Light in the Dusk

by AlphatheGriffin17

What Must Be Done

Dusk awoke the next morning, feeling drained, even though he hadn't even moved from his couch since yesterday. He could still feel the tear streaks on his face, as they stuck there, like some kind of cruel reminder of what he had been through. What he had heard...

He wiped them from his face, pulled himself up off the couch, ate a small meal and returned. She'd said yesterday how she and her friends were going to the Everfree Forest. He wanted to give them long enough to leave first, just so they wouldn't see him. After about an hour, around about ten, he rose from the couch and, dutifully but not cheerfully, made his way to the library... as slowly as he could...

He supposed he had always known, that they were just having him on, acting on another's instructions. He'd been right all along about himself: he was so uninteresting, such an unappealing friend, that Princess Celestia had to tell Twilight and her friends to accept him, to be his friend. He supposed he should be taking some kind of satisfaction, that he'd been right all along... that he could go back to being himself.

So why did it hurt so much? Why did he feel so hurt, empty... because he'd been an idiot, that's why. Like a little foal, he'd kidded himself into actually believing the little fantasy that he'd been playing out for the last few days. The fact that the unicorn he'd always wanted to talk to and they'd actually become friends, just like he'd always hoped, of course it had been too good to be true.

Looking back, Dusk figured it was rather obvious. She was the one who'd sent him to Ponyville in the first place, after hearing him express his wishes. She'd practically set it up. It would have been fine if Twilight had just decided to be his friend because they'd be working together, so she might as well. It felt even worse Celestia had told her to, like it was some kind of special assignment.

Dusk looked bitterly towards the rising sun. "Thanks for nothing," he muttered, suppressing the anger that threatened to take hold.

No longer feeling happy at the sight of the tree, Dusk pushed open the door. There was no Twilight to greet him, just like he was hoping. Only Spike was there, atop a ladder. Was he in on it too? Most likely...

He turned to see who came in. "There you are! I was beginning to think you weren't coming." He slid down the ladder, waddling up to meet him. "Where'd you go yesterday?"

"Home." Dusk wondered how cold his voice sounded.

"Oh... right." Spike must have heard it, as his smile faltered. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Hey... are you okay?"

"It doesn't matter." He walked past Spike, moving to a desk. "What does Twilight-" He faltered when he mentioned her name. He cleared his throat, starting again. "What does Twilight... want us to do?"

"Right to business huh?" He gave a nervous chuckle, while Dusk remained silent. "She's left a list of things that she wants done. She said that they wouldn't be gone too long, so we should be done by the time she gets back. There's one for you, one for me" He pointed close to Dusk, indicating a piece of parchment

"Good." He stood back up, crossing to it. "You've begun your tasks, I take it?"

"Er yeah." He seemed taken aback by Dusk's attitude, but at that moment, the dark-blue unicorn didn't care. "I'll let you get started. And Dusk, one other thing."

"What?"

"You er... left your bag and scarf here. Just saying." With that, he sidled out and into the kitchen, leaving Dusk on his own.

He looked to where he had put his bag and hung up his scarf when he'd arrived, where he always left them. They hadn't even been moved from the corner or the hooks, like some strange form of respect for them. Or because they weren't worth moving.

Dusk decided to get them later, when he went home. He turned his attention to his list of tasks, looking at the first item on the list: Finish sorting out the old books into the boxes.

He turned to see that, indeed, the large pile of dusty books hadn't been completely sorted through yet. Well, at least that would take his mind off things, give him something to do... Dejectedly, he began sorting through the books again.

Spike joined him later, tidying up the room, but didn't try to initiate conversation. He looked like he was about to at some points, but he perceived that Dusk wasn't exactly in a talking mood and thought better of it. Whether or not he was actually concerned for what was on the unicorn's mind, he didn't know and didn't really care either. He just focused on his work.

