//------------------------------// // Dusk // Story: The Stars // by The Music Man //------------------------------// Ch. 4 Dusk Cookie turned around. "Barbra, what are you doin' here?" "Did you find her?" "Buckler? How'd ya find us all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Cookie asked. "I used to track down stray cows and chickens before I became a guard," Buckler answered, shining a hoof across his chest. "Cookie you have to come back," Barbra said, distressed. "The town's completely ruined! Any house within a few yards of the tree line is completely demolished, the wolves are starting to chase ponies out of their homes at night, and Daisy is doing nothing about it." "Actually, she is having us build that useless fence and plan a shrine for her," Buckler retorted. "Oh, and-" "Wait just a minute," interrupted Cookie, "what does Daisy have to do with anything? She's just the building contractor the Chancellor keeps hiring only 'cause there's no one else in town to do her job. How could Daisy be having ya'all do anything?" "After you left, the Chancellor made Daisy the new assistant. Then she went to go get help from the other tribes, leaving Daisy as the de facto leader," Barbra informed. "She did what!?" Cookie half-yelled. "She should know better 'an to put Daisy in charge, she's about the worst that can come around! She's meaner than a bull being spurred in a rodeo. Out of all the things the Chancellor has done, that has got to be the most dumbest thing she's ever... I mean... UGH, if I weren't banished, I'd give her a piece of my mind right about now." "And worst of all, she's doing nothing about the Rusty Madness," Buckler added. "The what now?" Cookie asked. "When I was out guarding with Rusty, we were separated by a pair of wolves," Buckler said. "After I chased off one of the beasts, I went to look for my partner. He was in an alley shaking, pale, and narrow-eyed; it was as if he saw death itself. Now we have five more cases, and Daisy hasn't even sent a courier to any of the doctors in Unicornia. You just gotta come back Cookie, we're doomed without you." "Wait, weren't you the pony who suggested that I be banished?" Cookie accused. His throat went dry and his stomach churned. The spit in his mouth mocked him. The condemning words he uttered echoed through his mind: "You're not my leader, banish her!" His eyes darted, looking for an explanation, an excuse, anything, but he couldn't find one. He stepped back. If she didn't come back it would be his fault; he would be the reason the town fell to the foul beasts. Foalshire's demise would forever be on his shoulders. He fell to her hooves. "I'm sorry," Buckler finally said, "I don't know why I did it. It's just I... I was... it’s just when I saw what those things did to Rusty, and what Serene did, and what Daisy said... I'm sorry!" He earnestly looked up at her. "Please Cookie, the town needs you, we need you, I need you. You have to come back, please!" "But I can't, I'm banished from Foalshire, remember?" Cookie said, hanging her head. Barbra pounded her hoof. "Cookie, if you don't come back, there might not be a Foalshire to be banished from. The Chancellor has left us, Daisy is useless, and the wolves' attacks are getting worse every night. Everypony wants you back, Cookie. We need you, Cookie." Cookie looked back at Serene. She was hidden amongst the rocks and pointed boulders littered across the back of the cave, sorting out the spoiled food from the slightly spoiled food, taking no interest in the conversation. Cookie turned back and faced Barbra. "Alright Barbra Wire, I'll come back, but on one condition." "Anything," the two said together. "Serene and Dusk come back with me." Barbra cocked an eyebrow. "Why would you want her back? Everypony in town thinks she's the one who caused it all. And besides, we were sent to get you, not her." Cookie looked back. Serene and Dusk were paying attention now. "If they don't come back with me, then I might as well not come back at all." *** "I don't care what you think! If I say we are building a wall, then we are building a wall!" Daisy yelled at the crowd. "But the wall's not working," one pony said. Daisy turned an scolding eye at the pony. She marched right up to him, jouncing his chest with an iron hoof. "Well, are you the leader? Did the Chancellor pick you to make the decisions? Are you the Chancellor's assistant?" One last shove butted him against a wall. "N-n-n-n-no," the pony shuttered. "Then get back to work, you useless worm!" she shouted, "Unless you want to join Cookie in her-" "Hey everypony, Cookie's back!" one pony interrupted, pointing off into the distance. Hoping the exclamation was not the mistake of faulty eyes, every head turned to look where his hoof directed. There they saw an orange pony dressed in a earth-colored hat with a simple white feather sticking from its brim. There was no doubt that Cookie had returned. The crowd turned and congregated around the old assistant, but before anypony could speak, Daisy shoved her way through and confronted the new center of attention. "What are you doing here? You're banished, now leave before I tell the guards to drag your sorry hide out of here." "Well, I would, but they did say please." Cookie gestured back to Buckler and Barbra. "An' I can see why. I