> Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness
>  by bigsnusnu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - Royal Decree No. 2,104
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Royal Decree No. 2,104

Spike ran down the lone path trying to make as little noise as possible while in one claw he grabbed the sack with the precious cargo.

The corridors of the castle were very old and dark, rarely someone would pass by, therefore Spike winced every time he trod on some of those old floorboards. He thought that any squeak would be heard throughout the castle, alerting some of the guards of his position.

But that was the least of his worries, his biggest concern was... HE COULD FEEL IT AGAIN! A sudden chill ran down the spine of Spike.

The little dragon felt someone staring at him from his back.

Gritting his teeth and gulping, he suddenly stopped and looked back very quickly. There, he could only see the huge empty hall, but there was no one there. It was the third time he felt someone was following him and that someone was watching him, but he didn't see anyone. That worried him, especially bothered him a little, because he always thought that as a dragon, he had the best sixth sense than most other creatures, and particularly more than any pony.

After a few seconds, making sure no one was following him, Spike quickly resumed his path, turned a corner and stopped in front of a huge wooden door. He gently touched the knob and opened the door with extreme caution, because he knew what was coming and he didn't want to repeat the disaster that he had caused a few days ago.

The dragon stepped through the portal slowly and even more slowly as he closed the door behind him. Immediately he was surprised to see that the potential disaster had worsened. In front of him there were stacks and stacks of books almost reaching the ceiling. Columns of books so close together to one another that made it almost impossible to pass between them, even less without breaking the delicate balance in which they were, making everything collapsed into one.

No, that won't happen this time.

With movements as slow as a tortoise, but graceful as the fastest Wonderbolt, Spike moved slowly and cautiously among the columns of books. Every touch made the huge columns of books slightly swing from side to side. Step by step, Spike was slowly making his way to the center of the room.

After several minutes, showing great agility and finesse, Spike came to the center, where his brother, Dusk Shine was. Of course the title of brothers didn't mean they were blood brothers, that would have been impossible because Spike was a dragon and Dusk Shine was a colt. But both of them had known each other from very young and both felt their bond was perhaps much stronger than simply being children of the same mother.

Dusk Shine, or just Dusk as Spike called him, was a mess. His mane was very sloppy and had several pen writings on it, plus he had tremendous panda-like eyes having spent almost a week without sleep, and judging by how he smelled, Spike would say that he had not bathed in a long time. The eyes of the pony, as usual, was fixed in a book, totally focused on what he was reading. Dusk hadn't even noticed the presence of Spike in the room.

"Ahem!" Spike coughed, trying to break the trance that Dusk always had when he was reading something interesting.

"AHEM!" Spike coughed stronger when he realized that his brother was still ignoring him.

"What…? Ah, it's you, Spike!" Dusk said finally leaving aside the book and looking at Spike. "I'm sorry I didn't see you there but I was reading something very fascinating! Did you know that there are about 20 ancient magical objects that simply disappeared throughout the history of Equestria and that no one has heard of them? Many had became just legends, but their records are in many history books, it can be verified historically that these objects existed! Can you imagine owning such objects!? It would be amazing! Lately I've focused my attention on the so-called 'Elements of Harmony' and-"

"Ugh! Dusk, please, stop it!" Spike interrupted abruptly to him as he dragged his claws strongly  through his cheeks. "I know that you fascinate everything that you read but don't include me in your stories. I can't read more than two pages of your books without falling asleep. Do you remember that time you read about ancient astrology and you were talking just about that for the next two weeks? It would be easier if you read comics or something, our talks would be much more entertaining."

"I don't see what is the goal of reading something so impractical, what good is reading about fantastic stories that never happened?" Dusk said annoyingly.

"Just for fun, I don't know, they awaken your imagination, you imagine that you are the hero, fighting beasts to rescue a damsel in distress, things like that."

"Pfft! Why do you think of fantasy heroes when you have real heroes! Like Starswirl the bearded or-"

GROWL~!

Dusk was interrupted by the loud sound of his stomach demanding food.

"When was the last time you ate something?" Spike asked worriedly.

"I don't know, the last time we talked, I guess" Dusk said scratching his head and making writing pens that were in his head fall to the ground.

"Dusk, that was two days ago, look!" Spike said pointing to an identical bag that he had brought earlier.  "Here are the sandwiches and fruit that I brought for you last time, you haven't even touched them!"

"That can't be possible, it hasn't been that long... has it?" Dusk said somewhat incredulous.

"I know you, Dusk, when you read, nothing distracts you, you don't eat, don't sleep, don't-"

"But this book is so fascinating and-" Dusk Shine interrupted Spike, showing him a book, before being interrupted by the dragon again.

"But this is not healthy" Spike said pushing down with his claw the book that Dusk showed him. "You know I just want to take care of you, so..." Spike sat opposite to Dusk and opened the bag with the food that he had brought "... now you'll eat, no excuses."

Feeling resigned, Dusk lowered his head and settled down to eat. He knew that Spike was right, and sometimes, in their desire to seek knowledge, he had to let time pass.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Spike spoke again.

"How long have you been hiding here?"

"I don't know," replied Dusk, crestfallen. "I guess until the princess stops bothering me with nonsense about how I should make friends."

Spike was silent for a few seconds before speaking again, as he knew that this was a sensitive issue.

"You know... I don't think that making friends is a punishment, look at us, we are great friends and we care and help for each other."

"You are more than just a friend, Spike, you know, we're family" Dusk said, smiling and looking up. "And I'm not against friends, just bothers me that the princess wants to force me to make friends, as if that was something of great importance. What does she think? What kind of friendship will save Equestria someday? Oh Please! It is much more productive to study and learn, the knowledge is the real power, not friendship!"

At this point Dusk Shine’s voice had gone up significantly  and his face expressed real nuisance. But as quickly as his anger came, his face quickly changed to show deep sadness.

"...Besides" Dusk continued, lowering his voice. "I already tried once to make friends... that's not my thing."

Spike sighed and simply stared. The wisest course was not to pursue the topic.

"Changing the topic" Dusk said suddenly as if he had read the mind of Spike. "No one has followed you here, right?"

"Of course not!" Spike nervously replied. "I was very careful."

"And... the princess keeps asking for me?" Dusk Shine asked shyly.

"Every day, but today for the first time she didn't ask me for you, maybe she already gave up finding you."

"Maybe..." Dusk said with some fear in his voice.

It had been several days since Dusk Shine had hidden himself in that lonely room in the castle. All because Princess Celestia had told him that he should not study any longer and should focus one hundred percent on making friends. This obviously didn't appeal to Dusk, so he sought out this perfect hideaway and transported all the books he could to continue his studies in secret.

If you ask anyone, he'd say it was a pretty childish attitude, Dusk knew it, but this was the only course that he could choose. He definitely didn't want to make friends, and the only way to escape this 'punishment' of Celestia, was to hide from her.

"You're thinking of the 'punishment' that awaits you, right?" Spike said reading the worried face of his brother.

"Haaa.... Yes, something like that" Dusk sighed.

You would think a 'punishment' given by the princess regent of Equestria would be atrocious, and they were, but in a very particular way.

Princess Celestia had practically raised Dusk Shine since he was a young colt. Like a second mother, both had forged a bond much more than just simply a student and his teacher, and it was that closeness that Dusk had with the princess which made Celestia often leave her serious and noble, dignified role of royalty; and she was more of herself, a simple pony who liked to have fun. And one of the things she liked to do as the princess, was playing pranks to the little Dusk Shine, although of course she didn't always do that, only when Dusk Shine deserved it, only when he should be 'punished'.

"Do you remember that time you didn't want to eat your vegetables?" Spike said smiling.

"Of course, she bewitched my vegetables to follow me all day" Dusk smiled at the memory. "You don't know the shame that gave me all day about having an army of eggplants and broccoli following me all around  Canterlot, haha! I finally had to eat them in humiliation."

"But at least you had your revenge, didn’t you?" Spike smiled when he looked as the mood of Dusk Shine was increasing. He knew the story was coming, but he loves to hear it.

"That’s right! The next day I put a whoopee cushion in her seat" Dusk said, unable to hold back the laughter while he shared that memory with Spike. "When she sat down and rang a fart sound, the whole court looked surprised hahaha! Of course nopony said anything and she went on as if nothing had happened, but I couldn't stop laughing all day... hahaha! Although... Of course, then came the revenge of the princess...

This time it was Spike’s turn to hold back the laughter, there was no need for Dusk to be reminded  of the 'punishment' that the princess had given Dusk at that time. The day after that whoopee cushion incident had happened, the princess had decreed the famous decree 1,524.

"I still have a copy, BERGH ...!" Spike said, throwing a green fire from his mouth which left a scroll. Spike spread it out and read:

"Royal Decree No. 1,524.

Starting today, XXXX of year XXXX, it is forbidden to call the pony known as 'Dusk Shine' by that name. From now and for a week, this pony will be called by all as "Mr. Smarty Pants'.

Communicate and publish it in all Equestria.

Signature, Princess Celestia"

"HAHAHA!" Spike snorted unable to hold back his laughter. "Throughout the week your classmates, teachers, guards and even I had to call you 'Mr. Smarty Pants', hahaha!"

"Yes, haha!" Dusk responded when Spike's laughter infected him. "And the worst thing was that it was a royal decree, these decrees can't be broken, they're law! Can you imagine if she hadn't put a expiration date? Everypony would still be calling me like that! Hahaha! Princess Celestia is truly a headache when she wants! haha! What... what was that nickname you mentioned to me last time? "

"What? Princess Trollestia?"

Both looked at each other without being able to hold back the laughter.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

“PRINCESS TROLLESTIA! HAHAHAHA!!” Dusk Shine laughed out loud.

"YEAH! SHE IS TOTALLY A TROLL! HAHAHA!" Spike laughed at the same time.

HAHAHAHA!..…HAHAHA….hah……he…..hehehe… …. Their laughs were slightly decreasing until they aren't heard anymore. It wasn't because of the aches that caused them to stop laughing, the problem was that both of them felt that someone saw them, a very familiar presence.

"GAH!" Spike yelled when he turned around and saw that there was someone else in the room, and not only that, that presence was who they had been making fun of few seconds ago, the only pony able to follow Spike and enter that room without being noticed, the ruler of Equestria and Dusk Shine's teacher, Princess Celestia.

Different was the reaction of Dusk, he simply began to sweat and looked at his teacher totally afraid. He had ignored the order that the princess had given him, he had hidden, and worse, had taunted her.

Celestia smiled as she watched them both. A smile that Dusk Shine knew very well, he knew what was coming.





"So... Princess Trollestia, huh?" Celestia said quietly as she looked at them piercingly.

Both the little dragon and the unicorn were paralyzed. Then, Celestia slowly levitated a scissors and a rope.

"WAAAHHHHH!" Spike and Dusk shouted hugging each other, fearing what would happen.





It was a nice day in Ponyville, Celestia's sun shone with all its glorious glow over the heads of the ponies and it seemed that again would be a nice quiet day in that small town.

There, in Ponyville's train station, the pony station manager, called 'All Aboard' looked at his watch as he always did at that time of day. He probably was the most punctual pony of Equestria, therefore, he was in charge of controlling the times of departure and arrival of much of the trains circulating in Equestria.

"...and in three... two... one..." All Aboard said to himself, looking at his watch and then looking up. "And there it is..."

Exactly at the moment that All Aboard raised his eyes, he could see that the 'Canterlot express' appeared from behind a hill and was approaching  Ponyville's station, right on time.

All Aboard kept his watch in his pocket and waited for the train to make its stop.

The train began to stop with its usual sound of brakes without any problems to stop exactly where it was marked to do so. Once the doors opened, passengers began to get off the train: a couple of tourists and a few other ponies who had traveled to Canterlot for work or for pleasure, now returned home. Most passengers remained seated because their destination was a town or city to the south or west of Equestria. As was customary, very few ponies came to stop and visit a town as small as Ponyville.

All Aboard politely greeted each passenger and waited for anyone else to go down. According to his itinerary, there were no passengers to go up on the train at this time from Ponyville, so he was ready to give the order for the train to continue its journey.

"ALL ABOA-!" He couldn't complete his shout as he was interrupted by the train driver.

"Special package from Canterlot" said the driver, as he released a huge sack on the platform of the station.

As he dropped the bag, the driver gave up the machines and the train began its route again, in front of the disbelieved All Aboard.

"A special package from Canterlot? What could it be? "All Aboard thought uneasily. This was a very unorthodox fact, if it is true that the station received packages from other cities daily, they all came with their respective delivery order and each pony received the package that belonged to them in their own station. This was very irregular, as the driver hadn't even told him who is the sender, much less to whom it was addressed, and worse, it was out of the program! This was something that greatly bothered someone as square like All Aboard.

Thinking that perhaps the bag might have some label that delivers more information, All Aboard came to it. He began to inspect the outside, it doesn't have a label, it was just a huge sack tied up tightly with a string. The pony was for a few seconds in silence, pondering about what would be his next step.

It's true that he was a very strict and diligent pony when it comes to work, and the rules said that only the addressee of each package must open it. But here there was a huge package with no sender, no addressee and it was extremely suspicious. So, using that loophole, his curiosity got the better of him and he untied the sack to view its contents.


 


All Aboard couldn't help but be astonished to see that inside the bag, there was a young unicorn with purple skin, bound and gagged, together with what was even stranger, what appeared to be a baby dragon bound and gagged in the same way . Both of the beings had to look on All Aboard and began trying to speak while their speech was stifled by the band that they had in their mouth.

To All Aboard, who was happy and used to the routine, took several seconds of disbelief in what he saw before returning to himself and react.

The pony train conductor opened the sack more widely for those poor souls who were tied up to escape it. Then he prepared to pull out their tethers and jaws, but a sudden revelation came to his mind. Those characters, both the unicorn and the dragon, came for some reason as captives from Canterlot, Perhaps they would be prisoners of some sort? Thieves? Enemies of Equestria? With these questions circling his head, All Aboard took the decision not to untie them and call a guard.

Unfortunately, to no avail, because while All Aboard still had a flow of ideas in his head, the purple unicorn had used his magic to break the ropes and now he was helping to his flaky accomplice to do the same.

"Yuck!" Spike spat the band in his mouth after Dusk had loosened it. "I think this time the princess was really angry."

"Yes, I guess we had gone overboard..." Dusk Shine continued while he used his magic to loosen the ropes of Spike. "While I believe that Princess Celestia was also exaggerated. Look at that binding and us sleeping in a sack! I don't think it's a funny joke."

"Well, not for us, but for those who sees us."

"Y-You said P-P-Princess Celestia ...?" A voice interrupted beside Dusk Shine, it was All Aboard.

"Ehh... yes, why?" Dusk Shine said.

"...T-Then..." All Aboard said shakily, slowly stepping back. "...You are...the Princess' prisoners...?"

Dusk Shine and Spike looked at each other, then they began to laugh.

"Hahaha! of course not! We are... "Dusk didn't continue talking, because All Aboard had ran away while Dusk and Spike laughed, and he quickly went away from the train station.

"Wow..." said Spike, standing and scratching his head. "Now he believes that we are criminals."

"That's the least of it, look!" Dusk said, turning Spike's head with his front hooves  so that he’ll look towards what he was seeing.

In front of them, there were extensive fields with wild flowers, some houses on the sides and beyond were hills, forests and more and more nature.

"Okay... this is definitely not Canterlot..." Spike said slowly.

"Where are we!? Oh, Celestia! What if the princess banished me to the moors where Equestria ends and there are only creatures that live outside the laws of the ponies!?" Dusk Shine begins to hyperventilate as he dragged his front hooves down his cheeks and his imagination went flying. "Oh, big Equestria! How long have we slept!? What if we've slept for centuries and this is a post-apocalyptic scene of Canterlot!? Oh, Celestia! I'm home! All this time... YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" Dusk Shine screamed tragically as he fell to the ground and hitting it hard with his hooves.

"Well... well... stop being so over-dramatic" said Spike, while Dusk had his ridiculous monologue, Spike had approached a bench in the station and taken a newspaper that was there. "For peace of  your mind, the newspaper shows that it’s still the same day, only later, and apparently there’s a village behind the station, and you would have seen it if you paid more attention, it's called Ponyville.

"Ahem! So, Ponyville, eh?" Dusk Shine said standing up, blushing and acting as if nothing had happened. "I think I've heard of it... I think it's a village to the south of Canterlot, actually it should only be a couple of hours from  Canterlot, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, look!" Spike pointed into the distance.

There, Dusk could glimpse at the distant silhouette of the hills and the castle of Canterlot that loomed between them.

"Great!" exclaimed Dusk who was glad, "then we can just wait for the next train and it'll be the end of this crazy adventure. Now I just want to curl up next to a fireplace in the lounge and finish the book I was reading."

"I guess you're righ-BERGH...!" Spike was interrupted by his own burp, in which his famous green fire was accompanied by a scroll.

"A letter from the princess?" Dusk wondered aloud, taking the scroll.

"Who else?" said Spike annoyingly. "She loves to use me like her personal mail, and the worst is that it makes my stomach grumble when I'm taken by surprise! I know that I voluntarily agreed to be the means of contact between you two, but sometimes she crosses the line. I remember that one time when she sent three scrolls at the same time and I was with indigestion all day, then..."

At this point, Dusk Shine stopped paying attention to Spike, as he knew Spike could blabber all day if he could. The best would be to know what the princess wanted, so he left Spike with his monologue. He unrolled the scroll and read:

"To my dear student, Dusk Shine:

I hope you had a good trip, I'm sorry to have sent you in that way to Ponyville, but knowing that you wouldn't go voluntarily, I decided that it would be the most effective (and funny) way to send you there."

Dusk released air through his nose in frustration. Then he continued reading:

"Since you know me very well, you know that every time you or Spike did something wrong or irresponsible, I give you an exemplary punishment with some of my jokes. But this isn't one of my punishment, at least not in full."

As he reads this, Dusk furrowed his brow, it began to worry him.

"Firstly, the punishment is for Spike who baptized me as 'Trollestia'. I know he's used to getting only scrolls, so I think I'll stir his stomach a bit, I hope he forgives me, after all it's just a joke in revenge"

As Dusk reads this, and with impeccable timing, Spike stopped talking and capped his mouth with his claws. Then he started making an expression as if to vomit, the more he did it, his cheeks swelled more and more, until finally Spike couldn't take it anymore and let out a huge green flare, in which jumped a little book that fell in front of Dusk Shine's hooves. After this, Spike took a couple of turns completely dizzy and fell to the ground.

Dusk wasn't greatly worried about Spike, he knew that Celestia liked to play bad jokes, but she'll never do real harm or damage to either. So he reached down and took the book that Princess Celestia had sent and his faithful companion had spat.

The book was titled 'HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS for dummies'. Dusk puts on an annoyed face before continuing to read the letter from Celestia.

"As you might have guessed, this book is for you, and it’ll be very helpful to meet your special 'punishment'. Although more than a punishment, it is a test that you must overcome, so please open the book."

This confused Dusk, who then leaves the scroll aside and takes the book to open it, it dropped a new scroll, in which Dusk levitated it and read:

"Royal Decree No. 2,104.

Starting today, XXXX of year XXXX, the pony known as 'Dusk Shine', current student of Princess Celestia, will work to make at least one new friend in the next 5 days, the deadline in which the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville will be held.

Until then, the aforementioned 'Dusk Shine' will be prohibited to go back to Canterlot.

In addition, if not met the work of friendship indicated above, the aforementioned 'Dusk Shine' will be prohibited from returning to Canterlot to resume his studies.

Communicate and publish it in all Equestria.

Signature, Princess Celestia"

Dusk Shine was pale, his mind blank from what he had just read.

Regaining his composure and praying that it was just a bad joke from the princess, he turned the scroll with the decree looking for more of the message. There was nothing. Then he came over to check the signature to make sure that the decree wasn't false. It was real. Then he grabbed the book and shook it waiting to drop out another scroll. Nothing fell. Finally, when he thought all was lost, Dusk recalled the first scroll and continued reading:

"I regret to have reached this extreme, and I know you're scared now, but trust me, I'm doing this for your own good. Friendship is more important than you think, it's something you can't learn if you lock yourself from the world and others, and I want with all my being that you discover that for yourself.

I trust that you will do it.

We will see you in 5 days.

Atte. your mentor

Princess Celestia"

Dusk was speechless, totally stunned. It was true. It was a royal decree. Dusk Shine was exiled here away from his books, his teacher, his family, and his own home in Canterlot, forced to look for a pony to be his friend, and if he didn't make one in 5 days he would never return home. Dusk Shine was totally in shock.

"Coff! Coff!" Spike coughed, standing up slowly from the ground and then taking his stomach and head. "Princess definitely crossed the line this time, imagine that-"

Spike stopped abruptly when he looks at his brother who was not moving and had his sight totally fixed at the horizon.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked approaching him.

Having no answer, Spike saw the scrolls on the floor and reads them, only then he realized why Dusk was in shock.

"Come on Dusk, this... is not so bad, you'll see" the little dragon comforted the pony. "It'll be good to take a vacation from your studies."

"But... studying is my life..." Dusk replied weakly.

Spike was silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. What Dusk had said was true, the young unicorn had spent most of his life studying, now telling him that he couldn't study and couldn't return to his home must be very hard for him.

"But... it'll be just for five days!" Spike said after thinking of a way to encourage his brother. "You'll see that soon we'll be back in our room of Canterlot, you only need to know a pony and become their friend, it can't be that hard, right?"

Dusk finally gave a heavy sigh and looked over to where Spike was.

"I guess you're right" Dusk smiled weakly at his companion.

"That's the spirit!" Spike replied with a big smile of enthusiasm.

With this, Dusk levitated both scrolls as Spike lifted the book, then they both started walking towards the picturesque little town called Ponyville, without knowing all the adventures that awaited them in that place.

"By the way, I like your new mane style."

"My... WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MANE!?"

#End of Chapter 1
> Chapter 2 - New Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Plan

"Well, where should we go specifica-" Spike stopped talking when he realized that his partner was not with him. "Come on Dusk, stop whining about your mane and move on."

From a few steps behind Spike, Dusk Shine walked totally overwhelmed by the news of his unexpected new look. He had been so absorbed with his arrival in Ponyville and with the task imposed by Celestia, that he hadn't noticed that the princess had taken the scissors and had cut his long and messy mane before sending him away from Canterlot (plus giving him a bath that he really needed). 

"My mane... my long mane..." Dusk lamented as he walked slowly, looking down. 

"Why are you complaining so much? You just started growing a long mane this year, that manecut you wear now is the same as you wore when you were younger." Spike reproached him, stopping to wait for him. "You look much better, not all of the colts look good with long mane. Furthermore you left yourself a long mane just to impress-"

"Don't say her name!" Dusk snapped. "You are not worthy to mention her name."

"Ahhh... as you wish. But anyway you know that you hadn't have the chance with her." Spike sighed annoyed. He really didn't understand why Dusk idolized and was in love with a mare whom he had no chance with.

Then, Dusk made a pouty face with crying eyes looking at Spike. The dragon passed a claw over his face, totally irritated. Most times Dusk acted like the older brother, but sometimes he acted like a real baby foal.

"But what can a baby dragon like me know about love..." Spike said theatrically.

"That's right!" Dusk Shine said staring at Spike before regaining his spirits. "Well, I guess I'll have to get used to it and just wait for it to grow again."

Recapturing the road together, both of them were silent for a few minutes until Spike spoke again.

"So... it's just only five days to the Summer Sun Celebration?” Spike asked casually, breaking the silence.

"Yup, that also will be my deadline to convince the princess that I can go back to Canterlot" Dusk replied calmly.

Spike noticed that at no time did Dusk mentioned the phrase "make friends". Could it be that Dusk Shine wanted to convince the princess just with words? Without fulfilling what she had asked him? This worried Spike, but he decided to leave this conversation for later.

"And why in Ponyville?" Spike asked. "Normally they celebrate in a big city like Canterlot or Manehattan.

"I asked the princess the same question when I found out a couple days ago that it'll take place here." Dusk said. "She told me that this was a special occasion and she wanted to celebrate it near the ancient castl-" Dusk suddenly stopped, both speaking and walking.

“Dusk? What's wrong?”

"That’s it! The ancient castle of the two sisters!" Dusk said with a smile slowly forming on his lips.

"What?" Spike asked confused at the sudden change in the attitude of his brother.

"The Castle of the two sisters, the old castle where the princesses lived before doing so in Canterlot!" Dusk said with much encouragement, taking the shoulders of his dragon companion. "I always wanted to visit it! Although my studies prevented me from doing so, but this was the place I always wanted to visit since I was a young colt! And now it's just around the corner!! Can you imagine all the history that is in its walls, the huge main hall, the-" At that moment, Dusk Shine's eyes opened to the utmost like huge dishes. "Oh Celestia, Oh Celestia, Oh Celestia! THE LIBRARY!! You'd imagine the library!

Dusk Shine was silent for a few seconds, looking at the horizon until he finally released Spike and he turned before saying "We must go!"

Spike was stunned, speechless.

"B-b-bu... but we should go to the town... and... don’t you think you should know the other ponies!?" Spike said awkwardly when he recovered his speech and digested what Dusk was saying.

"We have five days, which leaves us 4 days to study the library of the castle" Dusk said while walking to the opposite side to where the town is. "This is a unique opportunity in life, once I get back to Canterlot, I probably won't return to visit this town, so I must go now. Moreover, you yourself have said many times, making friends is easy. It only takes one day."

Dusk was clever, thought Spike, he was using his own words against him. And worse, the doubt that had been growing inside Spike grew larger, it seemed that Dusk really didn't want to make any friends.

Spike picked up the book he was carrying in one of his claws since they left the station.

"How to make friends for dummies, huh?" Spike said to himself, reading the book title. "It seems that this dummy needs something better than this to get friends..."

Then, Spike began to formulate a plan, a way to get Dusk to talk to other ponies. It would be difficult to achieve without Dusk realizing that, because his brother was very smart, but he had to try.

Spike clutched the book and went to follow his traveling companion, who had gone very far.

"Dusk!" Spike shouted when he finally reached him.

"You took your time coming, what’s taking you so long?" Dusk said, pausing for a moment so that Spike could take a breather after his career.

"Listen..." Spike said after recovering. "I... I agree to go with you to the library."

"Really?" A smile appeared on the lips of Dusk.

"Yes..." Spike said reluctantly. "But it's risky to leave until the last day to do an important task like that. At least you should have... an action plan."

"A plan?" Dusk Shine's ears rise on alert. Bingo! Spike had captured his full attention, now he just needed to throw in the bait.

"Yeah! You could make a list or something, just to make sure you'll achieve it, in case you meet a potential friend."

Dusk Shine's eyes twinkled as Spike mentioned the word 'list'.

"Yes... it might be a good idea..." Dusk said feigning interest.

"Good!" said Spike, happy that Dusk Shine had grabbed the bait. Then he set out to prepare his trap.

Spike took one of the scrolls sent by Celestia, he flipped it and began to write with a writing quill he always carried for emergencies.

"What are the steps to achieve in making a friend?" Spike said with the quill in claw, staring at Dusk.

"Hmm... I don't know..." Dusk said thoughtfully.

"Maybe... take an advice from the book that the princess had sent you?" Spike suggested sheepishly.

"Yes, I guess..."

"Yeah, very good!" Spike said animatedly. "So when you see a stranger pony, you'll try some of the tips in it." Spike repeated aloud what he had written on the scroll. "And then…"

"I know! I came up with a better idea!" Dusk exclaimed, levitating with magic the scroll and the quill that Spike had.

With this, Dusk began to write and finally he showed Spike what he had written in the following steps: 

"Steps in making a friend:

Step 1:Seeing a stranger pony, take some tips from the book and try them, then...

Step 2:Feign interest in that pony and their activities.

Step 3:Pretend that I enjoy his/her company.

Step 4:Convince him/her that I'm his/her friend.

Step 5:Show him/her to Celestia.

Step 6:Discard the false friendship.

Step 7:Back to Canterlot.

The End."

Spike swallowed nervously. He couldn't believe what Dusk had written, that not only destroyed Spike's plan in forcing Dusk to make friends through the list, but also buried all hopes of Spike in the future. The unfriendliness of Dusk was a much more serious problem than he had initially thought and now he understood why the princess had to take such drastic measures.

"Pretend? Discard the false friendship?" Spike asked shakily. "You...don't you want to have a true friend?"

"In any case, I just need a 'friend' for the day" said Dusk, somewhat annoyed.

Both of them were silent for a long time.

Dusk stared at the disconsolate face that Spike had. His brother really wanted him to make friends. But Dusk definitely didn't want that, that would have went against everything he had told himself that he would never do, however this seemed to be affecting  Spike more than Dusk.

Dusk finally decided that for the sake of his brother, he would have to give up.

"Okay, you win, I must admit I was too cold when I wrote about a false friendship." Dusk said, grinning at Spike. "I promise you that if the occasion arises, I'll try to make a true friendship with some of the ponies of this place."

This raised the spirits of Spike. There was still hope.

Then the dragon spat at one of his claws and pointed it at Dusk. "Promise?" Spike said smiling.

Dusk made the same gesture and they greeted. "Promise" Dusk answered, smiling back.

"So..." Spike said with a false pleading look, remembering that he should return to his original plan. "How about we go to the town to ask for directions about where the castle is?"

This was the trap of Spike, the perfect opportunity for Dusk to talk to someone. It was impossible to go into town and not find a pony, so Dusk would have to put into practice what he had promised; and better yet, he hadn't written the promise in the list, he had promised him in person with a spit handshake like spit brothers! It was infallible!

"No" Dusk said simply. He turned around and went to the opposite way to where the town was.

Spike froze again.

"B-but you don't know where the castle is, let's go to town and ask for directions!" Spike spoke while he was following Dusk. He knew that when Dusk got an idea in his head, he was very difficult to dissuade, but now Dusk had to accept that to take the indications, they necessarily have to go to town and talk to a local pony.

"Needless to say" Dusk Shine said. "I know that the castle is near to the center of Everfree forest, to the southwest of this town! And if we go around the town, we won't come across with a local pony!"

Then Dusk put on a sinister smile.





"I know what you're planning, don't worry, as I promised, I'll speak with a pony but only when I see one, and that will probably happen after spending 4 days enjoying the library of the old castle. Ju ju ju" Dusk laughed maliciously while he saw the plans of Spike being destroyed.

It was true, there was a hole in the plan of Spike. Dusk was bound by his promise to engage in a conversation with a pony if he found one, as Spike planned, but if Dusk didn't find a pony in 4 days, he wouldn't be breaking his promise.

"He fell into my trap on purpose, he knew it all along." Spike thought resigned. Then, he gave a loud sigh and continued to follow Dusk, smiling to see that despite all his efforts, he could never beat the cunning mind of his brother.

#End of Chapter 2
> Chapter 3 - A shy first encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A shy first encounter

"You’re lost, aren't you?" Spike said after seeing that Dusk was frantically looking everywhere. "I told you we have to ask for directions!"

"I'm not lost!" Dusk replied annoying. "It's just... the shortcut that I took, it left me a little disoriented."

Dusk had surrounded the town heading towards the southwest, it was the right direction, but every time he saw a house, Dusk took a small detour to avoid it. So they were deviating slightly from their path.

"See? Here is the forest!" Dusk said happily pointing the way forward, towards the beginning of a forest. "I told you I didn't need to ask for directions."

Both of them left the road and are headed towards the bright forest.

"Is this the infamous and dark Everfree forest?" Spike asked looking everywhere.

This forest was far from gloomy. Sunlight easily passed between the branches of serene trees, leaving large gaps bathed by its light; it could hear the pleasant songs of birds all over the place, butterflies flitted from one side to another, and if they looked carefully they could see fluffy bunnies hiding when they see both of them walking.

This was far from being a dark forest.

"Well... maybe Canterlot's ponies exaggerated when they spoke of it." Dusk replied unsure because he was also having doubts about whether this was really the Everfree forest.

"I guess the best will be-" Dusk couldn't finish speaking because he became alert to hear something far into the distance.

Dusk looked at Spike and motioned him to follow, they both went slowly and silently to where the sound was. As they are approaching nearer, they could hear that it was a voice, a melodious voice humming a pretty tune.

When they arrived near the sound, they hid behind a bush, and with their hooves and claws opened a space through it to see where the sound came from.

In front of them, giving them back, there was a beautiful yellow pegasus, with a long tail and mane of light pink color, she had huge calypso eyes and three pink butterflies on their sides that formed her cutie mark, all accompanied by a beautiful voice.

Dusk stood looking at her for a moment and then he closed quickly the hole that he had opened in the bush and turned facing the other side.

After a few seconds when Dusk stared at nothing, he began to look down towards Spike. There he saw that his dragon brother had a huge smile and was staring at him.

Dusk was not expecting this, finding a pony in the forest, this was precisely what he didn't want to do, meet someone. Now he would have to keep his promise, as he had promised Spike, and the dragon knew it, for that reason Spike couldn't get off that huge smile of triumph on his face.

The voice of the mare was still singing, she did not notice that behind a bush were Dusk and Spike hiding. Neither of them wanted to stop the singing and/or scare the mare, so they both looked at each other and soundlessly communicated with glances and signs among them.

"Let's get out of here." Dusk explained with signals to Spike, beckoning with his hooves and looking away repeatedly.

"Of course not!" Spike replied to him with signals, crossing his arms and pointing at him and his heart, which meant "you promised."

Dusk covered his face with his hooves as frustration sample.

"Okay, but what should I do?" Dusk asked with signals after a few seconds.

"Go and talk with her" Spike pointed with signals, then he took a small branch that was on the floor and placed it on his ear, one end of the branch was on his ear and the other end was curved and finished near his mouth. Spike pointed various times at the branch, hoping that Dusk could guess what he wanted to do.

And indeed, Dusk understood what Spike wanted. The unicorn brought his horn to the branch and then it shimmered while at the end that was near the mouth of Spike, a small and bright purple magic ball was formed.

This was a spell that Dusk had invented a few months ago, this spell made a small object work as a headset, thus when a unicorn performs the spell he could communicate through this instrument with another possessing the hearing instrument. It was actually a very useful spell, Princess Celestia had praised Dusk when he invented it, but Dusk never thought it was really usefull, as it had the limitation that it could only communicate with two beings at one time and both of them had to be less than 15 bodies away, otherwise the magic headset would stop working. Therefore, Dusk only used it a few times to play with Spike.

Spike approached the brilliant end to his mouth and whispered:

"Go to that mare and talk to her, I'll be watching you and giving you tips of the book from here."

Spike's whisper was so weak that he had made almost no sound, but Dusk had clearly heard what his brother had whispered in the magic headset. This was a secure way Spike could speak slowly and only Dusk could hear him.

Dusk turned to the direction to where the mare was. He really didn't want to do this, but he had promised Spike, so he inhaled and exhaled to calm himself down a bit and then he walked around the bush that stood between him and the mare.

The yellow pegasus was singing happily as she gathered a group of small birds flying around her. Every birds chirped following the melody of the mare, until suddenly they were surprised and flown away from her.

"What happened?" The mare asked when she saw that her birds had fled.

"Ehh... excuse me..." Came a voice behind her, which made her jump enormously.

Dusk had approached the yellow pony and he was shocked in the same way when he saw how he inadvertently scared that mare.

Dusk froze, like the pegasus who seemed petrified while she hid herself behind her own mane, watching with great fear to Dusk, it seemed that at any moment that the mare would cry or would flee the place.

Dusk began to see himself, lifting his hooves to see if he had stepped on something or if there was anything out of place that had scared the mare in that way.

"Must be my mane" Dusk thought, convincing himself that this new look of his mane didn't favor him.

"Please don't be scared" Dusk spoke again, breaking the silence. "I just... wanted to ask you if... here is the Everfree forest..." Dusk invented at the time after realizing that he didn't have a plan for how to start a conversation.

The mare remained in total silence, and Dusk was not sure but it seemed that when he mentioned the word 'Everfree', the mare had begun to tremble weakly.

"Spike~ This isn't working~" said Dusk, singing weakly as he didn't stop smiling, knowing that although he whispered, Spike could clearly hear him through the magical headset.

"Wait a second!" Dusk heard Spike's voice in his mind speaking through the headset. "Let me see the book. Let's see... Chapter one... Meeting a friend, a warm greeting is a good way to start a conversation..." Spike read the book.

"That didn't work, give me something else" Dusk whispered, still smiling at the yellow mare, who is still watching him.

"Let's see... ask her name!" Spike said animatedly.

"Err... sorry, w-what is your name?" Dusk spoke to the pegasus, trying not to look uncomfortable and taking a small step towards her.

"... Fluttershy..." the yellow pegasus whispered weakly, taking a small step back.

“Crap, this isn't working!” Dusk Shine thought, beginning to grow impatient to see that apparently he had encountered the shyest pony of Equestria.

"I'm sorry but I didn't hear your name, could you repeat it?" Dusk said, gathering his patience and giving another couple of steps to get closer to the mare, to listen better if she was to whisper her name again.

The pegasus opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn't speak, because before she does, a loud roar was heard nearby. Both the mare and Dusk stopped looking at each other and directed their view in the distance to know what was that noise.

"GROAR!" a bear that looked not far away, growled again strongly and beginning its career to where they were.

While the bear was heading towards them, Dusk started shaking and cursing in his thoughts “Why now!? A wild bear attacks us! Damn my luck!” Then he quickly thought of his course of action: 

"I'll never win a race against a bear, if I run he'll eat me. I don't think I'm strong enough to paralyze a wild bear with my magic, it would be a gamble. I could teleport myself with magic, but if I have to teleport myself, a mare and Spike, I can't do it from far away and also I'll waste my magic power in vain. If only I were alone! I could save myself if I leave this mare, but I can't! Crap! What do I do!?" Dusk thought frantically, unable to find an appropriate solution.

"RUN, DUSK, RUN!" Spike shouted through the headset, as he saw the bear coming towards them.

"If this mare got freaked out just by seeing me, she must be in shock now that a bear attacks us, I can't tell her that she must flee while I distract the bear. I don't know what to do! I just know that I can't abandon her to her fate!" Dusk's mind finally came to a suicidal conclusion, while the bear running towards them was getting closer.

"Oh! He’s just Harr-" the mare spoke for the first time in an audible voice, only to be interrupted by Dusk Shine.

"Don't be afraid!" Dusk exclaimed loudly, as he moved a hoof forward to protect the yellow pegasus. "I'll protect you" Dusk Shine said firmly, facing his impending doom.





The pegasus stared at Dusk. "Was this pony who didn't know her trying to protect her? Was he risking his life for her?" The mare thought looking from behind Dusk. This was a gesture that no one had ever done for her, much less a colt. The heart of the pegasus started beating faster, not when she looked at the 'dangerous' bear coming towards them, but rather when she looked at the brave purple unicorn that  was in front of her.

"I can’t look!" Spike shouted through the headset, while Dusk saw his life passing through his eyes (indeed a very boring life, as almost all of his life had been about studying).

The bear was in front of them, Dusk was motionless, totally scared, but he didn't want to show it in front of the mare he was trying to protect. Dusk closed his eyes and prepared for what was coming, he gave his life to luck of fate. But nothing prepared him for what was going to happened.

As soon as the bear stood in front of them, he grabbed both Dusk and the yellow pegasus and gave them a big hug while buffeted from side to side very warmly.

Dusk Shine's face showed total disbelief while being embraced by the bear that he thought was going to devour him a few seconds ago.

After shaking them, the bear stopped hugging and left them gently on the ground.

"So you missed me, right Harry?" the pegasus said gently as she began petting the bear on his head.

"Groar!" the bear growled affectionately, like a puppy.

This time it was Dusk’s turn to stay speechless as he stared at the bizarre scene of a timid mare petting a ferocious bear, totally stunned.

The yellow pegasus needed a few seconds to again be aware of the presence of Dusk. She had acted instinctively to give affection to the bear that she had forgotten that she was in front of the purple unicorn. As she realized, she blushed, stopped petting the huge bear and returned to her timid attitude.

An awkward silence was in place, the bear was dozing by the affection he had received, the embarrassed mare was looking down and the poor Dusk was still motionless with his mouth wide open in shock to pass so quickly from the fear of death to absolute surprise. 

"I... I’m really sorry that Harry scared you, but he's a good bear." the pegasus said softly, mustering her courage to take the voice and apologize. "He never attacks anyone, mr. ehh..."

The pegasus waited for the unicorn to complete the sentence. For his part, Dusk took a moment to react and realize that he had still maintained a stupid face and the mare was waiting for an answer.

"Ehh... Dusk, Dusk Shine." Dusk finally finished the sentence.

It reigned again a long silence.

"And... your name is...?" Dusk began the conversation again when he realized that he still didn't know the name of the mare and besides, this was the natural course of a conversation after someone had asked the name of one.

"Oh! My name is Fluttershy." The pegasus replied, as if she had been waiting for Dusk to ask her this question.

For some reason now the mare spoke in an audible voice and best of all, it seemed that she was no longer afraid of Dusk. "Perhaps it's because she feels guilty for scaring me with the bear" Dusk thought. But regardless of whatever reason, this was the opportunity he needed to have a conversation with a pony and fulfill what he had promised Spike.

"Ehh... Miss Fluttershy, I... I'm a pony from Canterlot and for some reasons I'd rather not remember, I ended up near here, in Ponyville, and now I went to a castle that should be near here but I'm afraid that I'm lost. Apparently you live nearby, could you show me the right direction?" Dusk said with excessive politeness, as if he were dictating a letter.

"Groar..." Dusk couldn't continue the conversation because he was interrupted by the low growl of the bear who pushed with his muzzle the mane of Fluttershy.

"I think I can help you, just give me a minute." Fluttershy said, turning towards the bear.

Meanwhile, at the same moment, Spike was behind the bush. He had been face down with ears plugged and eyes tightly closed. As soon as he had seen the bear in front of Dusk, and seeing that his brother had not run, he had thrown himself to the floor and covered his ears so as to not listen as his beloved brother was getting devoured. He had been that way for a while now, with the fear of knowing what he would see once he opened his eyes. Finally he steeled himself, opened his eyes and stood. Between him and what was left of Dusk and the mare after the bear attack, only the bush prevented his full view. Spike gulped and slowly opened a space in the bush to see what had happened.

The little dragon didn't believe what he saw. There his brother Dusk was completely safe, with his mouth wide open and looking at what most surprised Spike. There the yellow mare was, subjecting the bear on the floor, jumping on him and beating the ferocious beast on his back and neck.

"This... THIS IS A WILD MARE!" Spike thought when he saw what seemed to be a shy pony before had become a brave fighter and she 'attacked' the big bear mercilessly.

"I didn't know the provincial ponies were so wild!" Spike thought, slowly closing the hole he had used to see through the bush and hiding himself again while a shiver ran down his back. "Maybe it was not such a good idea to force Dusk to talk to these ponies." Spike thought.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy ended 'attacking' the bear.

"That... that was amazing!" Dusk said surprised after watching as the mare had handled the huge bear. "Anyone would think you were fighting, it was amazing."

"It... it was nothing..." Fluttershy shyly replied in which the more praise she received, the more she blushed. "It's just that once a month Harry needs his massage, it's something violent in sight, but I must massage strongly so he can feel it through his great coat."

Both of them stared for a few seconds before Fluttershy looked away embarrassed.

"Oh, it's true! I haven't even introduce my partner yet." Dusk said excitedly looking towards the bush. "Spike, come out!"

"Friend?" Fluttershy asked shyly.

"Yeah, he's a dragon, he is my only greatest friend, rather he is like my brother." Dusk said heading for the bush.

As soon as Fluttershy heard the word 'dragon', her fear came back and she began to tremble.

"D-dra-dragon?" Fluttershy stammered, cowering on herself and retreating. "I... I don't think it's a good idea."

"Don't worry, he is very friendly and outgoing, you'll like him. Why don't you-" Dusk stopped talking when he realized that Spike was no longer behind that bush.

"Spike, where are you?" Dusk spoke softly, knowing it wasn't necessary to scream because Spike can hear it thanks to the magical headset.

"I hid on another side, I don't want to meet that pony!" Spike said through the headset in Dusk's mind.

"Why not?" Dusk asked.

"Did you see how she handled the bear? And I thought she was weak and timid! The truth is she scared me... Anyway, it's YOUR job to become her friend, not mine! I don't want that she knocks me out as she did with the bear." Spike replied scared in Dusk's mind.

"You don't understand, what happened was-" Dusk tried to explain the situation before being interrupted by a soft voice.

"Uh... excuse me Mr.Dusk, who are you talking to?" Fluttershy asked innocently after realizing that Dusk was talking to himself.

"Ah! I'm talking to Spike, what happens is that only I can listen to him." Dusk said without giving much importance to what she said.

"Only you?" Fluttershy asked confused.

"Yes, in my mind." Dusk said.

"Ohhh..." Fluttershy said softly, standing up.

Now Fluttershy thought she understood what was happening, she just needed to connect the dots. Dusk had said that Spike was his only friend, that only he could hear him and he spoke in his mind, besides he was a dragon, a dragon friend! How absurd!! No huge and terrifying dragon could be small enough to hide behind a small bush. There could only be one explanation, Spike the dragon was the imaginary friend of Mr. Dusk!

Fluttershy approached Dusk and she greeted the air.

"Nice to meet you Spike!" Fluttershy said speaking to the nothingness and then looking piously to Dusk. "You say this dragon is your only friend?"

"Ehh... yes..." Dusk replied confused as to why Fluttershy was greeting at nothing.

"Ohh...! So you and Mr. Dusk are like brothers and you are always together, I see... "Fluttershy continued talking to the air, believing that she was talking to the imaginary friend of Dusk. "It is fortunate that you are a friendly dragon, dragons usually terrify me."

"With whom is this pony speaking to? Besides being wild, is she also crazy?" Dusk heard Spike conversing in his mind.

Dusk was slowly opening his eyes when he understood what was happening, Fluttershy thought Spike was imaginary! This was bad, now the pony with which he had tried to have a conversation with to become her friend would think he was crazy. Dusk thought about correcting her immediately, but then he remembered what Fluttershy just said: 'dragons terrified her'. If he made Spike go out of hiding place and Fluttershy realized that he was a real dragon, she would freeze with fright or worse, she would run away. It definitely was not a good idea to show Spike right now, besides Spike also was afraid of her. "What a headache!" Dusk thought. Finally he decided that the best for now would be to play along with Fluttershy, it also seemed that she didn't think of Dusk like a madpony, rather it seemed that she had some worth for him, which in any case was useful if he wanted to convince this mare to become his friend.

Harry, the bear, began sniffing at Dusk's mane, this made Dusk snapped back to reality and get out of his thoughts.

"Nice bear... nice bear..." Dusk began to stutter with some fear, stepping backwards.

"Please don't be afraid" Fluttershy said, approaching him. "Harry would never hurt you, he's just smelling to remind you, probably because he likes you."

Dusk allowed the bear to finish sniffing him, then Harry smiled and walked away quietly.

"You see? He's big but he's very kind and caring." Fluttershy said cheerfully.

They both smiled at each other. Definitely there was no tension in the air, both Fluttershy and Dusk looked much more relaxed and natural in their speaking and acting.

"I think it's time to go." Fluttershy said suddenly. "I still have to visit many animals in the forest."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dusk." Fluttershy smiled. "Oh! And you too, Spike!" Fluttershy said looking at the empty space in front of the bush.

The mare started to walk away, leaving Dusk slightly blushed and with a strange new feeling.

"She really has a beautiful smile..." Dusk thought.

While the mare started to walk away, Dusk quickly woke up and spoke to Spike.

"Spike! What do I do!? What should I tell her? How do I convince her to be my friend before she goes away!?"

"What do you...?" Spike replied in the magical headset. "You want... you want to befriend her? That is fantastic! That is…! Erm... are you sure you don't want to look for another pony? It's just that mare making me a little scared..."

"Well... it's not that I'm eager to make friends, I... I just want to fulfill the promise I made you." Dusk said sheepishly.

Spike was surprised, he knew Dusk perfectly well, he knew when Dusk was lying or hiding something. Is it true that Dusk was beginning to open up and to consider making real friends? If his hunch was right, this was great! At last Dusk really wanted to meet someone else and become his friend!

While it was true that the yellow mare terrified Spike, for the dragon, it was more important that Dusk again believe in friendship, rather than their own fear, and if his brother wanted to befriend a pony-who-knocks-bears, he would help. So Spike quickly took the book 'How to make friends, for dummies' and sought a new hint.

"Okay, okay, listen... ask her for her interests, that should help." Spike said quickly.

"Eh... F-Fluttershy!" Dusk shouted running towards where the mare walked.

"Yes?" Fluttershy asked innocently.

"I... I’m asking so, what are your interests?" Dusk asked nervously.

Fluttershy looked confused for a moment, this was a very sudden question considering that until a few seconds ago they were saying goodbye. However she decided to answer and not spin around the matter, because being honest with herself, for some reason Fluttershy had been glad that Dusk hadn't left yet and that he wanted to keep talking to her.

"I like taking care of animals" Fluttershy said softly, blushing a little.

"That's great!" Dusk said animatedly. "A pony who cares for animals, that's the reason for your cutie mark, right? I guess our talents are completely different, I like to study and for that reason I'm almost always in a library."

"So... you've never been in contact with animals?" Fluttershy asked with some regret.

"Well... I've seen several books, also there are some animals in the castle garden, but I have never come close to them."

A few seconds passed as Fluttershy looked down, then she closed her eyes and bit her lip. It seems as if she was debating with herself about doing something or not. Finally she looked shyly at Dusk and spoke.

"Y-you like to accompany me to see the animals?"

Dusk stared at the face of the mare. Fluttershy looked so fragile, so innocent, her shy and huge eyes staring at him waiting for an answer. Dusk again felt a strange feeling inside him.

"Sure! I'd love to accompany you!" Dusk replied without thinking.

As soon as he answered, both Spike and Dusk were amazed at the response. Had Dusk really agreed to go caring for animals in the woods with an unknown pony? Spike stood with his mouth open, while Dusk still didn't understand why he had responded so quickly without thinking, without a strategy, he just FELT it was right.

"Really!? I'm glad to hear that! Let's go!" Fluttershy responded brightly with a smile.

She had been so afraid that he rejected her. But as always said a friend with whom she went always to the spa, sometimes you have to have some courage and speak your voice out, and thus sometimes you'll get your reward.

Fluttershy started walking, then Dusk Shine quickly followed her, sharing the smile that the mare had given him, not understanding why, he just knew that he was happy for some reason. And further back, Spike followed them cautiously, moving from bush to bush, still incredulous that Dusk was interacting with another pony by his own choice.





The evening was falling fast while Fluttershy took Dusk (and Spike) by different sectors of the forest.

Dusk accompanied her while they were visiting the ducks and swans that were in a small lake, then they visited the rabbit holes, the oaks where squirrels clambered happily, the homes of beavers and raccoons, the holes where snakes and lizards slept, and they visited the different wooden houses carefully placed in the trees that served as home to the most diverse and colorful birds of the place.

As the afternoon progresses more, Dusk Shine was surprised more and more.

One of the reasons for his surprise was the extensive nature and the beauty of the place, without any stores, houses or other buildings, only nature, which could be called the true Equestria, beautiful landscapes where many living creatures ran totally free while they were bathed in sunlight, winds of sunset, summer heat... a beautiful vision that Dusk never imagined to see in reality, and he never could have seen it if he hadn't left his room-library in Canterlot. 

The second reason for his astonishment, and perhaps the most powerful, it was to see Fluttershy. While it was true that at the beginning of their walk together they didn't talk much, mainly because Dusk didn't know what to talk about because he wasn't used to improvising conversations with others, the atmosphere gradually became more pleasing when he saw how each forest creature approached them and were petted easily by the yellow mare, all creatures seemed to love Fluttershy, and Fluttershy corresponds to them. This love and kindness that the mare emanated seemed to go beyond her natural talent, shown in her cutie mark, even Dusk had to admit that every time he felt more comfortable to be next to the pegasus.

That was how they slowly began to talk more freely, which also made Fluttershy, who apparently spoke and felt calmer when she was surrounded by her animals. Thus Dusk learned that they weren't really in the Everfree forest, but it was only a small grove that was before he entered the dark forest; And that Fluttershy used to spend most of her time on the outskirts of town and she just went there when she had to buy something special or when she wanted to meet with her friends; Dusk also learned that despite being a pegasus, she didn't like flying much and since she had left Cloudsdale being small, she had devoted herself to care for the animals living there.

Both ponies were talking about the animals that Fluttershy took care of, while the sun began to set.

"So, you know all the animals that live in this place?" Dusk asked.

"Well, not all, but many of them. Also I must constantly be seeing new babies when they are born." Fluttershy replied calmly.

"Luckily there are only small field animals, I guess the most frightening is the bear I met a while ago." Dusk said, laughing a little.

"Oh, no, Harry is not at all scary. On the other hoof..." Fluttershy became thoughtful for a moment. "I guess Angel is... yes, he's a bit frightening."

Hearing this, Dusk stopped and a cold sweat ran down his spine.

"A-Angel is scarier than Harry?" Dusk asked nervously.

"Oh yes, definitely, when he didn't like his food or when he is in a bad mood, he's really terrible. Even frightens me to get close to him in those cases." Fluttershy said with a slightly worried smile, as if she was remembering something.

Dusk couldn't avoid panic about this, an animal that even Fluttershy feared!? She! Who could even calm a huge bear just with her voice! Dusk could only imagine how terrible that creature is...

Meanwhile, Spike had spent all afternoon chasing both ponies, however, he stayed far enough away from 'the wild' Fluttershy so she wouldn't discover him, regrettably, this had prevented the magical headset from working properly because it had to be closer to Dusk to operate. Besides, he didn't want to interrupt this unique opportunity Dusk had to make friends.

Suddenly, a bush that was in front of Spike began to stir, this made the dragon put on alert immediately. Expecting the worst, either a bear attack or a terrifying creature, Spike took a branch that was near him and stood on guard, waiting to see what would come out of the bush.

Spike couldn't hide his bewilderment when out of the bushes, instead of a terrible beast appearing, appeared just a lovely little white bunny.

"Ohhh~ it's just a cute bunny~" Spike said it like talking to a baby. "Come here boy."

Spike slowly brought his claw near the bunny. The bunny looked at his claw and then looked at Spike's face, to the surprise of Spike, with a look of anger. The poor dragon didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

At the same time, Dusk and Fluttershy were about to keep walking, while the idea of a terrible creature called Angel still hovers over Dusk's mind. In that moment, when suddenly they both heard a loud scream coming from the bushes. Both looked with a scared face, then without a word, both were slowly moving towards the bush.

Once they were in front of the bush, both were frozen to see that from the bush ran towards them a small dragon being attacked by the nibbles of a little white bunny.

"WAHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Spike yelled at Dusk, trying to get rid of the fast rabbit with his claws.

Dusk Shine went from amazement to laughter, or rather he would have done completely at the sight of his young comrade being attacked by a bunny, if not because it looked like the little rabbit was really causing a headache to Spike. He was about to act when he was stopped by the words of Fluttershy.

"Angel, stop!" Fluttershy said firmly.

In response to this, the bunny immediately stopped, while he still had his paws clutching Spike's ear and his teeth ready to bite it. Then he gave a couple of hops and stood in front of Fluttershy.

"Is that Angel?" Dusk questioned incredulously. "But it's just a bunny!"

"A terrifying bunny..." Spike said lying on the ground, totally exhausted and somewhat sore from the small bites that Angel gave him.

"Why did you attack him!?" Fluttershy asked the bunny. After some squeaks that neither Dusk nor Spike could understand, Fluttershy continued to speak with him. "Okay, maybe he woke you up from your nap but it is not an excuse to attack him."

Finally the rabbit crossed his paws, he looked to the other side annoyed and let out another squeak.

"Angel says he's sorry." Fluttershy finally said, who apparently understood perfectly what the rabbit had said. "I'm really sorry eh... you... who are you?"

The meeting that Dusk had tried to avoid, it had happened naturally, and in the worst way possible. Knowing that there was no other solution, he decided to present them.

"Spike, she's Fluttershy. Fluttershy, he's Spike."

Fluttershy's eyes opened slowly.

"A baby dragon..." Fluttershy said softly.

Dusk feared this, Fluttershy had said earlier that she was terrified of dragons, most likely now she was scared. Before that happened Dusk was prepared to stop her and explain that Spike was not dangerous. However the pegasus, instead of running away from Spike, she quickly approached the dragon.

"YOU REALLY ARE A BABY DRAGON! I had never seen one before! AND YOU TALK! Uh~ you're a sweetheart, you're-" Fluttershy had moved herself much closer to Spike to pet him, but as soon as she was about to touch the dragon, he moved away, to the surprise of Fluttershy.

"What... what happened?" Fluttershy asked surprised. For her who was loved by all the forest creatures,  Spike’s fear of her was very anguishing.

"Calm down, both of you." Dusk interrupted, knowing that if he didn't do this, this could turn into a disaster. "Everything is a misunderstanding, let me explain to you..."

Thus, Dusk explained everything in detail, about the fear that Spike had of Fluttershy, about the false attack of the bear and the massage that Fluttershy gave to Harry, that Spike was not imaginary, and that he had hidden himself in the bushes and had been following them.

Finally Spike was visibly calmer when he understood that Fluttershy was not dangerous, there was only one question from Dusk.

"Why aren’t you scared when you  see Spike?" Dusk asked.

"Well... he's an adorable baby dragon, not a huge and terrifying adult dragon, they are very different." Fluttershy replied simply. "Besides, it’s my first time getting to know one."

Inadvertently, the explanation from Dusk had spread enough and already the evening had given way to night. Therefore, Dusk kindly offered to accompany Fluttershy to her home, after all it was what a gentlecolt had to do (Celestia had always taught Dusk on etiquette and behavior of a gentlecolt, lessons that in the moment Dusk never appreciated but always fulfilled).

As they walked, Fluttershy began conversing with Spike, asking him about his life, his tastes, his habits. Spike had no problem in responding, in fact he liked that attention that focuses on him and not on his brother Dusk, as it almost always happened. And he would have enjoyed it even more if not for the little bunny sitting on the head of Fluttershy, he was staring at Spike, who realized this. Spike decided not to look into him and tries to ignore him while he talked with Fluttershy. But they both knew the truth, both of them thought the same thing: "Today you have earned a mortal enemy!"

Meanwhile, Dusk initially was happy that Spike was conversing with this friendly mare he had known, after all, like himself, Spike didn't have many friends. But after a few minutes, Dusk slowly began to feel displaced and upset for some reason, a feeling that all other ponies would have been able to identify immediately, all ponies less Dusk Shine, who always analyzed everything in a mathematical and logical way, he couldn't identify feelings, less the feelings of himself. However he was finally able to reach a conclusion, perhaps what he felt was... jealousy? But jealous of what? Dusk's brain couldn't think and his heart didn't want to admit that the jealousy he felt were the product that he wanted to spend more time alone with Fluttershy.

Finally, after a short walk, the three arrived at Fluttershy’s home. This was a small two-storey house that was perfectly camouflaged in the forest with its roof of leaves, it had several windows around itself with a small chimney on top; near it past beside a creek, and surrounding itself there were a multitude of aviaries.

"This is my home" Fluttershy said sheepishly.

"Well... then it's mission accomplished." Dusk said awkwardly, who basically didn't want to say goodbye yet. "I think it's time to go... let's go Spike."

Dusk was indecisive for a moment, he didn't know what was the right way to say goodbye, if with a hug, kissing a hoof like a gentlecolt, just saying goodbye... Finally he decided to do just a small bow, turned himself around and started to walk.

"Okay... but where are we going?" Spike said, who still stood beside Fluttershy.

Spike had touched a vital point, Dusk didn't know where to go.

"W-well... we'll continue on our way to the old castle, of course." Dusk said, trying not to show that he didn't know where to go. "Ehh... Fluttershy, could you show us the way to the Everfree Forest?"

"Ehh... y-yes I can, but..." Fluttershy began to speak, very shyly. "I wouldn't recommend it, that forest is really scary, with wild and dangerous creatures."

Fluttershy's response made both Spike and Dusk freeze their skin, Spike more evident as he began to shake.

"Then there is no way we’ll go there!" Spike said totally freaked out and looking at Dusk. "Even Fluttershy doesn't dare to go, she who can calm the animals, in no way you can think I'll go with you there!"

Dusk had to yield this time, there was no way he could follow the path and leave Spike behind, besides he hated to admit it, but he was also afraid to venture into the dangerous forest, even more so in the night. With this, the idea of going to visit the old castle was discarded for now.

"Okay, you're right." Dusk finally said. "I guess we'll have to go to town. Fluttershy, do you know if there is any inn in town? "

"Yes, there is one, at the entrance of the town." Fluttershy spoke kindly.

"Well, come on now." Dusk said again turning around and starting to walk. "Spike, how much money do we have? To know if we can pay for a deluxe room for five days."

"Ehh... Dusk, I have no money." Spike said, who didn't move from Fluttershy’s side.

Dusk again realized something primordial, something that he should be noted from the outset... they didn't have any money! How could he have been so careless!? And especially, why did the princess sent them to another town without a single coin!

Dusk slowly began to turn his head to look at Spike with a look of fear on his face, this time he didn't know what to say, they were stranded in Ponyville with no money even to pay for a simple room for one night, this meant that they should spend the night in the streets, they would change to sleep in a huge room in Canterlot for the streets of a small peasant village. Spike immediately understood what was going through Dusk's mind and he put the same face of terror, both stared at each other what to them seemed an eternity.

"If you don't have a place to sleep..." the melodious voice of Fluttershy gently broke the silence. "You can stay to sleep with me tonight..."

Fluttershy looked fleetingly at Dusk Shine and then she corrected herself.

"I mean, in my house, not with me!" Fluttershy said quickly, who was totally blushing.

Dusk's brain was slow to process the invitation of Fluttershy, so Spike spoke first.

"Really? That would be great!" Spike said cheerfully, seeing as Fluttershy was saving them from sleeping outdoors.

Fluttershy smiled at Spike and both of them headed to enter the house. Meanwhile, Dusk was still a little confused, this was a kindness few had appreciated in a big city like Canterlot, where it was even dangerous to walk in certain neighborhoods at night. This made Dusk ask himself "Would he have been able to do the same for another pony...? Perhaps this... was friendship...? "

Finally the three entered Fluttershy's house, a house less rustic than it looked outside, as well as being very welcoming.

"The truth is, is that I only have one bed, you can use it while I sleep on the couch." Fluttershy said with a smile, pointing to the stairs.

"No way!" Dusk interrupted. "It's already very nice of you to let us sleep in your house, we won't take your bed, we'll be fine on the couch, right Spike?"

"Erm... yeah, right." Spike said slowly, he knew Dusk was right, but he would sincerely love to sleep in a bed after having slept in a bag.

After this, Fluttershy gave them blankets to keep themselves warm, she wished them goodnight and went upstairs with Angel.

"Good night, Fluttershy!" Spike said cheerfully while the pegasus climbed the stairs.

"Good night, and... thanks again for letting us stay here..." Dusk said sheepishly.

Fluttershy blushed slightly, smiled and went up the stairs.

Once on the second floor, Fluttershy approached her bed and slowly lay between the sheets. Meanwhile Angel, who had jumped from the back of Fluttershy once she had reached to the second floor, took a couple of jumps and reached the edge of Fluttershy's bed.

"Squeak, squeak" the little white bunny squeaked.

"Yes, Angel? Is something wrong? "Fluttershy asked, who was about to go to sleep.

"Squeak, squeak-squeak! Squeak, squeak." Angel squeaked several times, moving his paws up and down.

"Yes, now that you mention it, I guess it's a little dangerous to let a pony I don't know to sleep in the living room... but... he seems like a dependable pony.

"Squeak."

"How do I know that? Well..." before continuing, Fluttershy smiled. "When Harry came to me for a hug, Mr. Dusk thought he was a wild bear and protected me."

"Squeak, squeak?" Angel squeaked confusingly.

"Yes, hehe! Mr. Dusk didn't know that I wasn't in a real danger, but when he tried to protect me..." Fluttershy snuggled between the sheets with a smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks."...it was very tender."





After this, Fluttershy closed her eyes and began to recall the incident, although not exactly like it had happened. In her fantasy, she wore the dress of a princess, Dusk wore a shining armor and instead of Harry, there was a huge dragon who approached.

'Don't worry, I'll protect you!' Were the words that Fluttershy could remember from her head and that made her heart jump with joy.

Fluttershy suddenly opened her eyes, completely blushing.

"What am I thinking?!" Fluttershy said confused while she covered her face with the sheets and spun on her bed.

Angel, who flew as soon as Fluttershy began to spin, was more confused than he was initially. In his young life he had never seen Fluttershy behave that way.

Meanwhile, on the first floor, both Dusk and Spike settled on the couch to sleep, each one at one end.

"Sweet Celestia! I think I had never met anyone as kind as Fluttershy." Dusk said, covering up with the blanket. "She is not only good with animals, but also with strangers like us."

"Yeah, indeed she is a kind-hearted pony." Spike agreed. "But it's not like we were total strangers, I mean, you talked with her all day."

Suddenly an important fact came to Spike's mind.

"So... what do you think?" Spike asked with a sly glance at his brother. "Do you think Fluttershy would be a good friend?"

On the question of Spike, Dusk remained silent for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling. All the facts that had occurred that afternoon flashed through his mind, every moment that he had with Fluttershy. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Yes... maybe-" Dusk immediately stopped at what he was going to say, because as soon as he thought about mentioning the word 'friend', the shadow of an unpleasant memory flashed through his mind, clouding the happy day that he had with Fluttershy. Then, his face changed to show a mixture of fear and anger.

"I don't know." Dusk finally replied annoyingly, closing his eyes to end the talk with Spike and trying to sleep.

#End of chapter 3
> Chapter 4 - Free Breakfast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Breakfast

Spike had slept like a log, having such a busy day like yesterday, as soon as he had closed his eyes, he had slept all night without interruption, despite being asleep in a simple sofa instead of his comfortable bed in Canterlot. However, his awakening was another story.

As soon as Spike opened his eyes that morning, in front of him was a spongy nose with long mustaches and deep black eyes looking at him. It was the face of a rabbit, a naughty bunny named Angel, who stared at him with big eyes just centimeters from his face, when he saw Spike waking up, he hid something behind himself.

"WAAHH!" Spike yelled when he saw Angel being very close to him.

A sleepy Dusk Shine, who was right next to Spike, suddenly woke up to hear the cry of the dragon.

"What's wrong?" Dusk asked, opening his eyes with effort and giving a big yawn.

"That... That rabbit was in front of me!" Spike said fearfully, pointing his claw at Angel, who just stayed still at where he was, with a sinister smile on his adorable face. "I swear that he is planning something against me."

Dusk rubbed his eyes and looked at Spike carefully. Now that he was wide awake, he had realized that something was out of place. For some reason, Spike had his whole face smeared with different drawings, a pair of glasses around his eyes, a mustache and beard, all this with black paint.

Dusk stared at Spike for a moment and then he turned his gaze towards Angel. Behind the little bunny he could see a brush with black ink, which was hidden in vain for the little bunny behind himself.

"You should look at yourself in the mirror." Dusk said simply, not wanting to interfere in the fight of these little giants.

As they both got up from the couch. Dusk began to stretch his legs as Spike went to the bathroom.

"But what-! Damn rabbit!! I'll have my revenge!" Dusk heard Spike grumbling from the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Dusk's brain is gradually waking up and connecting to reality. It was still hard for him to believe that he had spent the night outside the castle, and more importantly, away from the presence of the princess.

Dusk began to look around. The living room of the house seemed quite illuminated, indicating that probably it was already quite late in the morning, which Dusk checked when he saw the hour in a small cuckoo clock hanging on the wall of the house. He was surprised to have slept so much, though no one could blame him, after all that he had spent the previous day.

"L-long ago I didn't sleep that much" Dusk said, thinking aloud.

"Yes, I thought the same thing. Truly this is a nice place despite being so... rural." Spike said, who had left the bathroom and had come to where Dusk was.

Dusk stared at him with a strange face.

"What?" Spike asked, knowing what Dusk was actually looking at.

Spike had washed his face and cleaned the paint on his eyes and chin, but for some reason he had left the mustache of paint.

"Are you surprised by my new look?" Spike said with a claw on his chin and a seductive look. "I think the mustache looks good on me, it gives me a more mature air."

"Rather, a ridiculous air" Dusk replied with a small smile.

"What do you know about fashion? Probably, a mustache is a magnet for the females!" Spike said, puffing his chest with pride.

"And do YOU want to attract a mare?" Dusk said bringing his face close to Spike.

"O-Of course not!" Spike said with disgust. "I have seen how colts become fools when they see a beautiful mare that attracts them, if the day comes that I fall in love with a mare, you can give me a good kick in the ass!"

"I'll keep your word." Dusk laughed as Spike went to the bathroom to wash off his mustache of paint.

"Colts become fools when they see a beautiful mare that attracts them? What is he referring to?" Dusk was thinking. When suddenly, the front door of the house opened and Fluttershy entered, followed by several rabbits and squirrels.

"Oh, you have awakened! Good morning!" Fluttershy said, smiling to see that Dusk was standing.

To Dusk, it was a timeless moment, the vision of the young yellow pegasus coming into the house with cute little animals dancing around her, bathed by the sunlight that glinted behind her, with her innocent smile and beautiful aquamarine eyes staring at him.

To Fluttershy, it was just a few seconds where Dusk Shine stared with a silly face.

As soon as Dusk came back to reality, he realized that he had acted like a fool and he was glad that Spike wasn't there to see it.

"G-Good morning, Fluttershy!" Dusk said, blushing and thinking 'what the hell happened to me?', not understanding why he had stared at Fluttershy in that way.

"Good morning, Fluttershy!" Spike said leaving the bathroom, with his face completely clean of paint.

This time Dusk appreciated the timely appearance of Spike, who appeared just before having to explain what had happened. In addition, a growing fear was appearing in Dusk Shine's mind. These new feelings he had, they made him feel good, but they were also making him act like an idiot. Was it friendship? Or perhaps it was something else? Another feeling...? It didn't matter, because whatever it was, this feeling was making him act like a goof, and if there was something that Dusk did not want to lose at the expense of anything, it was his mental acuity, so to safeguard it Dusk decided he needed to get away fast of those feelings.

"I hope you slept well." Fluttershy spoke again. "I woke up early because I had to give breakfast to the animals, I didn't want to wake you because you looked very tired." Fluttershy stroked a pair of rabbits as she spoke. "I already ate breakfast, but if you like I can prepare something for you."

"That would be grea-" Spike spoke, but he was interrupted by Dusk, who quickly put his hoof over Spike’s mouth to silence him.

"Thank you very much, but we have to go." Dusk said quickly.

Then, Dusk took Spike and forced him to follow him to the door. Next Dusk turned and gave a bow to Fluttershy.

"I'm really sorry we can't stay. Thank you for all Fluttershy!" Dusk said robotically, looking down.

Dusk really didn't want to leave, but his brain was telling him that he MUST do it, he must do it if he didn't want to become 'infected' by this strange feeling.

Fluttershy and Spike looked at Dusk and then looked at each other, none of them understood the attitude of Dusk, but it was obvious that he was determined to leave, so none of them said anything.

"Well... I guess this is goodbye." Spike spoke, regretting the decision taken by his brother and the fact that he could not stay for breakfast.

"I guess so, this is our goodbye." Fluttershy forced a smile, who felt sad for the sudden departure of her guests.

As soon as Fluttershy said the word 'goodbye', something went off in the heart of Dusk, something that released some of the pressure he felt to flee from friendship. It was true, he should leave, but maybe...

"Flu... Fluttershy, do... do you think we will see each other again? Will you go to the town within the next four days?" Dusk asked staring at her, wanting with all his willpower to have the opportunity to meet again with the mare.

"Yes, I'll go to the Summer Sun Celebration." Fluttershy said shyly, blushing a little while Dusk watched her.

"That's great! Then we'll see each other again soon!" Dusk said cheerfully.

"I'll be waiting eagerly!" Fluttershy smiled, not understanding why she was so happy that she would see that colt again in a few days, was it... a date?

Both of them were smiling until Spike coughed to interrupt them.

"Ahem! So... in the end, are we going to stay or are we going to go?" Spike said, who felt excluded in between the two ponies.

"Yes, yes, it's time to go." Dusk said turning around and looking at Fluttershy. "See you soon and thank you very much again for everything!"

"Goodbye!" Spike said, walking beside Dusk and saying goodbye to Fluttershy.

"Goodbye Spike! Goodbye Mr. Dusk!" said Fluttershy as she waved goodbye from the doorway of her home.

Suddenly Dusk stopped and turned himself around to look at Fluttershy.

"Ehh... one more thing..." Dusk said while blushing. "You can call me Dusk, the 'Mr' is not necessary."

Fluttershy blinked for a few seconds before smiling tenderly.

"Sure!" Fluttershy said blushing. "Goodbye Dusk!"

With this, Dusk turned around and continued trotting slowly with a smile on his face.

Spike stared at him while all attitudes of Dusk to Fluttershy began to click in his head. But the dragon decided that he wouldn't press Dusk mentioning the word 'friendship' as suddenly as he had done the night before, instead he decided it would be better that Dusk realized this by himself.

"So... why didn't you want to stay for breakfast?" Spike asked while they kept moving away towards the main road.

"Well... I thought it would be abusing her kindness" Dusk said, before blushing a bit. "Besides... she made me feel a little... weird." Dusk said this latter sentence much more softly.

"She helped you, you cared about her, you have a strange feeling that you don't recognize, what could it be...?" Spike said mischievously, trying to make it obvious to Dusk on what he’s thinking about.

Dusk just looked at him, he wasn't so stupid as to not understand where Spike was getting at.

"You think this is friendship, right?" Dusk said looking at Spike.

'Friendship', every time Dusk said that word, his heart ached for a wound of his past, however this time, the light of memories with Fluttershy encouraged him to open his heart to a tiny possibility.

"She told us we would see each other again within 4 days, I hope she keeps her word, and when that happens maybe ... I'll be open to the possibility of becoming her friend..." Dusk said with effort.

Spike's eyes shone with joy, finally it had worked, his brother was opening slowly to friendship! On the other hoof, Dusk's eyes looked at the road, but his mind was beyond in a distant memory.

"Yes... a true friend will never leave you." Dusk whispered to himself.

Thus, Dusk and Spike walked in silence for a while. At first, Spike decided to remain silent for his brother could continue meditating on his own about friendship, but as more minutes advanced, a strong need was born into Spike, something that was irritating him increasingly, though he tried not to think about it.

GROWL~! 

Spike's stomach growled again, his body demanded food! It had passed several times since they'd left Fluttershy's house, however this time he took the latter growl as a sign, so finally he decided to open his mouth and say out his thoughts.

"You said you didn't want to abuse Fluttershy’s kindness, but we definitely have to eat something before leaving!" Spike muttered upset, who was put in a bad mood when he was hungry.

Dusk paused for a moment, the truth was that he had been only in his thoughts while he walked, but he also was quite hungry now that someone had reminded him.

"Well... in the town, we can find something to-" Dusk said, stopping shortly when he realized that he had forgotten an important detail.

"You remembered it, right? We have no money." Spike said crossing his claws.

First, Dusk's face showed affliction, he lamented having spent overlooking this fact again, he wasn't used to not having to eat or where to sleep, under the care of the princess in Canterlot, he had never lacked for something. Then, Dusk began trying to think about what they should do, but his idea flow was interrupted by Spike’s voice.

"Lucky for you, I've been thinking about a solution to our problems." Spike said animatedly pointing at Dusk. "Come on! We must follow the same path by which we reached!" The dragon ended by saying as he walked away from the main road and beckoned for Dusk to follow him.

Dusk was left with no alternative but to follow his scaly companion, wherever he was leading him to.





"Here it is! It won't be like eating my usual bowl of diamond's flakes cereal with rubies, but it'll serve to feed us." Spike said when they had finally reached their destination.

"What are you talking abo-?" Dusk stopped talking when he saw where Spike was pointing. To his left, going downhill, there was a vast orchard full of apple trees.

"How did you know there were apple trees here?" Dusk asked.

"I saw them in the distance when we surrounded the town yesterday, come on! Over here!" Spike said pointing at the orchard down by the hill.

Both of them started to go down the hill until they had reached the limit of the orchard, however Dusk stopped when he saw that there was a small wooden fence that separated the orchard from the rest of the site and a small signboard indicating the name of the place.

"Oops!" Dusk said looking over the fence and then the signboard.

"What?" Spike asked.

"You haven’t seen the signboard? Look! 'Sweet Apple Acres'" Dusk read the signboard, pointing at it. "This must be a private area, we shouldn't enter without permission."

Spike didn't flinch before the revelation of Dusk, his sight was fixed on the apple trees full of huge, red apples in front of him. His stomach growled again, it was as if the smell of sweet apples had invaded all his senses and had clouded his mind, now his need to satisfy his hunger was controlling him.

Without warning, Spike passed between the wooden fence and ran to the apple trees.

"Spike! Wait!" Dusk shouted in a whisper, though there was no case, Spike already had gone into the orchard and was climbing on the nearest apple tree.

Dusk checked to see if anyone has spotted him before jumping over the fence to go behind the little dragon. There was Spike, who had already climbed down the tree with a couple of apples in his claws.

"Spike, we must go!" Dusk said slowly looking around.

"I know, but if only we eat one..." Spike said without being able to slow down himself to take a bite of the juicy apple.

"Sweet Celestia!" Spike said suddenly after having bitten the apple. "This... this is the best apple I've ever eaten!"

With that last comment did Spike quickly devoured the first apple and began eating another with a smile on his face every time he took a bite of an apple. Dusk thought about stopping him, but finally he told himself that it was not worth stopping Spike if he had already bitten the apples, besides, with every bite that Spike enjoyed, Dusk's stomach growled in reproach demanding that he do the same.

"Well... if it's just one, I don't think it's bad..." Dusk told himself while he grabbed one of the apples from the tree with his magic.

When Dusk bit it, he had the same reaction as Spike, it wasn't only hunger he felt, the dragon was right, this was the best apple he had ever tasted in his life!

Dusk began ferociously eating the apple while his stomach was grateful but at the same time it demanded more. The colt was eating apples and pulling out one after another, while Spike was doing the same on his own. They gradually emptied the apples on the tree to which they had arrived and they moved on to the next apple tree, repeating the same process and filling their stomachs with the juicy apples of the orchard named 'Sweet Apple Acres'.

It had spent a lot of time, they had already reached their third apple tree. Then, they finally dropped their pace and stopped with their stomachs fully booked. They sat with their back against the trunk of the apple tree, looking at the horizon with a huge smile of satisfaction on their faces.

“BURP~!” Spike burped. "Those apples were so delicious..."

"Yeah, it was an excellent breakfast... The good life in the countryside." Dusk smiled at the thought that the farm ponies lived so well, eating all the delicious fruits that they wanted and then resting under the shade of a tree without major concerns.

After a long sigh that they both gave at the same time, Dusk again took the floor.

"So, what shall we do to pay for the apples? Remember that this is apparently a private orchard." Dusk said, looking at Spike to his side.

"I don't know, it's not as if we had money anyway." Spike said with a shrug. "We could pretend that we didn't see the sign and say that we thought they were wild apple trees. Although... we could just leave without saying anything, I mean, they were only a few apples."

Dusk looked to the other side, to the two other apple trees that was left without apples, just surrounded by an enormous amount of apple cores. He should talk to his colleague dragon about 'HOW MUCH' he considered 'few'.

"So basically, we just have two options, steal or lie, is that not what you say?" Dusk said looking at Spike again.

Spike looked at Dusk, both looked at each other, they lowered their heads looking at the floor and thought the same thing: "We have fallen so low!" All the amenities of the castle, where they were treated like princes, were no longer there...

"Sigh... I guess we'll have to invent a persuasive story." Dusk sighed looking skyward. "If the farm ponies are like what I've read, we must be careful."

"When did you read about farm ponies?" Spike asked, intrigued.

"Well... once I took a book that told the story of how a colt got lost in a rainy night in a faraway place and he arrived to a farm, then he found refuge in a barn. That night he did many things, things that angered the local farmer, who finally found him and went chasing with pitchforks to lynch him."

"Did you read a fiction story? That's new." Spike said, surprised that Dusk had read something that wasn't on his studies of magic. "But... what things did the pony do that made the farmer so angry?"

Dusk couldn't help blushing at the memory. The fact was that a couple years ago, Dusk was angry with Princess Celestia because she still treated him like a foal, and while it was true that in the eyes of Equestria's law, he wasn't yet an adult, he wasn't a baby foal, he was a young colt. So, that time he wanted to prove that he was as mature as an adult and he had sneaked in the public library of Canterlot, specifically in the forbidden room marked with a red sign that said 'ADULTS ONLY'. There, Dusk took secretly the first book he found and ran away, this was called 'Sexual Fantasies in the farm Sexy-Mare'... Huge was the surprise of Dusk when he read it and realized that instead of addressing issues such as advanced magic, politics or economics, the book was a fictional story where a colt came to a farm and he was met with a young and beautiful farm mare, there they had all kinds of sexual encounters, positions and love's fetishes that exist and shall exist, everything in secret of the farmer, the father of the mare. It goes without saying that the young Dusk wasn't prepared mentally for that, but despite not understanding why adults had these books in the library, he had read it completely and still today he kept a copy of that book under his bed.

"I... I don't remember why the farmer would get angry..." Dusk said fully blushed, going back into reality.

Spike looked confused for a moment before speaking again.

"If the farm ponies are so, and they get really angry about every little thing, it may be better for us to run away."

"Perhaps you're right..." Dusk said.

Both of them began to stand up, which was a hard work because both their stomachs were full. Dusk and Spike shook off the land that had stuck to them, when suddenly a loud scream made them paralyzed.

"HEY!" A serious and deep cry was heard not far away.

The unicorn and the dragon froze and slowly turned their heads to see who it was.





In the distance they could see a huge red colt with brown mane and a big work collar on his neck, even at a distance they could see that he was bigger and stronger than Dusk. The red colt stared at them with a look that penetrated, then he watched in horror of the apple cores that were littered under the apple trees and finally he looked at them again with an angry face.

"Thieves." The red colt said for himself. "THIEVES!"

The first time the red pony spoke they couldn't hear him, but when he came running towards them with a glower shouting 'Thieves!' Dusk and Spike understood that they were in big trouble.

"Hurry Spike! We must ru-" Dusk didn't complete his sentence to see that even before he spoke, Spike had already begun to run on his own.

Immediately, Dusk began running in the same direction that Spike took. However, it wasn't of much help because his stomach was very heavy and besides, the red colt was incredibly fast despite his size.

The red colt was already very close to Dusk, just a few lengths away. Dusk glanced back and saw that getting caught was imminent, so he decided to play his trump card, something he couldn't use the last time when he escaped from Fluttershy's bear. When the red pony had almost caught him, Dusk used his magic and teleported himself several lengths back away, leaving the red pony totally surprised while he braked abruptly and looked sideways looking for Dusk.

Dusk couldn't help but smile as he kept running between the apple trees and looked at the red pony again.

"Sorry, but teleporting is one of my strongest spells, you can't catch me today." Dusk told himself while he saw that the red colt hasn't backtracked to realize he was there.

"WATCH OUT!" A female voice shouted.

Dusk was still running when he stopped looking back and to the side to see an orange and yellow figure in the distance, was it a mare? Dusk couldn't say for sure because as soon as he stopped to look back and to the side, his gaze was turned off because he felt a strong blow against him.

Dusk's eyes slowly opened with difficulty to see that he had strongly crashed into a tree.

"Fool... I should... look forward..." Dusk thought before closing his eyes and falling unconscious.

#End of chapter 4
> Chapter 5 - With an Apple-Flavored
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With an Apple-Flavored

Dusk woke up with a huge headache, he didn't understand why, everything was blurry in his mind. As he lay there, he slowly raised a hoof to his head and tried to open his eyes with effort, his headache was huge and prevented him from even seeing well, he could just make out a figure in front of him.

"Mom... Mom, is that you?" Dusk asked with effort, trying to open his eyes to focus better.

"Shh... There, there, now, just relax." A gentle voice of a mare replied, who approached Dusk and gently pushed his head back so that Dusk can continue lying. "You've been asleep for almost one hour."

"I... I had a horrible nightmare..." Dusk continued talking, trying to remember what had happened. "I dreamed that the Princess exiled me from Canterlot and... I was in a horrible town... I was being chased by a bear and wild ponies..."

"Well, it was just a nightmare, you're safe and sound, here now at Sweet Apple Acres." The voice replied cheerfully.

"SWEET APPLE ACRES!?" Dusk repeated loudly, completely opening his eyes and standing up suddenly.

Dusk wasn't in his room of Canterlot as he thought, he was lying on the ground of an orchard under the shade of a tree, with a blanket over him and a pillow under his head. And who was speaking with him wasn't his mother, but a young mare with an orange coat and blond mane tied with a red holder at the end, her face was adorned with beautiful emerald green eyes and a few freckles on her cheeks, she was wearing a nice stetson hat that fitted perfectly on her head.

"That's right!" The mare replied smiling. "My name is Applejack and this is the farm of my family.

Dusk stared at her for a while, then he grabbed his head and began to remember everything, but while his ideas and memories returned to settle in his head, there was a word that involuntarily came out of his mouth, the only word that came to his mind for an associative process when the mare in front of him mentioned the word 'farm'.

"Sexy-Mare...?" Dusk said softly, still with a headache.

As soon as Dusk said the word, the mare widely opened her eyes and blushed. At the same time, the common sense returned to Dusk and kicked his brain to quickly re-arrange his ideas and realize what he had just said.

Immediately, Dusk also blushed and began to quickly move his forelegs.

"N-No... No! I wasn't saying sexy-mare to you, I mean, you're cute but..." Dusk goofed again and the mare blushed even more. "No! It’s... it's just that the hit against the tree left me confused, I... I was just remembering a farm name, a farm name that I read in an erotic novel and-"

Dusk stopped immediately, he realized the follies he was talking about, so he covered his face with his hooves totally embarrassed, he looked down and wished the ground swallowed him for admitting to read an erotic novel in front of a mare. Meanwhile, the mare also had blushed and had to look away to avoid a possible gaze at Dusk.

After a while, the mare slowly stops blushing, she glanced at Dusk and decided to act as if she hadn't heard anything.

"So... How's your head?" The mare asked him.

"It's... okay, although it still hurts a little." Dusk said sheepishly, thankful that the mare talked about another topic and not the nonsense that Dusk had said earlier.

"I'm glad, it was a strong blow that you had back there." The mare smiled. "You threw all the apples from the tree with your head! I guess you invented a new method of harvesting for the Apple family, haha."

"Apple Family?" Dusk asked and immediately he remembered something the mare had said when he awoke. "You... you said your name was Apple... Apple..."

"Applejack! It's a pleasure!" The mare said cheerfully, approaching and offering a hoof to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Dusk said, answering the greeting and waving their hooves. "My name is-"

"Dusk Shine, your partner already told us your name." Applejack interrupted him, who at the same time pointed her view to one side.

Dusk followed the gaze of Applejack to see that not far away from there was Spike, happily eating what appeared to be a pie while he was listened closely by a small yellow filly and an old mare of light green skin.

As Spike realized they were being watched, he looked at Dusk and saluted, then he began to walk towards him,  followed by the two mares.

"Dusk! I'm glad you woke up! I was very worried, in fact, I was already thinking about going to a hospital." Spike said when he arrived, words that Dusk didn't believe much since he had seen him happily eating pie just seconds ago. "If it weren't for the good care of Applejack, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom..."

Dusk looked at the old pony and the filly, there could be no doubt that the first should be Grandmother Smith and the filly was Apple Bloom.

"I'm glad you woke up, son, I don't want to imagine how hard you had to beat yourself to faint." Grandma Smith said kindly. "And after all the tragedies that you have already suffered..."

"Eh... yes, it was a heavy blow..." Dusk said, who wasn't sure what Granny Smith was referring to with 'tragedies they had suffered'. "And about yesterday, well... more than a tragedy, it was a chaotic day but nothing to regret."

"But not only yesterday, you hadn't eaten for days! And all while you were being chased by an army of minotaurs!" The little filly said looking with pitying eyes at Dusk and Spike. "You roamed the great desert and faced a terrible monster, only to face a squadron full of furious griffins! It's so noble that you say that wasn't a tragedy!"

"We... What?" Dusk said, not understanding what the filly was talking about.

"Yes, it was horrible, horrible!" Spike said pretending to cry and approaching to hug Dusk.

As soon as Spike hugged Dusk, he whispered in his ear.

"Play along with me."

After Spike stopped hugging Dusk, Applejack took the floor.

"Yeah... so you guys have been through a lot of hardship, right?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow and looking straight at Dusk in his eyes.

Dusk was mesmerized by the mare's eyes, it was as if they were digging into his soul, as if she had an x-ray vision that analyzed him until the last strand of his tail. He didn't know what to say or do, he didn't want to admit that Spike was lying, they were brothers, he couldn't leave him as lying, besides he knew Spike was doing it for his sake, probably his brother was lying about his origin because it would be frowned upon that a colt and a dragon that were practically of the nobility, treated like princes in Canterlot, were stealing apples from a humble family, Dusk simply couldn't admit that they were lying. Yet Applejack's gaze was as penetrating... as if it were unimaginable to lie to her when she looked at him like that. Finally, Dusk chose the coward's choice.

"Hmmm..." Dusk just kept quiet looking away, he chose not to lie or tell the truth.

Spike was surprised to see that Dusk hadn't supported him with his story, but he immediately came up with a better idea.

"Look at my poor brother! He doesn't even dare to remember for all he has suffered!" Spike said theatrically and again came up to embrace Dusk.

Before this gesture both Grandmother Smith and Apple Bloom began to cry and also joined the hug, saying "poor baby, poor..." Only Applejack stayed where she was, staring at Dusk who was just trying to show his poker face.

"If... *Sniff *" The dragon wiped away his false tears. "If only we could eat more of Granny's apple pie! *Sniff*"

"Sure, honey." Granny Smith said, tightening Spike's cheeks. "Let's go to the house, there you can eat everything you want."

Then Granny Smith and Apple Bloom started walking toward the house, followed by Spike, who, when no one saw him except Dusk, he raised his thumb up with a smile as sign of success. Dusk just covered his own face with his hoof and said to himself "you're going too far, Spike..."

When Dusk touched his face to hide himself of the embarrassment of what Spike did, he inadvertently touched his forehead, just where he was hit on.

"Ouch!" Dusk said softly.

"Are you okay? Let me see." Applejack asked, who, like Dusk, had stayed right where they were.

Applejack came over and looked at Dusk's forehead.

"You have a bump but you'll be fine, it doesn't look like you need bandaging." Applejack said after examining Dusk.

"I hope so..." Dusk said, who had been somewhat nervous about having a mare so close to him. "So... that's your family..."

"Yeah, they are Granny Smith and my younger sister, the little Apple Bloom." Applejack proudly said watching them walk away with Spike. "And Big Macintosh, of course."

"Big Macintosh?" Dusk asked.

"Yes, my older brother." Applejack pointed to the other side of where they were looking.

In the distance, Dusk could see the huge red stallion that had come chasing him before he crashed. The big stallion looked at him from afar with a stern look on his face as he piled a few wooden logs.

"Usually he's very kind and easygoing." Applejack continued talking, a little embarrassed. "But he doesn't like intruders and less ponies who eat our apples without asking, so... I think it would be good if you keep your distance from him at least for today."

Dusk looked back at the red stallion, who again looked at him, but this time the stallion took a small wooden log and pulverized it with only his hooves. This made Dusk have cold sweat and he swallowed loudly, he would actually take heed of Applejack's warning seriously.

"All right! Time to get back to work." Applejack said suddenly, and she turned and started walking toward the apple trees.

Dusk watched her walk away. Now apart from all the problems he already had, he couldn't get out of his head that Spike was lying to Applejack's family to save them, for Dusk, that lie was necessary but that didn't make him feel better about himself. Finally, he decided that he could still try to do the right thing without telling the truth.

"Wait Applejack!" Dusk shouted running until he reached the mare. "How... How can we pay you for the apples we ate?"

"Don't worry, it's not like we're running out of apples because you ate some of them." Applejack answered, then she smirked. "Besides, after ALL THOSE TRAGEDIES that you had to overcome... I think you can consider that a gift from us to you for your unparalleled courage."

Applejack's last words had struck like a thorn in Dusk's heart, Dusk wanted to tell the truth, but he couldn't.

"Yes... but still, I'd like to pay for them." Dusk said seriously. "If necessary, I'll work to pay for them."

Before Applejack had a chance to say something, Dusk raised his hoof, touched Applejack's chest and stared at her. "Please."

Applejack looked away, slightly blushing as she adjusted her hat.

"Well... if you insist so much... come, join me," Said the mare, walking towards the apple trees.

"Today we are harvesting extra apples, since we are in charge of the food for the Summer Sun Celebration." Applejack said once they had arrived in front of the first apple tree. "What you should do is hit the center of the tree with your back legs so that the apples fall into the buckets."

Dusk thought all this was pretty basic and archaic, but he decided to say nothing about that and just follow the instructions, so he approached the tree and got in position to hit the apple tree.

"Now strike with all your might!" Applejack said expectantly.

Dusk took a momentum, raised his hindquarters and struck the apple tree with all his strength, hoping not to break it in the process. However, to Dusk Shine's disappointment, the tree shook but only dropped three or four apples.

"Looks like the apples are too firm in the tree." Dusk said, thinking aloud.

"It's not that, it's just that you didn't hit correctly and not hard enough." Applejack said, approaching the apple tree. "Look."

As soon as Applejack was in position, she took a momentum and with extraordinary strength, struck the apple tree in the center, causing dozens of apples to fall precisely into the buckets, leaving the apple tree totally free of apples.

"See?" Applejack said, with a smile on her face and crossing her hooves.

Dusk was impressed, although it was known that the earth ponies normally had more physical strength than the unicorns, Dusk couldn't believe that a mare of almost his same age could hit so hard. It was true that Applejack's angle and technique had been different from Dusk's striking, which should definitely be an important factor, but still the decisive factor was the strength in Applejack's hindquarters.

Dusk Shine was intrigued by this revelation and stared at Applejack's hindquarters, right where her cutie mark lay, which were three red apples. This was her talent, which was another important factor, but apart from that, her hindquarters shown enough musculature, the fruit of the work of harvest in the farm, and yet they still maintained their feminine form, an elegant curve of both thighs where in the middle lay her cute blond tail, hiding the forbidden.

"Ahem!" Applejack coughed to bring Dusk back to reality.

Dusk looked at her and saw that she was blushing, at first he didn't understand why, but then he realized that he had stared like a perverted fool at the butt of a mare! Dusk immediately blushed and began apologizing.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to see where you got your strength to hit so hard!"

"Yeah ... sure ..." Applejack said still blushed. "I think... it's better to move on..." Applejack started walking towards the next apple tree while Dusk again hoisted a hoof to his face to hide his embarrassment of what had happened. Finally, Dusk decided that just like his first talk with Applejack, it would be best to pretend that nothing had happened and move on.

Before Dusk walked behind Applejack again, he glanced sideways at Big Macintosh, who now looked at him with a murderous look, which made Dusk tremble completely.

"Celestia, why have you forsaken me..." Dusk said tragically to himself, who at once had a mental image of how his mentor would be laughing at him if she saw him in this situation.





The day went on, and after Applejack was satisfied with Dusk's technique for hitting apple trees, she decided that Dusk could do the work on his own, without her supervision, which was a relief to him who had realized that Applejack no longer approached him as much as before, which was understandable for Dusk after what had happened. With this he also would stop having that chill that he felt when having Big Macintosh's stare on him for being close to his sister.

Applejack commissioned Dusk a row of apple trees for him while she went to work in another row. This was how Dusk began the hard work of hitting with his legs to harvest the apples and pay for what he and Spike had eaten without permission.

The work turned out to be quite hard for the poor unicorn, since he had never done this type of work that required great physical effort, besides unlike Applejack who threw down all the apples of a tree with a single blow, Dusk had to give two and even sometimes three blows to each tree to get all the apples to fall. All this was slowly frustrating Dusk, who was beginning to regret having offered to help, only his sense of doing the right thing prevented him from following the same path of Spike and go to the Apple Family's house to rest and eat.

When Dusk was at the sixth apple tree, he decided to rest a little, because the sweat was already in his eyes and his hindquarters felt very tired. As soon as he did it, he looked at the row of apple trees that Applejack was harvesting, unbelievably she had harvested more than twice the apple trees that Dusk had harvested! Dusk couldn't help but feel his male pride hurt, as he was losing in front of a mare.

"It's not fair, she... she has more experience with this..." Dusk thought, trying to justify what happened. "Besides... she's an earth pony! It's known that the earth ponies have a greater connection with land and crops..."

As soon as Dusk thought about it, a brilliant idea came to his mind.

"It’s true! She is an earth pony and she uses her natural talent to harvest." Dusk said to himself, looking at the apple tree in front of him. "I'm a unicorn, and as such my natural talent is magic, not brute force!"

Then Dusk concentrated on every apple he could see, and in the same way he did when he ate the apples without permission, his horn lit up and with his telekinesis, he removed every apple he saw and he placed them gently in the buckets.

"That's how a unicorn does it!" Dusk told himself confidently.

It was so that Dusk Shine began to harvest the apples much faster than before, he was even faster than Applejack, and the best of all was that this way he didn't have to make any physical effort, only mental.

After the twentieth apple tree, Dusk was finished with his work, leaving in sight a row of apple trees without any apples in their tops, every apple was placed in their respective buckets on the floor. While Applejack still didn't finish and is at the last two apple trees. Dusk decided to rest and wait for her to finish, with a face of pride, because despite everything he had, he succeeded in beating the mare in her game.

The more Dusk looked at Applejack, the more he was surprised, he really couldn't understand how the earth ponies could live without unicorn magic, it was a heavy life to have to carry their whole life with heavy physical work... It was with this thought that Dusk's smirk disappeared and he got up to go to where Applejack was, it wasn't fair that him, a unicorn, to make fun of a mare who worked hard despite her limitations.

Dusk thought the right thing to do would be to give her help, for no matter how strong the mare was, it was impossible not to be exhausted after hitting so many apple trees. However, Dusk couldn't avoid his surprise when approaching and seeing that although Applejack was sweating and looking very exhausted, she continued to smile while working, she... seems to be enjoying it...

"And this is the last!" Applejack said cheerfully after hitting the last of her apple trees, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"You... Aren't you tired?" Dusk asked incredulously.

"Yeah, of course, isn’t that obvious?" Applejack smiled.

"Then why are you so happy?" Dusk asked confused. "I mean, this is a grueling job, where you probably strain your body to the fullest, and you'll have to do this job all your life, how can you be so happy about it?"

Applejack stared at him for a second confused, but finally she closed her eyes and gave a small smile.

"It's certainly a grueling job, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it." Applejack said before approaching the apple tree that she had just hit. "This apple tree is Tommy 44..."

"The apple tree has a name?!" Dusk asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Applejack replied, touching the bark of the apple tree. "It is from the fifth generation of 'Tommys', I have planted them, watched them grow and bloom, and there is nothing that fills me with more happiness than cultivating what I have seen grow, it's a great cycle."

"Feel the soil in your hooves..." Applejack continued, stooping to take some soil. "As everything connects on earth to give life... All this is a long, tiring process, it's true, but..."

Then Applejack turned to look at Dusk.

"But it's no problem because I love what I do!" Applejack finally said with a huge smile.

Faced with Applejack's words, Dusk couldn't help but remember Fluttershy with her animals, and then to himself when Spike didn't understand why he was so passionate about his studies. Now he understood, it wasn't because Applejack was an earth pony and was forced to do farm work, she loved what she did, as much or perhaps more as Dusk loved to study magic. Dusk couldn't help but feel foolish to remember how he had felt superior in front of Applejack's passion.

"Wow! I can't believe you're done!" Applejack said, looking at Dusk's apple trees, pulling the unicorn out of his thoughts.

"What…? Oh, yeah, I'm done!" Dusk replied quickly, following Applejack as she headed toward the apple trees that Dusk had harvested.

Dusk was in a predicament, now he didn't want to admit that he had been faster than Applejack just because he had the advantage of using magic, but he didn't want to lie to her, and less to this particular mare that when he looked at her, it was impossible to lie. He finally decided he would tell the truth, but without mocking that he had done better than Applejack.

"I... I finished almost at the same time as you..." Dusk said timidly. "But it was all because of your teachings! Besides, I could use magic, so I could do it a little bit faster than you..."

Dusk did his best not to offend Applejack's pride and use the right words, but Applejack didn't respond or move, she just stared at the apple tree.

"It's wrong." Applejack finally said.

"Wh-what? What do you mean? "Dusk said, surprised by Applejack's words.

"I said you harvested badly, there are still some apples left in the tree, and I think in all the other apple trees as well." Applejack said looking at Dusk's apple tree row.

Dusk couldn't believe his ears, Applejack wasn't accepting his work! Even though he had done it better and faster than her! Now it wasn't Applejack who felt her pride hurt, it was Dusk.

"How can you say that, look!" Dusk said slightly annoyed, pointing at the apple tree. "There are no apples! How can you say that there are still apples that I’ve missed!?"

"I don't know, I just know." Applejack shrugged. "If you had done it like I told you and you hadn't used magic, maybe you would have done it right."

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Why couldn't Applejack admit that his method of harvesting by magic was better than her method?

"You'll see!" Dusk said angrily. "I'll show you there's no apples left in the tree!"

Immediately, Dusk began to jump to grab a branch and start climbing the tree. This obviously was very complicated for any pony due to their hooves, more so for Dusk who had never climbed anything in his life, but with the help of his magic he got to climb up to the treetop. Once on the top, Dusk held tightly with his hind legs on a thick branch and with his front legs began to look for some apples that might have remained in the tree.

After several minutes, Dusk was relieved to see that there was no apple. However, to his misfortune, when he was about to stop searching and tell Applejack that she was wrong, finally his hoof came across an apple, one that was very hidden in the middle of the apple tree and obviously he couldn't see from below because of the leaves. Dusk banged his head gently against the branch and let out a sigh as he smiled.

"How dumb can I be? She's been doing this for years, obviously she knows what she's talking about, I should have trusted her word..." Dusk thought as he released the apple from the tree.

"And…? Was I right or wrong?" Applejack said from below with a triumphant tone in her voice.

"Yes, you were right..." Dusk said resignedly.

"Heh! I usually have it." Applejack said playfully.

Dusk accepted his defeat, he held the apple and started climbing down the tree, backing slowly to be adjusted to go down. However, as soon as he stepped on the lower branch with his hind leg, it broke, causing Dusk to lose his balance, without having time to grab something, Dusk began to fall staring at the ground. Applejack could only hear the rustle of a branch and Dusk's scream before she looked up and saw a great shadow.

"WAHHH!" Dusk shouted as he fell, only to see Applejack standing just below him.

Due to the rapidity of the fall, Applejack failed to react and only remained still when Dusk fell just above her, however the blow wasn't as hard as they both thought. Applejack fell backwards, her back and head totally down, and her gaze looking up. Dusk on the other hoof, got to stretch his legs and settle on the ground before his head fell and hit the ground, but the inertia of the fall was stronger and Dusk couldn't prevent his head down and meet with Applejack's own head precisely in a point that neither of them got hurt. Both Applejack and Dusk's lips met together, achieving an unexpected and deep kiss between them.





Neither Applejack nor Dusk reacted immediately, both stayed like statues totally blushed in the position they are in, with their lips together, one on top of the other. After a few seconds when Dusk's mind reacted again, Dusk pulled his head back slowly, breaking the kiss. In front of him was Applejack, totally blushing, with huge, green eyes looking directly at him, for the first time since Dusk had saw her, it seemed that the mare had lost all her confidence and now she didn't know how to react. Dusk was in a similar process, in which he didn't know what to do or say.

"I... I..." Dusk stammered, trying to get his voice out, which didn't help much because a strange noise distracted him.

Dusk turned his head to see what the noise was, all his blood froze when he saw a furious red stallion running towards him, like a raging bull, with mad eyes of fury and smoke from his nose. Big Macintosh had seen how Dusk had fallen on his beloved little sister and kissed her, this was beyond what an older brother like him could bear.

Dusk didn't think twice and started running, seeing the mood that Big Macintosh was in, it would be pointless to reason with him.

"WAAHH! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! AN ACCIDENT!!" Dusk Shine shouted as he ran trying to escape from Big Mac.

For her part, Applejack had stayed exactly at where she was, she took more time to react than what took Dusk. Applejack was absorbed about everything, she slowly got up and stared at the horizon with a lost gaze, then she lifted a hoof and touched her lips.

"My... my first..." Applejack said slowly, but she didn't finish the sentence because a few shouts made her come back to reality.

As soon as Applejack turned her head, she saw Big Macintosh frantically following Dusk around a tree, both running in circles one after another.

"Hey! You guys, stop!" Applejack shouted, running towards them.





The little that remained of the day passed very quickly.

After Applejack explained to her brother that everything had been a misunderstanding and that the kiss had been an accident, Big Mac decided to stop pursuing Dusk, however he didn't want the unicorn to continue working near his sister, so Big Mac took Dusk with him to help with plowing the land.

That's how the last hours of the afternoon was spent as Dusk was pulling the plow with Big Mac. At first, there was a total silence between them, however in spite of Big Mac’s anger, the stallion was willing to teach him the correct way of plowing and he corrected Dusk whenever it was necessary to help the purple colt, causing Dusk to realize that in fact he wasn't a mad or evil stallion. Rather, he was just too overprotective with his sister.

Finally, the sun begins to set and Apple Bloom with Spike arrived with some juice and apple snacks to celebrate the end of the work day. After this they all chatted as they walked towards the Apple family's house, on the way even Dusk achieved to make a fleeting smile at Big Mac when he told a joke he had heard from a guard in Canterlot, although Big Mac quickly hid it to not admit that he had laughed at something the unicorn had said. Everything was fine, until they came in front of the house...

"Ahh... I'm exhausted... I just want to sleep." Dusk sighed heavily.

"Yeah, me too." said Spike, which caused Dusk to glare at the dragon, because unlike him, his brother had enjoyed the whole day eating apple cakes.

"Granny Smith said you could spend the night here." Apple Bloom said, grinning at Dusk.

Then Apple Bloom went through the door of the house, followed by Spike and Applejack, but as soon as Dusk was about to pass, a huge hoof crossed the portal of the door, blocking the passage, it was Big Mac.

"You'll sleep in the barn." Big Mac said, looking seriously at Dusk.

"What are you talking about, Big Mac!?" Applejack said from the other side of the door into the house.

"It isn't right for a colt and a mare to sleep in the same house without being compromised." Big Mac replied, who blushed slightly and looked away. "He could sneak into your room at night."

Now it was Applejack's turn to blush.

"That will not happen!" claimed the mare, however, Big Mac didn't move from where he was.

"It-it's okay, I have no problem sleeping in the barn." Dusk said, who didn't want to be the center of a new conflict.

After Dusk's words, Big Mac lowered his hoof and for the first time he looked at Dusk in the eyes without an expression of hatred. Meanwhile, Applejack left the house annoyed and told Big Mac that she'll show Dusk the barn, the red stallion immediately thought to complain, but the look of Applejack made him repent and keep quiet, usually both siblings were very quiet, but when they were angry, Big Mac always thought his sister was much more terrible than him, besides Big Mac had already made sure that Dusk won't be sleeping near his sister, it couldn't hurt him that this time he gave in.

So Dusk followed Applejack to the barn, which was right next to the main house. There, Applejack showed him the place, which was much less frightening than what Dusk thought it would be, in fact, it looked quite cozy, all made of red-painted wood with a thatched floor and a rather high ceiling. Together, they stacked bales of hay for Dusk's bed and Applejack found a pillow that Dusk could use to sleep.

"It's not a five-star hotel, but it'll work." Applejack said.

"Don't worry, it's more than we deserve, thank you so much for letting us stay on your farm tonight, both me and Spike."

"It’s nothing, after everything you've been through, it's the least I can do." Applejack said, thinking how exhausted Dusk must have been after so much physical work he wasn't used to.

However, with Applejack's words, Dusk thought about the lie that Spike had told them. This still was like a thorn in his heart, but this time, unlike the afternoon, he decided that he could no longer bear it, no matter what the consequences.

"Applejack, I..." Dusk said timidly. "I must confess to you... that what Spike said was a lie, we... we haven't gone through any of the tragedies that Spike had mentioned..."

"I know." Applejack simply said.

"What!? How?" Dusk asked in surprise.

"Well... I always know when some ponies lie, or in this case, dragons." Applejack said with a shrug. "In addition, Spike's story was a bit fantastic, I guess only Granny Smith and Apple Bloom could believe it."

"So, why didn't you say something?" Dusk asked.

"Because I was hoping YOU would tell me." Applejack said staring at Dusk and touching him with her hoof on his chest. "Tell me, how do you feel now that you've told the truth?"

"I... I feel good." Dusk said shyly.

"Don't you see? If I had made you admit that you were lying, you would have felt even worse with yourself." Applejack said, turning around to leave the barn, but her gaze was still on Dusk. "I had confidence in you, that's why I thought I waited for you to say it on your own."

Then Applejack walked slowly out of the barn. Dusk stood where he was.

"Thank you." Dusk finally said slowly, with a smile.

As soon as Dusk relaxed, it was like a signal to Dusk's muscles and they all coordinated to sound the alarm, Dusk's body tensed and his entire body felt sore from a long day's work. Dusk immediately settled himself on the bales of hay with his head on the pillow. Dusk felt it, he knew that at any moment he would fall asleep, but before falling asleep, he lifted one of his hooves and touched his lips.

"It tastes like sweet apples..." It was the last thing Dusk whispered before falling soundly asleep with a smile.





It had been almost a couple of hours when a shadow sneaked out of the Apple family's house and headed for the barn. In the moonlight, Applejack carefully entered the barn.

"Dusk, are you awake?" Applejack whispered.

Her question was answered by the soft hum of Dusk's snore.

Applejack looked at Dusk for a second, who slept peacefully on the bales of hay. Then she took with her teeth a blanket she carried on her back, stretched it over Dusk and then she tucked it with her forelegs to properly shelter the unicorn.

Applejack knew that the barn wasn't too cold, but she had worried about Dusk anyway, she hadn't gone to sleep since she had been lying down thinking about this, so she had finally decided to go and give Dusk a blanket.

After fitting the blanket and covering it correctly on Dusk, for some reason, Applejack, instead of leaving, just stared at him while he slept. Applejack couldn't help but think on how tender he looked right there, sleeping peacefully, snoring gently with his mouth... with... his lips...

Little by little, Applejack's gaze focused on Dusk's lips, those lips that had unexpectedly kissed her that afternoon. The more she looked at them, the more she remembered them, and her cheeks couldn't help blushing at the thought that the culprits were there.

"A fleeting kiss, an accidental kiss, a surprise kiss, a kiss..." Applejack's thoughts flew fast as she unconsciously lowered her lips to Dusk's own.

"Sis?" Said a voice.





Applejack straightened up quickly at the tender voice behind her, it was Apple Bloom that was right at the barn door.

"Shhh!" Applejack said softly to her sister, to not speak so loud and wake Dusk.

Applejack carefully stepped out of the barn and closed the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Applejack asked her sister, still a little nervous.

"Well... I saw you leave, so I wanted to know where you were going." The filly answered innocently.

"I... I just came to deliver a blanket to Dusk, but he was already asleep, so I just put it on him." Applejack said quickly.

Apple Bloom looked at her sister somewhat confused, it wasn't normal that she was so nervous. Then she looked at the barn and a revelation came at her, Apple Bloom looked back at Applejack with a mischievous smile.

"I see, you're very worried about Mr. Dusk Shine..." Apple Bloom said, looking mischievously at her sister. "Perhaps he interests you in a more... romantic way?"

Applejack wrinkled her nose and looked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Applejack said without letting go of that expression of bad poker face, then without looking at Apple Bloom, she began to walk towards the house. "I-It's really late right now, it's bedtime."

Apple Bloom stood staring at her sister as she walked away.

"Hmm, big sis... you're good at almost everything..." Apple Bloom whispered to herself. "But you're a terrible liar..."

With this, Apple Bloom began to walk, following her sister to the house.

#End of chapter 5
> Chapter 6 - Wanted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wanted

KNOCK-KNOCK!

Dusk Shine awoke to a knock at the door. With a big yawn, he slowly opened his eyes and stretched.

"Hmm?" Dusk murmured, not able to speak properly because of the sleepiness and tiredness he still had.

The barn door began to open, causing the morning sun's rays to strike Dusk's face directly. He narrowed his eyes and tried to see who had opened the door, but the bright sunlight prevented it.

"Good mornin', I hope ya slept well." A mare's voice said.

It was Applejack who, after opening the barn door, leaned on the door frame and stared at Dusk. The unicorn stared back at her, it was as if the mare was waiting for Dusk to say something.

"Eh... Oh, yes! I slept very well, thank you!" Dusk finally replied, understanding that Applejack was waiting for an answer.

"Glad ta hear it!" Applejack smiled. "I was worried y'all slept badly since ya slept in the barn."

"Don't worry, it's much more comfortable than it looks," Dusk said, smiling back. "Also, due to the fatigue from yesterday, I slept like a log."

"Alright!" Applejack said turning around and walking away from the barn doorway. "Granny Smith's making breakfast, I'll wait outside so we can go together."

"Um... sure, I'll be out soon." Dusk replied.

As soon as Applejack was out of sight, Dusk fell back quickly, putting his head on the pillow and looking up to the ceiling. Then a smile formed on his lips at an incredible revelation. HE HAD SLEPT IN A BARN! Never in all his life would he have imagined that he would ever sleep in a barn, this was such an absurd idea. If somepony had told him this a week ago; that he would be where he is now, lying on a pile of straw in a small wooden barn, he probably would have screamed that they were crazy. And although it was true that for the farm ponies it wasn't a big deal, for a city pony like Dusk, who enjoyed locking himself away with his books, this was a great feat, a crazy feat but a fun feat.

Dusk continued lying there for a little while, pondering all that, until his gut cried out for food.

"Well, time to get up," Dusk said, rising once more.

Then he noticed something odd.

"Hmm?" Dusk paused with confusion, looking down on himself. "Did I have a blanket when I went to bed last night?"

Dusk tried but couldn't remember if he had had the blanket when he went to bed. Finally, he decided not to give it a second thought and to get going, the answer was obvious; he had it from the beginning, after all, who would have worried about him enough to give him a blanket in the middle of the night while he slept?

Immediately Dusk stood up, stretched his muscles and left where Applejack was waiting for him. The mare gave him a smile and together they began walking towards the Apple family's house.

"Applejack..." Dusk said head down, after having thought something that was bothering him. "I think we would be imposing on you for breakfast, Spike and I have already caused enough problems, we'd better leave."

Applejack stared at him for a moment before giving Dusk a small slap on his back.

"What're you talkin' about, it's no problem." Applejack laughed. "Besides, it would be rude if ya didn't stay for breakfast after all you and Spike are our guests!"

Dusk was surprised by Applejack's attitude, so he responded with a shy smile. As he did, Dusk couldn't help but think how kind they all were, Applejack and her family, Fluttershy... maybe it wasn't weird that they were strangers and they were very kind, maybe it was HE who was out of place and thought that kindness and empathy between ponies was weird. "Maybe... I should have accepted Fluttershy's invitation to breakfast, it would have been the right thing to do, it wasn't to take advantage of her kindness... but if I had, I wouldn't have gotten to know Applejack..." This thought flew briefly into Dusk's mind and began to make him dizzy, so he dismissed it quickly, let bygones be bygones, and thanks to Celestia he didn't have to choose between the two mares, that was something he hoped he'd never have to do.

Dusk and Applejack finally arrived at the entrance of the house, specifically the door to the kitchen and dining room. As soon as Applejack opened the door, Dusk immediately noticed that something was wrong, there was a slightly tense atmosphere in the air. They were all sitting at the table, except for Granny Smith, who was at the stove cooking oats, her face showing that she was slightly annoyed, Spike was sitting looking down sadly, Appleblom looked annoyed at Spike, for his part Big Mac glanced at Dusk with a sharp look.

"Eh... something wrong?" Dusk whispered to Applejack.

"Oh, Applebloom and Granny discovered that Spike was lying." Applejack said without giving it more importance.

"Yes, when he told he beat an army of minotaurs alone, I had my doubts," Applebloom said annoyed.

"Ya didn't need to lie to us, we would have welcomed ya and fed ya regardless of whether or not you had been heroes." Granny Smith said, bringing the oats to the table and serving it out to Applebloom and Spike.

While Applebloom and Granny Smith were talking, Spike's cheeks became more and more red with embarrassment, yet he said nothing to defend himself, apparently he had accepted that this must be his punishment for lying.

"So an army of minotaurs, huh? It seems like you exaggerated a bit." Dusk said laughing a little at his brother's disgrace.

Spike only covered his face to hide his embarrassment.

"But you lied too, right?" Big Mac suddenly said, who was still staring at Dusk.

That comment felt like a stone in the stomach to Dusk, blushing he didn't know how to respond.

"That's not true." Granny Smith interrupted, approaching Dusk. "Applejack told me yesterday that you told her the truth, you're a gentlecolt after all, aren't ya?" Granny said, smiling and pinching Dusk's cheeks.

"Hmph! At least he's not a liar. I guess," Big Mac said a little upset.

"That's right, a true honest to goodness gentlecolt for our cute lil' Applejack," Granny said aloud, talking to herself as she went to sit down.

Both Applejack and Dusk blushed but acted as if they hadn't heard Granny's comment, then they also went to take a seat. As Applejack sat down, Dusk's etiquette and manners came up again and he ran to move the chair so that Applejack could sit down and adjust comfortably. As soon as he did, Applejack turned her head to say that it wasn't necessary, but the words wouldn't come out, her cheeks flushed and she only thanked him for the gesture.

All of this happened under the watchful eye of Big McIntosh, something that Dusk noticed immediately. He knew that as soon as he got near Applejack he couldn't hide from her overprotective big brother's glare, so he decided that it would be best not to sit next to Applejack, instead Dusk approached Big Mac and decided to sit next to him.

"Is this okay?" Dusk timidly asked Big Mac as he sat next to him.

Big Mac stared at him, slightly surprised, apparently this young unicorn had manners and knew how not to take undue attributions, such as sitting next to a mare of his family without his consent.

"That's right." Big Mac said with an approving snort. "But you still have a long way to go if you want my approval to be with my sister."

"But you're on the right track youngin, hihihi..." Granny Smith laughed, who was listened to them attentively while she ate.

"I guess you're right, hehe..." Dusk laughed nervously, while Granny, Applebloom, Spike and even Big Mac shared their laughter at the table.

Definitely, now the atmosphere was much more relaxed and cheerful, the best atmosphere for breakfast. Dusk liked this feeling, laughing as a family, something he himself hadn't done in so long. Besides, he couldn't agree more with Big Mac, trust should be earned, and he should show that he was a gentlecolt and a good pony if he wanted to talk to Applejack and be friends with her.

For her part, the only one who didn't share the laughter at the table was Applejack, who was completely blushing, covering her face with her hooves. Apparently, she was the only one who had fully understood the situation, something that even Dusk hadn't done. When Big Mac and Granny talked about 'approval to be with her' they didn't mean being together to talk or something like that, they meant something deeper, like a serious relationship between a colt and a mare! Applejack understood that poor Dusk hadn't understood what Granny and her brother were talking about, she wanted to explain that to him, but the atmosphere at the table was so cheerful, everyone was sharing and laughing, Applejack decided not to open her mouth and that she would tell Dusk of his mistake another time when they were alone.

So it was that breakfast followed in a pleasant atmosphere, where even Spike finally made Applebloom stop being angry with him, pardoning him in part, but not completely.

"All right! Time to get to work!" Applejack said after finishing her meal. "It's late and there's a lot to do."

"Eeyup!" Big Mac said in reply, getting up from the table.

They all followed Applejack and Big Mac out of the house. This was also when Dusk and Spike decided to say goodbye and continue on their way, since Dusk understood that 'helping' them with their work would only mean slowing them down, just like yesterday.

"Thank you so much for everything." Dusk Shine said with a bow, after standing in front of everyone next to Spike. "Thank you for the food and your hospitality."

"And... sorry about lying to you..." Spike added, still ashamed.

"Don't worry, that's all water under the bridge now, and it was nice to have ya." Granny Smith smiled.

"By the way, this is for you." Applejack said giving Dusk a small sack with something inside.

"What's this-" Dusk was surprised to open the sack and see that there were a few bits inside.

"It's for your work yesterday, you've earned it, so ya won't have to sleep in a barn again, right, Big Mac?" Applejack said smiling and looking at her brother.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac replied.

"But... yesterday's work was to pay you back for the apples we ate," Dusk said something confused.

"Nah! Those ones are on us." Applejack responded with a big smile.

Dusk stared at the whole Apple family, everyone was smiling, so Dusk smiled back with a great joy in his heart, happy and thankful to have met such a loving family.

"Thank you." Dusk finally said with a small bow, since he didn't know how else to thank them. "I hope to see you all again soon."

"I want to see her again. I want to see her again." An insistent phrase crossed Dusk's subconscious, an idea that wasn't strong enough to enter Dusk's conscious mind, but it made Dusk realize that he wanted to ask something before he left.

"Applejack... are you going to the Summer Sun Celebration?" Dusk asked timidly.

"Of course! In fact, we're in charge of the food!" Applejack replied proudly.

"That's great! Then I'll see you there, Applejack." Dusk smiled at Applejack. "I-I mean, all of you! I'll see you all there." Dusk corrected himself quickly, staring at the Apple family totally blushing.

In response to this, Granny Smith just laughed, jabbing Big Mac in the side with her elbow while he looked away frowning slightly, while little Applebloom looked mischievously from Dusk to her older sister and back.

After that, Dusk and Spike finally said goodbye to everyone and started on their way away from Sweet Apple Acres.

"So, what's the plan now?" Spike asked as they walked away from the farm.

"I guess the time has finally come, we have no choice but to go to Ponyville." Dusk said not giving it much enthusiasm.

"Apparently having to go into town and meet other ponies doesn't bother you anymore," Spike said, realizing that his brother was much more relaxed compared to when they arrived from Canterlot.

"Well... I've already run away from a bear and a furious farmer, and you've been attacked by a rabbit and became a compulsive liar." Dusk mused. "I suppose the worst is over, I mean, what could go wrong in the village?"

"Haha... I guess you're right." Spike replied smiling as they both continued on their way to Ponyville.





"We're finally here!" Spike said excitedly after crossing a bridge and seeing they were finally entering the village of Ponyville.

A few steps behind him was Dusk, who upon entering the picturesque village didn't have the same level of enthusiasm as his draconic little brother.

"So what's next?" Spike asked looking at his brother.

"I'm not sure... Maybe going to the inn and renting a room." Dusk answered, trying to find the inn.

"Or, you could stick to your promise and talk to some local ponies," Spike said with a mischievous look at Dusk.

"Excuse me?" Dusk asked, annoyed. "I've already talked to Fluttershy plus Applejack and her family! Are you still going to bug me about talking to other ponies!?"

"Well... a conversation equals a possible friend and with that, you're more likely to finish the princess's task," Spike said with a shy smile.

Dusk didn't like it, Spike couldn't force him to talk to every single pony he encountered in the next three days before the Summer Sun Celebration. Dusk's brow furrowed and prepared to have a heated argument with the dragon, but Spike could see that his brother was about to explode so he reacted faster.

"Wait! Wait!" Spike said quickly, lifting his waving claws so Dusk wouldn't speak. "ONE MORE! Just talk to one other pony and it'll be all over, end of the promise."

Dusk stared at him for a long time as his anger subsided.

"Really?" Dusk asked.

"Sure, you fulfilled with your part, you already have two possible friends, which is good, but having three is better. Besides... I'm only doing this to help you." Spike said with a small smile at Dusk.

"HUFF...! Fine," Dusk said with a heavy sigh of resignation. "Then... who should I talk to?"

Immediately Spike craned his neck and began to look around for somepony, anypony.

"There!" Spike finally said, pointing to a group of three mares that weren't far from them in what appeared to be a flower stand.

Dusk looked at them with some insecurity, he didn't want to repeat the routine conversation he had with strangers, but he knew that after all of this Spike wouldn't bother him about it again, so he just sighed and started heading over to the mares.

At the flower stand, two of the mares had their backs to Dusk as they talked to each other, one of them had cream-colored skin and her mane was red wine and rose, the other had pink skin and yellow mane adorned with a lily over her ear; While the third mare had soft pink skin and her mane was lime green, she had her head in the direction Dusk was coming, but she was looking down while arranging some bouquets with her mouth; In addition, the three mares had flowers like cutie marks. Dusk took a breath to relax and approached this last mare.

"It's okay, this will be my last conversation to make 'friends', and this time I won't blow it immediately like I did with Fluttershy and Applejack!" Dusk thought as he walked alongside Spike up to the pink mare.

"Umm... Hello!" Dusk said once he stood in front of the mare.

The mare, still holding a flower in her mouth, looked up and saw Dusk beside Spike, then her eyes began to open slowly, as did her mouth, from which the flower fell.

"AHHH!" The mare shouted for a second, pulling a hoof up to her head, spun around and fell faint.

Dusk and Spike were totally puzzled. Neither of them expected that kind of reaction nor did they understand why it happened! Any hope of having a normal conversation and of making a good first impression had been destroyed the second Dusk had opened his mouth to say "hello".

Dusk quickly came out of his stupor and was ready to help the mare, but he couldn't get closer because as soon as they heard the shout, the other two mares who were also in the flower stand rushed to succor their friend.

"What happened!?" The cream-colored mare asked, approaching to see her friend.

"Daisy! Are you okay?" The blond mane mare asked, touching her hoof to the cheek of the fainted mare.

"I... I just said 'hello'..." Dusk timidly said, trying to justify himself so they wouldn't think he had done anything wrong.

Then the two mares, who after running to help their friend hadn't even noticed the pair, looked up at them for a few seconds.

"AHHH!" Both mares cried in unison, raising hoofs to their heads, spinning around on themselves and fainting like their friend.

Dusk and Spike remained frozen where they were with expressionless faces, a piercing silence reigned where they stood while the wind kicked up the dust and a tumbleweed bouncing off behind them...

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!" Dusk finally yelled, totally disturbed because he didn't understand what was going on.

For Dusk it was bad enough that his plan to have a normal conversation failed with the one mare, but that it failed with three mares and almost at the same time wasn't just strange, it was a statistical anomaly! This was something that Dusk couldn't understand, and if there was something that really bothered Dusk, it was when he wasn't able to understand something.

For his part, Spike, who reacts much better than Dusk in these cases, took it more calmly. He looked around and started approaching a tree that had a flyer drawing his attention.

"Why did they faint when they saw me!? Is it me? Am I doomed to never have a normal conversation with any mares!?" Dusk began to ask himself aloud. Obviously exaggerating the whole situation.

"Calm down, already!" Spike said annoyed. "I think I found the reason they all fainted."

At this, Spike reluctantly extended the flyer he had taken off of the tree to Dusk, which Dusk took and watched slowly. The more he saw it, the more Dusk's eyes widened.





That paper wasn't just a flyer, it was a 'Wanted' poster! Which had a picture of a lavender unicorn, with a dark blue mane streaked with stripes of violet and pink! In addition, the expression on the drawing showed a fanged smile and a scar under the eye, which made it look all the eviler. By itself, the drawing had features that Dusk didn't possess, but the basic characteristics were the same, the drawing of the pony in question looked like Dusk Shine.

"W-Wh... What is this...?" Dusk wondered aloud in a trembling voice.

"I knew it!" Spike shouted cheerfully, pulling Dusk out of his stupor. "I knew there had to be one of me too!"

Dusk looked up to see that Spike had walked away and came back with what appeared to be another 'Wanted' poster.

"Look, look! You're not the only bad guy." Spike smiled, showing Dusk a poster with a picture similar Dusk's poster but instead of a unicorn drawing, it had a dragon drawing.

"Are you glad you're on a 'Wanted' poster?" Dusk asked Spike, a little annoyed.

"Of course! It's like the posters from the old west, or even better! Those posters of the comic I'm reading, you know, that one of the pony that wants to become the king of the pirates, it's called-" Spike replied cheerfully, before being interrupted by Dusk.

"ENOUGH!" Dusk replied irritably. "Don't you understand? This means that for some reason the law wants us! We could go to jail!"

"But... We haven't done anything wrong, have we?" Spike replied simply, shrugging.

"Hmm... as far as we know, no... B-But we have to figure out why we're suddenly felons!"

As soon as Dusk finished speaking, his ears perked up as he regained his composure. There was a faint, strange sound in the air.

"Do you hear that?" Dusk asked Spike.

"Yeah..." Spike said narrowing his eyes and putting a claw behind his ear to hear better. "It... sounds like buzzing."

Indeed Spike had accurately described the sound Dusk was listening to, a sound that seemed to be getting louder.

“nnneeaaoOWW!”

Dusk only managed to turn around when he felt the sound rushing up his back. As soon as he turned around, something fell from the sky, knocked him down flat, and pinned him to the ground.

"Caught you!" Said the voice of a mare, a mare who had hit him and was now lying on him, preventing him from standing up.

Dusk opened his eyes with some effort as he spat out what seemed to be hair, which had completely blinded him.

"Is this somepony's mane?" Dusk thought uncertain because he had never seen a mane like that, a mane with the colors of the rainbow.

Dusk was completely subdued, with his back to the ground and a mare on top of him. A situation that if any mother with her child had seen, they would be scandalized believing it was a scene not suitable for foals, but this wasn't the case, this time the mare was on Dusk to immobilize him and prevent his escape.

"Hehehe! I've been looking for you for two days! I was thinking of giving up, but at last, I found ya!" The mare said in a raspy voice.

As soon as she said these words, the mare lifted her head and Dusk was finally able to completely remove the hair from his face and see the face of her attacker. It was indeed a mare, a pegasus to be exact, she had cyan skin and violet-red eyes, yet her most striking feature was her mane, which had all the colors of the rainbow.

The mare just lifted her head, but her legs and body kept pushing to keep Dusk from getting off the ground. So, for few seconds, the two of them stared at each other until the mare finally blinked.

"You're the bad guy, aren't you?" The mare asked.

"Yeah! It must be you!" The mare answered herself before Dusk could open his mouth. "You have the same coat and mane color like the poster, but... I thought you would look scarier... like your poster. But instead you're kinda cute, you sorta look like a girl." The mare ended up saying with a smile.

The mare's words hit Dusk like a bucket of ice water, "Effeminate? SHE CALLED ME EFFEMINATE!" Dusk thought while still in shock. He had fought much of his childhood against what he called 'his less than masculine features', meaning, not many colts had lavender fur, nor pink and lilac tufts in their mane, even his own cutie mark wasn't all to his liking, since Dusk always thought it would have been cooler if it had had a sword or something more masculine accompanying the stars on his flank. So when he was a foal, Dusk was eager to grow up and be as manly as other colts in his family, something over the course of time he had got only partially right, for although he had grown up and his adult colt traits were developing more and more over the years, compared to other boys of his age, he still had a slight air of childhood in his face, which was often confused with feminine traits, something that of course Dusk hated from the bottom of his soul. But this time it wasn't hatred what he felt, no, the situation was different, now a mare that was on him skin-to-skin contact and she had called him 'effeminate' to his face, it was reason enough to make any colt feel embarrassed; for Dusk it was almost like he had been on his wedding night and his fiancee had laughed at his 'little Dusk' (if you know what I mean ¬¬), It had hurt his male pride! This was something that made Dusk slowly fall into a limbo of shame.

"Hey, you let go of my brother!" Spike shouted, running to Dusk and the mare.

"Oh! You must be his henchman." The mare said looking sideways at Spike. "What are you supposed to be? His pet iguana or something?"

Spike instantly froze and a vein of fury appeared on his face.

"I-I-Iguana!? WHO ARE YOU CALLING IGUANA!? I'm a dragon!" Spike replied furiously.

"A dragon? Pfff! Yeah, right..." The mare sneered.

Spike's anger rose, with every word out of this mare Spike felt more and more irritated. Now he was sure, he and Dusk could become friends with ponies of different personalities, like Fluttershy or Applejack, but they could never be friends with a mare like this.

"All right! Time to take the iguana and the cute little girl to justice." The mare said, looking back at Dusk.

That was the last straw! All this time Spike and the mare had been arguing, Dusk had remained motionless lost in his thoughts and embarrassment, but when she called him a 'cute little girl', Dusk's anger finally appeared.

Dusk looked annoyed at the mare, then he teleported to release himself and appear next to the mare, this act surprised the mare, who only saw a flash, fell to the ground and stopped seeing her prisoner.

"Who are you calling 'cute little girl'!?" Dusk said annoyed as the mare glanced at her side and saw that Dusk had teleported right next to her. "My name is Dusk Shine and I am a full-grown colt!"

Dusk was pissed, so he decided to fight back, obviously not physically, but with words, just as she had hurt him, so he put aside his gentlecoltly manners and attacked where he knew it would hurt.

"And by the way..." Dusk continued, with a face full of pride. "It's a pity that I can't say the same for you, I mean, a cute mare? No one could ever call you that! With your raw attitude and the way you talk, it's a miracle others haven't mistaken you for a colt!" Dusk said angrily.

After Dusk's words, the mare weakly lowered her head, making it impossible for Dusk or Spike to see her face.

"Oh no! I think I went too far, I made her cry! Stupid! How could I forget that after all, she is still a fragile and innocent mare." Dusk thought, regaining his status as a gentlecolt after seeing the mare's reaction.

Dusk heard some small noises emitted by the mare, which he assumed was crying, so he stepped forward and approached the mare to comfort her and beg her forgiveness.

"BWAHAHAHA!" The mare laughed loudly, raising her head and revealing that the noises she was emitting weren't tears, but she was holding back her laughter.

Dusk remained static, not knowing how to react.

"And what was that? You call that an insult? Hahaha." the mare laughed. "It doesn't bother me to be myself. In fact, I hate all that crud about being feminine and that others should treat me like a lady; so you're absolutely right, I'd hit anyone if they dare call me cute, hahaha."

Her whole reaction took Dusk by surprise, who slowly began to blush after realizing his plan backfired on him and that now the mare was mocking him even more. While she was still laughing, Dusk decided that it would be best to get away from this irritating mare.

"Tch! Let's go, Spike." Dusk said annoyed, turning to Spike and then starting to walk away.

However Dusk didn't take two steps until he came across the same mare, who out of nowhere had appeared in front of him with a serious face. Dusk immediately took a step back in surprise, he looked at the mare's face with bewilderment. In the blink of an eye she had appeared in front of Dusk, if it wasn't that obvious that she didn't have a horn and couldn't use magic, he'd have sworn she had teleported, the only explanation was that the pegasus had moved at an incredible speed.

"Where do you think you're going?" The mare asked, who waved her wings and stood floating just inches from the ground with her forelegs crossed and a face of somepony with few friends. "Don't think because you made me laugh you can escape, you're still my prisoners!"

"Prisoners? Why? What did we do?" Spike said, who came up next to Dusk and took the words right out of his brother's mouth.

"Heck if I know, you broke the law, not me." The pegasus shrugged. "I only know that All Aboard had these posters printed off of some dangerous prisoners who came from Canterlot and escaped two days ago into Ponyville."

All Aboard? Who's 'All Aboard', why had he sent posters with their faces and why was looking for them now-? Dusk's train of thought was derailed by a sudden suspicion.

"Wait... does this "All Aboard" work at the train station?" Dusk asked.

"Eh... yeah, why do you ask?" The mare replied askance.

"Now I get it! He must be the pony who found us tied up in that sack when we got shipped to Ponyville!" Dusk said looking at Spike and then to the mare. "Listen, this is all a big misunderstanding."

The mare stared at him for a few seconds as her eyes narrowed. Her job was to deliver them to the mayor, but she was curious to know more about this unicorn and his dragon, like to know why they were on 'Wanted' posters, something which she thought to be very cool, so she decided to listen. After all, they had nowhere to run while she was watching them.

"Okay, I'll hear you out," the mare finally said. "Just don't try to distract me and run, I'll warn you now you have no escape, you see this?" The mare said to the moment she showed her flank with her cutie mark, Dusk put his eyes on the cutie mark and looked at it intently, it was a cloud with a lightning bolt of red, yellow and blue. "Not for nothing that I have a lightning-like cutie mark, the name's Rainbow Dash and I'm the fastest pony in Equestria! So don't try anything!" The mare finished with pride.

Dusk, who had already regained his usual chivalry, activated his manners and decided to introduce himself as well.

"It's a pleasure Miss Rainbow Dash, my name is-" Dusk was interrupted by the mare, who put her hoof strongly on his mouth to silence him.

"Don't call me Miss again, it's annoying." Rainbow Dash said in a bad mood.

"Seriously? I'm just trying to be a gentlecolt. How unfeminine can you get?!" Dusk thought as he removed the mare's hoof from his mouth and, reluctantly, continued to present himself, as his manners dictated.

"My NAME is Dusk Shine." Dusk continued, trying to hide his discomfort. "And he's my partner Spike."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, now tell me why they're looking for you." The mare said, waving her hoof and looking away, disregarding Dusk's presentation.

"She's really annoying." Dusk thought before taking a deep breath to relax and began telling his story.

Although shameful, Dusk spoke truthfully, but telling the truth didn't involve telling every little detail, such as the fact that Dusk had no friends and had been forced to make friends in this town. So Dusk began to tell his story, how he lived in Canterlot studying magic, how he had made his teacher angry, how she liked to play mischievous pranks and she had him sent in a sack to Ponyville as punishment, and how All Aboard had found them and fled before they could explain to him the whole situation.

"HAHAHA! So your teacher mailed you bound and gagged down to Ponyville? Hahaha!" The mare laughed as she imagined the situation. "There's a prank I'd like to pull, I think I could get along with this teacher of yours, hehe."

"Then I guess you and the princess have the same twisted sense of humor," Spike said reluctantly, still feeling annoyed with the Pegasus.

"The princess? What does the princess have to do with all this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Dusk leered at Spike, who immediately realized he had screwed up. Throughout the story, Dusk had deliberately omitted to tell who his teacher was, as he knew it would bring even more trouble, however, at this point Dusk had no choice but to admit to Rainbow Dash who his teacher was.

"My teacher... is Princess Celestia," Dusk said timidly.

Rainbow Dash stared at him for a second and then looked away upset.

"And here I thought you were telling the truth..." Rainbow Dash said annoyed. "I mean, I could believe all that about your teacher sent you here bound and gagged in a sack as a joke, but do you expect me to believe that Princess Celestia would do something like that... How dumb do you think I am?"

Dusk Shine knew this would happen, it had happened before, when he said that he was the personal student of Princess Celestia, many ponies questioned him, many others believe him, but when he told them that the princess played pranks on him and that she was so intimate with Dusk, no one believed him, since all the ponies of Equestria had the figure of Celestia on a pedestal of glass, magnanimous, serene, powerful, the bright light that guided them all, nopony believed that behind that image was the true princess, someone who liked being treated like any other pony, who adored cakes and who liked to play jokes from time to time.

