dusk asked with great interest.

"For my part I don't know, but I think you already have that connection." Zecora answered, pointing at Dusk's cutie mark. “There are still many mysteries about the connection of the Tree of Harmony with your cutie mark, even the King himself admitted that he doesn’t know. But what we do know is that you and your friends have that connection.  Only time will tell if that connection can help us all when evil strikes again.”

After an extensive talk, Dusk finally said goodbye to Zecora, ready to return to town before nightfall, since he still had to prepare for the great astronomical event that night. He then took some of the scrolls that Zecora offered him and started on his way back to the village.

As he walked through the Everfree Forest, Dusk mentally reviewed everything he had learned from Zecora's talk about the deer. Just at that moment, Dusk arrived at one of the darkest parts of the forest, where he had to light the path in front of him in order to see.

"There are deer that can walk in the dark in the forest, thanks to their connection with it… Maybe it's something I should practice too." Dusk thought with a small amused smile. So he decided to keep walking without lighting the way with his magic, thus wanting to perform a little experiment with his connection with the forest and the Tree of Harmony.

Just a few minutes after Dusk came up with his little experiment, the lavender stallion began to regret that he had come up with his 'brilliant' idea. Walking in almost complete darkness, Dusk remembered how truly terrifying the Everfree Forest was. His hearing sharpened, amplifying dark noises of branches breaking or things moving not far from where he was.

Suddenly Dusk lowered his head upon hearing a strong flutter above him. That scared Dusk a little, who began to walk faster, to soon leave the forest. However, he refused to use his magic and spoil his experiment.

"Come on! Connect with the forest already!” Dusk murmured as his pace increased, beginning to get scared as he continued without feeling any kind of magical connection with the forest. That was until he collided head-on with a tree, causing him to fall on his back. "Ouch!" The unicorn was lying on the ground, rubbing his head.

'Hooo…' A very peculiar sound made Dusk open his eyes and look up.

There, standing on a branch was a little brown owl, staring at him with something in its mouth.

"An owl?" The colt said aloud. Then the stallion saw in more detail what the owl had in its mouth. "Those are my scrolls?" Dusk said in amazement, realizing that with all that about his 'little experiment' he didn't even feel when his scrolls fell from his saddlebag.

As Dusk stood up again, the little owl took a short flight over to him and placed the scrolls on his back.  The nocturnal bird then went ahead and perched itself on top of Dusk’s head.

"Okay... I guess this isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to me in the forest." Dusk said without moving while the owl settled on his head. Then Dusk realized that that owl was sticking its beak into his mane, looking for seeds that had apparently been left in his mane when the opossum jumped on him. “Huff… anyway, I guess you earned it for returning the scrolls to me.” Dusk added, sighing with a tired look.

Dusk continued walking, trying to walk in the dark again but becoming more and more sure that it was nonsense. Besides, now he wasn’t only walking blindly through the darkest side of the forest, but he was also walking with an owl on his head, which definitely must have made him look very ridiculous.

'Hooo…' Suddenly the owl hooted over Dusk's head, making him stop in his tracks. At that moment, Dusk prepared to stop being nice and shoo that owl out of his head. However, he stopped when he realized that the owl had sang just before he had crashed head-on into a tree again.

“Wow! That was close..." Dusk said, feeling the tree with which he had almost collided. Then he looked up and understood that the owl, thanks to its night vision, had warned him before he crashed. “Heh! Who knows, maybe my connection to the forest sent you to help me, haha.” Dusk joked, while the owl simply stretched its wings and seemingly to settle more and more on Dusk's head.





Night finally came to Ponyville and Dusk's friends reached one of the hills near the town, where Dusk Shine had summoned them to watch the long-awaited meteor shower. Dusk Shine and Spike were already waiting for the five mares, as well as a new guest.

“Dusk, darling! There’s a bird on your head!” Rarity proclaimed in shock when she saw an owl perched on her beloved Dusk's head.

"I know, he's grooming me." Dusk replied with a smile, looking up out of the corner of his eye. “Or maybe he's just looking for more seeds, I really don't know. It seems that this owl became very fond of my mane.”

Seeing that owl above Dusk's head, all her friends came over, seeing how cute it was and joking about it.  Fluttershy was especially excited to behold the owl on the stallion’s head.  Although she already considered Dusk handsome, Fluttershy had to admit that the image of him interacting with animals with such synergy made him look more…dashing.  The yellow pegasus had to try her best from suppressing her hot blush and not swoon at the sight alone. 

“Yeah, yeah… What a cute owl… So great…!” Spike muttered jealously, after the owl had become the center of attention.

The truth was that Dusk had come to the library with that owl a few hours ago, and he quickly realized how useful and clever that bird was. The owl wasn’t only able to understand when Dusk asked it for a scroll, it also understood when Dusk asked it for a book, as long as he indicated its color and shape in detail. Dusk practiced all afternoon with that owl, seeing if he could train it to bring him some other things. However, that had bothered Spike, who took his job as Dusk's assistant very seriously, and the thought of someone tried to steal his position was upsetting to the little drake.

"Oh no!" Dusk suddenly said while his friends, especially Fluttershy, watched in amazement as the owl flew over their heads. “The meteor shower is about to start and I forgot to bring the 'Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy'.”

"The Astronomo-lomo homono what?" Rainbow Dash asked, not understanding a word Dusk said.

"It's a huge blue book with a star on its spine." Dusk said, looking at the owl that was flying over his head. “Could you bring it to me?”

The owl stopped flying in circles and began to fly towards the library at Dusk’s instructions.

"Wait! I’ll get it!" Spike said quickly and started running towards the library as well.

"But you'll miss the meteor shower!" Dusk yelled as Spike ran.

"It doesn’t matter! I’ll prove to you that I’m still your number one assistant!” Spike yelled, disappearing down the hill.

Dusk raised an eyebrow in confusion, not understanding why his little brother had said that. However, his mind was distracted by something else.  Just at that moment, his last guest to see the meteor shower had arrived.

Just as Dusk told her, Luna reached the highest hill in Ponyville, where he was waiting for her. The only problem was that Dusk wasn't there alone but was accompanied by all his friends. That made Luna barely able to suppress a disappointed face when she saw that she wouldn’t be alone with Dusk.

"H-Hello Dusk... I-I see you brought all your friends... hehe..." Luna said with a very forced smile, once she landed where the other ponies were.

"Of course! Like I told you, it's an event I planned months ago." Dusk happily replied, not noticing how disappointed the Princess of the Night was. “The more, the merrier!”

One by one, Dusk's friends approached Princess Luna, excited to be able to see the show with the Princess of the Night. None of them had chatted much with Princess Luna before, so they were all excited to get to know her a little more. For her part, Luna finally sighed, knowing that she wouldn't spend the night as she had hoped, and simply gave a friendlier smile. After all, these mares had helped her free herself from Nightmare Moon, and like Dusk, she owed them a lot. So she couldn't be in a bad mood in front of them.

All the girls encouraged Princess Luna to sit next to them on a cloth that had been placed on the grass, next to a pile of snacks that they had brought for a picnic while they waited for the arrival of the meteor shower.

