Dusk Dawns

by AlphatheGriffin17

A Little More Variety

"Alright, Twah'light, ya called us here 'cause ya said ya had somethin' important ta tell us," recalled Applejack. "Now, y'all actually gonna tell us what's what?"

"Yeah, I got stuff I need to do today."

"Would 'stuff' fall under the same category as making sure you get your nap?" asked Rarity pointedly.

"Hey, Twilight has her schedules and I have mine."

"There's nothing wrong with taking the occasional nap, now and then," put in Pinkie. "I do it sometimes at Sugarcube Corner. Dough makes a really comfy pillow."

"Y'all sayin' that yer sleepin' in the stuff that ya use ta make cupcakes and cookies, ya sell ta everypony in town?" asked Applejack, her tone bordering on incredulous.

"Not all the time, AJ. Just some of the time."

"Remind me ta check them cakes more carefully in future…"

Dusk only smiled by way of contribution, but remained silent. The letter had only just arrived this morning, with Hearth's Warming only a week away. He remembered last year, how wonderful it had been, having the girls over to his home for his very first party and celebration in Ponyville. He only hoped that this year would be just as enjoyable and memorable, even more so with Ray in the mix now, if the girls wanted to have him along that is.

On that particular subject, it was Ray's Welcome to Ponyville party soon, an opportunity for him to be introduced to the town and to his own circle of friends. They were all rather intrigued to meet him once Dusk mentioned him and he was looking forward to introducing him to them all. His minor fear was that they would feel a little strange about it, but they accepted it good grace, feeling that it was good he was expanding on his friendships. Applejack had made the remark hoping he wasn't another Element of Harmony waiting to happen.

He himself was quite excited to see how he would receive them and vice versa. He had an idea of who he might get on with best, but he wanted to wait and see first.

"Alright then, everypony," Twilight said, addressing the group, "since you're all wondering why I've gathered you here, I just received a very important letter from Princess Celestia. Spike, if you will."

The baby dragon nodded and unfolded the scroll, clearing his throat importantly.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

"In preparation for the upcoming Hearth's Warming Eve celebrations, I have decided to allow you and your friends the prestigious honour of playing the main roles of the founders of Equestria in the pageant in Canterlot. Enclosed with this letter is a cast list for each of your friends, detailing each of their roles in the performance.

"Learn your roles well and break a leg.

"Sincerely, Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, various titles yadda yadda yadda."

Rarity was the first to react, gasping dramatically. "The Canterlot Hearth's Warming Eve pageant? What an opportunity! Me, in the starring role of one of the grandest venues in the land. Oh, this is what I was born for!"

"We're in too, ya know," Applejack reminded her bluntly.

"What I was born for," she whispered again, overcome with excitement.

"Yeah, this looks like it could be cool," noted Rainbow, looking over the list she'd been given. "I get to be some kind of commander. A fearless leader of ponies, the perfect role for me."

"Ooh, ooh, I get to be Chancellor Puddinghead!" Pinkie giggled hysterically at reading the name. "Hehehehehe! Just like that time I stuck my head in the oven to check on a cake!"

"And I get to be the narrator! The mysterious voice who knows all and sees all, the actions of everypony dictated by his words, as he moulds them like clay in his claws. All the power, all the control that I'll have!" He laughed in a sinister sort of way, until he realised everypony was staring at him. "I mean uh… this could be fun."

"I have to admit, I agree with you there," said Twilight. "This is quite an honour, for all of us. We're essentially playing… well, us. Our ancestors, in the case of me and Dusk."

"I dunno. What was this Commander Hurricane like?"

"According to records, she was daring, brave, defiant and determined," recalled Dusk.

"Hey, you might be right…"

"But she could also be arrogant, aggressive, pushy, bossy and demanding."

"See, like I said, no connection at all!"

Fluttershy was the only one who'd remained silent throughout the proceedings, so Dusk turned to look at her, only to see her shivering like she'd been caught in an icy wind. Considering it was winter, that wouldn't be far from the truth, but he didn't think it was anything to do with the cold.

"Nervous about the idea of performing?" he asked her.

"No! I mean, yes… I mean I... well… it's just that…" She squeaked and hid behind the locks of her mane. "I've… I've never… been on stage… before…"

"You were a model for almost a month," reminded Dusk.

"Yes, but all I had to do was stand there and look pretty, even then I hated it!" she squealed. "All of those faces, staring up at me and I need to remember what to say. What if I forget? What if I don't remember my lines and I make you all look bad? I'll be terrible!"

Dusk, understanding her fear, placed his leg around her comfortingly. "It's okay, little sister. I have the same worries myself. I admit I… I feel rather apprehensive about this whole thing."

"If ah'm honest, so do I." They all looked around in surprise at Applejack.

"Whaddaya mean? You've competed in, like, every rodeo ever!" remarked Rainbow. "I'd have thought you'd be up for this!"

"Ah know, but ah ain't never had ta do anythin' like remember lines fer a play or somethin'. Ah ain't never been nopony except maself. It's gonna be a lil' strange, ta say the least."

"Now that you mention it, I've never tried my hoof at acting either," added Twilight.

"Gee, never would have guessed that," muttered Spike.

She ignored him and continued. "Okay, considering the attitudes that most of us seem to have towards the idea of performing, I suggest that we do something before hoof, just so it's not a complete shock to our systems."

"I agree with the egghead," nodded Rainbow. "It's always good to get a little practice first, otherwise you end up crashing out. Take it from an expert, it's not pretty."

Rarity gasped again. "Ideeeaaa!" she sang. "I have the perfect solution, in that respect."

"Then please share, by all means," invited Dusk.

"I will." She nodded smartly at him. "Now then, every year, the town hosts a variety show performance, that anypony can sign up to. I believe there is some history behind it, but I've never been clear as to what…"

"Would that be based on the early days of the town when, in the winter to keep warm, the settlers would hold a show in order to keep warm against the cold?" ventured Dusk.

"I was just waiting for you to come out with something like that." She giggled at his blush. "Anyway, I believe that the show would be an excellent opportunity for each of us to display our unique skills, so as to gain the necessary experience for the pageant in Canterlot."

"Now, that ain't such a bad idea," agreed Applejack. "A real chance fer us ta show off our stuff, so we ain't so nervous when we have ta do the performance."

Rainbow made a dismissive noise. "Speak for yourselves. If I do this, it'll be just to give everypony a taster before they get blown away by my awesome acting. But yeah, I'll sign up for it, might be fun."

"Ah'll throw in ma hat fer it."

"I um… suppose I will too," replied Dusk, tipping his own for emphasis.

"Make that three!" Pinkie randomly threw a party hat into the centre of the room.

Once again, the only pony left indecisive was Fluttershy. She was fiddling with her hooves and casting her eyes nervously around the room, like she was trying to find some other solution that didn't mean she had to face a whole crowd of ponies.

"Come now, Fluttershy," Rarity said gently. "You're going to have to go on stage anyway for the pageant. We can't turn down an offer like this from Princess Celestia, she's counting on us."

"Yeah, it'll help turn those jitters into nerves of steel." Fluttershy squeaked loudly from the hearty slap Rainbow gave her. "Okay, maybe not that far…"

"Just give it a chance, little sis?" offered Dusk. "We're all doing it, so you're not alone in it and you'll be performing for the town, for your home. If you do something for them you really enjoy, I'll wager you'll have just as much enjoyment performing it as they will watching you."

Fluttershy bit her lip, still looking nervous about the idea. He could tell that this wasn't easy for her, but he'd prefer that she go on stage, knowing what to expect, instead of collapsing from fright when the curtain lifts. Eventually, she took a deep breath and put on the bravest face she could.

"Okay… I'll do it, if it'll help. I guess… I'll be able to find something."

"Great! Well, I also think that this is an excellent idea for all of us," put in Twilight. "We all sign up for the show, get to work on our individual performances and get the experience we need to be ready for the pageant, as well as have some fun along the way. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they all chorused.

"Good luck then, everypony, I'll see you all on the performance night then." With some excited chattering, they left the library, leaving the three librarians there.

"Right then, Dusk," Twilight said, "considering the nature of this situation, you have my permission to spend the days up till the performance to work on what you want to do."

