The Golden Oak Library was normally rather quiet on mornings. Spike would get up and tend to breakfast, while Twilight got up a little slower. Guests usually weren’t around at this time. Twilight would have spent the morning studying as usual.
Then again, today was not a usual day.
“You broke into Dusk’s house?!”
Twilight’s screeching made Rainbow wince. “Calm down, Twilight! I didn’t exactly break in; I just entered through the front door!”
“That was conveniently unlocked!”
“Exactly!”
Twilight sighed. “Rainbow, did Dusk allow you entrance into his home?”
“Well, no… but I doubt he would have, anyway!”
“She has a point,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, Ah doubt that Dusk would let just about anypony into his home.”
“That doesn’t mean that breaking and entering into Dusk’s house was right at all,” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Dash!” Pinkie scolded. “You know how the law works! You could go to jail!”
Dash winced. “Please, don’t remind me, Pinkie. Besides, wouldn’t I get points for doing it for a good cause?”
“And what cause is that, Rainbow?” Rarity asked with a huff. “You still haven’t given proper justification for your actions!”
Rainbow glared at her, before unfurling her wing and revealing a small bag. She opened it, pulling out the camera and the photos. “Here, look!” She spread the photos around the table.
One by one, they each looked at the pictures, their curiosity growing every second. Eyes scanning the laminated objects, their mouths hung open in shock. “Th-this was all in his house?” Twilight asked, nearly forgetting the criminal extent of Dash’s actions.
The cyan pegasus nodded. “Yep, all of it. Right down to the dust.”
Fluttershy held up the picture of Dusk’s writing, her lip quivering. “Raven Lock… that’s the—”
“The pony who died yesterday in that explosion in Manehattan,” verified Applejack. She shook her head. “Poor guy. He and that maid didn’t deserve such a painful death.”
Rarity, meanwhile, gave a start. “If Dusk was writing to Raven… could that mean that he somehow was involved?”
“Involved?” Pinkie scrunched up her nose. “Involved how? He’s here; there’s no way he could have triggered that explosion!”
Rarity frowned. “I know that… but still, he’s a contact. And besides,” she added, grabbing the picture from Fluttershy. “His writing seems to suggest he knew beforehand that something would happen. ‘You will die… should be you found out…’”
Twilight lit her horn, bringing the picture close to her face. “Huh. So he has heard of Opacare Prose.” Reading on, she let out a gasp. “Killed? What does he mean by that?”
“Well, the words have been smeared,” Fluttershy pointed out. “M-maybe he’s talking about something else?”
“I… I hope so,” Twilight said. She lowered the picture, bringing over the one with Dusk’s fridge. The others gathered around her, seeing the syringes. “I guess this explains what the syringes are for.”
“At least we know he’s not a user,” Pinkie said, trying to remain optimistic.
“That doesn’t explain the blood, though.” Twilight frowned, peering closer. “Are those… tags?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. They had letters on them.”
“What letters?”
“OP.”
“OP? What on Equestria could that mean—”
All of a sudden, Twilight froze, her eyes going wide. A million thoughts blasted off inside her head, shutting down all other functions. “T-th—” She couldn’t complete her sentence.
“Twi’?” Applejack asked, worried. “What’s wrong, Sugarcube?”
In answer, Twilight brought back over the writing. She placed both pictures down, side by side, her eyes flicking between the photos. She pointed a hoof out. “Here he’s talking about Opacare Prose… as if he knows him. And as if he’s dead.” She pointed to the syringes. “Blood. The letters, OP.”
Her hooves, like lightning, flicked all around, as she spouted out her conclusions. “He’s… going to Manehattan to bury Opacare Prose, apparently. But to do that, he would need a body… and the blood. The letters. OP could stand for Opacare Prose…”
She glanced back at her friends. “Girls… do you see where I’m going with this?”
Only Rarity and Rainbow appeared to have reached the same conclusion. The others gave her confused looks.
“If… Opacare Prose is dead, like Dusk writes… and, hypothetically, if Dusk is going to return to Manehattan to ‘bury’ Opacare Prose… he’d need a body…” She gulped. “And… it might be possible that the blood in those syringes… is Opacare’s. Dusk is shipping them off to Raven Lock.”
The others let out gasps as they realized what Twilight was implying.
“But, Raven Lock died yesterday. And Dusk speaks of an operation… perhaps something went awry, and Raven needed to be kept quiet?”
