9- In a bit of a Pickle
9
In a bit of a Pickle
Dusk was a simple stallion.
He tended to focus on certain things in his life and avoid some very specific other aspects of his day-to-day. Medics and doctors tended to be one of those things he avoided. His opinion on them tended to change depending on who the medic was that was fixing him, really, but he’d wager he’d had more bad experiences than good at this point.
Medics he personally knew? Yeah, they were good. They were more than welcome to do their job with him. Anything more than that? Yeah, no.
Medics he didn’t know however? Screw em', there was no way he was accepting their help. Who knows what they would do to him? He didn't even know them enough to properly dispose of them if something did indeed happen to him in the event that he’d stupidly accepted their aid.
Dusk clicked his tongue as he followed the trio of female alicorns leading him. He couldn’t understand why they didn’t just bring the nurse or doctor to the castle. It’d certainly make them much easier to dispose of in the unfortunate event they do something, Besides, weren’t alicorns royalty? This particular decision had led to them creating a scene as they made their way through Ponyville causing Dusk to frown and lower his head slightly in an effort to draw less attention. I’m glad I had the foresight to bring my cloak with me. I’d rather not be the center of attention. The cloak in question was a bit burnt because of his magical outburst and perhaps a bit worn from his time in the forest, but the enchantments still held strong and it had the benefit of covering his wings.
He didn't have his trusty saddlebags by his side, courtesy of the flock of alicorns who kept on insisting that it wasn't needed. Like they would know anything about what I need. He couldn't help but grumble as he closely followed them, a keen eye constantly scanning his surroundings. The moment the relief that he wouldn't be banished had faded away, the reality of the situation had slammed right into him and made itself at home. Just because they were his friends' counterparts didn’t mean that they devoid of ulterior motives. That was the primary reason he had a summoning seal ready to bring his things to his side at a moment’s notice. It would also allow him to snag some non-perishable foods, so he wouldn’t have to go straight back into hunting for food immediately should he need to escape to the woods.
His brow twitched as the murmuring began to grow the closer they got to the hospital. Don’t they have better things to do than just stand around and stare? He inwardly grumbling, his body beginning to tense as his hyper-sensitive hearing picked up some of their words.
"A stallion... Is he their consort?"
"He's huge! I bet he's using..."
"He looks rather similar to Twilight... related?"
"Probably.. looks like a ... Gold digger"
"Is that a scar?... bad influence to the... "
Dusk's brow began to twitch even more at their assumptions. Consort? Gold digger? Bad influence? His eyes narrowed and he was about to go and give them a piece of his mind but a wing brushed against him causing the irked stallion to stop and shift his attention elsewhere. The only reason he hadn't attacked the wing was due to the the familiar scent that lingered so close to him. Instead, he let out a sigh and focused on the sympathetic smile Luna gave him. Right... Artermis' counterpart. His eyes crinkled slightly as he fought back the slight wistfulness that was trying to make its presence known on his muzzle.
He still needed to tell them his situation though he wondered just how much he should actually give them. He still didn’t really know what to think about them. Their magic... while it was similar, it had a slight difference that was obvious to an eye like Dusk’s. The same went for their scent. It had a slight tang of wrong and he didn't really know how to feel about that. More than that… am I replacing my friends? He hoped not. He fully realised that he may have been a bit too comfortable given such a short amount of time had passed. He grimaced slightly. If he was too comfortable, then he was blaming the similarities and habit.
"Dusk?" he perked up and bumped right into blue fur before he sputtered out a short apology and backed away. Only now did he realise that when he wasn’t sitting, he was around half a head taller than the Princess of the Moon. He tilted his head to the side and stared at Celestia. He was a bit shorter than the solar diarch, but Dusk was fairly sure that that was a good thing. After all, he could far more easily pierce her eye with his horn if they were going to butt heads.
"Yes, Luna?" He answered lowly, his head ducking lightly on instinct as he moved his attention back to the pony he was speaking to. Dusk's brow rose when Luna turned away suddenly before craning her head back around. A worried look appeared on the stallion’s face. Was her neck okay? Changing positions so quickly was bound to hurt. Perhaps she was the one that needed the check-up and not him? The stallion snorted at the thought. He was just making excuses.
"Can you tell me more about yourself?" Luna asked with a small smile and Dusk couldn't stop the small glimmer of suspicion from gnawing at the back of his mind. But, something stopped him from awkwardly dodging the question like he used to. His eyes instead widened when a bright idea popped into his head. He could've smacked himself for forgetting such a simple yet great lesson on gathering information.
After quickly straightening himself, Dusk gave a disarming smile, hoping that it would serve to lessen her guard. He needed information and books didn’t usually give what he really needed. A princess? Now that was a whole archive he could use to his advantage.
"I could..." He paused before letting out an embarrassed chuckle "But you’d have to tell me about yourself in exchange." He finished and his eyes once more focused on what was in front of him. Silently, he hoped that she'd take the bait and answer. Something in the back of his mind told him that what he was doing was wrong and he agreed, but here he was. In a world, he didn’t know, surrounded by ponies he wasn’t entirely sure he could trust. He needed more information.
"Very well! What would you like to know?" The lunar diarch shot back cheerfully, her smile growing even wider when she got his attention. The genuine nature of her response caused his guilt to grow further, as well as his hesitation. They were so nice and accommodating... should he really be using them? Some part of him knew that he couldn't actually face them. If he did, his consciousness would come after him with a vengeance and if he had to flee back into the field, he couldn't afford that.
"Anything, really. I'm rather new to Equestria remember?" He stated softly before he realised something crucial. "How did you know that I wasn't from here anyway?"
