//------------------------------//
// Investigative Affairs 
// Story: Dusk Dawns 
// by AlphatheGriffin17 
//------------------------------//

Dusk gazed out of the balcony of Princess Luna's private chambers, looking down at the bustling streets below and the ponies of Canterlot going about their normal business. It was remarkably easy to forget that no matter how large or significant an event seemed to oneself, in the workings of everything else it was just another event. Even if that event did seem important, didn't they all seem like that?

These thoughts were accompanied by a certain amount of frustration and with good reason. Even though she'd bought along a good compliment of her own guards, Hard Edge had managed to escape them when they arrived at his home. He'd thrown something at them that had produced a large flash and had fled in the confusion that followed. By the time they had recovered, he'd already made his escape.

Dusk hadn't been all that surprised when it was discovered to be him. Luna hadn't had the chance to explain how, but considering he was the only one around with a grudge against him, it did seem rather obvious in hindsight. He'd wanted payback against Dusk for apparently taking his glory from him and making him look weak and he'd got it. That didn't mean, however, he was willing to pay for his crime.

Never had Dusk felt such anger towards one individual. He had only done what he needed to against Edge, yet his bitterness and anger about it pushed him to blame everything that had bad that had happened on him. The unfairness and narrow-mindedness of it all made him wish even more that he was locked away. Or that he was here right now, so he could tell him exactly what he thought…

Despite that however, Dusk couldn't help think that something felt… off about this whole thing. When he'd confronted him and demanded an explanation, it was almost a repeat of last time: that he was finished with the city and princesses that didn't give him proper credit and protecting 'ponies like him'. He'd remembered that from last time and it seemed to fit the way he'd acted.

But that was just it. The way he said it and played it out was like he was acting. Rehearsed, in a way. The more he thought about it, the more other questions arose that made him ponder about what had happened.

"That coward." He raised his head to see that Luna had joined him. "After everything he did, he is still willing to flee. Fear not, Dusk, we'll track him down soon enough."

"I have no doubts regarding that," he murmured. "I know it is rather obvious he was behind it, but how did you track him down?"

"Quite simple, really." She led him back inside. "As you know, we tracked down the Flim Flam brothers not too long ago. It didn't take long for them to tell us that they had received the plans to make their cider machine from a grey-furred Pegasus that answered Edge's descrption."

"I'd imagine that didn't take long at all." That was something good that had come out of all of this.

The twins were apparently only tools in this and had been ignorant to Edge's darker intentions. No doubt they would have been terrified enough to tell all when Luna unleashed her rage on them.

Luna smirked a little too at the memory. "It was revealed that he also gave them this, to give to you specifically, told that it was some new special ingredient for testing in cider. After it didn't work to enhance the flavour, they never used it again."

Dusk examined the phial she showed him. Contained within it was a strange liquid, with colours shifting from red and gold, but it was primarily black. The way it stirred in its glass container almost made it like it was alive. He could swear he even heard tiny little screeches from it.

"Corruption Entity, in a liquid form," she explained. "Another piece of Discord's devilry, used to infect me before he was imprisoned so I became Nightmare Moon and used against you so you reverted to your darker side when you drank it with the cider. It fuels negative emotions and gains power from that, hence why I couldn't enter your dreams, though I knew I had felt it somewhere before."

"Good thing they didn't use it for anypony else," remarked Dusk. "So, all of this pointed to Edge being the culprit?"

"Of course. He had the motive against you, the resources necessary, and witnesses to confirm and he confessed to it proudly, as you no doubt remember." Her bitter tone lifted a little when she added, "Yet I get the feeling that something still troubles you."

Dusk blinked in surprise but smiled. "You know me well, my teacher."

"I've had plenty of time to learn," she returned. "What is it that weighs on your mind? Do you doubt that we will catch him or that he'll be sufficiently punished?"

"No, I'm sure you will catch him," replied Dusk, not really thinking too much about the second question. "It's just that… isn't this a little bit too convenient?"

"In what way?"

"Well, take the involvement of the twins, for example," he started. "If I were used in some kind of incriminating incident unknowingly, I'd divert blame to the real culprit as quickly as I could. Anypony would. Surely Edge must have realised that when he got the brothers involved, they'd do exactly that."

"Perhaps he hoped they would stay quiet being in good favour with them." Even though she said that, Dusk could hear the doubt in her voice.

"Somepony like Edge rely on good faith? I don't think that's likely." Now, the questions were streaming into his mind. "I also don't think it's likely that he would have the technological know-how to even conceive a machine like the SCSS 6000, let alone provide plans for how to build it."

"Yes, I see what you mean." Luna's expression became thoughtful. "Now that you mention that, I would question as to how exactly he knew about the Entity and its properties, as well as how he came by it. If he fought Discord's minions as he said, then why would he give it to him?"

"He must have known that you would be able to track him down from all of that too, why stay in Canterlot?" added Dusk. "All of this means he was either very lucky when it came to exacting his vendetta against me or…"

"Somepony else is orchestrating this," finished Luna. "They would merely be using Edge as a kind of proxy, distracting us from whatever it is they've done so they can escape punishment."

That was the conclusion Dusk had come to. "But who would do that? Or else would want Doom released in an attempt to hurt me?"

"I cannot say." She looked as troubled as he felt. "This mystery is deeper than we first thought. An unseen adversary is the worst kind."

"Then we'll just have to make sure we find them," he replied confidently. "Even if he is using Edge to cover his tracks, there'll still be some signs, we just need to find them."

"Indeed." Her eyes moved over him and she stood a little straighter. "Very well, Dusk. As of now, I shall grant you full royal power in order for you to carry out your own investigation into this affair."

Dusk couldn't help but stare. "I beg your pardon? You… you want me to investigate this?"

"Yes, I do," she answered. "If there is another party involved in this, they are counting on Hard Edge as a distraction. If were to divert efforts to tracking them down, then they might take more drastic measures. If you conduct your own covert investigation, you shouldn't arouse suspicion."

Dusk considered her words. It did make sense and he did want to discover who was behind all that had happened. What better way than to do it himself?

"You really think I can do it?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course. I have faith in you, my student," she replied without hesitation.

"In that case then… I'll do it," he agreed. "I won't let you down and I'm sure the others would be willing to help me too."

"I wouldn't advise that," she said quickly. "If this other party is targeting you, then they know about your connection to the Elements. Incorporating them would perhaps attract attention and promote the same effect if I were to do the same. If you do wish to enlist the help of others, I would suggest a different group of ponies."

"I don't know… the few other ponies I do know might not be able to." A thought occurred to him. "What about Ray? Can he be involved?"

"Since he's relatively new, you may involve him if you wish, but as for the others, it would be advisable if you were to carry this out without them," she repeated.

