The Rings of Dusk

by Scribblestick

Dusk

After the flash died down, she felt a strange calm come over her. The world still looked the same, but somehow, it didn't scare her anymore. She saw many shadows now, coming toward her, but slowly. They're afraid, she realized. They're afraid of me now.

From the trees, two ponies emerged. One was and older pegasus, the color fading from her dark green feathers and coat. The other, a gray unicorn, looked exhausted. They walked toward her with two alicorns, one white and one midnight blue. She saw the way they glanced at the approaching shadows, sensed the fear they felt. Anger replaced the calm, and she turned to the shadows and spoke.

"Dusk has come," she said, not quite knowing why.

The four ponies bowed before her. "Dusk," they chanted. Their voices seemed to lend the name power. "Dusk. DUSK. DUSK!"

"DUSK!" she shouted. Power radiated from every word. The world trembled before her. The shadows stopped their advance. She turned to the ponies, who looked up at her with radiant hope. "We'll deal with them together," she said.

RUN! one of the shadows said. Dusk smiled as the fled in every direction. She gave her commands. They wouldn't get far.

The white alicorn leaped into the sky and reached out with her magic, grabbing the fastest one with a spell. It struggled and squirmed, but could not break free as it tried to escape into the sky. Two more ran for the forest. The dark alicorn raised a great earthen barrier to block their retreat. One charged toward her, perhaps trying to cover the others' escape. The pegasus tacked it, and the unicorn trapped it in a rocky cage. Another cowered behind some creature Dusk didn't recognize. She decided to let that one be, for the moment.

The last shadow stood still. Dusk stared at it, wondering what it could possibly be thinking. Was it paralyzed by fear? Was such a thing even possible with these strange, red-eyed monsters? No, she decided as it began to walk slowly toward her. It was the smallest of the lot, though perhaps not the brightest.

"I am Dusk," she said.

No, it said. You are Twilight.

She was taken aback by the creatures audacity. "I am Dusk," she repeated, more forcefully this time.

No, you're Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, it answered. And I'm Spike, your loyal assistant.

Spike. The name rattled around in her head, though she tried to ignore it. The name meant something... but what?

The cowering shadow seemed to have found its courage and moved to stand beside the one that called itself Spike. He's right, it said. I'm... Fluttershy. Your friend.

"No!" The sudden voice took Dusk by surprise. An orange pony with a wild blue mane was running toward her, and yet, he seemed different from the other two, almost part shadow and part pony. "Listen to me!" he called. "You are Enmity Dusk, the mightiest pony to ever live in Equestria!"

Enmity Dusk. The name had a certain ring to it. I AM DUSK, she repeated.

The swift flying shadow abruptly changed directions, diving for the orange pony. The white alicorn caught her itmagic yet again. Let go, Twilight! it screamed. That guy's messing with your head. We're your friends, not him!

Yeah! shouted one from the great earthen wall. That big meanie's done nothing but trick you into doing his weird experiments.

"All I've done is reveal who you truly are!" the orange pony yelled. "All your power, your vision, you owe to me!"

Please. The only thing anypony owes you is a haircut. Twilight, dear, listen to me. I don't know what you're thinking right now, but you have to believe us.

Dusk sent a ripple of magic out towards the bickering figures, which promptly fell silent. I AM DUSK, she bellowed, though with not quite the same conviction as she'd had before. Something about these shadows seemed... familiar.

The smaller one spoke again. I know what you see, it said. You're afraid we'll hurt you. Or, maybe with all your power, you think you'll get revenge for how scared you've been. It stepped forward. But I'm not afraid of you. I know who you are, and you would never hurt your friends.

The shadow called Spike had guts. Either it was telling the truth, or it considered itself a very convincing liar. Dusk hadn't quite decided which.

It's true, said the one trapped in the cage. We're all your friends. Me, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinke, all of us are here for you.

You have to fight back, said one. We believe in you!

Come on! Snap out of it, Twilight!