"It's ... the truth ..." Dusk said resignedly, knowing that now he had no choice but to be taken in by Rainbow Dash.

"Wait! I have a proof!" Spike said suddenly, catching the attention of both ponies.

"What are you going to do?" Dusk asked Spike in a whisper. "You're not going to show her the letter with the royal decree, are you?"

Spike froze because that was exactly what he was going to show Rainbow Dash.

"Don't even think about it!" Dusk said quickly. "I don't want ponies to know that I've been banished from Canterlot and have been desperately seeking out friends here in Ponyville."

"So, where's your proof?" Rainbow Dash asked, growing impatient as Dusk whispered to Spike.

"I've got an idea! I just remembered that I have a photo in the coffer! That's much better!" Spike said aloud with joy as he realized something.

Rainbow Dash didn't understand what Spike meant with the 'coffer', but Dusk did. The coffer was a small chest designed so that Spike could bring things at will with his magic fire, since normally his magic fire only served to send letters between Dusk and Celestia, but thanks to this coffer, Spike could bring other things that weren't sent either by Dusk or the princess, as he had when he had invoked the scroll with the royal decree in which the princess had changed Dusk's name. However the disadvantage was that the coffer was quite small and could only keep a few small things, such as scrolls, letters, and photos.

With a burp, Spike released a gout of green fire and a small photo came out.

"Here, take a look!" Spike said holding out the photo to Rainbow Dash.

In the photo appeared princess Celestia smiling with a young Dusk Shine and the small Spike.

"See? How could we have taken such a picture with the princess if we didn't know her?" Spike asked Rainbow Dash. "She usually doesn't like posing for photos, unless it's official."

"Hmm... I dunno... could be Ponyshoped." The mare said looking it over, checking to see it wasn't a trick photo.

"It's not fake!" Spike said getting exasperated.

Rainbow Dash lowered the photo and began to look both Spike and Dusk in the eyes. "If only her trusty friend were there, she would know if they were lying or not." The mare thought, she finally decided to follow her instincts, which almost never failed her.

"All right, I believe you." Rainbow Dash finally said with a big sigh.

"Really!?" Dusk asked excitedly, he didn't want to spend a night in jail because of a misunderstanding.

"Yeah... Besides you really don't look like criminals to me. I mean, I've met foals with more bad attitude than you two..." Rainbow Dash said, mockingly.

Both Spike and Dusk were annoyed by that comment, but they decided to say nothing, as they were narrowly saved from being declared criminals.

"Oh yeah, who was it that screamed like a girl before I showed up? Hmph, I bet it was you, Pretty boy." The pegasus asked, pointing at Dusk.

"OF COURSE IT WASN'T ME! It was those three who fainted!" Dusk shouted without thinking, before realizing he had screwed up.

Rainbow Dash looked where Dusk pointed and saw the three mares who had passed out as soon as they had seen Dusk. "Now everything's lost!" Dusk thought. Rainbow Dash wouldn't believe they fainted without Dusk doing anything to them.

"Oh! So it was those three." Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly. "They always make a fuss about everything."

Dusk's muscles, which were tense while Rainbow Dash had looked at the fainted mares, slowly relaxed as Dusk realized that apparently those mares with flowers like cutie marks really had a habit of fainting.

"Hey." Rainbow Dash spoke again with a curious look, catching Dusk's attention. "So the princess likes to play pranks?"

"Umm... yes... but only sometimes," Dusk said doubtfully, he didn't want Rainbow Dash to think the princess was crazy about pranks, and also omitting the fact that most of the time she pranked Dusk as a punishment.

Rainbow Dash stared into nowhere for a few seconds as a sinister smile formed on her lips.

Now Dusk was certain, this mare was crazy, but more importantly, he was sure he could never become friends with a mare like Rainbow Dash.

#End of chapter 6
> Chapter 7 - High-speed Pranking!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

High-speed Pranking!

"So tell me Dusk, would you like to prank some ponies?" Rainbow Dash asked with a sinister smile.

"Eh?" Said Dusk, taken aback by such a question. Pranks? What on earth is this mare thinking!? Dusk thought, standing before the persistent look of the pegasus, decided to answer sensibly. "I... I don’t think that's such a good idea ..."

"Hmph! I knew you'd say no." Rainbow Dash said, turning around with feigned resentment. "I knew you were just a good little boy... I bet you always follow everything your teacher tells you to do when she tells you to, just like a foal."

Rainbow Dash's words hit Dusk right where it hurt. The unicorn on any other occasion would have recognized when someone was trying to manipulate it, but this time, after Rainbow Dash had called him 'effeminate', 'cute little girl' and 'foal' today, he really wanted to prove that he WAS manly and could be a bad boy if he wanted to.

"And what did you have in mind?" Dusk answered coldly, thinking; "This mare will not belittle me!"

"Bingo!" Rainbow Dash thought as she continued smiling sinisterly at Dusk.

"It's simple," the pegasus said turning back around to Dusk and Spike excitedly. "Only I know that you two aren't criminals like everyone believes, so we'll trick the ponies looking for you. We'll pretend that you're attacking me and scare the heck out of them!"

A great silence followed after Rainbow Dash's lively words.

"That... that's a terrible idea!" Spike said, annoyed after hearing her idea. "We don't wanna make the guards angry or cause a panic!"

"That's great, but don't worry about the guards because there aren't any," Rainbow Dash said with enthusiasm. "Ponyville is a quiet town, without any need for guards or police, so the mayor asked the weather patrol to watch over the town and warn everypony if we saw trouble. So if we frighten one or two pegasi on the weather patrol, it won't be much of a fuss. And it would be funny to watch 'em in a panic!"

Dusk and Spike looked at each other, it was obvious they both thought it was a bad idea. If they didn't clear up this misunderstanding soon, the whole situation could worsen for them.

"What's the matter? Are you a colt or a chicken?" Rainbow Dash asked grinning at Dusk.

"You're obviously trying to provoke us," Spike said firmly. "But we're not falling for it, right Dusk?"

"You're on!" Dusk answered sharply, with a fire in his eyes. "I'll prove to you that I'm no foal!"

Spike faceclawed in frustration, he couldn't believe his clever and sly brother would fall for her games so easily.

"All right! I'll go get the victims." Rainbow Dash said excitedly. "When I'm back with them, you pretend to be thieves or something and attack me."

Then the pegasus spread her wings and like a rainbow colored flash, flew off into the center of town, leaving Dusk and Spike completely alone.

Spike waited a few seconds to make sure Rainbow Dash had gone far enough, then spoke again.

"I think we'd better go while we still can," Spike whispered to Dusk. "If we do what she tells us, we'll just get into even more trouble."

"No way! I'm going to prove her wrong! "Dusk said filled with determination. "I'll make that pegasus eat her words!"

Spike thought about contradicting his brother and to keep running, but apparently Dusk was determined to prove it to Rainbow Dash that he was not a foal or effeminate. That and Spike knew that look, his brother had something in mind.

"What are you planning?" Spike asked curiously.

"She wants a bad boy, right?" Dusk said as a slow sinister grin formed on his lips. "I'll give her a bad boy..."

Rainbow Dash had reached the center of town and was flying all over looking for some known weather patrol pony.

"There they are!" Rainbow Dash said to herself after seeing a pair of pegasus fly by, both mares were moving clouds from one place to another all over the town, one of them had the bluish lilac skin and a wild mane of silver and white, the other had pale aquamarine skin and a well cut blond mane.

"Hey! Cloudchaser! Helia!" Shouted Rainbow Dash.

"Hello Rainbow! What's going on?" cried the messy mane of hair, that was Cloudchaser.

"I ... I saw that colt we're looking for!" Rainbow Dash said feigning fear.

"The colt we're looking for? What do you mean?" Helia the blonde pegasus asked.

Rainbow Dash was puzzled for a second, she expected a better reaction from the mares, a reaction of fear or at least interest, however that wouldn't happen, to her disappointment, since unlike Rainbow Dash, who had taken to heart her search and surveillance for criminals, the other members of the weather patrol had given up the search the first day after only a couple of hours, since there had never been a crime in Ponyville and all thought that the 'criminal' had only been an exaggeration on the mayor's part.

"The criminals! Remember!! The ones on the 'Wanted' posters!" Rainbow Dash insisted, somewhat irritated that her co-workers had forgotten so quickly.

"Oh yeah! I remember...! What about them?" Helia asked nonchalantly.

"I saw them! They're at the entrance of town! Come on! "Rainbow Dash said quickly, trying to urge her companions.

However both mares continued to float where they were and only looked at each other.

"It's not right to leave a job half-done," Helia said to her partner.

"Yeah... Although... It might be entertaining to see this colt the mayor made us look for and see why he scared poor All Aboard." Cloudchaser replied with a small laugh.

"Hmm... yeah, could be fun... Okay, come on!" Helia replied to Cloudchaser smiling.

"Uh... Okay... Follow me," Rainbow Dash said lightly, slowly flying back to Dusk.

Rainbow Dash's initial enthusiasm vanished as she realized her companions weren't scared at all, worse yet, they were excited and smiling. Rainbow Dash's plan was to mentally prepare them so it would be easy to scare them, but that didn't worked. Now Rainbow Dash knew that with such a cheerful atmosphere it'd be impossible to scare them when they saw harmless Dusk and his talking pet iguana Spike, she knew that as soon as they got to Dusk, this joke would become a fiasco...

Finally Rainbow Dash and company got to where she had left Dusk and Spike. The place was deserted, with no sign of either of the two fugitives.

"Where did you see them?" Cloudchaser asked, looking around as she landed next to the others.

"Huh... they should be around here..." Rainbow Dash replied, not knowing what to do. She wasn't sure if Dusk and Spike were hiding or if they simply ran, ether way, Rainbow Dash felt depressed. Since if they had fled that would mean they tricked her, and if they were hiding, it'll only be a matter of time before they jumped out trying to scare them, then Cloudchaser and Helia would make fun of her for believing that something so simple would frighten them.

"Maybe they ran away, hehe," Helia said giggling at the end.

"Yeah, or they might not even be real," Cloudchaser continued, looking to Rainbow Dash smiling. "Did you just want to scare us, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash had a bad poker face, she'd been caught, it'd be best to admit this was all a bad joke that went wrong.

FWOOSH!

As soon as Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, huge green flames came out of nowhere and surrounded the three mares. The three gave little jumps of surprise and immediately saw, with a fright, they were completely surrounded by flames.

"W-What's going on?" Helia asked fearfuly.

"I-I don't know." Rainbow Dash replied, looking around, trying to see where the fire had come from. "Did those two do this?" Rainbow Dash wondered.

Out of nowhere, the sky darkened as if everything had been covered by a great shadow, then they began to hear something like the growls of animals.

"Hunger... I Hunger..." They began to hear a deep voice in the distance.

The three mares were paralyzed by the sounds and that voice.

"Blood... I want your blood..." They heard the voice again, a voice that seemed to come closer and closer.

Rainbow Dash's companions took steps back in fear and continued to stare where the voice was heard. In front of them, Rainbow Dash was motionless, totally tense, staring purposefully at the same spot, but she could not see anything since the flames prevented her.

"W-Will it really be Dusk?" Rainbow Dash thought, she was beginning to doubt whether this was all part of the joke or whether they should really be running right now.

"Food... I smell food..." The dark voice was even louder, it was right in front of them, behind the flames.

Helia and Cloudchaser embraced as they trembled with fear. Rainbow Dash swallowed heavy, realizing that it was impossible for a simple pony like Dusk to do something this frightening, so she turned to her companions.

"COME ON! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" Rainbow Dash shouted at her companions.

However, instead of doing what Rainbow Dash said, they were both paralyzed with fear, staring at what was behind her, their terrified eyes widened. Rainbow Dash slowly turned her head to see why. There it was right front of her, crossing the flames like a demon of the pit, it was an enormous being, which seemed to be a totally black colt, as if it were living shadow of the dark flames. They could only now distinguish three things on him, an ugly scar on his cheek, fierce fangs, and furious white eyes that shone in the gloom, terrifying them all the more.

Rainbow Dash's blood froze, this was really happening! It was impossible for this demon to be Dusk!

"You will be my first prey..." said the pony-demon, lifting his hoof aiming for Rainbow Dash.

Instantly a force unknown to Rainbow Dash grabbed her body and dragged her against her will to the pony-demon, leaving her face to face with it. Immediately, not knowing what else to do, Rainbow Dash could only close her eyes tight, she had to accept it, she was afraid.

"Hey!" A voice whispered in front of her. Rainbow Dash slowly opened one eye. She was still facing the pony-demon, but now that she was face to face she could see the monster better. The pony-demon was shorter than it appeared to be, in fact it was only a little taller than Rainbow Dash, up close, she could see that his skin was not all black, but rather dark purple, as if it were lighter but covered in shadow. Also past the brightness of the eyes, Rainbow Dash could see the eyes did indeed have color, a certain color of purple. Finally if he had his fang and scar removed and his body shone with natural light, that pony-demon was someone she knew, IT WAS DUSK!

"So... Who's the chicken now?" Dusk whispered with a mischievous smile.

"D-Dusk?" Rainbow Dash asked uncertainly, still disbelieving what she saw.

She stared at him, her lip still trembling a little with fear. Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe she'd been fooled by that clumsy colt! Besides... the bad boy look really looked great on him. The mare couldn’t help blushing a little as she thought "This guy actually cooler than I thought."

Finally Rainbow Dash had recovered enough to speak, but was interrupted by Dusk.

"Play along," Dusk whispered again to Rainbow Dash, leaving her confused.

It only took a second for Rainbow Dash to realize that they were still joking and that Helia and Cloudchaser were still staring in terror as the 'pony-demon' had her in it's clutches.

"HUNGER...!" Dusk shouted in a deep voice, as he took Rainbow Dash in his hoofs, bent her quickly and bit her throat, while still in visual contact with the two frightened mares.





The bite to the neck took Rainbow Dash completely by surprise, she was paralyzed before Dusk's intrepid move. Rainbow Dash's neck was obviously safe, Dusk didn't really bite her, but the pegasus could feel the unicorn's soft lips on her neck, something that gave a strange sensation, a new feeling that was... enjoyable!?

"AHH!" Rainbow Dash pretended to scream as she got bitten, a great performance if the pegasus wasn't totally blushing.

"KYAAA!" Helia and Cloudchaser screamed in unison as they spread their wings and flew off in tears.

Once they flew away, Dusk stopped 'biting' Rainbow Dash while what was left of the green flames died down and the shadow that covered everything along with Dusk's body, and his fake facial features, disappeared, leaving Dusk with his usual look.

"HAHAHAHA!" Spike laughed loudly, he had been hidden behind a tree. "That was hilarious! Did you see them run!"

"Yeah not bad, right?" Dusk smiled at his partner.

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was still perplexed to see how her companions had fled in terror.

"That... WAS AMAZING!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a big smile, wide eyed looking at Dusk. "How'd you do all that? The fire and the shadows everywhere! Even that scar and the fangs!"

"Well, the flames were made by Spike, it would have been dangerous if it had been real fire, but that's magic fire, it can be used without burning anything, you would have realized it if you'd touched it, that's how I walked through it." Dusk replied with a smile, he loved to explain things. "The rest was just advanced illusion magic, it's not my forte, but I can still use it a bit and it works so long as the targets aren't too close."

"That was great! Who'd know you're really a terrifying dragon!" Rainbow Dash said playfully striking Spike, giving a small smile of pride to the little dragon. "I never would have thought you could do that!" Finished saying Rainbow Dash with a huge smile looking at Dusk.

He was about to say, "She's really cute when she smiles." Then it hit him, Dusk immediately remembered when he had said that she wasn't at all cute, a memory that really started to bothered him.

"So... were you scared too?" Spike asked Rainbow Dash with a mischievous look.

"W-What are you talking about? I knew it was you from the beginning!" Lied Rainbow Dash slightly flushed. "Although... you took me by surprise biting my neck." As she finished speaking, the pegasus touched her neck and looking away as she blushed even more.

Dusk couldn't see it, but Spike would have sworn that for a second he saw Rainbow Dash smile as she touched where Dusk had bit her.

"Anyway..." Rainbow Dash said quickly, turning back to Dusk with a mischievous little smile. "It was okay, for a chicken."

"Well, your victim performance leaves much to be desired, MISS Rainbow Dash." Dusk replied with the same mischievous smile.

They both stared at each other for a few seconds until they couldn't hold it, they both started laughing.

"All right! To our next victim!" Rainbow Dash said afterwords, spreading her wings and flew low and slow for Spike and Dusk to follow. "Do not ask, just follow me."

Spike had already forgotten all the resentment he had toward the pegasus, he followed first. While Dusk stood for a moment thinking and pondering how this situation with Rainbow Dash had taken a turn, in what seemed to be them becoming friends without even intending to, unlike Fluttershy and Applejack... or perhaps he had made these ties on his own without thinking of the Princess’s task? Everything that happened with these three mares... Did he still do it because of the obligation to do his task? He was not sure now. Finally, Dusk decided to leave those thoughts for later and for now, just follow Rainbow Dash and see who would be their next victim.





"Are you sure about this?" Dusk asked uncertainly.

"Yes, he was the one who started it all, so we'll scare him and then explain that it was all just a joke and that you're not criminals," whispered Rainbow Dash.

Dusk, Spike and Rainbow Dash were hiding behind a bush, all three watched their next target, All Aboard.

"Do we do the same thing as before?" Dusk asked Rainbow.

"Yeah, but I'll show up later, pretending I'm just walking by, then you attack me," Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"So... leave the bite out this time?" Dusk asked not wanting Rainbow Dash to get angry with him.

"NO!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I-I-I mean no... it adds realism, I think we should leave that part as is, just... be gentle..." This last phrase Rainbow Dash said very low, looking away.

Dusk couldn't help but blush, for a second time the extroverted pegasus seemed so tender and delicate.

Finally Dusk got up and looked at Spike.

"When I give you the signal," Dusk told him as his horn glistened.

All Aboard was on his way back to the train station, he had gone out to eat something before the last train of the day arrived in Ponyville, the innocent train attendant was walking totally unconcerned when a sudden shadow seemed to cover the sky, immediately green flames prevented him from moving forward and strange noises began to be heard. Poor All Aboard glanced around frightened as Dusk slowly approached as Spike and Rainbow Dash held in their laughter behind the bush.

"Hunger... I hunger..." Dusk began to speak in a deep voice as he approached All Aboard.

The train attendant nearly dropped his glasses as his eyes opened with terror and he stepped back.

"Blood... I want your-" Dusk could not complete his scary phrase, for from a distance he was interrupted by a loud cry.

"THERE IT IS! GET HIM!" Came a voice from the heavens.

Dusk was completely frozen when he saw almost a dozen pegasi were rushing him from the sky, immediately this interruption made Dusk's illusion fall apart, returning him to normal. The pegasi, both colts and mares, fell upon Dusk as they all grabbed him, trying to immobilize him.

"W-What's...?" Dusk asked confused once he was able to speak after being grabbed.

"We got you, you damned cannibal!" Said a dark gray-skinned pegasus with a short Mohawk of grayish-pale blue color, glaring at Dusk.

"Yes! He was the one who ate poor Rainbow Dash!" Said a pegasus in back, tears in her eyes. Dusk was able to lift his head a little to see that it was one of the mares he had frightened before.

"He... He's the fugitive who was a prisoner from Canterlot!" Said All Aboard, he had been surprised by the whole situation but now that he could see Dusk better, he recognized him.

"Wait! It's all a misunderstanding!" Shouted Dusk, trying to free himself.

For their part, Rainbow Dash and Spike watched the whole situation, they stopped laughing as soon as the ponies tackled Dusk.

"Come on Spike, we need to clear this up!" Rainbow Dash said quickly.

However, Spike instead of standing up began to touch everywhere, as if looking for something, his face showed that he was scared.

"Rainbow... I lost the photo... I don't know where I left it!" Spike said with fear to the pegasus.

This was a problem, that photo was the key to proving they weren't prisoners and that Dusk was the student of the princess, without that photo it would be really hard for Rainbow Dash to prove that Dusk wasn't a criminal, but at least she could save him from being tried for cannibalism.

"Wait here Spike!" Rainbow Dash said, coming out of the bush towards the others.

"HEY, leave him alone!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, flying to where they were holding Dusk.

All the pegasi were surprised to see her rainbow mane approach.

"RAINBOW DASH! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Cried Helia, jumping to embrace Rainbow Dash.

"Duh! Of course." Rainbow Dash said. "Seriously it was just a joke, he was just helping me play a prank!" Rainbow Dash pointed at Dusk.

The pegasus gave each other different looks, some were confused, some were annoyed and some were even smiling, while Helia began to cry while the other victim, Cloudchaser, looked angrily at Rainbow Dash.

"That was a very bad joke!" Said Cloudchaser annoyed.

"Yeah... maybe it got outta hoof a bit..." Rainbow Dash said regretfully, who then glanced sideways at Dusk and added. "I'm sorry, it was all my idea, please forgive me."

With the atmosphere a little more relaxed some ponies stopped holding Dusk, however not all did, the train manager spoke up before the rest.

"Wait a second!" All Aboard shouted, he didn’t understand anything that was happening right now. "I do not know what's going on here, but what I do know is that HE is a dangerous fugitive." He finished, pointing at Dusk.

"It's true! He appeared on the 'Wanted' posters!" Added another Pegasus after recalling seeing Dusk's face.

"It's... It's just a misunderstanding," said Dusk quickly, already feeling dizzy with so much attention and so many ponies around him. "I am a student of magic in Canterlot, my teacher sent me here by mistake, I even have proof that-" Dusk stopped talking since while they all looked at him, Rainbow Dash beckoned him not to speak as soon as he mentioned 'Proof'.

"Proof? What proof? "All Aboard asked, looking sharply at Dusk.

Dusk's mind quickly began to theorize what was happening. There must have been a reason why Spike didn’t come out to prove his innocence or even Rainbow Dash could have brought and shown the photo if Spike had any setbacks, "There must be a problem I don't know about". Dusk thought, he therefore decided that it would be best to remain silent.

"Well? So you have no proof that you're a Canterlot student?" All Aboard asked again, answered by Dusk's silence. "If you have nothing else to say, then we'll take you to the mayor!"

Then All Aboard began to walk towards the city hall, followed by the pegasus who continued to hold Dusk tightly and carried him, while Rainbow Dash began to talk with her companions, trying to convince them that Dusk was not a bad guy. As soon as they began to move, Spike peered out of the bush ready to go out and help his brother, however Dusk, who was the only one who had his eyes turned back and could see Spike, nodded his head not to leave , So Spike remained watching as they took his brother away like a criminal.

As soon as they arrived at the mayor's office, they all came in and were greeted with surprise by a mare in cream-colored skin and gray mane, and wearing a collar and a green tie. At the attentive gaze of the mare, All Aboard approached her and commented on the whole situation, the mayor's eyes widened as she finally understood this bizarre situation.

"I am Mayor Mare of Ponyville." The mare finally said. "And All Aboard here, who is a trustworthy colleague and friend, informed me a few days ago that you came as a prisoner from Canterlot. Is that right?"

Dusk, who had just been let go by the pegasi, stood up and thought carefully about what he should say, since he understood that even if he didn’t look it, they were all judging him at that moment.

"Good evening, Mrs. Mayor," Dusk greeted respectfully with a bow. "it's true that I was sent here tied up in a sack, but that was not because I was dangerous or a criminal, my teacher just played a bad prank on me. I wanted to explain the whole situation as soon as I arrived, but the train attendant fled before I could say anything. Besides, I spent the first two days of my stay on the outskirts of town, only today had I learned that everypony was looking for me like a fugitive."

"And you have evidence to support what you say?" Asked the mayor.

"No..." Dusk answered timidly. "But you don’t have proof either that I'm a criminal, do you? Apparently they are all only acting out of fear, and not because they had anything founded on proof."

The mayor was a bit surprised by this response, glancing at All Aboard who avoided eye contact and looked away. Then she turned to look at Dusk, in her opinion the unicorn didn’t seem like a delinquent at all, however she couldn't trust a book by it's cover and although it was true that they had no evidence that he was a criminal, he came to town like one and that made the ponies very suspicious.

"Well..." The mayor finally said after a long consideration. "I'll send a messenger to Canterlot to confirm whether or not you're a student there, but until they return you must wait in… a jail cell, okay?"

Dusk almost burst out laughing as the mayor finished speaking, was she really asking him if he agreed to it or not? He was supposed to be a prisoner! They shouldn't have to ask him if he agreed with his sentence or not, and it seemed as if the mayor had never used the word 'jail cell' in her life. Was this town really so peaceful? Dusk finally decided to agree and just play along.

"Okay," Dusk replied with another bow.

"WAIT A SECOND!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the back, she had been listening intently to the mayor's verdict. "I want you to lock me up, too."

They all stared at her in astonishment.

"What are you talking about?!" Dusk and the mayor asked in unison.

"I was the one who got him in trouble, I was the reason to he played pranks instead of setting things staight, so I want to wait with him until he proves his innocence," said Rainbow Dash seriously.

"I... I don't think that's necessary, besides it shouldn't take very long-" The mayor said before Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"I insist!"

The mayor stood staring at Rainbow Dash, as a good mayor she knew every pony who lived in town, so she knew that the rainbow-colored pegasus was stubborn once she made up her mind, so she decided not to fight it or contradict it.

"Okay, whatever you want," the mayor said with a sigh, lowering her head. "Wait here, I'll go get the keys to the cell."

As the mayor retired to one of her offices, while All Aboard continued to watch Dusk while the pegasi all said goodbye to Rainbow Dash, while they did Dusk couldn't stop looking at the pegasus that for some reason didn't want to leave him. Once they all said goodbye to the Rainbow Dash, the pegasi retreated and the mayor approached Dusk.

"Sheesh!" Sighed Rainbow Dash resignedly as she approached. "Some of my team mates were real mad about that prank, now I'll have to do extra shifts at work to make it up to them."

"Hey, Rainbow Dash..." said Dusk timidly. "Why'd you blame yourself for what happened? You can leave no problem, it's not right for you spend a night in jail all because of me."

Rainbow Dash stared at him for a second before hitting him in the head with her hoof.

"Don't say that, I told you, I was the one who insisted that you were playing around instead of clearing things up, besides I don't think it's too bad to spend a night in jail, now I'll really be bad girl." Rainbow Dash said with smile, winking at Dusk. "We started this together and we'll finish it together, I never abandon my fri-" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by the mayor's voice.

"Here it is!" Said the mayor, wearing a key ring with a rusty key on her snout. "Nobody has occupied that cell for years, I had a hard time finding the key."

When the mayor came back, All Aboard said goodbye to her and left the mayor's office, giving a sideways glare at Dusk, then Mayor Mare asked Dusk and Rainbow Dash to follow her to the cell, the pegasus did with a smile and the unicorn with a look of confusion, wishing he knew how Rainbow Dash was going to finish that sentence.

Finally they came to a small hallway of the town hall, which was a single cell with iron bars, a bed and a small window with bars looking out. With some effort the mayor opened the rusty cell door.

"I'm not sure if this cell has ever been used," the mayor said as she opened the door. "But even if it is not used, I always give the order to keep it clean, so prisoners won't complain about being in a dirty cell."

"Wait a second!" Rainbow Dash said, looking into the cell. "Is there only one cell?"

"Eh... yes, it's never used, so it would be wasteful to have two." The mayor replied. "Is there a problem?"

Rainbow Dash gave a fleeting glance into the cell again, specifically toward the bed.

"N-No, no problem, hahaha..." the pegasus laughed nervously.

Soon as Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash entered the mayor locked the cell. Dusk stood still looking at the place as Rainbow Dash took a few steps and stretched her wings.

"There's not much room, but at least we won't have to wait here long," said Rainbow Dash. "If the messenger flies as fast as I do, they should be back from Canterlot in a couple of hours at most."

Then a sudden revelation popped into Rainbow's mind, a revelation that made her tremble.

"Umm... Mrs. Mayor?" Rainbow Dash asked through the bars to the mayor, who was already retiring. "Who did you send as a messenger to Canterlot?"

The mayor stared at her as if the answer were obvious.

"Well, the mailmare, Derpy," the mayor replied, then continued walking while Rainbow Dash reeled shocked.

"NOOO! Not her!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she dragged her hoofs down her cheeks with a dramatic face.

Immediately the pegasus jumped up and landed in the bed, with her legs stretched out and face buried in the pillow.

"I take it back," said Rainbow Dash, her voice barely understood as she spoke into the pillow. "Get comfortable, we'll spend a lot of time here."

"What are you talking about?" Dusk asked, who did not understand what was happening and was perplexed by Pegasus's attitude.

"Derpy is the most clueless pegasus who ever lived in Ponyville." Rainbow Dash replied standing up. "Hopefully she'll be flying to Las Pegasus right now."

"But Las Pegasus is in the opposite direction," said Dusk.

"Exactly," said Rainbow Dash, who was still remembering when she asked Derpy to deliver a letter to Cloudsdale, and Derpy had sent a telegram a week later from Manehattan saying she was lost.

Now Dusk understood why Rainbow Dash had acted so dramatically, if what he said was true, neither of them had a hope of leaving that cell soon.

"Psst!" There was a noise from outside, causing Dusk and Rainbow Dash's ears to rise on alert.

Dusk went to the window to see outside through the bars. Coming out of a bush (which was apparently becoming a habit) just below the cell window, was Spike.

"Hey! So they locked you up? "Spike asked.

"What do you think!?" Dusk snapped, that was a stupid question, as he could see that Dusk was speaking from behind bars in a cell.

"And how long will it be?" Spike asked, who didn't seem very upset that his brother was locked up.

"I don't know, apparently it could be quite some time, days even." Simply answered Dusk.

"So then... what's keeping you from getting out?" Spike asked confused.

Dusk didn't respond immediately, he understood what the little dragon was referring to. The point was the procedures to keep him prisoner had been as careless as his arrest, proof of that; the mayor had not placed a magic inhibitor on his horn, so Dusk could teleport easily out of prison, at any Moment, if he wanted to. Something, in fact, that had crossed the mind of the unicorn, however things had changed when Rainbow Dash joined to be arrested with him, because although it was true that he could teleport both of them out of prison, to flee that way could be problematic, not so much for Dusk, who had a priority to fulfill the task of the princess and return to Canterlot, but for Rainbow Dash, who had a job and a reputation to keep here in Ponyville.

"I think it would be best to stay here." Dusk said finally, glancing at the pegasus keeping him company, listening attentively to what Dusk and Spike were talking about. "I don't want to cause any more problems."

Spike looked at him confused for a moment, then gave a heavy sigh and scratched his head.

"If you think that's best... but then, what do I do?" Spike asked, simply deciding to trust his brother.

"It would be best if you take the money we have and go to the inn for the night," Dusk pointed out thoughtfully. "Although there is still the problem of your face on those ‘Wanted' posters, ponies may be scared of you or want to arrest you too."

"That's no problem," said Rainbow Dash, behind Dusk, still listening to the whole conversation. "As long as you pay the landlord he won't care who you are, and no one in the town took those ‘Wanted' posters seriously, apparently the only one seriously looking for you two was me." Rainbow Dash finished, somewhat embarrassed.

"So... I guess I'll do that..." Spike said after a while, still uncomfortable leaving Dusk in a cell.

"Yes, it's for the best, you stay out of trouble, and we'll see you tomorrow." Dusk said he seemed to read Spike's mind.

Dusk stretched one of his legs through the bars and Spike stretched his claw clenched into a fist, they both bumped their limbs and said good-bye, then Spike glanced around and began to sneak toward the entrance of town as the sun began slowly to set, making way for the night.

"So the kid's gone?" Rainbow Dash asked after Dusk stopped looking outside. She smiled seeing how close they were.

"Yeah, I guess he's having a hard time leaving me in here, he's a loyal friend after all." Dusk replied with a loving smile, which as soon as he mentioned the word 'loyal', could not help but think of Rainbow Dash and her gesture towards him. "If I'd asked him, Spike would've spent the night sleeping in that bush, but it's best he sleep in a comfortable bed, after all he's still just a baby dragon."

"And speaking of sleeping ..." Dusk suddenly added. "How will we sleep?"

"Eh?" Rainbow Dash stared at him for a long while with wide eyes. She did not open her mouth, but thousands of ideas passed through her head, ideas that had never passed through her head before or that in a billion years could she say out loud. Finally she swallowed hard and spoke.

"Y-You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Rainbow Dash said with a slight tremor in her voice as she looked away to avoid Dusk's gaze. "It's not like you want us to sleep together, right? HAHAHA! Hehe...! ..." she finished with a fake laugh that ended quickly.

"N-No! I wasn’t insinuating anything like that," Dusk said quickly, his cheeks flushed. "But if someone should sleep on the floor, that should be me! After all, I am a colt and you're a lady. "

Dusk's last few phrases made Rainbow Dash quickly change character.

"Don't treat me like I'm some damsel in distress!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily, approaching Dusk and touching him hard with her hoof. "YOU will sleep in the bed and I will sleep on the floor. End of discussion!"

Then Rainbow Dash turned and laid on the floor, facing the opposite wall.

Dusk was confused again, after all he just wanted to be chivalrous with the Pegasus. Finally he was also annoyed at not being able to understand that pony and laid back on the bed, wanting to fall asleep fast so that he could wake up the next day sooner.

Night had already fallen, it had been a long time since Dusk and Rainbow Dash had stopped talking, Dusk had remained motionless trying to fall asleep and Rainbow Dash was still lying on the floor her back to Dusk. As for Dusk, the annoyance of not being able to understand the pegasus was dissipating as he reviewed in his mind the encounters that had happened with the mare since they had met that day, however as much as he tried to think of the good times, he always came back to the same memory, one that bothered and persecuted him continually, that memory of when Dusk had been aggravated and shouted at Rainbow Dash that she was not cute at all, he still couldn't forgive himself for being so angry and to have said something like that to a mare, that was something that Princess Celestia would never approve of.

Suddenly, noises pulled Dusk away from his thoughts, Dusk slowly opened one eye to see what was happening. On the floor, in front of him Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and tried to settle on the floor, after she changed position she was quiet again, a few seconds later and she repeated the same routine, the same shifting routine she repeated all over the floor.

"What the heck? How uncomfortable is the ground? She was the one who wanted sleep there in the first place." Dusk thought as he watched the pegasus move uneasily.

Dusk just stared at her for a while until an idea hit him. An Earth pony or even a unicorn wouldn't have much trouble sleeping on the floor! But she's a pegasus! She was accustomed to sleeping in soft clouds!

Dusk sat up and started to offer the bed up again, but he knew that would only start another argument with Rainbow Dash, so he looked out the window, trying to think of another solution, a solution that appeared just as Dusk looked to the sky.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash cursed having to sleep on the uncomfortable floor, more and more she moved, but couldn't find a point where she didn't feel uncomfortable. Then she began to think about her house and her comfortable bed of clouds that would be all alone this night.

"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" Dusk whispered.

"What'd you want?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyed, she turned to look at him.

As soon as she did, Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open and her eyes wide with surprise, before her was a small cloud that occupied almost half the cell, it had a lilac sheen as Dusk's magic contained it and kept it from rising.

"W-Wha-where did you get it?" Rainbow Dash asked, stunned.

"It was floating nearby." Dusk answered with a small smile, pointing to the window. "So I borrowed it, hopefully the weather patrol will forgive me, but it's to help so there partner sleep more comfortably. So, would it help?"

"Help? Of course!" Replied Rainbow Dash with a big smile. "You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to sleep on the floor!"

Rainbow Dash climbed into the cloud and began pounding it with her hooves to make the cloud lower and fixed to the floor. For his part, Dusk was very happy when he saw her smile, then remembered his mistake, telling her that she wasn't cute. "I really was a fool." Dusk thought. "YES, Rainbow Dash definitely is cute."

"Take this," said Dusk once the mare had completely accommodated her cloud, passing the blanket over to her. "Clouds must be cold at night, this will help."

Rainbow Dash was stunned for a second, not by the blanket, but by the fact that Dusk had realized that she was so uncomfortable and that he'd helped her without her asking him.

"Thank you..." Rainbow Dash timidly said as she took the blanket, her heart beat faster for some reason.

For Rainbow Dash, for a second, everything was rosy, until a sudden idea struck her, sending her out of her reverie.

"Wait a second!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed. "Are you being a gentlecolt to me again!?"

Dusk was paralyzed on the spot, everything had worked so well, why should they have the same argument and end up being upset again? Why is mare so against chivalry!?

"Well? Why did you help me?" asked Rainbow Dash, only more annoyed by Dusk's silence. "Is it because I am a mare? Is it because you think I'm helpless? Is it because you think colts are stronger than mares? Why!?"

Dusk didn't know what to answer, with every 'Why' that Rainbow Dash said, Dusk was more insecure about how to answer, for a second he thought of asking 'Because we’re friends?' But that's not true, was he? No matter if he was, Dusk immediately discarded the thought.

"WHY!?" Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

Dusk didn’t know what to answer, so he just spoke without thinking, with that single memory in his mind that kept bothering him constantly and he wanted to correct it.

"BECAUSE YOU’RE CUTE!" Dusk responded with a shout, something that even surprised himself.

Rainbow Dash fell silent immediately, totally puzzled, she expected any answer, but "cute" anything but that!

They both remained frozen where they were without blinking, Rainbow Dash with a face of complete perplexity and Dusk just as perplexed but totally blushing from the shame of what he had just said. After several seconds that seemed timeless, Rainbow Dash quickly turned, hitting Dusk with her tail.

"Idiot!" Rainbow Dash said, taking the blanket and lying on the cloud, turning her back on Dusk again.

Dusk only hung his head with great disappointment. He couldn't believe he had shouted Rainbow Dash was 'cute', especially when she had warned him she'd hit whoever said she was cute. Dusk decided not to say anything else and just lay in bed, now he didn't have any remorse of having told Rainbow Dash that she wasn't cute, but now Pegasus was mad at him again.

As the night wore on and Dusk was finally falling into sleep, Rainbow Dash was still wide awake, covered by the blanket as she stared at the wall. Dusk couldn't see her face, the pegasus had gone to bed so quick leaving her back to him again, why? She didn't want him to see how she was now, totally blushing.





Now Rainbow Dash couldn't fall asleep. She had been told many things in her life: great, fast, friendly, athletic, cool, etc. But no one had ever called her 'cute'. This was something she never thought would happen so she always thought that if someone dared call her cute (Especially a colt), she'd hit him, but now a colt had called her cute and instead of hitting him, all she did was blush as her heart beat louder and louder and her mind was filled with images of Dusk smiling at her.

"Stupid Dusk." Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, covering her flushed face with the blanket.

And so, the first night Dusk had spent with the rainbow haired, Rainbow Dash, ended. The Pegasus that didn't like being treated like a lady, but who certainly still had the heart of one.

#End of Chapter 7
> Chapter 8 - A Tour of Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Tour of Ponyville

The sun's rays began to enter through the window of the cell, passing through the bars and striking Rainbow Dash directly in her face. The mare slowly opened her eyes, gave a big yawn and stretched her legs.

"Hmm... I slept great! Nothing beats sleeping in a comfy cloud!" Rainbow Dash said cheerfully, then she glanced to her side and saw the bed of her cellmate. "Hey, Dusk! How did you sleep?"

"Mmmnngh..." Dusk muttered annoyedly from his bed, immediately got up and glared at Rainbow Dash.

Poor Dusk had dark circles under his eyes and they were very red from lack of sleep.

"Whoa! What happened? Didn't sleep well?" Rainbow Dash asked innocently, which made Dusk look away even more annoyed.

"Something like that..." Dusk replied, avoiding telling the truth.

During the first few minutes of last night, Dusk had slept peacefully in his bed, nevertheless in the middle of the night a rumble made him wake up. After opening his eyes, Dusk didn't take more than a few seconds to realize that that rumble came from his cellmate, specifically the strong snores of Rainbow Dash that; once began, did not stop nor allowed the poor unicorn to fall asleep and revisit his dreams in what remained of the night. So Dusk spent the night awake, until finally Rainbow Dash stopped snoring, which happened only seconds before the sun came up, so when Dusk finally managed to start falling asleep was when the pegasus woke up and prevented Dusk from going back to sleep. Dusk immediately thought of reproaching her for snoring, but given the volatility of Rainbow Dash's character, Dusk decided not to talk about the subject to avoid another possible argument.

"All right! Time to clean the room." Dusk spoke again, rising from his bed resigned to not being able to sleep.

Before Rainbow Dash's watchful eye, Dusk easily used his magic to quickly make his bed with great elegance, then his magic was positioned in the cloud that Rainbow Dash had slept on, then Dusk used his magic to levitate the cloud, making it pass through the bars and climb back up to the sky, were it belonged.

"It's better no one knows we used a cloud as a bed without permission." Dusk said looking at Rainbow Dash as his magic did everything without even trying.

"You're really handy with magic..." Rainbow Dash said approaching the window and watched as the cloud floated away with Dusk's magic. "Hehe! But not that much," the pegasus added quickly as she continued to look outside.

Dusk didn't understand what Rainbow Dash meant, so he went to the window to see what she was talking about. Soon Dusk understood the reason for Rainbow's giggling. As soon as Dusk had stopped levitating the cloud, it had begun to slowly fall to the ground, instead of remaining in the sky as Dusk had expected.

"Why didn't it stay in the sky?" Dusk wondered aloud.

"Because it's too dense, remember that yesterday I had to make it stay flat on the floor." Rainbow Dash answered flatly. "Don't worry, someone from the weather patrol will notice, think it's a cloud of fog and put it back in circulation."

Dusk stared at the cloud, not looking at Rainbow Dash but listening intently to her words. What she had mentioned was so basic, so fundamental, that he had never thought too much about it, but now that he did, it seemed astonishing to him. No matter how powerful his unicorn magic was, the weather and clouds responded to the pegasus, just as the land and crops responded to Earth ponies, or in other words, crops and climate responded to Magic, but not the magic Dusk used. This was taught to all ponies as foals, but the reality was that in Canterlot, a city in which unicorns predominated, he had never given it a second thought and had only focused on studying and learning new spells, but now both things he saw with great clarity, and he had discovered them in only two days after he had left his studies in Canterlot and had reached this little town called Ponyville, where unicorns, pegasus, and Earth ponies lived in harmony. This made Dusk wonder: How much magic do I take for granted, that I don't really know about or could handle? Magic that I can only see through others, that I can only achieve with the help of others, magic that I could never achieve by being alone...?

"Hey, Dusk!" Rainbow Dash said, embarrassed, pulling Dusk out of his thoughts. "It's not like I was belittling your magic, I think it's really great all you can do with it!" She finished, Rainbow Dash thought that Dusk had stopped talking because she had criticized him for not getting the cloud to stay up.

"What? Oh no, don't worry, I was thinking of something else." Dusk corrected her, so she wouldn't worry. "Moving on... how much longer will we be here?"

"Who knows..." Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug and sitting on the bed. "It's bad enough I've seen your face all night, now I have to see it all day."

"What do you mean all night? You were asleep." Dusk asked curiously looking at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash blushed and looked away.

"Er, I-It's just a saying..." Pegasus said awkwardly, who couldn't help but remember that she'd dreamed about Dusk all night and how he'd said she was cute.

"Thank Celestia no one can see dreams." Rainbow Dash said softly to herself as she covered her face with one of her hooves.

A long silence ensued between them as the morning progressed, one to which Dusk was accustomed since he normally studied in silence, yet this was something that Rainbow Dash was not accustomed to, so she decided to start talking, about anything.

"By the way Dusk, how many days have you been in Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked suddenly.

"Let's see... Not counting today, I've been here three days, but the first two I spent on the outskirts of town." Dusk answered quietly.

"Hmm... still, it's strange that you haven't had a ‘Welcome Party’ yet..." Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Dusk asked confused.

However, Rainbow Dash didn't answer, for the ears of both prisoners were instantly alerted when a door opened and someone approached. The steps sounded until they finally reached the cell, in front of them behind the grate was the Mayor, followed by a pegasus with gray coat and blonde mane, in addition the pegasus had some bubbles as a cutie mark, nevertheless its most distinguishing feature was that her eyes looked in different directions.

"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash shouted with joy, approaching the bars.

"Hello Rainbow Dash!" Replied the gray pegasus cheerfully.

"How come you didn't get lost!?" Rainbow Dash asked, startled, seeing that Pegasus had returned to Ponyville with only a day's delay.

"Well..." Derpy replied ashamed, avoiding Rainbow Dash's look (somewhat difficult because of her eyes). "The truth is; instead of arriving in Canterlot, I don’t know how but I arrived in Cloudsdale, then by mistake I came to a town called Appleloosa and finally I flew all night so I could reach Canterlot... but I flew back without getting lost, hehe!" She finished with pride.

Both Rainbow Dash and Dusk tried to look annoyed while Derpy told her story, but it was impossible after hearing how despite everything, she had tried her hardest, even flying all night just to help them, this feeling of sympathy was greater for Rainbow Dash, who knew Derpy more and knew that although she was very clueless, Derpy never gave up and was always willing to help.

"At Canterlot I spoke with a guard and as soon as I mentioned the name of Dusk Shine, they took me to the Princess." Derpy continued, looking at Dusk with curiosity. "The Princess met me in person! I told her about you being in jail and how I got lost... And then, well, she herself confirmed that Dusk was no criminal."

Derpy then handed a note to the mayor, who took it and read aloud:

"I confirm that the unicorn known as 'Dusk Shine' is no delinquent and is a respected student of magic in Canterlot.

Signed, Princess Celestia."

"Well... that confirms your story." The Mayor added, looking at Dusk. "You're free to go, I'll open the gate immediately."

The mayor took the keys to the cell she was carrying and began to open the cell.

"No need." Dusk said mischievously, who in a blink used his magic to teleport him and Rainbow Dash out of the cell and appeared next to the Mayor, much to the astonishment of her.

"You need to improve your security." Dusk smiled the Mayor.

"Eh... yes... it will be an issue to be addressed at the next assembly..." The mayor smiled somewhat ashamed.

"And how come you didn't get lost again?" Rainbow Dash asked Derpy, as she still didn’t understand how Derpy didn't get lost like she always did.

"When I was about to return to Ponyville the Princess told me to fly to Fillydelphia, I don’t know why she asked me to do that but I did, and by mistake I got to Ponyville." Derpy answered naively.

Both Dusk and Rainbow Dash smiled nervously as they realized that poor Derpy had not realized that the Princess had told her to fly in the opposite direction so she would fly without realizing it was the right direction.

"By the way, the Princess told me to give you this." Derpy added, handing a letter to Dusk.

Dusk was surprised to hear that and instantly was glad to know that his teacher was still worried about him. Dusk took the letter with joy and read it:

"Dear Dusk.

The helpful Derpy has told me that you will spend the night with a mare.

As your mentor, I think it's my duty to remind you: Use protection. (Remember our sex education talk.)

Signed, Princess Celestia."

Dusk couldn’t have been more red with embarrassment after reading that letter. All the joy that had filled him when he saw that his teacher had written to him, had vanished seeing that in spite of the distance, 'Princesa Trollestia' still mocked him.

"What's the letter say?" Rainbow Dash asked, approaching to see the letter.

"N-NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL! Haha!" Dusk answered quickly, laughing nervously and tearing the letter into a thousand pieces.

The three mares present looked confused without understanding Dusk's reaction, however none had decided to ask, so finally the four headed to the exit.

"I apologize again for all the trouble," the Mayor said to Dusk and Rainbow Dash, bowing her head. "I'm sorry I locked you up unjustly."

"Don't worry, it's no problem." Dusk said sincerely with a smile.

"Thank you. Well, time to go back to work." The Mayor said again, turning and heading for one of the halls of her office. "While you are in town, if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me."

With that, the three ponies said goodbye to the Mayor and left the town hall.

"I'm leaving too, there is still a lot of mail to deliver." Derpy said flapping her wings softly to fly. "Bye!"

"Bye Derpy! And thank you!" Dusk and Rainbow Dash called out, shaking their hooves as the gray pegasus flew away.

After Derpy left, Dusk and Rainbow Dash stared at each other for a long time, not knowing what to say to each other.

"Anyway... I think it's time for me to go." Rainbow Dash broke the silence, scratching her head and looking to the sky. "I promised the weather patrol I'd do extra work, so I'll be very busy, best start now."

As Rainbow Dash got in a position to fly, a feeling surfaced in Dusk, something that had not come up when he said goodbye to Derpy or the Mayor, but he did recognize that he had felt before, with two other mares in town, a feeling of not wanting to let someone go...

"Wait!" Said Dusk quickly. "So... I won’t see you again? I will only be in Ponyville for three more days."

Rainbow Dash stared at him for a few seconds.

"Hahaha, are you going to miss me?" Rainbow Dash laughed, patting her hoof on Dusk. "Any pegasus would take weeks to do the extra work, it'll take me only two days."

"So... we can see each other for the Summer Sun Celebration." Rainbow Dash added, blushing slightly and looking away so Dusk wouldn't see her like that.

"All right! Promise." Dusk grinned, stretching out a hoof.

"I promise." Rainbow Dash smiled, hitting her hoof with his.

“I promise.” A third voice said in Dusk's mind, the voice of a mare who had also said those same words to him a long time ago and had not kept her promise. This memory made Dusk shiver and his face stopped smiling immediately.

"See ya!" Rainbow Dash cried, flying away as soon as they had hoof bumped and missed the sudden change in expression on Dusk's face.

Dusk watched as the pegasus flew away, leaving a rainbow trail, while the bad memory that haunted his mind disappeared as fast as it had appeared, but the bitter feeling it left in Dusk's heart did not.

"Promises... Friendship... I... What am I doing? I promised I wouldn't make the same mistake… "Dusk wondered aloud, looking worried to the ground and holding his head in his hoof.

"WATCH OUT!" A voice shouted, interrupting Dusk's monologue.

Immediately Dusk looked up only to see a pair of wheels crashing against his face at great speed.





"Ouch...! WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT!" Shouted Dusk, rubbing his sore nose.

"Oh... I couldn't talk to Rainbow Dash..." said a childish voice, the guilty’s voice of hitting Dusk.

The guilty one was a small orange pegasus with magenta mane in a style that, in Dusk’s opinion, gave her an air similar to Rainbow Dash, in addition the filly was standing on what appeared to be a scooter with a cart that, Dusk had concluded, was what had struck him.

"Hey you! You've got to be more careful!" Dusk said annoyed, trying to catch the attention of the filly that still looking up at the sky.

"What? I said ‘Watch out!’ It's your fault for not moving." Replied the filly, annoying.

Dusk's irritation rose quickly at that response, however as quickly as his anger came, it vanished, as Dusk thought it would not be right for a mature colt like himself to stoop to arguing with a small filly, despite having the reason to. In addition, that thoughtless response to him and her arrogant attitude only confirmed Dusk's thought that this filly was like a miniature version of Rainbow Dash, and perhaps just as he had done with Rainbow Dash the day before, had only started on the wrong hoof and maybe this filly was not really as bad as she looked.

"Whatever!" Said Dusk annoyed, wanting to change the topic. "Anyway, why were you going so fast?"

"Oh! It's just that I was told that Rainbow Dash would be here so I wanted to show her my new scooter." The filly responded, showing off her scooter with pride.

"And why did you want to show your scooter to Rainbow Dash? Are you family or something?" Asked Dusk, wanting to clear up his doubts, seeing that the personalities and styles of both ponies were very similar.

At this, and to Dusk's surprise, the filly immediately lowered her head sadly and put on a sad smile.

"No... it's not that... in fact I don't have a..." said the filly sadly. "It's just that Rainbow Dash is Ponyville's coolest pony, maybe even Equestria, I... I've always admired her." She finished talking the filly, with a little twinkle in her eyes when she mentioned how cool Rainbow Dash was.

Dusk swallowed uncomfortably realizing that he had apparently struck a chord with the filly. Without wanting to delve more into what seemed to be the small filly's lack of family, Dusk decided to change the topic to try boosting her spirits.

"Umm... Oh look!" Dusk pointed out to the filly, pointing his hoof to the sky. "You can still see the rainbow streak left by Rainbow Dash! If you hurry you can still reach her, just fly and follow her!

As soon as Dusk said what was meant to motivate the filly, the filly's head lowered further into depression.

"It's just... my wings have problems, and I... I can't fly very well..." The little filly said sadly, looking down.

Dusk internally began to curse himself for having depressed the filly even more instead of encouraging her, "How could you screw this up any worse!" Dusk mentally shouted to himself.

An uncomfortably long silence followed while the filly was still immobile and depressed and Dusk still didn't know how to handle this situation. The unicorn wanted to break the silence but didn't want to say anything wrong and depress the pegasus even more, he didn't know what to say for certain that wasn't a sensitive topic for the filly, except one...

"S-So you like Rainbow Dash, do you?" Dusk said shyly. "You know... I know her, maybe I could talk to her so you can get together sometime and talk."

As soon as Dusk said those words, it was like the little pegasus had been injected with pure adrenaline, the filly raised her head and jumped for joy looking at Dusk with huge eyes.

"Really!?  You can do that!?" The filly asked with bright eyes, bringing herself almost face to face with Dusk. "So, you're a friend of Rainbow Dash!?"

An uneasy sensation touched Dusk as soon as the filly asked him that question. He... was he a friend of Rainbow Dash? Dusk thought about it but the only answer that came to mind was: No ... Not yet.

"Well... I wouldn't say we're friends," Dusk said uncomfortably. "We're rather..."

Before speaking, Dusk didn’t know how to finish that sentence, but it wasn't necessary either, since before he could finish, he was interrupted by a voice coming from afar.

"Hey! There you are Dusk!" Spike's familiar voice said as he approached Dusk. "How was sleeping with Rainbow Dash?"

Both Dusk and the filly turned to see Spike, the filly with a face of confusion and Dusk with a face of shame given the question Spike shouted.

"Did you sleep with Rainbow Dash?" Asked the filly. Dusk watched in awe as the gears were turning in her mind, make her come to an erroneous conclusion.

"ARE YOU RAINBOW DASH'S BOYFRIEND?" She shouted with surprise, after which Dusk immediately approached her and covered her mouth, as the shout had gotten the attention of several ponies passing through.

"Shhh! What will every pony think if you scream things like that!?" Dusk whispered to the filly as he continued to cover her mouth. "You're wrong, we're not dating, it's just... it's complicated." Dusk finished speaking, not knowing how to explain everything that happened the previous day in simple words.

After that Dusk released the filly, who only looked at Dusk with an accomplice smile.

"Riiiiight... Chill out, your secret is safe with me," She said, zipping a hoof over her closed lips. "Rainbow Dash is my idol, if she wants to have a secret boyfriend, it fine by me."

"What's going on?" Spike asked once he got to where Dusk and the filly were.

Dusk couldn't help glaring at Spike for always showing up at the worst times, and now because of him there was a misunderstanding which Dusk didn't know how to deal with, he didn't want the image of her idol Rainbow Dash to fall apart because she found out Rainbow had been in prison, and he couldn't think of any credible lies to explain why they had spent the night together.

"Listen, Spike, don't mention anything about what happened yesterday." Dusk said, looking seriously at Spike to avoid talking about his night in prison in front of the filly.

"Eh... ok..." Spike said confused after seeing his brother's face, then he looked at the filly who also looking at him. "And who're you?"

"Oh! My name's Scootaloo." The filly finally introduced herself, looking at Spike closely. "And you, what are you?"

Spike quickly became annoyed at the question, he had already been lowered to 'iguana' when he met Rainbow Dash, he would not be humiliated again.

"Well, obviously I'm a dragon!" Spike said annoyed, blowing small flames through his nose. "My name is Spike and my brother and I are proteges of the Princes-"

Dusk quickly covered Spike's mouth so he would not say anymore than necessary.

"We are visitors from Canterlot, we're in Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration." Dusk quickly said, not wanting other ponies to know their true purpose. "And by the way, my name is Dusk Shine, a pleasure to meet you." completed Dusk, introducing himself appropriately given that Scootaloo had done so as well.

"Woooooow! So you have a dragon companion... That's great!" Scootaloo said, putting her confused look aside and looking at Spike with amazement then Dusk. "Now I understand why Rainbow Dash goes out with you. You must be cool, too!"

"You really think so?" Dusk and Spike said in unison, with their chests puffed out and looking toward the horizon with dreamy looks trying to look cool; since it was very uncommon for someone to tell them, straight to their face, that they were cool; and if they had anything in common, it was that both brothers were weak in the face of flattery.

"Wait a sec," said Spike returning to reality and looking at his brother. "She said you're dating Rainbow Dash?"

"Uhh... yeah... I'll explain later." Dusk whispered to Spike.

"Then they're both new to town," Scootaloo spoke again. "Hmm... it's weird that they haven't had a ‘Welcome Party’..."

This caught Dusk's attention, this was the second time he heard about parties. "Were ponies town that accustomed to welcome parties for strangers like him?" Dusk thought.

"Well, that doesn't matter." Scootaloo kept talking before Dusk could ask. "I guess you guys still don't know your way around town, do you?"

"Well... no, not exactly," Dusk answered honestly.

"All right! Then I'll give you a ride through town!" Scootaloo said cheerfully, climbing onto her scooter. "Come on, get on! Anything for Rainbow Dash's friends!"

Dusk and Spike looked at Scootaloo, her scooter, and the little cart she was hitched to.

"You want us to get on that?" Spike asked confused, reading Dusk's mind perfectly.

"Yep! You'll be my first passengers!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

Dusk didn't like this idea, but he liked seeing the little filly smiling, so without further consideration he climbed into the small cart, followed reluctantly by Spike. They both settled down as best they could and gave Scootaloo the ‘go-ahead’.

Scootaloo started pulling the cart while holding on to the handlebar and used one of her hind legs to give herself momentum, the cart began to move slowly at a speed that didn't surprise Dusk at all. According to his calculations his weight plus Spike would be too heavy for little Scootaloo to move them easily. Dusk began to devise some way to help Scootaloo with his magic so that they could go faster and not disappoint Scootaloo again, however that wasn't necessary, because while Dusk was thoughtful and without realizing it, the cart had started to pick up speed and now they were really going fast. Dusk stared in amazement at the filly, who to his surprise had begun to beat her little wings at an astonishing speed, which had given it the boost and speed enough to move the cart. While Spike was hanging on for dear life at this speed, Dusk could not help smiling seeing that despite her limitations the little pegasus had found another great way to move at high speeds and feel the wind under her little wings.

They slowed as they reached what appeared to be the center of town, going near town hall and it's surroundings, seeing the other side that Dusk hadn't been to yet.

"This is the main square and the fountain of Ponyville," said Scootaloo, who began speaking as a tour guide.

In the square they passed several ponies, it seemed like a rather cheerful place, in turn the fountain showed the statue of an earthen pony waving its forelegs cheerfully. However, what most shocked Dusk was that in front of the fountain was a flock of balloons holding what appeared to be a mare, this mare seemed to be asleep as she floated ground level around the fountain. Dusk looked to Spike hoping he was seeing the same thing, but when he looked up again he was surprised to see that no other pony in the town paid any attention to the sleeping mare floating on balloons, not even Scootaloo, who already started flapping again to go to the next place. Dusk thought about asking Scootaloo about that spectacle, but he had already ruined too many conversations for unnecessary words, so he simply chose not to pay attention to it, just as the other ponies did. Dusk recalled an old saying: 'When in Equine, do as the Equites do'.

After that Scootaloo took them to other town locales, the theater, the town market, a bakery called Sugarcube Corner that Dusk remembered vividly, especially since he had not eaten anything all morning, etc.

"And that's the library there." Scootaloo said as they advanced near a large tree with windows.

"LIBRARY!?" Dusk shouted excitedly as he heard one of the most beautiful words he knew.

"Yeah... But it's currently closed, I think the librarian went to work in Manehattan a couple of weeks ago and no one has reopened it since." Scootaloo said trying to remember to fulfill her role as guide.

"The village library is closed!?" Dusk said altered. "That can not be! It's an outrage! It's barbaric! It's un-mnnngh!"

Spike covered his mouth to kept Dusk from talking, knowing that otherwise his brother would never shut up.

"Let's go Scootaloo, to the next place," Spike said embarrassed at the confused Scootaloo.

As they went, Dusk did not take his tear filled eyes off the library, tears from seeing a temple of knowledge totally abandoned.

"And this is the clock tower." Scootaloo said after reaching the summit of a small ridge.

This place was very beautiful, a very rustic tower but it fit perfectly with the architecture of the town, besides from here you could see most of the town.

"It's okay, but in Canterlot there are a lot bigger towers," said Spike, who, like every child, was most impressed by the height, and also perhaps by some personal complex.

"Hey, Scootaloo," Dusk asked, looking toward the village. "What building is that?"

Dusk had noticed that between the library and the clock tower there was a large red hut with a big yard and a playground for foals, a place apparently Scootaloo had deliberately avoided.

"Oh... that! Well... that's...the school." Scootaloo said timidly.

This stunned Dusk, who set aside his fear of putting his hoof in his mouth again and decided to ask what, in his opinion, was something very important.

"And why aren't you not there? Today's a school day." Dusk asked, eyeing Scootaloo closely.

"Well... I just don't like going to school, I prefer the outdoors." Scootaloo said, looking away somewhat annoyed. "Plus, I still have so many places to show you, such as the spa, the bowling alley, Carousel Boutique..."

"That's no excuse!" Dusk scolded. "Aren't you interested in learning!? Reading about ponies of the past, Civics, Math, Science, Philosophy... You cannot not want to learn! Knowledge is the greatest force in the world! And school is home to that knowledge!"

This was all a great speech, something that if some pony had told him as a foal, Dusk would probably have been moved to tears! But Scootaloo didn't seem to care, for she just yawned and looked away. Dusk was immediately annoyed, this filly was not serious about something as vital as going to school, but a bright idea came to mind, one that made Dusk smile sinisterly.

"You know..." Dusk spoke into Scootaloo's ear. "Rainbow Dash doesn't like ponies that don't take their studies seriously."

Scootaloo's ears immediately rose and her eyes widened.

"A-Are you serious?" Scootaloo asked uncertainly, looking back at Dusk.

"Of course, why do you think Rainbow Dash goes out with me? It's because I'm very studious." Dusk said winking at the filly.

Scootaloo turned and looked suspiciously at the school for a long time.

"Hmm... okay, I guess I could try to go more often..." Scootaloo said slowly.

"Well said! You must go to school every day, starting today!" Dusk said excitedly, getting off the cart with a smile.

"Yeah, okay!" Scootaloo smiled even more excitedly, feeling happy that someone would smile and care for her.

As soon as Spike got out of the cart, Scootaloo waved her wings and said goodbye, heading to school.

"Goodbye Dusk, goodbye Spike! And Dusk, remember what you promised!" Yelled Scotaloo as she goes away.

"I will!" Shouted back Dusk, who now would have to convince Rainbow Dash to have a play date with the little filly.

As soon as Scootaloo left and was out of sight, Spike turned towards Dusk with a mischievous smile.

"So... you're dating Rainbow Dash now?" Spike asked smiling.

"O-Of course not!" Said Dusk quickly. "But if I say that to convince a little filly to go back to school, I suppose a little white lie is okay."

"Hmm... maybe you're right, though I doubt Applejack would have approved," Spike said thoughtfully, causing Dusk to bow his head in embarrassment.

"Hehe, I guess you're right..." Dusk said, accepting that Spike had a valid point.

"Now what?" Spike asked, knowing that now that both were free from guilt and without Spike's obligation to make friends, they had only to wait until it was the Summer Sun Celebration and meet up with Princess Celestia again.

~Growl!~ Dusk's stomach growled hungrily.

"I'm starving, I need breakfast." Dusk said, holding his stomach. "But first, there's something much more urgent to solve." Dusk said, filled with determination.





"So you just left town hall. And now you want to go back?" Spike asked as he followed his brother around town.

"That's right, this is something that even if Celestia forgave them, I never would." Dusk replied annoyed.

Anyone would think that what Dusk was talking about was an extremely delicate subject, yet Dusk had told Spike what he was talking about as they headed towards the square. What Dusk wanted to do was ask the Mayor to hire a librarian as soon as possible to reopen the library. This would have been a banal subject for all other ponies, for all but Dusk, who could find no greater crime than having a library closed.

"Dusk really, I don't think it's such a big deal." Spike said, trying to calm Dusk down.

"Of course it is!" Said Dusk annoyed. "I can forgive the Mayor for locking me up like a criminal, but I can not forgive her keeping knowledge locked away from those who seek it."

As soon as they both turned a corner, they found themselves in front of the town square, which was the only thing that stood between Dusk and the town hall.

"It's unforgivable." Dusk said trotting briskly across the square. "At least she must have left an intern librarian or-"

As Dusk's speech stopped, so did he, while passing near the village fountain he realized that the floating mare was still there in front of the statue. Dusk was more than annoyed, but slowly it was giving way to rising curiosity, since questions without answers was one thing that really bothered him.

Dusk looked at the ponies in the plaza and again verified that no one paid any attention to the strange phenomenon, something that seemed equally peculiar, so he approached one of the locals to find out why.

"Excuse me miss." Dusk asked, approaching a lilac mare strolling around.

"Yes?"

"Can you see that pony floating with the balloons?" Dusk asked, pointing to the floating pony.

"Well yes, I'm not blind." The mare replied as if she had been asked an obvious question.

"Why doesn't anypony do or say anything about it?" Dusk asked again, wanting to quickly understand if this was some kind of street show or a strange habit of the place.

"Oh, that!" Said the mare, smiling. "It's just Pinkie being Pinkie, you'll get used to it."

Then the mare continued on her way, leaving Dusk equally, if not more confused than he was initially. Then the unicorn turned and looked directly at the floating pony, thinking that there was only one thing left to do, which was also the most direct way to find out, would be to approach and ask that strange pink pony.

Dusk looked carefully at the mare before doing any action, she was a pink mare and fuzzy mane, at her waist she had tied some balloons that made her float, coincidentally her flanks also had cutie mark of balloons. The doubt of this peculiar spectacle was killing Dusk but he was not sure what to do since the mare kept floating without moving and with her eyes closed, and Dusk didn't know if she was meditating, sleeping, fainting or perhaps even worse. But finally Dusk braced himself and touched her cheek.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Dusk asked nervously, wishing with all his might that the mare was not a terrifying floating corpse.

Slowly the mare's eyes widened to show bright, heavenly sky blue eyes.

"Huh...?" The mare replied sleepily, barely opening her eyes, speaking with effort and looking all around. "What's going on?"

Both Dusk and the mare stood staring for a few seconds until Dusk spoke again.

"Well... I... I wanted to ask you if you're okay," Dusk said uncertainly, relieved that the mare had woken up. "I mean, I saw you floating a while ago and no one seemed to pay attention to you, so..."

Dusk stopped talking as he heard some soft snoring and noticed that the mare had fallen asleep again.

"Hey, wake up!" Said Dusk somewhat annoyed, stomping his hoof hard so the noise would wake the mare back up.

"Hey? What? Oh yeah, I'm sorry." Said the tired pink mare, waking up with the startle and again looking at Dusk with a somewhat shabby face. "It's just that I have to look for a new pony that came to town a few days ago-"

Suddenly the mare stopped talking and looked at her tail, which for some reason was shaking. She looked at Dusk again, and for the first time she opened her eyes wide with great enthusiasm.

"It's you! The new pony in Ponyville is you!" She said looking at Dusk with a huge smile. "You have no idea what it cost me to find you! Three days ago my Pinkie sense alerted me a new pony that had come to town! But I wasn't really sure, because it was a new signal. Something my Pinkie sense had never done! But my Pinkie sense never fails, so it definitely had to be something new! And that excited me a lot! That's why I've been looking for you for so long!" She continued to speak swiftly as she floated in circles around Dusk and drew her face close to Dusk's face.

Meanwhile, Dusk didn't know how to respond, to think this sleeping mare would have been so talkative and outgoing had taken him by surprise, that and Dusk had several questions for her, like why she was floating, or why she was looking for him, or how she knew he had arrived three days ago, but nevertheless the first question he asked was something else, something he needed to know to understand the tangled speech the pink mare had just given him.

"Wait... First of all, what's Pinkie sense?" Dusk asked confused, stopping the mare with his arm so she would stop hovering around him.

"Oh! It's just a sign my body gives me to warn me that something will happen, like when my left ear itches and my mane bristles, it means it's going to rain, or when my tail shakes three times to the right that means someone new will come to town," explained the mare as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "And obviously it is called Pinkie sense because that's my name, Pinkie Pie! By the way, what's your name?"

Dusk again had no immediate answer, since he wasn't accustomed to how fast and scattered the mare's speeches were, and he was not sure whether to make fun of the absurdity of what she had just said. However, first things first, and since the mare had introduced herself, the proper thing was to do the same.

"I-It's a pleasure, my name is Dusk Shin-" Dusk again stopped talking since as soon as he had bowed as a greeting and raised his head again, he realized that the mare had fallen asleep again.

"AHEM!" Dusk coughed to wake the mare.

Pinkie Pie again opened her eyes in surprise.

"What…? Oh I'm sorry! It's just that I'm kind of... tired... and when I feel that way sometimes I fall asleep." Pinkie Pie said lethargically, with a small smile.

Dusk noticed that Pinkie Pie had wanted to say a different word instead of 'tired', but had a change of heart. Nevertheless, Dusk didn’t want to say anything in order to limit the questions that this singular mare had generated.

A short, uncomfortable silence followed after the mare spoke and Dusk was lost in thought, nevertheless Dusk spoke again when he noticed that Pinkie Pie began falling asleep again, something he didn't want to happen till his questions were answered.

"So then... you've been looking for me for three days? And did your Pinkie sense warned you that I arrived at Ponyville?" Dusk asked incredulously, speaking loudly so the mare wouldn't fall asleep, again.

"That's right! Although like I said, my pinkie sense did something strange to alert me about your arrival, something it had never done before when other ponies arrived in town..." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully as she continued to float in front of Dusk.

Dusk smiled a little at the absurdity of what the mare said, he had heard and read that certain ponies believed in superstitions, amulets of good fortune and other things without scientific or magical merit, but that certain body parts of a pony shook to alert her to certain random events was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

"Well, maybe your Pinkie sense 'shook' differently because I came with a dragon." Dusk said mockingly, pointing to his partner next to him.

"A dragon?" Asked Pinkie Pie, who immediately looked down at the little dragon standing next to the unicorn.

Spike just gave a shy and awkward greeting because until that moment he was grateful that this mad mare was set on Dusk alone and not him.

"Wow, a dragon! I haven't seen one for a long time! Although you're smaller compared to others I've seen." Pinkie Pie said with a big grin. "Anyway Mr.Dragon, I cannot call you Mr.Dragon, so tell me, what's your name?"

"My... my name is Spike..." The dragon replied somewhat uneasily, stretching his claw to greet her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you little guy!" Pinkie Pie said giving him a big hug.

The hug was short enough, but it was enough to make Spike petrified since, like his brother, he was not very accustomed to receiving hugs, especially from a strange pony.

In Dusk's opinion, this mare's attitude was too unpredictable for his taste, he liked things orderly, consistent, but she spoke super fast and crazy, then fell asleep for no reason and then she didn't respect the personal space of others and was getting way too close. This was the time for Dusk to leave, that's what he thought persistently, however first he needed to finish clearing up all his questions.

"So... why were you looking for me?" Dusk asked, wanting to get an answer quick, then ask why she was floating, answer all his questions and quickly get away from this mare.

"Well, for your welcome party, what else?" Said the mare with a big smile.

Dusk fell silent staring at the mare, she was again talking incoherently, "Throw him a welcome party? Why? Has she been looking for me for three days just to throw me a party?" Dusk thought, but immediately the memories of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo came to mind, where they both had mentioned something about a welcome party.

"Wait a second... In Ponyville are you accustomed to throwing parties for visitors? And you're responsible for that?" Dusk asked in disbelief.

"Of course!" Said the mare, who at times seemed to fall asleep at any moment. "Although it's not my responsibility, I just like throwing them."

Dusk could not help thinking that the more he spoke to Pinkie Pie, the more questions he had, but he had to ask.

"Why would you want to throw parties for ponies? Especially if they're strangers... " Dusk asked confused.

As soon as Dusk asked the question, as if it had been some sort of cue from the mare, Pinkie Pie's balloons burst, causing her to finally fall to the ground. Once standing, she ducked her head and inhaled sharply.

"Because..." began Pinkie Pie, leaving a small pause, something that did not last long as the pink mare immediately began to sing, to the utter surprise of Dusk and Spike.

"Having a party is always fun~ getting to meet new ponies and making lots of friends~ //

Whether earth, pegasus or unicorns~ everyone's a winner at a party!~ //

Griffins, dragons or a friendly monster~ all the more that come, and the fun never ends!~ //

I am Pinkie Pie, the Party mare~ If you wanna smile then just come to me!~"

Pinkie Pie continued to sing as she began to jump from side to side, dancing around the town square, all to the perplexed look of Dusk and Spike. For a moment they wanted the earth to swallow them up, standing in front of a crazy mare who danced without shame and sang in front of the whole town for no specific reason was something that no refined pony of Canterlot would do, he would find it embarrassing, just as they did at that moment.

While Pinkie Pie was still singing and dancing, Dusk glanced back to see if any other pony in town was as perplexed or embarrassed as he was, yet he saw no one, something that didn't last long, for as soon as he returned his gaze towards Pinkie Pie, he saw that the town ponies instead of being embarrassed or backing away, they were all next to Pinkie Pie singing and dancing right along with the pink mare.

"What the hay is going on?" Spike asked in an uncomfortable whisper, who hadn't moved and was just as perplexed as Dusk.

"They… they are all singing…" Dusk said uncertainly as his mind made use of its rationality. “I think it's a 'Song from the Heart’…"

Dusk had learned that term long ago, a ‘Song from the Heart’ was a type of archaic magic. When a pony had a strong feeling inside them, their heart and magic aura could vibrate and attune the hearts of other Ponies, which made them both sing in unison without even knowing the lyrics and dance in unison without practicing even once. This was something that was not totally unknown to Dusk, in fact the servants of the castle sometimes sang when doing some tasks or celebrating some festivity, nevertheless the ease with which Pinkie Pie had started singing and had that great a number of ponies in town singing and dancing with her, had totally surprised him. This was something he had never seen on the streets of Canterlot, at least not so spontaneously and naturally, every inhabitant of the town sang in perfect harmony to the tune of Pinkie Pie's feelings, feelings that seemed only to come from the fact they were talking about parties, a feeling whose attunement was even taking away the embarrassment that Dusk and Spike had initially and even now warmed their hearts more and more with each new verse.

# End of Chapter 8
> Chapter 9 - Laughter is the best medicine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laughter is the best medicine

"Dusk and Spike are new, and that's a good thing // Well, they'll know every pony in the place! //

Now sing, dance, jump and laugh // While Ponyville welcomes you, with a huge party!"

With that last verse Pinkie Pie finished singing the song dedicated especially to Dusk and Spike, all with a huge cheer, while confetti and streamers magically came out of nowhere. This left a bittersweet feeling in Dusk and Spike, they didn't want to admit it, but the joy of the pink mare and her song was infectious, they were about to join singing with Pinkie Pie and the other ponies of the place.

"That was great!" Said a young brown colt who had joined Pinkie Pie's choir.

"Yes, it was really fun! By the way, when will the welcome party be Pinkie Pie?" Asked another white mare who was also in the choir and approached Pinkie Pie while other ponies who had also sung were already returning to their respective routines.

"Huff... It... It will be this afternoon, I'll send the invitations, don't worry..." Said a very exhausted Pinkie Pie as she tried to catch her breath.

As the remaining ponies of the choir returned to their routines leaving Pinkie Pie alone again, Dusk approached her.

"That was awesome! I had no idea you were so passionate about parties." Dusk said with a smile as he approached the mare.

"Yeah... Huff... that's what I really like to see..." Pinkie Pie began to speak with effort, but couldn't finish, as soon as she closed her eyes she immediately fell faint in front of Dusk, who by reflex reached to grab her before she fell face first to the ground.

"Hey! Pinkie Pie, wake up!" Dusk said as he held Pinkie Pie in his hooves. "Gosh... I cannot believe that she's fallen asleep again, is she anemic? or maybe-"

Dusk suddenly stopped talking and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked, approaching Dusk and Pinkie Pie.

"She... She's burning up with a fever!" Dusk said in awe as he put a hoof to Pinkie Pie's forehead.

"Well... what should we do? Take her to a doctor?" Spike asked, getting nervous.

"I don't know, I don't even know if this town has any kind of hospital or something." Dusk said something agitated, trying to reassure himself against such a situation. "Maybe it's not so serious, maybe it's best to take her home..."

Then Dusk gently shook Pinkie Pie to make her wake up without being too abrupt.

"Hey! Pinkie Pie, where do you live?" Dusk asked softly, bringing his face closer to the mare's as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Huff... it's in... Sugarcube Corner..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she struggled to speak, then fell back unconscious.

"Did she say Sugarcube Corner? That's-" Spike said excitedly, before being interrupted by Dusk.

"Yes, I remember, it's the bakery that Scootaloo showed us!" Dusk completed the phrase, at the same time he gave thanks for not having breakfast and therefore remembered in detail where the bakery was, to visit later.

Dusk immediately thought of bringing Pinkie Pie quickly to what should have been her home, but hesitated for a second on how to do it. For Dusk the best option would be teleportation, but the bakery was out of his field of vision, so it would take a lot of energy to concentrate, and he didn’t want Pinkie Pie to get queasy as was know to happen to those not accustomed to teleportation. Then he thought of levitating her magically over him as he ran to the bakery, but it would be very strange for the towns ponies to see him running alongside a Pinkie Pie magically levitated like a puppet, which could only cause more misunderstandings. Finally Dusk chose the simplest and at the same time more uncomfortable means of action for him, since Dusk was quite reluctant when it came to physical contact.

Dusk placed Pinkie Pie gently on his back, her whole body on Dusk's back as the mare's four legs fell inert without reaching the ground. The young unicorn could feel the warmth of the pink mare's body above him, something that made Dusk blush with embarrassment, since he had to admit that feeling the soft skin of Pinkie Pie on his own skin felt very good.

“Don't think anything perverted! Don't think anything perverted!” He mentally repeated to himself as he finished accommodating Pinkie Pie.

"Is something wrong?" Spike asked innocently as he looked at his brother get nervous.

“N-No problem! Let's get going!" Dusk answered quickly as he began to walk.

This is how Dusk was charging the unconscious Pinkie Pie, with a slow but steady pace for not to shake the mare too much, while Spike walked behind Dusk making sure the mare didn't fall off his brother's back.

As Dusk and Spike walked in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie's mind was fadding between consciousness and unconsciousness.

“What was I doing? I... Where am I?” Pinkie Pie thought as she tried to regain consciousness and with some effort opened her eyes a little. “Am I moving?” She thought something uneasy.

Pinkie Pie could not distinguish much through her cloudy vision, only some shadows of what seemed to be the road, but she could tell something that was holding her, something lavender, something that smelled nice, something soft and warm to lie on.

“Is someone carrying me? Who is? I... I have to get up!” Pinkie Pie thought, regaining some more consciousness and opening his eyes even more. “I have to... I must...” Pinkie Pie mentally repeated herself as her thoughts lost conviction.

“But...” Pinkie Pie thought quickly, as her strength left her, again she fell asleep while her mouth drew into tender smile. “But... it feels so good...” Pinkie Pie finished thinking before falling soundly asleep in a pleasant dream.





It didn't take long til Dusk and Spike finally reached Sugarcube Corner, the building left no doubts that it was a bakery, in front of the door were pillars that resembled candy canes, its ceiling was designed such that it appeared to be made of a layer of chocolate and meringue, even the upper floor and attic was designed to look like a cupcake sitting on a huge cake. Undoubtedly it was a very striking building, a bakery that made whoever saw it immediately crave to eat cakes, as happened to Dusk at that time, who for a second forgot why he came there in the first place, as his guts reminded him that he had eaten nothing all day.

Dusk and Spike approached the door of the bakery, however before they could knock, it opened to giving way to two ponies leaving the place, a couple, made up of a rather thin yellow stallion with orange hair, wearing a bowtie and a small baker's hat; The other was a turquoise mare with some extra weight and pink mane, she wore an apron and pink earrings; They both had cakes like cutie marks and they both seemed to be in a hurry.

"Oh! I'm sorry but can't go in." The mare said as she looked at Dusk and Spike as the colt closed the door behind him. "We need to leave on an urgent appointment, so the bakery is closed for today."

"I... I didn't come to buy cakes," Dusk said, who really wanted to do it, but giving priority to the important thing. "I found this mare in the town square and apparently she has a fever."

Dusk turned to show the mare he carried on his back, an act that made the pair of ponies look with astonishment at the pink mare.

"Pinkie Pie!" Said the turquoise mare horrified, coming up to touch the mare's cheek. "Honey, take her inside, to her room."

"Yes, hun," said the yellow pony obediently, who was apparently the husband of that plump mare.

The yellow pony gently took Pinkie Pie off of Dusk's back and placed her on his own, and opened the bakery door again to enter.

"What happened to her!? How bad was she when you found her!?" the turquoise mare asked Dusk nervously.

"Well... Spike and I found her floating motionless with balloons in the town square, there she looked pretty tired, then she sang a song and fainted in front of me." Said Dusk also somewhat nervous, greatly summarizing the encounter with Pinkie Pie, hoping that they would not misinterpret him or accuse him of something bad, for a change.

"Oh my gosh! I knew something like this would happen!" Said the mare turning around and also entering the bakery. "I warned Pinkie Pie that it would be dangerous to come out in her condition."

For a second Dusk didn’t know what to do, should he turn around and just leave or waited there, but then again that lady had aroused his curiosity, so he ventured to follow her and entered the bakery.

"What do you mean by her condition?" Dusk asked as he entered the bakery.

"A few days ago she had gotten sick, nothing too serious, but the doctor recommended that she stay in bed." The turquoise mare answered, stopping in front of some stairs and looking up. "Pinkie Pie is very restless but was willing to follow the doctor's orders, however the next day she got out of bed and went out to walk the streets. She said it was because her Pinkie sense had warned her that someone new had come to town and she had to throw a party, I warned her that it wasn't good for her to go out sick, but she wouldn't listen. That's how she spent all these days looking for this supposed new pony, but she didn’t find it, all she did was to make her illness worse day by day. Finally she could hardly stand today, I begged her not to leave because she could hardly walk, but she refused and simply tied some balloons to her body to be able to float and not have to walk and went out to look again for this alleged new pony."

Dusk was finally able to fit the missing pieces of the puzzle and understand why Pinkie Pie had been floating inert in the town square, it was not that she was tired, it was because she was sick, and apparently it was because of Dusk, at least indirectly, since he was the new pony in the town that Pinkie Pie was looking for.

A few hoof steps were heard from above, drawing Dusk from his thoughts. The yellow stallion was coming down the stairs trying not to make too much noise.

"I left her lying on her bed, I hope she can rest well and not go out again or her fever will only get worse, I think all she needs now is to rest." The yellow stallion, looking at his wife with concern.

"You're Pinkie Pie's parents, aren't you?" Dusk timidly asked, noticing how worried they were for the welfare of the pink mare.

Both ponies were surprised at the question and then, to Dusk's surprise, both smiled sadly.

"No... we're not her parents, but she works and lives with us here." Said the yellow pony. "Besides everyone loves Pinkie Pie, she's the funniest pony in town. And we, even though we are not her parents, we love her a lot."

"That's right, she's like a daughter to us. Although... I hope someday I can be a real mother..." The mare said sadly.

Dusk swallowed and cursed himself for becoming skilled at hitting touchy subjects without realizing it, just as he had that morning with Scootaloo. Apparently the issue of motherhood was a delicate issue for both ponies, Could it be that pair had trouble conceiving?

"Honey, we're late for our appointment with the doctor." said the yellow stallion, looking affectionately at his wife.

"I know, but... we can't leave Pinkie Pie alone, what if she tries to leave again?" The mare replied to her husband.

Dusk went blank while his brain split in two and internally he had a conflict about what to say and how to act in that situation. The two sides of Dusk argued with each other, the one side of him that had usually won all his life, and another side of Dusk that had remained hidden for many years, that had resurfaced just a few days ago and was gaining more and more strength against the old Dusk, and was winning even now.

Against all thought of leaving and not getting involved in problems that didn't involve him, against any antisocial feelings he normally had, and without any obligation or promise to fulfill, Dusk spoke.

"I... I could take care of Pinkie Pie if you can't, I mean... if it's okay with you." Dusk said timidly as Spike gasped at his brother's words.

"Really!? That would be great!" Replied the turquoise mare with a big smile of thanks as she gave Dusk a big hug.

The unicorn froze, as Spike did with Pinkie Pie, not knowing how to react to such displays of excessive affection.

"By the way, you're not from here, are you?" Said the yellow stallion looking at Dusk and Spike as his wife finished hugging Dusk. "I don't remember seeing you before in town, and I would definitely remember seeing a little dragon before."

"Ehh... no, I'm Dusk and this is Spike... we're new to town, in fact... we are the ones Pinkie Pie was looking for..." Dusk replied, realizing that he had not yet introduced himself.

As soon as he finished speaking, Dusk immediately noticed another detail, both he and Spike were complete strangers to this couple, the fact that two strangers offered to look after their home and their sick ‘almost’ daughter could generate a lot of mistrust, the sensible thing would be that they say no.

"That's perfect!" the yellow pony said joyfully, to Dusk's complete surprise. "If you're the ones Pinkie Pie was looking for, that means there's less of a chance she'll leave the house again."

Dusk just laughed nervously and realized that, like everyone else in town, this couple trusted other ponies a lot, something Dusk hadn't gotten used to yet.

After that the couple quickly explained to Dusk that Pinkie Pie's room was on the top floor and that he should do everything possible to keep her in bed. But as the couple talked, Dusk began to realize that he still did not fully understand why he had offered to help this pair of strangers, that is to say, it was empathy, but he felt that there was something more... and that was how, the more time passed, Dusk felt more that he had said too much and that he should simply leave.

"By the way, as gratitude you boys can eat some cakes in the display case." the yellow stallion suddenly said as he opened the door to get out.

Those words made Dusk's stomach growl, causing in turn that any idea of leaving the bakery disappear from his head, since if he needed at least one reason to stay, now he had it, He needed to eat!

"Alright, we'll be back later, goodbye Dusk, goodbye Spike!" The couple said goodbye as they left the bakery.

"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. ..." Dusk said good-bye, without finishing his sentence since he had realized that he still didn’t know the name of that couple.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" They both completed as they started running since both were late for their appointment.

"Of course, very suitable for a bakery." Dusk smiled, talking to himself.

Once he lost sight of them, Dusk closed the door and walked, then he could see his brother, who looked at him with utter disbelief.

"Why... why did you offer to take care of her?" Spike asked, still confused.

"Well, you heard 'em, they had an appointment with the doctor, an important appointment for them that they probably could not afford to lose. Besides..." Dusk said quietly, until he reached the end of his sentence, as he finally realized what the other reason he had stayed was. "I think that Pinkie Pie getting sick is partly my fault, because she got sicker from trying to find me."

"But you didn't force her, that is, I also heard about this Pinkie sense madness, but it's not your fault." Spike said, trying to understand Dusk's behavior.

"I know that, but... I still think it's the right thing to do." Dusk said, unable to shake Pinkie Pie's smiling face out of his head, and then when Pinkie fainting on his hooves.

Spike was still surprised by Dusk's answers, he realized that his brother was changing, a change that seemed fortunately for good, so he couldn't help but smile a little.

"Okay, I guess you're right." Spike said trying to sound indifferent and trying to change the subject so as not to force those new emotions that surfaced in Dusk. "So... what should we do now?"

Spike stood silently waiting in vain for an answer, as Dusk had stopped paying attention to Spike and had his sights totally focused on something else. Spike followed his brother's eye to see what was so intriguing. As he did so, he could see Dusk looking at a large display case with many cakes, then Spike looked at his brother's face, Dusk had his eyes fixed on the cakes and a small thread of drool fell from his open mouth.

Before Spike could say anything, Dusk teleported and appeared right in front of the display case, with his hooves and face resting on the glass in the display cabinet.

"They said I could take what I wanted..." Dusk was salivating as his stomach growled loudly. At first he didn't know which to choose, there was a great variety of cakes and they all looked tasty, but finally Dusk couldn’t take it anymore and took out the one that was closest, so he took a strawberry cake with cream and ate it as fast as he could.

"That was delicious!" Dusk said cheerfully after savoring the creamy remains on his hooves. "First Applejack's apples and now these cakes, why is the food in this town is so tasty!?"

"You're right, this one is delicious too." Spike said suddenly, who had also approached and grabbed a chocolate cupcake.

"What?" Spike asked as he realized that Dusk was looking at him disapprovingly. "I did have breakfast but that doesn't mean you're the only one who can have cupcakes."

"Okay, but just one more, I don't want to repeat what happened with Applejack’s apples." Said Dusk sighing and taking another cupcake, eating it slowly to enjoy it even more.

Although the idea was to eat just a few cakes, Dusk and Spike finally ate all the cupcakes in the display case, once they finished eating, they both sat and rested in a few store chairs while they smiled happily satisfied.

"We ate more than we thought... again," Spike said with a small smile of guilt. "Although there are still more cakes in the back."

"No, that's enough!" Said Dusk startled. "We've eaten too many, we can’t continue to abuse the hospitality of these local ponies."

Spike wanted to argue that idea by saying that Mr. Cake wouldn't mind, but decided that Dusk was right this time.

"So... Now I repeat." Spike said, changing the subject as he looked at Dusk. "Now what? We just gonna stay here all day making sure Pinkie Pie doesn't come down stairs?"

"I guess so, although... she must keep absolute rest, that means she should not even get out of bed." Dusk replied, scratching his head and wondering what would be best to help Pinkie Pie recover soon.

"So we should see if she's still in bed or not?" Spike asked.

Dusk swallowed and got a little nervous.

"I-I guess so." replied Dusk stammering, for he now had an obligation to sneak into a mare's room without her consent, a common fantasy of young colts his age, but one which he had never before thought to do in reality.

Dusk and Spike started up the stairs to the top floor, Spike quietly and Dusk hiding his nervousness. In his mind, Dusk began to imagine what a young mare's room should look like, neat and clean, with some stuffed animals and a pleasant smell of perfume, a perfect, feminine room.

As soon as they arrived in front of the room, Dusk slowly opened the door as to not wake Pinkie Pie.

POP!!!

The loud sound of a balloon bursting inside the room completely dislocated Dusk, who was shocked at what he saw. Inside the room were a mass of blown balloons scattered all over the floor along with serpentine streamers and colorful confetti littering the room, the room also had a sweet scent, but not a soft fragance like Dusk expected, but a strong smell of candies and cakes, an odor even stronger than that of the bakery on the lower floor. However, what most astonished Dusk was that in the center of the room was Pinkie Pie, up out of bed and fruitlessly trying to inflate a balloon.

"What's all this mess!? And what are you doing up?!" Dusk said rather upset at the surprise.

"Oh! This... this is your welcome party..." Pinkie Pie struggled, smiling as she teetered and could barely stay standing.

"Well, this doesn't look like a party at all" Spike said to Dusk's side after seeing the mess in the room.

"I... I'm sorry, I just... I can't inflate these balloons very well, but... just wait a minute and... I'll call the village ponies and we'll make a great... welcome party..." Pinkie Pie said between sighs as she tried to walk towards Dusk.

"Stop! This is ridiculous, you can throw me a party some other time." Dusk shouted decisively at how weak the mare was.

"But... I always throw a party... the new ponies, since I got to town... I always do parties for others..." said Pinkie Pie staggering and approaching to Dusk.

"Why are you so passionate about parties?" Dusk asked holding her up, remembering that he'd asked that same question to Pinkie Pie before she collapsed in the town square.

"Because... I like to see others smile..." Pinkie Pie said as she fell faint again into Dusk's hooves.

Dusk stood for a moment holding Pinkie Pie in silence, he couldn't understand that Pinkie Pie's response was as simple as she liked to see other ponies smiling, she went through all the trouble of organizing a party just to get a simple smile? In his opinion, that was ridiculous.

After carefully taking Pinkie Pie, Dusk carried her to the bed and laid her down gently, making sure she was asleep and tucked in.

"Hey, Dusk! Look." Spike whispered as to not wake Pinkie Pie.

"What's that?" Dusk asked, approaching Spike who had come up to a table in the room and held a notebook in his claws.

Dusk took the book with his magic and opened it to read it. The notebook was an agenda type calendar that had marked the name of dozens if not hundreds of ponies in it.

"It seems to be the birthdays of all ponies in town, at least I recognized the names of Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Big Mac, the Mayor, even to that damn rabbit named Angel." Spike said in surprise. "And not just birthdays, but also anniversaries and the dates of when they first came to town. Look, see how almost all the pages are marked? That means that this mare celebrates and throws a party almost every day!"

Dusk was also surprised, even more so knowing that she was apparently solely responsible for throwing the parties in Ponyville, that meant she had a lot of work to do each day organizing all these different parties.

As soon as he lowered the notebook, Dusk put it back on the table and his gaze went to a ledge on which was a pile of framed photos. Dusk took some of the photos and could see that there were three patterns in all the photos, one: the photos had been taken at a party; Two: in the photos appeared Pinkie Pie laughing, dancing or doing some madness; And three: always the pony that appeared at her side appeared posing with a natural and bright smile. In the different photos Dusk was surprised to see the Mayor smiling, the Apple family, all the different pegasi who had trapped him the day before, but for all that he looked, he couldn’t find a photo that featured Fluttershy, Applejack or Rainbow Dash .

"Looks like she's crazy about parties, right?" Spike asked with a small mocking smile.

"No... she's crazy about seeing others smile." Dusk contradicted him after having a revelation, as he realized that Pinkie Pie's response had not been simple, the truth was that parties were only the half of it, for what she really strived, worked hard and for what she had demanded upon herself to achieve with Dusk, was to make others smile, to make them truly happy if even for a moment, and that was no simple task, that was something admirable.

Dusk turned and looked at Pinkie Pie while she slept, but this time he saw her with new eyes, he now felt that he really wanted to take care of her, not only because he felt indirectly responsible, but because she also deserved to smile.

"What should we do now?" Spike asked again, whispering. "I don’t think she will fall asleep for long, and if she wakes up she'll try to do a party again."

Dusk meditated for a few seconds until a bright idea came to him.

"I know what we'll do! Follow me." Dusk whispered, as he and Spike headed for the bedroom door.





Pinkie Pie had a dream that she never had before, she was near a cliff looking down towards the bottom of the ravine and a moment later the ground gave way beneath her and she fell, however instead of crashing to the ground, she fell on a comfortable and warm giant pillow which she cuddled with great joy, but as time passed Pinkie Pie began to realize that what had fallen on to was not a pillow but huge lavender hooves that held her strongly and had prevented her from falling to the bottom of the ravine, then she looked up and tried to see the face of that pony, but the sun was just overhead head and prevented her from seeing the face of her savior, even so she recognized those hooves, she had already fallen into them before, so while remembered that feeling, the face of that pony became clear.

"Dusk?" Pinkie Pie said in her dream. Then she was startled and remembered that she hadn't thrown a welcome party for Dusk. "It is true! I still haven't thrown him a welcome party! I... I've got to wake up!" Cried Pinkie Pie in her dream, causing her to wake up and come back to reality.

Pinkie Pie slowly opened her eyes after having that crazy dream, she looked down and remembered that she was sick and that she was in bed, she immediately saw her room was full of balloons, something normal for her bedroom, so she started to get up until she suddenly realized that the last thing she remembered was that she had failed to inflate the balloons for Dusk's party and that her room was full of half filled and deflated balloons.

“Wait... How come the room is full of inflated balloons?” Pinkie thought, trying to remember what had happened before falling asleep.

"Psst... Hey, she's awake!" Pinkie Pie heard a voice, but she couldn’t see from who or where as the room was almost entirely filled with balloons.

"Surprise!!" Dusk and Spike suddenly shouted, popping out from under the balloons and tossing some confetti. "Happy welcome party!"

Pinkie Pie was very surprised to see Spike and Dusk appearing suddenly and celebrating as she always did, but she didn’t understand why they were trying to throw a party.

"Huh... W-Why are you having a party? I'm supposed to throw you a party." Pinkie Pie said, still surprised.

"Well... it's just that you can't get up right now, you should stay in bed." Dusk said nervously. "I know that you like to throw parties for others because you love to make them happy and see them smile, so I thought maybe this time I'd like to give it a try and see you smile."

Dusk's words were true, but he also had another intention besides that, what he most wanted at the time was that Pinkie Pie stay in bed and to rest, so it occurred to him that if she couldn’t make a party, a good deterrent would be if that party came to her.

"Besides..." added Dusk. "You said that ever since you came to town you started throwing welcome parties for other ponies, right? That means that nobody threw you a welcome party. So now we can celebrate YOUR welcome party and celebrate mine another day."

Dusk puffed out his chest, being proud of his logical reasoning, now to wait for that crazy and illogical mare to follow his reasoning and finally want to rest instead of trying to get up and make up a party for him.

Pinkie Pie was speechless, she just stared at Dusk, however thousands of thoughts crossed her mind. She had parties thrown for herself before, but rarely, in fact even most of her birthdays were parties that she organized, but here was this colt she had only just met and had tried so hard to throw a party for her, that's what she always did for others and now someone else did it to her.

“So is this what everypony feels when I throw them a party?” Pinkie Pie thought, feeling her heart fill with joy. “Is this happiness that I feel the same as they felt?”

Then Pinkie Pie looked more intensely at Dusk as the last words he had said repeated in Pinkie Pie's mind. What Dusk had said was true, no one had given her a welcome party, that's why she invented the welcome parties, though neither she nor anyone had noticed it before and Dusk had surprised her with such a gesture, it made Pinkie Pie's heart beat even faster, not just from happiness, but from something else, a new feeling was coming out and one that made Pinkie Pie unable to look away from the tender eyes of Dusk Shine.

"Oh no! Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" Dusk said worriedly, moving closer to her. "Looks like you still have a fever, your face is all red."

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie came out of her reverie without realizing that she had blushed the whole time she was looking at Dusk.

Dusk decided that it would be best to take Pinkie Pie's temperature, which was a simple thing he had learned from his mother, where one had to touch their horn to the sick one's, since unicorns horn was very sensitive and this way a unicorn could easily check the temperature difference. However Pinkie Pie was not a unicorn, so he decided to come a little closer.

While Pinkie Pie still slightly out of it, Dusk dimly lit his horn and approached extremely close to Pinkie Pie's face to touch the mare's forehead with his horn. Dusk closed his eyes to concentrate more, unlike Pinkie Pie who opened her eyes wider in surprise and blushed all the more.

“This is not OK! I'm supposed to be the one who surprises ponies! But now I'm surprised!” Pinkie Pie was mentally told that for the first time in a long time she had been caught off guard.

"Well, I'm no expert but I'd say you still have a fever, though not much, so you'd better stay resting in bed." Dusk said, that once he had finished taking her temperature, he turned his face away from Pinkie Pie.

"Yea... the doctor said that with one or two days rest I would be fine." said Pinkie Pie, somewhat distressed after Dusk had left.

"Well then, back to the party, here's something for you." Dusk said turning around and heading for Spike.

The instant Dusk turned, Pinkie Pie was surprised again looking at her own tail, which for some reason had begun to shake.

"Two turns to the left and three turns to the right... that's-" Pinkie Pie whispered to herself, but couldn’t finish speaking because she was interrupted by Dusk.

"This is for you, happy welcome party!" Dusk said with Spike while Dusk held what appeared to be a cake, since it's shape was very irregular and it seemed to be fuming for some reason.





Pinkie Pie looked shocked at the cake for a few seconds, then took it and gave them a big smile.

"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie smiled with her usual joy.

Pinkie Pie pushed the cake to her mouth and unceremoniously took a bite, something she regretted at once. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in horror as her mouth stopped chewing.

"Is something wrong?" Spike asked, confused at Pinkie Pie's expression.

"N-Nothing, it's... delicious..." said Pinkie Pie smiling with her mouth full and a strange expression on her face. "Did you make the cake?"

Dusk and Spike looked at each other and then smiled proudly.

"That's right, I made the dough and baked it, and Spike made the filling." Dusk grinned. "We both ate all the cakes from the display case, so to not take another one out of the kitchen we decided to cook one."

Then Dusk began to remember when he and Spike had gone down to the kitchen to prepare the cake while Pinkie Pie slept, Spike had refused the idea of cooking, since neither had done it before, however Dusk had told him that cooking was like making a magic spell, just follow the instructions in the book and the cake would come out just fine.

“That is, just follow the steps, How difficult can it be?” Dusk thought at the time.

Now, with Pinkie Pie's horrified face, Dusk's confidence in how well his cake came out began to dwindle drastically. So to have no doubts about it, Dusk approached and took a piece of Pinkie Pie's cake, and shared it with Spike. As soon as they both tasted the cake, they had the same look of horror as Pinkie Pie.

"What the!?" Dusk asked annoyedly at Spike pulling a lollipop out of his mouth. "A lollipop!? Why did you use lollipops as stuffing!? Since when do cakes have something so hard in them!?"

"Well, my cakes always have gems, I thought the candies would give it a similar texture." Spike said a little annoyed. "Besides, you told me to put something sweet in the filling, well, lollipops are sweet."

"That doesn't serve as a filler! No wonder the cake's so bad!" Shouted Dusk.

"Oh yeah? So what about the dough?" Spike replied, shouting. "All the crust and the top is burnt!"

"Huh? Well..." Dusk said embarrassed. "We didn't have much time and the cookbook said that it should cook at 200° for 30 minutes, meaning that if it doubled the heat would take half the time, it's basic math." Dusk finished saying proudly.

"That's not how an oven works!" Spike yelled.

"Pfff!" There was a noise that distracted Dusk and Spike from their argument.

"Pfff... Hahaha! Hahahaha!" Pinkie Pie laughed loudly, unable to hold back her laughter after listening to the follies and arguing of Dusk and Spike.

Pinkie Pie's laughter continued as Dusk and Spike looked at her in surprise, then both looked at each other and couldn't resist join in the the pink mare's contagious laughter. The three of them they laughed for a long time until they couldn't do it any more, what had begun as a horrible cake and an argument, had become a show of nonsense that appealed to them all.

"Do not worry! Hehe! I'll teach you how to cook when I get out of this bed." Pinkie Pie finally said when the laughter ended.

"That would be great!" Spike said enthusiastically, though he didn’t want to admit it, he had enjoyed cooking.

Pinkie Pie started to get up, but Dusk lifted a hoof and stopped her.

"Stop right there, you must rest completely if you want to get any better." Dusk said seriously.

"But I feel better." Pinkie Pie said pouting like a foal. "Besides, if I stay in bed, what else could we do?"

"Hmm... what fun thing could we do without you getting up...?" Dusk replied looking up and trying to think of something to keep Pinkie Pie in bed. "I know! What if we tell stories? Anecdotes of funny things that happened to us!"

"Ohh..." Pinkie Pie said, opening her eyes with excitement and settling into her bed with a smile.

Bingo! Dusk had achieved his goal, catching Pinkie Pie's attention and thus preventing her from getting up.

"Yeah... that would be fun." Spike said to Dusk's side, looking at his brother with a devilish grin. "I have many stories about my dear brother, hehe."

Dusk saw Spike's evil grin and swallowed nervously, now he regretted having given the idea about the stories, unfortunately for Dusk, he had many embarrassing stories in his past.

Spike told many stories of when he and Dusk were younger, like when they had dug all around the royal garden believing that some treasure was hidden in it or when Dusk tried a new spell and blew up his room; each story usually ended with some particular 'punishment' given by Dusk's teacher that humiliated him in some way, so each story ended with a comical ending accompanied by Pinkie Pie's laughing. At first Dusk was ashamed of the things Spike told about him, however Pinkie Pie's contagious laughter had rapidly changing his mood and finally he accompanied the mare’s laugh every time Spike told something funny.

"... And that's how we got in a sack to Ponyville." Spike finished telling another story, which this time had coincided with how they had been sent to Ponyville.

"First class! Hahaha!" Said Pinkie Pie crying with laughter.

"That's right, hahaha!" Spike laughed too. "And now it's time to tell you everything we've been through here in Ponyville, get ready to laugh even harder! It turns out that the first day we met with this mare called-"

"We're back!" A voice came from the first floor that interrupted Spike's story.

"Oh, must be the Cakes." Dusk said looking at the door and then at the window, the sun was almost gone, to Dusk's surprise. "Is it nighttime already!? Time sure flies!"

"That happens when you have fun!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

Dusk stood for a moment meditating on that phrase, which was very true, not only did Pinkie Pie have a good time, without realizing both Dusk and Spike had also enjoyed that afternoon of laughter. At that moment Dusk went through his mind to the day before, he and Rainbow Dash had played a joke on her coworkers and also had laughed and had a good time, but that time, when later saw that those mares had ended up crying and upset, Dusk couldn’t help feeling a little guilty; But now it was different, this time he had also laughed, but not at the expense of others, but in sharing it with them, this caused that laughter felt different, even Dusk would say that it felt even better.

"Well, the Cakes are back and it's getting late." Dusk said looking at Spike and then at Pinkie Pie. "I think it's time to go."

Pinkie Pie lowered her head sadly and prepared to get up to say goodbye to Dusk and Spike, however Dusk quickly approached and stopped.

"Listen, you've got to promise me you'll rest for the days the doctor asked you to do." Dusk said seriously. "I don't want you to be sick anymore."

Pinkie Pie blinked a couple of times in surprise and then lowered her head.

"You know... normally I'm more cheerful and funny, so it bothers me a little that you've seen me like this..." Pinkie Pie said seriously, then lifted her head and showed a big smile. "So yes, I promise! I will rest and recuperate before the Summer Sun Celebration and then you'll meet the real and festive Pinkie Pie!"

"Uh... Good! Then we'll see each other at the celebration." Dusk said a little blushed and also smiling.

“What a beautiful smile... I will really love to see her again.” Dusk thought, not daring to say it out loud, to see Pinkie Pie's jovial, vibrant smile.

Finally Spike also said goodbye to Pinkie Pie and then, with Dusk, they left the room while Pinkie Pie looked at them from her bed, especially Dusk, she had the feeling that she forgot to say something to the unicorn but couldn't remember what.

As soon as Pinkie Pie thought of Dusk and saw him disappear behind the door, her fluffy tail vibrated, something that took her by surprise.

"Again with that weird vibration..." Pinkie Pie said to herself as she watched her tail, then opened her eyes and realized what she had forgotten to tell Dusk. When she had met Dusk and Spike she explained to them that her Pinkie sense had given her a strange signal, Dusk said that maybe it was because he was coming with a dragon and then she had been excited to see Spike, but she was forgot to tell him that that strange sign was not due to Spike! That morning when she had felt the strange sign of her Pinkie sense, her right hind leg was flushed and her hair bristled, something that had happened to her once before, which meant she would meet a scaly creature, probably a Dragon, that was a known sign; However immediately after that signal Pinkie Pie felt the new signal, when her tail took two turns to the left and three turns to the right as her heart pounded, she had never felt it before, and only felt it that day: when she found Dusk, when he approached to take her temperature and now when he left. There was no doubt, that signal must've belonged to Dusk, but why had her body reacted differently just because it was Dusk? That was the question that Pinkie Pie began to ask, something that was unconsciously responding in herself, since the more she thought about Dusk, the more her heart beat louder and filled her with great happiness just thinking about him.

As soon as she began to smile with joy, Pinkie Pie opened the drawer of her bedside table and took out a picture, the photo she treasured most.

"Maybe... he's as special as my friends." Pinkie Pie said as she looked at the photo she was standing next to her four best friends: an earth pony, two pegasus and a unicorn. Then she brought the picture to her chest and looked up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes.

"Or maybe more, maybe he's... special to me." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile as she laid down to start falling asleep while basking in that pleasant sense of happiness.

Meanwhile, Dusk went down the stairs without knowing the thoughts and feelings the pink mare felt at that moment. When Dusk and Spike reached the floor below to meet the Cakes, Dusk noticed that both were in an excellent mood, in the opinion of the unicorn that it could mean that they received good news from the doctor, so he was glad for them but he didn’t want to ask, as not to intrude on their privacy.

"So everything went well with my dear Pinkie Pie." Mrs. Cake said cheerfully and relieved after Dusk had told them what they had done all afternoon and how they had finally got Pinkie Pie to rest.

"No problem." Dusk replied proudly.

"Honey, didn't we leave a lot of cakes in the cabinet?" Mr. Cake said doubtfully as he scratched his head and checked the display case.

"Well... I-It's time to go..." Dusk said nervously walking quickly to the door next to Spike while the pride he had felt a few seconds ago was blurred and replaced by shame.

That's how Dusk and his brother began to walk the streets of Ponyville as night fell.

"Now we head to the inn?" Spike asked simply followed his brother not knowing where they were going.

"Yes, I'll finally be able to sleep in a decent bed." Dusk sighed wearily. "By the way, is there any money left over from Applejack's?"

"Yea, the inn is very cheap." Spike replied, as a good assistant to Dusk he was good with math. "It is enough to pay for this and the next night, just to cover the whole stay before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Good." Dusk said cheerfully. "Only two more nights, then the night of the celebration and finally I will return to my warm room in the palace."

As soon as Dusk said these words, for some reason his heart clenched, as if his determination to return to Canterlot had wavered for a second. Dusk didn't know it, but that certainty in his words was not shared by his own feelings.

Oblivious to everything, as Dusk and Spike continued to walk, a figure hidden in the shadows laughed silently as it watched Dusk walk away.

"Fufufu! There you are." said a female voice, the voice from the figure in shadows. The moonlight only showed a pale hoof holding a photo of Dusk next to Spike and Princess Celestia. "At last I found him, a true prince charming."

# End of Chapter 9
> Chapter 10 - Finding Prince Charming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding Prince Charming 

Spike glanced around as his eyes widened in amazement, unable to believe what they were seeing, before him was a huge multi-colored field where the floor glowed with flashes of different colors, something that at first glance would have looked like a huge field full of flowers that were bright, but that by paying more attention you could see that the enormity of colors were not flowers but gems! Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and different gems of varied shapes, sizes, and colors that covered the entire field as far as the eye could see.

"This... This is paradise!" Spike said as he wiped his eyes filled with tears of happiness.

The little dragon started to run across the field while his paws felt the pleasant and hard contact of the gems to step on, there Spike threw himself to the floor, turned and laughed while he moved his paws and claws to make an angel of gems on the ground, then stretched out one of his claws and grabbed a huge sapphire that barely fit in his claw. Spike eyed the gem eagerly as the beautiful blue reflected in his large eyes, the dragon's mouth began to salivate as he brought the sapphire to his mouth, he couldn't take it any longer, he had to taste that appetizing bright stone. Spike opened his mouth as wide as he could and finally took a sharp bite.

"WAHHH!" Dusk screamed loudly, causing Spike to finally wake up from his beautiful dream.

"Huh? Ah...? What's wrong?" Spike asked sleepily, trying to figure out where he was and what that scream had been.

"What's wrong!?" Dusk repeated annoyed as he stood up, for as he had screamed, he had jumped out of bed and fell flat on the floor. "You bit me, that's ‘what's wrong’!!"

"What I... What?" Spike said, stretching his paws as little by little his lucidity returned. "Wait... Why are we in a room? Wasn't I just in a field of gems a minute ago?" Spike finished looking around.

"So that's what you were dreaming about? And that's why you bit me? You thought that I was a gem?" Dusk said still upset rubbing his upper right leg.

"Uhm... I... I'm sorry?" Spike said scratching his head, disillusioned to realize that it had all been a dream and that instead of biting a delicious sapphire he had bitten Dusk on the leg. "But it's partly your fault, I told you it wasn't a good idea for us to sleep together."

Dusk glared at his little brother, since like so many times before the little dragon tried to make Dusk feel guilty for a mistake that he had committed, nevertheless this time Spike had a point, since it had been Dusk's decision that they slept together, not for a sentimental reason but an economic one, if they wanted Applejack's money to last them until the next night, they could not afford to move to a two-bed room, which would obviously have cost them more than a single. As soon as they had entered the room the night before, they had both realized that little problem; that night Spike had offered to sleep on the floor, but that was something that Dusk as a big brother couldn't allow, empathy that Spike shared towards his brother, who wanted Dusk to finally sleep comfortably in a bed, none of them wanted the other to sleep on the floor, so Dusk finally decided that they both share the bed, something they did when they were younger, but hadn't done so for many years now.

"It’s true that sleeping together was my idea, but I never thought you'd bite me! I mean, you've never done it before." Dusk said as he continued rubbing his leg, while his anger steadily waning.

"Yeah, well, I had never gone so long without eating any gems." Spike said, looking to the side annoyed, and then made a small pout as he looked to Dusk. "If only we could buy one, one little..."

Dusk immediately looked away, avoiding Spike's eyes, after all Dusk found it hard to tell Spike ‘no’ when he put on that face, especially when he felt guilty, because Dusk couldn't help but think that the poor dragon had put aside his prized gems in the castle just to accompany Dusk on his fateful task of making friends, after all, it was only Dusk who could not return to Canterlot, not Spike, but Dusk knew that his brother would never abandon him, and he internally thanked him for it.

"Oh look, the sun's out!" Dusk said looking at the window, trying to change the subject. "Thank Celestia you at least woke me up in the day and not in the middle of the night. Well, it's time for breakfast and then we'll head out."

Dusk approached a small plate of fruit which was included in the price of the room as a breakfast.

"Yeah... a breakfast without pearls... without diamonds..." Spike said reluctantly as he dragged his claws until he reached Dusk to accompany him to breakfast.

“Jeez... It's gonna be one of those days...” Dusk thought when he realized that Spike was throwing one of his tantrums, he wasn't going to shut up about this for the rest of the day.





"...and that's why, even if both are red, a juicy apple will never beat the taste of a sweet, crispy ruby." Spike said walking down the stairs at his brother's side.

Dusk, on the other hoof, just kept silent, giving Spike a tired look. As Dusk had feared, the little dragon had not stopped talking about gems and their flavors throughout breakfast, even as he ate the fruit, he hadn't failed to criticize and compare them to different gems, and now that they had left the room and were down to the lobby, Spike kept talking about the same thing. Dusk needed to change the subject, talk about anything so that Spike could finally stop talking about his appetite for gems, however as that had been the first issue of the day and all he could think about was gems and the pain from that bite, Dusk couldn't think of anything as a new conversation topic.

"...now pink rubies are a little more acidic than scarlet rubies, instead, the-" Spike continued his monolog until Dusk finally couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted him.

"Enough! How can a gem have taste, that is to say, they are only hard, colored stones." Dusk said exasperated, not having another subject to speak of, he had decided best to drop the subject by taking the contrary. "I bet you can find something that is the exact opposite to a gem and you will love it as much or more so than gems."

"The exact opposite? What's the opposite of a delicious gem? "Spike asked mockingly.

Dusk paused and thought for a moment: “What would be the opposite of a hard and colorful gem...?”

"Hmm... I know!" Dusk said in surprise. "A marshmallow! You've never tried them, have you? I assure you that marshmallows will please you, so much so that you'll never want to eat gems again!"

"Pff! Are you serious?" Spike laughed. "Okay, if you ever see that I prefer something soft and white instead of a hard and colorful gem, you can give me a good kick in the butt."

"Deal, but until I find out where I can get marshmallows you won’t complain again about not having any gems to eat." Dusk said walking back, knowing that at least for now he had managed to keep Spike quiet for a while.

They continued down to the lobby, where the innkeeper was, a tall, stout brown pony with a black mane.

"Good morning," Dusk said, waving to the innkeeper.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" The innkeeper said gently. "Have you vacated the room?"

"Yes, we slept very well and... Huh?" Asked Dusk confused, stopping to smile. "W-We don't want to vacate the room, in fact, we want to stay another night."

"Oh, I'm sorry but that's not possible, I thought I told you, but maybe I forgot." The innkeeper said taking out a book from the inn and showing it to Dusk and Spike. "As you know, tomorrow night will be the Summer Sun Celebration, and this year the princess in person will come to Ponyville, so there will be many visitors and I have all the rooms booked for today and tomorrow, in fact, it's lucky that you could get the last free room I had yesterday."

Dusk fell silent, frozen not knowing what to do or say while the innkeeper turned around and went right back to work.

"This... this is bad..." Dusk stammered once he came to himself. "Tomorrow is no problem, normally the last night is spent sleeplessly waiting for dawn, but we still have tonight before tomorrow's celebration... And this is the only Inn in town!"

"Well... we could ask Applejack or Fluttershy to let us stay over one last night, even Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie would accept us if you asked them." Spike said thoughtfully.

Dusk froze again. As soon as Spike said they could see those mares again, Dusk's heart leaped with excitement, yet at the same time, his head was filled with thoughts that only frightened him. All of them had helped him somehow or other, he couldn't just go back to them with his tail between his legs asking for their help again.

"No, we should find another way." Dusk said finally, looking to the floor with resignation. "Really... it's troublesome being on your own..."

"But you're not alone." Spike said smiling.

"Of course not, I have you." Dusk said with a small smile, heading toward the exit of the inn.

"Humph... I didn't mean myself, ever since you came to this town you've never been alone." Spike whispered softly so Dusk couldn't hear him.

Then they both opened the inn's front doors and went out to breathe the cool air of Ponyville.

"So, what's the plan now?" Spike asked.

"We should definitely settle this accommodation issue." Dusk said reflectively, looking up at the sky as he walked. "But for some reason, I feel this issue is secondary, I feel that there is something more important to solve than having a place to stay, there's something I'm forgetting, something... important, but I can't remember what-"

BAM!!

Dusk stopped talking as he tripped over something and fell face-first into the ground.

"Ouch! That hurt..." said a sharp voice behind Dusk, while he remained with his face on the ground.

"Bwah...! What happened!?" Dusk said lifting his face off the ground and spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

Dusk turned his head to know what had tripped him, or in this case whom, since behind Dusk lying on the ground was a small white filly, specifically a unicorn, with pink and lilac wavy mane, and huge green eyes.

"You've got to be more careful! How could you not see me?" Asked the filly lying on the ground, looking at Dusk.

"I... uh ... I'm sorry, I think I was distracted." Dusk apologized, getting up and scratching his head. He knew that while he was walking he had been lost in thought, but never thought that he was SO distracted to not realize that he would hit a small filly.

"Okay, but... I think I screwed up my leg..." said the filly as she struggled to her feet and picked up one of her front legs, which she could not seem to bend well.

"Oh no! I-I didn’t mean to hurt you!" Dusk said nervously, coming up to the filly and staring at her leg in horror. "I was a fool to walk without paying attention, I really sorry!"

"What are you talking about?" Spike said suddenly, confused and upset. "SHE rushed at you while you walked with your head in the clouds, I saw it!"

"What are you saying?" Dusk asked confused. "Why would she-?"

"Ouch! My leg!" The filly screamed in pain, causing Dusk to stop looking at Spike and again focus his attention on her.

"What's the matter? Does it hurt a lot?" Dusk asked concerned about the little girl.

"Only when I try to walk..." answered the filly before taking her 'sore' hoof up to her head and looking up to the sky with her huge eyes, in a very theatrical way. "And just when I had so many important things to do in town! Now I can't walk nor can I go anywhere!" The filly ended dramatically, casting a fleeting glance at Dusk, something that went largely unnoticed by the naive Dusk, but not the small, cunning dragon.

Dusk put a hoof to his mouth and looked thoughtfully at the ground for a few seconds.

"Well... it's my fault you got hurt, I guess I could take you and help you in whatever you need..." Dusk finally said, looking at the filly.

"Really!?" asked the filly, casting huge pitiful eyes, eyes that it would be impossible for anyone to say no.

"Yes, of course, it's no pro-" Dusk said with a smile before being interrupted by Spike.

"Ahem... Dusk, can we talk for a second?" Spike said, nudging Dusk on the elbow. Then Spike made Dusk turn his back on the filly so she couldn't hear them.

"Dusk, we shouldn't trust that filly." Spike whispered into Dusk's ear. "I know that trick, I wear that same face when I want something from you, she's definitely planning something!"

"Do you think so?" Dusk said suspiciously, turning around for a second to look again at the filly, who smiled innocently, looking at Dusk with her tender eyes.

"No way, just look at her!" Dusk said again as he turned to talk to Spike. "She doesn't look a thing like you, she really is just an innocent filly."





Spike prepared to continue arguing, but Dusk simply turned around and went back to the filly, leaving Spike with the words stuck in his throat.

"It's decided kiddo, so tell me, where do you need to go?" Dusk said paternally, crouching a little so that his face matched that of the filly.

"Just a couple of places, I'm sure it'll be quick." the filly smiled with joy.

A thought crossed Dusk's mind, doubts of whether he had acted in the same way with another filly, such as Scootaloo, but he told himself that it would have been very different, since the little pegasus had a very strong character, unlike that of the small, helpless unicorn that had somehow awakened Dusk's 'big brother' instincts. This was how his doubts dissipated and finally, only one idea remained in the mind of Dusk: “Yes, the right thing is to help her, besides what harm is it to help this tender filly?”

"Alright! Come on!" Dusk said, stooping for the filly to climb onto his back and thinking how strange it was that he, who almost never interacted physically with other ponies, had carried two ponies on his back in just two days.

The filly climbed up with a smile on Dusk's back and held tight to not fall when he stood back up.

"Well, you'll have to guide me on where to go, since I'm new in town." Dusk said looking at the filly one last time and started to walk.

"Okay!" the filly said happily, that as soon as Dusk had stopped seeing her, she had taken a small set of paper and pencil from her mane and began to write something.

"By the way, what's your name?" Dusk asked suddenly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Sweetie Belle." said the filly smiling.

"A pleasure to meet you, my name is Dusk Shine." Dusk said nodding to his brother walking at his side. "And the grumpy one is Spike."

That last one startled the filly, who had completely forgotten the presence of the little dragon, who at that moment walked beside them with a penetrating stare at Sweetie Belle.

Spike knew that he couldn't trust this filly, after all only a trickster can recognize another trickster and Spike knew that this filly was hiding something, which he verified quickly when he saw the filly pull out a hidden pencil and held it no problem with her supposedly hurt leg. Sweetie Belle meanwhile had tucked away the paper and pencil after quickly realizing that Spike was watching her, but it was too late, Spike knew she was lying and she knew that he knew. Both wore poker faces of fright for a few seconds, Sweetie Belle wanted Spike to stay away, and Spike wanted to unmask her in front of Dusk, all the while Dusk kept walking oblivious to everything. Finally Sweetie Belle looked away for a second, turned to look annoyed at Spike and sticking her tongue out as she clutched Dusk harder, Spike, on the other hoof, only frowned reluctantly knowing that the filly had come to the same conclusion that he had while they had their stare off, Dusk wouldn't distrust the sweet and tender Sweetie Belle, and Spike, without having more evidence than that paper the filly hid, he had no evidence to reveal her true personality, so Spike just resigned himself and kept walking while keeping his eyes on the filly, waiting for her to make one wrong more and get Dusk to realize the truth.

Sweetie Belle was still smiling as she hugged Dusk's warm back. “It's only a small hiccup that the dragon found me out, but even so, it's all according to plan.” Sweetie Belle thought with a mischievous smile, then she took out the paper and pencil she hid when Spike discovered her, the little dragon was still watching, but now she didn't care because she knew that Spike was also an expert manipulator and would wait patiently for his next move. Then Sweetie Belle read the paper, which had listed different characteristics, such as: brave, funny, intelligent, etc... She took the pencil and put a check mark next to where it said 'chivalrous".

“Yes, he's definitely chivalrous.” Sweetie Belle thought, still lying on Dusk's back, remembering the steps she had taken to achieve her 'plan'.





Sweetie Belle's Flashback (One day before)

Sweetie Belle jumped for joy in the main hall of the house, and no wonder, the filly had been waiting a long time for this day, today she could spend a couple of days with her beloved older sister. For Sweetie Belle, her sister was the best mare in the world, she was pretty, elegant, generous, refined, so she had always been her role model, Sweetie Belle always followed her everywhere since she could remember, she had grown very sad when her older sister decided to leave her parents' house to live on her own, and although there were times when she and her parents visited her sister for the day, for Sweetie Belle it wasn't the same. However, these days would be special since her parents had to travel and they had left to her in charge of her sister, so they would spend some days together, like when they were kids again! A cheerful, fleeting sense of joy swept through Sweetie Belle's body before she realized something, something that made her stop jumping and her mood turned.

"Will it be exactly like it used to?" Sweetie Belle asked softly, as she remembered and new memories appeared, replacing her sister's happy memories. Those happy memories were the majority and they were the reason she loved her sister, however, Sweetie Belle had to admit they weren't all happy memories, there were times when her sister was angry with her, shouted at her, or ignored her, it all depended on her sister's mood. So now there was only one question left, what mood would her sister be in today?

The noise of hooves coming down the stairs swept Sweetie Belle out of her thoughts, her sister came down to greet her, and soon Sweetie Belle's question would be answered.

"Hello, little sister, did I make you wait long? I hope you're ready for an afternoon of sisterly fun!" Said Sweetie Belle's sister with a big smile.

Sweetie Belle froze for a second before giving her sister a big smile and a hug. This was more than perfect! For some reason, her sister was happy, in fact much happier than usual, which meant she was in 'good sister' mode.

That was how Sweetie Belle spent all day with her sister, going to the spa, eating ice cream, telling stories of her parents and friends, walking through the town... For Sweetie Belle that day was perfect, and a perfect day had to end with a picnic in a park on the outskirts of the village.

"You look so happy today!" Said Sweetie Belle, finally daring to ask after having spent such a spectacular day, while they were still sitting in the picnic area of the park, Sweetie Belle on a tablecloth on the floor and her sister on a small sofa she had taken, since she didn’t like lying on the floor.

"That's right!" Said her sister with a big smile, almost ready to explode, as if she had been longing for someone to ask her for a long time. "It turns out that today I was told that I would be in charge of decorating for the Summer Sun Celebration! Do you realize what this means!? ME! I will be able to decorate the great hall for this year's celebration, which is just the most important in the history of Ponyville because the princess will come personally for the celebration! I will have the great honor of welcoming the princess!"

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened in astonishment, not so much by surprise but rather by admiration.

"Wow... That's unbelievable big sister!" Said Sweetie Belle cheerfully, who at that moment enjoyed saying 'sister' instead of saying her name, not because she didn’t like her sister's name, but that at the time she enjoyed saying the word sister and knowing that they had that strong a family bond.

"Yes... I do wish I could start decorating the great hall, but there are some things I can only buy tomorrow, so I must be patient." Sweetie Belle's sister said before looking at her sister and stroking her head. "Besides, I promised to spend the day with you."

Sweetie Belle stared at her sister dreamy eyed, she was the perfect sister, not only that, she was the perfect mare, her role model... Sweetie Belle wanted so much to be able to do something for her sister, but what could a little filly like her do to help her peerless sister?

"Ahh... "Sweetie Belle's sister suddenly sighed, pulling the filly out of her thoughts.

The little unicorn realized when she looked at her sister that for the first time that day she had stopped smiling, putting on a small smile of resignation while looking at something in the distance, which made Sweetie Belle follow her sister's look to find the cause of this change of mood.

Sweetie Belle followed her sister's gaze until she came across what she saw, which was a pair of unicorns lovers, a stallion and a mare who touched their noses affectionately as tender lovers. She watched them for a moment until she finally realized why her sister had reacted like this.

"Sister, are... are you in love?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently.

"What? No, of course not." Sweetie Belle's sister quickly denied before glancing back at the couple. "Although... maybe I would like to be..."

"B-But you're very pretty, and nice, and smart, I'm sure you could get any colt!" Sweetie Belle looked at her sister energetically.

"Well... that's not problem..." said her sister with some pity. "I have known and gone out with some ponies, but... I don't want just any colt."

"And just what kind of colt would you want?" Sweetie Belle asked, very interested.

"Hmm... I don’t know, hehe, I guess I'm still waiting for my prince charming." her sister replied thoughtfully, before blushing as she realized she was talking about love with her baby sister. "Well, it's enough girls talk for a day, let's go home."

Sweetie Belle's sister got up and levitated her small couch while Sweetie Belle organized the picnic basket, then started walking back home, however, this time the walk was quiet as Sweetie Belle was concentrating on something else, now she knew how she could help her dear sister: She would get her the colt of her dreams!

Once they reached home, Sweetie Belle's sister went up to her room, saying that she should finish a dress for a client, this was the perfect opportunity for Sweetie Belle to start her search, however before going out to fetch a colt, she must know WHAT to look for in a colt, to know what a mare was looking for in the perfect pony was something beyond Sweetie Belle, who at this young age still saw the young colts of her class as fools.

To find out what to look for, it would be best to ask her sister, but that was ruled out because Sweetie Belle's plan was to surprise her sister, so she should look for another way to know what to look for, maybe ask other mares? Her sister's friends? These were Sweetie Belle's first thoughts until she remembered 'the book'. Sweetie Belle looked around trying to find where that book was, and as she didn’t see it, she began to look at the various furniture and sewing drawers her sister had in the main room, throwing fabrics, gems, and dresses all over the floor until she finally found it in a small drawer. Having found what she was looking for, Sweetie Belle looked at the book, this was one of the most famous at that time among the mares, she was not sure what it was about but apparently it was a romantic novel about a shy mare who falls in love with the perfect stallion who eventually turned out to be a prince, something all the young and mature mares liked, including her older sister.

"So 'Fifty Shades of Hay' eh?" Said Sweetie Belle, reading the cover of the book. "Well, I guess if the mares like this book so much and love the protagonist of it, it's because they would like to be with a colt like that."

Sweetie Belle began to read the book, which started well but that slowly stopped working, since the book had many words she didn’t know and the protagonists did many things she didn’t understand, it was also a very long book and she decided she didn’t have time to read the whole book, so she finally decided to skim the pages quickly until she found what she was looking for.

"Bingo!" Sweetie Belle finally said when she found what she was looking for, a page in which the protagonist of the book said 'the six things a perfect stallion should have.'

Sweetie Belle wrote down what was written on the page and rushed out of her sister's home with a bright smile, now that she knew what to look for, she just need to looking for a pony that met the requirements, the perfect colt for her perfect sister! But as she walked smiling, that smile faded, as did the speed of her walk. Sweetie Belle finally stopped in the middle of town with a look of disappointment, then she took the paper of the requirements for the perfect stallion and re-read it, she realized that this task was not really so simple and even her sister had also said that she didn’t want any colt, after all not any colt could have all those perfect characteristics of being chivalrous, brave or funny simultaneously.

"My sister was probably right... only a real prince charming could be so perfect..." Sweetie Belle said to herself disillusioned. "And of course, princes don't just fall from the sky."

As soon as Sweetie Belle uttered those last words, a piece of paper came flying and smacked her in the face.

"Bwah! What's this?" Sweetie Belle said, taking the paper from her face. As soon as she took the paper she realized that it was actually a photograph, which surprised her, but not so much as she was surprised to see that it was a photo of Princess Celestia, and it was not any photo, the Princess was laughing next to a colt and what appeared to be a little dragon, this surprised Sweetie Belle even more, who had seen pictures of the princess but had never seen a photo in which she was smiling that way.

"This must be a personal photo..." Sweetie Belle thought out loud, still staring at the figure of the princess. "But what makes her smile so happily? And who owns this photo?"

While Sweetie Belle continued to examine the picture, her sight stopped focusing on the princess and focused on the colt that appeared next to her.

"Who's he?" Sweetie Belle wondered, trying to remember if he was anyone she knew from town, yet that was in vain, especially knowing that most of the colts and stallions living in Ponyville were humble workers, on the other hoof, this colt of the photo looked very elegant and refined, almost like a...

"A prince!" Said Sweetie Belle aloud. "Yes! He must be a prince! There is no other explanation!" Sweetie Belle yelled with joy, thinking that this was the only reason the princess looked so happy and would have agreed to take a photo like that. Because this colt had to be some kind of close relative to the princess!

"Wait... if this photo's lost, that means this colt could be here in town!"  Sweetie Belle shouted even happier, giving thanks for the tremendous stroke of luck that had reached her, now she knew that there was a true prince and that prince could be here in town! Now all she had to do was find him.

With a revived spirit, Sweetie Belle began to run quickly through the streets of Ponyville looking for that prince, every time she saw a colt she approached only to verify that it wasn’t the colt in the photo, however for all the laps she ran around town, she wasn’t able to find this supposed prince. When she had almost lost all hope, seeing that the sun was already starting to set, she decided to start asking the ponies that walked through the village, after all, she didn't lose anything by asking.

"Oh yeah, I have seen him." said a purple mare after Sweetie Belle showed her the picture of the prince. "I saw him carrying Pinkie Pie, I think he was taking her home."

Sweetie Belle's heart beat wildly, it was true! The prince really existed and was in Ponyville!

Hastily thanking the mare, Sweetie Belle started to run towards Sugarcube Corner, once she turned one last corner before reaching the bakery, she stopped short as the door opened.

For no reason, Sweetie Belle hid in a shadow and she waited to see who was coming out. To Sweetie Belle's delight, a lavender unicorn emerged from the doorway of the door with a small purple dragon. They were the same as the picture! Only a little older, which was good because now the prince seemed to be the same age as her sister.

"Fufufu! There you are." Sweetie Belle whispered with a giggle of joy as she held the photo and checked for the last time that the colt was the one in the photo. "At last, I found him, a true prince charming."

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle prepared to go out to meet the prince, but she couldn't take one step before stopping. She could not just approach and ask if he wanted to go out with her sister, he could be a prince but still she had to verify that he met all the requirements of the 'perfect stallion', plus, Sweetie Belle looked at the sky and saw it was already nighttime, so she had to return to her sister's house soon, or she would worry.

The little unicorn followed the prince and his pet dragon and saw that they were heading to the town inn.

"So they'll sleep there tonight." Sweetie Belle said wickedly as she hatched a plan. "Well, tomorrow will be the day, tomorrow I'll approach him and I will prove that he is the ideal colt for my sister!"

That's how Sweetie Belle started her way back home thrilled to know that tomorrow she would meet a real prince.

End of Flashback.





Dusk kept walking aimlessly, just following the orders of the little filly on his back, who was showing where to turn at each corner.

"Will it take us long to get where you need to go?" Dusk asked glancing back at Sweetie Belle, he was beginning to suspect that the filly was only leading him on a wild goose chase.

"No, not long!" Sweetie Belle replied with a smile and a tender look, making Dusk's doubts disappear before such an innocent face.

"By the way," added Sweetie Belle. "Do you like to read? Or solve math problems? Or history? Maybe you're studying something?"

Dusk was surprised by the stampede of questions that Sweetie Belle made so suddenly out of nowhere, but didn't give it a second thought since the little filly probably just wanted some topic for conversation.

"Yeah, I really love reading, actually it's one of my favorite things." Dusk said proudly. "I also like mathematics and history, and yes, I also study, I am a student of magic, in fact, I am the student of... uh... the best teacher of magic in Equestria." Dusk finished, almost saying he was a student of the princess.

"Wow...! Then you must be really smart!" Sweetie Belle said in surprise.

"Yes, you could say that, hahaha!" Said Dusk, blushing and laughing vainly.

As Dusk laughed as his ego swelled, the filly on his back took out her paper and pencil again and marked with a tick where it said 'intelligent'.

“Two down, four to go.” Sweetie Belle thought with a smile, all this under the watchful eye of Spike, who never took his eyes off her.

The next thing about the 'perfect stallion' was to see if Dusk was funny, Sweetie Belle decided that the quickest thing was to continue with the direct questions.

"Eh... Dusk, do you like to laugh?" Sweetie Belle said timidly, without another way to find out whether or not Dusk was funny.

"Well yeah, who doesn't?" Dusk replied simply.

"I don't mean that, I meant... uh... I don’t know, do you like telling jokes? Or playing pranks?" Insisted Sweetie Belle.

"Hmm... well, I'm not exactly a comedian looking to get a smile out of every pony I come across." Dusk replied before blushing a little. "But recently I realized that laughter can be more powerful than I thought... And about pranks, yes, I also played several pranks, in fact, two days ago I had got in trouble for playing a big prank on some ponies of the town, hehe."

“That should definitely count!” Sweetie Belle thought, after all, how could he not be funny if he liked to play pranks? “Chivalrous, intelligent and funny! Definitely Dusk is great for my sister!” Sweetie Belle went on thinking, getting excited before quickly trying to calm down again, after all, she could not take it for granted, it was still up to her to see if he had the other characteristics, although these would be harder to figure out because they were something she couldn't know just by asking. The next on the list was 'brave', every good stallion must have been brave to protect his beloved, but any boy could say he was brave, the point was to prove it.

Sweetie Belle thought for a long time watching the road while being carried by Dusk, all in total silence until the sight of a particular pony gave her the answer on how to find out if Dusk was brave or not.

As they walked, an unexpected cry surprised Dusk.

"Hey, you!" Sweetie Belle shouted, imitating a hoarse voice. "Yes you, the one in white, I'm calling you."

"What is it?" Dusk asked, looking back at Sweetie Belle.

"Shh! Just play along." whispered Sweetie Belle, before screaming again in a hoarse voice. "Hurry up!" Sweetie Belle shouted again.

Dusk turned around again, not understanding what the filly was doing, play along with what? And who was she calling? After all, they were on a road surrounded by houses, only he, she, Spike, and that huge, muscular pony that was coming towards them...

“Wait…!!” Dusk thought as a cold sweat ran down his body as he saw that the largest, most muscular pony he had ever seen was approaching him, a huge white pegasus with large muscles all over his body except for his hoofs and wings, with blond mane trimmed military style, red eyes, earrings in his ears and a dumb-bell like cutie mark, from what he saw, it was the most intimidating colt Dusk had seen in his life.

"You talking to me!" Said the white colt with a harsh voice.

"Uh... Uhm..." Dusk said without being able to say a word to the tremendous beast standing in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Said Sweetie Belle on Dusk's back, still imitating a hoarse voice, making it seem as if Dusk was speaking. "I just wanted to know if you have so much muscle are you left with any brains!"

Dusk froze at the words of Sweetie Belle as the white pegasus brought his face closer to his, now Dusk knew, he would be murdered there and now.

"What did you say...!?" the white pegasus said, staring into Dusk's eyes with a penetrating gaze.

"Gulp..." Dusk swallowed and tried to speak, without much success, as the fear of being beaten overcame him.

"What are you deaf! Besides... I want to know if your little wings can lift that heavy body full of muscles you have!" said Sweetie Belle the ventriloquist, hidden behind Dusk's back and mane.

The white pegasus kept his face glued to Dusk watching him with a penetrating gaze, while poor Dusk was all sweaty watching those terrible red eyes trying in vain to remember the teleportation spell but his fear prevented it. So they kept staring at each other until the white pegasus's gaze suddenly changed.

"Grrr.... ..... sniff... sniff... Bwahhh!" the white pegasus suddenly began to cry, leaving Dusk, Sweetie Belle, and Spike stone-faced before such a bizarre image of seeing such a tremendous stallion crying like a foal.