"You can sit wherever you want, except next to Dusk." Pinkie Pie said when they reached the cloth. She dragged Applejack over and sitting her next to Dusk. "This position is reserved for Applejack, since she’s the MAREFRIEND of our beloved Dusk." Pinkie Pie joked with a wink at her friend. To which Applejack reacted by blushing and covering her face with her hat.

After what happened in the Kingdom of Thicket, Dusk's four friends had decided not to bother Dusk and Applejack too much with what had happened. In fact, strangely the opposite had happened. Since that day, every time the six got together, the mares didn't miss the opportunity to make Dusk and Applejack closer to each other. Deep down, the four mares knew that Dusk and Applejack felt guilty for keeping a secret between them, so they felt uncomfortable when their friends forced them to be too close together.  So, forcing the two of them to always be together had been a small form of revenge from the girls for what 'may or may not' have happened in that room when the two of them slept together.

While the mares had a little fun joking with Applejack, seeing how embarrassed she was when her friends forced her to be close to Dusk; Luna stared at Applejack with a serious look. She was not sure how to react to Dusk's current marefriend.

Luna had read Flash Sentry’s report, and thus she was able to verify that Dusk was indeed married to Applejack. But she also found out that that marriage had been to help Applejack in a competition. Still, Luna found it strange that both ponies were still together and hadn't gotten divorced if it had been just to help out. However, she knew that there must be a reason, and if she couldn't spend the night alone with Dusk, she would at least take advantage of the time there to investigate a little more the true relationship between Applejack and Dusk.

After a few minutes, Spike and Dusk's owl finally returned to the hill. The latter arrived first, carrying a book in his claws. However, for some reason, the book was smoldering.

“What happened to the book!?” Dusk asked, horrified after the owl dropped the book in front of him. The inside of the book had been completely burned.

'Hooo…' sang the owl, landing on a nearby tree branch and pointed one of its wings at Spike.

"Snitch..." Spike muttered reluctantly. The boy then looked up to Dusk’s angry look. "Fine, it was me! I accidentally burned the book when I picked it up and the dust made me sneeze…” Spike admitted, looking away in embarrassment.

“Ugh… I told you to leave it to the owl.” Dusk groaned, hitting his face with his hoof.

"I-I didn’t want to! I don't want that silly owl to replace me." Spike said, looking reproachfully at Dusk.

"What are you talking about?" Dusk asked. Then he looked at the owl and then at Spike, and hit his face again, realizing the absurdity of the situation. “Okay, listen. No one is going to replace you, it's impossible! This owl could become my assistant, but you’re more than that.  You’re my brother! And there’s no one who could replace you, end of story.” Dusk said, approaching Spike and giving him a little brotherly punch on his shoulder.

"Are you serious?" Spike said, looking at Dusk with huge eyes.

"Of course!  Or would you rather lower yourself to become my pet and compete against my other pet?" Dusk said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “But don’t do that, please. Knowing how competitive you are, you'd be able to try to frame the poor owl in some silly way to get me mad at it. Right?"

"Uh... Noooo... I would never do that... hehe." Spike replied, blushing and looking away. The truth was that all the way back there, he had just been planning something to do exactly what Dusk said.

Seeing that everything was in his imagination, and that Dusk's owl could never take his place, the baby dragon relaxed completely and laid down on the cloth. He was so tired from how late it was that Spike instantly fell asleep.

"He must have been really stressed out all afternoon to fall asleep that fast." Dusk said, smiling tenderly and put a blanket over his little dragon brother. Thankfully, he hadn't seen Spike with his fake villain mustache, which he always wore when he was plotting something bad against someone. "I think I'll let him sleep for a bit and wake him up when the meteor shower starts."

"So, are you going to keep your owl friend?" Fluttershy asked, smiling as she approached Dusk and looked up where the owl was flying again. "You said he could be your pet."

Dusk blinked in confusion and then looked up, where the owl that had been accompanying him all afternoon was flying.

"Hmm I don’t know. I have never had a pet.” Dusk said with a thoughtful look, and then smiled at that idea. "But maybe, I could try."

“Oh! Oh! If you have a pet, we could do a ‘pony pet playdate’ for all of us to play together with our pets!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. She stuck her hoof into her mane, and pulled out her little alligator Gummy, who had apparently been hiding in her mane all this time.

“What a splendid idea! Opal loves to play with other pets.” Rarity beamed, who sometimes didn’t realize that her cat was actually quite grumpy.

"Yeah, I think Winona would like some new friends." Applejack agreed.

"Oh! What a thrill! Angel will love this.” Fluttershy cheered with glee. It was clear that she was the most excited that her friends shared her love of animals.

While the four mares with pets surrounded Dusk, all together devising what they would do the next day; two other mares were isolated from that happy conversation: Rainbow Dash and Luna.

“W-Wait a minute! I want to go too.” Rainbow Dash said, slightly blushing while looking annoyed at her friends.

"Uh? But I thought you didn't like pets?" Applejack said in confusion.

“W-Well… I changed my mind!” Rainbow Dash replied, red with embarrassment. She didn’t want to admit that she felt isolated seeing all her friends sharing the same taste.

In that instant, Fluttershy's happiness reached new levels, jumping for joy just like Pinkie Pie always did, running to where Rainbow Dash was and looking at her with a very excited look.

"Oh! Oh! Tomorrow I can help you find your ideal pet!” Fluttershy said. “I've got so many wonderful choices at my house! Oh, and I know you'll just love them! And they'll love you! Oh, and you'll be best friends forever and ever!!” Fluttershy added with a big dreamy smile, almost touching her face to Rainbow Dash's, who was already beginning to think that maybe this was a bad idea.

"So, tomorrow morning, after Rainbow Dash chooses her pet, the six of us can have our first pony pet playdate!" Dusk said, happy that his stubborn pegasus friend also wanted to be part of the fun.

"M-Me too!" Luna said suddenly, taking a step forward and looking a little scared at Dusk. 

“Princess, do you also have a pet? And you want to play… with us?” Rarity asked, surprised that royalty would want to be a part of something as mundane as a 'pet playdate'.

“O-Of course I have a pet!” Luna answered using her real voice because of how nervous she was, so that was heard as a scream. "M-My pet is magnificent, big, and beautiful, and... big..." Luna added, lowering her voice, trying to hide how nervous she was about lying.

"That... That's great!" Dusk said animatedly, giving Luna a big smile. He was glad to see that the Princess of the Night wanted to share more with ordinary ponies like him and his friends.

Dusk’s smile made Luna calm down a bit and slightly avert her gaze as her cheeks blushed. And just at that moment, all the ponies were distracted when they saw that the sky began to light up with the long-awaited meteor shower.

Dusk and his friends watched in amazement as the sky was filled with huge shooting stars, enjoying an event that could only be seen once in a lifetime, since that phenomenon was repeated only every hundred years. The six ponies kept their eyes fixed on the sky, while the Princess of the Night ignored it and took advantage of staring at the stallion next to her.

Luna had already seen the meteor shower in the past, and being locked on the moon, under the starry canopy of space, she wasn’t too interesting in watching those shooting stars. The only star she wanted to see at that moment was by her side. And although she knew that her love was impossible, she still struggled to maintain that little illusion, because she loved feeling how Dusk could make her happy just with a smile.





