Royal Rebirth: The Life and Times of Prince Dusk Star

by Grey Ghost


Royal Vistors

“Twilight, it wouldn’t have happened if we had more guards,” Flash insisted, giving his wife a stern look. “I can’t be the only one protecting you, not now with Dusk here.” Taking his helmet off, he let it drop on the table. “We need to expand.”

“Flash, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to have my own sect of guards,” Twilight retorted, meeting his stern look with an unsure one of her own. “Cadance has one because her kingdom already came with it and Celestia and Luna are the original princesses so of course they have their own guards. Me? My castle is just a couple hour train ride from the capital of the country. What if ponies think I’m overstepping my bounds by making my own sect of guards?”

“Twilight, you’re one of our country's rulers.” Flash set his spear on its rack, making sure to put the foal lock on. “You're not Blueblood, where you just live in Canterlot castle and don’t actually do anything. What happens if the map sends you off to Faust knows where, and something comes out of the Everfree? You can’t take Dusk with you, you can’t rely on Starlight always being here, and I can’t be in two places at once.”

Twilight frowned, his argument made sense and she had to admit it. She sat in silence for a while, mulling it over. Eventually, she let out a long sigh. “Okay, we can try to create a guard regiment here. But,” she looked at her husband with a serious look and pointed a hoof at him, “we keep it small for now. Pick four to six recruits you think will work and we’ll see how this goes. And since this is your plan, you get to come up with where the new barracks and training yard will go.”

Giving her a smile, Flash saluted. “I’ll do my best, princess! I can’t let my second favorite monarch down, now can I?” 

“Second favorite?” Twilight asked, sounding hurt for a moment. “Did Dusk take my number one spot?”

Flash puffed out his chest, making a show of brushing his mane back. “What can I say? A Flash’s first born is always the pride of his life! Been that way since Flash Magnus made himself a legend!”

“Something tells me you’re going to fill Dusk’s head with tales of Magnus’s adventures,” Twilight said with a giggle. “Are you hoping that Dusk takes after you and becomes a big, strong warrior?” Stepping forward, she put a hoof on his chest. “We’ll just have to see about that. I know a few stories about Starswirl I’m sure he’ll love.”

Flash puffed his chest out further. “I’ll win this one. Unlike Starswirl, Flash Magnus is family. There’s no way he won’t want to take after the greatest pegasus to ever live.”

“Well, you know what they say about legends, Flash,” Twilight reminded, pulling away from him. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

“Doesn’t that apply just as much to Starswirl as it does to Magnus?” Flash retorted with a smirk. It only grew at Twilight’s pout. “And don’t let my mom hear you talking smack about Magnus. He’s a point of pride to our family.”

“As if I’d discredit Flash Magnus to the Flash family,” she replied. “I only do it with you because you’re my husband. And, I wouldn’t want to dissuade Dusk from exploring his family tree.”

“I bet there’s some interesting branches in your own family,” Flash offered, putting a hoof around her shoulders. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen you do some digging of your own. Hey, you could be related to Starswirl for all you know.”

Twilight giggled, rolling her eyes. “Oh, as if. I’m sure if I was related to Starswirl, I’d have heard it by now. That’s not exactly something that gets forgotten. Not with how much he accomplished.”

“I dunno.” Flash rubbed his chin. “I mean, everypony forgot about Princess Luna, and she raised the moon.”

Twilight opened her mouth to retort only to clamp it shut. Again, Flash made a good point. “I think I need to take a look at some records when I have free time,” she muttered. Stepping away from him, she fluffed her wings. “We should probably get back to preparing for Ember’s visit.”

“Just tell me what I need to do,” he said, snapping a salute at her.  Placing his helmet back on, he followed her out of their room, and towards the sitting room. “I hope Ember knows foals are more fragile than baby dragons.”

“I’ll be sure she gets that message,” Twilight assured, trotting quickly towards the room. “I’m not letting Dusk get another injury. The last thing we need is a mummy foal,” she joked, though a nervous chuckle escaped her lips.

“Spike trusts her. That’s enough for me really.” Opening the sitting room doors, he peered inside, seeing Starlight levitating Dusk around the room. “Well look at you, not even an injured wing can keep you out of the sky.”

Dusk let out a cheer as Starlight made him do a loop. He had his forelegs held out in front of him and his good wing was fully extended. “Shaw ko!”

