• Published 15th Mar 2017
  • 5,999 Views, 257 Comments

Heart of the Cards - AspirantWriter



Looking into incidents that were linked to the recent appearance of cards of unknown origin, Celestia casted a spell in hopes of finding where the cards came from. Instead, she warped a unlikely hero... A duelist.

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Episode 3 [Part 2] - Ticket Trouble

“Uh…” Dusk said as the mares except for Twilight continue to stared at him and the tickets in his hoofs. “Easy now girls…”

Before he could do anything, they rushed Dusk and quickly surrounded him. The stallion soon found himself being the one overwhelmed as each mare tried to convince him to hand over the spare ticket.

“Dusk! Think how much good you could do to my farm if you give me ticket!”

“No, you have to take me! This could be my chance to join the Wonderbolts!”

“You wouldn’t let me miss out on the greatest party ever would you?!”

“What about me?! I want to meet my dear prince!”

“I would appreciate it if you take me…!”

Soon enough, Applejack, Dash, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy begun to argue with each other once.

The stallion sighed in frustration; he knew they all want to go to Gala, but arguing isn’t helping himself and Twilight.

As the mares continue their argument, Dusk was about to yell at them to stop but Twilight apparently beat him to it.

“QUIET!!!”

With that, everypony went silent and looked at Twilight. Except for Pinkie, who kept on talking until she followed suit.

“Girls, there's no use in arguing!”

“But Twilight…” Rarity pleaded, but the unicorn merely brush her off.

“Eh! This is mine and Dusk’s decision, and we’re gonna make it on our own…” Twilight stated. “and we certainly can't think straight with all this noise...”

Her stomach and Dusk’s rumbled again. “…Not to mention hunger.” Twilight then swing her hoof, gesturing her friends to leave. “Now go on, shoo.”

Dusk watched as they walk away from the unicorn, grumbling along the way with their heads down.

“And don't worry, I'll figure this out...” Twilight called to her friends, but she said the last part to herself. “…Somehow…”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we could think of something.” Dusk said in hopes of easing Twilight. “Any good place to eat at?”

“Well, I heard about this café and it is close by…” With that, Twilight, Dusk and Spike soon made their way to the café for their lunch.

When they arrived at the café, they found themselves an empty table and made themselves comfortable.

Just as he was looking into the menu, Dusk saw Twilight sadly laying her head on the table.

“Still thinking about the tickets?” The stallion said.

“Yes Dusk. What am I gonna do? All five of my best friends have really good reasons to go to the Gala…” Twilight replied as gazes upon the flower vase in the center of the table.

She then begun to pull the pedals of one of the flowers with her magic. “Applejack, or Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy, Rarity... Oh, who should go with me?”

Dusk raised his eyebrow when he watched Twilight lick up the pulled petals and swallowed them.

Moments after that, one of the café’s waiter approached their table.

“Have you made your decision?”

“I CAN'T DECIDE!”

Twilight yelled out, which caught the attention of all the ponies at the café. Dusk ended facehoofed himself upon seeing her outburst.

“Twilight… He’s here to take your order.” Dusk stated as he pointed to the menu.

“Oh…” Twilight was embarrassed upon realizing her mistake. “I would love a daffodil and daisy sandwich.”

The waiter then turned to Dusk. “I would like to have some garlic bread please.”

“Do you have any rubies?” Dusk was slightly amused when it was Spike’s turn to order. The waiter wasn’t amuse thought and Spike had to instead order extra crispy hay fries, tossing the menu behind him in disappointment.

“He sure loves gems.” Dusk said to himself before he notice Twilight gazing at him.

“What do you think, Dusk?”

“About what? Is it about the Gala?”

“Yes.” Twilight replied sadly. How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? Maybe we could give up our tickets and give them away…”

“That is not going to work.” Dusk shook his head. “We have four tickets, but five of our friends want to go to the Gala…”

“Resulting in one very disappointed and upset pony…” Twilight slammed her head on the table, seeing that was no easy way out of their mess.

