As we walk into town, our passenger drawing odd stares from passers by, my thoughts start running around in my head as I try to sort them out.
Sure, a new pony appearing from nowhere isn't as odd as, say, Discord, but it's still kinda weird. Why am I so calm?
I take another look at the unconscious pony held in Twilight's magic field, and smile.
I dunno why, but I just have this feeling that this guy's a good pony.
"Twilight," I say as we enter the library. "I think you'd better take another look at Star-Swirl's Journal."
"That I should." Twilight says, setting Dusk down on a nearby reading chair. "Tell me when he wakes up."
I give her a salute and get to cleaning the library as per usual.
In my mind, I go over the list of chores to do.
Sweep the reading area - Twilight's always leaving crumbs there; I should talk to her about that...
Do the dishes. All seven of them.
Make sure all the books are alphabetized.
Then...
I grin.
Then I can get back to reading Power Ponies. They've been teasing at a new member of the group, and I wanna see who it is!
As I get done with the dishes, I hear a noise from the front room.
"You awake in there, Dusk?"
Nothing.
"Q-Question."
"Shoot."
"Where is..."
"Twilight?"
"The N-Namer, yes."
"She's upstairs."
"Permission to enter her private chambers?"
"Sure. Why not?"
I hear hoofsteps, and I yell as loud as I can.
"Twi, Dusk's coming up!"
"What!?" I hear her yell.
I put the final dish - one of Twi's seemingly endless supply of coffee mugs - into its place in the drying rack and head to the library section to get started on alphabetizing.
After a few minutes, I hear an odd voice yelling.
"I-I cannot accept this! There is no way someone like you is my Namer!"
Was that Dusk? He sounds really weird when he yells...
I look over at the stairwell just in time for Dusk to come barreling down it, tears streaming down his face. He bursts through the door and takes off, flying away at speeds near Rainbow Dash levels.
"What was that all about?" I ask Twilight as she walks down the stairs, a look of shock on her face.
"Help me call the girls." she says, disbelief in her voice.
"All right." I say, shrugging and jumping off of the shelving ladder.
Whatever gets me out of alphabetizing...
As we walk past the park in between Twilight and Rarity's houses, I notice Twilight's shaking.
"Are you all right, Twilight?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah." she says. "I'm fine."
I roll my eyes and pull her towards a nearby park bench. She sits down on it with an irritated look on her face.
"Spike, I'm fine!" she says.
"If I'm able to pull you like that to a bench and have you sit down on it, you're not fine." I say. "What happened up there with Dusk?"
Twilight rests her head in her hooves.
"I wanna tell the girls too. It's a lot. And it's really complicated."
"I'll go get 'em." I say. "Stay here. Relax. Cry if you need to. We'll get through this, just like Nightmare Moon, and the Gala, and Discord, and Chrysalis, and Sombra, and Discord again, and-"
"I get it, Spike." Twilight says, smiling.
"Just stay here and calm down." I say, walking off. "That's an order."
Twilight rolls her eyes.
"Yessir."
As I walk towards Rarity's, my heart skips its usual beat upon seeing her through one of the front windows. Her purple mane, elegantly bouncing as she almost dances around the ponnyquin she's working on. Her lips, moving to the words of a song I can't hear. Her eyes, blue and deep like an ocean of sapphires...
I sigh blissfully and open the door to the boutique.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique," Rarity says in her beautiful voice. "Where every- oh, it's you, Spike."
"H-Hi, Rarity." I say. "Twilight needs you in the park."
"Whatever for? Is something wrong?"
"It's a long story. She'll tell everyone when you're all there."
"So it's 'gather the girls' bad, is it?"
"To her, at least. I've gotten used to things like this. After all, it's not like Equestria's in jeopardy or anything."
Leaving the Boutique - and casting more than a few longing glances back at its owner - I head to Sugar Cube Corner, where Pinkie Pie's flipping the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'.
"Hiya, Spike!" Pinkie says. "We're not quite closed yet; care for a cupcake?"
"I'd love one!" I say, before remembering why I'm there.
"Actually, Pinkie, I can't stay. Twilight needs you guys in the park, and I need to get the others."
"Okie-Dokie-Lokie!" Pinkie says, skipping on her way to the park and handing me a cupcake.
I consider asking myself where she got it from - she wasn't holding one earlier - but I shrug, tell myself it's just Pinkie being Pinkie, and take a bite as I walk away.
Shortly after, I arrive at Sweet Apple Acres.
"Howdy, Spike!" Applejack says, coming out of the barn near her house and wiping her brow. "What brings you here?"
"Twilight's sent me to gather everypony." I say. "She's in the park."
"All right." Applejack says. "Ya hear that, Fluttershy?"
"I'll need a few minutes to clean up," Fluttershy says from inside the barn. "But the baby's healthy, and I can leave her for an hour or two."
"Baby?" I ask.
"Uh huh." Fluttershy says tiredly as she steps out of the barn, a weird pinkish-red goo staining her hooves. "One of Applejack's cows just had a baby calf. You should see her, Applejack. She's just the cutest little thing."
"I'll leave you guys to it, then." I say. "I still need to find Rainbow Dash. "
I walk back to the park - Rainbow Dash practically lives in the clouds above the place - when I hear Twilight.
"Rainbow's here, Spike." she says, smiling and gesturing to the cyan Pegasus, resting on a cloud above her head.
"Hey, Spike." Rainbow Dash says.
"Hi, Dash." I say. "The others are coming, Twilight."
"Good." she says. "Thanks for the help."
The three of us sit in expectant silence as first Rarity, then Pinkie, and finally Applejack and Fluttershy arrive, each of them sitting down around the bench.
"Now that everypony's here," Twilight says. "I can explain things."
We all wait for her to continue, and she sighs deeply before resuming.
"First thing you should know: I've been marked for death."