"If you think that's best." He stood in silence for a moment. "So, where should I start?"

"This is your case now, Detective Dusk. I'll leave that to you." Luna made moves to leave. "Now, I had best go and keep up the charade this unseen villain is intent on fulfilling. Good luck to you, my student."

Dusk had the last few minutes of this conversation playing on repeat in his mind on the train back home and he couldn't help but doubt if Luna's confidence in him wasn't misplaced. He'd never done any kind of detective work before, he didn't even really know if there actually was a some other force at work behind Edge's actions. Maybe he did do all of this alone and he was misjudging him. This might be a waste of time.

But that was less convincing to him that Edge's actions before. No, something in his mind still told him that Edge wasn't alone in what he had done. He must have gotten some kind of help or maybe he was working for somepony acting towards a darker purpose. If Luna had made it his task to discover them, then he wasn't going to let her down. He had a score to settle with them for what they had done and he was going to see it done.

With this in mind, he began to consider other events that had happened to put him, his friends or the town in danger. Not just Doom, but also the gremlin attack, the collapse in Ghastly Gorge and most recently Cerberus escaping. Perhaps it was too early to say that these events were connected in some way and there might be none at all, but he remembered hearing something about this kind of work.

Detectives weren't allowed to believe in coincidences. It wouldn't be good to dismiss these events, not completely.

Putting that aside for now, he pulled out something he'd managed to recover from Hard Edge's home in the wake of his escape. It was a small metal hemisphere, about the size of a bit. The only thing that was left from the device he'd used to escape and so far his only clue. He could still feel a small amount of heat from the bright explosion it had caused on the bottom. He felt it might be important to keep it, so he had done.

So, a series of seemingly related events and one small piece of metal. Not exactly much of a starting point, but it was all he had.

Just as the train arrived back in Ponyville, he began to consider the possibility of additional aid, feeling some regret that he couldn't involve the girls in this. He could have at least used Twilight's intellect to aid him in this. But if this was for their safety, he knew he had to pay mind to Luna's advice and keep them out of this. Like she'd said, if he needed help, he'd have to get it from other sources.

But from where? Who of the other ponies he knew would be willing to help? He didn't think Mirror, Prim, Jock and Muscles would be suited for this, especially since he'd just left Canterlot and he couldn't get them from there. Shining was ruled out, for having the Captain of the Guard assist with this would undoubtedly draw attention. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were ruled out, due to their age and closeness to the girls.

He needed ponies that he knew, but the girls necessarily didn't. Ponies who had helped him in the past and might be willing to help him again… ponies like…

"Hey, there you are!" He was brought out of his thoughts by Ray, grinning as he walked up. "You know how long I've been waiting here? I thought you'd never get back from Canterlot from how long you were taking, you know?"

"Nice to see you too," Dusk returned. "What are you doing here waiting for me then?"

"Well, apart from that you're my best friend, I also heard that somepony was part of a break-in in Canterlot and they didn't invite me along to help." He glared jokingly at him. "Excuse?"

"It had nothing to do with you at all," said Dusk easily.

"Okay, fair enough," he shrugged. "So, I also heard that Luna tracked down the guy behind what happened with Doom. Did they catch him?"

"No, he got away," he reported bitterly. "Although, on the subject of that, I wonder if you wouldn't mind doing something for me."

The stallion shrugged. "Depends. What's in it for me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You want me to do something for you, I expect that means you'll do something for me." He raised an eyebrow. "What do I get?"

"Um… my undying gratitude?"

"Sorry, I take my rewards in material goods."

Knowing that Ray was probably just joking, Dusk knew exactly how to get him. "Fine. I'll see if Fluttershy is willing to give you a kiss in exchange for your services."

"What?!" He instantly lost his confident demeanour and started blushing furiously. "I… I didn't mention Fluttershy or… or anything to do with her. Not even part of this, you know? Why would you even imply that I… not to say that I don't… I mean, I do, don't! I said I don't do don't… you…"

Dusk chuckled and patted his shoulder. "How about you just do this one for free?"

"Sounds good," he muttered, quickly recovering himself not long after. "So, what do you need, buddy?"

"I need you to have a quick look around town for these ponies," he said, pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill. "When you find them, can you tell them to come to my house to meet me there. Then, you come along too."

"Hm, sounds mysterious… well, I'm game," he agreed, looking over the list Dusk had detailed with their names and locations. "So, what is this for then?"

"I'll tell you when you bring them along," replied Dusk. "See you later then."



Even though this was more than just inviting some friends around, Dusk had still made the effort to be the proper host for his guests, setting out some tea on the table in the living room with the appropriate number of places and waiting patiently. He didn't know if they'd actually show, but they were at his birthday party, so it stood to reason.

But then of course, that hadn't exactly ended very well. Guilt rising again in the pit of his stomach, he hoped none of them would hold that against him and made it the first thing he would mention if they did show up. The last thing he wanted was bitter feelings directed at him from that, especially when he needed their help.

Ray, of course, was the first to arrive, with the assurance that while they had been surprised at his sudden appearance, he'd found all of the ponies Dusk had detailed and said they were all willing to see what he had to say. While he was grateful for his effort, Dusk remained silent from Ray's incessant asking as to what exactly was going on. He would just have to wait.

Not long after, to his immediate relief, they started to arrive. He offered them all refreshment and before long, he had assembled his small team. Gentle Dream, the artist mare, who was looking around his home with her creative eye. Nightfall, the astronomer, who sat quietly stirring his tea with a pensive look. Last, but by no means least, was the musician Frequency Stream, waiting in a patient and dignified way, humming a small tune to himself.

"Right then," said Dusk standing before the fireplace, "first, I'd like to thank you all for coming here on such short notice, especially considering what happened the last time you were all here."

"Yes, I was wondering if you remembered that," remarked Frequency. "Just so you know, while Octavia was offended and Vinyl thought you had too much cider, neither of them hold anything against you for what happened."

"Neither do we, for that matter." Gentle looked around the room. "Well, I don't at least."

"You don't?" This surprised Dusk more than anything. "I'm not trying to make any excuses here, but I'm genuinely sorry for what happened that night. You're invited to my home and I throw you all out. Hardly a befitting host…"

"We know," said Nightfall quietly. "I was offended by how you treated Shimmer, but she urged me not to blame you. She was sure you just had a bad day and wasn't going to hold that against you. So, neither do I."

"Plus, in the wake of an evil demon pony attacking everypony, it didn't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things," said Gentle brightly.

"Yeah, just so long as you don't do it again, right?" added Ray. "I mean, if you just called these guys over to throw them out again, you probably shouldn't have bothered."

Dusk chuckled a little, grateful for being able to laugh. "I'm relieved to hear that, thank you. However, on the subject of Doom, that was why I asked you all here. I need your help."

