Dusk Dawns

by AlphatheGriffin17

Baby Cakes

Dusk bowed his head, trying to cover up the grimace that had taken over his expression in the library that day. The growling had started again in his mind, but like before he suppressed it, kept it quiet, like he always had. But it was fresher, more obvious when it did arrive, like he had been given strength.

He'd been coping just fine before. When he felt that he was just a dark memory that would remain forever in his mind. Ponies talked about him, a few had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him and he had the memories, but as long as he kept the connection secret to all but a few, then he could carry on with life as normal. He'd still have his friends, his friends, his happiness and they'd never have the pain of remembering what he'd done.

But that had changed. Now, he just didn't know…

The periods in which he could hear Blackhole Doom growling in the depths of his mind were becoming more frequent, as were the flashes of memories that came with them. These had been given added fuel by recent events, the anger that had taken over him in that brief instant and his hooves crashing ruthlessly against another pony's face. He had hurt Twilight and he had been a brute, but that didn't make him any better.

The changes were small, but they were there. Again, they weren't getting any stronger now, held back by his own determination not to allow him into the forefront of his mind again, but he had allowed him to grow stronger in that moment yesterday, enough for him to gain some more hoofing in the depths of his mind. He could still keep in check, but it would need more effort, might be more noticeable than before.

If that was the case then… who had noticed?

"Dusk?" Just like yesterday, Twilight's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Are you feeling okay?"

He silenced Blackhole again, put on a smile and turned to face her.

"I'm… I'm fine, Twi, d-d-don't worry," he tried to say casually. "Are you ready to summarize your reports yet?"

She shook her head. "Not yet and besides, I think there's something more important than that right now."

"What… what do you mean?" he asked.

"You know what I mean. You're still not good at lying, so I wonder why you even try," she added lightly, though her eyes said that she wasn't joking. "What's really wrong?"

"I um… really, it's nothing," he attempted to say. "I'm really fine…"

She wasn't convinced. "I think we need to have a talk. In private."

He tried to say something to deflect this, but the look she gave him was enough to silence him. She wasn't going to let this go and he wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise. Whether or not she knew what it was, he couldn't say, but, if there was a chance she didn't… he didn't want her to know of all ponies… not her.

"As you wish, Miss Sparkle," he replied, though in a more formal tone than usual.

"Good. Come on, let's go into the west section." She turned to the baby dragon. "Spike, get those notes written up and come find me when you're finished."

"Right, sure thing." He didn't pay much attention to them leaving, trying to awkwardly stick one to his arm while they left.

Dusk could feel the tension mounting while Twilight led the way, ushered him into the deserted section of the library and shut the door behind him. Even though it was just a gentle click, it sounded to him like an echoing slam. She had him trapped now and there was no way he could get out of this, but there might still be a chance.

She stood there for a while, took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"Right. Dusk, we need to talk," she said firmly.

"About… about what?"

"I think you do know what, about what happened in Canterlot."

"You mean… about Hard Edge?" he asked.

She opened her mouth, but closed it again, her eyes shifting around nervously. "In a sense, yes. I just… wasn't expecting anything like that, I guess."

She was being rather vague, a little unlike her, but if he could put it off discussing what she had called him in here to discuss, that was good.

"Oh… right. Sorry about Hard Edge," he said unsurely. "I didn't know… he would try anything like that."

"Neither did I," she admitted. "I knew a little about him from my brother and apparently, he's always been like that."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean he's the kind of pony who has trouble with authority and thinks he's Celestia's gift to the world, his words," she added, with an awkward giggle.

"He did say as much before he attacked," he noted.

"Exactly and it only got worse after his efforts against Discord, from what I heard," she informed. "His pride obviously means a lot to him and I think being beaten by you just pushed him over the edge, pun not intended. I think he just wanted to get back at you, in whatever way you could."

"He certainly seemed like it, not meaning to sound harsh towards him," he put in.

"I think you have a right to be. I mean, from the way he treated you in training and the fact that he deliberately attacked you," she said. "I know I would be more than a little angry at him, if I were you."

"I already exerted enough anger on him," he mumbled, though keeping Doom out. "You know how I feel about… that sort of thing."

"Yeah… even so though," she said quickly, "my parents seemed grateful for your efforts in… detaining him."

"Indeed." Though I really wish I hadn't, he thought. "Good thing your mother kept that first aid kit handy."

"Yeah. When I was younger, she was always worried about me hurting myself in some way, so she kept me away from what she called 'rough and tumble' games. I think she would have attached a leash to me, if she could," she giggled again.

"I think she almost did again, after last night." He smiled a little fondly. "I was a little surprised she tended to me as well…"

She shook her head, though she kept her smile. "Dusk, she might have disapproved of you a little at first, but she wasn't going to leave you to suffer after being injured."

"Fair point." Though maybe she should have left me to suffer. "You think I've… won them over then?"

She nodded confidently. "That's a definite. Even my brother was better after all of that, so I think I believe him when he says you two have made peace."

"Me too. Cadence was nice too."

"Yes, but you had her convinced from the start. She has an eye for this sort of thing."

"I would think so. Your mother is a good cook."

"I know, you said so last night."

"I did?" He lost his surety, knowing they were running out of things to talk about. "Sorry, I forgot…"

"Don't worry about it." Her smile faltered too, eventually changing to a look of resignation. "But… I don't think that's all that happened."

Dusk felt his hopes dwindle again. They'd been putting off the discussion, even her for some reason, even though she was the one who had called him in here. He didn't know why, but he'd been silently grateful. But now they'd reached the bottom of the barrel for discussion and no choice but to confront the noticeable emptiness."

"Indeed… I… I thought as much."

"Yeah…" She cleared her throat noticeably. "So… what did happen in that alley?"

"We… we fought. He attacked you and… we fought," he said uneasily.

"I know that but… you don't fight. You hate it."

"He hurt you… I didn't want him to… to do it again."

"I know and I appreciate that you wanted to protect me, but… that was different," she said, after a long silence.

Even though he knew the answer, he asked, "Different how?"

"I mean… you got angry. I saw it, really angry." She was trying to keep her focus on him, but she was struggling. "I've… I've never seen you act like that before. You just… lost it."

"I was… angry that he hurt you…" Even if I might have as well… like I did before…

"I know that, but again, I've never seen you… behave like that… it was… it was like…" She trailed off, unable to continue.

