Light in the Dusk

by AlphatheGriffin17


My Mistake

The rolls of scroll and parchment placed in his saddlebag, Dusk walked back the way he came, returning to the library as quickly as he could. He didn't want Twilight to think he was being lazy.

He was sure that he had made a good impression so far. He'd done all of the work he'd been given to the best of his abilities, had been polite with somepony that needed help. Things were going well so far.

But the day wasn't over yet. He needed to make sure he did everything as best he could, not make any mistakes. Just one slip-up could mean disaster and his job would be over before it even started. Then he'd have to leave. He didn't want to go back to Canterlot. He'd lose his friends.

No, he told himself, they weren't his friends. For now, they were, but they were just being nice to him because he was new. Once he was around for long enough, he'd be alone again, soon enough. They'd stop talking to him, pretending to put up with him. He'd be alone. That would be fine. He had to stop thinking of them as his friends, or it would hurt even more when they left wouldn't mind, when it happened...

So, why did it make him feel sad when he thought about it?

He shook his head, clearing his head as he neared the library once more. As he approached the door, he could hear Twilight's voice on the other side. She was talking to somepony. He heard her say his name.

He pressed his ear to the door, quietly, his curiosity piqued

"... been great so far," she was saying. "He was here early, he's done the sweeping, sorting and he was really polite."

"Oh, well he sounds positively charming. I shall be very glad to meet him." said the other voice. It was well-spoken, with a slight English accent. Kind of like what he'd hear in Canterlot. "Where is he now?"

"He just went to get some parchment from the store," he explained. "I'm sure he'd like to meet you. But..."

"But? But what?" Yes, Dusk was eager to know as well. Had he done something wrong?

"Well... he seems... shy, timid, almost." His stomach dropped. He should have acted with more confidence.

"There's nothing wrong with that," the other dismissed. "Look at Fluttershy, she's shy but she's still an absolute dear. I'm sure this young colt will be no different."

"I suppose so," Twilight agreed. "I just want to be careful. It seems like if he makes one mistake, he may lose what little confidence I think he has. He should be back in a few minutes, you can meet him then. Just be friendly with him."

"Oh Twilight darling, what made you think I wouldn't be?" Twilight must have frowned, because her voice became more serious. "Don't worry, I shall bear in mind what you've said. You have my word."

"Good. He does seem nice enough, but shy. I'm sure it'll get better the longer he's here."

Well, at least he knew now they were acting friendly to make him feel welcome. He didn't know if they actually wanted genuine friendship with him, or if they would just get bored of him later. Still, it was nice that they were taking time to be friendly.

Deciding he'd eavesdropped enough, he stepped through the door. He could see Spike at work near a shelf, whilst Twilight was there at the centre, with another unicorn. Her fur was a bright white, her mane and tail a dark purple. It was well styled and cared for, showing she evidently looked after her appearance, to look as... well, beautiful as possible. It made him blush to think that she certainly succeeded.

Dusk also couldn't help but notice that, every now and again, Spike would look up from his work, sigh and stare longingly at her and resum with a merry tune being hummed. Looks like somepony, or dragon rather, is a little lovestruck, he thought with a smile.

"I'm back with the parchment, Twilight," he reported, levitating it to her.

"Thank you, Dusk. I really needed this." Her grateful smile made Dusk feel warm inside.

"Oh, so this is Dusk, is it?" The unicorn stepped forward gracefully. "Twilight was just telling me about you. It's a pleasure to meet you, dear."

He felt himself flush a little when she called him 'dear.' He calmed himself mentally. Remember your manners Dusk, he told himself. This unicorn obviously appreciated what most would call the 'finer things.'

"It's... it's a pleasure to meet you too, miss," he greeted, inclining his head politely.

"Twilight was right, you are polite. I wouldn't expect less from Canterlot gentlecolt." She offered him a dainty hoof. "My name is Rarity, I own the Carousel Boutique."

"It's... good to meet you, Miss Rarity," he responded, shaking her hoof gently. His face must look like a tomato. "I uh... I wouldn't call myself a uh... a gentlecolt. I just umm... like to be... polite."