Dusk felt a little disappointed. "You mean… you don't want me around?"

"No, no, not in that way!" she said quickly. "It's just that I'd prefer my show to be a surprise, not just for you, but for everypony. I'm sure the others all feel the same way."

"Oh, right, that makes sense." It did, for he had done much the same when he had done his performance for the Canterlot Magic Contest a year ago. "In that case then, I shall see on the eve of the performance, Miss Sparkle."

"I look forward to it," she returned. "I'll be in it to win, don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my coltfriend."

"I extend the same sentiments to you, my dear."

"Good luck then, sweetie, when I'll be standing in the winner's circle."

"You too, my dear and it shall be as you shake my hoof to congratulate me on my victory."

"Will you two give it a rest?!" demanded Spike. "Even when you're doing trash talk, it makes me want to puke."

"It's not trash talk, it's satirical and ironic competitive and romantic banter," corrected Twilight.

"How is that any better?!"

Dusk just left them to it, tipping his hat in farewell and making his way home. Of course, like she had said, neither of them meant anything hurtful by the comments. There wasn't even a place for third, second or first in this show. It was simply for everypony to show off what they were good at and to enjoy it while they did it, as those first settlers did years ago.

Already, Dusk's mind was starting to whirl with ideas as to what to do. He still, of course, felt nervous about performing on stage, but it had been a long time since he'd first stumbled onto the brightly lit stage back in Canterlot, creating colour puppets to the tune of One Winged Alicorn. His magic and his views had changed since then, so he felt more sure that he could pull off a watchable show at least.

This time, hopefully, he wouldn't be doing it alone. Setting off in the direction of the inn, he decided to try and find Ray to help him out. It would be good to have somepony else put forward their ideas for a change. Plus, he had yet to show him what he could do.

It didn't take him long to find the green unicorn, explain to him what was going on, to which he gladly accepted and take him back to his home, where they would have the space and somewhat privacy of his back garden in which to practice.

"So, you want show off your magic then?" he asked, when they arrived. "What kind of magic, exactly? Is it going to explain your cutie mark?"

Dusk glanced back at the seven-coloured circle on his flank. "It will, once you see it."

"Yeah, I thought it looked a little… odd. Not odd in a bad way," he said quickly, "just in that I've never really seen one like it before."

"Well…" Dusk created a colour dot, one for each colour on his cutie mark and made them fly around him, "I imagine that you wouldn't have."

"What… what is th- WHOA!" He almost jumped back when they soared after him, like multi-coloured ghosts, danced and twirled around him for a bit, then faded away at Dusk's mental command. "What was… wow, what was that?!"

"My magic," he replied simply. "I've been able to do that since I was young. Pure magical energy, with which I can alter their colour and their physical nature. I'm working on expanding it at the minute beyond that and it's still in early stages, but it's much further than what it was."

"I see… well, that's… wow!" he repeated. "How do you have low self-esteem if you can do stuff like that?"

"I used to hide it, back when I was friendless. I didn't know how others would receive it, if I showed them. Now that I have friends, I've learned to be a little more… proud of it."

"I can tell," he remarked. "I'd be pretty proud, if I could do stuff like that. I have some of my own talents really, quite handy really, helps me get around a bit."

"In what way?" asked Dusk, intrigued.

"Hmmm… I don't feel like showing you just yet," he replied mysteriously.

"Ray, be reasonable. You can't mention something like that and not elaborate on it," he reasoned.

"Yes I can, I just did."

"Why?"

"Because I want to." He grinned at Dusk's flabbergasted expression. "Well, come on then. Let's get on with this!"

"Fine then, but you're going to have to tell me sometime in the future."

"Not necessarily. You have your secrets, I have mine. Whether or not we choose to tell them is our choice." He seemed to have that knowing look in his eye, like he was saying more than he meant… but it was just as quickly gone again. "So, shall we get started?"

Dusk returned his smile. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

---

Over the next few days, Dusk worked together with Ray in order to plan out what he was going to do for his performance in the variety show. It didn't cut in much to his normal time, as he still had his lessons with Luna in the evening (something he hadn't yet told Ray about yet) and he had learned the times of day Twilight had designated for her own rehearsals for her own performance, so he was able to go and visit her when she wasn't practicing. Neither gave the other much hint of what they were doing, but they were both looking forward to what they had in store.

As Twilight had predicted, the others were also keeping their ideas and skills to themselves. Applejack spent her time at the farm, probably honing her rodeo skills to the show, Rainbow could now and again be seen darting across the sky mid-trick, Rarity was seen buying large amounts of different fabrics, strange noises could be heard from Pinkie's room at Sugarcube Corner and Fluttershy had secluded herself completely at the cottage, rarely venturing out. This could be viewed as normal behaviour by the different mares, but Dusk knew better.

For the most part, Dusk felt that he was nearing being ready for the show. With help from Ray, he had decided to take the opportunity to show off what he had learned, how much more talented he had become with his magic in recent days and how much of a show he could put on. He at first wanted to go for something slow and peaceful, but Ray had persuaded him to go for a more bombastic and spectacular approach, with flashing and shooting colours accompanied by a very dramatic piece of music that they'd come across that would match it, rather like what he had done at the Magic Contest, except without any coherent shapes representing anything. It was rather simplistic, but Dusk liked it and so did Ray.

Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing from the whole thing, amidst all of the flares and flying. He didn't know what it was, but he just couldn't shake it…

Dusk had to admit that working with Ray was certainly different. Until today, he'd mostly spent time with the girls, who preferred to keep things low key, when the world wasn't in danger or the town was under attack of course. He'd grown accustomed to the relaxed atmosphere and slow-paced activities he had with them, but in contrast, with Ray it was like spending a day with Rainbow Dash's long lost unicorn brother.

Perhaps that was a slight exaggeration, but Ray was certainly enthusiastic about making his magic look as spectacular as possible. His rather blunt, honest opinions combined with the writer's mind that he apparently possessed meant that he had a good artistic eye, added with a typical masculine tendencies towards the phrase 'the bigger, the better.' It took a little bit of getting used to, but Dusk could say that he enjoyed his time with Ray.

He also took the time to find out a little more about him, when he was willing to tell it.

"Well, this looks like it's coming along well. Thanks for your help again, Ray," he said, cancelling his magic.

"Hey, no problem. I'm happy to assist! Besides, I need something to keep me occupied around here." He seemed to be thinking about what they'd done so far "...yeah, the way this is going, you're performance will definitely be flashy, to say the least. My kind of show! And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you have planned for that magic of yours. Some talent!"

"Thanks. I've only recently started to take pride in it, which for me is... admirable."

Ray gave Dusk a half-lidded glare, then levitated over a pipe and lightly bonked Dusk on the head with it.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked, with a slight laugh.

"Low self-esteem is bad, Dusk. I will discipline you whenever you display it. Trust me, this is to help you." He tossed the pipe aside and flashed a grin.

"You sound like the girls, except they didn't hit me. Apart from Rainbow or Twilight when she's angry."

"The reason you hear it so often is because it's true. As for the hitting, that just comes with the merchandise." Gestured to himself dramatically. "Don't worry, I won't do it if you don't like it...much, anyways."

"Fair enough. You can't force change though," he said with a chuckle.

"Nope, but I can certainly speed up the process!" He grinned again and walked back over to Dusk. "So, what now? You wanna take a break?"

"Might as well. On the subject of talents, I've been meaning to ask about yours."

"Which one?" he asked, levitating a couple of sandwiches out of the lunchbox he'd bought and giving one to Dusk.

"Thank you... wait, you have more than one?"

"Of course! Everyone has multiple talents, especially me, given how awesome I can be. That was...uh...the joke," he deadpanned, with awkward laugh.

"Right..." He raised an eyebrow, but just shrugged it off "Anyway, I take it you're a writer, like you said?"

He sat down and took a bite out of his sandwhich, spraying some food in response. "Yup!"

"That's quite an impressive talent. Have you published any works at all?"

He swallowed before speaking. "Nah. I'm really more of an aspiring writer, to be honest. I haven't been able to fully complete anything yet."