Again, Dusk wondered about her behaviour. She seemed just as nervous about this as he was. He didn't know why, but it seemed like she was holding something back. It looked like she wanted to say something else, but she wasn't sure how to say it. There was something else in her eyes now, a kind of knowing… and fear.

"Like what?" he dared to ask.

"Like… like something else that I saw before once…"

He knew he shouldn't ask, that this might be a chance to end this, but he did it regardless. "What… what was that something?"

Her eyes turned to the floor, opening and closing her mouth several times, each time starting to say something but then giving up. Though Dusk wanted this to end, to just go back into normal routine and forget about all of this, he felt that he wanted to know.

"Twilight, what was it?" he asked again.

"Dusk… I… want to… I mean, I…" She silenced herself and took another deep breath, looking him in the eye. "Dusk, I kno-"

"Twilight!" Spike barged in through the door covered in notes, making them both jump. "I need help! I'm running out of limbs to stick!"

Twilight looked from Spike to Dusk, apparently in two minds whether or not to continue their discussion. In the end, she appeared to decide that she couldn't, now that other ears were listening and nodded in understanding.

"All right Spike, we're coming," she said, moving out of the wing.

"Great. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can stop feeling like a fridge." He looked curiously at them. "What were you two talking about anyway?"

They exchanged another look with each other, though Dusk couldn't really make out what Twilight was feeling. A mixture of emotions were swimming in her eyes and on her face. Fear, trepidation, a little bit of anger and… pity.

"Nothing much, just about what we did in Canterlot," she told him convincingly, for that wasn't entirely a lie.

"Oh yeah, I can see why." He smiled approvingly at Dusk. "Great work with Night and Velvet, especially her. Boy she is really fussy, kind of a neat freak. Always wants everything organised and put in the right place…"

"Ahem." Twilight was glaring at him now.

"Um… not that there's anything wrong with that," he chuckled awkwardly. "Right, we gonna get this over with."

"Good point, let's go," agreed Dusk, following him in.

He knew that neither he or Twilight were going to talk about this and neither of them really wanted to, for which he was silently thankful again. They were just going to go back to how things were, just like he wanted.

Keep calm and carry on… and ignore the noise in your head. He had to have faith that he could cope with it. He had before, why not now? Why not…?

They were just about to start work, Dusk being glad to have something else to distract him, when they received some unexpected visitors, in the form of Mr and Mrs Cake and their children. Both of them were looking quite hopeful as they entered, as well as a little tentative.

"Twilight, I was wondering if we could ask a favour of you?" proposed Mr Cake.

"Or Dusk, if he can," added Mrs Cake.

"Why, of course," said Twilight pleasantly.

"What do you need?" asked Dusk.

"Would you be able to babysit Pound and Pumpkin today?" they both asked.

Dusk looked at the two infants, giggling away under their parent's chins. Hard to believe it had been two months since they had been born, before Doom had surfaced again…

[hr]Dusk was waiting in the hospital room with the rest of the girls, having just been hurriedly pulled here by Pinkie Pie. Mrs Cup Cake, who had been pregnant for quite a while, had at last gone into labour and was ready to deliver her child. They, of course, weren't allowed in the room, but the delivery had been successful and their new-born child was now ready to be revealed to the world. Or at least, to the seven of them looking through the screen.

While the girls were all excited by the prospect of the event, excitedly talking to each other about it, Dusk was slightly less caught up in it. He was happy for the Cakes of course and it wasn't like he hated babies, but he just wasn't as ecstatic about it as the others were. Perhaps it was just something to do with differences in gender.

He had to admit though, even if he didn't share the same kind of feelings towards babies as the rest of his friends did, he had to appreciate the beauty and wonder of a new child being born. Years ago, that would have been him in there, small, innocent, uncaring of the larger world. He'd had no idea what was going to happen to him, what he was going to be and he probably didn't really care.

Today, he was happy, for the most part and had become more than he or his parents would have thought. That was the real beauty of it, the sheer potential that every baby filly and colt in those cribs had. They could become anything they wanted to, anything they set their minds on. Being born into the world was like a blank canvas, just waiting to be filled.

He wondered how his own might look…

"Can you believe the new baby is finally here?" Applejack was saying.

"Cup Cake and Carrot Cake must be so proud!" agreed Twilight.

"I wonder if it's a filly or a colt?" pondered Rarity.

Pinkie was probably the most excited of all. "I wanna see the new baby pony! I wanna see! Which one is it?!"

Applejack must have seen Dusk's face and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sugarcube. Mus' be pretty humiliatin' fer ya, spendin' the day with a bunch-a mares goin' all crazy over a baby."

"It's fine, I'm just sorry I'm not as… well, enthusiastic as the rest of you," he confessed.

"There's no need to apologise, darling," Rarity assured. "To each their own, after all. At least you're polite enough to show some interest."

"I do have some interest, just not a lot of it."

Pinkie gasped dramatically. "How can you not be excited about new babies being born? New friends to play with? Those adorable little faces!"

He backed a little away from her. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but that's just how I feel about it."

"You mean you'd never get excited about new babies?"

"Not necessarily. Perhaps if they were my own children, I would be more excited… that and sweating buckets, while also chewing my hooves," he added.

"Well, I hope you wash those hooves afterwards, I have to hold them, you know," put in Twilight, winking and blushing at him.

He returned the gesture, moving closer to her. "Rest assured, I always keep my hooves clean for you."

"Ohhhhh right," nodded Pinkie. "I get that then. Once you and Twilight have your kids, I'll be sure to see if that's how you react."

"What?!" Both his and Twilight's blushes deepened now. "We're not… I mean we don't… we're just…"

Fortunately, they were saved from their ordeal by Mr Cake arriving to reveal their newborns. There were some rings around his eyes and he looked like he needed a shave from the stubble that had been growing, but his eyes were shining with pride when he pulled back the covers on one of the cribs.

"Meet our son, Pound Cake."

The tiny pony, fast asleep and peaceful, yawned and snuggled further into his blankets. All of the girls faces melted at the sight of him and even Dusk's smile widened a little. He also noted, while he was yawning, a pair of tiny wings had stretched out as well, though he decided not to comment on this.

"...and our daughter, Pumpkin Cake."

The second too had a feature that he wasn't expecting, in the form of a horn protruding from her head. The others also seemed to reflect his confusion, but Pinkie was ecstatic.

"Two new foals for me to play with? That's two, two, two times the fun! This is the greatest day ever!" Within a second, she was right next to them with a party hat and blower. "We need to celebrate your birthday, babies, 'cause you were just born today! Woohoo!"