Luna tilted her head at that before answering. "It's not every day a male alicorn appears without our knowledge. After spending a few days in the archives to see if you were indeed a citizen we realised that you were not. It goes without saying that we decided to try and rectify that."
Dusk nodded. So that was why it had taken two to three days for them to call him to the throne room. They wanted to see if he was a citizen that had somehow slipped through the cracks or not. Understandable, he supposed.
"So... do you like pickles?" He asked after a moment of silence. A blank look crossed his face almost immediately when he realised just what he had asked Princess Luna and he wanted to smack himself. Pickles!? What kind of ice breaker was that!? Just as he was about to dig deeper into his mind to find the answer, his thoughts were interrupted by laughter.
It was soft and it caught his attention immediately. It was the kind of sound that you stare at because it's just so... gratifying in some certain way. He mentally patted himself on the back at the way he’d described it. Truly he was a poet and a scholar. Dusk just watched in silence and before he knew it, he was just standing still while watching the lunar princess enjoy herself.
Dusk secretly wondered if he could listen to the soft laugh forever.
"Princess Luna! Dusk! Why are you two just standing there?" Twilight's voice snapped him out of his trance and he couldn't help but flush in embarrassment. I can’t believe I just zoned out like that! He rubbed his face with a hoof and tried to catch up.
"Sorry, sorry! I was just enjoying the view...." Dusk exclaimed as he neared. Twilight seemed to accept his excuse and continued on but Celestia had a gleam in her eye that he didn't know how to feel about. His ear flicked when he heard Luna catch up to him and he peeked to the side to see that she was smiling amusedly.
A few moments of content silence passed and Dusk gave a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar cross of a hospital. Had it always taken that long to arrive here? Dusk shook the question from his head. He was sure that it was shorter than it had been, but they’d probably taken the scenic route or something. He was technically a new pony in town.
"Welcome Princesses and company, the room is already prepped." Dusk perked up a bit at that. A nurse was waiting by the entrance. She had a white coat along with a pale pink mane and tail. In her hoof was a notepad and she wasted no time coming closer to the group when they arrived.
"Thank you nurse Redheart.” Celestia turned to the rather displeased stallion trailing after her and cheerfully stated, “Come along Dusk! Your check-up awaits!" The alabaster mare took the lead and entered the white halls. Dusk couldn't help but grimace. He thought he’d made it obvious that he didn't like that kind of thing. Twilight seemed to pick up on the fact that he was displeased given how she tried to comfort him by draping a wing over top of him. Dusk mentally gave her an A+ for effort and awarded her with a placating smile. His counterpart smiled back. It was a nice smile, he realised.
"Come on Dusk." Dusk turned his head to the blue alicorn that walked alongside him. She gave him a teasing grin as she nudged him lightly with a hoof. "Weren't you some tough colt? Don't tell me you're scared of a little doctor’s appointment?"
Said tough colt huffed lightly in amusement, and he snidely answered. "Me? Scared? Who do you think I am? I ain't an alicorn for nothing. Princess"
Luna snorted lightly before smiling, "If you manage to survive such a simple treatment, then maybe I'll tell you if I like pickles or not."
"I'll hold you to that then, princess." he grinned back at her. Now he just had to make good on his point. Game on Luna!
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Nice
One hour later: come screaming out of the room
I liked previous cover art more. Can you link it in story description?
10239292
oh i made the previous cover art, if you'd like i can send it to you in pm?
10239301
Yes, please
Nogla: The plot thickens-
*Nogla is seen flowing far away in the distance after a rocket launcher hit him*
WildCat: Shut up Nogla!
I'm hooked. Very well done sir. And you managed to power through writers block. Well done. I look forward to reading more!
interesting, looks like he is already turning heads, I wonder if giving him pickles with become customary gift when courting him?
Old cover is better
Well that was certainly an interesting update. I wonder how the check up will proceed from here. Hopefully there will not be any screaming from out of rooms, but I certainly can see it happening.
Ya boy's X-rays probably aren't going to be pretty...
Using a reparo spell on yourself? I can only wonder how long it will be before the sharp differences between the universes is made plain...
Here is something I noted while reading, and mind you I don't mind the romance. Its absolutely fine. But its how I noted how things are going out.
Now this may just be me not knowing quite what the rules are here with the Mares, but they seem to treat stallions like we would women if that makes sense? I am not quite getting that so what's the deal there? I know mares are supposed to be the more dominant because they are more plentiful but this just seems to me, I dunno. A bit much?
With Luna though, I can understand why he would go that route, I mean come on. Hormones!
Now Celestia. Hm. She is a chessmaster though I don't think I like where she's taking her scheming plans. Poor Dusk really just deserves a rest. (Beat her over with a stick god damnit!) He also needs time to acclimate, get used to things. Letting his nerves actually settle. He needs to heal mentally. The scene with him coming out of his shell for just a moment? Its because he finally managed to do what he loved, sharing information just as much as Twilight loves it.
And on the note of using Reparo in that way? Yeah I can see him actually using it in pure desperation. When your will to live is that strong, I would believe you'd use a spell like that for those purposes if it meant you lived. Poor guy.
I am interested to see where this goes.
10241554
Oh the mare thing, its because of the RGRE thing. Where the mares act more like dudes and stallions act like girls. I would've went a bit more extreme with it like normal but Dusk is a rather unreliable narrator (sometimes) so he doesn't really notice.
Also thanks! i'm glad you enjoy!
This story has the potential to be awesome. I hope you take some time and expand on the other character and the world they live in. Keep up the good quality writing!
10242381
Sitting in a tree...