Unity at Dusk

by AlphatheGriffin17

Dark Side

Twilight was still staring in horror as Discord laughed with thunder booming all around him, rolling on the floor and clutching his sides. She was still trying to comprehend the fact that they had failed, that Discord was going to reign chaos across Equestria because they couldn't stop him. She was still trying to understand that they had failed their home, their families... Dusk, when an angry Pinkie spoke up.

"And what are you laughing at?!" she demanded from Discord.

He paused to wipe a tear from his eye, still smiling away. "Ho, you ponies are just the most fun I've had in aeons."

"Well, quit it!" she ordered. "You'd better think before you laugh at the Pink...ie Pie!"

"Oh, yeah? Well ha, ha," laughed Fluttershy cruelly, further aggravating Pinkie.

"Quit it!"

"No. Ha, ha."

"Quit it!"

"No. Ha ha-ha ha ha."

This was the worst part, she thought, as her friends began to squabble among themselves, Fluttershy continuing to aggravate Pinkie and Rarity fending off Applejack when she tried to take her 'diamond'. Ever since they'd entered the maze, they'd all started to act strangely when she found them. Applejack had taken to lying, Fluttershy was behaving cruelly, Pinkie had become a cynic and Rarity convinced that a huge boulder was a diamond.

She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Dusk was here. Would he have let the stress of what was going on get to him and start acting distantly as he had once done or would he have stuck by her side to find the Elements and stop their foe? Right now, she couldn't be entirely sure how he would handle this, but she knew he would try to be strong. She wished he was here, as she tried to calm her friends.

"Girls, why are you all acting like this? We need to stick together." They ignored her and continued to fight and she felt that sense of hopelessness once more.

"It's just too entertaining." Discord had conjured up a row of seats and was laid back on them, eating popcorn from a tub.

Approaching where he sat, she glared at him angrily. "Stop it, Discord. You're not playing fair!"

"I'm not playing fair? Perhaps we haven't met." He stood up and held out his lion's paw like they were just getting acquainted. "I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony. Hello?"

"How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when you took away the labyrinth before we could get to the end?" she demanded.

"Oh, wait, did you...?" He paused to laugh once more, as if she had said some kind of joke. "How funny! You thought the Elements were in the labyrinth?"

He snapped his fingers and transported her back to the Royal Canterlot Tower, when he had set them off on this whole wild goose chase. She heard again the riddle he recited and once again she wondered at the last verse. What was it they needed to stop Discord completely, along with the Elements of Harmony? Was it some kind of other artifact they had missed? What were they meant to be looking for?

Before she could ponder this further, Discord transported them back, a self-satisfied smile on his twisted features.

"I never said they were in the labyrinth," he pointed out.

"But...but..." He cut her off and started to walk away.

"Keep trying, Twilight Sparkle. Maybe the magic of friendship can help you," he added mockingly. "Or maybe your number one pony assistant, hm?"

Anger flared inside her at the mention of Dusk. "If you've done anything else to him, I swear you'll regret it."

"Temper, temper Miss Sparkle," he tutted, wagging his finger. "You should be careful or it'll get you into trouble. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chaos to wreak."

He snapped his fingers and vanished from sight, clouds of cotton candy darkening the sky above their heads and raining down chocolate upon them. Twilight could feel it dripping over her mane and fur, as if it was some kind of cruel reminder that they had failed thus far and this was their punishment for it.

"Chocolate milk? I hate chocolate milk!"

She groaned at this and began to think about the riddle again, repeating the last line and rapping her skull with her hoof, as if constant repetition and emphasis would make the answer more clear... back where you began... back where you began, that was the crucial part. But began where? Were they back at Canterlot tower again?

Dusk would be good at this, with his imaginative thinking and sharp mind, like her own. Together, the two of them could have figured this out and thwart Discord, that would show him. She remembered when she'd been trying to figure out a different riddle and he had helped her with it. He'd made it look so much more easy...

"Something wrong Twi?" he asked, as he walked by her desk.

"Nothing big," she replied with a sigh. "It's this riddle Applejack posed for me, I'm having trouble getting my head around it."

He examined it as she levitated it to him. "Hm, interesting... trapped in a tower with no door and no windows, with only an apple and a knife. How do you escape the tower using only what you have?"