"Shhh. The babies are trying to sleep," whispered the nurse sharply.

"But I was just-"

"Shhh."

"But-"

"Shhh!"

She waited until the nurse was gone before sidling up to the twins. "Happy happy birthday, to you and you today-"

The nurse, however, must have had ears a bat would be envious of, for she returned, glared at Pinkie and pushed her back out. Ignoring what would be viewed as typical Pinkie behaviour, Applejack voiced the question the rest of them were no doubt thinking.

"Now how in thunderation is one-a them twins a Pegasus, and the other one a unicorn?"

"I confess, I'm rather curious myself," put in Dusk. "Perhaps it might be something further back in the family."

"Easy. My great-great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup Cake's great aunt's second cousin twice removed was a Pegasus. That makes sense, right?" he asked unsurely.

Dusk tried to construct some kind of family tree with this information, gave up after a few minutes and just shrugged an affirmative.

"Aw yeah, heh, just you wait" Rainbow cackled." Once little Pound Cake there gets his wings going, he'll be all over the place."

"And be careful around Pumpkin Cake," warned Twilight.

"Baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go," added Rarity.

Dusk smiled a little as he remembered something that his parents told him about his own magic surges. A sign of his coming colour magic, the resulting magical shockwave had turned everything in the house a different colour, his parents included. It had taken a full day for the effects to be reversed and even then there were still some odd colour blotches in places.

One of the few good things he actually remembered from them…

"Quick! Make a wish and blow out your candles!" Pinkie had snuck back into the room with a cake for the babies." Which is easy, 'cause there are zero candles! You are zero years old, after all!"

"Shhh!" The force of the nurse shushing her pushed the cake into her face, giving her a frosting beard and a sheepish smile.

They'd left not long after, Twilight and Dusk still not willing to discuss Pinkie's implication before…

---

Dusk was brought out of his reminiscing by Twilight, who shook her head regretfully.

"I have to finish this report for the Princess summarizing all my other reports to the Princess," she said, gesturing to Spike.

"You wouldn't be willing to, would you Dusk?" asked Mr Cake.

"I'd better be here to help," he said. "Besides I… I don't think I'd be cut out for looking after foals. Sorry…"

They hung their heads in disappointment, trudging out of the library.

"I wanna babysit! Pick me!" piped up Pinkie, cradling a book with a diaper on it and dashing after them.

Dusk noticed how they ignored her volunteering. "Why don't they take her up on that? She's great with foals."

"Great with playing with them, she might not be the same with looking after them," pointed out Twilight. "Well, let's get on with this. Dusk, I'll need you to help me compress these reports."

"Right you are, Miss Sparkle," he complied, in a lighter tone, glad that their upcoming disaster had been avoided.

They continued on easily enough throughout the day. Because he was easily distracted by Twilight and Spike's presence, as well as the work they gave him, he was able to ignore the growling in his mind to at least keep a smile on his face and stop them worrying. When he was alone though, or if he didn't have anything else to do… that would be a different story.

But Twilight helped though. He didn't know why, just something about her helped to keep him at bay, hearing her laugh or seeing her smile…

They were about halfway through when there was a knock at the door. Obviously somepony who didn't understand that a library was a public institute and didn't need knocking, Dusk went to answer it and the pony there helped bring a smile to his face.

"Good day to you, Ray," he greeted, allowing him in. "What brings you here?"

"You think I'm here for something? Is seeing some good friends of mine not enough to bring me here?" he joked, grinning at him.

"You can never be too sure," remarked Dusk.

"Fair enough." He saw Spike with all of the notes on his body. "Usually, the fridge is the place for those things."

"That's what I said, but apparently we need to be in here for this," groaned Spike.

"Of course," said Twilight, like it was obvious. "We study in the library, we eat in the kitchen. We can't have a conflict of purpose."

Spike rolled his eyes and wobbled a little. "Yeah… wouldn't want that."

"If you're busy, I can come back later when you've finished… whatever this is," Ray said, with a slight chuckle.

"No, it's fine. Take a break, Spike." The dragon loosened his limbs and stretched them thankfully while Twilight went to talk to Ray. "Is there something you need, Ray?"

"I just wanted to ask something. Rainbow's invited me to see the Wonderbolt's air show in Cloudsdale today and she said you knew a spell to help ponies walk on clouds."

"I remember that spell, though it's been a while since I used it," she added thoughtfully. "I'll have to look around for the book, but when I find it, I'd be more than happy to perform the spell for you."

"Great! I'm kinda looking forward to this," he said, with evident joy before taking out some bits. "How much would you want for that?"

Both Dusk and Twilight looked at him surprise. The former spoke first. "You… want to pay for this?"

"That's what the bag's for," he answered. "I know how this works. Nothing is for free, right?"

"Ray, this isn't a paid for service I'm providing here," Twilight giggled. "You don't have to pay for this."

Ray appeared confused. "Huh? I… I don't get it."

"What's not to get? I'm your friend and I'm doing you a favour. You don't need to pay for something like that, that's not what friends do," she explained. "Don't you know that?"

The stallion appeared a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I've been… kind of lacking when it comes to friends, you know…"

"Oh, right… I forgot."

Admittedly, Dusk had to. Because he got on so well, for the most part, with the group, it was easy to forget that, up until this point, he'd never had a group to be part of. He'd never had friends and only rarely did it show… this was one of those times.

He shrugged off the apology, smiling easily. "Don't worry about it. So… I really don't have to pay for this?"

"You really don't," she confirmed.

"Wow… that's… that's nice. Dusk got the feeling that was quite an understatement for him and smiled all the more. "Thanks, Twilight I… I appreciate it."

She returned it, equally as warmly. "No problem. You wait here, I'll go find the book. I won't be long."

"So," began Dusk, after she'd gone, "do you want to have a conversation for free or would you rather pay for that too?"

"Alright, alright, I know," he chuckled. "Hey, I've always had to use my bits to get what I needed, gimme a break."

"I know," said Dusk, more sympathetically. "Just one of the many perks of friendship. Along with going to an air show."

"I know! I was really surprised when Rainbow said she'd gotten me a ticket too!" he confessed. "I mean, I knew she liked me, but still… wow!"

"Wow indeed," agreed Dusk. "I hope you have a good time, Cloudsdale is a true marvel and the Wonderbolts always put on a good show."

"So I hear, cause… you know, I've never actually seen them. Or been to Cloudsdale, for that matter. Mainly because of lack of wings, that's kind of a biggie," he said, gesturing to his back. "You've been to Cloudsdale then?"

