The Red Dusk

by Barony

Chapter 2: The Morning

Creaking.

The sound of a door creaking echoes through the hallway. A guest room door was slowly opening up to a lighted hallway from a morning sun lit room.

A tall silhouette of an alicorn stallion stands there, poking his head out and looking both ways. Seeing noone around, the crimson alicorn walks out of the room and heads down the hallway.

The stallion looks out the windows that give a partial view of the valley that Canterlot hung over, while he was also given a view of the numerous palace turrets and buildings that gave the palace shape. It was a beautiful sight to behold, quite breathtaking actually for the thousand year old alicorn.

He bites his lip as he realizes he used to be - and may now again be - working to destroy this image in so many ways. His sharp, carnivorous teeth pierced his lower lip, making him quietly yelp in pain as a bead of blood appears on the puncture. He turns a corner, going down more hallways and more doors for bedrooms, sitting rooms, meeting rooms, all the types of rooms you would expect in a biarchy's capital palace.

The hallway walls were maintained to perfection, the bricks probably having been smoothed over and their surfaces ground. The rugs on the floor were cleaned masterfully, the material caressing his hooves as he walked over them. Not to mention the ceilings which were beautifully arched and yet again, masterfully maintained to perfection.

As he continues to walk and explore, his stomach gives a noticeable grumble and squirms inside of him. He awkwardly clasps a hoof over his hanging part of his barrel where his stomach and intestines were located. He needed food, fresh food actually. For five hundred years, he had that fateful day's ration of bread, virgin olive oil, and some oats in his stomach.

He shook his head after a thought of the food being rotten in his stomach passes through his mind. The infirmary told him that the food in his stomach was preserved by the crystal spell, digestion having stopped. He ran on chemical energy reserves from the food he already digested for a good portion of his imprisonment, aswell as his magical energy on the last part of his imprisonment.

It was amazing, to him, how long the energy from the food lasted, which was in part due to his ability to control his body's energy requirements by cutting off bloodflow using his magic to unimportant areas, like the legs, eyes, nose, etc. But all of that wont save him now.

A guard passes by him after rounding a corner into the hallway he was inside, looking at him suspiciously as the red alicorn walked by. A scoff could be heard from behind him as the guard moves out of sight and what the guard probably assumed to be earshot.

As he rounds another corner and enters a new hallway, he continues walking down it, bored with its indifference to the other hallways.

That is, to his eyes. To his nose, however, the hall was filled with the hypnotizing aroma of freshly cooked breakfast coming straight from the kitchen. The smell flowed right into Red's nose and it was almost as if he was high. He had smelled food being cooked before, but never as delightful as this smell.

His legs turned gear and he began trotting towards the smell, getting faster and faster as he approached the source of the smell: the kitchen. Here, near the kitchen, he finally notices a distinct increase in the amount of ponies in the hallways.

A few maids and butlers are around him, all probably waiting to get their fill for the day. As he enters their vision, their faces change from relaxed and happy, they change to unsettled and miffed. The talking in the hallway stops as the alicorn turns another corner towards the kitchen.

Entering the dining room, there are a few ponies surrounding it, some of them carrying their breakfasts while some of them just stand, looking at Red with judgmental eyes, some disgusted. One of them stood out as especially snobbish, talking to another pony right next to him while eyeing Red suspiciously.

The white, blond maned and blue eyed unicorn had a blue and yellow compass rose as a cutiemark and wore a noble's suit. His looks and behaviour betrayed his personality, but that was not of Red's concern at that moment, for his focus was on satisfying his hunger.

He looks past some nervous ponies ,who scamper away as he gets closer to them, to see the kitchen door. He walks towards it, hearing all types of whispering and mumbling of all kinds coming from the ponies all around them, few of these ponies being nobles like the snobbish one.

"I can't believe the Princess allowed this degenerate to be free."

"He should've been left to rot."

"Im actually surprised not one of us are dead yet."

The alicorn grunts in reponse to their comments, walking through the kitchen door.

He was greeted by the sight of countless stainless steel cooking appliances and tools, mixed in with the color and shapes of brightly colored ponies in the clothing of cooks. In an instant, a small, light cyan mare comes up to him, looking up at him nervously and grimly.

"Uhhh..." she grumbles, her eyes dotting around to different parts of his body, observing him. She backs away and gets closer to what seems to be a two pronged fork.

Red Dusk tilts his head at the mare as he steps closer. The unicorn mare takes another step back, the alicorn getting a tad-bit annoyed.

"Ahem." he clears his throat as he points at his barrel, which grumbles to confirm his point. Although the grumble was barely audible through the clanging of pans and other things that made sound in a kitchen, the mare heard it, reluctantly getting closer to him as he now smiles.

"Uhmm... W-w-what would you like to eat today, s-sir?" she stammers while the alicorn puts a hoof to his chin. He was so gigantic in comparison to her, he could just kill her now with no resistance, she thought.

The alicorn's head jerks in its place as he gets an idea of what to eat. He lowers down his head to try to make the situation more comfortable for the poor mare, now hearing her rather labored, nervous breathing. It was at this time that Red noticed how quiet the other cooks were, which yet again annoyingly stabbed at him.