The white pegasus quickly turned and ran away, before the astonished eyes of the others.

"That... that was amazing!" Sweetie Belle yelled enthusiastically, finally breaking the awkward silence that had been left. "You didn't even have to fight, you just intimidated him with a look! That was really brave! I could never have faced a stallion like that."

Dusk's soul was slowly returning to his body, the truth was that he hadn't really been brave, the only thing he had thought to do was run, if anything saved him was that despite his appearance that stallion wasn't really aggressive.

"Why did you do that?!" Dusk asked Sweetie Belle annoyingly.

"Huh...?" Said Sweetie Belle, surprised that Dusk was upset with her. "I... I just wanted to play a joke, like the ones you did, hehe..." Sweetie Belle finished with a scolded puppy dog look, knowing she couldn't tell what her true intentions were.

"You see? I told you she would be nothing but trouble." Spike said annoyed, the comment made Sweetie Belle lower her ears in shame.

Dusk looked at the dragon and then at Sweetie Belle, the filly looked sad, this time it didn't look like she was faking the puppy dog eyes, after all it was one thing that Dusk fell for that tender expression, but he knew that expression was faked, Dusk knew that face was to get something she wanted, but this time the filly wasn't faking that expression, after Spike's comment she seemed truly sorry.

"Huff... it's okay, it's over," Dusk said with a sigh. "But we must go and apologize to that pony, he looked like a nice pony, and we hurt him, let's go."

After this, Dusk began to trot a little to see if he could catch the white pegasus, plus he didn't want to have more problems in the town, and if he had learned anything it's that if he let this happen, this was a small problem that could become a huge one if not solved. For her part, Sweetie Belle was surprised to see that Dusk had forgiven her so easily, especially when she saw that he was worried about that stallion she had mistreated.

As Dusk trotted, Sweetie pulled out the list again and marked where it said 'brave', then put the pencil in her mouth and thought for a moment before writing something that was not on the list of the six characteristics of the perfect stallion, she wrote 'tender' and put a mark of approval, then smiled and hugged Dusk harder, wishing more and more that he really was the prince her sister was looking for.





“So... How long will we be here?” Dusk thought, not understanding the strange events that had happened in the last few minutes.

After Dusk had managed to reach the white pegasus, he realized how sensitive he was, first he had to beg him to listen as he was still crying over Sweetie Belle insults, after he was able to calm him Dusk explained that it was just a joke and the filly apologized to him, then the white pegasus, who they learned was named Bulk Biceps, quickly changed his attitude and laughed at the prank with big laughs patting Sweetie Belle on the head, Dusk could see now that despite his appearance of that stallion, he was as much or even kinder than the villagers, perhaps almost equaling the kindly Fluttershy. Finally, everyone said goodbye to Bulk Biceps and continued on their way, that's when Dusk asked Sweetie Belle to stop beating 'round the bush and tell them where to go, so Sweetie Belle finally led Dusk to where she wanted to go: A furniture store.

Once they entered the store, Sweetie Belle had asked him to come to a bed that was for sale and to sit there beside her, and there they had stayed for a long time without saying or doing anything, Dusk waiting for Sweetie Belle to say or do something, not knowing that the filly expected the same from him.

"And... are you expecting something to happen?" Dusk asked, already tired of waiting for the filly to do or say something.

"Yeah... well... I'm not sure, just... do your thing, I guess." Sweetie Belle replied confused.

"Doing my thing? What do you mean?" Dusk asked confused as well.

"I don't know." Sweetie Belle replied annoyed.

Dusk could not understand what the filly meant, and it seemed that she herself didn't know what she meant, so he finally decided that it was foolish to keep waiting for something that neither of them knew and asked Sweetie Belle to climb back on his back to take her home.

"Okay..." Sweetie Belle said disappointedly, climbing onto Dusk's back.

As they walked out of the store, Sweetie Belle pulled out her list again and put a question mark next to one of the perfect stallion's features.

“'Good in bed' What did it mean by that? We spent a lot of time in bed and nothing happened to Dusk, what was Dusk supposed to have done? Sleep?” Sweetie Belle thought naively, not understanding the mature language of an adult mare and the hidden meaning behind that phrase in the book.

That's how Sweetie Belle gave Dusk directions to take her home. Finally, she would introduce Dusk to her sister! Although he had a question mark on 'good in bed' and lacked another feature that Sweetie Belle had not wanted to mark yet, he had achieved four of the characteristics of an ideal stallion, and in the opinion of Sweetie Belle, a colt who was intelligent, funny, chivalrous and brave, as well as tender and a true prince, was something she would probably never find again, for Sweetie Belle, Dusk had indeed proved to be a perfect stallion for her sister.

"Here it is. I live here, for now, Carousel Boutique, isn't it cute?" Sweetie Belle said once they arrived at what appeared to be her home, a big ornate and feminine house with large windows and a sign over the door that showed a pony mannequin wearing clothes, if Dusk had to guess it seemed to be the house of a clothing salesmare.

Sweetie Belle couldn't get over the excitement, she could already see her sister's reaction to seeing her prince charming and Dusk's reaction to seeing her sister, so she jumped from Dusk's back and headed for the door of the house.

"Wait for me here, I'll be right back!" Sweetie Belle shouted excitedly as she opened the door and hurried into the house.

Dusk stood still, just as the filly had told him, but not because he wanted to obey what she had told him, but he was surprised to see that Sweetie Belle could walk and run no problem.

"And this is the part where I tell you I TOLD YOU!" Spike said to his side. "I told you she was faking."

"B-But then why did she do everything she did?" Dusk asked confused, turning to see Spike, then he saw on the floor a small piece of paper with something written that had fallen from Sweetie Belle's mane when she had jumped off his back.

"Good in bed?!" Dusk read aloud, completely blushed, before his attention was fixed on another point.

For her part, Sweetie Belle had rushed into her sister's house, but she could not find her in the main room, which was still as messy as she had left it when she had searched for her sister's book, then shouted her name and kept looking for her in her room and in the rest of the house, all with the same result, she was definitely not at home.

“It can't be... How can I have such bad luck!” Sweetie Belle thought resignedly as she walked back to Dusk. Once there she was surprised to see Dusk with a stern face and Spike with a small smile of triumph, both looking directly at her.

"So... How's your leg?" Dusk asked eyes narrowed.

"My leg?" Sweetie Belle asked before realizing her mistake and dropped her facade. "Oops!"

"Why did you do it, Sweetie Belle? Perhaps for this?" Dusk asked, showing her the paper with the list she'd dropped.

Sweetie Belle didn't know what to say, she had been completely exposed and just when she almost achieved her goal, she lowered her head in shame without saying a word, she had deceived poor Dusk, now he would hate her. Meanwhile, Spike grinned seeing that after almost the whole day in silence the filly had finally dug her own grave, now only was left to see what Dusk would do to get revenge for being tricked, just as Dusk took revenge on him when he tricked him.

Dusk approached the filly, stood in front of her and to the complete surprise of Sweetie Belle and Spike, he just stroked the little filly affectionately.

"So you did all this because you fell in love with me?" Dusk said with a smile. "That's very cute, but I'm much older than you."

"HUH!?" Sweetie Belle and Spike said in unison.

"Don’t worry, I know how you feel, I've also had strong feelings toward someone older than me." Dusk said stroking Sweetie Belle's head and reminding the mare that it had been his first love for which he still felt something. Dusk, therefore, felt responsible and didn't want to destroy the little filly's hopes.

"Huh... I... just..." Sweetie Belle was not sure what to say, Dusk had misinterpreted everything and now believed she was in love with him. She wanted to tell the truth, but she did not want to admit so openly that her plan was for him to fall in love with her sister, at least not before they met.

"You're just a filly, obviously I can't be your boyfriend, but what if I was your big brother? That way we can keep seeing each other if you want." Dusk smiled, thinking of how best to avoid hurting the 'feelings' that Sweetie Belle felt for him.

"Big brother?" Repeated Sweetie Belle, who for some reason was moved by such words. "That... that would be great!" Said Sweetie Belle with a big, honest smile.

"All right! It's decided, I'll have a new baby sister." Dusk grinned as he stroked the smiling filly's head, while the stunned dragon looked at them in utter astonishment.

"No... She can't be your sister, I'm your brother!" Spike said annoyed as his brother's jealousy surfaced.

"Relax, it's just a figure of speech, it's not like she's moving in with us, she already has a family, it's just an affectionate way of speaking when we see each other, right?" Said Dusk smiling, while Sweetie Belle was sticking out her tongue at the dragon and Spike only got more annoyed.

"By the way... There's something I don’t understand," Dusk said a little blushed, showing the list to Sweetie Belle. "Here you wrote that the perfect stallion had to have six characteristics, to be gentlemanly, intelligent, funny, brave, good in bed and then it seems that you hurriedly wrote down another characteristic: tender, they all have a mark but... Why didn’t you put a mark on the first feature listed?"

Sweetie Belle knew what Dusk was referring to, among the six characteristics that the book said that a perfect stallion had to have, Sweetie Belle couldn’t mark the first because Dusk did not comply with that characteristic, the characteristic was: 'clean'.

"Wel ... it's just that... when I got on your back I could smell you smelling like sweet, and you even had some baking dough in your mane..." Sweetie Belle replied somewhat distressed. "It's not that much! After all, I don't bathe every day, but... I think you're a little bit dirty."

Dusk could not help blushing and feeling sorry that the little filly had noticed that he was dirty, that was something that unfortunately had not noticed, after all the busy days he had, he hadn't taken a full bath since he had left Canterlot, plus in said castle his own personal hygiene was something that lately had been neglected for isolation to read books, but now that an unknown filly had pointed it out to him he was dying of shame.

"Eh... yeah, I... I think you're right, hehe." Dusk said in dismay, then turned around quickly and looked at Spike. "Alright, we're leaving."

Dusk began to walk quickly while Spike began to accompany him.

"Goodbye Sweetie Belle, we'll see you soon!" Dusk finally shouted once he had walked away from the filly, waving his hoof to say goodbye and continuing on his way.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Spike frowned, surprised by his brother's sudden change of attitude.

"Where do you think? To take a bath!" Said Dusk disturbed, who was still ashamed that someone had indirectly made him see that he was dirty.

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle watched and waved at Dusk until she lost sight of him, then turned around and entered her sister's house, again disappointed that her plan to bring Dusk and her sister together failed.

"Oh gosh! Where did my sister get to just when I needed her!?" Sweetie Belle wondered aloud, resting on one of the sofas in the living room.

As soon as she sat down she saw a note she hadn't seen before, a note placed on the sofa in her sister's hoofwriting, Sweetie Belle took it and read it.

"Sweetie Belle, you're dead!

Look at all the mess you left in the main hall! If I did not have to leave urgently, you'd really be in trouble! As punishment, you will also have to wash the crockery! I hope that everything it is tidy and clean when I return or you will face the consequences!

PS: I'll be out all afternoon, I must attend to urgent matters, so try not to burn the house down in my absence."

Sweetie Belle finished reading the note grumpy, now her sister was angry with her and she was well aware of her sister when she was angry, she was terrible, and worst of all is that all this mess in the room had done looking for the book, meaning that now her sister was angry with her just for wanting to help her.

"By Celestia! Rarity changes mood so easily!" Shouted Sweetie Belle annoyed, forgetting to say 'my sister' affectionately and finally saying only her name, not realizing that she, like her sister, changed mood easily, and now that her sister was angry with her, Sweetie Belle was also angry with her sister.

"She's so bossy and irritable!" Sweetie Belle grumbled as she began to sort the room, forgetting her 'loving sister' and just remembering her 'bossy sister'.

As Sweetie Belle was tidying up, she couldn't help but think of Dusk and her plan to bring him together with her sister, remembering how good colt he had been with her.

"Maybe... he's too good for my sister." said Sweetie Belle annoyed. "Maybe... he's just for me." Sweetie Belle said a little blushed, remembering fondly that Dusk had said he could be like her new big brother.

# End of Chapter 10
> Chapter 11 - She's a Rarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She’s a rarity 

"I can't believe a filly found me dirty.” Dusk said worriedly as he continued to walk the streets of Ponyville. 

"So…? What's the problem?" Spike said apathetic. "When you shut yourself up to study, you spent days without eating or bathing." 

"Yeah, but..." Dusk said pausing and realizing that Spike was right, because in the past he hadn't minded something like that, however now it was different, because although he didn't want it that way, Dusk had known and had stayed with different mares, and it was a well-known standard of good living that a gentlecolt should always be neat and gallant before a mare. "It's just different now!" Dusk finally said, blushing. 

Spike looked at him for a moment, then looked down with a frown as he walked beside Dusk. 

"That's not fair." Spike finally said, unable to bear his discomfort. "You're going to spend all the money left on a bath and I can’t even buy one gem." 

"Oh, come on! Don't start that again." Dusk replied, looking at Spike annoyed, ready to argue, yet when he was about to rebuke his brother, Dusk couldn't help but see his sad face and feel some pity for the little dragon, as well as finding some reason in what he said. 

"Okay, you win.” Dusk said with a sigh of resignation. "We'll split the money in half, so you can buy some gemstones and I'll have my bath, I suppose we'll have enough money for both, after all, we shouldn't worry about paying the inn anymore since there are no rooms available." Dusk finished saying, remembering the problem of his lack of shelter for the night, a problem that still had to solve, but of course, after taking a good bath. 

At Dusk's words, Spike's eyes lit up and the smile returned to his face. 

"You're the best!" Spike smiled, regaining his good mood and ready to talk to his brother normally again. "By the way, where are we supposed to go exactly?" 

Dusk glanced sideways at Spike and puts an analytical face, a face that Dusk always put when he trying to put together a puzzle. 

"Well, yesterday Scootaloo mentioned that there was a Spa in the town, and she only showed us half the town before I asked her to go to school, so the Spa should be in the part of town that we haven't toured yet.” Dusk said, remembering. "Now the problem is finding the Spa." 

"Hehe, I don't think that'll be a problem.” Spike said with a small chuckle, pointing to the front. 

Dusk glanced over to where Spike was pointing, and he saw a large house with a pink tent-shaped roof, its doors were decorated with hearts, and hanging down it had a large heart-shaped sign that showed a mare with a long, stylized mane next to a horseshoe surrounded by flowers, underneath that sign he read an inscription that said 'Ponyville Day Spa'. 

"So you're going to take a bath at a beauty salon?" Spike scoffed. "And will you also take advantage of having them trim and paint your hooves? Hahaha." 

Dusk just blushed without argument to refute, he really didn't like being related to anything overly feminine, and entering a beauty salon was precisely one thing that Dusk would normally never do, however the bigger priority for him now was to take a good bath and that no one else would tell him again to his face that he was dirty, so Dusk simply gritted his teeth and walked steadily toward the door of the Spa while he was followed by Spike, who was still laughing his brother about he dared to enter a beauty salon. 

"You'll pay for this!" Dusk thought annoyed as he opened the Spa door while he heard Spike's persistent giggle. 

Once inside the salon, they saw a spacious hall with a reception table, but no one who was there to receive them. Dusk glanced around and prepared to call someone in charge when suddenly he heard voices coming from a hallway behind the vestibule. 

"So, did you get to the part where he reveals to 'Illusion' that he's really a prince!?" said a female voice excited. 

"Oh yes! It's my favorite part of the book! It was so romantic!" Said another elegant female voice. "I wish I could find true love as 'Illusion' did..." 

"You'll find it, my dear, you just have to be patient." The first voice said affectionately. 

"I guess..." The elegant voice sighed. "Although I've asked myself lately, how will I know that I'm in love if I've never been before?" 

"Fufu, that's simple." The first voice gently laughed. "You just feel it." 

Dusk could clearly hear this conversation because he had unconsciously moved closer to the voice’s origin, there he could see a pink mare with a light blue mane and a lotus flower cutie mark, she wore a white band on her head and a smaller one around her neck, apparently that was her uniform saying she worked there. The other was a unicorn mare with white coat and blue eyes, she had purple mane and tail, both neatly combed, on her flank rested her cutie mark of three sky blue diamonds, in addition to her way of moving and expressing herself gave Dusk the impression that this mare was very much like the elegant and wealthy mares of Canterlot, an impression he didn't have of anyone else in that town, so she caught Dusk's attention and he stared at her. 

"That mare looks like the typical snobby mare of Canterlot, don't you think?" Dusk whispered to Spike, who had followed him and stood by his side looking from far away at the mares. 

"Yeah... She's beautiful..." Spike replied, gone from reality, with his eyes and thoughts fixed on what, in his opinion, was the most beautiful mare he had ever seen. 

Dusk stared at Spike in surprise, he had never seen Spike like this, his little brother was lost in his own thoughts, with his mouth open almost drooling and his eyes half closed staring without blinking at the white mare. His little brother had fallen in love with that unicorn, that was something new to see for both of them. Dusk was not sure how to react as a brother, and simply he prepared to take the dragon by the shoulders and make him react, however, a memory came quickly to his mind and the male unicorn smiled maliciously thinking how to make his brother come back to reality and get revenge for mocking him, all at the same time. 

Spike was still in his lucid dream staring at who might have been the love of his life when a heavy blow to his butt made him fall flat on his face. 

"Ouch...! Why'd you kick me!!" Spike cried annoyed, turning around and seeing that Dusk had kicked him. 

"Well, I remember you telling me this morning that if you ever wanted something soft and white instead of a gem, I could kick you.” Dusk smirked. "And from the way you looked like a silly in love when you looked that white mare, I think it's fair to say that you'd like to have her more than any old gem, wouldn't you?" 

"I-It's not that I like her..." Spike said shyly, getting to his feet again. "Or maybe yes, I don't know, it's just... she's so cute and-" Spike couldn't finish speaking, due to another small kick Dusk gave him. 

"And that other one why it was!?" Spike yelled annoyed on the floor, rubbing his butt. 

"That one was because at Fluttershy's house you told me to kick you if you ever fell in love." Dusk laughed as Spike looked at him with hatred. 

"What is going on here!" A mare's voice shouted, immediately distracting Dusk and Spike. It was the voice of the white mare, who noticed their presence and approached them after hearing all the commotion. "Who are you and why do you kick this baby boy!" 

Then the mare came up to Spike, who was still on the ground and she gave him a big hug. 

"Are you okay, little boy?" Asked the white mare after hugging Spike, a question that remained unanswered because Spike was almost unconscious, ecstatic, totally blushing. 

"Why did you kick this cute little boy!" Asked the white mare again, looking annoyed at Dusk. 

"It's... It's just a misunderstanding!" Dusk said quickly, wanting to avoid at all costs someone getting angry with him again. "Come on Spike, tell her it's just a game between us." 

Spike, who had already partly returned to reality after the mare's warm hug, looked at his trusty dear brother, who had cared for him and helped him so often and with whom he always shared his adventures; And then Spike looked at the other side, at the beautiful mare by his side, the choice was obvious. 

"He... He's a bad pony who just wants to hurt me, Bwaah!" Spike said, pretending to cry, taking the opportunity to snuggle up in the white mare's legs. 

"Aww... Calm down poor baby." Said the white mare tenderly, comforting Spike and looking annoyed at Dusk. Then, for the first time, Dusk knew the betrayal of a brother changing him for a girl. 

"You should go now or I'll call someone to throw you out." The pink mare said looking at Dusk, who had also seen everything and now believed that Dusk was just a pony that enjoyed harassing the little ones. 

"N-No... I... I..." Dusk stammered, not knowing how to defend himself. 

Spike glanced sideways at Dusk as he continued to be caressed by the mare of his dreams, his poor brother really seemed to have complications in the face of such situation, apparently he already had received his deserved punishment after kicking him, and although Spike would have liked to be hugging that white mare forever, he finally decided to save his brother. 

"Wait.” Spike said, letting go of the hug of the white mare. "It's... It's true, it was all just a game, the truth is that he's my brother, sorry for lying..." 

The three ponies stared at Spike, the mares somewhat surprised and Dusk smiling, relieved that Spike had saved him and finally told the truth. 

"You... WHAT!" Asked the white mare, still stunned. 

"Yes... I lied, sorry for that..." Spike said, feeling sorry to fool such a beautiful mare. 

"I didn't mean that it's just that..." Said the white mare, pausing because she was not sure what she was going to say. "Are you really brothers? I mean, I don't judge anyone, but... Wow! Apparently, your mother was a little naughty..." 

Dusk was perplexed for a few seconds, not understanding what the white mare had meant until finally he suddenly understood what she was referring to with 'naughty', then he blushed completely. 

"N-No! You're wrong! We're not real brothers, it's not like my mom did 'that' with a dragon or something like that!" Dusk said quickly, not wanting others to think his mom was a 'naughty'. However, as soon as Dusk finished his speech, he immediately saw Spike and his heart clench after realizing that he had just said that they weren't really brothers. 

"He's not my blood brother.” Dusk added quickly, staring at Spike seriously. "But Spike is my life brother, we've known each other since I was a little colt and he was an egg, we've always been together since he was born. Even if we don't have the same mother and father, he's my brother and I'll always be there for him." Dusk finished saying, putting a hoof on Spike's shoulder and looking at the dragon affectionately. 

Dusk's words hit Spike right in the heart, immediately giving him a hug in thanks. A hug that they broke quickly after a few seconds, because, one: both thought themselves too macho to give each other a sibling hug, that was for mares; And two: because they were interrupted by an annoying sound. 

"Awww..." Both mares said tenderly at the same time when they heard Dusk's speech and saw them hugging each other. 

"So you welcomed him into your home and that's how he became your brother, that's so cute!" Said the white mare with a smile, now looking at Dusk tenderly. For his part, Spike saw the white mare had stopped paying attention to him and she had fixed her sights on Dusk, something that made the affection he had just felt for his brother quickly replaced by a new feeling he didn't know of until that day, jealousy. 

"So... what are you doing here?" The pink mare finally asked, who also began to speak more kindly to Dusk. 

"Err... Oh, yes! I wanted to ask if I could take a bath." Dusk said, recalling what his mission was coming there. 

"Clients!" Said the pink mare animatedly, with a big smile. "You should have said so from the beginning, sorry for not seeing to you immediately, but I was attending another client." 

"No problem." Dusk smiled, guessing the white mare must have been the other customer. 

"This way please." Said the pink mare politely, approaching the reception desk. "You must be new here, so first of all I will make your personal file. Tell me, what is your name and where are you from?" The pink mare finished, taking some papers from the reception desk. 

"My name is Dusk Shine, I'm from Canterlot.” Dusk said, also politely. 

"Oh! Canterlot!" Said the pink mare surprised, scribbling Dusk's data on the file. "By the way, my name is Aloe." added the pink mare, before looking sideways at the white mare and giving her a small complicit smile. "And the beautiful white mare by your side is my friend Rarity." Aloe finished saying with a chuckle. 

Dusk turned, looked at the white mare and prepared to greet her as a good gentlecolt had to face the presentations, which he didn't do with Aloe because he imagined that he shouldn't interrupt her in her work. 

"It's a pleasure, Miss Rarity." Dusk solemnly said, bowing, taking a Rarity's hoof and kissing it politely, just as he always did with the refined mares of Canterlot, which seemed the right way to her as she had that same refined appearance of snob mares of the capital. 

Rarity blushed slightly at Dusk's act, then she glanced at Aloe and both of them shared a girly giggle. 

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Dusk Shine." Rarity said very politely, suppressing her giggle. 

"And tell me, what is your occupation?" Aloe asked again, filling the file. 

"I'm a student of magic." Dusk replied. 

"Wow...! You must come from a good family to be able to study magic in Equestria's best magic school, isn't it?" Aloe added curiously. 

"Eh... yeah... I guess, hehe." Dusk responded somewhat nervously, he didn't mean that unlike most other magic students at Canterlot, that mostly studied there for their money and/or social status, he had been chosen exceptionally only for his talent in magic. 

"Gentlecoltly and from a good family, definitely a good match." Aloe chuckled, looking sideways at Rarity. "And tell me, are you single?" 

The question confused and surprised Dusk, so he couldn't respond immediately. Was that also a question of the reception file? 

"Because, you know... I'm engaged, but I think my friend here is single." Aloe said, smiling at Dusk and aimed with her eyes at Rarity. "Both of you would really make a nice couple." 

"Shh! Enough, Aloe." Rarity said quickly, blushing and smiling at Dusk. "Don't listen to her, she just wants to annoy you." 

"Eh... yeah... hehe..." Dusk laughed nervously, not really understanding if they were really flirting with him or they were just bothering him. "Mares..." Dusk thought. 

"Well, you can go into the baths already." Aloe finally said with a smile, putting away the reception files. "Minors don't pay, so your little brother can enter for free, that will be 12 bits." 

That startled Dusk, he realized that he wouldn't be able to pay, at least not with only his share of the money. 

"Emm... Spike... I'll have to take all the money out of the bag. Is there a problem?" Dusk whispered to Spike. 

"B-But then I won't be able to buy a gem.” Spike demanded, who just looked resigned at Dusk and added. "It's fine, do what you want." 

"Thanks, bro." Dusk grinned and handed the money to Aloe. 

"Aww... So you wanted money for a gem? I guess even though you're little you're still a dragon." Rarity said tenderly approaching Spike. "Take it, it's small but I hope you like it." Rarity finished, handing Spike a small topaz she kept. 

Spike held the small gem and looked again at Rarity's smiling face as he felt a huge crush on his heart, now he was sure, he fell in love and Rarity was the mare of his dreams! 

Once everything was in order, Aloe motioned for Dusk and Spike to walk down a corridor to the right. 

"This way, please, I'll be with you shortly.” Aloe said giving them directions, then she waited for Dusk and Spike to go down the corridor before turning around and talking to Rarity again. 

"So... What do you think?" Aloe asked excitedly. 

"What do I think about what?" Rarity asked, pretending naivete. 

"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean, I'm talking about Dusk." Aloe smiled. 

"He's cute... and gentlecoltly, but... I don't think he's my type." Rarity said as she watched Dusk walk down the hall. "I mean, he looks childlike, and acts like such, did you see how childish he was to fight with his brother? A mature pony should not act like that." 

"What do you mean?" Aloe asked confused. "I've seen you fight with your little sister thousands of times when you bring her here." 

"T-That's different!" Rarity said quickly, embarrassed, then looked back down the hall and thought for a while before she spoke. "Although you're right, maybe I'm judging him too fast, maybe... I'll use my charms to see what happens." Rarity finished speaking, with a mischievous little smile on her lips. 

Meanwhile, Dusk and Spike finished walking down the hallway and came to a large room with a huge bathtub. Once there they waited until Aloe arrived, she handed them a pair of towels, and politely left the room, wishing them a relaxing bath, where for some reason she accentuated the word 'relaxing' when she looked at Dusk. Being alone, Dusk finally entered slowly in the bathtub, much to his surprise was a Jacuzzi, which began to release steam as soon as he entered, followed by Spike who simply jumped into the hot tub. 

"Ah... This really is relaxing..." Dusk said smiling, immersing himself completely in the water and then taking his head out of the water and asserting himself on the edge of the hot tub, with his eyes closed. "Finally a break, free of stress..." 

"Sorry, can I sit next to you?" Said an elegant voice behind Dusk. 

"Yeah... no problem..." Dusk said extremely relaxed, still with his eyes closed. 

Dusk still thought of nothing when he heard and felt the water move when someone beside him got into the hot tub and sat next to him. It took several seconds for his brain to notice and react to the event, Dusk suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his side in surprise, where now there was an elegant white mare, sitting next to him in the hot tub. 





"M-Miss Rarity! W-What are you doing here?" Dusk asked blushed, totally nervous to see a mare bathing next to him. 

"Please, just call me Rarity." The white mare smiled, waving her long lashes. "I'm just taking a bath, just like you." 

"Y-Yeah, b-but I'm... I'm still here." Dusk said, extremely nervous as he almost felt their skins touching each other because of how close she was. 

"I know that's why I asked you.” Rarity said coquettishly. "Besides this is a mixed spa, there's nothing to worry about, or..." Rarity said before moving closer to Dusk. "Does my company bother you?" 

"N-No! Of course not!" Dusk said looking away from Rarity, totally nervous. 

Sometimes Dusk found himself difficult to understand his own behavior, that is, only a few minutes ago he had seen Rarity in the hallway, but now that she was beside him, with her coat wet and the water covering half her body, for some reason he thought that image seemed more attractive and made him more restless. 

"You shouldn't be nervous, it's just a bath." Rarity said with a flirtatious smile, putting her hoof on Dusk's shoulder. "Plus, it's always fun to come with someone else." 

"WAHH!" Spike yelled suddenly. When he saw Rarity entering the hot tub he froze with his mouth open, then he saw she sat next to Dusk and his mouth dropped even more, finally when Rarity touched Dusk's shoulder his mouth dropped completely due to surprise, causing him to swallow a lot of water as he watched as his brother snatched his girl. 

"Spike!" Dusk and Rarity shouted in unison as the dragon almost drowned. 

Once Dusk took Spike, he forced him out of the hot tub and rest outside, which Spike reluctantly did, sitting on the edge of the hot tub just in front of Dusk and Rarity, not taking his eyes off his brother, he wouldn't let Dusk take his beloved away. 

Everything that happened made Dusk finally relax and cool his head, after all he couldn't be mentally distracted while his brother could drown again, also he had to prove that he was a gentlecolt that could bathe with a mare in a public bath without a problem, as long as she wasn't too close, and just his luck, Rarity had just decided not to be too close to Dusk, at least not while little Spike was there. 

For Rarity, it was just a game, a beautiful mare that made the colts do everything she wanted with only her charms, it was something she often did, not in an evil or abusive way, but rather just to play a little, because she always thought that while others had magical power, speed, intelligence, agility; She had her feminine charm, and she liked to make use of it, so she wouldn't miss the opportunity to have some fun with the naive Dusk. 

"Well, since I can't get close, I think it's time to use my best weapon, My Killer Look!" Rarity thought, sitting in the hot tub to a short distance from Dusk. She turned her head coquettishly, directing her gaze directly into Dusk's eyes, showing him her huge, bright blue eyes as she coquettishly fluttered her long, well-cared for lashes. 

Meanwhile, Dusk began to relax again in the hot tub until he felt an uneasy sensation, that of a persistent look, then he immediately looked at Rarity and saw her huge blue eyes staring at him while her long lashes waved incessantly. 

"Eh... Rarity...?" Dusk asked. 

"Bingo!" Rarity thought. "Here comes the flattery." 

"Yes, darling?" Rarity said waving her lashes even more, without ceasing to flirt. 

"Do you have something in your eyes?" Dusk asked innocently. 

"Huh?" Rarity replied perplexed, dropping her flirtatious act for a face of utter disbelief. 

"It's just that for a while you've been blinking a lot, is something wrong?" Dusk asked confused. 

"I... err... it's just... Huh?" Rarity said totally in shock, not knowing what to say. It was the first time something like this had happened to her, what she wanted was Dusk to say 'What pretty eyes' or 'How beautiful you are', the same words she had heard so many times from other colts, but instead, Dusk said a stupid question that had made her look like a complete fool, perhaps... Her famous feminine charm hadn't worked on Dusk!? 

"No... It’s nothing..." Rarity finally said ashamed, totally blushed, without even being able to believe that her greatest charm had not worked. 

As for Dusk, he didn't know why Rarity had apparently been embarrassed, so he just looked at her even more confused, while the little dragon looked at her with a totally different look, a look that had been mesmerized by the gorgeous blue eyes of that beautiful mare. 

That impasse left Rarity unsettled for several absolutely silent minutes, until finally she decided not to give another thought to the matter and just continue with the bath and the conversation, after all, there would be other opportunities to seduce Dusk with her charms, best to enjoy the bath for now. 

"Emm... So tell me, Dusk, what does it feel like to live in Canterlot?" Rarity asked, starting the conversation again. "I mean, living near the palace, surrounded by elegant shops and refined ponies, that must be a dream come true!" 

"Hmm... yeah... it's really a nice city..." Dusk answered, trying to think of the comforts and advantages of living in the capital city of Equestria, while he did he couldn't help thinking that Ponyville, despite everything being the opposite of Canterlot, was also a good place to live. "Although Ponyville is also very nice.” Dusk added, thinking aloud. 

"Oh, of course, Ponyville has its charm, but nothing compared to the opulence and magnificence of Canterlot." Rarity smiled, with dreamy eyes. "My dream is to open a shop there, someday." 

Dusk stared at Rarity, wanting to know what her work was, then Rarity saw his confused look and read his mind. 

"I'm a dressmaker." Rarity said with a big smile, before continuing to talk excitedly. "Fashion designer, seamstress, and now an interior designer! Hehe." She finished saying as if she had wanted to say it for a long time. "I am actually in charge of decoration for the Summer Sun Celebration!" 

"Eh... wow, that's a very important job.” Dusk said with a smile that was almost a grimace, thinking that it didn't really matter much to him, things like fashion, decoration, were all too feminine; however as a good gentlecolt he couldn't seem indifferent to the conversation of a mare, so he continued to pay attention and chat. "And what decorations did you plan on for the celebration?" 

"Fufu, it's a secret." Rarity laughed. "I'll have to start work today to complete it, in fact, I should be working right now if it weren't that to begin working I need to place an order that will arrive later this afternoon, but I'm sure I'll do something that will surprise all the attendees! Including the princess of course! I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see how beautiful I'll decorate the great hall! I can just see it now, it'll be beautiful!" 

Dusk actually found the conversation with Rarity getting more boring, and while it was true that he must recognize that she was very pretty, he was finding the mare more akin to the vain and superficial mares of Canterlot, i.e., Why was she so moved by such aesthetic things? They're only ornaments! 

"But enough about me." Rarity smiled. "Tell me about yourself, do you know any important ponies in Canterlot? Someone of high society or royalty?" For a moment Dusk was relieved that Rarity wanted to change the topic, but when she wanted to know if he knew someone from royalty, he definitely decided he wouldn't say anything about the important ponies he knew, like the princess for example, after all, it seems that like the Canterlot's mares, she was only interested in nobility and social status. Although ultimately Dusk didn't need to respond, as he was interrupted by the loud voice of his brother. 

"Of course!" Spike shouted from outside the Jacuzzi, he had seen and listened to both ponies and wanted to be part of the conversation and wanted Rarity to pay attention him again. "We know the General of the Royal Guard, the Leader of the Council of Nobles, we even know the princ-" Spike was silenced by Dusk's magic, closing his mouth. 

"Yes, we know some ponies, but no one very important, hehe..." Dusk said as he continued to use his magic on Spike. 

"The General of the Royal Guard, huh?" Rarity said smiling, she had reached to hear what Spike said. "Then you must be very important in Canterlot... And tell me, how many days are you in Ponyville? What places have you seen of the town?" 

"Well... Yesterday a filly gave us a tour of various places in town." Dusk replied, again thanking for the change of topic but a little annoyed that Rarity asked so many questions. "We know Town Hall, Sugarcube Corner, the Clock Tower, the..." Dusk stopped abruptly and opened his eyes wide as he remembered something very important, what he tried to remember that morning but he couldn't do, he remembered now! 

"THE LIBRARY!" Dusk screamed. "I completely forgot about the library!" 

"What about the library?" Rarity asked, confused by Dusk's sudden change in attitude. 

"The town library's closed!" Dusk said quickly, standing up. "That's something I can't accept, I need to do something about it!" 

"Umm... yes, the library is closed, but what does it matter?" Rarity asked, still confused. 

"You don't get it!? A library is a temple of wisdom, a haven of knowledge!" Dusk said agitatedly, approaching Rarity and taking her by the shoulders. "What about any pony in the town that wants to read about something and can't!? It's a crime!! Knowledge is the greatest-" 

"AHEM! But that can wait, CAN'T IT, DUSK!?" Spike coughed heavily, for Dusk to come out of his frenzied state and realize that he was again exaggerating and seemed to be scaring Rarity a little. 

"Y-Yeah... that can wait..." Dusk was forced to say, releasing Rarity and wanting to avoid at all costs making a scene in front of Rarity. 

"Wow...! You really are passionate about libraries... "Rarity finally said, still surprised by Dusk's change of attitude. 

"Yes..." Dusk said more calmly, sitting down again and looking down. "It's just that libraries were my refuge when I was a little colt. Everything I read and learned there... I wouldn't want any pony not to have access to something as valuable as a book..." Dusk finished melancholically. 

Rarity stared at him while many thoughts crossed her mind, she knew something Dusk didn't know, something related to the library, perhaps the best thing would have been to tell him right away, but Rarity finally dismissed that thought, thinking it wouldn't be necessary to tell someone of Dusk 'status'. 

"No problem, I'm sure that after you take a good bath you can solve the subject of the closed library, after all, you are a colt of noble birth, from the great capital city of Equestria, surely you will solve it.” Rarity said with a smile. 

"Eh... yes... I hope so." Dusk finally said, resigning himself to having to do what Rarity had just said and just quietly finish the bath before fixing that problem. 

"And tell me..." Rarity said, wanting to change the topic. "Where are you staying, at the village inn? Or did you come in some big private carriage to Ponyville?" 

Those words put Dusk back into tension, again remembering another problem he'd have to solve once he'd solved the bath and library. 

"Well... We were staying at the inn but now we have nowhere to stay." Spike replied, approaching the edge of the hot tub, wanting to share the mare's attention. "And the worst thing is that we don't have money anymore." 

"Wait... you don't have money!" Rarity asked incredulously before looking worried again at Dusk. "So you are not a colt of noble birth, or wealthy?" Dusk blushed a little before speaking. 

"No... neither one nor the other, I'm not from a noble family or wealthy, I'm from a humble family and only study magic because my teacher pays for my studies." Dusk said a little embarrassed. "The truth is that we spent the last bits we had on this bath, and now we don't have any more money, hehe." 

Rarity stared at Dusk with concern and then looked down and frowned as she covered her mouth with her hooves and put on a thoughtful that she knew he was only a common pony that didn't even have one bit. 

"No money..." Rarity whispered before she rose quickly from the hot tub and quickly left. "I'm sorry, I must go." She added without even looking at Dusk or Spike. 

And there Dusk and Spike remained, completely perplexed by the sudden change of attitude of the mare. Dusk thought that maybe Rarity's behavior would change upon learning that she was just bathing with a couple of guys who didn't have any money, but he never imagined that she would run like that and abandon them like that, that had been worse than he expected. 

"W-What happened!? Why did she run away!?" Spike asked confused. 

"I'll tell you why.” Dusk said annoyed, beginning to wash his mane as if he had not been affected Rarity's attitude. "It happens that she realized that we had no money and decided that she was too refined to be with a couple of bums like us... As I thought, she's not like the other mares in this town, she is just as cold, selfish and calculating as the elegant mares of Canterlot." Dusk finished saying bitterly, realizing that his first impression hadn't been wrong and now knowing why Rarity had seemed so interested in knowing whether Dusk was a wealthy noblecolt or not. 

What followed was rather trivial, Dusk finished bathing, dried himself slowly, making sure he was completely clean, and finally, he walked with Spike towards the lobby, Spike head down and Dusk with a look of bitterness. 

"See you later, come back soon." Aloe smiled once Dusk and Spike said goodbye and left the Spa. 

Dusk felt the sun's pleasant rays and the cool breeze hitting his freshly washed coat, thinking that he mustn't be bitter about what had happened and simply enjoy the day and solve the problems that he still had pending, the library and lodging, but that never happened, because as soon as they left the spa, an unexpected cry put them on alert. 

"Dusk, Spike, please wait!" Cried the voice of a mare in the distance. It was Rarity, who was trotting in the direction of the Spa. 

"Why did this vain mare come back?" Dusk thought bitterly again, feeling annoyed with himself for thinking she was cute despite her superficial attitude. 

"I'm sorry I abandoned you so suddenly, but... I had something to do in my house." Rarity said with a smile once she reached them. "By the way, there I found a photo that might interest you." Rarity finished talking, looking at Dusk and showing him a photo. 

Dusk took the photo and with Spike, they were surprised to see that it was the private photo that they had next to the princess and that Spike had lost a couple of days. 

"H-How did you get this?" Dusk asked in surprise. 

"Well, it seems that my sister Sweetie Belle found it a few days ago, I found it now by chance, I tried to find out more but she was annoyed with me for making her clean the house, and she locked herself in her room, so I took the photo and the opportunity to bring it, it's yours, isn't it?" Rarity said cheerfully. 

"Yes... it's mine." Dusk said suspiciously as he handed the photograph to Spike to be kept. 

"That irritating filly is your sister!?" Spike said at the same time Dusk spoke, quickly correcting himself nervously. "I-I mean, that adorable filly... hehe." Spike laughed, not wanting Rarity to know that he didn't like Sweetie Belle's attitude at all. 

"So... Do you know the princess?" Rarity asked, ignoring Spike's comment, looking with much interest and coquettishly at Dusk. "Are you royalty or something?" 

"I knew it!" Dusk thought. "This mare left us when she found out we had no money and now she comes back because she finds out about my relationship with the princess! It's just a self-interested mare!" 

"Hardly, she's just my magic teacher.” Dusk answered sharply. 

"Oh! But that's just as interesting, why didn't you tell me something so important when we were taking in the hot tub?" Rarity asked excitedly. 

Dusk was silent and looked away completely annoyed, something that surprised Rarity. 

"Eh... well... to what I was getting at." Rarity said quickly after Dusk left her unanswered. "Now I have time to go see some clients, I... I wanted to know if you could come with me and help me carry some things." Rarity finished speaking, again using her secret weapon, putting on a flirty face and waving her long, beautiful lashes. 

"That's the last straw!" Dusk thought. "Now she wants to make us help her as her servants when she knows I have other priorities! How selfish can Rarity be!?" 

"Of course!" Spike said almost in a scream before Dusk had even opened his mouth to refuse. "I'll help you in whatever you need, Rarity!" 

"Aww... you're so cute, Spikey-wikey.” Rarity said lovingly, giving him a small kiss on his cheek, causing Spike's tail to tighten as he fumed through his ears. 

Finally, Rarity smiled again and began to walk, being followed by Spike who almost seemed to float dropping loving hearts with every sigh. Dusk immediately approached Spike and took him by the shoulder to stop him. 

"Spike, we have other things to do, remember?" Dusk whispered in a futile attempt to stop him from following Rarity, which didn't work, as the dragon didn't hear him, he shook Dusk's hoof and just followed Rarity, hypnotized by the white figure of the mare. 

Dusk was silent where he was, watching as Spike and Rarity continued walking until the mare realized that Dusk didn't follow them. 

"Why doesn't he follow me?" Rarity thought confused before remembering that in the hot tub Dusk had seemed immune to her charms. "Well, now I'll prove that no colt is immune to my charms!" Rarity told herself, smiling wickedly. 

Rarity quickly shook her head back to look at Dusk, making her beautiful mane turn gracefully, flow and fall neatly into place, as she gazed lovingly at Dusk with her most flirtatious look. 

"Are you coming, dear?" Rarity asked waving seductively her beautiful lashes. 

Spike remained open-mouthed at such a seductive and beautiful mare, yet Dusk did not flinch. 

"Of course I'll coming, I can't let Spike go alone.” Dusk said still resentful of Rarity. "And by the way, I insist, you should go to a doctor, it's not normal to blink so much." Dusk finished saying innocently, not understanding Rarity's flirtation attempt. 

Dusk began walking to where Rarity was, without even looking at the mare, while Rarity inflated her cheeks in frustration. 

"What's wrong with this colt!?" Rarity thought confused and upset. "Again I used my charms and my most flirtatious look and he doesn't flinch, what's more, he seems to be upset, did I do something wrong!?" 

Rarity couldn't understand why someone didn't fall for her charms and that frustrated her more and more! She had only wanted to play with this colt, in the beginning, now it was a personal challenge. However, first, there were more important things to do before continuing her games, so she just took a deep breath and walked back to reach Dusk while being followed in turn by the little Spike, who couldn't take his eyes off the mare of his dreams. 





The first place Rarity took them was to a huge house on the outskirts of town, a house that was very different from the humble houses of the town, that house could simply be defined with a word, a mansion. 

"Wait here." Rarity said once they reached the garden of the house, then she walked alone to the front door. 

"Of course! You don't want someone of high rank to see you with someone like us..." Dusk thought, still annoyed with Rarity. 

Once Rarity knocked on the door, a butler attended her, and after talking with her, he came back in and called the pony who appeared to be the owner of the mansion, a brown-skinned stallion with a well-groomed black mane, wearing a tie with the symbol of money in it and his cutie mark was precisely three sacks of money. Dusk saw that same cutie mark on a plaque at the entrance of the mansion in which it said: Filthy Rich's mansion. 

From the distance, Dusk couldn't hear what that pony and Rarity said, but he could see their gestures. At first the wealthy pony had refused something, however Rarity had smiled and flirted subtly until the gestures of the stallion has softened and finally he smiled, after that, the stallion again called his butler, who came with two large boxes, then Rarity took her bag of money and gave a lot of bits to the stallion, then she thanked him and said goodbye, bringing the boxes with her magic when, and finally she returned with Dusk and Spike. 

Dusk recalled that Rarity had been excited about the decoration of the Summer Sun Celebration and she had told him that she needed to buy a lot of things to do that, so he immediately assumed that those boxes should contain her precious ornaments for the celebration, and decided not to ask why in exchange he decided to ask about the change of attitude he saw in the stallion while talking with Rarity. 

"Why did that pony suddenly change his mind?" Dusk asked curiously. 

Rarity was a little surprised at the question and was a little embarrassed to realize that she had been watched attentively all that time by Dusk, but then she simply smiled. 

"Well, Filthy Rich is a very conciliatory pony when there are deals to be made, but now he was reluctant to sell me what I asked for." Rarity said smiling and then glancing at Dusk. "That's why sometimes mares have to use their feminine charms to win over the obstinacy of stallions." 

"So that's why" Dusk said mockingly. "I can't believe you convinced him that way, I mean, I would immediately notice if anyone was flirting with me." 

"Sure... hehe..." Rarity laughed nervously, thinking how naive Dusk was when he didn't realize that she had been flirting with him several times and that he hadn't even noticed. 

The three of them began to walk again and repeated the same process several times, they came to a house, usually wealthy houses, Rarity talked to some pony, they passed some boxes and she paid them. In that way they continued until they finished the fourth house when the sun was already beginning to hide and they had already got 10 huge boxes, which wouldn't have been able to move were it not for the magic of Dusk, and by the help of Spike, that although Dusk told him that it wasn't necessary, the dragon insisted on carrying a huge and heavy box on his own, to prove to Rarity that he was also strong. 

Once Rarity returned with the boxes of the last house, she looked toward the sunset and for some reason, she became very nervous. 

"Oh no, it's getting too late!" Rarity said aloud, watching the sunset and biting her lip. "We must hurry." 

So they began to walk again, this time with a slightly faster pace as Dusk and Spike followed Rarity, who almost trotted while carrying a box with her magic. 

As they walked on suddenly Rarity's eyes turned and she stared at something, Dusk realized and followed her gaze, so he could see that for some reason she had her eyes fixed on a huge and excessively ornate carriage, which was on the main road heading for the outskirts of the town. Dusk didn't understand why she stared at it, but what he did understand was the mare's expression, which showed sadness. 

As Dusk stared ahead, into Rarity's face, and she kept walking and looking the other way, Dusk suddenly realized the imminent danger. 

"Rarity, watch out!" Dusk shouted too late, for he only heard the blow when the distracted Rarity, who not looking forward, had crashed into a tree making the heavy box that she levitated fall on her. 

"OUCH!" Rarity shouted on the ground, being immediately helped by Spike, who jumped frightened to see his beloved fall down, followed by Dusk, who offered her a hoof to help her get up. "How silly of me, how can I be so distracted! I hope this doesn't leave me a bump." 

"Calm down, it wasn't a heavy blow, and believe me, I know about blows to the trees.” Dusk said with some embarrassment. "Definitely this won't leave you a bump, you just messed up your mane a little." 

"MY MANE IS A MESS!?" Rarity screamed, even louder than when she hit the tree. Then she got up and looked back, it seemed she wanted to run away somewhere, but then she looked at the sunset, where the sun was almost completely hidden, and she bit her lip hard while she had a look of concern. 

"There's no time, let's go." Rarity said quickly, re-levitating the box she was carrying and starting to walk faster, followed by Spike and Dusk, who only looked at each other in confusion, picked up the boxes and followed her to the same step quick. 

As they walked, Dusk began to recognize the buildings and realize that they were apparently moving toward the center of the town, something that was rectified when he finally saw Rarity heading towards the town hall. That pleased Dusk for a second and then bothered him again because this place was where he should have gone first after he left the spa, to solve the library problem, instead he had been following Rarity all over the town, carrying her silly boxes of ornaments. This made the resentment he felt towards Rarity grow, not only abandoning them when she realized that they had no money, but also her mere interest in returning when she realized that he was related to the princess and the fact that she had used them as her helpers all afternoon. 

Once they approached the town hall, they could see that in front of the main door was the Mayor, who was just closing the door ready to close the town hall for that day. 

"Please wait, Ms. Mayor!" Shouted Rarity, setting aside the box she was carrying and running to keep the Mayor from closing the town hall. 

As she talked with the Mayor, Dusk and Spike stayed where they were, where Rarity had left the box, who by inertia didn't follow Rarity when she was going to talk to someone, just as they had all afternoon. 

"Time to go.” Dusk finally said annoyed, looking at Spike. "If we stay, she might use us as her helpers all night." 

"But, we must help Rarity..." Spike replied with a look of love, looking at the white mare. 

"Enough!" Dusk said loudly, taking Spike by the shoulders. "This mare doesn't care, she left us at the spa and only came back because she thought I was royalty, and then just used us as tools all afternoon, I can't take it anymore!" Dusk finished talking angry, causing Spike to lower his head sadly because he didn't want to believe that such a beautiful mare was as bad as Dusk said. 

"Hey, guys!" Rarity said smiling, coming to them. "I have something for you." 

"What? More work?" Dusk answered annoyed. 

"Oh, of course not." Rarity said, still smiling, not realizing Dusk's sarcasm. "This is for you." 

Then Rarity showed them a rolled scroll, which Dusk unwillingly took, opened it and read. 

"What's thi-?" Dusk couldn't finish his sentence once he read the scroll, as it made Dusk's eyes wide with surprise. "A... A permit to reopen the library...?" 

"That's right." Rarity said with a big smile at Dusk's surprise. "The library was about to be closed down, in fact, just this morning, all the books were auctioned off, and obviously there's no library without books, so I went and bought the books to be able to reopen the library." 

What Rarity said surprised Dusk even more, who dropped the parchment and opened one of the boxes, which contained no adornment as he thought, but dozens of books. 

"When you said that you were a student at Canterlot I thought you would be from a wealthy family, so you would have no problem buying the books." Rarity continued speaking. "But when I found out you didn't have any money, I had to run home to take the money I had saved for the Summer Sun Celebration ornaments." 

"Is... Is that why you left?" Dusk said slowly, with a pain in his heart. 

"Yes, why else would I have left?" Rarity smiled. "Sorry if I did not tell you, but I wanted it to be a surprise." 

"Bu... but what about the ornaments you wanted to buy?" Dusk asked worriedly. 

"Oh, that..." Rarity replied, no longer smiling sincerely, she wore a sad smile. "Don't worry, I will surely be able to make a beautiful reception for the princess with the materials that I already have... Besides... the seller I wanted to buy the ornaments from left town, and anyway I have no more money, hehe..." 

Dusk's mouth was dry, and he swallowed hard as his face shown such guilt. There Rarity was, the mare he had misunderstood all day, thinking that she had abandoned them when she really wanted to help them, thinking that she had only used them when in fact she was giving him what he most wanted. A great pain was born in his heart to realize how wrong he had been with her. 

"Why?" Dusk strained to ask. 

"Well, while we were at the spa, you told me how important the libraries were to you. Very rarely do I hear someone talk so passionately, so I decided the right thing would be to help you." Rarity smiled tenderly. 

"But that wasn't just simply helping!" Dusk thought. She had spent a great deal of money, and not any money, money she wanted to use to make a great reception for all the ponies at the Summer Sun Celebration, money she would use to impress the princess, money she would use for something she really loved, just to help him! 

"And best of all, you'll be able to use the library until they find a new librarian.” Rarity added cheerfully. "That's two birds with one stone! Now you just need to go talk to the Mayor to get the key!" 

That last comment was the last drop that was needed to overflow Dusk's emotions, he felt dirty, a bad pony standing in front of a luminous being, he thought that Rarity was the same as the cold and selfish mares of Canterlot, but he couldn't have been more wrong, Rarity was the most generous mare he had ever known! 

As Dusk stared at Rarity, she couldn't help but think of two things, how beautiful Dusk looked in the late afternoon sunlight behind his mane, and the other was the intensity with which HE looked at her, that intense look was the look she had been looking for when she had flirted with him and hadn't worked, but now there was the look, now that she was all sweaty for jogging and with her mane still disordered after the blow, no colt would have seen her with those eyes as she was now, but there was Dusk, staring at her with huge eyes like no other colt had seen her before, since other colts only saw her beautiful blue eyes, instead Rarity seemed to feel that Dusk saw beyond that, he wasn't seeing her superficially, he was admiring her inside, to her as a pony! That was the first time in a long time that she blushed before a colt and not the other way around. 

The whole situation had touched Dusk deep down, and though he was reluctant to any form of affection with others, this time he couldn't help it. Without warning, Dusk lifted his hooves and hugged Rarity tightly. 

"Thank you! Thank you so much for everything!" Dusk said sincerely as he hugged Rarity. 

"Eep!" Rarity shouted feminine, almost in a whisper, at Dusk's surprise hug. While she was still blushing, she couldn't help but close her eyes and feel good in the warm hug Dusk gave her. 





The hug lasted for a few seconds until Dusk's emotions returned to being what they were and he blushed as he realized the sentimental and unnecessary emotional act he had made. 

"I... I'm so sorry..." Dusk apologized after releasing Rarity. "Come on Spike, we need to talk to the Mayor." 

Dusk turned and headed for the Mayor, who was still waiting in front of town hall, while Spike followed him belatedly, for the dragon had stood for a long time with his mouth open, looking at Dusk and Rarity after the hug, exchanging his gaze from one unicorn to another, until finally Spike let loose small flames through his nose from jealousy and followed Dusk. 

Once Dusk had released Rarity from the hug, she had stayed where she was, without saying a word and just looking with dreamy eyes at Dusk. As she watched him walk and talk to the Mayor, her heart began to beat faster and felt as though she had butterflies in her stomach. 

"What... what is wrong with me?" Rarity whispered to herself as she touched her chest with her hoof, not understanding those new sensations and feelings until the memory of what she talked to Aloe that afternoon came back to her head. 

"'How will I know that I'm in love if I've never been before?' Rarity had wondered. 

'Fufu, that's simple, you just feel it.' Aloe had laughed in response." 

"It can't be..." Rarity whispered after remembering that. "He is not like my dream prince, he is childish, clumsy and careless..." 

Then Rarity looked up again looking at Dusk, who noticed that she was looking at him and smiled, which made her heart to beat faster as she blushed even more. 

"Heh... hehehe..." Rarity began to laugh. "So that's how it feels..." She finished talking, feeling happier than she ever remembered. 

"Why are you laughing?" Dusk asked abruptly, who had already spoken to the Mayor and was back with Rarity. 

"Eh!? N-no, it's nothing." Rarity said quickly, nervously. 

"Anyway, thanks again, I promise I'll repay you somehow.” Dusk said kindly, grateful to have met a pony like Rarity. 

"Don't worry, I did it because I wanted to." Rarity smiled. 

"You really are unique." Dusk smiled tenderly. 

"Well, not for nothing, my name is Rarity." Rarity smiled coquettishly, a flirt which for the first time that day worked and made Dusk blush a little, who now saw the real Rarity. 

Both stood smiling slightly blushed for a few seconds until they were interrupted by Spike. 

"AHEM!!" Spike coughed hard, that contrary to both ponies, looked very upset. "Isn't it time to go?" 

"Oh, yes, you're right! It's night time!" Dusk said quickly, looking up at the sky. "I... think it's time to go..." Dusk finished talking, looking back at Rarity. 

"It's okay, I just hope to see you again." Rarity smiled. 

"The... The Summer Sun Celebration!" Dusk said quickly. "I know you'll be there, and I... I would very much like to see you again at the party." 

Rarity liked the sound of that, because she wanted to see him again, and the party would be the next day, she would only have to wait one day, but she didn't want to wait, she wanted to continue feeling that happiness, and if possible, share her happiness. 

"You know..." Rarity said tenderly. "Tomorrow I'll be joining some friends for breakfast at the Cafe. Tell me, would you like to join us for breakfast?" 

At Rarity's request, Dusk hesitated a moment, it was one thing to meet with Rarity again, something he really wanted, but another thing was to get together with her friends, what kind of ponies would they be? He didn't like to meet ponies he didn't know, much less in large groups, however, after what Rarity had done for Dusk, he simply couldn't refuse. 

"It... it's okay." Dusk said timidly. 

"Splendid!" Rarity replied cheerfully. 

After that, Dusk said goodbye to Rarity, again kissing her hoof as a gentlecolt, an act that for the first time in his life Spike imitated, who also wanted to show he had good manners, giving an even more pronounced bow than did Dusk and kissing more strongly the Rarity's hoof, proving that he could be a gentlecolt even better than Dusk. Then Dusk and Spike started walking toward the library while Rarity headed in the direction of Carousel Boutique. 

"It'll be magnificent!" Rarity said, thinking aloud as she walked home happily. "I can't wait to introduce Dusk to my friends, I wonder what will be their reaction when they know it looks like I finally fell in love!" Rarity said tenderly, not knowing that tomorrow's breakfast would be very different from what she expected. 

# End of Chapter 11
> Chapter 12 - The Breakfast Club
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Breakfast Club 

It was a warm morning, the sun had risen recently but the town of Ponyville already had a lot of movement, much more than usual, as everyone knew that this would be the last day before that night to view the Summer Sun Celebration, and since the small town of Ponyville had been chosen as the main venue for the event, the vast majority of the village ponies were in some way connected with some task in preparation for the celebration and all of them wanted the celebration run by the very same Princess Celestia to be perfect in that humble town, for that same reason they began to run and work in their respective jobs. Despite that, one of the ponies passing through town was one of the few who had momentarily left the job they had been commissioned for the celebration and was going to take a little break before continuing to work, a timid yellow pegasus that had been hanging out with some of her friends that morning. It was Fluttershy, who had risen early to feed the small animals of the forest, had gone to town to have breakfast with her friends, as they did once a week. 

"It's still early, but everyone's so excited for the celebration tonight.” thought Fluttershy looking at the other ponies, who as most of the time passed by without noticing her timid presence. 

Fluttershy kept walking until she glimpsed the meeting place, the Ponyville Cafe, a huge, ornate two-story house with a sign with a clover drawn on it, and the Café stood out because there were many tables shaped like mushrooms. 

"I guess the order of arrival will be the same as always." Fluttershy thought, smiling shyly. "She'll be there for sure." 

And her premonition didn't fail since at one of the few tables occupied was one of her friends, the most punctual of all, an orange-skinned and blond haired mare in a cowboy hat. 

"Good morning Applejack!" Greeted Fluttershy smiling, letting go of her natural shyness a little since she was now talking to a dear friend. "Since you're always the first to arrive, I hope I didn't keep you waiting." 

"Not at all." Applejack smiled. "You're punctual, 'Ah just came a little earlier, it's just 'ah always get up 'fore dawn ta' work, so 'tain't hard for me ta' git 'ere early, unlike our other friends." 

"Hehe, I guess you're right." Fluttershy laughed timidly, thinking that she was right since they were always the first two to arrive when they all met, however, if everything was as it usually was, the next of her friends would be here soon. 

Again, fulfilling what Fluttershy thought, jumps could be heard, the jumping of a mare that always surprisingly appeared when two or more of her friends came together, as if she had an alarm that sounded when someone was preparing for a party, meeting or other event. 

The jumps sounded closer, causing Fluttershy and Applejack to turn their heads towards the sound to see their pink friend approach, the pink mare stopped in front of them and before saying anything threw lots of confetti. 

"Weee-! Hi, Applejack! Hi, Fluttershy!" Said the pink mare joyfully. "Good morning!" 

"Good Morning Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy greeted her extrovert friend, taking out the confetti that had fallen into her mane. 

"Mornin' " waved Applejack, with Fluttershy doing the same. "Seems like today you're really happy, more than usual, and that's sayin' somethin'." Applejack said, noticing Pinkie Pie's big smile. 

"That's right!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, jumping into a seat like her friends. "It's just that I was a little sick a few days ago, but luckily I managed to recover completely for the celebration today!" 

"You were sick!? Why didn't you tell us? "Fluttershy asked worriedly. 

"That's why.” Pinkie Pie replied, closing one eye and sticking her tongue out playfully aimed at Fluttershy. "I didn't want you to worry, it wasn't anything serious, besides... I had all the care I needed..." Pinkie Pie said, looking down and changing her smile for a more tender one. 

That gesture didn't go unnoticed by Applejack, who was about to ask Pinkie Pie about that smile but was interrupted by a long whoosh off in the distance and was coming towards them, a whoosh she knew very well. Applejack turned her head around to see a rainbow ray coming down from the sky and was going at full speed to where they were. 

"As always, she's the fastest but always runnin' late..." Applejack smiled as the rainbow light slowed to a full stop just in front of her, revealing the cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. "Good mornin' Rainbow." 

"Phew...! Good morning." Rainbow Dash said tiredly, then looking at the other two mares sitting at the table. "Oh come on... Don't tell me I was the last one here again." 

"Of course not Dashie!" Said Pinkie Pie smiling. "Rarity's still not here." 

And as if it was necessary for her name had to be announced to make an appearance, the white unicorn turned a corner and approached to the Café, to meet with her four friends. 

"Sorry for the delay, darlings.” Rarity said politely, approaching the table. "I just did not know what eyeshadow to use for such a special day like today, I finally chose to use a bold darker tone, what do you think?" Finished saying Rarity, closing her eyes and putting her face so that her friends saw the shadow she had painted her eyelids. 

They all came to see and looked confused, thinking the same thing, it all seemed to be the exact same sky-blue color that Rarity always used, at least that's what they all thought but obviously couldn't say, so Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to see Fluttershy, the voice of kindness, to speak for all. 

"It's very pretty, you look great!" Smiled Fluttershy timidly. 

"Fufu, thank you, darling." Rarity smiled, thankful that in all her group of friends that Fluttershy at least understood some makeup and fashion. 

This was what they all believed, they all felt that they were real friends, ties forged by different situations and circumstances, but the five ponies also knew that they were all very different: Rarity liked fashion and glamor, with an elegant and proud character; Fluttershy liked music and animals, with a kind and timid character; Applejack liked the field and hard work, with a firm and protective character; Pinkie Pie liked the hustle and bustle, with a cheerful and extroverted character; And Rainbow Dash liked jokes and speed, with a strong, self-centered character. They all liked each other, but sometimes they found it very difficult to agree on certain things because of their extremely different tastes and personalities, so it was decided that a breakfast once a week was the perfect event, something that everyone liked and was the perfect opportunity to meet and talk without needing to be in the middle of something or talk about something they didn't really like. 

"Well? Has everyone already ordered? "Rarity asked, looking at the others. 

"Not yet, we're waiting for you.” Applejack replied, calling the waiter to take their orders. 

Once Rarity placed her order, the waiter came quickly with their breakfast, since as a good small town worker he already knew his frequent customers and knew in advance what they would each order, orders as different as the personalities of the guests, the waiter arrived with coffee for the sophisticated Rarity, oatmeal for the animalistic Fluttershy, a sandwich for the ever-swift Rainbow Dash, sweets for the sweet Pinkie Pie and fruit for the country Applejack. 

"So what's new?" Rainbow Dash asked, eating her sandwich swiftly. "How's it going with the feast for the celebration?" she asked looking at Applejack. 

"Just fine!" Applejack replied cheerfully. "We were a bit busy, we even lost some apples cuz' of a couple ah hungry thieves." After saying that, Applejack smiled tenderly as she remembered. "But now a lotta ponies from the Apple family came for the celebration, so we got all the help we need, we'll be done on time!" 

"And what about chu'? You're supposed ta' be captain of the weather patrol and the sky's still cloudy.” added Applejack, looking at Rainbow Dash and then at the slightly cloudy sky. 

"Nah! It's nothing to worry about, I can clear it myself in a couple of seconds." Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly. "I would have cleaned it myself yesterday, but I was busy with some extra work given to me, maybe if I hadn't ended up in jail I would have focused more on clearing the skies..." Rainbow Dash said, closing her eyes and opening one slightly to see her friends reaction of to her comment. 

"YOU WERE IN JAIL!?" They all asked in surprised unison, exactly the effect Rainbow Dash wanted. 

"Hehe, that's right, I'm a bad girl, right?" Rainbow Dash smiled unjustifiably proud. "Don't worry, it wasn't that bad, it was just a misunderstanding, but... it was worth it..." Rainbow Dash said, saying the last thing very low and somewhat blushed, something that surprised her friends even more than knowing that she had been in jail. 

"What about you, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash said quickly, realizing that her friends had seen her blush, and wanting to change the subject. "You're in charge of the music for the celebration, aren't you?" 

"Yes..." Fluttershy replied timidly. "Caring for all the animals takes up a lot of my time, so I still have to practice a little more with the songbirds, but I think it will work out very well." 

"It really must be a very big job to take care of all those animals.” Rarity added, looking fondly at Fluttershy. "I don't think I could stand a day doing your job, my dear, you are admirable." 

"Well... I like to do it, and... there are other ponies who also like to work with animals..." Fluttershy said shyly with a little smile, remembering who had helped take care of the animals a few days ago. 

"I like animals! In fact, if you want you can bring some to the pre-celebration party." Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. 

"No! That would be a disaster!" Rarity said quickly with a face of horror. "I know that you are in charge of the evening festivities before the Summer Sun Celebration, but that does not mean that you should make a mess, remember that it's an important evening and that we must all be presentable to the princess after the party when she raises the sun." Rarity finished, arranging her mane. 

"And you, drama queen, how's it going with decorating for the celebration?" Rainbow Dash added mockingly as she saw her friend arranging her always well-tended mane. 

"They're going fine, it will not be what I expected, but I'm confident that I'll be able to make the town pavilion look splendid for the Princess's arrival." Rarity said excitedly, then suddenly pressed her lips together and looked at her friends from side to side, waiting for someone to ask something. 

That gesture was quickly understood by Applejack, an expert in detecting expressions and secrets, this was the expression that Rarity put when she had some new gossip and hoped that someone would ask her as not to be called a gossip. 

"So... is there anything new?" Applejack asked with a smile of resignation, playing along. 

"YES! Yes, there is something new!" Rarity almost shouted, with a big smile. "I think I'm in love!" 

They were all silent for a few seconds, surprised by Rarity's sudden joy, and they were even more surprised to hear why; she was in love? 

"Weren't you dating with Caramel?" Rainbow Dash asked in confusion. 

"What? Of course not! We just had coffee, that does not mean we're dating, I thought I made that clear to you last time." Rarity said somewhat offended. 

"Oh... It's just that when you talk about romantic things or who you date, you tend to ramble." Rainbow Dash giggled nervously. "So then... what's so special about this colt you've fallen in love with?" 

"I don't know! And it's the best!!" Rarity replied with total emotion. "It's the first time that I really felt something like this, he's clumsy and childish, but every time I see him I feel so happy and my heart starts racing at speeds I didn't know were possible! He is also chivalrous and elegant, which is all very well and good, but I don’t just like him for that, but for what he is and how he makes me feel, Oh, Celestia! It fills me with joy just remembering him! Yesterday was so magical, to be with him all day and to have my heart slowly open to him until finally it fell surrendered with a great, warm hug... I only wish that all of you could experience what I did..." 

At Rarity's words, they all stopped seeing her with incredulous looks and began to become surprised by the way their friend spoke and behaved. At first they all thought that Rarity would once again tell them about another of her failed love attempts, where she flirted with some colt, she would date him and eventually leave him with the excuse that he was not the stallion of her dreams; But this time they could all see how Rarity seemed genuinely excited talking about a colt, that was something none of them had seen in Rarity before, for that reason the surprise to realize that apparently, their friend had really been love struck for the first time. 

"Oh! I am so glad to see you so happy Rarity!" Fluttershy said sincerely, smiling at her friend. 

"Thank you, darling." Rarity smiled. "I hope you find a colt that makes you feel as happy as I do." 

Fluttershy looked at Rarity's cheerful smile, blushed, looked at the floor and could not help but speak. 

"Well..." Fluttershy said shyly, blushing. "I'm not sure... but there's a colt..." 

They all stared at Fluttershy, more surprised than when Rarity told of her possible new love. 

"Do tell, do tell!" Rarity said, totally excited as she liked to talk about romantic issues but normally the others did not like to talk about it much. 

"Uhm... The other day I met a colt, he helped me with the little animals in the forest..." Fluttershy said, still blushing. "He thought I was in danger and he protected me, and he is very kind and tender..." Fluttershy said those words with a twinkle in her eyes, then she looked up and saw all her friends staring at her as they smiled. 

"Ahh! Please don't look at me like that!" Fluttershy said completely red, covering her face with her hooves. She was glad to express her feelings in front of her friends, but she did not like being the center of attention. 

"Aww... that's so cute.” Rarity said affectionately. "It seems that you too have been struck by love..." 

"Me too! Me too!" Pinkie Pie suddenly said, raising her hoof and making all eyes focus on her. "I also met a colt a few days ago! He was the sweetest and most attentive pony I ever met, he was the one who helped me when I was sick, carried me when I fainted and took care of me. He's also very funny! He made me feel strange like I had butterflies in my tummy, I..." Pinkie Pie stopped talking in her usual joy and began to get a little more serious, to blush and smile more tenderly. "I... I've never felt this way before..." 

Again they were all surprised, they always had seen Pinkie Pie smile, with hundreds of different smiles, but they had never seen Pinkie Pie smile that way, let alone when she was talking about a colt. 

"Golly… so you're in love too?" Applejack asked with a smile, not understanding much of love but feeling happy for her friend to see her so happy. 

"I think so!" Pinkie Pie answered with a big smile. 

"What about you, darling?" Rarity said, looking impishly at Applejack. "Is there any colt that has managed to conquer that indomitable heart?" 

"Hmph! O' course not, Ah' don't believe in love at first sight." Applejack looked away, then she remembered what she had experienced with a certain colt a few days ago and could not help blushing, something that did not go unnoticed by her friends. 

"Fufu, you're hiding something!" Rarity chuckled, enjoying all this talk of loves and secrets. 

Applejack looked at her friends and unconsciously put on her bad poker face, looking away and wrinkling her nose. So she stayed like that for a few seconds until Applejack looked back at her friends, who were still staring at her as they smiled, waiting for her to speak, finally Applejack let out a big sigh and spoke. 

"*Huff*... Ah' don't know what Y'all want me to tell ya, Ah' don't fall in love so easy." Applejack began nervously. "But... a few days ago Ah' also met a colt... He... tried ta nab some apples, he was definitely a clumsy an' brazen pony, but he was also sincere and hardworkin', he wanted ta work ta pay for the apples he ate, 'though he did a terrible job. "At that last comment Applejack could not help but smile tenderly at the memory. 

"He... also made me feel strange..." Applejack finally blushed, before seeing all her friends looking at her, putting her back on the defensive. "B-But I'm definitely not saying it's love!" Applejack stammered, still blushed. 

"But you also can't be sure it's not love, right?" Rarity chuckled as she saw how nervous Applejack had become. "Aaah! It's wonderful to know that we all are feeling the joy of being in love at the same time!" Rarity said happily, looking at her friends and stopping in surprise at Rainbow Dash. 

Rarity stared at the poker-faced Rainbow Dash for several seconds until she finally spoke. 

"And how is the weather, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity said with a nervous smile, trying to change the subject. 

"Okay, it's- Wait a second!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed. "Why did you ask everypony if they were in love but me!?" 

"Huh!?" Rarity replied in surprise. "Well, darling, I thought those things didn't interest you." 

"Of course I'm not interested!" Rainbow Dash replied, crossing her legs and looking away. 

They all stared confused at Rainbow Dash, who was still looking off annoyed. 

"Although..." Rainbow Dash suddenly added when her friend's were about to drop the subject, she hadn't changed her stance or where she looked, but suddenly she blushed. "If I wanted to fall in love, it would have to be a 'cool' colt, somepony who could impress others, a colt who's funny and... somepony who’d never abandon me..." 

They all stared at Rainbow Dash with their mouths open, they had never seen her act like this, and they had to admit that seeing her trying to act cool when she was really nervous and blushed was very tender, Rainbow Dash looked tender! That was something none of them ever thought to see. 

"Oh, Celestia! You're in love too!" Rarity said almost in a scream, totally thrilled to see that her less feminine friend was acting like a true mare for the first time. "Tell me, tell me, tell me! Who is it! What does he look like? How did you meet him!?" 

"Huh?" Said Rainbow Dash surprised to see that they all looked at her, blushing even more. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, I... I just said... it's just... It's just that a few days ago I met a colt and he seemed like a great guy, we laughed a lot and had a good time, but that that's it!!" 

Rainbow Dash finished speaking in a scream, ending the conversation, for all but Rarity, who had never enjoyed having breakfast with her friends this much. 

"Hehehe, I can not believe we all fell in love in the same week! It must be fate!" Rarity said cheerfully, not far from there a purple colt was walking swiftly in their direction. 

"We should have a big party! The ten of us! To get to know each other!" Said Pinkie Pie cheerfully as the purple colt turned the last corner and finally glimpsed the Café where he was to meet up for breakfast. 

"That would be splendid! But I'm afraid I'm getting ahead of myself." Rarity said with a smile as the purple colt approached the Cafe and glimpsed the figures of five colorful mares. "I already invited my future love to have breakfast with us, I hope he arrives soon, I want you to know him, his name is-" Rarity couldn't finish speaking as she was interrupted by a well-known male voice. 

"Wow... I didn't know that you knew each other... This is a huge coincidence!" Said the purple colt, a.k.a. Dusk Shine, standing in front of the table where the mares were sitting, totally surprised to see that the five mares with whom he had engaged in conversations with and with whom he wanted to befriend at the Summer Sun Celebration, were all in one place. 

"HI DUSK!" The five mares said in unison, with a smile, slightly blushed and stretching their hooves in greeting, glad to see that just the pony had arrived that each had been talking about at breakfast. 

As soon as they all greeted, they all froze with their smiles and their hooves stretched as a cold sweat ran down each of their necks. Then they all opened their eyes and looked at each other with deep concern, as soon as they did, everyone understood, everything they had said, all the feelings expressed... They had all unknowingly been talking about the same colt! They had all fallen in love with the same colt at the same time!! 


 


Dusk stared at the mares, who for some reason had been quiet and staring at each other, he could feel some tension in the air, but he could not understand what was causing it. 

After an awkward silence Dusk prepared to speak again, but then a sudden memory took possession of him and his mind went immediately to another more important matter. Since he had arrived at the library the night before, Dusk had organised the books Rarity had given him, yet one had caught his attention, it was a copy of the book he had left unread in Canterlot, the book that talked about lost magical items and which Princess Celestia had taken away from him when she sent him to Ponyville, so that night his impulse of a reading fanatic took possession of him and Dusk continued reading the book exactly where he had left off, in the so-called 'Elements of the Harmony'. Dusk spent the whole night reading, and the more he read the more interesting and more important all that information seemed to him, that is until Spike took the book and Dusk realized that it was already the next day and that he had spent all night reading. Spike ordered that they should go to breakfast with Rarity, something that Dusk didn't want to do at the time, because he didn't want to stop reading the book at such a crucial point, however, at Spike's insistence, Dusk decided that he should comply and listen to him, but it annoyed him that his little brother had interrupted his reading, so in retaliation he ordered Spike to stay and keep organizing the library, which is how they both got angry at each other and Dusk had to go to the Cafe leaving his unfinished reading, but still keeping in mind that he should return quickly to the library and finish the book, because he had just arrived at a very interesting part, a part that mentioned a being he had never heard of before: Nightmare Moon. 

"Rarity, I... want to apologize.” Dusk said quickly. "I know I promised that I would have breakfast with you today but there is something extremely important that I must do in the library. I'll buy a takeaway breakfast and then I'll head back to the library quickly, I hope you'll forgive me. " 

Dusk finished speaking but received no reply, Rarity and the other four mares were still sitting motionless, looking at each other. 

"Uhh... okay... I'll go for breakfast now." Dusk said something confused as he did not receive a reply, remembering that he should hurry back to the library, so he left the mares and went straight into the Cafe dining room to order his takeaway breakfast. 

As soon as Dusk left, the five mares stared at each other for a while until finally, the silence broke. 

"Y-You... all... were all talking about MY Dusk?" Rarity said nervously and somewhat annoyed. 

"Wait a second, what do you mean YOUR Dusk?" Rainbow Dash said also annoyed. 

"Oh, but isn't it obvious, I saw him first!" Rarity replied annoyed, pointing at herself. 

"That's not true, you said you met him yesterday, but I met him two days ago.” Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully, remembering Rarity's words. 

"Well I met him three days ago.” said Rainbow Dash pointing at herself. 

"Huh... well, Ah' guess Ah' know him from before that, Ah' met him four days ago..." Applejack said, scratching her head. 

"I... I met him five days ago..." Fluttershy said timidly. They all saw the fragile Fluttershy and saw the weakest rival. 

"Bah! No matter who saw him first, that doesn't change anything.” said Rarity, looking off to the other side annoyed. 

"Yeah, whoever saw him first doesn't change a thing.” said Pinkie Pie, to which Rainbow Dash nodded without saying anything. 

Poor Fluttershy looked disgusted for a second, took a breath and opened her mouth, ready to argue with her friends, but then closed it and lowered her head, grieved for not being able to face her friends in an argument. 

"This doesn't make sense, you don't even like him like that, you said it yourself!" Rarity argued with Rainbow Dash. 

"I know! But that doesn't mean he's yours!" Rainbow Dash replied blushing and annoyed. 

"Enough girls.” Applejack said pounding the table to reassure her friends. "Don't Y'all think maybe the victims here is us? Wasn't Dusk trying ta' seduce us all? Isn't it all his fault?" 

"Of course not!" Rarity demanded. "I know him better than you, he's innocent and a gentleman, he would never do anything like love mares just for fun." 

"That's right.” Pinkie Pie added thoughtfully. "I think that even he hasn't realized our feelings..." 

Applejack looked at her friends and then lowered her eyes biting her lip, they were right, Dusk didn't have the appearance or personality of being a ‘playpony’, and didn't have that aura of a seducer and a conqueror, she had to admit that if Dusk had caused all this, he had done it unintentionally, and as Pinkie Pie said, apparently he did not see them in a romantic sense, otherwise he would have reacted differently to seeing his 'five conquests' together. 

"What we should do is make him choose!" Rarity said proudly, arranging her mane. "We all know who is the most suitable mare for Dusk." 

"Me?" Pinkie Pie said smiling. 

"Of course not! It's me, of course!" Rarity said annoyingly. 

"What we gotta do is get away from him..." Applejack said with little determination as she felt that she didn't really want to do that, but she hated seeing her friends fight. 

"You just say that because you know you're the one with the least chance with him!" Rarity said annoyingly. 

"I guess you're right..." Rainbow Dash agreed with rarity, glancing sideways at Applejack. 

Applejack was shocked at the remark, then saw Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who didn't want to look her in the eyes, did they all think the same of her!? 

"Why do Y'all think that!?" Applejack yelled annoyingly. 

"Well, it's simple darling.” Rarity said in a superb manner. "Dusk comes from Canterlot, he even meets the princess herself..." 

"He knows the princess!" A surprised Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said in unison. 

"Yeah, he told me she's his magic teacher or something.” Rainbow Dash replied, proud to know something about Dusk that the others did not know. 

"That's right.” Rarity took the floor again, staring at Applejack seriously. "For that matter, he is almost royalty, and no offense, darling, but what could someone of royalty want with a country girl like you?" 

That comment from Rarity obviously bothered Applejack, but what annoyed her more was the attitude of the others, who remained thoughtful without looking at her as if they all agreed with Rarity's comment. 

"So that's what Y'all think!" Applejack yelled losing her temper. "Well... WE'VE KISSED EACH OTHER!" Applejack shouted, not thinking clearly about what she was saying in anger. 

"WHAT!!!" Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shouted, totally shocked while Pinkie Pie just wore a poker face and said nothing. 

After that outburst, Applejack's head cooled until she suddenly realized what she had just yelled. 

"W-Well... It was just an accidental kiss..." Said Applejack totally blushed. 

"This can't be, how dare you kiss MY Dusk!?" Rarity yelled furiously. 

"I already said it was an accident." Applejack replied annoyed and distressed. 

"And there you go again, he's not YOUR Dusk, get it through your head.” said Rainbow Dash annoyingly looking at Rarity. 

"Somepony say my name?" Dusk suddenly said, already finished buying his breakfast and returning to where the mares were, having heard nothing of the terrible argument they just had, only catching up at the end when Rainbow Dash mentioned his name. 

As soon as everyone saw that Dusk was there, they all blushed and looked away, except for Pinkie Pie, who still had her poker face on and stared at Dusk. 

"Listen, I really regret not being able to stay.” Dusk said apologetically. "But I must get back to the library, I'll see you all tonight at the celebration." 

Then Dusk turned and started walking again toward the library. As soon as he did, Applejack completely cooled her head and looked seriously at her friends. 

"Listen..." Applejack said earnestly. "We can't be fightin' fer' a boy's attention, we're better than that, we've been friends fer' a long time, and 'though we're very different we've always stayed friends. Ah'm really sorry fer Dusk, but A'h think if we wanna save our friendship, we need ta stop seeing him." 

Then Applejack put one of her hooves in the center of the table and looked affectionately at her friends. 

"What do ya say? Let's save our friendship, we promise we won't see Dusk again." Applejack said with a sad smile. 

Rarity looked reluctantly at Applejack's hoof, but her friend's words really struck at her heart, because she knew that her friend was right. She couldn't let a colt stand in the way of this friendship, even though her heart ached to let him go. 

"It's... It's okay..." Rarity said reluctantly, also stretching one of her hooves to the center of the table, touching Applejack's hoof. "If it's the best for everyone, I promise I will not go near Dusk." 

"I... I can do it, too." Rainbow Dash nervously said, also stretching her hoof. "I mean, it's not like I'm in love with him or anything..." 

"Me too..." Fluttershy said timidly, looking affectionately at her friends and stretching out her hoof. "We're friends and we shouldn't fight." 

After they all gathered their hooves they turned their eyes to where Pinkie Pie was sitting, where to their surprise, they only saw an empty seat. 

"Where's Pink-?" Applejack wondered, who could've sworn that Pinkie Pie was sitting there just a second ago, unable to finish her sentence as she heard the voice of that pink pony in the distance. 

"Wait up, Dusk!" Said Pinkie Pie near Dusk, who hadn't moved very far yet and was still within sight of the other mares. 

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Dusk said, stopping to speak to Pinkie Pie. 

"I just wanted to thank you properly for taking care of me when I was sick." Pinkie Pie said with a smile, standing in front of him. "I couldn't do it before because I was sick." 

"Oh, there's no nee-" Dusk said closing his eyes without giving importance to the matter until his mouth was hushed by a surprise and intense kiss of Pinkie Pie. 

Not far away, the four still-sitting mares watched as the pink mare kissed the surprised Dusk on the mouth, all with different reactions: Applejack opened her mouth totally surprised, Fluttershy blushed and covered her mouth, Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow, and stared at them in annoyance, and Rarity with a look of terror as if the world were going to end. 



 

The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, so Dusk just stood frozen there receiving the kiss, with eyes wide open due to the surprise act of Pinkie Pie. 

Finally, Pinkie Pie parted her lips from Dusk's and smiled at him. 

"Thank you for taking care of me!" Said Pinkie Pie smiling before giving her characteristic bounces and returning to her friends. 

Meanwhile, Dusk froze where he was, totally blushing after that kiss. 

"Tastes sweet..." Dusk whispered as soon as he was alone, touching his lips and feeling a sweet taste on his lips and a warm feeling inside. It had been an act that completely clouded his mind, and now that he had recovered his reason he needed to find answers, was that Pinkie Pie's normal way of thanking the ponies? Or had she done it just for him? Dusk didn't know, but with a pony as peculiar as Pinkie Pie, anything could be. Dusk finally took a step toward the Café, to where Pinkie Pie had returned, to ask her what had just happened, however a more persistent thought suddenly came to mind, he hadn't finished reading that book he was reading. He needed to know what the Elements of Harmony were and the danger to which they referred, so immediately his doubts about the kiss had all but disappeared, he turned again like a robot and began to trot towards the library, totally focused on his new and more important mission, after all a kiss wasn't more important than the security of all Equestria. 

For her part, Pinkie Pie came smiling back to the others. 

"Is something wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked with a smile as she realized they were all staring at her. 

"The... the promise we were going to make..." Applejack said timidly, with a tone of concern. 

"What promise?" Pinkie Pie said, still smiling. 

Applejack opened her mouth to answer but she said nothing, she was confused by Pinkie Pie's attitude, she could've sworn she had seen the pink pony sitting when she began talking about the promise, but with each passing second came more doubts... Had Pinkie Pie really not heard anything she'd said? Or maybe... could it be that Pinkie Pie had listened and escaped, ignoring the promise, to take advantage with Dusk...? Applejack just stared at Pinkie Pie, who just kept smiling. If it had been any of her other friends, Applejack would have known if they were lying or not, but with Pinkie Pie, it had always been difficult for her to know what she really thought and was going through her crazy head. 

"What promise? What promise!?" Rarity finally screamed, leaving her state of horror. "I'll tell you what promise, the promise not to see Dusk again, the promise that you broke before it even started!" Then Rarity paused for a few seconds as her fury grew. 

"YOU!" Rarity screamed even louder, pointing at Pinkie Pie, and then pointing to Applejack, keeping her gaze furious. "And you too! Both of you took advantage of my sweet and innocent Dusk and stole a kiss, I will not let any of you take advantage! I won't make any promises!" 

Then Rarity stood up, turned her head indignantly, and left the place. 

"Oh... so you wanted to make a promise like that..." Pinkie Pie said, watching Rarity walk away and then looked at the others. "But if Rarity doesn't promise, I think I won't either." Pinkie Pie said with a smile and bounced away. 

"It's true, there's no point in making a promise." Rainbow Dash also said annoyed. "Besides I see Dusk as a friend, I don't see him as my future boyfriend or anything..." as Rainbow Dash finished talking she blushed. Then she spread her wings and flew away. 

Only Applejack and Fluttershy were left, as they saw Rainbow Dash's rainbow streak disappear into the clouds, they then looked at each other. 

"Huff... Ah' guess it's out 'o the question.” Applejack said, scratching her head. "It's no use if only the two of us promise something like this, it'll be best to keep on as we were and try not to argue anymore." 

Then Applejack stood up, said goodbye to Fluttershy and started her way back to Sweet Apple Acres, being watched by her shy friend, who sat where she was, watching her friend walk away. Once she couldn't see Applejack, Fluttershy closed her eyes, gave a big sigh, touched her heart and gave a tender smile. 

"Hehe!" Laughed Fluttershy tenderly. "The truth is, I didn't want to miss seeing Dusk either.” she said cheerfully to herself, then stood up and left the Cafe, heading for her home in the forest clearing. 

That was how the six ponies departed in different directions, not knowing what fate had prepared for them that day. After all, that day was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and it really would be a long, long day. 

# End of Chapter 12 
> Chapter 13 - A Never-ending Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Never-ending Morning

The previous night…

Having obtained the keys to the library and bidding farewell to Rarity, Dusk and Spike had started their way towards the library, still thinking of the elegant unicorn, and though they both thought the same, their way of doing so was very different. Dusk was still surprised and grateful for Rarity's enormous generosity, while Spike kept fantasizing about the white mare, imagining her walking gracefully, waving her beautiful mane and seeing him with her beautiful blue eyes, which meant that from time to time Spike let out a sigh of love, thoughts he didn't fail to have even when they reached the library.

Once they reached the library doors, Dusk looked at the huge tree that was the library itself, a much humbler construction compared to the large Canterlot library, but that was very suitable for a small and humble town like Ponyville. Dusk took the key, opened the door, and next to Spike they entered with all the boxes that Dusk carried containing the books of the library. Once inside, Dusk lit his horn to give light to the place, making it possible to see that contrary to what was seen on the outside, the inside was really wide and, not counting the empty shelves, it seemed like a very cozy place.

Dusk took a candle he found inside the living room and asked Spike to light it, which the dragon did but didn't pay much attention to, because his thoughts continued to revolve around a white unicorn.

"Take this candle and go up to the second floor." Dusk said, handing the candle to Spike. "Surely the bedroom is upstairs, check if there's any bed so we can sleep, while I'll start organizing some books so I can open the library tomorrow."

"Okay." Spike said nonchalantly, picking up the candle and heading up the stairs as Dusk began opening boxes and taking out some books.

As Spike climbed the stairs, he reached a large room, which contained even more empty shelves, and most importantly the main point of interest in there; a bed. Spike set the candle on a desk and jumped on the bed, which was very comfortable. As he did so, Spike took the pillow and hugged it tightly as he smiled, he was very tired but he was also very happy and was thankful to have met such a splendid mare, and as he continued to fantasize about the mare of his dreams, Spike was slowly falling into a dream and fell asleep before he knew it.

The next thing Spike knew was that a ray of sunlight peeked through the window and hit him in the face. The little dragon rubbed his eyes and was surprised to realize that it was already daylight and that his dream had been so heavy that he'd felt that night had passed by in just a blink.

Spike stretched and started to get up even though he was still quite sleepy, and began to walk down the stairs yawning and scratching as he began to wonder where his brother was, something that was quickly answered as he went downstairs and saw that Dusk was in the living room, which looked very different from what he'd seen last night, since instead of the stacked boxes, now all the books were on the floor, surrounding Dusk. This was something that at first didn't surprise Spike much after all this was the typical behavior that his brother had in his own room, but the more he saw it, the more his concern grew, Dusk was EXACTLY seated where he had been the night before! Did that mean...

"It can't be... Don't tell me you didn't sleep at all last night!" Spike almost shrieked to catch Dusk's attention, his gaze fixed on the book he was reading.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked confused and annoyed at being distracted from his reading, then looked around and saw that the room was lit by natural light, then he saw the window and saw that the sun was already out. "Is it daylight already?"

Spike looked worriedly at his brother, he knew Dusk's behavior very well, it was exactly how Dusk behaved when he read, he isolated himself from everything and everyone, Spike had been so distracted by his thoughts of Rarity that he hadn't taken the real weight of the current situation, Dusk was back in a library! That meant Dusk would lock himself up with his books again and isolate himself from the others! That was something Spike could not and should not allow.

"It was a hell of a coincidence!" Dusk started talking excitedly, not paying attention to his brother's worried face. "While I organized the books I found a copy of the book I left unfinished in Canterlot, 'Lost Magic Artifacts, Origins and History', now I could understand what I had begun to read and had not yet finished reading about those 'Elements of Harmony'!" Immediately Dusk's face ceased to be excited and began to show a look of doubt as he glanced back at the book. "However... the whole story it tells is very diffuse, I understand that there were five magical elements plus another that served as a link, making a total of six, but it doesn't say anything about their characteristics, how to use them or what they specifically serve, only says they helped to expel a great evil that ravaged Equestria, somepony named Nightmare Moon... I... I've heard that name before, I know it wasn't in any book because otherwise, I would remember, I actually looked for that name in all the books but I couldn't find it, but I know I've heard that name before... tell me, Spike, do you remember hearing of somepony with that name?"

While Dusk was saying that speech and with his eyes focused on the book, Spike had quickly and quietly approached him, and as soon as Dusk finished speaking, Spike snatched the book from him.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Dusk shouted annoyed as Spike took the book from him.

"It's for your own good, it's not good for you to lock yourself in to read books, and less on the last day you have in Ponyville." Spike replied annoyed, then he pointed at the empty shelves of the library. "Look! You were supposed to organize the library and instead, you spent all night reading, looking for a name and messing up all the books."

Dusk looked around and had to admit that he had made a mess.

"Well... no problem." Dusk said annoyed but embarrassed. "I can order it now in the morning, it won't take me long."

"Remember you promised to have breakfast with Rarity and her friends." Spike said angrily, because if his brother locked himself in to read, then he couldn't go to breakfast with Rarity either.

"You know I don't like meeting ponies I don't know, that is, I know Rarity, but I don't know her friends." Dusk said uncomfortably. "Besides I don't have any money, remember that yesterday we spent everything. The best thing is to stay and keep read-"

"Don't play the fool with me." Spike replied annoyed, interrupting him. "I know the Mayor gave you some bits as payment for you to organize the library; and you promised Rarity, a promise is a promise!"

Dusk stared at Spike thoughtfully, who looked back, annoyed. Dusk had run out of excuses, and although he hated to admit it, Spike was right, he had to keep his word and meet with Rarity, as he had promised.

"All right!" Dusk said reluctantly, standing up and walking to the door, then stood front the door and glared at Spike. If the little dragon had taken away something as important as his reading, he would retaliate and do the same.

"By the way, the Mayor paid me to organize the library." Dusk added, looking annoyed at Spike. "And since you forced me to leave the library, YOU'LL have to stay and organize it."

Spike's face immediately melted, showing deep disappointment.

"What!? That's not fair, I wanna go!" Spike said quickly, however his words fell on the deaf ears, as Dusk just opened the door and closed it tightly after leaving, to Spike's annoyance that just stared at the door, angry at his brother for taking away his chance at having breakfast with his true love.

Spike started grunting and kicking some books, then took a breath and fell down, staring at the floor, totally resigned. Finally Spike decided that it was no use staying angry, after all, he could see Rarity again in celebration of that night; then he looked at the floor and saw all the books lying on the floor to be ordered, seeing them Spike gave a sigh of fatigue at the thought of all the work that ordering all those books on the shelves would be, then he stood up and took a book to start organizing, which incidentally happened to be the one that Dusk had taken a few moments ago. Spike approached a shelf and lifted the book to put it there, however, once it was placed, he didn't let go, Spike realized that this same book could be the key so that Dusk didn't return to shut himself up in the library, since it was known by Spike that his brother was rather obsessive as far as books were concerned, and if Dusk didn't finish reading that book, he wouldn't start reading another one until that was completed, so the baby dragon took the book off the shelf and went up the stairs to the room where he had slept.

"We'll spend the night awake tonight, so I don't think Dusk will find the book here." Spike told himself, hiding the book under the bed pillow. "At least Dusk won't isolate himself to read on his last day at Ponyville..."

Then Spike went down the stairs and began to take up the other books on the floor to begin the laborious task of organizing and alphabetizing the various books to put on the shelves. Spike took a couple of books and began putting them in order quickly, this for two reasons: one, because he already had a lot of experience ordering books, he always did it in Dusk's private library; and two, because he wanted to advance as much as possible before Dusk returned, because if he did it fast enough then he might reach to where they were having breakfast and get to see Rarity, after all, Dusk had recently gone out to breakfast, so between eating and talking he would be out for a long time, Spike thought hopefully, something that was contrary to what would happen, because to his surprise, when he had just organized a few books, Dusk opened the library door and entered, only a few minutes after he had left.

"I'm back, I brought breakfast." Dusk said quickly, leaving a small basket on the floor and looking around. "Now, where's that book?"

"Wha... What are you doing here!? You were supposed to go to breakfast with Rarity, you promised!" Spike said surprised and annoyed.

"I already did, I explained her that I was a bit busy today and she understood, besides it seemed that I was interrupting something, they all looked very serious facing at each other, even the shy Fluttershy, so I apologized to them all and I bought a breakfast to go." Dusk said, approaching, still trying to find the book.

"That wasn't what we had agreed to and... wait, what was Fluttershy doing there?" Spike asked, setting aside his anger for curiosity.

"Oh... that..." Dusk stopped abruptly, blushing a little and putting aside for a moment his desire to look for the book. "It turns out that I already knew Rarity's friends... They were Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie..."

"What!? Are you serious?" Spike asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I know, what a huge coincidence..." Dusk said also surprised but remembered with the word 'coincidence' his true search. "'Coincidence' as when I had just found a copy of the book I read in Canterlot in this same library, by the way, where is the book?"

Spike looked away from Dusk's gaze.

"I... I hid it..." Spike said somewhat embarrassed.

"WHAT!? Why did you do that!?" Dusk asked annoyed.

"It's your fault!" Spike said angrily, realizing that he had an excuse not to give the book to Dusk. "You said that you would go to breakfast, and since you didn't do it, I'm not giving you the book!"

Dusk stared annoyed at Spike for a few seconds, then finally he lowered his head and gave a big sigh.

"Enough fighting, we shouldn't be angry with each other, we're brothers." Dusk said looking at his brother with affection, forgetting his anger, then levitating with his magic the small basket he had brought with him, from which he pulled out a couple of sandwiches, keeping one and handing the other to Spike. "Look, I brought some breakfast for you too, I don't want us to be angry. How about we have breakfast and then you give me the book?"

Spike took the sandwich and looked at Dusk, who had already begun to eat his sandwich cheerfully. The little dragon did not want to stay upset with his brother, but neither did he want to pass the book Dusk wanted, after all, it was for his sake, but that he would continue to hide it would mean that they would fight again, so Spike didn't know what to do, so he simply looked at the sandwich and gave it a bite, resigned to the fact that only a miracle would prevent Dusk from forcing him to tell him where he had hidden the book, which would make him isolated from the world again.

As soon as Spike took that first bite of sandwich, he covered his mouth with a sudden reflux, making his cheeks swell.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't like the sandwich." Dusk said a little worried to see Spike's face. Worry that soon gave way to surprise when Spike stopped covering his mouth and belched a green flare, from which came a small parchment.

The parchment fell on the floor, in the space between Dusk and Spike, who just looked at it and then looked at each other even more confused. There was no doubt, only one pony could send scrolls through Spike's fire, it was Princess Celestia, so it must have been a letter from her, however she hadn't communicated with Dusk since she had sent him to Ponyville, not counting when she sent a letter to exonerate Dusk from jail, so both of them were surprised to see that after five days, when it was the final deadline for the test that Dusk had to overcome in Ponyville, the princess deigned to write them.

Finally, Dusk came out of his astonishment, took the parchment with his magic and opened it.

"What does it say!?" Spike asked anxiously.

Dusk began to read the letter aloud:

"Dear Dusk, I hope that you are well.

I just realized that I sent you to Ponyville without a penny, a little carelessness on my part, I hope it did not cause you any problems."

"You just realize that after five days!?" Spike and Dusk said at the same time very annoyed, interrupting the reading of the letter for a second.

"Anyway, that is not the main issue of this letter.

What prompts me to write to you is to request a favor.

I have just been informed that the pony responsible for supervising the arrangements for the Summer Sun Celebration has fallen ill, and instead of sending another pony to Ponyville, I thought maybe you could do the job by taking advantage of the fact that you are already there.

In essence there are five things that need to be supervised and checked before the big celebration: weather, music, banquet, decorations and the evening soiree.

I will be very grateful if you can do this task for me.

Signed, Princess Celestia."

As Dusk finished reading the letter, he looked up with a look of weariness.

"It's not enough to send me to this town on a silly mission, now she wants me to waste my last day here supervising matters that don't correspond to me." Dusk said annoyed.

"Well, you thought you'd waste your whole day reading." Spike said happier, seeing that now his brother would be obliged to go out and not lock himself in the library.

Dusk looked at Spike sideways, he didn't like to lose, even less against his little brother.

"Would you like to trade?" Dusk asked. "You go oversee the preparations and I'll keep organizing the library."

"No way." Spike said, folding his arms. "I will not allow you to lock yourself in the library."

"Is there nothing I can offer you to change your mind?" Dusk asked, his eyes pleading, using the puppydog look Spike always used against him.

"Nope, by my Dragon Code I swear you will not make me change my mind." Spike said with his eyes closed and drawing a cross in his heart with his claw.

Dusk lowered his head completely resigned, after all, he knew that when Spike made a Dragon promise, he never broke it.

KNOCK KNOCK!

There was a sudden knock on the library door, causing Dusk and Spike to stare at the door in surprise. Then the door opened and in the doorway appeared a familiar white mare unicorn with well-coiffed purple mane.

"Hello! How are things going!" Rarity said entering the library with a smile.

"Rarity!" Spike said blushing, opening his eyes wide and paralyzing at the sight of the white mare.

As she entered the library, Rarity looked everywhere, as if she were looking for someone.

"I guess they haven't come." Rarity said in a whisper, talking to herself, after noticing that there was no one else in the library besides her, Dusk and Spike. "All right! Now is MY chance to take advantage."

"Pardon, did you say something?" Dusk asked confused, who couldn't hear what Rarity murmured.

"It's nothing, darling, just thinking out loud." Rarity replied, looking back at Dusk and smiling.

"Uhh... okay..." Dusk said, still somewhat confused by the mare's appearance in the library. "But tell me, what are you doing here? If it's for the library, the books still have to be sorted, so it's not open yet."

"Oh, no, I did not come for that, I came for you, darling." Rarity said coquettishly, approaching Dusk. "It turns out that I have to decorate the main hall for the big celebration, and I wanted to know if you could help me with that."

Dusk thought back and quickly recalled that the day before Rarity had mentioned that she was in charge of the decoration for the Summer Sun Celebration.

"That's perfect, I had forgotten that!" Dusk said with joy, since of all the tasks he had to supervise, at least there was one in which there was a pony he knew, so he would not have to deal with unknown ponies. "Yes, of course, I'll go with you, no problem."

"Magnificent!" Rarity smiled, then looked politely at Spike, who was still frozen, not knowing what to say or what to do in the face of Rarity's surprise visit. "You can come and help us too, Spikey."

Spike smiled and prepared to respond to his beloved mare, however, he was interrupted by Dusk.

"It's a shame, he will not be able to go, he made the promise that he would stay ordering the library." Dusk said innocently, looking at Rarity. "I know my brother very well, and when he makes a dragon promise, he never breaks it."

Spike froze, his own words had betrayed him.

"Bu... bu ... but..." Spike stammered, not knowing what to say, even though Dusk didn't realize it, for the first time Spike wanted to break his dragon promise, just to be with Rarity a second more.

"Oh... I understand, the promises are very important." Rarity said kindly, coming up to Spike and stroking his head. "Don't worry, Dusk will be coming to help me, it will be more than sufficient."

"Bu... bu... but..." Spike stammered again, watching as Dusk and Rarity walked away and closed the library door behind them, leaving him alone in the library, wishing he could go back in time to correct himself and accept the proposition that Dusk had made him about swapping tasks.





After leaving the library, everything was somewhat strange, according to Dusk. Rarity asked him to follow her, so she was always a few steps ahead of Dusk, and the strangest thing was that Rarity seemed restless as every time she came to a corner she peered out and looked around in all directions before continuing. If it had not been for the misunderstanding of the previous day, Dusk would have sworn that Rarity watched the other ponies so they would not see him with her, as if she were ashamed to be with Dusk, but he had learned not to prejudge attitudes, especially those of Rarity, so he quickly dismissed that idea, though the discomfort with the mare's attitude persisted.

What Dusk didn't know was that this time he was right, at least in part, since Rarity was indeed careful that she was not seen with Dusk by others, but not from just any pony, she wanted to avoid at all costs that any of her friends would see her next to Dusk, otherwise they could intrude on their meeting, something she could not afford if she wanted to recover the lost ground in front of her friends, especially against Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who had already managed to advance and kiss her dear Dusk.

Finally, Rarity achieved her mission and both managed to arrive unto the great hall of the Town Hall without being seen by one of the other four mares, which was the place in which the Summer Sun Celebration would be held and that Rarity had to decorate.

Both entered in the hall, where there were only a few boxes that Rarity had brought in advance and that contained the ornaments that she had to put, but otherwise, it was completely empty, it was just Rarity and Dusk, which made Rarity smile to see that this could be a great opportunity to advance her relationship with Dusk.

"So... you haven't started yet?" Dusk asked, somewhat concerned that the hall wasn't decorated yet.

"No, but the decorations are ready, you'll see that putting them up will not take long." Rarity smiled, opening boxes with her magic and taking some ribbons in them. "Please help me hang them, darling."

Dusk approached the box and levitated some ribbons, as soon as he did, he looked at them for a moment, they were all different but they were all very beautiful, with shiny fabrics, garlands adorned with different colors and patterns, but they all looked very fine and well done.

"Rarity... didn't you say that you couldn't buy the beautiful ornaments you wanted?" Dusk asked confused.

"That's right." Rarity said, approaching and picking up the ribbons Dusk had taken. "These I made last night with some materials I had saved."

Then Rarity levitated the ribbons and placed them in different places in the room.

"This blue with silver highlights must go south, near the window, so that the light of the stars shine on it; this gold must go to the opposite side so that the first rays of the sun make it shine; this other dark green..." Rarity said as she set the ribbons very carefully.

Dusk stared with astonishment at Rarity, she had not only made beautiful ornaments with little material and in a short time but also noticed small details that made everything she touched even more beautiful.

"What a splendid mare, I really would like to know her more." Dusk thought as he blushed slightly.

"Is something wrong, darling?" Rarity asked, failing to place the ribbons at the sight of Dusk's gaze, a look that made her heart flutter.

"N-Nothing..." Dusk said timidly, not wanting to say out loud what he thought. Then he took several ribbons and waited for Rarity's instructions to know where to place them.

Thus both of them continued to put ribbons and different banners, which commemorated the different races of ponies, the seasons, the sun and the moon, until the hall slowly began to look increasingly beautiful with all the trimmings, worthy of a big and important celebration like the one that would take place there in a few more hours.

While arranging, Dusk followed Rarity's instructions to the letter, totally focused on it, while Rarity smiled whenever Dusk looked at her, smiles that at first were sincere but with the minutes passing by they soon changed to more nervous smiles.

"And where does this banner need to be placed?" Dusk asked, taking another object from the box.

"Huh? Ah! That goes by the balcony." Rarity said distractedly, again with a somewhat nervous smile.

As soon as Dusk turned to put the banner on, Rarity looked concerned and bit her lip. She really was enjoying her time alone with Dusk, even more doing something that she loved, as was the decoration, yet she also felt that she was wasting her chance to advance her relationship with Dusk, and that made her nervous. She had to do something more daring if she wanted to get closer to Dusk's heart, she could not miss this opportunity!

Once Dusk placed the banner where Rarity pointed, he went back to the box and took out a long blue ribbon.

"And where should this ribbon go?" Dusk asked, levitating the long blue ribbon.

Rarity stared at the ribbon with a piercing stare and for the first time she didn't respond immediately.

"That ribbon should surround the pillars and the whole room." Rarity finally said, approaching Dusk, standing very close to his side. "It's complicated, I'll guide you with my magic and you'll levitate the rest so it doesn't fall to the floor and get dirty."

Both unicorns levitated the ribbon while Rarity led and made it spin around the room, fixed on some points, like columns and balconies.

Once the ribbon had gone several laps to the room, and when there was almost no ribbon left, Rarity stopped and looked at Dusk sideways.

"I think the ribbon's very loose." Rarity said without looking at Dusk, though he looked at her. "I think I'll adjust it."

Then Rarity's horn brightened, and with her magic she pulled the whole ribbon tightly, causing it to loosen from the points where it had been fixed and contracted toward the center of the room, which was exactly where Rarity and Dusk were. Releasing the ribbon, it rolled quickly and tightly around Dusk and Rarity, causing them to stay stuck, chest to chest, tied by the blue ribbon.

"W-What happened?" Dusk said nervously, seeing the situation they were in.

"Oops! I think I pulled it too hard." Rarity said blushing, looking up as they were still tied together and Dusk was slightly taller.

Dusk looked down and couldn't help but turn red when he saw Rarity's face so close, she was staring at him with her huge blue eyes, not only that, but he could also feel the unicorn's smooth skin and even smell her gentle perfume.

"I-I... I... I..." Dusk began to stutter. "I think-I think I'll use my teleportation spell to get us..."

"Don't do it!" Rarity said quickly. "The ribbon is very thin and delicate, any sudden movement could break it. Besides..." Rarity added looking tenderly at Dusk, blushing even more. "Don't you like being with me?"

Dusk's heart began to beat hard as he reached his peak of mental endurance, swallowed, and his mouth began to tremble.

"I-It's not that..." Dusk stammered, totally red. "It's... it's just that I have to supervise... supervise the other preparations... and I..."

"Everything will be fine, just relax, darling." Rarity said coquettishly.

Dusk was a logical colt, he doesn't fond to fall into worldly and emotional temptations, he was distant with other ponies; but in spite of everything, he was still a colt, and no colt could act normal to be in such a situation with a mare. Dusk's eyes widened more and more, he didn't know how to react, he definitely didn't like to approach and touch other ponies, more so in a situation as uncomfortable as one in which they're bound by a ribbon, but he had to admit that deep down, for some reason, he was enjoying being so close to Rarity, of being able to.. look at her closely... breath her fragrance... touch her...

Suddenly a window of the hall opened and a rainbow lightning bolt raced in, taking one end of the blue ribbon and flying around both unicorns, causing them to spin like spinning tops while they were unraveled in an instant. Then the rainbow beam took out a sky-blue hoof and grabbed Dusk by one of his legs.

"Enough already!" Rainbow Dash said in annoyance, taking Dusk and flying out the window as fast as she had entered, leaving Rarity spinning confused alone in the middle of the hall.





A few seconds later, when Rarity stopped spinning, she grabbed her head as she tried to put her eyes and thoughts in place. Then she shook her head and looked out the window.

"RAINBOW DASH, GIVE ME MY DUSK!!" Rarity shouted, angry at the rainbow mare for entering the parlor, interrupting her special moment with her beloved Dusk and taking him away from her.





Once they were far enough away from Town Hall, reaching the outskirts of town, Rainbow Dash stopped flying at full speed and released her prey, a confused and extremely dizzy Dusk.

The unicorn stood on the floor as he staggered from side to side, still not understanding what had happened in the last few seconds. His eyes slowly focused until he could see the mare responsible.

"Rainbow Dash? What happened? Where are we?" Dusk asked confused, still dizzy, holding his head.

"I... I just walked by and I thought you needed some fresh air, that's all!" Rainbow Dash said, embarrassed and looking away to avoid Dusk's gaze.

What Rainbow Dash hadn’t told Dusk was that she had been secretly watching him and Rarity from the window for a while, when she noticed by chance that they were alone in the hall when she came by. She didn’t like to meddle in other pony's conversations, but for some reason that she did not understand, she had been very upset when she saw that Rarity was alone with Dusk, so she watched them from a distance behind a window without making her presence known, until both unicorns had been tightly tied with a ribbon, stuck to each other, which made her mind become clouded with anger and went flying into the room to separate them and take Dusk with her, a reaction that Rainbow Dash instinctively did, unaware of what she had actually done until she had stopped flying.

"We're just outside the village...? What happened to Rarity?" Dusk asked as he realized how far they were from the Town Hall.

"What? Do you miss being so intimately embraced by the drama queen?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking annoyed at Dusk.

"You... You saw us!?" Dusk asked, totally embarrassed.

"I told you, I just happened to pass by." Rainbow Dash lied, looking away.

"It's a misunderstanding, I... I was helping Rarity put up ribbons when she mistakenly tightened them and we were tied up like that." Dusk said, trying to explain that misunderstanding.

"Yeah, sure, 'by mistake,' I don't think she did it by mistake." Rainbow Dash said angrily, speaking in a low voice.

"Huh?" Dusk said confused, unable to understand anything pegasus had said.

"I didn't say anything!" Rainbow Dash said, looking annoyed again at Dusk. She was very upset, but she wasn’t sure why it bothered her to see Rarity with Dusk, and now that she saw Dusk head on she couldn't help but be bothered with him, but if she was honest with herself, that anger toward Dusk was only a reflection of her anger toward Rarity.

As for Dusk, after ceasing to be dizzy, he still didn't understand anything, and the main thing he did not understand Rainbow Dash's attitude, the pegasus was obviously annoyed, but he still didn't understand why. Despite that, he knew he shouldn't upset Rainbow Dash, he had already experienced that and he didn't want to argue with her, so he decided that it would be best to soften her mood without going into detail of why she was angry.

"Wow...! I can't believe we're on the outskirts of town, and in just an instant!" Dusk pretended to be surprised and looked sideways at Rainbow Dash, hoping his plan would work, because with what little he knew of Rainbow Dash, he knew she was weak to flattery. "Rainbow Dash, you must really be the fastest pegasus in all Equestria!"

"Of course I am the fastest! I already told you, so it shouldn't surprise you." Rainbow Dash smiled pridefully, completely forgetting that just a moment ago she was upset.

"I guess you were right, haha." Dusk smiled as well, glad that his plan worked out and that the pegasus was no longer angry with him.

They both stared at each other for a while, but neither of them knew how to continue the conversation, since everything had been very sudden for the both of them and they didn't really have a common theme to talk about, although Rainbow Dash wanted to ask Dusk something, but she didn't know how to bring up the subject without being so obvious.

"Well, I guess I should go, I have a lot to do." Dusk said finally, after the awkward silence.

Then Dusk made his classic bow to say goodbye to Rainbow Dash, turned around and started walking back to town. While Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't utter a single word.

"You... want me to come with?" Rainbow Dash said, finally daring to speak. The pegasus's words stopped Dusk, who turned and looked at her. "I-I mean, I have some free time, so I wouldn't mind going with you." Rainbow Dash quickly added, a little blushed.

"Uh... yeah sure, we can go together." Dusk grinned. "I have to review the other preparations for the celebration, such as music and weather, so-"

"You're in charge of checking if the weather's okay for the celebration!?" Rainbow Dash asked excited and surprised, interrupting Dusk's speech.

"Umm... yeah." Dusk replied, too surprised to see the excitement of Rainbow Dash. "Why the sudden interest?"

As soon as Dusk had reaffirmed what she had heard, Rainbow Dash turned so that Dusk wouldn't see her expression, she lifted a hoof and clenched it as a sign of success as she smiled at her luck. This was her chance, now she could show Dusk what she wanted to show him without having to force the subject into a conversation.

"Well, I happen to be the captain of the weather patrol." Rainbow Dash replied, turning again to see Dusk, putting on a prideful pose. "So I'm in charge of clearing the sky for the Summer Sun Celebration."

Dusk was surprised to learn that fact, mainly for the great coincidence, since just two of the ponies he knew in Ponyville were two of the managers he was to supervise.

"And now I'll show you how amazing I can be!" Rainbow Dash continued talking excitedly, moving a little closer to Dusk. "I'll show you that I can clear the whole sky in just ten seconds!" Rainbow Dash finished, totally excited, almost touching face to face with Dusk as she didn't take her eyes off him and pointed her hoof toward the sky.

This was what Rainbow Dash wanted, to show Dusk how cool and fast she could be. Dusk had already shown her how great he could be, now it was her turn to prove it; and before it happened she already imagined what would happen: Dusk would be astonished to see how agile and fast she was, and thus he wouldn't want to leave her side, after all the cool ponies should be together, so they could chat, laugh and spend time together without any interruptions from any other mare. That's why Rainbow Dash was staring at Dusk, she wanted to savor every moment before he was stunned by her.

Then, as Rainbow Dash continued to stare at him, Dusk lifted his gaze to the sky, where Rainbow Dash was aiming.

"Well... it seems like that won't be necessary." Dusk said looking down at Rainbow Dash and motioning her to look up.

Rainbow Dash turned and looked up, then her mouth opened until it almost reached the ground while her face showed pure disappointment. The sky was clear! Almost completely clear, only a couple of clouds remained that were just moved by a pair of pegasus.

Rainbow Dash's entire plan had been ruined, she had been so excited to tell Dusk what she would do that she hadn't even noticed the sky!

This was how she stood there watching in utter depression as the last clouds of the sky were moved until she suddenly went from depression and disappointment to annoyance.

"Wait here!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed, not even looking at Dusk, spreading her wings and flying at high speed to where the pegasi were moving the cloud.

As soon as she reached the pair of pegasus, she flew right in front of them.

"WHAT'D YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Rainbow Dash cried annoyed.

The pegasi looked at each other in confusion and then looked back at Rainbow Dash.

"We move the clouds." One Pegasus said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know that! But why did you do it!?" Rainbow Dash shouted even more annoyed. "I was supposed to clear the sky today!"

"Well, we saw that the sky hadn't been cleared yet, so we decided to clear it, after all, today is the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration." The other Pegasus said smiling.

"But it was my job!!" Rainbow Dash screamed irritated, then she covered her face with one of her hoofs and tried to calm down, after all, it was not the end of the world, she could still impress Dusk. "Well, it doesn't matter now, put the clouds back where they were and I'll clear them."

The two pegasus looked at each other in confusion and looked back at Rainbow Dash as if they hadn't heard well.

"You want us to turn the sky cloudy again just for you to clear again?" Asked one of the pegasi.

"That's right!" Rainbow Dash said seriously, crossing her forelegs.

"That's ridiculous!" The same pegasus replied. "It took us hours to clear the sky and it would take us hours to cloud it again, too. What's the point of clouding the sky just so you can clear it again?"

"Don't worry about my reasons, just do it!" Rainbow Dash said, blushing slightly.

"Anyway, I don't know if we can cloud the sky." The other Pegasus said, with a pensive face. "I think Cloud Kicker took the clouds... Or was it Flitter? I don't remember."

Rainbow Dash looked impatiently at both pegasi, unable to avoid showing her anger about the whole situation that had ruined all her plans.

"JUST TELL ME WHO TOOK MY CLOUDS!!" Rainbow Dash cried exasperated.

Meanwhile, Dusk had stayed where Rainbow Dash had left him, looking up at the sky and seeing how the mare of rainbow mane seemed to chat animatedly with those two pegasi, although he could not hear anything they talked about, he just saw Rainbow Dash moving her legs a lot, so that's why he supposed they had an entertaining conversation.

After a while and seeing that Rainbow Dash was still talking to both pegasus, Dusk decided that it would be best to continue with his homework, after all the day was moving fast and the morning was almost over.

"Well, at least I know the weather and the decoration are ready." Dusk said, thinking aloud as he continued to watch the sky. "Thanks to Celestia, I didn't have to deal with any new pony, if I only have the same luck when reviewing the other preparations..."

Then Dusk suddenly remembered that just one of the mares he knew had told him that she and her family were in charge of one of the preparations for the celebration, how could he have forgotten! That's another great stroke of luck! And the best thing was that now he was just outside of town, right on the road that led directly to her house.

Dusk looked up again to see Rainbow Dash, but it seemed she was still chatting 'animatedly' with the other pegasi, so he regretted not being able to say good-bye and just turned around and started walking down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, while Rainbow Dash continued arguing without realizing that the colt she wanted to impress was leaving without paying any attention to her.





It didn't take long until Dusk finally reached the entrance to the Apple family farm, Sweet Apple Acres.

Once he entered the grounds of the farmhouse, Dusk was surprised to see that on the outskirts of the house there was a large table set in which there were several dishes with different foods, and sitting there were a lot of ponies chatting and laughing together. As he drew nearer, the unicorn was finally able to recognize the ponies he expected to see, Big Mac was chatting with other stallions next to Granny Smith and another old mare, all in one corner of the table, while Applebloom leapt excitedly from one side to the other trying to get into the circle of talk that was formed of the mares that were there, and finally he could see Applejack, who seemed to be the center of attention as all the other mares surrounded and watched her while she seemed to just want to escape, as she looked very uncomfortable.

"So what is he like!?" An excited mare asked to Applejack, which was the first thing Dusk could hear as he approached.

"Is he good looking? Is he strong?" Asked another mare, questioning Applejack.

"Ah' already told ya it's a misunderstandin'! Granny Smith and Big Mac are wrong, Ah'm not-" Applejack said nervously and somewhat annoyed, looking at all the mares, however, she couldn't finish speaking, because as soon as she looked up to see the mares, she noticed that Dusk was walking towards them and looking at her.

"What’s he doin' here!? Right at the worst time!" Applejack thought as she blushed involuntarily as she looked at Dusk.

"Oh, ma dear Dusk! Ya came at the jus' right time!" Granny Smith said suddenly as she realized Dusk's presence.

Then all the mares around Applejack turned to see Dusk, then they all ran toward him and surrounded him.

"So you're Dusk! Well, he's not my type, but he's cute." A yellow mare said, with a red mane, a green handkerchief around her neck, and a few caramel apples as cutie mark.

"Of course, you just need some muscle." Another mare said, yellow skinned with a green mane, and some strudels as cutie mark.

"Well, that' is easy, it is arranged with hard work, after all, if you want our dear 'Apple' you should be able to work in the farm." A pale yellow-skinned stallion said, he had a clear blue mane, with a huge red apple as cutie mark. He had also approached accompanied by a pair of stallions, although they looked more serious compared to the mares, who only laughed.

"That's right!" Big Mac finally said. "It's 'bout time you showed up, Ah thought you wouldn't act responsibly for what ya did."

Dusk was only silent, totally nervous as he was surrounded by so many ponies, something that stressed him a lot, even more so being surrounded by mares. He listened to everyone but he didn't understand anything, why those mares had called him cute? Did he like them? And why did the yellow colt say if he wanted to keep their 'Apple'? Had Granny told them that he had eaten some apples? But mostly, what did Big Mac mean to be responsible!?

Applejack saw everypony around Dusk and the poor unicorn looked totally nervous and confused, apparently he still didn't understand that her whole family was watching and inspecting him thinking that he was her boyfriend. Applejack moved quickly to the uproar, thinking that it would be best to get everyone out of the misunderstanding, though she knew Big Mac would probably get angry, it would be better for Dusk not to go deeper into that problem without knowing it.

"Oh... I get it! Yes! I will definitely take responsibility! You can trust me!" Dusk said suddenly, thinking that Big Mac meant he had to take responsibility for supervising the banquet, which made him fill with pride, while Applejack froze, completely terrified to realize that Dusk had just dug his own grave without knowing it.

"Yee-haw!" All the ponies shouted cheerfully, except Dusk and Applejack, while a pair of ponies played a cheerful country song, with a violin and a banjo.

"Oh, dear Dusk, you're gonna give this poor ol' lady a lot 'o joy." Granny Smith said, coming up to Dusk, next to the other old mare who looked a lot like her. "Ya know, a lotta members of the Apple family came ta see the Summer Sun Celebration here, and it's not normal for us all ta meet this way, so I wonder'... would ya mind if we hurried things along and made everything official today?"

"Are you sure, Granny?" Big Mac asked not very convinced.

"O'course, Ah always trust my intuition, and Ah know this boy's a trustworthy pony." Granny Smith grinned, looking at Dusk.

With the words of Granny Smith, for a second Dusk began to realize that perhaps he was missing something important, however after being praised by her, that doubt disappeared and he thought that Granny Smith would simply be referring to the banquet, surely for that family it would have been very important to make the banquet and they wanted to work together on it before officially showing it to Dusk.

"Yes, of course, no problem, as long as the banquet comes out fine." Dusk smiled.

"The banquet? But don't ya think there must be a ceremony 'fore the banquet?" Granny asked.

"Huh... well, the ceremony is very important, but for all the celebrations I've attended in Canterlot, the banquet is always before the ceremony." Dusk said confused, believing Granny had referred to the solemn moment when Celestia raised the sun as a 'ceremony'.

"Oh... well, then we'll follow the customs of Canterlot, then before the ceremony we'll have the banquet!" Granny Smith said excitedly.

Then all the ponies took Dusk and Applejack and they sat them front the table that they had laid out and that contained a huge amount of dishes, apparently all based on apples. They sat Dusk and Applejack together at the head of the table while the others sat around the table, while the two ponies playing music had stopped playing fast music and now played softer music while they were behind Applejack and Dusk.

Dusk felt a little dizzy when he saw so many ponies at a table, he was also a bit puzzled to see that they had put him at the head seat, the place of honor, a place that shouldn't correspond to him who was just merely invited to supervise the preparations for the banquet. While Applejack was covering her face and looking at everyone else, she didn't understand how things had gotten to this point, it was obvious that Dusk and her family were talking about different things, but for some reason no one had noticed, and all the conversations had been designed to keep them from being noticed! Besides, they all seemed so happy to meet her supposed coltfriend, she didn't want to break the peace, and mostly she didn't want to get Dusk in trouble, because she knew that as soon as it was discovered that Dusk wasn't talking about marriage, everything would be a disaster.

"It's delicious!" Dusk said suddenly, who was still sitting next to Applejack, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Dusk had seen a huge cake in front of him, it looked so appetizing that it was hard to resist eating it, but remembered that HE was in charge of supervising the banquet, so it was his duty to check the food's quality, so It wouldn't hurt to eat a bite of a cake as long as he left the rest intact for the banquet.

"This cake was made by ma' dearest Applejack." Granny Smith grinned as she listened to Dusk.

"Wow... You're really a great cook!" Dusk smiled, savoring the cake and looking at Applejack, glad to know another side of that honest, hard-working mare. "I could really eat this every day!"

Applejack was surprised by the comment and couldn't help but blush, she was always praised for her apple pies by her family, but she had rarely been praised by other colts, so she couldn't help feeling happy, even if she didn't say anything about it.

"He's so clumsy, but also sincere..." Applejack thought blushing, glancing sideways at Dusk as he continued to eat. "Maybe... Ah' could wait n' see how far this wedding goes..."

Then she realized what she had just thought and blushed even more.

"What'm Ah' thinking! Ah' gotta fix this now!" Applejack thought quickly, ashamed of her own emotions.

"Dusk... You gotta go now..." Applejack whispered to Dusk.

"Huh? Why? I still need to check that the banquet is completely ready." Dusk replied confused, looking at her and then at the huge table. "On second thought, they have a lot of dishes ready, I guess I can mark that everything's ready."

Then Dusk was surprised to see that the ponies, all relatives to Applejack, began to take part of the banquet and were served to begin eating.

"Wait a second! I ate a little to taste it, but if you eat all that, there'll be nothing left for the banquet! Isn't this the banquet you prepared for the Summer Sun Celebration!?" Dusk asked confused.

"Yep, but don't chu' worry, we'll eat this now then we'll work all afternoon to get ready other banquet for the celebration." Granny Smith said, sitting next to Dusk. "Plus, we can't skimp on the wedding banquet for our beloved Applejack."

Dusk froze at Granny Smith's remark, then he turned to Applejack.

"You're getting married!? Uhh... congratulations I guess." Dusk said naively looking at Applejack. "And who's the fiance?"

"He's such a scatterbrained idiot." Applejack said embarrassed, covering her face and watching the impending disaster that was to come. Then she looked up at Dusk seriously, but blushing. "They think you're ma' fiance."

Dusk froze for a long time without moving a muscle as his brain tried to process what he had just heard, he didn't know whether or not he had heard correctly, but Applejack had spoken loud and clear, there was no mistake. Then Dusk turned his head quickly and looked at the banquet and all the Apple family, and then all the points were connecting, the conversations and what he had not understood, all while his face was turning blue from the panic that was beginning to accumulate in him.

"Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-" Dusk stammered, blue with fear, not being able to utter a single word.

"Granny and Big Mac confused everythin' an' made everyone believe we're engaged." Applejack said embarrassed, understanding the unicorn's confusion.

"Bu... But we're not getting married!" Dusk said almost in a scream, finally managing to articulate words.

As soon as Dusk uttered those words, one of the banjo's strings broke, causing the music to be cut just then, and all the ponies looked at Dusk, leaving a long, tense silence in the air.

"What'd ya mean, not getting married?" The elderly pony sitting next to Granny Smith asked, a peach-colored mare and soft pink mane with an apple with two roses as cutie mark.

"I-It's what I said, this's all a misunderstanding…" Dusk said fearfully and uncomfortably as everyone was staring at him. "I... I'm just in charge of the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, I just came to see that the banquet was ready..."

Suddenly Big Mac got up and hit the table with a hoof.

"Then why'd you kiss ma' sister!? Ya won't take responsibility!?" Big Mac said annoyed.

Dusk didn't know what to say, first he didn't understand Big Mac, the red pony got angry when he approached his sister and now he was angry for not wanting to be with her, besides Applejack had already explained to them that everything about that kiss had been an accident, why did they take all this so seriously!? Then Dusk looked at the faces of the other ponies and saw that they all saw him very seriously, as if they were about to lynch him. Dusk began to tremble without knowing how to escape that uncomfortable situation.

"GET HIM!" Suddenly shouted one of the stallions sitting next to Big Mac, and he and all the guys at the table got up and jumped on top of Dusk.

Meanwhile, on hearing the scream and seeing the stallions rushing him, Dusk instinctively used his magic and teleported himself to the entrance of the farm. Even so, he was in sight of the Apple family, who stood watching him in the distance.

"Remember how our aunt from the mountains gotta husband?" The old mare asked Granny Smith.

"Oh... yea, Ah 'member..." Granny Smith said, smiling mischievously, and then screamed. "Time ta hunt the groom! Get him!" Granny ordered her family stallions that had been piled up as they tried to jump Dusk.

Then some of the stallions and mares of the Apple family rushed up to a cart, all while the ponies playing country music had fixed the banjo string and also got into the cart.

"Yee-haw!" Suddenly cried the pony playing the banjo, who had a cutie mark of a foggy mountain, and began to play a quick country tune, perfect for chasing, while the cart was pulled by Big Mac and one of his cousins, and began hunting Dusk.

While Dusk, who had been static all this time due to surprise, watched in terror as a cart full of the Apple family began coming right at him, then he had began to run out of there as fast as he could, cursing his bad luck.

"That's how ya get a husband in the mountains, hehehe." Granny Smith laughed as she watches her family run after Dusk. She had been a little depressed to hear that Dusk wouldn't marry her granddaughter, in fact she had been surprised that he had accepted so easily at first, but after Dusk rejected the proposal, it seemed amusing to frighten the boy a little, plus she knew that her family would never harm Dusk, for them this was a game, although perhaps Big Mac was taking it to heart.

Then Granny glanced at Applejack, who had been staring in amazement at what just happened, and smiled.

"Well, not wantin' ta get married now don't mean he never will, after all love's like a beautiful garden, it takes time ta cultivate it, but the more time ya spend, the more beautiful the result." Granny Smith smiled, saying those words aloud to her granddaughter, which Applejack couldn't help blushing after hearing them.

"Ah'm confused." Apple Bloom said, who hadn't gotten into the cart with her cousins. "So do ya like Dusk Shine 'er not?" Apple Bloom asked looking at his sister.

Applejack looked surprised at her sister and then she looked up and couldn't help but laugh as Dusk ran frightened of her cousins.

"Don't ask me somethin' like that, lil' sis." Applejack said, smiling and blushing again, not wanting to answer that question, for the truth was that she didn't know the answer herself.

After that, Applejack and her little sister see Dusk go, racing out of Sweet Apple Acres to parts unknown.

# End of Chapter 13
> Chapter 14 - A Never-ending Evening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Never-ending Evening

On a clearing in the woods, on the outskirts of Ponyville on the way to the Everfree forest, you could hear the joyful songs of the birds, different chirps, and trills that broke the silence and delivered a relaxing sound that made ponies remember how pleasant it was to be in nature, away from all the hustle and bustle in town. But the sound of those birds was not one that could be heard on either side, for the sound that was heard was not the normal thing the birds did, singing in disorder and without any specific reason, this time you could hear the birds in sync, all singing together and at the same pace, as if they really were singing a song. This was something the birds rarely did, more in Ponyville, being such a close place to the wild and untamed Everfree forest, yet there was a mare who, with her soft character, had managed to reach the hearts of the animals and had made them do what she asked them, not with training but by showing them her kindness.

On the branches of a small tree, the sweet Fluttershy had gathered most of the birds that lived near her house. These birds stood on different branches and sang in unison a song that the Pegasus had taught them and she herself now lead, moving her hooves from side to side like an orchestra conductor, causing all the birds to follow their movement and rhythm. She had spent the whole morning rehearsing with her birds the different songs she hoped to play for the Summer Sun Celebration since she had little time and hoped that everything would turn out perfect, after all being in charge of music for such an important celebration required her greatest effort.

As Fluttershy continued leading her bird choir, for a moment she lifted her hoof, causing the birds to sing in an extremely sharp tone, breaking the harmony they had till then.

"Huh!? Oh, I'm sorry!" Fluttershy said quickly, lowering her hoof so that the chorus stopped singing that high note. "I don't know what's happening to me today, guess I'm a little distracted ... Let's start from the beginning."

Fluttershy then settled down and moved her hooves again to start the tune from the beginning. This was not the first time Fluttershy had been distracted and had to start from the beginning, for some reason, she had not been able to concentrate at one hundred percent since returning from breakfast with her friends, she was trying to focus on guiding the music, but a lingering thought in her mind wouldn't let her concentrate, the revelation that apparently all her friends were interested in the same colt, Dusk Shine. She had been very surprised to learn that, her friends as well, but it had surprised her to know that they had all done something to get closer to him, unlike her; Applejack had kissed him, Pinkie Pie too, even Rainbow Dash for the first time had hinted at her feelings, which was already a breakthrough, only she and Rarity seemed to have done nothing, and knowing her flirtatious friend, Rarity wouldn't waste time, after all the white unicorn had her beauty and feminine charm to attract the colts, but what did she have? That is, she was not sure how to react if she saw Dusk again, after all, she did not want to fight with her friends, but she felt that she did not want to leave Dusk either, but if she didn’t go away and meet Dusk again, would she dare do anything? That restlessness would not leave her alone.

Suddenly Fluttershy came out of her thoughts and came back to reality seeing that the birds suddenly stopped singing and flew out of the tree they were standing in, flying in all different directions as if something had frightened them.

"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, watching as all her birds flew away.

Then Fluttershy heard a noise, it was the strong and fast galloping of someone. She turned and saw that a pony was approaching her, and not any pony, it was Dusk Shine, who was hurrying towards her with a frightened face.

"FLUTTERSHY!!" Dusk shouted as he ran towards the yellow pegasus.

If it had been in another situation, Fluttershy would have been excited to see just the colt she was thinking of had appeared in front of her, as if he had heard to her thoughts, yet she could only get a little frightened and nervous at seeing how frightened Dusk was running.

"Hide me!" Dusk shouted once he reached Fluttershy, running non-stop, only to take the pegasus by a hoof and causing them both to leap past a shrub beside the tree which Fluttershy had been standing by.

As soon as they were hidden behind the bush, Fluttershy looked at Dusk in surprise, not understanding anything, but the unicorn just lifted his other hoof and put it to his mouth for a sign of silence, which Fluttershy did.

After a few seconds, she heard another noise, this time a louder noise, that of a wagon. Passing in front of the bush, not noticing that its prey was hidden, was a wagon carrying Applejack's cousins, all excited about the cart race they had made from Sweet Apple Acres chasing Dusk, although most had already forgotten the reason for the persecution and only had fun while the only one who remained serious, Big Mac, he was still pulling at full speed, trying to catch Dusk. It was so that the wagon sped past and continued its way, leaving only a trail of dust and noise.

Once everything settled again and all was quiet, Dusk Shine breathed again, out of fear, he'd held his breath as the cart passed the bush.

"Phew! That was close..." Dusk sighed, placing a hoof to his chest.

Ever since Dusk had run out of Sweet Apple Acres, all he did was run aimlessly, just running at full speed as he heard the cart behind him. Sometimes he felt the swift cart getting too close to him, so much so that a few times he even had to use his teleportation spell to flee further down the road, but the cart always reached him again, and though he had turned a couple of times to look at his pursuers and he had noticed that all Applejack's cousins laughed cheerfully as if this were all a game, which for a second had made him think that it would be best to stop, only to see the serious and annoyed face of Big Mac again and make him tense and urge himself to keep running from him. It was so unconsciously Dusk had escaped by the same route that he had used to reach Sweet Apple Acres the first time, the path that connected the Apple family farm with Fluttershy's cottage, traversing the grove on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. It was that same unconscious thought that made Dusk do that as soon as he saw Fluttershy, he grabbed her and took her to hide with him, although Pegasus didn't need to hide.

After calming down, while both ponies were still sitting behind the bush, Dusk turned his head to look at Fluttershy and explain everything happened, certainly the mare must've had many questions of all that happened, however as soon as Dusk looked at Fluttershy he realized that the pegasus was totally blushing, without looking at him and covering her mouth with one of her hooves in shyness.

"Huh... is something wrong?" Dusk asked, confused when he saw that Fluttershy was completely red.

Fluttershy looked at Dusk and then looked down at the space between them, not saying a single word as she blushed. Dusk looked down at Fluttershy and saw that he was still holding one of Fluttershy's hooves he had grabbed to make her jump with him and in all that time, without realizing it, he hadn't let go of Fluttershy's soft hoof for even a second. Dusk Shine also blushed and released her immediately, believing that the meek Fluttershy wouldn't be accustomed to having somepony hold her hoof so firmly, this was true, but what Dusk didn't know was that she hadn't blushed because someone had held her hoof, but because 'just Dusk' held her hoof.

"I... I'm sorry, it was an impulse, I didn't realize it." Dusk apologized awkwardly.

"Umm... N-No matter... " Fluttershy said timidly, missing the warmth of Dusk's touch.

After that short dialogue followed a long silence that neither seemed to break, Dusk was still on alert, his body tense and his ears raised up, trying to hear any noise from the surroundings in case Applejack's family continued prowling the place; while Fluttershy remained silent but unwilling to be, because what she really wanted was to take advantage of this opportunity that fate had given her to be alone with Dusk and to talk and get to know him more, however, the extremely timid Fluttershy didn't know what to talk about or how to start a conversation, which caused the poor mare to be anxious, only biting her lip at the powerlessness of not knowing how to act.

"Hmm... Fluttershy, I'm sorry I dragged you in with me," Dusk said, finally breaking the silence. "If you like, you can go, you don't need to hide with me."

Fluttershy looked at Dusk and saw him staring at her, then she looked away in embarrassment and looked down at the ground again. She had been thinking about that colt all morning, and now that she had finally been able to see him, she did not want to stop being with him so easily.

"N-No... I... I'm fine here." Fluttershy said totally blushing, not being able to see Dusk in the eye but happy to get the courage to tell Dusk that she wanted to be with him.

As for Dusk, he unfortunately did not understand the value that the timid pegasus had to take to say those words or understand their true meaning, he only supposed that she was still so frightened and confused with everything that happened that she was even afraid to move.

"Hmm... But Dusk... Why are you hiding?" Fluttershy asked timidly, because she thanked her luck for meeting Dusk, but she still had many questions about what had just happened.

Dusk stopped looking at Fluttershy and peered out the front of the shrub that was hiding them. Dusk wasn't sure if talking too much was safe or not, since Applejack's cousins might still be hanging around and could hear them. The lavender unicorn then turned to look at Fluttershy and saw her innocent cyan blue eyes gazing at him tenderly, making him blush slightly and decide that the least he could do was give an explanation of everything that happened, and he thought that as long as they spoke in a low volume, nopony would probably hear them. This lead to Dusk explaining that he had run away from Applejack's cousins, having to explain all that confusion with the arranged marriage and explain how he had come to Sweet Apple Acres, the stallion also had to explain that before arriving there he was with Rainbow Dash and therefore what happened with Rarity, from question to question Dusk ended up telling Fluttershy everything that had happened to him since he'd left the library that morning.