“Are you excited to meet the dragon lord?” Twilight asked, watching him with a smile. It relieved her to no end that he seemed to be recovering well. “She’s your Uncle Spike’s friend! We’re going to teach her about friendship!” She added to her statement, striking a pose and spreading her wings.

“Fwe shee!” Dusk cheered, performing a quick corkscrew.

“He was helping me put up the high decorations,” Starlight explained, keeping an eye on where Dusk was flying. “I kept him on track for a few minutes, but he didn’t want to stay still.”

“At least he tried to help,” Twilight said, giggling at that news. “I take it Spike went out to finish setting up the town?”

“That he did, with a long list in his claw that would make you proud.” Starlight snickered, looking between Twilight and Dusk. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Dusk starts making lists. Next thing we’ll, he’ll be organizing his toys by alphabetical order!”

Twilight blushed, looking away from Starlight. “Heh, yeah, doing that would be way too much. Yup, never organized my toys like that.” She hung her head with a groan as both Flash and Starlight burst out laughing. She cleared her throat, closing her wings. “Alright you two, let’s focus on getting things ready for Ember.”

“Ebe!” Dusk proclaimed, floating around her head.

The three adults laughed at that, setting about getting the preparations ready while Dusk supervised everything as he floated around them. He didn’t hesitate to interject his opinion on whatever they were talking about. Each of them replied to him, encouraging him to communicate more. With Dusk’s supervision, the decorating went quickly.

“All done! Good job, Dusk!” Twilight cheered, pulling him down into a hug. “You were a big help!”

“Yoo Wecoo!” he cooed, nuzzling her chest.

Twilight shared a look with Flash. “See what I mean?”

Flash nodded, looking between his wife and son. “Yeah, I think I do.” Placing his hoof on Dusk’s head, he smirked. “My son isn’t even two months old and he’s a genius.”

“We can talk about all that later,” Starlight interrupted. “Since we’re done with the decorating here, maybe we should check how Spike is doing?”

“Oh right!” Twilight placed Dusk on her back, trotting to the door. “We want Ember to feel as welcome as possible!”

Starlight and Flash trotted after her and followed her out of the castle and into the town. The whole town had pitched in, wanting to do their best to welcome the dragonlord. As well as to make up for their previous behavior towards the local princess and her friends. They found Spike towards the center of town with a checklist in his claw as he oversaw the decorating.

“Hey, Spike!” Twilight called, getting the drake’s attention. “I see you’ve got everything control. Good job.”

“I learned from a great organizer,” he said, turning to her with a smile. “The whole town is shaping up quite nicely. Is the castle all ready?”

“It is thanks to Dusk’s help,” Flash told him, patting the foal’s head. Rubbing his chin, Flash hummed in thought. “You think Ember would enjoy the story of Flash Magnus? I could make a big show out of it.”

“Maybe reminding Ember of the days ponies and dragons were in conflict isn’t the best idea,” Spike commented, pointing a finger at Flash. “She is still learning about friendship after all.”

Flash chuckled. “Alright, I’ll save my stories for another time.”

“Hey, Spike!” a new voice cut in, grabbing everyone's attention.

Spike gasped as he turned towards the source of the noise. “Thorax! You’re in Ponyville?!”

Thorax smiled, nodding his head. “Of course I am silly. You invited me. And I’m not going to back out of an invitation.” Glancing at the others, he waved. “Hey, Twilight, Hey, Starlight. Hey, Flash.” His eyes lit up when they landed on Dusk. “Oh! Is that Dusk Star?!” Thorax galloped over, lifting Dusk off Twilight’s back. “He’s adorable!”

“Heo, Mooba!” Dusk greeted, taking in Thorax’s appearance.He cooed, reaching up to touch Thorax’s horns.

“Your cousin and I are best friends!” Thorax explained, nuzzling the colt’s head. 

“I think Dusk likes you already,” Twilight said. “Just be careful of his left wing,” she warned, pointing at Dusk’s bandages. “We had a bit of ‘an incident the other day.” 

Thorax’s eyes went to Dusk’s side and his expression fell slightly. “Aww, did the little prince get a boo-boo?” he asked, tilting his head.  “You know, your cousin gets a lot of those too. Shining tells me she’s the most danger prone foal he knows.”

Spike chuckled. “Yeah, Flurry doesn’t stay still for very long. Dusk though, Dusk is quiet, he just talks a lot.”

“Except when he plays with blocks,” Starlight interjected. “Then he roars a lot.” She giggled at that.

