---POV: DUSK SHINE---

Yep. I've known mlp. It's just... This place is way different from the show, kind of like the crappy fanfictions some of my friends make. I may be a brony but I'm not super obsessed. I idly chewed a sniper round as I lay down in the cart.

“Yeah.” I imagined one of those hats that the Sniper wears. The one with the crocodile teeth around. It appeared and I covered my face with it.

“And you fixed those stallions good…” Derpy continued. Suddenly, the cart stopped. I tilted my hat to see her right in front of me, staring in annoyance. “I'm going to have to ask you to get off.”

“Let me think about it. Nah.” I then covered my face again. “I'm tired.” I then felt myself being lifted up and tossed off. “Shit! That hurt lady.”

“I'm getting the idea that all Alicorns are cunts, you're a weiner.” She replied. What!? I'm a dick and an asshole, not a weiner.

I picked myself up and walked beside her, for some reason it felt natural walking with this new body. Though after floating around some books I found out every time I shift my attention “Excuse me m’lady, I apologize. I'll try to live up to your expectation of me being a dick.”

She snorted and I chuckled. “But… You seem way heavier than you look. It's like you're twice the weight of an average stallion.” She then looked at me weirdly. “And why does your voice echo like that? Are you using some sort of sound amplifier spell?”

Come to think about it my voice did sound weird. “Nope. All I can do is dimensional storage, teleportation and simple Windgardium Leviosaaaaaah.”

“Unicorn TK.” I simply replied, she rose an eyebrow. “Telekinesis, duh. That handy dandy lifty magic for sloths.”

“That's all you know? Seriously? “ I nodded. “Anyways. What is an Alicorn doing all the way here? Much more helping somepony.”

“Wait are all Alicorns evil or something?” Something… No everything doesn't add up so far. Derpy is not Derpy and Equestria is like a barren wasteland.

“Right now, yes. But you seem to be the most pleasant right now.” That speak levels on how good they are. “Alicorns used to be the guardians of Equestria. They symbolized the three pony tribes and guided us through our darkest times.” She started story time.

“The Alicorn Sisters, Luna and Celestia used to move the sun and moon. They watched over us and protected us.” She said sadly. “That was a thousand years ago. Celestia refused to do her duty and began to seek after power. Luna battled her sister and won, banishing her to the badlands.”

“Luna then took on the responsibility of raising the sun and moon. She anointed and guided each king, protecting the land against her evil sister.” Derpy continued. “But one day she was corrupted by her sister. They both ravaged the land making us live in terror ever since.”

“Wait who raises the sun and moon?” I found myself interested in her story. It's like the polar opposite of the show. A friend of mine did say that there was an alternate dimension in the comics…

“I don't know who does it.” She simply replied while pushing her glasses up. “This is basic knowledge… And you don't know?” We both stopped and she stared at me with suspicion. “Very odd…”

I actually shrunk under her gaze. What the hell should I say? “I uh… *ahem* I was you know… Not raised in Equestria.” I offered, it's true anyways. “I lived with cats in Egypt.” What can I say? I pulled a random ass explanation.

“You know like diamond dogs. But catlike, stands on two legs a bit smaller. I lived with a bunch of nomads there.” I managed to make up a story on the spot. She didn't look that convinced though. “Your little story explains why the pony refugees shouting ‘Spawn of Tartarus’ or something along those lines.”

By the looks of it she isn't buying my story. “My mother, the one who raised me. Wasn't really that great, always out with her friends, but we were family. Never met my real parents, probably assholes who dropped me twice…” I grumbled. Damn it, I never got to say goodbye to mom.

For some reason I felt my anger flare up and I somehow shot a magic beam from my horn, shattering a nearby rock into smithereens. “DAMN IT!” I then stomped ahead.

I guess she didn't expect me to blow up like that. She paused as she gave me a pitying look. Damnit don't look at me that way! “Are we moving? I have no idea were the nearest village is.” I asked impatiently.

