//------------------------------// // Interlude 1: Everfree Forrest and Smoke // Story: Arrived at Dusk // by aliengirlguy //------------------------------// Chapter 7: Interlude 1: Everfree Forest. When the great and powerful Trixie came to town, it was a potential headache that Dusk was careful to avoid altogether. While her shows were somewhat entertaining, and she used a few tricks that he had yet to see, so he went to a few of them long enough to get a general idea of her magic, which was easily assimilated and added to his own repertoire, her appallingly blowhard attitude and third person talking annoyed the hell out of him, and he was glad that it didn't take him long to glean what few tricks she had in her repertoire. he would give her props for showponyship though. It was especially irksome when she kept challenging random ponies, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he was somehow dragged into the whole thing, so he did the smart thing and spent a few days camped out in the Everfree forest gathering plants and herbs for his teas, leaving the shop in Derpy's capable hooves. It was while he was carefully harvesting some Jocky Flowers that he meant a resident of the forest, an odd hermit in a hooded cloak who talked in a rhyming voice. The two of them encountered each other during his trip at the grove a few times, and in other places, apparently she was after similar plants, and when he didn't react with anything other than curiosity, she lowered her hood, and he meant his first Zebra face to face. Zebras were a rare sight, even in Canterlot. They came from a far off country outside of Equestria and were rather secret with their practices and culture, and often went to either one of two drastic ways socially: being part with large group, or going it lone wolf style. They were nomadic in nature, and traveled in large caravans, setting up entire towns made entirely of tents. Poetry was a common practice in the Zebra population. It wasn't uncommon for a Zebra to speak in rhyme, limericks, or some other formal style of poetry. His mentor had told him about a journey for rare tea ingredients once in his younger days outside Equestria in the Zebra lands when he stayed with a zebra for a time who spoke entirely in Haiku. Zekora, as she introduced herself, had settled in the Everfree forest, intrigued by its mysterious nature when she heard about it during her travels, and had decided to settle their some years back. He couldn't blame her though, nearly everything else run by ponies, it must seem unusual to another that a place existed outside of control and was a place that took care of itself. Dusk liked to come to the Everfree when ever he was feeling contemplative or stressed. It was comforting in it's own creepy way. Unfortunately, the towns ponies who weren't overly used to seeing those outside of other ponies or the monsters that occasionally ran amok, and the fact that she wore the traditional hood and cape with the added addition of her coming out of said mysterious and creepy forest that was often home to many of the more vicious creatures, didn't help her reputation any. It was things like this that reminded him about the vast cultural differences between large mantropolis' and small rural towns. He in turn related some of his experiences in pony life, mentioning his mentor and the adventures Brew Bag shared in stories to him, and thus well aware of the fact of what she was, and after the ice was broken, the two of them shared tea and soup in her hut and swapped recipes. In fact he extended his stay an extra day as she taught him a few things about some of the local flora and fauna, giving him tips on the best way to acquire ingredients from the things he had never seen nor heard of before, or otherwise consider risking it in general (the manticore venom had been an interesting afternoon). Dusk had tried to talk Zecora into coming to the village, but the other was hesitant, given her previous tries, he eventually dropped it, respecting his new friend's choice. By the time the two parted ways and Dusk arrived back home, it was to find some mild property damage from what appeared to have been a rampaging Ursa Minor of all things, which Twilight had taken care of, and with it, gotten rid of Trixie, much to his relief. Things yet again returned to normal, and Dusk's secret and his nerves remained undisturbed. ooo ooo ooo Chapter 8: Smoke. It was the day that the denizens of Ponyville referred to as the day of the smoke. Unlike the rather unhappy ponies, though Dusk could understand their fear, as a sleeping dragon that produced that much smoke ran the risk of covering the entirety of Ponyville in smoky clouds and ash for a hundred years or so was something that Dusk thought was rather concerning for them. Though in his opinion it wasn't like Princess Celestia would just let sleeping dragons lie in this instance and would likely deal with the matter before it got quite so far. But in the meanwhile, he was going to take advantage of this rare boon. The area around where a dragon that old and powerful slept was teeming with rare plants the sprouted in areas fed by the falling ash of dragon snores, and then there was the dragon itself, whose scales, and in some cases mane, facial whiskers and tail tip plum (if it had one) were potent and powerful ingredients in many helpful and rare brews that he could definitely use. Spike was a dragon to of course, but he was still very young and younger dragons didn't have as powerful ingredients as elder dragons. Zecora might even part with a few rare ingredients of her own that he had his eye on if he offered her some in trade, if she didn't harvest any herself. So since the ponies of Ponyville weren't inclined for tea that