Entry 8, Part 2 (Dragonapped)
“... Read the message for me again, Barb,” commands a driven and focused Dusk Shine. His sight remains fixed ahead as he continues his determined gallop into Ponyville, in search of his friends.
From atop his back I reluctantly do as I’m told.
“Prince Solaris wants you to deal with a dragon,” I groan, still upset that the royal scroll wasn't meant for me.
Keeping a lady waiting is beyond rude, dude.
“Barb, please," Dusk snaps me back to the present. "Reread the full message.”
“But you’ve read it five times alread-” I try to argue.
“I want to be prepared,” I'm cut off before I could finish. “I don’t want to cause a panic if I can avoid it.”
“Pretty sure telling everypony is going to do that anyways, Dus-”
“Not if I do this right,” my charge interrupts again, pleading with me now instead of demanding. “Barb… please.”
Uuuuuggggghhh...
... Fine.
Relenting, I take the letter out of my purse and use the wind to unfurl it. Once I'm able to do so safely (i.e. hold onto the scroll and Dusk at the time), I read it aloud.
“Dear Apprentice Dusk Shine,” the message began, and right off the bat something feels off.
Solaris, just like with the gala message, must have had his assistant write this one up for him... which might actually explain why I haven’t received any highly confidential letters yet. Something must be keeping him from writing them himself.
Hmmm... “It has come to our attention that an elder dragoness has taken up residency in a mountaintop overlooking thy village, in order to bask in a century long nap as is dragon custom. Equestria runs the risk of being engulfed in the smoky darkness of her snores for over a hundred years if we do not act posthaste. We implore yon Element Bearers to handle this situation in whatever manner deemed appropriate… Sincerely, Prince Solaris.”
Sincerely?
Hah!
‘Sincerely’ my scaly butt, Solaris! You can't just order some poor Ponish Major drop-out to jot down 'sincerely' and expect us to believe it means a load of hay!
Bleh. Well... whatever.
Getting back on track, I’ve made mention in my diary how I’ve been spotting odd black ash clouds appearing in the sky for the last few weeks now. I knew all along that they were linked with the dragon from Dragonshy, but I chose to preserve the timeline by not pointing them out to anypony. The run in with Stardust and Trixster might have shaken my faith in the Code of the Seer something fierce, and it may have forced me into rethinking how I approach certain episodes, but for this one in particular... well... I didn't see the need to interfere.
Once upon a time, back when I first met the male mane six, Dragonshy was an episode I was deeply worried about. Just like with the series premier, that specific adventure relied heavily on each pony’s unique strengths and weaknesses working in tandem. Initially I had concerns over how well the boys were going to fair in comparison to their peers, especially Butterscotch...
... After spending a solid month with everypony, however, such worries have lessened considerably.
Dusk Shine’s new friends are all quirky and weird in their own right, with their own secrets to boot, but there's no doubt in my mind that they're just as close of friends as Twilight Sparkle’s were to her. Applejack's defending of Rainbow Dash's name, Butter's rush to comfort Dusk, BB's sharing of surprising insight; I have more then enough proof to back this claim up with. You can't deny that these stallions care about each other in a way that's hard to believe possible.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I’m no longer afraid of letting Dusk go out into the world and become the pony he's destined to be. The incident with Stardust proved to me that the boys will keep their friend from straying too far off the sunnier trail whenever he gets lost. I needn't worry when everypony is together; that's when they're strongest.
Heh... It's funny to look back and consider how I once had aspirations of joining in on the adventures. In direct defiance to Spike’s inaction, I wanted to go into the Everfree simply to prove that I could and to also make sure everypony was on script... but now I know better.
I now know that Dusk isn't some little colt who needs me to guide him by the hoof like that. Despite our spat earlier today which may have convinced you otherwise, he is a very responsible pony and, more importantly, one who doesn't need a baby dragon babying him all the gosh darn time.
This new outlook of mine won’t stop me from being the worry-wart helicopter mom that I am, of course, or from pulling strings behind the curtain wherever I feel it's appropriate, but please believe me when I say that I’m trying to change my ways! Really I am! I know I can't sustain the status quo past season two; I've got no clue what happens after The Crystal Empire Part 1!
Baby steps, people. Baby steps...
Thmpthmpthmp… Clipclopclipclop
The sound of Dusk’s horseshoes clipping and clopping against wood, as opposed to dirt and rocks, knocks me from my thoughts and returns me once again to the present.
It looks like the two of us have made it to the bridge that oversees scenic Ponyville Park; the very one that takes up the majority of this town's west side. It acts as a gateway to such far off locations as the Whitetail Woods, the Unicorn Range, and, the most relevant for today, the Smoky Mountains. It's here where the two of us can easily spot the source of the billowing ashen clouds... Wow! That must be a really big dragon! She's probably hundreds of years old!