“No…” Rarity whispered. “It… it can’t be!”
Rainbow shook her head. “It looks like it, Rares. There’s too much connection between Dusk and these two.”
Twilight nodded. “There is a huge possibility that Dusk is connected to Opacare’s disappearance and Raven Lock’s death. These photos seem to say that Dusk…” Her voice faltered, as she was almost unable to say the word.
“… killed… Opacare… and used his body as a tank for his blood, which he shipped to Raven for some unknown reason.”
Applejack frowned. “But why would Dusk do that? Why would he label the syringes? Wouldn’t that give himself away?”
“I don’t know, Applejack. But one thing’s clear.” She looked up, her face long and worried. “Dusk has some answering to do.”
Silence radiated inside of the library, as each pony took in Twilight’s words. Finally, after tense seconds had passed, Rarity asked, “Twilight… what are we going to do?”
Twilight didn’t say anything at first. She stared ahead, her mind working as efficiently as it could. The girls could tell she was considering many possibilities all at once, all possible courses of action.
Could they do anything? Should they? It was up to Twilight now.
“Spike?” she suddenly called. The baby dragon looked up from where he was sitting. He had a frown on, his face dark and worried. He had not said anything since the girls had begun talking, but he had heard everything. “What do you think we should do?” she asked.
He stared at her quietly, green eyes matching purple in intensity. Finally, he spoke: “We have to stop Dusk Prosa.”
Twilight silently thanked Celestia for Spike being very mature.
Rainbow grew a confident grin. “Good call, little buddy. I’ll grab his sorry flank and fly him here!”
She made to take off, but was stopped by Twilight’s magic. “Wait, Rainbow,” she called sternly. “As much as you want to deal with Dusk, we need to let the authorities know. Specifically, Mayor Mare.”
Rainbow huffed. “Oh, fine. And here I was hoping I’d get to stop a bad guy.”
“Mayor Mare will hopefully assemble the town and we’ll go after Dusk,” Twilight continued. “We’ll bring him back here for questioning.” Her face grew more somber. “Though, I don’t think we’ll be able to handle this locally.”
“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.
“Dusk is connected not only to Raven Lock’s death—a Manehattan issue—but to Opacare Prose’s disappearance—an issue for Equestria as a whole.” She leveled a steady look at the others. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will need to know about this.”
“A national issue?” Rarity asked, a bit incredulous, but nonetheless resolute. “I suppose it makes sense.”
Twilight nodded, before turning to Spike. “Spike, please… take a letter.”
The dragon nodded, pulling out a scroll and pen. Twilight mouthed off her message, before nodding to Spike. Taking the hint, he held the scroll up, and blew a green flame on it, sending it away.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Now… let’s go.”
They all nodded, and the seven of them walked out of the library, heading for Town Hall with the evidence in tow.
They failed to see the three fillies who, once again, had been listening from outside. Their eyes went wide, and a silent agreement was reached between them. A second later, they were gone, racing off to warn the mysterious pewter stallion.
The raven flew away, unsure of where to go from here, leaving behind a pewter stallion.
To say that Dusk Prosa was furious was an understatement.
However, as no other word came close to describing what he was feeling, it would have to suffice.
“Argh!” he yelled, slamming a hoof into the wall, making the entire house shake. Next to him, on the floor, lay the battered remains of a newspaper from a day ago. The headline story read:
DETECTIVE RAVEN LOCK: DEAD AT 30
In a circumstance that was entirely unexpected, former Canterlot Detective and Head of Investigations Raven Lock was found dead in his apartment today. Among the other fatalities was Haybale, a maid of the apartments, and the landlord, a Mr. Gruff Shoes. The building had exploded in a blaze of raw power, apparently due to a faulty gas pipe, leading to the three burning alive inside.
Upon investigation, it was found that neither Raven nor Haybale had seemed like they were trying to escape. It seemed like they knew this was their end, and they had calmly waited for it. Gruff Shoes, meanwhile, was found behind his counter. The fire had burned away most of his skin; his death has been verified as quick and sudden—likely because he had taken the full blunt of the explosion, instantly.
The bodies were badly burned, and many bones were shattered in the blast. The explosion was felt in the apartment complexes on the other side of the block, shattering windows and causing temporary deafness to nearby ponies. Police, firetrucks, and ambulances were called seconds later; but it was too late. The ponies inside were already dead.