Dusk thought of the possible reactions of their friends if they not chosen to go to the Gala and unable to fulfill their dreams. Applejack and Dash would be very sad, Fluttershy would try to hide her disappointment, Pinkie would be at the verge at tears and Rarity would no doubt cry enough to fill a river or two.

He then patted her back to reassure her. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can think of something. I hope…” He muttered the last part to himself.

“Ah, your food.” The waiter then arrived with their food. While Dusk and Spike quickly munched on their orders, Twilight thanked him and then levitated the sandwich with her magic.

Just before she could take a bite, she, Dusk and Spike notice the ponies that were outside with them suddenly rushing into the café.

“Em, monsieur? Madam? Are you two going to eat your food in ze rain?” The waiter said to them as he was holding the door for the ponies to come in.

“Rain?” Dusk questioned, but he soon remembered that the fleeing ponies that passed them were soaking wet.

“It's not raining...” Twilight stated as she looked around, but was shocked to see that it was indeed raining outside and yet, they were still under the sunlight.

“What's going on?” She and Dusk looked up to see the cloud-filled skies and saw they were beneath a hole which the sun could shine through.

From the hole above them, a pegasus revealed herself and it was somepony that they clearly know. “Hi there, best friends forever I've ever ever had. Enjoying the sunny weather?”

“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Twilight asked the pegasus in an unamused tone.

“Whaddya mean?” Dash however replied rather innocently. “I just saw two of the greatest, most generous ponies about to get rained on, so I thought I'd kick a hole in the clouds to keep them dry so they could dine in peace, that's all.”

However, Dusk didn’t buy it as he finished eating his garlic bread. “I hope you don’t have a hidden motive in when you’re giving such favors to us.”

“Yeah Rainbow.” Twilight agreed with him. “Like giving you extra consideration for our spare tickets by doing us special favors, are you?

“Me?” Dash quickly brushed it. “No no no, of course not.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Seriously, I'd do it for anypony.”

“Oh really?” Dusk then pointed to the rest of the ponies at café. They were running all over the place to got out of the rain.

“Heh heh, eh.” Dash laughed awkwardly as Dusk and Twilight looked at her with displeasure.

“Rainbow, I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors and so does Dusk. We would appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now.”

Dusk nodded in agreement, but soon realize what the consequence was going to be. “Twilight, that would…”

“Ugh, fine...” He was too late as Dash then closed the opening in the raincloud above him and Twilight akin to a zipper.

“That's better.” Twilight said as she was finally about to eat her sandwich, but the rain poured upon her, Dusk and Spike moments later.

“…get us soaked.” Dusk finished is sentence too late. He watched as Twilight growled as her sandwich was ruined while Spike snickered at what happened.

“Twilight, Dusk, it's raining.”

Dusk turned to see who it was and saw it was Rarity, who had an umbrella on her back.

“No, really?” Twilight said without turning her head, displeased on how her day was turning out at the moment.

“Come with me before you two catch a cold.” Rarity then rushed up to her and Dusk. She then grabbed on to them and dragged them back to her boutique as Spike followed them.

‘Please don’t tell me…’ Dusk had a feeling what her intention was.


When they arrived at Carousel Boutique, Dusk was drying himself off with a towel as Twilight merely shook herself.

While she did get herself completely dry, Rarity end up drenched in the process.

“Heh heh, oops.” Twilight realize what happened and quickly apologize. “Sorry.”

Dusk watched Rarity to see her reaction. He could tell she always takes care of her appearance, and would get upset if she got soaked.

“Oh no, it's quite all right.” Rarity however merely brushed it off as she quickly got to Twilight’s side. “After all, we are... the best of friends, are we not?”

‘I knew it.’ The stallion caught on what Rarity was doing, but could see Twilight has yet to catch on.

“And you know what the best of friends do?” Rarity asked Twilight, who was now trying to find the right answer to say back.

“Makeovers!” Rarity stated as she used her magic to bring over a large dressing divider and placed in front of Dusk and Spike.

While he couldn’t see what was happening back there, Dusk had a feeling that Rarity was putting her skills to full use. He was proven right when the dressing divider was moved away and revealed Twilight wearing a beautiful dress.

