The Red Dusk

by Barony

Chapter 12 - First Flight.

Red Dusk walks slowly down a hallway, the light of the morning illuminating his path from the windows.

His eye was swollen shut, and it had been such a long time since he felt the pain of a hoof doing a good hit against his head. He had an icepack, as issued to him by the infirmary, against his eye, which was colored black and various hues of purple.

He was looking for Celestia, to get a rundown on events from her considering he blacked out at the end of the party. If only it weren't for that one pony who smashed part of his skull in with a hoof clad in a steel horseshoe, he would not be dealing with the pain and having blacked out like a bitch.

He rolls his good eye around, disappointed with himself, but he reminds himself that his body's heightened ability to regenerate blood vessels will probably deal with the swelling fully within a week, including the bruising.

He turns a corner, seeing a maid walk by. She did not turn her head, but instead flashed a look at him, a concerned one as she passes by.

He continues down the corridor before arriving at a door that he knew lead directly into Celestia's study. He sniffs, not like normal due to swelling of his muzzle aswell, the space between the two doors that went into the room.

He could smell her in there, with a subtle smell of the pulp used to make paper, aswell as ink. He knocks with a hoof, fixing himself a forced smile.

"Come in." A reply is heard from inside. Red's horn glows as the doors open, walking himself inside, to see a Celestia on the cushion infront of her desk. A computer was on the desk aswell, but mainly, there were many papers and rolled up letters around her.

She smiles at Red as she nods to another cushion, the cushion in question rolling over to a place next to Celestia and the alicorn sitting down.

"Good morning." Red greets her, his good eye not really showing much emotional expression. Celestia's horn goes aglow, taking the icepack away from Red's lax grasp on it with his magic and takes a look under. She cringes as it goes back.

"You got trampled really, really badly. But they said your skull took the ponies hoof remarkably well, which I am thankful for. No need for a dead alicorn, right?" she says, a delay before she gives a nervous grin to an un-amused Red.

"I guess so. Did anything happen while I was out?" Red could see a magazine shuffle around behind Celestia, his good eyebrow raising in question.

"The press works fast. They labelled me as suicidal and you a primitive minded, blood thirsty murderer out for blood--- Its just weird." Red looks at the magazine, flipping through the pages, almost the entire booklet dedicated to him.

"They even got photographers on the grounds at two in the morning to get pictures of you." Red shakes his head, tilting it as he hears her say it. She nods.

"Why do they need... 'pictures'?"

"Their readers 'read' pictures and their little snippets of information, stopping at the tree's before the forest, for they dont look into the circumstances that form the basis of my decision. Its sensationalism, and its twisted."

"Think about it, you were semi conscious in a crystal for five hundred years. I think you've had a long time to think over your life choices, right?" she asks Red, the alicorn shallowly nodding but generally unresponsive.

"They even took a photograph of your little scene up there with me, calling it an attempt at emotional control over us." Celestia says in a disgusted voice, like she had dealt with this before, which she has. However, Red chuckles inside, trying his best not to chuckle on the outside.

It was false. He had made the last minute plan to get ponies to be sympathetic to him and treat him all the nicer, and it worked. Even Celestia was fooled by it, which was surprising. But he could only guess that Blueblood and a few ponies saw through his blatant lie, which wore off after a few minutes walking around the party.

In the circumstances he was in, he would have done nothing, may have hurt somebody, but for this occasion, he knew that he needed all he could get in the way of a normal pony's heart and mind to further his goals, or rather his master's goals.

Meanwhile, Celestia blankly looks at Red with a tired face. She had been up to help deal with the covert photographer, who had been apprehended with a couple of photos of the scene in the ballroom and even a picture of Red on the infirmary bed. It was quite disturbing what the media was doing and even more disturbing about how quickly they responded and printed.

She looked at the magazine, looking it over. It did look like half-ass by the editor: Minor spelling errors, paragraphs were slightly ontop of the pictures. Clearly, the magazine printers panicked when they got wind of this.