day, what with worry over impending doom and all, he told Derpy to head home early, pay still assured for the day of course, and closed up shop. He packed himself a few supplies, mainly harvesting equipment, a large amount of food, and several blankets and sweaters, since he wasn't sure how long he was going to be away, and he understood that it could get pretty cold high up in the mountains. He was sure that if Princess Celestia was unable to take care of the dragon herself, or her younger sister, she would send a team to handle the matter, and if worse came to worse, he figured he could handle the dragon himself…at least he thought so though he had never faced off against a dragon before, so he wasn't to sure. It was definitely a pleasant walk, despite the darkening sky from the smoke, and the occasional ground shaking rumble from the snoring that got more obvious the closer he made it to the base of the mountain. Dusk examined his map, making sure of his approach, then put it back in his saddle bag and taking a cautious look around, he released the magic holding down his shawl and let out his wings, taking a moment to enjoy stretching them. He so rarely got a chance to fly. The risk of being found out as an alicorn was just too great. He often had to hide away in abandoned buildings or simply hovering within the small confines of his apartment to work on them. If his magic wasn't such a big part of himself and needing to be used, he might have tried to find ways to hide his horn and be a pegasus, but…well, needs must. It was one of the things he regretted about his charade at times. With a huff of breath, he leaped into the air, laughing at the spectacularly good feeling of stretching his wings and extending his pin feathers and touching nothing but open air. All too soon, it was over and he had to land. He sighed and sadly tucked his wings back under his shawl, reapplying the spell. His depression quickly faded though when he spotted a small crop of ash berries and smoke thistle. "Score!" he crowed and trotted over and began harvesting heartily. Ooo ooo ooo Applejack groaned as she set the rather literally scared stiff pony's tale down that she had tied around her head. Poor Fluttershy didn't look any better for the trip around the mountain. She was seriously beginning to think that they shouldn't have brought her along at all. "Come on Sugar cube, it's just a little ol' mountain, nothin' to it." The pegasus just squeaked unhappily and tried to hide in her mane. Yes there were times, especially like this, where she wondered if there wasn't something rather wrong with Fluttershy other than being shy and sensitive. She pulled out a bottle of apple juice, taking a hefty swig as she pulled out the map to check their progress, only to groan when she realized that they were only a quarter of the way up to the rendezvous point with the others. "Well that's just swell," she sighed, shoving the map back in her pack and taking a brief breather by sitting on a convenient stone. A sudden rustle in the bushes behind her had her yelping in surprise and Fluttershy jumping for another bush with a terrified meep. Out of the bushes popped the familiar silver and black maned head of Dusk. "Dusk?" she said in surprise, "what in tarnation are you doin' all the way up here?" The pony blinked at her and held up a bunch of shriveled looking mushrooms with a happy look about him and explained. "I'm harvesting some rather rare plants and other ingredients that one can only get in conditions like this, I'll be heading further up dragon way to see if I can persuade the fellow up there if I can have a few of his scales or hairs, if he has any." "Wait," Applejack said disbelievingly, "your actually happy about all this dragon hooha? You are aware that this here dragon is a danger to Ponyville right?" Dusk waved a hoof dismissively as he walked over to Fluttershy's quivering bush, "of course! But I figured that I could take advantage of obtaining some rather useful ingredients before either Celestia or whatever team of ponies she sends to deal with the dragon sends it packing." "How useful can some shriveled lookin' plants that only grow in dragon smoke be?" Applejack asked dubiously, taking another swig on her juice. "Well Dragonshrooms," he wiggled the mushrooms, "are an extremely potent anti-inflammatory," he pulled out a jar, un-shrunk it, and placed the mushrooms inside. "Anti-what now?" Applejack asked, confused. Dusk chuckled good naturedly and explained, "anti-inflammatory are compounds that ease pain by reducing inflammation, or swelling. This particular mushroom is excellent for creating a rather potent tea for ponies with arthritis, like Granny Smith for example." "Well, that does seem mighty useful," Applejack conceded, "you wouldn't by any chance be willing to bargain up a trade for some of that? Ol' Granny could sure use some of that." Dusk nodded, "it's no problem, I'd be willing to make up a batch free for her if you want, it isn't a popular buy normally in tea shops." Dusk refrained from mentioning that that was because it was horribly expensive to buy, with the combination of the rareness of the plant and the time consuming and difficult preparation to make it viable. "Well thanks!" she said happily, "though I wouldn't feel right just accepting it without offerin' you something in return, how about a barrel of my first fresh squeezed cider when cider making season starts up?" Dusk loved fresh apple cider, and it could be useful for his more popular drinks, so he agreed. That business taken care of,he turned his attentions to Fluttershy. "She seems more nervous than usual," he commented concernedly to Applejack. Applejack sighed, "I don't think the mare does well with mountains." She described