“There. Oh, you're simply darling.” Rarity said.

“Uh, yeah.” Twilight replied was inspecting the dress. “It is kinda pretty, isn't it?”

“I’ll say.” Dusk whispered to himself as looked at Twilight in surprise. Spike merely had a disgusted look on his face.

They were both startled when Rarity suddenly appeared in front of them. However, her attention was on Dusk.

“And you. Oh Dusk, I have the perfect outfit for the dashing gent.”

‘Oh oh…’ He thought just as Rarity used her magic to bring over the dressing divider. He couldn’t describe how Rarity was putting together his outfit so quickly, but she was very efficient if forceful.

“Ow ow ow. Rarity, please…” He also found such a method to be a bit painful for him.

When the dressing divider was moved away, Twilight and Spike gazes upon Dusk wearing a tux with a bowtie.

“I don’t what to say.” The stallion said as he examined his outfit.

While he wore clothes all the time when he was human, he found it strange to wear them now as a pony. For formal wear however, Dusk always found them uncomfortable even as a human.

“It’s marvellous is it not?” Rarity said. Twilight giggled at Dusk while Spike made the same disgusted expression as before.

“And you Spike.” Rarity turned to the baby dragon. “I have a dandy outfit just for you as well.”

“D-ah!”

Spike tried to get away, but failed as Rarity brought back the dressing divider. A few moments later, the divider move away and showed Spike wearing fancy-looking suit and a blonde wig.

While Dusk and Twilight giggled at the baby dragon’s appearance, Spike looked horrified at what he was wearing.

“Now you just need a hat.” Rarity quickly put a large hat on Spike’s head, which would make him stand out in a crowd.

“Ugh.” Spike however didn’t like what he was wearing. “I told you, I don't want any part of this girly gala gunk. See you back at the library.”

With that, Spike ran out of the boutique and left behind his clothing without taking them off, much to Dusk’s surprise.

Rarity made a laugh after watching Spike leave.

“Oh, who needs him anyway.”

She then grabbed Dusk and pulled him beside Twilight.

“This is all about the two of you…” Rarity said as she pulled over a mirror in front of them. “…and how fabulous you'll look at the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Wait, the Grand…”

Twilight questioned just as she was admiring her appearance.

At the same time, Dusk was relieved that the unicorn finally caught on to Rarity’s intentions.

“Rarity. I know…”

They were both however interrupted by Rarity’s gasp. Dusk raised an eyebrow as he watched Rarity ran to one of her mannequins, which wore a dress that was exactly the same as Twilight’s.

“And oh, my goodness, what a coincidence. I happen to have an ensemble of my own that matches yours Twilight.”

Rarity then put a hoof over Twilight’s neck as her imagination goes wild.

“We would be the belles of the ball, you and I. Everyone would be clamoring for our attention. All eyes would be on us, and then everyone would finally know, the most beautiful, most talented, most sophisticated pony in all of Equestria is Rarity the unicorn!”

“Rarity…” Upon hearing Dusk’s voice, she broke from her imagination and turned to the stallion. He was unamused, an expression that was equally shared by Twilight.

“Ah…” Rarity made a nervous laugh as she patted their heads. “Along with Twilight Sparkle and Dusk, of course.”

“Rarity, I know you want the Gala tickets that we have.” Dusk stated as he started to take off the tux she made for him and placed it neatly on a table.

“That wasn’t my intention, I just…” Rarity tried to act innocent as she slowly back away.

“You're just buttering us up so you would get the extra ticket from either of us. Well it's not gonna work.”

Twilight said as she took off the dress and threw it at Rarity, who quickly ducked her head.

“You're going to have to wait for our decision just like everyone else. Now if you'll excuse me, I've been trying all day just to get some lunch.”


“Did somepony say lunch?” Dusk and Twilight were started when Applejack suddenly appeared at the door.

She then pulled the two ponies outside and both were in awe upon seeing a cart full of apple-related treats.

“You've got to be kidding me!” Twilight said as she looked at all the food with wide eyes.

Dusk merely shook his head as he saw Applejack was doing the same thing as Dash and Rarity.