She throws the magazine behind her into a trash can, done with it. She intently looks at Red, who was looking all over the place. It was odd seeing him in this condition, he always seemed invincible.

Ofcourse he wasnt. She had fought him multiple occasions before. Well, rarely did she actually actively fight, it was more him who actively tried to get her. Ofcourse, she was never usually burdened with heavy armor like he was.

On some of those occasions, she did score some hits on him. One time she did burn him on the leg with a beam of magic after he got too close. Some droplets of blood were shed, but overall, he took it like a champ.

Red Dusk sighs, a hoof coming up to rub his eye, yawning. He did not seem too interested in conversation now, oddly. He gave a glance at her for a second, before shaking his head, his lips moving as if he were talking.

Celestia's eyebrow raises, a hoof rising to poke Red on his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Why did you look at me and than shake your head? Is there something wrong? Ofcourse apart from your eye." she asks, the stallion shaking his head with a blank face.

"No. Infact, Im going to go have a flight." To this, a magical force halts Red's right leg from moving, Celestia's horn alight.

"Your eye is swollen shut, you have no depth perception." she looks at him with a concerned face, but he rolls his eyes, groaning.

"Im pretty sure I can fly optimally, thank you." Red's muscle overpower's Celestia's magical grasp as he makes a hard tug at the force, getting up and shaking his coat to fluffle it up.

The stallion walks over to the door, looking over at Celestia one more time before opening the door and walking out. It clicks shut, and Celestia is left alone, thinking of what to do.

She herself gets up, opening the door a crack, just to see Red's rear end turning a corner. She thinks for a second, before slipping out of the room.

He was going to the tower, and she shall follow.

---

Red Dusk stood on the tower, looking around as his wings flutter at his sides, aching to finally begin pumping after centuries of stasis.

The sky was dotted with clouds, which seemed to be moving slowly across the sky. There was a slight, chilly breeze every now and again, but overall, the temperature was rather well, albeit on the cold side.

He walks to the edge, looking down. It was a long drop, just from the tower, the tallest of all the structures the palace had. But it was no problem, for Red ofcourse.

He proudly smiles to himself, his wings stretching.

He groans as the bones in his wings make popping and cracking noises. He twists his neck both ways, aswell as twisting his body to include the spine.

The feeling was simply delightful, the alicorn half smiling, until a painful one makes him yelp.

"Oof! That... Ow." he remarks, shuddering as he straightens up. He looks over the edge again, fully stretched. His wings were constantly moving at his sides, eager.

He climbs ontop of the rails with his forelegs, his hind legs getting into position as he does a final check of his surroundings. No other pegasi or general obstructions were in sight or in his launchpath, so he was good to go.

His hind legs kick back to launch him forward in concert with his forelegs, pushing him down and into the air.

His wings were fully outstretched, lifting him up while flapping.

His body was flowing with adrenaline as it flew through the air, quickly going over the city of Canterlot. He pitches up to stop himself, allowing himself to hover in the air while looking around.

The city streets had a few people walking through, the market places and plazas empty and devoid of vendor stands, atleast not yet. The orange tiled roofs of all the buildings was rather nice to look at, and now that he thought of the roofs, he goes to try and find Rose Melody's apartment building.

He slowly flies around, his head on a swivel. He scans along the rows of tall buildings, before happening across the lightly colored apartment building that was Rose Melody's.

He sees her, or at least what he thinks is her, apartment windows on the fifth floor that are looking out onto the street. They were covered with curtains, and it looked somewhat dark inside.

The stallion rubs his chin with a hoof, slowly descending down to the street and looking up and down it. Barely anypony was on the street, and those who were stopped in their tracks, looking up at him as he descends.

Trees lined the street on the sidewalks, while the sides of the street itself were made up of the front of buildings. Various supporting blocks, stairs, and other things made the walls look rather irregular.