"I see. Life on the road kept you away from a writing desk? Hm... I never did know why a raven was like one," he thought aloud.

Ray gave a blank look. "I don't get that reference."

"Never mind. So, do you hope to take it further?"

"Well, of course. I love writing. It gives me a way to express myself, to share my creativity with others. I like the idea that anything written by me has the potential to touch the hearts of others. You know, seal my place in a part of history. The problem isn't me moving around, though. It's...well, I've got poor focus. I can get inspiration from just about anything, see. And I can do tons of stuff with that inspiration, while I have it...but I have trouble holding onto any single idea long enough to really make something out of it. Something else always comes up that catches my interest, and I can't help but move over to that, and when I finally do decide to get back to work on the first thing, I've just...lost interest, I guess." He craned his neck to look at his cutie mark. "Makes me wonder if I really do have the potential…"

"I'm sure you do. Your artistic eye has certainly helped here. You seem to be a Hayanardo Da Vinci, as far as writing is concerned," said Dusk encouragingly.

He chuckled in response. "What does set designing have anything to do with literature? Besides, how can you even make that comparison when you haven't read anything I've made yet? Ol' Vinci was great and all, but I'm thinking of going more into the adventure/fantasy line of writing. Much more exciting."

"I agree with you on the fantasy front, but I was referring to his work. He'd always take interest in something, do something based around it, but his interest would soon drift on to something else. It took him twelve years to finish the Pony Lisa, you know. It doesn't mean his work wasn't great though," elaborated Dusk.

"Oh, now I get it! Yeah, that makes more sense." He looked up and smiled a little. "Wow...so me and Hayonardo, huh? It's...really encouraging that you think of me like that. Thanks, Dusk."

"My pleasure. Anything to help my friends, one of the few things I'm good at..." Too late, Dusk realised his mistake. "Oh dear."

He gave him a maniacal grin. "Oh, Dusk...you went exactly three minutes and 27 seconds...oh well." He brought out the pipe again.

"Ray, please, there's no need for this..." he placated, backing away.

He stopped to consider this. "Hmm...alright, fine. Just this once, since I more-or-less sprung this onto you." He flung it away again, where it landed near Dusk. "But seriously, we're gonna work on that confidence of yours in the future."

"I'll bear that in mind." He levitated it further away for good measure. "So, shall we get back to work?

Now, he raised the eyebrow. "Dude, I'm not done with my sandwich yet...and you haven't even touched yours."

"Oh… right… I'll get on that."

Regardless of the oddity that occurred at times, Dusk thought they were making good progress and that he would have something spellbinding by the time of the show. He almost wished he could show it to somepony else, to see what they would think and have a fresh opinion. Without even realising it, he got his wish.

"I think that's looking much better," commented Dusk, on the explosions of light they had in the middle of the performance.

"Yep, I'd say we're…" He trailed off and focused on something behind Dusk. "Looks like we have an audience of sorts."

Dusk whirled around and saw that he was right. Twilight was standing there, looking a little ashamed that she'd been discovered like this.

"I was just coming over to return your saddlebag, you left it at the library." She held up the item in question with a sheepish smile. "I didn't know that you'd be practicing."

Surprisingly, Dusk wasn't too angry. "It's okay, my fault for leaving the bag I suppose. You just wanted an excuse to see me, didn't you?"

"You've got me there," she giggled, kissing his cheek and blushing.

"Ooooohohohooh!" He turned to see Ray, grinning like a fool at the sight of them. "So this is her, then? Come on, don't keep me in suspense..."

"It is, yes," he replied, blushing even more. "Ray, this is Twilight Sparkle. Twilight..."

"Ray Strike, I assume. Pleasure to meet you," she greeted politely.

He bowed his head and smiled. "And it's my pleasure to meet you, Twilight." As he rose back up, part of his mane fell over his eye, making him flick it away irritably

"Looks like that's something else you too have in common," commented Twilight, flicking Dusk's mane a little. "Though, yours is a little neater."

Dusk mumbled his thanks, while Ray gestured to his mane.

"Yeah, this stuff just does whatever it wants anyways, so I don't even bother. But back on topic..." He let a sheepish grin grow. "You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you two make a very cute couple."

"Thanks," they both said, laughing a little.

"We uh, get that a bit," said Twilight.

"Quite a bit," added Dusk.

"More than you'd think."

"But not as much as..."

"… we'd like," finished Dusk, sharing a warm smile with her.

Ray laughed openly at this display. "Oh yes, commence the 'finishing-each-others-sentences' relationship phase! Adorable. It makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside…" He wiped away a false tear and performed an exaggerated sniff.

Wanting to change the topic a little, mainly because Ray's attitude was making his cheeks all the more hotter, Dusk turned to Twilight. "I might as well ask, since you've seen some of it, what do you think?"

Twilight bit her lip and frowned. "From what I saw, it looks… good but it lacks… substance."

"What… what do you mean?" asked Dusk, feeling a little disheartened.

"Well… I remember the one you did in Canterlot and this one pales in comparison," she elaborated. "That one told a story, taught as well as entertained. This one is little more than some flashing lights set to music. It's entertaining, but there's not much else to it."

Even though Dusk had been feeling himself that his performance was lacking something, to hear it from Twilight was still rather disheartening. It made him feel like this effort hadn't really counted for much and he felt a little foolish for making such a mistake.

Ray was quick to leap to his defence. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a bit of action with something like this."

"I know, I'm not saying there isn't. If this is the route that you want to go down, then I won't stop you. I'm just telling you what I think."

"Well, I think to be fair since you've seen Dusk's show, maybe we should see yours." He folded his legs defiantly. "How do you like that?"

"I think that's a fair suggestion."

"Just as I thought, you… wait, what?"

"You're right Ray. I've stumbled on Dusk's performance when it was supposed to be a surprise and now I feel that it's fair that I should show him mine. He might have a fresh insight for it anyway, I've been meaning to show somepony else that's not Spike."

"Spike?" Ray looked confused. "Who's Spike? Your dog?"

"You haven't met Spike? He's at Rarity's practicing for her part, but I'm sure you'll be able to meet him later." Ray seemed to be trying to remember who Rarity was from what Dusk had told him. "Anyway, he might be back at the library, so come on."

Ray and Dusk exchanged a look, shrugged and followed her back into town, with Dusk trying to think of fresh ideas on how to improve his performance, now that he knew what was wrong with it and that the solution wasn't to add more bright flashes, no matter what Ray suggested.

Twilight appeared quite excited at the prospect of showing them her performance and Dusk was pleased to see that she was getting along with Ray and that he was keeping a respectable distance from her. It still made him smile when he saw Ray's eyes shine while she talked to them animatedly about her magic and how she would be using it, like he was really treasuring the moments of friendship that he was now sharing in.

Dusk knew that look because it was the same one that he got, from time to time. Even so, the fact that it was her that pointed out what was wrong with it still made him feel rotten. He thought that she, of all ponies, would be supportive of him in what he did and that she would be the first to defend him if anypony said otherwise. He thought that was the point of their relationship, now he just felt… well, foolish… and a little angry at her. Only a little but still…

They arrived at the library, Twilight telling them to take seats in front of her while she demonstrated what she had in mind. It was essentially like a lesson, educating about magic, starting with magical origins in the early days of Equestria, prominent names in magical study, the practical application of magic in everyday lives and some practical demonstrations. A show that was meant to be informative and utilised one of the things Twilight did best: lecturing.

However, though Dusk did his best to keep his focus, he couldn't help but have his eyes drift now and again to look at something else before they snapped back again. Ray was somewhat less subtle, his eyes having glazed over fifteen minutes into it and almost drifting off to sleep a few times before he snapped awake again. Twilight didn't really notice, as she was entirely in her element but, apart from when she did an occasional practical demonstration of her own magic, he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes on the show.

Her words resurfacing in his mind over his performance didn't help matters either. How was this any better, a little voice seemed to say. What made hers so much better than his, when he was barely managing to stay awake?

"… this concludes Magic 101, thank you for listening," she finished after what felt like a year. "So, what do you think?"

"I think I need my mane cut," Ray commented dully, blowing some out of his eye. "Wait, think of what again?"