Frequency looked intrigued, along with the others. "Kindly elaborate."

He explained as simply as he could the situation, what he had been entrusted with and why he had seen fit to ask them above all others.

"At some point, you've helped me with a particular problem I was having," he went on. "I don't know if you all feel the same, considering I don't see very much of you, but I consider you all to be my friends in that respect. I trust you, I know you're good ponies willing to help others if you can. I'm asking once more for that help. Don't feel you have to, but I would very much appreciate it."

"Well, you don't even have to ask me, bud," Ray said immediately. "If I can help track down the guy who did this, you can count me in."

"Me too," added Gentle. "I've never been a detective before, or at least tried to solve some kind of mystery. It might be fun."

Nightfall considered a moment. "I don't see how I could help, but if I can, I'll go with it."

"I too will endeavour to assist in any way that I can," promised Frequency. "Though I think you'll find it hard to maintain inconspicuousness with a musician of my standing."

"We'll find some way to work with that," assured Dusk. "Thank again to you all. You didn't have to do this, but I'm glad you did."

"No problem." Gentle leaned forward eagerly. "So, where do we start, detective?"

Dusk smiled from the use of the title. Now, it was time to see if he could earn it.

"We start with some incidents I believe warrant further investigation. At two different times, but both rather close to each other, two events occurred that endangered first myself and my friends and later the town. Nightfall, Gentle, Ray, will investigate the former at Ghastly Gorge."

"Isn't that place dangerous?" asked Nightfall.

"That's why Ray is going along with you, he can handle himself in a fight." He turned to the stallion in question. "There are rocks from a collapse near the end of the gorge. Search the area around there for any clues, anything that looks out of place, but don't go beyond it."

"You got it, boss," saluted Ray.

"Good." He looked to the musician. "Frequency, you and I will go to the library. There's something I left with Twilight that I've been meaning to follow up."

He nodded after a moment. "Very well."

"We'll meet back here in an hour and report our findings. Good luck to you all and… well, I'll see you later," he added unsurely.

If they noticed this, they didn't comment on it and they separated when they reached the centre of Ponyville, off on their separate tasks. Whether or not they'd yield any results was yet to be seen.

"So, an Element of Harmony, also the student of Luna, a wanderer, an artist, an astronomer and a musician." Frequency smiled in some amusement. "Quite a bunch you've chose to assemble."

"Indeed. All we need now is some smart-mouthed talking dog or something," remarked Dusk. "Like I said, it's a question of trust that I chose you all. I feel that you all have what it takes to do the right thing."

"Your vote of confidence is appreciated." He smile turned sympathetic. "It can't be easy for you though, leaving out your friends like this."

"It isn't really," admitted Dusk. "But it's for their own safety and for the circumstances of the case, so it's necessary."

"Of course," he said. "By the way, did you happen to find a gift for Twilight Sparkle's birthday?"

"You remembered?"

"When you're in my line of work, Dusk, a good memory is essential. So, did you?" he repeated.

He held up his half of the necklace. "You're looking at it. She has one half and I have the other."

"That is quite a gift," he commented. "You two must be very close, to share something like that."

"Yes, we are," murmured Dusk. "What about you? How are things going with Vinyl?"

"Oh, I think we're getting there," he replied confidently, with a slight blush. "I think she knows that my interest in her extends beyond friendship, but I still need to wait a little longer before acting."

"Why? You seem fairly secure in the knowledge."

"Because even after the length of time I've known her, Vinyl Scratch is one of the most unpredictable ponies you'll ever meet," he said simply. "You can learn everything about her and even after years of friendship, she can still surprise you."

"Sounds like she'd get along fine with Pinkie Pie," remarked Dusk. "This must be strange for you, acting as an investigator like this."

"Not really, no." He answered Dusk's confused look with, "I've been working in music for quite a long time. I've learned to identify every note of every chord of every instrument in a musical piece within the space of thirty seconds. The way I see it, helping you to discover the culprit here won't be much different."

Dusk had to admire him for that perspective. "I suppose it's a good thing I asked you along then."

"I'd imagine so, but thank you anyway," he said. "Besides, I find it rather refreshing, but I shall be glad to get back to composing music when this is finished."

"You're not the only one," muttered Dusk, when they reached their destination. "Hello? Twilight? Spike?"

There was no reply. As quiet as a library should be. Looking around, he found a note left on the desk.

Dusk

Gone to see doctor about Spike's stomach. Because I kept you up over the past few days, feel free to go home and have a rest. You've earned it.

Love, Twilight Sparkle.

"So, it seems she won't be aiding us currently," remarked Frequency. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I know what it is we've come for, so we just need to find that." He led the way to the stairs up to her room. "It should be up here somewhere and knowing Twilight, it won't be difficult to find."

"If you say so."

All things considered, it was something of a good thing that she wasn't here. That meant he didn't have to worry about lying to her about this investigation to her and keep her from finding out about it. With Twilight, if she wanted to know something, she wouldn't stop until she learned all she could about it.

While Frequency stood waiting, Dusk went over to Twilight's work desk. Above it was a shelf dedicated entirely to her personal projects. Most of them were books she meant to read or had particular interest in, but there were some other things like chunks of stone and plant life. No doubt she intended to look these up for reference to sate her curiosity about them.

He soon found a small wooden box marked SS. Smirking from the knowledge of what that stood for, he pulled it down and opened the lid. Inside were the familiar parts of the collar, only now they had been taken apart, separated from each other with a note underneath each one and fixed to the bottom.

She'd pulled him aside at one point, discreetly telling him that she hadn't been able to identify the purpose of the collar. From the looks of things, she'd attempted to disassemble what was here and figure it out, but from what her notes read, she hadn't been able to and had just left it here, just in case.

"This is it," Dusk said, showing it to Frequency. "She couldn't make anything of it and neither can I. Then again, I'm less knowledgeable in that area."

"How unfortunate." He gazed over them carefully. "No, I can't seem to find… hello, what do we have here?"

His hoof pointed to some kind of glass capsule, broken with only some of it left and held between two pieces of metal. Tiny broken wires hung loosely from it, with the note underneath, 'appears familiar, can't find specific reference.'

"What about it?"

"I know what this is." He examined the component closely. "It's a special kind of recording device. You see here, the glass chamber? It's used to hold a small magic spell for the purposes of recording. They can be used for almost anything, but I sometimes use them to record important musical pieces. They can be quite expensive though, so I use them sparingly."

Dusk nodded approvingly. It was a good thing he'd bought Frequency along then.

"Well, it looks like we have something from this then, even if it isn't much." He looked over the rest of it. "Every other piece is either chassis or bits of wire. I don't think we'd be able to get much out of this."

"Perhaps, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to bring this along," he suggested. "You never know, there might be something else we can get from this."