"I've tried everything I can think of, but nothing I come up with seems to fit. Any ideas?" she asked him.

He stared at it for a few minutes, she could tell his mind was working furiously as he frowned at it thoughtfully. She couldn't help but blush at the thought that she liked it when he did that. It reminded her of why she admired him and respected his intelligence. He snapped her out of these thoughts when he suddenly smiled and levitated it back to her.

"Got it," he said simply. "I have to say, that's a good one."

"What?" She found herself staring in disbelief. "I've spent about an hour trying to figure that out!"

"You're thinking about it too hard, don't try and look at it literally. You just need to think about the answer that'll make it whole," he advised, winking as he said the last word.

"What does that-" She thought about what he was getting at and smiled herself. "Oh, I see... cut the apple in half, to halves make a whole and you just climb through the hole!"

"Exactly!"

"There's that creative thinking coming through again," she remarked, eliciting a blush from him.

"Well... you know how I think," he mumbled, scraping the ground with his hoof.

"How do you think about it so easily?" she asked admirably.

"I just do," he shrugged. "A riddle can have more than one way than looking at it and most times the simplest answer isn't the right one, a little bit like life. But you can always find the right one, with a little imagination."

"Very profound," she commented with a smile.

"I suppose," he agreed modestly, returning smile and setting back to work...

Once again, she wished he was here. He'd be able to figure this out with some imagination and some creative thinking. Not that she couldn't manage that either, but he just seemed so much more free in his thoughts and ideas... she liked that about him too.

But she shook her head and told herself to focus. This longing for him wasn't helping her come up with a solution, nor was her friend's bickering in the background which was starting to grate on her nerves and patience.

"Ugh. I just want to go home... with you, Dusk..." In that instant, the solution came to her, almost like he himself had inspired it. "Wait a minute...home! "Back where you began!" The Elements must be in Ponyville!" She turned around only to discover her friends were still fighting. "Hey, cut it out!" she ordered, breaking them up with magic and dumping them on the ground.

"Hey, I was having fun," snapped Fluttershy, glaring at her.

"Well stop," she retorted. "I've figured out the Elements are in Ponyville and we need to get back right now."

"Ah knew that, ah uh, was jus' waitin' ta see if you would," Applejack informed falsely.

"Took you long enough," added Fluttershy. "Not as smart as you think, are you?"

"I hate Ponyville!" shrieked Pinkie.

"Finally, now I can get this big hunk of a diamond home," crooned Rarity to her boulder, grabbing it possessively.

"Let's just go," groaned Twilight.

Leading the way out of the dirt crater that had once been the Canterlot Labyrinth, Twilight knew they wouldn't be able to get back on the train, as Discord would have seen to that. Perhaps it would be an inflatable or something like that. So, they took the path down from the mountains and across the meadows to where Ponyville was, their pace slowed somewhat due to the reluctance of the others and Rarity carrying her boulder.

As they trotted on the path, Twilight paused as they neared the Everfree Forest, seeing the menacing trees with their wicked branches reaching out like clawed hands and felt that pang of longing again. She had seen Dusk in there, at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. What exactly he was doing there she didn't know, but she knew that she didn't want him to be alone in that place. She needed to know if he was okay, if she could help him in any way...

"Hold on girls," Twilight said to them, heading towards the trees, "there's somewhere else we gotta go first."

"Great, cause ah really wanted ta go ta the Everfree Forest," she heard Applejack say.

"But we need to go in there," she said urgently.

"No, what I need to do is get my diamond home," countered Rarity, shivering under the weight of her boulder.

"Look, are you coming with me or not?" she asked, beginning to lose her patience.

"No," they all said in unison.

"Ugh, fine! Wait here, I won't be long," he told them and turned away.

A little afraid she would be alone, but secretly grateful she'd be able to get away from their negative attitudes, she set off towards the trees. Thinking about how negatively her friends were acting, she found herself thinking that maybe Dusk was affected too. She prayed to Celestia that wouldn't be the case, because she couldn't think to stand the sight of him acting like that... he wasn't like that anymore...