With Thorax busy doting on Dusk, Twilight leaned her head down to Spike. “You invited Thorax to Ponyville the same day as Ember?!” She hissed, looking between them.

Spike flinched, glancing over at Thorax every now and then. “Apparently.”

“This doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Starlight whispered. “How are you gonna entertain them both?”

Spike gave an audible gulp, poking his fingers together. “I have no idea.” He glanced at Thorax, getting antsy. “I completely forgot! Thorax said he needed to talk, and I told him to come over. I didn’t realize it was the same day I invited Ember! What am I gonna do!?”

“Well, maybe they’ll like each other?” Starlight offered.

“Probably not.” Spike dismissed. “Ember is tough and self-assured and intimidating. And Thorax is…” The trio glanced over at the alpha changeling, watching as he nommed on Dusk’s belly.

Starlight put a hoof to her chin, rubbing it for a moment. “Huh, a tough and confident person and one that’s more gentle and unsure of themself. Why does that seem familiar?”

Flash nudged Twilight with a grin. “See? Our love story is gonna be one for the ages.” He extended his arm, sweeping it out in front of him. “They’ll be talking about us for generations!”

“No, it’s not you two,” Starlight dismissed. Her eyes then widened. “Oh, now I remember. That description sounds like Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy! If they can be friends, so can Ember and Thorax.”

Spike opened his mouth to argue in a panic, only for words to fail him. He had to admit, it made sense. “Y’know, maybe it’s time I introduced my two friends?” he said aloud, looking at Thorax. “You guys will help right?”

“Of course,” Starlight said. “We’ll help however we can!”

“As if I’d leave my brother-in-law hanging.” Flash socked Spike in the arm. “I might not be the princess of friendship, but I think I got enough of her lessons down to give it a shot.”

Twilight giggled. “Well I am the princess of friendship and you can count on me to help.”

“Are all baby ponies this fun?” Thorax asked, finally taking his attention away from Dusk. “I mean, I only met two, but I’d like to hope they are!” He grinned, cradling Dusk like he was a teddy bear.

Flash grinned. “Well, Fluttershy is pregnant right now, so you’ll get to learn if draconequus babies are as fun as ponies.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” Thorax put Dusk on his back. “But, that’ll have to wait, I really need to talk to Spike about something.”

“Of course, but there’s something I need to tell you.” Spike waddled over to Thorax “I also invited my friend Ember here. I hope you won’t mind if she joins us.”

“Of course not! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!” Thorax looked around, taking the decorations in. “Oh wow, did you do all this for Ember and I? It’s very nice. I really like the banner too!”

Spike chuckled nervously and kicked at the dirt. “Of course, gotta pull out all the stops for when two of my best friends meet for the first time.” He coughed into his fist, looking up at the sky. “She should be here soon.”

He then spotted a small shape in the sky. It continued to grow until he could make it out as Ember. He watched her land and a horn section of ponies announced her arrival with fanfare. Walking up to her, he cleared his throat. 

“Dragon lord Ember, as the official Equestrian friendship ambassador for the Dragon Lands and for Ponyville, I, Spike of Ponyville, welcome you to uh... Ponville.” Grumbling under his breath, he walked up and hugged her. “I gotta work on my speech.” 

Ember blinked in surprise as she looked down at Spike. “Okay, thanks.” She chuckled as she put her claws on his shoulders. “Right, the hug thing.”

Spike chuckled, pulling away from her. “I’m really glad you could make it! You already met Twilight. The guy in armor is her husband, Flash Sentry, and her student Starlight Glimmer.” Waving Thorax over, he continued. “This is Thorax, king of the changelings.” 

“Laku?” Dusk asked, peering at Ember from Thorax’s back. Confusion dawned on him as he looked between Ember and Spike.

“Who’s the pony hatchling?” Ember asked, pointing at Dusk. “Unless that’s what changeling hatchlings look like now.” Her face scrunched up as she scrutinized Dusk and Thorax. 

Twilight giggled, levitating Dusk into her arms. “No, this is my son, Dusk Star.”

Dusk’s muzzle scrunched up, pointing at Ember’s back. “So wa do!” 

Spike blinked, looking at Dusk. “Are you asking about her wings?” Looking over his shoulder, he shrugged. “I guess I’m still a little young to have wings yet.” Shrugging, he turned to Ember. “How about we go to the castle and get settled in?”