"I don't know, if Twilight discovers it's missing, she might-"

"Dusk?" He froze and whipped around at the sound of her voice, where she stood gazing at him curiously. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Twilight!" he greeted, a little louder than he'd intended and in a higher pitch of voice. "Um, er… when did you get back?" He hid the box behind his back.

"Just now. I thought I heard voices up here." She looked from Frequency to Dusk, frowning. "What are you doing up here though? Who's this?"

"I just uh… popped in for a bit to um… check on Spike!" he said quickly, ignoring her second question. "How um… how is he?"

"He'll be fine, the doctor just said he needed some bed rest." Her frown deepened. "Is something wrong, Dusk?"

"Wrong? No, not at all um… why would you think something's wrong?" he stammered.

"Because you're acting rather jittery, that usually means something's wrong." She took a few steps forward. "Are you hiding something?"

"No, no, not at all," he repeated.

"Then why are you acting so nervous?"

"Um… I… uh…" His brain froze, he couldn't think of anything. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"My apologies, Twilight Sparkle," said Frequency easily, stepping forward. "I was a little curious about what was up here, so I urged Dusk to show me. I didn't realise this was where you slept."

"No trouble at all," she replied unsurely. "Do I know you? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

"I hear that a lot. My name is Frequency Stream." He smirked when her suspicion lifted. "I take it you've heard of me?"

"Oh, of course I have," she said. "I've heard a lot of your music back when I lived in Canterlot, you're very talented and… weren't you at Dusk's party?" She looked to Dusk. "You know him?"

Once again, Frequency answered without hesitation. "We met in Canterlot on the day before your birthday. I started Dusk on the idea of getting you that beautiful necklace you're wearing and both halves suit you both very well, if I may say so."

"You did? Thank you, that was kind of you," she said, with a blush. "So, are you visiting Dusk?"

"I thought I'd drop by yes and it was his suggestion to bring me here to meet you," he added. "Again, my curiosity got the better of me. I'm sure you'll understand."

"Of course, of course," she said quickly, laughing nervously. "I can get a little curious myself, you know? Just be a little more careful next time, right?"

"But of course." He started to lead Dusk out. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I'm afraid we must be going. Have a pleasant day."

"You too, nice meeting you too!" she called after them.

They waited until they were outside the library before Dusk spoke.

"Well… you handled that well," he noted. "I'm not the best when it comes to lying."

"Again, something you have to have mastered in my line of work," he said lightly. "Now, let's get back and wait for the others. Perhaps they've uncovered something too."

It turned out that among all the rubble and stone, Gentle had managed to pick something out-of-place with her artistic eye for detail. It was another metal hemisphere, exactly like the one he had found in Edge's home, only slightly larger and shown to the group after Dusk and Frequency explained their findings.

Everypony else went along with what he said, for none of them could identify the other pieces. Nightfall confirmed it, saying he'd used the same recording device to chronicle some meteorological readings. Whatever that meant.

"We looked around, but we couldn't find much else," she reported. "I thought this might be important, so we decided to bring it back."

"Good thing you did." Dusk took out the other and compared them. "If these are both part of the same thing, some form of explosive, then the collapse at the Gorge was caused by that."

"What makes you say that?" asked Ray.

Dusk created a colour shape underneath them, so it was a complete sphere, thinking for a few minutes before answering. "I'm just guessing here, but perhaps the bottom part was made of a material that would break and dissolve to create the reaction, while the top was some kind of lid to keep the necessary chemicals required."

Ray nodded. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Whoever used them must have made it themselves, somepony with a knowledge about those chemicals then," realised Nightfall. He held up the box with the collar components. "What about this then?"

Gentle spoke up. "You said these things can record almost anything, right? What if it recorded something unique to gremlins, something from them that you could only get from them?"

"Creatures of mischief and chaos, along with a Gorge collapse caused for the same purpose and of course Doom's return, if we can assume," noted Dusk. "They may have also intended the same by somehow releasing Cerberus. But how would anypony benefit from that? What would they hope to gain?"

"Maybe they just wanted to cause some chaos?" suggested Frequency.

"No, they went to too much trouble just to cause general mayhem," dismissed Dusk. "They must be working to a bigger purpose."

"But what purpose?" asked Gentle. "Why would anypony want to do all of that? It's horrible…"

"It might serve us better if we knew who exactly had done it." Nightfall turned his eyes to Dusk. "Can you remember if you saw anything prior to them, anypony acting oddly?"

"I'm not sure… give me a moment…" He turned away and pressed a hoof to his chin.

He thought for a long while, recalling the memories of those events. It had been a long time since they'd happened, with more horrific things that only served to take up more space in his head, but other events had also happened that remained more significantly in his mind. Remembering those and putting them together helped him to piece together anything that happened in-between that he might have forgotten about.

On the day of the collapse, they had all gathered to watch Rainbow's pet candidate's race, back when Rainbow was still infatuated with him. Not exactly comfortable memories, but he had to try and remember. Twilight had used her teleporting magic to get them ahead of the pack, so they could watch through their binoculars. Then, at the final leg, he had glimpsed something at the top of the cliff… a red speck, that looked like a pony…

Dusk remembered feeling some unease at the sight of him, that told him that something was wrong. He cast his mind back further, trying to recall what had generated that unease to begin with. It was back when Luna had been really pushing him in those lessons and he'd started getting headaches. He'd gone to Zecora's for a remedy and come back to the library, but there was something else… something before he went back…

"I remember…" He took a moment to consider his next words. "There was a pony, a stallion in the Everfree Forest. I think he was at the gorge as well… he had red fur… or a shade of red, anyway. He was… short. I mean, shorter than me…"

He didn't think it would do much good, but it turned out he had assumed wrong.

"Red fur and short?" Ray asked. "I remember seeing a guy like that at the inn, with a beaker cutie mark, right? Bit of an odd one, always on his own and talking to himself. I did try to say hi, but he just looked at me like I was barely there."

"Yes, I remember now," nodded Dusk. "He did seem to talk to himself a lot and when he talked to me… it was like he thought I wouldn't understand somehow. Like he knew something I didn't and wasn't supposed to know… I don't know…"

"I got a sort of similar feeling," agreed Ray. "I don't know what it was, but something about that guy just rubbed me the wrong way, you know? Plus, if his cutie mark means he's a scientist of some kind, that would give him some kind of reason to know about chemicals. Like the kind used in these bombs."

"It's a lead, at any rate." He looked at them all. "Ray and I can investigate this. You can all stay here, make yourselves at home and see if you can't think of anything else from what we've got so far."

"You got it," affirmed Gentle brightly.

"In the meantime, Ray?" He made his way to the door. "Let's go and see if there's room at the inn."