"Of my performance!" She didn't appear fazed by his reaction. "I wanted this to really showcase what I've learned with my magic, as well as demonstrate practical applications. I think it was good at both but, what did you guys think?"

Dusk thought carefully before answering. "Well, it was very… informative, well-researched, accurate and explained well," he began as casually as he could. "It's clear that you put the time and effort into those parts. But um…"

"Hm, I knew this wasn't going to be perfect," she muttered. "I should have put more information into the section about Starswirl's alteration methods, shouldn't I? I knew I was weak there!"

"No, no, that was fine, but it was just… that um…"

"The whole thing was boring," Ray said bluntly. "What? You were thinking it too."

Twilight looked appalled. "Oh, come on! It wasn't boring. I'm sure Dusk would back me up on that, right dear?"

"Actually… I find Ray to be right," agreed Dusk, though not easily. "It wasn't all that… exciting really. It does teach a lot, yes, but… I don't think most ponies are going to be all that… interested by it from the way you… presented it."

"What? But I… I thought that you… you would…" Her expression changed, first to sadness, then annoyance and finally a shadow of anger. "You're just saying that because I criticized yours, aren't you?"

"I beg your pardon?! No, I wasn't-"

"Dusk, I was only giving my opinion there, but just because I didn't like it all that much doesn't give you the right to say something bad about mine, because you couldn't take a little criticism." She frowned at him. "I thought you were above that, that you'd be supportive of me."

Now it was Dusk's turn to be shocked that she'd say that to him. "I thought you were too… you really think that I'd be so petty, as to do something like that?"

"That's what it looked like to me."

"I assure you, I'm not," he replied calmly, hoping to keep the situation under control. "I, like you, am being honest and what I thought was that it was… well… dull."

"Dull? What… I…!" She recovered herself and glared. "Well, at least mine is more than a bunch of flashing lights!"

"But… but I… Twilight, I tried my hardest do what I did."

"So did I! I expected you to appreciate that, at the very least."

How could she say that, after what she'd said about his? His anger and annoyance at her was beginning to rise. He didn't really care about what was fuelling it, but he just felt she was out of line and was willing to point it out.

"At least ponies would be awake to see mine, they'd fall asleep half way through yours, if not sooner!"

"You're my coltfriend! You're supposed to be supportive of me!"

"And, as my marefriend, you should know me better and be able to accept what's wrong with your performance without descending to bickering!"

"I'm not the one bickering, you're the one who needs to hear praise every five minutes or you'll think you're useless, not that you'd accept it anyway!"

"I'm modest enough to accept that I'm not all great, even if I wasn't taught by a princess since I was a foal!"

"Um, can I say something?" ventured Ray.

"NO!" they both yelled. They glared at each other again for a long while after that, the tension so thick it could be cut with a dragon's claw.

"Well, thanks for your input Dusk, not that it helped!" she snapped, turning her back on him.

"Believe me, I'm glad I could help!" He snorted and stormed out, forgetting to wait for Ray in his rage and just got as far from the library as possible.

How could Twilight even begin to think such things about him? How could she think that he was petty enough that he'd make up something bad to say about hers, just because she had criticzed him? He knew that there was something wrong and he was willing to try and change it to improve. Twilight just seemed to think that hers was perfect and she'd just assumed the worst as soon as he'd said it. It was Rainbow's role to have to mountain-sized ego, not hers!

He was still angry enough to slam the door when he got home, shocking Ophelia enough to make her fly away and stand seething in the hallway for a while. When it finally abated, he realised what had just happened.

They had just had a fight… and over what? Could she have really been right? Could he really have been so petty as to want to get back at her for devaluing his own work? He hadn't really liked it, but… had he gone so far as to just say he didn't like it to spite her? Part of him said that he didn't, another said he did…

And that other voice had a deep, guttural quality he knew so well…

"You didn't deserve her from the beginning. Look what's happened now…"

He didn't try to respond to the voice, he didn't even try to block it out. He just locked his door, fell down onto his couch and remained there. He didn't know for how long, he just wondered how he could start to apologise to her for what he did… if she would even accept it.

---

"Come on, Ray, somepony wanted to see you," said Dusk, suppressing a smile.

"Me? What for?" He hesitated a moment. "Darn, I'm not in trouble already am I? I've only been here for a few days!"

"No, no, you're not in trouble... Just follow me..." he said, with a slight smile.

He cocked his head in confusion. "Alright…" The two of them started walking down the street together. After a minute of walking in silence, Ray asked, "Sooo... you and Twilight sort things out yet?"

Dusk felt himself flinch at the mention of her name. "No um… not yet… I haven't seen her since our… argument."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it'll be okay, so long as you say sorry."

"Perhaps… I'd um… rather not discuss this right now." He didn't want to spoil the mood for the upcoming surprise for Ray. He shouldn't have to feel bad because of his problems.

Ray looked hesitant to comply, but nodded silently in understanding. "So… who wants to see me, then?"

"Just some ponies, to sort out a few things in the town hall. It won't take long..." He opened the door, letting Ray walk into the darkened room.

"...sort out..? What do you…?"

"SURPRISE!"

"Surprise, new pony!" added Pinkie, blowing a cazzoo once everypony came was silent.

Ray staggered a bit from the impact of the surprise and became wide-eyed at the scene. His mouth hung open very slightly.

"May I advise you close your mouth?" whispered Dusk.

He obviously became self-conscious enough to close his mouth. "Dusk...what is all this?"

"Duh! It's your welcome to Ponyville party!" Pinkie yelled.

Dusk just shrugged. "She does this for everypony."

"Yes indeedy! How d'ya like it?"

Ray was silent as he looked around the room at all of the various decorations and the ponies gathered, taking it all in. "Wow...this is all for me... I don't know what to say..." His face broke out in a grin. "What can I say? This is awesome! I just...wow!"

Everypony else cheered again at his reaction and began to mingle around. Pinkie beamed happily.

"I knew you'd like it! You seem like the partying type! We're gonna get along great!"

"Speaking of which, I think it's time you met the others," offered Dusk.

Ray gave him a curious look. "Others? Who do you mean?"

"Well, you already know Pinkie Pie."

"Hi!"

"So, I might I as well let you meet the rest of my friends." He saw one walking over and met her halfway. "I think you might have glanced her at the farm."

"So, yer the one this whole shindig is fer. Howdy! Name's Applejack!" The farm pony grabbed his hoof and shook it enthusiastically.

"Ah! N-nice to meet you-!" He paused briefly due to the strong shake. Once it was done, he rubbed his hoof a bit. "Err...my name's Ray. Ray Strike. You're Dusk's friend?"

"An' how! Ah've heard that you are too an' any friend-a Dusk's a friend-a mine. Come ta think of it, any friend of ma friends is a friend-a mine, but that don't make it any less special, ya hear?" she said happily.

He returned it easily. "Yeah, I hear ya. Quick compliment coming your way: you have a very strong shake!" he said, with another wince and a laugh.

She laughed too. "Well thank ya kindly, ah have been told that more'n once. Comes with the job."

"Oh yeah, you work at that huge farm outside the town, right? Sweet Apple Acres? I have to say, I respect anypony who's strong enough to kick apples out of trees for a living, not to mention the food your family must make. I tried some of that Zap Apple Jam with Dusk the other day, and let me just say this; awesome recipe, plain and simple."

"Well, me an' ma family are happy ta hear ya say that," she said humbly.

"Having fun over here, everypony?" asked the sophisticated voice of Rarity.

Ray looked over at the source. "Who's this?"

"Ah, you must be Dusk's new compatriot. She held out her hoof, in a way that she expected him to kiss it, batting her lashes too. "I am Rarity. A delight to make your acquaintance, dear."

Dusk waited for him to stare openly at her, as most stallions usually did when encountering the full force of Rarity's charm. To his surprise, he only stared at her hoof, blinked a few times and then looked at her. Apart from a slight chuckle, he appeared completely unfazed.

"Oh, wow. Uh...nice to meet you, Rarity. Hey, uh..." He leaned in closer, whispering just loud enough for their group to hear. "Could you maybe be a little less obvious in the future? No offense, but I could probably see that approach coming a mile away..."