Dusk shook her head at the cacophony. The four ponies remained silent, wait for her command. Only the strange orange pony spoke.

"Don't listen," he said. "You can't. You're the pinnacle of everything a pony can be. You are my Enmity! You're everything I've worked toward!"

And yet, as she looked, his pony features began to fade, replaced with blackness. The shadows who called themselves her friends began to take shape - a pegasus caught mid-air, an earth pony in a cage, and a cluster of ponies standing near a small, purple dragon, whose form became clearer than all the others.

"Twilight," he said. "Don't give up. Because I won't give up on you."

Dusk shook her head. "I am..." she started. She became aware of something cold and metallic pressing against her sides. She tried to wriggle her wings free, but they were trapped.

"Don't fight it!" the orange pony yelled. "Don't run away from your destiny!"

At last, she turned the full force of her power on him. The orange pony seemed to wither beneath her gaze. "My destiny?" she repeated. "What would you know of my destiny?"

Somehow, he found the courage to speak. "You are Enmity Dusk, my life's work," he said. "That is your destiny."

She laughed. "You think my destiny is to serve your ambition?" She shook her head. Deep in her heart, she realized he was wrong. Her servants released their holds on the shadows and focused entirely on the rings that encircled her body and horn. "I am Twilight Sparkle," she said. "My destiny is my own." And without a shred of doubt, she sent every ounce of her power into the rings, shattering them to pieces.

---

Twilight collapsed into the water. Her body shrank, and her mane returned to normal. Streams of magic flooded from her body and into the shadows. Rainbow Dash shot forward and caught Twilight just before she hit the water.

"Nice catch," Applejack said.

"It was nothing," Rainbow Dash replied.

Twilight lay still in the grass. Spike rushed to her side. "Twilight?" He looked around at his friends. "Is she all right?"

Before any of them could answer, Tinker spoke. "Of course not," he said with a sneer. "What an idiot, turning down all that power for some stupid destiny." He sighed deeply. "Probably fried her brain. Serves her right."

"You watch your mouth," Pinkie snapped. Tinker started to answer, but quickly shrank under the weight of so many glares. "You're lucky she didn't obliterate you when she had the chance. Did you feel the way the ground shook? She probably could have vaporized your whole head without even breaking a sweat!"

"Tch. That just makes her a bigger moron," he muttered.

"You may think her a fool for passing up the opportunity you so - ahem - generously offered her," Rarity said, "but the rest of us know who the real fool is."

"Indeed." All heads turned to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking their way. "Tinker, is it? Would you care to explain how these two ponies became shadows?" She gestured to a dark green pegasus and gray-coated unicorn, both of whom were staring daggers at Tinker.

"Oh, that's Meadow and and Quill," Tinker said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. "They got turned to shadows when I tried to absorb their powers and become an alicorn. Guess they changed back when little miss friendship over here broke those rings. They were perfectly willing volunteers, by the way," he added quickly. "Didn't think they'd mention that little detail on their own."

Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, and then Celestia grabbed Tinker with her magic and dragged him to her side. "I'll be taking these three back to Canterlot," she said, gesturing to Meadow and Quill as well. "I suggest the rest of you return to Ponyville as soon as possible. I expect we will have a lot to discuss once I've settled a few things." A flash of light burst from Celestia's horn, and she and her entourage vanished.

A soft cough escaped Twilight's mouth. She cracked open an eye and looked around. Then, she groaned. "I hate waking up like this."

---

The friends encountered no trouble during their balloon ride back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy kept the weather away while the rest made sure Twilight didn't overexert herself. By the time they arrived at the crystal palace, Princess Celestia was already waiting for them in the entry hall.

"First of all, I want to thank all of you for helping us," she said. "What you did today took great courage - not that I would expect anything less," she added with a smile.

"It was pretty easy," Rainbow Dash said. "Once Tinker's little light show started, we just had to follow it straight to you guys."

"Now, to the matter of how this all started," Celestia said. "Twilight, have your memories returned?"