Witnesses report that they saw a zebra mare leaving the apartment hours before. Investigation into this, however, has stalled, once the main cause of the deaths was established as faulty gas pipe work.
The building had had a history of gas leaks in the past, though none were this tragic.
Haybale was a mare of 22, with a great personality and even greater ambitions. Though she was an apartment maid, she planned to go into real estate, specifically into country homes. Her friends and family give their thanks to those who are mourning her loss with them. Her brother is Sandy Grain.
Gruff Shoes, aged 54, though not as well liked, was a fair landlord to the tenants of the apartment. He particularly liked Haybale’s friendliness, as well as Raven Lock’s calm attitude. Gruff leaves behind a loving wife and a son and daughter, who have chosen to remain anonymous.
Raven Lock was the widower of the late Jade Sonnet, former singer of the Canterlot Orchestra Suite. He was the former Head of Investigations for the Canterlot Police, leading a decade long crusade against crime. Following his retirement, he became a psychologist, and was loved by all of his patients for his sense of humor and willingness to continually aid those in need. He will be sorely missed by the community.
Mayor Grifford Finch had appeared before reporters later on today. In his statement, he expressed “deep sorrow for these sudden deaths” and vowed to “achieve safer methods of providing heating into homes, without the need for unstable gas pipes.” He personally went to each of the mourners’ homes, giving his heartfelt condolences with tears in his eyes.
“I had a great respect for Raven Lock,” he said. “It saddens me to see him come to an untimely end.”
Several ponies have pointed out that Manehattan hasn’t had a string of tragedy since the corrupted days of old. Some wonder if this is a return of the times of spite and fear on the streets. One thing is for sure: all of Manehattan hopes that no other tragedies will occur.
The end of the newsprint also signaled the end of Dusk’s barriers. “Damn it!” he shouted angrily, again pounding on the wall. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
With each hit, the house shook violently. It threatened to collapse around him. His breath came in ragged gasps, and he blinked back tears.
He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t think it would come to this.
Raven Lock was dead.
And it was Dusk’s fault.
He growled, sinking to the ground, defeated. This couldn’t be happening. Their entire operations was unraveling at the seams. He was the only remaining member; the sole survivor.
His guilt suffocated him, and he blinked back more tears as he remembered the final note that Raven had sent. “They’ve found me. It’s over. I’m sorry.” Dusk didn’t need to be a super-genius to guess who had found him. He tossed the note away, angry.
The Family had gotten to him, no doubt. They got to him, and they did the one action that Dusk had hoped Grifford wouldn’t do.
They killed Raven Lock, Dusk’s best friend.
His only friend, really.
No, now it was something worse; his last friend.
He was all alone, now. All he had to comfort him was his anger and his grief.
“Damn you, Grifford Finch! Damn you!” he cried to nopony in particular.
What could he do now?
Without Raven, there was no way he could continue the operation for as long as planned. He needed Raven to be there to warn him when danger was close. In his absence, it was only a matter of time before the Family figured out where Dusk was, and came after him.
And after him, it would be the others that Dusk had been in contact with. Their lives were in jeopardy. And it was all his fault.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as his body shook uncontrollably. He wouldn’t sob, wouldn’t wail; but he would cry. He had lost nearly everything; his parents, his old life, and now his friend. He saw no reason to continue trying.
They’re going to kill me, he realized, and that’ll be the end of that.
If he stayed in Ponyville, locked up in his house, he might survive the next few months. But there would be a time when the Family arrived on the outskirts of the town. Dusk could perhaps flee, but the Family would ransack the town looking for him, causing even more destruction. He worried that the ponies he had grown to care for—however unintentionally—would be hurt in the ensuing search.
Therefore, should he remain, he would only cause bigger disasters.
Raven’s death was his fault. He put him up to this, placed in in danger, despite knowing the potential consequences. Dusk would not allow, then, for another to be hurt because of his will. He would not allow Ponyville to fall while Dusk stood.
His tears eventually ran dry, and he sniffled. Pathetic. He got up, hooves shaking and body quivering. There was only one thing to do; only one action that, while it would end with his demise, it could save Ponyville from his past.
He needed to run. Away. Perhaps for good.