“I got apple pie, apple fritters, apple tarts, apple dumplings, apple crisps, apple crumblers…”

Applejack listed out all the food that were in the cart before presenting the two ponies with a familiar treat.

“…and apple Brown Betty! Uh, the dessert, not my auntie. What do you say there, best friends?”

‘I have to admit, they do all look good.’ Dusk mentally noted, but refuse to give in to Applejack’s ploy.

He was worried about Twilight thought since she hasn’t had anything for lunch. Hearing her stomach growl, it was clear to him that she was tempted into stuffing her face with Applejack’s treats.

“Is that a yes?” Applejack questioned Twilight, whose expression quickly stiffened.

“No. No.” Twilight cried out in annoyance. “I don't know who I'm giving the ticket to, and all these favors aren't making it any easier to decide. In fact, I'm less sure now than I was this morning! Ugh!”

She then ran past Applejack without looking back at the cartload of food despite the growling of her stomach.

“So, that's a maybe?”

“She means no Applejack!” Dusk quickly scolded her.

Applejack was about speak, but he knew of her intentions. “I know what you are going to say and my answer is no! You are not going to get a ticket if you keep bother us with unwanted favours!”

With that, Dusk quickly ran pass her as well and manage to check with Twilight moments later near the library.

“I never knew just having tickets could be so troublesome Twilight.” Dusk sighed to the unicorn.

“I know! Who would have thought being showered with favors would be so… aggravating!” Twilight exasperated as she used her magic to open the door.

Upon opening the door, the two saw Fluttershy singing as she was cleaning the interior of the library with the help of some of her animal friends.

“Fluttershy, not you too?” Twilight gasped out as Dusk hoofslapped himself in annoyance.

“Oh, hello Twilight, hello Dusk.” Fluttershy greeted them. “I hope you don't mind, but we're all doing a little spring cleaning for you two.”

“It's summer.” Twilight stated and Dusk nodded in agreement.

“Oh, well, better late than never, right? It was Angel's idea.” She gestured to a white bunny wearing a chef’s hat mixing up a bowl of salad.

While mildly surprised, Dusk recomposed himself looked at Fluttershy with a displeased look. “Tell me the truth, were you doing all this to get a ticket from either of us?”

“Oh no, I'm doing this because you two are my very best friends. Right, Angel?” The bunny only gave Fluttershy a disapproving look.

“Oh, yes, we are just doing this for the ticket.”

“At least you are being honest now Fluttershy.” Dusk said as Angel went up to Twilight and presented the bowl of salad, which caused her stomach to rumble once again.

However, she was more agitated than pleased.

“No, no, no!” She shouted out, which knocked the bunny and the salad to the ground. “Well, this was all very nice of you and Angel, but I'm not accepting any extra favors until I've made my final decision. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”

She then walked to the door and gestured Fluttershy to leave. Moments later, confetti was thrown near her as the sound of blowing party horns echoed outside.

“Surprise!”

“Ah come on…” Dusk sighed in defeat as Pinkie Pie dragged Twilight out the library and then rushed in to pull him out as well.

Before Dusk and Twilight knew it, they were being thrown into the air by a large group of ponies while Pinkie was practically singing out her intentions

“She not being subtle at all.” Dusk muttered as Twilight was calling out to Pinkie, who didn’t hear or wasn’t listen as she continued to sing; stating that they are her best friends and one of them should give her a ticket.

In a few moments, Twilight’s shouted loudly in utter annoyance.

“PINKIE!”

Everypony quickly stopped what they were doing, but Dusk and Twilight were in midair when it happened.

They fell on their backs and luckily, the impact of the drop didn’t hurt much.

“Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie said as she came face-to-face with Twilight and she fluttered her eyes.

“At least the other ponies tried to be subtle about the ticket.” The unicorn said.

Before she could say anything else, a pony from the crowd asked a question. “Wait, what ticket? What gala?”

“Oh no…” Dusk muttered as he and Twilight begun to panic as the crowd begun to close in around them.

“Oh, you didn't know? Twilight and Dusk each has an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

“The Grand Galloping Gala?!” Everypony in the crowd yelled in surprise.