She fixed her glasses and ran- trotted- up to me. “Um… I, didn't know. I am terribly sorry.”

I snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Don't feel sorry for me. Life here must suck too. I normally don't
think about it.” I replied. I'm itching to change the topic. “So… Being an Alicorn is like they fear you and stuff?”

“Yes. It would be foolish to walk into Ponyville like that. The king may be kind but you aren't exactly the most pleasant pony.” She lifted her glasses up again but in a way they shimmered for a moment. “A king would eliminate a threat to his subjects.”

“I'm saying you're jerk with the power of a god. Yes that's very dangerous. Though I believe calling an Alicorn a god is too much.”

“Damn… I don't believe in gods either.” I replied, but living for thousands of years is the closest I guess. “Well I don't really have any place to stay. Can I crash at your house?”

“Yet you have a cart full of books.” I retorted. If she can't affort much why does she have a fuckton of books!?

She simply replied. “Knowledge is the greater treasure.” I just stared at her. You wanna starve for books!? “These books were given to me by somepony I know anyways. Sadly most ponies have nothing to do with books today.”

“Pe… Errr… Ponies have a lot of problems these days.” She just sighed. “Gimme that. We're never getting anywhere with you pulling that.” I told her.

I levitated the harness off her and strapped it around my back… Stomach? Barrel? Whatever. She looked at me weirdly before smiling and shaking her head. “You're really odd.”

“You don't say?” I sarcastically replied, smiling. “Let's get going the sun ain't waiting for us.”

“Welcome to Detroit…” I said as I eyed the town. I admit I have never been to Detroit but it doesn't really have the immaculate reputation.

A few buildings were nothing much but a pile of rubble and others were a few still standing walls. The majority however were still decent but were barricaded.

I also noticed there was a mansion in the distance and the Everfree southeast to it… I think. Shit these ponies have it rough… I haven't really thought about what I am gonna do now.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I felt her put something on me. I craned my neck to see it was a pair of saddlebags. “Why do I feel like your personal slave?”

“Stop whining. Those are to hide your wings, not everpony would react nicely to them.” She clarified.

“Ok mom. I'll brush my teeth, take a shower, drink my milk and go to bed early.” I replied.

“Ah, follow me, it's this way.” She then began to walk ahead and I followed her.

As I walked through ‘Ponyville’ I noticed no one was outside. The town seemed like it was deserted. The buildings seemed devoid of life as the surroundings, the black tiled roofs along with the grey walls made the town feel depressing.

A rather large building- compared to the others that is, seemed to been damaged recently. An orange pony was on the roof hammering away. She wore a black cowboy hat and red banadana around her neck, I also noticed there was a golden plate on the bandana.

A clyan mare with a rainbow mane was lying down on her back on a bench, snoring, one of her hoof's twitching everynow or then. Rainbow dash.

“RD!” Aj shouted again. She looked down and saw the sleeping pegasus. “Why the nerve of that little…” She then looked to the side and saw a nearby bucket and she smiled deviously.

She grabbed the bucket with her mouth and dropped it on the sleeping mare. “*Thunk!* OW! Damnit!” She woke up and squirmed around, clutching her head.

“Oh ‘am terribly sorry partner. Did ah wake you up?” Aj mocked. “So get your lazy flank up here!” She shouted.

RD smiled and waved her rump at AJ. “Can't reach, sorry!” She then dumped the content of the bucket, turned it around and used it as a makeshift pillow to return to her sleep. AJ grit her teeth and jumped down, crushing a nearby table.

“I had enough!” She grabbed a plank of wood on the ground and swung it at the rainbow. RD rolled off the bench, avoiding the swing.

“You wanna go Applesuck?!” RD challenged. I just noticed then there was a silver plate dangling on a necklace around her neck.

“Bring it on Rainbow Crash!” AJ shouted back. RD then charged, unleashing furious jabs that AJ simply blocked with one of her hooves. She then stopped blocking and threw a hook at RD which she dodged. “That's all you got!? Mah granny can punch harder than that!”