"Nevertheless, that is an admirable quality of any young pony. I think you and I are going to get along just fine Dusk," she decided, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Um... good..." he mumbled, his face flushing further. "So er... Twilight, is there... anything else you'd like me... to do?"

"Actually," she said, giggling a little, "there's some books down in the basement I've been meaning to sort for a while now. Would you get them and bring them up, so we can get started?

"Certainly." He inclined his head to Rarity again. "If you... would excuse me, Miss Rarity I have... duties, to attend."

"I understand, no rest for the wicked," she nodded. Dusk headed for the stairs. "Oh, and Dusk?" He looked back. "Just 'Rarity' will do. I thank you for being so courteous though. It's rare to meet a pony who remembers his manners as easily as yourself."

Dusk gave one last nervous chuckle and smile, before opening the door and descending to the basement below. He could make out the shapes of various scientific machines, no doubt Twilight's. Most of it looked pretty sophisticated, even though he had next to no idea what most of them did. It made him wonder where she got them all.

As he searched for the books, his thoughts turned to the unicorn he'd just met. Rarity was certainly a pony that appreciated class and sophistication. She would definitely fit right in at Canterlot, he could tell already. He'd got off to a good start with her, at least as far as he knew. He only hoped he could make the same good impression on the rest of Twilight's friends. Even if they were going to get bored of him, he at least wanted them to think well of him when they did.

He remembered the way she looked at him, a sort of studying look. She'd also fluttered her lashes at him, called him 'dear.' She didn't find him... attractive, did she? If she did, her standards weren't exactly high. Dusk considered himself to be modest-looking at best, so he ruled that out. Maybe it was just her way of being friendly, she wasn't actually trying to flirt with him.

He soon found the books, various old volumes coated with dust and cobwebs. These were certainly old, but would no doubt be interesting. The majority, he could tell, were biographies or historical records. There were even a few rolls of scroll, yellowed with age.

Carefully levitating them with a spell, he piled up the majority and began to carefully carry them upstairs. It was only after he began nearing the top that he realised the books were heavier than he first thought. He had to put most of his concentration into maintaining the spell, only briefly looking up to make sure where he was going. He then emerged back out into the main body of the library.

"Oh my!" He heard Rarity exclaim, with a hint of disdain. "Those certainly look... dusty."

"Do you need any help, Dusk?" Twilight asked him.

"No thanks... I'm fine..." He glanced to look at her and, because he did, he didn't see Spike's tail, as he bent below a bookshelf.

He tripped on it and lost his footing, wobbling to the side. He couldn't keep his concentration, he was losing them... and they toppled, crashing down as Dusk hit the floor. He wasn't sure what hurt more, the pain as he hit the floor or the shame of his stupidity.

"Dusk! Are you alright?" Spike helped him up.

"I'm fine... did my books-?" He turned to see his misdeed and felt his stomach plummet.

Twilight was fine, bar some shock at all of those old books lying on the floor. However, most if not all, of the books had landed on top of Rarity. She was now digging herself out of the pile, her neat fur coat now covered in dust and her styled mane was frayed, no longer pristine.

"Agh! Dust! Get it off me, get it off me!" She looked at her mane, her eyes wide with terror. "Oh, Celestia my mane! My mane! Oh, I look a mess! A travesty! Of all the things that could possibly happen, this is the worst! Possible! Thing!"

"Rarity," Twilight attempted to console, "it's alright, it's not that-"

"It is, oh it is! This is simply, absolutely awful!" She narrowed her eyes at Dusk and he recoiled.

It all sunk in gradually: this was all his fault. He should have paid attention to where he was going, should have been more careful with those books, should have accepted help. Now, not only had he screwed up on his first day,, damaging priceless books, but he had left a bad impression on one of Twilight's friends. There was no way she'd even want to talk to him now. He couldn't even stand to look at her.

"I-I-I'm..." he stammered pathetically. "I... I... I'm sorry!"

Without waiting for further beration for his obvious stupidity, he did the first thing that came to his head: he ran. He didn't know where he would run to, or how far. He just had to get away, to be alone. He thought he heard them calling him, but he didn't want to hear it.

