The Colours of Dusk

by Gallifrey

Cooling Off

"Elusive!" Dusk gasped, leaping off Dawn as though she had become electrified. "This is not what it looks like I swear, I–"

"Now now, Dusk," he said lazily, waving a dismissing hoof, "there's no need to be coy around me. Although I must say this is not quite the manner in which I expected to meet your... friend here."

Dusk looked as though he wanted to say something, but no words were forthcoming for his jaws appeared to be locked together. Elusive turned and flashed Dawn a glittering smile as he helped her to her hooves, her cheeks glowing.

"Thank you," she said softly. "But might I add something?"

"Certainly, my dear."

"I think it's what Dusk is probably trying to say... or at least, what he's trying to try to say, is that he's not my ah... coltfriend, despite initial appearances."

"Ohhh!" said Elusive, tapping his snout knowingly. "A casual encounter I see! Dusk you old dog! I must admit I can't say I'm not a little jealous–"

"N-No! Not that either!" exclaimed Dawn, while Dusk fell onto his haunches, feeling severely flustered. "We're just friends! Aren't we, Dusk?"

The purple stallion nodded weakly. "Y-yes, just friends," he said quietly, but assuredly.

"See? Although... what were you saying about being jealous?" said Dawn slyly, eyes fixed on Elusive's own deep blue ones.

Elusive was caught off guard, if only for a moment.

"Well, ah, Dusk came to me the other day to tell me about you and your visit to Ponyville. Personal student of Princess Luna I believe, yes? So I thought to myself, 'she must be a very refined and intelligent mare to study under her', not like the riff-raff Celestia will take."

"Oi!" said Dusk indignantly.

"You know I jest, Dusk. But asides, my guesses have thus far been accurate," he said smoothly, looking at Dawn with a cocky smile.

Dawn noticed that he made absolutely no mention about her appearance; this pleased her greatly, she never found stallions who valued appearance over personality attractive anyway.
Elusive was studying her carefully, he'd tactfully made a point of not making any points on her appearance; that never went down well with mares of a more intelligent persuasion anyway.

She is gorgeous though, he thought, his eyes surreptitiously drinking in her sleek form, golden mane and round, inquisitive eyes. Travelling down, he saw that her cutie mark was an open book. Yeah, she can open my book any time she likes... wait, that doesn't make sense–

Dusk coughed loudly, and they suddenly remembered that they weren't alone.

"Can we get out of here?" he asked. "I think I'm gonna die of hyperthermia."

"Of course, of course," said Elusive, leading them to the pool where clients went to cool off after a sauna.
They entered a large, circular room, which Dusk assumed to be the pool room. One clue that alluded to this conclusion was the vast, round pool that dominated it, complete with its own waterfall. The sunlight streamed through the glass-domed roof, where it hit the cascade to send it sparkling like midnight diamonds, the beams echoing off the walls along with the sound of crashing water.

"This is... mixed sex then?" said Dusk limply, standing at the water's edge. There were a dozen mares and stallions in the water.

"Yes Dusk," said Dawn in the overly kind way an adult talks to a young child. "You seem to forget that you've been with me since we walked in here."

Far too preoccupied trying to evaluate whether he'd caused offence, he didn't notice Elusive and Dawn nod evilly to one another at either side of him. Time to have a little fun.

"I only meant–" he began sincerely, before he felt two hooves thrust him forward. The resultant splash made others turn their heads, and the two white ponies feigned innocence as they gently slipped into the water.
Coughing and spluttering, Dusk surfaced. He was quite tired of surprise attacks by bodies of water for one day.
"Please don't do that again," he growled, irritably jerking his mane from his eyes.

"Oh lighten up you big sugar lump," said Elusive, who was propelling himself through the water with an aqatic grace that rivalled an otter. "You have to admit that this water feels gorgeous does it not?"
Dusk had to agree to that. Whilst being only barely able to just about tread water, the water itself was cool and relaxing, the perfect temperature after the boiling hot sauna.
"Plus," murmured Elusive conspiratorially, "it's a great place for checking out mares. And stallions if that's your kinda thing of course."

Just as he was getting over his flusterfulness, poor Dusk was thrown headfirst into another wall of bumbling agitation. He started longing for the end of the day, for his bed, and for a good night's sleep, preferably with a nice book.
In fact, he appeared to be longing for it so much that he forgot to tread water and would have sank like a stone with a big hole in it if it weren't for Elusive holding him afloat.

"Sorry," said Dusk. "I think I was thinking too much. I think."

"You never really want to do that," said Dawn, shaking her head.

"There is some steps into the pool over there," said Elusive, nodding in their direction. "You can sit on one of those and still be in the water if you like?"

Dusk fervently agreed and they paddled over to the shallow steps. He sat down and stared blankly into the middle distance while Dawn and Elusive engaged in animated conversation with one another. His deep purple eyes resolved his vision into focus, and they found themselves centred on a pair of ponies sitting at the water's edge, a mare and a stallion. His attentions became divided upon each of them in turn. He could never tell which he liked more...

"I told you the views were delightful, didn't I?" said Elusive into Dusk's ear, making him jump.