I’m not looking forward to growing to that size someday, nor growing nearly that old without my friends.
Hmmm... There seems to be some kind of summer festival taking place in the park this afternoon. There's more than a dozen different groups relaxing and enjoying the warm weather despite the slowly approaching darkness.
As I sit here on Dusk’s back, gazing up at the long smoke trail and trying to calculate how far away the mountains must be from here, I take notice that my steed has suddenly become... awfully quiet.
“Dusk?” I ask said steed, curious as to why he stopped his decisive charge.
“... Wow there sure are a lot of ponies here.”
“Dusk?” I ask again, my confusion growing. It's not like him to get cold hooves. “Butterscotch, Rainbow Dash, and Bubble Berry are all right there,” I point out, tapping him lightly on the side. “We’re here to grab them, remember?”
“And to warn as many ponies as we can to stay inside,” he finishes for me. “Yeah I remember… j-just didn’t think I was going to be talking to so many at once.”
Is this... stage-fright...?
... That can’t be right. “Dusk, you’ve talked in front of crowds before. Remember Applejack’s award ceremony?”
“You mean the planned presentation where I had half a tree’s worth of notecards with me?” Dusk hisses, growing crabby. “I seem to be lacking those right now, Barb. I… I-I can’t do thi-”
“Don’t you ‘can’t’ me mister,” I hiss right on back, practically spitting in his ear.
I may have vowed to ease up on my babying, but I'll be darned if I let my charge think himself any less awesome then I know him to be.
“You got this!" I cheer him on, pouring my heart into my words. "Just think of this as your redemption for the Trixster stuff and give it your all!”
“...”
Dusk grumbles a little at the thought…
… but he eventually sighs before smiling.
“Thanks, Barb,” he nods his head in gratitude, sparing me a side glance. “You’re right. I can’t run away, I gotta win back this town’s trust! Heh, can’t really think of a better way to do that then by saving them from a dragon, can you?”
“Hehe,” I snort back, enjoying the little smirk he's now rocking. Folding my arms, and nodding with closed eyes, I answer back with, “Nope, can’t say that I can. Us dragons are pretty scary if I do say so myself.”
Dusk pauses for a moment.
“... Right,” he mutters lowly at first, clearly thinking about something, but before I could comment he shakes his head and shouts loudly a plea of, “Listen up!”
Ponies throughout the park halt in place thanks to this cry, and cease what they had been doing to turn towards the stallion now trying to gain their attention. A few of them stop to snicker, perhaps remembering Dusk’s spectacularly poor performance at Trixster’s magic show, but the rest are tuning in judgment free. Most in Ponyville know that my charge is Solaris’ personal protégé, not just the boys, so they also know that when he speaks up it must be important.
“Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria,” Dusk reveals bluntly, not beating around the bush. This results in a chorus of surprised gasps and shocked shouts from the gathered masses as, with a simple look up into the sky, everypony present is easily able to confirm the unicorn’s claim as truth.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to-” interjects a soft voice from the background, catching my own attention.
Looking up over Dusk’s head, I’m able to spot Butterscotch flailing his wings up and down in a bid to gain another’s ear beyond my own.
Sadly I think I’m the only one who noticed him though, as Dusk is resuming his report as if he were the only one talking.
“But don’t worry,” he attempts to sooth over the crowd, which was starting to get a bit panicky looking. “I’ve just received a letter from Prince Solaris informing me that it is not coming from a fire.”
This calms the gathered ponies for all of a second…
“It’s coming from a dragon.”
… before Dusk allows the other horseshoe to drop.
As everypony starts to work themselves into a panic, rushing every which way until only Rainbow Dash, Bubble Berry, and the shaking Butterscotch remain, I can’t help but feel a tiny bit proud of Dusk. Nopony ended up screaming or passing out this time!
He's certainly come a long way since his disastrous mid-term report on the ‘joys’ of misfired spells.
_______________________________
“What in the name of buttered biscuits is a full-grown dragon doin’ here in Equestria?!” Applejack demands to know the moment he steps inside of the library. He’s the last one of Dusk’s friends to enter, having been the furthest member away from the park when the news was broken. RD, BB, and Butters had followed Dusk and I back home, and Elusive wasn’t too far behind us once he spotted our modest-sized group starting to form up. Now that the mane six had gathered together once again, all eyes turn towards my charge for guidance; just as they had done during the fateful night that christened the start of their friendship...
... Er... Or, at least I think that's what happened that night. I was forcefully put to sleep at the time, in case you don't remember.
Not wanting to get in the way while the group strategize, I take up an empty spot on the stairs leading up to the loft and casually listen in.