"I certainly have and you're definitely in for a treat."

"And this spell? It does work, right?" he asked unsurely. "I mean, I don't wanna wind up falling through the clouds to my severe injury and/or death."

"Don't worry, it does work and Twilight knows her magic. Have faith, you're in good hooves," he assured.

"Right, good, just checking." He looked around at the library. "There are certainly a lot of books here."

For the second time, Ray made Dusk blink in surprise. "There tends to be in a library, you know."

"I know that!" he insisted. "It's just that… you know, it's your marefriend's home and all, but I thought… it was just that. It's just weird, that she works here and lives here too… I just thought she lived here."

"I suppose I can understand that," replied Dusk, still a little confused at his reasoning.

"Right…" Ray chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "So… what are y-"

He suddenly stopped talking and started hissing through his teeth, cradling his head and rubbing it. He appeared to be whispering something under his breath, but Dusk couldn't quite make it out. He was, however, concerned.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry… just… just a small headache…" He growled a little, shook his head and grinned disarmingly. "See, all good."

"Are you sure?" he asked, still concerned. "If you like, Twilight could have a look at it or maybe you could go to a doctor."

"It's fine, really," he repeated. "It's nothing to get panicky over, I'm fine."

"If you insist." Dusk was still a little unconvinced, but he didn't want to press on it either. "If it makes you feel any better, I have some… head problems too."

"Yeah… I think I noticed." There was that look in his eye again, something he couldn't quite recognise.

It was like he… understood somehow. Was that just in terms of headaches or... something else? Before he could ponder it further, Twilight returned, just closing a book.

"Right, I've found the spell," she reported. "Just hold still for a few seconds…"

Her horn glowed, as did Ray's hooves while the spell worked its effects. Ray was also sniggering a little while she did it. After only a few seconds, it was complete.

"There we go. You can now walk on clouds for a full day, just be sure to… why are you laughing so much?" she asked, sounding a little offended.

He stemmed it, though he was still grinning. "Sorry, sorry… it just tickled a little, that's all."

"It does, doesn't it?" asked Dusk, recalling when he had the spell performed on him.

"Fair enough then," she shrugged. "I'm glad I could help, Ray."

"Me too and thanks again. Right, I'd better get going, that Pegasus is really impatient," he commented. "Have a good one, guys!"

"You too," they both said, blushing and earning a sly smile from him before he left. "He's unique, I'll give him that."

"He certainly is," he nodded. "Right, back to work?"

"Back to work," she confirmed, turning round to call Spike.

---

Rainbow Dash was tapping her hoof impatiently, waiting for Ray to return from the library with the spell she had sent him for. He said that he'd be quick and she didn't really doubt it, for she got the feeling that he meant it. Even so, that didn't stop her from mentally pushing him to pick up the pace a little. She wasn't going to be late for this air show, not for anything.

When Dusk had told them that he had a new friend that, like he had once been before, had never experienced friendship and that he wanted their help to make him feel welcome, she had been sceptical. Not that she didn't mind all that much, but she felt that their group didn't really need another Dusk. They didn't need yet another guy batting off compliments and acting like less of a stallion than she was. Again, not that she didn't mind, but there was only so much she could take.

When she'd actually met the guy, she was surprised by what she saw, pleasantly so. Unlike Dusk, he wasn't ashamed to take pride in what he was good at, he could take a joke without looking ashamed and dish them out without acting nervous. He was funny, charming and he knew what he was good at. She could see a lot of herself in the stallion, not that that was the only reason she liked him. It was just cool to have a stallion who actually acted like one.

It helped as well that he was eye candy, but she warned herself about being attracted to him. She still hadn't really recovered from the last embarrassment…

"Hey Dash!" She whipped around and saw Ray down below, waving to get her attention. "I'm back!"

"I hadn't noticed! Took you long enough," she remarked, only to duck a few seconds later from a snowball. "Did you just throw that at me? At me?"

"Was that not clear enough? Should I throw another one?" he asked with a laugh, already preparing another one.

She retaliated by kicking a nearby cloud at him, enough to make him dive out of the way, but not enough to avoid being soaked by the water. Rainbow was still laughing as she flew down to meet him, now fully drenched.

"See, you don't mess with Rainbow Dash." But he had the last laugh when he shook the water from his fur and soaked her as well.

"You were saying?" he chuckled.

"Okay, you got me," she conceded, shaking herself off too. "Right, you got the spell ready?"

"Yep, Twilight was able to cast it on me… for free…" he added, with a warmer smile.

Rainbow was confused by this response. "What? Why would she make you pay for it?"

"Never mind," he waved off. "Right, how are we getting to Cloudsdale?"

"Well, I figured this might work." She dashed back up, got another cloud and pushed it down. "You hop on this and I'll push you along until we get there."

"Sounds good to me, especially since I don't have to do anything." He walked over to the cloud, crossed his hooves and climbed onto it, relaxing visibly when he didn't fall through. "Okay then… hey, this is pretty comfy."

"Preaching to the choir, Ray." She moved behind it and started her end of it. "Alright, here we go! I was hoping you wouldn't be too heavy."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, not quite listening and lying down on the cloud. "You know, I think I'm just gonna…" A few seconds later, his eyes were closed and he was snoozing peacefully.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but still laughed at the sight of him sleeping on the cloud. Perhaps they were even more alike than she first thought.

With her own athletic strength and stamina, it didn't take her long for her to push Ray up to the sky-based foundations of her home which, as always, was packed with pegasi coming and going, though mostly arriving at the city. Most likely for the air show, as they should be. She allowed herself a little extra fun when they arrived, sneaking up and kicking Ray off the cloud so that he jerked awake.

"I didn't do it!" he yelled, shaking his head and looking indignantly at her. "Hey, I was enjoying that."

"That's what made it even funnier," she countered. "Come on, let's get going to the stadium."

Ray nodded, started after her but then stopped and stared for a while at his surroundings, looking around in awestruck wonder at the city of clouds. Rainbow allowed him a few minutes of open staring around before clapping close to his ears.

"Right, eyes back in your skull, Strike. We got places to be," she reminded him.

"Oh, right yeah. Sorry, it's just this place is… wow!" He laughed again while he walked with her. "I'm actually in Cloudsdale! I'm walking on clouds, hundreds of feet above the ground, how awesome is this?"

"Yeah, I thought you might say that," she noted.

"You were right then." He whistled and smiled up at her. "Good thing that your cloud trick worked."