Slowly, unsteadily, he walked away from the living area. He moved up the steps at a snail’s pace, nearly toppling over from exhaustion and sorrow. He grabbed from his room his quill and inkwell, as well as his satchel. He put on his vest and cloak, the clothes hugging him tightly. He went back downstairs and into the kitchen, and, after a sharp breath, placed each blood-filled syringe into the satchel.
Even if the operation was pretty much over, the syringes were still vital to his secondary mission. Saving lives.
He sighed. It wouldn’t be easy getting away. He had a feeling that there would be barriers to overcome. He shook his head, determined not to let another be hurt while he remained.
He turned, walking up to the door. He reached a hoof out to open it—
—when the door suddenly swung open. The sudden sunlight made him squint for a moment.
“Mr. Prosa! Mr. Prosa!” a familiar, squeaky voice cried. “You have to get out of here!”
He blinked. “… Miss Sweetie Belle?”
She stood in front of him with the other Crusaders, breathing heavily. “Yeah, it’s me, but that doesn’t matter!” she exclaimed.
Scootaloo nodded. “We heard them, Dusk! They’re coming for you!”
Apple Bloom added, “They said they were gonna organize a huge squad to arrest you—”
“Girls, slow down,” he ordered as calmly as he could. He knelt down to their level. “Now… what’s this I hear about me being arrested?”
“Th-the girls think you did something bad!” Sweetie explained. “They went to talk to the Mayor, and then they’re coming here.” She tugged on his vest. “That’s why you have to go! Before they get you!”
He glanced down at himself and his belongings. “… That’s the plan, if you haven’t noticed.”
Apple Bloom frowned. “Wait. You were already plannin’ on leaving?”
“As evidenced by my belongings, Miss Apple Bloom.”
“Okay, good, you’re smart.” Sweetie began pulling him out the door with the other fillies. “Now, you’ve got to go.”
“Why do you care?”
The question wasn’t voiced coldly, but it sounded like a stallion who had given up on easy, happy answers. She turned to face him, surprised.
“Because I don’t want to see you see get hurt!”
“What if I deserve it?”
“You don’t! I know it! The girls, they keep saying that you’re a bad pony and all, but I know it isn’t true! You’re a good pony, through and through!”
He frowned, pushing Sweetie away. He stood, his gaze cold once more. His lip quivered as he tried to mask the swirl of emotions that battled inside.
“Miss Sweetie Belle… when did I become a good pony in your eyes?”
She stared, surprised, but quickly answered, “When you fended off Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, of course!” The others murmured their agreement.
He sighed. “… Then I have perhaps failed you three as well.”
He turned away as the three stuttered incomprehensibly. This only goes to show how much damage I’ve done. I’ve only made them more ignorant to the truth.
He faced them, frowning. “Now, tell me, why exactly do they want to arrest me?”
Sweetie started. “W-well, they think you k-k—”
“I?”
“Th-that you—and—ponies from Canterlot—” Her voice became garbled, and she let out a frustrated groan. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just super stressed out!”
“I don’t exactly have all day, Miss Belle—”
He cut himself off, looking up to Ponyville. A clamor of different voices could be heard, resounding and loud. Their tones were angry, threatening, like a group of villagers come to apprehend a witch. A shiver of worry raced down Dusk’s spine. “Miss Belle?”
“Oh no! We’re too late!” Sweetie looked up to Dusk. “I’m sorry, Dusk! I tried to warn you, but—”
“It’s not your fault,” he said reassuringly. “It’s mine.” He glanced back up at the approaching crowd, eyeing them with apprehension.
As the large group approached, the head of the group, Mayor Mare, saw the three fillies. “Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Apple Bloom? What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Uh… uh…” They couldn’t formulate a good enough excuse. Luckily, Dusk was there to provide one.
“They were saying goodbye,” he quickly said, his voice echoing across the landscape strongly. He noticed that Twilight and some of her friends were also in the group, noting particularly that Rainbow Dash had a sour face on.
“Girls, you need to step away from Mr. Prosa,” Mayor Mare said. The fillies nodded, stepping to the side. Dusk walked forward, meeting the group halfway down the path.
“What is this about, Mayor Mare?” Dusk asked, keeping his voice cool.
Rainbow made to say something, but was quickly silenced by Twilight’s magic. Prosa saw her shoot the pegasus a stern look.
“Dusk Prosa,” Mayor started with a frown, “it pains me to say this, but you are beginning to sound like a threat to the town.”
He nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. Which is why I am leaving.”
“No, you won’t.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
Mayor sighed. “Dusk… we have reason to believe that you would be too dangerous to be let go. We are here to apprehend you.”
Like a criminal. Go figure. “Explain.”
She let out a slow breath. “Dusk Prosa, you are hereby under arrest for the unlawful possession of syringes; using said syringes for something not medical; for being linked to Raven Lock’s death; for withholding valuable information that could aid in finding Opacare Prose; as well as being charged with assisting in Opacare Prose’s disappearance.”
His face refused to betray his confusion. Unlawful possession? Oh, that’s right… I couldn’t tell them why, without revealing the truth. But me being linked to Opacare’s disappearance? How did they figure that out?
She waved a hoof, and one of the volunteer “police” stepped forward. It was Filthy Rich, and he wore a sickly smile on his face as he cradled a set of hoofcuffs. Dusk glanced at the others, seeing the Apple family along with several ponies he didn’t recognize. They all stared at him, emotions carefully masked, and he could feel the tension crushing him.
If I’m arrested, then I’ll have to remain in Ponyville. I can’t let that happen.
“Hooves up,” Rich ordered.
Dusk did not respond, carefully analyzing the situation with a crafty eye.
Rich cleared his throat, and spoke with more authority, “Hooves up, Dusk Prosa.”
Slowly, he raised his front hooves, balancing on his hind legs. Rich stepped forward, the cuffs outstretched, a smirk on his face. Seeing that filled Dusk with rage, but he kept it hidden.
Not yet… not yet… now!
Just as Rich was about to clamp the cuffs down, Dusk reached out and grabbed his leg. He twisted, eliciting a startled yelp from the older stallion. With his other foreleg, he pushed Rich back, making him drop the cuffs. In another instant, he turned and bucked the stallion into the large group. Applejack and her family were caught off guard, and Big Mac managed to catch the pushed stallion.
“Hey!” Twilight exclaimed, lighting her horn, intending to freeze Dusk. “Cut that out!”
Prosa kicked up the sandy path, surprising her enough that her magic fizzled out. He rotated, and sprinted off, heading for the town.
“After him!” Mayor cried.
He glanced back, and heard a boom as Rainbow flew fast at him. He had to time this perfectly; it had been a while since he had dealt with enraged pegasi. He kept running, undeterred by the approaching mare.
“Gotcha!” Rainbow shouted as she nearly clipped his tail.
“No, you don’t!” He threw his legs back, kicking her in the chest, doing his best not to severely hurt her. The blow caught her by surprise, and she reeled back in pain, her flight cut short. Dusk ignored the pain his hooves felt as he rolled and got back up, once again sprinting for Ponyville.
He wasn’t sure what he would do when he got there, but he figured he could try and head south, away from the conflict.
He heard the angry gallops of the mob behind him. He glanced back, seeing that Applejack was tending to Rainbow Dash. Good. She’s out of commission for a little while. He looked ahead, seeing the town’s north gate. Several ponies stood in front of it, ready to stop him. Among them were Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
“Dusk, wait!” Pinkie shouted as he approached. “You have to stop!”
He was surprised when Fluttershy didn’t shrink away. Instead, she had a look of ferocity in her eyes. “You big meanie!” she half-whispered, half-yelled—it was hard to tell, given her soft voice.
He didn’t respond, still charging ahead.
Pinkie pulled out her party cannon. Dusk saw the faint outline of tears in her eyes, and instantly he felt a copious amount of guilt sink into his heart. “I-I’m warning you!” she shouted.
What does she expect to do, stop me with confetti? He couldn’t answer, but he knew that it would be better if he thought quickly.
He jumped to the side as the cannon fired, seeing the blurred outline of an actual cannon ball—thankfully, small—race past. It hit one of the pursuing ponies, launching them back.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
He plowed right through the pony barrier, pushing past Pinkie and Fluttershy. He tried to ignore their startled cries as he ran on.
The houses blurred at the edges of his vision, the wind screaming—or was that Rainbow? He dashed to the side, cutting a sharp right, ducking down an alleyway. Several ponies looked out their windows, surprised to see him out and about. Their faces grew fearful when they saw the pursuing ponies. Most then went and locked their doors, keeping their families safe.
Good. They’re smart.