suppose those piles right there used to be houses," Cookie said, “and from what Buckler and Barbra told me, I also suppose you haven’t been doing to much about it.” "I don’t give a snake’s tale about what you suppose," Daisy hissed. "You're not the assistant anymore, I am! Pudding Head banished you and put me in charge. Pudding Head knew I was more capable of leading than you ever were. Pudding Head finally saw what a wretch you were and decided to replace you with somepony more suited to handle the challenges of leadership." “Now let me tell you something about Pudding Head, sugar cube,” Cookie stated, hoof in Daisy’s chest and a glower on her face, “she don’t like you, and why she’d ever put you in charge of anything besides a mouse eatin’ cheese is beyond me. But all I know is you’re 'leadership' is costin’ the livelihoods of these here good folks, an’ I intend to put a stop to that, no matter what Pudding Head-” "Did somepony say my name?" The Chancellor emerged from the crowd, jubilant as ever. "'Cause I loooove hearing my name." "Oh!" Daisy said, surprised at the Chancellor's quick return. She glanced at the pile of beams and plaster that used to be houses, and the other structures down the lane that soon would join it. They weren’t there when the Chancellor left. "W-w-what are you doing back so soon? Were you able to get the other tribes' help?" "Well, there were some tincy-wincy problems with that," the Chancellor replied. "I couldn't ask the pegasi for help because there is no way I could get to their front door, it being on a cloud and all. And when I went to the unicorns, there was this really mean guard wouldn't let me into Princess Platinum's castle, so I gave him the time-honored, Earth Pony remember-your-manners gesture." "You pied him in the face, didn't you?" Cookie flatpanned. "Yeah, and would you believe it, he got so mad that he teleported me right back here. Well, not exactly here, but a few miles from here where I had to walk past a sea serpent, a manticore, a rickety bridge, and then I saw the crowd, and Daisy was shouting at every pony, and-" "Alright, I think we get it your Chancellorship," Cookie interrupted. "And by the way, I'm firing you, Daisy, and putting Cookie back as my assistant," Pudding Head said. "Wait, what!?" Daisy said. "I'm firing you and putting Cookie back in charge," the Chancellor repeated. Everypony cheered at this statement. Everypony except Daisy. "You can't just fire me and put Cookie back in charge," Daisy said. "I mean, why would you put her back in charge? You banished her." "I only banished her because everypony was like 'banish her, banish her.’ I couldn’t go against the will of the whole entire town, or else I would be a dictator-y dictator-person, and no pony wants that," the Chancellor said. "And besides, look what you did." "Yeah, about that," Daisy said, scratching the back of her head. "I-" Before Daisy could continue, Pudding Head pulled out a sandwich. She then peeled it open and put the contents of the sandwich up to Daisy’s eye-level. "Why the hay are you showing me your lunch?" Daisy asked, not amused by the incoherent act. "There's no horseradish," Pudding Head said, pointing into the sandwich. "When Cookie was my assistant, she'd always make sure there was more horseradish than sandwich. It always gave it that special kick. I just can't have an assistant that forgets the essentials of a good sandwich; that’s one of the reasons I have an assistant in the first place. I'm sorry Daisy, but I have to let you go." "That’s the stupidest reason I’ve ever heard for firing somepony!" Daisy shouted, having lost all tact. "You can’t just fire me because I forgot to put a condiment on your daffodil and cucumber sandwich. This is exactly the reason the town’s up in smoke, this is why everything is out of sorts, this is why I should be Chancellor instead of that custard-filled tart! Now, who’s with me?” Instead of sympathy, Daisy only found ponies staring at the ground, scratching their napes with their hooves, and faces more blank than an newborn colt’s flank. Disheartened by the turn of events, Daisy lolled her head in shame and, out of energy from feigning leadership, backed into the crowd, submitting defeat. "Cookie," the Chancellor stated. "Yes, your Chancellorship." Cookie was delighted to say that. "Get me some horseradish, please." Cookie reached into the her hat and took out a jar of horseradish. "Thank you, Smart Cookie." Pudding Head grabbed it and shook out the contents of the jar onto the sandwich. Then ate it. "So, do you know what to do about the attacks?" Assistant Smart Cookie asked. "Nope, but I'm pretty sure you know what to do about them," the Chancellor said with a wink. Cookie had to step back at that. It was almost as if she knew that her good-old assistant would come back with a solution to save the town. Cookie couldn't put this level of thinking past the Chancellor; in fact, it made sense to put Daisy in charge for a while. The Council had wanted to replace Pudding Head for some time, and they were thinking of replacing her with Daisy. Since everypony got to see Daisy rule, the Council would never do that now. Cookie snapped back out of her thoughts, and called to Serene and Dusk. "Hey, that's the pony that started this whole thing," somepony in the crowd