“Sounds good to me,” Ember said, resting her scepter on her shoulder. “Lead the way.” 

Spike lead the way back to the castle, making some small talk with the visiting monarchs. Flash straightened up as they approached the castle, spotting a pair of guards waiting for them. One wore Day guard armor, while the other, a strix, wore the armor of the Night guard. He snapped a salute to them.

“How can we help you, gentlecolts?” Twilight asked, looking between them.

“Your Highness,” the day guard began, bowing his head. “We’re here to discuss the unfortunate events that occurred outside of your castle. We’re under orders from the royal sisters themselves.”

“Okay, we have some things we’re ready to give you,” Twilight said. “Please come inside.” She gestured with a hoof towards the door. “We’re entertaining guests at the moment, so I think individual statements will be for the best.”

The guards nodded falling in line behind them. Once the group was inside the castle, Twilight apologized to Ember and Thorax for the inconvenience. She and Flash took the guards to another room in the castle, leaving Starlight and Spike to host. 

Twilight levitated a manila folder over to the pair of guards. “This has the statement from the doctor as well as the X-ray photo,” she explained, her expression serious. “As well as witness statements my husband took.”

“This will be a big help,” the day guard said, taking the folder. He scanned through it nodding. “Fine work, Captain Sentry.”

“I think I have to give some of the credit to proper motivation,” Flash replied, ruffling his feathers. It was clear to all present that more than just Flash’s pride had been wounded. 

The strix finally spoke, taking the folder from his partner. “The princesses want this whole mess taken care of quickly. A citizen brazenly assaulting a member of the royal family? A foal no less? It should not surprise you to hear that Princess Luna was rather... upset.”

Twilight nodded. “I imagine she called for the stockades?”

The strix closed the folder, sliding it to the middle of the table. “It is Princess Luna’s opinion, as well as that of Captain Armor, that we prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t think I should offer an opinion on the matter, I obviously have too much of a bias.” She gave Flash a pointed look. “And neither should my husband.”

Flash waved a hoof. “Fine, I’ll trust the others to make the wisest decision.” Grunting, he leaned back in his seat. “Idiot’s being held at Ponyville Inn. We don’t exactly have any holding cells here.”

“We could always have him transferred to Canterlot,” the strix offered, nodding in understanding. “That will be where the trial is held after all. Though, with the state Princess Luna is in, it might not be the best idea.”

Flash shuddered at the thought of what the enraged princess might do if left alone in a cell with the stallion. “No, that’d be a bad idea. I’ll keep an eye on him until the trial. I doubt he’ll run, guy doesn’t seem like the type.”

Twilight looked between the guards. “Any word on when the trial will be?”

The strix frowned. “That’s still being decided upon. But, it will be soon, that much I can tell you.  Most likely in the next two or three weeks.”

Flash nodded, already imagining the scenario. “Thank you very much for your help. Is there anything else you need from us?”

“No, I think we’ve taken up enough of your time,” the day guard said, bowing his head. “Thank you for your cooperation and we hope that the little prince makes a speedy recovery.” The pair stood up and bowed before making their exit.

Flash watched them for a moment before standing up. “That stallion is lucky I have self control.” Snorting, Flash paced around the room.  “He could have seriously hurt Dusk, messed up his wing! And over what!? Because of some stupid infatuation with my wife!?”

Twilight stood up, watching her husband as he paced. “I know how you feel, Flash. I can’t tell you how tempted I was to do something to that stallion. But we’re authority figures.” She trotted over to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “We have to act within the law, even when somepony does something to our son.”

“I know, I know.” Reaching an arm up, he put a hoof on her arm. “We can’t just do whatever we want. I just... how can ponies be that out of touch? We’re living ponies, not characters in a book. Faust, this must be what Daring Do feels when it comes to fans.”

Twilight giggled a little. “Well, I was out of touch before I came to Ponyville.” Her muzzle scrunched up. “Though I never confused fiction and nonfiction. I can’t really explain how that happened. I know for a fact I had the journals placed in the biography section of the stores.”

Flash paused for a moment. “Twilight, you did... edit out the entry on Daring Do... right?”

Twilight blinked, her ears flattening to her head. “Uh, I’m about eighty percent sure I did,” she said with a sheepish smile. She flinched at Flash’s raised eyebrow. “I’ll have to take a look at one of the copies and make sure,” she relented. “But that’ll have to wait until after Ember and Thorax’s visit.”