“You. Can't even. Hit. Me!” Rainbow replied as she dodged each punch, at the last word she landed a punch on AJ. She then followed with a few more punches and finished with a headbutt… Which hurt her more than AJ. RD clutched her head and teetered.

AJ rubbed her forehead and laughed. “Stupid!” She then threw a haymaker at RD. RD suddenly smiled and ducked, aiming for the chin. Hoof and chin connected but AJ didn't seem fazed though.

Evident by the fact that she managed to quickly spin around and deliver a double buck.

“Ponyfeathers.” RD managed to curse before she flew into the building, through the wall though.

Derpy sighed. “That's the Adventurers guild, Manticore Sting.” She told me. What kind of name is that? “Though it is more of a den of cutthroats, roughnecks and drunkards.”

“Idiots.” She simply replied. I snickered. “But don't underestimate them. They're both pretty strong.”

“I don't like that smile. Don't start anything.” I then sighed and started walking again. She walked ahead of me. “Let's go.”

“YA BONEHEADS! I SAID FIX THE DAMN PLACE, NOT DESTROY IT!” I heard a voice holler as were a bit far. I chuckled and shook my head. That place seems lively. How would mercenary life turn out?

“So a giant tree? That was uncalled for.” We were standing in front of the golden oaks library. It looked a lot less colorful and there were no leaves on the branches.

“What next, you're living with the magical protégé of the king? Yeah right.”

She just stared at me. “...Yes.” She answered, her glasses some how sliding down a bit. Wait. I didn't call that out on purpose! What the fuck!? “How did you guess?” She slowly asked.

“What never happened?” She replied with a nervous chuckle. She gets it. “Just put the cart there, I'll bring the books in later.”

“Here. Lemme get that for you.” I said as I opened the door. She went in first and I followed. “Your welcome!”

I took a moment to look at the library. The place was fairly clean but by the looks of things around here nobody really passes by here. At the other side of the room, sitting behind a desk was a light blue… Yeah, cerulean mare with a silver mane. Trixie. She seemed to be engrossed with the book she was reading.

She didn't have that stary… Starfull cape? She didn't have that wizard's hat and cape that was full of stars. But seeing Ponyville and some of its inhabitants I'm not surprised if she's different too.

“Romance novels? Is that the one about the sailor and his maiden or something.” Romance novels? I thought she would be reading a quantum physics book or something. “The story is cheesier that those rolls you like. Plus the ending is quite…”

“Don't spoil the ending! I'm getting to the good part.” She whined as she put down the book.

“So bitter… Derpy you make bittergourd taste sweet.” I joked as I approached the two mares.

Trixie looked at me, then at Derpy. She then walked over to derpy and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Derpy… I'm happy to see you moving on.”

Derpy batted the hoof away and glared at her. “*Sigh* No. He's just somepony who helped me out and he's looking for a place to stay.” Trixie simply giggled. Derpy pointed to me. “His name is Dusk Shine.”

I extended a hoof and introduced myself. “The name's Dusk Shine. Nice to meet you…” If I said ponies names before they told me would they freak out?

“Beatrix Lulamoon. Just call me Trixie.” She smiled and shook my hoof. “So you're looking for a place to stay?”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. “Well we have to discuss it first. Okay?” She told me. “In the meantime make yourself comfortable.”

“Sure, uh… Thanks.” I nodded and sat on one of the wooden chairs. Trixie and Derpy went to another room.

A few minutes after they left I pulled out a random book with my magic, for some reason it felt natural. The first book I pulled out… Mating Practices of the Common Cow. Nope. Nope nope nope” I shook my head and returned the book. Why do they even have that kind of book!?

“Goof-off Official Rulebook.” I then returned the book where I found it. Another try. “Language of the Heart… Ain't need that shit.” Does anybody arrange these books? I found the love book beside the Goof-off book.