“We need to get out of here.” Dusk whispered into Twilight’s ear, which she quickly agreed while the ponies them were giving favours to both of them.

Surprisingly, Spike appeared from the crowd to lead the two away. However, the ponies were quick to intercept them.

“Would you like any help with your gardening?”

“I have a cartload of extra carrots.”

“I'll paint your cart.”

Before the three knew it, they were surrounded again as the crowd continue bombard them with favours and compliments.

“What are we gonna do?” Spike questioned in worry as he climbed on Twilight’s back.

“Isn’t it obvious?!” Dusk cried out. “We run!”

“Right!” The unicorn hastily replied as they ran away from the crowd, who gave chase as they continued to give to compliments to Dusk and Twilight.

Dusk, Twilight and Spike did everything they could to evade the ponies chasing after them and their tickets. They tried outrunning, hiding and disguises, but the ponies refuse to relent in their chase.

Soon, the two ponies and the baby dragon were cornered with their backs on the wall as the crowd chasing them move ever closer.

“What do we do?” Dusk asked Twilight, but he notice that her horn was glowing brightly. He was then blinded by bright flash as he suddenly felt his head spin and his body becoming light.

As soon he regained his bearing, Dusk saw that he was back in the library with Twilight and Spike. However, he saw the baby dragon wasn’t as lucky as they are.

“Are you okay Spike?” He asked in a concerned tone; the baby dragon had a number of burns across his body.

“Ugh… I think so.” Spike replied as he then turns his attention to Twilight. “Warn me next time you're gonna do that.”

“I didn't even know it was gonna happen!” Twilight hastily said as Spike remarkably was able to shake the burn marks away. “Now quick, lock the doors!”

With that, everypony moved swiftly thoughout the library, determined to close every door in the library and blowing away any source of lighting, hoping to deter any pony from approaching.

Just as the three of them thought themselves safe, the lights inside the library suddenly turned back on. To their utter shock, they saw that Dash, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were already in the library, apparently waiting for them.


“Yaaaargh!” Twilight screamed in complete frustration and at the verge of breaking down.

However, Dusk broke down first as he shouted at the top of his lungs; his patience now spent and his temper flaring up.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU FIVE?! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT ALL WERE DOING NOTHING BUT STRESSING BOTH OF US OUT!” Dusk’s voice filled the entire room as Spike and the mares were completely caught off guard. “DIDN’T YOU ALL EVER CONSIDERED OUR FEELINGS?! EVERYPONY OF YOU ARE…”

“Dusk! Please calm down!” Twilight cried out.

“But Twilight! These…” He turned to see that the unicorn was scared. Turning to the others, Dusk saw that the others shared the same fearful expression.

None of them ever seen Dusk, let alone a pony this angry before.

Upon seeing their expressions, Dusk soon feel guilty for losing his temper. He became guiltier when he realized he was about to swear.

He took multiple deep breaths to calm his nerves as those in the room looked at him in worry.

“Are you alright now?” Twilight asked Dusk.

“Yes. Thank you for stopping me in time. I was about to do something I would regret.”

“Really…?” Fluttershy said in a scared tone, yet to fully recover from Dusk’s outburst.

“I am very sorry for shouting like that…” Dusk apologized to the mares. “But you all have to understand that you were causing us nothing but trouble.”

“He is right.” Twilight followed up. “We know how important the Gala is for you all and don’t want to disappoint any of you. These favours of yours are not helping either of us because all of you are our friends. I am sorry, but that is why we couldn’t decide who to bring.”

The other mares soon became guilty for how much trouble they caused to Dusk and Twilight. Bearing witness to the stallion’s outburst was a clear sign of how much they pushed him.

They approached the two as Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinke and Rarity gave their respective apologies.

“Twilight, Dusk, I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you two, and if it helps, I don't want the ticket anymore. You two can give it to somepony else. I won't feel bad, I promise.”

“Me too. I feel just awful that I made you two feel so awful, especially Dusk.

“And me too. It's no fun upsetting your friends.”

“Twilight, Dusk , it was unfair of me to try to force you two as I did.”