Dusk after about an hour, was done sorting through the piles, they all being nicely organized into their respective boxes. If only his life could be sorted out just as easily. He took them down to the basement, another item on his list and continued down said list with his other responsibilities.

He was required to rearrange the Little Ponies shelf, restock on some ink, make sure she had the right number of quills and backup quills, tidy some collapsed books that had fallen in the east wing and various other assignments. All the while, he was silent... lost in thought.

What was he going to say when Twilight got back from her trip to the Everfree Forest? What could he say, that he now knew that Twilight had never really wanted to be his friend anyway? He hadn't come back yesterday like he said he would, so she would want to talk to him about that. Then, she'd find out he'd been listening at the door and... he just didn't know...

The others too weren't exactly going to be happy with him either. They were all offended because of his behaviour towards him, and would want an explanation too. They'd see him as rude, not worthy of being their friend (Not that he ever was), then they'd leave him alone. Just like he knew they would... but again, they weren't truly his friends either, not in any honest sense.

Whatever Princess Celestia may have told her, neither she nor them would want to be his friends now. It had all been a waste of time, of both his and theirs... hoping such silly dreams could come true...

"Dusk?" He snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Spike's voice. The dragon was looking at him with concern.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"Nothing. It's just... you've been standing there, levitating those books for about fifteen minutes."

Dusk looked to see that he was right. He had noticed that a book that was supposed to be in Classics had been sorted into Non-Fiction. He had just been correcting the problem when... he must have become lost in his thoughts so much, that he'd forgotten about what he was doing. Now, he felt rather stupid.

"Oh... right..." He rectified the problem immediately. "Sorry..."

"It's okay. Just uh... stay focused, yeah?" He gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Yeah..." Dusk returned it, and resumed his work.

He realised that, in all this, he hadn't really considered Spike's place in all of this. Sure, he was Twilight's assistant, but did that mean she had passed on the Princess's instructions to him too? Did her 'task' apply to Spike, or was he the only one he could truly call his friend? He supposed that... there was a sliver of hope for his friendship with the baby dragon...

No, not again, he had already fallen into that trap. Of course she would have passed on Celestia's instructions to her assistant, it was only logical. She would want him involved in it too. Spike had barely said a word to him since he had come in today, so he was into the final stages of leaving him alone.

Although... he hadn't exactly been in the best of moods today, with being rude and irritable to Spike. The dragon might just be leaving him to simmer, wait until he was in a better mood before trying to talk to him. That sliver of hope came back again... Spike was no Twilight but... one friend was better than none at all.

"Well, I'm done with my chores," he announced, dusting off his claws. "How about you?"

"Hold on..." He checked his own list. All of his tasks were completed. And it was only twelve 'o' clock. "I'm done too..."

"Great! And Twilight's not back yet, so we've got some time to relax. What do you wanna do?"

Dusk shrugged. "You do want you want, I'm just going to read..."

"Okay then." He stretched and yawned. "Well, I guess I'll take a nap. Wake me when Twilight's back..."

"Sure." He was about to get a book down, when he had a thought. "Hey, Spike?"

"Yeah?" Spike looked rather tentative as he looked back.

"I'm... I'm sorry that I've been acting... distant. I've just... got a lot on my mind, at the minute..."

"I noticed yeah," he chuckled a little. "Don't worry about it, everypony has bad days, right?"

"Okay." He was silent for a few seconds. "So... are we still friends?"

"Well, sure we are." He seemed relieved at this. So was Dusk. "Of course, yeah. I still haven't forgotten what you did for me at the Running of the Leaves. Like I said Dusk, you're a good guy."

"Maybe..." he murmured quietly. Then louder: "Thanks, Spike. I'll let you get some sleep..."

"Although..." Dusk returned his attention to him, "the girls have noticed that you're acting... kinda distant. Twilight was asking you about it yesterday, but you ran off. She's worried, but they're starting get a little annoyed too."

"I can imagine." He remembered their rather bitter tones the day before.

