Interlude 2 {RE-EDITED}
After seven long years, I can’t believe that this day has finally come; the day that My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic, begins.
Look at the oblivious Dusk Shine over there, sitting across from me; happily munching away at his breakfast while his eyes are glued to a propped-up book.
The same book I bought for him in secret the other day.
The same book the show begins with him reading.
Soon the wheels of fate will begin to turn. Soon he will reach the chapter (surprisingly not the first chapter, as what was shown in the show) about the royal pony brothers and learn their history. Soon he will come to the story about the Nightterror and the Elements of Harmony. Soon he will ask me to send the all-important letter to Prince Solaris…
Soon we will depart for Ponyville, and soon Dusk will finally make some friends.
A sigh leaves my lips as I stare quietly down at my half-eaten breakfast of scrambled eggs and gems. I know that Dusk was supposed to be a loner before this day, just like Twilight Sparkle. I know that this is supposed to be the day that he truly begins to understand the importance of friendship. I know that the point of the show’s first season was to teach him all about its splendor and wonder…
… But… that doesn’t change the fact that this is my life now or the fact that Dusk is my charge just as much as I am his.
And, in that respect, I feel as though I have failed him a bit.
I could have helped him come out of his shell sooner than today; I could have helped him make friends here in Canterlot. If I had just been a bit louder, if I had just been a bit more persuasive or commanding, maybe Dusk would have, by my claw, become a completely different pony...
I’m left to wonder why I didn’t do this. It wasn’t because I was indecisive, never was I on the fence about any of my actions thus far. My philosophy has always been this; if I want to go along with Dusk into the Everfree Forest tonight along with his new friends, to make sure he’s safe, then I’m going to enter that forest no matter what regardless of what Spike did or did not do. Even if I already know that he’ll be just fine, even if I have knowledge of a future where his double becomes the Element of Magic, that isn’t going to change who I am. I will follow him in. I will not always conform to the show's wishes. I made up my mind on this subject long ago, thus I am not indecisive. The show doesn’t cover all of his life, after all. I’ve been there for him for five out of seven years already. I have every right to make my own decisions for the rest of them.
But, that brings me back to my original question; why didn’t I meddle more in his life? The most I’ve ever done is mark the calendar for today and give him that book…
“... Hey, Barb?”
Blinking twice, I return to the present. “Yes, Dusk?”
The unicorn takes a long swig of his juice before asking “Where did this book come from, do you know? I found it in my bag yesterday but never got around to reading it…”
Ah. Speaking of the book…
“Prince Solaris sent it,” I lie cooly, taking a sip from my own juice directly afterward to hide any of my tells. To this day I’m still not sure whether my old ones from Earth, the ones my husband and children could always spot, followed me here into this form… but better safe than sorry. “Through the mail. Why? Is it interesting?”
And with that, I've said the magic words.
What once had been a simple a passing curiosity to the young stallion quickly devolves into full-blown obsession right before my eyes. Though he looks at the pages curiously, still unsure, I can tell from his shift in posture that this tome has just become the center of Dusk’s small world today.
“H-he did?!” yelps the stallion as he leans closer into what might as well be a holy bible now in his eyes... With the shake of his head, though, the purple pony remembers my question and thus stammers out a reply. “N-no no, actually. That’s why it was bothering me. I’ve seen this book before in bookstores across Canterlot, and maybe even once in the libraries... I always thought it was just a simple history book! One that covered the basic information they teach in the public schools. If the Prince himself wants me to read it though…”
With another sip of juice, I successfully hide my Cheshire grin.
“... Oh,” I speak passively after a time, appearing as if I don't care. “Is that all…? Oh!” With a tiny fake gasp, I put on an air of surprise as I raise my claws to my open mouth. “You know what, Dusk? I think I’ve actually read that one too!”
Dusk blinks briefly at this. Slowly he raises his head away from the book to stares at me once again. Goodness; so engrossed in that tome was Dusk that he hadn't noticed the crumbs that had begun to gather on his muzzle thanks to his absentmindedly eaten breakfast. Hehe. Oh if only I was taller, and not reliant on a pseudo-booster seat of magazines; I would have taken my napkin and wiped those crumbs clean off him by now... I suppose I can’t do everything for him though.
…
… Ha ha. I think I just answered my earlier question.
“You’ve read it before?” asks Dusk, reminding me where I am once again. “Is that true, Barb?”
I nod my head, forcing myself to return to the now. “Yeah. I think I read it during my assistant training with the Bluebelles. It covers a lot of different subjects... I remember liking the section on holidays!”