She headed to the path that Princess Celestia had shown her that was a safer route to the ruin. Taking elation that she would hopefully find her friend safe and well, especially after what Discord had done to him, she quickened her step and entered the trees, only vaguely noting Rarity's laboured grunts far and the others squabbling behind her.

---

Dusk's sleep wasn't an easy one. Ever since he'd set his down on the harsh, cold earth, he had been plagued by images and sounds that were played over and over again in his mind, from those cruel visions that Discord showed him, hearing the dismissive and annoyed tones of the girls as they talked about him...

"After today, no more Dusk... You'd have thought he'd have gotten the message earlier that we don' want him around... Even I don't like him and I like everypony... Honestly, I never thought we'd be able to ditch him... Do you think, when we get to Canterlot, we can ask Princess Celestia to make him go away... That's just silly! Absolute nonsense!"

He tried clutching his ears and screwing his eyes shut to silence it, but if anything it just made it worse that it was before. It was like some tormenting reel of film that he was being forced to watch, to remind him of how useless he was, how pathetic he had truly been. He felt like screaming at the dark, just wanting it all to end in that moment. Then, just when it seemed like he couldn't take anymore...

It stopped.

Cautiously, he opened his eyes and took his hooves away from his ears. At first, it seemed like he had reawoken in the cave he took refuge in, but he could tell, just instinctively, he was somewhere different, though it looked the same. The main indicator was that his hat and necklace were missing from his head and chest, giving a sense of emptiness without these objects of tender memories. He also noted Opehila was absent from her perch, which made him feel even more alone.

However, it was when he turned around and saw that, instead of the cave wall at the back of the cave, there was a passage that had appeared, leading down into the rocky depths of the earth. That definitely hadn't been there before and that little feeling was telling him he should venture down there to find something. At first, he wanted to ignore it, to remain up here where the sun was streaming in behind him but... he knew he didn't have a choice. He had to go down there.

So, with a large gulp and a few deep breaths, he conjured up a ball of light that would give him some visibility down there, he set off, slowly, his hoofsteps echoing and resounding off of the rocky walls. The jagged rocks seemed to bear down on him like the sharp teeth of an animal and where the light couldn't illuminate, he had the feeling that something was watching him the dark. Trying to ignore that feeling, he pressed on, alert and ready.

As he ventured down, he noticed that the tunnel took many twists, turns and bends throughout, enough that it would be easy to get lost. Bearing this in mind, he scraped arrows into the dirt at his hooves, hoping he'd be able to find his way back... was it his imagination, or had he just heard a cold laughter, distant and echoing from the deeper recesses of the cave? He shook his head, knowing his fear was getting the better of him.

"Darkness is merely the absence of light, shadows are nothing but an effect of the light," he said to himself to keep calm. "There's nothing to fear in the dark, as there is nothing to fear from a shadow, for neither can harm us."

"It is what waits in the shadows and the darkness that can harm us." He felt a shiver up his spine at the sound of the echoing, cold voice, his laughter following minutes later.

Now, he had a good idea of what was waiting for him down here in the depths of the darkness, what he would have to face when he reached the journey's end. He had been trying keep him out, but now he was here, prepared to fight and ready to end him so he might take over. Well despite his usual views on violence, he wasn't going to go down without a fight, as he knew there wasn't going to be any negotiation in this meeting of minds.

He was getting a strong sense of deja vu as he took the path deeper down into the omnipresent darkness. It was like when he had travelled with the girls down into the Paraserpent's lair, to rescue Twilight from its clutches. Except this time, he was alone, the girls no longer here to help him and he got the feeling that it would be him in need of rescuing rather than Twilight. Whatever was down here would be far worse than the Paraserpent.

The shadows appeared to press down more on him the deeper he travelled, his light becoming less effective from the oppressive darkness... or was he just imagining it? Was that along with the dark shape he thought he sometimes saw, moving in the shadows at times? He thought he could see a flash of white, a hint of green in the dark that just as quickly vanished, along with the cold laughter that came with it. His heart beating against his chest, he tried his best to tell himself that it was just his eyes playing tricks, just his mind plagued by the fear that was making his legs shake.