Last try. Bingo “Arcane Magic Volume Two: Combat Magic. This looks interesting.” I then began to read it. “Page 59 for fireballs… Page 12 for Magic Missile.”

*****
“He's a what!?” Trixie shouted. Only to receive a hoof to the mouth from derpy.

“Yes. An Alicorn.” She repeated. “He saved me from some bandits awhile ago.”

“Yes he does seem nice but… I have to tell the king about him.” Trixie replied.

“I would not suggest that.” Derpy argued. “King Sombra would send guards and I think Dusk would not react kindly. He's impulsive.”

“You should withhold the information for now.” Derpy suggested. “Dusk’s is not from Equestria.”

“You want me to lie!?” Trixie shouted. She then tilted her head in confusion. “And not from Equestria?”

“Yes, I want you to keep quiet about this.” She then lifted her glasses a bit. “Dusk Shine is a unicorn who's parents are refugees presumably dead. Grew up in Egypt and decided to see his homeland. That is the story, I think he lied though.”

“Plus a lot of things are odd about him. First of all… He doesn't have the accent. His accent is similar to a pony from Manehattan. Second, the weapon he used was not made for hooves but for creatures with fingers. Third he doesn't know how to properly use magic.”

Trixie opened the door a bit and took a peek. Dusk was reading a book in his hooves. He tried to flip a page with magic, ripping the page off instead. He stared at the page before putting it back in and whistling to himself.

“He's untrained. The way he uses his magic… He's like a foal who's experiencing bursts of magic for the first time.”

“So that means he could have lost his memories?”

“Maybe.” Trixie replied walking over to the door. “Magic is Instinctive to some like muscle memory. You may forget the spell but you can perform the same spell if you used it a lot. ”

She took another peek. Seeing him reading the spell book and pointing at a passage. Dusk concentrated and a sword materialized. “That ain't right… That was supposed to be a block of ice.” He mumbled and lifted the sword with his magic. He closed his eyes and the sword disappeared.

“One does not simply forget how to levitate objects. But maybe he lost most of his magical instincts too.”

“He must specialize in dimensional magic, pulling weapons from a pocket dimension.” Trixie pondered. She then slightly paled. “You did say he defended you from bandits, right? So that means his instincts kicked in and…”

“He could have been an adventurer, I'll ask the guildmaster.” Derpy then shook her head “At least he's an idiot. But why is his voice like that, is it a spell?” Derpy asked, sitting at the table.

“Probably a spell gone wrong…” She then shook her head. “That's not important. So what do you think? I'm not comfortable having him around but it's better that he's here then elsewhere.”

“I'm thinking the same.” Derpy paused for a bit before speaking. “I wonder… It might make sense that he was a adventurer and a spell gone wrong jumbled his memory and affected his voice. But the important question is…”

“Who is he. Or who was he.” Trixie declared. “I'll find out if he really has amnesia or something similar. I won't tell my teacher… But I have to tell him eventually.”

*****
I took a while but I managed to flip pages with my hooves. Flipping the pages with magic was harder...

It isn't obvious but I like to read. But for some reason the information sank in faster than usual. I concentrated and my horn lit up. A dark purple blade of magic appeared, I pointed my hoof and the blade shot forward.

I totally killed a chair. The blade flickered for a moment… “*boom!*” Then it exploded.

Well shit.

I walked over to the pile of ashes and stared at it. I fetched a broom and tried using my magic to sweep it but I couldn't do it properly. I then placed the broom in my mouth and tried again. “*Crack!*” Shit. The broom broke.”

It took a while to scoop up the ashes and broken broom. I then walked over to the door… “How the fuck do I open this with hooves?” Mouth? No. Hooves? How does that work!?

I then pushed the door… “*Creak… Crash!* Ow!” That was not my fault. Why are things so flimsy?! I tossed out the garbage and lifted the door.

I placed it back and waited for a few moments. “.....Nobody will notice a thing.” As I said that the door fell down on me this time. “Fuck.” I then walked out and pulled the door off my horn. The door to my side I'm gonna say sorry to whoever.

