Chapter 3
A Royal Calling
Staring at the ceiling after waking up early in the morning after a great night and a flawless sleep, was quite possibly the single most satisfying thing in the world. I recounted last night's events. The show was nothing short of astonishing, and seeing Nebula was never anything but exciting. Though I definitely needed to hang out with her again since I slept through most of the visit last night. Rolling out of bed I playfully asked myself a question. "So Spurspark. What are you going to accomplish today?" As my personal question sought an answer while bouncing around inside my mind I took care of a few basic chores in my lakeside stone-barn. My stone-barn being exactly what it sounds like. A barn constructed entirely of rock, with two floors and a cellar. Stocked full of basic furniture such as my bed, coffee table, couches, etc. I proceeded to sweep the floor, and do the small amount of dishes I had built up. After finishing the dishes and putting them in their respective places, a wild yet ingenious thought arose in my head.
"I'M GOING TO DECORATE!" A giddy childish laugh that I was not too proud of tore through my body as I galloped towards my storage cellar to gather paint and whatever else I decided to fool around with. Gathering blue, white, black and of course purple paints, along with an assortment of randomized brushes, I stretched out on my downstairs couch to go over my game plan. After a hard seventeen seconds of debate I came to a conclusion. The final verdict being to splatter paint on the walls until it looked pretty. Using my magic I carefully took the lids off the paint cans and laid them aside. I grabbed hold of a few brushes with my magic and was ready to go crazy, or at least that's what I thought. Until a hoof beat on my front door destroyed all current hopes and dreams.
Upon opening my door I received a surprise that both excited me and brought forth the latter of two crippling fears I unfortunately possessed, one being spiders and the other being motion sickness. On my doorstep stood a white pegasus clad in armor black as a nightmare, emblazoned with the current royal crest, an eclipse. I asked the pegasus the same question I always did. "The usual?" With a nod of his head my day was instantly ruined. "I'll be out shortly." I wandered back into my home to put away the paint cans and brushes. Proceeding back towards the door, I allowed myself three deep breaths to steady myself against the pain I would soon meet. I left my home, closing the door behind me and proceeded to climb into the chariot. Once I was as comfortable as possible I assured the pegasus I was ready. "Okay let's go get this over with." Unfurling his wings the pegasus flapped them once to get them going, with a second flap we ascended and following a third my motion sickness reared it's ugly head.
I always did like the walk through the throne room. It was the only good part about being called to Canterlot. I always admired the stained glass windows that retold the stories of old, such as the tales of the chaos bringer Discord and the late Princess Luna's warped second identity Nightmare Moon. Though it also held a portrayal of the legendary six, all standing with their respective elements of harmony, and several windows showed Princess Celestia. I was enjoying my time looking over the art when an all too familiar voice killed my mood. "FINALLY THINE SUBJECT ARRIVES TO PAY HIS RESPECTS!"
I groaned and shouted back my response. "DUDE LOSE THE CANTERLOT ROYAL SPEECH THING! YOU KNOW I DON'T FIND IT ENTERTAINING ANYMORE!"
The shadows in the corner of the room morphed and developed shape, producing an alicorn I knew all too well. The ruler of Equestria was to be honest, quite a sight. With a coat blacker than the night itself, a flowing mohawk the color of blood complete with the shimmer of alicorn manes, and eight foot wings accompanied by a two foot horn. His cutie mark is what stood out the most though, an orange ring or in simpler terms, an eclipse. Though I wasn't overly impressed, I'd known him long enough and seen him enough to stop being impressed, although I will admit I gushed a little when I first saw him. "Well geez Sparky don't get so worked up by it, I'm just trying to entertain myself a little bit."
I rolled my eyes at him and gave him a classic snide remark. "Whatever Dusk, what is it this time? Who am I looking out for? I thought everyone had a pony duplicate. Who did you not tell me about?" King Dusk was the one who originally gave me the ability to identify friends from my past life, or at least their pony counterparts. Dusk himself was in fact one of those friends and like me he retained his memories of his human life. Though he has been in Equestria much longer than I have. Dusk used to be a regular pegasus pony by the name of Ink who like me had left earth in death and was reborn into Equestria though he somehow arrived a hundred plus years ahead of me. During his time in Ponyville he grew to become Princess Luna's number one guard, and also her mate. When Luna's body began to give out from the strain of caring for all of Equestria she poured the remainder of her magic into Ink. Transforming him into Dusk the alicorn, who Luna then dubbed Supreme King of all Equestria, trusting him to rule Equestria better than her or Celestia. When he was human, Dusk was a very close friend of mine named Connor, a short and skinny guy with a heart the size of the moon. I always found it kind of hilarious how on Earth he was the smallest out of all my friends, and now as an alicorn he dwarfed everypony. Connor was the kinda guy who was always willing to lend a helping hand when his friends needed him, and that is personally what I liked most about him. I continued to question him. "Or did you perhaps call me up here to talk? Which I highly doubt to be the case."
Returning my gaze he began his reply. "Um. Well. Darn how do I put this? Well I guess to put it simply. The trouble maker is here. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."
Sitting down on the floor I realized there was only one possibility. "Wait a minute. you can't mean Kyle?" Dusk simply nodded his head. "Why didn't you tell me this before! If anything he's the one pony I would most want a warning about!"
Dusk let out a small chuckle. "I didn't tell you because this is the first time he's ever come near Ponyville. I'm only telling you now because if I told you any sooner it would've made no difference. What is the point in knowing he has a pony counterpart if you never see him?"
I didn't want to admit it but Dusk had a very good point. "You win this time, when do I get to see him?"
A smile crept across Dusk's face. "Hmm. I'd guess probably about two hours. OH! By the way you'll need this!" A grey aura enveloped his horn as he pulled a necklace off his throne and placed it around my neck. Upon closer inspection though it was a pass, a backstage VIP pass to be exact.
I couldn't help but be confused. "Okay, and I need this why exactly?"
"You'll see Sparky, you'll see." He chided.
"Whatever Dusk, I'll see you later. I have to go an address the 'problem.' Bye bye." With my farewell given, I returned to the chariot that originally brought me to Canterlot. I climbed into the chariot and began my agonizing trip back to Ponyville. During the trip home though one thought continued to plague me. Why hasn't he ever come to Ponyville before?