hissed. "What's she doing here? She's just going to cause more trouble." "I don't know who in the Sam-heck's idea that was, but it is completely and totally untrue," Cookie responded. "Serene would never do something like that. I know her, an' she may be rough around the edges, but she's one of the most nicest ponies I've ever had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with. Besides, she knows more about the night than any astronomer in Unicornia. Right now, she's our only hope. She's the only chance we have against these dog-gone wolves. If you don't let her back in, then you might as well banish me again." The crowd whispered to one another. They wanted Cookie back, but not Serene. Cookie did say, however, that Serene didn't cause all of this, and she may be able to fix it. Soon, the whispers turned into a general agreement. "Alright-y Serene, you're un-banished, and your wolf friend too," the Chancellor declared. "So, what is the plan to stop the mean wolves?" All eyes were on Serene now. They depended on her, but she had no idea what to do. Dusk was the only wolf she had ever successfully dealt with. The rest of the time she had encountered wolves, all she could do was run and hopefully find some place to hide. There was no way the whole town could do that, not every night. She turned to Dusk, and then an idea popped in her head. "I know what to do," Serene stated. ~~~ King Canis stepped outside. The summer wind blew through his stick-ly composure, wrapping every stem in familiar warmth. He took a deep breath. Fear. It's scent filled the air, and almost every corner of the Everfree Forest. The smell was so tantalizing that King Canis shivered with anticipation. Fear. Timber wolves fed off the fear of animals. They needed to, or else they would wither away into oblivion. And now, there was more fear than there had ever been in all his years. Especially since they found the ponies. King Canis looked up into the night sky. The moon was hidden from all. Perfect: no light means more fear. King Canis stood up straight, filled his lungs, pursed his lips... Aroooooo It wasn't his howl. It was the howl of another, from within their territory. Worse, it came from the land of the ponies. Some other pack was challenging them for it. They wanted their territory; they wanted their fear. They would soon be reprimanded for such a brazen act. King Canis howled in reply, and dashed for the land of the ponies. The trees whisked by, clearings came and passed, and the wolves in his pack soon joined him. The rules of engagement rushed in his head. He would step out and wait for their leader to step out. They were to engage, but not in physical combat, rather they would butt heads and draw upon each other's memories. They would torture one another with their own insecurities, darkest moments, and greatest fears. The first to break, by either being too weak to continue or by attacking the other, would lose. King Canis never fatigued, nor fell to violence. He never lost, not to any wolf, and this battle would be no different. The trees peeled away, revealing the line of the challenging tribe. This tribe was different: they were short, their eyes glowed weakly, and it looked as if they were plagued with mange. Except for one, and that one looked like the runt he banished many months ago. King Canis stepped forward, expecting the runt to challenge him. But to his surprise, the shortest of the line came out, and he was able to see why they all looked so sickly: they were the ponies that his tribe has been feeding off of. King Canis glanced at the real wolf. He would have to be punished for helping them with their disguise, but after the battle. King Canis wanted to show these foolish creatures what happens when they imitated the high exalted being that is wolf. He began moving in a circle, and she imitated. She would be no match for his prowess. The rest of the ponies watch in reverenced silence, along with the wolves. He stared at her blankly, and she returned with her own stare. He could see it in her eyes. This battle wouldn't take long. He stopped, and she did as well. He leapt. Their heads connected, and so did their minds. He pushed at her mental barrier, and it fell over like a rotted tree. In her mind swirled around all of her thoughts, memories, and emotions. King Canis had much experience in manipulating these things. He grabbed a more tender memory. The mare kicked her door open, and threw a bag in the corner, with so much force it battered the wall like a drum. King Canis could feel her hurt, something he would use. The memory played on. She kicked a chair over, and hurled a plate across the room. Then, she collapsed. She started to cry: a weak thing to do. King Canis could have intruded right there, made the memory worse, but he waited for it to further ripen. The runt emerged out of the hallway. He slowly walked over to the distraught mare, and... and... comforted her. He let her cry on his shoulder; he allowed her to put her arms around him. King Canis wanted to vomit. It was revolting to see a wolf have connected with its prey. But he had to remain focused; he had to defeat her. He decided to start manipulating the memory. He made the runt disappear by dissolving him into a pile of sticks. Now she looked concerned. She twisted