Staring at me was a very unhappy looking mailmare. “Uh I'm, sorry. Pffffftt!” I couldn't resist laughing, she had a cartoonish bump on her head the size of a baseball. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH SHIT! Hahaha, I'm so sorry. Hehehehehahahaha, how can I... *Snickers* Help you?” What? It was funny.

She glared at me as she straightened herself. “Package for Mrs Lulamoon.” She muttered through gritted teeth. I grabbed the package, its probably a magazine or newsletter. “It's already payed for.”

“Uhhh… Hehe. Sorry about the door.” I managed to conjure a piece of ice and handed it to her. “Ice?”

She stared at it then shoved it in my mouth, she followed up by hitting me with her mailbag. “Have a nice day sir.” She practically spat out each word. She then flew away leaving a cloud of dust. I spat out the ice and coughed.

“Bitch…” I muttered.

I then carefully placed the door back. If someone touches it it'll fall down. I placed the package near my small pile of books and sat down again. “Magic Lance… This sounds good.”

As I flipped through the pages the two ponies came out. I wanted to crack out another joke but it didn't feel appropriate at the time. I placed the book aside and stood up. “So can I stay?”

“Well… Yes.” Trixie replied. She looks nervous for some reason.

“As long as you pay for rent of coseventy seventy five bits a month.”

“Is that cheap?”

“Maybe. You don't know the value of money?”

“Cats use barter, of course I don't know.” I hope that adds up, I'm been pulling lies from my ass. I then turned to Trixie. “You look uneasy. Number two?”

“Number two?” She asked, her head tilted. It took her a while to understand, I made crude farting sound. “Oh no, it's because…”

“You can take off the saddlebags off, she knows.” Derpy rolled her eyes. I focused on the saddlebags and I managed to float them off me.

“Those felt uncomfortable honestly…” How do I use my wings? I just gave them a few flaps, I can only glide so far. “Just relax Trixie, I don't bite. And I can just find somewhere else to stay if you want.”

“No!” She suddenly burst out, I just raised an eyebrow. “I mean, it's fine really. It's just that…” She pawed at the ground. My god that's cute.

“Yeah solar and lunar tyrant? Oh! Is there an Alicorn of Love or cute bunnies?” I joked. Derpy didn't look amused.

“Well no. You're the third Alicorn that is alive.”

“Actually he's the forth one. Mi Amore Cadenza rules the Crystal Empire with an Iron Hoof. She wasn't always like that though… But that is a different story.”

“Evil is not a hereditary trait, even if it was I'm not related to them.” Derpy seemed to be surprised when I said hereditary. “Let's put it this way. I promise, I have no malicious intentions and I only desire to coexist with other ponies. I merely wish to survive and make a living. I promise. Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Derpy gave me a look and Trixie giggled. “What was that?”

“Its a really serious oath. Something worse than a demon will chase you to the ends of the earth.” Its kinda true, though I'm not sure pinkie would pop out here. What's the opposite of her attitude? Depressed?

“I swear, I am already regretting our decision.” Derpy said, shaking her head she went outside. Probably to pick up her books, leaving me and Trixie inside.

We stared at each other for a moment. I idly looked around… “*Crash!*” There goes the door. I heard a loud sigh and Derpy angrily muttering something.

Trixie just stared at the broken door. Covered my mouth and let out a yawn. I didn't realize I was tired. “I'm a bit tired. Can I hit the sack now?” I asked.

“Yes, there's a spare bed in the basement.” She replied.

We went down to their basement. Scattered was various machinery and scientific equipment, not used in some time evident by the dust. She pulled a white sheet covering the said bed.

“So uh… I haven't cleaned up here in a long time. And don't touch any of these flasks, some are volatile and others are poisonous.” Okay living here seems like a health hazard.

“I'm gonna crash on the couch tonight.”

It's a brutal world mate...

by shattered_sky

The Broken World- Couch it is...