Rarity was just as surprised as they were. "Obvious? Why... whatever do you mean?"

He looked up in mock thought. "Well let's see...you hold up your hoof gently, bent downward at the bottom, in a motion suggesting that you expect not a hoofshake, but a kiss. Then you batted your eyelashes at me rather heavily, plus the alluring smile. It's pretty clear that you're flirting with me."

"I see... you object to this?" she asked.

"Wow, a pony immune to Rarity's charm? Ah never thought ah'd see the day," whispered Applejack.

"It is quite remarkable he can... not that I have any trouble, of course," he said quickly.

Nopony said anything in response to this, either being too hesitant to say anything or wanting to wait until they were in good company.

"Don't worry yerself, sugarcube. She jus' likes ta show off her charm," Applejack said more loudly.

"Oh, it's fine! I don't mind it. He slowly smiled at Rarity. "I actually find it rather refreshing that I'm attractive enough to be considered by one as lovely as yourself..."

Dusk caught something else in his eye, something that wasn'texaclty friendly. But he must have just imagine it, for Rarity seemed quite unabashed.

"Oh, a hidden charm, is it? Well, I'm delighted to have helped in that area. Mr Strike," she returned, with a wink.

"Ah believe the feller jus' said 'bout bein' too obvious, else we'll have ta start callin' you Fluttershy," remarked Applejack.

"Hm, amusing no doubt." Rarity flicked her mane in a dignified way.

Ray returned to his normal composure at this. "Fluttershy? Who's that?"

"Another friend of ours. She's around here somewhere…" Dusk said, casting his gaze around for her.

"But until then, you get something even better!" Raibow swooped in, posing impressively and grinning her cocky grin.

"And he said I lacked subtlety," muttered Rarity.

"Another one of your friends? "At Dusk's nod, he continued "Wow, your pals are just coming out of the woodwork. And who might you be?"

"Name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer and deadly daredevil." He could have sworn her teeth shone a little there. "Nice to meet ya."

"Likewise! Nice to see a pony around here who's got spunk!" He blinked and looked around. "Err, no offense..."

They all assured him that there was none taken.

Pinkie felt it was good to add something. "Dusk has spunk, cause he's the only-"

"Ah think he knows!" cut off Applejack.

"So, a pony who knows quality when he sees it. Figures, with a cool name like that," commented Rainbow.

"What, mine? Yeah, I guess. Come to think of it...Rainbow Dash...rainbow-colored mane, fast flyer...very fitting." He looked over her mane. "Hey, quick question, do you use some sort of special shampoo of your mane? Cause I've never seen anything like yours before."

"Nope. What you see is what you get: all natural." She ran a hoof through it. "You like huh?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool! Not to mention the whole windswept look definitely suits you. So...daredevil, huh? How so, exactly?"

Rainbow thought for a bit. "Think of every way you can be death-defying, awe inspiring and crowd surprising way you can be and you don't even come close to what I can do. But, I'm sure you'll be seeing that soon enough. That's how."

"Inflated ego included," added Rarity, earning a glare from the Pegasus.

One corner of Ray's mouth curved upward. "Big heads are a good quality, depending on how you look at it. Confidence in oneself will light the path to success. But back to you, Rainbow...I dunno, I can think of some pretty crazy stuff. I like to think of myself as something of a daredevil occasionally, so yeah."

"Is that so?" Rainbow's intruige seemed to increase. "Maybe we should put that to the test sometime, 'cause I can get pretty crazy with my stunts. Just a shame you're not a Pegasus."

"Why? As a Pegasus, you have wings. I'd say that makes things substantially easier for you. I, on the other hoof, appreciate a challenge wherever I can find one."

"Now, that's what I like to hear!" She slapped him hard on the shoulder. "How'd you find this one, Dusk? Looks like he's got way more guts than you do."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Dusk felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned. "Oh, there you are..."

"Um... do you want me to meet um... your new friend?" Fluttershy looked nervous at the prospect.

"It's okay, he's fine." To Ray, he said, "There's one last pony who wants to meet you, Ray."

"Another one?" He looked quite surprised. "Alright, who?"

Dusk stepped aside so they could see each other. "Ray, this is Fluttershy."

As he expected, she retreated a little, concealed behind her mane. "Um... uh... hello."

"Sorry, she's a little shy," he explained.

Ray's eyes seemed widen slightly when he caught sight of the yellow Pegasus, and he stares for a few moments with a brief, barely noticeable glint in his eye. However, he quickly regained his composure. The first time he tried to speak, his voice appeared to catch in his throat, so he coughed a bit and tried again.

"...ahem...that would explain the name. Um...Fluttershy?" He approached and gently held up his hoof. "My name is Ray, as Dusk just said. It's nice to meet you."

Fluttershy just moved back a little further and let out a frighetend squeak, like his hoof might bite her. Dusk also noticed a heavy blush in her cheeks.

"He's fine, he just wants to be your friend," he said gently.

She still looked unsure. "I... I..."

Ray developed a look of confusion. "Did I...say something wrong?"

"Relax, she just gets nervous around new ponies," dismissed Ranbow.

"Come along, darling, no need to be so silly," coaxed Rarity.

However, Ray just lowered his hoof and looked down. "It's fine. I...understand. Sorry if I scared you, Fluttershy...really, I am."

She peeked her eyes out again. "You... um... I..." In the end, she diverted her eyes and retreated away, pausing occasionally but ultimately leaving.

Dusk would have gone after her, but he knew that she wouldn't come back now. They would have to wait until she felt less guilty about her behaviour before trying again. Ray watched her leave. Once she was out of sight, he shook his head and grimaced in annoyance.

"Sorry about her," offered Dusk. "She'll warm to you, just give her time."

Rarity nudged his leg a little. "In the meantime, you still have our company."

He slowly turned his head toward Rarity with a suppressed pained look in his eyes. "...yeah... sure..."

Realsiing his distress, Rainbow leaped in. "Hey, you wanna play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony? This is a party, you know."

"Go on, have some fun," encouraged Dusk.

He remained sombre for a few more moments, but in the end he quickly perked up. "...yeah, okay. Let's have some fun! Anypony else wanna play?"

"You two go, we'll be there in a bit." They waited until they were out of earshot before speaking to one another. "So, what do you think of him?"

"Seems like a feller who knows how ta have fun an' not let stormy days get him down," remarked Applejack.

"How do you mean?"

"From what you've told us, he's much like you in that he's never had friends before. Even so, he doesn't look like he's let that get the best of him." Rarity looked over with a little admiration. "He's quite a joyful soul, in that respect."

"He does, yes," he agreed, watching him being spun around blindfolded. He also noticed that it wasn't only admiration in Rarity's gaze, more like something about him troubled her. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," she dismissed, the look fading. "Besides, we have something a little more important to discuss. Something that happened between you and Twilight, I believe."

Dusk knew the subject would arrive at this, but he'd hoped it would be much later. "You… you know about that?"

"We all do, sugarcube." Applejack didn't look all that angry. "She didn't even come ta the party tonight. We tried ta get her along, but she said she didn't feel like partyin' much."

So, she was still angry at him then, something that was still weighing heavily on his mind… along with the growling in his head whenever he thought of it.

"Now, ah ain't sayin' that ah'm sidin' with her, but ah think ah understand where some-a her anger's comin' from," Applejack said. "Ah think ya shoulda been a lil' more careful with yer words when you were judgin' her work."

"If there's one thing a mare doesn't like, Dusk, it's being told that something she's worked on isn't as good as she hoped. Take it from me, it doesn't end well."

"Yeah, like with you when that stallion said your dress looked too big in the-"

"That is another thing we agreed never to speak of again," hissed Rarity, silencing Pinkie.

"But… she said the same with mine."

"Then you may both be at fault here, but that doesn't negate your responsibility any further. As her coltfriend, you need to be supportive of her, to be the one to smile and nod when everypony else is shaking their heads and frowning."

"Yeah an' if ya do need ta point out the uneven edges-a the apple pie, try ta do it so it don't ruin the whole dish," advised Applejack.