her head around, wondering what was happening. King Canis smirked at this. He dissolved the surroundings, and started to speak: "Where is he now?" "What– what's happening?" she asked. "Where is he now, Serene?" "Wait, who's saying that?" She looked frightened. She stepped back in the plain white abyss that surrounded her. "He's gone, Serene. He can't protect you, Serene." King Canis made his voice echo. Oh, how scared she looked. Her body began to leak fear; fear that King Canis snacked on. The fear was sweet and fresh, he could just go on like this all night. And he did. "He doesn't need you anymore, Serene," King Canis echoed, using some words that floated around in her head. "He doesn't want you anymore." "Sh-shut up," she stuttered. "That coat looks so tasty, Serene, mind if I have a bite?" "J-just go away, leave me alone." She frantically spun around, trying to find the source of the voice, but King Canis was too good at the game to be found that easily. "He doesn't need you anymore." "Oh, but it looks so tasty, Serene." "You’re useless." "I promise it won't hurt." "He never wanted you." "You just mess up everything anyways." "He doesn't care for you." "Just one bite." King Canis echoed those words in her head. He took delight in making her squirm, making her curl up like a dying spider. He revealed himself to her. "Just one bite, Serene," he said, building a savage tone. "It won't hurt ONE BIT!" He leapt at her, and fear flooded from her pores. She had to be on her knees right now, she had to be on the ground. He opened his eyes to get a good look at her. She gritted her teeth, and her knees buckled. Any memory could break her now; just one small blow would beat her down. But King Canis didn't want to just simply defeat her. He wanted to crush her, decimate her, make her an example to anything that dared challenge him. He dug into the recesses of her mind. Hate, fear, sadness, hopelessness, apprehension, and a flurry of other emotions flew past him. But none were good enough, none would provide a satisfying end. Then he found a dark essence. It was an orb that floated in the deepest recesses of her being. A radiance emanated from it, black as the pure night. King Canis perused around the orb. He had never seen anything like this, not in any other wolf he fought, but he could feel the burden it caused her. It weighed upon her as if it were the very earth they stood upon. All he needed to do was bring it forth, and it would completely destroy her. He grabbed it, but it turned white. The orb zapped King Canis out of her mind. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet, and caused his body to skid across the ground. Determined, he got back up and rubbed the dirt out of his eyes. By the time he opened them, the mare was mere inches from his skull. The tribe stood before him. His belly was thin because of the defeat they suffered that night. He remembered staring at their old king like this. He promised them plenty, but gave nothing. He promised them he would find fear, something more filling than scaring small animals. This is why Canis overthrew him, but now, he sat in the king's seat. The tribe glowered at him. They whispered plans of rebellion, of his downfall. He tried to remind them of the plenty they were having, of how fear abounded, and how every wolf was full. They faded away. King Canis drew a sigh of relief. The haunting memories receded back into his mind. A relaxing black surrounded him. He pondered upon the battle with the pony. He broke. He attacked the pony. He lost. He was no longer king. Wait, they weren't his memories; the little scrap of fear had placed them there. She was the one causing all this to happen. "Oh, don't like it?" "Who's there?" Canis demanded. It was a stupid question: he knew full on who was there. "They’re starving, King. They want fear, King." "I know who you are," Canis growled. "King Canis wanted all the fear; It's just too bad he's just too queer" the voice sang. "That won't work on me," Canis lied. It was tearing at his insides. Fear was just as important as food was to any animal. If he didn't find any, he risked being dethroned, or worse. "That won't work on me," the voice mocked. "I'm mighty King Canis and it won't work on me. I stand a foot and a half above my opponent and it won't work on me. I am the king of all the wolves and it won't work on me." The words struck at his ears like bees at their foe. For some reason, they had power. For some reason, they had a might greater than he. "I know the tricks you're using, and they won't work," he struggled to whisper. "They need fear, King. They are about to wither, King. Should they replace you, King?" "Now for fear he must fight; And trade that fear for his life." "I know all the tricks, and it won't work on me. I am a high and exalted wolf, and that won't work on me. I am the king of fear, and it won't work on me." "Their coming closer, King. Watch out, King. They're hungry, King." "If he has no fear, he will fret; because he will face a painful death." He stared at the roof of his cave. Two paws weighed heavy on his chest. They walked up. His sight was filled with his own face, which made him realized where he was. This was where he took the throne; this was where he destroyed the last of the old court's advisors, and he was the