Dusk makes no reply, but he is clearly thinking quietly to himself. I have to fight hard against a sudden fit of the giggles, less he catches on to my ruse. In the silence, Dusk's eyes slowly wander to the calendar behind me.
Three guesses as to which date he's looking at, and the first two don't count.
“... Holidays, huh…”
I take a sip of OJ for the third time, again masking a winning smirk.
“... Oh!” I once again gasp in show, making a scene of setting down my drink and turning sharply in my chair towards the calendar. “That’s right! It’s the Summer Sun Celebration today, isn’t it?!”
“Er… yeah. It is…”
With practiced ease, I turn forward in my chair and smoothly slip on my well-worn ‘curious child’ mask. “Huh?” I ask innocently enough, my tone perfectly trained into supporting this lie with its softness. “A-aren’t you excited, Dusk?”
“Eh,” is the stallion's answers as he, with the wave of his horn, went to work with cleaning up his breakfast. “About as ‘excited’ as I was for last year’s one in Manehatten, or the one before that in Fillydelphia.” he explains. “The only time I’ve ever really been excited for one was when it was hosted here in Canterlot, about a few months before you were born. I’m probably just going to spend today catching up on my reading.”
“But Dusk,” I argue, my voice becoming a bit weaker. “That’s what you do every day! Come on, the Prince gave you the day off! Use it to do something fun!” I suggest, knowing full well that it was a futile gesture.
The unicorn shrugs, proving my point
“I’ll use it to catch up on my reading in the park then as opposed to the library or something.”
“... You sure you wouldn’t want to go to that party instead?” I offer pleadingly. “The one Lunardanseur said he would have in the west castle courtyard today?” I’ve known Dusk for years; I know that I’m just wasting words right now and that he won’t be swayed. I even picked up that book because I knew I could easily manipulate him into reading it!
... But…
“It doesn’t really appeal to me.”
… every little confirmation he gives me is another confirmation that he is, in fact, Twilight Sparkle; which is somewhat reassuring to see. Despite my presence in his life, Dusk is still heading down the same path she took...
“Bye, Barb,” my charge announces loudly as he straps on his saddlebags. He carefully sets his new favorite book gently into one of the compartments with magic before snapping the flap shut. “Take care of the chores, then spend the rest of the day however you want. I’ll be in the park if the Prince sends you any mail. You know the spot.”
“...”
I wait a second before nodding my head.
My act of pretending to be a concerned child has, without me even realizing it, morphed into the general article during this conversation.
“O-okay… Have fu-”
Slam!
With the closing of the front door, I find myself alone to my own devices.
“... Sigh... Such a dolt, that colt…”
I also find myself… torn.
The show is about to start, and Dusk Shine has become a picture-perfect copy of Twilight Sparkle... Yet, the show is about to start, and Dusk has become the perfect copy of Twilight!
I’ve had just as big of an impact on Dusk’s life as Spike has had on Twilight’s.
Just as big of a footprint as a child’s…
… Should I be happy for this outcome then? Should I be proud? I, a forty-seven-year-old, have accomplished the same feat as a seven-year-old.
Should I be disappointed by this outcome… or should I just be happy that Dusk is about to finally make some friends...?
…
“... I’m perfectly fine with this.”
There… Settled.
I’m still left to wonder how my role will change once the show begins in earnest. If I failed to alter anything in the seven years I’ve been here thus far, how will my existence change things over the course of the series? How will it change things over the course of Dusk’s life? The show only goes so far into his life, after all... and the fact remains…
… I’ve only seen two seasons of it.
I know that there was a third season and a fourth. There might have been a fifth too, and at least one actual movie in theaters... but I can’t be sure. The show had been off the air for years before I died, and it had gone on long after my daughter stopped watching it together with me. The first half of the season three premiere is when little nine-year-old Ashley proudly declared to me that she was “too old” for ponies now... and that was the end of that. No more toys, no more episodes, no more mother-daughter bonding time; she had simply grown too “mature” for such things.
Thus I never watched the ending to the Crystal Empire, and promptly forgot about ponies all together slowly after. What I remember now of the show has faded with time. While many episodes still shine brightly in my mind thanks to the memories of my daughter’s squeals of delight, others are hardly visible. I can barely even remember the toys I bought for her anymore, or even her reactions to receiving them. The memories of her later life as an adult and my son’s own childhood are still crystal clear, thank goodness, but I constantly live in fear that this will one day change…
Random flashes of memory appear occasionally in my mind though, when I think hard enough. About the show itself, I believe I still remember quite enough about the first episodes, despite them being the earliest of my pony memories. I remember a sprinkling of Spike’s episodes too... which I will probably end up either altering or avoiding, unless I’m unable to like I was with Dusk just now.