He just ran.

He finally stopped. He looked up. He stood in a meadow, alone. The sun was still high in the sky, birds still chirped in the trees. It was like they were mocking how unhappy he felt, how pathetic he was.

Why had he let himself hope like that? Not only was he an uninteresting pony with no friends, but he couldn't even do a simple fetching-and-carrying task right. He'd ruined it. Ruined any chance that he might have had to finally have a friend.

What was the point? Why had he even tried, even dared to hope, for just a few minutes, that he could have done it? The only unicorn, the only pony, he at least thought he could relate to and he'd stomped out those chances.

No doubt Applejack would hear about this. Once she did, she'd realise how much of a useless clutz he was and stop talking to him. To be ignored was one thing, but to not be talked to because everypony didn't want to... that was even worse...

Hanging his head in shame, shaking away the tears that threatened to fall, he decided to do something to help himself. He tapped into the unique magic that he possessed and began to weave the shapes out of the colours.

He formed the three of them: Twilight, Applejack and Rarity. They all were enjoying themselves, laughing and talking. Then, Dusk made a puppet of himself. His ran up and tried to join them. But he tripped as he ran, falling into mud.

They all laughed and scorned at how obviously pathetic he was. Then, they faded away, leaving him alone. The Dusk-puppet looked up, tried to find them. Then, he sank to his knees, burying his head in his forelegs.

Dusk canceled out this one too, realising how much worse he felt, and just began doing shapeless colours, making them dance and twirl in the air, leaving sparkling shades behind them. It at least made him feel a little better. He was so engrossed, however, he forgot to check he was truly alone.

Once again, he was discovered.

"Woah... that was awesome!" He jumped at the voice and spun around. But there was nopony there.

"Who- what...?" He checked again. Had he imagined it? "Um... somepony here?"

"Duh? Up here!" He looked up, to see a pegasus pony resting on a cloud. How could he be so stupid as to not check the sky?

Before he could berate himself further, the pony leaped down to meet him. Her fur was a bright blue, in contrast to his darker coat of the same colour. Her mane and tail, curiously, had the pattern of a rainbow on it. It was windswept and slightly ruffled, indicating that she regularly flew at high speeds. There was a certain confidence and self-assurance that she had about her.

Though he didn't like being without a good description, there was no other word for it: this pony was cool. And she'd seen him.

"Hey, how come I've never seen you around here before?" she asked suspiciously.

"'Around here?' Is this your spot?" Great, screwed up twice. "Am I in your way? I'm sorry I'll... just go..."

"Wait a sec, I was only asking." She chuckled a bit. "Relax, I won't bite. Guess you're new, huh?"

"Um... yeah..." he mumbled, quietly.

"Cool, nice to meet ya!" She held out a hoof. "Rainbow Dash is my name and speed is my game."

"Dusk Noir..." he responded, shaking it. "Good to meet you, I guess..."

"Hey, you alright? What's up?"

"I uh... I don't want to... talk about it..." He sighed. He might as well let her know in advance. "You wouldn't want to talk to somepony like me..."

"Are you kidding?" she asked incredulously. "A pony who can do awesome magic like that, why wouldn't I?"

"You... you think my magic's... awesome?" Was she just saying that for a joke? How could a pony like her think his magic was in any way good?

"Of course! The way you move those colours around, spinning and twirling 'em as easy as anypony can walk? That's pretty cool." She raised an eyebrow. "How's nopony ever told you that before?"

"Um you see... the truth is..." He sighed again. He might as well tell her the complete truth. Except the Celestia bit. "I've never shown anypony that before. I've just thought they might think it was weird... or stupid..."

"Well, I don't." First Celestia, now her? She sounded so genuine, he found himself believing her. Found himself smiling. "There, you see? Hey, I've got some friends who'd love to see that, let's go find 'em!"

"Wait!" She stopped mid-flight. "Sure, you think it's good but... I'm not ready to show it to others. I don't want them to know what they think... Could you just... keep it to yourself?

"But-"

"I don't want anypony else to know yet... please..."