The next morning, in the Ponyville park, several of the ponies who had agreed to have their first pet playdate were already gathered. Applejack was running next to her dog Winona, throwing a branch at it so that her dog would look for it. Rarity was under a tree trying to lower her cat Opalescence, who refused to obey her. Pinkie Pie giggled as her baby alligator jumped up to bite her with its toothless snout. And Dusk Shine was trying to teach his new owl to sit on his back and not on his head, but it seemed that the little owl still preferred to sit on Dusk's mane, despite the fact that it no longer had seeds to eat.

"By the way, have you given your owl a name yet?" Applejack asked, approaching Dusk and saw how the stallion seemed resigned to having to bear the weight of the owl on his head.

"I've already tried. I tried all the names in the book: 'Names for your pet', from A to Z, but it seems that he wants something more original.” Dusk said, shrugging his shoulders. Meanwhile the owl seemed to have fallen asleep on his head. "The only thing he responds to is when I say: 'Owl, I wish...' and I tell him something to bring me." Dusk added, while his owl, upon hearing Dusk say: 'Owl, I wish…' it opened his eyes expectantly, thinking that Dusk would ask him to bring something.

"Speaking of new pets... How much longer will it take Rainbow Dash to choose one?" Rarity asked, walking towards where Dusk and Applejack were with her teeth clenched in pain. She had finally managed to get Opal down from the tree, but in return, the cat had dug her sharp claws into Rarity's back. “Opal is a bit impatient, hehe…”

Suddenly, the ponies were distracted as a small shadow crossed the sun and approached them. Then they saw that it was Princess Luna, who landed next to the ponies and timidly looked sideways. She still wasn't quite used to going out in broad daylight and being seen in her 'incomplete form' by the other ponies. That was something she would never do in Canterlot, but with Ponyville being the first town to celebrate her return, and with only the ponies who saved her being there, Luna was able to feel comfortable enough to be there without wearing a robe to hide her.

"Sorry for the delay, I... Yaaawwn... I was a little late eating breakfast..." Luna said slowly with a yawn.

Unbeknownst to Dusk, poor Luna had been staying up late for two days, and all because of him. Two nights ago, she'd had to do her night watch on dreams. Later, in the morning, she had the audience with her sister and Dusk. Then she spent the whole afternoon awake thinking about what her 'date' with Dusk would be like to see the meteor shower. Then she went with Dusk to see the meteor shower, and then she had to go back to her night watch. And finally, that day in the morning, Luna forced herself to stay awake again to be with Dusk a little more. But the truth was, her body was crying out for a nap.

"Wow... Is that your pet!?" Pinkie Pie said in amazement after Luna landed next to them. Behind Luna was a large bird that looked like a flame came flying through the air. The strange bird landed on Luna's back, and everyone was amazed to see such a majestic and brilliant bird.

Luna's pet was a beautiful phoenix. A tall bird, with red, orange and yellow feathers, that seemed to burn everything in its path with its mere presence. That bird definitely had to be the pet of someone from royalty, and it was. Only that royal pet was not Luna's.

"Isn't that Philomena?" Dusk thought in surprise, immediately recognizing the phoenix of his teacher.

“What a majestic and beautiful bird! Worthy of you, Princess.” Rarity said, amazed at the bright colors of that bird. "What bird is it?"

“It's a… Ouch! A phoenix... Ouch!” Luna said trying to smile. While the phoenix, in a bad mood, pulled at Luna's mane with her beak. “This… Ouch! This is my pet… F-Fit for a Princess, hehe… Ouch!” Luna added, forcing a big smile while the phoenix refused to pay attention to her.

Seeing the majestic phoenix, Dusk couldn't help but remember how annoying that bird was. Its personality closely resembled that of her owner, Princess Celestia. On the outside, everyone thought it was beautiful, dignified and elegant.  But in reality, the bird was a playful being who liked to annoy others. So it was that Dusk remembered that sometimes when he studied in the castle, Celestia sent her pet to bother him from time to time. Burning some scrolls or waking him up when he was taking a nap.

At that moment, Fluttershy arrived along with her bunny Angel. However, to the surprise of the others, Rainbow Dash wasn’t with her.

"What happened? I thought you were helping Rainbow Dash choose a pet." Dusk asked once the yellow pegasus reached them.

“Wow… What is that beautiful bird…!?” Fluttershy asked, ignoring Dusk for a moment, amazed at seeing a phoenix for the first time. However, she instantly reacted, shook her head and forced herself to focus on Dusk. “Rainbow hasn't chosen a pet yet. She thought that all the options I showed her were bad, so I sang her a song showing her the virtues of each little animal, and now she’s undecided and doesn't know which one to choose.” Fluttershy added, looking sadly at Dusk.

“Ugh… You just have to choose one, it can't be that hard.” Dusk scoffed. While next to him, all his 'friends' looked at him raising an eyebrow because of how hypocritical that comment sounded. “Fine, I'll go find her and bring her here quickly. Otherwise, the day will end without us being able to have the pony pet playdate we had planned.”

As soon as Dusk began to walk away, Luna raised her hoof to follow him. However, a comment made her stop in her tracks.

"Come on Applejack, you should go escort your colfriend." Rarity said jokingly, winking at her friend for her to take advantage of the occasion.

"H-He said he'd be right back... I'm not a mare who has to follow her coltfriend everywhere." Applejack answered, blushing and looking away.

Then Dusk's friends laughed, while Luna lowered her head in shame, wanting with all her might to continue being with Dusk, but not wanting to seem like a desperate mare as they had just commented. Then Luna felt something next to her hoof, and she saw that the little bunny that Fluttershy had brought was leaning on her hoof, looking angrily at Fluttershy and her friends. She saw that not only was Fluttershy's bunny by her side, but she was surrounded by the other mares' pets, all glaring at the ponies.

Looking up, Luna finally understood why the pets seemed to be upset. There, in the midst of the mares, was Philomena, Celestia's phoenix that she had 'borrowed' to go to that pet playdate. And it seemed that all the mares had been stunned by the beauty and elegance of that majestic phoenix.

“Huff… I understand. I also know what it feels like to be next to someone who shines brighter than you.” Luna whispered, putting on the same look of annoyance that the pets had.





Dusk Shine quickly arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. There, he saw that Rainbow Dash was in front of the garden of her friend's cottage standing in front of a long line of various animals. Most of the animals were flying: an eagle, a hawk, a hummingbird, a bat, there was even a small wasp. The only animal that seemed out of place there was a small tortoise with an exhausted face.

“I need you to show me something unique, something that will prove to me that you’re worthy of being my pet.” Rainbow Dash said, walking like a military instructor in front of the candidates to be her pet. “Show me a unique talent you have… Now!” The pegasus added, giving the signal with her hoof to the animals in front of her.

All the animals began to do different things at the signal, all trying to get the attention of the demanding pegasus, in order to become her official pet. The hummingbird began to fly quickly, showing its great speed. The bat used a sonic screech that managed to break a window in Fluttershy's cottage. The tortoise hid its head in its shell and then popped it out again, showing that apparently 'that' was its great ability. But finally, all the animals stopped displaying their talents as the eagle spread its great wings and gave a loud, high-pitched screech, startling all the other participants.