I even remember the most trivial of things, surprisingly. I remember that Fluttershy has tail extensions, simply because of how hard I laughed at the joke. I remember that Discord was voiced by an actor who my husband was a fan of simply because that two-parter was the only two episodes my Jason sat with us to watch, despite little Ash and I sharing a long and hard-to-explain in-joke about him secretly being Rarity in disguise. “Oh look, your father is being fabulous again!”
I think I still remember every lyric to the extended main theme too, because that plush toy I bought for Ashley decades ago would often play it over and over again to the point of nausea…
… and I remember that the last pony toy I ever gave her was a little orange filly who wore a mask, with a description on the back of her box which labeled her as a former student of Celestia. Sunset Shimmer, I think her name was. While we never watched far enough into the series to see if she was ever in it, I have since found traces of her double during my secret trips to the library. An old journal I found on accident once gave me what I can only assume to be his name, but nothing else… This proves the point that I’m trying to make though.
This world is real.
Long ago did I come to this realization, and it was a good thing that I did. It's a show, true, and one that’s about to start… but it’s also Dusk and mine’s life.
Our strange, magical, friendship-filled life.
The monsters are real and can hurt us, bills still need to be paid and food still needs to be eaten. Tragedies can happen when you least expect them, and damn it all to hell if we can’t swear like bucking sailors… e-even if a few of us choose not to, h-heh.
But, yeah… it’s a show, just not a cartoon. Everypony is real. I’m real. Everyone is a real person. I have to remind myself of this now and then, but never do I truly forget.
So now, as the curtains begin to rise, and as my knowledge of the future can finally be of some use, I suddenly feel… strange. Like the mystery of life has been taken away, along with its beauty, but then that’s not quite true at the same time. The future is still a mystery to me, just with a few of the potholes filled in…
It’s strange and weird, and it’s a feeling I’m not sure whether I love or hate yet… but the fact remains that it’s a show, and one that’s about to begin…
… in a little bit though. There's still time.
For now Dusk is still Apprentice Dusk Shine of Canterlot,
Prince Solaris’ brother is still sealed away as the Man in the Moon,
Captain Gleaming Shield is still a pink Prince’s secret fillyfriend,
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity’s stallion selves are still acquaintances at best,
and I
a human trapped in scales
a child cursed with the memories of another life
a mother with the power to change the future
what one might deem a poisoned barb upon this world...
… am simply a dragoness with lots of chores to do.
“And a journal to write,” I add for myself out loud, feather duster in claw and hard at work. “I knew my thoughts would end up distracting me… Hope I can remember all that so I can put it in an entry later. What should I call that one…? Chapter seven, Changes? Chapter seven, Fate? Hmmm… oh! How about; chapter seven, Educ- Achoo!”
Foosh!
With a loud sneeze of the nose, I find my self-ramblings abruptly cut off by the twin jets of emerald green fire that usually accompany the act for me. “Ugh… Huh?”
Sniffing momentarily, trying to get the smell of brimstone out of my nostrils, I watch in silence as the smoke from my magically induced sneeze thins out into a green-tinted mist. From this mist, an item begins to form. On reflex, my claw shoots forward just in time to catch the scroll right as it was finished forming. It bears the official seal of Prince Solaris…
… and my eyebrow slowly raises once I realize that it's addressed to me.
"..."
What follows is the sound of quick unraveling and quiet reading, which eventually turns into quiet confusion as my eyes dash even further across the page...
Dearest Barbara The Dragoness,
I’m terribly sorry for interrupting your break today, but I would much appreciate a moment of your time. On top of your normal verbal status report on young Dusk Shine’s progress, over tea and rubies, of course, I’d like to discuss with you certain matters concerning today’s date.
I’d also like to discuss with you matters concerning a certain book that was in Dusk’s possession yesterday evening. One that I, though I made no comment of, nor held a dialogue towards its existence, am still quite certain came from you.
I’ll be looking forward to the meeting. We will be serving Da Hong Pao tea with a small assortment of Emeralds on the side.
Your friend,
Prince Solaris
“... Well… G-guess this day isn’t going to be quite as predictable as I first thought… Gulp. "
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She never finished the Crystal Empire episode?