After what seemed to be an age, he emerged from the tunnels into a larger area. He sent his light up and increased the brightness to illuminate his surroundings. It was a huge cavern, with a high ceiling and steep walls of rock, parts of it cloaked in shadows that seemed to follow him everywhere in here. At the centre was a pit, large enough for somepony to fall in and appearing to have no end. He made a mental note not to fall in there and cast his gaze around the rest of the cavern. It looked like there was nothing here, but he could feel it, an unseen presence that had been watching him since he'd came down here.

"I know you're here," he called out to the darkness. "Show yourself."

He sensed movement behind him and rounded slowly as the pony that stepped down of the darkness to meet him, detaching from the shadows. His fur was as black as a starless night, his wild and long mane and flowing tail as white as the bones of the dead. Those horrible jade green eyes were like a reptile's, with slits rather than round pupils and held no warmth like the wicked smile that played on his lips. Despite this, he could still see the pain he had to endure in his eyes, the rage and hate that would never end.

His darker self, in the flesh at last.

"Finally… you're here," his darker self said in that chilling voice.

"I am," Dusk affirmed simply, controlling the fear he felt. "What is this about?"

"You know what this is about, brother," he replied, with an empty smile.

Dusk nodded. Deep down, he knew this was coming. "I suppose that this won't be resolved peacefully between us?"

"Not unless you wish to surrender and let me take over without a fight."

"Never," growled Dusk, trying to be brave. "I won't become like you. You're not really me, you're something completely different. You're a monster."

"I suppose I am… and it is so much better to embrace one's true nature, wouldn't you say, Dusk?"

"Not if that nature is that which would destroy it," countered Dusk. "As useless as I am, I'm still capable of love and compassion, unlike you."

"Such things are burdens that I do well without," he replied coldly, though he noticed with a hint of regret.

"They're not burdens; they help to make life better. You…" He pointed at his other self, glaring at him. "You can only hate and rage. You're nothing but a black hole of despair, sucking in and bringing doom to all those who get too close."

"Black Hole… Doom…" His darker self appeared thoughtful and smiled with a warped self-satisfaction. "Yes, that fits rather well. Thinking about it, I would not want to be labelled with your pathetic excuse of a name."

"My name is one of the few things I'm proud of," Dusk shouted back. "I would be happy to keep my name and all I am ashamed of than succumb to the darkness and pain that you offer."

His darker self, now named Blackhole Doom, only gave him his cruel travesty of a smile. "But my brother, we waste our time with words when we could settle this with action, with the weapons we possess, to see which is truly superior."

"Words are what win wars, not weapons," retorted Dusk, as they began to circle each other, their eyes never leaving, emerald locked with jade.

"Words are the weapons of weaklings, like you." He stretched out his hoof. "I ask you one last time: let me take over, let me become you. I could give you so much power, so much strength, if you would but let me."

"I desire neither power, nor strength. Power corrupts and strength can fail."

"You are half right, for it is your strength that will fail."

"I'd be happy knowing I spent it trying to stop you."

"Then you are nothing but a fool, a weak coward and pathetic child."

"That's not how see it." They were both tensed, ready for the first move, to strike first. "I only desire that you should never set hoof in Equestria."

"You would accept that when you could have so much more?"

"I would rather be a scholar dissatisfied than a pig satisfied."

"As you wish." He smiled once more, and then suddenly he pounced.

Dusk reacted at this, ducking underneath the attack, but felt a sharp pain as Blackhole aimed and landed a kick on the back of his head. Dusk whipped around, knowing that his opponent would strike him in the back if he was given the chance, but he had gone. Melted into the shadows that surrounded him.

Trying his best to cast his light around as wide an area as possible, Dusk's eyes darted from every shadow, watched every movement that could be his dark foe. Blackhole had the shadows as his allies, but Dusk had the light to banish them. He could at least say that he tried his best. Out of the corner of his eye, Dusk spotted movement and whipped around, just as Blackhole bought his hoof down on his head.

Or he would have done if Dusk hadn't blocked it and countered with a punch to the gut. His doppelganger grunted from the strike as he sent another to his head, but Blackhole blocked it impossibly fast and sent another blow to his own gut, making Dusk double over in pain, followed with a kick to the head that made Dusk skid across the jagged floor.