Dusk eyed a smaller house, seeing a shop wagon nearby. With straining muscles, he leapt up, landing on the top of the wagon. He then leapt up onto the roof of the house, and dashed across the top, leaping from building to building. The pursuers stopped, looking in awe at the stallion. Twilight lit her horn, teleporting herself and Applejack onto the roof, Rainbow flying overhead.
Dusk heard Twilight shout, but he ignored her. Suddenly the shingles behind him flew up. He glanced behind, seeing that Twilight had shot a bolt of magic at him. Rainbow flew up to him, a harsh glare on her face.
“Take this, you jerk!” she shouted, suddenly pushing into him.
He slid to the side of the roofs, bringing with him several shingles. He yelped as his hoof caught on the edge of an indent, tripping him. He rolled of the roof and onto the street below, groaning.
He wasted no time in getting up, for the three Bearers and the other pursuers were already catching up. Turning, he ran around the center of town. He barely dodged each of Twilight’s bolts; but with each jump and twist, he grew more and more exhausted.
He heard a quick buzz, and Twilight suddenly appeared in front of him, having teleported. Sadness was etched in her features as she lit her horn. He couldn’t stop himself from running into her; but he could try something stupid.
She fired the spell, and he jumped and twisted. The spell nicked one of his hind legs, making him shout in pain. The force twisted him severely, and he fell to the ground with a hard thump.
He didn’t have any time to recover. Rainbow plowed into him, lifting him off the ground. She was screaming something incoherent, though the wind managed to deafen the sound. He pounded on her back and wings, making her veer unsteadily. The wind burned his coat and blew fiercely on his mane, making it hard to see.
Rainbow suddenly gasped, having seen something up ahead. Taking this chance, Dusk kicked off of her, intending to jump away.
Instead, as he got free, he crashed through a window, tearing his vest, cloak, and skin. He cried out in pain, his voice weak, as he landed on more shattered glass. He slid on the floor, coming to the stop of what appeared to be a wooden mannequin.
The Boutique, he realized dully.
“Oh, my sweet Celestia!” a familiar voice exclaimed. He heard somepony rush over. He looked up, eyes bleary, seeing something akin to a marshmallow with light blue orbs staring at him in shock.
He tried to say something, but more glass dug into his back, and he cut himself off with a pained hiss.
Rainbow, Applejack, and Twilight entered through the window, their eyes also wide and in shock. “I-I-I didn’t mean—” the pegasus stuttered. “I-I-he jumped off, just as I was about to stop—” She cut herself off guiltily.
Dusk craned his neck, seeing a trail of blood underneath him. That’s not good.
Twilight carefully stepped around the broken shards. Walking up to the fallen stallion, she lit her horn, trying to carry him. Rarity also lit her horn, trying to help in lifting.
The sudden movement made him cry out in pain. Twilight and Rarity winced, at once releasing their magic. He took shallow breaths as he fought back the enormous agony.
Slowly, though, he shifted, sucking in a breath as the glass scraped against him. He curled his legs under, pushing himself up, breathing hard. His legs nearly collapsed under him as he tried to take a step, and the world swirled dangerously.
“G-g—” He spat something. Looking down, he saw the liquid coat his vest, turning it slightly purple. Blood.
“We have to get him to a hospital,” Twilight said to the others. They nodded, guilt in their faces. She turned back to Dusk. “Dusk, I’m sorry—”
She stopped, looking behind her. Dusk looked with her, and saw the pursuers gradually reach them. Mayor Mare held a hoof over her mouth as she beheld Dusk standing there, bloody and scratched. “Oh my…”
Dusk nearly had to look away when he saw Pinkie and Fluttershy with tears in their eyes.
He tried to take another step, perhaps subconsciously still trying to get away, but collapsed almost immediately.
“Get him a stretcher,” ordered the mayor. Some ponies left, returning moments later with a specially designed cart. Twilight lit her magic, and carried him over, trying to ignore his pained squirming. She rested him on the cart, trying to keep him comfortable.
“We’ll deal with you later,” she whispered to him.
The cart began to move, heading for Ponyville hospital. Dusk looked to the sky, seeing the sun shining brightly. The wind had stopped, and now his face became warm. He closed his eyes, finally falling unconscious.
His brief rest was plagued with dreams of a trio of crying fillies, and the guilty looks of the mares he had unintentionally come to care for.