Aside from his friend remarking about the obvious joke that he just made, he followed Dusk without any objections. Making use of Ray's teleporting ability, arrived in a second, the only result being Dusk feeling queasy from the spell and some poor mare scared out of her wits by their sudden appearance.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot," Ray joked lightly, leading Dusk inside to the front desk and grinning at the dull white stallion at the desk. "Hey Fawlty Manager, remember me?"

"Oh yes, Mr Strike. How could I forget you?" he mumbled irritably. "I was under the impression that you had secured your own accommodations."

"You make it sound as if my leaving here was a bad thing," he remarked. "Actually, the reason me and my friend are here is that we need to ask about one of your guests."

"Really?" he asked, in a tone that suggested he had no intention of doing so. "And why do you assume, Mr Strike, that I would be willing to divulge such information?"

Dusk stepped in now. "Because you are required to as part of an official and legal investigation into this individual's affairs."

"Indeed?" His tone was still cynical.

"Indeed," confirmed Dusk. "My name is Dusk Noir, Mr Manager and I've been given full royal powers by Princess Luna herself to investigate anything I deem relevant to this case."

"Is that right?" A hint of caution had made its way into his voice. "Do you have some proof of this?"

"I am Princess Luna's student and an Element of Harmony, that should be proof enough," replied Dusk curtly. "You can try to contact the Princess via Twilight Sparkle's assistant Spike to confirm this, but neither she nor I would prefer to have our time wasted. It would be beneficial to us both if you cooperated."

Normally he would have been more polite, but he wanted to follow this up as quickly as possible and didn't have time to follow niceties. He hoped a direct approach might work and it did, for Manager frowned at him before pulling out a guest book.

"And what is it you need to know exactly?"

"Just if you happened to provide a room to a short stallion, with maroon fur and a beaker cutie mark. That's all and then we'll be out of your hair."

He nodded slowly, his hoof on a section of the book. "There was a guest that answers your description, a Mr Written Alibi. He stayed in room twelve for about six months, checked out just a few weeks ago."

"Bet that's before Doom showed up," muttered Ray. "Didn't wanna be in the line of fire with the rest of us."

"Possibly," said Dusk, speaking louder to Fawlty. "Would it be possible for us to search his room? Has it been stayed in since he left?"

"Not recently, following the Doom incident," he grumbled. "Seems to have scared away most travellers for the time being."

"Even so, can we have a look?"

"If you must…" He heard him grumbling while he went to retrieve the key. "Good luck in your investigation, Mr Noir.

"Thank you for your cooperation," replied Dusk evenly, knowing the stallion was still watching as they left.

"Wow, I think that's the first time I've seen you act like that," said Ray appraisingly. "You almost had me scared."

"We didn't have time to waste. He didn't seem to like you very much," noted Dusk, while they walked up the stairs.

"He doesn't really like anypony."

"But he seemed to hold dislike for you specifically."

"Now, that is a mystery," said Ray. "Maybe he just doesn't appreciate my winning personality, That or it was probably something to do with a prank I might have pulled involving some soup and a fly in an ice cube."

"Yes, I'd imagine that leaving a trick ice cube wouldn't leave much of a positive impression."

"I had no choice. He looked like he needed a laugh and Rainbow told me to do it and 'trick' implies it was fake." Ray finished that topic with a mischievous smile and a change of topic. "Here we go, room twelve."

Not questioning that further, Dusk slipped the key in and opened the door to the modest-sized room. There wasn't much in here apart from a single bed, a writing desk by the window, the curtains for which were shut and a door leading to a bathroom.

They started to examine it, though Dusk didn't expect they'd find much. If their mystery pony had stayed here and he was involved in this, it was unlikely that he'd left anything behind that would incriminate him. Still, their best chance for some kind of follow-up to this was to discover why he was here and what he intended. Even if it was just a little thing.

"What are we even looking for?" asked Ray, emerging from the bathroom. "I don't think he would have left a signed confession lying around anywhere."

"Undoubtedly," agreed Dusk, "but we're looking for anything that might give us a further lead on his location."

Ray put down the lamp he was looking under. "So… not a signed confession, but a map with detailed directions?"

"I don't know," he sighed, "but there has to be something here. Something he might have left or forgotten or not deemed important, especially if he wanted to get out before Doom got to work."

"So," continued Ray, pulling away the bed, "that could be anything?"

"Indeed it could."

"Anything at all that might give him away?"

"I would think so."

"Including this?" Dusk looked to see that he was holding a newsletter. From Canterlot University.

Now, he could feel a smile beginning. "Yes, including that."



"Oh, wow, will you look at this?" Gentle traced her eyes around a canvas of interpretive painting. "I mean, there's not much structure, but I think that's what gives it its beauty. Just the use of colour and the way it's painted to let you see what you want to see. This really is a wonderful piece, in that respect, so many ways of looking at it…"

"Gentle," began Dusk patiently, "I respect your interest in art and you're right, it is a unique piece, but can you try to stay focused please?"

"Oh yeah, of course, sorry," she stammered, her face flushed. "I just get so absorbed in this kind of thing and we are waiting in here. I just thought it would be something…"

He nodded in understanding. "Of course. For now, you're okay, but be ready to do what we need to."

"You got it," she replied brightly, going off to look at another piece.

Dusk smiled a little at her intrigue in art, glad he'd asked her to accompany him for this part and turned to stare out of the window he stood by, watching students and professors make their way to their classes or just relaxing on the grass outside in groups or alone.

The university carried much the same royal castle aesthetic as the rest of Canterlot, namely in the form of the two spires emerging from the foremost parts of it and built into the mountain, towering above the lush green grounds below. However, it also carried the same classical appearance of a converted manor house, with many windows glinting in the sun and rows of ivy creeping along the red brick walls like tendrils.

Looking out at the university from the waiting room they were in, Dusk could certainly imagine studying here. Its grounds neighboured Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, so the two of them shared the same grand lake in the centre, shimmering like a mirror. This, combined with the sheer amount of peace and tranquillity he felt gazing out at the fields, the patches of flowers, the trees and the proud buildings, made Dusk see why this was quite a respected educational institute.

It would be so simple. Just sitting under one of those trees, with a book open in front of him, perhaps Twilight beside him while they studied for an upcoming test or just reading together. If only they'd been friends then, when things were a little simpler…

He turned at the sound of the door opening and smiled genuinely when he saw who stepped through. "Night Light, good to see you again."

"I suppose it is rather nice to see me again, yes," he remarked a little absently. "Even so, it's good to see you again too, Dusk. And who's your young friend here?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, didn't hear you," said Gentle, looking away from the art. "I'm Gentle Dream, nice to meet you."

"And you too. Unless there's a chance that Dusk is cheating on my little girl with you, in which case that's less nice," he added. "You aren't, are you?"