There were trashcans between some of the trees, parked carts, wires hanging between buildings, some even with clothing hanging off of them. The wind blew through the streets, leaves gliding through the wind as Red puts a hoof infront of the other, walking to the apartment building.

He opens the glass door, being blasted with the heat of the building. It was spring, so there were chills, ofcourse, like today. He ascends the stairs, his hooves' sounds being amplified in the form of echoes.

After a while, much to his annoyance, Red arrives at the room he thought was Rose's. Looking around, he knocks on her door, looking at her welcome mat to pass the time.

He hears muffled hoofsteps inside the room and a feminine voice, which was that of Rose Melody's!

"Coming!" the muffled hoofsteps get closer, before the door opens to reveal a smiling and socked Rose. Her smile falls as she see's Red.

"Oh... Hi Red."

"Greetings Rose!" Red, however, is rather enthusiastic, and does something he usually never does: he picks up Rose with his magic, bringing her up to him to hug her with a smile. Ofcourse, she squeals as he does this, squirming in his grasp.

"I bid thee a good morning!" he goes old Equestrian for a second, a goofy smile still on his face. Rose just goes along with it, hugging him aswell while rolling her eyes. She slips off after Red lets her go, looking up at him.

"What brings you here? I would think that without depth perception, you wouldnt be allowed out by Cele---"

"Nonsense, my friend. I am a responsible adult, I can hold my-"

"Meow!"

Both heads snap to look at an orange tabby cat, who looked up at Red with green eyes. The feline meows again, rubbing her body against Rose's legs as Rose just giggles.

"Aw, hi there, Lily!" she picks up the cat with her magic and brings the cat up to her face.

"Meow!"

"Meow meow to you too, little kitty. Look, I have a new friend." she points with a hoof, Lily looking at Red as pointed out by her master, "His name is Red.". The feline meows again to a weird-ed out Red, the cat floating towards Red, who takes her up in his magic.

His hoof goes up to feel the soft fur of the cat, who purrs during a small belly rub. He nods, floating it back over to Rose.

"So, do you want to come in?" Red nods, and Rose takes a side step to allow him to walk in.

His head gently coasts around as he appreciates the simple beauty of the apartment.

The apartment was cozy, with a shelf sitting behind a couch and coffee table with various decorations, alot of them eastern Dragonese kind of decorations, strewn about the entire apartment: on the shelves, on the table, even in the kitchen which was close by.

There was a small hallway that had two differing ways, one to a bathroom and one to a bedroom. It was somewhat dark inside, but it was dimly lit with candles that smelled rather nice. He could see a desk in the living room with a computer on it, emitting the sounds of a fan working with a browser on the screen.

Unfortunately with Red, he had to slightly bow his head down: His horn would touch the ceiling in an uncomfortable way if he did not bow down.

"You have a small place, if I do say so myself." Rose only laughs nervously, the alicorn rolling his eyes. He walks up to the computer, looking squarely at it, the browser on a site called "MBRP" and with alot of text on a white background, each being headed by a different name, in different colors.

"Yeah, hehe... But its a home." Rose chuckles nervously alittle more, rubbing her mane with an embarrassed grin.

"Want some dandelion tea? Its on the stove." she points over to the kitchen, the alicorn nodding as he goes forward with Rose in tow.

She quickly walks forward on tipped hooves, flicking on the light switch for the kitchen, the place illuminated by bright light to better expose a teapot on the stove. A blue flame heated its underside and a slight stream of steam comes out the spout, indicating the tea is boiling.

As Rose does her thing, that ofcourse being getting some mugs and dealing with the teapot, Red looks around the kitchen, groaning to himself inside. He takes a knife out of the cutting block, the alicorn rolling his eyes.

"You should sharpen your knives better, Rose Melody." the unicorn looks over at the back of Red Dusk's head, to see him inspecting her array of knives. She only blushes, looking to the side.