"I don't suppose you wanna talk about it?" Dusk was actually tempted to tell him what he was thinking, but decided against it.

"No... not yet I... I'm still trying to figure it out myself." He pulled a book down from the shelf. "Maybe later..."

"Alright, but I think you should apologize to the others too." He chuckled again at something. "You really seem to say sorry a lot, don't you?"

"I suppose I do... have a good sleep, Spike." He opened up the book, as the dragon drifted off into the land of nod.

Dusk's attention, however, was more on what he had just been talking about than the words before his eyes. So, the girls were definitely getting annoyed with him because of his behaviour and the day before was sure to compound that. But, there was a chance they could leave on good terms. An idea...

When they got back, he would tell them what he heard at the door and say he was sorry, both for the way he was acting and his eavesdropping. He would then explain to them why he was acting like that and tell them that, if they were just making friends with him because of royal command, they might as well just leave him alone. They would, of course, agree with his plan, let him get on with his work and... well, he'd still have Spike for a friend. That was something...

Still, even if they hadn't really wanted to be his friend, he was still going to miss talking to them, especially considering how well they'd treated him. He was going to miss talking to Twilight in particular. But, at least he'd tried to fulfill his long wish to be her friend, even if it hadn't gone well. But there was still the problem of work... maybe work out a different shift for him, somewhere he'd be out of the way...

Satisfied with this new plan, though still having a little regret, Dusk resumed reading. He would wait for them to get back and explain it to them then. He couldn't exactly do it now, could he?

Seconds passed... then minutes... then hours. It was half past three when Dusk began to wander what was keeping them. Spike was still asleep, ignorant of the passage of time. Shouldn't they be back by now?

No... they should be back by now. Spike had said they'd be back shortly, because she'd only given them a few things to do. That meant it was taking longer than they thought or...

"Spike... Spike!" The dragon jerked awake from his nap. "You said they wouldn't be gone long, right?"

"Wha... oh yeah... what time is it..." He yawned and looked at the clock. His eyes widened and he was suddenly wide awake. "Oh no! Twilight left hours ago, they should be back!"

"They went to the Everfree Forest," Dusk spoke, as calmly as he could. "That must mean..."

"They're in trouble! What if it's a hydra or-or a cockatrice or-or-or even a dragon? Or all three! W-w-we uh... oh no... agh!"

As Spike began to panic, Dusk's mind too began to spin. What if something terrible had happened to them? They could be in danger! No, they'd defeated Nightmare Moon, hadn't they? It was probably nothing, they could handle it... but what if they couldn't? They might need help. But what could possibly do? What could anypony do?

But you know what you can do, don't you Dusk?

With that thought, Dusk's thoughts became more ordered. He knew what he could do. The ponies he cared about, who had been so kind and welcoming to him, even if it wasn't genuine, were in danger. Whether it was genuine or not, he owed them a lot. Now, it was time to repay those debts.

"Spike." His voice must have carried some weight, because he stopped fretting. "I think you're right. They're in trouble and they need help. I'm going to go to the Everfree Forest and find them."

"Great! I'll go with you and-"

"No, you need to stay here. No, listen to me." He'd never had so much authority, felt so sure of himself, as the dragon was about to protest. "If I'm not back with them in an hour then... then you need to get reinforcements. Inform the Princess, tell her what's happened, she'll know what to do."

"Dusk, are you insane? You can't go off into the Everfree Forest, by yourself!"

"Maybe I am," he agreed, "but I have to try. Please, trust me. I've read a lot about the dangerous creatures in the Forest, I can do this. I can at least try... please..."

Spike stared at him, apparently unsure as to restrain him or to give him a round of applause. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright. I'll wait an hour. I just hope you're right...

"So do I... Go, upstairs. I'll see you later... I hope..."

"Good luck..." He did as he instructed giving him one last smile.