"No, no!" said Dusk quickly. "Of course not, no. She's just my friend."

"Yeah, we're just friends," affirmed Gentle, blushing slightly. "I mean, I already have a coltfriend and I don't like ponies who cheat on people, so of course we're not…"

"I'm only joking, you two. Honestly, your faces." He chuckled and nodded at Gentle. "You seemed away with the fairies there before. Believe me, I know how that feels."

"Just engrossed by all of these wonderful pieces," she said brightly. "There's some good work here, reminds me of my art school."

"They are quite nice, aren't they?" he nodded. "None of them are mine, I can't draw for toffee. Mm, toffee, I do like a little bit of toffee. I could go for some right now, haven't had it for… wait, what was I talking about?"

"About the art?" tried Gentle.

"Oh, yes, the art. Very well painted, lovely," he agreed, to recover himself. "Yes, a very nice field here, a lovely bowl of fruit and a…" He stopped at an interpretive sculpture. "I'm not sure what this is, but I'm sure it's nice too. Once you figure out what it is."

"I beg your pardon, Night," said Dusk politely, "but we came here in hopes that you might be able to help us with something."

"Yeah, we're looking for a small, red furred stallion with a beaker as his cutie mark," followed up Gentle. "We think he works here, maybe? Dusk said you and your wife did, so we figured you might be good to ask."

Night thought for a moment. "Are you by chance referring to the scientist Doctor Test Tube?"

The name rang a bell in Dusk's mind. "Doctor Test Tube? The writer of the hypothesis concerning the combining of technology and magic?"

Night nodded approvingly. "Somepony's been doing their homework."

Dusk shrugged modestly. "Well, your daughter kind of pushed me to."

"She'll do that." He chuckled again. "I'll be honest, I'm just saying that because I honestly have no idea. I only know that he's contributed some of his work to the university and that he has a private lab here as a result where he does most of his research, but I just stay away from the fellow mostly. Everypony here does."

"We've been hearing quite a bit of that," nodded Dusk.

"Bit of an oddball and that's coming from me. I heard he moved away quite a while ago, six months or something along those lines. It was rumoured he headed out for Ponyville." He shrugged at them. "If you're looking for him, you're probably better off looking back where you came from, sorry you wasted the trip."

"Actually, we were hoping to find more about him based on what we might find here," explained Gentle. "Once we find what we need, we can probably figure out how to find him for what we need."

"Working your way backwards, eh? I do the same thing when I lose my socks. Not that I need them, I don't wear socks all that often. I mean, it's nice to but…" He snapped out of his ramblings. "Oh, sorry, you probably want to go and have a look at his lab then. You might not find much there, heard it's been mostly cleared out by him or somepony else, but you're welcome to take a peek, since he's not around."

"Thank you, Night, that would be ideal." He let him lead the way, allowed Gentle to exit first and picked up the rear.

They had the others staying behind to do some further research on the mysterious pony, perhaps find some more clues that would lead them to his motive. He and Gentle had come to Canterlot to try and confront him directly. If he worked at the university, he might have been using grant money in order to pay for what he needed.

So, the reserved and mysterious scientist had a name now and Dusk could start to piece together his role in this. From some of the thesis he'd written in the books he'd read, he caused quite a stir in the scientific community. It wasn't just his ideas, but also how he was willing to go about them that made him feel that perhaps if he did have a part in this, it was a little clearer now.

If only for the fact that it was also more chilling.

They reached the lab that Night Light directed them to, having somepony unlock the door for them and ushered them inside.

"Right, have fun you kids. I've got a class now. Oh wait, was that at three-thirty or four-thirty? Is it lunchtime or have I missed that? Oh well, I'll figure it out." With one last easy smile, he left them to it.

"Is he always like that?" Gentle asked with a giggle when he was gone.

"From what I gather, yes, but I don't hold it against him," he replied. "Now then, let's have a little look around here, shall we?"

As with the room at the inn, it didn't look like they'd be able to find much. The lab was quite large, almost the same size a normal house, but most of it was stripped bare. The desks were empty, the racks had a few lonely and empty test tubes left in them, equipment owned by the university left in boxes waiting to be stacked away. They had some chance, but not a big one.

They split up and started to look around, Gentle running a hoof along the desks while Dusk walked towards a larger part of the room that was completely empty. At first, there was nothing of particular interest, but Dusk knew there had to have been something here. The fact that there was just this empty space, with no desks or anything of the like, suggested it might have been used for something. There needed to be a space here in order to fit it.

"So, do you know much about this Test Tube then?" asked Gentle, her voice echoing a little.

"Only a little from what I've read in some books," he answered. "I don't have much of an interest in science, but it was recommended I read them. I don't know a whole lot, but I've retained what I do remember."

"Well, something is better than nothing. It might help us out if I knew as well."

"Good point." He recalled what he read to mind. "I didn't read in great detail, but one thing I do know is that he believes in a sort of attempt to combine technology and magic together. Not just so that magic is a power source for regular devices, but also to create new ones, giving powers to other ponies that would normally be reserved for exceptionally skilled unicorns or alicorn or even just normal unicorns."

"So like using things like levitation and teleportation for earth and Pegasus ponies?" She brightened a little. "That sounds like it would be good for everypony."

"It does, were it not for how he goes about it," he said grimly. "From what I gather, he doesn't seem to hold much for a moral code in order to get what he needs done. He believes that morality only serves to hold back progress and he would be able to fulfil his findings more quickly without it."

Now, her expression wasn't so optimistic. "You mean he doesn't care about right and wrong to get what he needs done?"

"Not in the least," he answered. "One of his experiments involved creating a teleportation machine to be used by all, but he found out that for the moment, it would only work if the recipient was also magical. That wasn't before, however, his machine ended up killing various animal test subjects as a result. Quite painfully too, I might add and even then with magical animals, the process was still very painful."

"That sounds horrible!"

"The rest of the scientific community thought so. They wouldn't even let him use it on a pony with the results he had and forced him to suspend his experiment and all others related to it. There are rumours he still continued them secretly."

"That's awful…" she murmured. "It would make sense though, if he was behind all this. That he was willing to see a few ponies hurt to get what he needed."

"Indeed." Dusk suppressed the anger that threatened to rise towards their suspect and pointed to the office. "Check in there, could be something useful."

"R-right." Still looking a little shaken from this new information, she went off inside.

Finding something to distract him, Dusk returned to examining the empty space before him. He still held his suspicion that something used to be here. He could make out dust marks on the floor from something, big rectangular machines and a circular part by the look of it. There were marks of soot on the floor, possible indication that this machine had been used.

Even with this though, without the machine actually in front of him, he couldn't actually tell what it was. He remembered a similar sort of device he'd been using back in the Forest, but that one was relatively small compared to this one. Either it was a scaled down version or perhaps it served a different function entirely.