“Sleeping,” is Dusk’s answer to Applejack’s heated question, willingly sharing what little he knew.
An echoing chorus of “Huh?”s is the reply the rest of the stallions offer as their leader continues on with his preparations. I’ll let Dusk fill his saddlebags with whatever he thinks he’ll need first before discreetly adding in some essentials I’m sure he’s going to forget about; food, water, etc.
In a concerned tone of voice, Dusk resumes the explanation as he loads up on more books than he can carry. “According to Prince Solaris, she’s taking a nap. Her snoring is what’s causing all this smoke.”
“She should really see a doctor,” BB replies seriously, sharing his strange view with both Elusive and Applejack beside him. “That doesn’t sound healthy at all. It might be an irritated uvula, or even nasal congestion.”
“Well, at least-,” Elusive starts to speak up, before halting to grant Berry a cocked eyebrow. Shaking his head, he starts over. “Well at least she’s not snoring fire! What are we gents meant to do about it?”
“Knock some sense into her until she goes cryin’ back to her egg.”
“Applejack!” the tailor gasps at the farmer's suggestion.
“What?" Applejack grunts back resolutely. "Ah'm just sayin’ what we’re all thinkin’.”
“For the record, I’m not ‘thinkin’ that,” Rainbow Dash speaks objectively. “Sounds like a real quick way to get us barbecued, AJ.”
“Awwww~!" AJ teases with mocking snark. "Is little miss Rainbow Dash ‘fraid of chippin’ a nail~?”
“Hay yeah I am!" RD replies indignantly, flashing cobalt-blue nail polish. "These were expensive, dude... Buuut I guess, when I search my heart, I’m more afraid of you chipping your brain cells,” he then counters casually. “You need at least one whole one for apple bucking, right?”
“... Why you no good son of a-”
“Guys!” Dusk interjects, getting in between the two hotheads. “Knock it off! We aren’t going to fight a dragon! We need to encourage her to take a nap somewhere else. Prince Solaris has given us this mission, and we must not fail.”
Both RD and Applejack respond to this highly patriotic decree with a rather silly looking salute.
“If we do,” Dusk keeps speaking, unaware of this background event. “Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years!”
Butterscotch lets low a tiny gasp at this revelation, one that goes ignored by everyone present save me. Good, it looks like he’s just as invested in saving the day as Fluttershy was. I don’t have to worry about him being any more or less shy versus his female equivalent; he’s going to be the right pony for this job either way, guaranteed.
“Humph,” Elusive scoffs at Dusk’s shocking claims. “Talk about getting your beauty sleep.”
“Typical filly, am I right fellas?” BB nudges Elusive’s side playfully in good cheer…
… before noticing that I’m still in the room.
This discovery results in the pink stallion coughing into his hoof, and trotting away from my sight, in a blatant attempt to hide his embarrassed blush.
Humph.
Typical colt.
“All right everypony,” Dusk shouts out, regaining control of his team. “I need you to gather supplies quickly. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. Let’s meet back here in less than an hour.” With this final order, my charge channels his remaining focus into his own supply gathering. While he does this, most of the rest of his friends huddle up and begin hyping themselves up for the mission. I overhear cheers and affirmations as each of them hoof bumps the other, and as each hurriedly gallop out the front door into Ponyville.
Butters, meanwhile, whimpers mutely to himself as he trails far behind the rest of the guys. His head is being held discerningly low as well, I notice...
Eh, he’ll be fine. I have faith that he’ll knock this quest right out of the park.
…
… Welp, guess I better get Dusk’s lunch ready. Can’t go saving the world on an empty stomach! I wonder if we have anymore of those hay bacon strips he lik-
“... Hey, Barb… Can you come here for a moment please?”
Knocked from my ruminations, I blink before turning to address the one who had just called out for me.
Dusk waits patiently as I make my way over to his side.
“Um, yeah?” I answer him as I approach closer. “What’s up, Dus-”
Glomp
I suddenly find myself the ‘victim’ of a gentle bear hug, courtesy of the usually not so huggy Dusk Shine.
Despite his surprising forwardness, no further words seem to be forthcoming as he continues to hold me in this tight embrace.
“...”
“...”
“... Um… Dusk?” I finally work up the courage to ask. “Not that this isn’t nice or anything, but is there something bothering yo-”
“I’m sorry I’m not taking you with us, Barb.”
Words die on my lips.
Thankfully it doesn't take long for Dusk to elaborate further, sparing me the need to ask stunned questions.
“I’m sorry that you're not going to meet another dragon today,” he goes on, and as he does his hold remains solid and unyielding. “I want to take you to meet one, and learn more about your kind… b-but I don’t think this is the right dragoness for the job.”
“Dusk,” I speak quietly, taken aback by his words. He thinks I wanted to… He wants me to… W-where is this coming from?