"I thought I was but… I see your point," agreed Dusk. "We shouldn't have argued about this, I shouldn't have… I should have known better."

"Don't feel too bad about it, Dusk," comforted Rarity. "Every couple fights, now and again. In a way, it's actually good for a relationship to have a little tiff now and then. Just don't make a habit of it and always remember to reconcile afterwards."

Dusk felt his heart sink again. The former of those two he definitely had no problem with, but the latter still made him feel apprehensive. How was he going to apologise to Twilight when she didn't even want to go near him right now? Again, he found himself wondering if she would ever forgive him. They'd said some hurtful things to each other, in the heat of their argument, things that made him feel pathetic again when he thought about them.

"Still, not much point in worrying about it now." Rarity smiled encouragingly. "Since you're here, you might as well try enjoying yourself.

"Yeah, come on!" Pinkie said brightly. "Your new friend is funny! He just fell into the punch bowl!"

Dusk looked to see everypony laughing while Rainbow heaved Ray out of the punch, grinned mischievously and dropped him in again. Even though he felt a small smile tug at his lips, he still couldn't enjoy the moment fully, as he wondered what a certain lavender unicorn would think of this situation.

---

Twilight was brimming with anger when she'd heard the door slam, indicating Dusk's angry departure. She'd then glared Ray out, who practically scurried out like a frightened squirrel and tried very hard not to allow her magic to set her mane alight again in her rage. In the end, she had a little temper spout, but it was just to let it out of her system.

She'd expected support and encouragement from Dusk, that she'd been doing great with her lecture and that he would be looking forward to it. But, just because she'd said one little thing about his, something for him to improve upon and not meant to be harsh, then he called hers boring. Boring! When she'd worked so hard to make it full of educational material that she felt sure everypony would love to hear, not to mention her magical talents that she would demonstrate with. All the effort that she'd put in and he'd said it was boring!

Just who did he think he was, saying such things about her hard work, giving so little worth to it? If he knew how much time she'd spent researching and making sure that every piece of information was as accurate and reliable as she could make it, then he wouldn't have been so quick as to dismiss like he had done. She felt some regret that it had descended into an argument between the two, marking again some other rarely seen anger from him, but she was still resolute. She wasn't going to apologize until he did the same for her first.

The purple unicorn remained in a bad mood throughout most of the coming days. She slammed books back into shelves when she was done reading them, furiously dotted her full stops on her notes and put more energy into her spells than was necessary. When Spike came back from Rarity's, she took her anger out on him too, snapping in response to his questions or raising her voice more than she should have.

Dusk didn't come back to the library. She could have sworn she saw him hanging around the fringes at times, but he never approached. She didn't want to see him anyway, to feel the anger… the guilt. No, why should she be guilty? She didn't miss him. He could think about what he did, until he came back to apologise… even if it seemed a little empty without him.

So, she'd carried on with only Spike for company again. At first, the baby dragon just remained in a frightened silence, not saying anything for fear of angering her further or trying to joke to lighten the mood, only to be glared down by Twilight. But even he had his limits to how much he could tolerate, as Twilight was soon reminded.

"Spike, what are you doing?" she demanded, as he carried a stack of books back to their shelf. "If you carry that many books, you're just going to drop them all!"

"Oh, really? I'll drop them?" he snapped back.

"If you carry that many of them, you will. Put some down and then put away the rest, use your head!"

"Okay then." Keeping his eyes locked on her, he let the whole pile fall to the ground before she could stop him. "Oops, silly me. I'm so clumsy these days."

"You did that on purpose!" she yelled. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because you've been like a dragon woken up on the wrong side of the cave these past few days and I should know!" he shouted back. "I don't know what your problem, but you don't have to take it out on me!"

She bit back her retort, realised he was right and sighed. "That's a fair point. I'm sorry, Spike, I didn't mean to be so short with you."

"Yeah, I get the feeling it's not me you're angry at though." He hopped up on the desk so he was at eye level with her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing just… Dusk and I had a little bit of a disagreement, that's all," she mumbled.

"You're still on that?" he asked incredulously. "I would have thought you two would've kissed and made up by now."

"Well, you're wrong," she snapped. "I haven't seen fit to forgive him yet and he hasn't plucked up the nerve to come and say sorry to me yet."

"Ugh, I never thought I'd be trying to promote more of you two making goo-goo eyes, but come on!" he yelled. "It's one little fight you two have had. Just go say you're sorry and get it over with. I'd much rather have lovey Twilight to grumpy one any day."

"Why should I be the one to apologise?" she demanded. "He said my lecture was boring, the one I worked so hard on! He should be the one apologising to me!"

"Twilight, this is Dusk we're talking about. He'd never raise a hoof against you and you know it. I bet it was like pulling teeth, for him having to say that to you."

"I don't know, he seemed pretty fine saying it to me."

"Come on! I saw it and I thought it was boring. You worked hard on it, I know, but these ponies are expecting to see a show, not get something they could get if they went back to school," he pointed out. "There, I said it like that, but I'm sure he tried to say it in the nicest way he could."

Twilight kept back her retort and actually thought for a moment. It had been kept buried in her anger, only remembering their fight and the things they'd both said. Now, she took the time to remember before that. It had only been from Ray's prompting that Dusk had said something, when before he'd been very reluctant to say anything at all. In the end, it had been her that made the accusation that set this thing off, that had led to them fighting about it and not talking since.

She'd helped to rile up that anger, that rarely seen anger that had surfaced there… along with the briefest flash of jade green that she had seen in the depths of his eyes. Something else that she only briefly recalled before repressing, for she didn't want to think about the monster she knew those eyes belonged to…

"I… I guess you're right, Spike," she finally said. "I probably overreacted a bit to what he said. Even if I wasn't happy, that didn't warrant some of the things I said to him. I don't even feel that glad I said them in the first place… I shouldn't have."

"I thought as much," nodded Spike. "He's probably thinking the same thing too. Now, you just need to go find him, so you can stop trying to kill me with your gaze."

"Even so, that's not all there is to it." She sighed again. "I'm not just angry at him, I'm angry at myself too. I really do regret saying all of that to him and I know that he's just as unhappy about it. How can I say I'm sorry after all that and for that to be enough? We've never done anything like that before."

"Well, I guess there's really only one way to find out." Spike jumped off the desk, crossed over to the door and opened it. "Go on and discover it yourself."

Twilight stared at the open door for a few moments, considering if she really could do this, before rising to her hooves and taking a deep breath.

"Okay… I suppose I have to try." She stopped at the threshold. "Thanks for the talk, Spike."

"Don't sweat it. Now, get going, before you yell at me for causing a draft."

She laughed a little at his good nature, but immediately felt her nerves build as she stepped out of the door and into the streets. The trees were truly stripped of their leaves now, a far colder chill having set in the air and little flakes of snow were beginning to drift gently to the ground, in the midst of covering the earth in a beautiful layer of white.

Her pace slowed as she recalled the route to Dusk's home, her nerves slowing her down significantly She tried to go over in her head what exactly she was going to say to him, but nothing seemed even remotely adequate. How would he be feeling about all of this? Would he still be angry… or had something worse happened perhaps?

Left turn, down this street. Would just saying 'I'm sorry' do? No, of course not. Straight ahead now. Perhaps just something sincere? But what, exactly? What could she say that would truly show that she was sorry? Did she really want to apologise? That was stupid question, of course she did. Even if he had offended her, she really had missed him and she hated this distance between them. So, why was she feeling worse the closer she got.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she walked into somepony going the other way.

"Oh, sorry about that, I… I didn't see where I was going," she apologised.

"It's perfectly all right miss… oh." She froze at the same time he did. The very pony she was coming to see.

Neither of them spoke. Contrary to the many ideas and thoughts she always seemed to have, Twilight's mind was completely blank right now, like his presence had wiped her head clean of anything she could say.

He was struggling too, shifting nervously on his hooves and unable to look her in the eye for longer than a second. Now and again, he looked like he was going to say something, but seemed to stop himself and keep silent. He obviously wasn't going to speak up.

"Um… hey, Dusk."

"Hello… Twilight," he returned. "I was… um… just coming… to find you."

"So was I."