"I knew it would. I was thinking about using a hot air balloon, but that would have taken too long and I could have carried you, 'cause you know… these aren't just for show," she said, raising her forelegs impressively.

Ray raised an eyebrow. "That and it would look and feel really awkward and, not saying I doubt your abilities, I wouldn't wanna risk being dropped and hurtle towards the ground, resulting in a mess you'd need a mop and bucket to clean up."

"Wimp," she chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Plus, you're probably not the flying type, so I figured you'd wanna have something to stand on."

"That too, thanks," he said sincerely. "Right, where abouts is this…?"

He paused to touch his head, grabbing it for a few seconds and rubbing it, gritting his teeth and muttering something through them.

"You alright?" she asked, flying in to examine him. "That might be the change in altitude up here. I'll give you some time to adjust to it."

"Yeah, that's it…" he muttered, shaking his head. "Right, no worries, I'm fine."

She blinked in surprise at the sudden change. "You sure?"

"Yep, just a small headache."

"No more of them coming?"

"Probably not."

"Alright then…" She let a grin grow on her face, at almost the same time he did. "Let's go see the Wonderbolts!"

Pressed on by their excitement, the two of them sped off towards the direction of the stadium. Ray ran on first, Rainbow waiting for a bit before he came back, remembering he didn't know the way and let her take the lead.

---

"There we go, all finished!" Twilight announced, proudly dotting her last sentence. "Princess Celestia is going to be very pleased with this."

"I should hope so," moaned Spike, still posed on the stool. "Any longer and I think I might have been stuck like that."

"Is that so?" Twilight smiled slyly at Dusk. "Actually, I think I missed a little bit. In section four, paragraph two."

He leaned over and looked. "You're right, there does appear to be something missing."

"I thought so. Sorry Spike, I'm going to need to you stay like that for a little longer," she said to him.

"W-what?!" He looked horrified at the idea. "B-b-but Twilight! I'm almost a statute for how long I've been standing like that!"

"Sorry, I need to do this. Besides," she added, "it might be an improvement. You'd certainly be quieter, at any rate."

"Twilight!"

"Spike, she's only joking," saved Dusk, levitating him down. "We wouldn't be that cruel to you. Well, I wouldn't at least."

"Thanks Dusk, at least I know who's on my side here," he said with a glare at Twilight, who smiled innocently. "Right, I'm going to have a nap and you're not allowed to wake me until at least next year."

"So you're going to counter not moving around by not moving around?" summarised Twilight.

"Shut up, it works!" he yelled, hurrying off before either of them could stop him.

"Can't argue with that line of reasoning," she giggled. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"I'm not sure. What did you have in mind?" he asked, always willing to know her opinion first.

Twilight had an idea in seconds. "Let's go check on Pinkie. If the Cakes didn't find a babysitter, they probably left Pound and Pumpkin with her and she might need some help."

"Okay then…" He looked a little nervous about the prospect and she knew why.

"Dusk, there's nothing to worry about," she assured him. "Just do what you can and ask me for help if you're not sure."

"If you say so… I've just… never had to look after babies before," he reminded her.

"Neither have I, but I've read a few books on the subject and it shouldn't be too difficult." She smiled encouragingly. "Come on, with both of us on the case, we'll be fine."

"I suppose…" His expression picked up a little. "Lead the way then."

As they left the library and stepped out into the street together, Twilight noticed Dusk grimace again before he turned his head away to hide it from her. He didn't need to though, for she knew why…

Just like she knew what had happened last night, even though she had asked about it. It was because she didn't want him to know that she knew because, like him, she just didn't want to talk about it. She remembered all the things that his darker side did, just as much as he. She knew how much discomfort he was in from how hard he worked to maintain an outward appearance of contentment and happiness and she wanted to try and help him.

But how could she? She might understand, but how could she even begin to talk about something like this? To ask Dusk to remember even more the atrocities, the deeds that Blackhole had done through him, to her and all her friends… how could she ask him to remember all of that? Why would he even want to, when it was fairly clear that he felt guilty enough suffering in silence. Imagine how bad it would be if she actually brought it up.

That might actually be worse. What might happen to him if she told him that she did know? She knew how angry he'd become and she technically wasn't meant to know about Doom in the first place. She'd just eavesdropped at the door. He might feel angry and betrayed enough that his darker self might come back fully, if that was even possible, perhaps with no way to save him…

Or he'd just think that he couldn't rely on her anymore, as either a friend or a marefriend. She remembered how he'd reacted when he'd thought that they were just pretending to be his friends, who was to say he wouldn't react similarly if she told him what she knew? He might be betrayed that she hadn't tried to help him before and she'd lose him that way instead…

That and she was scared… scared if what might happen if Doom did resurface. Once was enough…

Twilight was at a complete loss. Dusk didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to talk about it, she wanted to help him but she couldn't because she was scared of what might happen if she tried. This method, turning a blinded eye, had worked so far and they'd been happy. She didn't want to shatter that happiness, for her or for him, so she concluded that it was the easiest solution to remain silent.

She sighed mentally. This was like when she'd panicked about her friendship report deadline, only… it seemed a lot worse now, because she just didn't know where to start… how could she even ask? She could figure out the answer to any problem, with just some thought and some study. Why was this time so difficult…?

Why was it always the stuff to do with Dusk?

"Something wrong, Twi?" he asked her. "You look a little deep in thought."

Seeing him smiling now, looking so genuine, was enough to make her smile too. "No, it's fine. Just wondering if there was any other way I could have summarised those reports."

"I think they'll be fine," he comforted. "They're done and there's not much point in dwelling on them now. Learn from the past and move on to the future."

That helped quite a bit too. "I suppose you're right." She walked closer beside him. "Just remember, I'm here to talk to you if you need it, right?"

"I know and I could say the same for you too." He chuckled a little. "I wouldn't want you to make a fuss over such a small problem again."

"Hey, it seemed like a big problem at the time," she defended.

"Big enough that you had to knock me out," he recalled.

"I said I was sorry for that!"

"I know, I know, I'm only joking." He nuzzled her cheek. "Thanks Twilight, but I think I'll be fine."

It was easy not to notice under all the humour and laughter that had, but there was a slight waver in his voice in those last few words as he spoke them.

"I hope so," she murmured to herself, hoping that she wouldn't regret her line of reasoning.

Fortunately, she didn't have to question it further, for the Sugarcube Corner was in sight. She gave him another encouraging smile and knocked on the door. Her belief that Pinkie might need help was confirmed when she arrived with a frantic look on her face, a slightly dishevelled mane and a diaper on her head and around her legs.