“Not all dragons are scary,” he then emphasizes, unwilling to meet my eyes. “You think they are, but I know that’s not true. You’re living proof that they’re just as capable of love and friendship as anypony else.”
Not all dragons are scary… Capable of love... Why… Why would he thin-
Wait.
_______________________________
Grasping at straws, I shrug even harder. "I don't know, Dusk! It's the best guess I have! I mean, I know about as much about dragons as you do so it's not all that far-fetched, right?"
"..."
"... Dusk?"
"Hm?" Dusk responds, mind returning from whatever it was he was just thinking about. "Oh... Y-yeah."
...
Folding my arms, and nodding with closed eyes, I answer back with, “Nope, can’t say that I can. Us dragons are pretty scary if I do say so myself.”
Dusk pauses for a moment.
“... Right,” he mutters lowly at first, clearly thinking about something...
_______________________________
Oh no.
Me and my stupid mouth.
“Dusk, I-I don't care about dragons,” I try to tell my concerned friend, realizing what I had inadvertently done. “I'm not afraid of them either! Honest! D-don’t you worry about-”
“Barbara,” Dusk interrupts, silencing me. I find a hoof gently running through my spines in a soothing manner. “It’s okay. It’s okay… I promise I’ll take you to meet another dragon someday. You deserve the same right as anypony else to learn about your heritage…
“... P-please don’t hate me for keeping you here.”
“Never!” I shout, pushing myself off of the stallion’s form. “Dusk, I could never hate you for that!”
“Bu-”
Now it’s my turn to interrupt him with a hug.
“I know you’re only looking out for me,” I tell him truthfully, tightening the hold. How long has he been keeping this all to himself, I wonder. “I’m… I-I’m just a baby. I trust you to take care of me where it matters, and if you think I shouldn’t see this dragon then I won’t try to see this dragon.”
“Barb…” Dusk Shine mumbles weakly. “I’m… sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I insist, locking my eyes with his own. “I didn’t want to see her in the first place! Not because I was scared of her or anything, but more because…”
I pause to think.
What would I even gain in talking to this fellow dragoness...?
... Well... I would get to learn more about my species for one thing… and I could ask questions about what being one really means… and... who knows what else? There’s probably so much about being a dragon that I’m not privy to! From perks to fears, and everything in between... I should try to gain more knowledge someday...
… But that days not today.
It's not today, because,
“If she doesn't care that she's hurting ponies, then she’s not the kind of dragon I want to grow up to be.”
This dragoness has got nothing worth teaching me.
I'd rather walk my own path instead.
“… Thank you,” is Dusk’s grateful reply. His relief is palpable as he returns my embrace with a stronger one. “Thank you for understanding, my little assistant.”
A calming silence descends over the library as we remain seated together and enjoy one another’s company;
just as we have for many years already,
and just as we'll hopefully do for many more years to come.
~In Another time, In Another Place~
“... Hey, Spike… Can you come here for a moment please?”
Twilight waited patiently as the young drake padded his way over to her side.
“Um, yeah?” he answered back, approaching closer. “What’s up, Twi-”
Glomp
~Back to the Then, and Now~
“... Dusk... You probably should have been more specific by what you meant by ‘supplies’.”
“... Sigh… Yeah… I’m starting to realize that, Barb…”
An hour has already passed us by, and the rest of the boys have already returned to the library with saddlebags now full of... apples and makeup and cupcakes and, well…
… crap.
“You’re going to look like a fabulous scorch mark with that hat, Elusive,” I comment drolly, knocking his camo spotted sunhat off as I do.
“Hey!” the dangerously fashion-forward unicorn snarls, whipping up a glare just for me. “That took me days to draft up and complete, you…”
Upon his gaze meeting my unamused own, Elusive's words fade away until only a frustrated sounding huff remains.
First time he’s spoken to me directly in weeks and he chose to be salty... I don’t blame him for clamming up.
“Awesome gear, Butters. I think it's only going to slow you down though...”
Directing my sight away from Elusive, I next catch Rainbow Dash assisting Butters in taking the latter's branded helmet and sports pads off. Yikes those look way too tight on the big guy! They were clearly made for ponies, not giants.
An easy mistake to make, I’m sure.
“All right guys, listen up!” Dusk barks out determinedly, causing the remaining stallions to line up. “I’m mapping out the fastest route, but we’ve all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall.”
“M-m-mountain?” squeaks out Butterscotch, as he tries to conspicuously disappear into the background. I could yet again point out just how flipping tall he is in comparison to his peers... but there's better ways I can use my energy.
For example, I can use it to wrangle up all these fuzzy critters!