He'd said something about containment regarding the machine… but used to contain what? And how? A forcefield, perhaps?

"Hey, Dusk! Come in here, I think I've found something!" called Gentle from the office.

Hope rising, he headed into the small office, complete with a small chair and empty filing cabinets by a wooden desk. He joined Gentle at the desk and looked at what she found. It appeared to be an empty drawer, but Gentle was smiling knowingly.

"Gentle, there's nothing in here," he said. "If he did clear out his office, he wouldn't have left anything important behind. At least, not in plain sight."

"Exactly, not in plain sight. If he only took what was important, he might have forgotten about the little things. Like with that newsletter you and Ray found. All it takes…" She pushed down on the drawer, allowing it to lift up, "… is the right eye to find it."

"Yes… yes!" He pulled out the small stack of papers within and placed them on the desk. "Gentle, that was brilliant!"

"Thanks," she mumbled but smiling, levitating one up and opening it. "Hey, there's some kind of blueprint in here. Take a look."

Dusk did so and grinned. "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000! Or at least, some kind of early prototype. This one looks a little different."

"Seems weird he'd leave this stuff here though," she remarked.

"Like you said, if he was in a hurry, he might have forgotten about the little things." He pulled out some other pieces of parchment, a notebook. "There's some notes here, relating to the teleport machine I told you about. All of the tests he did on various animals."

"Really?" She read them over, her face morphing into a look of horror and disgust. "Oh, this is awful… 'noise made by subject suggests intense pain'… 'clear sounds of evident discomfort from subject'… 'vortex field at maximum when severe suffering is…' why would anypony want to make a note of this? I think I'm going to be sick…"

She tossed them aside, gagging and Dusk picked them up, wondering that same question, though the same horror began to rise up in his chest when he read over the vivid details. Why would he make notes of all the suffering his subjects went through?

He compared the activation of the machine, a blast from a magic horn, to how the twin's machine had been activated. The notes and plans for machines all seemed to detail around the use of magic and technology combined. The Flim Flam brother's machine was powered by such an arrangement and this teleportation device appeared to operate on a similar system.

But teleport spells were powerful, advanced magic and it wasn't just about the application of energy that was needed to pull off a spell. Another, more vital aspect was needed for spells that powerful, something that Luna had taught him at the very beginning of their lessons. And for some reason, now he thought about it, it made sense in that instant.

"Emotion. That's it!"

"I'm… sorry?" Gentle looked confused by his outburst.

"This was why he instilled all these things," he said, holding up the notes. She still looked confused, so he explained. "These events, they all were happenings of chaos and suffering, some more minor than others. Imagine, how much pain, anger, rage and fury would Doom's return have created? The same concerning the gorge fall and the gremlin attack. He was gathering the raw negative emotion generated from that as an energy source to power his machine."

"So… all of that was just being used as a means to an end?" She looked even more horrified than before. "All those ponies that suffered when Doom came back, your friends almost crushed… all for his experiments?"

"I know, Gentle, I know." He placed a hoof on her shoulder comfortingly. "That's why it was up to us to track him down, to make sure he didn't get away with it. It's our task to bring him to justice and I couldn't have done it without you or any of the others."

He saw determination start to replace her horror. "I'm glad I was able to help. Believe me, I am. What about Cerberus though? Do you still think he caused that?"

"I'm not sure, but let's back to Ponyville," he suggested. "We've got all we need from here and maybe the others have come up with something."

She agreed to this and they left with the evidence they found. Neither of them spoke much on the train on the way back, either because they were reading the notes or because at this time, neither of them felt much like talking.

They found their compatriots looking over some papers when they got back. When they asked about what they had found, explaining what they'd discovered to the disbelief and shock of most, they found their final piece of the puzzle. Nightfall had something that confirmed what he had theorized when they got back, just as the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.

"You remember how I mentioned weird energy spikes I detected from my observatory at your party?" he asked, showing him some photos of some sort of beam shooting into the sky. "On a hunch, I examined one I found on the night before Cerberus showed up and it was the biggest one yet."

"Any idea where it came from?" asked Dusk, knowing they were close.

"I think so." He showed them a map he'd set out. "I followed the beam down to its source and recorded the approximate origin point here. It came from the Everfree Forest, specifically around this area here, with only one place it could have come from by how the area is mapped out."

"The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters," murmured Dusk. "A place where you could have access to creatures from the forest for possible experiments, no possibility of anypony stumbling across you and the only place where you might find pieces of the Corruption Entity."

"Good work, Nightfall!" Gentle said encouragingly. "See, you did contribute something."

"I guess I did," he said with a hint of pride. "So, we know who it is, why he did it and where he's hiding. Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Nightfall," affirmed Dusk. "Gentlecolts, mare, I'd say it's time to-"

"Bust this thing wide open?" suggested Ray with a grin.

Dusk nodded slowly. "Yes, Ray. Exactly that."



Dusk couldn't believe that this was the third time he had been to this place and he still hadn't stayed to examine it properly. From the times he'd been here, once in the past and once in the present… in a manner of speaking, he'd always had some other pressing need to be here that meant he couldn't stay and have an actual look around. This time was no different.

He put those aside, focusing on moving stealthily up to the entrance of the castle. One day he might, but today, more important things needed to be done. Cloaking himself and his friends in the cover of shadow, he led them up to the crumbling, ancient walls until they were right next to the door.

He gave the signal and they emerged, shivering from the evident cold of the shadows. Before they went in, Dusk wanted to get a good look of what they were getting themselves into. Motioning for them to stay down, he peered up cautiously through a nearby window. The machines he could see set up there definitely weren't part of the structure of the castle. It was like the one Tube had been using last time, but like he suspected at the lab, much bigger and for a different purpose.

Dusk saw movement and felt disdain rise when he recognised Hard Edge bending by one of the machines, doing something to it. He appeared to be speaking, but he couldn't make out what was being said, but he soon saw who he was talking to. The good doctor emerged from a side room a few seconds later, examining his device, his lips moving with barely any sound.

Perfect. Now, it was really time to finish this.

"Okay," he whispered to the others, "they don't know we're here and we outnumber them. The good thing is we have the advantage of surprise."

"Right, you two!" Ray called, kicking open the doors. "The jig us up!"

"Which is now gone," he muttered. "Right, let's go!"

Gentle remained by Dusk's side while he walked inside, Frequency and Nightfall spread out either side and Ray flanked his other side. To his slight enjoyment, both ponies stared at them in bewilderment.

"What the… where did you come from?!" demanded Edge, starting to move forward.

"Ray, if you will."

"Willing." In a second, Ray teleported over and had Edge in a lock behind his back and teleported him again next to a machine.

"Hey, hey! Lemme go, lemme go!"