"Hi! We finished up the work we had to do so we thought we'd stop by and see if you needed any help." She'd just gotten the last word out when Pinkie dragged her and Dusk inside.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!" she gasped, kicking the diaper off her legs. "I can't begin to tell you what my day has been like, I mean, these babies just won't listen to reason, and don't even get me started on their taste in stand-up comedy."

"It's okay, Pinkie. I figured you would need some help. That's why I stopped by," she said, moving over to the mess by the counter.

"And I thought I might as well lend my hoof too, for what it's worth," added Dusk, cleaning up some other strewn items and taking the diaper off her head.

"Excuse me?" asked Pinkie, in a tone that didn't suggest ignorance, more annoyance.

Twilight explained while she sorted out a few items. "Babies take a lot of work, and some ponies are just not cut out to handle the responsibility."

"No offense to you, of course," put in Dusk. "Every little helps, you know."

"Is that so?" She got behind them and started to shove them out. "Well, thanks for stopping by, Twilight, Dusk. Sorry, I don't have time to visit, I'm very, very busy with my responsibilities here."

"I'm happy to help! It's no trouble-" she tried to say.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," sneered. "When you two have your kids, you'll understand just how responsible I'm being."

She slammed the door in their faces, both of them exchanging a look with each other.

"Did I say something to offend her?" asked Twilight.

"I think you might have," affirmed Dusk. "Perhaps not intentionally, but intentions and reactions can be as different as fire and ice."

"I see your point." She sighed at the closed door. "Not much point in staying here, I guess. Let's just have a walk, get some fresh air."

"Sounds good to me." He glanced back before they left. "That's the second time she's suggested that we… I mean we might…"

"Yeah," she nodded, laughing awkwardly, hoping that they wouldn't get onto this. "You know Pinkie, always jumping on ahead."

"She certainly does," he agreed, a slight blush in his cheeks. "I mean… we've only been dating for a few months so… it's early to assume."

"Exactly what I was thinking, yes," she said quickly. "We're just seeing where things are going first, no need to start thinking about things… like that."

"Yes…" There was something in his voice she didn't quite recognise… something like disappointment.

Twilight was enjoying this relationship with Dusk, but she'd read plenty of accounts about couples dating more than once before finding their perfect partner. Not that she wanted to break up with Dusk, far from it, but she didn't want to assume anything too early. She liked to consider every possibility, though she might not want to… but then…

Once again, with him, it was never straightforward.

---

After the Wonderbolt's air show, everypony was leaving the stadium, chatting excitedly about all that had transpired, recalling their favourite manoeuvres performed by the elite flyers and offering opinions on what they thought of the whole affair.

But even with all of them, none could compare to the excitement and wonder held by two particular ponies, who exited with the clouds and re-enacted with such enthusiasm, that some had to put a little more distance between them. Not that they really cared.

"That was the best show I've ever seen!" exclaimed Rainbow.

"Me too! Well, it's the only show I've seen, but more reason why it's the best!" agreed Ray.

"I know!" She turned quickly to him. "Did you see that corkscrew Soarin' did? You could see the wind just bending around him!"

"Yeah, that was amazing! And when that… who was it? The mare, who did that big loop through the ring?"

"Fleetfoot?"

"No, the other one. The one with the orange mane, the streaky kind of deal."

"Spitfire! Yeah, I know what you mean now!"

"I know!" He shook his head in amazement. "Man, I could practically feel the boom when she flew through them all."

"That's why she's the captain," nodded Rainbow. "And soon enough, I'll be joining them. Just you wait and see."

"I don't have any trouble picturing that, though you're going to have to do a pretty big sonic boom to top that one," he noted.

She chuckled confidently. "You've obviously never seen me do a sonic rainboom. That'll be the highlight, I just know it."

"A sonic what now?"

She at first laughed at his remark, but stopped when he looked genuinely confused.

"Seriously? You've never heard of a sonic rainboom?" He shrugged a negative. "Oh hoh, then you just wait. I'll have to show you sometime and bring along a crash helmet when I do, 'cause your mind will be blown!"

"Looking forward to it already," he grinned. "Right, what now? Back down to ground level?"

"Why? Not scared of heights, are you?" she asked, prodding his chest.

"Actually, I was thinking of you," he countered. "I mean, you look very tired. You could drop out of the sky at any minute, then who would carry me back down?"

"How nice of you," she laughed. "Well, your spell is still good for another few hours. How'd you like a personal guided tour of Cloudsdale, by one of the best pegasi ever to come out of it?"

"Really? Where?" He looked around exaggeratedly before grinning. "Sure, I'd love a tour. I really wanna see more of this place."

"Good, 'cause there's plenty more to see." With a little loop in the air, she led him off, while his eyes darted around every little thing he could see. "Really taking that to heart, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I know. I've travelled around quite a bit, but I've never been anywhere like Cloudsdale before," he confessed. "This place truly is incredible."

"You're lucky, not many non-pegasi get to see this place," she told him. "Unless you know a unicorn who can cast a spell to give you wings or let you walk on clouds."

"That does help a bit, yes," he agreed. "This might help with some inspiration, now I think about it…"

"Inspiration for what?" she asked.

"Hm, what? Oh right." He must have just been talking to himself. "Well, you may have noticed my cutie mark?"

She glanced back at it. "Yeah, I did. So?"

"So, I'm a writer, or so my flank says at least," he added. "I'm actually working on a book of sorts at the minute. It's early stages so far, but…"

Rainbow yawned at this. "Sorry, when did this conversation take a turn to Dullsville?"

He didn't seem to take much offense to her comment. "Somehow, I didn't think that you were the reading type."

"Was it that obvious? Yeah, sorry. I'm not really into the whole reading thing. I'm more of a get-up-and-go kinda mare."

"No, really? You? I don't believe it," he remarked. "I like to think of myself as that too, but I also just like to read a good book, now and again."

"See, I never understood that," put in Rainbow. "I mean, how can sitting around… reading be more exciting than performing a triple loop-the-loop or rushing through the sky, with the wind in your mane? How can anything even begin to be compared to that?"

"It's all fine when you have wings to do that, but the rest of us have to occupy our time in ways that don't involve leaving the ground on a whim," countered Ray. "Reading, and also writing, is just one of the ways I do it."

"Okay then, just for the heck of it, what is this book you're writing?" she asked. "Thrill me."