Twilight nodded. "I think so. It all started when I got a package I thought was from you. I thought I was tracking down some powerful relics on your behalf."

"Quill explained that he was using his magic to deliver those things to you," Celestia said. "My guards are searching Tinker's shelter now. I'm confident they'll find all your study materials."

"At least I know I didn't imagine all of that, then," Twilight sighed. "Anyway, I went to track down some leads in the Everfree Forest. That's when I saw those shadows. I followed them deep into the forest, all the way to that lake. Tinker trapped me there and tried to make me absorb one of those shadows."

"That was Quill, again," Celestia said. "He tells me the experience was rather unpleasant."

"If it was anything like what I experienced, I consider that a great understatement," Luna muttered.

"Indeed." Celestia shivered. "I believe absorbing another unicorn's power is what caused the fluctuations you experienced. When Princess Luna entered your dream, she encountered and fought some version of Quill. That conflict resulted in Quill being housed entirely within your mind, rather than the rings."

"So that's why I started having visions without the rings," Twilight said. "Quill must have been trying to tell me something, but it all got mixed up." Twilight shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure what happened after that. I guess I made it most of the way back to Ponyville, and that's where you found me. From there... well, you know the rest."

Celestia nodded, satisfied. "Speaking of rest, I believe we could all use some." The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement, and soon, Spike and Twilight were left alone in the castle.

"Thank you," Twilight said as the two made their way to the bedroom.

"Don't mention it," Spike replied. "What are loyal assistants for?"

Twilight laughed. "Saving me from bad research decisions, apparently." She opened the door, then paused. "You asked me something while I was researching," she said. "What was it?"

"Um..." Spike scratched his head. "I don't now. Probably a lot of things."

"Oh! I remember!" Twilight's horn shimmered. A chest opened, and a large bag rose up, held in her magic. "You told me we were low on gemstones. I was so absorbed in my research, I completely forgot to give you money to buy some more." The placed the bag next to him. "Here. Will this be enough?"

Spike's eyes glittered when he looked at the pile of bits inside. "This is more than enough! Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. It's the least I can do, after all the help you've been," Twilight replied with a giggle. "First thing tomorrow, I want you to go out and find the tastiest gem in Ponyville. You've earned it."

Spike grinned and hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Twilight."

"No," she said, returning his embrace. "Thank you.

Twilight went to her bed and slipped beneath the covers. Her breathing soon slowed as she fell into much-needed sleep. Spike curled up in his blanket. Already, dreams of rubies and sapphires were calling his name. Outside, the sun set at last, and the moon rose high in the sky. Dusk had passed, and gentle night welcomed the world to sleep.

Comments

[Makutaxarxas]

Awesome story, though I find the end fight a bit short, other than that, great story

[TasermonsPartner]

Sooo, did Tinker build the obelisks? They seemed ancient. What role did they play in all of this?

[Scribblestick]

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The idea is that all of this - the obelisks, rings, ritual thing - was ancient, and Tinker and his crew stumbled upon it and started messing around with it without fully understanding what would happen. The most direct inspiration is Starswirl’s unfinished spell from Magical Mystery Cure, which never worked because it was selfish in nature (“the mark of one’s destiny singled out, alone”). Like Starswirl, the ancient ponies and Tinker were able to harness great power, but never able to reach their full potential without the magic of friendship. That’s also why it’s Twilight’s friends who break her out of it, in contrast to Tinker’s selfishness.

[Block]

I just read the whole story in one sitting, and all I can say is: wow. It's a great story, very intense. It honestly feels like something that could've been part of the actual show if the show was a lot darker.

[Block]

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Allons-y!

[Scribblestick]

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Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[Gnarlwood]

A good story, overall, I think. My main problem is that it's too short, really. While the concepts are very interesting, it's a shame they aren't explored further. You could make a great novel-length story out of it. But then I overcomplicate everything, so it's probably for the best you kept it short and sweet.