Dusk smiled seeing that the mares finally learned their lesson, but notice that Dash has yet to say anything. He turned to see the pegasus was flying in joy, which the others notice as well.

“Yes! That means the ticket is mine!” Dash sang out. I got the ticket, I got the ticket…”

He was call out to Dash, but the other mares quickly covered his mouth out of fear of he was going have another outburst.

They then looked at the pegasus in disappointment and gestured her to Dusk, reminding her what happen previously.

“Uh you know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for the Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need that ticket either.”

After hearing her friends’ apologies, Twilight then asked Spike to prepare a letter for Princess Celestia as she speaks out what would be in the letter itself.

“Dear Princess Celestia, I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“What?!” The ponies except Dusk shouted out in surprise. The stallion smiled at Twilight as he went up to Spike and give him his tickets.
The mares notice his action and realize what his intention was.

“You too Dusk?!” The mares shouted out except for Twilight, who merely smiled at him in the same manner as he did to her.

“While Dusk also appreciate the invitation you given him as a reward, he feels the same way as I do.” Twilight continued speaking. “If our friends can't all go, we don't wanna go either.”

“Twilight, you shouldn’t have to do that.” Applejack said. “Neither should you Dusk.”

“Nope. We have made up my mind. Spike, you can send the letter now.” The baby dragon then rolled up the letter and blew his green flames at it, sending it to the princess.

“Now neither of you won't get to go to the gala then.” Fluttershy stated the obvious.

“It's okay, girls. I couldn't possibly enjoy myself without my best friends there with me, so I would rather not go at all.”

“I would say the same thing as well. Besides, I am into really into formal events.”

Twilight and Dusk said to their friends, who quickly surrounded the two and brought them into a group hug.

Spike however found the scene to be too mushy to his taste and put his finger in his mouth. It was then he quickly held his stomach as his cheeks bulge.

“Spike…” Dusk noticed what the baby dragon was doing and shook his head. He would have done the same when he was younger, but he matured since then.

“Well wallop my withers, Spike. Isn't that just like a boy?” Applejack said as he walk toward the baby dragon. “Can't handle the least bit of sentiment. At least Dusk don’t mind.”

The stallion did a light laugh upon hearing her words, but was startled along with Applejack when Spike suddenly burped out his green flame. From the flames then appeared a scroll.

“That was fast.” Dusk said to Twilight. “I didn’t expect Celestia to answer this quickly.”

“Neither did I.” The unicorn agreed as Spike grabbed the scroll as it slowly descended.

"My faithful student Twilight…” He said out the contents of the letter. “Why didn't you just say so in the first place?”

With the letter were six tickets, which Spike grabbed and presented them to everypony.

“Now we can all go!” Twilight said as everypony cheered in happiness except for Dusk, who instead smile warmly at the scene.

It was then Twilight laughed nervously when her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she didn’t have anything to eat for most of the day.

“If you want to make up to me and Twilight for what you done today, this is your chance.” Dusk told the other mares, who understood what he meant.

“Allow us to treat you two to dinner.” Rarity offered as everypony made their way to the door, where Spike was handing a ticket to each of them.

“What a great way to apologize.” Dash said.

“And to celebrate. Come on everyone, the cupcakes are on me!” Pinkie happily declared to her friends as the mares all had their own tickets.

As they left the library, Dusk and Spike were the only ones left inside.

“How come we don't get a ticket to the gala?” Spike muttered, but he then notice that Dusk with him, who gave the baby dragon a smirk.

“I thought you didn’t want to go to the Gala?” The stallion said.

“I mean it’s gross and I don’t want to do anythi…” Spike stopped speaking when he ended up burping again and another scroll appeared from the green flames.

“What did Celestia send this time?” Dusk asked as the baby dragon grabbed the scroll and in it was two additional tickets.

"And here are your tickets back Dusk. Please give one to Spike.”

After reading the letter, Spike made a giggle which was shared with Dusk.

‘Maybe going to the Gala may not be so bad…’ Dusk thought.

Now having their tickets, they quickly left the library to catch up with their friends.

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