"Like I said, it's still in early stages, but it's not a fact book. It's a story, you know, like fantasy adventure kind of thing," he explained. "I still need to outline some of the details, but I think I could have something, if I just work at it."

Rainbow thought for a moment. "Well… I guess a story like that does sound kinda cool…"

"Tempted then?"

"Yeah, sorry, no," she admitted. "I mean, why read about a story when you could live it? Like me."

"Your loss then," he shrugged.

"Yeah, go to Twilight or Dusk if you wanna talk about something like that," she told him. "I specialise in the awesome, nothing more, nothing less."

"I'll bear that in mind," he nodded. "I'm glad to know somepony like that. Actually, I'm glad to know all of you."

Rainbow shrugged and smirked. "Well, I knew that you obviously held me with respect and awe, but yeah, I can see you liking the others too."

"Never short on confidence, are you?"

"Don't you know it? In all seriousness though, I do see where you're coming from. They're a pretty cool bunch to be around, even the eggheads." She looked back at him. "Bet you're glad you ran into Dusk, aren't you?"

"I am and Twilight too," he said without hesitation. "It's nice to have a little intellectual company around."

She rounded on him quickly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean uh, not that I think you're stupid or anything," he said quickly. "Just that um… they're just… heh…"

"It's okay, I get what you mean," she assured, slapping his leg. "Eggheads gotta stick together, right?"

"I suppose," he shrugged, relaxing a little. "I gotta say, I thought it was kind of odd that all of his friends were… well, mares."

"I get that. I guess that was why he stuck with you then," she offered.

"Probably but, I also have to admit now that I've spent time with you all, I'm cool with it." He grinned up at her. "You're all great ponies… most of you, anyway."

"Yeah, I get that a lot too."

"Must have been weird for you though, considering your crush on Dusk."

"What?!" Rainbow did a double take in the air, her face flushed. "What the… how did you… who told you about that?!"

"Sorry for intruding, I'm just good at reading others. Comes with being a writer and characters." He tilted his head at her. "Your feelings are pretty obvious, even if you are hiding them for the sake of your friends. It's in the way you act, also with Twilight and Dusk towards you."

"Right…" She made a mental note to do a better job of hiding it. "Well… just don't mention that stuff again, okay?"

"I understand, my lips are sealed," he promised, zipping up his mouth.

She smiled a little at the humour. "Hey, but did you hear about what happened in Canterlot?"

"Mmm-hmmm-mmm?" he replied. He let her laughter subside before he unzipped his mouth again. "Yes, I did. Good thing neither of them were hurt badly."

"I know, but from what I hear, Dusk went pretty nuts on that Edge jerk." She laughed admirably. "Honestly, I didn't know the guy had it in him."

"Yeah…" He frowned a little and stared off for a while, looking back when Rainbow was going to ask what he was thinking about. "I mean, I was quite surprised to hear it too."

"I think we all were," said Rainbow. "I agree with Applejack though, I'm just glad that the guy got what was coming to him. I'd like to show him just what I thought of his little stunt."

"I tremble for him, especially if Applejack were to help you." He looked over her leg muscles. "She seems to be like your athletic equal, in a sense."

"Yeah, she's strong and stuff, but I've got the speed, don't forget. You like her too then?"

"Who wouldn't? She gave me a very kind welcome and she's really friendly. I can see why she's the most loyal and dependable of ponies." He frowned again. "Actually, come to think of it, I still need some kind of job here. Do you think Applejack might need some help on the farm?"

"They are usually pretty busy, so they'd probably appreciate the extra help," she told him. "Just so long as you can handle the work though."

He smiled optimistically. "Anything for a few extra bits. I have some saved up, but it won't last forever."

"A real shame that," she nodded sympathetically. "Still, we're always here to help if you need it. I'm sure you'd be able to get something off Rarity, if you treated her as smoothly as you did at the party."

His smile faltered somewhat. "Rarity… right."

"I mean, you're probably the first stallion I've seen who hasn't started… hey, what's up?" she asked, noticing the look on his face.

"Just… nothing, it's fine."

She nodded again and patted his shoulder. "Oh, I get it. Look, I know she can be a little over-the-top with the whole fancy stuff and dress making she does, but she's not all that bad. Most of the time, anyway."

"I know and I don't doubt that but… she just reminds me of Canterlot and I…" He picked his words carefully. "I just… really don't like the Canterlot-type, that's all."

Rainbow remembered the harsh tones they usually took with each other, the fact that Rarity had once called him 'uncouth and a little rude' when he wasn't around to hear once, but decided not to bring it up.

"I can understand why, she can be a little uptight. Still," she grinned, "if you ever do want a good time, there's only one pony to go to, am I right?"

He returned it, knowing who she meant. "You are right indeed. That Pinkie Pie she's… she's really something else."

"Yeah, that's what we all think, but we couldn't imagine life without her."

"I can see why. Even if she is really, really random, I don't think anypony has made me laugh as much as she has," he said honestly.

"It's what she's best at, among other things. Random, but awesome."

"Exactly. She is a bit… off, no offense to her, but then so is everypony, in their own way. She's just more… obvious about it. That and her cupcakes are some of the best I've ever tasted," he said with another wide smile.

"Again, just another thing she's good at."

"Yep, fun, random and she makes great sweets," he summarised. "That's enough to put her in my books."

"You'd know all about that." She beamed proudly at him. "The three of us, you, me and Pinkie, we know where it's at. Canterlot certainly saw that much."

"Probably the most excting their day has ever been," he agreed.

"You think that was good, you should have seen the Gala last year," she said. "Even Fluttershy got a little crazy. Or a lot crazy."

He seemed to tense at the mention of her name. "Fluttershy… really?"

"Yeah, even freaked me out for a bit." She noticed how he was standing and laughed. "Don't worry, I don't think anything like that will be happening again soon."

"No, I'm sure. She's um… she's really… nice. A little shy, but… nice," he muttered, his cheeks going red.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, there's my old flight school!" She pointed over at the building on a separate cloud as they walked by. "Man, I didn't realise how long it was since I was here."

"Good memories?" he asked her, apparently wanting to change the subject.

"Mostly, yeah. I had some good friends, until I found out one in particular was a jerk," she growled, remembering the griffin in particular. "But yeah, mostly good."

"They must have all been crying when you graduated. Losing one of the best flyers they had."

"I bet they were, although… I didn't graduate technically. You know, not in the traditional sense," she added casually.

"What do you mean?" Ray looked thoughtful for a moment. "Wait… are you saying you dropped out?"