"... and as you'll see, this is the first moment of relaxation I've had since dawn, haha." Dusk laughed nervously after finishing his story.

"Wow... yeah, it really was a busy morning." Fluttershy smiled, who had listened quietly to Dusk's story, but in her mind, she had many ideas that made her uneasy.

Dusk smiled and was grateful to have meet Fluttershy, for what he was going through at that precise moment was just what he needed, someone to listen to and help him relax, and the quiet Fluttershy was the perfect companion for that after that hectic morning. Then Dusk looked at the sky through the branches of the bush and saw that the sun continued to advance and that despite being comfortable, he had to leave at some point and continue with his labors.

"It's been a while, maybe it's time to go." Dusk said, looking at the butter yellow pegasus, somewhat embarrassed by what he was going to ask. "But just in case... Fluttershy, could you peek out and see if Applejack's cousins really aren't there? I don't want to look out and let them see me, if they are still there."

"Uh... yes, of course." Fluttershy said, sad to hear that Dusk had to go.

After that, Fluttershy got up and stuck her head out of the bush, she looked everywhere and sharpened her ears to see if she heard anything, yet she could not see or hear anyone, just the silent forest that surrounded them.

"So... Do you see anything?" Dusk said nervously, totally blushed, because as soon as Fluttershy had stood and peered through the bush, inadvertently she had left Dusk with the privileged sight of her beautiful flanks, to which Dusk couldn't help blushing upon seeing them, though he quickly turned his gaze away out of shame, since it wasn't gentlecoltly to stare so closely at a mare's flanks.

After Dusk asked, Fluttershy didn't respond, she just bit her lip without knowing what to do. She remembered all that Dusk had told her about what had happened to him that morning, and although Dusk didn’t notice, she did realize that her friends wanted to get closer to the colt and they were! While she was just here alone doing nothing, she did not have the firm character of Applejack, nor the strong temperament of Rainbow Dash, nor the flirtatious style of Rarity, let alone the outgoing personality of Pinkie Pie, she was just an overly shy mare who couldn't make a decision and make her stand out in front of the others, she felt weak, just as she felt that morning when she mentioned that she was the first to meet Dusk and none of her friends appreciated that. But now she had the opportunity to be alone with Dusk, and although she did not like lying, she decided that this time she should be more bold and determined, and follow her feelings.

Fluttershy stopped looking through the bush and was inside it again with Dusk, then blushed looking at the unicorn.

"I... I didn’t see anything..." Fluttershy said shyly, telling the truth before lying. "Bu... But I think I heard them... ma-maybe they're still around..."

"For real?! Wow, what very persistent ponies... I guess I'd better stay here for a while longer with you." Dusk sighed, resigned to the fact that for his own safety he should remain hidden.

"Yes!" Fluttershy said cheerfully, so cheerful that she spread her wings a little and almost jumped with joy, but then realized that she shouldn't be so happy in this situation in front of Dusk, and blushed again before calming down.

Then Fluttershy approached to where she had been sitting and with much effort, while she trembled slightly from nerves, she sat down. Dusk noticed that the mare was nervous but didn't understand why, as she sat next to him exactly where she had been sitting before; however for Fluttershy it was a big step, since before she had been sitting there by chance, but now SHE had decided to sit there, beside a colt, extremely close to each other, and for Fluttershy that had taken a great deal of bravery even though Dusk didn't notice it.

After sitting down, both ponies lifted their ears at the sound of a noise, then raised their heads and saw that a flock of birds of different species flew over them and stood in the branches of the tree that was next to the bush.

"Oh, what joy! They're back!" Fluttershy said cheerfully looking at the birds. Then one by one the birds flew to where Fluttershy was, they circled over their heads singing and returned to their place in the branches of the tree, as a greeting, all while Fluttershy smiled at each bird.

"I know them, they're your birds." Dusk said after having recalled seeing those birds when he helped Fluttershy with her duties the first day he arrived in Ponyville.

"Oh, they're not my birds, they’re all free birds, I only take care of them." Smiled Fluttershy.

"And what are they doing here all together?" Dusk asked.

"I was practicing with them for the musical choir tonight, but when you arrived they became scared and fled." Fluttershy replied, still watching the birds.

"You're in charge of the music for the celebration!?" Dusk asked in surprise.

"That's right." Fluttershy replied blushing a little.

Dusk was surprised by that huge coincidence, not only with Fluttershy but with Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, all the preparations had been entrusted to the mares with which he intended to form some bond of friendship, and now that he thought about the matter more carefully, the last preparation was the evening of the day before, a feast before the great celebration, and a certain pink mare had told him that she was in charge of Ponyville's parties, so that all seemed to stop being a mere coincidence. For a second Dusk looked up at the sky and felt like a puppet, as if some invisible force were playing with him, although he quickly dismissed the idea, for such absurd things as fate didn't exist. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had been somewhat uneasy, she had seen that Dusk had apparently been interested to know that she was in charge of the music of the Summer Sun Celebration, maybe he would like to hear the music she had prepared, but she wasn’t sure how to ask Dusk, What if he said he wasn't interested? What if he didn't like it...?

"By the way, I'm in charge of supervising the preparations for the celebration." Dusk said suddenly, trying to continue the conversation and forget the silly notions of fate. "Taking advantage of being here, perhaps you could show me what you've prepared for tonight."

That comment excited Fluttershy and dispelled all the doubts she had, though Dusk quickly corrected himself.

"On second thought, maybe that's not such a good idea. Applejack's cousins are still out there and it might draw a lot of attention to watch the birds sing." Dusk added, scratching his head.

That discouragement hit the Pegasus in a second, who returned to look sadly at the ground, scratching the earth with her hoof. Dusk looked at the mare and could not help but think how tender Fluttershy looked, being shy, apparently she wanted to show her music but she did not dare to say it out loud.

"No, you know what? I think it would be good to listen to the choir, I don't think anyone will pay attention to the choir or the bush we are in." Dusk added again, knowing that he was risking his neck by making noise, but being rewarded with the tender smile of Fluttershy who was glad to hear his words, it made Dusk blush.

Then Fluttershy looked at the birds, who could see her behind the bush from above as they stood on the branches of the tree, and she began to move her front hooves gently from side to side as the birds began to sing in unison a soft melody with their trill chirps. This pleasant music surprised Dusk, who didn't expect such a harmonious sound from these birds, all attentive to the movement of pegasi's hooves, each in its own tone, small birds sang the high notes and some of them that were plumper than the rest sang bass, but all in perfect harmony. Dusk was amazed to see the birds while his body finally relaxed completely and gave in to that melody, then he stopped seeing the birds and saw what they saw, Fluttershy, who smiled tenderly as she led her choir, Dusk stared at her, astonished to realize the hard work it had taken her to coordinate the various songs of the birds to form a true musical choir.

For a moment Fluttershy glanced at Dusk and saw that he was watching her closely, which made her heart skip a beat as she blushed, but that also triggered her scenic panic by being the center of attention, which made her nervous and lose the rhythm of music, before which the chorus broke the harmony and was silent as Fluttershy lowered her hooves slowly.

"I'm sorry... I lost the rhythm." Fluttershy apologized in embarrassment.

"What are you talking about? That was amazing! It was a very nice choir, you taught them well, you really surprised me." Dusk said encouraging her while smiling. "And they sing to perfection only by seeing the movement of your hooves?"

"Yes, although I sometimes use a baton, and there are a few melodies they even sing without me guiding them." said Fluttershy timidly, blushing after receiving such flattery from Dusk, the colt that made her heart skip.

And as if the birds had understood what Fluttershy had just said and followed what she wanted from the bottom of her heart, the birds began another melody, one with a softer and more romantic rhythm as they flew over the bush and gently tapped some branches of the tree so that some flower petals fell on both ponies, creating a perfect romantic scene.

All that, the singing of the birds and the falling petals, was so gradual that neither of the ponies realized when everything had started since they had been staring at each other. Fluttershy had never looked into the eyes of another pony for this long, but on that occasion she was mesmerized by the atmosphere and the beautiful eyes that were in front of her, a situation identical to what Dusk felt at that precise moment. They continued to see each other until a petal fell on Fluttershy's nose, then she wrinkled her nose tenderly to fall, then lifted her hoof and smoothed her mane, before continuing to watch Dusk; The gesture so feminine and natural, made Dusk's heart beat hard as his cheeks blushed even more.

"What is this?" Dusk thought nervously as he didn't understand his own emotions. "Why can't I stop looking at her? And now... Is she approaching me? Or am I approaching? Or are we both?" Dusk thought as he felt the distance between their faces slowly growing closer...

"There you are!" said Rainbow Dash suddenly, who out of nowhere stuck her head through the bush.

This sudden appearance immediately cut off all that romantic atmosphere, the birds stopped singing and flew away while Dusk and Fluttershy nearly jumped out from fright before the sudden appearance of Rainbow Dash. The both of them then blushed and looked down, without being able to see into each other's eyes or Rainbow Dash, it was as if they had awakened from a dream, a beautiful dream that neither of them had wanted to end as suddenly as it did.

Rainbow Dash gave a confused look at Dusk, then saw Fluttershy, and saw that both were blushing. The gears in Rainbow Dash's mind began to move quickly to try and understand the situation, had she interrupted something between the two of them? Then Rainbow Dash stared at her friend, who always seemed to have that shy expression.

"Pfff, nah, that's impossible." Rainbow Dash laughed, dismissing immediately the idea that Fluttershy might be doing something with Dusk, that is, both were hidden behind a bush, very close together and everything, something that would have put her on alert if Dusk had been with Rarity, or Pinkie Pie, or even with Applejack, but there was definitely no chance that something had happened between the shy Fluttershy and Dusk.

"Anyway, it seems I scared you, sorry Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash apologized looking at Fluttershy and then looked at Dusk. "You, come with me."

Rainbow Dash then took Dusk in her hooves for the second time in the day and pulled him quickly as she began to fly.

"W-Wait!" Fluttershy shouted at the sight of Rainbow Dash taking Dusk away, though her shyness stopped her and only let out a shriek that was almost a whisper.

That was how the timid pegasus was alone, watching the rainbow trail away, scratching the ground with her hoof wearing an expression of disappointment, wishing that the magical moment she lived with Dusk for a few minutes would have ended differently.





"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Stop! "Shouted Dusk for the umpteenth time, shout that he was finally overheard by Rainbow Dash once she slowed down and stopped next to Dusk at the town entrance.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked, stopped flying and stood on the ground.

"What's wrong!?" Dusk repeated annoyed. "This happens to be the second time in one day that you grab me without warning and take me flying from where I was!"

"Well... it's your fault!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed. "I told you to wait for me and then you leave, I had to look for you all around Ponyville until I luckily found Applejack's cousins who told me they lost track of you in the grove near Fluttershy's house, and if it hadn’t been for that chorus of birds I would never have found you."

Dusk heard the pegasus whole speech, which made him seem like the culprit when in reality he was the victim of everything, in addition to everything that the pegasus had just said was missing something essential.

"Well? So why were you looking for me?" Dusk asked, still annoyed, not understanding the eagerness that Rainbow Dash had for finding him.

All of a sudden Rainbow Dash ceased being confident and fell silent, opening her eyes wide and turning a little pale. She had been bothered by Dusk leaving her alone and for missing the opportunity to show him how great she was by clearing the sky, so after discussing with the pegasi of the weather patrol, she had spent the rest of the morning and afternoon of that day looking for Dusk, only focused on looking for him to show off that she was worthy of his admiration, so that now that she was standing in front of him, she realized that she had no compelling reason or even thought of an excuse for Dusk to stay with her.

"I... I... I wanted you to see my stunts!" Rainbow Dash said nervously, saying the first thing that came to her.

"Stunts?" Dusk said confused and annoyed. "I don't have time for that, I have to continue monitoring the preparations for-"

Dusk stopped talking, looking at the sky over the town and seeing that it was full of clouds.

"What happened to the sky!? Just this morning it was clear and now it's all cloudy!" Dusk added totally bewildered.

Then Rainbow Dash turned and looked at the sky too.

"Oh, it can't be! Who will clear the sky!? "Rainbow Dash said theatrically. A very bad performance that would have been discovered by anyone, by anyone but the naive Dusk.

A pale green pegasus was putting the last cloud in its place, and upon seeing Rainbow Dash, she approached her.

"Rainbow Dash, we put all the clouds where you told us." said the green mare as she approached Rainbow Dash.

"W-What are you talking about? Hehe." Rainbow Dash said, giggling nervously and glancing sideways at Dusk. "I said take them away, not bring them back."

"Hmm, no, I'm sure you said-" the green mare replied, but her speech was silenced by Rainbow Dash, who quickly put a hoof in her mouth to silence her.

"Obviously you didn't understand my instructions, but don't worry, you can go, I'll clean this mess." Rainbow Dash said, looking at the green pegasus with a big, fake smile.

The green pegasus scratched her head uncomprehendingly, but since Rainbow Dash was the captain of the weather patrol, she decided not to continue arguing and simply to leave.

As soon as the green pegasus left, Rainbow Dash looked back at Dusk.

"Hehe, these newbies... sometimes they confuse orders, hehe." Rainbow Dash giggled nervously.

"That doesn't matter, the important thing is now what do we do!?" said Dusk nervously, who was still looking at the sky and paid little attention to the argument between Rainbow Dash and the green pegasus. "It's sunset and the sky is still cloudy! You'll have to call the entire weather patrol so they can fix this as fast as possible!"

"Pfff, not necessary." said Rainbow Dash, pretending not to care but rejoicing inside to see that everything was finally coming out as she wanted. "If I wanted, I could clear the sky by myself in ten seconds flat."

Dusk looked at Rainbow Dash, who as always looked extremely confident, nevertheless in his opinion that pride was excessive, to say that she could do all that work completely alone was too much, he couldn't flatter her with false compliments as he had this morning, no, it was time somepony lowered the fumes from her head, besides, Dusk was still annoyed with her for interrupting him when he was with Fluttershy, since for some reason he had felt very comfortable with the timid pegasus; so Dusk couldn't help but be annoyed even more and stare angrily at Rainbow Dash.

"Enough of this! You can't do it, it's impossible! This is work for an entire patrol!" Dusk said angrily. "Put aside your pride, this is not for personal glory, we must clear the sky for the celebration for all the ponies!"

"So you don't believe me!" Rainbow Dash replied, bringing her face closer to Dusk's and looking at him seriously.

"That's right! I'd bet anything that you can't keep up with what you say." Dusk said, standing still and watching Rainbow Dash closely.

"Bet?" Rainbow Dash repeated, ceasing to be serious but without removing her face from Dusks. Then several ideas began to cross the Pegasi's mind, ideas related to Dusk.

"Okay." said Dusk without moving, still annoying, and believing that Rainbow Dash's question had been a challenge. "If you can clear the whole sky in ten seconds, I'll do anything you want."

At Dusk's words, Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and she finally turned away from Dusk and turned around, he hadn't noticed that she was blushing. Then the ideas that had passed briefly through Rainbow Dash's mind became clearer, thoughts that became images in her head, images of fantasies that involved her and Dusk.

"He... will do what I want!" Rainbow Dash thought as her heart beat faster and louder, her cheeks blushed.

Then Rainbow Dash turned to look at Dusk again.

"Okay, it's a bet." Rainbow Dash said, trying to look calm, but still slightly blushed.

Then Rainbow Dash leaned forward, stretched her wings and stood ready to run, or in this case, fly at full speed.

"Get ready to keep your mouth open." Rainbow Dash said excitedly. "When you give me the signal."

Dusk looked at Rainbow Dash, who kept looking up at the sky with an expression of absolute confidence that she could really do that impossible task, then Dusk couldn't help thinking that perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea to humiliate her and show her the harsh reality that she was not as quick as she thought, however he remembered again that she had interrupted him when he was with Rarity and Fluttershy, and that, for some reason that he didn't understand himself, bothered him, so he simply decided to use the bet on Rainbow Dash as revenge.

"GO!" Shouted Dusk, giving the signal for the pegasus to leave.

As soon as Dusk uttered the words, Rainbow Dash took off at an incredible speed, leaving only a trail of dust on the ground and her characteristic rainbow contrail flying across the sky. Then Dusk looked up, astonished to see the speed with which Pegasus had taken off, he couldn't help but be more surprised to see the clouds over Ponyville fade away as soon as the rainbow trail pass them by, something so fast that one could hardly distinguish that the contrail was really Rainbow Dash and that it was she who, with strong swift kicks, struck the clouds to make them disappear from the sky.

Finally the last clouds disappeared and the rainbow contrail descended to where Dusk was, stopping and showing an excited and extremely exhausted Rainbow Dash.

"I... I told you... ten... seconds..." Rainbow Dash said, breathing heavily as she smiled at the look of utter astonishment on Dusk, who was still looking up at the sky.

Rainbow Dash couldn't stand it any longer and began to laugh as Dusk continued looking towards the sky with his mouth hanging open. That nice laugh was the one that finally brought Dusk back to reality, then he looked down and saw Rainbow Dash. Instantly Dusk realized that he had not really taken the time, but that really didn't matter, it could've been a little more or a little less, the reality was that everything had been extremely fast, Rainbow Dash had scattered dozens of clouds at an astonishing rate, so much so that Dusk, who had even seen the famous Wonderbolts, was seriously beginning to believe that Rainbow Dash could actually be Equestria's fastest pony.

"That... That was amazing!! I've never seen anything like it!" Dusk said sincerely looking excitedly at Rainbow Dash, forgetting that a few moments ago he was annoyed with her and that all that had been to shrink her ego a little. "I... I know in the morning I praised you for how fast you are but... wow! I must admit that now I mean it, you really are awesome."

As Dusk said those words, Rainbow Dash was smiling more and more as her heart filled with joy, this was what she had been looking for! She loved it when other ponies praised her speed, but what that colt did gave it an extra touch, for some reason she enjoyed it much more when she heard those words coming from Dusk Shine, she was very happy that he saw her as an unequaled mare.

"Well?" Dusk finally asked, at the confused look of Rainbow Dash. "A bet's a bet, tell me what you'd like me to do for you?"

Then Rainbow Dash realized that for a second she had forgotten the bet, since what she had chased all afternoon was to receive the praises of Dusk, that bet had been a last minute addition. Then Rainbow Dash blushed and was glad for her good fortune to have that great "free bonus".

"I... er..." Rainbow Dash started nervously, looking at the ground as she blushed and thousands of thoughts passed through her head, then she looked up and saw that Dusk was watching her closely, expectant to know what she would ask. "Don't look at me like that, I still haven't decided! Give me a second!" Rainbow Dash added, totally nervous, blushing even more and turning as she always did so Dusk wouldn't see her like that.

As she turned her back on Dusk, Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her mouth thoughtfully and began to think about what she should ask the colt. Many ideas went through her head, ideas about asking him to do something ridiculous, or to join her in pulling pranks again, or serve her as a personal servant for a day, however, the more she thought, her hidden feelings began to affect her ideas, changing them for: solo walks with Dusk, an invitation to dinner together, some romantic gift... Then the idea of knowing that she could ask anything of Dusk mixed with her hidden feelings led her to have crazy romantic fantasies.

"What on earth am I thinking!!?" Rainbow Dash suddenly thought as she realized that she was totally blushing as she imagined her and Dusk together in bed.

She then quickly dismissed those crazy ideas and focused on something more realistic, something that Dusk could do and that she liked, maybe something Dusk could offer her, something special that he shared with her... and while she thought about it, unconsciously she began to rub her hoof softly on her lips and in her mind ran the memory of breakfast, and she remembered that two of her friends had blatantly kissed Dusk.

Finally, Rainbow Dash lowered her hoof, closed her eyes and turned to face Dusk to tell him what she thought to ask, but she didn't dare ask what she was going to ask staring at Dusk, so she glanced down and looked at the floor.

"I... I think I know what to ask you to do..." Rainbow Dash said nervously, totally blushed, still staring at the floor. "Applejack and Pinkie Pie have kissed you, haven't they? I... I wondered if... if we could-" Rainbow Dash began to stutter nervously, something she didn't like, so she took a breath and lifted her head to finish her order by looking Dusk in the eye. "If we could kiss-"

Rainbow Dash didn't finish speaking when she realized that Dusk wasn't in front of her, in fact, he was nowhere! The pegasus opened her eyes in complete surprise as all the tension that she had felt in her heart disappeared in an instant, leaving her with weak legs, almost causing her to fall. She started looking around for Dusk, but there was no trace of the unicorn. Finally, she looked down and saw a small piece of paper, a letter, right on the spot Dusk had been standing a few moments ago. Rainbow Dash approached, took the letter, opened it as it read:

"Sorry Dashie, I borrowed Dusk, I know it wouldn't bother you.

See you at the party."

Rainbow Dash began to read the letter excitedly, thinking it had been a note from Dusk, but when she finished reading it, her expression quickly changed from surprise then to anger.

"PINKIE PIE!!" shouted Rainbow Dash, crinkling the letter as she suspected that it must have her crazy pink friend and realized only Pinkie could have gotten Dusk so quickly and silently that she hadn't noticed.





Dusk Shine was standing in front of Sugarcube Corner while Pinkie Pie opened the door, and though he had a mare in front of him, Dusk was thinking of another mare, the pegasus he'd left behind.

A few minutes earlier, as soon as Rainbow Dash had turned around to think about what Dusk would have to do to pay the bet, Dusk felt someone touch his back, then he turned and saw with surprise that it was Pinkie Pie, who only smiled and lifted a hoof to his mouth so Dusk wouldn't speak.

"W-What are you doing here?" Dusk asked, whispering, following the instructions not to speak loud Pinkie Pie was telling him, without even knowing why he did it.

"Shh! Come with me, I have a surprise for you." Pinkie Pie also whispered and nodded for Dusk to follow her.

Then Dusk turned and looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was standing with her back to him, shaking her head from side to side as she murmured as if she were arguing with herself.

"Don't worry about Rainbow Dash, I'll leave her a note." Pinkie Pie said in his ear as if she had read Dusk's mind, leaving a letter on the ground where he was standing. "We'll sneak away while she doesn't notice, like a prank!"

Dusk turned to see Pinkie Pie, who smiled, walked a few silent steps away from Rainbow Dash and waited for Dusk to follow, then he turned again and looked at the pegasus. He didn't like leaving without saying goodbye, especially in a way the pegasus might think he was trying to weasel out of their bet, nevertheless, it was Pinkie Pie's words that erased those doubts since apparently, she left a note explaining that Dusk was with her, plus Pinkie Pie said it was a prank, and Dusk knew from experience that Rainbow Dash liked pranks, so the pegasus would probably take it well; in any case, Rainbow Dash had taken him away without a warning when he had been chatting with Rarity and Fluttershy, so she could not complain now that Pinkie Pie was playing this little joke about leaving her talking to herself.

So Dusk turned and followed quickly and silently to Pinkie Pie before Rainbow Dash realized that he was gone, believing that everything would be a little joke to the pegasus and that she would take it in good humor.

They both walked stealthily until they were far enough away, and as they did Pinkie Pie would turn from time to time and checked that Dusk followed her, then she blushed slightly and smiled. Then in town, Pinkie Pie started jumping as she usually did, heading for the bakery without saying a word to Dusk to keep the surprise, something that should have bothered Dusk, to follow someone without knowing where or why, however he had other things on his mind, the further they moved away from Rainbow Dash, Dusk became more and more concerned.

"It's just a joke, I'm not running away from paying the bet, I keep my word." Dusk told himself while Pinkie Pie was still leading him towards Sugarcube Corner, still worried that Rainbow Dash would think he wasn't a pony of his word. "I keep my promises, I keep my promises!" Dusk thought frantically, as he tried to keep away a bad memory of his chasing childhood, one of an unfulfilled promise.

Dusk's mind had been so concentrated, that the unicorn did not even notice when they had reached Sugarcube Corner, only coming back to reality when Pinkie Pie finally opened the door and spoke to him.

"Come in!" Pinkie Pie smiled, waiting for Dusk to enter the bakery with her, without realizing the shadow of fear and concern that Dusk had had on his face a few moments ago.

Dusk was then startled out of his thoughts and obediently went into the bakery, not wanting Pinkie Pie realized his shady memories.

"Welcome to our private party!!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully once Dusk walked through the door.

Before Pinkie Pie's surprise festive cry, Dusk recalled that Pinkie Pie hadn't given him a welcome party as she so longed for, surely she had asked him to accompany her for that, so Dusk immediately thought that probably Sugarcube Corner would be full of balloons and streamers, just as he'd seen Pinkie Pie decorate her room when she'd hoped to throw a party in her room, however Dusk was surprised to see that the salon of the bakery was as he remembered it, without any ornaments or festive objects.

"A party? But if there's no decorations." Dusk said looking for some hidden balloons, or some loose streamers. It was then that Dusk noticed another detail, of what Pinkie Pie had just said. "Wait... did you say private party?"

Then Dusk turned to see Pinkie Pie, whom he saw, but not as expected. Pinkie Pie was behind Dusk, smiling while pointing him a small cannon that she had at her side.

"W-What are you doing!?" Dusk asked, surprised and frightened to see the small cannon pointing at him.

"I'm going to shoot this cannon, as a final farewell." Pinkie Pie said smiling.

"F-F-Farewell...?" Dusk repeated scared, thinking that the pink mare had gone mad and wanted to shoot him in the face with a cannonball.

"That's right, goodbye Dusk." Pinkie Pie said with a macabre smile, pulling the cannons firing cord.

Just as Pinkie Pie pulled the firing cord, Dusk instinctively covered his face to protect himself from the impact, closed his eyes and waited for the roar of the cannon, however the only thing he heard was a curious sound, like a small horn followed by a funny squeak, at the same time he felt something soft strike his face.

"Weee!" Pinkie Pie cheered as Dusk pulled the hoof from his face and slowly opened his eyes.

Then Dusk saw that what had fired the cannon hadn't been a cannonbal, but balloons and confetti, which had covered him and the salon of the bakery, to the whole room except behind where Dusk had stood, where there was a graceful mark without confetti, a silhouette of him covering his face in fear.

"What is this?" Dusk asked confused, seeing everything around him.

"I told you, it's our private party!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. "I didn't have time to decorate, so I used my party canon to decorate at the same time that we made the farewell."

"Farewell for who?" Dusk asked even more confused.

"For the sick Pinkie Pie." Pinkie Pie replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "She's gone and now you'll meet the fun and cheerful Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie finished speaking with a wink.

Dusk looked at Pinkie Pie with a face of utter disbelief as many thoughts raced through his mind. The mare didn't know everything that had frightened Dusk with that cannon, and who the hell had a party cannon!? And where had she gotten it!? And all that fanfare had been just to say goodbye metaphorically to her cold!? Dusk could not help feeling a mixture of fear, anger, confusion, even laughter, all while he followed with all his doubts, but if had learned anything from that mare, it was that to ask something of her would only leave him more confused, so finally Dusk just hung his head resigned, thinking that the best thing would be to imagine that all this was normal.

"So... a private party?" Dusk asked, leaving all his questions aside and trying to start a normal conversation.

"That's right! I always invite all the ponies I know to my parties, in fact the whole town will go to my party on the eve of the celebration! But... this time we'll be alone together." Pinkie Pie said blushing a little and glanced at Dusk, and then she smiled again. "Although I don't know if I'd call it a real party, it's rather a 'pre-party'!"

And there was Pinkie Pie again doing a new type of her crazy! Inventing words! Now Dusk was obliged to ask for that new word.

"And what's a "pre-party'?" Asked Dusk, somewhat tired of knowing that this mare always filled him with confusion.

"It's a training party, for those who haven't gone to parties." Pinkie Pie smiled and stared tenderly at Dusk.

Dusk was surprised at Pinkie Pie's words and couldn't help blushing.

"I... I've been to parties..." Dusk said nervously.

"I don't mean elegant ceremonies like the ones when you lived in Canterlot, I mean real parties with real friends." Pinkie Pie said, smiling kindly.

"How does she know that? How does she know that I have not gone to parties with friends? How come she knows I have no real friends!?" Dusk thought frantically frightened.

"Did you think only you could make deductions about others?" Asked Pinkie Pie, holding a pipe in her mouth and wearing a deerstalker hat on her head, both coming out of nowhere. "You could tell that no one had given me a welcome party, and with all the stories that Spike told me, I can guess that you didn't have many friends growing up, besides Spike, so I guess you haven't been to many parties."

Dusk was still nervous as he breathed heavily and shakily with his head down, he liked to deduce and guess things from others, but he didn't like it done to him, he definitely didn't like being an open book and so easily read! And what if she teased him now for not having any friends!? What if she found out his true mission in Ponyville!? Should he escape?

"Calm down, you shouldn't be ashamed of not having been to a party before." Pinkie Pie said approaching and touching Dusk's face affectionately with her hoof. "That's what 'pre-parties' are for, to practice, and we have to do it fast, since you have friends now you'll have lots of parties!"

Dusk lifted his head quickly and looked into Pinkie Pie's kind eyes.

"That's right! She thinks I already have friends, so she won't make fun of me!" Dusk thought relieved, not realizing what Pinkie Pie meant by telling him that he already had friends.

"Eh... yes, m-maybe it's good to practice partying for... my friends..." Dusk said nervously, still flushed by the embarrassment of being partially discovered by Pinkie Pie, relieved to know that she didn't know the whole truth, and uncomfortable to mention the words 'my friends'.

"OK! Let's get started!" Pinkie Pie said jumping happily, trying to spread her joy to Dusk.

That's how the Dusk Shine's 'pre-party' started. Pinkie Pie began by teaching him to play some of the classic foal's games, such as ring toss, bobbing for apples, and making balloon figures. It all seemed tedious to Dusk, mainly because he thought that he was too old to play these foal's games, nevertheless seeing how serious Pinkie Pie looked, training him, he simply decided to play along with that games, but the more he played those games, his rejection to them diminished, after all he knew many of those games but he had never played them, much less with another pony, so Dusk's inner foal began to appear and began to enjoy those games that he couldn't enjoy in his youth.

While Dusk followed Pinkie Pie's 'training', he remembered that in front of him was the pony in charge of the last preparations that he had to verify that they were ready before the Summer Sun Celebration.

"Speaking of parties..." Dusk said taking off the blindfold that Pinkie Pie had put on him to break a small piñata. "The princess commissioned me to supervise the preparations for the great celebration of tonight, I checked all, I just need to check the eve celebration, I suppose you're in charge of that, but tell me, shouldn't you be preparing the party for the eve celebration instead of doing this 'pre-party'?

"Oh, that, it's ready, it just needs to be the time and the guests arrive." Pinkie Pie replied, who had momentarily forgotten that the piñata was to train Dusk, and jumped to pick up all the candy that had fallen.

"Will it be here then?" Dusk said, looking around and seeing the mess in the room, which looked festive, but it looked a bit messy after all they had done there.

"Of course not, it will be somewhere else, a place made for parties!" Said Pinkie Pie winking at him. "Oh! That reminds me." She added suddenly.

Then Pinkie Pie went to the bakery kitchen and came back with a tray with several cupcakes.

"I'm bringing cupcakes to the Eve party, these are a sample, tell me, would you like to try one?" Pinkie Pie asked, smiling and showing him the tray with the cakes.

"Um... of course, they all look delicious, which one should I take?" Dusk asked, hesitant to see so much variety and not knowing which one he wanted to eat.

"Choose the one you want." Pinkie Pie smiled but glanced at Dusk, anxiously awaiting his choice.

There were five different cupcakes on the tray: one that appeared to be completely strawberry, for its dough and cream rose; Another appeared to be vanilla because of its yellow color, with a light pink frosting above; the third looked like blackberries, with a bluish purple color, with white cream and sparkles sparkling on it; the fourth was covered with a sky-blue bitumen, adorned with colored sprinkles on it; and the last one had an orange dough, with yellow cream on it and a small piece of apple crowning its top. For some reason, Dusk felt a familiar sensation seeing those cupcakes, but unfortunately, his innate clumsiness prevented him from realizing and relating what these cupcakes really represented to five well-known mares.

"Come on! Choose one of five!" Pinkie Pie said anxiously, drawing the tray closer to him. "Look at the pink rose, that's strawberry! That looks very good, why don't you choose that...?" Pinkie Pie added mischievously.

Dusk looked at the pink cupcake and had to admit that it looked delicious, but then he saw the others and his doubts returned.

"I don't know... they all look delicious ..." Dusk said unable to decide. "They're samples, so... couldn't I have them all?"

"You want to have all of them!?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise. "I don't know, it's not a harem story... or is it?" Pinkie Pie added thoughtfully.

Then Pinkie Pie turned and looked away, toward one of the walls of the bakery.

"Would you really like Dusk to keep all of them?" Pinkie Pie asked as if she was watching and talking to someone else.

"Who are you talking to?" Dusk asked, totally confused, looking where Pinkie Pie looked.





"I'm just talking to the readers." Pinkie Pie said innocently, looking back at Dusk.

"What readers? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked even more confused.

"Well, every good story deserves to be told, so sometimes I like to think I have an audience and that someone somewhere sees and reads our story, that's more fun!" Pinkie Pie replied with a big smile.

Dusk was silent with an expression of total bewilderment, again Pinkie Pie filled him with doubts, and most of all it gave him doubts about whether the mare's personality was just eccentric or definitely crazy.

"What if someone would see me and know what I was thinking? Brrr! That would give me chills." Dusk thought as a nervous chill ran down his back.

"Anyway, I suppose you can have them all." Pinkie Pie said, returning to the main subject and passing the tray of cupcakes to Dusk. "But just for now, you're definitely going to have to pick one before this is over!" Pinkie Pie added seriously.

Dusk decided that there had been enough madness and unanswered questions for a day, so he ignored Pinkie Pie's comment and simply took the tray and started eating the cupcakes, sweetly savoring each one, happy to have gotten them all and to check that they were all delicious.

Dusk finally finished eating the cupcakes, savoring his hooves, where he could still lick the sweet taste the cakes had left him. As he did so, Dusk stared at Pinkie Pie, who whistled cheerfully as she began to sort out the mess.

"Even cleaning she doesn't stop smiling, she really is the happiest pony I know! Anyway, the best thing is that I also help you clean." Dusk thought watching Pinkie Pie whistle as he ran his tongue over his lips savoring the last cupcake he ate. Then, watching Pinkie Pie's lips and he touched his own, Dusk realized a sudden revelation, there was still something very important that he had not asked and that everything happened had been overlooked.

When Pinkie Pie finished cleaning, which she did very quickly, she turned and looked at Dusk, who kept his gaze down as he was totally blushing.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently as Dusk blushed.

"Eh... well... I was wondering..." Dusk answered nervously, uncomfortable before what he would ask but knowing that above all he needed to leave no doubts. "Pinkie... this morning... W-Why did you kiss me? You... do you usually say goodbye like that? Or... What does it mean?"

Pinkie Pie stopped smiling for a moment and tried to put on a poker face, though the truth was that the question took her by surprise and she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Well..." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful expression as she continued to blush looking down at the floor, then she raised her eyes to see Dusk and looked at Dusk with her usual smile. "The answer to your first question is that I kissed you because I wanted to, I felt I wanted to do it; about if I'm used to so say goodbye in that way to all ponies I know, no, but sometimes I give kisses to my family, oh! and Gummy too! And about what that kiss meant... " Then Pinkie Pie was silent, she stopped having her usual big smile and changed it for a smaller but more tender one while she looked at Dusk a little blushed. "...that kiss will mean whatever you want it to mean."

Dusk listened attentively to Pinkie Pie's answers, and he understood them without problems, although his doubts remained on who or what was Gummy, nevertheless with her last answer Dusk just became more confused.

"What do you mean the kiss means what I want it to mean?" Dusk asked confused.

"It means that if you want it to mean nothing, it will mean nothing." Pinkie Pie replied with her usual smile. "But if you want it to mean something else, then... then we could be more..." Pinkie Pie finished, blushing, looking sideways at the unicorn, and for the first time looking a little shy.

"More what!? Why are mares so complicated!? Why didn't she tell me what the kiss meant to her and that's all!?" Dusk thought, breaking his head unable to understand the hints, as the direct and logical pony he was.

"You still don't understand?" Pinkie Pie asked, reading Dusk's mind, laughing a little to see Dusk's confused face. "To understand what I said, you shouldn’t think it, you must feel it. Look, we'll do a test so that you don't get to think and just say what you feel." Pinkie Pie said excitedly, since she liked the games; and although she could be direct and tell Dusk what she felt directly, she liked to play with the confused Dusk.

"I'll ask you a few quick questions and you'll quickly answer me with the first thing that comes to your mind." Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

"Uh... okay..." Dusk answered uncertainly.

"Favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Do you believe in superstitions?"

"No."

"Do you like to read?"

"Yes."

"Would you like me to kiss you?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Pinkie Pie replied, finishing the questionnaire.

Dusk was silent as his mind slowly processed what he had just answered at the end.

"Huh!?" Dusk shouted totally blushing, surprised by the last question Pinkie Pie asked, surprised even more by his own response, and couldn't be more surprised by the mare's final statement. "I-I... I answered without thinking..." added Dusk completely nervous.

"Relax, if it's what you want, I'll give it to you." Pinkie Pie said smiling, bringing her face closer to Dusk's. "Close your eyes."

Dusk didn't know how to react to this situation at all, instinctively he pulled his head back to get away from Pinkie Pie's face, but his legs didn't obey him and stayed where they were, finally Dusk closed his eyes as Pinkie Pie had told him, the last thing that he saw was the pink pony approaching his face.

Dusk was confused, he did not understand himself, it wasn't right to just kiss a mare randomly, he shouldn't care about such things, he should be concentrate only on his studies, nothing more! Yet there he was, thinking logically but without his body reacting, with his eyes closed, just feeling his fast heartbeat as his lips trembled with emotion at the memory of that morning's kiss. He didn't know why he just did not turn it down, maybe did he really not want to reject it?

Suddenly Dusk felt the warmth of Pinkie Pie's face and instinctively moved his lips, but all he felt was a heat in the right side of his face and a quick kiss on his cheek. Then Dusk opened his eyes in surprise and saw that Pinkie Pie was smiling at him.

Dusk touched his cheek that Pinkie Pie had kissed and returned the look, totally confused, not knowing what to say or how to feel.

"What's wrong? Did you expect something else?" Pinkie Pie asked, smiling, a little flirtatious.

Then Dusk just blushed and said nothing as he looked at her in surprise.

The truth was that Dusk wasn't sure how he felt about that kiss on the cheek, he had thought Pinkie Pie would kiss him on the lips, just as she had done in the morning, and although he felt that everything had escaped from his hooves and that the whole situation had led him to that unavoidable end, all his body and thoughts had been predisposed to receive a kiss on the lips; However nothing had happened, his mind told him that he had been lucky not to get into more trouble and that he should be thankful for evading a kiss from a mare with whom he had no formal relationship, but in spite of that, for some reason he was distressed and disappointed that nothing had happened.

"Well? You still didn't answer me, did you expect anything else?" Pinkie Pie asked with a gentle look, after Dusk was still in apparent shock without saying anything.

"I-I..." Dusk started, totally blushing, until he was interrupted by a loud noise.

SLAM!

The door of the bakery was suddenly opened, revealing the figure of four mares.

"See! I told you they would be here!" Rarity said annoyed, behind Applejack who apparently had been the one who had kicked the door open.

"Hey girls!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, seeing that all her friends were there.

"Don't ‘Hey’ us, why'd you take Dusk without warning?" Rainbow Dash said annoyed.

"I didn't take him with no warning, I left you a note." Pinkie Pie replied quietly.

"But we were into something, you can't just go and kidnap others like that!" Rainbow Dash said more annoyed.

"Hmpf! And you think you have the right to say something like that?" Rarity added, glaring at Rainbow Dash, remembering that morning.

"That was different..." Rainbow Dash said ashamed and averted her gaze.

"Anyway... what were you two doing in here... alone?" Applejack asked looking suspiciously at Pinkie Pie and Dusk.

"Oh! We just had a little training party, a pre-party!" Pinkie Pie replied smiling.

"But... you sent us invitations for the party, and it says it would be in the library, not at Sugarcube Corner..." Fluttershy added timidly.

"Surely she sent us invitations so we would go somewhere else and she could be left alone with Dusk." Rarity added, looking sideways at the pink mare.

Pinkie Pie put on a poker face for a second before smiling again and responding.

"Of course not, it's just that we needed to fix certain things before the Eve party." Pinkie Pie finally replied a little nervous.

Dusk was watching and listening to the whole situation, it seemed like this morning in the breakfast, the whole situation became very tense when they all came together, but he still didn't understand why this had happened, although of course, he thought that maybe that was something friends do so he would never understand, since how could he understand that group of friends if he had no friends, surely this was a typical conversation between friends.

"Wait a second." Dusk added suddenly, realizing that he almost missed what Fluttershy had just said. "What do you mean, having a party at the library?"

"The Eve party! We'll do it in the library!" Pinkie Pie reply excitedly.

"WHAT!? But you said you would do it in a place MADE for parties! A library is no place for parties!" said Dusk somewhat altered.

"Sure they are! They're monotonous and silent rooms. What place needs more entertainment and bustle than a place like that!" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully.

Dusk looked disbelieving at Pinkie Pie, then took a deep breath to continue arguing, yet he just let out the air and bowed his head, repeating to himself that there was no point in arguing with Pinkie Pie.

"She said she had everything ready for the eve party... I just hope Spike didn't allow it." Dusk thought as he looked out the window and saw that the sun was almost completely hidden. "It's still not completely dark, maybe if I hurry I can change everything."

"I'm glad to see all of you, but it's late, I'd better get back to the library." Dusk said, approaching the door.

"I'll go with you!" The five mares said in unison.

"Uh... that's not necessary." Dusk added, surprised and rather uneasy to feel that he was the center of attention.

"Yeah, it's necessary, we're actually late." Pinkie Pie said, checking the time.

"But the Eve party hasn't started yet, right?" asked Dusk.

"Right, but all of us, especially YOU, must arrive earlier." Pinkie Pie said excitedly as the others nodded smiling.

Dusk did not understand what their sudden need was for him to go to the library, but that wasn't important since that was precisely the place where he wanted to go, so he didn't ask. Then Dusk and the five mares left Sugarcube Corner and started walking towards the library, Dusk walking in the center while the five mares surrounded and walked at the same pace.

"And what y'all do at Pinkie Pie's 'pre-party'?" Applejack asked suddenly, walking beside Dusk.

"We played some games, ate some cakes..." Dusk replied quietly.

"Yeah, and Dusk asked me to kiss him." Pinkie Pie added casually as she smiled.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the other four mares in unison, ceasing to walk.

"N-No... it's not true... well, yes it is... but I have an explanation!" Dusk said quickly, blushed and nervous before the furious eyes of the mares, not wanting to look like a shameless in front of them.

"Relax Dusk, they're just jealous." said Pinkie Pie laughing, and the other four mares blushed, looked away, and walked on.

Dusk, who had also stopped, put on a face of pure confusion before walking again.

"Jealous? Why? Are they jealous because Pinkie Pie made me a party private to me and not to them?" Dusk thought cluelessly, although he had many clues about the feelings that were woven between those five mares and him, his innate naivety and his clumsiness in love prevented him from seeing what was obvious to all.

# End of Chapter 14  
> Chapter 15 - A Never-ending Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Never-ending Night

The sun was completely hidden, giving way to the expected night of the celebration, and while that was happening, the small group of five mares and a colt had finished walking down the path to the library. The trot from Sugarcube Corner to Golden Oak wasn’t very long, so after a quick walk, with the restless looks between the five mares and the confused look of Dusk, the six ponies finally arrived at their destination.

Once Dusk approached the library door, he was hampered by the five mares, who to his surprise quickly interposed between him and the door.

"Not so fast." Applejack said, stopping him with a determined look.

"What's going on?" Asked Dusk confused.

"Well..." Applejack replied nervously, looking at her friends for someone to help her respond.

"Oh, look! The Moon! The moon has already appeared!" Said Pinkie Pie exalted, pointing back at Dusk.

Then Dusk turned and saw the moon, which in his opinion was bigger and brighter than any other time, but other than that it was nothing special, so he didn't understand why Pinkie Pie had been so excited.

"Yes, it's the moon, and that-" Dusk said, turning back to answer Pinkie Pie, but stopped talking to see that neither she nor the other four mares were there.

Dusk glanced around, a little surprised by the sudden disappearing act the mares had done without him noticing. Finally Dusk sighed, thinking how relieved he was to not be surrounded by those five mares that for some reason always led him into some trouble, but at the same time feeling that his heart was tightening a little to see that they had gone so suddenly.

Then Dusk walked over to the library door, opened it, and entered the dark room.

"HAPPY WELCOME PARTY!!" A crowd of ponies suddenly shouted, which were inside the library, and that before Dusk had lit his horn, they had lit the hall and had come out screaming happily and throwing confetti.

Dusk gave a small jump at the huge surprise, shocked and frightened, so much so that on reflex almost teleported away from there. It took him a few seconds to calm down, but he didn’t stop feeling tense, he looked everywhere, seeing the faces of many ponies he did not know or had seen, everypony smiling looking at him and approaching him. Dusk did not understand who they were or what they were doing there.

The anxiety of being surrounded by a multitude of ponies he didn’t know and being the center of attention was making him extremely nervous, and it didn't allow himself to get out of the state of alert he was in.

"Calm down, give him some space." Said a familiar voice from below, to the relief of Dusk, the voice of his brother Spike. "If you don't do it, he may blow up the library, haha." Spike finished talking, laughing and coming up to his brother.

"W-What is all this?" Dusk asked as he emerged from shock.

"Well, it's your welcome party, what didn't you hear?" Said Rainbow Dash, who had also approached, along with her four friends.

As soon as Dusk saw that the five mares were near him, his muscles finally ceased to be tense. When he saw in that sea of unknown ponies the faces of those mares with which he was already familiar, his heart reassured, but that didn't last long because his mind immediately reminded him that he was still surrounded by other unknown ponies, so his mind stirred again, working quickly to try and understand everything before losing control of the situation and fleeing from the social anxiety that he suffered from.

"B-But I thought the pre-party we had at the bakery was to celebrate my welcome?" Dusk questioned nervously, looking at Pinkie Pie.

"Of course not, I told you that was to celebrate the farewell of my ‘sick me'." Pinkie Pie replied smiling. "Welcome parties are much more important and much bigger!"

Dusk looked around, the room was fully decorated, the bookshelves had streamers and balloons stuck to them, there were also balloons floating on the ceiling, plus several tables that had different cakes, sandwiches, and soda, in a nutshell: the library was a mess! Something that would, of course, horrify Dusk, yet his mind remained fixed on the ponies, dozens of them surrounding him and looking at him.

"Who're they?" Dusk asked nervously, pointing his eyes at the other ponies.

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie asked confused, looking back at the other ponies and then looking back at Dusk. "Oh! They are the majority of the village ponies, I told you we would hold the party for the eve celebration here, so I thought I would invite them all a little earlier to take advantage of the occasion and celebrate your welcome party at the same time, so you can make lots of friends!"

Then all the ponies who heard the words of Pinkie Pie smiled and began to move closer to Dusk.

"NO!!" Dusk shouted suddenly, closing his eyes and screaming in fear. That made them all get scared and look confused at Dusk.

Instantly Dusk opened his eyes and realized that he had frightened everyone with his cry.

"I... I'm sorry..." Dusk apologized, looking at everyone, especially the five mares, who were looking at him with a worried look. "It's... it's just that I'm very tired... yesterday I didn't sleep all night, I think I'm exhausted. I'm sorry, but I'm going to rest for a while."

Then Dusk avoided everyone's eyes and walked quickly to the library stairs and up to his room. As the ponies in the hall, who were still surprised by Dusk's shout, began to murmur among them, all confused by the strange attitude of the purple unicorn.

"Spike... it true what Dusk said? Is he just tired?" Applejack asked, looking worriedly at the dragon.

"Yeah... it's true that he didn't sleep yesterday so he might be tired." Spike replied sadly staring up the stairs. "But I don't think that's the problem..."

Meanwhile, Dusk gone fast upstairs to his room and closed the door behind him even faster, then he leaned against the door and sighed heavily. He felt so embarrassed to have shouted that way in front of everyone, it was not something he wanted, it was purely instinctive! As soon as Pinkie Pie said that the ponies that were there were to meet him and become his friends, while everyone looked at him and approached him, Dusk could only scream in fear.

"Pinkie is wrong, friends aren't easy to do, I... I didn't come looking for friends, I... I don't need friends..." Dusk said to himself, again remembering his past and thinking sadly of the failed friendship he had had with a pony from his past.

Then Dusk put a hoof on his head and felt his sweat, he was still nervous, that social anxiety was always happening when he was surrounded by unknown ponies while he was the center of attention, ponies that could speak ill of him, ponies that could make fun of him, ponies that could betray him, ponies that were not his friends... Dusk felt a chill just to remind himself to him being surrounded by all those ponies, nevertheless as soon as he did that he notices one detail.

"I... Why didn't I feel that way when I was surrounded by the girls?" Dusk wondered himself, thinking aloud. "In fact... I felt comforted when I saw them..."

Dusk had to admit that, for some reason, those mares made him feel good. He had gone through several situations with them, and although at first he had been suspicious of being with each of them, now he realized that if he had not been forced to socialize with them, he wouldn't have discovered the good ponies that they were nor their great virtues. All this served as a contrast to Dusk to realize that perhaps knowing new ponies was not the end of the world, in fact, it was likely that in all that group of ponies that were in the hall, there would be more ponies with good intentions and kind personalities, just as they had the five mares he already knew.

"It's true..." Dusk said aloud after thinking all that and remembering another great detail. "I still haven't asked if they want to be my friends..."

As soon as Dusk said those words, the bad memory that followed him whenever he mentioned the word 'friends' began to appear again: the shadow of a filly who looked at him with hatred, however, this time Dusk shook his head so that memory wouldn't reappear.

"Don't! I must do it, it's what the princess asked me to do, and I... I want it that way too!" Dusk said to himself almost in a scream, achieving for the first time in a long time, to vanish completely that bad memory.

After banishing that memory, Dusk took a deep breath and slowly began to smile as his heart filled with joy at the revelation he just had.

"It's true, I want to be their friend!" Dusk said, raising his head and smiling cheerfully.

Dusk stood smiling for a while until he realized what he had to do, then he touched the knob of the door and prepared to open it to go down to the hall and meet again with the five mares, but as soon as he did, he blushed with embarrassment when he realized that they must all be very confused after seeing him scream in the way he did, so Dusk let go of the knob and only sighed.

"It would be very embarrassing to come down immediately after that spectacle, I think I'll wait a moment." Dusk told himself with an ashamed smile, turning around to move through the room.

The young unicorn stood observing the room since, unlike Spike, he hadn't seen this room yet. In the room, there was a bed and a desk, but what most drew attention to Dusk was that even there, like in the whole central hall, there were many shelves to put books, which were already arranged there, it seemed that Spike had managed to order all the books even before Pinkie Pie had arrived to decorate the party.

Dusk walked over to the shelves and glanced at the titles of the books, after all, if he was to wait in that room, there was no better way to spend time than reading, and perhaps on those shelves Spike would have left the book he had taken away him that morning. But not matter how hard Dusk searched, he could not find the book he wanted. Even more, it seemed as if Spike had been ahead of what Dusk would do, and all the books in the room belonged to the children's section, books such as basic spells for unicorns, books to learn how to read and write, or tales for foals, so Dusk finally gave up and just went to bed to sit awhile. As soon as he did, he couldn't help but feel how soft and comfortable the bed was, so he stretched his head back and dropped it on the pillow.

"How odd..." Dusk said uncomfortably as he leaned his head and felt that unlike the mattress, the pillow was very uncomfortable and hard.

Then Dusk got up and lifted the pillow.

The unicorn couldn't help but be surprised to see that under the pillow was the book he had just been looking for.

"Heh, clever dragon." Dusk smirked as he realized that Spike had hidden the book in a good hiding place, but for the dragon's misfortune, Dusk had been able to find it thanks to luck.

Then Dusk lay back down again, lit his horn and with the book in his hooves began to read it, specifically the section that talked about the elements of harmony. Dusk read the few pages that spoke about these magical elements over and over again, just as he had done that morning, believing he could actually find some hidden meaning behind its paragraphs, yet it was a maze with no way out, the book only mentioned six magical objects and somepony or something called Nightmare Moon, but nothing more. Dusk was annoyed that there was so little information about that, so even though Dusk several times wanted to continue reading the book on other magical objects, he always returned to the 'elements of harmony' section.

"Nightmare Moon... I know I've heard that name before..." Dusk said thinking aloud as his eyes slowly closed without his noticing.

Finally all the factors had come together: the lack of sleep, the tiredness of the hectic day that he had run from one side to the other, and the comfortable bed; all that made Dusk sleepy, causing the young unicorn to fall asleep while still holding the book and murmured: 'Nightmare Moon...'

And so Dusk Shine fell asleep, not knowing what the future of that night would bring him, while his mind unconsciously found the answer to that doubt that bothered him, in his past, in a distant memory of his childhood...





'Dusk Shine's Flashback.'

A young Dusk Shine was running happily down the halls of the castle, not long ago he had been selected and recommended to enter the most prestigious school of magic in Canterlot, he had even been personally chosen by the very Princess Celestia to receive some private lessons with her, therefore, there was no colt in the world happier than Dusk at that time, and besides, like every little pony, he was full of energy, and knowing that he had almost unlimited permission to go through the halls of the royal castle, he ran smiling for them, marveling at the enormous corridors and majestic halls, something that particularly surprised him, since unlike many ponies who visited the castle, Dusk came from a humble family, with a dignified military lineage but that had never stood out much in comparison with the noble families of Canterlot.

So Dusk kept running with his little legs at full speed, amazed with every new thing he saw, stopping once in awhile at a stained glass here and there but quickly resuming his path, after all, he had a mission to fulfill, he had to meet with Princess Celestia, and he could not be late to those important meetings with his beloved teacher.

Finally, Dusk crossed the last door and arrived at the private courtyard of the castle, a large and beautiful garden that was behind the castle and that was the place chosen by the princess for their meeting. A place not chosen at random by the highest authority of Equestria, for she wanted that cheerful and tender little colt to see her as a figure which he could approach, not an unattainable and untouchable figure who was like most ponies saw her in reality.

When Dusk arrived, he smiled at the tall white figure of the princess, with her back to him. Then the princess turned as she noticed his presence and smiled at him.

"Hello, little Dusk, you're here early." Said the elegant and solemn voice of Princess Celestia.

"Yes, um... your majesty." Dusk said ceremoniously, giving a great bow so much that he almost fell on his head.

Princess Celestia could not help smiling at the tender little colt.





"Little Dusk, it’s not necessary for you to kneel so much, in fact, I would prefer that you don’t bow down to me." The princess said kindly, approaching the colt.

"But my mommy says a gentlecolt should always greet politely a lady, and I must be extra courteous with you." Dusk replied somewhat confused.

Celestia thought for a moment to insist, but it would not be right to contradict what Dusk's mother had taught him, even though she wanted to shorten that emotional distance between them.

"It's true, you must always be a gentlecolt." The princess said, affectionately touching Dusk's face. "But at least stop calling me 'your majesty’."

Dusk looked at the princess's friendly face and gave her a big smile.

"All right, Princess!" Dusk smiled happily.

The princess smiled back as she felt a great warmth in her heart, every time the little colt smiled at her she was glad, and although she knew that as regent and protector of the kingdom she could not have favoritism in front of her subjects, she could not help feeling a maternal affection towards that little unicorn.

Finally, the princess got up again and began to walk in the garden, followed by little Dusk.

"And how was your day?" Asked the princess walking, looking Dusk smiling.

"Very good! I'm learning a lot! Even when the teacher tells us to read, my classmates let me study alone, so I can concentrate better and learn more!" Dusk said cheerfully.

Princess Celestia listened attentively to Dusk's words and smiled sadly at the naive words of the unicorn, poor Dusk did not realize that his companions were leaving him alone because they didn't like Dusk. The truth was that many noble and wealthy families did not like it when the princess interceded for her 'young talent' and sent Dusk to the same school of magic that studied their own children, jealousy shared with their children and so they separated Dusk from the group, this was something that the princess would have liked to solve, but she did not want to continue interfering and that the others families thought that Dusk was being too privileged, nevertheless she had promised herself that she would find some way to remedy it.

"And what class did you have today?" Asked the princess.

"History! Today I started reading 'Hooras, the Historian'." Dusk said excitedly.

"But that's ancient history, you shouldn't learn that for the next two years." Said the princess somewhat confused. "First you must learn modern history, that of the last eight hundred years."

"It's just... I read all the books of modern history..." Dusk said a little embarrassed, thinking that he had made the princess angry.

"It's fine, don’t worry." Said the princess kindly, as if she had read Dusk's mind. "It's okay to make progress in your studies, but I think it would be best if you follow the class, tell me, why don't you try forming a study group with your classmates? You'll see that it's much more entertaining to study in a group rather alone, and thus they'll see that you are like them."

"I... I'll try." Dusk answered a little unsure.

So the two ponies continued walking, turning in some corners, heading toward the center of the garden.

"What a horrible statue!" Dusk said as they passed a strange statue.

The princess glanced at the statue Dusk had looked at and gave it a penetrating glance.

"You can't imagine how horrible it can be..." The princess said in a whisper, continuing her walk, not wanting to stop at the statue of the strange draconequus.

"Was that statue in the old castle?" Dusk asked, leaving the statue behind and catching up with the princess.

The princess was a little surprised at this question, but then she remembered that the little unicorn had just said he'd read a book of ancient history.

"That's right." Replied the princess, smiling. "So you already learned that Canterlot was not always the capital of Equestria and that I used to live in another castle before?"

"Yep! The book said that before moving the capital to Canterlot, you lived in the old castle, which was in the Everfree forest." Dusk replied excitedly to see that the princess had realized that he knew that. "But when I read I had a question... Why was the old castle called 'The Castle of the Two Sisters'?" Dusk asked naively.

At that sudden question, Celestia stopped walking as a shadow of pain passed over her face, something she corrected quickly, closing her eyes and smiling again to keep Dusk from seeing the grief she felt at that moment.

"Well... That's because I lived in that castle with my sister, Princess Luna." The princess replied with a smile that hid her sadness.

"You had a sister!?" Dusk asked in surprise.

"That's right, they'll teach you that in ancient history, because she... disappeared more than a thousand years ago." Replied the princess, still with the same sad smile.

"But... What happened to Princess Luna?" Dusk asked innocently.

Princess Celestia fell silent a few seconds before answering.

"A thousand years ago a great evil struck Equestria, threatening to leave everything in complete darkness... It was that great evil that destroyed Luna." The princess said, looking away so that Dusk couldn't see her sad face, walking again to try to leave the subject behind.

"And why doesn't anyone mention Princess Luna?" Dusk insisted, walking again and catching up with the princess.

Princess Celestia realized that she could not escape Dusk's childish curiosity, so she stopped and decided to face the questions.

"No one mentions my sister because of me." Said the princess sadly. "I ordered that the name of that evil that destroyed my sister be erased from the records, so that everyone would forget that awful being and only remembered the great legacy left by Luna, so there are several books that mention Luna, but very few books mention the name of that evil. However it's one thing what books say and another thing what the ponies say and how they feel, love is easily forgotten while fear can be eternal... Despite what's written in the books, ponies forgot what my sister did for them, and her figure was only a forgotten ghost of history, but the name of that wickedness continues to be remembered even in this days and they continue to fear it."

Princess Celestia closed her eyes and sighed to relax before she lost her temperance.

"But I don't remember anypony mentioning anything about that." Dusk said confused.

"Yes, you did, you have probably read about it and you haven't noticed, just like thousands of ponies nowadays, they even celebrate a party in its honor, although over time the purpose and origin of that party have been forgotten." Princess Celestia replied, more calmly. "Tell me Dusk, have you ever read the story of 'The Mare in the Moon'?"

'End of Flashback.'





Suddenly Dusk awoke from his sleep, remembering every part of the dream, though more than a dream it had been a vivid memory forgotten of his childhood.

"It can't be." Dusk said with his eyes wide open with surprise.

Immediately Dusk stood up from the bed and went to the bookshelf that was in the room, as he did so he remembered what was going on in that memory, but all he remembered was that afterwards the princess had changed the subject and they had gone on with his normal magic lessons, and Dusk hadn't given more importance to that talk, not until today, when he finally understood the sad smile of the princess and that speech that he hadn't been able to fully understand as a child.

Finally Dusk found the book he was looking for: 'Fables and tales for foals,' then he flipped through the book and reached the page he was looking for, which told the story of 'The mare in the moon'.

Dusk read the story, just as he had done at other times as a child, but this time he was much more focused as he hoped to find some clue that would guide him to solve that mystery that was hanging over his head. While Dusk was doing that he realized that the story was just as he remembered it: "A long time ago a powerful mare threatened to bring the eternal night to the ponies, filling them with fear in their lives and nightmares in their dreams, until from the shadows came a light of hope. The evil mare was banished to the moon, and peace and harmony returned to Equestria. However, on moonlit nights, you can still see the figure of a mare watching from the moon, it’s The Mare in the Moon! Watching from above the ponies who behave badly, hoping that harmony will abandon them to consummate her vengeance, waiting for her imprisonment of a thousand years to end! That's why the ponies should behave well, especially on the moonlit nights, to show the wicked mare that peace and harmony will never leave Equestria."

After reading the story, Dusk realized that it was just a simple story and that any pony would take it as such, however now that he had read about the elements of harmony and about Nightmare Moon, and he contrasted it with the story of 'The mare in the moon', he could realize that there were many things that related both stories that seemed more than simple coincidence. He had never noticed it before, but the story mentioned the word 'harmony' a lot, being that it could have replaced by a more adequate word, it was as if the author wanted that the word 'harmony' shouldn't be forgotten, besides, that light that defeated that evil mare... what if all that was a clear reference to the elements of harmony? And another big coincidence was the names! The history book mentioned a 'Nightmare Moon' that brought darkness to Equestria, while the storybook spoke of a 'Mare in the Moon', a wicked mare who sought to bring eternal night; Mare in the moon... night. mare. moon. night-mare moon... And if everything was just a play on words!? What if the history book said 'darkness' as something literal referring to the eternal night of the story!?

Dusk looked at the bed and levitated the history book toward him and then, next to it, levitated the storybook.

"Could it be that the story is an allegory of something that really happened?" Dusk wondered with a worried face. "And if so..."

Then Dusk opened the history book and reviewed the part that talked about the elements of harmony, specifically the date, which was in ancient date, that is to say before the foundation of Canterlot like great capital of Equestria and before the present solar calendar, but taking a quick calculation he could transform the date, doing so Dusk could only be astonished to see that the date in which the elements had been used last, just to destroy that darkness that struck Equestria, it had been precisely a thousand years ago.

"This... this has to be a bad joke." Dusk said nervously, looking again at the storybook and reading the part that said that ‘the mare in the moon’ hoped that her thousand-year imprisonment would end to consummate her revenge on the ponies being they had misbehaved.

Dusk stared in fear both books for a long time as a cold sweat ran down his back.

"It's ridiculous! It's just a foal's story!!" Dusk said startled, closing both books and dropping them. "It's just a silly coincidence, it can't be true, the prophecies don't exist! And if it's true, it can't be that only I have noticed something so obvious! Not even the princess-"

Then Dusk was stood still, completely silent, suddenly realizing something important. If the mare in the moon was just a story, why did the princess mention it to him when he was a little colt? She said it because somehow it was related to the death of her sister Luna, all that had happened in the old castle, even the disappearance of Princess Luna coincided with the date indicated in the book of when was the last time the elements of harmony were used!

While Dusk's head was still agitated with all those terrifying thoughts, he put a hoof on his face and closed his eyes, he needed to calm down, organize his thoughts, and find a rational solution to everything that went through his head. Then, as he calmed down, a bright idea came to mind, it was not an answer he would have expected to find, but if he could not find an answer, he could ask someone who did.

"Princess Celestia!" Dusk said abruptly, opening his eyes. "I'm making a storm in a teacup! Princess Celestia lived a thousand years ago and she can tell me if there really is a relationship between Nightmare Moon and the story of The Mare in the Moon!"

Then Dusk finally lifted his head, already calmer, with a small smile of satisfaction at the knowledge that soon he would have the answers he needed. Then he looked surprised in all directions.

"Have I been talking to myself this whole time?" Dusk asked looking around, distressed that no one had been with him listening to all his brilliant deductions.

Suddenly the door was burst wide open, to show off an 'overly festive' Spike, who had streamers and a lamp shade over his head.

"Where is my brotheeeeer...?!? Where's Hic! my brooo...?" Spike said smiling silly, almost screaming, with a very particular hiccup.

Dusk was surprised by how noisy his brother was, and he approached him.

"Spike, are you okay?" Dusk asked, a little worried about his brother's strange behavior.

"There you are!" Spike said cheerfully, staggering up to his brother and hugging him. "You-You’re the best brooo... Hic!"

As soon as Spike hugged Dusk and exhaled a hiccup, the unicorn could smell a peculiar odor.

"What have you been drinking?" Dusk asked, worried but unable to help himself to laugh a little at the state in which his brother was.

"Just the tastiest fruit punch I ever tasted... Hic!" Spike replied, with his cheeks red and a silly smile on his face.

"Well, I think you've had enough ‘fruit punch’ for one night." Dusk said, taking Spike by the shoulders to get out of the embrace and thinking that despite the funny thing about that situation, he would have to speak seriously with Pinkie Pie for giving Spike such spirit drinks. "Changing the topic, are the girls still down there?" Dusk asked, remembering that he still had something important to talk to them before the big celebration began.

"No, they left a little while ago..." Spike said, staggering. "They... Hic! they ran as soon as I showed them this... Hic! They said they needed to get everything ready for the celebration before her arrival." Then Spike showed Dusk a small scroll he held in his claw.

Dusk quickly took the scroll and read it:

"Dear Dusk.

I'm on my way to Ponyville, I'll arrive a little before the celebration starts, so we can talk quietly and you can tell me about all your adventures, in addition to introducing me to your new friends.

Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

Dusk was stunned after reading the letter.

"Why didn't you show this to me as soon as it arrived? And how long ago did it arrive!?" Dusk asked worried.

"A couple hours ago." Spike said, smiling silly.

Suddenly a shadow passed outside the window of Dusk's room, he turned and walked quickly to the window to see what that shadow had been.

As soon as Dusk approached the window he saw that the shadow had been produced by the royal carriage of the princess, which had been flying out of the library on its landing and had settled on the outskirts of the Town Hall. Then Dusk noticed something else, that there were many ponies outside, all of them heading toward the great hall of the Town Hall.

"It can't be... What time is it!?" Dusk asked, startled.

"Well... it's almost time for the celebration, that's why I came here Hic! to wake you up." Spike replied, staggering.

Dusk froze at the revelation that he had slept through the night and now he was arriving late to the big celebration, and more importantly, if he did not hurry he would not have a chance to ask the five mares he had met if they wanted to be his friends before he met the princess! Then Dusk raised the dizzy Spike to his back, who was still holding the lamp shade on his head, and Dusk went down the stairs running quickly to go to the Town Hall.

As Dusk ran through the streets of Ponyville, he noticed how clear the streets were in spite of being at night, then he looked up and saw the huge full moon that lit up the night, bigger and brighter than he ever remembered seeing it, and in the center of this moon was a particular shadow, which marked the supposed figure of a mare in the moon, a mark that could be seen especially on moonlit nights, like tonight. Then, as he continued to run, and his mind again started to fill with all the doubts that overwhelmed him a few moments ago, he tried to discard those irrational thoughts.

"It's true, the story is only a legend that seeks to explain that particular mark on the moon, it can't be related to-" Dusk began to speak, trying to calm down for a logical explanation, but he couldn't finish speaking because while he did that it seemed that the figure of the mare in the moon disappeared slowly.

Then Dusk stopped dead, looking stunned at the event, then he rubbed his eyes and looked back at the moon, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't find the silhouette of the mare in the moon.

"Thi... This is not real..." Dusk said worried, trying to calm down. "It's... it's just that I'm very tired, that's why I can't see it well... Can you see it Spike? The silhouette of the mare in the moon."

However, the only response of the dragon was a silly smile and a small hiccup.

Dusk began to hyperventilate again, but then he closed his eyes, sighed, and exhaled heavily.

"The princess will solve it, she'll tell me that everything is a silly coincidence, she'll tell me that it has only been a bad joke of my imagination." Dusk told himself to calm down and continued running towards the Town Hall, having as a new priority to resolve his doubts on this subject with the princess.





The main hall of the town hall was filled with ponies, everypony chatting, eating and laughing together, waiting for the long awaited sunrise. The hall itself was more beautiful than Dusk remembered, Rarity's finishing touches had really given a touch of elegance to that hall, in addition he could see the tables with the banquet, full of apple based desserts made by the Apple family. There was the atmosphere and there were ponies, only missing the protagonist of the party, the sun, which would soon be raised by the alicorn magic of Princess Celestia.

Once Dusk and Spike crossed the door of the great hall, the young unicorn looked at the large group of ponies in the room, he could see the pegasi of the weather patrol, Applejack’s family (which worried him for a second), the ponies of the flower shop, Derpy, Bulk Biceps, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, even the little Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, they were all there, plus many other ponies, however his wandering eyes stopped when he saw that close from the snacks table were the five mares with whom he hoped to meet, talking cheerfully among them. Dusk smiled and took a couple of steps in their direction, but as soon as he did his peripheral gaze made his attention focused on something else, in the other corner of the room, there were two royal guards guarding a corridor that connected the great hall, both of them standing firmly in their golden armor as they always were; and if they were there it could only mean one thing, that Princess Celestia was sheltered behind them.

"Spike, you can join the others, I'll go in a second but before that I have to deal with a major issue" Dusk said looking at his back, where Spike was almost on the verge of falling asleep.

"Sure... Hic! No problem..." Spike said, getting off the back of Dusk with great difficulty, as his lack of balance prevented him from standing upright.

As soon as Spike got down from his brother's back, Dusk began to walk towards the guards, while Spike shook the serpentines that still hung of him, fixed his 'lamp hat' elegantly and he went walking staggering with a silly smile towards the snacks table, which was a very amusing image to see, as if a small lamp were lost in a sea of ponies.

As the little dragon headed toward the snack table, the five mares looked somewhat surprised as their scaly friend came stumbling toward them with a dumb expression and red cheeks.

"I know you asked me to bring a couple of bottles of cider with 'extra-spicy' to the party, but I didn't think you'd put them on the fruit punch!" Applejack said, whispering to Pinkie Pie, concerned about the little dragon's ethylic state. "Look at how the little Spike is!"

"I hoped it was Dusk who got drunk." Pinkie Pie smiled, sticking out her tongue with a guilty expression.

"Hello everypony!" Spike shouted once he reached the five mares, looking at each one but pausing at Rarity. "And a greetings to you, my dear." Spike finished, looking at Rarity, with a flirtatious look, adjusting his 'hat' elegantly and giving her a gallant smile, feeling the most attractive being of Equestria. Although of course, that was not what the others saw, the only thing the mares saw was Spike giving Rarity a strange look, wobbling from side to side trying to keep his balance before fixing the silly lamp on his head without success, and then smiling like an idiot, making the poor dragon look even more ridiculous.

"Oh! More fruit punch!" Spike added when he noticed that there was a punch-bowl on the snack table.

"Hold it right there casanova, I think enough fruit punch for one night." said Rainbow Dash, taking the punch-bowl and taking it out of reach of Spike's claws, although that fruit punch did not have the 'special cider' from Applejack, it was better to prevent.

"By the way, Spike." Fluttershy added, remembering something she'd forgotten to tell Dusk that afternoon, and now that she'd gone to get her birds home, she'd brought it with her. "I think this is yours, you left it in my house the last time you stayed to sleep."

Then Fluttershy handed a small yellow book to Spike.

"What...?" Spike said, taking the book and reading the cover. "HAHAHA! I had forgotten, but no, this Hic! This book is from Dusk, not mine." Spike finished saying, returning the book to the yellow pegasus.

"'How to make friends, for dummies'?" Rarity read the title of the book, taking it before Fluttershy did.

"HAHAHA! Yes, Hic! It's a funny story..." Spike said smiling silly, not realizing what he was really about to tell.

For his part, Dusk had already arrived where the royal guards and had stopped in front of them.

"Excuse me, can I go in?" Dusk asked gently looking at one of the guards, trying to recognize him in vain, since for him all the royal guards looked the same.

"I'm sorry, no one can go in." One of the guards said, as both pegasi stretched out their wings to block Dusk's way.

"Oh, come on! I'm Dusk, Dusk Shine! The pupil of Princess Celestia! You must have seen me in the castle more than once." Dusk said something annoying, since even in the castle itself the guards always did the same to him.

"Dusk?" Said a voice behind the guards, the unmistakable voice of Princess Celestia.

Then the princess appeared behind the guards and smiled, as both guards lowered their wings to allow the stallion to pass, who advanced and approached the princess. The princess was very glad to see Dusk again, feeling like every mother who had been hard at heart to separate her beloved son, she approached Dusk with the desire to embrace him, but that would have to wait, since she must to keep up appearances while she was in front others ponies.

"It's good to see you again, Dusk." The princess said smiling.

"It's also a pleasure to see you again, Princess." Dusk replied ceremoniously, but deep down he also felt like the princess and he just wanted to hug her like he did when he was little colt.

Then the princess came to Dusk's ear and whispered.

"I haven't played one of my jokes to you for a long time, you don't know how anxious I am to get my favorite toy back." The princess smiled darkly in her usual poker expression, causing a chill to run down Dusk's back as soon as he heard those words. Of course the princess was not serious, but she loved to have fun with Dusk and she missed seeing his cute scared little foal's face.

"Princess?" Said a third voice, interrupting that moment.

Then, appearing along the same corridor that the princess had appeared, the Mayor of Ponyville appeared.

"Oh! I'm sorry Mrs. Mayor." The princess said looking at the Mayor and then talking to Dusk again. "I have to talk to the Mayor about some business, then we'll meet before the sun rises."

"Will you go out into the hall before the sun rises?" Dusk asked curiously.

"Of course, I want you to tell me everything that has happened to you these days, and of course, I want you to introduce me to your new friends before I raise the sun." The princess smiled before turning and meeting again Mayor Mare.

As soon as Dusk was alone, he realized how useless it had all been, he had met the princess but he had no chance to ask her any of the questions he had wanted to ask her about 'Nightmare Moon', and worse, only in a few moments she would go to check if Dusk had managed to fulfill the task that she had entrusted to him, to make friends.

Immediately Dusk turned and returned to the main hall, now he had another priority, to warn the five mares he knew and who he hoped they would accept his proposal of friendship, that in a few minutes the princess would go and talk to them!

Dusk looked around until he found the five colorful manes of those mares he was looking for, and headed there.

"Hello girls, sorry for the delay, and... sorry for falling asleep at my welcome party." Dusk said with a small smile of regret once he reached where the mares were. "Listen, there's something very important that I have to ask you, I wasn't really sure if I must to did that, but-" Dusk continued, scratching his head uncertainly, somewhat shy and embarrassed to know that in a few seconds he would ask them if they wanted to be his friends. However, he stopped when seeing that none of them looked into his eyes.

Immediately Dusk realized that the atmosphere seemed tense, the five mares looked serious, annoyed, even worried, including Spike, who Dusk could tell from his flushed cheeks that he was still slightly dizzy from the punch, but for some reason he looked nervous, glancing sideways at Dusk.

"Is something wrong?" Dusk finally asked, puzzled.

"Spike... told us everything." Fluttershy said timidly, with sadness in her voice. "The real reason why you are in Ponyville."

Dusk looked at Fluttershy in surprise, then looked at Spike, who looked away in embarrassment.

"What are we to you, Dusk? Just a few experiments?" Rainbow Dash asked in frustration, throwing at Dusk's hooves the book: 'HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS, for dummies'. "So that's why you approached us? To see if one of those stupid books you read worked!?"

Dusk looked at the book and swallowed nervously as his breath began to altered and the bad memories of his past slowly surfaced in his mind.

"No... you don't understand, it's... it's just a misunderstanding." Dusk replied nervously.

"Did you approach us just because it was an obligation?" Applejack asked in annoyance, showing one of the scrolls that had fallen from the book when they checked it, which indicated the royal decree. "It says here that you are obliged to make friends or you'll be expelled from Canterlot, then you only did it so that you can return to your castle?"

Dusk's mouth was drying, he wanted to respond, to deny everything and explain the truth! But he couldn’t, his mind did not let him think clearly, the only thing he could think of was that he had done something wrong and now they would hate him, just as it had happened with his old childhood friend, a memory that only made him became more and more distressed every second.

"Be-before... I..." Dusk began to babble totally nervous, until he managed to articulate a few ideas. "That was before... before I knew you, before I knew how you really were or how dedicated you were in your jobs, or..."

"'Feign interest in that pony and their activities. Pretend that I enjoy his/her company. Convince him/her that I'm his/her friend. Show him/her to Celestia. Discard the false friendship. Back to Canterlot.'" Pinkie Pie's voice was heard when she began to read the other scroll that had fallen from the book, the one on which Dusk had written what he intended to do when he had barely reached Ponyville. "Is this what you did to us? Did you just feign? And now... were you just going to discard us?" Finished speaking Pinkie Pie, with a sad look in her eyes.

"... No... I..." Dusk said in a whisper with a look of terror on his face, his mind was clouded while the only thing he could see was the silhouette of his old friend, the pony that had left him when he more needed her, all that because he had done something wrong against her, something she never forgave him, a sensation that Dusk felt again at that moment and overflowed him, he knew that situation was repeating again, now the five mares would hate him and abandon him, leaving him alone again.

"Dusk... Please say something! Tell us the truth, or is it true that you only used us?" Rarity asked worriedly with glassy eyes. "Do we matter to you? ...even a little?"

The five mares looked sadly at Dusk, waiting for the colt's response, but though Dusk looked at them, his mind was lost, reliving that fateful moment he had lived a few years ago that had led him to isolate himself and make himself the promise that he would never return to have a friend. However the mares could not know what was going on in Dusk's tormented mind, so they took his silence as an acceptance that everything they had asked and said was true, so the mares looked at each other sadly, they turned around and left Dusk alone, with a huge grief in their hearts.

As the mares retreated, Dusk's eyes came back to life and he saw how the mares that he had begun to cherish and that he had begun to feel that he wanted them to be his friends, they left him alone. His heart began to squeeze into a great pain, so much so that Dusk lowered his head, trying to resist the emotional pain he was feeling from that situation added to all the bad memories that hovered in his head.

"Dusk, I... I didn't want this to happen... I'll fix it, I'll talk to them and I'll explain everything!" Spike said worriedly, that seeing all that situation, his fear and concern for his brother finally made him wake up and see the reality.

"Go away..." Dusk said head down, as the sadness and pain in his heart began to give way to anger. "You were the one who ruined everything! I don't want to see you again! GO AWAY!" Dusk shouted, pointing angrily his hoof toward the door.

The little dragon was frightened, he had never seen Dusk so angry, in addition that he already felt guilty with himself for having talked with the girls about Dusk’s reason why he came here, he simply lowered his head while his eyes were dripping a pair of tears and ran towards the front door of the hall.

As soon as Dusk saw his little brother cry and saw him run, a new terrible feeling added to the storm of emotions Dusk felt in that minute, guilt.

Dusk slammed the floor hard as he closed his eyes tightly, trying unsuccessfully to avoid feeling all those emotions. His chest ached as he breathed, he felt that his head was going to explode because of how hard he closed his eyes, however hard he tried, he could not get out of his head the sad looks of the five mares or the great pain that he had felt when his old friend had left him, that great pain was the same as he felt at that precise moment and was the cause that Dusk had promised himself not to have friends again, he had told himself he would never wanted to experience such pain again, yet there he was, feeling it again, just for trying to have friends again.

So immersed was Dusk in his thoughts that he didn't hear when the great majority of the ponies made sounds of wonder and excitement as Princess Celestia walked through the great hall, heading towards her faithful student.

"I finally found you, dear Dusk, tell me, will you introduce me to your new friends?" Said the princess, smiling solemnly as she always did, not knowing that she was sinking her hoof into the wound.

As soon as Dusk heard the princess's voice behind him, for the first time since he had known her, he did not turn to greet her, he just stayed as he was, he kept turning his back on her with his eyes closed, head down.

"I don't have any friends..." Dusk said, clenching his teeth hard.

"What?" The princess asked concerned, surprised by Dusk's response and attitude, even though she could not see his face.

"I said I have no friends, I made no friends on this trip, I... I don't need friends." Dusk answered bitterly.

"Dusk, I thought you had made friends, I was hoping that if I told you to make friends and you thought it was a task then you would fulfill it and you would know the importance of friendship." The Princess said worried.

"Well, I didn't, so now what, are you not going to let me return to Canterlot? will I not be able to continue my studies?" Dusk asked trying to suppress his anger and sadness in vain. "Is not it enough for you to force me to open an old wound and to suffer the same pain again? Now you will also take away what I most want!?"

"Dusk, why are you upset?" The princess asked insightfully, realizing immediately that something was wrong and that her poor pupil needed to vent.

"Because I have no friends! I'm all alone!" Shouted Dusk, turning to look at the princess, showing tears in his eyes. "I tried to do as you ask and make friends, but I couldn’t! I betrayed them! At first I didn't want to make any, but then I met five wonderful ponies, they helped me realize that I could be their friend, I actually wanted to be their friend too! But the truth is, I couldn’t! I'm just an untrusting fool, who doesn't know how to express himself and can’t tell others how important they are to him!!" Dusk finished screaming releasing a few tears, however once he let out his grief and frustration, the only thing left to vent was his anger.

"You forced me to this!!" Dusk shouted glaring at the princess, who had listened calmly with her poker face all her student's speech, knowing that he needed to vent all those negative emotions. "You took me away from my room, my books, my studies! You took everything from me! You forced me to come to this town only to see me suffer and make fun of me like you always do! You forced me to feel this unrelenting sorrow that I feel in my chest! Everypony thinks you are kind and benevolent, but that’s not true! You are perverse and manipulative, and I don't know how I didn't see it before! I... I HATE YOU!!!" Dusk finished with a huge scream that kept the room in complete silence.

All the ponies in the hall had heard Dusk's screams, they watched with horror as that young colt had confronted the majestic princess. They just covered their mouths with horror, all frozen without knowing how to react, not even the royal guards standing behind Celestia knew what to do, they had never in their lives had seen anyone shout at the princess that way.

Meanwhile, the princess had listened attentively and patiently to Dusk's entire speech, her wisdom gained by hundreds of years of experience had told her that it was best to calmly listen to Dusk, wait for him to vent and then talk to him with a cool head. And so the princess had listened, imperturbably, to all of Dusk's monologue until he gave that great cry of hatred against her, that cry of truth surprised her, she had been criticized many times and had heard many times that others shouted at her, even she had fought great battles with ferocious enemies, in which she had received several wounds of war, nevertheless, to hear those words come from her beloved student, they really hurt more than any wound. Every time she saw Dusk, no matter how much Dusk grew, she still saw the tender little colt who smiled every time she taught him something new, but now that same image had been destroyed and now she just could see to Dusk staring at her with deep hatred in his heart, that made for the first time that night the princess could not keep up her poker-faced facade, and she narrowed her eyes sadly as her eyes gleamed with a touch of tears about to come out.





"Dusk..." The princess began to speak, lifting her hoof to caress Dusk.

"Bwahaha! What happened? Did the great princess of the sun lose her temperance?" A dark voice laughed, filling the room.

That voice had not been heard in Equestria for a thousand years, so none of the ponies knew who it was, no pony but one, the only existing pony that had lived for more than a thousand years and that was precisely who faced the owner of that voice a thousand years ago. Instantly, Princess Celestia turned with a startled face, staring at the balcony, which was where the voice had come from.

A great shadow formed on the balcony, just where the Mayor of Ponyville stood, who was frozen in terror watching as the huge shadow began to take shape until the image of a huge dark mare appeared, with black coat like night, a huge unicorn horn and large pointed wings, her tail and mane were blue and purple, without form, only floating like clouds around her, she wore a sky blue armor and had a cutie mark of a crescent moon on her flank, however the most terrifying were her eyes, huge and sharp calypso eyes that looked with hatred all over the room.

As soon as the great shadow took shape in the dark mare, she took the Mayor by the neck and stared at her with a malevolent smile.

"Guards!" Cried Princess Celestia quickly, causing the two pegasus of the royal guard to immediately leap over the unknown mare, but as soon as they flew towards the dark mare, they passed through her, as if she was only a great shadow.

"Hahaha! Do you think your guards can stop me?" Said the dark mare laughing, looking at Celestia. "That will be difficult..."

"Because I'm really here." Said the voice of the dark mare, behind Celestia, as the figure on the balcony disappeared.

As soon as the princess turned, she saw with terror that the dark mare was in front of her, but threatening another pony, this time she held Dusk's neck tightly, looking with a sinister smile at the princess.

"Hello Celestia, long time no see." Said the dark mare, not letting Dusk. "Come, join our fun." Said the mare, tightening her grip on Dusk's neck.

"Don't hurt him!" Said the princess in anguish.

"Hahaha! What is the problem? You recently did not hesitate to send your guards, do you really care so much about this colt?" The dark mare laughed.

"Lun-" said Princess Celestia trying to mention a name, but she was immediately interrupted by the dark mare.

"Don't you dare say that name! Say my real name! Strong and clear for all to hear! I want everyone to know who I am and that your lies come to light!" Said the dark mare in a scream.

Princess Celestia stood for a moment in silence, undecided, looking at the dark mare, until finally she looked at Dusk being hanged and her doubts disappeared.

"You are... Nightmare Moon... The mare in the moon..." The princess said slowly, then the voices of surprise and horror of the ponies emerged in the great hall.

"That's right, you wanted to erase me from the history, hide who I really was, now you'll tell everyone how you sacrificed your own sister and everyone will see who the real monster is!" Nightmare Moon shouted, laughing mockingly.

The princess sighed, closed her eyes and lowered her head sadly.

"I did it... because of me, my sister died... and this abomination was born..." Said the princess, closing her eyes sadly, before the attentive and astonished eyes of all the ponies in the room.

"That's right..." Nightmare Moon said, smiling victoriously. "But don't worry, I will not hold a grudge, in fact I'll return from whence I came." She said, bringing her face closer to Dusk. "I'll just take this pony with me as a trophy, what do you say to that? I’ll take him with me and you’ll be able to seal us again on the moon, so in the end you’ll save your kingdom and your precious ponies. After all, what is the life of a single pony compared to the safety and welfare of your whole kingdom? Hahaha!" Nightmare Moon mocked, wanting to see the princess humiliated, savoring what she was sure would happen.

Meanwhile, Dusk moved in vain trying to break free, he had even tried to use his magic, but a shadow covered his horn and prevented him from using his magic, but as soon as he heard the proposal of Nightmare Moon, he stopped trying to break free and just looked to the princess. What Nightmare Moon offered was an irreproachable offer, she was right! What was his life compared to that of thousands of ponies living in the kingdom!? After all, he was only the student of the princess, in thousands of years she had to have had tens, but hundreds of students, her life was not worth so much.

"Accept it, princess!" Dusk said with effort as Nightmare Moon continued to hang him. "I'll be fine, I-" However, Dusk couldn't continue to speak, as he, like all the ponies in the great hall, was silent in the face of what they saw.

In front of them, Princess Celestia had bowed, almost prostrate, before Nightmare Moon. None of the ponies could give credit to what they saw, never in history the princess regent of the kingdom had prostrated before someone else, that was an unprecedented fact in history!

"BWAHAHA! Here is your proud princess, bowing before me! HAHAHA!" Nightmare Moon mocked.

"Please release Dusk, take me instead." Princess Celestia said, her head almost touching the ground. "If you promise not to harm Dusk or anyone else, I will do as you ask."

Nightmare Moon looked suspiciously at Celestia and came up, still holding Dusk's neck.

"Your! Who took her own sister into the eternal darkness, are you willing to sacrifice yourself for an ordinary pony?" Nightmare Moon said as her horn lit up, with a look of contempt at the princess.

"He... He's not an ordinary pony..." The princess replied, looking at Dusk tenderly, as if she were saying goodbye to her precious son.

"Then so be it." Nightmare Moon said, with a huge ball of energy on her horn. Then she released Dusk, who almost fell faint to the ground, and she threw the ball of energy to the princess. "Goodbye forever, Celestia."

As soon as the energy ball touched the princess, everything burned with a brilliant white flame that blinded all the nearby ponies, with a huge flare that covered all around the princess. Finally, when the flames became less bright, the ponies could see where the princess was while the flames went out, until everyone could see that the princess had disappeared, in the place that she had been, only remained her golden royal decorations, her crown and a little ash, while all the ground that had been under the flames was charred, still fuming.

"Ponies, remember this night!" Nightmare Moon screamed as she lost her shape and turned into a huge dark cloud rising to the ceiling. "Because tonight begins the reign of Nightmare Moon! And my first order is for this to be an eternal night! BWAHAHAHA!" Then there was a whirlwind that slammed open all the windows of the hall as the cloud of darkness quickly left the place.

Nothing in the great hall was heard, no one moved, no one breathed, it seemed that the hearts of all the ponies had stopped for a second, everypony with expressions of terror, without their minds still able to process the horror they had just see.

The first pony to react was Dusk Shine, who, regaining his strength, approached dragging, trembling, to the remains that had remained of where the princess had been, she had been destroyed, she had sacrificed herself to save him, and the last thing he had told her had been that he hated her.

Tears began to sprout and run down Dusk's cheeks.

# End of Chapter 15
> Chapter 16 - To the rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the rescue

Dusk approached the smoldering mark which held the remains of where Princess Celestia had once stood, he took the remaining ashes in his hooves and looked at them with huge, expressionless eyes as his lip trembled and his eyes began to sprout tears, then the chaos began. The screams began to be heard all over the great hall, screams of terror, of astonishment, of desperation, as all the ponies finally began to react in horror at seeing the terror before them, they all saw the dark mare, that everypony believed was only a legend in foal's stories, appear before them and destroy their beloved princess. No pony had been able to react, they had all been astonished or simply paralyzed in fear, but now that everything was over, the town hall had become smaller from all the chaos that began to emerge inside it, with ponies running and screaming everywhere.

In the midst of all that chaos, five mares quickly approached Dusk, who had been astonished and horrified as all the others. However, after seeing the lavender unicorn shed tears for his now dead teacher, they all had immediately rushed to him, putting aside their fear, anger and bewilderment just to go up to the colt they had met a few days ago, simply because despite all the swirl of emotions they felt, none of them could stand to see him in that state.

"DUSK!!" The five mares shouted in unison, worried, approaching to Dusk.

Dusk listened to the mares and felt their hooves touching him, but he remained in the same state, with an expressionless gaze staring at the ashes as tears streamed from his eyes non-stop.

"E-Everything will be fine, Dusk." Rarity said, stroking Dusk's face as she attempted for him to stare at her, trying to hide her own fear to comfort that colt so special for her.

Meanwhile Pinkie Pie embraced him while Fluttershy and Applejack also put their hooves his back to try to comfort him. Rainbow Dash on the other hand bit her lip, wishing to act as close to Dusk as her friends, but unable to do so because of her personality and that everypony would see her hugging a colt, an excessively feminine act she felt that she couldn’t afford. So she decided to simply stand by his side, although given the state in which the ponies of the hall were acting, no pony would have paid any attention.

"So... what do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to appear calm but deep down just as frightened as the others, even more so as she glanced at the ashes held by Dusk in his hooves.

"Ra-Rainbow Dash..." A pale green pegasus said suddenly. It was Helia, a companion of the Rainbow Dash's weather patrol, who came up to her captain with a nervous smile and fear in her eyes. "This... this is a joke, right? It's another prank, l-like the one you did to me the other day, with the shadows and all that..." The pegasus finished talking, grabbing desperately to Rainbow Dash and bringing her face closer while she continued to smile nervously. "Tell me this is all a joke!"

Rainbow Dash stared helplessly at Helia as she began to lose her courage and began to catch the fear of her companion.

"I-I'm sorry... this is not a joke..." Rainbow Dash said with a worried look.

"Hehe..." Helia laughed nervously before falling faint and joining other mares in the room who had fainted in fear.

After seeing her companion fall into despair, Rainbow Dash and the other four mares looked around again, seeing as half of the ponies ran from side to side while the others either fainted or approached desperately to the Mayor and the royal guards trying to get some help, help that they did not have since both the Mayor and the guards had no idea what to do or who to turn to in such a catastrophe. The only pony that could solve such a disaster had been incinerated in front of their eyes, now nopony knew who to turn to. It was becoming so much worse that the strength that the five mares had gathered up to go and attend to Dusk was weakening little by little, and their emotions began to catch the fear that reigned in the hall.

Meanwhile, Dusk sat still holding the ashes with an inert look, watching the other ponies pass in front of him but not really focus on them, feeling the warm hooves of the mares around him but paying no attention to them, listening to all the voices around him but without any of the voices were retained or processed by his brain really, no conversation except one.

"W-What did she say?" Dusk suddenly said, looking to his side, startling the five mares at his side. "What did she say!?" Dusk asked again looking at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash was surprised at Dusk's sudden question and answered.

"Helia... She thought this was another prank... like the one we did her the other day." Rainbow Dash replied in a worried voice.

Dusk heard those words, and his eyes slowly began to come back to life as the gears of his brain spun again.

"Those shadows... she thought it was another joke because the shadows were similar to the shadows I made... The shadows were alike!" Said Dusk realizing that great detail. "What if she's right!? What if... What if everything was an illusion!?"

Dusk's heart started to beat rapidly as his mind began to fit the pieces of the puzzle. Dusk had overlooked it, but all that power of Nightmare Moon they had witnessed, the huge dark clouds, the flames, the lightning and thunder, all had been made while they were surrounded by those shadows! But what if that great power of disappearance, materialization, and intangibility had been just that... Shadows!? A mere illusion!! Like his prank with Rainbow Dash, everything could have been an illusion, a very powerful and credible illusion, something very complex to do, but possible for a pony as powerful as Nightmare Moon. But if all that power displayed by Nightmare Moon had been an illusion, what had really happened to the princess?

Then Dusk looked at his hooves again and saw the ash he held. Now that he was thinking logically, that was a ridiculously small amount to be the ashes left by the huge body of Princess Celestia, plus the way she had been 'incinerated', no one could actually see it, everypony just saw a huge flash surrounded by flames, a flash that was well known by Dusk every time he…

"She didn't destroy her..." Dusk whispered as his deductions reached port and a small smile formed on his lips as he discovered a hint of hope. "She teleported her!! That means she must be alive!!"

Dusk lifted his head quickly and stood up, causing the five mares to be startled again by his sudden change of mood.

"But where did she take her?" Dusk said thinking aloud, trying to think where Nightmare Moon might have taken the princess. The first option was the moon, but that was a silly choice, it was illogical that Nightmare Moon had returned to the moon with Celestia, she had just escaped from there, and if Dusk was sure of something it was that wherever the princess was, Nightmare Moon would be there as well, she needed the princess for something, otherwise she would not have done all that to make them believe she had destroyed the princess, no, Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia should be together somewhere, but where? She had lived a thousand years ago, everything in Equestria had changed over a thousand years, even the kingdom's capital....

It was then that Dusk opened his eyes in surprise to realize that there could only be one place of real importance for Nightmare Moon, the capital of the ancient kingdom, the home of her enemy, the place where she destroyed Princess Luna and where Princess Celestia defeated her; that location was right near Ponyville!

Dusk started to feel dizzy because of the speed with which his brain was working, all those emotions and discoveries were taking their toll, giving him a headache, what he needed now was to rest for a second, but there was no time for that, as time went on the situation could only get worse, the destiny of all Equestria was hanging by a thread and he could not waste time.

Dusk saw the royal guards among the hustle of ponies and approached them, after pushing his way through the crowd, because many ponies had tried to seek a response from the guards. Once he was in front of them, Dusk looked at them seriously and spoke to them.

"Listen, you must make all these ponies calm down, I think the princess is fine, we must find her." Dusk said to one of the guards. "We must form a search team and-"

"YOU!" Interrupted one of the guards, looking at Dusk with hatred. "You're the very last pony to give orders here after what you did! How dare you!"

The guard then pushed him as the other ponies around them began to pressure to try to approach, helping to push and take Dusk out of there.

Dusk looked frustrated at the guard and all the ponies in the room, but he couldn't blame the town ponies or the guards, they were all terrified and they showed it in different ways, with anger, with cries, with tears... with the state in which the ponies were, no one would hear what Dusk had to say. Besides what the guard had said was true, just a few moments ago he had shouted at the most beloved pony and maximum authority figure of Equestria, if it had not been for the appearance of Nightmare Moon, he probably would have been lynched at that time, so hoping for any pony would help him or even hear him would be impossible, but even though Dusk had everything against him, he needed to act, even if it was necessary for him to go alone to find the princess.

With that thought in mind, Dusk ran up to the front door of the great hall, opened it and galloped at full speed through the streets of Ponyville, totally focused on what he had to do, paying no attention to what he had left behind or to the screams of mares that were heard in the distance.

Soon after, Dusk saw that the library windows were lit, then he remembered that Spike must have been there after he yelled at him, then his heart pounded in pain. If he was right, this challenge would be the most difficult he would face in his life, facing a mighty legendary mare to rescue the princess was a crazy challenge! A challenge which he didn't know if he would come back from, so he decided that at least he should make peace and say goodbye to his little brother before any eventuality, so Dusk stopped his gallop, concentrated his magic and while he saw the door of the library in the distance, he teleported there.

As soon as Dusk appeared in front of the library door, he opened it and entered. Once inside Dusk could not help feeling a slight shiver of disgust at seeing the mess that had been left in the library after the party of Pinkie Pie, Dusk immediately felt the urgency of getting to order and clean that important temple of knowledge, but he knew he had more important things to do. Dusk walked a few steps to the staircase, thinking maybe Spike would be on the second floor, but he stopped when he heard crying coming from under one of the tables in the hall, Dusk went there and crouched to see what was.

"Spike?" Dusk asked as he saw his little brother hiding under the table, curled up against himself, with tears in his eyes, holding the photograph they had taken together with Princess Celestia long ago.

"Dusk?" Spike said surprised to see his brother there, with no effect of the 'special fruit punch' he had drunk. Then the dragon burst into tears and lunged to embrace Dusk's hooves. "Please, don't hate me, I... I'm really sorry! I'll do anything! Just... *sniff* just don't leave me alone..." Spike sincerely cried, embracing Dusk's hooves, begging his forgiveness.

Seeing the little dragon like that, Dusk got worked up and had to close his eyes to avoid crying too. He was still resentful of Spike for being a loose lips, what Spike had done hadn’t been right, but he also had to be self-critical with himself, he had finally expelled all those repressed feelings of pain and sadness he had felt, now with the calmer head he realized that he couldn’t blame his little brother for his problems, he could've handled the situation much better and clarified everything from the beginning with the five mares, but he hadn't done so because of his small personal traumas, and again, all of that was his fault, not Spike's.

"It's not your fault, Spike." Dusk said crouching to lift Spike's head. "This was all my fault, I could have avoided all this if I had talked to the girls earlier, forgive me for yelling at you like that."

"I... I'll make it up to you... I promise." Spike continued to cry. "Just forgive me, I... I don't want to stop being your brother..."

"Nonsense, you'll never stop being my little brother." Dusk said, suppressing his own tears at the moment because even if it cost him, he couldn’t get sentimental at the moment; after all Dusk didn't want Spike to remember him crying if something bad happened.

"Listen..." Dusk added looking at Spike once he calmed down a bit. "Something bad happened in the Town Hall after you left, I... there is something important that I must do now and... I need you to stay here in the library, with the doors closed until I return, I want you to hide and wait for my return, I…"

Dusk was silent for a second without knowing how to finish the sentence, he wanted to say goodbye to his brother before any eventuality, but more importantly, he realized that he did not want to worry or upset him more than he already was, so he finally couldn't express what he really felt or wanted to say.

"I... I'll be fine, I'll be back soon." Dusk finished talking, rising and putting on a sad farewell smile.

Spike saw his brother's sad expression and it startled and frightened him, and as soon as Dusk took a step toward the door, he stopped him.

"Dusk... I... I'll go anywhere with you!" Spike said worried, not understanding anything his brother was saying but worried after hearing his speech and seeing his sad expression.

Suddenly the library door opened, showing five colorful mares in the doorway.

"Here you are!" Rainbow Dash said in annoyance, approaching Dusk and taking him by the shoulders. "Don't abandon us again, you hear me!"

Dusk was totally stunned and confused by the appearance of the five familiar mares.

"Ra... Rainbow Dash?" Dusk asked, still incredulous to see that the five mares, who he thought were furious with him, stood before him, looking at him with concern.

"Of course it's me, who else?" Rainbow Dash replied annoyed. "You ran out of the great hall, we all chased and yelled at you even though you didn't seem to hear us, finally when I was about to catch you, you teleported and left us alone without any explanation!"

Dusk was surprised as he listened to what Rainbow Dash was saying, had they followed him? But why? After everything that had happened back there... It was then that Dusk just realized that when he had been devastated in the great hall after the events with the princess, he had felt someone hugging him and talking to him, however in his mental state he had not paid any attention to that, but now he realized that they had been the ones who, unlike all the other ponies in the great hall, had rushed to his aid at once and had tried to console him.

As soon as Dusk realized that, he stepped back a couple of steps, totally nervous.

"Why did you follow me...? Why did you try and comfort me? A-After learning what I did to you..." Dusk asked totally nervous.

The five mares looked at each other and blushed slightly, lowering their eyes. They had acted instinctively at first, but the truth was that each of them had already thought about what happened to Dusk and each one of them had come to the same conclusion.

"Well... we heard what ya said to the princess..." Applejack said somewhat embarrassed. "About how ya had no friends, but that ya wanted to have 'em. About how ya met... five wonderful ponies... and that ya jus' didn't know how ta express yer emotions. Ah'... Ah' think it was the sincerest thing Ah've heard ya say so far."

"And not only we hear that, but everypony in the great hall!" Pinkie Pie said smiling. "I would die of shame screaming something like that in front of everypony, but it was something tender, of course, then you ruined everything by shouting at the princess..."

Hearing that, Dusk was embarrassed and turned completely red, he didn't know what was more embarrassing, realizing that the whole town had heard him express his emotions or remembering how silly and inconsiderate he was to shout at the princess.

"Maybe... it was also our fault for not knowing you better." Fluttershy said timidly. "And not understanding that you had all that accumulated grief and rage."

"Yes, I knew you weren't a bad pony, now we all know that it was just that you didn't know how to express yourself, we understand that, darling." Rarity staring at Dusk. "But that doesn't mean that what you did was good."

"That's right, you still owe us an apology! You'll have to do something big for us to forgive you." Rainbow Dash said, crossing her legs.

Dusk stared at the five smiling mares and felt a great relief in his heart, although he still didn't understand why, after all, according to his personal experience, even friends abandon you if you cheat and betray them, just as it had happened to him in the past, but then... Why were these mares so understanding? Was it because they were not yet officially his friends since he still did not ask them? Or did they have another notion of friendship? Or maybe... His own notion of friendship was wrong and... a friend does forgive you after a mistake? Whatever it was, the first thing was to apologize, so Dusk bowed to apologize in front of them all.

"I'm really sorry about-" Dusk said distressed, before being interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

"Sh-sh-sh-sh! Stop there! I told you that you would apologize properly, not here or now, you'll not get out of it so easily, besides there is something much more important that you must tell us..." Rainbow Dash said, raising her hooves to get Dusk to stop. "While you didn’t seem to notice us, we heard all your chatter in the great hall after the chaos, tell us why you left the great hall at full speed? And who did you mean by 'she must be alive'? Did you mean...? "

"Yeah... I think the princess is still alive." Dusk said seriously.

"The princess is alive!?" The mares said surprised in unison.

"The princess was dead!?" Spike asked confused.

Dusk turned to look at Spike's shocked face, striking his face for being so dumb to forget that Spike was still there, to which he had decided not to frighten him by telling him the truth, but now that Spike already knew the worst of the situation, Dusk decided that if Spike was going to find out it would be best for him to do it himself. That was how Dusk quickly explained in a flash to Spike what had happened in the great hall, when he was unjustifiably angry with the princess, the appearance of Nightmare Moon and what she had done to the princess... It was at that point that Dusk also explained to them: the mares and Spike, why he believed the princess was still alive and where he thought where could she and Nightmare Moon be hiding.

"The old castle!?" The five mares said after they finished listening to what Dusk told them.

"That's right, I can't think of another place where Nightmare Moon could've taken the princess, even more knowing that it's near here." Dusk replied.

"B-But that's deep in the Everfree forest..." Fluttershy said fearfully.

"I know, although I don't know specifically which way to go." Dusk said thinking aloud, looking at the books in the library. "I think there must be some book with a map that shows the way."

"Ya don't need a map, Ah' know how ta get there." Applejack said approaching. "If that's where ya wanna to go, Ah'll guide ya."

"I also know where it is." Rainbow Dash said, stepping forward. "And I'll go too."

"Me too." Rarity said imitating the gesture of the Pegasus.

"And me." Pinkie Pie said, also approaching Dusk with a smile.

"And... and me." Fluttershy said shyly, also approaching.

Dusk set out to stop them and to tell them that if a guide to show the way was enough, it wasn't necessary that they all guide him, nevertheless before speaking he was interrupted by his little brother.

"I-I'll... I'll go too..." Spike said shaking, approaching Dusk.

The little dragon had been horrified after hearing all that had transpired in the Town Hall, and now he felt even more guilty after knowing that Dusk had also been angry with the princess, so he felt that it was his responsibility to accompany Dusk, although his determination couldn't stop the little dragon from trembling to hear that his brother would go confront such an evil and powerful mare.

Dusk looked at his little dragon brother, who looked at him filled with determination, and saw his legs tremble.

"No way, you're staying here, it's too dangerous, besides... I need someone to clean up the mess that Pinkie Pie's party left." Dusk said with a sad smile making up an excuse for his little brother not to accompany him.

Spike started to argue but he was interrupted by Dusk.

"Please, Spike. Trust me, everything will be fine." Dusk said looking affectionately at his brother, hoping he would understand his feelings.

Spike looked at his brother and saw that Dusk almost implored him with a look to stay, Dusk just wanted to protect him and he understood, but he didn't want to leave his brother alone, even more so in the face of a mission as dangerous as that. Spike's thoughts and feelings fought with each other, not knowing what to do.

"Okay..." Spike finally answered sadly, deciding to listen and relent to his brother, because he had already ruined things once that night, he had no morals to go against what Dusk asked now. "After all, I'll probably just become a nuisance... But... just promise you'll come back."

"I promise." Dusk said smiling and turning, then he saw the mares, the five ponies who had offered to guide him to the road that led to the old castle. He had to tell them that he only needed one guide, but he could no longer engage in more arguments and keep wasting his time, he had already lost too much time! So he just decided to accept what the mares offered him, after all five guides were better than none.

"Okay, let's go." Dusk said, opening the door to the library.

The six ponies came out of the library and began their gallop towards the Everfree Forest, as Spike watched them running from the doorway, with his teeth and claws clenched tightly, wishing with all his might that everything would turn out well and that they all would soon return together and to laugh together again.





The path to the Everfree forest was silent, each of the ponies were focused on their own thoughts, remembering what they had just experienced that night or how terrifying the place they were going would be, but everypony with a firm conviction knew that they had to go into dark forest to find the castle and save the princess, all in the hope that they would succeed.

"Here it is." Applejack said once the six ponies arrived at the entrance to the Everfree forest. "If ya follow this path ya can reach the ruins of the ol' castle."

Dusk paused, as did the mares, and stared at the infamous Everfree forest, now he understood the rumors he had heard and realized how silly he was to confuse the peaceful grove Fluttershy lived in with the terrifying Everfree forest. This was a thick, leafy forest, dark and dingy, with tall trees whose branches almost completely obscured the sky, woody vines and thorns surrounding the road, even the sounds heard in the distance were different from those heard in other woods, there was a great variety of grunts, howls and hisses, probably of the great and varied number of monsters that inhabited that forest, even more, even Dusk could feel that here the magic vibration was different from what could be felt anywhere else in Equestria.

"It's a terrifying place." Rarity said, swallowing.

"That's right, ponies say even the clouds move on their own here." Added Rainbow Dash, looking up at the sky, somewhat incredulous at how ridiculous that sounded, ready to frighten a few of her friends but regretting it after a little breeze crossed her neck and gave her a shiver.

The six ponies stood on the road looking at the entrance to the forest, all looking scared where the road was lost in the darkness of the forest.

"Well, here's where we say farewell." Dusk said after taking a breath, knowing that despite the fear he should continue, then he turned to face the five mares. "Thanks for guiding me here, I really appreciate it."

The five mares looked at each other and looked at Dusk.

"What're you talkin' 'bout?" Applejack said somewhat annoyed. "We're goin' with ya, what didn't ya hear when we told ya in the library?"

Dusk was surprised at that comment, he had understood that they would guide him to the road that led to the castle, he never thought they meant to go with him to the castle.

"WHAT!? No! Definitely not!" Dusk said quickly, nervously, shaking his head in denial. "It's too dangerous, and I don't even know if I'm right, I don't want you risking yourselves on my fault."

"We don't care about that, we'll go with you anyway." Pinkie Pie said smiling.

"We are all in this together." Rarity said, smiling too.

"If we're all together it will be less dangerous." Fluttershy said with a shy smile.

"We're going with you if you like it or not! You hear me, know-it-all!" Rainbow Dash said seriously.

Dusk looked in surprise at the five mares as his heart filled with joy at such words of companionship, they were still supporting him in spite of the danger that lay ahead, just as they didn’t abandon him after the misunderstanding in the Town Hall, they wanted to be with him at all costs, they wanted to protect him! And now he understood, they were really forging a powerful bond of union with him, and that was something Dusk had not felt in a very, very long time. However with the joy of knowing that these mares would never leave him, Dusk felt a great fear of losing those newborn feelings, he felt that he wanted to protect that bond at all costs, Protect them at all costs! Just as he felt about Spike, but he knew the mares would not be easy to convince as his little brother, so if he wanted to protect them he must do something, something for which he could even be hated for later.

As the five mares gazed at Dusk, he turned and walked over to a small shrub containing some sort of dandelion, similar to cotton. Then Dusk took little pieces of a dandelion and placed it in both ears, before the confused look of the mares.

"Why're you covering your ears!? Don't you want to hear us?!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed.

"Please forgive me, I don't want you to be hurt, I just want you to understand that I need to go alone." Dusk said looking at the mares in sadness, he wanted to tell them the truth and express what he truly felt, but he had barely begun to recognize those forgotten feelings, he wasn't sure how to express it yet, nor was he sure if they would understand what he felt, he just hoped they would forgive him for what he was about to do.

"Dusk, you don't have to do this alone." Applejack looked worriedly at Dusk. "That's what friend-" Applejack did not finish speaking as a noise beside her interrupted her.

As soon as Applejack turned to see what the noise was, she saw that it had been Rainbow Dash, which for some reason had stopped flying and had fallen to the ground, seemingly asleep. Then Applejack looked at her other side and saw that Rarity and Fluttershy were also resting on the ground, sound asleep.

"It's... it's true... you shouldn't ..." Pinkie Pie said as her eyes closed, before falling asleep too.

Applejack looked worried to her friends, not understanding what was happening, while the wind around her seemed to become warm and cozy, and music of reeds seemed to sound in the air, a soft, gentle, hypnotizing melody that incited sleep. Applejack's eyes began to closed in spite of her efforts as she slowly fell asleep, she looked everywhere without understanding what this atmosphere was or where that soft, spellbinding music came from, then she looked up and realized that Dusk's horn glowed softly.

"Dusk...!" Applejack said with much effort, trying not to fall asleep.

"It's for your own good, I must do this alone." Dusk said as his horn shimmered more intensely.





Applejack's eyelids grew heavier, she could barely keep her eyes open, but with one last effort she took a couple of steps forward to approach Dusk.

"Dusk..." Applejack murmured as she approached, then she wrapped her front hooves around Dusk's neck. "Idiot..." Applejack said still holding Dusk's neck, before falling soundly asleep.

"I just want to protect you." Dusk said sadly once he saw that they were all asleep.

As soon as Applejack fell asleep, Dusk stopped using the sleep spell that had worked and with his same magic took the plugs that had been put in himself to avoid falling asleep to the spell, that magic was high level but something simple to achieve for the princess's personal student. As soon as he had used it, three of the mares had fallen fast asleep, only the two earth ponies had resisted, a logical thing since it was known that earth ponies were more resistant to magic than the other races, however, Dusk was surprised by the great strength that Applejack had, that mare had resisted enormously his powerful magic.

"You really are a strong mare." Dusk said tenderly, ready to unclasping Applejack's hooves that still held him.

Dusk tried to gently pull on Applejack's hooves, then used a little more force and then, even more, but to his surprise, there was no difference, Dusk could not separate her united hooves nor get her to let go of him, although she remained deep sleep. Dusk thought of using teleportation to get her off, but that would be dangerous since it could wake them all in the attempt, nor could he make many sudden movements to get her out of him, since that would be dangerous for the orange mare. Not knowing what to do, Dusk lowered his head and saw Applejack's face, who with the way she had grabbed him, she had been extremely close to Dusk's face. It was there that Dusk couldn't help thinking about that accidental kiss he'd had with the country mare.

"What am I thinking about that at a time like this!?" Dusk thought blushing.

Finally Dusk decided that there was no other way but to take Applejack with him since he couldn't get her off him, and if he lost more time there the other ponies could wake up, so he gently levitated Applejack's body, turning it as she kept her hooves firmly tied to Dusk's neck like a necklace, and laid her on his back. Once Dusk made sure she was stable on his back, he gave one last look at the four mares that slept peacefully there.

"At least I'll know you four are safe." Dusk said softly before turning and galloping, finally entering the dark Everfree forest, only with something on his mind, wishing with all his might to be right and his teacher to be alive, hidden deep in that terrifying place.





"BWAHAHA! What did you think of my performance? Now we can live in silence here, after all, nopony will look for you BECAUSE THEY ALL THINK YOU ARE DEAD! BWAHAHA!" Nightmare Moon laughed heartily, looking hatefully at her prisoner.

In the midst of a shattered and forgotten hall of the old castle, deep in the Everfree forest, was Nightmare Moon laughing triumphantly for her return to Equestria after being held prisoner for a thousand years. Beside her stood another pony of similar proportions but opposite colors: Princess Celestia, without her royal ornaments or her crown, seated, looking at her captor as dark clouds surrounded her horn, neck, and legs.

"You do not know how much I missed this place..." Nightmare Moon said, looking around at the destroyed walls and roof of the castle. "I see you enjoyed leaving and forgetting our home."

"I... I needed to get away from here." Celestia answered sadly, not lifting her head. "There were too many painful memories..."

"So you hated remembering your sister?" Nightmare Moon said, staring at Celestia while laughing sarcastically.

"No, I hate remembering my past, I... hate myself, who I was and what I did. I hated myself for not being strong and wise enough to be able to save my sister." Celestia replied sadly. "That's why I left this castle."

Nightmare Moon stopped smiling, she did not answer or look at Celestia. A few seconds passed until the dark mare used her magic to force Celestia to rise and follow her as she walked through the huge, shattered hall.

"Do you recognize this room?" Nightmare Moon said after a while, inviting her to look around.

The magic of Nightmare Moon forced Celestia to look up. The eyes of the princess showed some anguish after recognizing the place.

"Yes..." Celestia replied sadly, lowering her head again.

"In this room was where that forgotten and despised princess of the night died, and the greatest and unmatched pony in all history was born, The Mighty Nightmare Moon!" Nightmare Moon said proudly, opening her wings. "That night must have been the beginning of my reign! No one could match my power, not even you! And I would have done it... if you had not used those accursed elements." At that point Nightmare Moon stopped smiling wickedly and again looked with hatred at Celestia.

"But that's a mistake I won't make again." Nightmare Moon added, pausing at what appeared to be some kind of altar, a high stone structure with a sphere in its center and five stone spheres around it. "Here they are, the elements of harmony." Nightmare Moon said with an evil smile looking at the stone spheres. "It was irresponsible of you to abandon such a powerful weapon in such a now decrepit place, but that neglect of yours will be the reason for my greatest triumph, now I will use this ancient magic to become invincible!"

Then Nightmare Moon used her magic on the elements to activate their power. Before the contact of the magic, the spheres began to shine slowly, to the satisfaction of the dark mare, who began to smile as the elements began to react. Then, suddenly, the stone spheres began to tremble and to throw lightning bolts, to the complete surprise of Nightmare Moon, who was even more surprised when the lightning bolts became larger and hit her chest hard, causing her to fall.

Nightmare Moon rose slowly with an expression of pain, that had been totally unexpected, her surprise was greater when she looked up and saw that the elements had stopped shining and they had remained exactly as they were before she used her magic on them.

"What's this!? WHY DON'T THEY WORK!?" Nightmare Moon screamed furiously, looking at Celestia.

The alicorn princess sat still, staring sadly at the floor, saying nothing. Nightmare Moon came up and took her tightly by the neck.

"You used some kind of spell to prevent anypony using dark magic from taking them, didn't you?" Nightmare Moon asked tightening around Celestia's neck and releasing a part of the shadow that covered the princess's horn, just the tip, so she could only use a small portion of her enormous alicorn magic. "Come on, use your magic on them! Move them off the pedestal!"

Once Nightmare Moon released Celestia's neck, the white alicorn looked sadly at Nightmare Moon and then she looked to the elements of harmony, then the tip of her horn shined as she used her magic to connect with the elements, which began to shine as they had done when Nightmare Moon used her magic, however to the surprise of the dark mare, the same thing happened, the elements began to tremble and release lightning bolts until they released a large beam that struck Celestia's chest, pushed her away from Nightmare Moon and making her fall.

Nightmare Moon was totally surprised by what she saw, she could understand that the elements didn't react to her dark magic, but why didn't they react to Celestia's light magic? She had felt the magic of Celestia and it was not a trick, she had tried to connect with the elements causing them to shine, just as she knew it should be done, but they still did not work.

"Why don't they work!?" Nightmare Moon asked again, using her magic to appear in front of where Celestia had fallen.

The princess kept her head down, apparently, unwilling to get up.

"The elements of harmony are a very ancient magic, they respond to the feelings and desires of those who want or need to occupy them." Celestia said sadly. "The feelings of sisterhood, friendship, and love that we had, me and my sister, allowed us to use them to defeat evil on several occasions. But after the appearance of the darkness that you call Nightmare Moon, I had to use them to exile you to the moon, everything to protect the ponies, but that was something that I never forgave myself... After that I could never again use the elements of harmony, my guilt prevented me from feeling the necessary feelings and the mental harmony required to even move them, that day I lost the bonds of sisterhood, friendship, and love that allowed me to use them... "

Nightmare Moon listened attentively to what the princess said to her, when Celestia finished speaking, for a second Nightmare Moon stopped showing her permanent look of hatred, showing a softer expression, while her eyes were no longer as sharp and looked like a normal mare's eyes. This did not go unnoticed by Celestia, who recognized those eyes immediately, and made a small hope born in her heart.

"I know that you plan to destroy me in due time, perhaps with that, I can pay for my sins." Princess Celestia said to Nightmare Moon with a pleading look. "But if I had one last wish, I just wish I could talk to my sister one last time."

That remark made Nightmare Moon's eyes shine sadly, her expression softening even more, but that only lasted a second, for Nightmare Moon suddenly closed her eyes tightly in pain, and when she reopened her eyes they had returned to being the usual, terrible and sharp eyes that looked with hatred at everything and everyone.

"You should know..." Nightmare Moon said turning her back on Celestia. "Your sister is dead."

After saying those words, Nightmare Moon began to walk towards the center of the room again, while her shadows dragged Celestia after her.

"Well, it matters not that I can’t use the elements of harmony." Nightmare Moon said, turning her eyes back to the stone altar. "I am still the mightiest mare in all of Equestria, and that will be enough to-"

Suddenly Nightmare Moon stopped talking and quickly turned her head towards the door of the room, beyond which she could see the extensive Everfree forest. Something had caught her attention.

Nightmare Moon had left several pieces of her magic through the forest to be alerted of any intrusion in the area, after all, it never hurt to be cautious, she couldn't leave anything unattended, and it was one of those magic bits she left that had alerted her to somepony in the forest. Nightmare Moon then concentrated as a dark cloud formed before her, a dark cloud that slowly became clear until it showed an image, one of the paths that passed through the forest and headed for the old castle, on that road she could see a pony, a purple unicorn that carried an orange mare on his back.

"Dusk..." Princess Celestia whispered, who could not help but see the image Nightmare Moon was seeing.

"Oh, yes, the little colt who broke your heart!" Nightmare Moon said with a wicked smile, looking at Celestia. "If I'm not mistaken, he's your student, correct? It seems that he is headed here, who knows, maybe he wants to keep yelling and cursing at you. Hahaha!"

Nightmare Moon's gaze remained seeing the image of the colt.

"Yes... I must admit he's very interesting..." Nightmare Moon said, opening her eyes with interest. "If he is your personal student, he must be a powerful unicorn, and even better, he shares my hatred for you... Maybe I will invite him to join my ranks." Nightmare Moon said, licking her lips as if savoring something delectable.

Nightmare Moon's personality, even one could say that her entire existence, was a representation of a radical personality, feelings carried to the extreme in her heart: excessive wrath, excessive sadness, excessive desires... And it was those desires that for a moment took her to see Dusk with other eyes, eyes of unbridled passion... However, if there was something that borderline personality enjoyed even more than a possible passionate desire, it was to see the suffering of her greatest enemy, to see her full of fear and anger. It was then that Nightmare Moon suddenly put on a devilish smile and a terrifying look.

"But if he’s foolish enough to come here, I might just have to finish him off, or better yet! I'll make him suffer until he begs for mercy! Hmhmhm!" Nightmare Moon added sinisterly.

"Don't you dare!" Celestia said, looking for the first time that night with fury at Nightmare Moon. "You promised not to hurt them!"

Nightmare Moon turned to look upon Celestia, gazing at her with an evil smile, she enjoyed seeing Celestia lose her temper, so she thought how much she would enjoy seeing the pain in Celestia while she tortured that pony right in front of her, but that was a luxury that couldn't be given, for the truth was that Nightmare Moon had used much of her power to free herself from her lunar prison, and another big portion was used to keep Celestia prisoner, magic that did not require so much concentration and power since the princess had surrendered without resistance and remained willingly, but Nightmare Moon knew that Celestia was an alicorn of great power, and if the princess began to struggle and to try break free, that would complicate things greatly, so for now Nightmare Moon would play along, at least until she could recover all her strength and finally get rid of the princess of the sun.

"Of course I won't harm him... I promised..." Nightmare Moon responded with an malicious grin. "But I never said anything about frightening or intimidating him."

Then Nightmare Moon concentrated her magic and a large dark cloud, similar to the one that formed her mane, formed in front of her and sped out of the castle, towards Dusk Shine.





It had been awhile since Dusk Shine had entered the Everfree forest, just following the road the mares had indicated, still carrying Applejack, who was still asleep on his back.

The more Dusk advanced through the forest, the more terrifying the place seemed to become. With each broken branch, every distant howl or noise of the wind, Dusk was put in a state of alert, looking everywhere, as if waiting to be attacked at any moment. He remembered the stories he had heard about the Everfree forest, of ponies being devoured by ferocious and wild creatures, or some ponies who entered and lost their sanity after being lost in there, so many stories that at the time seemed exaggerated, but now that he's experiencing it in the flesh, he felt that this and many worse things really could be possible, even more at that moment, when a mighty and villainous mare was hiding there.

Suddenly, amidst so much darkness, a colorful vision caught Dusk's attention, near a bush, at the edge of the road, was a beautiful flower, of bright and clear colors, with petals of different hues, something really beautiful that seemed out of place in that dark and gloomy forest, for that same reason, it stood out even more. Dusk approached the flower and smiled when he recognized it, it was a flower called 'rainbow shine', he knew it because this was Princess Celestia's favorite flower, a well-kept secret since the princess had never shown favoritism towards a particular flower, and it would prove to be a mistake toward a flower as exotic and scarce as this, which only grew in the Everfree forest, since if this was public knowledge, this flower probably would have gone extinct, since all the ponies of Equestria would overexploit them to give them to the princess. So to prevent this, only the royal gardener and a couple of guards knew about it, since once a month the princess ordered that they bring a pair of those flowers to put next to her throne, as her only company, something that Dusk had obviously discovered on his own given the amount of time spent with the princess.

Dusk cut the flower with his magic and levitated it in front of him, he knew how much the princess admired this flower, so it would be a good gesture to give it to her as the first gesture of forgiveness once he had rescued her, because Dusk knew that even if everything went well and in some miraculous way could rescue the princess safe and sound, he still had to beg for the princess's forgiveness, he had acted horribly with her, and he needed to make amends.

"A small gift may not amend all the things I said." Dusk said thinking aloud and fading the flower, transporting it to a safe place until it was time to hand it to the princess. "But I know that she'd like this beautiful flower." Dusk finished saying, thinking that that flower would also be the symbol of his hope, a symbol of Dusk's firm belief that everything would turn out well and that the princess was indeed alive somewhere.

After that, Dusk looked back at the road and advanced, however, he couldn't even take two steps as he felt a strong grip on his neck that hung him by surprise.

"Dusk, ya idiot!" Applejack suddenly said, waking and choking Dusk for a few seconds before releasing him.

Once Applejack released Dusk, she jumped down from Dusk's back, while Dusk touched his neck, trying to breathe normally, for although Applejack had not squeezed heavily, it had been enough to make him breathless.

"Cough! Cough! I... I see you've woken up, cough!" Dusk said once he caught his breath.

Applejack just looked annoyed at Dusk, not answering that obvious question.

"Why'd ya use yer magic ta put us ta sleep!?" The orange mare finally asked, still looking angry at Dusk.

Dusk was silent for a moment before answering, head down, looking at the ground.

"I... I need to do this alone." Dusk said repeating what he had said before using his sleeping spell.

"Why!? Why'd ya have this eagerness ta do everythang on yer own!?" Applejack asked insistently.

Dusk again remained silent, not knowing how to express his feelings or being sure of wanting to actually do it. Applejack waited a while for the answer, remembering what she and her friends had talked about in the library when they confronted Dusk. She understood that Dusk had trouble showing what he felt, but that couldn't go on forever, so she approached Dusk to talk more closely.

"Listen, it seems like you keep a lot of secrets inside you, so much so that it's even hard for you to tell the truth when it's needed." Applejack said looking seriously at Dusk. "I won't force ya to talk, but it would be good for ya to start trustin' others, and the foundation of trust is the truth." Applejack said before putting one of her hooves on Dusk. "Do ya trust me?"

Dusk stared at Applejack, he knew how to respond, he was sure that he trusted her, after all, she was the most honest mare he knew, it was impossible not to trust her, however, the way Applejack asked him that question, the way she had stood in front of him and how she touched him, reminded him exactly of his first friendship, a mare who had also approached Dusk at the time, had touched him affectionately and asked the same question.

"I...I don't know." Dusk responded very nervously, involuntarily remembering his painful past again.

Applejack looked disappointed with Dusk, but she correctly interpreted it wasn't that Dusk didn't trust her, but he just couldn’t express it properly, so with a snort of resignation, she would have to keep waiting until the truth came out voluntarily from Dusk's lips.

"Ya really are a headache." Applejack said looking at Dusk a little worried, but without wanting to continue pressing him. "So... What say we at least go back fer the others? They must've woken up by now."

"I don't think that's the best decision." Dusk said turning around and looking at the road again. "We're already deep in the forest, and we can't continue wasting more time, the longer we take, the more time Nightmare Moon has to get what she needs from the princess."

Then Dusk started walking again, not looking at Applejack since he didn't want her to see him hesitating, because in truth he was questioning himself whether leaving the other mares behind was best choice.

"Suit yerself, 'though I keep insisting that we go back for 'um." Applejack said, rushing to reach Dusk and walk beside him, believing that what Dusk just said was just an excuse not to return, but she decided it would not be right to leave Dusk alone.

So they both walked silently for a while, until Dusk paused when he saw that the road was divided in two.

"One leads ta the castle and the other leads back ta Ponyville." Applejack said approaching, seeing the confusion of Dusk. "Which is good if'n we want ta go back an' meet the others."

"Which of the two roads leads to the castle?" Dusk asked.

"The one on the right." Applejack replied without hesitation.

Then Dusk took the path to the right and continued walking next to Applejack, while he noticed that she looked at him sideways without a word.

"How'd ya know Ah' told ya the truth?" Applejack finally asked as they kept walking. "Maybe Ah' fooled ya in ta going back to the beginning with the others, Ah' mean..." Then Applejack looked mischievously at Dusk. "Why trust me?"

Dusk kept walking somewhat embarrassed, realizing Applejack's point. He didn't like others playing with his mind and guiding him toward an obvious answer, but he had to admit that Applejack had left him in evidence of something he had done instinctively, he didn't even question if Applejack had in fact lied! However, why hadn't he questioned something so obvious?

Dusk was about to respond when a great snort was heard near them, causing both ponies to startle and remain on alert. Both ponies looked back at the same time and saw a huge black bull, with bright, devilish eyes, it looked at them not far from there. Immediately the bull gave another deafening snort and threw himself into a charge toward the ponies.

"RUN!!!" Applejack shouted starting to run along with Dusk, completely frightened. As any good country pony, she knew many animals, great big bulls among them, nevertheless she had never seen a bull as huge and frightening as the one that chased them, so she only thought to run.

Dusk ran next to Applejack, giving his all since the mare ran very fast, but the adrenaline of the moment allowed him to match the pace of the mare. While they did, all they heard was the bull's snort, which approached them like a huge freight train.

The unicorn thought of using his teleportation spell as he did when he fled from Applejack's cousins, so he turned for a second to see how far back was the huge beast following them before using his magic, however, when turning he saw that the bull was almost on top of them, so the only thing Dusk thought and did was to take Applejack by a hoof and pull her with himself out of the road, while the bull by the inertia of its onslaught followed along. As they left the road, both ponies rolled downhill because the road was slightly elevated. Once they stopped rolling, both stood up quickly as they heard that the bull was also beginning to descend towards them.

"Quick! We gotta go!" Dusk said in a frightened voice, pushing Applejack to keep straight, into the forest.

So they continued to run with all their might as they felt the snorts approaching more and more, until they went out to an esplanade where there were no trees, therefore they could see better thanks to the light of the full moon, after which they followed running just a little more.

"Woah!" Applejack shouted, stopping short, grabbing Dusk to stop running too, just in time.

Stopped by Applejack, Dusk realized that he had been so focused on running that he had not realized that there was no further road ahead, just a huge cliff from which the mare had fortunately saved him from falling off.

Both ponies looked sideways, not knowing where to go until they looked back and saw that the huge bull had also come out of the trees, stopping its rampage a short distance away, just staring at them. Now that the light of the moon allowed them to see better, they could see that the bull, if it could be called that, it wasn't like any beast they had seen before, it was of a dark blue color, faceless, with two huge, bright white eyes while its fur seemed to change color in certain parts of its body. Then the bull gave another huge snort and got in position to begin his final charge towards the ponies since they had reached a dead end.

"He's going to gore us!" Dusk said in fear, watching the huge beast prepare to ram.

"Maybe... we should jump off the cliff, so perhaps there is a minimum chance of survival." Applejack said fearfully, glancing at the huge cliff that stretched behind them.

The ponies could not agree because at that moment the huge bull began its wild rush towards them.

As the beast approached, Dusk discovered that there was one last escape, if he used teleportation at the last second to disappear and reappear just when the bull attacked them, they could be saved and incidentally make the bull fall off the cliff. It was extremely risky, but it was their only salvation.

The fearful face that both ponies showed as the bull continued its charge toward them, was only increasing, at least until Applejack suddenly ceased being frightened and made a face of curiosity as if she had seen something interesting.

"As soon as it gets closer I'll use my magic to teleport us." Dusk said very nervously.

"No need." Applejack said, as soon as Dusk turned to see her, to his amazement she no longer looked as terrified as she had been an instant ago. "Jus' stay here, nothin'll happen."

"What do you mean!?" Dusk asked afraid, as he heard that the bull was almost in front of them.

Applejack turned to look at Dusk.

"Do you trust me?" Applejack said with a smile. The beast continued its charge toward them.

"Yes!" Dusk finally said, still afraid to hear the snorting of the bull closer and closer.

"Why?" Applejack asked quietly, still watching him.

"Because..." Dusk answered, listening to the snorts almost in front of them, so he turned to see the beast approaching.

It was then that Dusk had a very important revelation, in the dialogue he and Applejack had about trust when she awoke, the important thing had not been whether he trusted her or not, he knew he did, what really mattered was knowing WHY he trusted Applejack, and that was just the answer to the whole problem he was facing now.

"I trust you because I know you would never lie to me or intend to cause harm, because I know you always tell the truth, because you're the most honest pony I know!" Dusk said as he reassured himself and looked straight ahead at the dark bull approaching them, just as Applejack did. He didn’t know how they would come out unscathed, but he knew something, that he could always rely on the honesty of Applejack, and that was all he needed.

The bull arrived with his final onslaught, at full speed, in front of the ponies, while they continued to stare at it without blinking or moving. And in that final onslaught, it was that the bull followed long, turning into smoke, traversing them, and disappearing behind them like a fleeting fumarole.

Both Dusk and Applejack began to breathe again, agitated, after having held their breath due to the tension of the moment, then both looked at each other and began to laugh nervously, laughter that was becoming more joyful as the seconds passed.

"Ah' knew it wasn't real!" Applejack said smiling.

"How did you know it wasn't real!?" Dusk asked in amazement, smiling in relief.

"Look there." Applejack said, pointing to the path the huge bull had been running. "There are no hoofprints, it's impossible for a huge beast to leave no trace in its path, so Ah thought it couldn't be real, Ah' didn't realize it before, but now that we're in a brighter place Ah' could see it."

Dusk looked at the ground and marveled at the mare's brilliant deduction.

"That was very clever." Dusk said smiling. "It would've been easier if you had simply told me to look at the ground to see the prints." Dusk finished saying, thinking that the bull would have been much easier to face if she had told him about the footprints instead of asking if he trusted her.

"Well, you said you didn't know if you trusted me." Applejack said smiling. "Now you know you can trust me! You know it because you know me and you know I'll always be honest with you." Applejack finished with a wink.

Dusk blushed, not only at how cute Applejack looked with that gesture but also how embarrassed he was that he'd not sincerely told her that he trusted her before.

"Maybe now you can tell me the truth, why you want to go and rescue the princess by yourself." Applejack looked at Dusk warmly.

Dusk swallowed, he remembered that when he had cast the sleep spell, he didn't want to tell the truth to her face, because he didn't know how to express it or knew if they would understand it, but that was something he wouldn't have to worry about, Applejack had more than proven that he can trust her, and if he wanted her to trust him in the future, he had to tell the truth, even though it was hard to tell, after all, as she had said, the truth was the foundation for trust.

"I... I want to rescue the princess because I feel responsible, I screamed at her in anger and blamed her for my misfortunes, so I think it must be me and only me who rescues her." Dusk said starting to tell the truth. "But it's not just that, I... I don't want you to go with me, because the truth is I don't know if I can do it, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you five because of me, I... I really feel that I want to protect you and the others!"

Dusk paused before continuing.

"A long time ago I had a friend, on who I thought I could trust, but..." Dusk again fell silent for a second, since remembering all that and saying it out loud was something very complicated for him. "But everything went wrong, she ended up lying and deceiving me, she never really wanted to be my friend... and overtime I realized that every new pony I knew that approached me just wanted to approach the princess, no one was sincere with me, that's why I stopped believing in others..." At this point Dusk looked at Applejack affectionately. "But then I met you five, and little by little we were forging a bond that I don't want to break, these feelings that I feel... are something I don't want to lose, that's why I did what I did. I want to protect you five no matter what."

"Wow... First, ya couldn't tell the truth an' now you're brutally honest, ya gotta find some middle ground, ya know." Applejack said, pretending to giggle, which made Dusk blush.

The truth was that Applejack had said that joke to break up the mood that had been generated a little, because while Dusk spoke she had listened carefully to each word, watching as Dusk finally opened his heart and was sincere with her, and the more she listened to him, her heart began to beat faster. Seeing Dusk so vulnerable, being so honest with her, only with her! Exposing his traumas and relying entirely on her, made the mare inadvertently begin to see Dusk with dreamy eyes. So when Dusk finished speaking, she quickly said that bad joke so that Dusk wouldn’t realize that she had been staring at him with dreamy eyes and with her cheeks blushed.

"But ya didn't have to do any o' that." Applejack added, trying to get back to the subject of why he had knocked them out. "Didn't ya think that we feel the same way as you an' that we also want ta protect ya?"

"I... I'm sorry." Dusk finally apologized.

"An' what do ya say now? Are we going ta look fer the others?" Applejack asked a little more cheerfully.

"We can't, there's no time to lose, mainly now that I know I'm right." Dusk said seriously, looking at Applejack. "Did you see how that bull faded? I don't think I've heard of any creature like this before, and no matter how strange the Everfree Forest is, I don't think such a creature exists. As you said, the bull wasn't real, it was just a huge bull-shaped shadow that chased us without any provocation, going straight for us, trying to scare us. I wouldn't believe that anypony could have such extraordinary magic to manipulate shadows mixed with such a powerful illusion, unless I hadn't seen somepony using it tonight, Nightmare Moon! She has that ability and is using it against us! And if she's trying to keep us away, it means that she must actually be here, concealing something, and if so, my theory of the princess still being alive is more valid!"

"But I don't know how much longer Nightmare Moon will keep the princess alive." Dusk added quickly, looking at Applejack with a more worried look. "That's why we need to continue, we can't go back."

"Okay, I get it." Applejack finally said, regretting not being able to return to her friends.

"Plus, we have another problem now." Applejack added, looking at the forest. "Ah' don't know where we are, so we'll have ta go inta the woods ta find the way."

"Then, let's hurry." Dusk said, trotting as Applejack caught up with him, and together they were starting to leave the esplanade and back into the shadows of the terrifying forest.

As they advanced, a clear mist began to appear, becoming denser every second, gradually covering the Everfree forest, bringing with it the chilling sense of fear.

# End of Chapter 16
> Chapter 17 - Deep in the Forest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep in the Forest

In the Everfree forest lived an innumerable number of wild beasts, animals, and creatures that could hardly subsist in another place of Equestria, where the peace and security provided by Princess Celestia reigned, for that forest was wild and dark, with its own ancient magic flowing from the deep roots of the trees to their tall crowns. It was the perfect place for the savage beasts who didn’t want or could not follow the rules of harmony, unlike the ponies who could understand. That is why many ponies, mainly those who lived in Ponyville, knew that they shouldn't enter the dark forest without a good reason to, a self-imposed rule that precisely two ponies were breaking in that dangerous night, risking their own safety enormously: a lavender unicorn next to an earth pony in a cowboy hat, they walked between thorny wooden vines, surrounded by the tall dark trees of the forest.