"May I ask that I receive some bread in virgin olive oil?" the red alicorn tried to softly ask for, trying to be as unscary as possible. The effect was barely felt, but he could see her relax.

He brings his head back up, looking back down at the pony, who wheels around and goes back to what he presumes is the pantry. An idea shoots right into his mind, the stallion tapping on her shoulder with a hoof.

"What... is your name?" he asks nervously, the mare's eyes going left to right. He was nervous because he did not know if she would take offense to that. The mare swallows her spit in a gulp, looking into the eyes of the red alicorn from below.

"My name is Seasalt." the cyan mare responds, quickly wheeling back around and walking off to the pantry. So far, things did not look good in the public relations department. If it weren't for his past, maybe he would have a chance, but since he does have such a past, it'll be a nightmare for him.

He slaps a hoof onto his forehead as he uses the word nightmare in that context, the irony just astronomical. Atleast he has some experience with some things that might help him out.

The mare comes back with a plate that is topped with a loaf of Prench bread that has been cut and its slices soaked in virgin olive oil with various spices sprinkled on. It looked appetizing, atleast for him, and he nodded at the mare with a smile.

Seasalt nervously waves, then she says "Wait!". She catches Red's attention just as the alicorn was leaving the kitchen.

She looked at him, twisting a hoof in the floor while the alicorn gives a confused, questioning face.

"Do you want some hay bacon with that, s-sir?" she asks with a tinge of curiousness in her voice mixed in with the ever omnipresent feeling of discomfort. The alicorn gives a confused face, unknowing of what hay bacon was, though he did know what bacon was, from the gryphon territories.

"Suuuure." the alicorn drags out the word, Seasalt looking a bit more relaxed then before and quickly going back into the depths of the kitchen, to come out with another plate of what he presumed was hay bacon in her magic.

It was 6 greasy strips of fried hay, probably loaded with some other things in the strips. It looked nice, quite similar to the real thing actually. But did it taste as good? Thats what he would find out.

The alicorn waves to Seasalt, wheeling around to exit the kitchen and enter the dining room.

The amount of ponies in the dining room had cut down considerably. Though there was the noise of whispers that were not understandable and the feeling of stares on the back on Red Dusk's head, which weighed on him.

He dragged himself over to a cushion next to the dining room table, planting down his two plates rather unceremoniously and sitting down on his haunches. He looks over his food, putting a hoof to the bread and haybacon to feel its texture.

Both were pretty warm and their textures were rather pristine. The bacon had a good, grainy yet appetizing texture that appealed to the alicorn, crispy and smooth co-dominating in the texture department.

Meanwhile, the bread's outer shell was hard and smooth, the warmth adding up to a divine feeling. The insides of the slices were soft and wrapped around the tiny bit off hoof he used to touch them with. The olive oil gave the insides of the bread slices a greasy, juicy green-yellow color, supplemented by the tiny dots that were the various spices added to the olive oil.

His mouth watered and his stomach grumbled its disapproval of Red leaving the food to cool. He gives in.

His magic picks up a slice of bread and stuffs it into his mouth. His teeth go to work as the bread is effortlessly chewed into a big pile of what used to be bread mixed with olive oil. He moaned from inside his throat his satisfaction and delight, the feeling of the judging eyes being covered up by the delightful feeling and sensations of eating delicious food, fit for royalty.

Gulping down the food, he looks at the haybacon, still warm. He grabs a slice and rips off a piece of the slice, his tongue being hit with a high-inducing taste. It was almost the same as the real thing, bacon, but just with this nice, grainy texture that was supplemented by the taste of some spices and the simple quality of the cooking of the item.

He quickly took the last bite and savored it, gulping down the chewed pile of the last one while he gathered two more for the slaughter house. The two slices dont have long before they go into Red's mouth to be chewed vigorously.

Meanwhile, all the ponies still left in the room look in disbelief at how the alicorn eats so unpolitely. Some grease and crumbs had embedded themselves in the fur of his muzzle around the mouth and around the nose.

"He eats like a pig."

"He is a pig."

"Bastard thinks he has the right to our food, yeah right."

The insults hit his ears, and the feeling of his anger beginning to metaphorically reach the cap of the bottle hits him like a brick. These ponies thought they were invincible, his angrier side and even the Nightmare Moon inside of his mind trying to persuade him to change that.

The food became less enjoyable as the insults became audible. Atleast it was not too bad, that is, for now. Could be worse, he thinks.

He continues to eat his meal, albeit disturbed, and tries to savor it as much as he did before, but to no avail. He sighs, realizing that his life might be worse then before.

Atleast before, when he was on Earth, he had freedom to do what he wanted and when he goes to the moon, he gets a pat on the head and love from his boss.

Atleast before, he wouldn't have to worry about worrying what other ponies thought now, considering his situation, he thinks to himself as he puts his hooves flat down on the table and looks straight forward as he tries to clear his mind.

As Red spaced out, a particular mare takes a seat beside him.