He opened his mouth to say that he wouldn't dream of doing such a thing, and then remembered who he was talking to; he nodded bashfully.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, my friend," said Elusive gently. "You're only pony after all. Hay, it might even do you good to get out there a bit... you're twenty-one for goodness sake and you've never even been kissed!"

"'Lucy," said Dusk shortly, the use of his nickname grating on the white stallion, "we've been over this before and you know my opinion on the matter."

"Yes, yes, it's all very noble and everything that you should put your work before all else, and heavens, I know how devoted you are to it...I just don't think it's that healthy."

"Don't tell me how to live my life," Dusk snapped, much to Elusive's surprise. He knew Dusk was always sensitive to such topics, but he rarely lashed out.

"I'm not!" said Elusive, moving away slightly, "I only have your best interests at heart, you know that." He daringly reached for one of Dusk's hooves and held it. "Just think about it, okay?"

Dusk scrunched up his face in frustration, then sighed deeply.

"I'll think about it," he muttered reluctantly.

As one, they turned to see Dawn looking at them, making no attempt to conceal the fact that she had been listening.

"What?"

In the end, considered Dusk, his first trip to the spa had at least been interesting. He'd not felt so flexible in years, and he'd rarely felt cleaner. He considered the debacle of being found in such a compromising position with Dawn, but the subsequent embarrassment and short conversation with Elusive that Dawn overheard had put him in a bit of a bad mood. He took another sip of hot chocolate and looked up from his book to Dawn, who was sitting in an armchair, just like him and drinking a hot chocolate, just like him. If her opinion of him had changed at all in lieu of the news that he had never been kissed, she didn't show it. Instead, she had been curiously questioning Spike for the last hour about what it was like to be a dragon. The little dragon had been eager to comply, enjoying the attention he was receiving.

"Dawn, you do know I wrote an entire book about dragons, extensively using Spike as a primary source?" said Dusk.

"Oh I know," said Dawn, pausing in her conversation. "But I like to get a first hoof account."

"But he was a first hoof– never mind."

"And that's when I went on the Great Dragon Migration!" exclaimed Spike happily, successfully drawing Dawn's attention back to him. Dusk rolled his eyes irritably, he didn't feel much in the mood for illogical conversations.

"I'll be in the lab," Dusk announced shortly. "I've got to follow up that DNA experiment with an essay to the Princess." And without another word, he stalked off to the cellar door. Dawn waited for the door to slam behind him.

"What's up with him?" she asked bluntly.

Spike shrugged.

"Beats me, he's always been a bit grumpy from time to time, you saw what he was like when he–" Spike allowed himself a little giggle, "–when he got covered in cake mix."

"Well, yes, but anyone would be grumpy if they were covered in cake mix."

"Except Bubble Berry," chipped in Spike.

"Except Bubble Berry," Dawn conceded.

Spike put a claw to his chin, in what he must have thought was a pondering manner.

"So, did you say anything to upset him?" asked Spike.

"Me? I don't think so," she said, casting her mind back. "It may have something to do with what Elusive was talking to him about though..."

"Which was?" asked Spike eagerly.

"Never you mind!" said Dawn, leaning towards him and batting him on the snout.

"Awww!" he whined.

Dawn drained the last of her hot chocolate and sat up.

"I think I might go to bed, it's been a busy day."

"'Night," said Spike as she began to climb the stairs.

Dawn had all the intentions of going straight to bed, but as she passed Dusk's bedroom, a glint from inside caught her eye. She tried her hardest to keep her nose out and just walk past, a furious battle of wills between her reasoning and her cat-like curiosity and magpie like interest for shiny objects. Eventually, she cracked and snook into Dusk's room quietly, her heart hammering in her chest.

"You shouldn't be in here, you shouldn't be in here, you really shouldn't be in here."

Shutting the door behind her, she looked around his room for the first time. It didn't much surprise her at first glance, mountains of books, towers of tomes and shelves crammed with literature dominated, a modest bed and scattered notes, not unlike her own bedroom in Seaddle, except here, instead of a flowery scent there was the faint, indefinable smell that could only ever be described as 'male'.
Upon closer inspection, she saw small photographs in tasteful frames dotted on his bookshelves and window-sill. Photographs of Dusk and his five best friends, her eyes lingering slightly upon Elusive. She recognised all of them already except the orange one. There was also a half empty bottle of whiskey, of all the things Dawn expected to see in here, alcohol was not on the list. She shook her head, she was getting distracted.
The glinty thing that was glinting so enticingly resided on Dusk's writing desk, was in between a solitary book and a stack of loosely bound papers. It was two sparkling and ornate crystal jars of a thousand shimmering facets, one filled to the brim with a rich, golden brown liquid, the other, of an iridescent bluish purple. Dawn's eyes felt funny looking at it, unable to focus properly. She tapped one softly. It resonated a clear, singing note.

"I wonder what's inside them for them to get such beautiful jars... they must be very special, magical or something."

Every fibre of her being was screaming at her to just leave and to please, go to bed. So, why were her hooves moving of their own accord to the lid of the purplish jar? She knew it was none of her business, she knew it might be dangerous, she knew Dusk would be angry if he caught her, but she couldn't help herself. She opened the lid.

The last thing she remembered was a blinding flash, a strangled cry and something colliding with her from behind.