"You still don't know where we are?" Dusk asked somewhat impatiently, seeing that they had been walking for some time without a specific direction.

"Nope." Applejack replied. "Ah' told ya that Ah've entered the forest bafore, but Ah'd never gone off the road, that... it's som'thin that should never be done."

Dusk looked at Applejack and saw that, although she tried to hide it, it seemed that Applejack was also nervous, so he lowered his head and gave a heavy sigh. He knew they had gone astray because of him, when they got away from the bull, which finally turned out to be only a shadow, Dusk thought that the only alternative was to get out of the way at the time, something that probably had hurt them much more than the appearance of the bull, since after deviating from the road, they couldn't find their own tracks and therefore could not find a way back to the road, so they had spent a great deal of time walking in a straight line, as much as the wild nature of the forest allowed them, going to where they thought the main road should be, something that they could not verify for sure since they couldn't even see clearly because the treetops almost completely covered the sky and prevented the moon from illuminating the depths of the forest.

As they walked on, Dusk felt a chill again, something that had been repeated a few times already because of the low temperature, which had begun to fall gradually. At the same time fog began to form, which was dense but lucky for them stayed flat on the floor, so it only managed to cover the lower part of their hooves, however, it was freezing enough to make the ponies feel the cold through their fur.

Suddenly Dusk put his ears on alert and stopped.

"Did you hear that?" Dusk asked, looking back.

"Hear what?" Applejack asked, looking at him.

"It sounded... like a laugh." Dusk said without being able to hear what he had heard again.

"Hmpf! Well, a laugh would be the least of our problems." Applejack said with a small nervous smile, turning around and walking again.

Applejack didn’t want to appear weak to Dusk, but she was very nervous. She knew the dangers of the forest, a life living near this dark place had taught her to respect it and to not risk her neck going out of the way, as many ponies had done, ponies that never came out again. Without both realizing it, the fog began to grow slowly, surrounding them and giving everything a gray and dark tone.

"Ouch!" Applejack suddenly shouted, holding one of her hooves.

"What's wrong?" Dusk asked worriedly, coming closer.

"Ah' hit som'thin." Applejack said, looking down at the ground, to see the ‘something’ covered up in the fog.

Both ponies looked down and saw that it was a huge square stone, with its edges well defined, somewhat cracked and with something written on it... at that moment both ponies were startled, as they realized that it was not just any stone, but a tombstone! Both ponies felt a chill again, but this time out of fear.

"I'll use my magic to light things up a little." Dusk said timidly since after verifying that Nightmare Moon was in the forest and wanted to stop them, he had decided not to use his magic unless it was really needed, to save his power in case of a sudden attack and to prevent her from tracking his aura. Nevertheless, after seeing the tombstone, he decided it was necessary to take the risk and brighten up a little.

As Dusk's horn gently illuminated, both ponies could see that it was not just one tombstone, but many, extending far and wide in all directions.

"It's... A cemetery?" Dusk said with some apprehension, looking at what seemed to be different tombs. "There's a cemetery in the middle of the forest?"

"A-Ah' dunno..." Applejack blurted out, unable to hide her nervousness anymore.

Suddenly a giggle was heard in the distance, something that would not have attracted much attention at any other time, nevertheless in that place full of tombs, with its dark, cold, silent atmosphere, the laughter heard was very creepy.

"M-Maybe we should head back..." Applejack said with fear, involuntarily touching Dusk with her hoof.

"We can't." Dusk replied. "If we deviate from each obstacle, nothing's stopping us from walking around in circles without realizing it. It's best to keep going straight as we were."

Dusk looked at Applejack, trying to look at her with certainty.

"Follow me, and stay close." Dusk told the earth-mare.

Applejack looked at Dusk and had to admit that Dusk's warm look reassured her a little. It was enough to make her realize that she couldn't act like a silly scared filly in front of Dusk, so she stopped touching him and put on a look of certainty.

"Okay, Ah'm right behind ya." Applejack said decisively, approaching Dusk. The frightened mare inside her screamed to embrace Dusk now that he was leading her, but the strong and independent mare inside her prevented this, so to reconcile both thoughts, she approached as much as possible without touching him.

Dusk continued to dimly illuminate his horn, just enough to light a few steps in front of him, hoping that this didn’t catch the attention of Nightmare Moon, and seeing that Applejack was ready to continue, he began to enter the great field of tombstones.

Walking among the tombs, Dusk noticed that all the headstones had something written on them, probably the name of the pony or creature that lay there. However, he did not stop at any time to read them, he was totally focused on going straight to get out of this place soon. Meanwhile, as gradually as it had been ascending, the fog became denser and denser, so much so that a moment came that the light on Dusk's horn was not enough to keep seeing what was in front of him.

Dusk stopped and bit his lip, unsure of wanting to use more magic to illuminate more, knowing the risks involved.

"Maybe I should lighten up a little-" Dusk said looking back at Applejack, but he stopped short when he saw that the mare was not behind him.

"Applejack!?" Dusk said nervously as his blood froze in fear. He'd been able to face the danger of entering alone in that dark forest, just like being in that old cemetery, but knowing that he had lost his companion in such a place made Dusk's heart paralyzed with dread for the first time that night.

"APPLEJACK!" Dusk shouted, looking around to try and locate the missing mare, unable to see anything because of the dense fog.

Dusk took a couple of steps and prepared to use his magic to lighten and clear the fog if necessary, nevertheless as soon as his horn lit up, while continuing to walk blindly, he tripped over a tombstone and fell face first on the ground. The unicorn was dizzy for a few seconds while he slowly began to open his eyes after the blow. Once he opened them, the first thing he saw was what was in front of him, the tombstone he'd stumbled across, where he could read a name: 'Twilight Twinkle'.

"It's impossible..." Dusk said frightened after reading the name, while his breathing began to stir. He knew that name.

"Dusk..." A lugubrious and tired voice said in the mist, a voice that the lavender unicorn could immediately recognize. He remembered that voice belonging to the pony bearing the name that was written on that tombstone. A voice he hadn't heard in many years, ever since he had been a foal.

Dusk began to tremble, but with great effort turned his head to look where he had heard the voice. There, in the haze that faded slightly, Dusk could see an old pale-pink unicorn mare, with a white mane and a purple stripe on one side of it, same as her tail, and on her flanks her cutie mark were several purple stars.

"Grandma..." Dusk called nervously, unable to believe it. He had not seen his grandmother since he was a foal, even before he got his cutie mark. "It's... It's impossible! It's an illusion! You... You're dead!" Dusk shouted frightened, retreating a couple of steps, trying in vain to maintain his composure, because seeing his grandmother again had stunned him, almost making him panic.

"That's right... I'm dead..." Dusk's grandmother said in a frigid, emotionless voice, while her figure stood motionless like a statue, staring at Dusk with cold, dull eyes. "In this place,  the souls of those who were not loved in life are sent here… trapped, never able to rest, for all eternity..."

Those phrases made Dusk wear a face of despair and pain. He then sat down, closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears with his hooves.

"This isn’t real, it's an illusion... It must be an illusion!" Dusk began to repeat himself aloud, trying to block out one of his many painful memories from his childhood; the memory of his deceased grandmother. It was all a futile attempt, because without knowing it the mist that had surrounded him had slowly entered into his mind, clouding his judgment and causing his emotions to overflow and making him descend quickly into despair. This was not an ordinary fog, in truth, it was just a disguise for a powerful illusory spell, one that made the stallion only think of fear and guilt.

"Dusk... Why did you abandon me?" His grandmother's cold voice asked, looking at him with an expressionless gaze.

"I... I didn't abandon you." Dusk said with great sadness, unable to avoid hearing his grandmother's voice even though he covered his ears.

It was after these words that, despite the attempts to repress it, the illusory magic that flooded Dusk forced him to remember the guilt he felt. He remembered when he had been told of the death of his grandmother, a few days after having entered the prestigious Canterlot magic school, it was there that Dusk realized that despite how close he had been to his grandmother, he hadn't spent her last days with her, because those first few days of school had been so agitating that Dusk didn't have time to visit her before losing her. That was the reason that Dusk felt so guilty, he was never forgiven himself for not having shared with her those last moments.

"I've  always been there for you, supported you, loved you..." The grandmother's cold voice said. "But despite that, you forgot about me... You never loved me..."

"That's not true!" Dusk shouted in despair with his eyes still closed, tightening his ears even harder to block his ‘grandmother's’ voice.

A laugh rang out in the distance, a laugh that with the prevailing atmosphere made the situation all the more sinister.

"You failed me!" Grandma's voice said even louder.

"I... I..." Dusk began to stammer as small tears began to stream from his eyes.

"I finally found you!" A new voice said unexpectedly, a voice that made Dusk open his eyes in surprise.

Opening his eyes and lifting his head, Dusk saw that in front of him was a pink mare he knew well, it was Pinkie Pie, who came even closer and touched his nose with her hoof.

"Boop!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile, pressing Dusk's nose like a button.

"Pinkie..." Dusk asked, surprised to see the pink mare but unable to react properly due to the spell he was submerged in. It was that same spell that made Dusk look away from Pinkie Pie and look again at the ghostly figure of his grandmother, who was still there and looked at him with the same cold look.

"Grandma... forgive me... I didn't want to leave you alone!" Dusk retorted feeling the sadness, pain, and guilt returning to him, completely forgetting Pinkie Pie's presence even though she was speaking to him. "I didn't want to forget you... I... AH! HAHAHAHA!! HAHAHA!!"

Suddenly Dusk burst out laughing, as Pinkie Pie started tickling him without warning.

"ST-HAHAHA! STOP IT! HAHAHAHA!!" Dusk laughed, struggling to breathe while trying to get Pinkie Pie off him.

It was so surprisingly Pinkie Pie started with the tickling, she stopped, looking with a smile at Dusk.

"W-Why did you do that?" Dusk said, composing himself a bit after the situation.

"You looked really sad, and it seemed like you didn't hear anything I told you." Pinkie Pie said smiling. "So I had to use my last resort for such situations." Pinkie Pie finished, showing her front hooves with which she had tickled Dusk.

"I... I was with my grandma..." Dusk said holding his head. "She told me... that I was a bad grandson because I wasn't with her when she died..."

It made Dusk's sadness come back, making the fog around them, which for a moment had begun to dissipate, began to become denser again. As the mist returned, the names on the tombstones reappeared, like the ghost of Dusk's grandmother, who, like a statue, kept staring coldly at her grandson.

Dusk again fixed his sight slowly on the ghost of his dead grandmother as his breath began to stir again.

"Please forgive me..." Dusk said looking sadly at his grandmother.

"So that's what you're seeing..." Pinkie Pie said following Dusk's eyes, though she saw nothing. "I also started seeing my grandma, but I was just so glad to see her again, I started laughing remembering all the fun times we spent together!" The pink mare stated in joy.

"By the way…" Pinkie Pie added, who was still in the visual and auditory field of Dusk at the time. "Why is your grandma coming back just to blame you? I mean, if I were to speak to my grandson again after a long time, even though I don't have one, right now anyway, the only thing I would say would be how much I loved him and remember the good times we spent together. Yes! It would be totally fun!"

Pinkie Pie's giggling rung in Dusk's ears, making him realize that the same laughter he had been hearing for a while now was Pinkie's, but now that he had the smiling mare at his side, it no longer seemed so sinister, but as it usually was, a funny and contagious laugh, which was unconsciously making Dusk slowly get a grip from that powerful illusion.

"That... that's true..." Dusk said while still looking at the ghost of his grandmother, but now he was able to repress his emotions a little and saw her more clearly. "My grandma would never look at me like this... She always looked at me with affection, as if I was the most important pony to her..."

"And you had lots of fun together, right?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Dusk said while rising, still unable to look away from the ghost, but overcoming more and more to the spell, managing to small smile. " I remember she always baked me cookies... We baked together and always left a mess in the kitchen, so when mom was annoyed by this... we hid so she couldn't find us, we... always had fun... we were so close..."

Remembering all those good moments, Dusk began to smile and laugh softly, glad to be able to remember those good moments, finally managing to forget the sadness he felt.

"And do you think your grandmother would come back just to blame you and make you feel bad?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, she would never do that... She was the one who first tried to teach me how to use magic." Dusk finally said with a joyous smile as the illusion of his grandmother began to disappear, as did the fog that surrounded him. "She would say she's proud of me."

At that moment, Dusk shook his head and began to laugh as he realized what he had just said, something he had never thought seriously since he had never had anyone by his side like Pinkie Pie to help him see the truth.

"Hahaha, that's right! She would be proud to see how good I am at magic, and it was all thanks to her and her first lessons." Dusk said laughing, watching as the ghost of his grandmother disappeared completely, as well as the fog and tombstones, which ceased to be seen as such, showing their true shape, simple rocks and logs scattered throughout the place.

Once the fog dissipated, Dusk looked smiling at Pinkie Pie, who also smiled at him.

"You really didn't know that?" Pinkie Pie finally asked.

"No." Dusk said, still smiling, but saddened a bit when realizing something. "I never bothered my family or the princess with things so insignificant, like how I felt, or why I was sad... or when I felt bad about myself... and at the time Spike was too young... In those days I only trusted a mare, my best friend... but she would never have solved a problem by laughing or making me remember the happy moments instead of the sad ones, she said that all the problems had a logical solution, that feelings only numbed ponies, mainly silly emotions like laughter."

"Your friend sounds like a stick in the mud." Pinkie Pie said, sticking out her tongue and smiling. "There's nothing better than laughter, that solves all problems, or at least it'll help you solve them."

"Haha, maybe you're right." Dusk admitted, surprised to accept what Pinkie Pie said. "Maybe I'll start solving problems your way." He finished, remembering that he still had to do something.

"Pinkie Pie..." Dusk added approaching the mare.

"Yes?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Dusk then rushed over the mare and started tickling her just as she had done, which made Pinkie Pie start laughing nonstop.

"Please forgive me for putting you all to sleep, I just wanted to keep you safe." Dusk said as he continued to tickle Pinkie Pie. "Also, please forgive me for all that has happened tonight and all bad things I've done."

"HAHAHA! HAHAHA! Alright, alright! Hahaha! I forgive you, haha..." Pinkie Pie said as she laughed.

Once Dusk stopped tickling Pinkie Pie, she caught her breath and got up.

"That’s not fair." Pinkie Pie said staring with a fake look of anger at Dusk. "It's true that laughter solves all problems, but forcing me to laugh so that I forgive you is just mean."

Dusk didn’t respond, he just gave a huge smile to Pinkie Pie, which made her smile tenderly as her cheeks flushed. This colt always surprised Pinkie Pie, and that was what she liked most about him, not many ponies could do that. Besides, he had a sincere and warm laugh, something that apparently appeared on very few occasions due to all the feelings that the stallion hid, but when it managed to break through and out of Dusk's mouth, it was a delight to Pinkie Pie's ears to hear his laughter, even more so to see him smile like this. So her heart couldn't stop racing at the sight of him and remembering that she liked him. The two ponies continued to smile at each other for a while, until Dusk's expression began to radically change. He became frightened when he remembered something very important, something he was doing before all that transpired.

"Applejack!!" Dusk shouted, realizing that with all that commotion going on he had completely forgotten about the country mare. Both him and Pinkie Pie began moving and searching in all directions trying to find Applejack. The search mission became easier with the dense fog now completely gone, as well as Dusk using his magic to illuminate all around him, since he now no longer cared if Nightmare Moon located him or not. The fact that the illusion spell had affected him was proof enough that Nightmare Moon already knew perfectly where they were, so it wasn't necessary to continue hiding, and right now his priority was to find Applejack, so he had decided that he could risk his own safety in exchange of protect her and the other mares.

It was after a brief search, thanks to the light provided by Dusk, both ponies could see an orange figure not far from there, which they could verify that it was Applejack, sitting and staring at two rocks.

As the earth pony heard a few steps approaching, she turned her head and saw that Dusk and Pinkie Pie were coming. When they arrived, Applejack turned her head again so that Dusk couldn't see her face as she wiped her tears with her hoof, something that, unfortunately for her, didn't go unnoticed by the lavender unicorn.

"Are you okay?" Dusk asked in worry, once he stopped in front of the orange pony.

"Yeah... Ah'm fine." Applejack replied, wiping away her tears and wrinkling her nose. "Ah... Ah remember walkin' behind ya and then Ah only blinked fer a second and Ah lost sight of ya cuz' of the fog, then Ah screamed and Ah called but there was no answer. Then... Ah saw two graves... the graves of..." Then Applejack was silent, seeming pained to remember what she had just seen.

"Ah saw an' heard things that made me feel really sad and hurt..." Applejack finally said, getting up, not wanting to be more specific. "But the fog suddenly disappeared, like ghosts, an' everything went back ta normal."

"Yeah... It was another powerful illusion made by Nightmare Moon, but thanks to Pinkie Pie I got rid of it." Dusk said looking sideways at Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie Pie... How did you find us?" Applejack asked looking confused at the pink mare, something that surprised Dusk since that had been something that he had been wondering too but had forgotten to ask. "We're in the middle o' the forest, Ah' don't even know how we got here."

"Well, it's all thanks to my GPS." Pinkie Pie said smiling.

"GPS?" Dusk asked confused.

"My 'Great Pinkie-Sense', of course." Pinkie Pie said as she bent down and lifted her butt as her tail began to spin like a radar, spinning around until it stopped, pointing at Dusk.

Dusk opened his mouth to protest at the absurdity of the mare, but he remembered that it was Pinkie Pie after all, the Queen of absurdity. He did However leave a mental note, deciding that before the irrefutable evidence that supports it, someday he would have to study this so-called 'Pinkie-sense'.

"So you know how to get back on the road?" Applejack asked, already aware of Pinkie Pie's effective Pinkie-sense.

"Yep, sure do." Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "Just follow me."

Then Pinkie Pie began to walk, rather than jump with her accustomed step, entering among the trees of the forest, followed by Applejack and Dusk, who didn't stop illuminating his horn, deciding that he would not be bewitched again with his guard down, so he kept his magic alight, ready to attack or defend himself at any time if necessary.





"THOSE ACCURSED PONIES!" Nightmare Moon shouted angrily after watching Dusk and company continue to evade her best traps. She had been watching through her magical screen, the dark cloud that reflected the images of Dusk and his companions. She had enjoyed watching Dusk and the orange mare run frightened, pursued on by her monstrous shadows, but great was her disappointment to see that, in the last second, they realized that the monster was nothing but shadows and smoke. Her biggest disappointment, however, was to see how her most ingenious plan, her powerful illusion spell that slowly filled the mind with pain and sorrow, was so easily overcome by a silly pink pony that did nothing but laugh and smile, that was a strong hit to the powerful dark mare's ego.

"Those foolish ponies are not easily frightened!" Nightmare Moon said in annoyance, looking at her magical screen. "But unfortunately for them, I have more spells even stronger than those, and this time I will to stop them for sure."

"No, you won't." Pinkie Pie's voice said suddenly, making her voice heard through Nightmare Moon's magical screen. This totally surprised the dark mare, that without giving importance to the fact if the pink mare had heard her somehow or it had just been a coincidence, she took it as a personal challenge.

"Yes, I will." Nightmare Moon answered defiantly, looking at the magical screen.

"...Won't!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"RRRAAAAAHHHH!!!" The black alicorn screamed again, full of fury, destroying with her magic the magic screen in her outburst. Then she turned around and looked back at her prisoner, who still sat motionless, staring at her with a characteristic serene expression, an expression that she had not shown to Nightmare Moon all that night.

Celestia had been able to see and hear through Nightmare Moon's magical screen, so she could see how her pupil had been overcoming the obstacles that the dark alicorn had put him through, and thank heavens he hadn't done it alone. There were some mares there to help him overcome those obstacles, something that greatly relieved the princess, since she now knew that Dusk was at least not going in alone in this dangerous mission. The best thing about it though was that those mares also seemed to be giving him their friendship, causing a hint of hope to be born in Celestia realizing that those words Dusk had shouted at her about not making friends in Ponyville had apparently been false.

"You don’t appear to be suffering anymore." Nightmare Moon stated staring with hatred at Celestia. "Did the hope of being saved renew your spirits?"

"That's right." The princess proclaimed staring at Nightmare Moon. "It’s with this reinvigorated hope, that I know, YOU can be saved."

"Hahaha, you are a fool Celestia, I don't need to be saved." Nightmare Moon laughed.

"Let me help you, I know somehow-" Celestia began saying, looking supportively at Nightmare Moon, before being abruptly interrupted by the dark mare.

"SILENCE!!!" Nightmare Moon screamed furiously, blasting rays with her horn, some of which struck Celestia. "I don't need help from anypony, for I'm not the one suffering. I am the queen that this world needs! Powerful! Perfect! Beloved and feared by all!"

While Celestia remained motionless after the blow from Nightmare Moon's beam, the dark mare had turned away from the detestable face of the white alicorn and concentrate on her own thoughts.

"My magic is the strongest in all of equestria, it can't be defeated by an ordinary pony! He... He must have been able to vanquish my illusion because I'm too far away! It's the only explanation!" Nightmare Moon thought furiously, trying to justify the facts, since her great ego prevented her from accepting that her magic was defeated by someone else. "Maybe I should get closer to these ponies, face them and use my powerful magic face to face before them." Then she glanced again at Celestia. "The preparations are not yet complete, I'll have to wait longer before I can be rid of her."

Nightmare Moon suddenly spread her wings and part of her body turned in a dark cloud.

"It looks like I'll have to go confront your pupil and his friends in person." Nightmare Moon proclaimed as she rose, looking with a wicked smile at Celestia.

At the words of Nightmare Moon, Celestia looked worried but with a determined look at her captor.

"Oh worry not, I won't destroy them." Nightmare Moon said, reading her prisoner's thoughts, annoyed for having to play along with the former-ruler of equestria, although that would not continue in that way for much longer. "But I when I demonstrate to them what more my power can do, they will learn what true terror is... They will know what Nightmare Moon is capable of!"

The dark alicorn then flew through the destroyed ceiling of the room, flying quickly away as half of her body was hidden under a dark cloud of shadows.

When Celestia was alone, she looked at her chest, where she had been struck by the beam of Nightmare Moon, a blow that had seemed strong but had not really caused her any harm. Immediately the princess connected that with what she had just seen, Nightmare Moon flying, that unlike before, where she had completely transformed into a great cloud of shadows, now those dark clouds had only reached half of her body.

"She's weak." Celestia concluded to herself.

The princess looked out into the forest through the shattered walls, where the black alicorn had gone. She knew that Nightmare Moon kept her word just because she was docile in her captivity, but knew that it would end sooner or later, especially if Dusk attacked the unstable Nightmare Moon. If so, Nightmare Moon would most likely retaliate against Dusk, if that happened the best course of action would be to try and break free now to go meet Dusk. But that was a double-edged sword, the princess wasn’t sure what magic Nightmare Moon had used on her, those shackles of shadows that covered her neck, hooves and horn limited her movement; she didn't know if trying to break free herself would alert Nightmare Moon, and give her the freedom to attack Dusk at will since she had not fulfilled her part of the bargain. With that in mind, Celestia thought it wisest to keep waiting there, and if Nightmare Moon was weakened like she believed, Dusk might have a chance at stopping her.

"But if he had the opportunity... what would Dusk do?" Celestia thought impatiently again, because she didn't want Nightmare Moon to be destroyed either.

"No, Dusk would never destroy anyone." Celestia finally said to herself, thinking aloud, knowing that Dusk was a good pony and would never reach such extremes.

After giving a great sigh trying to relax, hoping that everything went well, the princess turned her gaze, looking back at the pedestal containing the elements of harmony and remembered what she had seen in Nightmare Moon's magical screen, specifically the attitudes she had seen in the orange mare and the pink mare that accompanied Dusk.

"Maybe they can..." The princess finally said, without finishing her sentence, looking on with hopeful eyes at the five rocks and the great central rock that formed the altar of harmony.





"Who were ya talking to?" Applejack asked after hearing Pinkie Pie say loudly 'Won’t!' for no apparent reason.

"Dunno, I just felt like I had to shout it out." Pinkie Pie replied, not caring. "I imagined that we're in a story and that I was responding to the evil wicked witch." Finished saying Pinkie Pie, who was imagining her own fantasy through her head while her two companions looked at her as if she were crazy.

The three ponies continued to advance through the dark forest after leaving that illusion of the cemetery, having Pinkie Pie for a guide, and it wasn't long before the three ponies finally arrived to the road through the Everfree forest.

"Here it is! This is where I turned off from the road to go find you!" Pinkie Pie said smiling, looking down at the ground and picking up a candy she had dropped there. Both ponies looked at each other in confusion, with Dusk lowering his head in resignation since he knew that questioning Pinkie Pie was useless and would only generate more questions. Applejack, however, decided to ask anyway.

"Why is there a candy on the ground?" Applejack asked.

"Oh! It's just I hurried a little, so I left a trail" Pinkie Pie replied smiling.

"A trail for whom?" Dusk asked. A question that wasn't answered since a voice was heard along the road, not far from them.

"Finally! There they are!" An unmistakably elegant voice said, it was Rarity, who appeared on the road walking towards them with Fluttershy.

"Pinkie Pie... you went too far ahead." Fluttershy said once both ponies reached Dusk and company.

"I'm sorry, it's just that my Pinkie-sense told me to hurry." Pinkie Pie smiled and winked. "By the way..." Pinkie Pie added with a pleading look, without finishing her sentence, expecting Fluttershy and Rarity to understand what she wanted.

"I suppose you want this?" Rarity  with a sigh, levitating a lot of candies from behind her. "If it had not been for this candies trail, we wouldn't have known which way to go."

Pinkie Pie quickly took the pile of candy that was levitating in front of her, she hugged them and ate them all in one bite, making her cheeks swell as she ate with a big smile. As Pinkie Pie ate, Fluttershy and Rarity looked back at Dusk, with looks of sadness and annoyance respectively, something Dusk noticed on the spot, which made him fold his ears embarrassed.

"It wasn’t necessary for you to resort to something like that with us." Rarity said looking upset at Dusk, obviously referring to the sleeping spell.

"I... I'm really sorry, but I thought it was for the best." Dusk said, lowering his head in embarrassment.

"We just wanted to help you." Fluttershy said timidly.

"Yes, besides, thanks to you my mane is now dirty after I fell asleep on the dirty ground!" Rarity added annoyed. “I don't know if I can forgive you so easily, darling!"

"Well, I already forgave him." Pinkie Pie suddenly said after eating her candies. "I mean he did use a dirty trick to make me do it, but it was fun, so I forgave him."

"Ah' was angry with Dusk, too." Applejack added, scratching her head. "But then he was honest with me, and Ah' understood his reasons better, so Ah' forgave him too."

Rarity looked at the two mares with a questioning look, realizing that something significant had happened. This couldn’t have just been a mere apology, he had probably done something for the both of them that they have forgiven Dusk, something that immediately caused some jealousy in the white unicorn although she was still annoyed with that colt.

"Really? Well, Fluttershy and I will also wait for our apology, privately with each one." Rarity said staring at Dusk as she grabbed Fluttershy close to her.

Dusk looked surprised at Rarity and Fluttershy, where the former looked at him with an intense and serious look, while Fluttershy stared at him too, and though the yellow pegasus had said nothing, it seemed that her silence was because she too agreed with Rarity. Then he smiled a little and gave them a small bow.

"I promise." Dusk said before lifting his head and looking back at Rarity and Fluttershy. "By the way, where's Rainbow Dash?"

At that question both Fluttershy and Rarity blushed a little, getting a little nervous.

"Well... Rainbow Dash is a separate matter..." Rarity explained in an uncomfortable manner. "She... was furious you, VERY in fact. When we woke up and realized that you had put us to sleep to go alone, she... didn't take it very well."

"Yeah, I'd never heard so many bad words at once." Pinkie Pie said, remembering Rainbow Dash's reaction when they had awakened. "She was cursing and hitting the ground for a while before she calmed down a bit."

"Then she said that she wouldn't go after somepony who didn't want her help and… flew back to Ponyville very upset." Fluttershy finished, looking with a little pity at Dusk.

"Yes, you should definitely take care of yourself when she decides to show up." Rarity stated as she walked ahead to keep moving along the road. "Well, this is the road to go, isn't it? We should continue."

The four mares began to walk while Dusk remained motionless, without understanding Rarity's last comment about Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, what do you mean I should take care of myself when Rainbow Dash shows up? Didn't you say that she flew back to town?" Dusk said, starting to walk, reaching for the mares.

"It's Rainbow Dash, do ya really think she went away?" Applejack said. The unicorn noticed that, like her friends, she didn’t seem to be worried about abandoning Rainbow Dash. Hearing that, Dusk paused for a moment and turned to see the way back, wherein the corner of his eye he could see a movement behind a bush as if something had hidden behind that thicket. It was then Dusk smiled as he began to understand what the mares were referring to, due to the darkness he couldn't see very well, but Dusk was sure that what had been hidden behind the bush had been a multicolored mane.

While Dusk began to remember the first encounter he had with Rainbow Dash and how she didn't leave him alone in prison, even though she barely knew him, he turned and began to walk to reach the mares again, which wasn't very far from him, in fact it seemed like they did not move, they even seemed to shrink?

"Dusk, stay back!" Applejack cried out too late, seeing that Dusk had already approached where she and the others were.

As soon as Dusk heard Applejack's warning, he stopped at once and tried to back away, but it was useless, his hooves were stuck in the earth, sinking slowly, just as it was happening to the mares, which had already sunk to their bellies.

"Quicksand!" Dusk shouted as he realized where they had fallen. Immediately Dusk activated his horn and first of all he used a refracting spell, which had no effect.

"It's not an illusion..." Dusk thought aloud, after realizing that they were indeed trapped in real quicksand. However, although it was not an illusion, it must still be the work of Nightmare Moon, since it was impossible for there to be quicksands in the middle of the road. Then did that mean that they were now being attacked by transformation spells? If so, it would be much more complicated and dangerous.

As the five ponies continued to sink, the four mares tried to struggle to free themselves, something useless, since moving would only make them sink faster. For his part Dusk was in the same situation, he tried to leave using his magic by teleporting, however, the earth compacted his legs and made it impossible for his magic to surround his body completely. Finally Dusk began to look everywhere, looking for something to help them out, it was then he noticed some red lianas hanging over them among the treetops, and began to think about how he could use those lianas to escape, a rather fleeting thought, since without warning a rainbow ray flew out of the shrub Dusk had been looking at before, and hurried up to the lianas.

"Here, grab on!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed worriedly, watching as her friends were sinking, throwing the lianas she'd taken to the ponies while she kept flying over them without touching the ground, holding the lianas at the other end. The first pony following the instructions of Rainbow Dash was Applejack, who took the lianas with her teeth as Rainbow Dash began to fly upwards as hard as she could while holding the lianas, to pull her friend from the ground. Rainbow Dash flew with all her might as she pleaded for the lianas to withstand the force of the pull. Finally, after struggling for a while, Applejack finally leapt out of the quicksand, falling to the side of the road, where it was solid ground.

Once Applejack was free, she also took some lianas and helped pull her friends out one at a time from the side of the road while Rainbow Dash also continued the rescue. Once they rescued all the mares, Rainbow Dash repeated the process with the only one left, Dusk Shine, who was the last to be rescued and was up to his neck in mud.

Rainbow Dash had to fly a lot harder since Dusk was submerged deeper and weighed more than a mare, but Rainbow's willpower was stronger than her fatigue as she slowly pulled Dusk from the sand trap, until finally, with one last pull, the rainbow-maned mare managed to get Dusk completely out of the ground, making him fall to the edge of the road, while she fell from fatigue.

"That... was close…" Rainbow Dash said, breathing heavily, utterly exhausted as she lay on the ground, finally breaking the silence, since neither she nor the others had said a word during the rescue.

"Thank you..." Dusk said, also breathed shakily, lying on the ground next to her and looking at her with a smile.

"You'd really be lost without me." Rainbow Dash said with a smile, catching her breath and standing with Dusk.

"But if you had shown up before all this would have been solved in a better way." Rarity said abruptly, interrupting Dusk and Rainbow Dash, staring at the blue pegasus seriously. She was grateful that her friend had saved them, but she couldn't help thinking that if Rainbow Dash had not been so stubborn and had been with them at the moment they began sinking, then her tail and mane wouldn't have been so dirty.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said in surprise, she expected her friends to praise her for saving them and instead apparently they were judging her.

"We knew you've been following us all the whole way and hiding behind the bushes, why didn't you show up before?" Rarity added.

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash blushed with embarrassment and looked down, she realized that she had been caught; it was true, she had only pretended to leave when they awoke, the next thing she had done was go sneaking past her friends, because even though she was very upset, she knew that she couldn't abandon her friends like that, so she had been planning to appear at any time pretending she was flying there just by chance, but seeing that her friends were in danger she forgot all about her facade and came to their aid.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash lifted her head to see Dusk, who was standing next to her and she looked at him angrily.

"It's your fault!" Rainbow Dash said almost in a scream, lifting her hoof and slamming it into Dusk's side, causing him to fall to the ground in pain from the surprise hit. "I never abandon my friends, but that doesn't change the fact that this idiot made me furious!" She then crossed her hooves as she floated in midair, looking angrily away from Dusk, who remained on the ground, and there the unicorn remained motionless for some time.

"Dusk?" Asked Fluttershy worried, seeing that Dusk didn't rise or move from the ground.

At Fluttershy's voice of concern, Rainbow Dash couldn't help glancing worriedly at Dusk, had she hit him too hard?

"Hey, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked concerned, stooping a little to see Dusk.

Meanwhile, Dusk was still on the ground, but not because of the Rainbow Dash's blow, but he had fallen with his head close to the quicksand pits, after taking another look at the sands, he remembered his thoughts while he was trapped in it, and his horn illuminated as he searched for any magic trail left behind.

"It's definitely a transformation spell..." Dusk whispered feeling the magical aura in his horn, oblivious to the concern of the others. "And... it seems very recent."

As soon as Dusk uttered those words, thanks to his awareness being on high alert this time, he felt a great change in the magical aura that surrounded him. This implied only one thing, a magical attack.

"LOOK OUT!!" Dusk screamed as the lianas around them began to grow and shake fiercely.

The lianas that had been used to save themselves from the quicksand, now seemed to take on a life of their own, growing at an alarming rate as they wound around the mares.

Dusk's announcement was only a fraction of a second before that magical attack, so only Dusk, who uses his teleportation instinctively, and Rainbow Dash, who was extremely quick to react; had managed to get out of the trap, standing aside the road watching as the lianas grew and spread like huge vines, tying and covering the other mares.

"Girls!" Rainbow Dash called out worriedly as her friends were wrapped in the lianas.

"We're fine... but we can't move..." Applejack said with effort as the creeper vines began to grow between the tied mares and the other two free ponies, slowly forming a wall of lianas that began to separate Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash from the others.

"We'll get you out!" Rainbow Dash said as she began trying to pull the lianas away from her friends. "Dusk, help me out-" Rainbow Dash said looking to her side, only to be interrupted by a bright light from Dusk's horn.

As soon as Dusk escaped the trap, he saw the lianas begin to form the wall of vines, however, he didn't act quickly as Rainbow Dash did, instead he stood still while his mind worked at a high speed to understand everything that happened before acting; Dusk realized that this magic trap, like the quicksand, was caused by a transmutation spell, and if he had to guess, an invigorating spell as well to make the lianas grow rapidly. Both spells could only be cast near the caster, meaning that the spell caster must also be nearby watching them. Arriving at that conclusion, without hearing what Rainbow Dash had shouted at him, Dusk created a powerful light that illuminated everything around him, and not only that, the ray of light also served to illuminate, as well as detect, indicating if there was somepony nearby, which happened immediately since Dusk's detection magic indicated that there was someone behind them.

Dusk spun around immediately as he felt that presence, and his eyes were astonished to see that not far from him was the very Nightmare Moon, who also showed a surprised expression since she never imagined that would be detected, especially by the one who just looked at her with a penetrating gaze.

At that moment, it was as if time had just stopped, Dusk seemed to act on instinct, but nothing could be further from the truth, in fact his brain worked to its full capacity of reasoning while his adrenaline filled body knew that he was facing a powerful evil being that could destroy him and the girls easily, so there was no time to hesitate.

Dusk attacked first, loading much of his magic on his horn to cast a powerful stun spell, one of the strongest attack spells he knew since he didn't really know of any lethal attacks, although if he wished he knew that a concentrated ray of pure magic could be fatal. Before Dusk's surprise attack could reach Nightmare moon, she reacted by launching a powerful ray from her horn.

Both beams of magic met and collided with a great roar, holding together as the unicorn and the dark alicorn stood firm, maintaining those powerful magic rays, each trying to overpower the other. They held for a few seconds as the balance of the magic rays remained unperturbed, but, although the balance was maintained, Dusk grit his teeth as Nightmare Moon smirked, because both knew that it was only a matter of time until Dusk gave out, after all, he was only a unicorn and couldn't compare to that powerful evil alicorn, something that was true and would have been fulfilled had it not been for one small detail, a detail that even Nightmare Moon failed to notice, she was weak. Nightmare Moon has used most of her magic to escape from the moon, make her terrifying and ostentatious entrance in Ponyville, capture Celestia and keep her prisoner, and finally casting those spells to hamper these ponies; an enormous amount of magic, even though Nightmare Moon was an alicorn and had these dark powers, they had drained her reserves of magic, so when confronting Dusk, she was unknowingly attacking with her last of her magic.

Surprisingly for Dusk, Nightmare Moon, and Rainbow Dash, who had stared with open mouth at the sight of such powerful magical confrontation; the balance of magic broke, causing Dusk's beam to advance as Nightmare Moon's receded, causing both beams of energy to hit Nightmare Moon, who just before being beaten couldn't believe that she was being defeated by a simple and ordinary unicorn pony.





After the blow, Nightmare Moon was launched back, banging against a tree and falling on her side with her eyes closed. Rainbow Dash was still amazed watching Dusk while he tried to catch his breath, as well as feel incredulous of what he had just accomplished. However, Dusk's disbelief lasted shortly, his mind warned him that he could not leave anything to chance and he had to make sure to finish everything in order to save the princess, so Dusk ran and pounced where Nightmare Moon had fallen faint, pinning her and holding her legs with his hooves.

"Where is the princess!?" Dusk shouted furiously, exhausted, as he held the dark mare beneath him.

Face-to-face against Nightmare Moon, Dusk realized that this dark mare looked different than he remembered her in the Town Hall of Ponyville, even more, he would swear she looked different from the huge dark mare he had attacked a few seconds ago. The mare he held under him was definitely Nightmare Moon, but she had certain different characteristics, first was her size, which seemed to have diminished slightly, second was her coat, which had ceased to be totally black, now shown in a slightly bluish color, and third was her mane, which had ceased to move with its usual uniform movement that resembled a cloud, besides now it looked more pale blue and the brightness of it seemed to fade. However what most astonished Dusk was her eyes, which were still closed, but were bursting with tears.

"Please..." Nightmare Moon suddenly said, still with her eyes closed weeping, not with her terrifying voice they all knew, but with a more docile and fragile voice. "Kill me..."

That voice and supplication from Nightmare Moon completely confused the stallion, who was prepared for anything, anything except that situation.

Suddenly the lights in Nightmare Moon's mane came back to shine as it returned to its ethereal character, it seemed that she recovered her great height, her coat returned to its characteristic absolute black, and her eyes opened rapidly, showing her sharp malevolent eyes.

With a scream and a small burst from her horn, Nightmare Moon used what little left of her power to launch Dusk, throwing him a few paces away. As Dusk stood up after the blow, he watched Nightmare Moon with amazement, who had an expression of complete terror on her face. Dusk didn't know, but she had almost lost control, which made her feel terror for the first time in a thousand years.

The dark mare lifted her gaze and saw the unicorn that had faced her, she couldn't accept being weaker than someone else, however after fainting she had almost released 'her other self'. Her fear and caution were more than just personal pride, so she spread her wings and quickly flew out of there, back to the castle.

"Wait!" Dusk shouted after seeing Nightmare Moon flee, preparing to run and go to hunt her.

"Dusk!" Rainbow Dash cried surprisingly, who still did not recover completely after having seen the fight between Dusk and Nightmare Moon, but when she saw that the unicorn was about to run, she came to her senses. "We've got to free the others!"

Dusk turned to see the Rainbow Dash, who was standing beside the wall of vines, staring at him. Then he looked back at Nightmare Moon, her silhouette was barely visible, but if he hurried he could still reach her.

"If I reach her now that she's weakened I can finally stop this!" Dusk shouted desperately, not moving, knowing he'd let the monster escape only by his foolish hesitation.

Dusk continued to look away towards the dark mare as his muscles tensed more and more, ready to rush out in pursuit.

"Dusk..." Rainbow Dash said, losing her conviction since she couldn't abandon her friends, but what Dusk said was true, if he reached Nightmare Moon and managed to stop her maybe it would all end. "It-It's okay... go."

Dusk turned back to Rainbow Dash, who looked down at the ground sadly, a look that for some reason hurt Dusk. At that moment Dusk remembered when all the mares had offered to help him and he put them to sleep to go alone.

"I..." Dusk said as he stared at the ground as his muscles slowly ceased to be tense. Finally, he gave a big sigh, relaxed and looked back at Rainbow Dash. "I'll stay... I won't abandon them again."

After saying those words, Dusk turned to face the wall of lianas and began to use his magic to cut through it, while Rainbow Dash looked up and saw the unicorn had stayed with her.

"B-But you're right, if you reach her you can end this." Rainbow Dash said, staring at Dusk.

"That may be, but there is no guarantee that that will happen." Dusk said without ceasing to look at the wall of vines and cutting through it. "Maybe... it's best to face it all together."

At those words, Rainbow Dash looked to Dusk with a twinkle in her eyes, but she didn't say anything, she simply began to take lianas in her hooves to help to Dusk.

"You know..." Dusk said abruptly, cutting off lianas. "A long time ago I had a friend, she... she was always with me, but once I did something that bothered her a lot, something that I thought would make her happy, but it was just the opposite... then she abandoned me, just when I needed her most. Since then I always believed that the word 'forgiveness' didn't exist in friendship, friendship is over when somepony does something wrong against you... That’s why I thought that when you learned the truth of my coming to Ponyville so suddenly, it would end all ties we had made. Nevertheless, you came back to help me; then I left you to go on my own alone in the forest, knowing that I was breaking your trust again, but you came back again. I... I think now I understand why, maybe I was wrong and true friends do forgive you, true friends never abandon you..." Then Dusk turned to see Rainbow Dash's eyes. "I believed that by preventing all of you from accompanying me I would be protecting you, but I didn’t take into account your feelings or what you wanted, now I know that I can protect you without having to be alone, I... I don't want to be alone, I want you to be by my side!"

"Please forgive me." Dusk pleaded, unconsciously approaching Rainbow Dash a little. "I promise that I'll never leave you or the others, ever again."

Rainbow Dash stared in amazement at Dusk, all this talk had taken the pegasus by surprise, so she did not know how to react immediately, even less to Dusk's tender and sincere look, so she said nothing and continued pulling the lianas down trying to break the wall. Dusk ducked his head a little and returned to the task at hoof, the other mares told him that Rainbow Dash wouldn't forgive him so easily, but at least he had been honest in what he had to say, so it took a load off; it still hurt knowing that the sky-blue pegasus hadn't forgiven him.

As they continued to cut the lianas, without Dusk realizing, Rainbow Dash was totally blushing as she furiously cut the lianas. She had been waiting for an apology, and he had finally said everything she wanted and needed to hear, but she didn't want to admit that she had already forgiven Dusk, she was much stronger in character; she couldn't just forgive him after all that, but she couldn't get Dusk's speech out of her head, nor the memory of Dusk's tender gaze, which made her blush.

Suddenly, as Dusk continued to cut lianas, he felt a heavy blow on his side that made him stop, he turned to see that it had been Rainbow Dash who had hit him.

"Okay, I forgive you, but only because you're too cheesy." Rainbow Dash said without looking at him.

The blow hurt a little, but when Dusk heard those words, his joy made him forget the pain and only felt the relief of knowing that Rainbow Dash had forgiven him, and with a smile, he continued to cut lianas with his magic.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still not looking at Dusk as a way to hide her blush, all while remembering what Dusk had just said her: 'I promise I'll never leave you.'

# End of Chapter 17
> Chapter 18 - A Little Turnoff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Little Turnoff

Bats were some of the few creatures that ventured into the skies of the Everfree forest once it got dark, as they did that night, flying through the tops of the trees while their shadows were cast down by the light of the moon, shadows that were especially visible that night since the moon was particularly bright. However, on this night, one of those shadows cast down from the treetops wasn't that of a bat, although it might have seemed from afar since it had the same black color and pointed wings of those animals, but this creature had four long legs, a large, ethereal mane, like its tail, besides being much bigger and fearsome than a little bat... It was the dreaded Nightmare Moon, who flew through the forest skies, heading for the old Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!!" Nightmare Moon screamed as she flew, furious as ever for almost being defeated by a simple unicorn. "It was my stupid mistake! How did I not realize sooner that my magical energy was exhausted!?"

The dark mare continued to curse herself for her overconfidence until the old castle finally came into view. She flew to the ruined main gate of the castle and landed, even flying was quickly tiring. Nightmare Moon breathed wearily and before continuing to walk she turned to see that neither the unicorn nor anypony else had followed her, something that gave her a little respite, since she regretted admitting that in her present state she could not face anyone. No, she needed to regain her power before she could fight again. Looking forward, the dark mare smiled at the old castle, luckily she still had a powerful reserve of magical energy waiting in there for her, she just had to take it, and now the time had come.

For her part, Celestia sat quietly, with her head held high and her eyes closed, in a state that would at first glance seemed like she was asleep. However, this was quite the opposite. The alicorn princess was meditating, with all her senses on alert, trying to catch any sound, any smell, any magical disturbance that could tell her about the situation that Dusk and Nightmare Moon were in, the two of whom she was deeply concerned with. The first thing Celestia noticed were hoof steps down the hall, followed by the almost insignificant presence of a magical aura, she opened her eyes and looked toward the door, just then appeared her captor, Nightmare Moon. Instantly there were three things that caught Celestia’s attention: first, Nightmare Moon came back differently than when she left, now she had arrived walking, not flying or using her characteristic cloak of dark clouds; second, it was that her magical aura was tiny, which meant that she was very weak; and third and more disturbing, it was the fact that despite having that little amount of magic aura, she maintained a cruel and sadistic smile.

Celestia was overcome with doubts as she saw Nightmare Moon. Why was she so exhausted? Had she faced Dusk? If they had faced each other and she returned, did that mean Dusk was...? A shudder of fear ran down the back of the princess thinking that perhaps Nightmare Moon had broken her promise and had attacked her precious pupil. This was something that Celestia hoped to know before hoof, she hoped that the strong magical connection she had made with Dusk during all those years would tell her if Dusk had suffered any harm, if so she would've felt some magical disturbance, or at least that was what she expected. Celestia wasn’t sure she could feel Dusk in danger if he was, since the magic that Nightmare Moon had used on her prevented her from correctly sense thesurrounding magic, for that reason doubts began to invade her quickly. Then there was that sadistic smile the dark mare wore watching her as she approached... Celestia couldn't doubt it anymore, that look of bloodlust disturbed for the first time that night Celestia's resolution to try and resolve the situation peacefully, if Nightmare Moon put on that murderous look it was because she was ready to kill, and while it was true that she wanted to save Nightmare Moon's soul, she couldn't continue to risk Dusk's life before such a dangerous being that apparently had lost the last trace of the good pony she once was, Celestia would have to take risks and settle everything right then, right there!

When Nightmare Moon had arrived in front of Celestia, the princess alicorn put on a look of determination and prepared to stand up to face the dark mare, nevertheless as soon as she tried, her legs weakened, remained without strength, and made that Celestia fell to the collapsed ground.

"W-What's wrong with me!?" Celestia wondered aloud, surprised by her lack of strength. Recently she had been able to walk without problems, why were her legs so fatigued now?

It was then that Celestia felt the full weight of her body and realized that not only her legs were fatigued, but her entire body felt as if she had been exhausted after running a great marathon.

"You feel tired, don't you?" Nightmare Moon smiled as she held her face close to Celestia's. "I'm sure that the almighty Celestia was aware of my magical exhaustion before going to face her pupil, that's why you did nothing, correct? Always attentive to every detail to everyone around you, however, I wasn't the only one who made that mistake. So absorbed you were trying to persuade me with your cheap speeches or think of a way to save your dear student, that you overlooked the fact that your vital energy was slowly being drained."

Celestia made a great effort to raise her own head to look at Nightmare Moon, with a frightened look.

"Demonic...Magic..." Celestia said with great effort.

"That's right, the forbidden magic. You were always a know-it-all, but you were always so respectful of the rules... Instead, I always wanted to go further, not only have I studied black magic but the darkest magic that exists! That's why I knew you could not recognize a spell like this." Nightmare Moon replied as she pressed one of her hooves to Celestia's chest, below where Celestia had one of those strange shadow shackles she had put her.

Nightmare Moon smiled to see that the shackles of shadow that had put under the Celestia's neck, legs and horn, were no longer totally dark, now they had many bright spots in them shining like stars in the sky, resembling Nightmare Moon's mane.

"Those shadows that surround you not only contain your movements, they also drain your magic and life force slowly, like leeches." Nightmare Moon added, smiling devilishly. "Of course, the disadvantage is that it's a spell that can easily be broken, but it only took a foolish promise for you to make no effort to free yourself."

Celestia put on an expression of terrible regret at hearing Nightmare Moon's speech. She knew that the magic that the dark alicorn used on her was unknown, but she never imagined that it was demonic magic, even dark magic could be used on rare occasions, but this magic was absolutely forbidden because those spells involved stripping magic or life itself from another. Many years before, she and her sister had faced a being that used magic and absorbed the magic of ponies, however, not even that aberrant creature had reached such an extent to absorb the vital essences of someone else, just as Nightmare Moon was doing with her, that only meant one thing, that her thoughts had unfortunately been right and that there was definitely no longer any trace of empathy or kindness in Nightmare Moon, she was willing to kill... She was no longer the mare that Celestia had ever known.

"Now then, let's begin." Nightmare Moon said with a sinister smile, bringing her horn to Celestia's own. The horns of both ponies shone, and the little flashes of light that had accumulated in the shackles of shadow began to climb up Celestia's body, up to her horn, and were slowly moving towards the horn of Nightmare Moon.

"AAHHH!!" Celestia began to scream in pain feeling as if thousands of needles pierced her skin.

"I could do it quickly, but I'll do it slowly, as slowly as I can, to enjoy every cry of pain you have." Nightmare Moon smiled as she felt her magical power slowly recovering.

While both ponies were still under that horrifying spell, Nightmare Moon closed her eyes as her connection with Celestia deepened, not only to absorb her magic and vital essence but also to be able to feed on the fear that she must be feeling before her imminent death. Nightmare Moon again smiled to find those feelings coming from Celestia, and she tasted them as if they were a sweet delicacy; but while she was doing it, she realized that Celestia held other feelings as well: feelings of grief, guilt, sisterhood and... hope?

"How do you still have hope?" Nightmare Moon wondered.

And so Nightmare Moon was sinking deeper into the magical connection, more into Celestia's feelings, to know what it was that Celestia clung to like a vague hope. Then Nightmare Moon opened her eyes and looked to the side, towards the pedestal that contained the elements of harmony.

"What are you hiding from me?" Nightmare Moon said staring at Celestia as she kept absorbing her magic.

Celestia realized that somehow Nightmare Moon was not only absorbing her magic and her life slowly but also certain sensations and feelings that she had, which could be even more dangerous because Celestia still kept a small and distant hope related to the elements and her beloved student, but she couldn't let the dark mare get to guessing it.

The Alicorn princess closed her eyes, clenched her teeth tightly, and kept absolutely silent.

"Have it your way." Nightmare Moon said with a look of contempt, intensifying her spell to cause even more pain for Celestia, causing her to scream in pain again. "I have all night to find out." She added with a sinister smile.





Not much time had passed since Nightmare Moon had fled from Dusk and the mares, all the while Dusk and Rainbow Dash kept cutting through the liana wall that separated them from the others, an exhausting job at that, since those reddish vines were thick and seemed much more resistant than the normal lianas of the forest, besides that lianas also seemed to keep growing despite being cut, however, while Nightmare Moon was moving away, the lianas lost their thickness and resistance, making the work much easier.

"What's up with these lianas?" Rainbow Dash asked, noticing the lianas seeming to shrink.

"They were subjected to a transformation spell, so when the invoker leaves, they’ll return to normal." Dusk said answering what he had already concluded a while ago. "Although I'm really impressed that Nightmare Moon has been able to do all this with lianas... Like all plants, normal lianas have a large percentage of water, they should have been much easier to cut, and it's the first time I've seen this kind of reddish lianas."

While the lianas were shrinking, they had already reached a normal size for a forest liana, however for some reason they kept shrinking, something that surprised Dusk a little.

"Ewww!" Suddenly Dusk and Rainbow Dash heard behind the thin wall of lianas that grew thinner by the second, a feminine and elegant voice that they both knew well.

Dusk gave the last cut to the wall of lianas, crossing it finally so that he could see the four mares which he had been separated: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack, all sitting with lots of little reddish lianas on them, lianas that in that moment were no broader than a thick thread. Rarity had lit her horn to see better in that dark environment and had a look of displeasure as she looked at the lianas in which she had been captured, while Pinkie Pie smiled and threw the small lianas at the sky as if they were confetti, while Fluttershy and Applejack looked with relief once they saw Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash appear.

"Look! They're like streamers!" Pinkie Pie said smiling as always, surprised to see how those lianas continued to shrink, so much to become those long thin threads she had on her.

"Are you okay?" Dusk said looking at the others, understanding from Pinkie Pie's smile that at least she was fine.

"Yea, the lianas surrounded us like vines, but they began to shrink into these threads." Applejack answered holding the reddish threads that had once been huge lianas.

"How strange…" Dusk wondered aloud, looking closely at one of the threads while using his arsenal of magical literature to explain what happened. "Definitely the consistency and increased cohesion and strength of a thread is more resistant than that of a liana, that's why the wall was so strong, but where did Nightmare Moon get so much thread?"

"What!? Don't you all realize what they are!?" Rarity said standing up and shaking off all those 'threads' with an expression of disgust. "They're not threads, they're hair!"

Everyone looked at Rarity surprised, then looked at the 'threads' and with a similar chill of disgust everyone shook the reddish hair off themselves.

"Well... that explains it." Dusk said taking off the displeasure of having been touching other ponies hair, amazed at how clever the Mare in the Moon had been, since the resistance of a hair increased to the thickness of a liana was much more resistant than that of a simple liana of the forest, in addition to giving greater flexibility and control to the spell since the hair came from an animal and not from an inert plant, Nightmare Moon was definitely very clever. However, he was still in doubt about where she had gotten so much hair, but that question could wait, after all, there were much more important things to do.

"Are you two okay?" Fluttershy asked suddenly, who as always cared for others and saw how exhausted Dusk looked after arriving.

"Yeah, we're fine, in fact this idiot over here almost defeated that wicked Nightmare Moon." Rainbow Dash said smiling, hitting Dusk's side.

"Nightmare Moon showed up!?" They all asked surprised.

"Yeah!! Dusk threw a lightning bolt at her and she gave it back! It was like Poof! Zap! Ka-pow!" Rainbow Dash responded excitedly. "Girls, you should've seen him, it was great!" Then Rainbow Dash glanced at Dusk and blushed faintly. "He really was pretty cool."

When they heard that, they all saw Dusk, who blushed a little at such praise, and then they saw Rainbow Dash again, then everyone understood. Fortunately, it seemed that Rainbow Dash had forgiven Dusk, something that made them happy, but it gave them a hint of jealousy, especially Rarity and Fluttershy, since they were still the only ones who hadn't spent one-on-one time with Dusk in the forest.

Once Dusk made sure that all the mares weren’t hurt, he got in front of the road and asked them to follow him, they still had a ways to go, and at the end of the road, they would meet a terrible adversary, one which Dusk still didn't know how to face. Maybe if they were lucky, Nightmare Moon would still be weak, so they had to hurry.

The six ponies began to walk again on the road leading to the old castle, all looking around, knowing that if they were not careful at any time they could suffer another unexpected attack, everyone with great fear at facing the unknown in that dark forest, however there was one of them that stood out among all for her fearful personality, it was Fluttershy, who was already easily scared in town or anywhere, but deep in the Everfree forest her fear had risen to astronomical levels, something that she had been able to overcome momentarily since she had told herself that she couldn't let her friends go alone on that dangerous quest, but after the unexpected attacks of Nightmare Moon, each time was harder to control her fears.

Suddenly a leaf inadvertently fell from a tree and gently touched the back of the yellow pegasus.

"WAAAHHH!!" Fluttershy yelled loudly, frightened after the leaf touch her, startling and causing others to jump in terror.

"What's wrong!?" Dusk asked quickly putting himself on guard, looking concerned at Fluttershy.

"Uhh... a leaf fell on me and I got scared..." Fluttershy answered timidly, feeling sorry for having scared others.

Dusk looked with a disbelieving face at the pegasus, then he put on the same annoyed expression that the other mares had on.

"Huff... you'll have to get used to it, that's Fluttershy” Rainbow Dash said to Dusk and continued walking.

"You must control yourself a little more, dear, you startled us." Rarity added, touching Fluttershy softly, trying to be a little more conciliatory.

Fluttershy finally nodded with embarrassment as Dusk sighed in relief that this scream hadn't been anything dangerous, but annoying and restless, making him think that maybe it wasn't a good idea to take such a shy pony to such a dismal place.

While the others resumed their march, Fluttershy was trotting behind them, immersed in her thoughts, blaming herself for her overly shy personality. She really regretted being a nuisance, she didn't want her friends to look at her again with those looks of anger and compassion, especially Dusk, who although didn’t say it, she knew perfectly well that expression he gave was that of being upset with her. Right then and there, she swore to herself that she wouldn't interrupt her friends again unless it was strictly necessary.

To her misfortune, it was just after those thoughts that Fluttershy's ears were on alert, hearing something in the distance. The shy pegasus couldn't boast at having the best and acute hearing, but what she could easily recognize no matter how far away she was, were the cries and lamentations of someone else, and that was exactly what she was hearing at that moment, very far away from there.

Fluttershy prepared to interrupt her friends, then she bit her lip, not sure if she should tell them what she was listening to or not. Just at that moment, Dusk suddenly stopped, Fluttershy hoped that Dusk had also heard the crying in the distance and that everyone could go to the aid of that sad creature who lamented without it being her who was the one who stopped the group again.

"Dusk, is something wrong?" Rarity asked, concerned that Dusk had stopped abruptly.

"I-I'm not sure..." Dusk said with a look of uncertainty and concern. "I... I saw the princess screaming in pain..."

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked without understanding.

"I don't know, it's just that a second ago I felt as though lightning pierced my head, and... for a split second I saw the image of Nightmare Moon torturing the princess..." Dusk answered remembering what he had just felt and seen.

"Could'ive been yer 'magination? Or another illusion?" Applejack asked.

"It definitely wasn't an illusion..." Dusk answered again while trying to reason on his own just what had happened. The princess had always told him that they both shared a special bond, a bond forged by the affection they felt for each other, being both powerful users of magic and having that special bond that went beyond a simple teacher-student relationship, the princess had always told him they were connected and that she would always watch over his safety because she would always know if he was in danger or not, something that Dusk always valued in the emotional sense, but he never took it in the literal sense. But... What if it was true? If that union that they maintained for their affection not only served to alert the princess if Dusk was in danger, but it also worked in the opposite direction and now it was warning him that the princess was in real danger...? All that was a mere hypothesis of course, but that was enough to leave Dusk uneasy.

"I don't know if it was real." Dusk finally said seriously. "But I feel we must hurry."

Dusk then looked towards the road again and started trotting more quickly, followed swiftly by the mares that accompanied him, all but one, the timid Fluttershy, who kept listening to what Dusk said, feeling the great devotion and concern he felt towards the princess, but once they had all started galloping, she turned her gaze to her left, towards the depths of the forest, where she heard someone crying, someone who was not in the direction where the others were going. The shy pegasus's breathing started to shake when she saw her friends go in one direction while her heart told her that she should go help someone else, to whoever was crying with such lament. She wanted to scream at them, but she doesn't want to be a bother, not again, so she only saw her friends go away without noticing her absence.

Dusk and company kept galloping for a good distance, without saying a single word between them, all focused on seeing the path they had to follow to get to the old castle as soon as possible, and so they continued until Dusk saw that they were reaching a part of the road where there were many cobwebs, giant cobwebs, which could only mean just there were probably monstrous spiders nearby.

"Be careful!" Dusk screamed without stopping galloping or stop looking at the road.

Suddenly Dusk's worries came true when everyone stopped suddenly because a giant spider came down the middle of the road and showed its big fangs. All the ponies shouted out of fear and surprise to see that horrid creature.

"Close your eyes!" Dusk shouted quickly, a command that the mares obeyed immediately, just before Dusk increased his magic in his horn and created a huge white flash, a flash that made the giant spider flee immediately, unaccustomed to being exposed to light.

"Are you all alright?" Dusk asked turning around to see the mares after checking that the giant spider had moved completely away.

"Yea... 'though that really scared me." Applejack answered with a small giggle of relief.

"I... I wasn't scared, just surprised." Rainbow Dash answered, embarrassed for having screamed.

"Where's Fluttershy!?" Rarity suddenly asked in worry, seeing that her shy friend wasn't by her side.

It was then that everypony was frozen when they looked around and found that the yellow pegasus was nowhere to be found.

"Did another spider take her!?" Rarity asked totally scared.

"No, I'm sure there was only the one." Dusk responded worriedly, trying to remember. "Fluttershy was coming with us when we started galloping, right?"

"I'm not sure." Rainbow Dash answered also worried, thinking how terrified Fluttershy should be, even more because she was alone.

"Let's head back!" Applejack said, leading the group as they all began galloping as fast as they could to return to the point where they had last seen Fluttershy, hoping to find her on the way back.

Finally, everypony came to where they had halted when Dusk had his vision, and there that any hope they had gave way to despair upon learning that the timid mare was not there either.

"Pinkie, can you use your Pinkie sense to find her?" Dusk asked Pinkie Pie. The pink mare waved her tail, making the sound of an empty can with a pebble inside.

"Sorry, I don’t control my Pinkie sense, it just happens." Pinkie Pie responded, regretting not being able to use her great skill at such a crucial moment.

Dusk bit his lip thinking about the possible actions, he lamented that just when a part of him was screaming that he should help his beloved teacher as soon as possible, Fluttershy would have to be lost, but now the important thing was to find the pegasus as soon as possible, since this place was one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria.

In the process of analysis of actions to be taken, Dusk first thought with logic, they could not separate since in the process they could all be lost, the best thing was for the others to wait there and he would search alone, but that implied that the search could go on for a long time, he also knew that the mares wouldn't want to wait while their friend could be in danger, and he had already decided not to force them to do what he wanted without their approval, not again; Finally Dusk came to the conclusion that the logical thing was to look for her together.

"We'll split up and look for her." Rarity said before Dusk spoke.

"N-No! If we separated, we could-" Dusk hastened to say, ready to explain his logic, but he was quickly interrupted by his fellow unicorn.

"I know you'll say we should all look for her together." Rarity said, surprising Dusk for having followed his logic so quickly. "But it's Fluttershy who got lost, not another of us. You and I can use magic, Rainbow Dash has her speed, Applejack her strength and Pinkie Pie's innate ridiculousness."

"Hey!" Pinkie Pie quipped, feigning outrage.

"The point is that it's better to risk to losing one of us than Fluttershy." Rarity said looking seriously at Dusk.

Dusk was surprised by Rarity's argument, it was based on her emotions, something totally emotional, but it was also logical, was that possible? Maybe... yes, Dusk’s thinking turned all his reasoning into a mathematical equation, then he realized that what Rarity said made sense if he added another variable to the equation, the 'self-sacrifice' option, something he hadn't taken into account. That is to say that Rarity and the others would be risking themselves in order to find their friend quickly, that logic was something Dusk hadn't thought of, and it was something that Dusk couldn't deny Rarity and the others if they were willing to do.

"Fine." Dusk finally relented looking at the other mares. "You all agree?"

The other three mares nodded without hesitation. Then Dusk approached the edge of the road and took five small branches that were near a tree, along with another wider and bigger branch, then he spun them with his magic until the small branches acquired a small purple glow at one of their ends, then Dusk nailed the big branch vertically in the middle of the road and threw the small branches to the ground, which as soon as they fell to the ground they lined up pointing directly with the bright tip towards the nailed branch.

"This will serve as an improvised compass, the branches will point directly where this other branch is nailed, in other words they will point to where the road is if you get lost." Dusk explained looking at the mares. "But it will only last a few minutes, so as soon as you see that the light of your branch begins to fade out, all of you should immediately return here."

Each of the ponies took a bright twig and put it in their mane.

"If it's very dark, don't take chances." Dusk added as each one got ready to go out of the road to enter the forest in different directions. "Good luck."

After that last bit of encouragement, the five ponies went into the forest to try to find their missing companion.

As soon as they entered the forest, Dusk began to move faster, unlike his compadres since he could illuminate his surroundings more, thanks to his magic.

"Fluttershy!?" Dusk yelled, trying to call the shy pegasus, looking around to catch any sign of her.

It was after several cries that Dusk suddenly stopped when he saw that in front of him there were some broken branches and a pair of hoofprints on the ground next to the mud.

"Someone came through here." The stallion thought, unsure of whether finding a trail in that terrifying forest was something good or bad, but lucky for him the prints looked like pony hooves, giving him hope that they were of the lost pegasus. "But if she really went so deep into the forest, what could be her reason for doing so?" Dusk continued to think awkwardly as he went.

The lavender unicorn kept moving cautiously through the branches and roots of the trees, following the hoofprints, until he stopped when these suddenly disappeared without any other trace. Dusk looked around trying to find another clue to indicate where the owner of those tracks had gone, since they couldn’t just disappear like that, of course, unless it was a pegasus and it had flown, but that would have been careless, since right in that part of the forest there were many lianas and vines between the treetops, so only a very careless or very naive pegasus would try flying there. And that was exactly what Dusk was thinking, looking towards the treetops, when something fell from above, right in front of him.

"Waaahhh!" Fluttershy yelled, falling face down from the treetops, just saving herself from falling face down on the ground because she was totally tied up between the lianas of the forest and they had managed to hold her just before hitting, causing her to be tied upside down with her face almost touching Dusk's.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two ponies, in which both looked at each other without saying a word, Fluttershy with a look of pity and shame, and Dusk with disbelief.

"Heh... Hi." Dusk finally said, smiling for having found Fluttershy and also for seeing the pegasus in that state, knowing that Fluttershy had been very naive for trying to have flown there, something that a normal pegasus would have known; Therefore, seeing her hanging like this made Dusk very amused.

"Hi." Fluttershy replied timidly, blushing, not knowing what else to say.

"Let me help you." Dusk said, using his magic to cut the lianas that held Fluttershy, holding her between his hooves so she wouldn't fall to the ground. Dusk could not help but smile and blush slightly as he did that, since seeing the shy pegasus so helpless, silent, and blushing, looking at him with big eyes expectantly waiting for him to save her, all that made her look very cute and adorable.

"So you got here, you decided to fly and you were trapped, right?" Dusk asked knowing the answer.

"Yes... the forest was very thick, so I tried to fly... I... I should have looked up before I did it." Fluttershy answered with her characteristic shyness.

Suddenly Dusk's thoughts came out of the bizarre memory of seeing Fluttershy hanging, and he remembered what was really important.

"Wait a second, first off, why are you here!?" Dusk asked worriedly, thinking that maybe she had fallen under some spell of illusion or some creature had driven her out of the road.

"Hmm... well..." Fluttershy answered lowering her head somewhat embarrassed and scratching the ground with her hoof. "I just heard a cry, someone was crying, and I heard it in this direction."

Dusk wore a look of disbelief, he didn't understand what Fluttershy was referring to, was someone or something crying in the middle of the forest? Nopony else had heard anything, and now that they were both there, Dusk didn't hear anything either.

"Are you sure? Maybe it was just the wind." Dusk said.

Fluttershy didn't answer, she just remained silently looking at the ground. The truth was that she also had her doubts about what she had heard, but...

"Come on, we have to meet the others as soon as possible." Dusk added extending a hoof to accompany her back to the road.

"I... I can't…" Fluttershy answered, closing her eyes with sorrow. "I'm not sure what I heard... but if there is someone hurt or needs help, I can't abandon it."

"Fluttershy, it may have been just your imagination." Dusk said looking seriously at Fluttershy, for now that he had found her, he had to return to his priorities, which was rescuing the princess as soon as possible. "Besides, we can't keep waste anymore time, we've already lost a lot by looking for you, the princess is in danger, we must try to save her, we are her only hope!"

Fluttershy looked at Dusk with a strange look, between supplication and confusion, it was a look that Dusk needed time to decipher... it was a look of indecision. Apparently, she was struggling with herself to make a decision, a decision that Dusk was forcing her to take, an indecision that Dusk did not understand since for him the logical and obvious answer was that they should go to save the princess immediately. Then Dusk looked at Fluttershy's deep, confused cyan eyes, and with great effort he tried to put himself in her place: a shy pegasus who couldn't bear to see or hear someone else suffer and went immediately to help them, even if she had to go deep into a dark forest; and now that Dusk was reflecting on that, that mare must have great courage and motivation to face her fear of that forest, the same motivation that had driven her to follow and try to help Dusk even though she was the most shy pony he knew. Once he realized that, it was HIM who had a problem of indecision, continue with his primary mission or help Fluttershy to follow her motivations, and to Dusk's misery, he decided that he couldn't say no to Fluttershy, after all, he couldn't force her to stop helping others or stop being a kind pony.

"Huff... Okay..." Dusk finally said sighing, holding his head with his hoof, bothering himself for not being able to run at that very moment to help the princess. "But who do you want to help? I don't see anyone around here."

"I don't know, I heard the cries coming in this direction but suddenly they left-" the pegasus started answering, unable to finish her sentence when suddenly a cry was heard near where they were, causing both ponies to perk their ears on alert to find where the sound came from.

Dusk heard the crying coming from his right, between the trees, so he pushed aside the weeds with his magic and told Fluttershy to follow him. So they both walked a few steps until they began to hear another sound, the sound of water flowing.

Finally Dusk cleared the last branches of the road until he and Fluttershy realized that they had reached the bank of a river, the river that passed through the middle of Everfree forest; a wide river with a strong flow that would've caught their attention if it hadn't been directed towards a huge creature that was lying on the riverbank, a huge and long purple beast that would have caused a terrible fear if it wasn't for it having a big and somewhat ridiculous orange mane, but what really made that huge creature lose all terrifying impact was the fact that it was crying like a baby, covering its face with its huge claws.

"What the heck is that?" Dusk whispered to Fluttershy, not wanting to alert the giant weeping beast.

"It's a sea serpent." Fluttershy answered, an expert in local wildlife, who without Dusk noticing, was approaching the huge serpent.

"Fluttershy, no!" Dusk shouted in a whisper, thinking that despite that creature was crying, it could be dangerous, after all, a beast is more dangerous when more scared.

"Aww... poor thing." Fluttershy tenderly said aloud so the serpent could hear her, which completely scared Dusk. "Tell me, what happened to you? Did someone hurt you?"

The serpent stopped crying slowly and opened a space between his fingers so that his eyes could see who was talking to him. Then the huge snake opened his mouth, showing large fangs and lowered his head quickly towards Fluttershy.

"FLUTTERSHY!!" Dusk shouted trying to run towards her, thinking that the serpent was going to devour her, all this while Fluttershy didn't move and just smiled tenderly as she watched the huge mouth of the beast coming towards her.

In that split second, Dusk lit his horn ready to cast a spell, although he was sure he wouldn't be able to cast it before the beast ate Fluttershy. However, his horn did nothing, since the head of the huge serpent hadn't fallen on Fluttershy as he had thought, but fell beside her and began to cry again, to Dusk's astonishment, who still didn't understand how such a huge beast could cry like that, like a little baby.

Meanwhile Fluttershy, who understood that the serpent had opened its mouth to cry harder and not devour her, she approached the huge head that had fallen beside her and caressed it tenderly.

"There... there... everything's ok." Fluttershy spoke in a motherly tone, caressing the fin-shaped ears that the serpent had, while it was still crying, covering its face with its hands.

They stayed like that for a while as Dusk continued to watch the big serpent with a look of complete disbelief until the huge sea serpent finally calmed down.

"Feeling better?" Fluttershy asked tenderly, who was now completely wet and with a slightly unpleasant smell due to all the tears that had fallen on her and to have been hugging and caressing that odorous sea creature.

The sea serpent inhaled strongly through his nose a couple of times and looked affectionately at the pegasus that was at his side.

"Yes... thank you very much, sweetheart..." The sea serpent answered, he was a male but he spoke with a feminine tone, what surprised Dusk even more than the simple fact of knowing that that creature could speak.

"Now tell me, what happened to you?" Fluttershy asked affectionately.

"Oh my! I can't tell you, honey." The sea serpent answered, still hiding his face in his hands, but moving his huge and long body as if dancing uncomfortably. "It's all so embarrassing, I'm dying of embarrassment! Just remembering it makes me want to cry again..."

Dusk looked increasingly surprised that scene, every word the serpent said reminded him a little of how Rarity sounded, although more exaggerated, and of course, a chime-like voice fit that elegant and feminine mare perfectly, but didn't fit the masculine tone of that serpent at all, besides the fact that this was a huge and fearsome creature, not a little pony.

"Oh, please, I just want to help you." Fluttershy said in a pleading tone.

"Oh, dear, it's... it's a problem... I don't think a pony like you can help me solve it." The serpent answered, this time covering his face only with one of his hands, it reached to cover him only under the eyes and part of his mouth, while with his other hand he combed his long, orange mane.

"Oh! Well, how about him? Could he help you?" Fluttershy asked pointing to Dusk, making the serpent notice the presence of Dusk for the first time.

The sea serpent stared at Dusk for a few seconds and then brought his head up to face Dusk.

"Oh my... what a handsome unicorn... A total perfect stallion." The sea serpent said as his eyes sparkled, making Dusk shiver for some reason. "You two make a cute and adorable couple together, dear."

Upon hearing that, Fluttershy face turned totally red and began to dig at the ground with her hoof.

"N-No... we're not a couple..." Fluttershy refuted, almost in a whisper as she glanced at Dusk and immediately lowered her eyes blushing even more.

"Oh... so you're single..." The serpent said, again focusing his eyes on Dusk, winking coquettishly at him, which made Dusk tremble again. "YOU are definitely just what I need."

Dusk gulped loudly as he began to sweat and tremble, what he felt wasn't fear, but for some reason, the look of that serpent made him uncomfortable, as if the serpent was stripping him with his eyes, even though he was already naked. The unicorn then looked at Fluttershy, hoping that the pegasus would intercede for him and get him away from this awkward situation, but Fluttershy just stared at him with a big smile, just waiting. It was then that Dusk noticed how wet Fluttershy had been after the serpent's tears had fallen, that definitely should not have been nice, especially with that fishy smell, however she had done it, and with a big smile, just to try making that serpent feel better, what made Dusk think that he should at least try to do the same, he could do no less, even though he felt uncomfortable, he must help someone in need if he could, like Fluttershy.

"Umm... T-Then... W-What's the problem?" Dusk finally asked trying to control his nerves, looking the serpent in the eyes.

"Oh, yes, well... it's... something private... I have... a guy problem..." The serpent began saying, still hiding his face with his hand, approaching a little more to Dusk while he did his best to stay in place. "It's something that only boys have, a girl like her couldn't understand the value and importance of 'that' for us male." The more the serpent talked, the closer he came to Dusk, speaking almost to his ear.

"R-Really?" Dusk said totally nervous, joining the ideas that the serpent was mentioning, already forming an idea of what the serpent might be talking about, after all, what could be the most important thing for a male? Something he couldn't teach a mare...? "You... you're talking about... you know..." Dusk said blushing, unable to mention the word since that part of the male body was something a gentleman should not mention out loud.

"That's right... I have a problem just 'there'... This part of me... is a mess..." The sea serpent said, somewhat embarrassed by what he was about to say, whispering softly and gently into Dusk's ear. "Would you like to see it…? I know you're the one... Just touch it, use your magic 'there'."





"WHAT!!? NO! OF COURSE NOT!" Dusk screamed, totally blushed, almost fuming from his ears how embarrassed he was, the conversation had escalated too much, he wanted to help, but in no way he would put his hooves on 'that' part of the serpent, and what kind of twisted metaphor did 'use your magic there' mean!? If it was what Dusk imagined... NO! They were both boys! He liked mares!

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, approaching when she saw that Dusk had screamed.

"Looks like he's nervous, I guess I'll have to show it to you, sweetheart." The sea serpent said approaching Fluttershy as Dusk quickly ran to cover Fluttershy's eyes as the serpent removed his hand and finally showed his entire face. "It's my mustache!! I'm so upset that someone cut it..." The serpent said almost crying, finally showing the hairs on his lip, where one side of the mustache seemed to have been ripped off.

While Dusk was still covering Fluttershy's eyes, he saw with complete stupefaction the serpent's mustache while he felt as if a bucket of cold water had fallen on him.

"Heh... Hehe..." Dusk laughed foolishly, falling to the ground, totally relieved that the whole conversation had been about a mustache.

"Is that why you screamed?" Fluttershy said looking at Dusk confused. "You didn't want me to see his mustache?"

"I know it looks ugly, but I didn't think-" The sea serpent said, stopping when he realized something.

"How dirty mind! I know what you were thinking, dirty boy." The serpent added coquettishly touching Dusk's cheeks with his finger, which made the unicorn blush completely.

"It doesn't look so bad." Fluttershy said, who hadn't heard anything of the misunderstanding and now had her eyes fixed on the creature's mustache.

"No, no no!" The serpent said in a tantrum, almost crying again. "It looks horrid! I need to do something! I can't be quiet until this mess is fixed! Your friend is a unicorn, that's why I asked for his help, isn't there a magic spell he can use to help me?"

Meanwhile Dusk, already calmed, heard the words of the serpent, while trying to think of some solution to the problem.

"Listen, could I talk to my companion alone for a moment? Maybe we can find a solution." Dusk said trying to put a kind smile.

The serpent rejoiced at Dusk's words, then winked again, something that gave Dusk chills again, and finally he moved back a bit to give Dusk and Fluttershy space.

"You know, I think he's a serpent too fussy, the most sensible thing would be not to consent to a mere banal whim and to continue with our important mission." Dusk said looking at Fluttershy, who looked at him with a sad look.

"But I know that even if it's just a whim, you won't be satisfied until you help that serpent, after all, your kind soul won't let you, right?" Dusk added, which made Fluttershy look at Dusk with a small smile as she blushed. "So now we need a solution to this problem. I really don't know any hair growth spells, I suppose that spells can exist but I was never interested in finding out anything about something like that. Maybe I could use an amplifying spell, but I don't think that makes the hair grow, maybe that only enlarges the few hairs that are left there, maybe..."

While Dusk was still talking, thinking of ideas to solve the serpent problem, Fluttershy's eyes shone brighter with every second she saw Dusk, while her heart rejoiced.

"Dusk, I... I'm sorry you're taking on so many problems because of me, I'm really sorry..." Fluttershy said, who as always, regretted being a nuisance to others.

Those words brought Dusk out of his thoughts and seeing this mare asking for forgiveness over something so insignificant reminded him that he had done something worse to her and hadn’t apologized properly.

"No, if anypony should ask for an apology, it should be me." Dusk said lowering his head a little. "I knocked both you and the others out without your consent, that was terrible, something I shouldn't have done so abruptly without thinking about how you felt... I wanted to keep all of you safe, but it's no use if I don't value your feelings... You've all been so good to me... but I... I've only hurt you. You... you have every right to hate me and be angry with me... I just hope you can forgive me for what I've done."

"I'm not mad at you." Fluttershy answered, who unlike her friends, hadn't woken up annoyed after Dusk's sleeping spell. "I... I felt sad, I always thought you are a good pony, from the first moment I met you, that's why I understood that you did that just to protect us, but I felt sad for not being good enough that you wanted me to accompany you... If I were stronger and braver maybe you would have wanted me to go with you." Fluttershy finished sadly.

Dusk looked at Fluttershy, and he couldn't help but think that he had actually thought about that many times, how helpless she could be, but it didn't mean she was weak or cowardly, in fact she did have the courage to go into the forest and face her fears, just as she had the courage to run and help someone immediately, in spite of how terrifying this could be, as it happened with the serpent.

"This is a cruel world and only the strongest survive." Dusk suddenly added, remembering something of his past. "That was a phrase that a friend used a lot, she said we should be strong and not show weakness, but now I think... maybe there are many types of strength... and though this world is often cruel, if we were all half as good ponies and worried about others as you are, maybe we could make this world a better place... I want to be a better pony, I would like to have your strength, Fluttershy!"

Hearing that, Fluttershy lowered her head a little so her mane hid her face, which had turned completely red before the tender words of support and affection that Dusk had given her. In doing so, the mare couldn't help but utter a few words that her heart demanded that she scream, but with her timid voice, only a small murmur left her lips.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Dusk said, bringing his face close to Fluttershy's. Then the mare raised her face, totally blushed, and opened her mouth to pronounce what she had just said out loud.

"Dusk... I think ... I-I like yo-" Fluttershy said mustering all her courage, but being interrupted unfortunately by a third and unexpected voice.

"There you are, Fluttershy darling!" Rarity yelled surprisingly, who was walking along the riverbank and seen the silhouette of her beloved friend, causing her to run to meet her.

Rarity ran and jumped to embrace Fluttershy, something Fluttershy would have been glad to receive… if it had only been a few seconds later, so that she would have managed to tell Dusk what took all her courage to say. Of course, Fluttershy didn't get mad at her friend because of the interruption, she only blamed herself as she always did, for not having been more determined before the arrival of Rarity.

"How did you get here?" Dusk asked surprised by the appearance of the white unicorn.

"While I was looking for Fluttershy, I got to the edge of the river and then I thought the worst." Rarity answered with some tears in her eyes for the joy of finding her frail friend safe and sound. "I walked down the river in case Fluttershy had fallen into the river and was carried away, that's when I saw you two here."

"Oh! Another pony came to accompany you, tell me, is she your friend?" The sea serpent said suddenly, who had come back seeing that Rarity had arrived with Dusk and Fluttershy.

Rarity turned her head, and her body trembled at the sight of the huge sea serpent in front of them, she didn't know what was the reason for serpent's presence or what he was going to do with them, so only one idea crossed her mind, seeing that Fluttershy was there, perhaps it had been that gigantic and unattractive serpent that had captured Fluttershy and carried her there. Then Rarity without thinking twice quickly stood between the serpent and the other two ponies.

"If you're going to devour us, take me! Just let them go!" Rarity said trembling, but with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Devour ponies!? Oh my..." The sea serpent said scared, then he put a hand to his head dramatically and fainted, falling into the river, which caused him to wake up immediately with the cold water.

"No, no, you're wrong." Fluttershy corrected Rarity quickly, moving closer to her side. "He's no beast, he's just a very friendly and nice sea serpent, he was only asking for our help."

While Rarity listened attentively to Fluttershy's explanation, Dusk couldn't help but see how the tremor in the white mare calmed slowly as she dried her tears. He was amazed at Rarity's quick reaction, that without thinking twice she had been willing to sacrifice herself just to save them, without thinking of herself even though she was clearly terrified, it reminded Dusk that even he himself had not been so quick when he saw that the sea serpent almost ate Fluttershy.

"How amazing are these mares?" Dusk wondered, thinking how great those five mares were that accompanied him. "Compared to them, I'm..." Dusk continued thinking with some sadness.

"Oh, Celestia! What happened to your mustache!?" Rarity asked once the situation subsided, looking at the serpent's face, and pulling Dusk out of his thoughts.

"You see? I told you! I'm a monster! No one should see this horrible face in this state!" The serpent said dramatically, covering his face with a hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, darling, I didn't mean to offend you, it just surprised me, that's all." Rarity added quickly when she realized that she had sunk her hoof in a sore. "But tell me, what happened to you?" The mare asked, realizing that sea serpent was much more sensitive than he appeared.

"Oh, it was terrible, dear!" The snake responded almost to tears. "Some kind of scary bat pony came flying by and ripped off half of my mustache while I slept, it was horrible!"

Dusk saw the serpent's mane and for the first time he realized that it was the same color as the hairs that Nightmare Moon had used in her enhancer spell to catch them.

"Tell me darling, you're also a unicorn, I know you can use magic, is there any way you can grow my mustache again?" The sea serpent asked to Rarity.

Rarity bit her lip and stared for a second at the serpent's badly cut mustache.

"Of course, darling, leave everything in my hooves." Rarity said with a somewhat nervous smile.

"Hooray!" The serpent shouted with joy.

"Oh! So you do know capillary growth spells?" Dusk said a little surprised, although thinking that he should have noticed before that a fashion pony like Rarity could know that kind of spells.

"Hair growth spell? No, I don't know any." Rarity said a little confused.

That made Dusk more confused, if she didn't know a spell that could regrow the serpent's mustache, then what solution had occurred to her so quickly, since he hadn't thought of anything in all this time.

While Dusk was in thought, Rarity lowered her gaze, biting her lip again and glancing sideways at her fellow unicorn.

"Dusk, darling, could you give Fluttershy and me some privacy, please? You can go ahead and meet with the others, we'll join you in a moment." Rarity said looking at Dusk with a somewhat nervous smile.

Dusk set out to ask why and to refute, but he saw that Rarity was still staring at him with a big, sad smile as if she was begging him to do her that favor. That reminded Dusk that Rarity was the only mare left with whom he had not yet formally apologized, so he wasn't in a position to object to her any favor after having forced her to fall asleep.

"O-okay..." Dusk said reluctantly, unable to get Rarity's gaze out of his mind.

Then Dusk turned around and started to walk away. As he did so, he caught a few words from the mares.

"Rarity! That is not necessary!" Fluttershy said worriedly.

"But don't you see how important it is to him? If it's within my reach, with this I can fix his mustache." Rarity replied.

Stepping slowly into the woods, Dusk was willing to give Rarity the privacy she asked of him, but he wasn't able to leave them completely alone as she had asked, so he only moved a little and stayed behind some trees, waiting for the return of both mares.

"If it's not a hair growth spell, what will she do? Maybe cut the other half to match?" Dusk continued thinking as he awaited the arrival of the mares, still trying to think of a spell that would solve the problem of the serpent.

A few minutes later there was finally a noise among the trees, that put Dusk on alert for someone's arrival. Dusk looked up and saw Fluttershy among the trees, who was surprised to see Dusk there.

"Dusk! What are you still doing here!?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, looking backward out of the corner of her eye.

"I was waiting for you two." Dusk replied. "Where is Rarity?"

"Umm... she's coming after me, but... she wants you to go on ahead... please." Fluttershy said nervously. That put Dusk on alert, all that was giving him a bad feeling, what was it that Rarity had done? Had it been something dangerous?

"Fluttershy, take this." Dusk said looking seriously at Fluttershy, handing her the branch-compass that indicated where was the path, which almost didn't shine anymore. "Go on to the others, they'll be worried about you, I'll wait for Rarity."

Fluttershy looked at Dusk nervously, she wanted to insist that Dusk leave, just as Rarity had told her to tell him if she found him, but Dusk's intense and determined gaze was stronger.

"O-Okay…" Fluttershy said timidly, entering the forest, following the direction indicated by Dusk's magical compass.

As soon as Fluttershy disappeared into the trees, Dusk turned his head after hearing another hoofsteps in the place where Fluttershy had first appeared.

There, walking slowly with her head down, Rarity finally appeared, with an expression of total desolation. As soon as she raised her head, and saw that Dusk was there, she screamed and quickly hid behind a tree.

"What are you doing here!?" Rarity asked almost crying, only letting her head show behind the tree.

"I decided to wait for you." Dusk responded worriedly to see the sad expression that white unicorn had and even more for her reaction to seeing him. "Is something wrong?"

"Please go away..." Rarity said without being able to look Dusk in the eyes, while her lip trembled with fear and grief. "I... I don't want you to see me like this..."

"Like what?" Dusk asked confused since Rarity seemed to be in perfect condition when he saw her walking a few moments ago.

Rarity looked up to see Dusk and then closed her eyes tightly causing little tears to leap from her eyes. She didn't want Dusk to find out that way, she had wanted to avoid him seeing her in 'this' state at all costs. She knew, however, that sooner or later he would see her and that they couldn't keep wasting time, she understood that Dusk wanted to find the princess as soon as possible, so finally Rarity swallowed hard and took a couple of steps so Dusk could see her completely and he could see what had happened.

As soon as Rarity came out of the tree, something she did very slowly, Dusk couldn't tell there was anything out of place on her, except until he managed to see her tail, or rather what was left of it. Just as the mustache of the sea serpent had been, it seemed that Rarity's tail had been cut off abruptly, leaving only the beginning of this, ending in disordered hairs badly cut, nothing had remained of her beautiful and well-kept tail.

"I... I gave him my tail so he would have a new mustache..." Rarity said ashamed, almost on the verge of crying.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that!?" Dusk thought surprised that he hadn't thought of such a simple solution. "She used a simple binding spell to complete the cut mustache with her cut tail."

At that moment, Dusk once again realized that in his logical way of thinking, where everything was formed by equations that concluded results, he had omitted to add the 'sacrifice' factor. It was true that Dusk was also sometimes willing to sacrifice something for the sake of something bigger, but it seemed that Rarity's thought had inculcated it as a priority factor, almost as if she always had as a first option to give something of herself for the good of others, contrary to the thought of the great majority who always left the option of the self-sacrificing as last option.

"And why didn't you want to show me what happened to your tail?" Dusk asked with a small smile to try to boost Rarity's spirits, besides, a cut tail wasn't worth such drama, wasn't it?

"Because it looks horrible!!" Rarity shouted finally crying, which surprised Dusk. "I didn't want anyone to see me like this, especially YOU! I look so ugly... I... sniff! I don't want you to think I'm ugly..." Rarity finished speaking, covering her face while the tears kept falling from her beautiful eyes.

Before that scene, Dusk quickly realized that he couldn't take what Rarity had done as something simple, that is, for him, it was something not important, but for a mare like her who always cared to look good and take care of her appearance, that was much more important. Besides, Dusk didn't have the right to criticize Rarity on anything, she had thought of that solution quickly when it didn't even occur to him, and that happened because she was always ready to give anything to help others or make them feel good, something which he had failed. With all that in mind, Dusk couldn't criticize the white unicorn mare, who was still crying copiously in front of him, feeling miserable because the colt for which she felt something for had seen her as ugly and miserable as she thought she looked.

The more Rarity cried, the more empathy Dusk felt and the more moved he felt from the mare's gesture. As always, he was very reluctant to any emotional act, however, he knew that he needed to comfort Rarity, and his heart dictated that he do it.

Dusk came up to Rarity, he gently grabbed the mare's chin so that she would lift her head and pulled her hooves out of her face, then Dusk stroked her cheek to dry the tears that fell on her.

"Rarity..." Dusk spoke tenderly, making full use of his knowledge of chivalry and for a moment letting his feelings speak for him. "Right now you're more beautiful than ever. What you just did, not only makes you great as a mare, it makes you shine in a radiance that only you can achieve."

At Dusk's words, Rarity stopped crying while her bright eyes focused on Dusk's and her cheeks blushed, realizing that this had probably been the most beautiful thing anyone had ever told her, since she could even feel the sincerity and the true affection in the words that Dusk pronounced.

"Dusk..." Rarity said looking dreamily at the colt.

"I wish I had your altruistic spirit, if I had it, it would have occurred to me to cut my tail, and your tail would be fine." Dusk added, still lamenting at the act Rarity had to do just because he hadn't thought of it. "When I was a little colt, I remember I always shared my things with others... but there was a point where... for some reason, I stopped doing it..."

Rarity was still daydreaming while Dusk was talking, but as soon as she heard Dusk mention about his childhood, it reminded her of something very important, so she got a little more serious, even though she didn't want to ruin this atmosphere, she needed Dusk to confirm something.

"Maybe... did you change when your old friend appeared in your life?" Rarity asked a little worried.

"Eh!?" Dusk replied totally surprised by that question, which made him begin to remember. "I-I think so... b-but how do you know about my old friend?"

"When we were separated by the wall of lianas, I took advantage of asking Pinkie Pie and Applejack to update me on what happened before then." Rarity answered a little embarrassed. "They commented two different but similar stories about you having had a friend and that she had apparently given you bad advice... Later we could hear your conversation with Rainbow Dash, where you mentioned it again with a similar fact. Then, when we came here I asked Fluttershy if you had mentioned something similar to her, which she confirmed."

Dusk lowered his head a little embarrassed, knowing that now all the mares knew something important of his past, something that had marked his childhood and that made him vulnerable, however, he also felt a touch of relief knowing that he had finally relieved part of his tormented past with them, although of course, only a small part...

"Dusk..." Rarity added a little more seriously. "Was she your only friend?"

Dusk responded by nodding his head shyly and slowly.

"But darling... Don't you think someone like that, who gave you all those tips... maybe she wasn't really friends with you...? Maybe she was just... a bad friend..." Rarity said looking at Dusk with a worried look.

At Rarity's words, Dusk's gaze changed as his breathing began to shake.

"Don't say that…" Dusk defended nervously, with a worried look, as if he was having a debate in his mind. "Maybe her advice was not the best, but she was my friend... She was the only one who wanted to be it!"

"Do you want to be my friend?" A mare's voice asked in Dusk's memories, words that he had only heard once in his life, words that his only old friend had told him! Words that... not even those five mares had told him, and probably never would say, Dusk thought, after all, they had so many virtues and he... he had nothing to offer...

"You don't understand, all of you have only heard what I have told you and you've misinterpreted everything..." Dusk added calmly, with a sad expression. "Because of me, she lost everything she had... I took from her what she wanted most... I was the bad friend... I... I'm the bad guy in that story..."

Now Rarity was very confused, however, before she could return to the conversation, Dusk suddenly raised his head and changed his mood completely.

"Enough of bad memories, we can't keep wasting more time." Dusk stated, deciding he couldn't get depressed again about his past, least when he had an important mission that required all his concentration. "We must meet up with the others and go quickly to rescue the princess."

After saying that, Dusk stayed next to Rarity and invited her to continue moving forward. Rarity looked at Dusk for a second and then she finally nodded, deciding that maybe this was not the time for Dusk to open up totally with her and the others, but she would definitely get to the bottom of that mystery at a better time.

That was how both unicorns began to move back through the trees, making their way following the trail that Fluttershy had left behind. While they were doing it, suddenly Dusk stopped, much to Rarity's surprise.

"What's wrong?" Rarity asked worriedly.

Then Dusk turned and looked worried at Rarity.

"I... I still didn't apologize personally with you." Dusk said timidly.

"Huh...? Oh, that! Darling, don't worry, I already forgave you, although you'll have to give me a nice gift to forgive you completely." Rarity said smiling and winking at him. "But that will have to wait, now I'm more worried that the others will see me without my tail instead of remembering how upset I was with you so long ago."

Suddenly Dusk raised his eyebrows at the realization of something obvious, something he could do to fix Rarity's tail, so he lit his horn and concentrated, but in doing so, Rarity quickly put a hoof on the tip of Dusk's horn to prevent him from casting a spell.

"In no way should you cut your own tail to do what I did with the serpent's mustache." Rarity said quickly, reading Dusk's mind and giving him a serious look. "It would also be different texture and color, I prefer it to grow naturally."

At the mention of Rarity's words, Dusk stopped lighting his horn and gave a small smile when he realized that sometimes Rarity was able to read him like a book.

"I just wanted to give you something in exchange for everything you did, and also as an apology for everything that happened." Dusk said with a sad smile. "You say I don't need to apologize, but I must. I was selfish wanting to enter the forest alone, even if my intention was to protect you, I didn't take your thoughts into account, only mine. I've done the opposite of what you do, you give everything you have thinking of others, and I was a selfish foal, that's why I wanted you to forgive me. Also, I would really like to give you something to thank you for what you did, you are always willing to give everything without expecting anything in return..."

"Well... that's not entirely true." Rarity said with a smile. "If I give things for something in return, it's not that I don't receive anything. What I like is to see others happy when they get something they want, that smile they give me is my reward." Then Rarity looked back and saw what was left of her beautiful tail with a sad smile. "Although of course, sometimes the price is a bit high..."

Dusk was downcast again, he was sorry he couldn't give Rarity something to cheer her up, he felt he could do something more for her but he couldn't think a concrete idea and that bothered him, although if he had read Rarity's thoughts, he'd have realized that the words he had just said her had been enough to make Rarity happy, just to hear that Dusk really was repentant and that he really wanted to see her happy, it was enough to cheer her up and forgive him completely.

"If only I had something to give to her... I want to see her smile, just like she does with others..." Dusk was still thinking with any good idea, because in reality, he hadn't taken anything with him to the forest.

"Oh! I know!" Dusk suddenly said surprising Rarity, remembering something he could give to Rarity to thank her for her generosity. Then Dusk's horn shone and before him appeared a colorful and beautiful flower.

"This flower is called a 'rainbow shine', it is Princess Celestia's favorite flower, I thought to give it to her when we meet again." Dusk added, carefully taking the flower between his hooves.

"It's beautiful." Rarity said with wide eyes, seeing the beautiful flower. "It'll be a beautiful gift."

"I want you to have it." Dusk said smiling.

"No... No need, you said it's a gift for the princess!" Rarity said quickly.

"Don't worry... I think this flower is perfect for you, a rare and beautiful flower." Dusk said putting the flower in Rarity's mane while she blushed at that act and for having him so close of her. "Besides, with this nopony will notice your tail, they'll only see the beautiful flower and your pretty face." Dusk finished using all his gallantry.

That was more than Rarity could bear, her face went completely red, so much so that she almost fainted from the emotion, falling fortunately in Dusk's hooves.

"Sorry, I guess that was too corny." Dusk said distressed, thinking that he had exaggerated his speech, not understanding Rarity's feelings, who had been entranced by this romantic gesture and those beautiful words, as if all that at that moment was from a beautiful romantic novel and she was the heroine.

While Dusk held Rarity, she looked with big dreamy eyes into Dusk's beautiful purple eyes. An impulse told her to come closer to him, to embrace him, to take his head, to bring to his lips close and to kiss him, her whole being impelled her to it!

"No... Our first kiss can't be here, in this gloomy forest." Rarity thought, forcing herself to maintain control over herself. "It won't be now... but I'll make sure to make those lips of mine one day..."





"So that's what happened..." Rainbow Dash said scratching her head.

It had been a while since she, Pinkie Pie and Applejack had returned to the road after following Dusk's instructions and not having found Fluttershy, and for their luck, they hadn't waited a long time until the pony they had been looking for appeared behind the trees. Once the four of them met, Fluttershy explained to them why she had gone into the woods, how she had been found by Dusk and Rarity, the problem they had had with the sea serpent, and what Rarity had done to solve that problem.

"Yes..." Fluttershy replied to Rainbow Dash after having finished telling everything. "That's why I'm asking you to please don't look at Rarity's tail when she returns. She made a grand gesture, but she's probably terrified that we all see her tail now."

"Don't worry, we know how worried Rarity is about her looks. We won't say a thing." Applejack said with a conciliatory smile, while Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Yeah... I guess I won't say anything either." Rainbow Dash added with a slight tone of lament. She had already come up with a couple of jokes to tell Rarity, but as Applejack said, her unicorn friend was very sensitive about her looks, and she couldn't make fun of her after she had cut her own tail to help someone else.

Suddenly, a noise came from the trees, accompanied by a shine between the branches, so the four mares knew that it was Dusk and Rarity that had finally arrived, so they prepared themselves psychologically to see Rarity totally devastated, after all, they all knew her very well, surely she would appear downcast, totally dejected, perhaps crying, but nothing prepared them for what they saw.

Finally Dusk appears walking calmly, he was glad to see the other four mares together; and with him indeed was Rarity, but not at all in the state of mind that the other four mares had been expecting, instead Rarity had appeared with a huge smile, giving small jumps of joy, as Pinkie Pie did.

"Great! I see that you’re all safe and sound! That's a relief." Dusk said, meeting with the mares, who didn't pay much attention him and just kept looking at the happy white unicorn.

"Hello girls!" Rarity said, still smiling.

"You... you look happy..." Rainbow Dash said looking at Rarity's face and then quickly glancing at her tail, checking that it actually had been cut. After checking it out, Rainbow Dash turned to see the others and shrugged her shoulders in disbelief, indicating that she didn't understand why Rarity was so happy.

"Oh, what a beautiful flower!" Fluttershy said seeing the flower that Rarity wore in her mane.

"Yes! Isn't it!?" Rarity replied with joy, shaking her head to pose her new ornament. "It's a gift my dear Dusk gave me, you know, as a way of asking for forgiveness."

At that comment, Dusk felt a chill and could have sworn that the other four mares had turned their heads quickly and looked at him with resentment for a second.

"Well, I think it's time we continue, we can't waste anymore time." Dusk said after seeing that everypony was finally reunited.

Then Dusk started running along the road, followed immediately by Rarity, who never stopped smiling and quickly stuck to his side, followed by the other four mares, as they four ran simultaneously thinking the same thing, that perhaps they had forgiven that clueless colt too easily and that if they had only waited longer, maybe they also would've received a cute gift from their beloved Dusk.

# End of Chapter 18
> Chapter 19 - Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare

"Be careful." Dusk Shine said, stretching one of his hooves to step on the suspension bridge in front of him. A precarious wooden bridge that crossed a huge cliff that cut the road. "It'll be dangerous if we all crossed at the same time, I think the best thing is for me to go first to see if-"

Dusk couldn't finish speaking as the bridge began to wobble while he heard the sounds of 'Boing! -Boing!' that passed by him. As he watched, Dusk realized that Pinkie Pie had ignored his warning and had begun to cross the bridge quietly, with her characteristic jumps as she went.

"Ah'd say the bridge looks pretty sturdy." Applejack said smiling, approaching Dusk's side as she watched Pinkie Pie casually cross the bridge.

"Also some of us can fly, genius! Stop worrying so much." Added Rainbow Dash with a proud smile, fluttering across Dusk before flying to the other side of the cliff.

Following Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy also started across the bridge, while Dusk remained motionless standing in front of the ravine, with his cheeks slightly flushed in the shame of knowing that his act of chivalry had been wasted. That made him remember again how useless he felt, something that the mares would surely have refuted if they could read Dusk's thoughts, but since they couldn't and he kept those thoughts quiet, the lavender unicorn was self-convinced more and more every second that his presence in this rescue party was unnecessary, that is, he had entered the forest on his own, but he wouldn’t have lasted long if it weren’t for the help or advice that those mares had given him, besides all of them had shown their great virtues and strengths, unlike him, who couldn't think about what his great contribution to the group had been, after all his only great achievement until that moment had been facing Nightmare Moon, even that was losing value at his trial, since she only defended herself from Dusk's attack. Maybe she wouldn't have done anything if Dusk hadn't attacked her! He had let her escape too! All this made him think that maybe the five mares had been better without him from the beginning. That was what Dusk could not get out of his head since everyone had finally gathered and had continued on their way, the way in which Dusk hoped to prove to the mares that he was worthy to be with them in order to be worthy of their friendship, however, to everyone's good fortune, they had not been in danger again all the way, which was definitely a relief, but it had prevented Dusk from showing his value as a pony in front of the others.

Finally, Dusk sighed and followed the footsteps of the mares across the bridge, watching how calm they were compared to him, who expected the worst at any time, attentive to any sense of danger. While walking on the bridge, Dusk realized more and more about the fact that the mares seemed to be much more relaxed than him, probably because of having gone through so many dangers and problems without major consequences besides that a cut tail, to see them talking to each other gave Dusk the feeling that being all together seemed that all had calmed down between them.

"I guess now they're like that because they're all reunited... because... they're all friends..." Dusk thought with melancholy. "I wonder... If I'll feel that way when I become their friend..." Dusk thought, remembering that he had not yet asked the mares if they finally wanted to be friends with him or not, something that made his eyes shine for a second, a glow that disappeared instantly when Dusk lowered his head depressed, putting a sad smile on his face, while in his head the thoughts were back that he was not worthy to be with those splendid mares, much less their friendship.

"No... after everything I've done, why would ponies like them want to be friends with someone like me...?" Dusk finished sadly.

Once he finished crossing the bridge, Dusk raised his eyes to look again at the mares, who had stopped and looked ahead, Dusk raised his eyes a little more to see where they looked and put on the same expression of amazement seeing that they had finally reached their destination. When the fog cleared the six ponies saw that in front of them was a huge ancient castle, with many of its high walls destroyed or eroded, like its roof, with several vines and trees growing between the walls, confirming that this place had been abandoned to its fate many, many years ago, what once was probably a huge and glorious castle, was now only forgotten and gloomy ruins.

"Well, come on!" Rainbow Dash said with determination, pulling everyone out of their thoughts, looking at her companions to instill the necessary courage before entering the castle.

The five mares put the same face of determination and prepared to advance, but instantly a flash that appeared in front of them stopped them, it was Dusk Shine, who, listening to Rainbow Dash and seeing that the mares were preparing to move forward, teleported in front of them to stop them.

"Stop!" Dusk said looking seriously at the mares. He understood that the mares would be calm before the situation they would face after having crossed the forest without incident, they were all together to give each other confidence, which was good for the group morale, but Dusk could not allow overconfidence in themselves to make them lose sight of the real danger they would face.

"I know that everyone was able to overcome the different obstacle that she faced in the forest, what I don't want is for you to be overconfident.” While Dusk was talking, he continued to see the faces of the mares, who seemed not to fully grasp what he was referring to, their faces showed not a shred of fear at what they were about to face. "I see it on your faces, a look of great confidence, don't let your achievements cloud your judgment, this is still life or death."

"But we have you, right?" Pinkie Pie said smiling.

At the comment of Pinkie Pie, Dusk was disorientated, wearing a look of confusion, what the mares took advantage of to continue advancing towards the castle, smiling as they passed by his side. No mare said anything else, but they all thought the same thing that Pinkie Pie had said out loud, the truth was that indeed they were calm before facing one of the most powerful and evil beings that existed in Equestria, but that tranquility wasn't because they had an excess of confidence in themselves for having overcome certain obstacles on the road, as Dusk had interpreted it, no, the truth was that their confidence came from being accompanied by Dusk. Each one had fear inside, they knew it was a difficult situation, but in every situation they had faced, Dusk had been with them to give them security and support, even if Dusk didn't realize it, HE was the cause of their tranquility and confidence, for during the journey, whenever the confidence of any of the mares began to waver, it only took that mare to give Dusk a quick look so that her heart would calm down and feel safe.

As soon as Dusk turned to walk again and reach the mares, for a second the idea that it was he who was giving the mares confidence went through his head.

"That can't be... who would trust me...?" Dusk thought sadly, discarding the idea immediately, his own insecurity prevented him from seeing his virtues and contributions to the group.

Finally, the six ponies arrived in front of the enormous gates of the old castle, which miraculously had withstood better compared to several of the stone walls of the castle.

"Listen... I'll face Nightmare Moon alone." Dusk said seriously, again facing the mares. Instantly Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to complain but Dusk stopped her, pointing a hoof at his own horn. "I'm the only one who can face Nightmare Moon's magic, plus you have a much more important job. Remember that this is a rescue mission first of all, so while I distract Nightmare Moon you should look for the princess, she's the priority."

The mares listened to what Dusk said, but their faces obviously showed that they were not satisfied with the plan and that they were worried.

"If you find the princess she can face Nightmare Moon to banish her again, after all, she did it once." Dusk added when he saw the concern in the mares' faces, knowing that they cared about his safety. "Besides, I've already faced Nightmare Moon once, with some luck she'll still be weak."

That didn't completely stop the mares, however, no one had another plan. Besides, although it hurt to admit it, what Dusk had said was true, Nightmare Moon was a powerful alicorn that had a skillful use of magic, a field in which none of the mares could compete, not even Rarity, who although being a unicorn, didn't have even a shred of power or magical ability that Dusk had.

That was how they all finally nodded and Dusk slowly pushed the castle door open. Once inside, everyone was surprised by how huge it was, a main hall that even seemed to be bigger than the current royal castle in Canterlot, with large portals on the side walls that invited to go through a huge number of interior rooms to which the main corridor was connected, however, what most caught Dusk's attention were two large banners that hung at the end of the corridor, in front of the stairs that connected to the upper floors, banners that despite the weather and the prevailing inclemency, had been kept in good condition. Both banners showed the figure of an alicorn, one was white, on a golden background, under a huge sun, symbolizing the day; the other was a light blue alicorn, with a dark blue background, which was under a large moon with stars, obviously symbolizing the night.

"What beautiful banners." Said Rarity, who had also focused her sights on the banners, pulling Dusk from his thoughts. "Do they symbolize princess Celestia taking care of the ponies in the day and in the night?"

"No... the one under the sun is Princess Celestia..." Dusk answered almost in a whisper, focusing his eyes on the blue banner as he remembered when the princess had told him about her dead sister. Then he remembered all the theories that he had put together about the relationship between the story of 'The Mare on the Moon' and the appearance of the evil that was repelled thanks to the elements of harmony that appeared in the history books, a theory that he hadn't been able to verify due to all that had happened, but with everything that happened it was obvious that everything was more than a theory and that the story of 'The Mare on the Moon' had always been about Nightmare Moon, what only implied one thing, something that only at that moment had real weight... it was Nightmare Moon that attacked Equestria a thousand years ago and had killed Princess Luna... and if she had already killed once, nothing prevented her from doing it now.

"Please, let the princess be fine!" Dusk thought as an anguish grew in his heart.

"An' what do we do now? Where're we going? "Applejack asked, approaching Dusk.

Dusk looked at her and then started to turn his head to see the different corridors while trying to think of the best course of action to take. The truth was that the first thing Dusk had thought when he opened the castle doors was that they would be immediately attacked by Nightmare Moon, however, they were now in the middle of the castle's great hall and there were no signs of the dark mare. The next thing he thought was to use his magic to find any magical trace and know where Nightmare Moon or the princess was, but that would definitely alert Nightmare Moon if she still did not know they were there, and if possible, the best option was to attack her while she was unprepared. Finally, there was a third and more terrible option, which was that Nightmare Moon already knew that they were there and that right now all of them had fallen into a huge trap without even knowing it.

"W-What's that...?" Fluttershy said suddenly, scared, looking into one of the corridors.

As soon as everyone saw where Fluttershy was looking, they saw that a small, distant light was visible in one of the side corridors of the castle. Dusk tensed to realize that it seemed that unfortunately, the third option he had thought was the right one, it was as if Nightmare Moon was leading them into a trap. Dusk couldn't take anything lightly, he had already seen how cunning and clever Nightmare Moon was, he couldn't play along, but what other option did he have!? Without knowing which part of the castle to go to rescue the princess, the only option was to go where the light was guiding them. Finally, Dusk swallowed hard, resigned to not being able to do anything else.

"Stay close to me." Dusk said seriously, advancing decisively towards the corridor through which the light could be seen, followed very closely by the five mares, who clung to Dusk walking behind him.

"What if it's another illusion?" Applejack asked in a whisper, who had already suffered enough with the illusions he had seen in the forest.

"Do not worry, I do not think she'll attack us with illusions again. Nightmare Moon is definitely good at that kind of magic, but while we're attentive she cannot make us fall for it again so easily." Dusk answered with confidence, as he had also thought about that possibility, but now that he had his guard up, he was sure that Nightmare Moon wouldn't be able to charm him so easily.

The six ponies began to walk down the dark corridor, only guided by the distant light that was visible at the end of this, a short walk until the light went out slowly just as they reached the end of the hallway. When the light went out completely, they could still see the end of the corridor, because this was connected to a room where the roof was destroyed and therefore the moonlight illuminated clearly.

The first one to look into the hall was Dusk, who immediately looked around, thinking that as soon as they crossed the portal of that room, something would fall on them or catch them like a trap, but nothing happened. Once Dusk was sure nothing would catch him, he began to enter the room, followed by the five mares, however, he did not manage to take two steps until he stopped abruptly when he noticed something... in the middle of the room was a large stone structure, and at the foot of it was lying on the ground a huge white pony that Dusk immediately recognized, it was Princess Celestia, she was totally immobile, as if he were sleeping, or something worse...

"No no! Please, no! "Dusk began to say in total anguish, running immediately to where his teacher was lying, shouting to himself that the princess must be alive to give him courage and hope since the anguish he felt seeing his beloved teacher in that state squeezed his heart tight.

As soon as Dusk got to the princess, he bent down and touched the princess's face, with his trembling hoof moved the hair that covered the princess's face, the colorful mane of the princess that always seemed to have a life of it's own, with its particular ethereal form, this time it did not move, like the princess, who didn't even react or open her eyes to Dusk's touch.

"P-Princess." Dusk said with effort as his anguish made even his throat tense and it was difficult for him to speak. Dusk had never been as afraid as he was at that moment.

Dusk ducked his head and put his ear close to the princess's chest, where he knew her heart should be. While Dusk expected to hear her heartbeat, he felt as if time had stopped, for more and more than expected, he wasn't able to hear a heartbeat. Dusk's eyes, which were tightly closed, began to shed a couple of tears when they suddenly opened after hearing a faint 'ba-dum!' coming from Celestia's chest. Dusk let out a smile of relief as he breathed again, having inadvertently been holding his breath due to the moment's tenseness.

"She's alive... but she's very weak." Dusk said in a whisper, lifting his head from his teacher's chest.

As if it had been a signal, suddenly the princess came back to life, coughing with much effort.

"Coff! Coff...! Dusk...?" The princess said, not sure if her eyes showed the truth since she was so weak she could barely see Dusk's silhouette right in front of her.

"That's right... you're safe now." Dusk said approaching the princess, who still didn't move, so she wouldn't have to try harder by talking. "Don't talk, just rest."

"She... took away my magic... and my life force..." The princess said making an effort to speak because she had many things to tell Dusk as soon as possible. "She... used dark magic on me... demonic magic..."

That startled Dusk, who immediately had a shiver as anger began to grow in him, because he realized that what he had thought before was true, Nightmare Moon was willing to kill, the greatest taboo that existed, and when Dusk realized how close he was to losing his beloved teacher, a terrible fear began to fill his heart mixed with a thirst for revenge.

"You must... use the elements of harmony... it's... the only way to stop her..." Celestia continued speaking, making a tremendous effort to stay conscious because what she had to say to Dusk was of vital importance.

"The elements of harmony? B-But I don't know where they are, or how they look, much less know how to use them." Dusk said again anguished, since he had read something about the elements of harmony and how they had served to save Equestria from what he now knew had was the threat of Nightmare Moon, but now they were in the lion's mouth, they didn't have time to look for those elements even if he had known how to use them.

"There are five elements... virtues that ponies must have... to maintain harmony in this world... And a sixth element... connects them..." The princess continued speaking as if she couldn't hear what Dusk had just told her. "You must... it's... your destiny..."

At that moment the princess lowered her head and lost consciousness for a second, but her willpower made her wake up immediately, she had to make one last effort, there was one last thing she needed to tell Dusk.

"Demonic magic is a double-edged sword..." Celestia said trying to focus her eyes on Dusk while doing her best to stay conscious. "She read my memories, thoughts, and feelings... but I also saw hers... Dusk... there is still goodness in her..."

At that point, Dusk opened his eyes in surprise, had he heard right? Did the princess still believe that there was kindness in an evil being like Nightmare Moon? Even after how she had left her!?

"She said she would kill me... but she never did it... She had many opportunities to kill me tonight... but she didn't..." The princess's eyes began to close as exhaustion finally won the battle and she began to lose consciousness, but with the last of her strength, she said what left Dusk perplexed and confused, more than all she had said before. "Please... save my sister..."

"Princess!" Dusk shouted worried to see that the princess had fallen unconscious.

Dusk quickly put a hoof on the chest of his teacher to check that she was still alive, he breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was still alive, even her heartbeat seemed to have normalized, however it was obvious that she had no strength, something logical if what she had said was true and Nightmare Moon had taken away most of her magic and life force, but then... Why did the princess try so hard to spend her last strength to tell Dusk about the elements of the harmony and the dark magic of Nightmare Moon? And what about his destiny... The princess knew that he didn't believe in things like destiny! Why spend her last strength in saying something so useless? And finally, what the princess had said about her sister... Had it been only one last delirium? After all, her sister had died a thousand years ago, a victim of that cruel creature called Nightmare Moon.

"Dusk... Is the princess okay?" Fluttershy said suddenly, pulling Dusk out of his thoughts. Both she and the other mares had approached Dusk when they saw him running, but they had given him some space to see that he was talking to the princess, and it really affected them to see in that state their princess, the most majestic figure of Equestria, which everyone knew and loved from childhood, was now helpless, almost dying, in front of them.

"Yes... I think she just needs rest and a magic recharge." Dusk answered trying to smile to calm the mares, he saw that they expressed a lot of fear for their princess. Although Dusk said that, the truth was that what he had said was only to try to reassure them and himself, he knew that if there was demonic magic involved, no one could take for granted that a rest was really the only thing that the princess would need to recover completely. "The best thing is to take this opportunity and take her as soon as possible to a safe place."

The mares approached the body of the princess to help Dusk to lift or help in any way, all except Pinkie Pie, who stood motionless while her tail vibrated, then she looked at her tail and then looked at the stone structure that had behind Dusk, next to the princess.

"My Pinkie Sense?" Pinkie Pie thought confused, completely understanding the signals that her body sent her, but always paying attention to them.

"Dusk... What's that?" Pinkie Pie finally asked, pointing at the big stone pedestal with her hoof.

Pinkie Pie's question annoyed Dusk a little, as he had just said that they should focus on quickly escaping from that place to save the princess, but involuntarily he turned and saw the huge pedestal that was in the middle of the room and which he hadn't paid attention to, since he had focused on helping the princess. Seeing it, Dusk's annoyance immediately gave way to curiosity, since now that he saw it better, that pedestal was truly quite peculiar, it was very big, with a huge ball in the center, and five stone arms that held five stone spheres with different markings on them, it also seemed that the spheres were of a different stone from the rest of the pedestal, maybe they were even another material entirely, Dusk wasn't sure, he could only see that indeed those five spheres looked very particular... Five spheres... Five...

"It's impossible... what am I thinking!?" Dusk thought immediately discarding a silly idea that came to mind, something too absurd to be true, that is, it was impossible that those powerful magical elements of which he had read recently were now right in front of him. "A logical and statistical improbability, it's impossible!"

"It's nothing, it's just... a decorative pedestal?" Dusk said turning to see Pinkie Pie but immediately turning to look at the pedestal again.

Dusk's thoughts were still in conflict without wanting to give in to the possibility that what was in front of him could actually be just what he needed at that moment, but his memories made him see that he had not only read about the elements of harmony that day, the princess had also tried to mention them for some reason before fainting, she also mentioned that about destiny... No! It's absurd! He couldn't believe in something like that! But it was also true that all that night he had been through a lot of situations that had been joining up to make it seem like everything that was happening was more than just luck, starting with the appearance of him in Ponyville and that he was the one who discovered at the last minute the truth about the story of 'The Mare in the Moon'! Then... what about if that was another huge stroke of luck right front him? Well, in any case, Dusk preferred to call it luck rather than destiny.

Dusk walked slowly to the pedestal and saw that there was a small plaque in the center. He brought his face closer and read it:

"The magic of harmony is an ancient and powerful magic.

Five elements are required to be able to use it, but without the sixth element, nothing can be achieved.

Each element represents ONE SOMETHING. All together they represent a WHOLE.

With the five elements present, a spark will shine and make the sixth element reveal itself.

Only the worthy can take the elements, only the worthy can use the true magic of harmony."

"It's... amazing... They really are the elements of harmony!" Dusk said almost crying after reading the inscription on the plaque. "I can't believe it!"

"The elements of harmony?" Rarity asked, confused by Dusk's sudden excitement.

"They are ancient, very powerful magical elements, in fact, it seems that the princess used these elements a thousand years ago to banish Nightmare Moon! If we can use them we can save Equestria!" Dusk responded excitedly, because finding something so important, an object lost in history, and finding it right at such a critical moment, it was no wonder.

"But..." Dusk added quickly, speaking to himself, with a more serious face, looking at the plaque again. "I'm worried that it says that only the worthy can take the elements... Does that mean that if the elements don't find you worthy, you can't touch them? If so... How can we be sure we can take them? It's a huge risk, it can be dangerous... I would say-"

Dusk stopped talking as he looked to his side and saw with complete disbelief that Pinkie Pie was standing next to him, holding one of the spheres that were supposedly the elements of harmony. Dusk was completely stunned until he regained his sanity.

"H-How did you take it? Did anything happen to you!?" Dusk asked in total surprise, from what he had read if the elements of harmony were indeed ancient and powerful magic, it was very likely that what the plaque said was true and not everyone could touch them.

"Well... I felt a tickle when I took it." Pinkie Pie answered, looking at the sphere between her hooves. "But I didn't feel anything else, hmm... although thinking about it, I felt something else before taking it... a feeling that told me I needed to take this sphere here and now."

"If that was true and everything that the plaque said was real... So it meant that the elements of harmony had found Pinkie Pie worthy...?" Dusk wondered, still surprised by Pinkie Pie's impulsive act.

"Yeah... I feel something similar." Rainbow Dash said suddenly, who was flying over another of the pedestal spheres and was lifting it up.

Before the total surprise of Dusk, not only Rainbow Dash had approached the pedestal to also take one of the five spheres, but Fluttershy had done the same, like Rarity who had lowered another of the spheres with her magic, and Applejack that had taken the last one by jumping and grabbing it between her hooves.

"They're very beautiful despite being simple rocks... Do you think they are made of a special mineral?" Rarity asked as she left the stone sphere next to Pinkie Pie's.

"I don't know why, but... I had the need to take it..." Fluttershy said somewhat embarrassed, also leaving aside the sphere she had taken.

"What are those symbols on them?" Applejack said as she and Rainbow Dash put the last two spheres next to each other, on the floor in front of Dusk.

"Hehe... in your hooves all of you have just taken one of the most powerful magical elements of Equestria and all of you act as if nothing... hehe..." Dusk said with a nervous giggle, surprised but happy with what he had just witnessed.

"There is no doubt... all of them are definitely worthy of taking them. As I thought, these mares really are special..." Dusk thought smilingly, again rejoicing at having had the luck to meet those great ponies.

For a second Dusk stared with a smile at the mares, but quickly realized the stupid face he had on and shook his head to leave his daydreams, however, in that second he looked at them with a smile, it was enough for the five mares to blush slightly.

"Now what?" Applejack asked quickly, making the same gesture as Dusk to get out of her thoughts since there were some things that she felt for Dusk, but that she didn't want or couldn't recognize them for the moment, less in a moment as inappropriate as that.

Dusk glanced back at the princess, who was still unconscious, then looked back at the elements of harmony and bit his lip as he thought.

"We definitely need to take the princess to a better place, but in front of me I have a unique opportunity, I have the elements of harmony!" Dusk thought quickly. "If I manage to release their power, I'll be able to defeat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria, which is of vital importance, since the only one who could face her, Princess Celestia, is not in a position to do so now."

"Stand aside and protect the princess." Dusk said the mares while he still seeing the elements in front of him as his horn began to shine. "I'm not sure what will happen."

Seeing Dusk's determined look, the mares immediately left his side and stood next to the princess, a few steps away from Dusk. Meanwhile, Dusk continued to shine his horn, without performing any magic yet, waiting tensely for his idea to work.

"We still need the sixth element... and for it to appear it requires a sparkle to shine..." Dusk said to himself as he made his horn shine brighter and brighter, still not daring to use it on the elements, only charging his horn with magic to make it shine.

"Heh... it's even funny that the plaque says 'SHINE' just when my name is Dusk 'SHINE'..." Dusk thought for a second, but obviously discarded that thought immediately, after all, he wasn't anyone special, he was just a common pony without friends, a simple colt that would go unnoticed among so many other forgotten names in history. No, definitely the plaque had to refer to something more concrete, because if it was a magic weapon, it definitely had to work with magic to activate, besides the plaque said that each element represented something, and if he had to guess at that precise moment, Dusk would have bet everything to say that the sixth element referred to'Magic', after all, the five elements needed to be connected by some means, and the plaque said implicitly: 'a spark will shine', that could only mean 'Magic of light'', for that reason Dusk thought that the necessary thing was to illuminate with his light the elements of the harmony in order to release their power.

While Dusk remained focused, with his eyes closed, still gathering magic light in his horn, a shadow appeared from the ceiling and swiftly circled Dusk.

"DUSK!!" The five mares shouted to alert Dusk, something Dusk couldn't hear since he was still concentrating on gathering his magic, and the shadow, like a great wall, preventing the screams from alerting Dusk what happened in his environment.

"Dusk!" Dusk thought he was listening for a second, but still, he didn't open his eyes. Someone had called him, had it been a scream?

"Dusk." Dusk heard again, but this time he was sure it wasn't a scream. Finally, the unicorn opened his eyes.

When Dusk opened his eyes, he was completely confused for a second. He was no longer in a dark and destroyed castle, now he was in an illuminated and beautiful castle, very similar to Canterlot's castle, with the difference that the walls and floor were color dark blue in different shades, with beautiful tapestries on the walls; but that definitely was not what most caught Dusk's attention, but what did was that now in front of him there was a crowd of ponies, everyone looking at him and applauding him, as if they were celebrating something. It was then that Dusk realized that he was dressed in a very elegant blue armor, and he was sitting on a great throne.

"This... What is this...? I... I was somewhere else... Isn't it?" Dusk began to say in a whisper, holding his head, he had some kind of a headache. Dusk would have sworn that a few moments ago he was in a completely different place, but it could not be... He tried to remember something but it was as if he could not remember correctly anything of his life.

"Dusk, are you okay?" The same voice that Dusk had heard a few moments ago spoke again.

Then Dusk turned and saw that there was another seat next to his throne, another throne, and in this sat a beautiful mare, tall and thin, dark blue coat and beautiful dark cyan eyes, with a blue mane that waved and shone like the night sky, besides she had great wings gathered on her body and a longhorn on her forehead. Definitely, she was a beautiful vision, however, what most caught Dusk's attention was the beautiful smile that that alicorn was giving him, that made him fall in love instantly.

"I've been calling you all this time, honey, is something wrong?" The beautiful mare said.

"I... yes... I'm sorry, I feel dizzy, that's all." Dusk answered trying to calm down, after all, everything he had thought was absurd. Why would he want to be somewhere else? He was right where he wanted to be, safe and secure, surrounded by ponies who admired and loved him, he was married to the most beautiful mare, both reigning with love and wisdom.

"Do you want to rest, honey? I don't want my prince to get sick." The blue alicorn said, taking Dusk's hoof affectionately and kissing him on his cheek.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Dusk said looking at his partner's beautiful eyes, he wanted to scream of joy, he really loved that mare. "It's an important occasion, I can't miss it."

After saying that, the trumpets sounded and the audience split in two to clear the corridor while the castle doors opened. Both Dusk and his wife stood up, smiled at each other and waited while they saw what was coming through the doors, which was precisely what called them to that ceremony. While waiting, Dusk saw out of the corner of his eye that in the first row of the audience is his faithful brother Spike, dressed very elegant, smiling, and next to him were his parents and other ponies that Dusk valued in his life, it seemed that everyone who cared Dusk was there, but he soon realized that some were missing... Then Dusk looked towards the window and saw that it was night, something he had not noticed because of the brightness of the room.

"How long has the sun not risen?" Dusk asked in a whisper.

"Well, we are the king and queen of the night, this is our reign, everyone loves the night, OUR night! No one is missing something as useless as the sun." The blue mare said, looking at Dusk with a beautiful smile, a smile that was enough to erase Dusk's doubts.

"You're right, my love." Dusk replied smiling, forgetting again what his mind was struggling to remember.

"But... there's still someone else... I... I remember five ponies that-" Dusk said with effort as he tried to remember, but he was interrupted by the voice of his beloved.

"Honey, they're here." The blue mare said with joy.

Then Dusk looked forward and saw that five beautiful mares were walking along the corridor: Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, each holding a stone sphere, each one smiling as they approached Dusk and his wife. Seeing the five mares, Dusk breathed a sigh of relief as his heart calmed, finally erasing with it all the doubts Dusk had, after all, if they five were all right, everything was fine.

As the five mares approached, they deposited the elements of harmony in front of him and smiled at him. Dusk smiled back and wanted to get closer to talk to them, but he stopped when he saw the five mares recoiling and bowing deeply.

"It is an honor to serve you, your majesty." The five mares said as they bowed.

That made a chill run down Dusk's spine and he immediately stopped smiling.

"This... this isn't right..." Dusk said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Honey, can you pass me the elements now?" The beautiful blue mare said, still smiling tenderly.

"This isn't right..." Dusk kept repeating, holding his head, already speaking in an audible tone of voice.

"What did you say, honey? Everything is fine! You have everything you need, everything you want, you have a kingdom, servants, power, respect, you are loved by everyone, you have me!" The blue mare said staring at Dusk.

"This... This isn't real?" Dusk said as his brain for the first time managed to touch the truth and slowly emerge from the illusion.

The blue mare looked worried for a second, but then she stood in front of Dusk, gave him a warm and quick kiss on the lips and looked at him tenderly, although her pupils no longer shone as before.

"And if it weren't real... We can make it real! You just have to want it!" The blue mare said looking penetratingly at Dusk, widening her smile even more, almost making it seem unreal.

"I... I don't want servants..." Dusk said with great effort, while his brain kept fighting to see the truth. "I... I want friends."

"Friends... Eh?" The blue mare said lowering her head. "Hehe..."

"HOW STUPID!!" The blue mare shouted raising her head, showing that now she had only half of the beautiful face that Dusk had just seen, the other half of her face had broken, like a mask, showing a black skin, with wicked and sharp eyes, and some big fangs.





Then everything Dusk saw around him cracked as if it were a crystal, and Dusk finally came back to reality. That's how Dusk's mind stopped being cloudy and he quickly remembered where he was and what he was doing.

Nightmare Moon used her magic to take Dusk's neck and squeezed it tightly while holding him in the air.

"I could finish you off in an instant, but since you dared to make fun of my illusion magic, I decided to play with you a bit." Nightmare Moon said bringing her face close to Dusks. "Even so you surprised me again, you managed to overcome my illusions again, you're really an interesting pony." After saying that Nightmare Moon stuck her tongue out and licked Dusk's face. "You could have everything, rule by my side, be a true king..."

"I... I would never wed a murderer..." Dusk said looking with hate at Nightmare Moon. "You... you wanted to kill the princess... You... killed Princess Luna..."

For a second Nightmare Moon was surprised at the comment of Dusk, but then she laughed evilly.

"Bwahaha! So that's what you think happened?? Hahaha... Well, yes, I guess I killed the old Luna, hahaha." Nightmare Moon mocked.

"And still... the princess wanted to save you..." Dusk said angrily as he used his magic in a double spell, to charge a magical attack while using an illusion spell to hide that his horn was shining.

"Celestia never cared for me! Don't talk about things you don't understand!" Nightmare Moon shouted, looking furious at Dusk. "The only reason to leave her alive is for her to see how I destroy everything she has built!"

"I won't let you!" Dusk said in a scream, finally releasing his magic with all his rage to attack Nightmare Moon. Dusk waited for some magical explosion, but nothing happened, his horn had not cast magic.

"Enough of these games!" Nightmare Moon suddenly added, changing her attitude. Then she lit her horn and her magic hit Dusk hard, making him fly to the other end of the room.

"DUSK!!" The five mares who were standing next to the princess shouted loudly.

The time Dusk had spent in the illusion had not been the same as in real time, where the only thing the mares saw was the huge shadow surrounding Dusk, and the next second they saw how the shadow disappeared and how Nightmare Moon had appeared holding Dusk's neck before sending him to fly.

"Do you think I couldn't see your illusion to hide that you were charging magic in your horn!? I'm Nightmare Moon! The master of illusions!" Nightmare Moon yelled laughing as she mocked Dusk. "Don't let the fact of having escaped one of my illusions or hitting me when I was weak go to your head, I'm hundreds of times more powerful than you! You are nothing but an insect to me! Bwahaha!"

In the distance, Dusk started to get up, with great pain in his chest where he had been hit. While the five mares looked both ways, not knowing whether to attack Nightmare Moon, run to help Dusk or continue to the side of the princess to protect her from any attack.

Nightmare Moon looked down to see the stone spheres that were now in front of her hooves, then she smiled with satisfaction and looked up again to see Dusk.

"It was hard to guess what Celestia was thinking, but I was finally able to break her will and see into her mind." Nightmare Moon said smiling with satisfaction. "She thought maybe you and these mares that accompanied you could take and use the elements of harmony. You don't know how I made fun of her after knowing that this was her great plan, her last hope! Hahaha! Definitely, inferior beings like you could never be worthy of possessing something as valuable as the elements of harmony. Hahaha!" The dark mare laughed loudly before suddenly stopping laughing and watching Dusk and the mares with contempt. "However, in spite of how absurd it sounded, I decided to wait and see if what that fool Celestia thought could become true... It was an unpleasant surprise to see that the magic that prevented Celestia or me from taking the elements finally it will not affect insects like you. And everything would have worked out according to Celestia's plans if it were not because now I have the elements in front of me, and not you."

"Thank you for removing the elements from the pedestal for me." Nightmare Moon added smiling evilly as her horn began to shine, causing the five spheres in front of her to start shining and trembling. "Now I can use them and become more powerful than-"

Nightmare Moon's speech was interrupted by a powerful beam of light and energy that shot out of the elements after they shone and sparked, hitting the dark mare's chest hard and straight, causing her to fly to the other end of the room due to the impact. While Nightmare Moon was flying around the room, before falling, only one thought crossed her mind: Why did the same thing happen again!? The elements were no longer on the pedestal! The spell that prevented me from taking them must have been broken! The elements of harmony are simple magical objects! They have no conscience! It is impossible that what Celestia said was true and the elements really chose those ordinary ponies!! They can't be worthy of that!!

The six ponies watched in amazement as the stone spheres had reacted on their own and they had thrown a beaten beam at Nightmare Moon, none of them had expected that, so they were only shocked to see what happened, however, Dusk shook quickly the surprise and came running to the elements of harmony, he couldn't miss that opportunity. While Dusk was running, Nightmare Moon began to slowly rise from where she had fallen, with great pain throughout her body.

"I must use the elements! The sixth element must be the magic! I'll be the nexus to use them!!" Dusk thought once he arrived in front of the stone spheres. Then Dusk began to shine his horn to use his magic of light in the spheres. This time he would not charge magic on his horn, there was no time for that, now he would just surround the spheres with his magic quickly.

Nightmare Moon finally got up completely and looked up.

"No..." Nightmare Moon said in a whisper, totally scared of what she saw.

In the center of the room, Dusk was using his magic in the elements of harmony, and just as it had happened with Nightmare Moon, the stone spheres shone and began to tremble, but this time they also began to levitate while their shines became more intense, making the room in which they were was lighting more and more.

"Not again... No!" Nightmare Moon yelled, totally frightened.

"You weren't worthy to use the elements of harmony." Dusk said after hearing the cries of Nightmare Moon and seeing her face of fear, all while his horn lit up more and more and his heart filled with confidence. "A black-hearted mare like you will never be able-"

Suddenly Dusk stopped speaking when feeling a magical instability, then he looked up and saw that the stone spheres were throwing sparks, just as they had when Nightmare Moon tried to use them. Then, in the same way as before, a powerful beam shot out of the spheres in the direction of Dusk, while he, who had already seen what that reaction meant, instinctively moved to the side to avoid the beam, something he couldn't avoid completely, he only managed to get the lightning strike him at a different angle, causing him flying out to the side instead of flying off to the other end of the room, causing Dusk to hit himself with great speed against the enormous pedestal of stone, falling right next to the mares.

"DUSK!!" The five mares shouted in horror after seeing how hard Dusk hit the pedestal, immediately approaching him.

"Dusk! Please answer!" Fluttershy said scared, touching Dusk's cheek softly to see if Dusk was alive and/or conscious, as his eyes were closed.

Dusk slowly opened his eyes and saw the blurry figures of the mares. The blow had not been fatal, but it had definitely been strong, and adding this to the previous attack of Nightmare Moon, Dusk's body was very sore and tired.

"BWAHAHA! Did you say that I was not worthy? Did you say that I have a black heart? Well, if that's true, then your heart must be as black as mine! Bwahaha!" Nightmare Moon mocked, who had teleported to appear in front of the stone spheres, which just fell to the side of where the six ponies were gathered.

"Well, now I can touch them but I can't use them..." Nightmare Moon said looking with disgust at the stone spheres in front of her. Then the dark mare looked up to look directly at Dusk Shine while grinning evilly. "Then they're useless!" Nightmare Moon finished saying as she lifted one of her hooves.

"NOOO!" Dusk yelled, reading Nightmare Moon's mind and knowing what she would do. But the scream was useless, Nightmare Moon stomped on one of the stone spheres, causing this and the other four spheres to break into hundreds of pieces.

"BWAHAHAHA!" Nightmare Moon mocked, laughing with all her strength as hope disappeared from Dusk's heart, leaving him completely desolate, just waiting to wake up from that terrible nightmare.

# End of Chapter 19
> Chapter 20 - The magic of...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Magic of…

"Enough of this!" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, seeing Dusk emotionally shattered as Nightmare Moon teased him, she became angry and flew to attack the dark mare.

The six ponies were very close to Nightmare Moon, and Rainbow Dash was extremely fast, so anyone would have bet that Rainbow Dash would succeed in her attack, however, nothing could have been more wrong. At the same incredible speed that Rainbow Dash had taken off from the ground, Nightmare Moon's horn lit up, causing Rainbow Dash to hit an invisible wall, which caused her to bounce off and fall exactly where she was sitting before taking off.

"I already told you, to me, you are just insects." Nightmare Moon said mockingly, turning her back on the six ponies and beginning to walk away. "It's not even worth wasting my time with you anymore."

Once Nightmare Moon was distanced from the ponies, being near the back of the room, where there was a throne next to a pile of rubble, she completely opened her wings and rose slowly while her horn and her eyes shone. While she was doing it, a magical wind began to cross the room where they were and the castle began to tremble.

"I have absorbed the magic of my enemy, I've become more powerful than I ever was! But that's not enough... I can be even more powerful" Nightmare Moon shouted as her eyes and horns lit up more and more, and small stars, like bright spores, began to enter the room through the roof and the windows, surrounding her and accumulating in her horn. "More power... More power...!! The elements of harmony are not the only source of ancient magic in Equestria... There is magic as old as that under my hooves... Now I am powerful enough to absorb even the magic of the Everfree forest!!"