A little background, in case you're confused; once mine and Dusk's calming hug was over, I pointing out how reluctant Butters seemed to be in heading out on this adventure. Having not noticed prior, due to his heavy thoughts, my charge gratefully conceded this point to me and then went on to suggest that somepony (or, more pointedly, somedragon) should grant him peace of mind by watching over his animals. Sounding like a fair idea, I didn't hesitate to volunteer myself for the job.
I'll admit that I wasn't being completely noble when I signed up for this task. I'm hoping that sitting these creatures will serve as an excellent distraction for me as well, not just Butters. Like I said earlier I have faith in him and the boys succeeding, but I’d rather not sit around and think about how my friends are willingly risking their lives again while I’m staying behind and doing nothing. It's become a depressingly common trend, and it's only going to get worse as the series progresses.
Enough about that though, because I won’t know whether critter sitting will do the job until I catch the darn rascals in the first place! “Get over here you stupid rabbit,” I grumble loudly, darting around in the hopes of wrangling Angelica and her kin. The doe blows raspberries back at me in response to my cries.
I contemplate whether breaking my vegetarian diet would be worth it or not.
I'm grateful that she’s been the only real headache I’ve had to endure so far in this task. The rest of the animals are surprisingly well behaved and docile, even by Equestrian wildlife standards. The ferret isn’t eating anyone, the chipmunk is all cozy on my claw next to the red robin, and the other bunnies are happily playing by my feet with the mice. I never had a pet in my first life, and in truth my only experience comes from Solaris' pet phoenix Ignatius, but I don’t imagine taking care of these little ones will be all that different from taking care of a child; use tough love seldomly, and regular love the rest of the time. Dusk got me some books on what to feed everycritter too, so outside of making sure that they don’t mess up the library this should be a cinch!
“Oh, and don’t worry about your little friends in the meadow,” Dusk’s words for Butterscotch catch my attention, and returns my mind to the now. Wow, I must have zoned off for a bit there while everypony else was talking. “Barb’s got it covered while you’re gone.”
Seeing Butters gaze at me worriedly, from behind his bangs, fills me with the determination I need to succeed. I owe him big for the ear he lent Dusk the other day during his own time of need, so I refuse to let his kindness go unrewarded!
“You can count on me!” I declare proudly, giving the stallion a single nod before turning to better monitor his anima-
Plop
This, unfortunately, was all the time Angelica needed to sneak up behind me and jump on my head.
Reflectively wincing at the contact, my sporadic movement results in all the nearby critters leaping themselves off of me and dashing away into the bushes. “Hey! Hey wait!” I cry out as I run after them, putting my stubby legs to work. Stupid rabbit! When I get my claws on her so help me I’m gonn-
“I don’t really think she’s up to the task,” is Butter's response for Dusk, in reference to my pitiful performance.
Ow.
My pride.
My poor poor pride.
Suppose I can’t really blame him for that comment; I’m not really putting on a good show in being competent. I’m a bit out of my comfort zone right now, sure, but I’m the most adaptive person I know! If anyone can do this, it’s me.
Another minute passes by, within the blink of an eye, as I finally manage to grab hold of the entire furry collection and herd them inside of the library. Slamming the door shut, not having entered myself, I breathe a sigh of relief as I turn to face the gathered stallions before they departed. While I was running around I overheard snippets of concerns from Applejack, aimed at Dusk, about Butter’s role to play in this quest. I also listened in on Dusk defending his decision to bring him, as well as Rainbow Dash offering support towards the call on top of this.
Right now RD is trying to encourage his foalhood friend into moving. Huh, that’s one part I hadn’t considered. Not to sound like a broken record but Butters is big. Fluttershy was small enough for the other mares to drag along, but the guys certainly don’t have this same luxury here with her male half. I wonder ho-
Oh. Looks like I need not wonder longer. The solution has dawned on Applejack already.
This takes the form of him mounting the larger stallion and yanking on his ears.
With a shocked whinny, Butterscotch unwittingly begins the charge towards the Smoky Mountains with the rest of his friends in hot pursuit. Galloping far too fast to provide me with an actual goodbye, I settle on waving to the dust cloud the party disappeared into as it became a pinprick out over the horizon.
“Have fun storming the castle,” I laugh to myself, trying to drum up some good cheer for my new position. I’ve got an entire library all to myself, save for some woodland creatures… That’s a lot of power for a little girl like me to have! What to do what to do…
… Hmmm... My options for being a 'rebellious' youth are honestly pretty slim when I break them down. Dusk doesn't restrict my reading choices, he doesn't enforce a bedtime, and I'm not barred from pigging out on sweets so I guess, outside of speaking English and swearing, there really isn’t a whole lot I can’t do when I'm around him.
Okay, since I just ruled out being a rule breaker, let's think of something else I could do.