"Awesome! That’s what I call impressive." Rainbow Dash said, pulling out a list and giving the eagle ten points for its scream. Then she approached the tortoise and looked at it reproachfully. "You should learn, now that's a talent!" Rainbow Dash mocked the tortoise, to which the tortoise only responded by blinking very slowly.

"Are you hosting so kind of talent show?" Dusk asked with a small laugh, finally approaching where his friend was.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile when she saw that Dusk had come to see her. And that joy doubled when she saw that the lavender colt was alone. Then she quickly shook her head before Dusk noticed the goofy look she had on and feigned disinterest with his arrival.

“Oh! It's... It's good to see you, Dusk." Rainbow Dash said looking away and blushing a little. “Yeah, I wanted to see which animal had the best talent… Fluttershy sang this corny song and now I don't know which pet is the best, they all have something cool! Or well, ALMOST all…” Rainbow Dash added, glancing sideways with displeasure at the little tortoise.

"Hmm... So you don't know which one to choose." Dusk said with a thoughtful look. "I think maybe you shouldn't choose the one with the best talent, maybe you should choose the pet that is more in line with your tastes."

"More in line with my tastes? You mean, someone like me?" Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow. “You mean like you with that owl. Because you're both so smart?" The pegasus added with a snicker.

"Yeah... I guess that's one way of putting it." Dusk said with a small, embarrassed smile. “For example, Winona is as hard-working as Applejack; Opal is just as stylish as Rarity; Angel... well, I think maybe they’re the exception, hehe..." Dusk said, remembering how sometimes the spoiled bunny seemed to be in charge in its relationship with Fluttershy. "And as for Pinkie Pie and Gummy..." Dusk added, imagining his pink friend standing motionless next to her little baby alligator, both seeing how a fly landed on their eyes and they remained motionless with their minds blank. "Well, with those two, you never know what goes through their heads."

"So, if I want a pet like me... It needs to be as fast and cool as me!" Rainbow Dash said, smiling proudly. 

Rainbow Dash ordered the pet candidates to prepare for further tests. They first ran a ten-lap race around Fluttershy's home. Then they went through a small obstacle course. And finally, Rainbow Dash did a third test where each animal had to fly very high, swoop down and take a photo in a cool pose next to her.

The prismatic pegasus made notes on how well each animal did in various factors.  The falcon stood out for its speed; the bat caught her eye with its agility and the eagle won out in ‘coolness’ as Dash had put it. While all of this had gone on, Dusk kept his eyes trained on the tortoise. 

Despite not being able to fly and being very slow, the little reptile continued to participate in the tests. In the ten-lap race, all the other participants finished in a few seconds, while the tortoise only managed to take three steps. For the agility race, the tortoise barely took a step up, but it stumbled and fell on its back. Finally, in the photo with Rainbow Dash, the tortoise was waiting intently for the pegasus to take a picture with it, even though it hadn't flown.

Seeing the tortoise's attentive gaze, Rainbow Dash looked away and pretended not to see it, but finally, reluctantly, she ended up taking a photo with the annoying tortoise anyway. Despite the fact that there was no chance that Rainbow Dash would choose it, Dusk couldn't help but smile and grow fond of the little reptile. Having fun with how enthusiastic and stubborn it was.

“I understand why you’d want in a falcon and an eagle, but why you have a tortoise among the candidates." Dusk said, smiling at the little tortoise.

“Ugh! Don't remind me. I told Fluttershy that I wouldn't choose it, but she insisted that I let it do the tests as a favor. I’m just being polite." Rainbow Dash said with embarrassment, thinking that Dusk was making fun of her. "Get lost! You don’t have a chance!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the tortoise, thinking that Dusk wouldn’t see her as cool if she was scene for being next to a tortoise.

The tortoise remained impassive, just looking at her and blinking slowly. Seeing that emotionless expression, Rainbow Dash hit her face with her hoof, frustrated that the tortoise didn't seem to understand what she was saying.

"Don't be mean, he’s trying his best." Dusk said smiling and stroking the tortoise's head. To which it reacted by hiding in its shell. "I think it's cute."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile when she saw how amused Dusk looked when the tortoise hid in his shell, thinking that maybe the tortoise was a little cute. But then she realized that it was impossible for a speedster like her to have a pet tortoise and she quickly shook her head.

"But I don't want a cute pet, I want a cool pet!" Rainbow Dash said, blushing and going back to where the other animals were. "Though... I guess I'll give the tortoise a point for being cute." Rainbow Dash whispered secretly, putting one point on the drawing of the tortoise in her scorebook. Despite that, the other applicants had a lot more points, so the tortoise didn't stand a chance anyway.

Once Rainbow Dash reached the other pets, she turned around and saw that Dusk was still smiling looking at the tortoise, who was moving very slowly, towards where Rainbow Dash and the other animals were. Seeing Dusk so amused, the pegasus couldn't help but sigh and smile.

"Maybe I could give the tortoise an extra point for making Dusk smile for me." Rainbow Dash said, thinking out loud. "And whoever made Dusk my coltfriend would win a million points, hehe..." Rainbow Dash laughed, still thinking out loud.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash stopped smiling as she felt she was being watched. Then she looked both ways and saw that all the animals were staring at her. They all heard what Rainbow Dash said, they all understood it, and they thought that randomly said sentence was also a test... One that gave a million points!

After looking at Rainbow Dash, the heads of all the animals turned to stare at Dusk and they all quickly flew towards the lavender stallion. Knowing that they now had the ultimate test to become pets.

“Rainbow Dash! What's going on!?" Dusk shouted, covering his head with his hoof while the animals flew around him, fighting each other and struggling to get Dusk's attention. They pulled on his mane and pinched him with their mouths and beaks.

“Hey! Stop! It's just a misunderstanding, this is not a test!" Rainbow Dash yelled, hurrying to get to Dusk. Scaring the birds away from the stallion.

After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash and Dusk were finally able to calm the little animals, who didn’t understand why Rainbow Dash asked them for something, and then stopped them.

“What did you tell them to do?! What was it that they misunderstand?” Dusk asked once everything calmed down.

Rainbow Dash blushed at Dusk’s attentive gaze and looked away. She knew that she could lie to Dusk as she always did before in those situations, but the truth was that this time it was different. Now Dusk fully knew her true feelings.  Besides, Dusk was Applejack's coltfriend, what would be the use of lying to him? Just to push him further away? When in fact she should be doing the opposite.

"Uh... Yeah, well, I... I might have said out loud that... the animal that made you become my coltfriend would win a million points..." Rainbow Dash replied, completely red without being able to look Dusk in the face. Then she remembered Dusk's situation and looked at him with a nervous look. “I-It's not that I want you to dump Applejack! I know she's your marefriend and all that. But I... I don't want you... to forget that I... I..." Rainbow Dash stuttered off, blushing more and more as her voice lowered in volume because of her nerves. She was unable to say the last word, despite the fact that Dusk perfectly understood what she meant.