Rainbow Dash seemed to consider. She looked almost disappointed that Dusk didn't want to show off something she thought was so good. Finally, she returned to the ground, giving an understanding smile.

"Okay then. Even though I think you're crazy to keep that hidden, I'll keep your secret." She winked. "You can count on me."

"Thank you... Miss Dash. I'm very grateful." Despite all that happened, he still remembered his manners.

"No problem." She laughed a little. "And you don't have to call me 'miss.' Just call me Rainbow. Or Dash, either's good."

"Alright then... Rainbow," he smiled back, mainly because of how many times he'd been told that. "I guess I'll... be getting out of your mane. You've probably... got better things to do..."

"Now you mention it, I do have some flight practice to catch up on..." He knew it, of course. Something better to do. He turned to leave. "Hey, wait! Maybe you can help me."

"Help... you?"

"Sure! Come on, I know where we can do it without anypony coming across us!" Without waiting for a response, she took off and sped away.

Dusk considered his options. It was either stay here and wallow in his self-pity, or follow this daredevil pegasus to... wherever she was going and maybe... just maybe, make up for his... mistake.

He didn't like getting his hopes up again like this, but... if there was a chance, any chance at all, he would take it. Besides, she knew his secret now. She could be his friend. Possibly. Regardless, he found himself running after her.

He ran after Rainbow Dash for a few minutes, until they reached another meadow. This one, however, was on the threshold of a nearby forest. He had a sense of eerie foreboding about it. Something didn't feel... right about it.

"Here we are," she declared, descending again. "The edge of the Everfree Forest. Nopony ever comes near here. Unless you're me, of course."

"Of course..." he murmured, eyeing the forest warily.

"Hey," she said, raising an eyebrow, "you're not scared, are you?"

"Um... well er..." He hated looking so weak on front of her. "A little..."

"Don't worry, there's nothing to be scared of in..." She paused and, in a spooky voice "... the Everfree Forest!"

"Uh... yeah..."

"Relax Dusky, I'm only kidding." She laughed at how ridiculous he no doubt looked. "I like you, Dusk. You're alright."

"Thanks..." he said, smiling a little. "So er... what are we doing here?"

"I told you, for my flying practice. I've gotta be the best if I wanna join... the Wonderbolts!"

"Wonderbolts?" Despite himself, he stared in utter disbelief. "The Wonderbolts?"

"The very same," she said proudly. "Someday, I'm gonna join them."

"Wow. They're not just good, they're the best! You must be a brilliant flyer, if you're aiming your sights that high!"

"Just watch this..." She sped off into the sky in the blink of an eye.

From there, Dusk could only watch in utter amazement as she pulled off a series of loops, swoops, barrel rolls, loop-de-loops and various other stunts. She twirled around clouds, dived at incredible speeds, all of it showing a pure passion, a love for speed and showponyship.

He'd seen a pegasus fly, but nothing like Rainbow Dash. She made it look like an art form, a deadly and daring dance as she soared through the sky, leaving the flash of a rainbow behind her. She finished her routine with a loop in the sky, swooping back down and landing in from of Dusk, who applauded with his hooves.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, bowing to her one-pony audience and giving that self-assured grin of hers.

"Rainbow, that was... incredible! Simply amazing!"

"I know, I know," she smiled. "Good of you to say so though."

Dusk chuckled a little at her confidence. "With moves like that, you'd get in the Wonderbolts in a flash. So... you say you need to practice. What could... I do?"

"Well, that colour-thingy you do, can you make shapes with it?"

"Um..." He never thought he'd be talking about this with anypony. "Well... I can do just about anything with it... circles, squares, rings. Pony shapes need a little more concentration."

"I just need basic shapes," she assured him. "How big can you do 'em?"

"Er... usually, only as big as what you saw. But... I have done them bigger... sometimes... why?"

"Alright, well," she began, "I need some practice on my maneuvering. With that colour thingy, you can make hoops for me to fly through. That way, I don't have to make 'em myself from the clouds."

"So... that's it? All I have to do is... make rings for you to fly through?"

