The Darkest Time is Just Before Dawn

by bookhorse125

Trying Not to Get Arrested

"Chardy?" Lissa asked in disbelief as I crashed through the trees towards her and Luster, who nervously took a step back. I didn't blame her. I probably looked like a madman, with twigs and leaves in my hair and a crazed look in my eyes as the cops chased me around one of Chicago's most iconic monuments. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at the officers, who were debating about which direction I could have gone once I got in the woods. I had at least a minute or two tops before they found me again.

"I was just going for a walk when they closed down the place," Lissa said, reaching down and gently stroking Luster's head to calm the unicorn down. "I wasn't sure what to do, but they didn't seem to notice me, so I decided to just hang out in here until the whole thing was over. It's very nice in the trees - no distractions. Then I found this little cutie here, and I couldn't just leave the poor thing stranded in the middle of the forest, right?" Luster took a step closer to Lissa, ignoring me. I tried to ignore the pain in my heart. I felt horrible about what I did.

"Lissa, you have to listen to me," I said hurriedly as I heard sounds that meant that the cops had finally decided to divide and conquer the forest. "This unicorn is from Equestria, and she somehow ended up in Chicago and found me, and I took her in, but I didn't tell her that I knew about her world, and then she found out about it all on her own, and then she got really mad at me, and I feel really bad about it, but she ran away and got seen and now the cops are chasing her down and probably want to bring her to a lab and start dissecting her to find out how she works, so I have to get her home, so can you please help me?" I wasn't planning on talking about Equestria or my obsession for it, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right? And I wasn't sure the secret would remain secret anymore, now that Lissa had found Luster.

"Equestria?" Lissa said, confused. "What in the world is that?"

"It's where I come from," Luster said quietly. "At least, that's what I figured out from what I saw at his house. There's a whole world of ponies like me, but he didn't tell me about them because he was selfish and wanted to keep me all for himself." She glared at me, and though I winced under the furious look she was giving me, part of me was glad that she was acknowledging me again.

"Chardy?" Lissa turned to me. "What do you have at your house that connects to this poor pony?"

I took a deep breath. "She's from My Little Pony," I said quietly.

Lissa looked shocked. "She - you - what?"

"I don't know how she got here, but that's where she came from," I continued, avoiding Lissa's face and instead focusing on Luster, hoping that she could see how sorry I was. But she stared at the ground, pawing at the grass gently with her hoof. "I... um, I have the whole series on DVD at my house, and Luster found it, and she found out about everything. I kept it from her because... yeah, what Luster said pretty much sums it up. I had always wanted something magical to happen to me, and then you came along, and I... I couldn't bear to lose you. But, Luster, I am really sorry. I just hope that you can forgive me."

"There he is!" I heard a voice say from behind me.

Lissa grabbed my arm. "We'll talk later. Now we just have to focus on getting you out of here."

I nodded and followed her as we wove through the trees until we managed to get out of the park and into an alleyway, Lissa tugging me the whole way to her apartment at the top of a skyscraper. I always loved Lissa's apartment, as it had walls made almost entirely of glass, allowing for an unobstructed view of the city that always calmed me down. But now, as I anxiously paced the entire length of the apartment, there was no calming me down.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Lissa said. "You're a brony, and this is your biggest secret ever, and you didn't think to tell me?"

"I thought you hated bronies," I mumbled. "I mean, since they're fans of a show for kids and all."

Lissa sighed. "Chardy, you big idiot, you," she said, shaking her head. "I love you no matter what you like. And I'm sorry if you thought I wouldn't. But can we focus on the problem at hand? How do we get this Luster pony back to wherever it was that she came from - Equestria? Yeah, that. Can she do magic?"

"I can do magic," Luster said quietly. She really liked Lissa and wouldn't leave her side. Her horn lit up and she lifted up the couch that the two of them were sitting on, floated it over next to me, and set it down. The look on Lissa's face was extremely meme-worthy. If the situation wasn't so serious, I would have laughed. But my current mood was not one that could be easily amused.

"I'm not a magic expert," I said. "It's not like Hasbro made a magic guide to sell along with show guides and all that."

Lissa sighed and stood up, hunting around her apartment for something. She came back with a notebook and a pen and handed them to me. "Start writing down everything you know about Equestrian magic," she said, the look on her face so serious that my spirits lifted enough for me to almost laugh, as I remembered the whole thing about Equestrian magic in the Equestria Girls movies and specials.

A half-hour, Lissa was tracking the police's progress through the streets below on her balcony while me and Luster compromised a list of all the rules of magic. Luster didn't look too happy about being separate from Lissa, and she looked even less thrilled about having to work with me, but Lissa gave her some strawberries to munch on, and she seemed to have forgiven me, so by the time the police came to the block Lissa's apartment was on, we had already begun to create a spell.

My spell knowledge was lacking, but I knew that you could say the words out loud or inside your head, and you had to envision clearly what you wanted to happen, and the words of the spell had to be related to whatever you were trying to do (obviously).

"Uh, the police are coming to search the building," Lissa said nervously. "Chardy, you might want to hurry up with that spell."

"I think we've got it," I said. "Just a moment..."

"Chardy," someone whispered. I thought it was Lissa, but it turned out to be Luster. She was toying with a strawberry between her hooves and looking uncomfortable. "I just wanted to say... I understand what you did. I didn't like it, but it made sense. And I'm sorry I ran out on you. I was just so angry with everything, and it was all so overwhelming, finding out where I'm from and all that. And I forgive you. I just wanted to let you know that before I... you know, before I leave."

I nodded. "I'm really sorry, Luster."

"I know." She placed her hoof on my hand and smiled at me.

"Uh, guys? Police two floors below us," Lissa said anxiously. "And I really don't want to be caught with a criminal and a unicorn from another dimension, so please hurry up."

"Okay." I took a deep breath and let it out. "You ready?"

"Not even remotely." Luster looked down at the paper where we'd written our spell. "This doesn't seem like a particularly strong magic spell."

"Unless you've got a better idea," I said, standing back as she continued to study the page. With a sigh, she lit up her horn and a glow surrounded her. I stepped forward, suddenly wanting her to stop and stay here.

"Luster wait-"

There was a bright flash, and she disappeared.

Author's Note:

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Movingtarget Productions]

YES!!!! MORE STORY!!!

[Pete100]

"I'm not a magic expert," I said. "It's not like Hasbro made a magic guide to sell along with show guides and all that."

They should probably think about that.

Lissa sighed and stood up, hunting around her apartment for something. She came back with a notebook and a pen and handed them to me. "Start writing down everything you know about Equestrian magic," she said, the look on her face so serious that my spirits lifted enough for me to almost laugh, as I remembered the whole thing about Equestrian magic in the Equestria Girls movies and specials.

I don’t remember them saying anything.

My spell knowledge was lacking, but I knew that you could say the words out loud or inside your head, and you had to envision clearly what you wanted to happen, and the words of the spell had to be related to whatever you were trying to do (obviously).

Really?