Seeing Rainbow Dash putting aside her pride and acting so shy made Dusk blush a little when he remembered how cute his friend looked in those situations. For the stallion, it was great to see her with her great attitude and her huge ego, that was her essence. But that didn’t change the fact that on the inside, Rainbow Dash also secretly liked a lot of things.  Things that she didn't like to show, because she thought they would make her look less cool. One of those things was the love she felt for Dusk, and now he was fascinated and touched by how cute and shy his friend was when she tried to express her feelings.

“Rainbow Dash, I’ll never forget when you declared your feelings to me at the Gala. Just as I’ll never forget what I feel for you.” Dusk said, approaching his friend. “I think we both know very well how we feel about each other. And, well, there are things we can do to express those feelings, and other things we can't. After all, Applejack is my marefriend, for now." Dusk added, blushing and scratching his head. "I know it's not what you expect, but for now at least, we can hug each other as friends." Dusk said, standing in front of Rainbow Dash and holding out a hoof to her to see if she would accept his gesture of friendship.

Seeing Dusk's offer, waiting for a hug, Rainbow Dash blushed and laughed.

"Damn it! Why do you have to be so corny?" Rainbow Dash lauged, looking askance at Dusk. Then she stared at the stallion and hugged him tightly. "Never forget how I feel about you, egghead." Rainbow Dash added while hugging Dusk.

Both ponies hugged each other for a long time, as if neither of them wanted to be the first to break the affectionate hug. Rainbow Dash felt Dusk's heat on her hooves wanted to stay like this for eternity. And it was at that moment that Rainbow Dash remembered the rules that she and her friends had proposed for dating Dusk, especially the third rule.

"I could try something more than a simple hug with Dusk... that's the third rule." Rainbow Dash thought. Until she reminded herself that she represented the element of loyalty, and thus, she couldn't betray a friend. "Nah! I’ll not follow that silly rule. I'm Rainbow Dash! A rebel! I don't follow rules." The pegasus thought, finally breaking the hug.

Once Rainbow Dash moved her head from Dusk's side, she moved slightly backwards and stared at Dusk very closely, still with her hooves hugging Dusk. The colt simply smiled while staring at her, a look that Rainbow Dash had dreamed of for many nights... Ever since that magical sunset over the lake when she had her first kiss with him. Then Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and quickly kissed Dusk, taking the lavender stallion completely by surprise.

Dusk froze with his cheeks completely red. He thought that Rainbow Dash understood that they couldn't go beyond a hug since he had a marefriend. Also, Rainbow Dash had never been one to take the initiative on a romantic level. So it took a couple of seconds for Dusk to be able to react to such a surprising gesture. However, before Dusk could do anything, it was Rainbow Dash herself who ended the kiss and stopped hugging him.

"Sorry.  Just think of that as a sneak peek to the future. I like being the bad girl." Rainbow Dash said with a big mischievous smile.





"I’ll be loyal to my friends, but I also need to be loyal to my feelings." Rainbow Dash thought. Determined not to go beyond that kiss, but at the very least, she would make sure the stallion she loved wouldn't forget her.

With Dusk completely stunned, still red with embarrassment from the surprise, and otherwise, very pleasant kiss; it was that just at that moment his other friends: Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack, arrived.

“There y’all are! I thought Dusk was hurrying you along, Dash?  It’s been hours!” Applejack said once she got to Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, well... a lot of things happened..." Rainbow Dash answered, blushing and looking away.

"Yeah... I... Uh..." Dusk stuttered, not knowing how to react. He wanted to talk about anything but what had just happened. "B-By the way, where’s Pinkie Pie and Princess Luna?" Dusk quickly added, grateful for having noticed that so that he could quickly change the subject.

"Princess Luna fell asleep in the park, so Pinkie Pie stayed behind to watch her." Rarity replied. "Poor dear seemed absolutely sleep deprived."

"So you still can't choose a pet?" Fluttershy asked, noticing that all her little animals were still there, waiting attentively for what Rainbow Dash would decide.

"Yeah. I gave them three tests, but I still can’t decide.” Rainbow Dash replied, a little embarrassed. "But this audition has gone on too long, so I saved the best test for last!" The pegasus added excitedly, looking at the animals with an evil smile. Something that made the pet applicants gulp nervously, knowing that the pegasus must have planned some crazy new test for them.

Rainbow Dash had led the animals and her friends to Ghastly Gorge. A canyon not far from Ponyville, which was full of dangers like windy caves, bramble bushes and quarray eels.

"The pet that can keep up with me through strong winds, sharp thorns and dodge ravenous giant eels, and reach the finish line with me will become my new pet!" Rainbow Dash said with a sinister smile, purposely wanting to scare the candidates. Something that had the desired effect, since all the pets trembled at the sight of the large and dangerous gorge before them. All except the tortoise. “Who brought the turtle!?” Rainbow Dash groaned when she noticed that the reptile was there.

“Tortoise.” Fluttershy corrected her friend with a guilty smile before she then quickly hid behind Rarity.  Rainbow simply sighed and shook her head. 

"Anyway. You guys go to the finish line at the other side of the canyon.” Rainbow Dash said, making Dusk and his friends leave to be alone with the pets for one last ‘pep talk’.

After reaching the other side of the canyon rather quickly thanks to Dusk shortening the distance in some sections by using his teleportation; the ponies set a finish line and waited for the blue pegasus to arrive there with her new pet.

So they waited, and the more time passed, the ponies' looks became more bewildered.

"Shouldn't they have arrived by now?" Applejack asked, seeing that the sun was about to set and there was no sign of her friend or the pets. "I've seen Rainbow Dash fly by here before, and she’s never taken so long."

"Wait, I think I see her!" Rarity said excitedly when she saw a shadow in the distance flying fast.

The four ponies stood up, and shouted and clapped, eager to see which pet would arrive with Rainbow Dash. Everypony celebrated when they saw that the falcon finally reached the finish line, completely exhausted. After the falcon, not far away, came the eagle, followed by the bat and finally the hummingbird, all dead tired.

After celebrating that all the pets had achieved that great feat of crossing that dangerous canyon, it was only then that everypony realized that somepony important was missing.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked in concern.

"Something bad must have happened." Dusk said with equal concern, knowing that his competitive pegasus friend would never lose a race.

Then Dusk approached the edge of the canyon. He searched everywhere, but there was no sign of his friend. However, what Dusk could see that not far away that in a part of the gorge there had been a landslide, and everything was covered with dust and rocks. That made Dusk's blood run cold. The other mares ran next to Dusk and were also frightened by the horrible possibility that their friend had been crushed in that landslide.

"Girls! Go get Princess Luna and her phoenix! It's not long before nightfall, and we'll need light to look for Rainbow Dash if we don't find her soon." Dusk said in complete panic. "I'll go ahead with my teleportation and go find her."

Without waiting for his friends to even confirm, Dusk used his magic quickly and repeatedly, to quickly appear and disappear, and thus reach the collapse area at the bottom of the gorge in a few seconds.

"Rainbow Dash!" Dusk shouted in terror, running towards the rubble, hoping not to find her friend buried among the rocks.

It seemed like the collapse hadn't happened long ago as there was still a lot of dust surrounding the place. With that little visibility, Dusk's only option was to shout his friend's name until she responded. However, that wasn’t necessary, since just when the dust began to dissipate, Dusk managed to see the mare.

