//------------------------------// // Conspiracy Theories // Story: A Tale of Two Dusks - New Beginnings // by keaton-furman-prower //------------------------------// Dusk Shine adjusted his glasses as he stared at the various news clippings, maps, and pictures pinned onto the wall and connected by red strings, trying to find the one piece of the puzzle he was missing. “Everything that happened so far points to Canterlot High School as the center of the weirdness. First that demon girl a few months ago, and now that weird light show at the concert just a few days ago. You see what I mean, Spike?” He turned his head back towards his dog, who merely barked in joy at hearing his name. “No, I’m not crazy, Spike. I’ve been gathering all sorts of information, and it all says that this is all happening around this school!” He turned back to his wall, scratching his chin as he looked over everything once more. “And yet… there’s something I’m missing. Something small, easy to overlook. Or maybe the government is just that good at hiding things.” “The government being good at anything? Yeah, you’re definitely crazy.” Dusk turned around in surprise. Standing before him was a young woman with white skin and blue hair. She was wearing her blue police uniform and badge, and she was carrying a large bag with a Taco Spell logo on it. “Hello, Gleam.” “Seriously?” asked Gleaming Shield as she sat down at the nearby table. “I’m lucky enough to have enough off-duty time to have dinner with my favorite little brother, and he’s too busy with his wall of craziness to bother with me? I should have just gone with Bolero again.” “Jeez, I’m sorry,” Dusk said as he sat down next to his sister. “But this is really big! I mean, Whatever’s happening at that school, it could very well change the world!” “Magic monsters and weird lights?” Gleaming asked as she pulled out a couple of tacos from her bag. “Oh sure, and next you’re going to say that horses can predict the future with their tails.” “This is serious!” Dusk said angrily. “Something big is going on, and I need to figure out what it is!” “No, you know what’s serious?” asked Gleaming. “You, wasting all your time on those stupid conspiracies! You need to go out and make some friends.” “I have frie-” “And I don’t mean me, or Bolero," interrupted Gleaming as she took a bite out of her taco. “Or Spike.” “I have other friends!” Gleaming raised an eyebrow as she swallowed a mouthful of taco. “Do they have names?” “How about Sonata Dusk?” Gleaming rolled her eyes. “Seriously? I knew you’d be making up stuff, but using your own name for some fictional friend?” “She’s not fictional!” Dusk yelled defensively. “I met her today at Sugarcube Cafe!” “Really?” said Gleaming, her skepticism slowly giving way to curiosity. “And what exactly did you do when you met her?” “Well, she was sitting by herself, and she looked depressed, so I went over to help her. She didn’t want to talk at first, but after a while I got her to tell me her name. After that, she began to tell me more about herself. Apparently, she used to be a bully, but then something went wrong, her friends turned against her, and she began to regret all the bad stuff she did. So then I did my best to cheer her up, and I also promised to help her redeem herself.” Dusk smiled as he watched the bemusement on his sister’s face as he finished his story. he then grabbed a taco and began to eat. “You are either the best liar in the world or telling the truth,” commented Gleaming. “I hope you’ll eventually come to see that it’s the latter,” said Dusk. Gleaming simply stared as Dusk continued to eat. “So, this Sonata Dusk girl says she was a bully?” “That was her story,” answered Dusk. “Well, at least, that was the abridged version of her story. She says it was really complicated, and that I would call her crazy if she told me.” As he said this, Gleaming snorted in amusement. Dusk looked up in surprise, which quickly gave way to annoyance. “What?” “Oh, of course you’d think someone was crazy.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “Well,” said Gleaming, “With your crazy conspiracies and whatnot, you would probably add whatever she told you to your wall of craziness.” As she spoke, the gears in Dusk’s head began to turn. Soon enough, they began to click into place, and he jumped for joy, tossing his taco into the air. “Gleaming, you’re a genius!” He then looked at his sister, only to notice that the taco had fallen on top of her head. She, in turn was glaring at him. “Oh,” he said, blushing in embarrassment. “Sorry about that.” “No, it’s all right,” said Gleaming, her face showing clear disagreement with the statement. “Now, what was it that you oh-so-cleverly have thought about now?” “Well, I’ve been finding all these stories about these inexplicable events that have been happening around Canterlot High, and now I met this girl who has a story she claims is too weird for me to take seriously!” “I can see where this is going,” said Gleaming Shield. “And I do not like it.” “This might be the missing piece I need to complete this puzzle! If she knows anything about the stuff happening at that school, I have to know about it!” Gleaming couldn’t help but press her palm against her face. “Seriously, Dusky? You finally manage to make one friend, and the first thing that you think about is how to use her to advance your own stupid theories?” “What? Oh, heck no! The first thing I did was cheer her up, and then promise to help her. If I can find out something about this, then that’s a plus!” “Well, at least you got that right,” muttered Gleaming. However, she kept silent afterwards as Dusk rushed over to his wall and began to scribble notes furiously. Sonata Dusk… Gleaming thought to herself. May the Almighty Hasbro have mercy on her.