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

Silence fell again. They'd found each other and just didn't know what to say. Finally, they managed to find their words, but ended up speaking at the same time.

"Twilight, I wanted to…"

"Dusk, I just wanted to…"

They laughed a little awkwardly, if only to make some effort to ease the tension.

"You first," he invited.

"Don't… you want to go?"

"I can… I can wait," he insisted.

"Okay then." She thought for a moment before continuing. "Okay… well… as you know, I wasn't exactly… pleased by what you said about my… performance. Be that as it may, that neither warranted, nor required my… accusation towards you or the things that… I said about you. I was just… well, you know how I was. And I want to say that… I'm sorry. For what I said to you. I'm just… sorry."

It wasn't exactly the most eloquent or well-thought out of apologies, but she hoped it would be enough. However, while he did look partially relieved, he still looked guilty.

"Twilight I'm… thankful for this but… I need to be entirely honest with you. When… when you did make that comment on my own magic, I admit I was… well, a little annoyed myself. I suppose that what little there is of an ego might be developing because… well, it stung me, a bit. B-but I don't know if it was enough to make me want to sting you back or if I was just being honest, I just… I don't know. But… I'm sorry for what I said to, about your lecture. I hate this, this… rift between us, just because… you were honest with me not to pander to my need for praise. That was far more… important. I should have remembered that…"

His head was bowed completely now, unable to look at her. While Twilight was surprised to hear this, she didn't feel angry about it anymore. Seeing him now, like this, reminded her of what drew her to him. His gentle nature, yet also his willingness to stand by what he felt was important to him, even if he might be terrified to do so.

She approached him and gently touched his cheek. "I guess we were both a little out of line."

"I… I don't… I mean I…" He stammered to a standstill and fell silent again.

This had gone on long enough. "Dusk, do you accept my apology?"

"Of course, every time. And… you?"

"I do, yes." She let herself smile and hug him. "I've hated this too. I really am sorry, about what I said."

"I… I am too. I'm sorry I… I didn't see you sooner."

"You saw me now, that's what matters." She giggled a little to try and comfort him. "It took you long enough though."

"Actually, um… Ray was the one who got me to move," he said sheepishly. "He practically kicked me out of my house and told me to get over here and stop making him cringe so much from how miserable we obviously were."

Twilight laughed all the more at this. "Well, I'm appreciative for his efforts." She kissed him on the lips. "There, now we're not fighting anymore."

"Good. I'm… relieved," he said, blushing. "But I… I'm told that fighting is natural for couples."

"Let's not become experts then." She pulled back and this time, his eyes met hers. "You hate fighting."

"I know but, looking back… my performance wasn't exactly creating much depth."

"And, I suppose, mine wasn't all that engaging in its content."

"We still have that problem then." An idea occurred to her. "Unless… we both do something to improve."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you have something to improve and work on, so do I. Why try and do them alone… when we could do it together?"

His eyes went wide at the idea. "B-b-but we've already registered as separate acts."

"I'm sure they'll accommodate us. We still have one more day to get ready." She held up her half of their necklace. "What do you say? Partners?"

After only a second of thought, Dusk smiled and allowed them to connect. "Nothing would please me more, Miss Sparkle."

"Then it's settled." She laughed out of sheer relief that this incident was now behind them. "Oh wait, what about your friend, Ray? Wasn't he helping you?"

"He was." He looked rather troubled now. "I hope he doesn't mind too much about the change in arrangements..."

As it turned out, he didn't, as they discovered when they found him at the door to Dusk's house, standing like a guard dog and grinning like a loon when he saw that Dusk hadn't come back alone.

"I'll be fine," he assured them. "I was happy to help you out, but I don't mind if it means you two stop avoiding each other." A sheepish smile echoed their first meeting. "You two are way too good a couple to ever fight."

"Thank you for your understanding," Twilight said. "And thank you for… giving him the boot."

"No problem, I was happy to." She saw him stow away some kind of metal pipe and start to leave. "Just a question before I go?"

"Being?" replied Dusk.

"This talent show you're doing… are all of your friends going to be in it?" he asked, looking a little nervous.

"They are, yes."

"Right… including uh… Fluttershy?"

"Including her." He cocked his head to one side. "Why, what's your interest in her?"

"Nothing, nothing!" he stammered quickly. "Just um… she doesn't seem like the type to uh… perform, that's all."

Now, it was Dusk and Twilight's turn to smile. "I assure you, she'll be fine, depending on her audience of course."

"Right… um… good. Well… good luck guys!" he wished loudly, dashing off.

"That was strange," remarked Twilight.

"No stranger than any encounter with Pinkie." Dusk looked thoughtful. "What do you think his interest in Fluttershy was?"

"I have a good idea. Do you?"

"I think so," agreed Dusk, still keeping that smile on his face as they began their renewed plans.

---

On the night of the talent show, as the piano music drew to a close, Fluttershy took several nervous, shaky bows before scurrying off stage and taking a breath of relief, while also allowing herself a grin. She'd done it! She'd performed on stage and hadn't run away!

Then, she remembered she'd have to do it again soon enough, only for a lot longer and cringed. But admittedly, not as much as she would have done.

"Well done, little sister," whispered Dusk, who was dressed in an old time shirt and waistcoat, with a red neckerchief. "I knew you could do it."

"Thank you," she whispered back. "I was nervous, scared but… I did it anyway. It was… fun, once I got into it. I think everypony did well though."

"Applejack's skills with a rope were certainly impressive and Rainbow flew as excellently as ever," noted Dusk.

"I agree. Pinkie was… well, she certainly got a lot in there." She giggled at the memory. "I didn't know she could balance on a ball, juggle, tell jokes and play an accordion all at once and then jumping over a row of flaming carts."

"Quite remarkable, yes, but I have great admiration for Rarity. Performing that entire Shakesmare monologue was very impressive and her costumes were spectacular."

"I thought so too. I like yours too," she added. "You're up next then?"

"We are," he affirmed. "Things look a little better now and I think we'll be able to pull it off."

"I hope you do. Break a leg," she wished, going to take a place further back so she could see better.

"Thank you and Fluttershy?" He had a mysterious smile on his face. "I think there's somepony in the audience who would greatly benefit from a greeting from you."

"Um… who?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

Dusk just smiled and stood ready to take his place on the stage, Fluttershy rushing to the back of the hall where some of the others were standing too, to see what they had in store.

He walked out a few seconds later, everypony falling silent. He looked nervous, but he managed to keep himself calm as he bowed.

"Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts," he greeted. "Tonight, myself and Twilight Sparkle will be showing you a story, about a city in the clouds. Much like the magnificent Cloudsdale, but far more spectacular, far grander… and much more sinister. The story of a stallion, who ventured into the city, to find a girl that would rid him of his dark past. Their journey, their hardship, their friendship, together through the city… of Cloudumbia…"

His narration ended as a gentle, soothing music began to play. The ground beneath them seemed to take the quality of clouds, white and sparkling, tall buildings rising up from them and eliciting many gasps from the onlookers. Fluttershy noticed that these seemed a little better than Dusk's normal colour shapes, more defined and detailed, as were the ponies, smiling and happy, that began to walk the streets he created.

She didn't have much time to think about this, for he started to sing and walk slowly through the crowds of ponies, looking around in search of something.

Oh come on away to the city
A kingdom to behold
Where the bluest skies they float on by
The streets all paved in gold
Where under the smiles fair and pretty
Are teeth so very white
Into the bones of our burdened necks they bite

Baptised in the water
You're draining the well
You built up your heaven
On the back of hell
Divine is the daughter
The dream that you sell
You built up your heaven
On the back of hell

The music became more sinister now, making Fluttershy cower a little. The ponies were no longer happy and smiling, but depressed and miserable, surrounded by what looked like some sort of slum or shantytown, with dilapidated buildings and barrels of fire which they gathered around. Dusk kept up the song, speaking to the other ponies, who seemed to rise from their stupor.

Breakin' our backs
On breakin' down stones
Raisin' up buildings
Breakin' down bones
Work all the night
And we work all the day
Don't get a choice man
Don't get a say

Well there's a stormcloud stirrin' now
Revolt!
There's a stormcloud stirrin' now
Revolt!