While Nightmare Moon was still in her magical trance, slowly absorbing the dark energy provided by the Everfree forest, without even paying attention to those beings she considered inferior, the mares saw with terror how powerful the dark mare looked as they noticed that parts of the roof of the castle began to fall.

"W-What should we do now!?" Fluttershy said terrified looking at her friends, but mainly focusing her attention on who along the way had been the leader of the expedition, Dusk Shine.

The other mares looked at each other without knowing what to answer and also focused their eyes on Dusk, waiting as always one of his brilliant ideas.

"There's nothing to do... this it the end." Dusk said blankly, without even looking up, with dull eyes.

The five mares were watching Dusk with an expression of surprise and fear, they would have expected any response from Dusk, trying to think a plan or at least that he would say them something to cheer them up, even if it was a white lie that it will help them to maintain hope! But they never thought that Dusk would tell them something like that, he just seemed to have given up.

"W-What are you talking about!? Dusk, we trust you, you are very smart, I know you'll come up with something, we must not give up!" Applejack said upset, taking Dusk by his shoulders, lifting him off the ground and shaking him to make him react.

At the touch of Applejack, Dusk said nothing or reacted, and as if he were a rag doll, he fell back to the ground as Applejack released him, as if his body and had no strength at all. That behavior of Dusk could be attributed to the fact that he had been severely beaten and that he was exhausted, but upon seeing his eyes, the mares knew that this was not what had taken away his strength, it was HE who did not want to get up and fight.

When he fell to the ground, Dusk noticed the distressed faces of the mares. So when he looked at Rarity he saw that the mare's horn shone dimly, then he realized that she had been using her magic on the princess to try to give her some of her magical aura to help her recover.

"As she always does, sacrificing herself for others..." Dusk said weakly, still with his dull eyes, thinking aloud, as if he had completely forgotten that the mares were in front of him. "Like the others... Giving me courage and supporting me... All of them always helping others... Without a hint of selfishness or ego..."

"Dusk... What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked worriedly as she listened to Dusk's whispers.

Then Dusk weakly turned his head to look with his dull eyes in the direction of Pinkie Pie.

"I mean I failed all of you... I... I tried to use the elements of harmony and they rejected me just like they did with Nightmare Moon." Dusk said with a sad look. "I should have let only you five used the elements against her, I... from the beginning I wasn't worthy to use them, I... I'll never be worthy... and now it's my fault that the last hope has been destroyed... I'm sorry." Dusk finished saying monotonously, lowering his head again.

"Dusk... I... I don't know why you have such low self-esteem!" Fluttershy said bringing out all her courage to make herself heard, raising Dusk's head so that he could see her and the others. "But you are a good pony, a great pony! It's just that you don't see it."

"Being a good pony will not take you anywhere! Only the strongest survive!" The memory in Dusk's mind, from his childhood friend telling him that, broke like a crystal.

"I don't think-" Dusk said before being interrupted.

"We all trust you for one reason." Applejack said approaching as well. "Because since we've met you've shown that you're trustworthy, attentive, kind and protective of all of us."

"I should never have trusted you!" Another memory of Dusk's childhood, which until then had continued to corrode his mind, broke.

"I don't-" Dusk said, being interrupted again.

"You have given us more than you think." Rarity said standing next to her friends who were front Dusk. "Your time, your help, your affection. You risk so much and give so much of yourself without even noticing."

"Never give something to others! What's yours is just for you, and no one else's!" Another of the teachings of Dusk's friend that remained in his mind broke.

"I..." Dusk said without being able to finish his sentence, while his thoughts swirled in his head and slowly the brightness returned to his eyes.

"I don't want this to end here." Pinkie Pie said smiling tenderly, also moving closer. "I want to keep laughing and having fun with all my friends. I know you can help us because I know you want the same thing."

"Emotions cloud the judgment! You think that because you smile the problems will be solved!? Don't be silly!" The memory of that phrase, which remained fixed in Dusk's mind for years, broke just like the others.

"But... the elemen-" Dusk said trying to cling to the last excuse he had left to feel miserable with himself, unable to complete his sentence he was interrupted again.

"What does it matter if some stupid stones throw a lightning bolt at you because they think you're not worthy to use them?" Rainbow Dash said, also approaching. "We want to be with you because we really know how you are! That's the important thing!"

"It's unforgivable! I don't want to see you again!" Another phrase said by Dusk's friend, which had been recorded in his mind, trembled and broke completely.

All those phrases that had been burned into Dusk's mind and heart, about not relating to or trusting others, were finally dissolved by the brightness of the new memories that appeared in Dusk's mind now that he saw at the five mares in front of him.

The brightness had completely returned to Dusk's eyes, now he stared at the mares with a deep look of thanks as they continued to look at him with tender smiles, all that while around them the wind continued to accumulate in the room and the castle trembled more and more.

"Do you really want to be with someone like me?" Dusk asked hopefully, forgetting about the whole situation around him, just thinking about that precise moment, nothing else, where he and the five mares were alone. Finally managing to get out of his mouth what he had wanted to say for so long. "You... Do you want to be friends with someone like me?"

The five mares were a little surprised at Dusk's question and looked at each other. Then Pinkie Pie smiled and with her hoof she gently touched Dusk's nose while saying "Boop!" Just as she had already done in the forest.

"Don't be silly." Pinkie Pie said smiling, approaching her face to Dusk. "We are already friends, didn't you see it that way?"

After Pinkie Pie said that, Dusk looked at the faces of the other four mares, who were smiling as well as Pinkie Pie, because they were all thinking the same thing her friend had said, then Dusk made a big smile while feeling a warm feeling in his chest. Dusk had been worried for so long about asking that question to the mares, and the reality was that the mares had already considered him a friend since they met him and spent time with him, and even more, the biggest truth was that now Dusk realized that he had been feeling the same for them since he met them! The question that had tormented him so much, didn't make sense, because you don't know if someone is your friend with a question, the truth was that it's something that you feel, and both Dusk and the mares had felt it since they had known each other, only Dusk had not realized it, until now.

Seeing Dusk with such a big smile, Pinkie Pie also put on the same big smile when she saw that Dusk had finally discovered the truth. Then the pink mare could not help but laugh slightly, ecstatic to see her dear Dusk so happy.

"Hehe..." Pinkie Pie laughed softly. Then, as if it had been a signal, Dusk also started to laugh a little harder, so they both started to laugh while the other four mares smiled because of the contagious laughter emanating from Dusk and Pinkie Pie, none of them paid attention to the disaster that loomed around them, all focused only on that fleeting and beautiful moment they enjoyed together.

Suddenly Dusk wiped away a tear he had been holding, a mixture of grief, relief, and joy, but then he stopped laughing and opened his eyes in amazement to see that some of the broken pieces that remained of the destroyed elements of harmony shone and were flying around Pinkie Pie, who had not even realized that, since she was still laughing.

"Pinkie... W-What did you do...?" Dusk asked, amazed to see such a magical effect, like the other mares, who stared at Pinkie Pie with amazement.

"Hmm? Wow!" Pinkie Pie said as she opened her eyes and saw the small floating fragments of rock flying around her. "Dusk... Is this your magic?"

Dusk continued to watch the spinning stone fragments, while his mind began to work frantically. Dusk remembered what he had read on the pedestal plate, that each element represented something, something that Dusk had not given much thought to since he had seen the five elements physically, and therefore he had only given importance to deduce what was the sixth invisible element, however now he realized that the elements of harmony could be represented in something deeper, not in simple petrified rocks; besides, Princess Celestia had tried to say something about 'virtues that ponies should have' when she told him about the elements before fainting, if all that was true then...

"No, Pinkie, I think it's YOUR magic.” Dusk said as his eyes shone as he realized the revelation. "Always spreading your cheerful smile to others, worried that everyone is happy, as you showed when you wanted to throw me a party despite all the obstacles that prevented it, or when you helped me out of that sad illusion in the forest... If the elements represent great virtues... You would definitely represent the LAUGHTER that we all need in our lives."

Then the fragments that flew around Pinkie Pie shone with more intensity and flew more evenly, following a circle around Pinkie Pie, while she looked surprised and excited what was happening. Then Dusk turned excitedly watching the other mares.

"Five elements for five mares, call me crazy, but now I believe in destiny!" Dusk thought with revitalized hope.

"Fluttershy, you're always attentive to everyone around you, concerned for the welfare of all.” Dusk said looking at Fluttershy, surprising her, making her blush at the compliments. "Caring from big beasts to the smallest and helpless beings, just as you cared for me when we met although I was a complete stranger, just like when you ran to help that sea serpent, facing your fears just to help someone else. Fluttershy, you're pure KINDNESS."

More fragments of stone flew from the destroyed elements of harmony, as had happened with Pinkie Pie, shining and flying around the yellow pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash, you're not only the fastest pony I know, but the most faithful to your friends.” Dusk said, this time looking at Rainbow Dash. "When I was in trouble, you didn't leave me alone, even though you didn't have any guilt, you were always by my side, just like in the forest when, despite having done something horrible to you, you came back to help me, and you taught me to follow your example. You definitely represent the LOYALTY that we all must have."

Again more fragments shone and flew to spin around Rainbow Dash.

"Rarity, there is no pony who sacrifices more of herself than you.” Dusk said, focusing on Rarity this time. "You're always willing to give everything and more than you have, just to see others smile. I'll never forget the great gesture you gave me when you barely knew me, just like you made the sea serpent sacrificing happy giving him something so precious to you. I... I just think that there's no morea GENEROUS pony than you."

More fragments of rock flew, shining and spinning around Rarity.

"Finally, Applejack, the pony everyone can trust, because they know she'll always do the right thing.” Dusk said looking at Applejack. "You're reliable because you always have the truth ready, like when we met and you helped me to tell the truth even though it wasn't something that suited me, but thanks to that, you took a burden off me and others could trust me. As I told you in the forest, I'll not avoid the truth anymore, you can trust me, and I'll always trust you because you are a reliable and HONEST pony."

The last fragments of stone that remained on the ground shone and flew to surround Applejack.

While all that was going under her hooves, without even realizing it, Nightmare Moon was still in a magical trance as she used her powerful magic to gradually absorb the ancient magic of the Everfree forest.

"I've never felt so much energy, so much darkness, so much... Power!" Nightmare Moon thought as her body filled and corrupted with the dark magic of Everfree Forest.

And so Nightmare Moon followed, feeling all the magic around her until a small disturbance caught her attention, a magical disturbance that grew exponentially and finally brought her out of her trance. Then Nightmare Moon lowered her eyes quickly and saw towards the origin of where she felt the disturbance. There, in the center of the room, there were still the six ponies with their dying princess, however, they were not dejected or in panic, they had hope and enthusiasm while something shone around them.

"It's not possible..." Nightmare Moon whispered after realizing the origin of the magic she felt, a magic she had not felt for exactly one thousand years. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!"

After screaming, Nightmare Moon lunged with all her fury at the six ponies that were standing. While Dusk, hearing the scream of Nightmare Moon, turned and saw in horror that the dark mare was flying right at them.

"There are the five elements, why hasn't the sixth appeared! If it isn't magic, then what is it!?" Dusk thought frantically, turning to see the mares again. As soon as he did his face changed completely, the five mares looked at him smiling kindly, which immediately made him forget his fears and his heart and mind completely calmed down.

Then, thinking more clearly and serenely, while looking at the faces of his friends, Dusk realized that perhaps he was not completely wrong.

"Maybe Magic truly be the sixth element, the link that connects all the elements of harmony.” Dusk said speaking to the mares, turning his back on the fierce black stampede that was approaching him. "But it's not a magic of light or anything as concrete as that, it's something deeper, I... I know what kind of magic it is!"

Dusk's eyes sparkled at the revelation he had, at the same time, the center ball of the pedestal exploded, causing Nightmare Moon to be hit by the impact and flee in the opposite direction to where she was heading. For their part, the explosion had not affected the six ponies or the princess who rested at their side, so they were not so surprised by the impact received by Nightmare Moon, they were more impressed by the bright dust that had come out of the explosion of the center of the pedestal and that now revolved around Dusk Shine.

"It's not ordinary magic..." Dusk said smiling, still looking at the mares. "It's a magic that I can only use because all of you are by my side."

"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon shouted, who had received no damage due to the explosion and had rushed forward to attack Dusk while he was facing away from her while watching the mares.

Dusk tried to turn quickly after hearing the cry of Nightmare Moon, however, Nightmare Moon was very fast and had shortened most of the distance when Dusk noticed and began to turn around. Seeing that, Fluttershy, who had still fresh the memory of seeing Dusk being hit hard, brought out all her voice due to the desperation of not wanting to see Dusk suffering again.

"NOOO!!" Fluttershy screamed in fright, instinctively opening her wings. A scream that caused the fragments that shone around her to shine brightly and spin at great speed, so creating a magical barrier formed by the wind wave of her wings and her scream, a barrier that interposed between Dusk and Nightmare Moon, causing the dark mare to hit and bounce hard against the ground, just as it had happened to Rainbow Dash before.

When that happened, everyone was surprised, everypony stared at Nightmare Moon while the dark mare growled in pain at the surprise blow, because this time the attack did hurt her. Dusk quickly understood the strength that the elements of the harmony had, and stared determinedly at Nightmare Moon, as she stood up again and glared at the six ponies.

"Okay girls... It's time to end this." Dusk said with determination as the five mares behind him understood what Dusk was referring to and prepared to attack and defend all the ponies of Equestria.

The six ponies felt how the elements of harmony gave them energy, filling their hearts with strength and confidence. Nightmare Moon launched to attack but she was stopped by a kick that the fast Rainbow Dash gave her, falling from above and hitting Nightmare Moon's face directly, a strong blow that destabilized Nightmare Moon and made her fall to the ground again; after that Nightmare Moon rose with effort to attack again, but she was blinded by a powerful light that Rarity created with her magic, who had also run to face the dark mare, causing Nightmare Moon to scream with anger and frustration; then, out of the blue, Pinkie Pie launched herself with her usual smile against Nightmare Moon, falling headfirst like a missile on Nightmare Moon's stomach, knocking the wind out of Nightmare Moon; finally Nightmare Moon managed to recover and saw around her, she was completely surrounded by the six pony, and she did not even notice when Applejack charged against her and gave her a strong blow with her hind legs, causing the dark mare to shoot up and fell heavily against the ground, right in front of Dusk, cracking the floor of the castle.

"It's... impossible..." Nightmare Moon said as she tried to get up once more, even though she felt her energies leave her, because with each blow she had received from the carriers of the elements of harmony, Nightmare Moon had felt that her great power achieved by combining her own magic with the magic drained to Celestia, was slowly vanishing. "I am the most powerful pony in the world... I can not be defeated by you!"

Nightmare Moon raised her head with an effort and saw with hatred Dusk, who was right in front of her. Meanwhile, Dusk had been charging his magic and his horn shone with a great light, like the dust of stones that shone and surrounded his body.

"This is your end, Nightmare Moon. It's time to pay for your sins." Dusk said staring at Nightmare Moon as he lowered his horn to aim at her. He still felt resentment and anger at what Nightmare Moon had done to Celestia, and because she had extinguished the life of the princess's sister, however, while Dusk was saying those words, he realized that he felt a calmness in his heart, so he did not say that words with a feeling of revenge, but simply to do justice.

"NOOO!" Nightmare Moon shouted furiously and terrified as a huge and powerful beam of white energy shot out of Dusk's horn, a bolt of lightning that lit up the entire room, and hit Nightmare Moon directly, causing her to scream in pain, going through and thrown away by the enormous light of the magic of Dusk Shine.

Once Dusk's white magic ray disappeared, everyone noticed that the castle had stopped trembling, and the strong wind that had filled the room at some point had ceased. Nightmare Moon had fallen at one end of the room, completely motionless, with some debris on her and, for some reason, fuming from her body. While the five mares looked at each other, unable to believe what they had done, while Dusk just lowered his head and gave a small smile while sighing.

"It's done.” Dusk said to himself.

Dusk looked up and saw that the fragments of stone that had once been the elements of harmony, were still shining and spinning around him and his friends. Then he saw that the five mares were approaching at him smiling, then he took a step and fell to the ground, his body was totally exhausted, he had used all his magic in the last attack launched at Nightmare Moon.

"Dusk!" The worried mares cried as they watched Dusk fall, hurrying to be with him.

Then Dusk looked back to where the pedestal had been and saw that the princess was still, exactly where they had left her.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired.” Dusk said quickly to reassure the mares that were approaching him. "More importantly, check if Princess Celestia is alright."

The mares looked towards the princess and realized that for a few seconds they had completely forgotten about her, so they did what Dusk told them and they all ran to verify the status of the princess.

While the mares were helping the princess, Dusk dropped completely, with his back to the ground and looking towards the destroyed roof, trying to recover the energy he had lost.

"The power of the elements of harmony is incredible." Dusk thought as he looked at the ceiling and saw sideways the dust and fragments of stone that twisted and shone on him. "A very powerful magic... but I'm not sure that this is all its potential after all the princess was able to exile to Nightmare Moon to the moon using the elements, however, the power we use couldn't perform such feat ... I guess that the princess could achieve it because she is an alicorn..."

While Dusk looked at the ceiling, he realized that there was something beside him, then turned his head and saw that right next to where he had dropped himself, there was a colorful flower, it was the flower 'rainbow shine' that he had given to Rarity and that with all the commotion and movement they had made, it had fallen from Rarity's mane. Dusk stretched his hoof, took it and stared at it for a while, thinking that he would have liked to have another of those flowers to be able to give it to his teacher who was still unconscious.

Suddenly there was a noise that startled Dusk, he immediately saw where he had heard the noise, right where Nightmare Moon had fallen defeated. Dusk stared intently until he saw to his relief that it had only been a piece of the debris that had fallen on Nightmare Moon, a rubble that had fallen to the ground.

"What a relief... For a second I thought-" Dusk said sighing, not being able to finish his sentence.

"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon cried loudly, rising suddenly surrounded by a whirlwind of darkness.

Then, with a speed that she had not shown until then, she flew like lightning and fell right on top of Dusk, who due to the surprise and speed of the dark mare, could not react in time.

"I AM THE DARKNESS! I AM NIGHTMARE THE IMMORTAL! THE MOST POWERFUL BEING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD!" Nightmare Moon shouted in a deep and terrifying voice as she held Dusk, who was still on his back, facing his captor.

Dusk had no choice but to see Nightmare Moon directly, then he was terrified to see how the dark mare looked now. This time she looked totally terrifying, with her eyes totally white, her face cracked as if it were a mask, and a whirlwind of dark magic surrounding her body, which made stand out even more the aura that she emanated, a killer aura.

"DUSK!!" The five mares shouted, turning immediately to help Dusk.

Nightmare Moon quickly brought her horn to Dusk's neck and pressed it against him as she glanced sideways at the approaching mares.

"One more step and I'll slice his neck!" Nightmare Moon shouted, still with her new terrifying voice, a deep voice that seemed a mixture between her voice and that of a huge beast.

In the act the five mares stopped, only seeing impotent as the dark mare had totally subdued to Dusk. While Dusk tried again to use his magic and make use of the elements of harmony, however, although the fragments of stone continued to shine and turn on him, it seemed that the dark shadows that emanated from this new and terrifying appearance of Nightmare Moon, avoided that Dusk could fully use the magic of the elements.

"I will absorb all the magic of this kingdom! Starting with you!" Nightmare Moon said staring with her white eyes at Dusk, as she put her horn in contact with Dusk's horn and began to use the same demon magic spell she had used on Celestia.

"Aghh!" Dusk shouted as he felt that his magic and his life force were being drained, all that while he felt as Nightmare Moon scratched and dug into his feelings and emotions.

Nightmare Moon began to smile cruelly as she watched Dusk suffer and saw the helpless face of the mares that watched her. However, there was something else that suddenly caught the attention of Nightmare Moon, a flower that was next to where Dusk was.

While that was happening, Dusk felt a strange sensation. While he felt that Nightmare Moon could feel his emotions, he also began to feel emotions that were not his, it was then that Dusk remembered what the princess had said about demonic magic, that it was a double-edged sword, something that he remotely remembered having read sometime since he himself had studied the basics of dark magic, something that only the most outstanding, responsible and powerful unicorns of the kingdom were allowed to study, only to know how to defend themselves from such magic, for the same reason, probably less than ten ponies in all of Equestria had knowledge of dark magic, and Dusk was one of them. It was so that, while Dusk felt the feelings of Nightmare Moon while she drained his magic, he for a moment could feel something strange in Nightmare Moon, a feeling that she tried to hide, that feeling was 'doubt', something that made Nightmare Moon to doubt only a second, which Dusk took to turn the double-edged sword and attack Nightmare Moon.

When Dusk used his magic to repel and counterattack, Nightmare Moon opened her eyes completely due to the surprise and a flash of memories of her own and of Dusk crossed the head of both.

"What's wrong, sister? Why are you so sad?" Asked a young white-coat alicorn.

"I just thought... That there are so many beautiful things in the day, but in the night... seems everything goes out... That's why everyone prefers the day." The younger sister of the white alicorn responded, a dark blue-coat alicorn.

"That's not true, there are hundreds of beautiful things in the night, like the moon and the stars." The older sister said.

"But there are things you can not see in the night, even if you try... like the rainbows..." The younger sister said sadly.

Quickly the memory vanished and another memory appeared.

The blue alicorn walked through the halls of a castle, entering her room, until she was surprised that someone was already inside her room.

"What are you doing here, sister?" The younger alicorn asked.

"I thought you would like this." The larger alicorn said, showing her younger sister what she had left on the table next to her bed.

The blue alicorn approached and saw that there was a vase with some beautiful flowers that had petals of different colors, and that even seemed to have a slight shine of their own.

"They are beautiful..." The blue alicorn said surprised.

"They are very rare flowers, but I'll make sure to personally bring you one of these flowers every time the previous ones wither, it'll be our secret." The white alicorn said with joy. "So you can see and have your own rainbow in the night."

The blue alicorn approached her sister and hugged her.

"I love you, sister." The blue alicorn said affectionately.

Again the memory vanished, giving way to another one.

"Why can't I be as strong as her!? Why can't I be as respected and loved as she is!? Why am I always the second!?" The blue alicorn yelled annoyed, throwing herself furiously on her bed.

Then the blue alicorn saw the vase with the rainbow flowers next to her bed, she moved her hoof quickly and hit the vase, causing it to break and the flowers to fall to the floor.

"If I can't overcome her magic, then I'll learn new magic." The blue alicorn said, using her magic to levitate a black book surrounded by chains and a padlock. "I'll know and use the darkest mysteries of magic, so I'll become the wisest and most powerful pony that has ever existed..." The blue alicorn said, breaking the padlock of the book. "That way I'll be... loved by everyone."

Finally the third memory vanished, to give way to a final memory.

"Princess... Why do you always put those flowers next to your throne?" A very young lavender-coat unicorn colt said.

"It's because I like its company... So at least I can remember her and imagine that she's still by my side." The white alicorn replied.

"Company of whom?" The little lavender colt asked curiously.

Then the princess looked at him, smiled, and took Dusk's head fondly.

"From my beloved Lulu." The princess replied smiling.

"ENOUGH!" Nightmare Moon shouted, back to reality. She stopped being in touch with Dusk's horn and took a few steps back to get away, while her breathing was shaking and her head was crouching.

Everything that Nightmare Moon had seen, Dusk had also seen, due to the link of the spell, which caused many ideas and thoughts about what he had seen begin to circulating through his mind, however he did not have time to meditate on the matter, he needed to react now that he had time. Dusk quickly stood up and stood guard as his horn gleamed and the fragments of the elements that swirled over him shone even brighter. At that moment Nightmare Moon finally raised her head and saw Dusk with anger, the same terrifying look full of anger with those big white eyes, only this time the eyes of Nightmare Moon were gushing tears non-stop, as if her mind told her that she had to kept attacking but her heart cried for stopping, something that it seemed that she herself had not realized, since her gaze was still of deep hatred towards Dusk.

"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon shouted again with a great cry that rumbled throughout the room, releasing a great expansive wave of power, ready to attack Dusk again. While Dusk endured the shock wave, he could not fully understand why, but it seemed that Nightmare Moon instead of weakening, began to get stronger with every second.

As soon as Dusk saw that he would be attacked, he used all his strength and again accumulated energy in his horn, to then launch the same great and powerful beam of energy that had almost defeated Nightmare Moon before, however as soon as the beam struck the dark mare, this time she did not shoot away, now she resisted it, all while the dark smoke that surrounded her moved like tentacles around her and her eyes shone more and more as they continued to shed tears, at the same time her face looked every once more emaciated. Being Nightmare Moon able to withstand the attack, the magic of Dusk continued to maintain the energy beam, causing the room to be filled with light and wind, as if there was a small hurricane in the room.

Dusk kept the beam hitting Nightmare Moon, giving everything he had, however he realized that this would not be enough, and if his energy beam was not enough, neither would the attacks of the mares if they returned it to attack... And to make everything worse, it seemed that the power of Dusk was running out while the Nightmare Moon's power increased, it seemed that the energy of Everfree forest that Nightmare Moon had absorbed, had indeed made her more powerful, but also made her more unstable mentally, an emotional instability that Dusk knew how to take advantage of to escape her previous attack, but that would not help him to win now. Dusk could not take it anymore, he was using all his magic and all the magic that the element of harmony that was spinning all around him he offered, he just did not know what else to do or who else to turn to.

"Dusk... we're with you." Rainbow Dash said suddenly, who had struggled despite the strong wind generated in the room, and now was behind Dusk, touching his back with her hoof. As she did so, the fragments of stone flying around Rainbow Dash spun faster and shining even brighter, forming a bright ring around her while her cutie mark began to glow at the same time.

"You don't have to do it alone." Fluttershy said, following Rainbow Dash's example, as the same thing happened with the stone fragments that were flying around her and her cutie mark was also beginning to shine.

"Together we are stronger." Pinkie Pie added doing the same, and causing the same effect on her element of harmony and her cutie mark.

"You can always trust us." Rarity said, also touching Dusk, unnoticed that her cutie mark had begun to shine.

"Always, in good times and in bad times." Applejack added, who almost lost her hat due to the strong wind, also with her element of harmony spinning at full speed and her cutie mark shining brightly.

Dusk could not move his head, as he was pointing his horn towards Nightmare Moon, throwing the energy beam, however he could see Rainbow Dash and the others out of the corner of his eye, besides feeling their warm hooves on him.

"It's true... I don't have to do this alone anymore... None of us has to do it separately!" Dusk said looking sideways at the mares as his eyes shone, as did the fragments of dust and stones that swirled around him, shining like his cutie mark. Then he again focused his eyes on Nightmare Moon. "This time all together!"

The six ponies were finally together, thinking and feeling like one, with their sights fixed on the goal, fighting to save Equestria! Save the ponies! Save their friends!! Then the six ponies began to shine, causing the whole room to be illuminated by the light, filling all present with peace and harmony in their souls, filling them with pure and comforting energy, a magical sensation that would have been pleasant to anyone, anyone except the dark being that was in that room.

The beam that Dusk had thrown was still there, but this time it was bigger, and not only white, this time lights of different colors were snaked by the lightning, hitting directly to Nightmare Moon, who gave a loud and deep scream as she was being pushed and crossed by the power of the harmony, nevertheless, she continued standing, resisting, nevertheless she did not seem to be in a natural posture, more it seemed as if she was fighting against her own body.

"Now! Banish me now!!" Nightmare Moon suddenly shouted, opening her eyes and showing that her pupils had reappeared, but not those wicked and sharp eyes, but big, sad eyes, using a softer voice, the same voice that Dusk had heard of Nightmare Moon when he almost defeated her for the first time in the forest. "The magic of harmony can nott kill... Banish me to the moon now that I can stop her!"

"Don't! Get out of here! You are only a shadow of what I was! When I was weak and stupid!" Nightmare Moon shouted again, this time again having her evil eyes and her terrifying voice, speaking to herself.

While throwing the beam, Dusk used all his strength to approach Nightmare Moon and at the same time bring the beam to her.

"Please stop me!" Nightmare Moon shouted again using her soft voice, crying in pain for capturing Dusk's attention. "The power of the forest has made her more dangerous than ever! You must finish me one way or another!"

"SHUT UP!!" Nightmare Moon shouted again with the terrifying voice, closing her eyes with fury and trying to control her body again. "I will not return to that loneliness! YOU DON'T WANT THAT LONELINESS!"

"I must be alone and imprisoned..." Nightmare Moon quarreled with herself again, speaking in her soft voice as she expressed deep sadness. "I have to pay for my crimes... I must protect them from you! I must protect them from me!"

"We are one! You can't run away from me!" Nightmare Moon shouted furiously, with her voice terrifying.

"Please... Nobody needs me... Just finish me off." Nightmare Moon said crying, using her soft voice, finally getting her eyes to the front, where Dusk was already, keeping the powerful beam of energy over her.

As soon as Dusk arrived in front of Nightmare Moon, he saw the face of the dark mare, which seemed out of place, showing two different expressions on each side of her face, on one side had a pleading look with large eyes that cried, and in the other side had her classic sharp and evil look, looking at Dusk with fury.

"I used to believe the same thing you did." Dusk said looking at Nightmare Moon with a calm look. "That solitude and confinement were the solution... But the truth is that we all need someone."

Then Dusk approached and hugged Nightmare Moon warmly and warmly, causing the room to fill with a white light, blinding everyone in the room. While Dusk and Nightmare Moon began to rise to the ceiling.

"NOOOoooooo...!!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she looked up and it seemed that her body was burning, releasing black smoke that was diluting as she rose.

Finally a great roar was heard, throwing white light and rays of colors throughout the room, leaving the room again in silence while the view began to return for the mares, who had been blinded by the explosion of light.

"Ugh... my head..." Rainbow Dash said standing up, touching her head with her hoof.

"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked, looking around.

"Oh! It can't be!" Rarity shouted suddenly, making everyone turn worriedly to see her. However, upon seeing her, they all saw that she had not cried out in fear, but that she had apparently shouted with happiness.

"My tail! My tail grew again!" Rarity added with joy, shaking happily her beautiful tail from side to side, which had been perfectly restored thanks to the magic of harmony.

"Oh, Rarity! What a lovely necklace!" Fluttershy said happily to see her friend so happy, but attracted by the beautiful necklace that Rarity wore at that moment.

"Necklace?" Rarity asked, looking down and surprised to see the gorgeous jewelery item she wore around her neck, a beautiful gold necklace with a purple diamond-shaped gem in its center.

"Woooo... It's shaped like your cutie mark!" Pinkie Pie said, leaning close to see Rarity's necklace.

"So does yours!" Rarity added, noting immediately that both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie also had similar necklaces, only that Fluttershy's had a pink butterfly-shaped gem, and Pinkie Pie's had a sky blue balloon-shape gem.

Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lowered their heads and saw with amazement and joy that both also had necklaces, which made Pinkie Pie jump of emotion for all to see her necklace. Something similar happened with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who when seeing that their friends had those necklaces, lowered their heads and saw that they also had one each, Applejack with an orange apple-shaped gem, and Rainbow Dash with a red lightning bolt-shaped gem.

"Meh... I don't like wearing necklaces, but I guess this's not bad at all." Rainbow Dash said a little blushed, as she did not want to admit that a silly girlie ornament like a necklace could be of her complete pleasure.

"But where did these necklaces come from?" Applejack asked thinking aloud.

"That is the new form that the elements of harmony took." Said suddenly a soft voice that all the mares knew, causing the five mares to turn to see where the voice had come from.

"Princess Celestia!" The five mares said in unison, so surprised to see her standing after having seen her in such a bad state that they almost forgot to make the classic bow.

"The elements of harmony are the most powerful magic of Equestria, and you have been chosen to carry such important objects because all you are the ones that best represent what each element is." The princess said, smiling. "So much is their power that they were able to stop the powerful Nightmare Moon, and in the process make me recover my magic and my health."

After saying that, it was Princess Celestia who gave a small bow in front of the mares, before the incredulous look of the five mares.

"It's me who should thank you." The princess finished saying, raising her head again.

"Wait... Where's Dusk Shine!?" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, making all the mares worry about not seeing him anywhere.

Seeing the mares worried, Princess Celestia looked up calmly so that the other mares followed her sight. There, in the destroyed ceiling of the hall, going down slowly, there was still a big ball of light, one that as it descended was losing its light, making visible little by little what was in the center of it. It was Dusk, who was falling slowly holding someone in his hooves.

Once Dusk touched the ground, the five mares ran to him, followed by Princess Celestia. When they came face to face with Dusk, the mares could see that he was holding a mare with blue coat, with light blue mane and tail, but what was most striking was that she had a big horn and wings, she was an alicorn

"Wh-Who is she?" Fluttershy asked, looking confused at the mare who resting with her eyes closed on Dusk's hooves.

Dusk Shine was silent for a moment before speaking, he could not take his eyes off the mare or stop feeling compassion for the mare he held in his hooves. He had been able to feel all the feelings that overwhelmed Nightmare Moon when she tried to absorb his magic, he could feel the violent and confused swirl of emotions that filled the dark mare, like anger, pride and instability, however deep down he too had felt what she had tried to hide: grief, guilt and regret. When feeling all that, Dusk could not avoid feeling empathy and pity for the being that held in front of him, a pony that Dusk finally could discover who she really was after seeing the visions that he and Nightmare Moon shared.

"It's Princess Luna..." Dusk finally answered, looking at the blue alicorn and then looking up to see Princess Celestia. "Isn't that so?"

The princess, who had fixed her eyes all the time on the blue alicorn, trying to avoid letting go of tears and showing her emotions, finally stopped seeing her and saw Dusk when he asked her the question.

"That's right... She's my sister." The princess replied nodding and closing her eyes.

"Sister!?" The five mares said in unison, surprised at such revelation.

"But you said... That she was dead." Dusk added looking confused at his teacher.

"What I told you was the same as the history books say, that a great evil was the one that consumed and destroyed Luna." The princess replied sadly. "That can be understood with many interpretations... I knew the truth... but everyone else understood other thing."

"But why did not you tell everyone the truth?" Dusk asked, although deep down he already thought he knew the answer.

"Because I didn't want everyone to see my sister as a monster..." The princess said approaching a little more to where Dusk was, sitting next to Luna and Dusk. "I didn't want them to know what she became."

"Wait a second..." Applejack said suddenly, shaking her head and staring fearfully at the blue alicorn while aiming her. "You... You're saying that... Is she Nightmare Moon?"

Neither Dusk nor the princess answered the question, but leaving the silence implied that what Applejack had asked was true, so the five mares were a little frightened at such revelation.

Suddenly the blue alicorn began to moan slightly and to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was a handsome lavender unicorn who held her between his hooves and looked at her with a kind look. The heart of the blue alicorn began to beat quickly when she realized the new sensations and emotions that she felt, now she was seeing with her own eyes and she could feel the warm touch of another pony... How long ago she did not feel the warmth of the contact of someone else…? Besides, before her eyes was the pony she remembered from her dreams, or rather her nightmares, the pony that had appeared as a bright light in her long nightmare of a thousand years and had finally saved her.

"You... you are the colt of my dreams..." Luna said without being able to tell if what she saw and felt was real or just a dream. "This is real?"

Hearing her soft voice, Dusk smiled kindly and said nothing, he knew how confused she must be at that moment, and there was someone else waiting to talk to her.

Dusk gently left the blue alicorn on the floor, who remained in a sitting position and raised her head to continue watching Dusk. Luna did not want to stop looking at Dusk, she had not felt this good in a long time, and she still feared that all of that was a happy little dream that would end at any moment, making her return to her bitter nightmare, so she wanted to enjoy everything she could of that beautiful moment.

How Luna was watching him for so long, Dusk could not help but blush at having Luna so close and feeling the affection emanating from those beautiful turquoise eyes.

"AHEM!" Suddenly a cough was heard to the side, which caused Luna turn her gaze away from Dusk. The cough had been made by Rainbow Dash, since she, like the other four mares, began to feel uncomfortable and annoyed to see that Luna and Dusk did not stop seeing each other.

Luna turned her eyes, seeing all the mares one by one, until finally she saw Celestia, who was watching her with an expectant look, trying not to let her emotions show through. Luna stared at her, she still not sure if it was all a dream, then Luna looked around and saw the destroyed castle, it was only then that the memories of everything that happened cleared up in her mind and she understood everything there was happened, so she refocused her gaze on Celestia as her breathing was shaking and her eyes showed enormous pain.

"Sister! I... I'm sorry. "Luna said as she began to cry and all the guilt she had been repressing for a thousand years finally came to light. "I wanted to be stronger than you, more beloved than you... Ambition corrupted me! I... I decided to use dark magic But I lost control! Please sister, forgive me! I did so much harm... So much damage, and I could not stop myself. Sister, I... I AM SO SORRY!"

Luna began to cry uncontrollably, but was soon restrained by a strong and warm embrace from her older sister.

"I forgive you sister... And I also apologize." Princess Celestia said, unable to contain her emotions anymore and crying with joy. "Sorry for not having noticed in time what tormented you... Forgive me for not having been able to save you before... We are both princesses, but we are still simple ponies. We are sisters first of all, I... I don't want to lose you again!"

Both alicorns continued hugging, crying for a while, causing a scene so emotional that even the mares began to cry a little, like Dusk, who could not help letting go of a small tear when he saw that his teacher finally managed to reunite with her beloved sister.

"Are you crying?" Dusk said playfully, approaching to Rainbow Dash when he saw that she, like the other mares, was crying.

"Of course not, it's just... I just got something in my eye." Rainbow Dash said blushing, looking away and wiping away her tears. "Anyway... I think it's enough of girly sweet moments..."

"I think you're right." Princess Celestia said suddenly, standing up and smiling as she helped her sister to get up as well. "This day is a celebration, and today more than ever we must celebrate, since my beloved sister has finally returned! It's time to go back."

Then Princess Celestia's horn lit up, generating a great flash by using her teleportation to transport the eight presents ponies back to Ponyville.





"Let us out!" Shouted one of the many ponies who kept demanding that they open the doors of the great hall to leave.

The royal guard still stood firmly in front of the main door of the great hall of the Ponyville Town Hall, but with every minute that passed the crowd became angrier, he knew he could not stand much more...

Since the disaster of the appearance of Nightmare Moon and the incineration of Princess Celestia, both the Mayor and the royal guards who had accompanied the princess had been harassed by questions, all demanded explanations, help or simply indications to know what to do, something they did not know how to answer, since none of them knew the answers. It was in that moment of uncertainty when one of the guards saw a lavender unicorn run out of the great hall, the same unicorn that had insulted the princess before the appearance of Nightmare Moon, then the same royal guard saw that after that unicorn, other five ponies also came out running from the great hall.

"This is a disaster! We can't allow the panic to spread!" The guard had thought after seeing those ponies escape from the great hall. Then he immediately went to the doors and closed them so that no one else left.

Then the royal guards and the Mayor decided that this was the best option until receiving reinforcements and instructions from Canterlot, from whoever was in charge now! The only thing they could do at the moment was try to calm the ponies of the great hall and prevent everyone from running and spread the news of the death of the princess, because that would generate chaos throughout the kingdom, causing revolt or even encouraging other nations to invade Equestria now that they was vulnerable. However, the longer the hours passed, the harder it became to control the huge crowd of ponies, which became increasingly restless at every minute. Finally everything came to a point where the guards could not suppress the situation anymore.

All the ponies in the room began to press and push the doors to leave the great hall, passing through the guards, until they finally managed to open the doors and everypony ran out of the great hall.

FLASH!

A sudden flash appeared in front of the doors of the great hall, just in front of where the crowd was, which stopped in the act before the sudden light. After the flash went off, all the ponies saw astonished who were there: seven ponies next to their beloved princess, who looked radiant and smiling in front of them.

All the ponies were petrified, not knowing if what they saw was real or not, since they had all seen how the princess had been reduced to ashes. Seeing the doubts in the eyes of the ponies, the horn of Princess Celestia began to shine, making the sun finally appear in the sky and finally ending with the long night promised by Nightmare Moon.

"Don't fear, my dear ponies, everything is fine. In fact, everything is better than ever." The princess said, still smiling and glancing at her sister.

"PRINCESS!!" Everyone shouted, forgetting the formalities and the obeisances, and jumping to surround the princess and trying to hug her, although the composure quickly returned to the group of ponies and they just stayed close, without having the courage or the daring to embrace their royal highness.

The next thing that happened was that Princess Celestia explained that the alicorn next to her was her sister Luna, who had been controlled by a dark force and thus Nightmare Moon had tried to control Equestria, but thanks to the help of her student Dusk Shine and the other mares, both she and her sister had been saved.

After the explanation, the reactions of the crowd were varied: with Luna, there were some looks of doubt and others of fear, but the vast majority believed in the words of their princess and was glad to have another princess with them; similar was the reaction to the five mares that accompanied Dusk, who were seen as local heroines and everyone supported and celebrated them; while the reactions towards Dusk Shine were more divided, many ponies were happy and grateful that he had saved both princesses, however many others looked at him with distrust, still having the fresh memory of having seen him despising his beloved princess, something of that Luna realized immediately.

After the explanation, the Summer Sun Celebration finally began, and since the sun had already risen, everyone began to celebrate, dance and eat, celebrating the sunrise, the return of their princess, and the return to life of Princess Luna, being the princesses the center of attention, while many ponies had approached until the five mares to listen of their lips about the great adventure that they had lived.

"I'm sorry..." Luna suddenly said looking sadly at Dusk, who was still next to her, after received a necklace of flowers that some foals had given her kindly. "You are a hero and I'm a villain... If they knew the whole truth you would be the one who was greeted with flowers and I would be the one despised..."

"Don't say that, it doesn't matter what some ponies think of me." Dusk said honestly, who had also noticed some antipathy on the part of some ponies, but he hadn't given importance, since now he had friends, and only their opinion mattered to him. "Besides, you were being controlled, it wasn't your fault."

"That's not true!" Luna said bitterly. "Nightmare Moon was a representation of my deepest desires, a dark being made with my anger, envy and vanity, she was part of my personality... I was the one who let my selfish desires consume me and control me... I should be locked in a prison alone, not being celebrated or praised."

"Dusk... You saved me from myself, I don't know how to return the favor." Luna added, staring at Dusk, wanting to pay in some way what Dusk had done for her. "Please, tell me something, anything you want, and I'll do the impossible to fulfill whatever you want!"

Dusk stared at Luna, knowing what she must be feeling, for he was once also eaten up with guilt and the desire to be alone, so there was only one thing he could ask for.

"So... I want you to be happy and not feel guilty anymore." Dusk said smiling, staring at Luna. "You don't need to be alone anymore, every time you think you're alone, remember that you have me." Dusk added understanding the value of a friend, because if Luna needed a friend, he was willing to be and help her, just like his friends had helped him.

The words of Dusk were a total surprise for Luna, who only blinked confused and blushed a little to see how kind he was with her and how he wanted to continue helping her.

"Our hearts will always be together." Dusk said, finishing his speech, saying something a little cheesy, but feeling that this was the best way to express the bond he had formed with the mares when they become friends, a bond that Luna and he also could form if she wanted to him as friend.

"He-Hearts together...?" Luna said surprised, while on her cheeks it became more noticeable that they were blushing.

Seeing behind Luna, Dusk saw that Princess Celestia had moved a little away from the crowd, which made him remember that he still had to talk something with her, so he gave a small bow to say goodbye to Luna, he smiled, and he left, leaving the blue alicorn confused while many ideas went through her head.

"Princess!" Dusk said approaching Princess Celestia.

"My dear Dusk, is something wrong?" The princess said, noticing some concern in Dusk.

"I... wanted to take advantage of the fact that you're alone to apologize for my behavior, and for everything I said before Nightmare Moon appeared." Dusk said with his head bowed.

"Oh, Dusk, do you really think I could be mad at you after everything you did for me?" Princess Celestia said with a smile. "You saved Equestria, you gave me back my sister, I couldn't be happier and proud of you." Then the princess looked affectionately at Dusk and gently lifted Dusk's head with her hoof. "I know it's not right for me to say it, because as a princess of the kingdom I can't have favorites, but I have to admit that... Sometimes I like to think you're like a son to me, so I could never hate you."

Upon hearing those words, Dusk smiled tenderly, for he also felt the same for his beloved teacher, obviously he did not forget his real mother, but he really felt that the princess was like a second mother to him.

"When you came to me with your worried face, I thought it would be for something more important." The princess added suddenly, making a slightly mischievous smile. "Like that you didn't like the cute tiara you wear on your head."

"Tiara?" Dusk said confused, then he lifted a hoof up to his head and realized that he was indeed carrying something on top of him, then he used his magic to levitate it out of his head to see what it was.

Dusk was surprised and embarrassed to see that he was indeed wearing what appeared to be a golden tiara, with a rose color gem with the shape of his cutie mark.

"W-What is this!? And since when do I have it on me!? "Dusk asked surprised and nervous, almost in a scream.

"First, it is the element of harmony that represents magic; and second, you've been wearing it since you defeated Nightmare Moon." Celestia replied, amused by the reaction of her beloved student.

Dusk looked at the golden tiara and blushed, covering his face with a hoof, ashamed that all this time he had been walking and talking to everyone wearing a cute and feminine tiara. Meanwhile, Dusk's five friends had heard Dusk's sudden cry of surprise and had come to hear what he and the princess were talking about.

"Well... at least I'll not have to use it again." Dusk said a little irritated to see that the princess was having fun again at his expense. Then he stretched his hoof to give the element of magic to the princess.

The princess saw Dusk and then saw the five mares that were behind Dusk, each still wearing the necklace with their respective elements of harmony, then she made Dusk turn so that he could see the mares face to face.

"Tell me... Do you think there is someone more capable and with more virtues than the ponies that now carry the elements of harmony?" The princess asked, looking at Dusk and aiming at him so that he could see the five mares face to face.

The five mares, who had managed to hear what Princess Celestia had asked Dusk, stared at him with a smile. While Dusk stared at Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash while his heart was also excited to see them smiling.

"No... Definitely they are the most faithful representatives of the elements they carry. They deserve to wear those elements." Dusk said smiling, answering the princess's question.

"I wasn't only referring to them." The princess said, spinning Dusk again with her hoof so that he could see her face to face. "You are the one who forged a powerful bond with all them, you were the one who united and guided them, you are the one who discovered the truth behind the elements of harmony, and YOU are the most faithful representative of the element of magic." Princess Celestia finished saying, using her magic to levitate the tiara that Dusk held, making it shine and changing its shape a little, making it take a slightly less feminine form, but without altering its basic form, to finally put it back on the head of Dusk. Although Dusk did not see them, since he was turning his back on them, the five mares listened to each word of the princess and nodded smiling, being totally in agreement with what the princess said with.

"By the way..." The princess added after seeing that Dusk still doubted his own worth. "It's true that the sixth element of harmony is magic, but it's not an ordinary magic."

At the words of the princess, the five mares were put on alert, as they had all heard Dusk's explanation that the elements of harmony represented different virtues, and they, like Dusk, knew that the magic that Dusk had used had not been a simple magic of light, no, they had also felt something in their hearts when Dusk used his magic.

"Yes... I discovered it when I was surrounded by the girls, who were always there to support me." Dusk said proudly of having discovered what the princess meant. "The sixth element is..."

"The magic of love!" The five mares said in unison.

"The magic of friendship!" Dusk said excitedly, at the same time as the mares, so he could not hear what the mares said.

Princess Celestia, who had an excellent ear and had heard and differentiated what Dusk and the mares had said, looked for a moment at the mares and could not help but smile with the same mischievous smile she used to make when she bothered Dusk.

"That's right, my dear Dusk... it's the magic of friendship." The princess finally answered, lowering her eyes to look at her student, while Dusk smiled brightly at being congratulated by his teacher for giving the correct answer.

Meanwhile, the mares had turned to stone, frozen, without moving a single muscle, all thinking of the same thing: 'FRIENDZONE'.





After that talk, Princess Celestia looked up at the sky to calculate the time, then saw her sister and saw her carriage that was not far away, ready to go back to the capital of the kingdom.

"I guess it's time to go back to Canterlot..." Princess Celestia said looking towards the carriage.

After the words of the princess, Dusk's heart tightened with anguish. He would have liked that moment never ended, because he was happy, surrounded by friends, being with his beloved teacher... but unfortunately everything good had an end.

Princess Celestia saw the anguish in Dusk's face because of the decision he was going to make, she could read his student's mind, she knew what he was thinking. What Dusk did not know was that she had the same anguish that Dusk felt, she loved Dusk so much, she did not want to separate from what for her would always be her little child, and for her it would be very easy to make Dusk stay with her, just a word from her and she knew that he would not leave her... However, she felt that the best thing for Dusk this time was to be away from her, that was his destiny.

"Tell me Dusk, what will you do?" The princess said reading Dusk's mind, surprising the unicorn. "And I don't want you to make a decision with this," The princess added, pointing Dusk's head. "But with this." She finished saying, pointing to Dusk's heart.

Dusk was silent for a moment and took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to do would change his life forever, but he felt he had to make that change.

"I... both my head and my heart tell me to stay here." Dusk finally said looking with touching eyes at the princess. "For the safety of Equestria, I believe that the elements must remain together, as well as their carriers."

"But... if I have to be honest." Dusk added, looking straight ahead at the five mares, who had already emerged from their stupor. "The truth is that I am the one who wants to stay here in Ponyville... With them."

The warm and honest words of Dusk relieved a bit the disappointment that the mares had felt when discovering that Dusk saw them only as friends, so Rarity and Pinkie Pie ran to hug him smiling, followed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who for shyness and/or embarrassment, they did not dare to throw themselves in public at the hooves of a colt, but still they approached Dusk and blushed when they met his gaze.

"I'm glad to hear that." Princess Celestia said, sad to know that she would no longer have her beloved student at her side, but very happy to see that he was finally surrounded by others who loved him as he was.

"But... How can I continue my studies here?" Dusk asked, realizing that he had forgotten that little detail.

The princess smiled, when a brilliant idea occurred to her.

"Spike, take note... Spike?" Princess Celestia said, looking around and just realizing that the little dragon was nowhere to be found. "Well... I guess I'll have to do it myself..."

Then Princess Celestia used her magic to make a parchment and a quill appear, and began to write without even looking at the parchment while dictating aloud.

"Royal Decree No. 2,105.

I, Princess Celestia, decree today:

May the unicorn known as Dusk Shine have a new mission for Equestria. He must continue to study the magic that forms and surrounds the elements of harmony, and report his findings to me from his new home in Ponyville.

Communicate and publish throughout Equestria.

Signature, Princess Celestia."

After the words of the princess, Dusk smiled like a foal receiving his best gift, while still surrounded and embraced, now by the five mares, since both Applejack and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, had taken advantage while the princess was talking to get closer to Dusk and embrace him discreetly and affectionately, as Rarity and Pinkie Pie already had did.

"Thank you princess!" Dusk said happily.

After that, Princess Celestia said goodbye with a warm hug from Dusk and climbed into the carriage, followed by her younger sister. Then the carriage got ready to leave.

"Is something wrong, Luna?" Princess Celestia asked when she saw that her sister seemed distracted.

"Eh!? N-Nothing... Everything is fine." Luna quickly said, trying in vain to act normal.

Celestia obviously saw the strange attitude of her sister, but decided to think it was normal that she was distracted after everything that had happened, besides there was no need to worry, now they both had all the time in the world to talk and repair their sisters relationship. Meanwhile, Luna breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that her sister had not noticed that she had been staring at Dusk while he and the other ponies were starting to dismiss them as the carriage began to move. Luna took one quick look at Dusk for the last time and again felt her cheeks warm slightly for some reason, as thousands of ideas and feelings began to fill her, all revolving around the lavender unicorn that had saved her.

"I'll look forward to your reports on... the magic of FRIENDSHIP." The princess said with a smile once the carriage had begun to rise, emphasizing the word 'friendship' and seeing how the five mares that were with Dusk once again became uncomfortable listening to that word.

"Maybe now I'm not having fun only with Dusk... Maybe I've found other five cute mares that will be fun to annoy, especially if Dusk is in between." Celestia thought smiling, thinking that her poor student had passed the test of making friends, but now he would have to overcome a much greater test... To know the bittersweet that comes with having conquered the heart of five mares.

"After all, love and friendship are two sides of the same coin." Celestia smiled, thinking of all the funny misadventures that Dusk would experience and that would make him grow as a pony and as a colt.

# End of Chapter 20
> Chapter 21 - Doubt in Applebuck Season
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doubt in Applebuck Season

"Hnngh..." Dusk moaned softly before waking up, stretching his hooves and lifting his head from between the sheets. "I slept great...!"

Then Dusk opened his eyes and was confused for a few seconds seeing the strange room which he had awoken in, something that had been a constant lately, since Dusk had woken up in many different places the last few days, but this time he hadn't woke up in a prison cell or a barn, this time he had awoken in his new room, the small room above the Golden Oak Library, small if it was compared to his old room in Canterlot castle.

"Huff... I guess I'll have to get used to waking up like this every day." Dusk sighed thinking aloud, missing a bit his old room and realizing everything he had agreed to leave behind, remembering what he had said to the Mayor after the celebration and how she had given him work as the new Ponyville librarian, after all, if he was going to live in Ponyville, he would have to get a job.

Dusk became melancholy for a moment and thought of all the books and study notebooks he had left in Canterlot, although of course, he could ask for them to be sent, but that was not the most important thing or the only thing he missed for, now he understood that he was far from his family, from his home, from the city he knew, from everything he knew! And mainly, away from his teacher. Finally Dusk began to weigh up the real situation, because this time it was not like when the princess sent him against his will to Ponyville, where he always had the goal of returning to Canterlot, no, now it was different, now he had chosen to stay here and abandon everything he had in Canterlot.

At these thoughts, Dusk lowered his head thoughtfully, believing that he would feel some grief and regret the decision he'd made, but instead he felt other things, such as hope, joy, even enthusiasm for the new challenge he faced, knowing that this time he would not be alone, knowing that now he had friends to trust, feelings that made Dusk draw a small smile as he lifted his head.

Dusk got out of bed, stretched his muscles and went to go down the stairs and start that new day, the first day of his new life in Ponyville. When he finished heading down the stairs, Dusk heard some loud snoring coming from the living room, a snoring that he knew well. Dusk approached the source of the noise and saw that it was Spike, just as he had seen the previous day, sleeping in a kind of basket that served Spike well as a bed, with tremendous eye bags under his closed eyes, his mouth agape trailing a thread of saliva, and his arms and legs in a strange position, as if he had fallen unconscious and hadn't moved again the whole night.

Dusk approached the dragon and smelled him, just as he had done the night before when he saw him asleep that way after returning from the Summer Sun Celebration, he realized that his little brother still had the same strong and unmistakable smell he had from the previous day. The previous night, Dusk had realized that his brother had finally fallen asleep after the effects of the 'special' fruit punch he took that day, apparently he had fallen asleep deeply all that day and therefore he had not attended his arrival after he had saved the princesses, or be present in the subsequent Summer Sun Celebration, and as Dusk supposed that his little brother was probably suffering from a huge hangover, he decided to let him sleep. However, it was daylight now and Spike was still asleep.

"How much did he drink yesterday?" Dusk asked as he continued to see his brother snoring, surprised by the long nap he had taken and from the smell of Spike, he still didn't throw up all the alcohol out of his system. "Although of course, his body is different from that of a pony, plus, he is still just a baby."

Then Dusk looked up, looking at the small kitchen in the library that was on the other side of the main room, thinking that he should go there to have his breakfast since Spike was still asleep, but on the spot, Dusk came up with an evil idea, one that made him smile sinisterly. Dusk trotted to the kitchen and returned with a frying pan and a large spoon he found there, then he levitated both objects with his magic and put them next to Spike's ear.

"I know it's not right, but you've already slept enough and you deserve a punishment that teaches you not to drink that kind of stuff again," Dusk said seriously, but then put on a sinister smile. "Besides, I am your older brother, and as a good big brother it's my duty to bother my younger brother from time to time, fufufu..."

"WAKE UP!" Dusk yelled, hitting the pan with the metal spoon, making a great, surprising noise that immediately woke up Spike.

"Waahh!!" Spike screamed, waking with a jump.

Spike looked around until he saw Dusk standing by his side with a wicked smile. As soon as Spike saw his older brother, Dusk could see that Spike had red eyes from the hangover; while Spike stared in astonishment at Dusk, then he saw the pan and understood what had just happened.

"Aww... You're the worst brother in the world..." Spike said lowering his head, grabbing his pillow, and again throwing himself into his basket, covering his head with the pillow.

"That's what you get for drinking things you shouldn't," Dusk said, starting to hit the pan again. "Last night I was compassionate, but today is a new day and you need a lesson. The special fruit punch is for adult ponies, not for baby dragons."

"It's not my fault... I didn't know what it had, the girls said it was a special punch and nothing more." Spike said covering his ears harder, with his eyes closed, trying not to feel his headache.

"So that's it... Then I'll have to talk to the girls about leaving a drink like this within the reach of a minor." Dusk finally said, stop hitting the pan, with a thoughtful look, thinking he would have to talk seriously with his friends.

"Wait a second, you're here!" Spike said opening his eyes and looking at Dusk, but without having the strength to raise his aching head. "What happened to the princess and the rescue mission!?"

For a second Dusk forgot that Spike had missed all his great adventure the day before, a very interesting story with a surprising ending, something he knew Spike would enjoy since Spike loved reading adventure comics. Then Dusk smiled and prepared to tell him the greatest adventure of his life and how now he had finally managed to have friends again.

"Well, it's an interesting story, you'll see-" Dusk began to speak enthusiastically, but was caught in the act by Spike, who raised his claw to stop him.

"Please, stop," Spike said again closing his eyes and covering his ears harder with the pillow. "I don't think I'm in a good state to hear your story now, I have a huge headache... It's like everything trembles..."

Dusk smiled at the comment of his brother, ready to make fun again of his brother's hangover, but stopped when he felt some vibrations, a movement that became greater as the seconds passed, like a tremor. Immediately Dusk understood that it was not that Spike felt movement due to his dizziness and hangover, but that it was really shaking.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," Dusk said to Spike, running immediately to the front door to try and find out what was happening.

As soon as Dusk left the library he saw that all the ponies in town were running like crazy in all directions.

"Stampede!" Rainbow Dash suddenly screamed from the sky, causing Dusk to look up immediately. Then he saw that his friend along with some ponies, including the Mayor, were heading towards the entrance of the town.

Dusk did not waste time and followed that group of ponies, without fully understanding the situation yet. Upon arriving, he saw that a group of ponies had stopped at the entrance to the town, all looking at what appeared to be a cloud of dust approaching Ponyville. Despite the agitation of the situation, his heart was glad to see that in that group of onlookers were precisely several of her new friends: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who had landed next to her friends.

"Emm... Hello girls!" Dusk greeted, nervously at first, but then glad to know that he now had the familiarity and confidence to speak like a friend with those mares.

"Dusk!" The mares greeted happily, forgetting for a second the imminent danger.

"What's wrong?" Dusk asked confused, glancing sideways at the approaching cloud of dust as the tremors increased.

"Oh, Dusk! It's terrible!" Rarity said, as exaggerated in crisis as ever. "A stampede is coming here and no one can stop it!"

Dusk was confused by the words of Rarity, then looked from side to side and saw that no pony seemed to want to move, all them just kept their faces of anguish waiting for the stampede.

"Seriously?! Nopony going to do anything!?" Dusk asked confused to see how defeatists the ponies of the town were, without anyone deciding to defend the town of whatever was coming in that stampede.

Then Dusk took a step forward and lit his horn, putting himself on guard to defend the town from whatever it was that came to attack them, with a look filled with determination, Dusk stared fiercely at the approaching cloud of dust, a fierceness that lasted only a moment until he finally saw what was causing the stampede, they were just a bunch of weeping cows! All running scared of something. Dusk's horn went out in the act without knowing what to do, after all, he couldn't attack a defenseless cow, not even if they're running in a stampede towards the town, they were just cows!

Dusk began to quickly devise a less violent way to stop the stampede of cows as they got closer and closer to town until a sudden shout caused all the ponies to notice a silhouette that appeared behind the cows, running up next to them.

"Yee-haw!" Applejack shouted, running quickly as she tried to steer the stampede of cows to another direction, this with the help of her dog that ran across the stampede following Applejack's instructions. Finally Applejack spun a lasso and deftly laced the guide cow by the neck and made them change direction, so that just at the last moment the stampede of cows was diverted, not reaching the center of Ponyville, stopping to the side from the entrance to the town.

"Wow! Did you see that!? My friend's incredible!" Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly, always enjoying those exciting situations.

"As always, the reliable Applejack has helped us again," The Mayor said, grateful that the crisis had been resolved.

"What? Again? Are stampedes frequent here?" Dusk asked confused. "How come you don't have an alarm or something that at least warns you?"

"Excuse me, hellooo! What didn't you hear me scream 'stampede'?" Rainbow Dash replied, proud to be the self-proclaimed stampede alarm system.

"That's not an effective alarm system," Dusk said looking at Rainbow Dash with a look of disbelief and smugness.

"Well, it's not always a stampede, but something always happens." The Mayor replied somewhat embarrassed.

"Yeah, it's a really fun town!" Pinkie Pie added smiling, who was holding a bucket of popcorn as if she had been waiting all morning for the show.

"But everytime something like that happens, Applejack is always the first to appear," Fluttershy added, also approaching where Dusk was. "She always helps everyone, in fact, she's helping me with the official bunny census."

"Yeah, and she's helping me with a new flight trick I've been practicing." Rainbow Dash added.

"And she's helping me run Sugarcube Corner while Mr. and Mrs. Cake are away!" Pinkie Pie added.

"She's not helping me at all this week, but I was thinking about asking for her help with a little fashion show that I'm having in a few weeks, I'm sure she'll be delighted, she's always so helpful," Rarity said smiling. "We definitely have to repay her in some way for everything she does for us."

"I've already taken care of that," The Mayor added with pride. "This year we'll give a special award to the pony that has contributed most to helping the towns-ponies, and Applejack definitely deserves it!"

While Dusk listened, he was amazed by Applejack, discovering that he wasn't the only one who knew to trust her, all the ponies in town did, which made admiration grow in Dusk when he learned that now he was friends with a pony as reliable as her.

After all that talk, Applejack finally approached her friends, after making sure that the cows were well and that they could return on their own to the meadows. Once she arrived, everyone cheered for her, thanking her for saving the town, mainly her four friends, who approached her with great smiles and expressed how amazed they were at her bravery and courage, something that also highlighted the Mayor.

"You really were amazing!" Dusk finally said after everyone else spoke. "Going alongside that stampede of frightened cows was amazing."

"It's nothing, I just wanted to help." Applejack said smiling, who had already blushed slightly after receiving praise from her friends. Meanwhile, the other four mares were still smiling, but looking closely at Applejack and Dusk.

"You're not only brave and trustworthy, but you're also humble, hahaha." Dusk said smiling, glad to have her as a friend. "You really are a unique mare."

Applejack looked away, embarrassed by Dusk's flattery, while the smiles of the other four mares diminished when they saw that Dusk was focusing too much attention on their country friend.

"Hey, what you did with the lasso was great," Dusk added excitedly getting closer to Applejack. "Could you teach me?"

"Sure, no problem, we can-"

"H-hey! How about I show you some new acrobatics I've practiced?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, speaking to Dusk, standing in front of Applejack to be right front of Dusk herself. "A lasso is nothing compared to what I can do flying."

Applejack was surprised at the intrusion of her friend and opened her mouth to continue talking, but she was interrupted again.

"Or maybe you'd like to come to my boutique, Dusk," Rarity added, also standing in front of Applejack to face Dusk. "I'm creating some fashion sets that would look divine on you!"

Applejack looked annoyed at Rarity for being interrupted again, however she didn't manage to complain as she was pushed unwittingly by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who also advanced to be closer to Dusk, moving her even further back.





"What the hay!? A second ago they were flattering me and now they push me and act as if I weren't here!" Applejack thought annoyed looking suspiciously at her friends, although deep down she knew all her friends had their eyes fixed on Dusk.

"Or maybe you could come with me to Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie Pie added, who like the others, was still trying to get Dusk's attention. "I'm trying to invent a new kind of fruit punch with hot sauce and-"

"Fruit punch! Wait a second, that's what I wanted to talk to all of you about." Dusk said suddenly, now the one who interrupted someone else. That sudden change of attitude in Dusk caught the attention of his five friends.

"Yesterday Spike drank a 'special fruit punch', and now he has a huge hangover," Dusk said trying to look serious, although in fact he still thought it was a bit funny to have seen his younger brother drunk. "Tell me, why did you leave something like that within the reach of a minor?"

The five mares lowered their heads in shame since the truth was that none of them had noticed when Spike had taken that fruit punch until it was too late, so they all felt a little responsible for not having paid more attention to the baby dragon.

"It's... it's my fault, I put that 'special fruit punch' at the party." Pinkie Pie finally said, with a guilty look. "Sorry."

"It's also my fault," Applejack added, who also felt guilty. "I delivered bottles of our 'special apple cider' without even asking what they would use it for, I'm sorry too."

Dusk looked at both mares and saw their faces of sincere repentance, faces that made it impossible for Dusk to really get angry with them, besides he just wanted to know what had happened, he didn't want to punish the guilty of what hadn't been more than a little imprudence.

"Huff... Okay, don't worry, I guess it's my fault for not paying attention to my little brother," Dusk said sighing and trying to cheer them up with a small smile. "Also nopony was hurt, only a baby dragon with a strong hangover, hahaha..."

"Oh! I can help ya with that!" Applejack added cheerfully after hearing that. "In the Apple family, we always have drink contests at family gatherings, that's why we have a homemade recipe that cures the hangovers. If ya want, we can go ask Granny Smith to make some for Spike."

"Really? That would be great! Applejack, you're as reliable as ever! Haha." Dusk said with a smile, focusing his eyes back on Applejack, looking at her with expectant eyes.

As soon as Dusk was going to approach Applejack, Pinkie Pie stood between them with a big and exaggerated smile, while the other mares looked worried from to Dusk and Applejack without knowing what to do.

"Sweet Apple Acres is a long way off, why not have Applejack simply give you the recipe? That would be faster," Pinkie Pie said, staring at Dusk.

"Yes, that would be for the best," Fluttershy added as Rainbow Dash and Rarity nodded, giving their approval to what Pinkie Pie had just said.

Dusk was confused by the surprise intrusion of Pinkie Pie, while Applejack saw Pinkie Pie and the other mares with a look that mixed concern and annoyance.

"Eh... Yeah, I guess that would be faster..." Dusk said thinking that what Pinkie Pie had said was logical. "What do you say Applejack? Would it be okay if we do it that way?"

Applejack didn't look at Dusk, just glanced at her friends and lowered her head, making her hat hide her expression.

"No problem." Applejack finally said without looking up. "I'll tell you the recipe so you can buy the ingredients and you can make it for yourself."

After that, Applejack dictated to Dusk a list of ingredients and told him how to mix them, which Dusk easily memorized thanks to his privileged memory.

"Thanks, Applejack!" Dusk said with a smile after Applejack finished dictating the recipe. "I'll go prepare it for Spike immediately."

Then Dusk quickly said goodbye to the mares, turned around and started jogging in the direction of the library. As soon as Dusk began to move away, four of the mares took a step to follow the colt, but they were immediately stopped by the fifth mare, Applejack, who stood in front of them and glared at them.

"What the hay wrong with y'all!? What was that just now!?" Applejack asked. "I thought everything about Dusk was settled."

"What do you mean, everything is settled?" Rarity asked honestly.

"W-Well... You all felt something for Dusk, that's obvious, but he sees us only as friends, that's all." Applejack replied somewhat nervously. "Even Princess Celestia herself said it, 'The magic of friendship', is not the magic of love like we all thought."

Applejack couldn't help but blush after saying that, just remembering it embarrassed her. When she felt the warmth and well-being of Dusk's magic when they faced Nightmare Moon, it had given her the impression that a new feeling was emerging and taking hold in her, something that she, like her friends, had confused with love, for that reason she and her friends had responded with such confidence when the princess asked Dusk about what kind of magic he had used. After finding out that she had confused friendship with love, a huge embarrassment invaded Applejack, a feeling that was only relieved by two things: to know that Dusk had not been able to hear that; and to know that if it was the magic of friendship that united them and not the magic of love, everything would be easier, since her friends would not have to fight over Dusk. Finally, Applejack had overcome that embarrassment and she was sure that her friends should think the same as her, but with what she had just seen, now Applejack was sure that none of her four friends had given up the idea of getting Dusk's love.

"The princess may have said that, but the truth is that I can't help but feel what I feel for Dusk." Rarity said calmly. "And I think we all feel the same."

"Hey! I... I'm not in love with that idiot." Rainbow Dash added quickly, looking away and blushing.

"No! I... I think that the fact that Dusk feels friendship for us is much better than thinking that he can fall in love with one of us, everything will be better if there is no love in between us. "Applejack said, looking insecurely towards the ground.

As soon as Applejack said that, the other four mares looked at each other with half-opened eyes, everyone with the same thought about what her friend had just said, it was obvious that Applejack did not speak with her heart.

"Anyway, I think what we just did was wrong," Fluttershy said being empathetic with Applejack. "Jealousy should not stop Dusk from approaching one of us, or all of us will lose out."

"Yeah, I think you're right." Pinkie Pie added a little more seriously than usual. "The best thing would be to always tell us the truth and not boycott what the others do, let Dusk choose impartially one of us."

"I already said that I'm not looking to fall in love with Dusk!" Rainbow Dash repeated with the same fake angry look and blushed cheeks.

"Yeah, me neither, I... I'm fine being just his... friend." Applejack added, not being able to look her friends in the eye either.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked at each other with the same look of disbelief they had made a while ago, then both turned to start walking towards their respective places of work.

"Then it's a deal between the four of us that we have things clear, no one will boycott the others and we can continue to fight for Dusk in our own way." Rarity said, beginning to walk. "Meanwhile, we'll continue to wait for the fifth mare of the group to clarify her own feelings."

Pinkie Pie nodded and, together with Rarity, they left.

"That last comment wasn't necessary," Rainbow Dash said, opening her wings and taking off to also return to her work.

"Huff... That was very tense, but at least I made my position clear about Dusk." Applejack said with a sigh, then looked at Fluttershy and smiled. "Hehe, it seems that Rarity and Pinkie Pie also noticed that Rainbow Dash is lying, it's so obvious that she likes Dusk."

"I don't think they were referring to Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy answered without thinking, regretting immediately by thinking out loud, covering her mouth with her hooves, embarrassed.

"What are you talking about? It's obvious that it's Rainbow Dash that lies about her feelings." Applejack asked confused.

Fluttershy looked at her friend, regretting what she had said since now she would have to tell the truth to Applejack, something that could not be avoided, since lying to Applejack was something almost impossible, besides she didn't like to lie unless it was very necessary.

"Umm... Well... It's true that Rainbow Dash tries to lie to us, but the truth is that both she and we know very well what her feelings are about Dusk." Fluttershy answered timidly. "But... you, on the other hoof, seem to try to lie to yourself and hide what you really feel."

Applejack watched in amazement at her friend, surprised at what she had just heard.

"N-No, you're wrong." Applejack said nervously. "It's just that I'm fine just being friends with Dusk, not wanting to go any further before I confuse myself."

"Do you really feel only friendship for Dusk? Nothing else?" Fluttershy asked, looking affectionately at her friend trying not to seem to hard on her.

Applejack opened her mouth to answer, but for some reason, the words didn't want to leave her mouth. Fluttershy saw how confused her dear friend was, but she knew that this was something that she had to meditate and solve alone, since they were her own feelings, so she only said goodbye with a sweet smile and retired to go home, leaving Applejack alone, still lost in the confusion of her own thoughts and feelings.

"I am honest about my feelings ... Aren't I?" Applejack asked herself, still confused as to whether her friends were right or if she was. Then she looked up quickly and realized that she had spent a lot of time standing alone at the entrance to town.

"Enough thinking about meaningless things." Applejack said thinking aloud, shaking her head quickly to clear her mind. "I've got a lot of work to do today, I'll just focus on that an' nothing else."

So Applejack called Winona, her faithful dog, who had helped her herd the cows and who waited patiently near a tree, then they both started on their way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Once Applejack arrived at her family's farm, she immediately went to the apple fields that Big Mac must be harvesting because she thought that if she kept her mind busy with work, she would not have time to think about Dusk or about her current sentimental situation. Applejack arrived in the orchards without harvesting and began looking for her older brother.

"Big Mac! What happened!?" Applejack screamed suddenly as she saw her brother in front of an apple tree, lying on the ground and touching his back while grimacing in pain. Immediately Applejack ran to help her brother.

"I-I'm fine... just a little sore, is all." Big Mac replied, standing up in great pain. "I think pulling the wagon all afternoon yesterday chasing that hoodlum around left me worse than I thought. I thought I'd be fine today, but as soon as I tried to buck the tree, the pain came back."

"That what happens when you overwork your body." Applejack said helping her brother up. "I've never seen you like this before if it's that bad you'll probably have to rest for a few days."

"I can't." Big Mac replied, looking toward the apple orchard. "It's applebuck season, I've got to finish the harvest before the season ends."

Applejack also turned her head to see the sprawling field of apple trees that stretched before her. She had helped many times with the harvest, and year after year she improved more and harvested more apple trees, but the truth was that her brother did most of the work.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to take care of the harvest alone this season." Applejack said kindly to try to reassure her brother.

"You can't do it by yourself, it's too much for a single pony to handle." Big Mac said looking seriously at his sister. "If only our cousins had stayed one more day..."

"Hey! I already told ya, I can do it alone, you don't have to worry, you just need to rest up." Applejack said trying to smile, because the truth was that she knew it was a gigantic task to harvest all the apples without help, but she knew that if her brother didn't see her with confidence, he wouldn't rest, which would only aggravate and complicate his recovery.

"Is there no pony you can ask for help?" Big Mac asked worriedly since he didn't want his little sister to over-demand herself because of him.

"Hmm... well, there's my friends, I guess..." Applejack replied, who immediately thought of her dear and inseparable friends to help her, but then she immediately remembered the discussion they had had that morning, and if they all followed the same goal, which was to get Dusk's heart, how could they think about helping her? They had said they would fight for Dusk, did that mean they would fight each other and treat each other as they had treated her when Dusk approached her? It was obvious that all her friends would change now that each of them wanted something that others also wanted, could she still trust them as she did before they met Dusk? Were they still seeing her as a friend or now they only saw her as a rival?

"I-I don't think they can help me," Applejack added quickly after thinking about all that. "You already know them, Rarity wouldn't want to get dirty, Rainbow Dash is pretty lazy, Pinkie Pie would make a mess, and Fluttershy would be scared of having apples falling on her head, hehe." Applejack finished saying, hiding the real reason why she didn't want to ask for help from her friends.

"Hmm... I guess there's no one else who knows at least how to harvest to help you..." Big Mac said with a squint, because he knew there was a colt that had recently helped Applejack with the harvest, that colt was perfect to help Applejack, but it was also true that he didn't want that colt to approach his little sister, so Big Mac didn't say his name, he just kept a strong internal debate in his mind.

Applejack looked at his brother closely and immediately understood that he was referring to Dusk Shine, but would it be the best option to ask Dusk for help? Probably not, Applejack thought immediately, as she recalled again what had just happened this morning and how her friends had done their best to belittle her when Dusk approached her, and now, even though she had said she saw Dusk just like a friend, if the others found out that Dusk was going to help her, surely a fight would arise and all her friends would get angry with her.

"Oh... So you want me to invite Dusk to help me with the harvest? Knowing what he's capable of doing to me if we're alone?" Applejack asked with a mischievous smile, intentionally putting that gesture so that her brother would tell her not to invite Dusk and not herself, so she could hide the real reason why she couldn't ask Dusk for help.

"O-Of course not! I don't want to see that turkey around here again!" Big Mac responded quickly, falling into Applejack's trap.

"Well, there's no other option, I'll have to do it alone," Applejack added with a smile. "Don't worry big brother, I'm sure I can do it with a hoof tied on my back, I'll be fine."

Then Applejack took her brother by a hoof and invited him to start walking back to the house, while Big Mac looked uncertainly at his sister, not knowing if his little sister could with such responsibility, while Applejack just smiled and kept walking.

"Yeah... everything will be fine..." Applejack added as she walked, glancing behind, at the huge apple field that now she must harvest, with a worried look that she hid from Big Mac. She knew it was a gigantic task, and she really would have liked to ask for help, but the truth was that as things were currently, with her friends involved in a complicated love affair of which only she was saved, she was completely alone this time.





"Come on Spike, we've gotta go to the awards ceremony," Dusk said leaving the library, hurrying his brother since he didn't like being late for any assembly.

"I'm coming," Spike said, hurrying to get out and accompany his brother.

"By the way, I think it'll be the perfect opportunity for you to thank her for the cure for the hangover she prescribed you," Dusk said as they made their way to the town's central square.

"Yeah, it really was a miracle cure, it got rid of that headache in a heartbeat," Spike replied before giving a more scathing look. "But if it was not for her and Pinkie Pie, I wouldn't have gotten intoxicated on that fruit punch in the first place."

"That may be true in part, but you should thank her anyway, we should have thanked her before, but I haven't seen her at all this week," Dusk added thoughtfully, since he had had little free time that week because he dedicated it to sorting his home and correctly classifing each book in the library to make a correct inventory, therefore he hadn't had time to meet with his new friends, but after spending a whole week without meeting them, Dusk realized the great emptiness that was generated in his heart, a void left by the lack of companionship of his friends, so now that he had free time, he was eager to meet again with them.

Dusk and Spike finally reached the central square of Ponyville, which had a small stage very well decorated. It seemed that all the ponies of the town were there, eager to thank the pony that would be awarded that day.

"Hi girls." Dusk said smiling, with joy in his heart, seeing four of his friends gathered there.

"Dusk! Darling, we finally get to see you! Have you completely organized the library already?" Rarity asked, approaching Dusk, while Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash did as well.

"Yes, finally everything in my new home is in order, and as I promised, now I can meet again with all of you," Dusk said something embarrassed for not having been able to meet with his friends that week.

"Well, I wouldn't mind if you took another week off," Spike added with a smile.

Dusk looked at his brother and just gave him a false look of anger while smiling, knowing that his little brother had taken advantage of the time he couldn't meet with his friends. The fact was that that week the mares had tried to invite Dusk to breakfast several times, each one separately, however as he was busy that week, he asked Spike to be him instead, that's how each mare ended up having breakfast with Spike, something that disappointed the mares a little, but only initially, since that way they could know Spike better and also form a bond of mutual friendship, which was one of the objectives of Dusk sending Spike with them, while Spike, enjoyed that week a lot when having free breakfasts and spending time with those mares, especially with Rarity.

"Yeah, it's like you've turned down all our invitations." Rainbow Dash said somewhat annoyed.

"It's not that, it's just that I was really busy, but I swear I'll make it up to you," Dusk replied concerned.

"Oh...! And how are you going to make it up to us?" Pinkie Pie asked, putting on a sudden flirtatious look.

Dusk was thoughtful for a moment until a bright thought came to mind.

"What do you think if I invite you all to breakfast? I'll pay for everything so we can all share together!" Dusk said with a smile.

At the comment of Dusk, the four mares present only smiled with a fake and nervous smile, since what they expected was to have breakfast each with Dusk alone, not having breakfast as a group, but obviously that was something they couldn't admit openly, so they just smiled and resigned themselves.

"By the way, where is Applejack?" Dusk added, looking everywhere. "This ceremony is supposed to be in her honor."

"I don't know, I was wondering the same thing," Fluttershy replied. "It turns out that none of us has seen her all week."

"Welcome, everypony!" Mayor Mare said suddenly, standing on the stage, with a strong voice to be heard by all the ponies present. "It is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, of this year."

"Seriously, what's the pony's hobby of adding 'pony' to all the words...?" Spike said in a whisper, before being silenced by Dusk so he wouldn't interrupt the ceremony.

"The award this year is for a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity." Mayor Mare continued speaking. "Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend, Applejack!"

As soon as the Mayor mentioned the name of Applejack, the curtains that were on the side of the stage were opened and all the ponies present began to applaud, although they quickly stopped doing it after seeing that behind the curtain there was no pony. Suddenly, from one side of the stage, appeared a big red stallion with bandages that surrounded the central part of his body, it was Big Mac, who climbed slowly to the stage and spoke in the Mayor's ear, before the expectant look of everypony.

"What, Applejack can't come because she's too busy?" Mayor Mare asked after Big Mac finished.

"Eeyup." Big Mac replied, who didn't like to talk more than necessary, less in public.

"T-Then I think you can take the prize for her." Mayor Mare said somewhat embarrassed, then she turned back to the crowd and spoke again louder. "Our beloved Applejack is working hard on her farm, so to receive this prestigious award, here is her faithful older brother."

All the ponies looked at each other, they shrugged and re-applauded while the Mayor gave the prize to Big Mac, since everyone knew Big Mac and Applejack, a modest and hardworking family, and if Applejack couldn't attend, it was because she really had to be very busy on her farm, and apparently Big Mac was hurt, so everyone applauded harder to see how a good brother he was. All the ponies applauding except one, Dusk Shine, who as soon as he saw Big Mac go up the stage, he crouched down and covered his face with his hooves, seeing only by one side of his eyes, as if that hid him better in some way from the Big Mac's eyes.

The ceremony was brief, the Mayor gave a trophy to Big Mac, then she gave another small speech and as Big Mac was a pony of few words, he said nothing more, only appreciated the gesture. That's how the ceremony ended and soon the ponies began to return to their work, among them was Dusk, who as soon as he saw that the crowd was beginning to disperse, he began to crawl out of the crowd so Big Mac wouldn't notice his presence, something that it didn't work at all, since Dusk only took a few steps crawling until he saw those huge red hooves had appeared in front of him and blocked his way. Dusk slowly looked up and saw the always serious face of Big Mac staring at him.

"Err... H-Hi... I had not seen you, hehe..." Dusk smiled nervously as he got up.

"Crap! I should have teleported!" Dusk thought scared, because of all the ponies he could find in Ponyville, Big Mac was the only one he didn't want to see, since he had not yet solved the misunderstanding with the Apple family, although for his luck he had find out that all the cousins of Applejack had already traveled back to their own towns, however, there was still Big Mac, and if something Dusk couldn't get out of his head, it was the look of anger that Big Mac had given him when the red stallion chased him with the cart.

Dusk was silent, sweating nervously as Big Mac stared at him, not moving a muscle.

"Listen, Big Mac... I... I already asked for your forgiveness, but I'll do it as many times as necessary, about the misunderstanding that-" Dusk began to speak nervously until he was interrupted.

"Dusk... Please, help my sister." Big Mac said without changing his serious gesture.

That request from Big Mac completely surprised Dusk, who never expected him to would be so calm, let alone ask him for a favor.

"You're the last pony I wanted to ask for something, but Applejack doesn't want to listen to me." Big Mac spoke again, this time with a fleeting look of sadness. "Maybe... She'll listen to you, please make her see reason."

After saying those words, Big Mac took the trophy again and started his way home, leaving Dusk standing there completely confused.

"What was that? What were you talking about with Big Mac? He never talks much," Rainbow Dash asked curiously, approaching Dusk, with the other mares.

"I... I'm not sure what he wanted..." Dusk replied after analyzing Big Mac's words. It seemed that Applejack had a problem and that she didn't listen to Big Mac's advice, but if that was true, why did Big Mac ask him for help and not from the other mares that were also Applejack's friends? The only answer Dusk could think was that it was a problem that only Dusk could solve or it was something Big Mac or Applejack didn't want the other mares to know, whatever the case, Dusk thought that the best option would be to keep it secret from the mares by the moment.

"Didn't it seem weird that Applejack didn't come to the ceremony? She never misses a commitment." Rarity said thoughtfully.

"Well, she promised to help me this afternoon." Rainbow Dash said. "I'm sure she won't miss it, don't worry, if she has a problem, she would definitely let us know."

"I guess you're right." Rarity replied a little more relieved since she knew that Rainbow Dash knew her country friends character very well.

"Sorry girls, I remembered I have something to do, see you later," Dusk added suddenly, smiling and saying goodbye to the mares quickly, something that surprised the mares, who again regretted not being able to spend more time with Dusk.

Dusk began to walk quietly towards the center of the town, then he saw out of the corner of his eyes that his four friends were still talking to each other and not looking at him, then he quickly changed his direction and started trotting in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Dusk didn't know why Big Mac had asked only him for help, but he didn't want to betray his trust and further ruin his relationship, so although Dusk would have preferred to go with his friends to visit Applejack, he decided that the best thing this time was to go alone.

It didn't take long for Dusk until he finally saw the apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, and as he walked, Dusk saw that near where he and Spike had jumped the fence to steal the apples the first time they came to the Apple farm, Applejack was right there. Dusk jumped the fence and approached the mare, however there was no need to get too close for Dusk to realize that something was wrong with Applejack, she was with her head down, as if she were falling asleep, with her mane somewhat messy and dirty, and when she hit an apple tree to harvest it, Dusk realized immediately that it was not the vigorous and firm thud that she gave when he saw her harvesting before, now she was hitting with less force than usual, it even seemed that it was hard for her to lift her own legs, but what struck Dusk most was the fact that Applejack didn't have that vibrant smile when she was harvesting, instead she just walked clumsily and robotically to the next apple tree and repeated the same action without any show of joy.

"Err... Hi Applejack." Dusk finally greeted, approaching his friend.

Applejack didn't seem to listen to him since she didn't even raise her head, she just struggled to raise her hind legs and hit the apple tree behind her.

"Applejack... Did you hear me? Are you okay?" Dusk spoke again, this time louder.

"Eh…? What? Oh! Hi Dusk, W-What are you doing here?" Applejack asked surprised, finally raising her head to see Dusk, showing that she had tremendous bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days.

"I... I came to see how you are... are you okay?" Dusk asked again, concerned to see the status of his friend.

"Yaaawn... Yeah... I'm fine... Why'd ya ask?" Applejack replied with a big yawn.

"Well... It's just that you look very tired." Dusk replied thinking that the answer was obvious.

"Yeah... I've been having some extra work since it's harvest season and Big Mac is injured, so he can't help me." Applejack replied as if it were a minor matter, walking towards the next apple tree.

"Oh! So that's it, Big Mac wants me to help her. Maybe she hasn't asked for my help or that of the others because she thinks it could be a nuisance." Dusk thought.

"So... Would it be okay if I help you?" Dusk asked. "I wouldn't mind giving you a hoof for help, I think it's fun to harvest, even more, if we work together as friends."

"No way! I don't want your help." Applejack responded quickly, taking Dusk totally by surprise at that response. Then Applejack looked behind Dusk, trying to look for something. "By the way... Did you come alone?"

"Um... yes, I came alone, why do you ask?" Dusk asked confused.

"It's nothing... But it would be good if the others don't find out that you were here alone with me, that could only bring more problems." Applejack responded, hitting the apple tree she had behind her.

Dusk was even more confused by Applejack's last comment, but first, he had to solve the first.

"Why don't you want me to help you? We... We're friends now, right? That's what friends do!" Dusk said worriedly.

Applejack looked up to see Dusk and his worried face, at once she felt that she wanted to give in to Dusk's request, because the truth was that she would have loved to receive his help, however she immediately imagined the annoying faces of her friends, pointing her out to be with Dusk, hating her for taking away their chance to be with him, and that was something she didn't want under any circumstances, she didn't want to lose her friends.

"Sorry, I should do this alone, it's... it's a tradition of the Apple family." Applejack lied, lowering her head with regret in her eyes, hating herself for lying.

"But this is too much work, even for you," Dusk claimed. "You also promised to help Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy with their tasks, will you be able to do that?"

"Of course! You must trust me, Dusk, that's what friends do, they trust others." Applejack answered. "If I tell you I can do this alone, you should trust me."

At Applejack's words, Dusk fell silent and thought for a moment. He was not sure how to handle all this situation, after all, he was new to everything involving friendship... Maybe he was wrong and all he had to do was trust his friend.

"I... I guess you're right." Dusk replied, believing that what Applejack was saying was true, but still uneasy to see the deteriorated appearance of his friend.

Applejack smiled tiredly and went to the next apple tree. While Dusk was watching her a moment and then turned to leave.

"Applejack, if you need help, just ask me, okay?" Dusk said before leaving.

"Yeah, of course." Applejack answered smiling, thinking how happy she was that Dusk cared about her.

Then Dusk left and started his way back to Ponyville. On the way, Dusk kept thinking about the matter, about what Applejack had said, those words seemed to have a lot of logic and truth, he had to trust his friends! But then... why did he feel so uneasy about leaving her alone? Was it really the right thing? Dusk felt so uneasy and ignorant because he didn't know those friendship topics, if only he had a book to help him and it indicated what a real friend would do in that situations... Then a brilliant idea came to mind, something that made him hurry to the library as soon as possible.





Rainbow Dash was impatiently waiting at one end of what appeared to be an improvised homemade catapult, which was just below a high diving board, ready to start practicing her new acrobatics trick, but the key piece was still missing, Applejack, her great friend and the only one she could ever trust with her own security.

"What's taking her so long!?" Rainbow Dash thought annoyed, since it was the first time Applejack had made her wait, it was usually the other way around. Then Rainbow remembered that her friend had also missed her ceremony this morning and how her other friends were worried.

"I hope she's okay..." Rainbow Dash said thinking aloud, less angry than worried.

Just as Rainbow Dash was saying those words, a wobbling Applejack finally appeared in the distance, walking very slowly and awkwardly.

"Yawn... Hi, Rainbow Dash, how's it going?" Applejack greeted the pegasus, yawning with a haggard face and a disheveled mane, something that would have scared Rarity instantly, but not Rainbow Dash, who never gave importance to those things.

"There you are! I was worryed." Rainbow Dash said hurriedly.

"I'm a might sorry Rainbow... I was just kind of busy..." Applejack said trying to smile. "Well... what do you need me to do for ya? What's this great new trick uh' your's?"

"Listen... Have you heard that famous phrase that the Pegasus say 'I could do it with a wing tied behind my back'?" Rainbow Dash quickly responded enthusiastically. "Well, I'm doing that! Literally."

Then Rainbow Dash pulled out a rope and tied one of her wings to her torso.

"It'll be an incredible stunt!" Rainbow Dash added after tying the rope. "You will jump from that platform to the other end of the catapult, launching me to fly in a straight line so that I reach the highest possible height, then I'll give a few cartwheels with my only free wing and then I'll fall gently in a great pose at the same point where I took off. It's a stunt that nopony has ever done! It'll leave the Wonderbolts speechless when they see it!!"

"Hmm... uh... isn't that a might dangerous?" Applejack asked after a while as if she hadn't understood everything her friend had told her.

"Not for a pony that can fly." Rainbow Dash answered very confidently. "Besides, I trust you, I know you're the best to help me with something like this."

"Oh... Alrighty then..." Applejack replied, already very tired, so her brain no longer reasoned as before nor saw the real dangers of all that.

Applejack climbed to the top of the platform and looked down, to where on the end of the improvised catapult she should land, which was marked with an X. For any pony it would have been easy to fall into the designated mark, except perhaps Derpy, but Applejack couldn't see the mark well due to fatigue and lack of sleep, she only saw a red mark that moved from one side to another, so she couldn't aim well.

"Now!" Rainbow Dash yelled, standing up straight, pointing a hoof to the sky to fly to stabilize in the air.

Rainbow Dash was waiting for a couple of seconds, looking up at the sky, until she heard a loud thud, but the catapult didn't move. Immediately she looked down and saw that this blow had been Applejack, who instead of falling into the mark, had fallen next to it, landing headfirst into the ground, planting her whole face.

"Um... Applejack ... you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised and worried.

"Ptph! Yeah... I'm fine, I just miscalculated." Applejack replied, peeling her head off the ground like a sticker and spitting some dirt she had swallowed, with her eyes spinning all the way around. "I... I'll try it again..."

Rainbow Dash watched her friend worriedly as she climbed back up the scaffolding, though she decided to trust her. While Applejack was so dizzy and tired that she didn't realize she started talking to herself and thinking aloud.

"How stupid... That was careless..." Applejack said talking to herself as she climbed, something that Rainbow Dash could hear. "Falling face to the ground... I fell in the same foolish way that Dusk fell on the farm... although he didn't fall to the ground..."

Rainbow Dash was still in the correct position to wait for Applejack's jump, but as soon as she heard that she was talking about Dusk, her ears were on alert, however as soon as Rainbow Dash heard that her friend jumped again from the springboard, she returned to concentrate on putting herself in the right position and look at the sky, otherwise it could be disastrous if she flew at the wrong angle. Rainbow Dash waited a few seconds, and the same thing happened again and she only heard her friend hit the ground, not touching the intended mark.

"I... I'm sorry... I'll try again, hehe..." Applejack said, standing up again, dizzier than ever. "Rainbow Dash expects the best of me... I gotta do it and not fall like an idiot again..." Applejack added dizzy, not realizing she was thinking out loud.

Applejack began to climb back to the diving board while Rainbow Dash was still in position ready to take off from the catapult, staring at her friend, besides Applejack's total lack of marksmanship that day, there was another thing that had caught Rainbow Dash's attention.

"Applejack... when did Dusk fall on your farm? Was it when you two first met each other?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously as her friend continued to staggering up the ladder to the trampoline.

"Yeah... he fell from an apple tree on ta me..." Applejack answered without thinking, still dizzy at all, just reaching the top of the scaffolding, then she quickly looked down and jumped again, failing again and falling hard against the ground for the third time.

"Wait... What do you mean, he fell on you?" Rainbow Dash asked, even more curious, who had already put aside the pose she should have to take off and now she was only standing and looking at her friend climbing again.

"He fell on me, right on top of me... with his body on mine and his head on mine, face to face..." Applejack replied dizzy, not realizing what she was saying. "That's how we kissed... he fell on me and his lips met mine... it was... an accidental kiss..."

"So that's how they kissed..." Rainbow Dash thought with a hoof to her mouth and a thoughtful look. "I don't know if that counts as a kiss ... but it's a perfect way to kiss someone and have that 'someone' thinks it was just an accident... I mean, if I did it with Dusk, he would think it was just an accident, right?"

"Here I go!" Applejack yelled suddenly, who this time had taken enough time to make an effort and focus her eyes, jumping off the trampoline.

"Eh? No! Wait! I'm still not in positiooooo~...!" Rainbow Dash yelled, quickly leaving her thoughts, unfortunately too late, this time Applejack had fallen right where she should, causing the pegasus to go up at Mach speed, but because Rainbow Dash wasn't in the correct position, instead of going straight up, she flew off in an arc, without any stability in flight, only flying upside down without any direction, falling into a tailspin.

Farther away, a few steps from the town library, was Dusk Shine, who was concentrating on his reading 'HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS, for fools', the book that the princess had given him when she sent him to Ponyville. Dusk had come to the library and had taken that book to see if he found any useful advice on what to do with the Applejack problem and find out if it was really okay to trust her totally in spite of everything. That's how Dusk started reading the book from the beginning, as always, concentrating totally on what he read, so much so that he almost forgot that Applejack would go to meet with Rainbow Dash, which was the perfect opportunity to see Applejack again and check that she was okay, so he took the book and continued to read it as he walked to where he knew that Rainbow Dash would practice her stunts.

"Well, the book says you should always trust your friends..." Dusk said reading a paragraph from the book as he levitated it with his magic and kept walking. Then Dusk used his magic to move a few pages later in the book. "But this other part, says that you have to help your friends when they have problems... Then I still have my doubts. How can I help her without her thinking that I broke her confidence...?"

"WaaAAHHH...!" Dusk heard a scream come from the heavens, he lowered the book and looked up, seeing Rainbow Dash, who was coming down like a comet right in his direction.

As she was falling, Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that she was falling right at Dusk.

"Dusk is right down below me and I have no control over myself! It means I'll fall right on him!" Rainbow Dash thought frightened, but then the memory of what Applejack had told her about the kiss she and Dusk had had came quickly to her mind and made her blush. "Then this is exactly the same situation...! This is my chance!" Rainbow Dash finished thinking when she was almost facing Dusk, instinctively closing her eyes and putting her lips together, ready to touch Dusk's lips.

At the same time, Dusk saw Rainbow Dash approaching uncontrollably, which immediately caused him to have a deja-vu, remembering the fall he had had on the Apple farm when he had kissed Applejack involuntarily and the subsequent embarrassment they had felt.

"Rainbow Dash will definitely kill me if the same thing happens!" Dusk thought quickly, stepping to the side at the very last second.

WHAM!!

Dusk had smiled when evading Rainbow Dash, but his joy didn't last at all when he realized that by avoiding the pegasus he had left the way free for she to fall flat on the ground. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, who had hoped to fall onto soft lips, had fallen face first into the ground.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay!?" Dusk asked worriedly.

"W-Why did you move!!?" Rainbow Dash asked angrily, with her cheeks blushed, who luckily hadn't hit herself as hard as it had seemed, but she was with all her face dirty, especially in her lips.

"B-Because you were going to fall on me... I'm sorry, I should have caught you or used my magic, I just... I got distracted because the situation reminded me of... something." Dusk replied distressed.

"Yeah! You should have caught me!" Rainbow Dash yelled even more blushing and with her eyes watering, totally embarrassed. Immediately she turned and prepared to fly away, but she forgot that she still had her wing tied, so she just jumped and fell to the ground again.

"Hngh... Why is everything going wrong...?" Rainbow Dash whispered, with her face on the ground, annoyed with herself.

"Wait, let me help you," Dusk said, untying Rainbow Dash's wing. "But why do you have a wing tied? Is it part of your new trick?"

"Yes... but Applejack couldn't follow simple instructions." Rainbow Dash answered standing up, remembering what had happened and worrying. "I don't know what's wrong with her today, she looks very tired and distracted."

Rainbow Dash looked Dusk in the eye and instantly became ashamed again of the ridicule she had just done to herself.

"W-Well, I'm leaving, see ya." Rainbow Dash said quickly, blushing and flying quickly to get away from Dusk.

Dusk watched the pegasus go away and he puts a small smile to see how cute Rainbow Dash looked when she blushed, but of course, that would be something he could never say as he knew that the pegasus didn't like being called 'cute'.

"It's not the time to think about that!" Dusk said shaking his head quickly and then taking a more serious look. "It's time to talk with Applejack again."

Dusk walked to where he knew it was where Rainbow Dash would practice her stunts, there he saw a catapult and a diving board, but no sign of Applejack, so he decided to go to the farm, thinking that perhaps she had returned to work. And it was just there, in the same orchard that Dusk had seen her the last time, where Applejack was again. Immediately Dusk could see that she had worked a lot since that morning since many more apple trees were harvested, however, the amount of apple trees that remained to be harvested remained overwhelming.

"Hey Applejack." Dusk greeted approaching Applejack.

Applejack didn't seem to listen to him even though Dusk was very close to her, she just lifted her hind hooves and kicked an invisible tree, which caused her to almost fall.

"Great Celestia... it's worse than before." Dusk thought worried.

"Applejack!" Dusk shouted, knowing that this would be the only way to capture the attention of that tired mare.

"Um...? Who…? Dusk?" Applejack said in surprise, waking up from her lethargic state, trying to focus her eyes to see who was interrupting her.

"Applejack... You look terrible." Dusk said, speaking bluntly to see how tired her friend was.

"Mighty chivalrous of ya..." Applejack replied annoyed, hitting with her hind legs the apple tree that was behind her, causing all the apples to fall, except one, which bothered the mare.

"I-I didn't mean to sound disrespectful, but... you really don't look good." Dusk said sheepishly. "Listen, I was thinking about what you told me this morning. It's true that friends must trust each other... but it's also true that a friend must help its friends when they see that they have problems. I... I'm not sure which of the two tips I should follow, but all this would be solved if you just asked for help."

"I don't need help!" Applejack said annoyed, again thinking about how her friends would hate her if they saw her being helped by Dusk. "Especially your help..." Applejack added sadly.

Dusk stared at her confused, not understanding the last thing Applejack said.

"Why doesn't she want my help? Does she believe that I will harvest badly? Maybe she doesn't like me using my magic in the harvest." Dusk thought confused.

Applejack looked up at the rebellious apple that had not fallen from the apple tree, then she raised her hind legs to hit the apple tree, but she couldn't aim well and just hit the air, leaving her destabilized for a few seconds.

"Wait, let me help you," Dusk said approaching the tree and stretching to try to reach with his hooves the apple that hadn't fallen, as he thought that using magic might bother Applejack, and if the mare couldn't make that apple fall with the blow of their hooves, a blow from him would not either, so the only option left was to try to reach it from the ground, since the apple was not very high.

Tired as she was, not noticing that Dusk was right behind her, Applejack raised her hind legs again to hit the apple tree hard, but this time Dusk was in between, with the lower part of his body just exposed in front of the rear hooves lifted from the mare, so the strong hooves of Applejack hit a delicate vital part of the colt. Dusk's eyes suddenly turned white as he felt a massive pain in his groin, probably the strongest pain any colt could feel.

"yyyyaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHH...!!" Dusk shouted at the top of his lungs, a loud cry that made all the nearby birds fly away scared, a shout as such that some ponies managed to hear it in the center of Ponyville, a scream of pain that only some stallions understood what was the connection between all males of the same species, which caused them to cry helplessly and pray to Celestia for the welfare of their fallen companions 'family jewels'.





It was already dark and Dusk still hadn't come home, which made Spike worry, especially when the town was rumored of a strange cry that had been heard that afternoon. As the night progressed, there came a point when Spike couldn't wait any longer and decided to go out to look for his brother. The little dragon was about to open the library door when it opened and Dusk Shine finely appeared, walking slowly while his hind legs seemed to tremble. Spike was shocked to see his brother walking like this and seeing that he didn't even pay attention him, Dusk just walked slowly to the library stairs and began to climb to his room.

"Dusk, did something happened to you?" Spike asked worriedly, also climbing the stairs after his brother.

"I... I don't want to talk about it..." Dusk said with a trembling voice.

Finally, Dusk came to his bed, moved the sheets and lay down to finally rest his body. Spike looked at him strangely but thought it was all because his brother was tired, so following his example, Spike laid down in his basket bed next to Dusk's bed.

"So... are you still worried about Applejack?" Spike asked from his bed, remembering that Dusk had told him that before leaving the library.

"The only thing that worries me now is knowing if I can still have kids..." Dusk replied with a sad smile and tears in his eyes, crossing his hind legs, still feeling the pain of Applejack's strong kick. While Dusk fell slowly asleep, he could only be sure of one thing, that the next day would be better, after all, Dusk thought there could be nothing worse than what he had already suffered that day.

# End of Chapter 21
> Chapter 22 - Decision in Applebuck Season
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Decision in Applebuck Season

A new day was here and Dusk got up slowly from his bed, in a good mood, stretching his muscles and smelling a pleasant smell in the air.

"Hmm... it seems like Spike's cooking breakfast." Dusk thought out loud, smelling a delicious scent.

Dusk happily went down the stairs and approached the library's small kitchen.

CRACK!

"Good morning Dusk!" Spike said smiling, wearing a kitchen apron, standing on a stool, breaking some eggs and putting them to fry in the pan. "I made fried eggs want some?"

Dusk's good mood was extinguished when he heard the eggshells cracking, immediately reminding him of yesterday's terrible scene.

"No... I... I've lost my appetite." Dusk answered as his stomach churned.

Dusk walked over to the table, thinking about what else he could eat for breakfast when a sudden memory came to his mind. Today Applejack had promised to help Pinkie Pie with the bakery, which was the perfect opportunity to talk to her again and try to convince her to ask for help for the harvest, also see Applejack in town, away from the apple trees, had the advantage that Dusk could prevent the accident yesterday from repeating.

"I think I'll go get breakfast at Sugarcube Corner," Dusk said thoughtfully.

"I'm coming too!" Spike said quickly, eating his breakfast quickly and approaching his brother. "I love Pinkie Pie's cupcakes!"

Dusk and Spike left the library and headed to Sugarcube Corner, which would be taken care of by Pinkie Pie today since the Cakes had left her in charge due to an important appointment in another city. Upon arriving and entering the bakery, both could see that the place was full of ponies, all sitting, waiting to be served. As soon as Dusk entered and walked between the tables, he could tell that something wasn't right, it was as if all eyes were focused on him, and not normal looks, but looks of anger and distrust.

"What's going on? Why do they all look at me like that?" Dusk thought uneasily after entering the bakery, thinking that maybe it would be best to leave.

"Dusk! I'm so happy you came! I was about to go looking for you!" Pinkie Pie suddenly said with her usual joy, coming out from the kitchen. "Come, come, come with me."

Immediately Pinkie Pie pushed Dusk into the kitchen with her.

"Pinkie, what's going on?" Dusk asked confused.

"Well, you remember that I'm in charge of Sugarcube Corner today? Well, I thought that I could promote the bakery by giving some free samples of my new cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie responded excitedly. "We've been cooking all morning with Applejack, so now-"

"Applejack?" Dusk asked, looking around. "Where is she?"

"Well, she's-" Pinkie Pie answered turning around to point at Applejack but was surprised to not see her. "Huh?"

Both ponies perked their ears to the sound of snoring, then went through the kitchen, behind the main counter, and could see that there was Applejack, sleeping soundly on the floor.

"Applejack?" Pinkie Pie asked worriedly.

"Huh! I'm awake! "Applejack shouted, waking up with a start at hearing her name. "Ju-Just resting my eyes..."

"You... can barely stay awake..." Dusk said worriedly.

"Can so!" Applejack replied annoyed, not paying attention to the fact that Dusk had suddenly appeared there. "I have energy ta spare, so much that I'll even go help Fluttershy after this."

"Applejack, enough! At least let me help you." Dusk said trying to make his friend come to her senses.

Applejack looked at Dusk and then glanced at Pinkie Pie, who was also looking at her with concern.

"I can't let you help me!" Applejack thought conflicted looking at Dusk and then at Pinkie Pie, remembering how competitive her friends had become when talking about Dusk and remembering how they wanted to fight for him. "I... I don't want to lose my friends."

"I don't need help." Applejack finally answered, looking away.

Pinkie Pie looked worried at Applejack, she noticed that she had arrived tired at the bakery, but didn't think it was due to exhaustion, she thought that she only had a little sleep because she woke up was so early, so when they both started cooking, her giving the instructions and Applejack pouring the ingredients, Pinkie Pie only concentrated on the cupcakes and unfortunately didn't pay much attention to her friend, which was now making her feel guilty, because if what Dusk said was true, apparently her friend needed help with something and she I hadn't noticed.

"Pinkie, are the cupcakes ready?" Applejack asked suddenly, dragging Pinkie Pie out of her thoughts. "I'm in a hurry."

"Huh? Yeah... They must be ready by now." Pinkie Pie responded approaching the oven.

Dusk looked at Applejack with reproach, she had suddenly changed the subject just to stop him insisting, annoying Dusk, but he decided to follow the game and not continue insisting for the moment.

"So..." Dusk said looking at Applejack one last time before looking at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, you told me about the free cupcake samples, but I still don't understand something. When I arrived... it seemed as if all the ponies looked at me with suspicion."

"Oh, that," Pinkie Pie said, still crouching, taking the cupcakes out of the oven. "Do you remember that after you shouted at Princess Celestia, many ponies became angry with you and continued to be angry with you despite everything you did afterward to save Equestria?"

At Pinkie Pie's question, Dusk didn't respond, only blushed remembering that shameful event.

"Well, I thought it would be nice to gather all those ponies in one place and make them change their minds." Pinkie Pie added smiling, holding up a tray full of cupcakes. "So I invited them and told them that you had prepared a tasty surprise for them. You will give them these tasty cupcakes, we'll say that you made them and so they'll know what a good pony you are!"

Dusk looked at the cupcake and immediately noticed that they had a peculiar green color, and their smell was also peculiar, if they had shown someone else, Dusk thought they would've said they were bad, but since they had prepared Pinkie Pie, he could take for granted they must be tasty that in spite of his appearance.

"I... I guess it's a good plan..." Dusk said taking the tray, thinking that what Pinkie Pie was saying was true, it was best to improve his image with those ponies of the town that still distrusted him.

"Well... I'm going then," Applejack said, grabbing her hat and staggering toward the back door of the kitchen.

"Oh no, you don't! You wait here, we still need to talk." Dusk said seriously looking at Applejack. "I'll quickly deliver these cupcakes and then we'll talk."

Then Dusk went to the main room of the bakery, followed by Pinkie Pie, both carrying two trays full of cupcakes. As soon as Dusk walked through the doors, he immediately felt the piercing gaze of the ponies digging into him.

"Err... I..." Dusk started stuttering, still getting nervous in front of the crowds and even more knowing that the crowd hated him. "Pinkie Pie and I... well... she cooked and I... eh..."

"Hello everypony! Thanks for waiting!" Pinkie Pie yelled with her usual joy, coming out and seeing how nervous Dusk was. "Our dear Dusk has prepared these delicious cupcakes! A gift from you! I hope you enjoy them!"

Immediately Pinkie Pie and Dusk began to distribute the cupcakes throughout the room to each pony present, and each pony took the cupcake they gave them and looked at it with suspision, which was reasonable given their ugly appearance, in fact, more of the ponies wondered if they were poisoned. When he finished distributing the cupcakes, Dusk immediately realized that none of the ponies were eating them, instead, they all stared at him, as if they expected him or someone else to taste it before to check that the cupcakes were good despite its appearance.

"Mmm...! They're delicious!" Spike said suddenly, who hadn't paid attention to the worried looks of the ponies and had just started eating the cupcakes as soon as they had been served.

When Spike ate the cupcakes calmly and with pleasure, the rest of the ponies present also began to eat the cupcakes. Dusk held a cupcake to his mouth when he suddenly heard a noise behind him in the kitchen, so he put the cupcake down and went back into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Dusk saw that the noise had been the back door closing, Applejack had left.

"That stubborn mare..." Dusk thought, who immediately went to the back door to go to follow Applejack, however again stopped to hear another strange noise, this time from the main room.

Dusk turned around and reentered the main room of the bakery again, there, for some reason, it looked like a war scene, all the ponies were lying on the floor, moaning in pain while the only one standing was Spike, who failed to noticed what was happening around him and just kept eating cupcakes with a smile on his face. Dusk immediately focused his eyes on Pinkie Pie, who had also fallen to the ground and holding her stomach while her face had a faint greenish hue.

"Pinkie! What happened!?" Dusk asked worriedly.

"I think... I think Applejack mixed the ingredients wrong..." Pinkie Pie said as she tried to avoid vomiting. "There were worms and... inedible things... Blugh!"

"You...!" One of the mares that was lying on the floor shouted with effort, pointing to Dusk. "You poisoned us!"

Then, while half of the ponies present were vomiting, the other half stared sobbing with hate at Dusk as their sore stomachs ached.

"Well... now my reputation will improve..." Dusk thought sarcastically with a sad smile of resignation while trying to think quickly about what to do to solve all that disaster.





'Doctor Horse, medical diagnosis.' That was what it said written on the door of the most famous doctor diagnosed by Equestria, an old stallion who limped on one leg, with a disheveled beard, a look of few friends, and an addiction to painkillers. The doctor was always accompanied by three other doctors who helped him and were in his charge, a dark-fur stallion, another blond-fur stallion, and a mare with reddish fur.

"We have ruled out Pancreatitis, Zollinger Disorder and Prune Syndrome, what other rare disease is left to test the patients for?" Doctor Horse said, writing on a blackboard and crossing out the diseases he had already ruled out after doing a series of tests on the patients.

An hour ago a crowd of ponies had arrived at Doctor Horse's office, all with stomach problems. Immediately the doctor started with a series of dangerous and unnecessary medical tests.

"Maybe it's Lupus," said one of the doctor's assistants, the blond stallion.

"It's not lupus! It's never Lupus!" Doctor Horse shouted angrily.

"Maybe you have to believe the patients, they said they ate something that fell badly in the stomach," The assistant said, the reddish mare.

"No, patients always lie... It can't be that simple..." Doctor Horse replied, with his characteristic antipathy.

While all this was happening in the doctor's office, Dusk Shine had spent hours waiting in the hospital waiting room. Using his magic, Dusk had loaded the ponies that were sick in several groups due to the huge amount of ponies, so he had led group after group until all the ponies, including Pinkie Pie, were finally being taken care of by the doctors of the hospital. Finally, after a wait that seemed eternal, a young doctor colt came out to speak with Dusk.

"Good news, after many expensive studies and failed tests, we finally discovered that patients are only suffering from simple indigestion. All thanks to that bloody but brilliant Doctor Horse!" The doctor said cheerfully, before the confused face of Dusk, since he didn't understand how it had taken so long for the doctors to diagnose something so simple. "We already gave them some medicines, for now they only need rest and lots of fluids." The doctor finished saying, seeing a huge amount of medical records that had had to fill and now held in his hooves, a medical record for each pony entered that Dusk had brought and had unconsciously given toxic cupcakes to eat.

"T-That's a relief..." Dusk said sighing. "Can I go see them?"

"I'm afraid not." The doctor replied somewhat worried. "When I asked them if they wanted to receive visitors, all the patients answered unanimously, and in their own words: 'Anyone could visit, except that treacherous lavender colt', only a pink mare was opposed, but since they are all resting in the same room, I'm afraid it wouldn't be good to let you in."

"Yes... I imagine... Sorry for the trouble." Dusk said sadly, lowering his head resigned and confirming that his reputation was in tatters.

Finally Dusk left the hospital, meeting at the entrance with Spike, who had been waiting for him there, still eating the cupcakes prepared by Applejack.

"Doesn't your stomach hurt?" Dusk asked his brother, seeing how calm and happy Spike ate the cupcakes.

"Of course not, they're delicious! I guess the stomachs of the ponies are too weak to appreciate these delicacies." Spike replied, finishing the last cupcake and savoring his fingers.

Dusk smiled faintly at Spike's comment, but quickly returned a look of determination.

"This is Applejack's fault," Dusk said seriously, beginning to walk back to town. "She's so exhausted that she doesn't realize the damage she's doing to others, in addition to the damage she is doing to herself."

"Why didn't you say that it was Applejack who made the cupcakes?" Spike asked, walking alongside his brother.

"I... I don't know." Dusk answered uncertainly. "I think I prefer that the ponies hate me to hate Applejack... she's already too tired with her work and her tasks, I know she doesn't want my help, but at least I'll try to avoid giving her more problems, and if I serve as the scapegoat, so be it. I... I just want to see her happy."

Suddenly Dusk stopped looking horrified, causing Spike to do the same.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked worriedly.

"Fluttershy..." Dusk said worried as he realized something vital. "Applejack said she'd go help Fluttershy! If she left all this mess just by follow Pinkie Pie's instructions badly, I don't even want to imagine what will happen to Fluttershy's little animals, come on! We've gotta hurry!"

At once Dusk began to run to the center of town, as the hospital was at one end of Ponyville and the road to Fluttershy's house was at the other end. While Dusk and Spike ran, none of them noticed that someone had been close to them, a big red stallion who was going to get a medical checkup for lumbar pain and who had heard what Dusk had said.

When Dusk and Spike approached the other end of Ponyville, a loud shout made them jump.

"Stampede!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying all over Ponyville.

Then the ponies of the town began to run, to close the stores and hide inside their homes.

"Wow... and I thought this alarm system didn't work." Dusk thought as he watched Rainbow Dash fly, thinking that he would have to give an apology, because apparently it served as an efficient alarm against stampedes, since all the ponies acted immediately upon hearing her cries.

"Wait a second! If there's a stampede, why doesn't the ground shaking like the last time?" Dusk said thinking aloud.

Dusk and Spike looked up and saw that a cloud of dust was rapidly approaching the town, as Dusk had seen with the cows, however, this cloud was much less noisy, and in contrast, much faster. This was how the cloud of dust approached the town until finally Dusk and Spike could see the animals causing the stampede, something that surprised and stunned them for a few seconds. In front of them, running towards the town, there were hundreds of little bunnies, running scared and finally entering the town.

"Hahaha! What the heck? They're just rabbits! What harm can simple rabbits cau-?

Spike stopped talking when he saw his mortal enemy face to face. A few meters away from him, as if he were a military leader, was Angel bunny, for some reason riding Winona as if she were a steed, with a carrot in his paw that simulated a sword. As soon as Angel saw Spike, he stopped and saw him with a penetrating look, the same piercing look that Spike gave him.





"Squeak!" The little white rabbit shrieked, pointing his carrot at the dragon. Then a dozen little rabbits, like a battalion following their general, followed Angel and jumped Spike.

"Aaahh!! Not again!" Spike screamed as he saw the white rabbit and his comrades approaching.

Spike immediately ran to escape the attack, while Dusk just stared incredulously at the bizarre image of seeing a dragon running scared of some bunnies. Besides, he didn't know what to do, he couldn't attack those cute bunnies, so he just watched as they and the other rabbits entered the town and began to eat in some stores that hadn't closed, like stalls vegetables, and the flower stand, where the three mares that Dusk knew and who attended that place were already fainting.

Finally, the initial chaos began to clear as the rabbits dispersed, each rabbit calmed down after eating, and the great majority fell asleep after satisfying their hunger, which calmed the environment and allowed the ponies to leave their homes. As for Spike, Dusk couldn't find a trace of him.

While Dusk walked the streets doing a count of damages, which in reality weren't many, then finally the mare responsible for watching over these bunnies appeared. Fluttershy appeared running, scared to see how the bunnies had caused havoc and annoyance among the ponies, she immediately began to apologize to everyone, although no one blamed her for anything.

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Dusk asked kindly, approaching the pegasus.

"I-I'm so sorry, this was all my fault," Fluttershy replied with her eyes almost ready to cry. "I should've been more careful."

"Don't worry, nothing serious happened, although if any of your bunnies know where Spike is, I'd appreciate it, hehe," Dusk said jokingly trying to calm Fluttershy. "By the way, shouldn't Applejack be helping you?"

"Uh... Yes, she was with me. She tried to herd the rabbits, but they got scared and ran away." Fluttershy said timidly. "I... I should have seen how tired she was, I should have let her rest and have taken care of everything on my own... I'm sorry."

Dusk saw how affected Fluttershy was and again he remembered the incidents with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

"It's not your fault, it's mine for not having been firmer when talking to Applejack," Dusk said, he turned around and starting to jog in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, he had made a decision, couldn't keep wavering, Applejack wasn't only being a problem to herself but to her friends as well, so he wouldn't leave Applejack alone until he got her accept his help.

It didn't take long for Dusk to run to the farm of the Apple family, and even less to find Applejack, who was at the end of one of the orchards that had already been harvested almost in its entirety. When approaching, Dusk could see that Applejack was practically a zombie, she had her eyes closed, with a tremendous dark circles under these, beating the apple trees monotonously with little force, it seemed that at any moment she would fall faint.

"Applejack! I've come to help you!" Dusk hollered once he reached the mare's side, knowing that she would not hear him any other way.

Applejack was startled by the yell and realizing Dusk's sudden presence.

"Uh? Help? No... I don't need help..." Applejack finally answered after a long silence in which her sleepy brain processed what she had just heard, with her eyes barely open. At once she turned her back on Dusk and started walking slowly towards another apple tree.

Dusk put on a face of determination and used his magic to teleport and appear right in front of Applejack, causing her to almost fall backward in surprise.

"Enough Applejack! Please let me help you," Dusk said, putting a hoof on Applejack's chest. "I know you asked me to trust you, and I really do trust you! You know I do! But now I want you to trust me. You're wrong, you can't do this alone, trust me and let me help you."

Applejack raised her tired head to see Dusk in the eye and saw his determined gaze seeing her. Everything Dusk said was true, she knew it, she was so tired of working this whole harvest all alone that she could barely stand, she wanted to ask for help, and she would have loved to ask for the help of that particular colt that really wanted to help her, but then Applejack remembered her friends again, she didn't want to be hated by them, she didn't want to fight with them just for a colt, even if that colt was Dusk Shine, the only colt she could think of every time she felt helpless and needed help.

"I... I can't..." Applejack said with her glazed eyes, having a struggle of feelings inside her, feelings that she wanted to express and feelings that she wanted to repress. "I-"

Applejack couldn't finish due to a sudden warm hug from Dusk, which left her totally speechless. When Applejack was talking, Dusk could see the doubt in his friends eyes, instantly he knew she would refuse him again, which immediately gave him a twinge in his heart, he didn't want to keep seeing Applejack in this state, he didn't want to see her suffer anymore, it was then that Dusk's mind stopped thinking clearly and without realizing it, he was guided only by his emotions and his heart, those who told him to embrace her and be totally honest.

"I don't want to see you suffer like this," Dusk said tenderly with his eyes closed as he continued to hug Applejack tightly. "It hurts to see you like this, you don't know how important you are to me, so, please. Please! Realize that I am here and that I want to be by your side. Let me help you."

This was too much, more than Applejack's heart could handle. She was the bearer of the element of honesty, very few ponies were as openly honest as she was, so she realized when the ponies were lying or telling the truth, a sixth sense that she always had, so, she could know when someone was lying because she felt that the heart of that pony hid something and knew when someone was telling the truth when she didn't feel it, but now she felt something that she had never felt, she felt that Dusk's heart wasn't hiding anything, it had opened completely, and for the honest Applejack, there was nothing so beautiful as hearing the words from the heart being totally open and honest. Upon hearing those words of deep affection and concern in her ear, being embraced tenderly and warmly, Applejack felt helpless, she felt that her strength left her completely, all her muscles relaxed but one, her heart, that began to beat fast. The memories of her friends began to circulate Applejack's mind, causing tears to fall when she realized that she'd surrendered, she knew that for the sake of her friends she had to keep Dusk away from her heart, but she couldn't anymore, after that hug her heart wouldn't allow her to do so.

"Okay..." Applejack finally replied as she continued to be hugged, with her eyes closed and a tear on her cheek, a tear that symbolized two things for her: guilt for believing that she was betraying her friends, and happiness, for not wanting that moment or that hug to ever end.

Those words were the last she could utter and hear before finally falling asleep completely exhausted, due to the great fatigue that had accumulated in her body all those days and that she couldn't take anymore.





Applejack awoke with a shock, not because she had heard a noise or something, but because her nap had been as if she had blacked out, and having already rested, her mind went on quickly, making her remember that she was working and that she should keep doing it.

Upon awakening, Applejack looked around confused, she was not in the orchard where she thought she'd be, she was in her bed, wrapped comfortably. Then she took her head and tried to remember what was the last thing that happened before falling asleep, then she remembered Dusk's arrival and everything that had happened.

"I... I fainted..." Applejack said, thinking aloud.

The door of her room opened softly and through it came Big Mac, holding a tray with a plate of food and a glass with apple juice.

"Morning, little sis," Big Mac said, laying the tray on Applejack's bed.

"Big Mac... what happened?" Applejack asked still confused.

"Well, it looks like you fainted," Big Mac replied trying to see his sister seriously, but deep down he was just glad to see that she was alright. "You've slept a whole day since yesterday, I told ya that overwork was dangerous and that the harvest was no job for one pony."

Upon hearing that, Applejack immediately tried to get up but was quickly stopped by her brother.

"What're you doin'? I gotta go back to work," Applejack said confused.

"Nope, what you need is to rest a little more." Big Mac replied, looking calmly at his sister. "Besides, there's already somepony doing your job... five to be exact."

Applejack didn't understand what her brother said, so she got up from the other side of the bed and went to the window of her room, from there she was surprised to see in the distance the colorful manes of her friends, who seemed to be harvesting the apples of the orchard.

"At first Dusk started to harvest on his own, but I told him it was a lot of work for a single pony," Big Mac added, approaching Applejack. "Then he asked me if there was any problem with him calling his friends to help too, I said no and then all your friends came to help. You know, it seems that Dusk had this silly idea that the harvest could only be done by the members of the Apple family, some family tradition or something like that. Wonder where he got that idea from."

"And despite all that, he still wanted to help," Applejack said with a small smile.

"Eeyup, he said that your welfare was more important to him than what you could ask or demand, he even confronted me, thinking that I'd stop him," Big Mac said with a small smile that he quickly hid. "It was real similar to what I heard him say when he left the hospital that afternoon, he said he was willing to do everything, even to blame himself, just to not cause you more problems and to see you happy."

At Big Mac's comment, Applejack couldn't help but blush as she continued to see her friends in the distance.

"That doesn't mean I like him," Big Mac added quickly, trying to look serious. "But... at least now I know he's a trustworthy pony."

"Yes... he is..." Applejack said with a sigh, leaning her head against the window frame, not knowing exactly how to feel about it, although little by little her thoughts and feelings that were once turbulent, became clearer.

After convincing her brother that she was really fine, Applejack left her room and went to where her friends were, after all, she had many things to tell them. As Applejack left the house, Big Mac stared at her as she walked away.

"Wonder if I should tell her what Dusk said after she fainted..." Big Mac thought, remembering the day before when he was going to talk to his sister and saw that she and Dusk were holding each other, then he saw how Applejack fainted without Dusk noticing it at first, so Dusk, totally blushed, said something that Applejack could not hear.

"Hey girls," Applejack said once she got to her friends.

"Applejack!" Her four friends said in unison, who immediately approached their friend and asked her if she had had enough rest and if she felt better, questions Applejack answered affirmatively with a big smile.

"Yes, I'm better, thank you so much," Applejack said, who only then realized that in that group was missing someone important. "By the way, where's Dusk? Big Mac said he was also helping."

"That's right," Rainbow Dash replied. "Until Dusk hit an apple tree and Spike fell from it, it seems he hid on top of an apple tree since yesterday, so Dusk took him to town. That was a relief since we were all worried about where the little guy was."

"Yes, I asked Angel yesterday and he told me not to worry," Fluttershy added sadly. "I'll have to have a serious talk with that naughty bunny for scaring poor Spike."

"Anyway, Dusk left but said he would be back soon." Pinkie Pie added.

"That's good... it's easier to say what I have to if he's not here," Applejack said biting her lip.

"Uumm... Applejack, I... I'm sorry," Fluttershy said suddenly sadly. "I should've noticed how exhausted you were, I shouldn't have asked for help when you were so tired, I... I'm really sorry."

"Me too," Pinkie Pie added drooping her ears. "We're your friends, and we didn't realize what was happening to you."

"Even I didn't know how exhausted you were, I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash added, embarrassed.

"Don't worry, it was not your fault, it's mine." Applejack said with a small smile.

"But darling, if you had so much work, why didn't you ask for our help?" Rarity asked worriedly. "I mean, you know I don't like getting dirty, but I would definitely make the effort to help you as much as I could, darling."

"Yeah... that's what I wanted to talk about," Applejack said, embarrassed, head down. "That morning of the stampede, I saw how all of you left me aside after Dusk tried to talk to me, then we talked about friendship and love, and you said you'd all fight for Dusk. That's why I didn't want to ask for your help, neither yours or Dusk's, I... didn't want to put our friendship at risk."

The four mares were surprised to hear that, and this time it was their turn to be ashamed.

"Applejack, I... we're sorry we made you feel bad," Rarity said sadly. "Jealousy definitely got away from us that morning, but that doesn't mean we would stop being your friends, I thought you understood that with what we talked about later."

"Yes, what we did definitely wasn't good," Fluttershy said.

"But when we said fight for Dusk, we meant to fight for his love, not really fight each other," Pinkie Pie said with a tender smile. "Each one of us wants to win Dusk's love, but no way would we let go of our friendship for that."

"I... I knew it, deep down I knew it, but... I needed you to tell me because I... I was terrified that you would tell me something different and you'd hate me for it." Applejack said with a tender smile, happy to have solved that doubt she had about the feelings of his friends. Then Applejack sighed heavily and looked a little seriously at Rarity.

"Now I understand what you said that morning, about one of us not understanding her feelings. It was me, I was the one who doubted what I really feel about Dusk. But I think I know now," Applejack said with determination, with her mind clear, and her ideas and feelings in order. "I still don't believe in love at first sight, and I still believe that I didn't fall in love with a crush like you did..."

At that, Rarity prepared to interrupt, but Applejack continued talking after that short pause.

"However... I know now, that I... I'm really starting to fall in love with Dusk," Applejack said with determination filling her eyes. "I don't know what the future holds for us, so, I won't close myself to fighting for his heart, because I can't deny that with each passing day, he takes a bigger place in my heart."

Then Applejack stretched out one of her hooves between all her friends.

"That's why it won't be only four fighting for Dusk, it'll be five! Five friends who will always be friends and who will fight in their own way to conquer Dusk," She finished saying, with her characteristic look of security and a smile of determination.

The other mares smiled the same way, and one by one they brought their hooves closer to Applejack's.

"That's right!" Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie said, who had brought their hooves together. Then the four looked at the only one left to put on her hoof, Rainbow Dash, who was only blushing, trying to look away from her friends.

"I... I told you I'm not in love with that idiot," Rainbow Dash said, blushing, but bringing her hoof closer to her friends. "So-I'll just put my hoof in so I won't be left out, that's all!"

The other four mares looked at each other, and they all burst out laughing seeing the bad girl in their group blush like that. Thus, after a long time, the five mares could finally laugh together as they hadn't done for a long time, all with the same goal in common, all fighting with each other but determined to continue being the same friends as always.

# End of Chapter 22
> Chapter 23 - The Ticket that Nopony Wants
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ticket that Nopony Wants

It was a warm afternoon in the apple orchard of the Apple family, there, two ponies were hugging under an apple tree, the same apple tree in which both ponies had kissed by accident on the first day they met.

Dusk was hugging Applejack, he had done it impulsively, all so that his friend didn't refuse his help. It was so that she finally gave in and whispered an 'It's okay' in his ear and finally accepting his request to help. Instantly, Dusk felt that Applejack's muscles were no longer tense, which he attributed to her having finally relaxed, so Dusk kept hugging Applejack, thinking that this hug should last longer, since what his friend needed most at the time was to relax.

While Dusk hugged Applejack, he remembered the hug he had also given Rarity a few days ago, although that hug hadn't lasted as long as the hug he was giving at that precise moment, which made many more ideas cross his mind while hugging her.

"The hugs are so warm... Maybe... The contact of other ponies is always so warm...?" Dusk thought, he was relaxed, letting himself be carried away by how good the hug felt, remembering the few hugs he had given in his life, because normally he was very shy in that aspect, always reluctant to such displays of affection, even to his own family.

"I... I feel good being like this with you..." Dusk told Applejack, thinking out loud. Dusk immediately realized that what he said had been very embarrassing, which made him quickly open his eyes and blush for saying that to Applejack out loud.

It was only then that Dusk broke away from the hug and realized that Applejack had passed out.





"Thank Celestia she didn't hear me say that. That would have been so shameful." Dusk said to himself, remembering what happened that day.

Dusk Shine rested quietly in his room, with his back on his bed, his eyes closed and one of his hooves covering his face, trying to hide his blushed cheeks. He had spent most of the morning resting in his room, something he hasn't done for a long time since he and his friends spent the whole week helping Applejack finish the apple harvest before the end of the season, and now that they had finally finished, Dusk wanted to take some time to finally relax a bit, to look back and meditate on everything that had happened.

Dusk took a deep breath, totally relaxed as he hadn't been for days, not only because he no longer had to go work at the farm, but because now he could be more relaxed when he’s with his friends. Dusk didn't know why, but after solving the problem with Applejack, he now feels much more comfortable when he is surrounded by his friends, because for some reason, that he didn't understand at all, it seemed that the mares were more calmer when he was around them. They no longer pounced in front of him to get his attention, now they all looked much more relaxed and chatted quietly with him without that struggle to capture his attention, that he had to live with in the first few days in Ponyville. That was something he had attributed to being the new friend in the group, without even going through his mind that there had been a deeper reason why the mares wanted to get his attention, Dusk only thought that the mares had finally accepted him fully in the group, and that made him feel relax and happy with himself.

That small but significant change in the relationship with his friends had made Dusk reformulate the thoughts he had on friendship. Since at the beginning, when Princess Celestia assigned him the task of studying the magic of friendship, he thought it would be something easy to handle, but after what happened with Applejack, Dusk realized that friendship would be something much more complicated to study than he thought. He experienced it in his own flesh to see all it had cost him to convince Applejack to accept his help in the harvest, something he finally did, and from that he learned new things about friendship, things that he had to inform Princess Celestia. After all, it was her who commissioned him to study that powerful and confusing magic called friendship.

With that last thought in mind, Dusk got up and went to the desk in his room, which was full of papers and scrolls that he had written in the last few nights, he wrote many of his ideas about friendship in them, there was also the book on how to make friends, with many paragraphs marked by Dusk, and a few spreadsheets on top of the book. As he approached, Dusk sat down, picked up a quill and began to write, he could wait no longer, he was determined to write to the princess, even though some of his ideas were not yet complete:

"Dear princess Celestia.

This week I had a problem with my friend Applejack, probably my first big friendship problem after making new friends. She had a problem that she wanted to solve on her own, a task that was almost impossible to do alone but she insisted that she wanted to solve it on her own. I looked for help in that book you sent me, but I realized that it is not a very effective manual, since it has advice, but no instructions or order to follow.

Finally, the experience solving this problem led me to the following conclusion:

Law of friendship No. 1: A friend must always watch over the welfare of their friend.

Law of friendship No. 2: A friend must always trust their friend, except when it would conflict with the First Law."

At this point Dusk stopped writing, without letting go of the quill, and looked uncertain at some of the spreadsheets he had filled out with numbers and logical equations. Then he bit his lip and continued writing:

"I am still trying to express all this as a mathematical equation, as soon as I succeed I'll send it to you, since I am sure that friendship can be expressed as a mathematical-logical axiom, since by applying these laws I was finally able to solve my friend's problem.

As soon as I have more discoveries about friendship, I'll send them to you.

Yours respectfully, your faithful student, Dusk Shine."

As soon as Dusk reached the end of the letter, he re-read it while a look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face. When he finished reading it, he sighed heavily and dropped his head on the desk, this was his fifteenth attempt to write a letter to the princess telling her about his discoveries of friendship and he was still unhappy.

For several nights, every time Dusk returned from work on the farm and had free time, he had written many theories about friendship, about what he had learned, in addition to filling many spreadsheets trying to present his ideas in a more scientific way, if possible, mathematically, since Dusk was convinced that the princess expected the best from him, and he couldn't simply send her a letter saying something as simple as that he had discovered that 'the welfare of a friend is first and foremost', that's why Dusk, being as methodical as ever, tried to express his discoveries with logical and mathematical formulas, something that obviously hadn't paid off, because without realizing it, he was trying to impose logic on feelings, that is, he was trying to put logic to something illogical.

Dusk continued to brood on the matter while his head tried in vain to express in laws and formulas what he felt for his friends, while without realizing a small and tiny idea was making its way into his head, an idea that still didn't convince him at all but had already appeared to stay, the idea that perhaps friendship was not something that could be expressed in numbers, but something that could only be felt.

Finally, Dusk gave a strong sigh and rolled the scroll with his magic, determined that this was the letter he would finally send, since it was the letter that had left him the most satisfied, where he expressed his experiences and learnings about Applejacks problem, besides applying certain logical parameters to his discoveries of friendship.

Dusk got up from the chair and opened the door of his room to go down stairs to the hall of the library. Once there, he approached a scaly figure that was there, it was Spike, who to Dusk's surprise, was absorbed in reading a book.

"Wow, I didn't know you would like scientific reading, especially..." Dusk said when he approached his brother, bending his head to see the cover of the book. "...'Jewels and Gems of Equestria'?" Dusk finished, reading the title of the book.

"Ah!?" Spike said surprised, taking off the book, looking up to see his older brother and showing the images of bright gems that were illustrated in the book. As soon as Spike looked up, Dusk saw a trickle of drool fall from his brother's mouth, as if he was seeing the most delicious thing in the world.

"Do you really miss eating gems so much?" Dusk asked, smiling as Spike wiped the drool in his mouth with his claw.

"Of course! They are an addiction, they are the tastiest things in the world!" Spike replied as his eyes sparkled, before giving Dusk a more scathing look. "If you hadn't spent so much money on the library, you could have bought some sweet gems..."

"Hey! I needed to get the library in great condition before opening it to the public!" Dusk said, pretending to be offended. "In addition, I'm close to getting the payment this week."

"Hngh..." Spike growled resigned, dropping forward, resting his chin on the ground, looking up at Dusk. "What are you holding there?"

Dusk took the scroll that had been levitating and moved it close to Spike's mouth.

"It's a letter I want you to send to the princess." Dusk said with a somewhat pleading look at his brother, seeing that he was not in a good mood and knowing that he was depending on his little brother to get the letter to reach the princess.

"So you finally finished it." Spike said without moving, only reluctantly spitting out a small green fire that quickly consumed the scroll, activating its shipping magic. "At last! You've spent so many nights trying to finish it."

"Yes... I know..." Dusk embarrassingly said. "By the way, you should stand up, you know that the princess normally answers my letters immediately, and I don't think that's a comfortable position for you to receive a letter."

Spike stood up, knowing that his brother was right, then he got in position to receive the princess's response at any time, with his feet fixed on the floor, his claws facing forward waiting for the thrust of the magical belching, and a tense look on his face, because it was something uncomfortable for the little dragon when the letters arrive without warning; while Dusk looked straight at his brother, as tense as he was. Several minutes passed, however the answer didn't come, so both the unicorn and the dragon shrugged and began to return to their routine.

"I guess the princess is busy. Changing the topic, will you continue reading that book of gems and jewels?" Dusk said, returning to normal.

"Yes, I- BUUURP!" Spike belched without warning, releasing a green flame from his mouth, from which appeared a small scroll. The unexpected belching, added to the magic force, caused Spike to jump back and almost fall to the floor.

"Cough! Cough... I told you... She does it on purpose!" Spike said angrily, rubbing his claw over his mouth, knowing that the princess enjoyed teasing him, and thinking that somehow, she knew when he was not ready, always sending a letter when he least expected it. "Can you imagine if she would make me burp in front of Rarity!?"

"There, there, it's just a burp." Dusk said trying to keep Spike from getting upset but thinking to himself, he couldn't rule out that the princess would actually do that on purpose, just to have fun at the little dragon's expense. Then Dusk stretched the scroll that had arrived and began to read it.

"What did the princess write to you?" Spike asked, approaching.

"It's not from the princess... Or at least not from her own hoofwriting." Dusk replied, lowering the scroll so that Spike could read it.

Dusk was holding something golden that had fallen from the scroll while Spike read the letter:

"Dear Sir.

It is a pleasure for me to extend this double invitation to the biggest event of Equestria of the year, 'the Grand Galloping Gala', it is to be held in the royal castle of Canterlot.

It will be an honor to have you and your partner on such a special occasion.

Please confirm both names and assistance as soon as possible.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia."

Obviously this was a standard letter sent to all the guests for the celebration, Dusk knew it since the princess would never write a personal letter so cold and without even mentioning his name. However, this invitation had come through Spike's magical fire, which meant that although she hadn't personally written the letter, at least she had personally sent it.

"What is that?" Spike asked, seeing what Dusk was holding with his magic.

"It came with the letter, it's a ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala." Dusk responded by bringing the invitation to Spike so he could see it. It was a small golden ticket, very elegant, in which it said: 'Invitation for two, for the Grand Galloping Gala', followed by two dotted lines for the unicorn to write down the two names of those who would attend.