last advisor. He saw a smirk on his own face, looking down upon him. He remembered that smirk. It was the one he gave, right before he went and drained the essence of the last advisor; the advisor he hated the most. The advisor he caused the most pain. He struggled to free himself, flailing his limbs, hoping to catch something. King Canis scoffed at such a futile attempt, and raised his head. Tears streamed down his eyes, begging himself to stop, but the tears fell upon deaf ears. He could feel King Canis gather his energies, concentrated on the sharp points of his teeth. The teeth slowly approached his neck. He shook his head, but to no avail. There was nothing he could do to stop King Canis from draining him, from draining himself. The teeth latched on, shredding the life from every stick in his form, drawing it into each sharp point in King Canis's jaw. He felt his spirit being reluctantly torn from every part of his body. It felt much like being skinned alive. King Canis let a whimper seethe through his lips. Wolves can’t scream because of the shape of their throats, so anytime fear overcame them, it manifested itself as airy and whiny gasps. It was the same sound as any cornered mouse or rabbit. He forced so many other to make this ghastly sound, but was arbitrarily deaf to their cries.Now, he heard them. He remembered those he drained, some were his friends once. His friends. But he had to do it, the tribe starved because of them, he did it for the tribe. The tribe would have fell if he didn’t do it. He didn’t regret it. In that moment, however, there was no justification that could stop his writhing. King Canis struggled to open his eyes. He could not longer take the attacks, and needed to return his attention to the real world. The first thing he saw was her eyes. Her eyes shone white and burned through his own. They blinded him. He broke contact with his opponent, for it caused him too much pain. They drew all the things he had done, he might have done, he might do. The screams of the dead tortured him. The victory of his enemies ripped at him. His downfall was ineffable. Canis reared back, stumbling paw over paw. His head filled with a thousand things, and a thousand things pulled on his head. Everything turned into dark swirls, and in the center of it all he saw a form, a form with white, piercing eyes. It was those eyes that caused him this agony. It was those eyes that caused him this pain. He must stop those eyes, for if he didn't, they would drain him. They would conquer him. He couldn't be conquered. He leapt, mouth open wide. Time slowed, and everything became clear. He looked up, and the mare he assaulted was no longer a mare, but a black shadow with the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus. Its mane, full of the serene stars that were beholden to the endless night sky, flowed as if the lightest wind could lift it. Its eyes glowed white. Both its hooves hung in the air, with enough power to transform mountains into gravel, and his head hung under them. Crack! Serene stood atop the wolf. She wasn't sure, but it felt like she won. It was a strange battle, where the weight of her past bore down upon her all at once. It felt as if the wolf went into her mind and pulled the darkest time she had ever experienced, and then maliciously twisted it. But then he touched something which gave her power. She chased him out of her mind and began finding things in his, things she could twist. She could feel the pain it caused him, and his pain was her pleasure. When he reared back, she could still feel her presence still in his mind, physically tearing away at it. She left his mind when he pounced. That was the strangest sensation out of it all. It felt as if she was twice her size, with all the power of the world in her hoof-tips. Even though he leapt ten feet in the air, her hooves rose twenty, more than enough to crush the stick figure. And that was where he lay now: crushed. She stepped back off his head. His head lay in a perfect mold created by the force of the impact. One minute passed. Both wolves and ponies surrounded the wolf, and they were beginning to wonder if he was even alive. His eyes sporadically opened, as if somepony shone a light beam into them. It took him a few seconds and a couple tries, but Canis was able to pick himself off the ground. He stared at the victor. There was something different about her, something that would make her important; not only to the wolves, but to all the creatures of this land. He knew she would change everything. He bowed, accepting his defeat, and walked back into the forest. One by one, each wolf bowed to Serene, and followed their old king. *** Things returned to normal pretty quickly: the buildings got their repairs, the doctors were able to cure the Rusty Madness, and the wolves left everypony alone. As for Serene, the town ended up throwing her a feast in her honor, for saving the town, but mostly just to get rid of all the extra pies. Serene still studied the night, Dusk still followed her, and she still ditched work. She just loved the night too much to go. Word of her admiration, along with a few of her journals, got out, and it wasn't long until somepony came knocking at her door. She went and opened it. "Greetings, my name is Star Swirled the Bearded."