... I see.
Well, let's see how fatalistic this gets, shall we?
Ah, Tea and Rubie... EMERALDS? Are you crazy?
Anyway, Solaris knows something is up. Let's see how much he does know, and how much Barb is willing to share.
(I take my tea with three sugar and cream, if you will.)
Welp, MLP never showed when Twilight came into possession of the book. It could have been on the way to the park to read another book, just a coincidental bumping into and Celestia suggesting it as a good read. If that happened here, what a surprise that Dusk seems to have a copy of the book already apparently from Prince Solaris! Who told Dusk that? Why Barbara, or was she wrong and it came from someone else Mr. Prince sir?
Maybe Soleris knows the truth.
5573276
In the word's of my baby dragon oc from A Cog in the Machine; "Well... dang. I am NOT a clever dragon..."
... Or is she??? Actually no, she was kinda just hoping, since Celestia was too busy to see Twilight directly at first that day, that her and Dusk would be able to skip town before he got around to asking Solaris. From there she would distract him with shiny things; said shiny things being his new friends... Only took a day to backfire though XD
5573684
Not even a day, I think it took around 5 minutes after she claimed the Prince sent it? Or did the Prince find out the previous day when she slipped it in?
5573703
Oh, last night! Dusk was at the library late last night. The Prince claimed in the letter that he spotted it then but didn't comment. Soooo, if we were being specific, it'd be like she done goofed at least ten hours BEFORE she actually lied about it to Dusk. The Prince probably timed his letter too to be sent the very minute (give or take a few) Dusk left the house... Solaris is just THAT good.
Now... then question of how he knew it came from HER still needs to be answered though... wait and see!
I only really caught this on a second read-through
Oh dear me, dear me. Barbara, did you just curse yourself with equating the love of your life with Rarity (whom your counterpart had a crush on), when you yourself are in a world where Rarity will have a male counterpart?
Hey, if Barbara has knowledge of the show (at least up to season 3), she can prevent everypony from being out-of-character morons in the wedding episodes. ^.^
5578970
Heh, here's hoping!
5573250
I've started to notice that "tea-time" seems to equal "shit going down-time" in a lot of my writings. What's that? Hell bent on taking over the world? Let's discuss it over a drink! Huh? You have secret motives that you're withholding from me? Let's ruminate over it with this crazy brew I came up with! You just ruined your life through contrived means? TEA TIME INTENSIFIES
5580234 Tea Time is the best time for interrogations.
'Did they lace the water? The sugar? The cream? Maybe slip something in the herbs? I can tell she's up to something... look at that smile... she knows! Sweet Celestia, Celestia knows!'
Oh boy. Things are about to get even more interesting from here on out.
I keep circling back to this story to share my stray thoughts.
I have a theory.
I'm not sure what kind of trope this falls under at tvtropes, it seems related to You Already Changed The Past, but rather than actually engaging in time travel, the universe will be set up in such a way that only with Barbara's interference will the canon-gender-flipped results happen. That is, in Barbara's case, it takes a forty seven year old to get the same effects that in a gender flipped universe a seven year old could do, because it's setup to be more difficult in Barbara's universe.
There is a type of fanfiction genre where the author wants to make the main characters significantly more competent (this is really prevalent in Naruto fanfiction), but in the canon storyline that would destroy all challenges, so they also make the antagonists significantly more competent as well to keep the suspense, drama, and even the certainty of the future in doubt for the readers.
A second genre for fanfiction is related, especially in self inserts, that in the universe everyone is more competent and everything more serious because the the world is more real compared to the abstraction of the original story. Not sure it qualifies here because Barbara is replacing Spike (a genuine seven year old instead of an original character), or perhaps this is In Spite Of A Nail where because of Barbara everything is more difficult so as to not avoid canon. Or perhaps because everything is harder in the first place, someone like Barbara was brought in to replace of Spike to keep canon possible.
Now it's difficult to analyze it properly because the story is drawing attention to this, implying something other at work than the tropes that are usually used to describe an author's meta planning for the story.
5589556
Hehe, good eye!
... And that's all I'm going to say, less I start spoiling what I have planned for his fic
5589556 More difficult, huh? sounds familiar.
i.imgur.com/ha9pN.png
~Uh-oh, you're in trouble
Someone's come along to burst your bubble
(Yeah, yeah)~
sight
Da Hong Pao? one of my favorite teas..well any Wuyi tea is great. (digging this fic so far)