Fortunately, Rainbow Dash hadn’t been buried by the collapse.  However, it seemed that one of her wings had been caught by a huge rock. Dusk thought of immediately running to where she was, but he stopped in surprise when he saw that his friend wasn’t alone. Next to the rock was the stubborn little tortoise of the competition trying to move the rock with its head, giving his all to move the huge rock.

Finally, the tortoise managed to move the rock enough for Rainbow Dash to get her wing out. Then, the tortoise got under Rainbow Dash, putting her on its shell, and very slowly the heroic tortoise began to walk, wanting to get the pegasus out of that dangerous place.

“Rainbow Dash! I'm glad you're okay." Dusk said, approaching after seeing the heroic and surprising scene.

"Yeah, I... I'm sorry I worried you." Rainbow Dash said, embarrassedly averting her gaze. “I guess I was too sure of myself in the race. I got distracted, crashed and… well, a rock fell on my wing.” The pegasus added, rubbing her sore wing. "This little guy was the only one who wasn't scared by the collapse and stayed to help me."

As Rainbow Dash recounted what had happened, Dusk realized that the tortoise had continued to advance. However, it was moving so slowly that it seemed that Rainbow Dash didn't even move.

"Maybe I should take you, to speed things up a bit." Dusk said with a nervous smile. He approached his friend to take her and the tortoise to teleport them.

At that moment, the tortoise looked at Dusk with annoyance and nipped at his ankles to make the stallion back away.

“Hehe, sorry, Dusk. It looks like this little guy doesn't want anyone to help him finish the race. He wants to do it for himself.” Rainbow Dash said, feeling a little proud to understand the little tortoise.

The tortoise continued to carry Rainbow Dash, and Dusk accompanied them veeeery slowly. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to mind being carried around by the slow creature at all. For his part, Dusk Shine didn't mind at first either, however, seeing that it was already getting dark, he finally made Dusk go ahead. Thus, Dusk reached the finish line and advanced it until it was closer to the tortoise so that the proud reptile finally finishes the race before the next millennium.

When the tortoise was only a couple of meters from the finish line, Applejack and the others finally arrived, along with Pinkie Pie and Luna. And while the tortoise continued to finish the race, Dusk took the opportunity to explain to his friends what had happened. For their part, all the mares sighed in relief when they saw that Rainbow Dash only had one wing hurt after a mountain of rocks had fallen on her. As for Dusk, he had a very serious concentration problem when telling the story, since he couldn't help but glance at Luna every two seconds. For some reason, the Princess of the Night had what looked to be a mustache drawn in black marker above her lip.

"Don't look at her so much or else she’ll figure it out." Pinkie Pie whispered next to Dusk, once he finished telling what happened.

"Did you draw that mustache for her while she was sleeping!?" Dusk whispered, looking terrified at Pinkie.

"Duh.  I couldn’t let the opportunity slide. When else was I going to get a chance to pull a prank on a princess? But don't worry, it's just water-based ink. I'm saving the permanent ink mustache prank for someone else. Mwahaha!” Pinkie Pie replied, faking an evil laugh. "Besides... She deserves it for muttering in her sleep..." Pinkie Pie added quietly with a worried look on her face, remembering what she heard Princess Luna murmur while she slept.

Before Dusk could ask Pinkie Pie what she was referring to, everyone got distracted and began to applaud when they saw that the tortoise finally reached the finish line, along with Rainbow Dash.

“Well done, little guy. I knew you would make it.” Rainbow Dash said with a proud smile, finally getting off the tortoise and patting its head.

At such a gesture of affection, the tortoise blushed and hid its head inside its shell, which caused everypony to laugh.

“Oh, Dashie!  He’s just like you! He blushes and hides whenever you caress him!” Pinkie Pie cheered, hugging Rainbow Dash tight while said mare just blushed and averted his gaze embarrassed.

"I-I don't act like that tortoise..." Rainbow Dash tried to deflect.

"I think you do." Dusk Shine said, smiling at his friend. "This tortoise is brave, and he never gives up. He doesn't care if he’s the favorite in a race or not, he gives his all until he achieves its goal. Like you."

Rainbow Dash looked at the tortoise, bent down and took it between her hooves.

“Yeah… You’re unstoppable! Like a little tank!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly. She looked the tortoise in the eye and putting on a big smile. “I know you didn't win the race, but you saved me! And despite how slow you are, you wanted to finish the race and you did.”

"Actually, I think the tortoise was the one that won the race." Dusk said, feigning surprise, because that was something he had been thinking about for a long time. “Before you started the race, you said that the pet that came to the finish line with you would become your pet. And, well, this tortoise was the only one that literally crossed the finish line with you.” Dusk added, helping her friend make the decision that, deep down, he knew she had already made.

"Yeah, that’s right! You did do that! You’ll be my new pet! You’ll be my little 'Tank'!” Rainbow Dash said happily, having already grown very fond of the hardworking and tender tortoise. Then Rainbow Dash remembered a very important detail and put on a sad smile. “The only problem is that you don't fly… I guess if you stayed with me, we wouldn't be able to spend much time together…”

"Hmm... I think I have something that could help you..." Dusk mused, thinking of a way to solve his friend's problem. “Come on! Let’s go to the library."

The six friends started walking towards the library. However, after taking only a few steps, Dusk realized that not all of them were there. Turning around, Dusk saw that Princess Luna hadn’t moved from where she was. In addition, she had her head down, looking sadly at the ground.

Noticing her sadness, Dusk raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then returned to where Luna was while his friends waited for him.

"Princess, I thought you would also come with us." Dusk said as he approached the princess.

“Uh, no… Actually, I have to go back to the castle. It's getting dark now and there are a few things I must do before my night watch.” Luna answered with a nervous and sad smile.

At that moment, Dusk gently took the princess's hoof and looked her directly in the eyes.

“Please join us. There's something I'd like to show you after we finish this.” Dusk gently pleaded, looking at the princess with a small smile.

Seeing Dusk's sweet smile, Luna looked away slightly and blushed a little. Then she stared at Dusk, and without saying anything, she simply nodded timidly.





In the library, Rainbow Dash was immensely happy with her new 'Flying Tank'. With a complex kinetic spell, Dusk managed to make a small propeller rotate continuously. Which added to a harness, managed to make Rainbow Dash's new pet able to fly like a small helicopter. The only setback was that from time to time, Dusk would have to renew the spell, but that was a minor inconvenience as long as he saw his pegasus friend so happy with her new pet.

Dusk's friends said goodnight and each one went home. After that, Dusk left the library with his new pet owl, who took advantage of the fact that it was night to go out with his new master. Then Dusk went to the outskirts of the town, to the bridge that crossed the river, where Luna was waiting for him next to Celestia's phoenix.

"Sorry for being late. I would have liked you to accompany us to the library.” Dusk said once he arrived with the Princess of the Night.

"It wasn’t necessary. I really appreciate what you do for me, Dusk, but... I think I'm not part of your close little group." Luna replied kindly with a sad smile.

Dusk remembered that he had to tell her something very important before going where they should. But the thing was, he wasn't sure how to tell her.