"I do not use them much and I havent sharpened them since a few months ago." she looks back to what she was doing, pouring tea into a cup and floating it over to Red. He grabs it with his magic, taking a sip. His eyebrows bounce up, the tea had some kick in the flavor department, being very sweet.

"You should anyway, should the need arise. If you want, I shall sharpen them for you. However, onto more important matters, are you doing something right now?" Rose only chuckles, sipping on her tea.

"Finally having a rest after a long week, playing videogames, but right now, roleplaying." Red's eyebrow rises, the unicorn grinning.

"Roleplaying?"

"Yeah, as in... For example, you act like a swordspony and I act as an archerpony, basically acting like somepony else or yourself in a fictional world." Rose explains, taking yet another sip of her tea.

"Sooo... You are doing this by yourself?"

"What? No! Im doing it on the computer, Message Board RolePlay." she points over to the living room computer, Red shaking his head.

"Interesting. I have heard of something called a 'console' and a 'TV' from Shining Armor. Do you possess both of those things?" Rose nods as she walks out of the kitchen area to the shelf with what looks like the 'TV'.

It was black, boxy, and bulky, with a rounded screen. It took the centerpiece of the entire 'shelf' that had, ofcourse, Dragonese decorations all around it. Or atleast some of it was. Some were figures of these weird looking ponies, some with blonde, spiky hair, and even a masquerade mask on one of the shelves.

He looks down, to see a box that had glowing numbers on the front of it. Small doors to the sides of the shelf carried small boxes that seemed to be able to be opened, aswell as small cartridges, some small and black and others large, rounded and grey, stacked infront.

Looking down at two shelves, he could see two more boxes, one with a slope and a bunch of ridges as it went down, aswell as rectangular holes on a raised portion. Two things with sticks coming out of them with a red button on top of the sticks were resting near this object, their wire coiled up.

The other was alot more rounded, with a hill like shape jutting from the top of it with a hopper and two trapdoors, including the obvious ports. However, the controllers were much different, it seemed. The controllers are large cubes that are meant to be set down on a lap or table and the things on them, buttons and joysticks, to be utilized using hooves. He picks one up, and feels some weight to it, to help keep it on the table, probably, if his hypothesis was correct ofcourse.

"So. These two things."

"They are consoles. The Matawi 6200 and the Manetendo 64, the Matawi was given to me by Shining Armor, and I love it." she grins cheerfully, taking up one of the Matawi controllers.

"Want to play?" Red takes it up, playing with the joystick. Interesting, he thinks to himself. He looks out the windows, to see people walking down the street, drawing his head back to look at a smiling Rose.

"I've got all day Red... Its the weekend."

He looks back at the controller, than his friend.

"Lets do it."

Comments

[Dreadknight garen]

I dont know whether to facepalm from red's abliviousness, or get the machete for those shitty nobles...

I honestly dont get the concept of nobility, why does being born to some rich fuck make you better than someone who actually contributes to the world?

[Barony]

7731947 I dunno, but that... That my friend is the world we live in.

[Dreadknight garen]

7732000 i hate being confused, but not quite. Its a weird feeling, when i get confused its more like my brain wont fucking give up trying to puzzle out WHY no matter how distracting it is.

And that one has been confusing me for a while.

[Barony]

7732041 Well... I guess thats going to go on for a bit more for you, because I dunno, thats how the world works it seems.

Question, how do you like my fiction?

[Dreadknight garen]

7732062 s'good. I like this one especially, except the whole "we love friendship and harmony, but only if you conform" shenanigans.

[Barony]

7732070 Are you saying that because Celestia's kind of attempt at reforming Red?

I am open to suggestions.

[Dreadknight garen]

7732077 i mean the nobles, he isnt the exact picture of a perfect alicorn so therefore he is "inferior".

I just wish that people would realise that 500 years is a long fuckn time to comtemplate your shitty decisions.