Despite his aching head, twinging from the pain, Dusk ran to catch up with him as he tried to retreat into the shadows again and jumped on him, sending some punches to the back of his head. He thought he'd be able too keep him pinned, but he soon discovered Blackhole was stronger that Dusk was. Blackhole then rolled over so he had Dusk pinned, smacking him hard with his hooves, blurring his vision and filling his mouth with the salty taste of blood. Grabbing Dusk by the neck, Blackhole flung him across the cave and he crashed into the cave wall, the pain filling every inch of him.

Dusk tried to bring himself to his hooves, while at the same doing his best to maintain his light orb, which was starting to flicker from his waning strength. While Dusk had shown he could hold his own in a fight, as much as he didn't like fighting, he wasn't used to this kind of intense combat, certainly not against a foe who was essentially himself, but with nothing holding him back and no moral code. Dusk had barely recovered when another blow was sent to his skull and sent him to the floor.

He could see Blackhole in the blurred vision he had to get used to. Dusk tried to swing his hoof at him, going for a sensetive spot on his neck, but Blackhole blocked it, slapping it away and returning with one in kind. Dusk barely had the chance to try again when he felt Blackhole's fist slam into his back, making his scream and convulse. He saw a magical aura around his neck, tightening his throat and restricting air, Blackhole holding him place. His face was contorted with rage, sending punch after punch at Dusk until he tossed him aside like yesterday's garbage, additional pain coming from the rocky ground.

His usually sharp mind having trouble focusing, Dusk noticed a pattern to his fighting after what seemed like hours of this brutal treatment. Everytime he was knocked to the floor, Blackhole gave him the opportunity to recover himself before engaging him in combat again. Then, he would back off once more and let him recover, then wash, rinse repeat. He knew was Dusk knew and he was stronger than he was, so why was he doing this. Then he realised it.

He was toying with him. He was letting him get up, just so he could smack him down again. Well, Dusk wasn't going to give him satisfaction that easily. He could hear the sound of his hooves approaching again, when Dusk, with what little was left of his strength, sent a punch that landed on his face. He saw Blackhole flinch and cry out, reeling back away from him. At first Dusk, tried to press his advantage, staggering to him and trying to send another one but Blackhole grabbed it and sent a paralysing pain up his leg, making him fall again. Grunting, tears falling, Dusk saw his face, a vision of rage and anger.

"That... hurt," he growled down at him.

"I... know," coughed Dusk, reeling from the burning in his limbs. "I'll try... better next time...

"As will I!" Blackhole screamed and punched him again. "You see now how weak you are?" SMACK! "You flinch at pain, I revel in it." CRASH! "You suppress anger, I let it flow through me." CRASH! "You cower in darkness, I embrace it." WHACK! "You hide from your rage but... I AM RAGE!"

"STOP!" Dusk simply couldn't take anymore. He had reached his limit and now he just wanted it to end. "Please... just stop..."

"You give in?" he asked tauntingly.

"I... I do... Please, no more..."

"Yes, I'm done with this game." He levitated him again and Dusk felt a stab of fear when he saw he was levitating him towards the pit.

"No... no, not there..." He tried to break free, but his strength was completely gone. His light flickered once more and died, plunged him into darkness, except for the glow of Blackhole's magic.

"You've had your fun, brother, now it's my turn." He suspended him above the pit, like the jaws of an animal about to consume.

"Don't... please, no!"

"Hm... I think yes." He saw that evil smile flash again. "Goodbye, Dusk Noir."

The aura stopped, Dusk stopped floating and he felt his stomach rush as he was falling. He could see Blackhole grinning down at him. Falling, unable to stop, screaming at the dark, at his loss... falling further and faster... falling.

Author's Note:

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday folks, site was down and there was no internet where I was.

Comments

[Shadow Runner]

"As will I!" Blackhole screamed and punched him again. "You see now how weak you are?" SMACK! "You flinch at pain, I revel in it." CRASH! "You suppress anger, I let it flow through me." CRASH! "You cower in darkness, I embrace it." WHACK! "You hide from your rage but... I AM RAGE!"

Its like what I see in movies when the enemy is winning and he is talking about him or something like that and the good guy is getting beaten then the good guy beats the bad guy after, Its kinda like that

[Pencil Lead]

wow. just wow.

[Stellar_]

Welcome to the dark side Dusk! Hope you enjoy your stay.