"Hush now," he said casually. "He's all yours, Dusk."

"Thank you." He turned his attention to the scientist, taking advantage of his slightly greater height. "Hello again, doctor. I don't think we introduced ourselves properly last time."

"No, we didn't." Surprise was evident, but appeared to try and contain it. "You found us then."

"It took a little work, but yes, we did."

"How much do you know?"

"That you were the reason my home has been put in danger a number of times, all to serve as power for this amalgamation of science and magic. No matter how much they needed to suffer in order to do it."

"I see…" There was no hint of remorse in his voice, only a sort of admiration. "I knew you had some intelligence when I met you, when he told me of you, but… I am impressed by your efforts, I must admit."

"High praise, I'm sure."

"It's just a shame, that you can't see the bigger picture… what I really aim to achieve…" His gaze flickered to the side room he'd come from. "I would have thought your transformation might have affected you somehow. Maybe it has…"

"Nothing's affected me," replied Dusk curtly. "Maybe not the result you wanted."

"But I got my results anyway." His gaze became more intense. "How did it feel, by the way? Watching through Doom's eyes while he acted, unable to do nothing but live all he did? I can only imagine how painful that must have been… how it still is… if only…"

There again, that creeping note of pleasure in his voice when he spoke of pain. How had he ever managed to feel compassion for him?

Not willing to waste any more time, he got straight to the point. "Doctor Test Tube, under the powers granted to me by Princess Luna of the Constitutional Diarchy of Equestria, you are under arrest for crimes ranging from civil unrest to willing endangerment of the citizens of Equestria."

He didn't look worried, more disappointed. "You know, when I met you in the Forest, despite what he told me, I had hoped you might be different. He'd affected you directly, how could you not be? I can see now that I was wrong."

"Happy to disappoint," he countered curtly. "Who is this 'he' anyway?"

"But why should you need to ask? I thought you would know, since he granted you and all of us true freedom, not so long ago." He could see that fire in his eyes when he spoke of this. "Freedom that could only come from chaos."

"Discord," he whispered. "Of course, you would take advantage of a world with no rules."

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked conversationally. "The progress I managed to make with nothing holding me back, you have no idea. It was very… productive… glorious. Discord saw that. He found me, appraised me… recruited me. The greatest honour I'd ever received…"

"Recruited you for what?"

"And then it ended." There again that disappointment. "You and your friends, imprisoning him in stone once more, encasing me in that same cold cage of order that I had been so ecstatic to be rid of. A real shame, really… we both did."

"I see." Dusk looked at Edge coldly. "You two do seem just right for each other."

"Oh, him?" He spoke like he was insignificant. "He sought glory and praise for his own ends. I strived for progress for all. We both lost out on that, due to your actions. Had you left Discord alone, we would have been free to carry on, but you forced us to take drastic steps."

"Don't try and blame what you did on me," snapped Dusk. "You chose your own paths. The things you've done, the gremlins, the gorge, Doom… I had pity for you before, but you should be ashamed of yourself. Both of you."

"Buck you!" shouted Edge.

Tube glanced at him, but turned his cold gaze back to Dusk. "You really are just like the rest of them. You think your moral code gives you higher ground, but in truth, it only holds you back. That's all it ever does."

"Forgive me, if I don't agree with you."

"It is true, though. Even after all I have done, you're still willing to take me alive. If you would just kill me, like I know you're tempted to, you would end anything that I might have planned permanently." He took a step closer. "But you won't. You'll take me and Edge, we shall escape and repeat the process that you had the chance to stop, but didn't. Because your morals held you back."

Alarmingly, Dusk considered his words. He remembered a small part of him had wanted to cause the one responsible some pain, for what he had done. If Tube aimed to do more… they were alone here. Nopony but those here knew where they were. It would be easy…

But then he felt the other's gazes on him, could see Ray staring at him intently with that confident smile of his and they reminded him. He had brought them here for the sake of justice, not vengeance. He had never sacrificed his views for anything. He wasn't going to start now.

"No, Tube," he said slowly and clearly. "My morals are what separates me from you. It's appropriate how you're hiding here, in the Everfree Forest. You're right here where you belong, with the rest of the monsters."

He sighed notably. "How narrow-minded of you. Just like the rest. You'll see soon enough."

"You keep saying things like that," noted Dusk. "What was it that Discord wanted you to do? Why did you release Cerberus, if that was even you?"

"Oh yes, that…" he muttered. "The dog was merely a side effect of what I intended to do. A welcome one, really."

"And what was that?"

"Well, if my teleportation machine was directed at Tartarus… well, you figure it out, Dusk."

"What did you do, Tube?" he demanded, but the scientist acted like he'd suddenly lost interest in him.

"I think we've spent enough time here." He raised his voice. "Mr Edge, did you finish making the preparations necessary?"

"Most of 'em, yeah," he grunted from Ray's lock. "You wanna do it?"

"I think that would be best. Whenever you're ready."

"Got it." He jammed Ray in the stomach and kicked the machine, diving towards the doctor.

Before Dusk could stop them, he glanced over at the machines to see something red flashing on the side of them. Something round and half-metal.

"GRENADE!"

BOOM!

The machine burst into flames. A second later, so did another and another, the heat of the flames rising and creating a wall between them. The sickening smell of burning metal and plastic reached his nostrils, making him cough.

"Out, everypony out, now!" he ordered. He could hear Ray teleporting quickly while he grabbed Gentle, who had been forced back by the explosion.

Through the flames, he saw Edge and Tube making for the exit, blocked by the burning wall before them. He would have given anything to go after them, but he had to make sure the others were safe first. There was no other way around the castle and Hard Edge was fast. They'd be gone long after they recovered from the smoke.

Putting that aside, he picked up Gentle with a spell and galloped with her, diving through the doors with the flames licking at his flank. Nightfall, Frequency and Ray were already out, recovering from the shock of that.

"Are you okay?" he asked the mare gently.

"I'll… I'll be fine…" She coughed and smiled weakly back up at him. "Thank you…"

"Don't mention it…"

Just as he helped Gentle back to her hooves, he happened to glance back at the burning castle ruins. He expected them to be empty, for Hard Edge and Test Tube had now evacuated the area in the wake of the explosion. It might just be his imagination, the lack of oxygen from smoke inhalation playing tricks with his mind, but he could have sworn he saw something…

A figure, amidst the flames. Tall, imposing and unfazed by the fire licking around his hooves. A dark robe billowed around him, almost mingling with the smoke that rose from the tongues of flame around him. His face was obscured by something… a hood or a mask or just the smoke. But where had he come from? Who was he? What was he still doing here?

And why, in the few moments before he stalked away from the flames, even though he couldn't see his eyes and wasn't entirely sure if he was there… did he feel like it was looking right at him?