Hmmm... Well... I’d like to invite Sweepy and Scooter over to hang out and help me with these animals... but I’m pretty sure their parents/guardians are forcing them to stay inside until this whole dragon nonsense blows over. Phooey... Maybe I could ask Red Gala to come over instead?
Ehhhh... Nope. On second thought, Red Gala is probably battening down the hatches the same as everypony else right now. She's going to want to stick with her family, and since I don't really feel like herding everycritter over to Sweet Apple Acres instead I might as well forget it. Besides; as much as I’d love for the two of us to continue with our O&O campaign, and move on to the next chapter, I don’t think I'd be able to focus on dungeon mastering and critter sitting all at the same time.
I shouldn't be slouching on my promises like that anyways, and I shouldn't be abandoning them just to go off to have fun like a child either! I may have the brain of one these days, but I have to remember that this won't be the case forever. One day I'll be big again, but said day is never going to come unless I stop and nurture every grownup thought my mind is still capable of producing.
There's a time and place for games and that time's not now; critter sitting is all I should be doing until the boys are back in town.
It's the adult thing, and the right thing, to do...
... But I wish I knew how long I'm going to have to be doing it for! The last adventure the boys went on took four days for something I thought would only take one! Those mountains are a ways away on hoof, so at the moment my best guess is that it's going to at least take up a full day! Maybe even two!
“I sure hope they get back before I have to go to Canterlot,” I speak lightly to myself, once again granting my anxious thoughts a rest. As I turn back towards the library and enter inside, I continue to talk aloud. “Refunding tickets is such a nightmare process, and that mare they have running the Ponyville counter gives me the creeps.”
The door closes tightly behind me as I enter. Once inside, I hit the pseudo-light switch next to the entrance and activate the magical lanterns scattered throughout the first floor. Those clouds are making things super dark outside right now, even in the afternoon... I might have to break out some regular candles. I'm going to need as much light as possible if I want to best monitor all of Butter’s little friends.
“If I do light some extra candles, I better make sure I keep a close eye on them,” I muse as I head further into my home. “Wouldn't want any of them getting knocked over and starting a fire. Don’t know if that magic lightning rod Dusk set up works on the inside of buildings, but I probably shouldn't be testing that out without ‘adult’ supervision, hehe.
“Now then… where is that dumb Angelica? The sooner I find her, the sooner I ca-”
With nearly a sound nor a whisper, a shadow banishes the light.
Darkness envelops my vision.
“What th-” I try to speak, only to find my tongue frozen… a-and my words…
Stolen!
A weights on my throat, like a collar. It's allowing me to breathe, but it feels like its sapping all of my energy with its very existence! “H-h” I cry for help, but again nothing comes out. Sparks dance in the back of my throat, but my concentration is shot; I-I can't spit out my fire! Frantically I try to grip whatever’s wrapped itself around my neck and tear it the hell off.
My claws discover nothing but air, my own scales...
... and the undeniable buzzing sensation of magic.
Soon even my movements are stricken from me as I find my arms roughly yanked and placed neatly at my side. They feel like they’re attached to cinder blocks, and I now notice that my feet aren’t touching the ground anymore either. I-I can’t see anything, am I floating?
Wait… no… I can see something!
There’s a single point of light in the distance, one that’s approaching ever closer. My vision is going in and out as my energy continues to dwindle, and as I begin to panic further, but I’m still capable of making out a silhouette after drumming up all my remaining strength.
From the depths of the shadows a long horn emerges, wreathed in the ethereal glow of mana. The pony attached to the appendage is cloaked in the void, as well as literally cloaked, though the cloth fails to hide his tall visage. His grayish blue snout is about the only other detail about him I can make out at this range, but it at least confirms for me that he is in fact a he.
The stranger then speaks.
“Barbara The Dragoness,” he whispers softly, as if to lull me to sleep. His massive magical well remains flowing as he approaches closer, the act revealing that he's an advanced master of the craft. “Rest thy weary eyes. The day is over, and the work is done...”
The pony's horn flickers.
I feel my arms getting heavier as the strain hastens the leeching process.
“We beseech thee to rest. Thou has more than earned it.”
I… W-what’s going on?! Dusk, h-help me, I…
… Wait.
Thy?
Beseech?
Thou?
N-nopony talks like that! Write, maybe, b-but not talk!
The only pony I know who does is… i-is… isss...
Before I could complete my final thought, before I could connect a single dot more; the assailant laid his horn on my forehead and yanked the world away.
The outline of wings beneath his cloak was the last detail my mind caught before everything went still and dark.
◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠
~Journal Entry 0048~
Our patience has yielded a favorable outcome; the time to re-earn Sol's trust is nigh.
We will see thee on the other side, once all truths are laid bare.