Before he left go and search, Dusk looked once more at Twilight's list of tasks for him. Did she know this would probably be the last time she wrote something? Wait , what was that... Something caught his eye...

The parchment had been folded at the bottom, so much he hadn't seen the last item that was hidden beneath it. It read: check your bag. Curious, he crossed over to his saddlebag, checking the flaps.

Something was in his bag, tucked away among his belongings. It was a rolled up piece of parchment, a letter. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it ust be from. He unfolded it and read the content.

Dusk

If you're reading this, well done for finishing the tasks I assigned you. It's good to know that I can count on you.

Something's wrong Dusk. I don't know what it is, or why you won't say, but something is on your mind. You may not want to, but I want to you to talk to me about it. I want to help you if I can.

That's why I called you into help yesterday. I just wanted to try and talk to you. My friends had mentioned the way you'd been acting. I thought that I could find out, seeing as how you and I have become such good friends. At least, I hope we are.

I remember seeing you, always on your own in the library back at Celestia's School. Sometimes, I'd think I'd see you looking at me. I suppose I felt sorry for you, seeing you sitting there by yourself. I wish I'd viewed friendship differently back then... we could have been friends from the day we met.

I want to make up for that now, just leaving you alone and not even coming over to say hello. We're friends now, and I want to help you. When I come back, let's have a talk, maybe we can figure it out. Please?

My friends are all worried too. When you didn't come back, they started thinking that maybe... well, I don't really want to say. You're not a bad pony Dusk. I think you're just lacking in confidence I know there's still a chance maybe we can change that. Please, talk to me?

I'll see you when I get back.

Your good friend, Twilight Sparkle.

Dusk could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, as he read her name. Despite what he'd heard at the library door, despite what he now believed, Twilight had still been willing to give him a second chance. She still was... there was still... hope.

Feeling his spirits be bolstered by this new-found discovery, Dusk burst out of the library door, galloped through the streets of Ponyville, out of the border of the town. He felt brave, confident, indestructible. He would be like Daring Doo, braving the dangers of the wicked Forest, battling through whatever got in his way to rescue his friends. Nothing was going to stop him now...

... until he reached the dark line of wicked-looking trees. The Everfree Forest. Suddenly, he didn't feel so brave. Reality came back for a bit, snapping him out of his heroic fantasies, reminding him that he wasn't Daring Doo... just Dusk Noir.

He stood there for a while, staring into the dark. Then, he took a deep breath, collecting himself. He had an hour. There was no turning back now.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends," he quoted Shakesmare quietly. He drew himself it, trying to ignore his gripping fear and stepped in, proceeding to call their names.

He'd read enough about it to know that the forest was bad news. It was full of dangerous creatures, all of which had no problems preying on anypony foolish enough to come across them. The animals took care of themselves, so they only needed equines for... well, food. He just hoped that wasn't their fates.

Dusk continued on in through the forest, calling out the names of the girls one-by-one. He didn't know whereabouts in the forest they were, if they could even hear him where he was. Normally, he would just give up and go home, let somepony else do the dangerous tasks. But there was nopony else here. Just him. He had to do this, he had to find them...

Was it his imagination, or was it getting darker? Maybe it was... no, focus Dusk, he told himself. You need to find them, and get them back home safely. Deal with the personal issues later, he had to do this.

He heard something snap behind him, a growl of some unseen beast. He whipped around, breathing heavily, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. What was that, what was making that noise? No, he was letting fear get the better of him...

How long had he been here? It felt like years, his calls becoming more hoarse. The darkness was creeping in, he could hear the sounds of the monsters that lurked in it closing in on him. Fear had him its grip, his breathing rapid, his heart beating against his chest. He had to... he could... he could...

"I can't do this!" he screamed. He stopped running.

What had he been thinking? He could barely even keep his friends, what had made him think he could even begin to brave the Everfree Forest? How could he have been so stupid? He wished there was somepony here with him... somepony loyal, honest, brave...