Dusk stopped levitating the golden ticket so that it can fall into Spike's claws, the dragon had his claws outstretched and was about to catch the ticket when he had a revelation and he quickly put his claws away, causing the ticket to fall to the floor.

"What's wrong? Why didn't you catch it?" Dusk asked with a curious look.

"You're going to that party, right?" Spike asked with a suspicious look.

Dusk didn't answer, he just blushed, looking away from Spike's gaze.

"I knew it! You don't want to go! I know your tricks!" Spike said annoyed. "If I caught it you would say it's my problem now! Isn't it?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Dusk said blushing, still not seeing Spike in the eye, lying as badly as Applejack did.

"Don't cheat me, I won’t fall into that trap." Spike said a little annoyed. "The princess sent it to you, so you're the one who should go."

"Nooo...! Please, I don't want to go!" Dusk finally admitted the truth, looking pleadingly at his little brother. "It'll be full of snobbish and elegant ponies, everything will be so boring... I've never been to one Gala before, but I've seen the ponies that go to those parties, I definitely will not stand a minute surrounded by those ponies."

"Well, then don't go." Spike said with a shrug.

"It's not that simple, this is an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala! The most prestigious event in all of Equestria! In my case, an invitation sent personally by Princess Celestia! I can't just reject it and say I'll not go." Dusk said nervously looking at the ceiling, then lowering his eyes to look askance at his brother. "But if it were someone in my place... Someone worthy who could represent me and go in my place..."

"No! I definitely will not go!" Spike said crossing his arms. "You said it yourself, it's just a silly party for elegant and unpleasant Canterlot ponies, there is nothing in the world that would make me go there."

Dusk lowered his head, his plan had failed, Spike had anticipated his movement and now he would have to go to that elegant party and have to socialize with those false and upstart Canterlot ponies, he didn't want to go, but he couldn't just reject an invitation to an event as important as that, if only he had convinced Spike to go in his place... It was then that a brilliant idea appeared in Dusk's mind, which made him have a wicked smile.

"Oh, well, there is no other alternative, I guess I'll have to go." Dusk said suddenly, feigning disinterest. "Yeah... it's a pity you don't want to go in my place, because I know a fine and elegant white unicorn who would love to go to a party like that..."

Spike almost jumped when he heard what Dusk said.

"R-Rarity?" Spike asked with his eyes open, looking with full interest at Dusk.

"Yeah, you know how she likes all that glamor and stuff, she would definitely scream with joy and be deeply grateful if someone invited her to such an important and luxurious event..." Dusk said looking at Spike and smiling at the sight that his brother fell into his trap.

The dragon put a claw in his mouth and fell silent while fantasizing. Dusk didn't need to read his brother's mind to know what the dragon was imagining as he saw the dreamy look of his little brother while his cheeks blushed, and he put a silly face. Then Spike realized that he had been making a foolish face, he shook his head quickly and tried to look seriously at Dusk.

"W-Well... if you insist so much, I guess I could do you the favor of going to that party in your place." Spike said slightly blushing as he stretched his claw, so Dusk would hand him the ticket.

"Well said casanova!" Dusk said quickly, handing the ticket to Spike, happy to know that he had been saved from having to attend that boring party.

Spike held the ticket between his claws and a big smile grew on his face as he imagined himself entering the Grand Galloping Gala accompanied by Equestria's most beautiful mare, his beloved Rarity.

"I'll be back!" Spike said, full of joy, holding the ticket and running to the library door to go immediately to his beloved's house to invite her as soon as possible.

Dusk watched happily as his brother left the library in the direction of Carousel Boutique, glad that everything had gone well, after all he had got away with it, but Spike was also happy, it had been a win-win agreement for both, now on the day of the Gala he would be able to rest in his room comfortably while Spike was going to dance and have fun... along with... Rarity. As soon as Dusk thought of one of his new friends dancing romantically with someone else, his heart tightened for a second.

Meanwhile, Spike had already arrived at Carousel Boutique, he had ran at full speed to the house of Rarity, where before touching the door, he rested a bit to recover the air, then he adjusted his scales a bit like a hairstyle, and finally he knocked on the door.

"Come in ~!" The melodious voice of Rarity said from inside the house.

Spike opened the door and entered the boutique, his eyes shining with excitement to see there the beautiful white unicorn with her stylish purple mane, levitating with her magic a dress that she seemed to be fixing.

"Oh! It's you, my cute Spike, what brings you here?" Rarity said smiling, leaving the dress aside and approaching the dragon.

As Rarity approached, Spike's confidence was fading as he grew more nervous to be so close to his muse.

"I... uh... I..." Spike began to stutter; his cheeks were red as Rarity watched him with a calm smile.

"Come on! This is your chance! What are you? A dragon or a chicken!?" Spike thought as he tried to cheer himself up for what he was going to ask of the unicorn.

"T-The princess sent this invitation to Dusk for the Grand Galloping Gala..." Spike began to say without being able to see Rarity in the eyes because of his embarrassment, stretching out his claw in which he held the ticket for Rarity to see. "It's a double invitation... and I-"

"The Grand Galloping Gala!" Rarity shouted excitedly, widening her eyes. "The party that brings together the most elegant ponies in the whole kingdom! I design ensembles for the gala every year but... Wait! Did you say it was a double invitation?!"

"Y-Yeah..." Spike replied a little nervous to see how exalted Rarity had reacted. "I guess the princess sent it to us so that Dusk and I could go, at first neither of us wanted to go, but since one of us must go, we decided that we can use the double invitation to-"

"Are you coming to offer me the invitation for free!? Oh my, say yes! SAY YES!!" Rarity shouted euphorically, with her eyes shining, holding Spike by the shoulders and bringing her face close to Spike's.

"Th-That's right..." Spike replied completely blushing by having Rarity's face so close to his.

"KYAAAA!!! I'll go to the Grand Galloping Gala! I'll go to the Grand Galloping Gala!" Rarity shouted, full of emotion, so happy that she gave Spike a strong kiss on his cheek in gratitude before releasing him, then she began to jump for joy around the living room of her house.

"Dusk invited me to the gala~! Dusk invited me to the gala~!"Rarity began to sing, even more excited knowing that not only would she go to the gala, but she would go with her beloved Dusk. Then, suddenly she stopped short with a nervous look. "Oh no! There are still months left but I must start working right now for a dress worthy for the gala!" Rarity added seriously, then again began to smile, blushing and shouting with happiness before running to her studio to start designing her dress for the gala.

Meanwhile, Spike was still there, totally motionless, with his mouth open and his pupils in the shape of a heart. He hadn't heard anything Rarity had said after the kiss on his cheek, as soon as he felt the soft lips of the mare making contact with his skin, he went to another world, a world of fantasies in which he and Rarity strolled happily as a couple, running in slow motion in a field of flowers. Finally, after a long time of fantasizing, he was able to get out of his stunned state, turn around and started to walk back towards the library, touching his cheek and swearing that he could still feel Rarity's lips there.

That's how both Spike and Rarity were all day, with a smile from ear to ear, both thinking that they were going to the Grand Galloping Gala with their ideal partner.





The promised breakfast day had arrived, now that everyone had time after the harvest season had ended, and as Dusk had promised more than a week ago, the six ponies would gather together to have breakfast, all paid for by Dusk.

In the usual breakfast place, the Ponyville Café, there were four of the mares: Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, all sitting at the same table, chatting happily together as they waited for the arrival of Rarity and Dusk Shine.

"Did you know that they already started distributing the invitations for this year's Grand Galloping Gala?" Rainbow Dash said, putting a conversation piece on the table. "While I was flying I saw a Canterlot postman deliver a letter with an invitation to the Mayor."

"The Grand Galloping Gala! Gosh! I would really like to be able to attend there..." Applejack said with a dreamy look. "But there are still many months left for the gala."

"Me too-" Fluttershy said in her soft voice before being interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who didn't realize that her shy friend had said something.

"Yeah, but they sent the invitations much earlier so that the guests can confirm and schedule ahead of time, or something like that, you know, classy things from the nobility." Rainbow Dash answered with a shrug, then puts on the same dreamy look as Applejack. "I don't like those elegant parties very much, but I would make an exception for the Grand Gala, I would definitely like to go there some time."

"Me too..." Applejack said still with her dreamy look.

"Me too-" Fluttershy spoke again, and again being interrupted unintentionally by her friend.

"Yeah... So many ponies gathered in the same place! All together celebrating! I would also like to go." Pinkie Pie added with a big smile.

"Me too!" Fluttershy added, speaking a little louder, which was almost like a scream for her, finally making herself heard. That was a problem that Fluttershy was already used to, it didn't always happen, but sometimes, when her friends were very interested in a particular topic, her normal voice was so soft that it was easy to be ignored, so she had to talk a little stronger to be noticed.

"Oh... did we do it again?" Applejack asked embarrassingly, looking at Fluttershy, recognizing that Fluttershy was speaking at a normal volume, which was not normal for her. "I'm sorry if we didn't listen to you, I think we were over excited."

"It doesn't matter." The always kind Fluttershy replied, returning to her normal volume of voice. "It's my fault for talking so soft."

"You should always scream, it sounded like you were speaking in a normal volume." Rainbow Dash added smiling. "You must make yourself noticed, take the initiative and stop being so shy."

Fluttershy didn't answer, she just blushed a little, knowing that her friend was right, in fact sometimes she would have liked to have the courage and character that Rainbow Dash had, which was totally contrary to hers.

"Well, back to the subject, Fluttershy, why would you like to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Pinkie Pie asked, confused. "I thought you didn't like crowded places."

Fluttershy blushed and smiled while she imagined how it would be like if she went to the Grand Gala.

"Oh, no. I mean, yes, or, actually, kind of. You see, it's not so much the Grand Galloping Gala," Fluttershy replied timidly, but speaking with more confidence and becoming more excited when imagining everything. "But because of the wondrous private gate garden that surrounds the dance. The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria. For the night of the Gala, and that night alone, they would all bloom... and that's just the flora! The garden has a lot of beautiful and tender animals living there, it must be like a paradise...!"

"And there, while the most beautiful flowers bloom, there will be Dusk, waiting for me under a beautiful willow tree at the edge of a lagoon. I will approach him without hesitation while a chorus of the most colorful birds fly over us and sings a beautiful song under the moonlight. He'll look at me with his tender and cute eyes, and when I finally get to his side, he'll smile at me and say, 'You look so beautiful tonight...', and then I... I...!" Fluttershy's imagination got swept up in passion, completing in her mind what for her would be the perfect night, not being able to say it aloud, but not being able to avoid blushing entirely when imagining all that.

"Hey! What were you thinking about? Something dirty?" Pinkie Pie said with a smile, interrupting Fluttershy's flow of ideas.

"Eh? AH! N-No! I just..." Fluttershy replied totally blushing, covering her mouth with her hooves very tenderly.

The other three mares laughed when they saw their shy friend blushing, accepting that it was very difficult to resist the innate tenderness of Fluttershy.

"Yeah, I think that each of us has their own reasons to attend the Grand Galloping Gala." Applejack said with a sigh. "It's a pity that none of us are invited."

"Oh, darling, don't speak for all of us." Rarity said suddenly, who had just arrived and had heard Applejack's last comment.

They all turned to see Rarity, who arrived with a huge smile, wearing elegant dark glasses and a fancy white kerchief over her head as if she were a movie star, moving even more flirtatious than she always did, giving off an air of pride, as if she had won a great prize.

"What are you talking about?" Applejack asked as Rarity took a seat and pulled her kerchief from her head to show her always well-groomed mane. "Don't tell me that... You were invited to the Grand Galloping Gala!?"

"That's right, darling." Rarity said with a proud smile. "With all my heart I wish we could all go there, and we could all fulfill our dreams, but unfortunately I was only invited as a companion."

"Who invited you to the Grand Gala!?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Well..." Rarity answered taking off her dark glasses in a very theatrical way and looked with a smile of triumph at her friends. "It so happened that Dusk received a double invitation and asked me to be his partner and to accompany him."

"WHAT!?" The four mares shouted at the same time, all in shock.

"That's right, yesterday Dusk asked Spike to go and tell me about the invitation. Poor baby, Dusk was probably so nervous about inviting me in person that he had to ask little Spike to do it in his place." Rarity said, smiling before noticing the bitter glances of her friends.

"Oh, girls, I don't want you to hate me for this." Rarity added, full of pride. "We all knew this was going to happen, that Dusk would choose one of us at some point."

The annoyance of the other four mares was only increasing when seeing the false modesty with which Rarity tried to act, it was obvious that she was happy to have been chosen by Dusk over them, and now she was rubbing it in their faces.

"Don't worry, we'll still be best friends!" Rarity said smiling, putting salt on the wound. "Dusk will continue to love you as friends, only that he will love me a little more, since I'll be his marefriend, Fufufu!" Rarity ended up laughing pedantically, not because she wanted to hurt her friends, but simply because she wanted to enjoy and share that great triumph that she had achieved.

"Hi girls!" Dusk Shine said, just arriving at that moment.

As soon as Dusk saluted, he noticed the furious looks on four of his friends, who were giving him a very murderous glare.

"Hi Dusk! Come, sit next to me." Rarity said, smiling coquettishly.

"Err... okay..." Dusk replied nervously, paying attention to Rarity as it definitely looked like he would be killed if he sat next to one of his other friends. "Sorry I'm late, but I remembered that I didn't have money, so I had to go to the town hall to ask for some advance money."

"It doesn't matter, darling, after all, we still haven't ordered." Rarity said smiling.

"Oh, great, so let's order! Remember, I'll pay for all!" Dusk said with a nervous smile, looking at his other friends, hoping that that gesture of generosity would calm them down a little bit, but he didn’t know the reason why they were upset. "By the way, has Spike shown up?"

"No, why are you asking?" Rarity replied.

"Well, I didn't see him this morning when I woke up, I thought he would be here, but now I'm worried..." Dusk said nervously, looking back.

At that moment the waiter arrived, he delivered the menus, so Dusk and Rarity said their orders, while the other four mares only indicated with their hooves what their order would be, without saying a word while they continued their irritated glares at Dusk, which scared the lavender unicorn, so much that he was afraid to ask why they were angry with him, because if he asked that, he could cause them to become even more mad at him for not knowing, so Dusk reviewed in his mind what he had done the last few days that could have made them so angry, rather than asking them for an answer.

While they waited for their orders, Dusk occasionally turned to see the road, waiting for his little brother to appear at any moment.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Spike is fine." Rarity said tenderly, trying to reassure Dusk when she saw how nervous he was getting.

"Yeah... I know." Dusk said blushing, regretting to glimpse his nervousness of being a big brother, he decided to change the topic, so he would not ruin breakfast with his friends. "Tell me, what were you all talking about before I arrived?"

"Hngh... about the Grand Galloping Gala..." Rainbow Dash answered with clenched teeth, still watching furiously at Dusk.

"I-I see..." Dusk said nervously seeing the murderous look of Rainbow Dash. "By the way, Rarity, thank you for accepting the invitation!"

"On the contrary, darling, it's me who should thank you." Rarity said, smiling coquettishly, leaning her body closer to Dusk, all while the killer gazes of the other four mares were increasing.

"Yeah, you don't know how happy Spike was to know that you two were going together to the Grand Gala" Dusk said smiling.

A sepulchral silence remained in the air while the five mares opened their eyes in surprise.

"Wha... What did you say, darling?" Rarity stuttered with a nervous smile, trembling as she prayed she had heard wrong.

"That Spike was very happy to go with you to the Grand Gala." Dusk repeated. "At the beginning, he didn't want to go, but..."

While Dusk was speaking, Rarity's eyes were wide open as she felt her whole world had crumbled, then she turned quickly to see her friends and saw that they no longer had a look of hatred, but they were holding their laughter, covering their mouths while they saw her, especially Rainbow Dash, who seemed at any moment would burst out laughing. Seeing her friends like that, Rarity turned red with embarrassment, more ashamed than she had ever felt in her life, all her pride had been for a misunderstanding, she had come there triumphantly to show off to her friends and now she was paying a high price.





"...he came back to the library very happy. I really appreciate you agreeing to go with him so much." Dusk finished speaking, who didn't realize what was happening in the minds of his friends.

When he finished speaking, Dusk realized that none of his friends were watching or paying any attention to him, which he took as an opportunity to again look back and see if Spike was there, however his brother still didn't appear. Finally, Dusk bit his lip and stood up, unable to be patient anymore.

"Excuse me, but I must leave." Dusk said seriously as he stood up. "It may not be anything, but I don't want to repeat what happened last time, when Spike fled from Angel and was lost for more than a day, I'm his older brother and I have to be more responsible, I’m going to go look for him."

Then Dusk left immediately without any of the mares saying goodbye. As soon as Dusk was gone, the laughter broke out.

"HAHAHAHA!! So you'll go to the Grand Gala as the brand new marefriend of a baby dragon! Hahaha!" Rainbow Dash laughed loudly, not being able to hold her laughter anymore.

"Aww... Yup! They make such a beautiful couple, Hehehe!" Pinkie Pie mocked as well, pretending to give some kisses to the air.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy covered her mouth trying in vain not to laugh, while Applejack held her head down while having her eyes closed, she also was trying not to laugh. Applejack would have stopped her friends from making fun of Rarity, however deep down she knew that her friend deserved it for the haughty and proud way that she was in when she arrived to tell them about her date with Dusk, so she allowed her friends to continue for a little while more, taking advantage of Rarity's misfortune. While Rarity, who accepted it, only bowed her head while her ears seemed to shine as red as ever, her whole face was red with shame, she felt humiliated, however she accepted that everything was a kind of karma for having abused her friends for telling them the news of what she thought would be the best date of her life, rubbing it in their faces so that her friends felt envy, now she received her punishment.

After a while, when the laughter from her friends finally calmed down a bit, Rarity finally spoke.

"Okay... I deserved it." Rarity said, less reddish than before but still embarrassed by the humiliation she experienced. "But now I have a more serious problem... What will I say to poor Spike?"

"I don't see what the problem is, just go with him." Rainbow Dash said laughing, unable to resist the urge to say one last joke.

"Very funny... I'm serious!" Rarity said a little anguished. "If it was any other party, I would have no problem going with my cute little Spikey-Wikey, but we're talking about the Grand Galloping Gala! I can't arrive as a couple of a baby dragon, what will the ponies of Canterlot think about me!? What am I? A child molester!? I mean, it's an elegant party where the most glamorous couples of Equestria will go to, it could become a huge misunderstanding if I came as a couple with little Spike, both for him and me."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Applejack answered more seriously. "I think the best would be... Oh-oh..."

Applejack stopped talking when she saw a peculiar figure approaching, it was Spike, who was walking towards them, wearing what appeared to be a tuxedo, however when he approached them, they all could see that what he was wearing was a shirt that looked like a tuxedo.

"Hi Rarity!" Spike said smiling, ignoring the other mares and concentrating his attention on his beloved.

"H-Hi Spike... W-What are you doing here?" Rarity replied nervously, seeing the fashion disaster that Spike was wearing.

"I just wanted to show you what I'll wear at the Gala, I had to ask somepony to send me this shirt from Canterlot since I left it there, what do you think? It's great! Isn't it?" Spike said showing his T-shirt, to the horrified Rarity. "Besides... I wanted to be with you when I send the ticket with our names on it." Spike finished saying, blushing, holding the gold ticket that had already been filled with the names of Rarity and him.

"Oh, thank Celestia! There's still time!" Rarity thought, relieved to see that Spike hadn't yet sent the invitation, even though it already had her name written on it.

"Honey, listen..." Rarity began to speak, looking affectionately at Spike, pausing to think of what she can say to avoid hurting the tender dragon's feelings. "I think it's best not to send the invitation, I mean, I know I said I'd love to go with you, but... I remembered that I have some business to take care of that day, so I think it's better that you invite someone else, maybe... a pretty mare of your age."

Upon hearing those words, Spike's ears came down as a sign of grief.

"Then... You can't go with me...?" Spike asked sadly, lowering his head.

That broke Rarity's heart, she felt humiliated to realize that she had actually been invited by Spike, even more so thinking what the highborn ponies would say if they saw her arrive with a baby dragon, but seeing Spike so sad, who was always happy around her and who always smiled at her, all that stopped being important for her, she didn't care anymore that her friends would make fun of her or what anyone would think, if she could make Spike happy just by accompanying him, she would do it, no matter the consequences, she just wanted to see her sweet Spikey-Wikey happy.

"You know, on second thought, my previous commitments are not that important." Rarity said holding Spike's head and smiling at him. "I'd love to go to the Grand Galloping Gala with you, Spike."

Instantly, Spike's eyes flashed with enthusiasm and his cheeks blushed at the feeling of Rarity's warm touch.

"Then I'll send the invitation!" Spike said happily, taking the ticket to send it to the princess with his magical fire.

While Spike sent the ticket, Rarity glanced at her friends, mentally prepared to see them mocking her again, but none of them were making fun of her, on the contrary, all of them smiled tenderly at Raritys sweet gesture.

Once Spike spat out the magical fire that consumed the ticket, he turned to look at Rarity and gave her a smile, something that didn't last long, because Spike suddenly belched green fire out and from it came a scroll that fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry!" Spike said quickly, embarrassed to have belched in front of Rarity.

"T-That's..." Rarity said uncertainly, looking at the scroll on the ground.

"A letter from the princess!" Spike said excitedly, opening the scroll on his own, thinking that this must be the answer to the letter he had just sent.

Spike took the scroll and opened it slowly as he read it:

"Dear Spike, with regret I must inform you that I think there was some confusion.

Unfortunately, there is a minimum age to attend the Grand Galloping Gala, since it is a formal event where many authorities and other kingdoms attend, that is why I have never invited Dusk to attend until now. For the same reason, and also knowing that I can't allow you to stay awake until late at night when you are only a small and growing dragon, I regret to inform you that you will not be able to attend this year's Grand Gala."

The little dragon had begun to read the letter with great enthusiasm, but as he read and understood where the princess's letter was getting at, his good mood dissipated, reaching the point of discouragement when he finished reading the last paragraph, where it said he couldn't attend the Grand Galloping Gala. However, that was not all that the letter said, so Spike, dejected, and continued to read the letter.

"I must admit that all of this was my fault for not writing the letter personally, to explain the situation. Therefore, to compensate you for this terrible misunderstanding, and hoping that you can forgive me, I'll send you a small chest with precious 'heart of fire' rubies , from my private collection."

Upon reading this, Spike's mood changed dramatically, he opened his eyes widely and shouted for joy at the news, completely forgetting about everything else.

"I'll be eating gems again! I'll be eating gems again!" Spike screamed elated, then opening his mouth and dropping a thin thread of drool while fantasizing what he would eat. "And not just any kind of gems... The Princess sent me 'heart of fire' rubies !"

Spike's stomach growled impatiently as he imagined himself eating those tasty rubies, it is a special type of ruby ​​that only appeared in the northern crystal mountains, as scarce as they were tasty. Spike, as childish and hungry for gems as he was, easily forgot that he couldn't go to the Grand Gala, but that didn't matter to him anymore, with pleasure, he would have given that ticket in order to get a single ruby, and now instead he had won a whole chest, besides he never wanted to go to that silly Gala from the beginning, so Spike couldn't help but smile, at least until he saw Rarity and remembered that if he didn't go, Rarity couldn't.

"Oh, Rarity! I... I'm sorry, it's just that I was excited to know what I would eat-"Spike said sadly, looking at Rarity with a sad expression.

"Oh, Spike, don't worry." Rarity interrupted, smiling after seeing the little dragon so happy. "Remember that I had told you that I had some things to do that day, beside we can have a nice evening without going to the Gala, in fact, what do you think if one of these days we have a picnic in the park?"

At Rarity's comment, Spike smiled, blushing, feeling like he was floating in the clouds, even happier for the double prize he got, since now he not only had the rubies, but he also had made an appointment with Rarity without having to go to that boring Gala. While Rarity, not only was happy to see Spike happy, she was also relieved because now she would not have to go to the Grand Gala with the little dragon, nor would she have to explain any misunderstandings or rumors that this would’ve generated, since because of the law, Rarity was an adult and Spike was just a baby, and going as a couple to an elegant party would be a big problem.

"And that's all the letter said?" Pinkie Pie suddenly asked, glancing at the scroll and seeming to see the letter continue.

Then Spike left his daydreams, stretched the scroll again and continued reading.

"Having already solved that, now I'll talk about the double ticket.

That ticket was for Dusk! I thought he would understand that the ticket was for him to attend with a companion, I even sent for a double invitation, those invitations don't even exist! I asked it specially to give to Dusk and that way he’d understood the hint! But apparently my cute little student is still as naive as ever, so I'll have to say it more directly:

Give this to Dusk and tell him it's an obligation that both must attend.

Affectionately.

Princess Celestia."

As soon as Spike finished stretching the scroll to finish reading the letter, two golden tickets fell from the scroll. Both the mares and Spike remained, watching where the tickets had fallen, until Spike picked them up.

"There are... two individual tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala..." Spike said after seeing them. "It seems that the Princess wants Dusk to attend no matter what, but... I don't understand who the second ticket is for..."

Then Spike put the tickets on the table where the five mares were sitting, who immediately put their heads to see the tickets and read what they said.

The first golden ticket was very similar to the one that Spike had before, only that this didn't say 'Double Invitation', also, on the dotted line for the name, the name 'Dusk Shine' was already written, while under the name said in smaller letters 'Title: Princess Celestia's student'. However, the look of the mares changed when they read the second ticket, which was identical to the previous one, only that in the dotted line for the name, no name appeared, however underneath it, it looked as though as if there was something written, an aggregate with letters, small ones that said 'Title: Dusk Shine's special mare'. When they read what the second ticket said, the eyes of the five mares widened while it seemed as if time had stopped, Spike didn't understand, but they all understood what the ticket was referring to with 'Dusk Shine's special mare'. A great battle was about to begin.

# End of chapter 23
> Chapter 24 - The Ticket that Everypony Wants
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ticket that Everypony Wants

"Dusk Shine's special mare? What does it mean by that?" Spike asked without understanding what the Princess meant with what she had written on the second ticket.

None of the mares answered, but they all knew the answer, all of them had understood what the Princess meant with that ticket, that whoever the mare that Dusk invited would be the one that gets closer to the heart of the colt, because that ticket was not only to attend the Grand Gala, but to have a date with Dusk!

When they understood that, they all knew that now the battle would begin. Rarity immediately turned to see Pinkie Pie and stared at her with a penetrating stare, while Applejack immediately put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's tail.

"What are you doing!?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyed when she saw her friend step on her tail.

"I know you, Rainbow Dash." Applejack answered with a small smile but with a serious look. "You're the fastest out of all of us, and if I don't stop you, you'll fly like a lightning bolt to Dusk's house to have him invite you to the Grand Gala."

"T-That's not true... maybe..." Rainbow Dash replied blushing, feigning annoyance, embarrassed to see that her friend had said everything she was about to do before she stepped on her tail and prevented her from flying.

"That's right! And the same goes for you, Miss Hocus Pocus!" Rarity said, still staring at Pinkie Pie, who just stared at her with a poker face. "I don't know how you do it, but as soon as we blink, you manage to disappear and do some of your follies, so I'm not taking my eyes off you."

Pinkie Pie didn't respond, she just laughed nervously while scratching her head, as she had also been caught before making her move, since she had actually planned to run to Dusk's house and arrive before the others.

"Wait a moment... do you all want to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Spike asked a little surprised. "Do you really know what the Gala is like? Dusk and I have seen the types of ponies that attend, and I don't think it’s a very fun party."

"It's that you don't understand, Spike." Rarity said with dreamy eyes. "The elite of Equestria's elite attends the Grand Galloping Gala, it's obvious that it is an elegant and classy party, it's not an ordinary party."

"But Rarity... you said you would be busy that day." Spike said innocently, putting a finger on his chin as he remembered.

"That's right, you said you would be busy, darling" Rainbow Dash added, imitating Rarity's elegant accent, with a mischievous smile.

"W-Well, yes, I said that, but... I've been thinking about it better and I think I should reconsider." Rarity answered nervously, glancing at Spike, quickly inventing an excuse to save her from what she herself had said to reject Spike's invitation.

"So you have a reason to go? More important than the business you should attend?" Spike asked, looking at Rarity.

"That's right, I mean, now that I've thought it over, I even think it's my duty to attend that Gala!" Rarity said decisively, imagining what it would be like to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. "As a dressmaker, I design ensembles for the Gala every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend... The society, the culture, the glamor, everything gathered in one place! Can you imagine all the inspiration I can get for my new ensembles if I attend such a prestigious event!? In addition to having the opportunity to show my own ensembles in a high society, the Grand Gala will be like a huge catwalk! There I'll be able to impress the richest and noblest ponies of Equestria, even impress royalty itself!"

"And at that moment, while everyone wonders, ‘who is that beautiful and mysterious mare?’ I'll cause such a sensation that I'll be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, who will be so impressed with my style and elegance, that she'll present me before the most handsome and coveted nobles of her court, including counts, dukes and princes. However, I'll tell her that my heart already belongs to someone, to my dear Dusk Shine, and she, seeing a love as pure as ours, will give me her blessing while Dusk appears gallantly walking down the hall and asks for my hoof in marriage, then he will make a beautiful wedding dress with magic silk with his magic, and we'll marry right there! Having the most beautiful and glamorous wedding that Equestria has ever seen, Worthy of a princess! Knowing that we would be together for eternity and we would live happily ever after..." That was what Rarity continued thinking after speaking, daydreaming about what would be her perfect night.

"Hmm... yeah, looking at it that way, I think that's a very good reason to attend." Spike said thoughtfully after listening to Rarity and seeing that she had remained silent with a dreamy look, as if she was watching what that night would be like in the Grand Gala.

"But she's not the only one who has her reasons to go, nor the only one who wants to promote her products at the Gala!" Applejack said, staring at Spike. "If I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles 'til the cows come home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres!? With all that money I could do a heap of fixin' up 'round the farm, like replacing that saggy old roof, replacing that saggy old plow, I could even earn enough money to replace Granny Smith' saggy old hip, all thanks to having an apple stand in the most important party in Equestria! Where at last ponies from all over the world will know the taste of the best apples of Equestria!"

"I'll be behind my apple stand, with a huge row of ponies in front of me, everypony wanting to taste my apples, and I'll be there with a huge smile attending each one, giving them my best products. Then I'll hear that someone next to me says 'You did a good job! I'll turn around and I will see that Dusk'll be there, who saw all the effort I made to achieve my goal and earn all that money, I'll tell him that I did it for my family and for the two of us, but he'll tell me that he never cared about the money, that he can be happy just by being by my side, then he'll touch me tenderly while I drop my head next to him, both feeling the heat of the other." Applejack thought dreamily, completing what would be her ideal night.

"Eh... yeah, I think that's also a good reason..." Spike said scratching his head, talking after Applejack did the same as Rarity, giving her reasons for going to the Grand Gala and then shutting up while fantasizing in her mind.

"You say that because you still haven’t heard my reason for going to the Grand Gala!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly, looking at Spike. "Showing dresses or selling apples can be done anywhere else, but what you can't do is to meet with THEM, the incredible Wonderbolts! They perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year, impressing all the attendees with their amazing maneuvers and stunts, but what they'll not know this year is that Rainbow Dash will appear flying! I'll draw their attention with my 'super speed strut', then I'll mesmerize them with my 'fantastic filly flash', and for the grand finale, the 'buccaneer blaze! The ponies will go wild! And the Wonderbolts will be so impressed that they would welcome me as their newest member. You don't get it!? It will be like a great audition! A unique opportunity to show myself in front of the Wonderbolts!"

"I'll fly next to the Wonderbolts and show them that I am as good as them, and even more! I'll compete right there with them to prove that I am the greatest flyer of all time! I'll win, and they'll make a great award in my honor, in a great stage where everyone will see me and celebrate me, then Dusk'll appear, carrying a huge golden trophy, he'll approach the stage, he'll give it to me, and he'll smile at me with that smile that makes me go crazy. Then he'll surprise me by taking me in his hooves, lowering me, and give me a movie kiss while the Wonderbolts fly over the sky celebrating our love." Rainbow Dash finished dreaming, thinking of how to crown a perfect night.

"Yeah... the Wonderbolts attend every year, I suppose the Gran Gala would be a good occasion to meet them." Spike said after Rainbow Dash talked and dreamed, remembering that the best Equestrian fliers were among the elite guests who attend the Grand Galloping Gala.

"I also have a very good reason to go to the Grand Galloping Gala!" Pinkie Pie said surprisingly, putting her face close to Spike's. "You said you saw the ponies who normally attended the Gala and that's why you thought it wouldn't be fun, but I believe the opposite! The Grand Galloping Gala is the most amazing, incredible, tremendous, super-fun, wonderful, and terrifically the humongous party in all of Equestria! It's impossible for it to be a boring party! With streamers and fairy-lights and pinwheels and piñatas and pin-cushions! With goodies like sugar cubes and sugar canes and sundaes and sun-beams and sarsaparilla! Where I can play my favorite and fantabulous games with all the ponies of the place! The biggest party of all of Equestria must have the most festive pony of all of Equestria! It may be an elegant party, but that's not a good enough reason for it to be a boring party, and if so, I'll take care of making it the funniest party in all of Equestria!"

"That's right, I'll get to the center of the hall and show everyone my whole arsenal of party things to draw the attention of all those fancy ponies that don't want to have fun, and I'll not be alone, there, always next to me accompanying me with a smile, will be my cute Dusk Shine. Together we'll cause a great stir with music and games, ponies will join us, everyone smiling and happily laughing together, happy to meet the most festive couple of all Equestria. So, after having made the funniest party in Equestria's history, Dusk and I will fall together on our backs, exhausted by such huge party but happy with what we achieved together, we'll both turn our heads to look each other in the eyes, he'll stretch his hoof to me and I'll also do it to join both hooves lovingly, we'll look blushed for a moment until we slowly bring our faces closer to each other to put our lips together and close a perfect night of fun and love..." Pinkie Pie thought dreamily while she got more and more excited, so much so that she couldn't take it anymore. She took a breath and started singing, as she always did when she was very happy.

"~Oh the Grand Galloping Gala~ Is the best place for me~ Oh the Grand Galloping Ga-" Pinkie Pie sang, before being interrupted by Rainbow Dash, that as soon as she heard that her friend was going to sing, she put a hoof in her mouth to stop her.

"No songs, please." Rainbow Dash said holding her hoof in Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Besides, you'll not go to the Gala, I'll go to the Gala! After all, I have the best reason to go."

"That's not true!" Rarity retorted annoyed. "I have the best reason to go! It's for the good of my business!"

"Your business can wait, what about the repairs on the farm!? That's the best reason!" Applejack added annoyed, then looking at the little dragon. "Right, Spike?"

Then all the mares fixed their eyes on Spike, who couldn't help feeling nervous at the pressure of their looks.

"W-Well... I think they're all very good reasons to go to the Gala..." Spike said sweating, not being able to give a better answer. "Maybe you should all ask Dusk, after all he’s the one who must go to the Grand Gala, not me."

The mares looked at each other and looked away annoyed, the truth was that all of them had thought to run to ask Dusk for the extra ticket, after all, knowing the innate innocence of Dusk, he would give the ticket to the first mare that asks him, that's why Rarity and Applejack stopped Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, knowing that with the speed of Rainbow Dash or the unpredictability of Pinkie Pie, they had the advantage, however, now that they had stopped the group's fastest ponies, all of them were stagnant, knowing that they couldn't make a move without causing chaos, therefore, all them unconsciously had reached the same conclusion, that if someone was going to keep the extra ticket, they should decide between themselves.

"Well, it's obvious that my little Spikey-Wikey felt intimidated by all of you." Rarity said angrily, putting both front hooves firmly on the table and staring at her friends. "But I keep insisting that my reason for attending the Grand Galloping Gala is much more important than yours, and I'll not move from here until I make you understand it!"

"My reason is the most important! What good is a party if everyone doesn’t have fun!? It's my duty to go to that party!" Pinkie Pie replied, seriously, looking at her friends, putting herself in the same firm position as Rarity.

"No! My reason is the most important!" Applejack said, also determined not to move from there until her friends gave way.

"Fame! Glory! Fulfilling my dream! I'll not let you take away this opportunity!" Rainbow Dash said, also firmly placing her front hooves on the table and looking fiercely at her friends.

This is how the four angry mares continued static, without saying any word, only killing each other with their eyes.

"So... will none of you move until you decide who has the best reason to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Spike asked confused and somewhat nervous because the tense atmosphere.

"Apparently..." Applejack answered while continuing to stare at her friends. "We'll decide between us and only then one of us will ask Dusk to be his companion at the Grand Gala."

The other mares said nothing, so Spike assumed they agreed with what Applejack had just said. The little dragon was silent for a moment, hesitant if what he was going to say would be good for the environment or not, however he finally decided to speak.

"But then... Why didn't anyone stop Fluttershy? She ran away as soon as she read what the ticket said." Spike said with a confused look, looking at his friends.

"Eh!?" The four mares present said in unison, opening their eyes in surprise, looking at Spike. Only then they turned their heads to where Fluttershy should’ve been sitting, who wasn’t there.

The eyes of the four mares opened in horror when they discovered that their shy friend had been more cunning and had escaped while they argued among themselves and didn't notice the absence of her shy presence.









Fluttershy was running through the streets of Ponyville, in the direction of the town library. As soon as she saw what the extra ticket was for the Grand Galloping Gala, she knew immediately that all her friends would engage in an argument to see who out of all off them should be 'Dusk Shine's special mare', something that also included her, since Fluttershy wasn't only eager to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, but also to be accompanied by Dusk.

It was then that her friends started arguing, Applejack with Rainbow Dash, Rarity with Pinkie Pie, and as it often happened, none of them paid attention to her when they were focused on something else. At that moment Fluttershy thought about making herself heard and meddling in the discussion, however a brilliant idea came to her mind, if she normally went unnoticed and was left out of each discussion by her extreme shyness, didn't that now serve to escape without nobody noticing her? That was how Fluttershy slowly got out of the seat she was in and began to take silent backward steps, moving away little by little from the table where her friends were discussing. The only one who seemed to notice that she was leaving was Spike, but he immediately focused his eyes on Rarity when the white unicorn began to explain why she was now interested in attending the Grand Gala.

While Fluttershy thought about what she had done, and still running, she couldn't help but smile shyly at the thought of how courageous she had been and how daring she had been to do that, a personal pride that somewhat alleviated the guilt she felt about running away like this and leaving her friends arguing while she had an advantage over them for the first time.

"Well, they always tell me that I should be a little more daring... I just hope they don't get mad." Fluttershy thought as she finished her journey, finally arriving at the doors of Dusk's home.

Fluttershy approached the door, knocks it a couple of times and then entered when she heard Dusk's voice from inside telling her to enter. As soon as the pegasus entered, she saw that Dusk had an odd expression, she didn't know what the reason for that peculiar expression could be, it was like a mixture of nervousness and happiness, which confused Fluttershy. Another thing that caught her attention was that there, in the central hall of the library, there were two mares sitting on the floor, both reading some books: an aquamarine coat mare with a light aquamarine mane, with a lyre like cutie mark; while the other mare had a pale cream coat, with curly blue and pink mane, with three candies like her cutie mark. Fluttershy knew both mares, their names were Lyra and Bon-Bon respectively, and although she would have liked to greet them politely, she thought it would be discourteous to interrupt them as they read.

"Oh! Hi Fluttershy, come in." Dusk said nervously, approaching Fluttershy and inviting her to go ahead, fixing his eyes only for a moment on Fluttershy, since his eyes immediately focused again on the other two mares who were reading in the lounge.

"Hi Dusk, umm... Did I arrive at a bad moment?" Fluttershy asked nervously when she saw Dusk with such an odd expression on his face.

"Eh? No, no, it's just that I came back here to see if Spike had arrived, and I was about to go look for him but just at that moment, these ponies arrived and wanted to visit the recently reopened library." Dusk said nervously, with an expression where he sometimes smiled and sometimes showed fear, as if he didn't know how to feel. "So I had no choice but to stay here, but I'm still very worried about Spike."

"Oh! You don't have to worry, Spike is with the girls, at the Café." Fluttershy said sweetly, touched to see how worried Dusk was for his little brother.

"Phew! That's good... Now I can relax." Dusk said with a big sigh, lowering his head. Now he no longer felt concern for his brother, so the fear could finally be erased from him, which made it possible that his other feelings that he also felt at that moment and that had been in conflict with fear, could finally express itself fully and adequately, absolute happiness.

"Fluttershy, look! Look!" Dusk added suddenly, with his face full of emotion, approaching Fluttershy, taking her by the shoulders with a hoof as he pointed to the other two ponies who were reading in the library. "They are the first visitors here in the new library! Now I really feel like a true librarian! They came asking for something to read, I asked their literature tastes, I gave them references, since I read most of these books, then they followed my advice and now they’re reading the books that I suggested them! I feel so good to be able to help the ponies and make knowledge flow among everypony! I feel so happy!"

While Dusk was holding Fluttershy, full of happiness, the pegasus couldn't help but blush at the sudden warm touch of Dusk on her, filling her with even more excitement at seeing how happy the unicorn was, so she just fell silent while Dusk was still talking.

When Dusk finally turned to see Fluttershy, he was confused to see that she was blushing, only then did he realize how excited he was, he had been embracing Fluttershy, which made him blush and let her go immediately.

"I'm... I'm sorry Fluttershy, I think I got carried away by my happiness..." Dusk said embarrassed once he released Fulttershy. "I forgot how shy you are, surely you don't like being touched or hugged like that, I'm sorry, it'll not happen again, my emotions got me going crazy at that moment."

Fluttershy looked at Dusk and tried to say something, to tell him that it was the opposite, that she liked it when Dusk made contact with her, however her shyness was more stronger than herself, besides she couldn't say something so embarrassing out loud, even more knowing that there were other ponies present, so she just bit her lip, annoyed with herself for her extreme shyness.

"Why am I so shy?! I just want to tell him that I like him and that I like to be with him, but I can't! I... I hate my way of being!" Fluttershy thought annoyed with herself, getting sad at first, but quickly changing her thoughts for more determined ones. "No! I can't have done everything I did to come here and just keep quiet as I always do! I came for Dusk to invite me to the Grand Galloping Gala as his partner, and I'll do that!"

Fluttershy stared determinedly at Dusk, while Dusk looked at her intently, then she took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"... Uh... I... Err..." It was the only thing Fluttershy could say, since as it happened most of the time, her shyness was more stronger than her determination, making her mouth unable to pronounce what she thought, all because inwardly she continued with her low self-esteem, telling herself that being brave was not her way of being and that she would forever be a shy pony.

"Fluttershy, are you feeling okay?" Dusk asked, a little worried to see that Fluttershy had been speechless. "Wait here, I'll go get a glass of water, you probably have a dry throat and maybe that's why you can't talk."

Then Dusk went to the small kitchen in the library while Fluttershy was still upset, fighting with herself.

"It's not fair! I can talk to Dusk normally, but as soon as I think about what I'm going to ask him, and I imagine us together at the Grand Gala, all my courage disappears!" Fluttershy thought annoyed. "If so, then I'll not think about that yet, I'll just talk to him normally and try to have a good time, that's what I'll do!"

"But who would want to have a good time with a shy pony such as you?!" The negative side of Fluttershy thought, speaking to herself, lowering her own self-esteem even further.

While Dusk returned with the glass of water, Fluttershy could only think of one thing to get out of the black hole that were her thoughts, since her low self-esteem was playing tricks on her.

"Well, if being myself doesn't work, then I'll be like someone else! I... I must be more daring and determined, like my friends." Fluttershy thought quickly as another idea crossed her mind. "That's it! Just like my friends!"

"Here you go." Dusk said once he reached Fluttershy, levitating a glass full of water in front of her.

Fluttershy looked at Dusk for a second while her thoughts worked a mile a minute.

"The personality of Rainbow Dash is the opposite of mine, she is brave and daring. So, now that I'm with Dusk, should I act like her? That way he will not get bored with my shy personality, right?" Fluttershy thought, ready to put aside her shy personality and take the best of each of her friends, what Dusk liked more of each of them, and make it her own.

"I don't want your silly glass of water!" Fluttershy said, showing an angry face. "You're a fool and I don't want to see you!"

"Yes! That's how Rainbow Dash talks with Dusk! And I've seen that Dusk doesn't mind that she gets mad at him, I've even seen him smile at Rainbow Dash sometimes! If it works for her, it must work for me!" Fluttershy thought, happy with what she had discovered.

Dusk was surprised to see Fluttershy so angry, so he just froze, saying nothing. As he did so, he remembered how she and the other mares had looked at him angrily when he went to breakfast, so he immediately associated that Fluttershy was still angry with him, whatever the reason.

"I... I'm sorry..." Dusk said timidly, lowering his ears sadly. "I thought your throat bothered you, that's why I brought the glass of water. I... I'm sorry I made you angry."

"Uh?" It was the only thing that the stunned Fluttershy could utter.

"No! Why is he sad!? Rainbow Dash always talks to him like this, why didn't it work out with me?!" Fluttershy thought frantically, not understanding what she had done wrong.

Before the incredulous look of Fluttershy, Dusk turned around to leave her alone, because if she was angry with him, it would be best to give her personal space.

"No! Wait! I..." Fluttershy said quickly, trying to keep Dusk from leaving her alone, while her mind kept working at full speed, generating new ideas.

"If he didn't like Rainbow Dash's attitude, then I'll be like Applejack!" Fluttershy thought quickly. "Dusk likes to chat with Applejack, but... What will Dusk like about Applejack?"

While Dusk waited for Fluttershy to speak, the pegasus caught sight of the cover of the book that Lyra was reading, which was an adventure book about pirates.

"Ahoy, matey! I didn't want to make yee angry, Argh! It was just a little sea joke, Yo-ho-ho!" Fluttershy said in a harsh voice, one eye closed and a hoof moving from side to side as if it were a hook.

"Yes! Dusk must like Applejack's country accent! And if a country accent works for her, why shouldn't a pirate accent work for me?" Fluttershy thought, proud of her brilliant idea.

After listening to Fluttershy, Dusk just stood silent, with a face of total confusion. “What the hay was that!?” Dusk thought, without having understood anything of what her friend had said because of her strange and unexpected accent. So it was that both remained quiet, Dusk without understanding anything, while Fluttershy began to have cold sweats as she realized how ridiculous that was.

"How did I think that would be a good idea?!!" Fluttershy thought frantically while 'the center of bad ideas' that was in her mind kept giving her ridiculous ideas that sounded good but would end up being a total disaster. "Come on! Think fast! If to acting like Applejack didn't work, then I'll do it like Pinkie Pie, her smile never fails!"

"Fluttershy... are you okay?" Dusk asked, worried to see his friend acting so weird. "If there's something to-"

"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!" Fluttershy laughed for no reason, but not with a natural laugh, but with a very forced laugh that was more than cheer, it gave some fear. "Hahaha! Haha! Heh...! Eh…?"

Fluttershy slowly put aside her false laughter when she realized that Dusk instead of approaching and smiling, as he did with Pinkie Pie, had a scared face as he backed away from her slowly, as if she were crazy.

Danger! Danger! The mini-Fluttershys who worked in the mind of the yellow pegasus began to scream, while it seemed that Fluttershy's entire brain was on fire.

Finally, Fluttershy couldn't stand her own failures and just lowered her head, returning to her classic shy attitude, on the verge of tears because of the frustration.

"P-Please don't be scared... Dusk, I... I just thought it would be good to change my shy attitude, but..." Fluttershy said sadly, deeply regretting having acted like crazy. "But obviously it didn't work, Sniff!"

Upon hearing that, Dusk could understand in part of what had happened apparently, it seemed that her friend had acted so strange because she wanted to somehow stop acting as shy as she always did.

"Fluttershy ... You don't have to act differently than you are." Dusk said approaching his friend again, smiling tenderly. "I really like the way you are, just be yourself, that’s all you need to be."

Upon hearing that, Fluttershy blushed deeply, she knew that for Dusk that was only a way to encourage her, but since she had strong feelings for the unicorn, she preferred to believe that he had said that in a romantic way.

Fluttershy smiled tenderly looking at the floor, happy to hear those words. However she couldn't settle for that, she still had a mission, to be invited by Dusk to the Grand Galloping Gala, but how to achieve it? It was then that 'the center of bad ideas' of Fluttershy gave her one last 'bright' idea before it turned completely off.

"Oh! It's true, there is still something that I haven't tried, something that Rarity taught me and that she said it never fails with the colts." Fluttershy thought looking at Dusk. "And this time I'm sure it'll not be a bad imitation, because I've seen Rarity do it a million times and I can imitate it perfectly, her super flirty mane movement! That movement never fails!"

At that moment, Fluttershy ducked her head a little and leaned back to gather momentum, all while Dusk looked her without understanding what her friend was doing, then Fluttershy quickly and gracefully moved her mane up in a curve, to make the perfect flirtatious movement of Rarity's mane.

"OUCH! Oww...!" Dusk suddenly screamed as soon as Fluttershy turned her head.

"Dusk! What happened?! Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked scared, approaching Dusk.

"Yeah... it's just that you hit me in my eye with your mane." Dusk said putting a hoof on his aching eye. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious, I'll just go to the bathroom for a moment."

While Dusk retreated, Fluttershy suddenly understood what had gone wrong, she had done Rarity's mane movement perfectly, but she didn't consider that her mane was longer than Rarity's! And Dusk being so close, the only thing that happened was that she had hit Dusk with her mane like a whip! Fluttershy finally lowered her head, accepting her defeat while crying comically of frustration.

"Why does nothing work for me..." Fluttershy said with a sad smile thinking aloud.

KNOCK-KNOCK!

Fluttershy stopped wailing at a noise near her, then she turned around and saw that the noise she had heard had been from the window. It was Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash! Those who had touched the window and were now beckoning her out of the library. The yellow pegasus just sighed, resigned after that nothing she tried with Dusk worked, so she started walking towards the library door obediently.

Leaving the library, Fluttershy saw that not only her four friends were there, but also little Spike, whom she hadn't been able to see by the height of the window.

"Very smart..." Rarity said looking a little annoyed at Fluttershy. "I knew you would be here."

"You snuck out while none of us saw you, huh?" Rainbow Dash said, with the same annoyed look as Rarity. "I definitely didn't expect that from you."

Fluttershy just lowered her head, sorry for what she had done.

"Hehe... it was very daring on your part, I congratulate you." Rainbow Dash added, totally surprised of Fluttershy’s actions, who then looked up and saw that now none of her friends were looking at her with an annoyed look.

"Yeah, I guess we deserved it for not paying enough attention." Pinkie Pie said a little ashamed.

"Now I definitely consider you a rival to fear, darling." Rarity said trying to put a serious look but couldn't help but smile a little to see how daring her shy friend had been.

Fluttershy blushed a little at the compliments of her friends, as well as being happy to know that her friends were not upset with her.

"But don't feel so relieved, sugarcube." Applejack said getting a little more serious. "Tell us, what did you do with Dusk? Did you tell him about the ticket? Did he already invite you?"

Then Fluttershy told them what happened, trying to ignore the embarrassing details, explaining that she wasn't able to tell Dusk what she wanted, about how she just tried to have a nice time with him, how it didn't work, and how she finally I hadn't even had the chance to mention anything about the Grand Galloping Gala or the extra ticket.

"So, that's the situation..." Rarity said thoughtfully once Fluttershy finished speaking.

"I guess it was a relief that Fluttershy was the first to talk to Dusk." Rainbow Dash said scratching her head. "Any of us four would have been more direct and we would have asked him directly to go with him to the Grand Gala."

"So... What do we do now?" Pinkie Pie asked looking at all her friends.

"I don't know, I just know that whatever we do, it must be fair for everyone." Applejack added with a more serious look. "We can't go and argue like crazy mares just for a ticket, remember, friends above all things."

"Hmm... I have an idea." Rarity said looking up pensively before looking down to see her friends. "I think Fluttershy herself has already set the rules for this challenge. It's obvious that the first mare that tells Dusk about the ticket, will keep it, which wouldn't be fair, so what do you think if we do the same thing that Fluttershy did? A competition in which the only rule is to not tell Dusk anything about the Grand Gala or the extra ticket."

Everyone stared at Rarity confused, who took a second before continuing to speak.

"We'll take turns speaking with Dusk, attracting him, each in her own way to try to have a good time together, after the time ends, she will stop, and the next mare will begin, and so on until we have all done it, and at the end of everything, we'll all go together and ask Dusk who he had a better time with, so we'll be able to determine who will win the ticket!" Rarity added, excited by the idea that had occurred to her, then looking at her friends. "What do you think? Do you all agree? Obviously Fluttershy will not enter again since she already had her chance."

All the mares were thoughtful until finally they all accepted, since it was a good idea to compete without having to fight or argue between them, including Fluttershy who also accepted, somewhat embarrassed, because although she would have liked to talk to Dusk again, but felt that she had already ruined her opportunity, she couldn't refuse after having escaped from her friends and knows that they would forgive her so easily.

"Very well." Rarity said once they all nodded. "Now it's time to decide the order of-"

"First!" Pinkie Pie said quickly, intuiting what Rarity would say.

"Second!" Rainbow Dash also said quickly, following Pinkie Pie.

"Third!" Applejack said quickly to not be the last.

"Hnngh... okay, I guess I'll be the last." Rarity said a little annoyed at being last.

"Okey-dokey! Since it's my turn, I'll show you how to conquer a colt so he can invite you on a date." Pinkie Pie said smiling confidently, completely positive that her plan will work.

For his part, Dusk had returned from the bathroom after washing his sore eye after getting whiplashed by Fluttershy who accidentally hit him with her mane, then he was surprised to see that Fluttershy was no longer there, because although he had taken his time washing his eye, he didn't think he would have taken so long for Fluttershy to leave just like that, without even saying goodbye. Finally, deciding not to give importance to the matter, Dusk decided to return to what was most important to him at that moment, to be a good librarian! And since he now knew that Spike was well with his friends, he can now focus entirely on caring for and ensuring the comfort of those first visitors he received in the library.

Fortunately, Dusk's work didn't require much effort, since his only duty was that the environment was conducive as a good reading area for his visitors, and now that Fluttershy had left, the only thing that remained in the library was a nice and quiet pitch of silence.

"~From Canterlot castle~ To Ponyville, they come down~" A melodic feminine voice broke the silence in the library, a voice singing to the gentle rhythm of a guitar, violin and trumpet. A music that didn't come from inside the library, but from the outside, but in the same way it went through the walls of the library and reached the ears of those who were inside it.

"~A pair of purple eyes~ Pretty darling, which are contraband~" The voice continued singing to the rhythm of the music. Dusk, still surprised by the sudden music, approached the library window and opened it, discovering who was responsible for the interruption.

"~From Canterlot castle~ To Ponyville, they come down~ A pair of purple eyes~ Pretty darling, which are contraband~" Pinkie Pie sang again the same verse, singing with all her heart a beautiful romantic song, wearing a curly false mustache and a sombrero. Behind her were three ponies that made up a mariachi band, with more complete costumes than those worn by Pinkie Pie, playing the music that the pink mare sang and dedicated to her love, who just peeked out of the library window.

"Pinkie Pie! What are you doing?!" Dusk asked, scared, glancing at the mares that read in the library, hoping they wouldn't stop reading because of the sudden serenade that Pinkie Pie was singing. "Please, be quiet to-"

"~AY, AY, AY AY! Sing and don't cry~" Pinkie Pie sang, without listening to Dusk, getting excited in the chorus of the song and therefore singing more acute and more out of tune. "~Because by singing they get happy~ Pretty darling, the hearts~"

"AY, AY, AY-!" Pinkie Pie was about to sing again, even louder, until she was silenced by Dusk, who closed her mouth with magic.

"What are you doing, Pinkie?! Why are you singing...? And with a mariachi band!? AND WHY HERE?!" Dusk asked a little hysterically because of the noise Pinkie Pie was making in the library.

"I'm singing a serenade! It's not obvious? I'm dedicating it to you! Do you like it?" Pinkie Pie asked with a big smile.

"Pinkie... Don't you realize it's not appropriate?!" Dusk asked ironically, moving aside to let Pinkie see that there was a library inside.

"Oh! I'm sorry..." Pinkie Pie said realizing her mistake. "Now I understood, no problemo amigo!"

"All right, I'm glad you understood." Dusk said with a big sigh, closing the window to return to the stillness and silence that a library should be.

Dusk moved away from the window and began to walk towards the ponies that continued reading in the library to apologize, when he was surprised by the sudden slam of the door opening.

"Yee-haw! Come on amigos, let's play music!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, entering the library followed by the mariachi band, who began to play the same melody they were playing before, while Pinkie Pie began to tune her voice to continue with her serenade.

Dusk was stunned without believing what he saw, he had just told Pinkie Pie that this was a library! Why did she play with her band again!? And even worse, inside the library!!

"Pinkie Pie!! What are you doing?! Didn't I just tell you that this is inappropriate?!" Dusk yelled to make himself heard through the music.

"Yeah, it was inappropriate for us to play music outside, so now we'll play inside!" Pinkie Pie said, who hadn't understood what Dusk was referring to as 'inappropriate'.

Dusk just put a hoof on his face without knowing what to do or how to explain to Pinkie Pie that all this was inappropriate, more annoying with every second that happened, since Pinkie Pie was causing a disaster in the library.

"ENOUGH!" Dusk yelled loudly, making the mariachi band stop playing. "Pinkie, didn't you understand what I meant by inappropriate!? The music is inappropriate!"

"Ohhh... No problemo amigo!" Pinkie Pie said realizing her mistake again, lowering her ashamed head and turning to the mariachi band. "Okay band... Now something to cheer up the party!" Pinkie said raising her head with a big smile.

Then the mariachi band began to play another song, one faster and noisier than the previous one.

"NO, NO, NO!" Dusk shouted immediately to stop the scandal, which seemed to get bigger every minute. "I wasn't referring to the TYPE of music!"

Dusk again covered his face with his hoof, increasingly irritated that Pinkie Pie didn't understand what he meant. Then, if she didn't understand hints, he would have to be direct.

"Pinkie! Do you really not understand!? Look around! This is a library!!" Dusk said moving his hoof so that Pinkie could see around her.

"Ohh..." Pinkie Pie said for the third time, realizing her mistake again. "Okay, now I definitely understood what is wrong, no problemo!"

It was so that Pinkie Pie had finally left, followed by the mariachi band. As soon as they were gone, Dusk ran to close the library door, grateful that Pinkie Pie finally understood that she couldn't make noise in a library. Dusk began to return to the center of the library when the door opened again with a slam, revealing Pinkie Pie, who came with her characteristic party cannon.

"This place needs a more party atmosphere!" Pinkie Pie said with her big smile, firing the party cannon, from which balloons and streamers appeared that covered the entire room. Immediately, the mariachi band entered again, playing an even faster music, then Pinkie Pie threw her sombrero on the floor and started dancing around it.

"GET OUT!" It was the loud scream Dusk made, while the four mares and Spike, who were spying from the other window of the library, saw Dusk used his magic to throw Pinkie Pie, her party cannon and the mariachi band out of the library, then he slammed the library door.

"Wow... you really made Dusk mad." Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie as she and her friends approached the newly expelled mare of the library, except Applejack, who was nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, I don't know why he bothered so much. Maybe he doesn't like mariachi bands." Pinkie Pie said still on the ground, still not understanding why Dusk had bothered. Then she stood up and said goodbye to the mariachis. "That's all for today, adios amigos!"

While the mariachi band was leaving, the mares spoke again among themselves.

"I'm really surprised you got a mariachi band in such a short time..." Rarity said, who never ceased to be amazed at Pinkie Pie’s surprises.

"I guess my chance to have a good time with Dusk is over, I don't think Dusk will ever let me into the library again, at least for a while." Pinkie Pie said a little ashamed.

"Yeah, but anyway, your turn was over." Spike added, who had a chronometer in his claw and who had been chosen by the mares to keep track of the times and turns of their challenge. "Then, the next is-"

"It's me!" Rainbow Dash said with a note of pride in her voice. "And after me it'll not be necessary for anyone else to enter, because I have an infallible plan that guarantees that I'll have a pleasant afternoon with Dusk!"

While Rainbow Dash was moving away from her friends and approaching the library door, she was reviewing her plan.

"I know why Pinkie Pie failed, she wanted to have a good time with Dusk the way SHE likes doing it." Rainbow Dash thought with a confident smile. "But I'll do the opposite, I'll have a good time with Dusk doing what HE likes to do!"

Meanwhile, Dusk was ordering the mess left by Pinkie Pie, picking up the streamers and balloons scattered around the room. As he did so, he glanced sideways at the two visiting mares that were still reading among the books in the library, Dusk could have sworn that for a few moments he felt the look of one of the mares on him, and Dusk felt that it had been a look of anger, therefore, he would have loved to go and apologize for the scandal caused, but that meant interrupting his visitors reading again, so Dusk just ducked his head with regret, picking upthe items left by Pinkie Pie as quiet as possible, hoping that no more interruptions would happen again.

"Hi Dusk!" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, entering the library without warning.

In the act, Dusk ran to his friend and stood in front of her, putting a hoof over her mouth, and hoping that Rainbow Dash had more common sense than Pinkie Pie and understood what it meant to be in a library.

"Don't worry, I understand, I won’t be noisy." Rainbow Dash said whispering, while Dusk sighed with relief because she understood.

"What brings you out here?" Dusk asked once he was calmer.

"Well, I..." Rainbow Dash said as the security that she had about her plan began to waver quickly as she glanced sideways at the shelves full of books.

"Damn! I don't want to do this, after all, I have to keep my 'cool pony' image." Rainbow Dash thought nervously. "But if it's to get Dusk to invite me to the Grand Galloping Gala, I'll sacrifice myself and pretend to be an egghead."

"I came here to read." Rainbow Dash said finally, making an unconvincing smile.

"Really? That's fantastic! I didn't think you were a pony who would like to read." Dusk said surprised, smiling.

Upon hearing that, Rainbow Dash immediately regretted what she was planning to do, because now Dusk would believe that she was just a fool egghead and all her reputation as a tough and cool mare would go down the drain. She was about to retract when Dusk spoke again.

"It makes me happy to know that I can share my hobbies and tastes with a good friend like you, Rainbow Dash, I'm glad you want to read here with me." Dusk added with a tender smile. "In fact, I'll take the opportunity to read a little while and keep you company."

"Y-Yeah! Of course! I like to read! I love to read! I couldn't spend a day without reading a good book! Hahaha!" Rainbow Dash said with great enthusiasm, forgetting everything related to being seen as an egghead and only falling for the tender smile of Dusk.

"All right! This is working! Now we can both have a nice time together, and we'll have so much fun that when the others ask him who he wants to go to the Grand Gala with, he'll choose me without hesitation!" Rainbow Dash thought excitedly as she watched her plan work.

Then Dusk and Rainbow Dash approached the shelves with books.

"So, what would you like to read? We have all the topics you can want!" Dusk asked kindly, excited to be able to do his librarian job.

"Um... I don't know, I-I think I'll read that." Rainbow Dash said, pointing to a random book, because for her, every book was the same and she didn't really care which one to take, after all it was just an excuse to be with Dusk.

Dusk took the book that Rainbow Dash had pointed and read the cover.

"Are you sure this is the book you want to read?" Dusk asked, surprised.

"Yeah, yeah, I read it all the time." Rainbow Dash said without given much importance.

Then Dusk passed the book to Rainbow Dash and only then Rainbow Dash understood the confusion in Dusk's face, although the expression that the colt put on was nothing compared to the one she put, who put a face of horror while her mouth fell open, the title of the book was: 'Every mare needs love, advice for flirty mares.'

After the initial surprise, Rainbow Dash's face turned red with embarrassment to see that Dusk had seen her asking for that book, she immediately thought about correcting the misunderstanding, but it was too late, she had even said that she read that book all the time! Now Dusk wouldn't only think that she was an egghead, but also a silly corny mare who was looking for advice for falling in love!

Resigned to the fact that she could no longer change her book choice and that she needs to continue with her plan, Rainbow Dash took the book with her face still red and sat near where the other mares were also reading, then Dusk took a book and sat next to the mares too, forming a circle in which Dusk was facing Rainbow Dash. So, the four ponies were silent, reading their respective books, or at least three of them, since one of those ponies just pretended to read the book she was holding. Rainbow Dash just held the book between her hooves, but did not once look down at the book, she just opened it, lowered her head to pretend like she was reading the book, and looked at Dusk, watching how he read and enjoyed that activity that seemed so tedious to her.

"He really is a complete egghead, if he wasn't so cute I think I would hit him..." Rainbow Dash thought as she blushed. "Well, whatever, if this makes him happy, I'll sacrifice myself so we can both have a good time together, this plan is flawless!"

The minutes went by quickly while all that was heard in the library was the noise of the hooves changing pages while the ponies read, something that began to slowly annoy Rainbow Dash as the time progressed, not only because it reminded her that she couldn't make noise in that place, but for something more important, because with each minute that passed, she was beginning to realize something vital, the big mistake that her plan had, something that started to make her more nervous every second.

"This... This is not working!" Rainbow Dash suddenly thought once she had spent a great deal of time pretending to read, finally realizing the big mistake in her plan. "I'm doing something that Dusk likes, but it's like I'm not here! If we just stay to read, I can't talk to Dusk or make him start thinking of me as the perfect companion to the Grand Gala, and what’s worst, at this rate my shift with Dusk will end and I'll have wasted all my time just sitting here without doing or saying anything!"

"Umm... Dusk, what do you think of today's weather?" Rainbow Dash finally asked, lowering the book she pretended to read and looking at Dusk, hoping to start a conversation to get out of that perpetual silence they were in. "I think-"

"Shhh! We're reading." Dusk said interrupting Rainbow Dash, silencing her so she wouldn't disturb the other readers who were there.

"No! Now that Dusk has started reading, I can't even talk to him! This was the worst idea in the world!" Rainbow Dash thought terrified.

"Eh... Rainbow Dash?" Dusk suddenly asked.

"Yes?!" Rainbow Dash replied smiling, hoping that Dusk would have realized her discomfort and that he would like to have a conversation with her.

"Why do you read the book backwards?" Dusk asked, just realizing an important detail, pointing with his hoof to the book that Rainbow Dash read.

Rainbow Dash looked at the book she was holding and only then she realized that all that time she had held the book upside down while pretending to read.

"I-I was just practicing for when I flip upside down, hehe, you know, as I've read this book so many times, I got it memorized." Rainbow Dash replied embarrassed, quickly inventing an excuse, forgetting for a second the kind of book she was holding. "Especially this chapter: 'How to be ardent in bed, the best position-'"

As soon as Rainbow Dash read the title of the chapter in which she had randomly opened the book, she stopped before she finished reading it, completely blushed, quickly changing pages and hiding her red face behind the book. Meanwhile, Dusk couldn't help but blush to know the type of topics that Rainbow Dash liked to read, but he quickly returned to his reading, trying to not let his imagination play tricks on him, as many shameful ideas went through Dusk's mind to know that Rainbow Dash liked to read such books.

While Rainbow Dash was still ashamed of what she was about to say, her head began to work quickly as she tried to think of a way to fix all her mistakes to get Dusk to notice her at least a little, and in that way, she still has a possibility of Dusk inviting her to the Gala. That was how without realizing it, she read the title of the chapter of the book that had arrived after hastily changing the page, the title said: 'Three techniques to make him notice you'. When reading that, for the first time Rainbow Dash seemed partially interested in a book, so she continued reading, hoping that maybe if she occupied one of those techniques, she would accomplish her mission with Dusk.

"Attraction technique n° 1: 'The gaze'. No colt resists the sweet and seductive look of a mare that looks at him with intensity, plays with him, exchange glances playfully, letting him know with your eyes only that he is the stallion of your dreams."

Dusk was reading quietly until he began to feel an uneasy feeling, as if many ponies were watching him, something that immediately made him nervous, since he hated being the center of attention. Then Dusk slowly lowered the book he was reading to see where that uncomfortable feeling came from, and it didn't take him long to find out what caused it. In front of him was Rainbow Dash, who for some reason had completely lowered her book and was now looking intently at Dusk, without even blinking, as if she wanted to kill him with her eyes.

"What's wrong with her? It seems that she doesn't even intend to read, first the book upside down and now this, does she want to have a staring contest to see who blinks first?" Dusk thought a little annoyed, lowering his head again to continue his reading.

"This is not working!" Rainbow Dash shouted in her mind, stopping her intense gaze, not knowing that she had taken the 'intense gaze' too literally. Then she raised the book again to read the next technique.

"Attraction technique n° 2: 'The mirror'. The subconscious of each one influences the decisions that one makes, that is the reason why this technique is born. Become your lover's mirror, adopt his posture, copy his gestures, and unconsciously he'll begin to feel that there is a connection between the both of you."

After Dusk looked down to return to his reading, it didn't take long for something else to distract him, a noise of something moving in front of him, which indicated that Rainbow Dash was again the guilty. Dusk looked up from the book again, and for the second time, he was confused by what was happening. He again couldn't explain the strange behavior of his friend, but what Rainbow Dash had done now was to brush her mane in such a way that it was an exact copy of Dusk's mane style, only with different colors, besides Rainbow Dash had the same confused look he had, staring at him, they even blinked at the same time!

"Why is she imitating me now? Is it another one of her pranks? Or does she just want to bother me? Or maybe she just wants to make fun of me..." Dusk thought disconcerted, again focusing on the book he was reading, since he didn't want to disturb the reading of the other visitors to the library.

"It still doesn't work, stupid book!!" Rainbow Dash thought hysterically as she banged her face with the book and her mane returned to its natural style. Then she took off the book of her face and read the last technique indicated in the book.

"Attraction technique n° 3: 'Indifference'. If none of the other techniques worked for you, maybe this technique is your thing, remember, a mare always has to be mysterious, the stallions love that, especially if you become an unattainable prize for them, they'll fight to get your attention if you stop paying them the right attention, become yourself in something he wants, and show him that your world doesn't revolve around him."

"Well, finally something easy!" Rainbow Dash thought knowing exactly what to do. Then she put a displeased face and looked to one side, closing her eyes and tilting her head up so Dusk noticed that she wasn't paying attention to him. "Now my attention is not on you! Come on, Dusk! Come closer! Make me feel that you care me!"

That's how Rainbow Dash stayed, like a statue, totally motionless as time passed. After several minutes, all the determination that Rainbow Dash had, began to waver, which made her open one eye a little to see Dusk, only then she realized that Dusk was still totally immersed in what he was reading, so absolutely concentrated that he didn't realize what Rainbow Dash was trying to get, and it was just at that very moment that a cold sweat began to fall down the pegasus's back when she realized that she had made the same mistake again.

"But what's wrong with me!? If I remain indifferent, without doing anything, I'm making the same mistake I made at the beginning! How come I didn't notice it!!? This book just gave me bad advice!!" Rainbow Dash thought totally distressed.

As soon as Rainbow Dash opened her eyes completely, she saw that something seemed to move in the window, so she looked at it, then she saw that behind the window were Rarity and Pinkie Pie, both pointing to a chronometer watch that was between their hooves, what could only mean one thing.

"Dammit! I ran out of time! Stupid! Stupid book!!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted furiously, taking the book she held and throwing it hard and far as she could, while Dusk and the two mares that read calmly jumped out of surprise due to the strong and surprising cry of the pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash has run out of time, I wonder if she has understood our message..." Rarity wondered, talking to her friends outside the library.

Suddenly the library door opened, and Rainbow Dash was ejected from it, flying off in the same way that Pinkie Pie did moments ago.

"It seems she did understand." Pinkie Pie said smiling, responding belatedly to the question Rarity had asked, then looking at Rainbow Dash, who was still lying on the ground. "So... Dusk also got upset with you?"

"Apparently..." Rainbow Dash said sadly, standing up. "Anyway, it didn't matter, I think I had already ruined it, and my shift was over. By the way, where is Applejack? She still not coming back?"

"Here I am!" The voice of Applejack said from a distance, who was coming to the library carrying a small wagon.

"Where did you go?" Rarity asked, looking curiously at the small wagon her friend was carrying.

"I just went looking for my secret weapon." Applejack replied smiling. "Well, now it's my turn to go with Dusk, wish me luck." Applejack said approaching the library door, ready to start the fourth assault with Dusk, after Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had finished their turns. She was full of confidence, determined that she would have good results, compared to her friends.

Dusk was standing, putting the book that Rainbow Dash had taken and thrown abruptly in its place, still annoyed by how noisy her friend had been. After doing that, he also put the book he was reading back, after all, with everything that happened, the desire to keep reading was taken away from him, and now he realized that he couldn't afford to enjoy a good reading, since he was the librarian, and therefore he had to work and ensure that everything was in order and that his visitors could read quietly, who by miracle were still sitting there and reading, despite the interruptions caused by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

KNOCK-KNOCK!

Dusks sight had redirected towards the door of the library, since someone had touched the door. He quietly walked away from the reading area of the library and opened the door to see who was outside.

"Hello Dusk!" Applejack said with a smile.

"Eh... Hi Applejack, what brings you here?" Dusk asked with a confused look, as he began to realize that it was very unlikely that four of his friends would come one by one to visit him just as a coincidence, plus there was another thing that caught Dusk's attention, it was that Applejack was carrying a kind of cart behind her.

"I was just passing by and it occurred to me that you could be hungry." Applejack said, lifting the cover of the cart she was carrying, revealing that it was filled with several pies and different apple desserts.

"I can't fail with this!" Applejack thought confidently. "Granny Smith always says the way to colt's heart is through his stomach, and I've seen that Dusk likes my pies! And once his stomach is full, he'll be so happy that in gratitude he'll invite me to the Grand Galloping Gala!"

"Well... I was-" Dusk began to reply, thinking about denying Applejack's invitation to eat, but at once his stomach growled with hunger as soon as he saw the delicious pies, besides, his manners prevented him from rejecting a gift from a mare. "I guess you're right, I'm a little hungry." Dusk finished speaking somewhat embarrassed.

Applejack smiled cheerfully to see that Dusk had accepted and everything was going as planned, so she took a few pies and went into the library.

"I just ask you to stay here, near the door." Dusk said quickly before Applejack moved further. "I should go to the main hall to continue watching the visitors, but I don't want to be impolite and go to eat by their side while they read quietly."

"Sure! No problem, actually it's better that way, since the cart can't pass through the door." Applejack replied smiling.

Then Applejack and Dusk sat down while she put a couple of pies from the cart in front of Dusk.

"After every harvest season, Granny Smith leaves a large batch of apples to prepare her famous apple pies, which sell very well." Applejack said looking at Dusk expectantly. "But this time I made these pies myself, practicing all the recipes from the family's old cookbook, I hope you like them!"

As soon as Dusk heard the words of Applejack, he felt a greater responsibility when eating the cakes, because if she had made all those pies that were in the cart, it meant that she had spent hours working in the kitchen, and now that she was bringing them to him, he couldn't lightly take all the effort that Applejack had put into those pies.

"Hmm! It's delicious!" Dusk said after tasting the first apple pie, remembering how good a cook his friend was.

"That's an apple pie with ground nuts and oat bark." Applejack said a little blushed, glad that Dusk enjoyed the pies she had prepared and brought. "Now eat this, it's a cake of acorns and sweet and sour green apples."

So, Dusk began eating one by one the pies that Applejack put in front of him. Each time Dusk ate a pie, Applejack went to the cart and brought another one, because each pie was a different recipe, and each time she brought a cake and saw Dusk eat it, saying how delicious it was, Applejack was getting happier to know that Dusk enjoyed her cooking skills, and knowing that her plan for Dusk to have a good time with her was working. However, even though Applejack thought that Dusk was enjoying all that, the unicorn thought otherwise, because it was true that Applejack pies were all delicious, however it seemed that the pies never ended, and his stomach was filling more and more, to the point that Dusk felt that it would explode.

For Dusk, it would have been very easy to stop Applejack and simply tell her that he couldn't eat anymore, however, he felt he couldn't refuse the pies that Applejack gave him, because it would be terrible to reject the hard work that her friend did. Meanwhile, Applejack didn't realize that great detail, since her family was a 'country family', with big and strong stallions, she was used to her brother and cousins ​​eating tons of pies when Granny prepared them, so she didn't realize that Dusk was very different from his brother, smaller and more refined, with a small stomach accustomed to elegant and small palace dinners.

"Was... was that the last one?" Dusk asked slowly after seeing that apparently the cart that Applejack brought was empty. He was lying on the floor with his cheeks swollen and his stomach about to burst, all after having eaten dozens of apple pies, more than he could handle. "They... they really were delicious..." Dusk added with a forced smile.

"Eh... yeah, I think it was the last one." Applejack replied confused, understanding that Dusk had smiled forcefully and, therefore, getting her nervous, without even understanding what had failed in her plan. "Although I remember making one more pie, an apple pie with hazelnuts and seeds of 'dragon sneeze' but I can't find it anywhere."

"'Dragon sneeze'... I know that flower." Dusk said remembering a particular red and yellow flower that flourished in certain sectors of Canterlot. "I didn't know it was edible."

"Only the seeds, but-" Applejack began to explain before being interrupted.

"ACHOOO…!!" A tremendous sneeze was heard, one that caused many of the shelves in the library to move.

"What was that?!" Applejack asked surprised, walking out of the library and seeing that her friends were nearby, all of them covering Spike's snout, while his eyes were red, the fire that came from his nose while his sneezes were stopped. The other thing that caught Applejack's attention, was that the pie that was missing in her cart was right at the feet of Spike, half-eaten.

"I-I think it was the wind or something, hehe..." Applejack said nervously, speaking to Dusk as she went back into the library, knowing that she couldn't expose her friends and say that they and Spike were outside the library while she had her turn in their little challenge.

However, the words of Applejack were unnecessary, since Dusk didn't even pay attention to her, in fact he hadn't even given importance to what had been that great noise and who caused it, the only thing that Dusk cared about was seeing the dozen books that had fallen from the shelves after the movement caused by the huge sneeze. Dusks eyes were fixed on the books while trying to stand up with great effort, because his distended stomach made it difficult.

"The books... I must order the books..." Dusk said as he stood up with an effort with his huge stomach.

"Oh! I can order them for you!" Applejack said quickly, seeing an opportunity to help Dusk, running quickly to where the books had fallen. "It'll be very easy, you just rest!"

At once, Applejack grouped all the books that had fallen, then she took them and threw them into the air, and it was then she used her great skill of being an apple harvester to sort books, she quickly hit each book with her hind legs, one by one, which fell precisely in the empty places of the shelves.

"There ya go!" Applejack said proudly after having ordered the disaster that had been left, ready to receive the praises of Dusk.

"You... What the hay do you think you were doing?!" Dusk yelled furiously, approaching with effort to the shelves of books.

"Huh?" Applejack asked confused. "I... I just ordered the mess..."

"No, you didn't! You only put the books on the shelves, but each book must be ordered according to different criteria! Each book has its place! Now I don't know which books are in their place and which are not!" Dusk said angrily as his anger increased, approaching the only book he was sure was one of the books that Applejack had 'ordered', taking it out of the shelf. "But that's not the most important thing, look! You ruined the cover! This is a first edition book! It has many years, and now the cover is ruined because it has the mark of a hoof! You can't just go and hit such a delicate book!!" Dusk finished saying, yelling even more annoyed.

Dusk understood that Applejack had only tried to help, but it was also a fact that he loved books, he adored them! And seeing her friend beating them in such a carefree and negligent way, for a few seconds he couldn't contain his anger.

"Agh! Enough!" The cream-colored mare that had been reading there yelled, lowering the book she held.

Before the surprise yell, both Applejack and Dusk were frozen watching the mare.

"First Fluttershy with her strange voices and laughs, then Pinkie Pie with her mariachi band, then Rainbow Dash with her strange gestures and her sudden anger, then Applejack with her flying books, and now you with your yells." The mare named Bon -Bon said, totally annoyed, standing up. "I can't take it anymore! I haven't been able to advance beyond the first chapter of my book because of all the noise you made! It's impossible to read here! Isn't it supposed to be a library?!"

"Umm... I didn't advance beyond the first chapter of my book either." The other mare suddenly added, the turquoise- colored mare called Lyra, also standing up. "Although not because of the noise, but because I had so much fun seeing all the attempts the girls made to attract the new librarian, hehe." Then Lyra looked at Bon-Bon and asked. "So... are we leaving now?"

"Yes!" Bon-Bon said still annoyed, walking towards the library door next to Lyra. It was only then that Dusk reacted and approached her to apologize.

"By the way..." Bon-Bon added, looking annoyed at Dusk before he could speak. "It's obvious that all those ponies want to attract you, you're a fool if you don't realize that! It would be simpler for all of you if you just chose one and have a date with her."

At the words of Bon-Bon, Dusk froze, not knowing how to respond to what she had just told him, while Bon-Bon opened the library door loudly and left.

"Don't worry, Bon-Bon is just in a bad mood." Lyra said with a distressed face looking at Dusk. "She was one of those who ate your cupcakes in poor condition the other day. She didn't want to come here but I convinced her to come, although I guess it didn't work out as expected, but don't worry, I know that at some point her anger will go away and she'll apologize."

Then Lyra also left the library while Dusk was still frozen where he was, still thinking about what Bon-Bon had said before leaving. He stayed quiet for a while, all while Applejack had also stayed where she was, not knowing what to do or say, not knowing if Dusk was still angry with her or not.

"Applejack..." Dusk finally said after a while, still not moving, having his back on Applejack, so she couldn't see his face. "Was what that pony said true...? You and the others... have been acting strange... because all of you're interested in me?" It was only then that Dusk turned to see Applejack, and the mare could see that Dusk showed an expression of nervousness and confusion.

Applejack stood with her mouth open, nervous, not knowing what to answer, just looking into Dusk's eyes.

"What... What am I supposed to answer?" Applejack thought nervously, lowering her head so that Dusk didn't see the confusion on her face. "I still don't know that, I'm still discovering it, I... I just know that I like to be with you, that's why I want to know you more, but if you want me to give you an answer right now, I... I'm...!"

At that moment Applejack couldn't stand the look of Dusk, because although she already knew what she felt for Dusk, it was still too early for her to face what he asked her, least of all if he asked her so suddenly, so she he just ducked her head and ran quickly out of the library, leaving Dusk alone, motionless, not knowing how to interpret Applejack running away, while thousands of ideas crossed his mind and his feelings were entangled with each other.

"Wait a second..." Dusk said thinking aloud, realizing what that mare had said, he had forgotten something very important. "Those ponies left because they weren't able to read quietly! Everything because of me! I even shouted in a library!! I'm the worst librarian in the world!" Dusk finished shouting, with a face of horror, discovering that he had become what he hated most, a pony that didn't respect the sanctity of a quiet library.

Meanwhile, Applejack had ran out of the library, but hadn't moved far from there, because as soon as she came out, she saw that there was a group of ponies gathered talking nearby, they were her friends, who were meeting and chatting with Bon-Bon and Lyra. Applejack immediately approached them.

"...So please, don't get mad at Dusk or think he's a bad librarian." Fluttershy said with a sad look as she spoke to Bon-Bon and Lyra.

"Yeah, it was all our fault." Pinkie Pie said, also embarrassed.

"Hmm ... so this is all about getting a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala..." Bon-Bon said, less annoyed after hearing the explanation from Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, who had rushed to talk to her when she came out angry from the library. "I suppose I would also act a bit crazy if there was a ticket to the Grand Gala at stake, although I wouldn't do it knowing that I would have to go with that colt." Bon-Bon finished, who still had a lot resentment against Dusk, being part of the group of ponies that still disliked Dusk.

"He's not that bad, you just have to know him better." Rainbow Dash said, trying to improve Dusk's image on Bon-Bon's mind.

"Yes, so please, don't stop coming to the library because of us." Rarity added with a small, embarrassed smile.

"Huff... okay, I guess I'll give it another chance in the future." Bon-Bon finally said sighing and starting to walk away to go home. "What madness, all this just for a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala... Although I would also like to go..." Bon-Bon finished saying, whispering as she walked away, talking to herself, although the other mares reached to hear her.

"Yeah, sure, all of this is ONLY for a ticket to the Grand Gala, huh?" Lyra said suddenly with a mischievous look, who had just remained silent while the other mares tried to make Bon-Bon stop being upset with Dusk, but now that her friend was leaving, it was her moment to speak, since she felt that there was much more behind the words and actions that Fluttershy and the others had said and done. "I wish you all luck with Dusk! Bye-bye!" Lyra added with a smile, winking at them, before running off to catch up to Bon-Bon.

At the words of Lyra, the five friendly mares blushed, without answering anything, watching as Lyra and Bon-Bon walked away while the sun went down, and the afternoon was almost over.

"Well... It seems that Lyra found out, are we really that obvious?" Pinkie Pie asked with a smirk, still blushing.

"With all the follies we did, I guess we were." Applejack replied scratching her head, also blushing.

"At least nopony else has seen us act like this, trying to call Dusk's attention so desperately." Fluttershy said with her cheeks blushed.

"What are you talking about?" Spike asked without understanding what the mares were referring to. "Are you still talking about the competition?"

"O-Of course!" Rainbow Dash quickly responded, not wanting the dragon to realize that this competition was not only to see who was going to the Grand Gala, but rather who would have a date with Dusk at the Grand Gala. "By the way, since Applejack's time is over, the last turn is to-"

"Me, darling." Rarity said with a proud look, interrupting Rainbow Dash. "Now it's my turn, and I regret to inform all of you that it wouldn't have mattered if you had had a good time with Dusk, after all I have my victory secured with an infallible plan, fufufu..."

"We all failed, what makes you think your plan won’t fail?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little annoyed by her friend's arrogance.

"Well, you were all with Dusk trying to think of how he might like to have a good time with a mare." Rarity replied with arrogance as she approached the library door, turning around one last time to look at her friends. "But I don't have that problem, because I already know how Dusk likes to spend time with a mare he likes!"

The four mares stared at Rarity, confused, while Rarity enjoyed seeing their confusion, knowing that her victory was assured.

"While you watched the others through the window, I had a little talk with Spike, and I asked him if there was someone Dusk liked in Canterlot, and it turns out that yes, there was someone Dusk liked." Rarity added, before the surprised look of her friends. "Now I know what Dusk liked about her, and I'll do exactly the same thing." Finishing that, Rarity came over to knock on the library door.

Dusk was sorting the books in the library, since Applejack had messed up and put some in the wrong places. While he was doing it, all Dusk wanted to do was to go to bed and rest, since he was full of laziness due to his full stomach, besides the huge depression that had been generated by the knowledge that his visitors had left the library annoying, which made him think that he was the worst librarian in the world.

"I just hope the rumors don't spread through Ponyville and it becomes a ghost library..." Dusk said sadly thinking out loud.

KNOCK-KNOCK!

Dusk turned to hear the knock on the door, before having the feeling of knowing who it could be.

"Go ahead." Dusk said with a suspicious look.

Opening the door, Rarity appeared with a tender smile on her face.

"I knew it! Only she was missing, all my friends have been coming one by one, but... What are they all plotting?" Dusk thought, suspecting the strange attitude that his friends are having.

"Hi Dusk!" Rarity greeted cheerfully as she approached Dusk.

"Hi Rarity..." Dusk greeted, looking suspiciously at Rarity, hoping that at any moment she would do something crazy, just like his friends before her. "You... What brings you here?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see if you were alright." Rarity said, still seeing Dusk affectionately, in a calm and friendly voice. "Tell me, do you need help with anything?"

Dusk opened his eyes in surprise to see how normal and calm Rarity was acting, a totally different attitude from what he expected.

"I... I'm fine, thanks." Dusk responded by returning to his suspicious attitude.

"Very well, then I'll just stay here, watching you be well, ready to help you if you need me." Rarity said with a loving smile.

Dusk couldn't help but blush at the tender smile of Rarity, and more for her kind and calm attitude, worthy of Fluttershy, who on the contrary, had acted very strange that day. So Dusk kept ordering the books while Rarity watched him, just smiling, both without saying anything, which made Dusk somewhat nervous since it wasn't normal of Rarity acting this way, but he didn't complain, as he liked to finally have a moment of tranquility without having the other mares going crazy. Finally, Dusk was able to track the books that Applejack had ordered wrong, cleaned them carefully to remove the spots of hooves that had been left on them, and ordered them where they belonged, thus ending his task.

"Phew... I think I'm done." Dusk said once he put the last book in place, letting himself rest on the floor because his huge stomach full of food demanded it.

"Very good! I congratulate you! You are such a talented foal!" Rarity said smiling, applauding Dusk after seeing that he had finished his work.

"I... uh, hehe, I think so." Dusk said blushing for some reason, thinking it was weird that Rarity called him a 'foal', but easily falling for flattery as he always did.

"Tell me..." asked Rarity who suddenly was approaching Dusk, still smiling. "Would you like me to prepare a hot milk for you? It seems you've eaten a lot and I think a good hot milk would help you relax and make you feel better, what do you say?"

"Eh... I ... yeah, I think maybe it's not a bad idea..." Dusk replied, returning to his suspicious attitude towards Rarity, but not being able to deny what Rarity offered him because it sounded good, besides, the maternal tone Rarity was using, was unconsciously making Dusk more docile.

So, Rarity went to the small kitchen of the library and stayed there for a while until she came back smiling, carrying a small container with her. Then she stood in front of Dusk, with a kind smile.

"Okay, here's the milk, now oooopen up... Here comes the choo-choo train!" Rarity said maternally as she moved the small container that brought the milk inside it, and it was only then that Dusk realized that for some reason Rarity didn't bring the milk in a glass, but in a kind of feeding bottle, moving it from one side to the other until it was close to Dusk's mouth.

"Rarity... What are you doing...?" Dusk asked very confused. "Why are you serving me milk in a feeding bottle?"

"Oh! So you don't drink in a feeding bottle? What a big boy!" Rarity said surprised for a moment but quickly smiling gently again, then she removed the teat that was above, leaving only the bottle. "Here you go, but be careful, it's hot."

"Tha ... Thanks...?" Dusk responded more and more confused, not understanding why Rarity was treating him like a baby.

Once Dusk drank all the milk, which he had to admit had been perfect to relax his heavy stomach, Rarity took the bottle, took it to the kitchen and returned to the main hall, just when the cuckoo clock in the library marked the time of sunset.

"My Celestia, look at the time it is!" Rarity said with a surprised look, turning then to see Dusk. "Well, young colt, it's time to go to bed."

"Uh?" Dusk said completely stunned, just when he had stood up.

"Come on, come on, it's time to go to your room." Rarity said, pulling Dusk up the stairs with her.

"Rarity! What are you doing?! Why do you want to go to my room?!" Dusk said nervously as millions of ideas crossed his mind, all while he was still being pulled by Rarity up the stairs, so nervous to know that this was the first time he was taking a mare to his room that he unconsciously offered no resistance.

So finally, both unicorns reached the top of the stairs and entered Dusk's room, then Rarity closed the curtains and walked over to Dusk's bed, where she sat.

"Come here, it's bedtime." Rarity said with a kind smile.

"What are you talking about?! What do you mean it's bedtime?!" Dusk said completely red with embarrassment.

"Sigh... you're a really stubborn foal, come here." Rarity said with a look of false disgust, using her magic to drag Dusk's hooves and make him come to the bed where she was, both of them sitting in the bed, looking at each other. "Now lie down."

"I-I... You... are you sure...? I... I don't know if I'm ready for this..." Dusk answered completely red, totally nervous, since it seemed that he was going to lose his innocence that night.

"Are you not ready?" Rarity asked confused, then realizing something. "Oh... I know what's missing!"

Then Rarity suddenly embraced Dusk and began stroking his back affectionately. That took Dusk by surprise, he didn't know how to react, he just stood still while Rarity's soft touch calmed him slowly.

"Here it is! Another hug, as warm as ever..." Dusk thought, blushing even more but calming his nerves a little. "But this one is different from all the ones I've given before, this time I'm cuddled in a bed next to a mare, all while she asks me to go to bed. I... Will I be ready for that? Or rather, could I reject her when she embraces me in this way? I... I don't think I can reject her..."

"Rarity, I-BURP!!" Dusk began to speak tenderly before being interrupted by his own loud belching, which caused all his romantic thoughts to vanish.

"There it is! What a good baby you are! Do you feel better already?" Rarity asked as she stopped hugging Dusk and looking at him with the same motherly smile she had been having all this time.

"Eh?" Dusk asked totally confused, not understanding what Rarity was talking about, and even more confused to hear that she had said 'baby'.

"Now, little foal, do you want me to read you a bedtime story?" Rarity said holding the same loving smile.

"Eh?!" Dusk asked again, louder, more and more confused and stupefied.

"Oh... It seems you're confused, let's see! Who is the cutest foal in the world? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" Rarity said fondly, squeezing Dusk's cheeks as if she were a mother and Dusk her little baby.

"EH...!!?" Dusk said again, even louder, more confused than ever about what was happening.

"STOP THERE, YOU TWO!" Rainbow Dash yelled suddenly, slamming the door of the room while the four mares and Spike entered the room. "Rarity... What were you and Dusk doing alone in his room?!"

"Oh! Don't worry, I was just making little Dusk sleep." Rarity said soothing her friend, understanding immediately what she and her other friends must have thought when she was alone with Dusk in his room. "Don't worry, I won’t break our deal."

"What...? What deal are you talking about?" Dusk asked, totally confused, not knowing anything nor understanding what all his friends were doing in his room.

"Well, that's enough." Spike said, who had become as nervous as the mares when he saw Rarity come up to the room with Dusk. "The last turn was from Rarity, so it's about time that Dusk knows everything that happens."

Then Spike began to explain to Dusk everything that happened after breakfast, when the Princess sent him the two tickets saying that Dusk needs to go to the Grand Gala obligatorily and that he needs to attend with a companion, about how his friends arguing about who deserved to go to the Gala, and how they finally reached an agreement to see who had a better time with Dusk so that at the end of the day he would decide who to go with. While the dragon explained, the five mares just stared down, glancing sideways at Dusk, not knowing if Dusk would get mad at them for their little contest or their way of acting that day. Finally, after Spike finished speaking, Dusk just remained silent, with a thoughtful face while he was ordering in his mind all that new information, arranging it in the day to make it fit with what he had live with, and putting in order all the questions that still needed answers.

"Okay... I think I understand..." Dusk finally said after a long silence. "So, all of you have acted strange with me today because everyone wanted to make me feel good today, isn't it? Knowing that, the first question that comes to my mind is: What the hay was Rarity trying to do? I mean, I think I understood what Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to do, but I don't understand at all what you tried to do!" Dusk finished, looking at Rarity.

"Oh! Well... I spoke with Spike and he told me that in Canterlot there was a mare you were in love with, and that she took care of you, played with you, fed you, and treated you as if you were the cutest foal in the world." Rarity replied smiling.

Dusk looked annoyed at Spike for a second and then he looked back at Rarity with a face of shame.

"W-Well, that's because... I was in love... with my foal-sitter." Dusk said as he blushed.

"Your foal-sitter?!" Rarity said surprised and scared.

"Yeah, but it was a long time ago... Although she really was a very special mare... so pretty... B-But all those things that Spike said she did for me, she did when I was a foal!" Dusk answered very ashamed to have to explain who his first love was, then he looked back at Spike and started arguing with the dragon for being a loose mouth, while the dragon asked for forgiveness, without admitting that he had been exposed to the charms of Rarity when she asked him about that.

"Hey, Rarity, how come you didn't realize it was his foal-sitter?" Pinkie Pie asked, whispering to Rarity.

"I don't know, be treated like a baby... I thought maybe it was some strange fetish, hehe." Rarity replied ashamed, also whispering so that only Pinkie Pie could hear her say something so embarrassing.

After Dusk finished scolding Spike, he looked back at his friends, ready to face the doubt that was still in the air, the most difficult to answer.

"Well, back to the important issue, there's something I have to tell you about the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala." Dusk said looking serious, looking at his friends who also looked at him expectantly. "The truth is I don't want to go to the Gala, I don't care about going to that type of social gathering at all, and if I could, I would give my ticket to one of you so that at least two of you could enjoy the Gala, since after everything you did today, it's obvious that you five do want to go to that Gala. Having said that, I can only say, that I MUST go, if Princess Celestia personally sent me a letter saying that I must to attend, I can't excuse myself from going, I always follow everything the Princess tells me, since she's not only a royal princess, but my teacher, and despite everything, I obey and respect her, and that's why even though it hurts me to leave four of you without the option to go to the Gala, I'll have to choose out of all of you who will get the extra ticket."

At that moment Dusk stopped, he had his mouth dry while a cold sweat ran down his back, he continued to see his friends and they looked at him closely. He wanted to make everyone hapyy so much, but he knew that no matter what happened, he would only make one of them happy and the other four unhappy, so, although he knew that he should obey the dictates of his teacher, his heart faltered at the hard task before him and began to decide.

"I-I..." Dusk began to tremble, ready to say a name. "I... I think I'll go with-"

BURP!

A sudden belching from Spike took away all the tension at that moment, making the six ponies look towards Spike and saw what he had on his feet, because of that famous belching of Spike had become his well-known magical flame, of which a scroll jumped out, that could only mean that it came from a pony. However, Spike's fire was not the only surprise that happened, since as soon as the scroll sprang from Spike's flame, one of the golden tickets that Spike still held, vanished by magic with a golden glow, as if a certain alicorn that had a golden magic aura would have made it disappear.

Dusk immediately went to take the scroll, opened it and read:

"Dear Dusk.

I just realized that you don't only have one mare to invite, but five, and it would be very cruel of me to make you invite only one, so here I’ve sent you the necessary tickets so that all of your friends can attend.

You bid farewell affectionately, Princess Celestia."

As soon as Dusk finished reading the letter and opened the scroll completely, five gold tickets fell out of the letter. Everypony immediately understood what they were and what had happened.

"This... This is great! Now everyone can attend! Isn't this magnificent!? Princess, thank you very much!" Dusk said cheerfully, speaking up as if the Princess could hear him, taking the five golden tickets between his hooves.

The five mares, who had been surprised with everything that happened, smiled like Dusk, all happy since now they could all go to the Grand Gala with Dusk, because although they all thought they would have loved to be on a date alone with Dusk, all of them preferred to leave aside a probable date with Dusk in order to see their friends also fulfill their dreams of going to the Gala. However, although everyone was happy with the situation, their joy was giving way to doubt, and even fear, because before the letter arrived with the extra tickets, apparently Dusk had made a decision, he was going to choose one of them to accompany him to the Gala! But then... Who did he choose?! The five mares looked at each other with worried looks, all knowing that they were thinking the same thing, the five almost ran out of air due to the suspense of knowing that Dusk was going to choose, all of them wanting to be chosen but at the same time not wanting Dusk's decision to hurt the others. It was only then that a great question arose in all the mares, one that filled them with doubts and worry: Would they be able to stand to see Dusk choosing one of them at the expense of the others? The truth is that none of them knew that in that moment, and therefore, with their eyes, they realized that perhaps for the moment it was best not to know who would have been chosen, at least for now, because they knew that the answer could easily break the joy of the moment, where the six ponies simply should be happy to go together to the Grand Galloping Gala.

While the mares thought about the situation, Dusk approached them and gave each one a golden ticket, immediately the mares left all those thoughts that tormented them aside, being happy as soon as each one of them had their respective invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala. Then they all smiled to see the tickets that had been delivered, reading with joy the part in which is said, 'Invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala', which meant that finally they had been invited to the most prestigious Equestrian party. However the happy face of the mares changed radically when each one read what was written at the end of the ticket, where they all put a face of surprise and depression when they read where it said 'Title' next to the dotted space to fill, it appeared crossed out 'Dusk Shine's special mare' and under that appeared in capital letters 'Dusk Shine's FRIEND', then the five mares lowered their heads resigned, realizing the cruel joke that the Princess was doing at that precise moment , who, like the day the Princess confirmed that the magic of the elements was the magic of FRIENDSHIP, now she was rubbing it in their faces again, that they were just friends of Dusk, it was as if Princess Celestia was having fun with their mistakes of it being ‘love’.





Finally, seeing that the sun had already disappeared giving way to the night, the five mares withdrew from Dusks house, each carrying their precious ticket, ready to go with Dusk to a dream night in few months. Meanwhile, after saying goodbye, Spike went to the kitchen to prepare something before bed while Dusk stayed in the doorway, watching his friends go away, happy in a way that the crazy day had ended, although it seems that these crazy days were becoming a habit here in Ponyville.

While Dusk watched the mares walk away, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered all the follies they had tried to do, just to try to make him have a good time, stopping at the memory of Rarity and how she had inadvertently been acting as a foal-sitter with him.

"It's funny... I used to think a lot about her, but since I got to Ponyville I hadn't even thought about her." Dusk thought, remembering his foal-sitter, his first crush.

Then Dusk closed his eyes and imagined himself entering the Grand Galloping Gala with his foal-sitter, the most beautiful mare of all Equestria. Dusk walking through the halls of the castle, approaching Princess Celestia, there he was smiling for how happy he was in that moment, then he looked at his side to see the beautiful face of his date, but for some reason he couldn't visualize the beautiful face with which he had dreamed so many times, instead, he saw Pinkie Pie, putting that smile that always cheered his heart, along with Rarity, as beautiful and elegant as ever, along with Applejack, who looked at him with her honest and deep green eyes, there was also Fluttershy, who always exuded a relaxing aura of kindness to everyone around her, and next to her was Rainbow Dash, smiling at him with confidence, letting him know that he could always count on her...

It was then that Dusk opened his eyes, surprised at what he had imagined.

"What was that...?" Dusk said confused, thinking aloud, with his heart racing and his cheeks blushed. "I was imagining my ideal partner... Why did I start thinking about my friends...?"

After realizing what he was imagining, Dusk remembered something that had made him nervous that afternoon, what Bon-Bon had said before leaving the library.

"Now that I think about it, I got nervous for no reason, that mare was wrong, it was not that they were interested in me... All those crazy things were because they wanted to win the ticket." Dusk said thinking aloud, for some reason, with a melancholy look. "Of course, we are just friends, we could never be anything else... we are just... friends..." Dusk finished saying a little uncomfortable, not understanding how he felt at that moment.

"They are so great... They deserve the best! And I... I certainly am not. I... I'll always be their friend, but that's not bad, isn't it?" Dusk thought trying to cheer himself up, while his low self-esteem and complex mind played tricks on him.





In the highest tower of the Canterlot's castle, was the always strong and elegant figure, the magnanimous princess Celestia, solemn, elegant, imposing... or at least that is how she should have been.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" The white alicorn laughed without being able to contain her laughter anymore, covering her mouth with her hooves to try in vain not to laugh at what she saw. "It was definitely worth taking my free day! I can't get their cute little confused faces out of my mind, they're so tender and cute! Just like my dear Dusk." After saying that, Celestia remembered that she was alone in that place, so she moved the hoof that covered her mouth and laughed calmly without restrictions, taking advantage of the fact that she was alone and that she could be herself while nopony saw her, leaving aside her serious and imperturbable attitude.

Celestia had spent all day in the 'Watchtower balcony', a balcony on the highest terrace of the castle, which was characterized by only having a large golden telescope, which was only allowed to be use by the Princess, and that wasn’t for nothing, because with that telescope, an ancient relic from the ancient times, added to the alicorn magic, it could be used to see at a great distance, all over Equestria, it could even see through doors and walls, revealing to its user everything that the eye couldn't see. This telescope was used on very rare occasions, only in the face of great threats that could threaten the kingdom, or when the princess wanted to spy on someone very dear to have fun, which had happened only a couple of times, since although Celestia liked to have fun secretly, she respected the privacy of her ponies, however, now that she had this day off, and after Spike had sent her the letter saying that he would go to the Grand Galloping Gala instead of Dusk, she couldn't avoid the chance to see Dusk's darling friends with her telescope and seeing their reactions when they saw that the ticket she sent said 'Dusk Shine's special mare', something that wasn’t done randomly, since she wanted to see how much fun Dusk's new friends could give her, and fortunately for her, the mares exceeded her expectations. Seeing the shy pegasus trying to act like her friends; seeing the pink pony irritating Dusk with her music; watching the rainbow-mane pegasus try to approach Dusk by reading and see how everything turned upside down for her; seeing the country mare fill Dusk with food until he burst, and see the elegant mare treat Dusk like a baby... Celestia saw everything! And with each action of the mares, the Princess laughed more.

"I really can't believe that Rarity made him burp like a baby! Hahaha!" Celestia laughed as she watched with the telescope through the walls of the Ponyville library. "Gosh, I don't think she even realized how close she was to making Dusk fall, if she had realized the effect that hug had on Dusk, she would have done something different and Dusk would have definitely fallen for her charms..."

"Sister! Why are you laughing?!" Princess Luna's voice suddenly said, abruptly opening the balcony door where her sister was. "I heard you before opening the door! It's not fair! You left me all that paperwork for the whole day just to come here and have fun!"

"That's not true, Luna, I just thought you should get used to the administrative tasks since from now on we'll reign together." Celestia said solemnly, lying as best as possible so that her sister wouldn't realize that she had just left everything to have a day off, since she hasn't had one for years.

"Don't lie to me, I know your liar's face..." Luna said reproachfully, taking a moment to clear her anger, finally sighing for a long time. "Huff... well, it doesn't matter anymore, at least today you didn't have scheduled audiences, you know I don't like to appear in this form, I don't want to appear in public until I have recovered all my magic and my true appearance."

Luna approached her older sister, who was still looking through the telescope.

"So you still have that relic... You know you shouldn't spy on others." Luna said with a false look of annoyance but seeing that her sister was so focused on the telescope, she got curious. "And by the way, what are you seeing that makes you so funny?"

"Oh, I'm just watching my dear student and his friends." Celestia said while continuing to watch through the telescope.

"Dusk Shine!?" Luna said with her cheeks slightly blushed. "Is that the reason why you've been laughing? Are you playing one of your jokes on him and his friends?"

"Something like that, I forced him to attend this year's Grand Galloping Gala with a couple." Celestia said, smiling mischievously. "All her friends did their best to get Dusk's attention, it was really funny! But now Dusk is finally about to choose one, I wonder who he'll choose as a couple... "

Upon hearing that, Luna bit her lip, looking in the direction of Ponyville. The blue alicorn thought for a moment with a nervous glance, until a brilliant idea came to her.

"S-Sister... If you enjoy so much seeing them, then why will you end your fun?" Luna said smiling nervously.

"What do you mean?" Celestia said finally lifting her eye from the telescope to look at her sister.

"I mean, if Dusk Shine chooses a mare, then that'll be the end, your fun will be over." Luna responded feigning disinterest. "Wouldn't it be more fun if Dusk still doesn't choose a mare?"

Celestia remained pensive for a second until she finally spoke.

"You're right!" Celestia said realizing that her sister was right. Then she used her magic to appear a scroll with five golden tickets, then she wrote something at lightning speed and sent the letter, disappearing it with her magic.

The white alicorn came quickly to the telescope again and waited a few seconds.

"Hahaha! Look at those faces! They are so tender when they are confused by the love they feel for Dusk..." Celestia said laughing as she looked through the telescope. "You were absolutely right Luna, after all, Dusk'll soon realize what they feel for him, and what he feels for them, but until then, I think it would be best not to interfere, I'll just have fun watching the show, hehe."

"Yes... I think the best thing is for Dusk Shine to go on alone... at least until he finds the mare of his dreams." Luna said, speaking more to herself than to her sister, blushing when she mentioned and remembered Dusk.

# End of chapter 24
> Chapter 25 - Marks that do not appear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marks that don't appear

It was a pleasant morning in Ponyville. The weather team had cleared the sky, and the sun warmed to a perfect temperature for the soft coats of ponies that walked through the streets of the town. It was in one of those streets, just taking advantage of that pleasant climate and temperature, that a particular couple of ponies walked casually. One of them was Dusk Shine who was happily walking at a moderate speed. The other was the little Pegasus Scootaloo who was mounted on her scooter. She was desperate to ride at full speed, but Dusk held her back.

Yesterday afternoon, Dusk had found Scootaloo by chance, and by the word 'found', it was a way of softening the fact that Scootaloo crashed at full speed into him. After overcoming his shock, he asked Scootaloo if she would join him for a little walk early next morning. The little filly was surprised by the offer, but she immediately accepted since she liked Dusk. After she learned everything Dusk had done at the Summer Sun Celebration and that he was involved in saving the princesses, her initial liking to him had become admiration. 

Out of the few ponies in the town that considered Dusk as a great hero, Scootaloo's admiration for Dusk had begun to grow almost as much as her admiration for Rainbow Dash, although of course, only 'almost', since Scootaloo's admiration for Rainbow Dash was on an entirely different level.

"So... How's school going?" Dusk asked shortly after meeting the filly that morning.

Scotaloo, who had been smiling, looking forward to Dusk initiating the conversation and telling her in person his great adventure in the dangerous Everfree forest, could not help but freeze while putting a strange grimace at the uncomfortable question she was asked.

"Emm ... Yes, it's fine ... all right ..." Scootaloo answered slowly looking at the floor. Then the filly raised her eyes to see Dusk, who just stared at her with a slight look of concern at the sudden change of mood in the filly. Seeing Dusk's eyes full of concern, Scootaloo could not stand it, she gave a big sigh and decided to tell the truth, after all she didn’t have many ponies who saw her like that and cared about her, and she didn’t want to lose or betray that bond and affection that Dusk felt towards her.

"No, it's not true ..." Scootaloo said looking at Dusk with a face of regret. "The truth is that I haven’t gone for several days."

Dusk, who had only taken that conversation topic casually, was surprised to hear that.

"B-But why? I thought that with what we had already talked about, you had accepted the importance of going to school." Asked Dusk somewhat dismayed, fearing for the educational future of that stubborn foal, after all for Dusk, formal education was something vital in life.

"I did, at least a couple of days ..." Scootaloo answered quickly, afraid of disappointing Dusk. "But the ponies that attend there are ... very annoying." She finished saying, lowering the volume of her voice and looking back at the ground.

"What do you mean they are annoying?" Dusk asked confused until a memory of his own foalhood made him realize a possible answer. "Is it ... Is there a foal that is bothering you?"

Scootaloo did not answer or raise her head, she just kept moving slowly on her scooter, making Dusk realize that he had probably hit the nail on the head. Dusk immediately imagined the reasons why the little Scootaloo could be bothered, thinking immediately that maybe it was because she could not fly despite being a pegasus, which saddened Dusk to think how cruel the little foals and fillies could be. However, while Dusk was thinking, Scootaloo looked sideways at Dusk's flank, where his cutie mark was shown, then she gave a big sigh as she thought about the real reason she had been bothered.

"It's… it's a filly, two fillies to be exact, both are very bad, and they like to make fun of others just because they have things that others do not." Scootaloo replied, finally admitting that Dusk was right. "I don’t want to have to put up with somepony who makes fun of me, so I decided to stop going to school."

"You should not stop going to school just because you found yourself with a couple of annoying thugs," Dusk said ready to raise the courage to the filly and give him a speech again on the importance of education.

"You would not understand, you are so great, good at magic and has many friends, you don’t know what it is to deal with someone who is always bothering you." Scootaloo said stopping to look sadly at Dusk.

Upon hearing that and realizing that Scootaloo saw him with such esteem, Dusk's ego rose as he always did when someone praised him; however, that excess of pride quickly vanished and was replaced by nervousness and shame, as the truth was that what Scootaloo said could not be more wrong, because when he was a young foal, he had also suffered harassment and discomfort from his classmates.

Dusk could not help remembering part of his childhood when he had entered the magic school of Canterlot. A foal full of enthusiasm, proud to have been chosen by the princess herself to share with the young promises of magic, ready to learn from their teachers and share with the other students, a happiness that lasted only the first few days of school, because as the days passed, little by little Dusk was noticing the arrogance and envy with which the other ponies really saw him, both students and teachers. At first, Dusk had simply chose to isolate himself from the other ponies, that was until the princess had advised him to approach the others and try to become friends, however that was ultimately counterproductive, as that brought more anger and resentment towards him because the other ponies of his age did not like that he came out of his isolation and tried to be more friendly and open, which attracted the anger of the envious ponies. That was how Dusk suffered from jokes and abuses for a long time from his classmates, at least until 'she' arrived ...

"I didn’t know it back then, but she had her own reasons for doing things." Dusk thought confused after remembering a part of his past. "She lied to me and cheated on me, but it's also true that she helped me many times ... so many times ... Was that all part of her lie too?"

"Dusk! Do you hear me?" Scootaloo yelled when she saw that Dusk was lost in his thoughts.

"Eh!? Oh, I'm sorry, did you say something?" Dusk said quickly returning to reality.

"I was just asking you what you think I should do with those fillies that are bothering me?" Scootaloo asked looking expectantly at Dusk. "I know you didn’t have my problems when you were little, but you're very smart, what do you think I should do?"

Dusk bit his lip as he thought about how to respond. The first thing he said to himself was that he would not break that great pony image that Scootaloo thought of him when he was a colt, so he just started thinking about what the best way would be to deal with that problem, realizing quickly that he already I knew the answer, because he had solved it that way when he was young.

"Well ... I think having a friend to accompany you is the best option." Dusk answered thoughtfully. "A friend who is there for you and supports you in front of the bullies."

"Nope." Scootaloo answered quickly and bluntly, making a cross with her front legs, to Dusk's total surprise. "There must be another solution."

"What!? Why did you respond like that? What's wrong with having friends?" Dusk asked surprised.

"I'm fine alone, and nopony can keep up with me," Scootaloo answered with a smile. "That's why I drive a scooter, I like to roam the town by myself."

"You're totally wrong, everything is better being with friends," Dusk responded a bit upset, seeing his old self-reflected in the filly. "You also have a cart to carry others with your scooter, wouldn’t that be more fun?"

"Nah, taking other ponies in my cart makes me slow down, I only use it for certain occasions," Scootaloo said with a shrug.

"But-" Dusk said ready to continue arguing with what Scootaloo said, before being interrupted by her.

"Enough, I'm fine alone, I've never needed friends, and I'm not interested in having them." Scootaloo interrupted a little annoyed. "Besides, you can’t make me have friends, can’t you?"

At that question, Dusk froze, because although what Scootaloo thought was not right, the last thing she said was right, after all, he couldn’t force her to have friends, that wouldn’t be right, going against somepony's wishes ... Only then did Dusk remember how the princess had done the opposite and forced him to do so, then what was right way?

"Anyway, I want you to give me another solution." Scootaloo continued talking, trying to return to the central issue that mattered. "How can I deal with those silly fillies that bother others?"

Scootaloo's question caused Dusk to get out of his thoughts, but not completely, determined to reflect later on the philosophical implications of what was the right way to get friends.

"Well ... I guess if you want to face a bully, it would be best to act brave." Dusk said thinking of another answer to the filly problem. "Maybe you should take a role model, that is, how would your hero act in this situation?"

"My hero? You mean Rainbow Dash!?" Scootaloo said excitedly and then ducked her head somewhat embarrassed. "But I don’t think that's good for me, she's not scared of anything! Besides, she's never been ill-treated like me."

"Well, we could ask her," Dusk said smiling, looking up at the sky, so Scootaloo did too.

As soon as Scootaloo looked up at the sky, she saw that right in front of her was her heroine, Rainbow Dash! Who landed right in front of them, doing a great pose, something that Dusk thought was unnecessary, but left the little filly dazed.

"It's ... it's ... R-Rain ... Rainbow Dash ..." Scootaloo said with her nerves frozen upon being so close to Rainbow Dash.

"Hi Dusk, I'm already here." Rainbow Dash said smiling looking at Dusk, without noticing the presence of Scootaloo, who was frozen behind Dusk.

"Yes, thanks for coming," Dusk said returning the smile.

"You-you called her?" Scootaloo asked nervously.

"Yes, do you remember when we first met? I promised you that I would get you and her together so you can talk and have a nice time, and I always keep my promises." Dusk smiled looking at Scootaloo, then turned back to see Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, this is Scootaloo, and she's your biggest fan."

"Oh yeah? Well, you have good taste, hehe." Smiled Rainbow Dash, realizing the presence of Scootaloo and smiling at her, proudly opening her wings in a sign of pride.

Scootaloo saw that Rainbow Dash noticed her and smiled at her and moved closer to her than she had ever been, so Scootaloo just moved her lips trying to speak, but unfortunately, she could not utter any words or sounds due to the nerves of meeting your idol in person.

"Pfff, what's wrong, kid? Cat got your tongue?" Rainbow Dash asked mocking Scootaloo’s nervousness a little bit but also feeling touched by her. "I know, what do you say if we fly together for a while? For Pegasus like us there is no better way to know each other than flying together, what do you say?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened as she felt a heavy weight in her stomach, her mouth trembled because now her heroine would find out in the worst possible way that she could not fly. Scootaloo moved her mouth tremblingly ready to answer until it was interrupted.

"No flying, I don’t want to stay alone!" Dusk quickly said when he saw Scootaloo's face of grief. "Better, what if Scootaloo shows you some acrobatics with her scooter? I've seen her ride it and she's amazing!" He finished saying while hugging Scootaloo sideways and smiling at Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo glanced sideways at Dusk and could not help but smile gratefully for having been saved from that situation by Dusk.

"Ohh... Really? Let's see them!" Rainbow Dash responded smiling at Scootaloo again.

Scootaloo saw Rainbow Dash again watching her, which caused the nerves to return to her, but this time, as soon as she felt that she was going to start shaking, she felt that Dusk's embrace became a little stronger, so that she looked up again and saw that Dusk also saw her with a smile, as if that smile was giving her encouragement, which made Scootaloo smile and her nerves disappear.

As soon as her initial fears were gone, Scootaloo was filled with her usual confidence, climbed on her scooter, and quickly began to circle around Dusk and Rainbow Dash while gathering speed to show her tricks to Rainbow Dash. Thus, Scootaloo made several jumps and pirouettes at high speed, always within sight of Dusk and Rainbow Dash, surprising them both for the enormous speed and maneuverability that the little filly got on her scooter.

"Wow...! You're really good and very fast!" Rainbow Dash said after several minutes of watching Scootaloo's pirouettes.

"Do you really think so!?" Scootaloo said after listening to Rainbow Dash, just when she was in the middle of a pirouette. Rainbow Dash’s words distracted her, which caused the little filly to lose control of her scooter and fall face first into the ground, although it was not serious, as she got up immediately, with a smile on her mouth for having been praised by her heroine.

"Yes, although you should not distract yourself so easily, hehe." Rainbow Dash laughed, little by little becoming fond of the little filly to see herself reflected as a child in Scootaloo. "In acrobatics, it is important to always stay focused."

"Ma-Maybe you can teach me some tricks," Scootaloo said timidly looking at Rainbow Dash, arming herself to ask that question, and approaching again to where Rainbow Dash and Dusk were. "I have a lot of free time, in fact, I'm free all day, every day, so-"

"AHEM!" Dusk coughed to interrupt Scootaloo, knowing that before the filly got more excited, he had to remind her that she had a greater commitment. "Scootaloo, you remember to go back to school, ask Rainbow Dash, she can tell you how important school is."

"Hmm ... Actually, I almost always skipped classes ..." Rainbow Dash answered scratching her head and looking up at the sky until Dusk hit her side with her elbow and the pegasus understood what Dusk wanted from her. "That is, yes, school is very important!"

"Do you really think so?" Scootaloo asked looking at Rainbow Dash with wide eyes.

"Umm... Yes, of course!" Rainbow Dash answered slowly, who never really appreciated having to be in a boring room learning things she would never use, but seeing Dusk's stern look, she could not help but play along.

"Well, if you say it, I'll do it! I will not let anyone bother me or stop me from going to school again!" Scootaloo answered full of determination.

"Well said!" Dusk said smiling, after sighing with relief that he had finally gotten Scootaloo to commit herself to attend school one hundred percent. Then he saw that the three of them were near a small ice cream stand, which gave him an idea. "Well, wait here, I'll go get some ice cream to celebrate this," Dusk added smiling before walking away.

"Hehe, he really cares about you, he must like you very much." Said Rainbow Dash talking to Scootaloo while they both saw Dusk buying ice cream.

"Yes ... he cares about me ... I guess that's how it feels to have a da-" Scootaloo responded heartily what she felt, but immediately stopped, blushing, realizing how embarrassing that would be to say, so she quickly decided to change the subject, hoping that Rainbow Dash would not have noticed his little slip. "B-By the way, you guys make a really cool couple!"

"C-Couple !?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously, blushing completely.

"Yes, Oh, don’t worry! Dusk told me it was a secret, so don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone." Scootaloo said quickly remembering what Dusk had said the day they met.

Rainbow Dash looked at Scootaloo with a surprised face and then glanced at Dusk, who was still buying ice cream. What the little filly said had caught her by surprise, and if what Scootaloo said was true, then Dusk himself had been the one to tell her that lie, but why? Now that she knew it, she could unmask everything and face Dusk for that lie! But…

"You... Do you really think we make a nice couple?" Asked Rainbow Dash to Scootaloo, blushing again and glancing at Dusk.

"Yeah! You two are the coolest ponies I know! You are made for each other!" Scootaloo responded excitedly.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip as she thought, then lowered her head to whisper in Scootaloo's ear.

"Yes, we are a couple, but you must keep it a secret." Rainbow Dash said in a whisper, still having her cheeks flushed. She didn’t know why she was protecting Dusk from his lie, she just knew that for some reason it made her happy that someone else saw her and Dusk as a happy couple in love.

"Sure, you can trust me!" Scootaloo replied, proud to be the new friend of Rainbow Dash.





"Here you are," Dusk said once he arrived where the mares were, carrying with his magic some ice cream cones and handing one to them.

"Thank you! I love ice cream!" Rainbow Dash said as she received her ice cream cone.

"Oh, what luck, I didn’t know," Dusk said smiling and then putting a slightly more mischievous look. "But I guess a free ice cream would not pay the bet I owe you, will it?"

"What bet?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.

"The time we bet that you couldn’t clear all the clouds over Ponyville in ten seconds, remember?" Dusk said with a small smile. "I promised you I would do anything you wanted, and as I told Scootaloo, I always keep my promises."

Only then did Rainbow Dash remember what Dusk was referring to, something she had completely forgotten. The day before the Summer Sun Celebration, she had cleared the whole sky and Dusk had lost the bet, and when she was going to tell Dusk what she wanted to ask, she saw that Pinkie Pie had taken him away.

"So tell me, taking advantage of the fact that today I am paying for the promises I have made, what would you like me to do for you?" Dusk added, staring at Rainbow Dash.

"Eh ... I ..." Rainbow Dash began to stammer as she blushed.

The truth was that on that occasion of the bet, it had taken Rainbow Dash a long time to decide what she was going to ask until finally, she came to an answer, she had decided to ask Dusk for a kiss. However, now that she was face to face with Dusk, she realized that it was not so easy to ask for what she wanted, besides it was not just Dusk, it was also Scootaloo, who was looking at her with a curious face, and if it was already very difficult to ask what she wanted from Dusk, it was impossible for her to have the word 'kiss' come out of her lips when there was someone else present.

"I-I'll tell you another time ..." Rainbow Dash finally answered, looking away, completely red.

Dusk just looked confused at Rainbow Dash, not understanding why his friend had become so nervous, as if it was her who had to pay the bet. On the other hoof, Scootaloo stared with a surprised face to see for the first time her heroine acting timid and blushing.

"Rainbow Dash is the bravest, coolest and strongest pony I know, but ... I guess it's normal to be shy when you talk to the colt you like ..." Scootaloo thought, being more observant than the unicorn when it came to love.

After eating their ice cream, the three ponies continued with their walk, walking quietly through the streets of Ponyville, Scootaloo in the middle, Dusk on one side, and Rainbow Dash on the other side, who was walking instead of flying to remain at the same rhythm of the others. On the way, Dusk and Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo of their thrilling adventure in the Everfree forest, since both ponies liked to tell their adventures, which the little filly enjoyed a lot, especially when there were certain parts of the story that Dusk and Rainbow Dash told each other differently, which made them argue for a moment, and then they laughed, accompanied by Scootaloo, who enjoyed laughing and sharing with two of the coolest ponies she has ever known.

While they were walking, Scootaloo saw out of the corner of her eye how other ponies her age also strolled along the streets with their parents, also enjoying the pleasant day. At that moment Scootaloo looked up and saw Dusk and Rainbow Dash, who were laughing together as they looked after her and smiled at her as if they were all a happy family. Scootaloo smiled with a tender glance while her heart was filled with joy and affection to feel loved, wanting to enjoy this beautiful moment for as long as possible.

"Well, I think it's time to leave, it will be my turn to work soon." Rainbow Dash said after a while, looking up at the sky and seeing some pegasus from the weather patrol flying.

Then Rainbow Dash said goodbye to Dusk and Scootaloo.

"See you later Scootaloo! I hope to see you again soon!" Rainbow Dash said winking at the filly before flying at full speed into the sky.

"Well, what did you think of meeting your idol?" Dusk asked once Rainbow Dash left.

"She ... She knows my name and...! Oh, by Celestia! She said she wanted to see me again!" Scootaloo said totally excited, jumping for joy.

Dusk just smiled to see the little filly so happy, it really had made him happy to fulfill her dream and helped her get closer to Rainbow Dash. However, while he thought how he liked helping her, he realized that on the way he had discovered something else that he could and SHOULD help her with. He had been commissioned to study the magic of friendship, and now, in front of him, there was a filly who was not interested in having friends because of a bully at school, and that situation was just so similar with his own past that Dusk could not let it pass, he had to do something.

While Scootaloo continued to jump for joy, Dusk saw that a filly about her age passing by, which he took as a unique opportunity for Scootaloo to connect with other ponies her age and thus finally make friends.

Scootaloo was still happy, fantasizing about being reunited with her heroine, when suddenly a purple aura surrounded her, and she felt as if she was being pulled by some force, causing her to move quickly to one side, crashing into something, or specifically, against somepony.

"Ouch, be more careful!" Said the pony with which Scootaloo collided with, a small filly of her age, with pink fur, blue eyes, and mane of lavender and white color, but what stood out most about that filly was that she wore a small silver tiara on his head, identical to her cutie mark.

"Well Scootaloo, this is your moment, make a new friend!" Dusk said to himself, who had teleported behind a tree after having Scootaloo collide with that filly, all to give Scootaloo the chance to have a conversation with somepony his age so she can finally make friends.

From where he was hidden, Dusk could not hear what the two fillies were talking about, but he could see them perfectly. That's how he saw that Scootaloo made a face of fear when she saw the filly she had bumped into, who seemed to be upset, which didn’t bother Dusk as it was a normal reaction for someone who gets hits. However, Dusk's lack of concern didn’t last long, since as time went on it seemed that the other filly's bad temper was not going away, and Scootaloo was just standing still, frozen listening to the other filly talking. The seconds passed, and finally, Dusk was relieved when he saw that the other filly began to laugh, which gave the idea that finally she and Scootaloo were having a fun conversation, although at that time Scootaloo had his back and was not sure how the little pegasus was reacting. Finally, the pink filly looked for some reason at Scootaloo's side and retreated, laughing as she walked away.

After seeing that the conversation between the two fillies was over, Dusk used his teleportation magic to appear again with Scootaloo.

"Well, what's wrong? Sorry to take you by surprise, but I wanted you to socialize with another filly your age so you could see that maybe it's not as difficult as you think you can talk to other ponies and become your friend." Dusk said smiling kindly looking at Scootaloo. "What did you talk about? Did you tell him a joke to break the ice? What did they do?"

Scootaloo didn’t answer immediately, she had been with her ears drooping and her head down looking at the ground. She felt very bad at that moment, but she knew that something that would make her feel worse would be to disappoint Dusk after he struggled to try to do something good for her, so she took a slow breath and raised her head to look at Dusk.

"She... She invited me to her cute-ceañera!" Scootaloo answered, forcing a big smile. "It will be tomorrow afternoon, Thanks for helping me, Dusk!"

Dusk saw Scootaloo's sad forced smile and immediately knew there was something wrong.

"That... that's great..." Dusk said trying to smile but looking worried. "But it will be ... Are you afraid of going to a cute-ceañera for somepony you don’t know? You do not have to be afraid..."

"No... I... In fact, I do know her..." Scootaloo said slowly, still smiling, but with her ears drooping, portraying what she really felt.

What Scootaloo said was ordered in Dusk’s mind to better understand the other filly's attitude, everything shifting quickly into a mental puzzle until Dusk realized what may have happened, the problem that was implied means that he had committed a terrible mistake.

"Scootaloo... That filly... Wasn’t she laughing because you two were having fun?" Dusk asked, very worried.

Seeing that her facade had failed, Scootaloo lowered her head and bit her lip while showing a very sad look.

"Hmm... No... She... she was making fun of me..." Scootaloo replied sadly.

A huge weight fell on Dusk's stomach as he confirmed what he feared. In his eagerness to try and get Scootaloo to converse with a filly of her age, he had forced her to a victim of another bully, who had only made fun of her. Realizing what he had done, Dusk immediately felt dizzy from how bad he felt, knowing that he had forced little Scootaloo to have a terrible moment.

"Scootaloo, I didn’t know, P-Please, forgive me!" Dusk said getting closer to the filly, remembering how terrible it was to be a victim of bullying.

"Don’t worry... it's nothing important." Scootaloo said with a small, sad smile, trying not to make Dusk feel bad. "The truth is that it's my fault too, I wanted to confront her and make her shut up, but the minute I saw her and started making fun of me, I just... I froze."

Dusk knew that Scootaloo was trying to make him feel less guilty, he could still see the pain in the filly's eyes, and he also knew that for now there were no more words that could better express his remorse or his need to comfort her, so, making use of what he had recently learned from his friends, he came over and hugged Scootaloo. However, this hug was nothing like the times he hugged his friends, this was more of a fatherly type, he pulled her towards him and stroked her head, just as he remembered when his mother did with him when he was little. Scootaloo, who was usually as or more reluctant to embrace than Dusk, this time just stood still, relaxed, allowing herself to be caressed.

After the hug, which lasted long enough to make them both feel better, Scootaloo smiled again and looked at Dusk.

"I think it's time to go, I have to go to the mechanic shop for some things," Scootaloo said a little blushed, without saying out loud that the hug made her feel better, saying goodbye to Dusk.

"It's okay, see you soon," Dusk said while the filly began to flap her wings to start moving on her scooter.

"Gosh, if only I could find you true friends..." Dusk thought as he said goodbye, still thinking about the lack of Scootaloo's friends. And it was at that precise moment that a brilliant idea came to mind, he had made the mistake of wanting to join Scootaloo with a filly he didn’t know, but he could reunite her with fillies that he already knew, with a great character, and that could become true friends of Scootaloo, and best of all was that Dusk knew two other fillies of her age who could be perfect candidates.

"Scootaloo, wait!" Dusk screamed before the little pegasus had completely moved away, causing Scootaloo to stop in his tracks and turn his eyes towards him. "I think it would be a good idea if you went to that cute-ceañera that you were invited to."

"What!?" Scootaloo screamed in surprise at Dusk's request.

"Just promise me you will attend," Dusk said with a kind smile.

Scootaloo wanted to deny with all her strength what Dusk was asking her, that would only mean that she will receive more and more ridicule from that unpleasant filly, however, seeing Dusk's kind smile made her accept his strange request.

"If you ask..." Scootaloo answered unconvinced but resigned herself to Dusk’s request. Riding again on her scooter to get moving again.

"Trust me, I'll make up for the mistake I made." Dusk thought with a smile as he watched his little friend go, or rather, his new little sister.





"Where is my turquoise eyeshadow!?" Rarity shouted as she ran back and forth through the lobby of Carousel Boutique.

Rarity had been hysterical all morning, ordering the boutique and grooming herself, constantly combing her hair, putting on her most expensive perfume, and putting on makeup to show a pretty face worthy of a model, all so that everything was perfect. She looked stunning for when Dusk Shine arrived. And in all the racket that Rarity was doing in her house, it was Sweetie Belle, who had been trying all morning to have a nice time with her older sister without having much success, since Rarity had her mind on other matters more important than attending to her little sister.

"Rarity... you promised that this day of the week we would do something together." Sweetie Belle said with a look of sadness watching her sister looking for her makeup, which was lost in some drawers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, but right now I have something very important to do." Rarity said looking at her little sister for a second, showing a distressed look because even though Sweetie Belle's visit was bothering her, she did not want to look like a bad sister.

For Rarity, Sweetie Belle's visit had come at the worst possible time. It was true that she had promised to join her sister today, but that had been before she knew that Dusk was visiting her that day, and worst of all was that Sweetie Belle kept getting in her way while she was preparing! Since Sweetie Belle was a somewhat restless filly, she was always looking for something to do, and therefore always caused a disaster in the always clean and tidy home of Rarity, what the older mare had been holding as a good sister until now, always smiling at her little sister, but the truth was that as the time of Dusk's arrival drew near, Rarity's patience was running out.

"Is it true that you will have a date with Dusk Shine?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously since Rarity had been mumbling that while arranging.

"Yes ... Well, no, not exactly a date, but he will come to spend the morning with me." Rarity replied smiling, remembering how a couple of days ago she had seen Dusk asking Rainbow Dash to meet with him the next morning, something that Rarity had taken advantage of and pretend to be offended, having Dusk invite her to join as well. "Anyway, Sweetie Belle, are you sure you have not seen my turquoise eyeshadow?" Rarity asked, setting aside the conversations and concentrating again on what mattered at that moment.

"What is an eyeshadow? How do you put a 'shadow' on an eye?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently, putting a hoof near one of her eyes to be covered by the shadow that it produced.

"The eyeshadow is a make-up for the eyes, it is the paint that is used on the eyelids to highlight and beautify the eyes." Rarity answered a little amused with the ingenuity of her little sister.

"Oh... Hmm... Then, Oops!" Sweetie Belle said with an embarrassed face, turning her body so her sister could see her better, specifically her flank, revealing that she had used the eyeshadow that Rarity was looking for to paint a smiley face on her flank as a cutie mark.

"What... What did you..." Rarity said, appalled to see what Sweetie Belle had done with her eyeshadow, putting a furious look for a second, then trying to smile to remain a good sister, but unable to get it this time since this was the drop that overflowed the glass, this time she could not hold back her anger to see that again her sister had made a mess with something of hers. "What did you do!?" Rarity finally shouted furiously, unable to contain herself anymore.

"I... I thought it was just paint, hehe." Sweetie Belle laughed nervously, then quickly walked over to Rarity's cosmetics and picked up jars of very similar colors. "But don’t worry, look, there's more here, they're the same color."

"Don’t be ridiculous, they are totally different!" responded Rarity indignantly, taking the jars one by one. "This is blue, this is Calypso, this is cyan, and this is aquamarine!" Rarity finished saying, annoyed, easily differentiating the different shades of eyeshadow color that other ponies would have looked like.

"Sorry, I... I just wanted to see what a cutie mark would look like on me!" Sweetie Belle said, her eyes becoming a little tearful, teasing her sister about not being understood.

"And why are you worried about that?" Rarity asked still annoyed with her sister.

"I told you a while ago, you didn’t even listen to me, you're only worried about your stupid date!" Shouted Sweetie Belle annoyed, who got angry as easily as her older sister.

"W-Well... I... I. Don’t try to change the subject!" Rarity responded sadly for not paying attention to her sister, but quickly getting defensive again, since one thing did not take away the other, and what Sweetie Belle had done had was wrong.

Then both mares turned their backs, snorted, and stared on opposite sides with angry looks. None of them would admit it, but both sisters behaved the same way when they got angry.

"You know I love you, but I hate it when you get so carefree and irresponsible." Rarity said annoyed, not looking at her sister.

"Same thing. I hate it when you get so hateful." Sweetie Belle answered, determined that if her sister was in 'bad sister' mode, she would be too.

KNOCK KNOCK!

The door of the house rang, which caused both mares to get out of their anger and look towards the entrance of the house.

"Dusk!" Rarity whispered, completely forgetting that a few seconds ago she was angry with Sweetie Belle. Then she ran at lightning speed towards a sofa that had been placed in the center of the hall, she lay down on it with a sexy pose, took a book and arranged her beautiful mane.

"Come in!" Rarity said loudly so that Dusk could finally enter the house.

As soon as Dusk Shine entered, he saw that Rarity was lying on a luxurious red sofa while reading what appeared to be a romantic novel, so focused on her reading that it seemed she had not yet noticed his presence.

"Hello Rarity, I hope I'm not interrupting you," Dusk said a little shy since he didn’t like to interrupt other ponies reading. Then Rarity lowered the book she pretended to read, to look at Dusk.

"Oh, Dusk, I'm sorry you found me in this mess, it's just that I didn’t have time to get ready." Rarity said coquettishly, feigning surprise. "For a moment I almost forgot that-"

"Hello, Dusk!" Sweetie Belle suddenly shouted, interrupting Rarity, running at full speed and jumping on Dusk to be caught in the air.

"Woah, Hi, Sweetie Belle," Dusk said, smiling as he fell to the ground as he greeted the little filly.

"I'm glad to see you again!" Sweetie Belle said once they were both on the ground. Then she put her face to Dusk and kissed his cheek, then smiled.

"I... I’m glad to see you too, hehe." Dusk replied, a little surprised by that kiss on the cheek, but didn’t say anything about it, understanding that it was a normal filly behavior, after all, it was known that the fillies were usually more affectionate than the colts.

While Dusk smiled, and Rarity was pale looking at her little sister and her beloved stallion together, Sweetie Belle looked fleetingly at her older sister, with a smug smile, a gesture so subtle that only Rarity managed to perceive and understand. Sweetie Belle had interrupted her on purpose, and she had purposely thrown herself into Dusk's hoofs and kissed him on the cheek, her little sister was taking revenge on her, trying to get Dusk's attention, which made Rarity flushed with anger when she saw that her sister wanted to play against her in her own territory.

"Sweetie, my dear, it isn’t right for a young lady to throw themselves into the hooves of a stallion just like that." Rarity said, acting kindly, but deep down annoyed by her sister's attitude. Telling her that so she would leave her beloved Dusk.

"But Dusk doesn’t mind, right Dusk?" Sweetie Belle smiled hugging Dusk again, only to make her sister angrier, which gave immediate results, because, despite Rarity's false smile, Sweetie Belle could feel her sister's furious gaze on her.

"Well no, it doesn’t bother me, as long as it's you." Dusk replied smiling kindly but standing up to break away from Sweetie Belle's embrace. "But Rarity is right, a young lady should not go around throwing herself at the hooves of a stallions."

Seeing that Dusk separated from Sweetie Belle, Rarity gave a brief glance of triumph to her little sister, who noticed and put a face of defeat until she came up with a brilliant idea not to lose to her older sister.

"Oh... But I've seen Rarity always throwing herself into the hooves of other stallions, how come she can?" Sweetie Belle asked with a fake look of innocence, looking at Dusk.

"THAT'S A LIE!" Shouted Rarity blushing, annoyed, unable to hold her false smile of a good sister to the brazen lie of Sweetie Belle. However, the moment she shouted, Rarity realized that she had dropped her facade so quickly, she returned to her composure and smiled again. "I-I mean... Sweetie Belle, dear, I think you misunderstand, I would never do something like that."

"Well... maybe I was wrong, sorry." Sweetie Belle replied trying to hide her evil smile when she saw that her sister had fallen into her trap.