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like the hew cover-art
I want explanations. I need explanations!
Why must you torture me with such a cliffhanger?
Love the new cover image, Derp!
Now to read that spicy chapter.Edit: Can confirm, chapter is spicy (with a few touching moments :p)
Oh, good idea. How to rekindle the trust of Prince Solaris, my older brother who also happens to be the book to be thrown at the lawless. Intercept a letter of concern to Solaris penned by Barb, who holds Solaris as a confidante, fail to inform Solaris of the concerning content or even the existence of Barb's letter, then proceed to sedate Barb and begin mental probing with neither the knowledge nor consent of either Solaris or Barb.
Prince Artemis, everybody.
10208183
Yeeeeaaahhh... somepony REALLY didn't think this through.
Love the new cover art.
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I have links to the artist in the story description for now, but I will be doing a proper blog post about it once it's done... This is only the first draft 
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Thank you! Glad you all like it
So... The best way to re-gain his brother trust is to dragonap his brother's student daughter
Foiled once more by a cliffhanger
You know, thinking on it, there are multiple ways for this blow up:
Angelica is a jerk, but when the chips hit the pile she usually becomes very cooperative. Like, for example, watching a little girl get kidnapped and being the only witness.
“Oh no, he’ll find out I’m an adult.” More like “Hey brother, so this kid has nightmares of when you made her a maid slave.” I could see Solaris barking back at him that he just kidnapped a little girl, and then the two ignoring each other while yelling.
At this point i dont know what im reading anymore.... sigh
You are muddling the story so hard with extra seers, random threats, random enemies and the constant and i do mean constant second guessing, existential questioning, dancing around issues that it became so convoluted that compared to the first story this ends up as a indepth retelling with whatever thrown in.
I really tried to pay attention during the whole story. The last two chapters i found myself skipping alot of it. No answers in sight. Random Starlight Glimmer wannabe gunning for Dusk because why not? And on top of that Barbara and Elusive keep dancing around their past lives. Because they are not husband and wife and they dont love one another obviously...... cant u tell? With all the "super interesting" game of who will crack first and finally talk, because the world will implode i presume (cant put more sarcasm in this)
*sigh* Artemis....
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A lot of a people like it's not just a longer version of the original, but genderbent.
I do~
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I think one of the best choices I made with this series was to separate it in two like I did. Part 1 contained a more condensed story that I drafted and wrote up on a weekly basis for half a year, while Part 2 is an episodic affair containing arcs and season long mysteries that I've spent years working on.
Now, that's all well and good... but I'll admit that Part 2 could have been a lot stronger if I had started it off that way.
Originally the sequel was going to be much of the same as Part 1; a weekly updating fic centered around Spike's life through the eyes of another. That plan fell through after the first hiatus lasted 3 years and left me with time to contemplate where I wanted to go with the story. I came back in 2018 with longer plans in mind, which I followed through on until another year long hiatus threw me off my groove.
When I started writing for this story again in late 2019, I came in with stronger tenets then I held when I started it. I won't jot them all down here, but the biggest one I'll share is this one; no mystery will be left lingering past the season it was introduced.
Things feel very front loaded right now, I know, but we are about to hit the top of the roller coaster very soon here.
That said, I still greatly appreciate the time you put into reading this story so far. I'll understand if this is where you wish to exit the ride; I just hope this tale didn't tarnish your enjoyment of the first story. Reading the lovely comment you left on it this morning really made my day
Until our paths cross again, stay safe and stay well,
-Derply
Oh, it’s Thursday, not Friday.
...Welp, back to staring at a wall.
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Please dont take this the wrong way, the story is nice and alot heavier than its predecesor.
But in a way i thought it will be more straightfoward, instead there are screwballs that fly EVERY SINGLE chapter untill what is left is a battered mess with no room to recover.
And when that finally happens youre left feeling with "huh that just happen?"
The whole character developement of Rainbowdash felt more like a nod to stop being a prude and a purist and let me be what i wish to be, free of comformity.
While im guessing it was supposed to teach tolerance towards transgender or even gay coupling since its 2020. By now everybody out there atleast has a proper opinion on the matter. The most common one being " just do what feels good for you aslong as you dont force it on others"
I Know what u wanted to show and teach but somewhere i think the meanning got muddled. Probably when you tried so hard to adapt the party story to fit your needs or the lady portion training of rainbow. It felt forced and while we all know that we all change who is to tell that Guilder didnt lead a better life now than before. There are always sacrifices and reactions based on whats happening. Life isnt as easy just because you want something and could have it now that youre going to jump right on it. Guilder was mean but it saved him from his personal weakness especially when he was targeted by Dashes enemies for being different. In a way Guilder became influenced by Dashes vision of youth but somewhere along the way awoke his own opinion and grew a spine even if it sacrificed alot. That takes strenght, when you dont have proper support and feel even worse being protected by a social outcast you dont want to be. Dash had support from his parentsbless their souls but Guilder? His parents threw him away with pretense to study alone in an unfamiliar world. Im guessing they didnt care as aslong as hes not embarassing them. Not many cultures see dressing up males in female clothes favourably, many out there get disinherited, shamed by their family and friends, and that hurts so mich that your world shatters. So its better to be something else, something normal even if your hurting inside. Unless you throw it all away and have the strenght to rise up alone somewhere else.