Fluttershy's behavior since the mess with the dragon had hit, and Dusk was beginning to wonder if it wasn't just the mountain. He frowned thoughtfully, while Applejack set about pulling Fluttershy from the bushes. Nodding to himself, he took a blanket from his pack, un-shrunk it, and slowly approached the nervous pony. "Hello Fluttershy," he greeted her in a soft calm slow voice, settling non-threateningly on his haunches within her eyesight, "you remember me right? Good ol' Dusk?" "Oh yes, I remember, you have the lovely snake family in your garden and have been teaching me to speak to them." Dusk had been going once a week to Fluttershy's house to teach her snake, as he promised. It had been slow going, but her natural affinity for animals helped it along immensely. "Can you show Applejack some of what you learned? She doesn't seem to believe me that one can actually talk to snakes in snake language." Fluttershy was actually beginning to calm as she began hissing random words in snake, and relaxed further when a blanket was thrown over her head, blocking out the scary world until all she could see was Dusk and Applejack. "That's good," Dusk complemented eventually, "now you ponies look like you could use a nice cup of tea, how about I brew us up a pot before you head on your way?" Fluttershy, seeing an opportunity to delay the inevitable encounter with the dragon agreed, and at a look from Dusk, Applejack agreed as well. Stepping a ways from Fluttershy out of hearing range, Dusk pulled out a pot and filled it with water from a canteen and set it to heating with a boiling water spell. "Listen sugar cube, thanks for calmin' Fluttershy and all, but we really got to be goin', we got to meet up with the others, and we still got a long way to go yet." Dusk tsked, "there's always time for a spot of tea, but what I'm brewing is more for Fluttershy then for us…could I have some of your apple juice? It should make the brew more palatable and not affect the smoke moss." "Smoke moss?" Applejack questioned as she handed over the juice. Dusk pulled out a vial of some sort of hairy looking greyish sponge like material. "This is Smoke Moss, it may not look very appetizing," Dusk chuckled at the look on her face, "but it's a really powerful herb that can be used in a lot of useful teas, tinctures and potions. One of its applications," he pulled out a small pouch, "is to increase the calming effects of sedative herbs like this camomile, lemon and ginger root blend that I like to drink before bed. It should help with Fluttershy." After adding a pinch of the moss, a shake of the pouch and half of the applejuice, when the water came to a boil, he let it steep for five minutes to ensure potency while he cleaned up. When it was done, he pulled out a solid clay mug that was a little lopsided but otherwise functional with big red letters that said 1# Boss, a gift from Derpy, and handed the finished tea to the pink and butter yellow pony who sniffed it curiously. "It smells really good, thank you," she complimented Dusk, and after blowing on it a few times, before drinking it. When she was done, she was already under its effects, and much to Applejack's surprise, the mare practically melted into the ground contentedly and fell asleep. "Wow, I'll never doubt moss again, that's some heady stuff!" Applejack commented with an impressed whistle. Dusk nodded and using his magic, making sure the mare was well and comfortably wrapped in the blanket and settled her on his back. "Since I'm heading up dragon way myself, might as well join you lot," he declared and began heading forward. Applejack thanked him and the two began the much quicker journey up the mountain then it would have originally taken, though Applejack insisted on taking a turn carrying Fluttershy on her own back from time to time. The two talked about this and that, and Applejack related some amusingly embarrassing stories about her older brother. By the time they reached the meeting point, the two were tired, but otherwise relaxed. When they meant up with the others, Applejack explained her encounter with Dusk. Twilight looked interested in the properties of the plants he had harvested, but in light of the situation, refrained from gushing her brain all over Dusk, who otherwise promised to give her a scroll with notes on the plants he knew of and their properties, plus a few samples to experiment with. He would be able to harvest more anyway after the dragon left. The plants would linger for a few days longer before they starved from lack of nutrients that they derived from dragon smoke. Fluttershy remained peacefully snoozing while the rest of the Mane 6 and Dusk continued up the mountain. She wasn't awake when the group leaped over gaps that revealed the ground rather far below, nor was she aware of anything when they past the dangerous avalanche zone. She began to come to when they finally arrived at the mouth of the dragon's lair. Things became somewhat complicated when Fluttershy, from the sheltering confines of her hair and the blanket, finally admitted to the others that that she was afraid of dragons. The grown up variety anyway. Despite their attempts as talking her into it, they were unable to convince her to talk to the dragon. "How about you five try to handle the dragon? I'll stay with Fluttershy," he gestured to a large bolder where he knew she was hiding, "if nothing you lot do is able to convince him to leave, I'll take a shot at it, and if that doesn't work, we better call in Celestia or her sister in to deal with the matter." The others agreed to the plan. Dusk settled beside Fluttershy and the mare leaned against his offered side. "I…I must seem a real coward to you," she said quietly, shame lacing her voice. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid," he replied, "there are plenty of ponies that would be frightened, and rightly so, considering." "But nopony has ever had so much depend on them being able to reason with a dragon," she sighed, "they need my skills with other creatures and I've let them down." Dusk considered how to answer her then seemed to come to a decision and began speaking. "You remember that I mentioned that I came from Canterlot like Twilight right?" Fluttershy or the blanket lump that was her head nodded. "Well, what nopony knows is that I wasn't born in Canterlot, in fact I wasn't even born in Equestria" he seemed to have caught her attention as she peeked out from the blanket curiously. "I was born in a place that is very far away, I place that I care not to remember its name, and if I can help it, I would never return." "What…what happened?" Fluttershy asked softly. "When I was barely a year old a…well, I suppose you would call him a monster, the not so nice variety like some of the kind you have here, a very scary and evil one, came one evening to my parents' home and killed them." She let out a horrified gasp. He nodded, though he understood her look, murder was extremely rare amongst ponies, and what rare occurrence happened was usually the result of non-ponies, even then it was not all that common. "The monster was defeated by the love of my mother who sacrificed herself to protect me, and for a time, there was a certain peace, thanks to her sacrifice. One day, when I was still a foal close to Applebloom and Sweetiebell's age, while I was attending a magic school, the monster, who had not been permanently defeated after all, snuck into my school where he was after two things: a powerful artifact that had the potential to make him even more powerful then he previously was before his fall, and the second was the side benefit of trying to murder me." Fluttershy had completely emerged from her blanket, and leaned her head against his shawl covered flank. "You poor thing!" she exclaimed, "Whatever did you do?" Dusk huffed a breath and said "well, at first I thought one of my teachers was trying to do me in. At the time I thought, like everyone else, that the monster was gone for good. None of us except maybe the headmaster of my school suspected that he had merely just been severely weakened. I won't lie and say that I wasn't afraid, and when the time came for me to face him, I had to do it alone, even my friends were unable to go with me on that last final end of it all. Of course, at the time I still thought it was another one of my teachers, a scary individual in his own right who hated me with a particular passion. When I realized that it was the monster I stood before, I was terrified." "What did you do?" she asked breathlessly, hanging onto his every word. "When he attacked me, I realized quickly that when he touched me skin to skin it seemed to hurt him, so I faced him and I won. He was defeated, weaker than he ever had been before, though it nearly killed me doing it." When he was done, he stared directly into her eyes, "do you know why I did it? Why I really acted?" "Because he was…he was…trying to ki…kill you?" she stuttered, practically whispering the word kill. "That was part of it," he conceded, "but the real reason was because I couldn't let him hurt my friends, or anyone else should he get away. I had the determination to hold on because I wanted to save them more then I wanted to save myself." There was moment of silence, and they could here Rainbow Dash finally becoming frustrated with their failure so far and took a crack at it. "You did all that for your friends?" she asked him quietly, "even though you were afraid?" Dusk nodded, "selflessness for the sake of others, in the right situation mind, can be a strength all its own. My mother taught me that." Suddenly the ground beneath them trembled and a roar filled the air. The ponies were sent careening in blasts of smoky breath as a rather large red scaled dragon squeezed out of his den and began attacking them. Dusk jumped on top of the rock and was about to summon his magic but another blast from the dragon blew the top of the bolder that Fluttershy had been hiding behind, and Dusk right along with it. Fluttershy gasped when she saw Dusk sail up and over the lip of a steep cliff drop. She acted without thinking and jumped after him and grabbed onto his tail, making the unicorn yelp, but otherwise had the sense not to struggle and helpfully cast a lightening charm on himself as Fluttershy carried him back to the cliff were the rest of her friends lay in a dazed heap before the looming dragon. Eyes narrowing in anger, she set Dusk carefully down next to them, and all the ponies were treated to the rather stunning sight of Fluttershy boldly telling off a humongous pissed off dragon. She actually reduced it to tears at one point. "Wow," Dusk muttered to Twilight, plopping down beside her, still a little shaky on his hooves from the explosion, "now there is an impressive pony." The others nodded in agreement as they goggled at the sight. Eventually the contrite dragon did clear out to find a better napping place, though he offered his apologies and some of his shed scales to Dusk, who asked him politely before moving on. When the others decided to head home, much to everyponies surprise, Fluttershy offered to stay behind to help Dusk harvest the last of the dragon smoke plants and fungi, and the two spent some enjoyable days harvesting and exchanging stories and furthering her lessons in snake tongue. By the time they had returned, she had grown skilled enough to hold actual simple conversations with him entirely in hisses and thought that perhaps, mountains, real and metaphorical, can perhaps be overcome.