"Good morning Red Dusk." the stallions eyes shoot open and he jumps off his cushion onto the floor, some laughs coming from the ponies around them. The mare was none other than Princess Celestia, who just sat there, softly laughing into a hoof at his reaction.

"Where did you come from?!" Red pointed an accusing hoof at the princess who only laughed harder.

"From outer space." Celestia added in jokingly. Red scoffs, getting up and going back to his cushion.

"How did you sleep?" asked the alabaster alicorn, the stallion nodding his head.

"I slept well. The bed was soft and comfortable." the stallion answers, brushing a leg off with a hoof. Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Aren't they all." Celestia grumbled, Red focusing now on his food. He takes another slice of bread, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing it.

"Hm... What ever happened to Nightmare Moon?" Red asks Celestia, the alicorn chuckling.

"The nightmare inside of Luna was eliminated through the power of Friendship and the elements of Harmony." Red's muzzle scrunches up like a tin can as he hears about the Elements of Harmony. But he quickly regains composure.

"The Elements of Harmony? Did you use them?" Red tilted his head in inquiry, the solar princess shaking her head.

"My student, Twilight Sparkle, and her five friends all wielded the elements of harmony, one each, to defeat Nightmare Moon, but not before defeating Nightmare Moon's attempts to break them up and make them falter and separate." Celestia said with a proud face, Red looking at her with a blank face.

"Oh... Thats reassuring." Red Dusk mumbles in an unamused, sarcastic tone. Celestia turns her head to look at him, an eyebrow arched.

"What was that?" Celestia inquired as the red alicorn took the last slice of haybacon strips. He throws it into his mouth again, munching loudly on it.

"Nuffing." Red says as he looks away, pieces of the bacon still inside with Celestia snorting. Red swallows what remained after having chewed it, searching for another bite before changing his mind, looking back over at Celestia.

"Who are these Element Bearers?" Red asks with a serious tone,pushing the plate away as he began looking at Celestia intently. As he does, he notices the same white coated noble at the doorway of the dining room shaking his head.

The unicorn notices Red is looking at him and grimaces, walking out.

"Red Dusk?" Red's head jolts as he's once again surprised by the alicorn mare infront of him. The princess maintains a rather annoyed face pointed at him, the stallion blushing.

Celestia shakes her head, putting a hoof up to speak.

"Twilight Sparkle, my student, is the bearer of magic. She went to ponyville for the summer celebration and ended up staying there with her newfound friends in the local library, that by the way, is a tree." Red nods, giving Celestia the green light to continue.

"Rarity, a unicorn tailor, is the bearer of generosity. She owns the Carousel Boutique and produces some of the finest clothing in Equestria." Celestia continues to explain, Red nodding yet again and motioning his hoof for her to continue.

"Applejack, an earth pony apple farmer, is a part of the family that owns Sweet Apple Acres. She bears the element of honesty." Celestia continues, Red's magic reaching over and grasping another slice of bread and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Pinkiepie, an earth pony, works at the primary Ponyville bakery, Sugarcube Corner, and is known for her... should I say, preference to continuously party, eat sweets and usually hyper attitude, aswell as some breachs of what we call the fourth wall. She is the element of laughter." the stallion cocks up an eyebrow, Celestia now nodding at him.

"What is the fourth wall?" Celestia shakes her head as Red asks.

"That is something for later. Anyways, moving on." Red scrunches up his muzzle, making a mental note for him to remind her about that later.

"Rainbow Dash, a rainbow pegasus, is a weather patrol mare who is also the fastest mare in Equestria. She is the Element of Loyalty."

"Finally, Fluttershy is the bearer of the element of Kindness. She is an animal caretaker that lives in a cabin on the edge of the Everfree Forest." Red is mostly unphased by this, as most of the others, except, he had the thought in the back of his mind.

Would he meet them? He did not know. It was a weird thought, meeting face to face with bearers of elements that , while not having sentenced your master to the moon for a thousand years, are capable of sending him to the moon.

As he pops another slice of bread into his mouth, Celestia begins to talk about something completely different, Red responding as they go on and talk normally, alicorn to alicorn.

Or rather, a junior to a senior.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long to renovate. Felt uninspired by this one.

Who knew renovation could be so uninspiring?!

Sorry for the rushed last part, but I seriously needed to get this done and over with. This chapter is definitely alittle pissy.

Comments

[Barony]

Currently on hiatusslow progress because of moving. When I get my comp back, I shall revise the chapters to allow for better story flow and to make it less...cheap.

These emotes are so hilariously expressive.

Do realize Im making this comment on my phone. Editing the fiction in an American school, as I have learned,would probably lead to my eternal embarrassment.

EDIT: I actually got bold enough to get on FIMfiction and learned I could keep myself hidden if I'm careful. Plus, it'll look like I'm working!

Well, I will be working in and out, but y'know what I mean!

[Autumn breeze24]

The ponies shouldn't know what the fucking fourth wall is celestia is not a goddess or omnipotent.

[f0st3r21]

It’s been maybe one day since his release. They don’t seem to have checked him psychologically for fitness to return to any kind of duty, yet Celestia is giving him vital national security information?