"How do you tell a princess to wipe her lip because she has a drawn mustache!?" Dusk thought, embarrassed and nervous. Luna wasn't like her older sister, so he wasn't sure how she would react. "I must tell her! I can't let her go back to Canterlot like this, but… How do I tell her subtly!?"

"Uh… Princess. You have... You’ve something there..." Dusk said nervously, pointing his hoof at his own lip.

Seeing Dusk's gesture, Luna thought for a second and then turned red with embarrassment.

"D-Dusk! So sudden!? You want me to…? Do you want both of us to…?" Luna stammered, totally taken by surprise when she believed that Dusk was pointing to his lip because he wanted her to kiss him.

"Pinkie Pie played a little prank on you...there." Dusk added, being a little more direct in his insinuation.

Confused, Luna touched her lip and saw that her hoof was covered in ink. Then she ran to the nearby river, illuminated her horn to see better at night, and saw with horror that her lip was stained with black ink, like a mustache.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Luna yelled indignantly, red with embarrassment. Not only for having been walking in full view of everyone with that stain on her lip, but mainly because Dusk saw her like that, and that it was precisely Dusk who had made her see how ridiculous she looked.

"It was just a joke! A joke!" Dusk said quickly in fear, running towards the princess to calm her down. Just as he feared, Luna didn't have the same sense of humor as Celestia. "Pinkie Pie always plays pranks on everyone. Princess Celestia pranks me too, and I prank her. It's normal, it's what friends do."

With a red face from embarrassment and a look full of anger, Luna looked like she was going to explode at any moment. However, as soon as she heard Dusk say 'it's what friends do', Luna's anger declined, and she slowly changed her look of anger for one of deep sadness.

“Do friends like to make fun of others?” Luna lamented.

"Friends like to laugh together.” Dusk replied, removing the ink that remained under Luna's nose with his hoof and drawing himself a mustache with the ink. He topped it off by putting on a very goofy smile.

Seeing the stallion’s silly face made Luna cover her mouth and began to laugh. Something she hadn't done in a long time. A laugh that captivated Dusk upon hearing it.

“Now that Pinkie Pie pranked you, you can prank her back. That would be fair.” Dusk said, cleaning the ink mustache that he had drawn.

"I’m a Princess. I wouldn't lower myself to that." Luna replied, gracefully averting her gaze and raising her head with dignity.

Despite the regal pose, Dusk saw out of the corner of his eye that Luna put on the same mischievous smile that her sister put on when she was planning a revenge prank. That made Dusk smile, hoping that he hadn't woken up a prank monster like the white alicorn. Then, seeing the princess more relaxed, Dusk was finally able to return to his initial mission.

“Princess Luna, come with me. There is something I’d like to show you.” Dusk said.

After that, both ponies and the pets that accompanied them went to the edge of the Everfree Forest, specifically near the grove that was next to Fluttershy's cottage. Along the way, Luna wanted to take the opportunity to talk with Dusk, but it seemed like she couldn't think of anything interesting to talk about.

"By the way, the opossum I took with Fluttershy yesterday turned out to be a trickster." Dusk said, remembering something that he had almost forgotten. "Turns out the opossum wasn't hurt and he took the opportunity to steal some acorns and seeds from Fluttershy."

"Truly? Hehe, I guess it was smarter than we thought.” Luna laughed. A reaction that surprised Dusk, since he thought that Luna would be angry just like him for having been deceived. "I know it was just a rat, but- Ouch!" Luna added, just as Philomena pulled her mane.

“Looks like Philomena already wants to get back together with Princess Celestia. She doesn't like the night very much." Dusk said casually as they walked through that grove. That comment surprised Luna.

“You… you knew that Philomena was actually my sister's?” Luna gasped. Then she rolled her eyes and sighed, annoyed with herself. “Of course, you were his student. I should have assumed that you knew…”

“Don't worry, I know why you did it. You wanted to spend more time with me and my friends.” Dusk said with a reassuring smile.

"Uh, yes. With your friends… hehe.” Luna answered, averting her gaze in embarrassment. Because what Dusk said was only partially true, since she hadn't done that to share time with more ponies, but to share more time with him.

"I imagine you can get lonely at night sometimes, since most of the ponies are asleep." Dusk said, looking towards the tops of the trees as if looking for something. "So, after what happened today with Rainbow Dash, it occurred to me that you could also have a pet to accompany you."

“I don't think that's a good idea. Unlike your owl, most animals are diurnal, so it wouldn't do much good." Luna replied sighing with a sad smile.

"I know. That's why I was thinking of a nocturnal animal." Dusk said, still looking up. “Today at the competition, there was a cute bat that I think would be perfect as your pet. It's elegant, mysterious, and-"

"Hey you! I know you!" Luna interrupted suddenly, looking down at the ground, not far from her.

Dusk looked where the princess was looking in confusion. There under a tree was the opossum that he had brought with Fluttershy. Next to him, there was a family of squirrels, all eating the acorns that that opossum had stolen from Fluttershy the day before.

The opossum pushed the squirrels away when he saw them approach and stayed there to 'sacrifice' himself in front of the ponies.

"You're that cute little rat I saved from getting caught." Luna said with a smile, approaching and bending down to get a better look at the opossum. "I mean, opossum, hehe." 

Luna looked askance at Dusk and her smile disappeared when she saw how annoyed he look at the opossum. It was then that Luna remembered what Dusk had told her, about how that opossum had deceived them, and that it was also a thief.

"What am I doing? I am a princess! I can't say that I think a rat, opossum, or whatever is cute. What will Dusk think of me!?"Luna thought. Then she changed her countenance and looked seriously at the opossum.

“HOW DARE YOU FOOL ME, YOU DIRTY OPOSSUM! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES!” Luna used her royal Canterlot voice, which caused her scream to echo throughout the forest.

The opossum was frightened at the shout, touched its heart, took a couple of turns, and dramatically fell to the ground on its back.  His four legs were in the air and his tongue was out.

“Waaaah! Dusk! I killed the rat!” Luna screamed in terror. Bringing her face closer to the opossum to get a good look at it. She timidly touching it with her hoof, fearing the worst. "Get up, mouseling."

"I don't think it's dead...maybe." Dusk said with a nervous smile. Since he himself had fallen for that trick before, but after Luna's scream, Dusk was left in doubt as to whether it really could have given the little animal a heart attack.

Just when Luna looked closely at the opossum, almost with tears in her eyes for having killed him, he was that the opossum raised its head and kissed Luna on the nose. That made Luna turn her head away and look at the opossum in surprise.





"You... played a prank on me!?" Luna said in surprise, tightening her mouth and slightly puffing out her cheeks. At that moment, Dusk prepared to contain the princess's anger again, however... "Hahahaha! You completely fooled me! Hahaha!" Luna laughed, to Dusk's complete surprise.

Seeing that there was no danger, the opossum stared intently at Luna laughing. He then approached Luna, nimbly jumped on her and sat on her back.

"Perhaps, that’s the perfect pet for you." Dusk said, seeing how well those two seemed to get along. Feeling the same feeling he felt seeing Rainbow Dash laugh when choosing 'Tank'. “Opossums are also nocturnal. It could be the perfect pet for you.”