“Right.” Flash straightened up, saluting. “Now, Princess, shall we see to our guests?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, chuckling a little. “You do realize that you don’t have to call me Princess, right? In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve actively told you not to.” Stepping past him, she checked his side with her wing. “Now come on, before I demote you back to private.”

Flash chuckled weakly as he quickly followed after his wife. The two wandered the halls until they found the sitting room that the others were in. Surprisingly, Thorax and Ember seemed to be swapping advice. They also noted that Dusk was busy playing with Ember’s tail. Ember was playing along as she talked with Thorax, wiggling her tail to and fro as Dusk tried to bat at it.

“You seem to be having fun,” Twilight commented, taking a seat next to Starlight. “Dusk isn’t bothering you, is he?”

“Nah, hatchlings play with older dragons’ tails all the time,” Ember dismissed, turning her attention from Thorax. “Usually it’s to help develop hunting instincts,” she glanced down at Dusk, “but I don’t think this little guy will be doing much of that.” She almost jumped, snapping her fingers. “Oh! I remembered I wanted to ask something. Your mate, is he related to that one pegasus?”

Flash had to contain his familial pride as he nodded. “That’s correct, I’m descended from Flash Magnus.”

Ember smirked, showing some of her teeth. “That pegasus gets a lot of my respect. He made my dad look like an idiot. He actually outlawed mentioning the name for a few centuries.”

Flash grinned, glad to hear that the new dragonlord had no hard feelings towards the actions of his ancestor. “Wait until my family hears that Flash Magnus outmaneuvered the former dragon lord. They’d get a kick out of that.”

“I had no idea dragons could live that long,” Spike piped up, grabbing a few gems off a platter. “There's just so much I don’t know.” Sighing, he popped one into his mouth, crunching on it. 

“You’ve gotta be long-lived if your kind is famous for hundred year naps,” Ember pointed out. “But if you want to learn more about dragons, then I’m sure one of the older dragons would be happy to share their knowledge.” Looking over at Spike, she gave him an excited smile. “Friends are supposed to help each other, right?”

Spike nodded eagerly, quickly swallowing his gem. “That’s right! Helping your friends is one of the basic principles of good friendships!”

Ember nodded. “I’m asking for your help, as a friend.”

“You know you can count on me! What do you need, Ember?”

Ember glanced at Dusk, gently wrapping her tail around him. “There’s some kind of... flaming pony in the dragonlands. It’s been causing us a lot of trouble.”

“A flaming pony?” Spike repeated, tilting his head. “Never heard of something like that before. Twilight, do you know anything?”

Twilight placed her hoof on her chin. “Well, there are a few legends that involve ponies and fire but nothing in relation to the dragonlands. I’ll start looking into it tonight.”

“Thanks,” Ember said, nodding. “The little hatchling’s been throwing a tantrum in one of the favored gem spots. None of the dragons that run the nursery have been able to calm them down.”

Flash frowned, glancing at Twilight. “Hold on. It’s a... foal? Dragons, who are fireproof, can’t handle a foal that’s on fire?”

“It’s not a matter of us being hurt,” Ember shot back, her claw clenched on the table. “We know we can’t treat a pony hatchling the same as one of our own. You ponies are too squishy for that. We’ve been treating them with a gentle touch by our standards and it always wriggles away.”

Slipping out of his seat, Spike pat Ember’s side. “Maybe you just need someone who knows ponies better. I’ll head back with you and we’ll catch ourselves a foal!”

“Spike, I know you know normal ponies,” Twilight started, a worried look coming over her face. “But a pony that’s been on fire for an extended period of time clearly isn’t normal. At least let me do one night’s research before we leave to help.”

Ember placed Dusk down, smiling down at him. “A night would let me learn how to handle pony hatchlings.”

Spike’s tail sagged and his spines drooped slightly before he nodded. “Okay, guess that makes sense.”

“Atato!” Dusk pounced on Spike, gumming on one of his ear fins. “Mio ko!”

Ember laughed, watching Dusk with interest. “Are you sure there’s no dragon in him? The tyke is a natural hunter!”

Joining in, Ember spent the night teaching Dusk all the ways a good dragon hunts their prey. Both he and Spike soaked in these lessons, with a promise that they’d later be shared with Twilight. 

Twilight sat like a mother hen, wing draped over the sleeping form of her son. Books floated in front of her, open to various pages. Late night research was much better with a snuggle buddy.