"Yeah! Easy enough, right? Whaddya say?"

"Well..." He still wasn't completely sure about this. What if somepony did see him? What would he do then?

"Come on Dusk, please? This would be a big help to me! Come on!"

"Um..." Dusk thought about it for a few minutes. He sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll help you..."

"Great! I knew you would!" She took off again. "Just make 'em appear and I'll fly through 'em, as fast as I can. Try and make it challenging. Let's do this!"

Dusk couldn't help, but have his spirits bolstered a little as she soared off again. Tapping into his magic once again, he conjured up a large ring of sparkling blue, watching as she flew towards it. It was brighter than normal, but that would help her to see them.

This was why he was a little wary about doing them this big: they got brighter the bigger they got. He could control the brightness, but only to a certain degree. They would still be bright. Hopefully, that wouldn't be a problem.

He continued creating loops, erasing them as she flew through and conjuring another one, giving her enough time to veer around to fly through the hoop again. He couldn't help, but marvel, at how quickly she turned, how easy she made it look. They kept this up for a few minutes. Then, Rainbow called out:

"That's too easy! Come on, spice it up a little!" She continued on, as Dusk thought about it.

How could he make it a challenge? Then, he had an idea. As Rainbow swooped through his latest one, he conjured another seconds afterward, almost directly behind her. That would give her a challenge.

But something went wrong. He conjured it too quickly, he didn't have time to temper the brightness. It literally flared, like an explosion, just as she turned around again. He tried to dull it, but was too late. She was caught in the full glare of the brilliant glow.

"What the-?"

He saw her try to cover her eyes, veer away from it, lose control of her flight pattern and begin a rapid, uncontrolled descent. She smacked into the ground, skidded and crashed, headfirst, into a nearby tree. She slumped to a halt, not moving.

"Rainbow Dash!" He sprinted up to her, turning her over. She had a rather nasty bump, and looked dazed from concussion.

"Huh... wha... whazza..."

"Oh, Rainbow..." He bowed his head in shame. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have... I shouldn't... I'm sorry..."

Not wanting to face her now, knowing he'd screwed up his last chance to make amends, he did it for the second time today. He ran. But this time, he knew where he would be going. He just needed to get away, to be alone somewhere.

How could he have been so stupid, thinking he could help with his stupid little magic tricks? Not only was he a boring nopony, but he couldn't even do anything right, help anypony with anything. Why had he let his hopes get up like that, he should have known it would end badly.

He sprinted, not back into town where he would be seen, where he might run into Twilight he ran around the outskirts. Someponies saw him, but he didn't stop. He continued to run, not looking back.

Reaching his home, he dashed inside, shut the door and locked it. He leaned against the door, hung his head in shame and slinked off into his living room, lying on the couch. That was it. He just lay there. He didn't know how long for, nor did he really want to know.

He had failed. His hopes for finally being friends with Twilight, for finding a new home and life here, were gone. All in just one day. Word would spread about his mistakes, proving that he was a clumsy idiot, as well as an insignificant nopony. He could probably find a different job, but maybe it would be better... if he just went back to Canterlot...

Hours later, of just wandering around his home, wallowing in his loneliness or reading a book, he heard a knock on his door. Who knew he lived here? Who even cared?

"Dusk? Dusk? Ya here?" It was Applejack. How had she known where to find him? "Dusk? If yer here, ah jus' wanna talk. Hello?"

Dusk crept to the door, his hoof wavering on the handle. For a few seconds, he was tempted to open it. But decided against it. If he was going to leave, it would be better if he just slipped away, with nopony even seeing him again. It was best for him, for all of them...

He heard her sigh on the other side. "Well... guess yer not here. If ya are... come on out soon..." The sound of hooves came, indicating she was leaving.

Returning to his couch, Dusk decided it was definitely for the best. He would leave tomorrow, back for Canterlot, where he belonged. He'd never find anything good here. Once he did, they would soon forget him, fade away like a hoofprint in the sand. It would be easy, just going home...

Yet, that didn't stop the tears rolling down his cheeks. It was what was best, he told himself. For the best...