With Dusk's comment, Luna looked at the opossum and couldn't help but smile, thinking that indeed, she found it cute and adorable. However, then she glanced sideways at Philomena, who had stood on a nearby branch. Seeing the beauty of that phoenix, Luna lowered her head sadly.

"This... This’s not a pet worthy of a princess..." Luna muttered sadly.

“If I learned anything today, watching Rainbow Dash choose a pet, it's that you don't choose a pet because you think that pet looks great. You choose a pet because it makes you feel happy.” Dusk encouraged. “This opossum doesn't seem to fit in anywhere, but secretly, he's helping others. Just like you do at night." Dusk added, remembering how he had seen the opossum give the stolen acorns to that family of squirrels.

With Dusk's compliment, both Luna and the opossum blushed at the same time and both timidly averted their eyes.

“If you adopt him as your pet, I suppose there will be two of us who will have a nocturnal animal as a pet.” Dusk smiled, seeing that just at that moment his owl landed on his head. "We'll have a lot to share at night, hehe."

That last comment was the last and definitive reason for Luna to decide to accept adopting the opossum. Then Luna took the opossum between her hooves and put it in front of her, looking at it tenderly.

"What do you think? Would you like to stay with me, little Tiberius?” Luna asked, to which the opossum responded by giving her another little kiss on her nose as acceptance.

"Tiberus?" Dusk said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, he needs a name. And when I was a filly, I really liked that name.” Luna explained. Then looking a little worried at Dusk. "You don’t like it?"

“No, it's perfect, it's just that I was surprised. It’s an old name.” Dusk said, realizing that after being locked up for a thousand years, Luna wouldn’t know that some old names were no longer used. “Today the name is still used, but it changed to 'Tiber'. The ending 'ius' is an old ending for names.”

'Hooo! Hooo!' The owl on Dusk's head hooted loudly, as if he had liked something. Something that Dusk hadn’t seen him do before.

"What is it? Did you like the name 'Tiber'?” Dusk asked, without getting an answer from the owl. “Or do you like Tiber-ius better?” Dusk asked again, but this time the owl reacted excitedly again. “So you like old names, huh? Or maybe you just like the ending 'ius'?” Dusk asked, getting a reaction from the owl again, after Dusk asked the second question.

After that, Dusk began to say a list of the names of old ponies that ended in 'ius'. However, it seemed that the owl didn't like any of them, as it didn't react.

"What do you want me to call you then!?" Dusk said tiredly, after no more names came to mind. “I’ve to give you a name, and I can't call you whenever I want something, just with 'Owl, I wish...'. And I can't just call you with the 'ius' ending either."

'Hooo! Hooo! Hooo!' The owl sang loudly, spreading its wings. As if it had liked what Dusk had said a lot. Then Dusk raised an eyebrow in disbelief, thinking he knew what the owl had liked.

“Owl-I-wish-ius?” Dusk asked, causing the owl to fly and hoot happily over Dusk's head.

“Owlowiscious? That is a pretty name." Luna said, causing the owl to happily land on Luna's mane and pet her.

“Okay, it's done. You finally have a name, Owlowiscious.” Dusk proclaimed, looking at Luna with a sweet smile, seeing how cute the princess looked with the two little animals on her body. "Thank you for helping me choose a name, Princess."

Then Luna looked at Dusk, with her cheeks blushed and with a tender smile.

"Thank you, for being by my side." Luna replied. It was clear that she was more and more sure of her feelings for that stallion.





Finally, after an exhausting day, Luna returned to Canterlot Castle. Fortunately, she had managed to sleep a little in the afternoon and recover energy for her night watch. However, before watching over the ponies' dreams, Luna had to return Philomena to her sister. Besides, it didn't hurt to take advantage of introducing her sister to the new member of the family, the little opossum that was now holding on to Luna's horn as if it were a pirate looking at the horizon.

Arriving in front of Celestia's room, Luna was surprised to see that the lights in her sister's room were still on, despite it being quite dark already. Another thing that surprised Luna was hearing some murmurs and giggles behind the door.

"What's this?" Luna said as she read the small sign on Celestia’s room that read: 'Don’t enter. Secret Princess Club'.

Feeling annoyed reading that, Luna opened the door to the room without even knocking. As she did so, she saw that her sister was inside with her niece, Princess Cadance. Both of them were sitting by the fireplace with what appeared to be a stack of magazines.

“Cadance? What are you two doing here? And what is this 'Secret Princess Club'!? Sister, you said no more secrets!” Luna accused, approaching to where the other two alicorns were.

“Sorry sister, it's something that Cadance and I made up this morning. It’s not that we wanted to hide it from you.” Celestia responded with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, Auntie. We were going to tell you, but you were in a hurry this morning and left without telling us where.” Cadance added with a sad look.

Seeing the scolded puppydog looks from both alicorns, Luna averted her annoyed gaze, looking up at the ceiling indignantly. The other two princesses lowered their heads sadly, knowing that Luna was very distressed when she felt excluded.

"Oh! What a cute opossum! Is he yours, auntie?" Cadance said suddenly, seeing the opossum that had been hidden in Luna's mane, now poking its head out.

"Yes! Isn't he cute? His name is Tiberius! He's my new pet!" Luna said excitedly, picking up Tiberius and bringing it closer to Cadance for her petting him. She had completely forgotten about her annoyance and felt happy that Cadance found her opossum cute too.

“So you found a friend…” Celestia murmured, remembering the talk she and her sister had had the day before.

Celestia had expected Luna to come back saying that she had managed to make friends with another pony and not an opossum. However, seeing her so happy, as she hadn't seen her in months, made Celestia simply smirk. After all, all she wanted was to see her little sister happy. In addition, she herself knew that a pet could become a great and reliable friend.

As if knowing Celestia was thinking of it, Philomena flew into the room, landed next to her mistress, and lovingly rubbed her head against Celestia's body. Meanwhile, the Princess of the Sun wanted to take advantage of the occasion to have a little fun, seeing that her sister's mood improved.

“Well, it's too late. You must return to your duties, and we must return to our secret club." Celestia said, approaching her sister and gently nudging her to the door with her wing.

“H-Hey, no. Wait!" Luna said in surprise, stopping right at the doorway. She then turned her head to look at her sister, and put on a shy, embarrassed look. "C-Can I join your secret club?"

"Oh... Do you want to join?" Celestia said, putting on a fake look of surprise. "Sorry, it's only for Princesses."

"I am a Princess!" Luna proclaimed, making Celestia laugh at how easy it was to annoy her little sister.

After that, Celestia led Luna back to the fireplace, and the three princesses sat together in front of the fire. Luna then looked at the stack of magazines next to them and raised an eyebrow.

“So what is this Princess Club about? Do you talk about foreign policy? Kingdom finances?” Luna asked.

"Not at all." Cadance laughed, taking one of the magazines that was next to her and showing it to Luna. "Tell me, auntie. You've never read the 'Forbidden Love' comic, have you?" Cadance added with a mischievous smile. Passing the magazine to Luna, which was actually the first issue of the famous erotic comic by Lyra Heartstrings.

Then Luna took the comic, opened it, and both she and Tiberius widened their eyes and blushed at what they saw.

End of chapter 15