"Tear it down!" he commanded, the ponies he'd rallied charging off. The buildings crumbled and ponies fought each other in the streets, punching and kicking each other viciously. The ponies who'd been exploited by the richer ponies, now fighting back.

Even so, Fluttershy was scared by the display, while Dusk also looked to fight ponies that came at him too.

The filthy streets and the calloused feet
And bloodshot tired eyes
A floating haven for the craven
Nestled in the skies
Well up and out and away with ya
There's a fight outside your doors
The shining pride of Equestria
Is a nation up for war

Revolt!

Baptised in the water
You're draining the well
You built up your heaven
On the back of hell
Divine is the daughter
The dream that you sell
You built up your heaven
On the back of hell

Suddenly, it all froze in time. Now, a giant bit had appeared next Dusk. When he flipped it on heads, the whole city flipped too, returning to appear peaceful again, then back to fighting when he flipped to tails, then halfway in-between when he flipped it on its side, halfway between.

The hybrid face of time and space
And all that's in between
Dimensions twist and turn amidst
The whims of one foreseen...

Then, it all faded away and they were surrounded by cold, metal walls. Out of the darkness appeared Twilight, who was wearing a beautiful, blue dress and reading a book, looking quite trapped and miserable. She looked up and started to sing too, the music becoming gentle again, as Dusk started to approach her slowly.

Songbird take me home

I am lonely wherever I go
Sanctuary is all that know

And I dream of the sky
Broken clouds drifting by
And I dream of the sky
My utopian lie…

They sang together now, Twilight's horn also glowing as they neared. When they touched, eeven Fluttershy gasped as the metal walls faded away again. The shapes didn't look like just shapes now. It was like all the buildings had come to life before their eyes, perfectly defined and captured, while they both walked the city together, Dusk singing solo for the final verse.

And I take to the skies
With my only friend
Every alicorn
Begins at the end

Then, he was gone again, leaving Twilight alone, the city fading away around her. She lay in the middle of the stage, returning to her metal prison, singing sadly while the darkness encompassed her completely.

I am lonely wherever I go…

The lights came on again and, after a moment of stunned silence, everypony cheered the loudest they had done all night, while Twilight and Dusk took their bows, holding hooves and smiling as brightly as their magic had been before.

"Whoa! I mean, just… whoa!" That was all Rainbow could say afterwards. "I've seen your magic before, but that was… whoa!"

"They actually looked real. I could see every grain in the wood of the buildings, every patch of dust on the brick in those last moments," awed Rarity. "However did you manage that?"

They held up their necklace halves in response. "I cast a spell on it that would allow me to channel my magical energy into Dusk's magic, in order to pull off that greater level of detail."

"It was wonderful, I loved it!" put in Fluttershy. "You two were just great!"

"Yeah, glad ta see ya ain't as awkward as a rabbit in a snake hole," noted Applejack.

"Well, we realised that in a relationship, you may have some things you may not wholly agree with concerning the other, but…"

"…instead of criticizing and getting upset about it," said Dusk, taking it up, "you should both work together to try and improve upon it. If you can't change it, you should care enough about each other to learn to live with it."

"In the end, you might end up creating something a lot better than you could have ever done if you'd just fought about it, which isn't good for either of you, because it just makes it worse."

"Awww, I knew you two would be fine!" Pinkie hugged them both warmly. "Next stop: Canterlot!"

"Hopefully, we'll be ready for it," wished Dusk.

"Of course, you're gonna knock them dead there!" Fluttershy froze at the sound of the voice of Dusk's new friend, Ray. "Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that."

"Ray…"

"I'm kidding, it's fine." He gave Dusk and Twilight hoof bumps and grinned wider. "I mean really, what did you need me for?"

Fluttershy felt butterflies in her stomach again, like she had when she'd first met him. It was worse than she normally did when she met new ponies, even worse than when she'd met Dusk, the first stallion she'd spoken to besides her dad. She didn't know what it was, or why, but… it was the reason why she hadn't even said a full sentence to him on the night of his party.

Hoping he wouldn't feel too angry about it, she approached nervously and cleared her throat softly. Remarkably, he heard her and she saw his composure waver when he saw her.

"Um I'm… sorry to interrupt but I…" She couldn't even look him the eye. What a fool she must look. "I just um… wanted to… well… please don't be mad."

He blinked in surprise. "What? Why would I be mad?"

"Because… of at the party I… I mean, I was… I didn't even… sorry." That was all she could manage, all she could think of. She knew it was nowhere near enough.

But he didn't sound angry. "Hey, don't worry. Dusk told me that you're kind of… well, shy. Fitting really, considering. I didn't mean to scare you. I just… want to be your friend."

He wasn't mad. He didn't think she was some pathetic, quivering wimp. He still wanted to be her friend. She didn't know why she was so happy about it, but she knew she had to take this opportunity while she still had it. She didn't want to disappoint her big brother or make his new friend think she was weird.

"I'd… I'd love to be your friend. I mean I… I would like to be your friend, um, Ray… I mean, if you don't mind, that is."

"I don't mind at all." When she looked up, she saw he was smiling. There was something special about that smile, something that didn't make her hide behind her mane again. "I really liked your singing. It was… beautiful."

"Thank you. That's… kind of you to say so." Well, she'd said more than one full sentence now.

It might not seem like much, but to her, it was like clearing a mountain for her. For some reason, she felt that he was thinking the same about her as well…

Author's Note:

There we go, didn't have to wait long, did we?
Next up, Hearth's Warming Eve!

Comments

[SaxPon3]

RayxFluttershy? Take all of my yes, bake it into a pie, and eat it for dessert!

[Music-and-magic]

2486926
Lol I admit, it'll be interesting to see how he fits in. We don't have a real good sense on what the others think of him.

BTW, I like the new cover.

[X 865]

Another ship has set sail!!!!!!!!!!!!
And good choice on the music, that was a really beautiful song to have Dusk and Twilight sing together.

[SaxPon3]

2487580 Why thank you. It was loads of fun making it.

[AlphatheGriffin17]

2487974 I have already answered this comment and please don't use such crude language in my comments section.
Although, I must comment on the creativity of your criticism. Nice work. They were only feature favours for fans and I promise you, Ray is the last one. Although he's actually main character, the rest were either mine or my friends.

[laser68]

When i first saw a new stallion i was like dammit there does not need to be more. Then 10 seconds later i am like oh hes a bro. Then he meets fluttershy and i am like ............hes a bro /) NEED more males. Also awsome fic

[MrLucksman]

"Learn your roles well and break a leg.

That quotation is unneeded.

"And I get to be the narrator! The mysterious voice who knows all and sees all, the actions of everypony dictated by his words, as he moulds them like clay in his claws. All the power, all the control that I'll have!" He laughed in a sinister sort of way, until he realized everypony was staring at him. "I mean uh… this could be fun."

Realized*

"Hey, no problem. I'm happy to assist! Besides, I need something to keep me occupied around here." He seemed to be thinking about what they'd done so far "...yeah, the way this is going, you're performance will definitely be flashy, to say the least. My kind of show! And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you have planned for that magic of yours. Some talent!"

A quotation needs to be added here.

"My pleasure. Anything to help my friends, one of the few things I'm good at..." Too late, Dusk realised his mistake. "Oh dear."

Again, needs a quotation.

"Likewise! Nice to see a pony around here who's got spunk!" He blinked and looked around."Err, no offense..."

Why can't I hold all these quotations?

The filthy streets and the calloused feet

Needs to be changed to hooves for the sake of ponifying.

That's all I found on this chapter. Also, that Bioshock Infinite crossover you did, it was SO AWESOME !

[Stellar_]

"This talent show you're doing… are all of your friends going to be in it?" he asked, looking a little nervous.
"They are, yes."
"Right… including uh… Fluttershy?"
"Including her." He cocked his head to one side. "Why, what's your interest in her?"
"Nothing, nothing!" he stammered quickly. "Just um… she doesn't seem like the type to uh… perform, that's all."

THE SHIP HAs BEGUN!

I must thank you, Alpha, for getting me into MiricleofSound. I first heard about them from your story, and been hooked ever since!