Involuntarily, he weaved her shape in the dark, giving him a window of light. But she wasn't actually here with him... it was just a form... but, he felt a little warmer, just seeing her outline... recalling how elated he felt, when she told him she wanted to be his friend. It was like she was actually here, he felt a little braver... and disappointed that he had let her down, when she had been the first to welcome him...

"Applejack... AJ... I'm so sorry..." He bowed his head, thinking how pathetic this was. Now, he would never see her again He wanted to find her so badly, but what hope was there now? Even the orange light of her puppet was fading... moving away...

Wait, moving? He looked up to see it was moving. His puppet was cantering in the air, running off down a part of the forest. Then, it stopped and turned its head to look at him. It was like it was leading him somewhere... and it wanted him to follow.

But... he hadn't told it to do that. How could it be doing that by itself, without him telling it what to do? He'd always had control over them, they'd never done anything like this before... but then again, he'd never had friends before.

That hope was back again. If he followed this puppet maybe... maybe it would lead him to the real Applejack. He couldn't explain why he had come to this conclusion, but deep down,he knew it would.

"Alright then," he said, running to catch up, "lead the way."

The colour form set off again, with Dusk right behind it. Following it, as it lead him along through the dark... to find his friends.

Comments

[Midnight Blues]

Flowing the glowing outline of Applejack. He's got a plan (be afraid be very afraid).

[SaxPon3]

Great chapter, mate. Loved reading it. I did notice a few grammatical errors here and there, as well as spelling, but hey. Nopony's perfect.

Starting on the art cover by the way. I'm hoping to get it done by next week, with full color.

[Warman1138]

Great story, more, more, more, ect.

[Arez]

Dusk following AJ's outline thingy remindd me of Harry following Snape's patronus to Gryffindor's sword

[AlphatheGriffin17]

2052971 I'm not sure about grammar, I may go over it, but spelling will probably be because I'm a Brit. We do things differently.

[X 865]

Ooorah, this is going to get interesting!!!

[Emmo13]

Finally got back to continuing my re-reading of the Dusk Books, or Series, or Saga, or whatever it is. This was the chapter we found out Dusk could use his puppets to locate ponies, oh my gosh! I'm letting the nostalgia sink in...and I'm good. Maybe.

[Tesla Moon]

Dusk with a plan? Well this should be good.

[FluttaShift]

nice job. solid chapter.

[Pencil Lead]

Does anypony think Dusk will get an element? I'm thinking either Friendship or Hope.

[Mapleman158]

"Shakesmare"? More like "Shakessteer"!

[Lord Nopony]

Dusk
If you're reading this, well done for finishing the tasks I assigned you. It's good to know that I can count on you.
Something's wrong Dusk. I don't know what it is, or why you won't say, but something is on your mind. You may not want to, but I want to you to talk to me about it. I want to help you if I can.
That's why I called you into help yesterday. I just wanted to try and talk to you. My friends had mentioned the way you'd been acting. I thought that I could find out, seeing as how you and I have become such good friends. At least, I hope we are.
I remember seeing you, always on your own in the library back at Celestia's School. Sometimes, I'd think I'd see you looking at me. I suppose I felt sorry for you, seeing you sitting there by yourself. I wish I'd viewed friendship differently back then... we could have been friends from the day we met.
I want to make up for that now, just leaving you alone and not even coming over to say hello. We're friends now, and I want to help you. When I come back, let's have a talk, maybe we can figure it out. Please?
My friends are all worried too. When you didn't come back, they started thinking that maybe... well, I don't really want to say. You're not a bad pony Dusk. I think you're just lacking in confidence I know there's still a chance maybe we can change that. Please, talk to me?
I'll see you when I get back.
Your good friend, Twilight Sparkle.

*Sniff* I mustn't cry!

[gundamexia34]

Tracking magic?

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Interesting... And the feels in here!

[Stellar_]

Dang, where is Ray with his pipe when you need him?