"Dropped out is such a strong word," she dismissed.

"That's two words."

"Whatever," she cut off. "Anyway, I prefer to think of it as… moving on to bigger things."

"Right, sure," he said with mild sarcasm. "You probably didn't think you needed it anyway."

"Exactly, now you get it! Besides, I wasn't the only one who dropped out, Fluttershy did too. Although, probably more literally than I did," she added.

Ray's head snapped up. "You and Fluttershy went to the same school?"

"Yeah, of course, all pegasi go through flight school," she said, like it was obvious. "She wasn't in the same class as me and we were more acquaintances than friends, but I still like to think I looked out for her in a way."

"I see…" he said, nodding again. "So… did you become friends after you moved to Ponyville?"

"Something like that, probably became official friends after the whole Nightmare Moon fiasco," she told him.

"Nightmare… what?"

She stared at him for a bit. "Wow, you really don't know a lot of stuff, do you?"

"I do! I just… know less about some stuff than others." He cleared his throat pointedly. "Anyway um… what sort of things does Fluttershy like doing?"

"Taking care of animals, mostly. She loves them. Not much of a flyer though, she's actually scared of heights, which is kinda weird for a Pegasus, I know," she said, in answer to his unspoken question.

"I see… um, anything else?"

"Some stuff. She likes to hang out with us a bit, I think we're the only ponies she talks to, other than her animals. She likes… well, quite stuff. Girly stuff," she added. "Goes along on picnics, styles her mane, she goes to the spa every Saturday with… hold on, what's with all the questions about Fluttershy?"

His cheeks suddenly went red and he rubbed the back of his head. "No reason just… just curious."

"Curious?"

"Yeah, you know, we're friends and… I just want to know more about you girls, is all," he explained, laughing a little. "That makes sense, right?"

She was still a little curious as to his little bit of jittery behaviour concerning Fluttershy, but that explanation did make sense.

"Yeah, I guess. Just don't forget who's the most interesting member of our group, right?" she joked.

"Uh-huh…" He looked thoughtful again, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I won't forget that…"

"Good for you. Now, let's have a few more minutes and back to ground level," she suggested.

"Sounds good to me, more time for sleeping," he chuckled, his face less red now.

She chuckled too and smiled honestly at him. "I had a great day with you, Ray."

He returned the smile. "Me too, Rainbow. Me too…"

---

Apart from the slight growling, Dusk was walking home at the end of the day, satisfied that things would still be going well from now on. He and Twilight were still happy, he was still enjoying things with his friends and his life was fairly enjoyable as ever. He had been worried about this morning, when he'd arrived at the library expecting a confrontation, but nothing had changed. Everything was fine. All fine.

The laughing and growling was still in his mind though. It never went away, no matter how much he tried to suppress it. He kept it quiet, but it always came back, the fresh memories adding further fuel to the ever-present fire. It didn't burn brighter, it just burned even more… he could keep it back, just so long as nothing else pushed it.

Or if he didn't give in… no, he wouldn't give in. He'd put up with it, be strong like he was expected to be as an Element of Harmony. It was his duty, to his friends and to Equestria… and he didn't want to lose either.

He happened upon Pinkie Pie, who looked thoroughly exhausted, a rare sight for her. He caught up to her and even her usual bright smile was tired.

"How did it go with the twins?" he asked.

"I think the best word I can use to describe it is… whoooeee!" she sighed, giggling a little. "Taking care of babies is a lot of responsibility, I know that now."

He nodded approvingly. "I'm glad to hear that. You did a better job than I probably would have."

Pinkie looked at him, grabbed some nearby snow and dropped it on his head.

"What?! Why did you…?" A thought occurred to him. "Ray told you to do that, didn't he?"

"Yep! He assigned us all the task in Canterlot that, if you ever act like a misery pony, just do something like that," she said brightly. "Look on the bright side, at least it wasn't a pipe."

"I suppose so," he chuckled, shaking snow off his head. "I think I'll have a word with him about that."

"See? You're taking more authority, that just shows it's working!" she said proudly.

"I… I don't even… never mind…" He sighed, while Pinkie giggled. "Do you really think I would have been good with the twins?"

"Indeedy and not just you, Twilight as well. You're both responsible, caring and gentle when you need to be, you complement each other greatly." Her smile brightened. "I think you'd make great parents."

Dusk flushed again. "Pinkie… what do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean, Mr Psychic Pony," she sang. "Have a good night, sleep tight and don't let the nasties bite."

She seemed to muster up enough energy for a few bounces, became exhausted again and just walked off the other way.

Dusk watched her go, knowing that there was no point in even trying to figure her out. She was one of the few who knew and accepted who… or what he had become. That gave him some sliver of hope for the others too…

But that was Pinkie and he still didn't want to dare to face the others with what they might think of him, what he could reveal. Ironically, the most unpredictable member of their group was the only one who knew about something he couldn't predict for the others.

Comments

[Music-and-magic]

>.< fit's gonna hit the shan regarding Dusk and Doom, there's no denying it at this point anymore is there?

Plus, I wanna like Ray, but each chapter sends up at least one warning flag, grrrr.

[AlphatheGriffin17]

2550919 I think I know what you mean, but his purpose will become clear.

[laser68]

I love this story. I read the first 3 parts saw this one was not completed and was like i will not start until it is done. i have no willpower. Also i said it once but i shall say it again, ray is a bro /)

[MrLucksman]

It was easy not to notice under all the humour and laughter that had, but there was a slight waver in his voice in those last few words as he spoke them.

humor* and it looks like you're missing a word after 'had'.

[Crescent Quill]

Dusk flushed again. "Pinkie… what do you mean by that?"
"You know what I mean, Mr Psychic Pony," she sang. "Have a good night, sleep tight and don't let the nasties bite."

Can I just say that I love how you portray Pinkie Pie. I know Pinkie is one of the hardest of the main six to write for a lot of people, mainly dew to breaking the forth wall but you just do it so perfectly! A lot of stories like to use pinkie as an excuse to give out spoilers for later chapters, but in doing so they take away from the overall feel of the story. But the way your doing it. you can give minor spoilers and the readers can still be immersed in your story. I guess what I'm trying to say is great job writing Pinkie!

[Stellar_]

Gotta love Pinkie Pie
Our first look at cloudsdale in this fic, also, cloudsdale isn't something that we see a lot of in the show. Most of what we have seen is the wonderbolts HQ and Fluttershy's house, and that pretty much it.