Sorry for the wall of text but this is my opinin based on what i read.
And dont get me started about the hulahopping Elusive and Barbara. While im guessing both by now know who the other is (reincarnator atleast) they have yet to properly cross paths and finally talk. Elusive being Jason is plausable but on the other hand could also just be another being afraid Barbara will call him out on being one of the MC cast and a pretender. And while sad, Barbaras voice is that of a foal and has barely any meaning to adults and ponies since shes a dragon. Elusive is using that fact mercilessly for now.
They died and have a chance for a new life .... If it is Jason then him searching for happines is normal in an idilic world where he is a pony in a pony world with powerful magic of his own while Barbara is the runt of the litter servant to one of his friends and a remainder of his old life he doesent want to tackle.
Ugh rambling but yeah..... im paying atention but the whole thing with Glimmer and now Artemis is just too much without even getting a proper closure on 2 major head scratching Situations that beg for more explanations....
Now that some time has passed I see that i got REALLY invested in this story. Wow it has been a while since that happened.
Once again i apologise if i came of as attacking your work.
But the very fact that i care for it so much means youre doing a great job!
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*Sits besides and equally stares...*
*... Soon she turns it into a competition... *
*... Then a war.*
*Many lives are lost in the crossfire*
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I thank you for the follow up. I was quite beside myself and unsure how to respond to your last message. I'm glad it was just the product of passion and not the result of me offending you or others in a harmful way.
I accept your apology, and I also accept your valid criticism.
If there's one regret I have with this story it's the episode I chose to answer Elusive's situation in: Storm of the Century made sense back when I was drafting up how they're cat and mouse game was going to play out, and how closely Barb's tired mental state was going to match the reader's own by that point in the story... but now I know better. Another one of the tenets I hold while writing this story is that I want no major mystery to go on for too long without follow up clues or action. I want to be pulling loose strings whenever appropriate to prevent them going on forgotten, hence why Dragonapped is focused on Artemis, and why the next two episodes will be focused on elements introduced in Entry 3.
I won't lie and say that the next few episodes won't be adding more to the mystery pile. They most assuredly will, but I'll only do so after providing the pieces necessary to start completing some larger puzzles. The episode I mentioned in the spoiler tag will be the tipping point for a lot of this build up, and that's all I'm comfortable with sharing at this time, but I hope that's enough to ease some of the worries you and others have had over the direction of this story.
Anyways, I'm rambling. I'm going to get back to putting the finishing touches on today's chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it ^_^
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Rereading the whole chapter i wrote in comments gave me insights on the state of mind i was in at the time i was writing it.
I was mentally exhausted rereading the whole story by that point (the 30+ chapters) but too invested to put it down
This story i advise dear readers to read at a normal pace not binge!!!
Hahaha but on a lighter note yeah im looking forward to read the new chapters.
Also regarding my rant about Rainbowdash and Guilder sexual orientation/conformity has been a sore point in my family and general area where i lived.
Boys cant have dolls and play house kinda ordeal. I guess my tired mind started defending Guilder for simply defending himself. Change is not easy without proper support.
Expecially when u cut out a part of yourself out to fit in in society (talking from experience)
And it hurt me when Dash simply walked out on Guilder when he was the only pony that mattered to him yet Dash forced Guilder to join the "herd"or be forced to leave.
I realise Dashes best intentions to draw him out but a party? Not the best place with ponies he clearly hated. If they were alone in lets say Dashes cloud mansion with privacy to air things out....
Baby steps are needed not peer pressure.
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That is a GOOD disclaimer... I might have to borrow that haha.
And, yeah; Dashie did mess up big with the party idea, but so did Barb for even suggesting it. Berry was also in the wrong for being a bit of a jerk as well, which left the whole situation pretty nebulous and icky feeling...
... just like the original episode.
The one thing I absolutely do not want The Poisoned Barb's Tale to be is a fixfic. Things can happen out of order, and some elements might be greatly altered, but I don't want this Equestria to be "better" than canon Equestria. The handling of Gilda was kinda whacked in season one, so it's a little whacked here as well as a result.
That doesn't mean we're going to LEAVE it whacked though... just wait and see