Meanwhile, Dusk looked at both sisters and smiled to see how good they were, seeing how they smiled at each other, not realizing that both sisters were having a power struggle to get his attention and make the other look bad. So, both sisters continued to smile fakely until an idea came to Rarity's mind, something that would end the absurd fight, after all she didn’t need to fight with her sister, because she had already won it, since Dusk had come for a date with her, not with her little sister, which made Rarity smile at Sweetie Belle with a smile of triumph and satisfaction at what was about to happen.

"Well, darling, I think it's time to leave." Rarity said smiling sweetly, approaching Dusk and taking one of his hooves. "We must take advantage of the morning, there is so much to do! Until then, little sister, take good care of the boutique while Dusk and I go for a walk." Rarity smiled giving a fleeting look of victory to her sister as she made Dusk turn around so they could both leave the house.

"Can I go with you?" Sweetie Belle asked immediately, running to stand between them and the door, making her look more tender, surprising Dusk and antagonizing Rarity.

"What a dirty play! Now she wants to ruin my date with Dusk!" Rarity thought annoyed, but quickly thinking of a countermeasure.

"But dear, we are two adult ponies, and... we will be doing adult things, you would get very bored with us, why don’t you go and have fun others your age?" Rarity smiled lovingly, knowing that with that answer she could easily evade Sweetie Belle's attack.

However, Rarity's smile didn’t last long as she and Dusk were surprised to see that Sweetie Belle suddenly started crying, completely unraveling her. As that caught Rarity by surprise, who had imagined that her sister would continue insisting on going with them or anything else other than crying, Dusk was the first to react.

"Sweetie Belle, what's wrong?" Dusk asked worriedly, approaching the little filly.

"It's... *Sniff* I'm new to the town, and I…" *Sniff* "I don’t have friends... Buah!" Sweetie Belle cried more strongly.

"Shh... Easy there, don’t cry." Dusk said hugging her, knowing the effectiveness of the hugs and feeling empathy for the Sweetie Belle situation, since he knew very well the loneliness of not having friends.

While Dusk said that and hugged Sweetie Belle, the stupor of Rarity passed, to give rise to surprise and then anger to see what was in front of her, then, taking advantage of the fact that Dusk didn’t see her since he was hugging her, Sweetie Belle made a mocking face and stuck her tongue out at Rarity, letting her older sister see that it had all been a trick to go with them and to get a hug from Dusk.

"That little cheat! Who taught you to be so manipulative!?" Rarity thought furiously, not realizing how similar she and her sister were sometimes.

Seeing the furious face of her sister, Sweetie Belle smiled with triumph, since her revenge against her sister for not paying attention was working, and now Rarity was jealous of how close she was to Dusk.

Pretending not to have friends had been perfect, better than perfect! Since Sweetie Belle had not only managed to interrupt the Dusk and Rarity’s date, but she also got a warm hug from Dusk, all for a little lie! But... Was it really a lie...? Only then did Sweetie Belle realized that what she had said was not a lie, since she and her parents had come from the big city recently to live outside of Ponyville, losing all of her friends from the city. At that time Sweetie Belle felt real grief when she realized that what she had said was not totally a lie; however, she decided not to give importance to it for the moment, after all, now she had Dusk with her, and that only mattered to her. For now.

"Wait a minute, that's not true!" said Rarity suddenly, trying to hide her anger, wanting to unmask her sister in front of Dusk. "Yesterday you accompanied me to a client who wanted a fine dress, she had a daughter of your age, and I saw that you both chatted together, she even invited you to her cute-ceañera!"

"A cute-ceañera?" Dusk asked curious, remembering yesterday and what happened with Scootaloo. "It wasn’t a pink filly wearing a tiara who invited you, was it?"

"Do you know her?" Sweetie Belle answered looking at Dusk. "Her name is Diamond Tiara, and yes, she invited me to her cute-ceañera, but only because she wants all the Ponyville foals to attend her great cute-ceañera, but no, she is not my friend, she... she’s a bit bad to me when we talk... I don’t know if it's a good idea to go. " Sweetie Belle finished saying and becoming sad, looking sideways at Dusk's flank, where his cutie mark shone.

After Sweetie Belle spoke and remembered what happened with Scootaloo, Dusk's mind began to work and formulate a plan that could involve Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, in order to solve both of their problems. It would be easy to bring them together at the party and they would both attend, but it would be best if they met before and have the confidence to accompany and support each other. With that in mind, Dusk had a new immediate goal, to find Scootaloo.

"Hmm... Well, I think it's time for us to leave; otherwise we'll be gone all morning without doing anything we agreed on." Dusk said looking at Rarity and smiling.

"Yes, I totally agree!" Rarity smiled, happy to finally be able to go on her romantic walk with Dusk. "See you later, Sweetie Belle."

"What are you talking about, Sweetie Belle will be coming with us!" Dusk smiled, glancing at the little filly and approaching Rarity to whisper in her ear. "I think it would be nice if Sweetie Belle went out with us, so we can chat about friendship and see if we can get her a friend on the way." He finished whispering into Rarity’s ear, who could only accept with a nervous smile, resigned to see that her plans for a romantic walk had been destroyed.

"Tell me, Sweetie Belle..." Dusk added, turning to look at the little filly. "Would you like to meet a friend of mine, she's your age, and I'm sure you two can become good friends."

Sweetie Belle looked at Dusk for a few seconds, not knowing what to answer. She first thought of using a little bit of false joy to flatter Dusk and congratulate him on his great idea, however, seeing that Dusk really seemed concerned about her lack of friends, she decided to put aside the performances and answer sincerely.

"Hmm... The truth is that I don’t care about having friends or not, I'm happy as I am, but if you think it's important, I think I could try." Sweetie Belle replied, smiling kindly.

That's how the three unicorns left Carousel Boutique to take a walk through the streets of Ponyville, all with different missions they wanted to fulfill: Dusk with the mission of looking for Scootaloo to make her and Sweetie Belle meet and become friends; Rarity with the mission of doing everything possible to capture the Dusk’s attention and thus trying to achieve some romantic moments between the two; and Sweetie Belle with the mission to interfere with Dusk and Rarity's appointment, and show her older sister that she could get more of Dusk's attention than Rarity could achieve with all her charm. However, as the morning progressed, it seemed that none of the three ponies achieved their purpose, since during the whole walk, Dusk was focused on looking for Scootaloo, but unfortunately he couldn’t findher anywhere, and while he focused on his search, the two mares that accompanied him could not capture his attention with the various conversations they tried to engage with him, let alone approach him, since Dusk had been walking without stopping trying to find the little pegasus.

"I can’t find her anywhere..." Dusk finally gave up after walking several streets of Ponyville. "I... I’m sorry for making you two come for nothing." Dusk added a little embarrassed to see that he had dragged the two mares without achieving his goal.

"I’m sorry too, but now that we're done with that, maybe we could go back to my initial plan to have a more... personal walk." Rarity said coquettishly, determined not to give up or waste that opportunity she had with having Dusk for herself.

"Yeah, it doesn’t matter that you couldn’t find your friend, after all, making friends is not something that I care about very much." Sweetie Belle said nonchalantly, looking at Dusk. "Besides, it's not like I've never had friends before, I had a few friends in my old home before we moved from town, but since we moved, I haven’t thought about them much, and they haven’t contacted me either. Maybe friendship isn’t everlasting; when one thing changes... "

When he heard what the filly was saying, Dusk froze, what she was saying was something cold, but it was also true, after all, he himself had known so many ponies with whom he no longer had contacted, and more importantly! Sweetie Belle had played something very important in what Dusk had never noticed until now: Is friendship everlasting? What would happen to his friends if he or one of them went away? Would they still be friends as close as they were now?

"I don’t think friends are so important, even Rarity told me you didn’t have friends before." Sweetie Belle added without realizing the doubts that began to cross through Dusk's mind. "If you grew up so far without friends, it means they are not so necessary, right?"

While Rarity was blushing to see that Sweetie Belle made her look like a loose mouth, Dusk still had a strong mental debate about the new doubts she had about friendship, not about her bond with her friends, but about the concept in her. Yes friendship is something that seems so beautiful and eternal, but in just two days, two simple fillies had been responsible for shaking everything he believed in and now, he realizes that friendship was something much more complicated and there are many more variables to study, which would imply more mathematical calculations for their equations about friendship.

Seeing Dusk so quiet and with such a confused face, Rarity immediately thought that what Sweetie Belle had said about friends had affected him, after all her cute and naive Dusk was still new to friendship, and maybe he had many doubts about his friendship with her and the other mares.

"Dusk... You don't have to worry. It doesn't matter if you didn’t have friends before. Now you have us." Rarity said smiling kindly, thinking that Dusk would be thinking about his old lack of friends.

"Yes, I know," Dusk responded, leaving his thoughts and returning to reality, smiling at Rarity and then putting a more serious face while saying his thoughts. "I was just thinking... Does friendship have an expiration date? I mean, I feel that our friendship is huge and that it will never end, or at least that's what I want, but I realize that it's not something I can ensure, after all, I've already made friends before. "

"You mean your old childhood friend," Rarity asked, remembering that this was a sensitive issue that she wanted to know about, but she didn’t want to force Dusk to talk about it if he wasn’t ready.

"Yes... She was my friend for a long time." Dusk answered with a confused face, looking up at the sky as he remembered. "It is true that she gave me a lot of bad advice, which led me to have an unfitting definition of 'friendship,' she also cheated me and abandoned me when I needed her, but... What about all the good times we had? Maybe they didn’t mean anything to her, but to me, it was great, the company, the laughter, the love... Can’t I just forget all of that, can’t I just forget about all the bad things, and say that she was not my friend or didn’t mean anything to me...? "

Seeing Dusk's face so confused, with a look that showed that his past still tormented him, Rarity smiled tenderly and spoke to him looking into his eyes sweetly.

"Maybe you should not forget her." Rarity answered by understanding Dusk's feelings. "If she was so important to you, you cannot deny her existence. She was your friend, but that was in the past, now you must look to the future and make sure that what happened to you will never happen again with your new friends. Whatever it was, because of something I can be sure of, we will never cheat or abandon you! Also, that was when you were foals, who knows, maybe in the future, you will meet and forgive her for what happened in the past."

At that moment, when Dusk heard the word 'forgive,' he narrowed his eyes with an uncertain look, remembering the cause of the breakdown of their old friendship.

"Forgiveness... I don’t know if that could ever happen..." Dusk said in a whisper.

"You see, it's better to be alone," Sweetie Belle said suddenly. She had attentively watched the whole scene of Dusk's confusion. "That way you avoid all those problems."

With the words of Sweetie Belle, a weight fell on Dusk's stomach, since those were the same words that Scootaloo had told him the day before.

"How can I carry the element of the magic of friendship if I can’t even foster friendship between two fillies? And what's worse, it seems that instead of encouraging it, I ruin it even more!" Dusk thought distressed.

"No, that's not true!" Dusk said with determination, responding to Sweetie Belle and at the same time shutting his thoughts of guilt and grief, determined to guide the fillies down the path of a good and healthy friendship. "Friendship is the most beautiful thing I've discovered in my life, and I want you to know it too, you just need to know the right pony, once you know them, you'll see how important friendship is in one's life."

At the end of his sentence, Dusk glanced at Rarity, because right there was one of his friends, and therefore, one of the most important ponies in his life. Rarity immediately noticed Dusk's intense gaze, and she blushed deeply at the affection that emanated from those beautiful purple eyes.

"Perfect synchrony! Time to start over and get back into the game." Rarity thought, ready to make eye contact with Dusk, knowing that it was time to resume her attempts to return to that simple walk in Ponyville on a romantic date, despite the interference of his sister. And for their luck, they were in the right place so that Rarity could make her move.

"Oh, how silly of me!" Rarity said theatrically, taking a hoof to her mouth, feigning surprise. "I just remembered that today I didn’t buy any flowers to decorate the vases in my room, what ever shall I do?"

Dusk listened to what Rarity said and immediately looked around to see how to solve the his friend’s problem, and to their fortune, they were not that far from the flower stall of Ponyville, something that Dusk thought was a ‘great luck’, apart from Rarity, who had already noticed it and that was precisely why she had done that little performance right there.

"Now, the noble and attentive gentleman that is Dusk, will buy me a bouquet of beautiful flowers, a beautiful romantic gesture with which we can finally change the atmosphere of this walk of friends by one of a more romantic tone, Fufufu!" Rarity laughed triumphantly in her thoughts, ready to receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her beloved Dusk.

"Hey... But you don’t have any vases in your room." Sweetie Belle suddenly said looking at her sister with a mischievous smile, breaking the atmosphere and making Rarity and Dusk look at her in surprise.

"You don’t have any vases? Then why do you want flowers?" Dusk asked confused, as naive as ever when it came to romance.

"Eh!? Well... I... It's uhm..." Rarity replied totally nervous, not knowing what to answer, turning her eyes again to see her treacherous little sister, annoyed for having disrupted her plan and who seemed to still want to interfere between them.

"Oh, Look! What's that!?" Rarity added with enthusiasm pointing towards the sky, making Dusk look towards where she pointed, then, while Dusk was distracted, she lowered her head to be at the height of Sweetie Belle and whispered furiously. "Why are you still bothering me!?"

"Because it's fun!" Sweetie Belle replied smiling, also whispering so that Dusk couldn’t hear her. "It's also your punishment for not paying attention to me this morning." the little filly said and was putting a mischievous smile, hiding her other reason to do all that, which was to defeat Rarity for just one time, since her older sister always shone and caught more attention of others than she ever could, so if she could win Dusk's attention and hold it for the afternoon, it would be a great and personal victory for her.

"Dusk, did you know Rarity spends hours putting on makeup in the morning?" Sweetie Belle said again speaking loudly to catch the attention of the unicorn lavender. "She always wakes up with big dark circles, I guess that's why she likes to use eyeshadow."

"NOOO! How dare you!?" Rarity shouted in her mind as she heard her sister start to speak ill of her and trying to destroy her image. "Well, if you want to play dirty, we can both do it!"

"Dusk, did you know that Sweetie Belle is still urinating in bed? The one time she had a nightmare and wet her entire bed!" Rarity said smiling in revenge, counterattacking her sister, watching as Sweetie Belle lowered her head, probably embarrassed.

"Sniff! Sister... Why did you say that? Sniff! That... That’s so embarrassing to me... Buah!" Sweetie Belle started crying, again surprising Rarity and Dusk.

In the act, Dusk approached Sweetie Belle and hugged her so she can calm down, then looked severely at Rarity.

"Rarity, you mustn’t make fun of your little sister like that!" Dusk said looking seriously at Rarity, while under him was Sweetie Belle, who again took advantage of Dusk not seeing her to stick out her tongue and make fun of her sister, again letting it be seen that everything was a performance.

"Not again! How is it that Dusk fell for the same trick twice? How come I fell for it twice!?" Rarity thought hysterically as her anger against her sister reached new levels.

"Oh! Sweetie Belle, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me!" Rarity said totally regretful, almost with tears in her eyes, slowly approaching her sister's face until she almost touched her.

"It's okay, I forgive you because I love you so much, big sister!" Sweetie Belle answered, with a huge and tender smile.

Meanwhile, the naive Dusk smiled to see how the two unicorn sisters seemed to have finally solved their problems, believing to see how they showed their affection for each other.

"You see, everything can be forgiven between sisters!" Dusk said, smiling at both mares. "I wish Spike, and I could get along so well after arguing."

Meanwhile, in the mares' minds...

"You'll see, you're going to pay me, damn dwarf!" Rarity thought furiously while doing one of her best performances, pretending to repent so as not to fall into her sister's trap or make her image even worse with Dusk.

"Bwahaha! You can't beat me!" Sweetie Belle mocked in her imagination as she continued to act perfectly, not letting Dusk see her true intentions, laughing evilly in her mind when she saw how she beat her older sister.





After the fake smiles that seemed to have last for hours, both mares turned and looked at Dusk, ready to continue their attack and see which of the two managed to capture more and better the attention of Dusk Shine.

"Dusk, darling, there is an important customer who asked me for a fashion line for colts." Rarity said putting her best damsel in distress face for Dusk to notice her. "And I think you would be an ideal colt for-"

"Oh, no, I just remembered that tomorrow I’m starting school, but I still don’t know where it is!" Sweetie Belle said speaking loudly and purposely interrupting her sister. "Dusk, could you show me where the school is?" I know that a studious pony like you should like the mares that strive in their studies, right?"

"Uhm... Yes, you're right!" Dusk said confused for not having fully listened to what Rarity was going to ask him but fully understanding everything that Sweetie Belle was saying. "School is the cradle of knowledge! It's important that you go, come on! I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks, but it's a pity that my sister can’t accompany us, after all, she just said it herself, she has to work on the request of an important client." Sweetie Belle added looking at Rarity sideways and could not help but let out a small evil smile. "I know Dusk will not want to interrupt her work or delay her, right?"

"Eh?" Rarity said, who had been caught off guard after Sweetie Belle's surprise attack.

"Yes, it's true, I don’t want to delay your work," Dusk said kindly looking at Rarity. "Don’t worry, if you're busy I can show the school to Sweetie Belle on my own, you don’t need to accompany us."

"Eh!?" Rarity said still incredulous to see how her little sister had managed to sabotage it completely.

"Come on Dusk! Before it's late!" Sweetie Belle said pushing Dusk, so they could leave as soon as possible.

"I-I’m sorry," Dusk said hurried to see that Sweetie Belle was pushing him. "See you later, Rarity."

"Yes... see you later, sister." Sweetie Belle smiled wickedly looking at Rarity as she walked away with Dusk.

Meanwhile, Rarity was stunned for several seconds watching her beloved and her little sister walking away and talking happily among themselves. Once she lost sight of them, she was finally able to get out of her stupor.

"I... I JUST LOST AGAINST A FILLY!?" Rarity screamed in despair, finally letting go of her frustration at having missed her chance to have a perfect date with Dusk, all for her annoying but cunning little sister.

# End of chapter 25
> Chapter 26 - Marks that do not disappear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marks that don’t disappear

"This is the Ponyville Schoolhouse." Dusk said once he and Sweetie Belle arrived at the small construction that was not far from the center of town. "I have never seen it up close, it actually looks quite cozy."

The Ponyville Schoolhouse was a nice little house painted red, beautifully decorated, with a small bell that served to warn the small foals and fillies the beginning and end of classes. Also, around the school, there were several playgrounds, which were empty at that time because fillies and young colts were in classes at the time.

"Well, would you like to come inside?" Dusk asked smiling, looking at Rarity's little sister.

"Eh? Oh! Yes, sure..." Sweetie Belle answered quickly, who hadn't paid much attention to the last words Dusk said or the school that was in front of her.

At that time Sweetie Belle had her mind elsewhere. Since she had managed to marginalize Rarity from the ride and had managed to stay alone with Dusk Shine, the initial joy that she had to beat her sister and get her revenge, was rapidly decreasing, while guilt and repentance began to emerge within her. Now Sweetie Belle couldn't stop thinking that maybe she had over done it with her revenge and that it wasn't Rarity who was in the wrong, but she herself had exaggerated, just because her sister hadn't paid enough attention to her, after all Sweetie Belle knew that Rarity was a good sister most of the time, and now with what she had just done to her older sister, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but blame herself little by little and think that maybe now her sister would hate her for what she had done to her. Besides, now that Rarity was gone, Sweetie Belle realized that the ride was a bit boring, after all, visiting the school wasn't something that really caught her attention, as she falsely made Dusk believe, and now that Rarity wasn't there, she couldn't continue to tease her on her date, Sweetie Belle began to feel lonely, because although she liked being with Dusk, she began to realize that she had had a better time when the three of them were together.

"It was fun to fight for Dusk's attention, especially because I won! But now that I won..." Sweetie Belle thought absently, that now that her anger against her sister had disappeared, she began to remember again how much she appreciated the good moments with Rarity, because although both had been fighting, Sweetie Belle had had a lot of fun at the expense of her sister. "I want to have Dusk with me, but... I also want to be with my sister..." Sweetie Belle thinking with melancholy, not knowing how to feel exactly.

While Sweetie Belle rambled on in her thoughts, the two unicorns approached the door of the school and slowly entered through the main hall to see the different rooms that were there. They both advanced and reached to see a few rooms until Dusk heard murmurs from one of the rooms.

"Come here, they should be in class." Dusk said looking at Sweetie Belle and indicating with his look that they were coming to a room where the door was open and where the murmurs came from.

Upon arriving at the doorway, both unicorns poked their heads slightly, so they could see the class without interrupting. There, both could see the teacher who dictated the class, a smiling mare with dark fuchsia fur, green eyes, with a mane and a tail that was of a pink color of two tonalities, and three smiling flowers like cutie mark. In front of the teacher there was a small number of colts and fillies, all seated while the teacher dictated the class. Dusk immediately recognized two fillies: Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom, who was listening attentively to her teacher; and right next to her was the other filly that Dusk recognized, because he had seen her yesterday and had learned her name that day, it was Diamond Tiara, who unlike Apple Bloom, seemed like she was not paying attention to anything that her teacher was talking about.

"Watch this!" Dusk whispered to Sweetie Belle, still seeing the ponies in the class. "Unicorns, pegasus and earth ponies, everypony studying together! I must admit that this is one of the things I like most about Ponyville."

While Dusk looked around smiling at the students and their teacher, Sweetie Belle had another look, one of nervousness, while her eyes had focused exclusively on the pink filly wearing the tiara and that maintained that look of displeasure that bothered Sweetie Belle.

"Please be quiet, before I finish the class I would like to talk about a very important lesson." The teacher said, who, like her students, hadn't noticed that they had two peepers peeking from the door. Then she approached a flipchart that was next to her desk and removed the first page, revealing on the second page several colorful drawings of different things. "We're going to talk about the cutie marks."

As soon as the teacher announced that she would talk about the cutie marks, most of the students in the class were alerted to listen, especially Apple Bloom, who immediately took the pencil with her mouth to take notes. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Dusk Shine were interested, because they both wanted to hear what the teacher would say, each for their own reasons.

"Boring…!" Diamond Tiara abruptly interrupted the teacher, making a face of annoyance.

"What a rude filly! Besides, knowing about the cutie marks is the best way to-" Dusk whispered again, turning to see Sweetie Belle, but stopped and became surprised to see that Sweetie Belle had started to run.

"I'm sorry I have to go!" Sweetie Belle shouted in a whisper as she looked back at Dusk and ran, with a nervous face that showed discomfort for something. "I-I have to help my sister with something!"

"Wait! I wanted to introduce you to-" Dusk said trying to scream to stop the little unicorn but whispering so he would not interrupt the class that was next to him, however it was already too late, Sweetie Belle had left and closed the door after her.

"Damn it! What do I do now? Should I follow her? She looked worried... No! She said she had to help Rarity with something, maybe that's why she was nervous, because she had forgotten something and only now she remembered it, she'll be fine... I hope..." Dusk thought indecisively, looking towards the school door and then looking back to the classroom. "She said she'll be with Rarity, however, if I lose sight of Apple Bloom, I'm not even sure if she'll return to Sweet Apple Acres during the afternoon, now my priority should be to talk with Apple Bloom and convince her to meet Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, I can't make the same mistakes with her as I did with the other two fillies, this is my last chance to convince at least one out of the three of them to become friends with the other two."

After Sweetie Belle fled and Dusk decided to stay, the lavender unicorn looked back at the room to continue listening to what the teacher was saying about the cutie marks. At that time the teacher was explaining when she got her cutie mark while showing a picture of her younger self, wearing a very old-fashioned look, which caused laughter among the students, including Dusk, who couldn't help but smile at the sight the photo.

"Yes, I know, but honestly, that's how everypony wore their mane back then." The teacher laughed too, a little embarrassed but continuing with her class. "I decided to become a teacher, and the flowers symbolized my hope that I could help my future students bloom if I nurture them with knowledge. The smiles represent the cheer I hope to bring to my little ponies while they are learning."

Upon hearing the detailed and beautiful description that the teacher made about her cutie mark, Dusk's smile disappeared, while unconsciously he put a melancholier look and his mind was filled with other thoughts.

"Now, can anyone tell me when a pony gets his or her cutie mark?" The teacher asked, asking a question that was quickly answered.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" An enthusiastic filly shouted, a filly with white fur and a curly red mane, with enormous purple glasses. She held her hoof high so the teacher could hear her, talking so loudly that it made Dusk get out of his thoughts and pay attention to the class again. "When she discovers that certain something that makes her special!"

"That's right, Twist!" The teacher said with a smile, revealing the name of the filly that had answered her. "A cutie mark appears on a pony's flank when he or she finds that certain something that makes them different from every other pony. Discovering what makes you unique isn't something that happens overnight, and…"

"Yeah, sure... " Dusk thought bitterly as he stopped paying attention to the teacher after her speech lengthened, lowering his head and looking discouraged towards the floor.

Both the explanation about the cutie marks and hearing the meaning of teacher's cutie mark, had discouraged Dusk, because precisely there was a time in his past about his cutie mark that he dragged with him and couldn't erase from his mind.

Dusk looked up at the ceiling with a melancholy look as he began to remember why he didn't like talking about the cutie marks, however a sudden scream shocked him and put him on alert again.

"Apple Bloom! Are you passing a note?" The teacher shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Dusk immediately peeked out the door a bit more to see what had happened. That's how he saw that apparently Apple Bloom had passed a note in class, which obviously bothered the teacher. She approached Apple Bloom, looked at the note, and was surprised to see that it was blank, which also surprised Dusk, after all, why would Apple Bloom be passing a blank note to somepony else? Then Diamond Tiara said loudly: 'Remind you of anypony?', pointing with her hoof towards Apple Bloom's flank, causing all the other students in the room to burst into laughter, except the teacher and Apple Bloom. Only then Dusk realized that it had all been a misunderstanding and that Apple Bloom had only received the note, everything had been planned by Diamond Tiara to make that mockery to Apple Bloom, something that immediately annoyed Dusk, an annoyance that grew as he listened to the laughter of the other younger ponies and remembered part of his childhood and when he himself had been teased.

At that moment the school bell rang, causing the students to begin to stand up from their seats, glad that the class had finally ended.

"Who is he?!" A female voice screamed from the school hallway, causing Dusk to turn around and see who it was. There Dusk could see that in the entrance of the school were two mares, probably mothers of some of the fillies that studied there, both looking puzzled at Dusk from a distance.

"He's spying on fillies... He's a foal stalker!" The second mare shouted, with a horrified face. Then both mares began to run furiously in Dusk’s direction, ready to pounce on the alleged stalker who spied on their children from the door of the room.

"EH?!" It was all Dusk could say before realizing what was happening and the misunderstanding that those mothers had probably understood. Dusk immediately decided to stop them and explain that everything was a misunderstanding, but seeing the furious glances of those mothers, Dusk knew immediately that he couldn't reason with them in that state, so he only managed to activate his magic and teleport himself out of there.

Dusk managed to evade the furious mares at the last second, disappearing and reappearing again outside the school, but very close to the front door, so he immediately ran to some nearby bushes and hid there, waiting for the right moment to get out.

Several minutes passed until the fillies and young colts of the school began to come out one by one, and it took more time until the two mares that had tried to attack Dusk finally came out as well. Both mothers stayed talking to the teacher that Dusk had seen, and seeing the expression of concern shown by the teacher, Dusk could guess what they were talking about.

"Great! Now to my already bad reputation in this town, rumors will begin to circulate that I am a foal molester..." Dusk thought resigned and frustrated before the situation, not knowing how he could fix that misunderstanding, since those two mothers who were talking with the teacher still had their furious looks on them which made Dusk tremble. "Maybe I can talk to the teacher and later explain the situation, at least she doesn't look so intimidating... "

Finally, the two mothers left with their foals and the teacher went back to school, and it was only then that Apple Bloom finally came out, then Dusk's worries took a back seat and he focused on the sad face that Apple Bloom had, who left school with her head down and her ears drooping. Dusk immediately came out of the bushes and began to approach from one side to talk to her, after all Dusk understood that the poor filly should have a very low spirit after the bad joke in which she was the victim of, but then Dusk stopped suddenly to see the cause of everything, Diamond Tiara, came to her before him, accompanied by another filly with gray fur and a light gray mane, wearing elegant glasses and a necklace, with a cutie mark that showed a silver spoon. Both fillies had approached Apple Bloom and began to laugh and moved their flanks exaggeratedly as they walked in a circle around her, before the sad look of Apple Bloom. As Dusk couldn't hear what they were saying, he approached slowly to be able to spy without being seen.

"Don't worry, you're still invited to my cute-ceañera." Diamond Tiara said with a look of arrogance.

"It's going to be amazing, Diamond Tiara invited all the fillies in town." The gray filly said, looking with the same contemptuous look that Diamond Tiara had on Apple Bloom.

"That's right, as my daddy says, sometimes you have to do some charity and show how generous you are." Diamond Tiara said with a false loving look, which quickly changed to one of mockery. "So even a dirty country mare like you is invited, you should thank me, blank flank! Hahaha!"

Then the gray filly and Diamond Tiara playfully clasped their hooves and made a kind of a personal hoofshake, then began to laugh mockingly as Apple Bloom looked down and her lip began to tremble. That was the last thing Dusk could handle, so he finally came out from where he had been listening and stood next to Apple Bloom.

"Leave her alone! Couple of rude brats!" Dusk said annoyed, looking angry at the pink and gray fillies, while the three fillies present watched him totally surprised by his sudden appearance.

"And who are you!?" Diamond Tiara asked with a petulant look, without any consideration that she was talking to a pony older than her.

"I am-" Dusk answered seriously before being interrupted.

"Oh, I know who he is! It's that evil colt that yelled at the princess at the Summer Sun Celebration!" The gray filly said, looking with fear and some contempt at Dusk. "Mom said not to go near him."

Those words surprised Dusk and made him lower his guard for a moment, but he immediately returned to his serious attitude, because he could solve his problems later, now he was there to help Apple Bloom.

"Oh... I see... So you get together with this kind of pony, blank flank? Is he your friend?" Diamond Tiara said with a mocking smile looking at Apple Bloom again.

Apple Bloom still said nothing, she just stood next to Dusk not knowing what to say or do, looking back and forth between Dusk Shine and Diamond Tiara.

"I'm friends with Applejack, and I will not let you keep pestering her little sister." Dusk said decisively, staring at the two bullies.

After Dusk's words, Diamond Tiara and her friend looked at each other for a second and then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, so you need someone to defend you? Hahaha!" The gray filly scoffed looking at Apple Bloom.

"Oh... poor baby, hahaha! Don't worry, we were leaving anyway." Diamond Tiara said, turning to start walking with her friend, but not before looking one last time at Apple Bloom with a mocking smile. "I'll ask to keep a baby seat for you, haha, see you at the party, blank flank! Hahaha!"

While the two nasty fillies moved away, and after the last mockery of Diamond Tiara, Dusk got even madder and took a step to continue facing the pair of bullies to understand that what they did was wrong and stop bothering Apple Bloom, however, Dusk stopped when he finally heard Apple Bloom speak.

"What have you done…!?" Apple Bloom said in a whisper, with her head down. Then she quickly raised her head and glared at Dusk. "Why did you get involved!? Now they'll make fun of me even more and it’s all your fault!"

At that moment Apple Bloom turned her back to Dusk and began to move away from him, before the surprised look of Dusk.

"A-Apple Bloom, wait! I... I just wanted to help." Dusk said catching up to the filly until he reached her and walked beside her.

"Well, you didn't do it right, did you?" Apple Bloom responded without stopping, still upset.

"But someone had to put them in their place and tell them that what they were doing was wrong." Dusk said a little confused by the attitude of Apple Bloom.

"But it didn’t help me at all!" Apple Bloom said, still looking annoyed at Dusk. "How would you feel if you were in my place!?"

At that question, Dusk paused thoughtfully, realizing that perhaps he had not done the right thing, or rather, he had done the right thing, but not in the right way, it was true that someone had to tell that little thug, Diamond Tiara, to stop bothering others, but Dusk realized that this was the mature vision of an adult, for a filly the world worked a little different, where pride and childish loyalties played an important factor... It was then that Dusk did what Apple Bloom asked him, and he put himself in her place, he imagined himself as a young colt, being defended by the princess while he argued with his bullies... Now that he was older, he would have thanked the princess for defending him, but when he was Apple Bloom's age, he would probably have reacted just like her and would’ve become angry with the princess for meddling and humiliating him in front of others, even though she had done it just to help him.

Thinking about that last, for the first time Dusk realized how the princess must have felt when she found out that he was being bullied in class. Dusk imagined how difficult it had to be for the princess to learn about that and not be able to do anything concrete. She had acted with more restraint than he ever could and never faced his bullies directly, something for which he was now grateful for, however she finally did do something to help him, something more subtle but that left a big mark on Dusk, something that he spent years without knowing and only discovered years later...

While Dusk wandered into his thoughts due to Apple Bloom's question, the filly kept looking at Dusk upset.

"I know he wanted to help me, but the only thing he did was make everything worse!" Apple Bloom thought trying to leave her anger behind. "I guess what Applejack said is true: 'he's a bit silly, but he has a good heart'."

Now a little calmer, Apple Bloom continued looking at Dusk, undecided how to act in front of him, because the truth was that even her family was divided on how to act in front of him. At home, when they talked about Dusk, Big Mac immediately said that Applejack deserved someone better, but Granny Smith said that he was the perfect coltfriend, and as for Applejack, she always repeated that Dusk was not her coltfriend, however Apple Bloom knew that her sister had feelings for Dusk, it was evident when she saw the unusual lying face of her sister, however knowing all that left her in an uncomfortable situation, because if Applejack had not decided... Should she support Granny or Big Mac? Finally, Apple Bloom thought that the best thing for now would be to act without any side, at least for now.

"By the way, why are you following me?" Apple Bloom finally asked, starting to walk again.

"Eh? Oh, yes!" Dusk responded quickly, leaving his thoughts about his past and returning to focus on his mission. "I... I wanted to see if you wanted to join a couple of fillies I know, they are your age, and I think all of you could become great friends if you know each other." Dusk said smiling, determined to get to the point this time.

"No thanks, with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon I have more than enough." Apple Bloom responded, looking askance to the side.

"What? No, I'm not talking about bullies like them, I'm talking about real friends!" Dusk said quickly, correcting her.

"I can't be sure of that, who knows, maybe they're even worse than Diamond Tiara." Apple Bloom responded with indifference. "That's why I think I prefer to be alone, and I prefer to spend my free time with my sister."

"Nooo! Her as well! Don’t any of them see the importance of having friends!?" Dusk thought depressed, realizing that his plan to reunite the three fillies was falling apart, as neither Scootaloo, neither Sweetie Belle and now Apple Bloom were not interested in making friends.

"You know, maybe if you had friends they would help you with Diamond Tiara." Dusk said, trying to use the same approach he had used when talking with Scootaloo, but this time he could attest that this advice had been useful to him. "In fact, I was bullied a lot in school, there were some bullies who always looked for me and... probably did a lot more bad things to me than Diamond Tiara could do you..." At that point, a shadow passed through Dusk's eyes as he remembered those unpleasant moments, but he quickly raised his head and smiled again. "But one day I met a friend, she defended me and helped me many times to get ahead, that's why I can tell you first-hoof that a friend can help you solve your problem with that annoying filly."

"So the fancy city ponies also bother each other?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.

"Um? Y-Yes, of course." Dusk responded a little surprised, realizing the reason why Apple Bloom was probably annoyed. "Maybe... Those fillies bother you because your family is from the country?"

"Yeah... sometimes it's like that, although lately they are bothering me more for something else..." Apple Bloom answered nonchalantly, then glancing sideways at Dusk's flank. "Now they have their cutie marks and they annoy me for being a blank flank."

"That's why they bother you? but that's a silly thing! Everyone gets their cutie mark in due time, it's something natural, it's not something to be bothered or something to feel sorry for." Dusk said without being able to avoid releasing a small laugh when he realized that the taunts towards Apple Bloom were about something much more childish than he had thought.

"It's not silly!" Apple Bloom said a little annoyed to see Dusk laughing at her problem. "It's easy for you to say it because you already have your cutie mark."

After that, Apple Bloom began to walk a little faster due to her discomfort, but she was quickly reached by Dusk, who also accelerated the pace to continue accompanying her. At that time Dusk regretted having laughed at the Apple Bloom problem, after all that was important to her, so he started thinking about the best words to say to apologize, however his thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"You... How did you get your cutie mark?" Apple Bloom asked suddenly, who had already calmed down a little and again fixed her eyes on the flank of the unicorn lavender.

"Eh? Well, I..." Dusk said quickly, who had been taken by surprise by that question. Then he looked up and began to remember how he had got his cutie mark and the events that had surrounded that occasion, while he did, he gave a fleeting look of sorrow in his eyes. "I-I think I'm not the best example if you want to know how to get a cutie mark, hehe." Dusk finished saying with a nervous smile, hiding the fact that he did not like to talk about his own cutie mark.

Apple Bloom looked at Dusk confused for a few seconds and then focused her eyes again on Dusk's flank, while the unicorn turned slightly, trying in vain for Apple Bloom to stop looking at his cutie mark.

"The stars symbolize magic, don't they?" Apple Bloom asked thoughtfully while Dusk remained silent, a little uncomfortable.

While Apple Bloom looked at Dusk's cutie mark, a brilliant idea came to her.

"That's right!" Apple Bloom said almost jumping at the sudden revelation, looking up to meet Dusk's eyes again. "You're good with magic, more than good! You even faced Nightmare Moon! If you're so powerful, then you can help me and make my cutie mark appear!"

"Eh…?" Dusk said totally surprised, a little nervous to see the look full of hope of Apple Bloom. "I-I'm good with magic, but I can't make a cutie mark appear, that's impossible."

"Have you ever tried?" Apple Bloom asked smiling.

"No, but it's not something that can be done, and even if it was, I wouldn’t do it, after all the cutie marks are not something to play around with." Dusk said trying to get a little more serious.

Apple Bloom lowered her eyes dispiritedly, pouting, until another bright idea came to her.

"How about we make a deal?" Apple Bloom asked with a mischievous look. "Help me to get a cutie mark, and I'll agree to meet those fillies you wanted to introduce me to, deal?"

Before the treatment proposed by Apple Bloom, Dusk immediately thought to reject it, however this was his last chance to get Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could have a real friend, so Dusk had no choice but to accept.

"Okay... I'll try, but I think you'll be disappointed." Dusk finally said reluctantly, with a big sigh. While Apple Bloom jumped for joy for having convinced Dusk.

Both ponies were put in position for the magic they would perform, Apple Bloom with her flank in front of Dusk, and Dusk crouched, lighting his horn a few inches from the flank of Apple Bloom. Dusk used all his concentration, reviewing all his knowledge about cutie marks, magic of invocation, and magic of appearance, after all this was something new for him, and although he was sure that what he was trying to do was impossible, but it didn’t hurt being serious and trying with all his effort to see if he can at least get some interesting results.

Finally, Dusk's horn flashed, and on the flank of Apple Bloom appeared the drawing of a cart with apples, Apple Bloom had gotten a cutie mark. As soon as Apple Bloom saw her flank and could see her new cutie mark, she started jumping for joy.

"You did it! You did it! I knew you could do it!" Apple Bloom shouted euphorically, she stopped jumping and started to gallop around Dusk, exaggeratedly moving her flank to show her new acquisition.

"Wait a minute..." Dusk said suddenly, causing Apple Bloom to stop, focusing his eyes on the flank of the filly, which she also did. So both could see that the cutie mark that had appeared in Apple Bloom began to fade and disappear slowly.

"What... What happened?" Apple Bloom asked sadly after seeing that her new cutie mark had disappeared.

"I told you that not even magic can make a cutie mark appear too soon." Dusk said shrugging.

"Try again!" Apple Bloom said looking pleadingly at Dusk.

"But-" Dusk said without reaching to say what he wanted to and being interrupted by the filly.

"Again! Again!" Apple Bloom insisted, still without losing hope in the Dusk’s magic.

Then Dusk sighed resignedly and returned to concentrate to try again to make appear a cutie mark. So, Dusk made several marks appear on Apple Bloom's flank: a kite, a teddy bear, a tricycle, among many others, but all had the same result, disappeared few seconds after Dusk made them appear.

"You're not doing it right!" Apple Bloom said frustrated looking at Dusk, after the last cutie mark disappeared. "The first one you did lasted several seconds, but the next ones disappeared immediately."

"It's not my fault, to tell you the truth, I don't even know why that happened." Dusk answered thoughtfully, who had already noticed that fact. "I suppose it could be because the origin of your cutie mark is type 'talent', and maybe the apples are tied to some talent that you will discover in the future, that's why the cutie mark of the apple cart lasted longer than the others, although of course, it's just a theory... "

"Cutie mark of type 'talent’...?" Apple Bloom asked confused.

"Yes, well... In classes you were taught that a cutie mark appears when a pony discovers something that makes him or her special, and it's true in a certain way, but it's also a somewhat simplistic explanation." Dusk said, inflating his chest a bit by feeling like a teacher teaching a young student. "When someone teaches you intermediate magical theory they will teach you that there are three possible origins for cutie marks, the vast majority gets it for some 'special talent' they have, that's the first category, that's why those cutie marks are said to be type 'talent'."

"So my talent is... Carrying apples?" Apple Bloom asked, somewhat confused after Dusk's explanation.

"I don't think so." Dusk said quickly. "I just thought that since your family all have cutie marks related to apples, maybe yours will also represent some talent tied to that, maybe that's why that cutie mark lasted longer than the others."

"That's it! How did I not see it before!?" Apple Bloom suddenly screamed when she realized something crucial.

Then she started running at full speed towards the center of town.

"H-Hey! Wait! Where are you going!?" Dusk asked confused, leaving immediately in follow of the little filly.





"Apples! Buy your delicious, nutritious apples!" Applejack shouted at the town market, where the food merchants settled to sell their products.

She was standing next to a small cart full of apples, and next to her was Apple Bloom, wearing a small white apron, like her older sister; and Dusk Shine, who was dressed in a ridiculous red suit with an equally ridiculous apple-shaped hat that surrounded his entire face.

"How did this happen...?" Dusk asked himself, dying of shame when he saw that the ponies passing by were looking at him and laughing at him.

"Well, you and Apple Bloom said you two wanted to help, and Apple Bloom's apron doesn't fit you, so you can only wear that new disguise that Granny Smith and I made." Applejack said with a smile. "We thought maybe having a mascot would help sell the apples, so from now on you'll be 'Lil Appleling, the Happy Apple.' Big Mac was supposed to use it, but for some reason today his stomach hurt, just the day we wanted to make the debut the disguise!"

"Yeah... What a coincidence..." Dusk whispered, understanding that probably Big Mac had pretended to get sick just so he didn't have to use that ridiculous disguise.

"By the way, why were you next to Apple Bloom, and why is she so eager to help me sell apples today?" Applejack asked, something she had been thinking about since both ponies had arrived with her, glancing sideways at her little sister, who was approaching the passing ponies and urging them to buy apples with a lot of enthusiasm, maybe too much.

It was only then that, while Apple Bloom was focused on trying to sell apples, Dusk Shine explained to Applejack his reason for going after Apple Bloom, and her reason for trying to sell apples so suddenly.

"So that's it... I guess so, it's a good idea for Apple Bloom to make friends of her age." Applejack said thoughtfully after hearing Dusk's explanation. "But what about the cutie mark... Does she think that helping me sell apples will make her cutie mark appear at any moment?"

"I know, I also told her that it probably wouldn’t work and that she just had to be patient and wait for things to come in due time." Dusk answered with a shrug. "But she is still determined to continue with this, and now I have no choice but to continue with her until she realizes the truth, and so she will fulfill her part of the deal and finally I'll be able to introduce her to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."

"Hmm... well, I must warn you that the mares of the Apple family are stubborn, so you'll probably be helping us sell apples all afternoon before convincing her to change her mind." Applejack smiled mischievously, actually happy to have Dusk’s company. "And by the way, enough talk, it's time for 'Lil Appleling' to make his special show."

Hearing that, Dusk blushed again, remembering that he had offered to help Applejack when he arrived with Apple Bloom there.

"D... Do I really have to do this?" Dusk asked timidly.

"Well, you said you wanted to help and I would guess that you'll keep your word, right?" Applejack answered with a mischievous look, smiling at what would soon happen.

Finally Dusk just bowed his head, resigned to what he would have to do, after all he had said he wanted to help, and now he would have to comply, after all he always kept his word. It was so that Dusk adjusted the disguise as Applejack asked and finally he walked to the center of the street where the ponies were going to buy products.

"Well Dusk, you are about to take your biggest challenge." Dusk said in a whisper, talking to himself to give himself courage, with his eyes closed and totally focused on the task to come. "You have faced against Nightmare Moon, you have saved Equestria, you can do this, you can do it by trusting in the power of friendship!"

"H-Hey everyone...! Listen to me!" Dusk shouted at the top of his lungs to catch the attention of everyone around him, arming himself with courage for the ridicule he would begin to do.

"It's Apple butter jelly time ~ Apple butter jelly time ~ Apple butter jelly time ~" Dusk started singing, leaving the seriousness aside and trying to smile, totally blushed, while dancing foolishly and moving his hooves from one side to the other. "Where he at?~ Where he at?~ There he go~ There he go~ Apple butter jelly~ Apple butter jelly~"





So Dusk continued singing and dancing while all the ponies around him looked surprised, laughing to see a pony disguised as an apple, dancing and singing in the most ridiculous way possible, all while Dusk's face was perfectly combined with the red color of his suit and saying to himself that this is probably the most shameful thing he had ever done in his life, and also thought that perhaps from now on he would not offer to give his help so easily without first knowing in advance that it wouldn’t be anything ridiculous.

While Dusk continued dancing and attracting ponies to the apple stand, Applejack laughed with a big smile for several reasons: first, to see Dusk doing something so ridiculous; second, for the good surprise of seeing that indeed the disguise and the dance of 'Lil Appleling' was serving to attract clients; and third, Applejack could not stop smiling when she saw how helpful and how good of a friend Dusk was to her, after all not any pony would have offered to do what he was doing.

While Dusk danced, Apple Bloom approached the ponies who came to see Dusk's ridiculous dance and quickly began to offer and sell them apples. For her part, Applejack was still thinking how lucky she was that Dusk was helping her, then she glanced sideways at her little sister and turned her gaze back to Dusk, with her eyes increasingly enraptured.

"He is not just helpful, he also cares about foals..." Applejack thought remembering how Dusk had arrived with her sister because he wanted to help her have friends. "He would definitely be a good husband and father..."

Those last thoughts from Applejack, made her unknowingly blush and put on dreamy eyes, but then she realized what she was thinking and quickly shook her head to scare the ideas that had come to mind, ideas about her and Dusk having foals and forming a great family. Meanwhile, Dusk had already stopped with his show and wiped the sweat from his forehead due to all that dancing, at that moment he looked to one side and then turned his gaze to fix his eyes on Applejack, which made the heart of the country mare jump with emotions for a second, then Dusk began to approach Applejack while she realized that Dusk had a different look, as if he was undecided about what he was going to do.

"Applejack, I... I've thought about it a lot, but I can't take it anymore, I... this feeling I feel... I can't help it." Dusk said with his eyes fixed on Applejack, who began to get nervous because of his look.

"Dusk is all blushed, and he's so nervous... he... he's talking about what he's feeling, maybe he's thinking about... No! It's impossible." Applejack thought as her heart started to accelerate.

"Applejack, you... you know that I'll always prefer you, I always have and always will." Dusk said all red, staring at Applejack and trying to hide his nervousness.

"What does he prefer me? Oh my Celestia! He made up his mind! He... He is declaring his love to me!" Applejack thought as her heart was beating a thousand times per minute.

"I... I feel so hot that I... I have to ask you something." Dusk said just as red and nervous.

"WHAT!? It can't be!! This... This is what others call an indecent proposal!?" Applejack thought so blushed and dizzy from what she was hearing that it almost seemed like she would have smoke coming out of her ears.

"Applejack, Can... Can I buy an orange juice in the next stand?" Dusk finally asked, hoping not to anger his friend.

"Uh?" Applejack replied totally confused while all the emotions she had felt a second ago disappeared instantly, leaving her frozen.

"I just can't stand the heat of this suit anymore." Dusk said, opening the collar of his suit so that some air came in and he could vent a little. "And in the stand next to yours, they sell an orange juice that looks delicious... I know they are from the competition, and if you sell apple juice I would buy it without hesitation, you know I prefer your apples, but I can't stand it anymore, I'd like to refresh myself with the orange juice they are selling there, I hope it doesn't bother you."

While Dusk gave a silly smile, Applejack lowered her head, making it impossible for Dusk to see her face.

"So you were talking about apples..." Applejack said slowly between clenched teeth, then she quickly raised her head, showing a furious expression but blushed with embarrassment. "You idiot!" Applejack shouted before giving a strong blow to Dusk that made him fly a few meters, falling flat on the ground.

The next thing Applejack did was turn her back on Dusk and refocused on selling her apples, while she was still ashamed of herself for misinterpreting what Dusk was going to ask her and for getting excited about having imagines of being with that idiotic unicorn. While Dusk slowly got up from the ground, touching his aching muzzle.

"I knew she would get mad for asking about orange juice, but I definitely think she exaggerated!" Dusk thought confused, as always without realizing the feelings of the mares that surrounded him. "Anyway, the best thing will be to get rid of this ridiculous suit at once, I think I've already attracted enough customers to the place."

"Look mommy, a giant apple!" Dusk heard a foal's voice talking behind him.

"Another foal attracted to 'Lil Appleling' and brought their own mother, time to sell apples." Dusk thought as he turned to return to the character and attract the last customer before removing the disguise.

"Hi little one, I'm Lil Appleling! Tell your mom to buy apples from Sweet Apple Acres! The best apples in Equestria!" Dusk said with a smile, speaking in a childish voice as he spoke to the foal in front of him.

"You!!" Suddenly the foal's mother cried, who was standing by his side. Dusk looked up to see the mother of the foal, then his face almost fell when he saw that next to the foal he had just greeted, were the two mothers who had seen him spying in schools and had confused him with a stalker. "You're the stalker, now you disguise yourself to attract foals! Pervert! "

Immediately the two furious mothers jumped to chase Dusk, while the unicorn only managed to run and dodge them, screaming and running in circles around the Applejack's apple stand while being followed by the two furious mares.

"Applejack! Help me!" Dusk cried totally scared of the two mothers who were chasing him, shouting at his friend, who just stared at the strange scene without understanding much of what was happening.

Finally, after Applejack stopped both mothers from wanting to hunt down Dusk, Applejack could understand what was happening by listening to what the two angry mares said, immediately she understood that it was all a misunderstanding, but she also knew that she could not calm those furious mothers so easily without a good excuse, so she finally told them that Dusk had been in school to look for her little sister Apple Bloom on her behalf, and that was the only thing that finally calmed both the mothers wanting to hunt Dusk. So, at last both mothers left with their children, already calmer but still giving him looks of distrust to Dusk.

"You... Did you lie for me?" Dusk asked Applejack once the mothers had left and everything was calm again.

"It was only in the part that I said that you were commissioned by me to look for Apple Bloom, all the rest was true." Applejack responded with a sigh of relief, since she didn’t like to lie, even if it was just a little white lie. "It was the only way to calm those furious mothers."

"I'm sorry." Dusk said noticing the discomfort of Applejack, then smiling to cheer her up. "I promise you'll never have to lie for me anymore."

Seeing Dusk's sincere smile, Applejack lowered her hat to hide her face.

"You better..." Applejack said smiling, hiding from Dusk the blushed face she had when she saw his smile.

"This is a fraud!" Suddenly a scream was heard that caused Applejack and Dusk to be on alert and look to the side.

Only at that moment both Dusk and Applejack realized that for some reason, while they explained the situation to the two mothers, Apple Bloom had been surrounded by a mob of ponies, who looked at her very annoyed. Immediately Applejack and Dusk approached to see the cause of that.

"Something wrong?" Applejack asked politely to the pony who was in front of Apple Bloom and who was apparently leading the rest of the annoying customers.

"Of course there is something wrong!" The mare responded, very annoyed. "It turns out that everyone here approached her to buy apples, but this filly here filled the bags with more apples than we had requested, and now she demands that we pay her for the extra apples she put there."

"Yes, and I was only looking at the apples, and she says that I have to pay to see them." Another angry mare shouted.

And so, all the ponies of the crowd began to complain, all claiming against the measures of the little sister of Applejack’s abusive sale.

"Apple Bloom! Are what these ponies saying true?!" Applejack asked, looking sternly at her sister.

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to defend herself and invent a good excuse, after all, all of this had been to try to get her cutie mark, because she believed that if she sold more apples, the faster she could get her cutie mark, something that until now didn't worked. However, Apple Bloom finally just lowered her head with a regretful look, after all she could make excuses and lie to other ponies, but she knew that with her older sister the only option was to be totally honest.

"Yes... it's true, I'm sorry." Apple Bloom said sadly.

"Well, then your days of selling apples are over, little miss." Applejack said seriously, approaching her sister and removing the apron she was wearing.

"B-But then, how will I get my cutie mark!?" Apple Bloom asked pleadingly.

"I'm sorry sugarcube, but I can't let you keep ruining the family business." Applejack responded by trying to be tough, since she could not risk the welfare of her family to solve her sister's childhood worries at the time, after all Apple Bloom had bothered many frequent customers who always bought her apples, and if she did not solve this now, it could be a disaster for the business. Then Applejack turned her back on her little sister and smiled nervously at the crowd of annoying customers in front of her. "Okay, what do you think if you take the apples my little sister sold you for free, to make up for all your inconveniences."

While Applejack talked to her customers and tried to keep up the reputation of her apple stand, Apple Bloom ran away because she was punished by her sister. Applejack saw that her sister ran away, and immediately activated her older sister instinct, who indicated that she should go after her, even putting the family business at risk, so she turned and took a step, with a look nervous about what she was about to do.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it, you take care of the business." Dusk said suddenly, who was next to Applejack and had already run to catch up with Apple Bloom.

Seeing Dusk running to help her little sister, Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, because thanks to him, she would no longer have to leave her stand and could focus on solving the problem caused by Apple Bloom.

"He immediately noticed that this was an uncomfortable situation for me and jumped to help me." Applejack thought as she watched Dusk go.

"Hehe... he's a really clumsy colt, but one with a very good heart." Applejack said in a whisper as her cheeks blushed again at the sight of her 'friend'.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom had moved far from where the apple stand was, and she would have gone further if it had not been because she saw something that made her stop, something that was lucky for Dusk, since it gave him a chance to reach her before losing sight of her. What Dusk saw while running was that Apple Bloom had stopped in her tracks for some reason and she in an instant jumped behind a barrel that was next to a store, hiding from something.

"I finally got you!" Dusk said once he got to Apple Bloom. "Why are you hiding behind a-?"

"Shhh! Hide!" Apple Bloom said, telling Dusk to be quiet.

Without knowing why, Dusk simply did what the filly told him, he got behind her, and looked where she was looking, from there Dusk could see and guess why Apple Bloom was hiding. Not far away was Diamond Tiara's close friend, Silver Spoon, who apparently was touring the part of the market where they sold jewelry, probably looking for a gift for her friend's cute-ceañera, and fortunately for Apple Bloom, it seemed that she had not noticed her presence.

"So that's why your hiding..." Dusk said in a whisper, watching as the gray filly watched with contempt the jewels offered in the stands that were there.

While Dusk was looking at Silver Spoon, an idea came to Dusk's mind, something that could perhaps help Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom, have you tried to be friends with Silver Spoon?" Dusk asked while Apple Bloom looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "I mean, I know that Diamond Tiara is very irritating, but it seems that Diamond Tiara is the leader and Silver Spoon was a simple sidekick, maybe she alone is not so bad."

"I don't think so, it's true that Diamond Tiara is the worst, but Silver Spoon is not far behind." Apple Bloom responded, glancing at the gray filly. "She also treats others below her because she is from a rich family, we are very different, we could never be friends."

"But being different is not an impediment to being friends, look at me! My personality is very different from your sister's, or Flutterhy's, or Pinkie Pie's, but we're all good friends." Dusk said trying to motivate Apple Bloom.

"Don't insist, I'm fine without friends." Apple Bloom said a little annoyed, still watching Silver Spoon and thinking how ridiculous it would be that she, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were friends.

Upon hearing the resounding refusal of Apple Bloom to have friends, Dusk Shine could not help feeling annoyed, increasingly annoyed to see that no filly appreciated friendship, something he now valued a lot.

"I'm tired of hearing the same answer." Dusk said a little annoyed, talking to himself, remembering that the three fillies had said the same thing, almost with the exact same words. "Maybe I should just use my magic and force them together." Dusk finished talking to himself, taking out all his frustrations.

"But if you force us to get together, that would be a false friendship, isn't it?" Apple Bloom said, who listened to what Dusk said and imagined that he was talking about her, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara.

That brought Dusk out of his thoughts, realizing that what he had thought, he had angrily said it out loud without meaning to.

"W-Why did you say it would be a false friendship?" Dusk asked nervously.

"Because if you force someone to join another pony by force, it would not be true friendship, at least I think so." Apple Bloom responded with a thoughtful face.

Upon hearing what Apple Bloom said, and specifically when she said, 'false friendship', Dusk's heart tightened as a cold sweat ran down his back. What Apple Bloom said was true, and he had lived it in his own flesh, because the truth was that Dusk had not only suffered bullying at school, there had also been a number of ponies who had done the opposite, they had pretended that they liked Dusk and that they were his friends, only to be able to approach Princess Celestia through him, and among those ponies was one that stood out, a mare that had left a deep mark on Dusk.

While Dusk put a face of total concern to remember part of his past and realize that he had made a huge mistake in saying that perhaps he should force the three fillies to get together and be friends, Apple Bloom saw the face of scared Dusk and immediately she tried to say something so that Dusk returned to normality.

"B-But maybe it's not such a bad idea... Maybe having a bad friend is better than not having any." Apple Bloom said thinking that maybe Dusk's advice was not so bad.

"No!" Dusk said dryly, putting a serious face for a second, then smoothing it and looking at Apple Bloom. "I was wrong, you're right, friendship shouldn't be forced, friendship should be born because both want to share and want the best for the other, not for selfish interests or things like that, otherwise you can make a big mistake."

At that moment Dusk remembered his own experiences in Ponyville and remembered his five magnificent friends, which made him smile tenderly, because despite his stormy past, he had finally found five true friends.

While Apple Bloom realized that Dusk's mood had returned to normal, she was distracted to see out of the corner of her eye that Silver Spoon was finally leaving where she was, without buying anything, just looking with contempt all the jewelry and petulantly until finally walking away completely. By refocusing on Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom's mind again wondered something she had thought before but had not been able to ask Dusk.

"Dusk..." Apple Bloom said after Silver Spoon had left, with a look of confusion on her face. "The cutie marks appear for a special talent, but... What about Silver Spoon's cutie mark? It's a silver spoon, does that mean that her special talent is making silver spoons?"

Dusk was surprised at Apple Bloom's question, but at once he smiled vainly and pretended to put on some invisible glasses, going into 'teacher mode' to explain that to the little filly.

"Well, remember that I told you that there are three possible origins for the cutie mark and that most of them are ‘talent’ type." Dusk said smiling, speaking like a teacher and reminding Apple Bloom of what they had previously discussed. "But Silver Spoon's cutie mark is probably the second type, of the 'personality' type, these cutie marks don't appear when discovering a special talent, rather they appear as a product of a strong personality or of some distinctive feature in the pony. She is probably a high-born filly and has never lacked anything in her life, which marked her elegant and elitist personality, so surely her cutie mark is a silver spoon, which symbolizes that she was born with a silver spoon personality."

"Personality?" Apple Bloom asked curious and excited. "Maybe I have that type of cutie mark! How can I know if a cutie mark of that type will appear?"

"Hmm, I guess it's a complicated thing to discover..." Dusk said thinking aloud, but immediately noticing the hopeful look of Apple Bloom, which prevented him from breaking her dreams that she would try something to get that type of cutie mark. "Well... Tell me, what do you like to do? Is there something that you highlight in your tastes or in your way of life? Something that you're very passionate about doing, perhaps?"

"My likes..." Apple Bloom said as she banged her head trying to understand Dusk's explanation and tried to think of something. "I like a lot of things, apples, cupcakes... Cupcakes! That's it!" Apple Bloom finished screaming.

"Eh?" Dusk asked confused.

"I like cupcakes, and if the cutie marks appear for things you like and are passionate about, I'll definitely get a cutie mark of cupcakes, I can't believe I didn't see it before, it's so obvious!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"No... I don't think that's it-" Dusk started scratching his head, about to tell her that this was not what he had specifically referred to, but he could not finish speaking as Apple Bloom had started running without warning.

"Wait! Where are you going!?" Dusk shouted, also starting to run, coming out to follow Apple Bloom.





"They're ready~!" Pinkie Pie said in a sing-song voice, approaching the kitchen oven.

It had been several minutes since Dusk Shine and Apple Bloom had arrived at Sugarcube Corner, going directly to the kitchen, which was where Apple Bloom wanted to go, and fortunately for the filly, right there was who she expected to find, the amusing friend of her sister, Pinkie Pie. There, Apple Bloom asked for her help to cook cupcakes, as many as they could, since she needed to eat all those that were necessary to show her taste for the cupcakes and so that her cutie mark could finally appear. It didn’t help that Dusk explained to her that it was very unlikely that a cutie mark would appear like that, although of course, the magic of the cutie marks was so unpredictable that there could be a slight chance that this would happen, and that minimal possibility was enough for Apple Bloom to be filled with motivation to cook cupcakes, all the sound of a cheerful song that Pinkie Pie sang, a song that was not sung by Dusk this time, after all he had already danced and sung enough that day while he was wearing the ridiculous apple suit, so he just stood there, watching and listening to Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom as they made a mess in the kitchen, throwing ingredients from one side while preparing a bunch of trays to make cupcakes.

"Wait a minute!" Pinkie Pie shouted suddenly, when they finally took out the cakes from the oven, stopping her song and looking at Apple Bloom and Dusk. "I haven't asked you, why do you need so many cupcakes?"

"Are you serious? You've been making cupcakes with Apple Bloom for more than an hour. And now that they're finished, you are asking yourself that question now?" Dusk asked without believing how clueless his friend was.

"It's to get my cutie mark!" Apple Bloom responded looking at Pinkie Pie with a big smile. "Although we did more cupcakes than I thought... I'm not sure if I can eat them all." Apple Bloom added when she saw all the trays with the ready cupcakes that Pinkie Pie took out of the oven.

"Oh... now I understand." Pinkie Pie said after listening to Apple Bloom. "But it doesn't matter if you can't eat them all." Pinkie Pie said, turned and looked at Dusk. "If there are any extra cupcake, you could offer them to the town foals, maybe that's how your reputation finally improves!"

As soon as Pinkie Pie said that, a chill ran down Dusk's back, remembering all the confusion that had occurred with the two angry mothers.

"Believe me, that would only make things worse." Dusk said with a nervous smile, imagining how he would definitively be accused of being a harasser, after all the things that he was doing today, now he would go out and give the little foals of the town some cupcakes. It would not help his reputation one bit.

After taking all the cupcakes out of the oven and waiting a little for them to cool, Apple Bloom finally began with her arduous and delicious work, devouring all the cupcakes so she could to get her cutie mark of cupcakes, all while Pinkie Pie and Dusk Shine watched her carefully, the first with a smile, and the next with a worried face.

"Can she really get a cutie mark by eating cupcakes in that way?" Pinkie Pie asked smiling, looking at Dusk.

"I don't think so, but I couldn't convince her otherwise, she's as stubborn as her sister." Dusk responded worried about the disappointment that this could bring to Apple Bloom once she discovered it.

"This doesn't work!" Apple Bloom finally shouted frustrated after having devoured several dozens of cupcakes, with her mouth full of food and her stomach swollen, looking towards one of her flanks and verifying that in spite of everything no cutie mark had appeared.

Apple Bloom struggled to get up from where she was sitting and lowered her head in total disappointment, while Pinkie Pie took the empty trays and began to order some things in the kitchen, while Dusk approached the little filly to comfort her, having already thought of a way to reassure her.

"Now what will I do... I can't go to Diamond Tiara's party without my cutie mark, she'll make fun of me." Apple Bloom said very sad. "I guess it's best not to go."

"No way, you should go to that party!" Dusk said looking determinedly at Apple Bloom. "You can't let that bully win, also think, you're not the only filly in the world that doesn’t have a cutie mark, there is no reason for somepony to make fun of somepony for not having cutie mark, and Diamond Tiara should understand that!"

"Wait... You're right!" Apple Bloom said, recovering her spirits when she realized something, which made Dusk happy when he thought that she had finally understood that she should not be affected by what Diamond Tiara told her. "I'm not the only one who doesn't have cutie mark, Twist doesn't have a cutie mark either!"

"Eh?" Dusk said confused, after realizing that Apple Bloom had again not understand what he was referring to.

"Twist is my friend, she goes with me to school." Apple Bloom said believing that Dusk was confused to know who Twist was.

"Speaking about Twist, she just arrived." Pinkie Pie suddenly said, who had left the kitchen for a moment and now went back inside.

"Eh?" Apple Bloom said, who this time was she who was confused.

"To the party, the cute-ceañera has already started!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, starting to inflate some pink, blue and lavender balloons, and tying them together to make a  life-sized foal out of balloons.

"Oh no! The cute-ceañera was here at Sugarcube Corner! How could I forget it!?" Apple Bloom said surprised and slightly scared, then she trotted towards the front door, which was the door that connected the kitchen to the main room of the bakery. "I must find Twist before Diamond Tiara finds me!" Then Apple Bloom entered the main room and got lost in a crowd of ponies.

"I think I'll go after her..." Dusk said watching Apple Bloom go away, then turning to see Pinkie Pie. "Do you need help on something?"

Then Dusk saw that Pinkie Pie now not only made a small balloon foal, but she had inflated two more balloon figures, both very large, the size of an adult pony, one of them was of pink balloons with two small light blue balloons for eyes and the other one was of lavender balloons with a mane and tail globes of a dark blue color, slightly higher than that of the pink balloon figure. Then Pinkie Pie put the three balloon figures together, as if they were a family, and only then Dusk realized that the foal that she had made from balloons before was of a combination of colors from both parents.

"What do you think, what comes to your mind when you see this?" Pinkie Pie said with a flirtatious smile, bringing the figures of the parents' balloons together, pretending they were kissing.

"Hmm... That you are a very talented balloon artist?" Dusk replied shrugging, as clueless as ever, not understanding the hint Pinkie Pie was giving to him.

As soon as Dusk responded, Pinkie Pie put on a face of defeat while the foal shape balloon deflated and flew through the kitchen. Then Dusk returned to what mattered and left the kitchen to go after Apple Bloom.

"He's definitely too naive..." Pinkie Pie said, looking at her balloon double and bursting it with a needle that she pulled out of her mane, then she looked at the figure of balloons that she had made of Dusk. "Hmm... I think I'll keep you." Pinkie Pie added with a smile, taking her balloon-Dusk to her room with a smile.

For his part, Dusk was surprised when he went to the main room of Sugarcube Corner, the whole room was full of ponies, many adults but mainly fillies and young colts, making it difficult for Dusk to find Apple Bloom in that sea of ponies, however, after looking for a while, he finally could locate her, she was in a corner of the room, totally paralyzed. Dusk pushed his way through the ponies and finally reached her.

"What's going on?" Dusk asked, worried after seeing that Apple Bloom was pale, with a sad look.

"I... I found Twist, she... she's not a blank flank like me anymore..." Apple Bloom replied sadly, seeing that her last hope had vanished. "She got her cutie mark this afternoon."

"And did she abandon you because you don't have one?" Dusk asked worriedly.

"No, she said we could be together, but everyone around her started asking her about her new cutie mark, and I felt uncomfortable, so I left her." Apple Bloom answered, head down, almost on the verge of crying. "The best thing is that I go home before Diamond Tiara sees me."

While Apple Bloom was lamenting, Dusk saw out of the corner of his eye a pony he knew, a filly with white fur and curly hair, it was Sweetie Belle, who walked with a childish but elegant party dress. At that moment Dusk's eyes shone, finally finding the solution to Apple Bloom's problem.

"Don't leave! Wait here, I'll be back soon." Dusk said giving a warm smile to Apple Bloom to comfort her and then turning around to go where Sweetie Belle was going.

"Sweetie Belle, wait!" Dusk said catching up to Sweetie Belle, so that she could hear him and stop.

"Oh, Hi Dusk!" Sweetie Belle said with a big smile.

"Sweetie Belle, do you remember what we talked about making friends? How they are important in one's life and how I wanted to introduce you to a filly your age, so you could become friends?" Dusk said a little agitated but smiling to see that he would finally achieve his goal, to make the fillies become friends.

"Yes, I remember it, I thought about what you said, and I think you're right, it's important to have friends." Sweetie Belle said with a smile, while those words eased Dusk's heart. "That's why I became friends with Diamond Tiara."

"You… WHAT!?" Dusk said totally incredulous of what he had just heard.





'Sweetie Belle's flashback. (A few minutes before)'

"Nice dress." Diamond Tiara said with her always arrogant look.

"Hmm... thanks, my sister made it for me." Sweetie Belle replied with a shy smile, surprised that Diamond Tiara was being nice to her.

The truth was that Sweetie Belle had decided to go to the cute-ceañera party with a dress to avoid having to show that she was still a blank flank, so she would not receive jokes from the other ponies, especially from friends of Diamond Tiara, however nothing prepared her when she discovered that the dress Rarity made for her had the opposite effect, not only she was able to avoid taunts from Diamond Tiara, but she attracted compliments from her! As soon as Sweetie Belle entered Sugarcube Corner, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon approached her to admire her dress.

"Those emeralds that are embedded make your eyes stand out." Silver Spoon said, as always, also admiring what Diamond Tiara admired.

"Yeah, after all, she's Rarity's sister, Mom says she's the best seamstress in all of Ponyville." Diamond Tiara said without taking her eyes off Sweetie Belle's dress. "Obviously you can't compare her designs with the fine and expensive dresses created in Canterlot, but I guess they are good enough for Mom to wear them here." Diamond Tiara added, with her always scathing tongue, without Sweetie Belle realizing that false compliment.

At that time Diamond Tiara stopped seeing the dress and stared at Sweetie Belle, which made the little unicorn a bit nervous.

"You know, it's a very pretty dress, I guess you're worthy to walk with us today." Diamond Tiara said with a smug smile.

"Really?" Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon asked at the same time.

"That's great! I'll show you our best friend hooveshake!" Silver Spoon added quickly, happy that her friend allowed another filly to enter her group. Then she stood next to Diamond Tiara and made a few steps in the air, stretching her hooves on the air and waiting for Diamond Tiara to do the same. "Bump! Bump! Sugar-lump, rump!"

"Yeah, yeah… later we'll see that..." Diamond Tiara said without accompanying her friend with the steps of the hooveshake and belittling her, focusing again on Sweetie Belle and giving her a big and false smile. "Now, since we're friends... What if you ask your sister to make us some dresses like the one you're wearing?"

"Eh?" Sweetie Belle asked confused at the question.

"Well, we're friends, and friends make gifts for each other, don't they?" Diamond Tiara said smiling. "So we three can wear those beautiful dresses and be the most envied mares of the whole town, you two after me, of course."

Sweetie Belle bit her lip for a moment, not sure what to do, but then she remembered her morning with Dusk and how he had insisted so much on the importance of friendship, and now that a filly her age was asking her to be her friend, Dusk would say that the right thing to do would be to give her a chance, right?

"I... I think so, you're right." Sweetie Belle replied with a nervous smile. "I'll go ask my sister if she can make two more dresses."

Then Sweetie Belle turned around and immediately began to look for her sister, because even though she had arrived on her own, she knew that Rarity would be there, since Pinkie Pie had invited her.

Finally, after a while searching, Sweetie Belle found her sister, elegantly taking fruit punch in a corner, talking to Fluttershy. At that time Sweetie Belle bit her lip again, as she remembered that there was another problem, she could not just go to her sister and ask her to make her some dresses, after everything she had done to her older sister that morning, Rarity must have been furious with her. That made Sweetie Belle stop and look back, where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon watched her from afar, their stares fixed and a fake smirk on their faces. Finally Sweetie Belle swallowed and decided that she had nothing to lose by asking Rarity, and what would be worse to lose her only chance to make new friends.

"Uhmm... Hi Rarity." Sweetie Belle said timidly once she got to her sister.

"You! How dare you appear like that!? We have a lot to discuss! Like about how you made me look ridiculous in front of my beloved Dusk!" Rarity said theatrically, looking angrily at her little sister.

"Yes, I... I'm so sorry, I think I exaggerated a bit with my revenge." Sweetie Belle said with her ears drooping, leaving aside the performances and genuinely expressing her regret.

"Hmpf!" Rarity snorted, looking annoyed to another side.

"Uhmm... Rarity, I... I made some new friends." Sweetie Belle said timidly, knowing what Rarity would answer, but determined to ask anyway. "They... they asked me if you could make them dresses similar to mine..."

"First you make fun of me all morning and now you want me to make some dresses for your friends!? Hmpf!" Rarity said annoyed, huffing again, just looking at her sister for a second and then averting her look again.

At that moment, Sweetie Belle lowered her head sadly and turned around, after all she knew that Rarity would not be willing to do that, after how badly she had treated her that morning...

"They will be ready in three days." Rarity said suddenly, causing Sweetie Belle to freeze and turn to see her sister again, who was still looking at her angrily.

"You... Are you going to do it? After everything I did to you, will you do it?" Sweetie Belle asked confused and excited.

Rarity saw the genuine emotion in her sister's eyes and could not help but stop looking at her so severely.

"Huff... Of course I will, you are my little sister, and I want you to have friends and be happy." Rarity said sighing and smiling slightly but warmly. "Sometimes you drive me crazy and make me angry with you a lot, but you're my little sister, and I'll always love you."

Listening to Rarity's words, Sweetie Belle could not help but shed a few tears and jump to her sister's hooves to embrace her with all her affection and express what she truly felt for her sister, because what her sister had said as well she felt it, many times Rarity was annoying, carefree and self-centered, which made her annoyed with Rarity, but the truth was that Rarity was a very good sister, the best sister in the world! And Sweetie Belle wanted to let her know with her warm hug.

"I'll tell it to my new friends!" Sweetie Belle said with a huge smile after hugging Rarity.

"Okay, go with them." Rarity replied smiling, happy to have made peace with her little sister, but knowing that by the strong character of both it was inevitable to fight among them, and that this would probably not be the last time. As good sisters, they would always argue, but they would also always reconcile.

That's how Sweetie Belle started walking back to where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were, until Dusk's familiar voice stopped her.

'End of Flashback.'





"Yes, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon liked my dress very much, and they asked me if Rarity could make them similar dresses, now we'll be friends!" Sweetie Belle said, still smiling at Dusk's incredulous look. "They are waiting for me, see you!" Sweetie Belle added, saying goodbye to Dusk and started going again.

"She became a friend of Diamond Tiara... that... it's good that she has a friend, but this doesn't convince me..." Dusk thought confused, not moving from where he was, thinking that he would have preferred Sweetie Belle to become friends with Apple Bloom, but he could not force her to stop being Diamond Tiara's friend just so she could meet Apple Bloom. The whole situation had left him very confused, while many thoughts filled his head about what would be the right thing to do.

"Psst!" Dusk heard a whisper, coming from behind him, which made him turn around to see who was calling him, but behind him there was only one table.

"Psst! Down here!" Again the noise was heard, followed by a childish voice. Then Dusk ducked a little to see who was calling him, it was then that Dusk saw that under the table, partially hidden by the tablecloth, it was Scootaloo, who was looking attentively at Dusk.

"Scootaloo, what are you doing under there?" Dusk asked a little worried.

"I... I came to the party, as I promised you." Scootaloo answered a little nervously.

"But why are you hiding under the table?" Dusk asked, raising the tablecloth to see Scootaloo better.

"I... I'm comfortable here." Scootaloo replied, going back even more to be seen by no one but Dusk Shine.

Dusk saw the concern in the face of the little pegasus and decided not to continue insisting, however he continued to see her with a worried face. Seeing the energetic Scootaloo becoming so shy in the presence of Diamond Tiara bothered him, Dusk wanted the little pegasus to show all her personality, that she showed when she was with him, and so she could make friends. He was sure that Scootaloo could get it, but not while she didn’t get rid of the fear of being molested by Diamond Tiara.

"That filly only brings problems..." Dusk thought annoyed, turning his eyes to the room, thinking of Diamond Tiara. "Scootaloo is as afraid as Apple Bloom to meet with Diamond Tiara, if only my advice about friendship would be more useful, but the only thing I did was make everything worse... Maybe... I'm not good at giving advice about friendship..." Dusk finished thinking sadly.

At that moment the flow of thoughts had stopped after seeing the culprit of everything, the filly of the day, Diamond Tiara, seemed to be giving an order to Sweetie Belle, because the little white unicorn moved away from her towards the table with desserts, something that immediately annoyed Dusk, who could not stand that the sweet Sweetie Belle was being used as a servant by that bully. However, Dusk quickly went from anger to fear, seeing that Diamond Tiara suddenly put on a wicked smile and told her friend Silver Spoon to look towards one of the corners of the room, Dusk followed the view of both fillies and saw that both fillies had fixed their gaze on Apple Bloom, who was still standing exactly where Dusk had left her. The two spoiled fillies began to walk towards Apple Bloom with sinister smiles, then Dusk also began to move to get to Apple Bloom before them and prevent them from bothering her again.

"Well, well, look who's here." Diamond Tiara said smiling, who unfortunately arrived to Apple Bloom before Dusk. "It surprises me that you have appeared at my party, blank flank, hahaha."

Apple Bloom, who was caught by surprise at the sudden presence of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, only blushed and tried to retreat as much as she could, despite being cornered.

"Poor thing, I guess that flank is never going to get a cutie-" Silver Spoon said, mocking Apple Bloom like her friend, but stopped suddenly, putting a surprised face and bringing her head a little closer to Apple Bloom's flank.

"What's up Silver Spoon?" Diamond Tiara asked confused to see that her friend had stopped bothering Apple Bloom.

"She... She has a cutie mark." Silver Spoon replied, still trying to see the flank of Apple Bloom well, since as Apple Bloom was cornering, she did not show her flank well.

"EH!?" Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom said in unison, both looking towards where Silver Spoon looked.

This was how both fillies saw a white spot on the flank of Apple Bloom, which surprised everyone. Immediately Apple Bloom glanced at her other flank and looked back again, further hiding the flank that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did not see, quickly understanding what had happened. What both bullies were looking at was not a cutie mark, but a flour stain that had remained on her from when she and Pinkie Pie made cupcakes, but of course, that stain was only on one side, so Apple Bloom secretly hid her clean flank.

"What is that? A cloud? A stain? What does your cutie mark represent!?" Diamond Tiara asked annoyed, suspecting that something was not right.

"I... I can't say, I mean, not today at least." Apple Bloom responded nervously but quickly acting to pretend she was calm. "You know, Twist also got her cutie mark today, she already overshadowed you enough, can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for you if I also explained the incredible meaning of my great cutie mark? It would be very embarrassing."

Before the astute comment of Apple Bloom, who knew how to hit the spot when attacking the vanity of Diamond Tiara. The pink filly bit her lip and became very nervous.

"N-No matter, I'm not interested in knowing about your silly cutie mark anyway." Diamond Tiara said nervously and annoyed, turning her back on Apple Bloom and walking back towards the center of the room, followed by Silver Spoon who was always close.

"Phew! That was close." Apple Bloom said, wiping away the sweat after the two bullies had moved away from her.

"Phew! That was close." Dusk Shine said at the same time, who was not far from Apple Bloom and had reached to see and hear everything, relieved that the little Apple Bloom was unscathed.

"Phew! That was close." Applejack also said at the same time, next to Dusk.

"Applejack! Since when did you get here?" Dusk asked surprised, only realizing that all that time his friend had been at his side.

"I came here as soon as I saw that annoying brat going to bother my little sister." Applejack answered with a sigh. "I knew that Diamond Tiara was going to approach her just to annoy her, fortunately everything went well."

At Applejack's comment, Dusk could not help but smile when he realized that he had not been the only one to notice the bad intentions of the pink filly, and he smiled even more at the sharpness of Applejack's older sister's instinct.

"Isn’t this ridiculous? All this happening over a silly cutie mark." Dusk said scratching his head. "That filly shouldn't bother Apple Bloom for not having one, and Apple Bloom shouldn't worry about not having one yet, it's all absurd!"

"Well, it's partly true, but it's not like the cutie marks are not important either." Applejack said, thinking and noticing some disdain from Dusk when he talked about the cutie marks.

"I didn't say that, I'm just saying that a cutie mark is not something that should define you, even I-" Dusk answered quickly, but stopped when he realized that he was going to say something that Applejack did not need to hear.

"You what...? Maybe you... Don't you like your cutie mark?" Applejack asked confused, noticing immediately the nervousness in Dusk.

"I... I wouldn’t say that..." Dusk answered slowly, knowing it was useless to lie to Applejack.

Then Dusk glanced at his own cutie mark and sighed as he remembered what he had heard that morning at the town school.

"Today, when I went to see Apple Bloom at school, I heard how her teacher explained the meaning of her cutie mark." Dusk said looking at nothing with a slightly disturbed look. "She... she was so clear about what symbolized her cutie mark, it was very nice to hear. Even when I see your cutie mark, I can immediately determine what your talent is, what you're passionate about, your tastes... But not all of us have that advantage."

"You don't know what your cutie mark means?" Applejack asked a little surprised.

"Not exactly, historically the stars symbolize magic, but I hate not being able to know what it means, specifically the five stars surrounding the larger one, I mean, most of the time the cutie marks are a unique drawing, like Rainbow Dash’s or the princesses, or they come in a pattern of three, like yours, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy." Dusk responded slightly bitter. "It has always bothered me that I don’t know why there are five stars, they can symbolize the five kinds of magic, or perhaps the five basic skills to invoke a spell, who knows, the truth is that I have never been clear about it, and that has always been frustrating."

"But when you got your cutie mark, don't you remember any hint that indicated it more clearly?" Applejack asked still surprised, since it was the first time she heard someone talking about their cutie mark without smiling.

"Hehe... That's the funniest thing." Dusk answered with a bitter smile. "The way I got it... despite everything my parents and the princess said about demonstrating great magical potential, I know the truth, the truth is that it was just an accident."

Applejack looked confused at Dusk and thought to ask him more details about the origin of his cutie mark, but Dusk continued speaking before she could ask.

"And the pink star in the center... Why did it have to be precisely THAT star?" Dusk said mumbling and frowning, talking more to himself than with Applejack, finally venting what bothered him the most about his cutie mark. "Everyone says that cutie marks are unique, but then why do I have to have a cutie mark equal to HIM!?"

Applejack could not quite hear what Dusk said, as Dusk spoke under his breath, but she was surprised to see Dusk's annoyed face. She thought to ask him if something was wrong, but a sudden noise coming from the corner of the room made her and Dusk and all the ponies in the room see where the noise had come from. There, everyone could see that the noise had been from the fruit punch bowl, which had fallen to the floor, just over Apple Bloom, who apparently had just passed by there and had tripped over the tablecloth of the table.

"I... I'm sorry-" Apple Bloom apologized timidly, before being abruptly interrupted.

"Hahaha! Look at this everyone!" Diamond Tiara yelled, quickly approaching where Apple Bloom was. "You have no cutie mark! It was all a trick! This blank flank painted herself a fake cutie mark! Hahaha!"

Only then Apple Bloom looked at her flank and realized that the flour stain on her flank had been diluted when the juice fell on her. Then Apple Bloom bowed her head, completely blushed before receiving the taunts from Diamond Tiara and feeling the view of everyone present fixed on her blank flank.

"Hahaha, I would really be ashamed to be you right now, haha!" Silver Spoon scoffed, approaching Apple Bloom and giving more taunts with her friend.

"Those little brats!" Dusk said in a whisper, who like everyone else, had been watching and listening to the whole scene, not far from where the fillies were.

While Dusk listened, his anger grew when he saw Apple Bloom being the victim of those bullies that harassed her. At one point he took a step forward, ready to approach and stop the fillies that abused Apple Bloom, however a hoof stretched to his side and stopped him, it was the hoof of Applejack, who was next to him and stopped him.

"Give her space, she'll solve it, I know she will." Applejack said firmly.

Dusk turned to see Applejack and listened to her, since in his opinion these taunts were too much, however Dusk stopped to see Applejack's face, who had her brow completely frowning and her teeth clenched, containing her anger to the fullest. Only then Dusk realized that if it was difficult for him to see this situation, it was much more difficult for Applejack, who saw how the bullies made fun of her pretty little sister, however the mare struggled with herself to see how her sister reacted and waited for her to defend herself against those bullying. That gave strength to Dusk to stop and continue to see how everything developed, waiting for Apple Bloom to defend herself, but ready to jump in her defense if she didn’t do it or if the taunts reached an unsustainable point.

"L-Leave me alone..." Apple Bloom said timidly.

"Leave you alone? Why? Don't you want to be with us? I thought we were friends." Diamond Tiara said, speaking loudly for everyone to hear, pretending to be offended but unable to hide her mocking laugh.

"Friends? Who would want to be friends with a blank flank like her?" Silver Spoon said, walking near Apple Bloom and looking at her with contempt.

"I guess you're right." Diamond Tiara replied smiling derisively, continuing with her performance and speaking loudly to capture the attention of her audience. "But who knows, maybe I'll show her some generosity and allow her to join us..."

Then Diamond Tiara came closer to Apple Bloom, until they were face to face, looking at her with the same mocking smile as always, all the while Apple Bloom cringed on nerves.

"Look at all the ponies here, nopony wants to be your friend, even less after knowing that you are not only a blank flank, but also a liar." Diamond Tiara said, staring perversely at Apple Bloom "But I'll give you a chance, say you're an useless blank flank and I'll let you join us, maybe you'll be useful for errands."

"Oh, Tiara, you're so generous!" Silver Spoon said, flattering her friend exaggeratedly for everyone to hear her. "Obviously she'll accept, after all we are so good at accepting a blank flank with no friends in our group."

At Silver Spoon's final comment, Apple Bloom trembled at the realization of how she was being manipulated, and despite how cruel they were being, they were right, after all she was just a simple blank flank that did not have any friends. And Apple Bloom was not the only one who trembled at the comment of Silver Spoon, so did Dusk Shine, who immediately realized that the advice he gave Apple Bloom could be harmful, since he remembered that he had told her that it was important to have friends and it was not good to be alone, if Apple Bloom remembered what he had said that day, she could accept and be making a huge mistake. That filled Dusk with fear and guilt.

At that moment, Apple Bloom lowered her head, with a nervous and thoughtful look, she was not sure what to do. Was it true what they said? Nopony else would want to be her friend? If that was true, then would it be better to accept? Would it be better to join them, so they would not bother her? To join them even though they would never consider her as a real friend? But the alternative was...

"I... I don't want to be alone..." Apple Bloom finally said, raising her head slowly, with a sad look, ready to put aside her pride. "I…"

While Apple Bloom raised her head, she saw Dusk Shine, who stood out from the crowd since he was taller than the mares and fillies present, who were the majority in the room. As she did so, the looks of her and Dusk crossed for a second.

"Don't do it!" Dusk thought as they looked at each other, feeling that Apple Bloom was going to give in. "I know I told you that making friends was important, but I don't want you to lose your dignity because of me!"

"A pony I know, told me how important it is to have friends..." Apple Bloom said after looking at Dusk. While Dusk trembled, knowing what was going to happen. "But that same pony told me that friendship shouldn't be forced, that it should be born to share and to want the best for the other, not for selfish things as you want!" Apple Bloom said that last one almost shouting, full of determination.

At the words of Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were stunned, not waiting for her to say that, but none of them was as surprised as Dusk, who was not only surprised by the determination of Apple Bloom, but by listening to those words about friendship, something he had told her about false friendships when he remembered about his past, something that he had almost forgotten that he had told Apple Bloom.

"If it's going to be a false friendship, I'd rather be alone!" Apple Bloom added, finally facing Diamond Tiara, making her even take a step backwards by the impression.

"S-So do you really think that? Okay, if you want to stay alone, you're going to be left alone!" Diamond Tiara responded very angry, turning to see the crowd of fillies, her own classmates, who watched the scene attentively. "Do any of you want to be a friend of this blank flank? Come on! Does anyone want to be friends with this fool?"

The young colts and fillies of the hall only lowered their heads, without saying anything, because everyone knew Diamond Tiara very well, and none of them wanted to expose themselves to be her new mockery. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom also looked at her classmates, and could not help but feel alone to see that none of them came to her aid or said anything.

"You see, for rejecting me, you'll be completely alone, nopony wants to be your friend!" Diamond Tiara said looking back at Apple Bloom mockingly but being interrupted unexpectedly.

"I will! I-I'll be her friend!" Scootaloo said suddenly, coming out from under the table where she was hiding. In doing so, the crowd unconsciously opened to see who had spoken, leaving a space in the room so that Scootaloo could walk and get to where the center of the discussion was, something she did very timidly, walking slowly towards them. While she was advancing, she saw how everyone's eyes focused on her, especially the gaze of Diamond Tiara, who, as she watched her approaching, smiling more mockingly.

"You want to be her friend? Don't make me laugh!" Diamond Tiara said sharply, causing Scootaloo to stop when she was almost on the verge of reaching where Apple Bloom was. "Do you know what I'll do if you become her friend?" Diamond Tiara added intimidatingly looking at the little pegasus, already knowing how to handle her, after all she had already mocked her other times.

Scootaloo started to lower her head, slowly regretting having come out to defend that yellow filly named Apple Bloom, but as she did so, she caught a glimpse of Dusk Shine, who was also watching her intently.

"A... A pony told me that I must be brave and face bullies, and that's what I'll do." Scootaloo said raising her head again and looking at Diamond Tiara with determination, finally taking courage to face that filly that bothered her, and thus finally demonstrating her strong and true personality.

"Wait a second... I told her that!?" Dusk thought surprised, remembering that he had said that to her, and almost forgot about it after thinking that the only thing he was doing for the little pegasus was to force her to receive taunts from her bully.

"You're just a bully filly who enjoys making fun of others! You will not intimidate me anymore!" Scootaloo added, finally approaching where Apple Bloom were and standing next to her, staring fiercely at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "In fact, if you mess with her then you'll have to mess with me!"

Seeing Scootaloo's fierce stare, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon could not help but panic another bit and take another step back. Meanwhile, the room stopped being so quiet, because the other young colts and fillies began to whisper among themselves, all amazed to see how someone finally faced Diamond Tiara.

"I-I don't care what you say about me!" Diamond Tiara screamed furiously. "You're just two pathetic ponies without a cutie mark or a special talent, you're just a couple of blank flanks!"

"Actually, I think we are three." Sweetie Belle suddenly said, who came out from behind Diamond Tiara, passed by her side, and stood next to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, all while Diamond Tiara looked at her in total astonishment.

"Are you going to abandon me for these two fools!?" Diamond Tiara said looking angrily at Sweetie Belle, not believing what she saw.

At that moment Sweetie Belle looked sideways at Dusk, who in turn noticed the look of the filly.

"Somepony told me that to make friends, you need to know the right pony, and now I'm sure you aren’t the right pony." Sweetie Belle replied, realizing that making friends did not imply making friends with anyone.

"I... I told her that, too!" Dusk thought surprised when he heard what Sweetie Belle had said. He had been so focused on his plan to bring the three fillies together which didn’t work out, and that his speeches about friendship hadn’t helped much, that he had been sure that everything he had done with the fillies had been wrong. But now he saw with relief and a little pride that despite everything, the fillies had paid attention to him, even to details that he had said almost out of inertia, without realizing how he was helping the little fillies with his advice, although they wouldn’t have admitted it at the time. "I... I am learning about friendship!" Dusk finished thinking, happy to realize that maybe he was worthy to continue learning and preaching in turn about the magic of friendship.

"I prefer to be friends with someone who knows what is right and someone who defends their friends..." Sweetie Belle added, who immediately took off her dress quickly and showed everyone present her flanks while looking at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. "I'm also a blank flank, I think I have more in common with you two than with Tiara."

"Enough! This is my cute-ceañera! And no one will humiliate me in it!" Diamond Tiara yelled totally furious. "Two, three, ten, it doesn't matter, you are all still blank flanks, you're worthless! No, you're worse than that, you are nothing! Because you don't have any special talent!"

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were a little scared to see Diamond Tiara so furious, but none of them hesitated or moved from where they were, because although now they were shouted and mocked by the same bully that had bothered them before, now they were not alone, now the three knew that they had each other and that between the three they could support each other.

"I wouldn’t say they’re worthless, I would say that they’re the luckiest ponies out of those who are present here." Dusk said suddenly, who felt that it was the right moment to act, after all, the little pink filly did not notice, but she had already been defeated by the three blank flank fillies.

"Lucky!? How can they be lucky?!" Diamond Tiara said angry and ready to make fun, who, like everyone in the room, had turned to see Dusk Shine.

"They still get to experience, the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be." Dusk said, saying the speech in which he had thought while he realized that all the taunts of Diamond Tiara focused on the lack of cutie marks. "Having a blank flank means that they are full of potential, it means they could be great at anything, the possibilities are endless! And they aren't stuck with a mark, just like me and just like YOU, because we already have our cutie marks."

Dusk’s speech left Diamond Tiara speechless, and at the same time that was a psychic impulse for the rest of young colts and fillies of the hall to approach the three blank flank fillies and talk happily with them, asking them about what they would like to do or how far they thought they could reach in their goals, all talking happily, without fear of being scared by the smug pink filly, who was only still, red with anger, not knowing what to do or what to say.

While the three blank flank fillies were the new center of attention, the five friends of Dusk, who were all present and had not had the opportunity to get together at the party, joined Dusk to talk about what happened. There Dusk learned that for a long time Applejack and Rarity had wanted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to meet, however as the fillies had refused, they decided to wait and not force them, after all they wanted the friendship between their sisters to be born spontaneously, just as the friendship between them was born.

"It's true, the best thing is for a friendship to be born naturally, but it doesn't hurt to give it a little nudge..." Dusk thought remembering that finally a small part of the whole talk about the friendship he had with each of the fillies had helped each one see a truth about friendship. Dusk also realized that this time he had acted very much like his teacher had, since the princess had also given him a push to make friends by forcing him to go to Ponyville, however it was finally his decision to form friendships there. "I guess you can only give a push, then you just have to trust the good heart of the ponies, hoping that those like-minded hearts get to know each other, understand, and make friends on their own." Dusk thought as he saw the three blank flank fillies chatting happily with each other.

Just at that moment, the three fillies that Dusk watched, turned at the same time and were smiling to where he was with his friends.

"Dusk! So these were the ones you wanted me to meet?" Apple Bloom asked with bright eyes.

"That's right." Dusk answered nodding. "I’ve been trying to get you three together all day, but I guess it was in vain, after all it seems that you three were destined to meet here."

"If I had known we were so similar, I wouldn't have put so much trouble into making friends." Scootaloo said smiling happily. "We three still haven’t got our cutie marks, and we three were going crazy with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"That's why we decided we wanted to be more than just friends!" Sweetie Belle added, also smiling. "We'll make our own secret society!"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" The three fillies said at the same time, all smiling happily.

"What?" Dusk asked with a somewhat confused smile.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders! It's a group that works together to find out who we are and what we want to do." Sweetie Belle responded excitedly.

"In other words, that's mean..." Dusk said, summarizing what Sweetie Belle had said.

"A group made to look for our cutie mark!" Scootaloo said, interrupting Dusk emotionally before he finished speaking.

Upon hearing that, Dusk could not help but take a hoof to his face in frustration, because despite everything that happened and after his great speech, they were still stubborn in giving too much importance to the fact that they still didn’t have a cutie mark. Dusk moved his hoof from his face and thought to argue with them, however, seeing them smile so happily, talking to each other about all the things they could do together, Dusk just gave a big sigh of resignation and smiled, thinking that perhaps, in spite of everything, it was a good idea that they had a club and accompanied each other in different adventures, after all, this club would greatly strengthen their new friendship.

"Dusk..." Apple Bloom said suddenly, taking Dusk out of his thoughts. "I was thinking, do you remember saying that there were three ways to get a cutie mark? First there were the 'talent' cutie marks, then there were the 'personality' cutie marks, but then, what is the third type of cutie mark?"

"Oh, that! I thought you hadn't paid attention to me." Dusk smiled, again entering 'teacher mode'. "Well, the third type of cutie mark are the most unusual, and frankly it's based on something I didn’t believe in, at least, until I got to Ponyville." At that moment Dusk glanced at his friends, who were behind him accompanying him. "The third type of cutie mark is a 'destiny' type, that means that somepony who doesn't discover a special talent, nor do they have a characteristic personality that dictates their cutie mark, rather it's chance or destiny that makes a cutie mark appear, meaning that the pony has a great destiny to follow, dictated by that cutie mark. The truth is, they are very rare, usually only appear in very special ponies, like those of royalty, a good example of this are the princesses."

"Oh... So getting our cutie mark that way is out of the question." Apple Bloom said looking at her friends after Dusk's explanation.

"That doesn't matter, anyway I still prefer doing what we had planned." Sweetie Belle replied smiling.

"Yes! Do EVERYTHING to discover our special talent!" Scootaloo said excitedly, completing what Sweetie Belle was going to say.

"Well, there's no time to lose, let's go!" Apple Bloom shouted excited, starting to run to the door with her two new friends, ready to have different adventures with them.

While Dusk watched the three fillies go away cheerfully, he could not help but continue to think about the group they had formed, and about the mission they had set together.

"They'll be great friends, I can feel it." Dusk thought smiling, watching the fillies move away. "No matter how hard I tried, it's as if fate would have wanted them to meet here and now, all so that their friendship would be born strong from the beginning..."

"It may be by chance, but I prefer to think that they were meant to be friends since childhood... That would be nice." Dusk thought as he turned around and looked at his friends with a smile, who smiled back. "I would’ve liked to have that special bond with my friends and that we would have been destined to meet when we were younger..."

So, Dusk smiled at his five friends, forgetting all his worries, like the hidden meaning of the five stars surrounding the big star on his cutie mark, but sooner or later he would discover that fate had another surprise for him, one that was born with his cutie mark and one that would’ve kept him confused forever, if it weren’t for the five mares that were standing in front of him, his five friends, his five stars.

# End of chapter 26
> Chapter 27 - A Wild Beast Sleeps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Wild Beast Sleeps

Lying on her bed, while the rays of the morning sun pass through the window and shines on her body warmly was Fluttershy, totally immersed in reading a book that Rarity had lent her. The book was an adventure about a pony princess from a very distant kingdom, which was mysteriously abducted, leaving the whole kingdom mired in sadness and chaos, where only a humble peasant was the only one brave enough to go and rescue the princess, of which he was secretly in love with.

At first, Fluttershy had timidly read the book, knowing that it was just an adventure and that the protagonist would have to face terrible situations that made her very nervous when reading it, however, as Rarity herself had told her when she borrowed the book, nothing very terrible happened in the story, in fact the protagonist had rarely fought in the whole story, he only used his words or his cunning skills to get ahead, which made Fluttershy even more interested in the book, making her read it without fear of being scared. This is how Fluttershy read the book all afternoon yesterday, and she was so caught by the story, that it took a lot of effort for her to finally stop reading that night and finally go to sleep, however the first thing she did when she woke up that day, it was to take the book again and read the last pages that were left pending, right at the climax of the story:

"...the poor 'Rusty Sword' was in the middle of the ruins of the old castle, after having evaded countless traps, cheating the mercenaries who had kidnapped the princess, and having passed the gates hidden among herds of strange creatures, he had finally found what he was looking for: There, in the middle of the huge ruins, was his beloved princess, as beautiful as ever, reclining on a huge pedestal.

Rusty Sword ran to where the princess lay, but stopped to suddenly hear a terrifying growl. He turned around and finally came face to face with the one who in the darkness of the night had kidnapped the beautiful princess, a huge creature, with silver-shiny scales, huge fangs, and fierce eyes that..."

"Nooo!" Fluttershy screamed in fright, slamming the book shut.

That was the problem why Fluttershy could never finish an adventure book, she immerses herself so much in the story that each time the protagonist confronts a monster, she is unable to continue reading out of fear of seeing the protagonist in a dangerous and certainly deadly situation, and although she knew that adventure books usually had happy endings, she was not able to withstand the stress of climax’s, where the protagonist seemed to be in a dead-end situation, and this book didn’t seemed to be an exception, because with the description of the monster she had just read, she already knew what the poor 'Rusty Sword' would face, since there was only such a terrifying creature with that terrible appearance.

"A D-Dragon..." Fluttershy thoughtfully whispered out loud, closing her eyes as an old memory came to her mind, where she was in a dark cave where only fearsome red eyes could be seen, and a sinister and dismal laugh was heard, which made Fluttershy shiver and shake her head to forget that terrible memory. "That will not happen... This is just a story, just a story!"

Finally, Fluttershy built up her courage and opened the book again to continue reading, since she knew that she had to overcome that foolish fear, because otherwise she could never reach the happy ending of any story. That's how Fluttershy went back to accompany 'Rusty Sword' in his adventure, and read nervously when the hero ran through the halls of the old castle, trying to escape the ferocious jaws of the huge dragon, and when it seemed that 'Rusty Sword' had no way out and Fluttershy would stop reading again out of fear of what will happen to the hero, the brave peasant of the story made the dragon hit the last column of the huge room, causing the entire roof of the great hall to fall on the unsuspecting dragon, only then Fluttershy understood that 'Rusty Sword' had not been running aimlessly, but he had cleverly been making the dragon himself strike the pillars of the roof and so the dragon buried himself in his own grave.

Fluttershy had been so tense reading the confrontation with the dragon, that now she was no longer lying on her bed, but was sitting on it, with her face pressed against the book. And in that way she continued reading, totally immersed in the story, finally reaching the end of this, where 'Rusty Sword' came to where the princess was, waking her up, and she, seeing her savior and recognizing in his eyes the kindness, courage and love that he possessed, approached him and finally, gave each other a deep kiss that bound their hearts for all eternity.

"Yay!!!" Fluttershy shouted again, this time screaming with happiness, falling back on her bed again, happy to see the noble hero finally achieve his goal, and rescued his beloved. "That kiss was perfect!" Fluttershy added, holding the book in her chest and looking up at the ceiling with her cheeks slightly blushed.

Fluttershy stared at the ceiling for a long time, smiling from ear to ear, happy for the happy fate of 'Rusty Sword'. Then she looked down and saw the sun through the window of her room.

"Oh no, it's too late!" Fluttershy said in surprise when realizing that she had spent a good part of the morning reading the book and that she had been late to do her homework.

Then Fluttershy rushed out of her house and walked to her garden, which in practice was all the meadow that surrounded her house. There were already many of her little animals awaiting her, who waited very impatiently for the kind pegasus to feed them, because although they could get their own food, they enjoyed the sweet voice and gentle caresses of their tender caregiver.

This is how Fluttershy began her laborious task of feeding the animals. First with the herbivores, like squirrels and rabbits, giving them nuts, dried fruits and tender leaves, a lot of food that she herself enjoyed sometimes. After that came the birds, fluttering among the treetops, waiting patiently for the pegasus to bring them the juiciest worms in the place.

"Slimy, yet satisfying..." Fluttershy thought as she spat the worms so that her birds could eat, remembering once when she had tried to taste a worm, a taste that had not displeased her as much as she thought while she had it in her mouth, but when she felt the worm move, she couldn’t help but throw up and swore to herself to never try something like that ever again.

Finally, Fluttershy left the task that was the most uncomfortable to the end. She went to the stream that passed by her house, and caught several trout’s that swam around, after all, although she was a herbivore, she had several carnivorous animals among her ranks, which, in spite of herself, had to eat meat to survive. Something to which she had already become accustomed, in fact she had even accustomed the bear, Harry, to only feed on fish and that his hunger for meat would not harm any of her animals. However, just having something alive in her snout made her feel uncomfortable, so she performed that unpleasant task at the end, and as quickly as possible.

Fluttershy took the fish to the otters and ferrets that lived under the bridge that crossed the stream, and gave it to them quickly, taking care not to show a face of disgust in front of the otters, after all, she understood that this was how nature worked. As soon as she did, the pegasus was ready to leave, since she didn’t like to see her animals eat meat, however she stayed still to see that this time one of the male otters did not eat the trout immediately, he only watched it while another supported it. Fluttershy prepared to ask the otter if there was a problem, but she couldn’t do it because the otter took the trout in his mouth and took a couple of jumps until he reached another otter, a female, who saw that the male otter came to her with a present, then the female otter could not help but blush.

"Aww... So cute... They’re in love." Fluttershy smiled tenderly to see how a new couple formed between their animals.

Seeing the two otters kissing each other with their noses, Fluttershy remembered how the hero of the story that she read, ‘Rusty Sword’, had also found love, passionately kissing his beloved princess, who had also fallen in love with her savior. At that moment Fluttershy unconsciously lifted one of her hooves and touched her lips as she remembered the kiss of the story.

"It must be nice when somepony falls in love with you and... kisses you..." Fluttershy thought as her cheeks blushed and she realized that by imagining herself in a romantic situation, the only face that came to mind was from a known lavender unicorn, the one who always made her heart speed up when she saw him.

"What am I thinking!?!" Fluttershy said thinking aloud, shaking her head while her cheeks were still flushed.

At that moment Fluttershy finally moved away from the otters and turned her eyes to the sky while she remembered what other tasks she had left to do that morning; however she was immediately distracted when she saw that a huge cloud of smoke was beginning to appear in a side of the sky. Fluttershy stared at the cloud of smoke, which was slowly getting bigger and was moving slowly but steadily from the mountains to the center of town.

"T-That's not good!" Fluttershy said nervously, fearing that this could be the product of some huge fire. "I must find help!"

Then Fluttershy started running towards Ponyille, because although she didn’t know what the problem was or how to solve it, she knew that there were ponies in the town who could solve it, the beings she trusted the most, her four eternal friends and her newest friend, the five ponies she trusted the most in the world and who would definitely listen to her and help her if that huge cloud of smoke was a sign of danger.





On the outskirts of Ponyville, all the ponies seemed to be very lively, strolling through the park, chatting among friends, playing, singing, each enjoying their own way that beautiful day, and the friends of Fluttershy were no exception. In the middle of the park were Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity, all looking at Rainbow Dash, who headed a purple ball repeatedly and trying not to lose balance while doing so.

"How much longer will you be bouncing that ball on your head?" Rarity asked, looking curiously at her friend, hoping not to distract her with that question.

"I just need two hundred and twelve more rebounds..." Rainbow Dash answered, still looking at the ball bouncing over her head.

"It turns out that Dusk lent her a record book." Applejack said looking at Rarity, knowing that her friend still didn’t understand what the pegasus was doing. "And Rainbow Dash decided it would be easy for her to break the equestrian record for the most bounces on the head with a ball, so she has been doing this all morning."

"By the way, where's Dusk? I want him to be here when I break the record!" Rainbow Dash added without losing her concentration but blushing slightly.

"I don't know, it's late, we were supposed to meet here." Applejack replied with a shrug.

While Rainbow Dash continued with her challenge, Fluttershy appeared running in the distance, looking everywhere trying to find her friends, a difficult task since just that morning the park was full of ponies. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief when she finally located her friends, relieved to have found them, since it would have been very difficult for her to explain to anypony else about the danger she had discovered, because she knew that her own shyness always played against her when she had to talk to somepony else about something, but fortunately she knew that her friends would listen to her and definitely believe her without hesitation.

Fluttershy ran to where her friends were, ready to warn them about what she had seen from her house.

"Um... Hi girls, I'm glad I found you, I-" Fluttershy began to speak hastily, with her normal tone of voice, soft and low volume.

"Oh, hello darling, how are you?" Rarity greeted kindly, unintentionally interrupting her friend. "Tell me, have you read the book I lent you?

"I, um... y-yes, I read it, but what I wanted to say is-" Fluttershy answered in vain trying to return to the matter that mattered to her, since she was interrupted again.

"Watch out! Make way!" Pinkie Pie said approaching where her friends were, along with a dozen ponies of the place.

"Why are there so many ponies?" Applejack asked confused.

"I, I-I need to warn you-" Fluttershy said timidly, without being heard and being interrupted again.

"I asked them to come closer!" Pinkie Pie responded to Applejack with a big smile, totally excited. "Rainbow Dash is about to break a world record! It's a historic event! The more public the better!"

"I was outside my house, until I saw-" Fluttershy continued speaking, without anypony hearing.

"Is it true that Rainbow Dash is going to break a record?" One of the mares that had approached with Pinkie Pie asked.

"There was a huge cloud of smoke that-" Fluttershy continued without being heard.

"Well, I'm not so sure." Applejack replied with a mischievous smile, approaching the mare who had asked her the question. "I think Rainbow Dash didn't read the part that said the record was bouncing a ball jumping on a leg, I would have told her, but it's my little revenge for the joke that she played on me the other day, hehe."

"The smoke came near the mountain-" Fluttershy was still talking, trying in vain to catch somepony's attention.

"So this record isn't historical but she thinks so? Hahaha! That's funny!" The mare and the other ponies that reached to hear what Applejack said laughed.

"Maybe it's a fire-" Fluttershy kept trying to make herself heard without result.

"That's right, but it's still an impressive achievement." Applejack added, again looking at Rainbow Dash, knowing that despite everything it was an amazing ability for Rainbow Dash to balance while bouncing a ball on her.

"Somepony should go to investigate and..." Fluttershy finally fell silent shyly to see that it was useless to talk, since no one paid attention to her, and everyone, including her friends, talked animatedly only about Rainbow Dash’s challenge.

Finally Fluttershy took a deep breath to try to speak louder and make herself heard, since what she had seen seemed to be an emergency and everyone should be aware of that, however this time she was interrupted before speaking.

"Could everypony keep it down please?! All the talking down there is distracting me!" Rainbow Dash shouted, who didn’t take her eyes off the bouncing ball, so she couldn’t see that now she was not alone with her friends, but there were dozens of ponies surrounding her and looking at her, yet she could only hear the murmurs that were around her, which made her lose concentration.

As soon as Rainbow Dash shouted, the audience around her fell silent, as did Fluttershy, who only gave a nervous look, as she wanted to warn everyone about the huge cloud of smoke she had seen, but she didn’t want to interrupt nor to decentralize her friend in what seemed to be something important to her. Thus, Fluttershy became discouraged, biting her lip nervously, looking away without knowing what to do, until suddenly she saw in the distance two figures that she knew well, a lavender unicorn with a small purple dragon, that raised Fluttershy's spirits again, since it seemed that Dusk would definitely listen to her.

The shy yellow pegasus ran away from the crowd that her friends had gathered and went to where Dusk Shine was coming, who was talking animatedly as he walked with his little dragon brother. As soon as Fluttershy got to Dusk, she stopped to greet him and warn him about what she had seen, but she stopped when she saw that just as she was arriving, Dusk and Spike burst out laughing, as if they had been joking just before she arrived.

"Hahaha! I really wish I had been there to see her face! Hahaha!" Dusk Shine said laughing while talking to Spike.

"Haha, yeah, that's the only bad thing about being here in Ponyville." Spike laughed loudly.

"Um... Hi Dusk, Hi Spike." Fluttershy said timidly, noticing that apparently neither of them had yet noticed her presence.

"Oh, hi Fluttershy, sorry, I didn't see you coming, hehe." Dusk said, waving and drying a tear of laughter.

"Dusk! Tell her, tell her!" Spike said covering his laughter with his claw. "Fluttershy wouldn’t tell anypony, hehe."

"Do you want to know why we were laughing so much?" Dusk asked with a smile, looking at Fluttershy.

"Eh, I... b-but-" Fluttershy replied nervously, since at any other time she would have been interested in that, but now there was something more important to talk about, however, as it was customary, she was interrupted again.

"We played a joke on Princess Celestia!" Spike said hastily, unable to stop himself from saying it.

"D-Did you make a joke to the princess?" Fluttershy asked surprised and a little scared. "H-How? Why? You guys... Did you go to Canterlot to make a joke?"

Dusk Shine and Spike looked at each other and their smiles slowly grew to fill their faces.

"It was not necessary to go to Canterlot." Dusk answered smiling, looking again at the pegasus.

"All thanks to this!" Spike added, showing what appeared to be a small notebook.

"What is that?" Fluttershy asked looking at the small notebook that Spike was holding.

"This is Princess Celestia's contact notebook, I found it by chance while I saw some old notebooks of mine that they sent from Canterlot." Dusk said smiling. "It turns out that sometimes the princess used to make me write her letters and send them to the nobles of the capital."

Fluttershy stared at Dusk confused, still not understanding where Dusk wanted to go.

"Today is the princess' day off, we know because she always takes a day off every four months to rest from all her tasks." Dusk added as he began to laugh when he remembered what he had done. "But today she'll be mysteriously busy, hahaha."

"We sent fake letters to all the names in the notebook to tell them that the princess had scheduled private audiences for them today!" Spike said again, unable to resist telling the great joke they had made. "So the princess will be totally surprised to see that she has all the nobles of Canterlot waiting to have an audience with her on her day off, hahaha!"

"Hahaha! Yeah, it's been a long time since I played a joke on the princess, it's best to keep the traditions, hahaha!" Dusk said also laughing.

Fluttershy stared at Dusk and Spike as they laughed, not knowing how to react, since making a joke to the princess seemed unforgivable, besides she thought it was a cruel thing to take away the rest day she had, although of course, Fluttershy didn’t know that that kind of jokes were normal for Dusk and the princess, because the princess has played worse jokes on Dusk at some point. Finally, Fluttershy shook all those thoughts about the joke to the princess, and remembered that she had something much more important than talking to Dusk.

"Dusk, I-I came to tell you something important." Fluttershy said putting a serious look. Dusk immediately saw his friend and knew that for Fluttershy to put that expression on, she was about to tell him something important, so he stopped laughing and looked at her closely. "I was outside my house feeding the prairie animals, when suddenly-"

"What the hay…?! What's that over there!?" Applejack shouted suddenly from the crowd that was watching Rainbow Dash, shouting with such a voice that even Dusk, Fluttershy and Spike looked towards where their country friend was.

Upon seeing Applejack, everyone saw that she was pointing to the sky, so everyone looked up to where she was pointing. There, everyone was surprised to see a large cloud of smoke that was growing slowly and was approaching through the sky in the direction of the town.

"What is that!?" Dusk asked, still seeing the huge cloud of smoke that appeared growing in the sky.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about, I-" Fluttershy began to speak timidly, unable to finish, since Dusk quickly trotted over to where her other friends were to see if any of them knew what that cloud of smoke was.

Both Spike and Fluttershy went to follow Dusk and joined their friends and the rest of the ponies who were there and who saw with fear that huge cloud of smoke, all except Rainbow Dash, who continued to bounce without stopping the ball on her head, although this time with more difficulty, since the cries of worry around her was starting to distract her.

"It's a huge cloud of smoke, but where did it come from? Is there a fire nearby?" Rarity said with a little concern, who like the rest of the ponies began to speculate about the origin of the smoke.

"For there to be so much smoke, it must be a huge fire... Did any of you see where it started to emerge?" Dusk asked when he arrived in the crowd.

"I-I think it's coming from the mountain that-" Fluttershy began to speak before being interrupted for the umpteenth time.

"Dusk arrived!?" Rainbow Dash asked excited, who had been enduring the distractions all that time, but as soon as she heard Dusk’s voice, she tried to look for him, and only that was enough for her to finally lose balance and drop the ball she had been bouncing all morning. "Noooo!" Rainbow Dash shouted desperate to see the ball fall next her aspirations to break a record.

Rainbow Dash was looking at the ball on the ground as if this had been a glass plate that had been shattered, with an expression of total disappointment, however, when lifting her head, she saw that everypony around her was looking towards the sky, so she did the same and she was equally surprised to see the great cloud of smoke growing in the sky.

"Wow, that's a lot of smoke..." Rainbow Dash said speaking to herself.

Then Rainbow Dash spread her wings and launched herself into the sky, flying swiftly to where the cloud of smoke came from, after all she thought that as captain of the weather team, it was her responsibility to know everything that was happening to the skies of Ponyville, although of course, she also did it to satisfy her curiosity. That's how Rainbow Dash quickly left the crowd, flew as high as she could in the direction of the smoke, and returned just as fast to where the crowd of ponies was with her friends.

"It seems that all that smoke comes from the Eastern Mountain." Rainbow Dash said to her friends once she landed next to them.

"Um... that... that's what I was trying to tell you..." Fluttershy said somewhat embarrassed, since finally she had not made herself heard and that now others are now warning her about what she already knew.

"From the mountain? Then, it's not a fire?" Dusk Shine said confused.

At that moment a huge roar was heard throughout the town, alerting all the ponies around while making the ponies tremble who saw the cloud of smoke, as everything indicated that the huge roar had come from the same place where the cloud of smoke came from.

"It can't be... I think it's a dragon..." Dusk said nervously, thinking aloud.

As soon as Dusk said that phrase, all the ponies around him began to murmur among themselves as fear grew rapidly among the crowd, causing the crowd to disperse because many ponies began to run scared back to their homes, however, among all that bustle, there was a pony that was eerily quiet and silent, it was Fluttershy, who upon hearing the terrible roar and then having heard the word 'dragon', she was completely paralyzed, becoming totally pale of fear while her mind traveled to one of her most terrifying memories, remembering some evil red eyes, huge fangs and an evil laugh.

While Fluttershy was paralyzed by absolute terror, Dusk began to think about what he should do in the face of such danger, because having a dragon nearby was an imminent danger, since if it was a wild dragon, this beast could eat any living creature, including ponies, and even if it were not one of those carnivorous dragons, a dragon that ate gems could similarly terrorize nearby villages and steal all jewels and valuable objects there; and finally, if the dragon only came to sleep, it would still be a danger, since the smoke caused by his snoring would definitely obscure the entire nearby sky, blocking the sun completely, which would leave Ponyville in complete darkness.

"Spike, write a note." Dusk Shine said after meditating. "I think the only option there is to tell the princess to send some squad of guards to face the dragon."

"I think someone has already overtaken you." Spike responded, pointing to the other side of the sky that was not yet dark with smoke.

As soon as Dusk saw where Spike was pointing, he understood what he meant. Just coming from Canterlot came a squadron of five pegasus of the royal guard, easily recognizable by their shiny golden armor. The squad of guards flew over Ponyville and looked as if they had just been looking for Dusk, they began to descend into the park on the outskirts of town, and landed right in front of Dusk and his friends.

"You're Dusk Shine, right?" One of the guards asked, who seemed to be the leader of the squadron.

Dusk narrowed his eyes briefly after hearing that question, because it bothered him that the guards did not know, or pretended to not know who he was, despite all the time he had lived in the castle, however that was not the best time to discuss.

"That's right, and I'm glad you came." Dusk said leaving his annoyance aside, relieved that the problem that was presented to them apparently would be solved faster than he had thought. "Surely the princess already heard about the dragon, I was just going to write her a letter to ask-"

"This letter is for you." The leader of the squadron said, interrupting Dusk and showing him a scroll, he was holding.

Dusk looked at the guard incredulously, then he took the scroll, and read it:

"Dear Dusk.

I have just been informed that a huge dragon has been sighted near Ponyville. Apparently, this dragon has decided to take a nap in a cave on the top of a mountain that is next to the town.

Needless to say, it is imperative to make the dragon move and sleep elsewhere, since its cycle of hibernation can vary from days to hundreds of years, so the smoke caused by his snoring could kill the beautiful town of Ponyville and its surroundings.

That is why I have decided that YOU should take charge of the situation and to somehow dissuade the dragon from its hibernation in the mountain. I would go myself, but for some strange reason I am replete with audiences today.

Yours affectionately, Princess Celestia."

As soon as Dusk Shine finished reading the letter, he put a face of total surprise and disbelief at what he had just read, so he reread the letter a couple of times to make sure he understood correctly what the princess was asking him. Once Dusk was sure that there were no mistakes and that he had read everything correctly, he put on a silly smile of disbelief and looked at the guards.

"Is Princess Celestia asking me to go and kick the dragon out of the mountain?" Dusk said smiling with total disbelief. "It's a joke, right?"

The guards looked at each other for a moment and then looked at Dusk, extending another scroll.

"The princess said to give you this scroll if you asked us that question." The leader of the guards said, handing Dusk the other scroll.

"I knew it!" Dusk thought with a sigh of relief as he opened the new scroll and smiling at the shock he had taken. "I knew it must’ve been a joke from the princess!"

Dusk opened the letter and read:

"It's not a joke.

PS: The next time you want to ruin my day off by filling my day with fake audiences, tell somepony else to write the invitations, since I asked them to show me the fake invitations they had received, and I could easily recognize Spike’s claw-writing, remember that I've been receiving your letters for years.

Anyway, have fun with the dragon :) "

When Dusk finished reading the letter, he lowered it slowly while a cold sweat ran down his body. It was not a joke, this was revenge for taking the princess’s day off, he now has to somehow get the dragon away from the mountain of Ponyville.

While Dusk's smile disappeared, and his face turned pale upon discovering the terrible task entrusted to him, the guards saw Dusk's face and could not help but laugh at seeing him so disturbed after he had been smiling.

"Oh boy, it's a relief, thanks for taking care of the dragon for us!" The leader of the royal guards said while smiling mischievously, since the princess had told them what the letter said before handing it to them. "Good luck!"

In that instant all the guards opened their wings and took off at the same time, flying towards Canterlot, leaving Dusk paralyzed and speechless.

As soon as the guards left, Dusk's friends approached him to find out what had happened, all except Fluttershy, who remained paralyzed where she was, although only a few steps away from Dusk. Then Dusk slowly left his initial stupor, and with a face of total resignation and fear, he explained to his friends what had happened and what the princess had requested.

"Wow... this is a new level of revenge..." Spike said scratching his head after Dusk finished speaking. "I told you it was a bad idea to make that joke on the princess."

Dusk looked at Spike with nerve, remembering that his little brother had been an important part of planning the princess's joke, but then Dusk just lowered his head, resigned to the fact that it was no longer important.

"Anyway, I think I'll go immediately, I don't know how I'll do it, but somehow I'll have to make that dragon take his nap somewhere else." Dusk said putting a shy smile before his uncertain future.

"Well, just give us a few minutes to look for some things, we should be prepared for any eventuality." Rarity said suddenly, putting a hoof on her chin as she thought.

Dusk looked up in surprise and saw that his four friends around him looked at him with smiles that filled him with confidence.

"I should have known, they wanted to accompany me on this dangerous adventure." Dusk thought as a more natural smile grew on his lips.

"Of course we'll accompany you, don't tell me you thought you would go alone?" Pinkie Pie said smiling, as if she had read Dusk's mind.

Dusk already knew from experience that it would be useless to tell his friends to stay behind, since they were all friends and they would obviously want to accompany him on this dangerous adventure, and the truth was that Dusk also wanted his friends to accompany him, after all, they had shown that they were much stronger when they were all together. However, despite everything, Dusk decided that he should alert his friends to the danger they wanted to face.

"I want you all to come with me, so we can do this together, but I have to warn you that a dragon can be much more dangerous than you think." Dusk said with a look of concern, looking in his friend’s eyes. "Adult dragons are nothing like Spike, they are much bigger, with sharper claws and big fangs that could easily go through armor. I don't want you to take this lightly."

At Dusk’s words, the mares began to take the situation more seriously, imagining the terrible creature they would face, not being able to avoid putting faces of concern. Dusk immediately noticed that his comment had not only alerted his friends, but also seemed to have discouraged and frightened them, so he immediately began to think of what to say to raise their weaken morale.

"As long as we're together, nothing can stop us! We've already defeated the mighty Nightmare Moon! Don't forget about that!" Rainbow Dash shouted suddenly and excitedly, flying at ground level and throwing punches and kicks in the air, as if she was facing someone. "That dragon won’t know what hit him! I'll give him the old one-two, and then a spinning kick, and I'll take a nosedive with my super punch so fast he'll give up before he even realizes it!"

With the excitement of Rainbow Dash, the other mares forgot for a moment their worries and fears and began to laugh and have more hope before the enormous task that was coming before them, trusting that as long as they had courage and were accompanied by their friends, they could overcome any test together.

"That was perfect!" Dusk thought smiling, thanking Rainbow Dash internally for quickly doing just what all her friends needed, giving them a psychic blow of confidence.

Meanwhile, slightly removed from all the excitement of the moment, was Fluttershy, who was breathing agitatedly after the panic crisis she just had when remembering that horrible memory of her past. The shy pegasus saw her friends, all smiling and feeling confident about themselves, especially Rainbow Dash, who as always, was one of the bravest and most determined ponies she knew, without any hint of fear, catching the attention of Dusk and her friends, emboldening them so that they all would face that great test that was ahead; and there she was, the total opposite of Rainbow Dash, trembling with fear, ignored, not even able to capture the attention of her friends, or even Dusk.

"Why!? Why can't I be brave like Rainbow Dash...?" Fluttershy thought almost on the verge of tears.

Then Fluttershy stopped looking at Rainbow Dash and looked at Dusk, who looked passionately at Rainbow Dash while his eyes shone.

"He stares at her..." Fluttershy thought sadly, realizing that not only this time, but many other times, Dusk has always looked Rainbow Dash in the eye when he talked to her, unlike how Dusk acted when talking to her. "He has never looked at me like that..."

"Very well, then we'll meet here in half an hour." Dusk said, finally organizing his friends to prepare quickly and go as soon as possible to the mountain.

"Sure!" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically.

"Half an hour is a short time, I'll have to pack the essentials." Rarity said nonchalantly, thinking more about what she would wear for that excursion.

"I'll tell Granny Smith to pack a few apples." Applejack said, also confirming, winking at Dusk.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! We're really doing it!" Rainbow Dash said, totally excited to know that she would face a huge dragon.

At that moment Dusk turned to the only one of his friends that has yet to confirm, waiting for her response.

"Fluttershy, are you coming?" Dusk asked again when he didn't get an answer from his friend and only saw her back.

Fluttershy listened to what Dusk said and listened in panic as all her friends confirmed without problems that they would go with him, each one earning a big and affectionate smile from the lavender colt. They all had confidence in Dusk, they all wanted to support him unconditionally, they were all demonstrating why Dusk had a place in their heart! But she... all she could do was tremble and remember those terrible red-golden eyes and that sinister laugh of her past.

"You can't go, you can't go! YOU CAN'T GO!" Fluttershy yelled at herself, biting her lips hard, with her body totally tense, and some small tears peeking out from her terrified eyes at the impotence she felt with herself for feeling useless and being a coward.

"O-Okay..." was what Fluttershy finally answered with, turning to see Dusk. Just opening her mouth to respond, taking all her courage and willpower to break only for a moment the barrier of fear that was in her mind, wishing that for just once Dusk saw her as someone courageous and reliable, wishing that he saw her how he saw Rainbow Dash.





"Good, then let’s go!" Dusk said smiling as he and the other mares ran to their respective homes to prepare their travel bags.

The five ponies ran quickly, leaving only the yellow pegasus behind, who stood still, like a statue, but as soon as her friends were out of sight, Fluttershy fell to the ground collapsed, covering her face with her hooves as she cried, finally pulling out all her frustration and fear that she had repressed while her friends were in front of her.





After a couple of hours of walking, finally the six ponies came to the foot of the mountain, where the new and uninvited visitor had come to take a long nap, and just at the top of that mountain they could see perfectly that from the top was where all the smoke came from, which by then had almost completely covered Ponyville's sky. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, Dusk Shine, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Futtershy and Rarity looked up to see the big mountain in front of them, although the truth was that this was the shortest mountain of all the nearby mountains, which was perfect, since Dusk was hoping that if they hurried the step and everything went well at the top, maybe they could go down the mountain before nightfall.

Each of the ponies had on their back a saddlebag, except for the two pegasus of the group, who didn't take one so that their wings are free, while each of the other four had in their saddlebag what they considered essential for the trip: Rarity loaded it with an enormous amount of clothes and accessories for every occasion, after all she didn't know how long that trip would last and she must be presentable at all times; Pinkie Pie carried her portable arsenal of parties, thinking that this would be the first time she would have a party with a huge adult dragon; Applejack was carrying only food, because as prearranged as she was, she had anticipated that none of her friends would worry about bringing food; and finally Dusk Shine, who had several books about dragons and a map of the mountain, which he just saw at that time, planning the fastest way to reach the top.

"Rarity, why did you put on that scarf?" Rainbow Dash asked seeing that her friend had taken out an elegant and fine scarf and had put it around her neck.

"Well, we're going to the top of the mountain, so I think it's going to be cold there." Rarity answered with a smile while modeling her pretty scarf. "I brought several, do you want me to lend you one?"

"Pfft! No thanks, I don't think it's necessary." Rainbow Dash responded with a sarcastic smile, since in fact she thought it was absurd that a scarf around her neck protected her from the cold or even served for more than decorating.

"Shhh! Keep quiet for a few seconds, listen." Dusk said suddenly after realizing something.

The mares did what Dusk asked, and stayed in total silence, so everyone could hear some strange sounds coming from the mountain.

"What's that noise?" Applejack asked confused.

"I-I think it's the dragon's snoring..." Dusk said with a little fear in his voice. "It's incredible, I mean, it's normal to hear a roar from a dragon in the distance, but if the dragon is sleeping on the top and from here we can easily hear his snores, it means that it must be a huge dragon... hundreds of times bigger than Spike. "

As soon as Dusk finished speaking, he realized his mistake and turned to see the mares, who, with his comment, immediately began to be more afraid to remember again the real danger to which they would expose themselves. While Dusk was thinking about what to say to lift their spirits up again, Rainbow Dash stepped forward once more.

"S-So? That doesn't matter!" Rainbow Dash said flying in front of her friends with a face of determination, to give them courage, although she had also been a little scared. "He can be a dragon of Equestria's size, but it doesn't matter, as long as we’re together we can do anything!"

"Yeah!!" All the mares responded immediately, who recovered their spirits thanks to the words of their friend.

While Rainbow Dash smiled radiating confidence, Dusk Shine stared at her smiling, something that Fluttershy noticed immediately, which made the timid pegasus lower her head sadly with disappointment.

"Very good, time to climb the mountain." Dusk said after seeing that all his friends were ready to go up. "I’ve already looked at the map and I think that if we go up this slope that is in front of us, instead of going down the road, we'll save a lot of time."

"How about if flyers go ahead a bit?" Rainbow Dash said looking at Dusk and then at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, what do you think?"

Before Rainbow Dash’s asked that question, Fluttershy imagined arriving alone, in front of the dragon, which terrified her completely.

"I-I think it's better that we all go together." Fluttershy finally answered, hiding that she was afraid to fly alone to where the dragon was.

"Yeah, I also think it's the best option." Applejack added, beginning to climb the steep sector.

Rainbow Dash stopped being in the position of takeoff at full speed, and reluctantly and slowly raised her wings to fly at ground level with her friends. Thus, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Dusk Shine all began to climb the slope, while behind them was Fluttershy, flying slowly like Rainbow Dash.

GROOOOOWL...!!

Suddenly a huge roar was heard, the same roar that they had heard in Ponyville, but this time much stronger. They all fell silent for a moment, stopped climbing the mountain, until they heard the dragon's snores again.

"Wow… that scared everypony, right?" Dusk said with a nervous smile, while looking at his friends to start climbing again, however he was surprised not to find one of his friends. "Wait, where's Fluttershy?"

The rest of the mares looked at their sides and none of them saw their shy friend. It was only when Dusk completely lowered the view that he saw that Fluttershy had come back down to the foot of the mountain.

"Fluttershy! What are you doing down there! Come up! It was just a roar!" Dusk shouted down, since they had already climbed enough and had to scream to be heard.

There they all waited for Fluttershy to go up or even answer, but she stayed still and without answering.

"Wait a minute... Oh no! How come I didn’t notice this before?!" Dusk thought as he remembered something about Fluttershy.

"Keep going, we'll catch up with you." Dusk finally said to the rest, starting to quickly descend the slope.

Once Dusk got to where Fluttershy was, he saw that she was shaking slightly, but still her face showed a certain determination, while she moved her shoulders constantly and looking back and forth, as if something was bothering her.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Dusk asked worriedly.

"I... I'm sorry..." Fluttershy replied with regret. "W-When I heard the roar of the dragon, my wings contracted, and I couldn't keep flying... I... I try to open them, b-but they won't respond to me..."

When listening to Fluttershy’s explanation, Dusk sighed with regret, realizing that apparently Fluttershy really was making a great attempt to accompany them, but despite the effort she put, her own body unconsciously reacted to fear. Dusk immediately regretted being a bad friend and not realizing before the fear of his friend.

"Fluttershy, when we first met, I was afraid to introduce you to Spike because you told me you were afraid of dragons..." Dusk said looking worriedly at his friend. "That's the problem, right? Sorry for forgetting."

Fluttershy looked up and saw Dusk in the eyes, who looked at her with that face of concern with which he always saw her, as if she was going to break herself at any moment, so different from the look of admiration with which he looked at Rainbow Dash, something that broke Fluttershy's heart.

"Listen, if you're scared, you don't need to go with us, there's no problem." Dusk said trying to smile but still watching his friend with concern.

"N-No! I want to go!" Fluttershy said almost in a scream, with her soft voice, closing her eyes tightly while a few tears peeked through them, again annoyed with herself for being a hindrance, trying with all her might to show her bravery.

Dusk was surprised at the determination of his friend, and although he can see Fluttershy's legs trembling, he knew that his friend must be terrified, Dusk couldn't help but appreciate the great effort that his friend was making to accompany them despite all.

"Okay, let's go." Dusk said with a smile to cheer her up. "If you can't fly, you can climb with me."

Upon hearing Dusk's words, Fluttershy was glad to be understood by him, so she looked at Dusk and then at the slope where her friends climbed, where from time to time some small stones came off by the rubbing of the hooves. It was then that Fluttershy's relief quickly became anguish again.

"I... I don't think I'm capable of climbing that slope." Fluttershy said honestly, with a face of anguish to realize that she was once again a nuisance.

Dusk looked confused at his friend for a while, uncertain how to act, since if it had been any of his other friends, he would have claimed or insisted that they must to go up the slope, since it was the shortest way to the top. But before him was Fluttershy, the timidest pony in the world, so he couldn't treat her like the others.

"Huff... it's okay... if you really can’t, I guess we'll have to go the long way." Dusk said, sighing and trying to hide his frustration a little.

Fluttershy smiled tenderly when she saw that Dusk was being patient with her and that he would accompany her. And so, it was that both ponies began to walk on the path that leads them to the top of the mountain, by which it would take them twice as long to reach the first half of the mountain, a walk in which each of them was immersed in their own thoughts.

"Dusk, why didn't Spike come?" Fluttershy asked as they walked, thinking that she could at least take advantage of that alone time she had with Dusk to talk.

"I told him to stay at home, because the truth is that although he is a dragon, he hasn't had much contact with others of his race, he has been raised all his life among ponies, so I don't know how an adult dragon would react to see a little baby dragon with some ponies, least of all to a dragon so troublesome and who comes to take naps in pony towns." Dusk responded, always thinking about protecting his younger brother.

"Oh, I see… I think you're right." Fluttershy said with some anguish imagining a huge dragon teaching its claws to the innocent and tender Spike. "I think the dragons would hate to see a dragon being raised by ponies, they... They are terrible creatures!"

"Hmm, talking about that... tell me, is there any reason why you’re afraid of dragons?" Dusk asked, noticing some fear and resentment in Fluttershy's words.

With Dusk's question, it was inevitable that Fluttershy would return to that fearsome memory of her past, where again she was alone in the darkness, seeing the terrible red-golden eyes, the huge fangs, and the evil, ghostly laughter, which made her sweat and tremble from head to tail.

"The big dragons are wild beasts, with evil eyes, sharp teeth, sinister and evil beings... That's why I’m afraid of them." Fluttershy answered with a frightened look, without giving more details.

"I don't think all dragons are the way you describe them, wild and evil beings, even a few of them live in the wastelands of Equestria, so they must follow the laws of the kingdom." Dusk said thinking that perhaps what Fluttershy had was a superficial fear, only because of the intimidating appearance of those creatures. "So, it's only their appearance that you’re afraid of? Nothing else?"

At Dusk's question, Fluttershy only remained silent, but her gaze changed showing that her anguish and fear was growing for some reason. She didn't want Dusk to think that she discriminated against dragons just because of its appearance, so she opened her mouth to answer, but finally she was unable to do it and just turned her head to the side, stopping and trembling again, refusing to relive that horrible memory once again.

Seeing that the question had put Fluttershy in such a state, Dusk immediately approached his friend and put a hoof on her back to reassure her.

"I’m sorry if I made you remember the dragon and caused you to feel afraid." Dusk said thinking that Fluttershy was trembling again to remember that she was going to face a dragon. "Tell me, are you still sure you want to continue?"

At Dusk's touch, Fluttershy stopped shaking and looked at Dusk tenderly. When she looked at him and into his eyes, Fluttershy imagined that sweet colt and her kind friends going to face the terrible dragon that slept on that mountain, and she immediately thought that although she was incapable of doing something, she couldn't leave her friends alone to confront such a danger, no matter what happened, she wanted to be with her friends.

"Yes, let's continue." Fluttershy finally answered, getting back on track with Dusk, thinking of something she wanted to say him, but didn't dare to do.

"Besides, I feel safer when I'm with you." Fluttershy thought looking at Dusk coyly as he walked beside her.





"Finally!" Rainbow Dash said once Dusk and Fluttershy arrived to where she and the others were, in the middle of the road to the top of the mountain.

When looking at where her friends were, Fluttershy saw that the ground was full of scratches in the form of the game 'tic-tac-toe'. Apparently, her friends had played at least a hundred of those games to pass the time while she was arriving with Dusk, that made her feel guilty for making them wait and that the entire mission was delayed because of her.

"At least you had fun playing." Dusk said, who had also noticed the scratches on the ground.

"Yes, it was really fun!" Pinkie Pie answered with her usual smile.

"Sure, it’s probably because you always win..." Rarity replied a little frustrated for not having managed to beat Pinkie Pie even once. "And you, why did you linger for so long? Did you come on the long road?"

"Yeah, sorry for the delay." Dusk said scratching his head, saddened by the delay. "Unfortunately, I forgot that Fluttershy is afraid of dragons."

The mares looked in disbelief at Dusk, then looked at Fluttershy, and looked back at Dusk.

"Pffft! But that's nothing new, she’s even afraid of her own shadow!" Pinkie Pie said laughing, laughter that the other mares accompanied, because they fully shared what Pinkie Pie had said. All of them liked Fluttershy, but it was also more than obvious that their friend was sometimes too exaggerated with her fears.

"Maybe the girls are right, and I shouldn't worry..." Dusk thought at that moment, who had thought that Fluttershy's fear could be a serious problem, but now he realized that in reality his friend was too afraid of many things, and maybe her fear of dragons was not the big thing really.

While her friends laughed, Fluttershy only gave a shy smile. She knew that her friends didn't laugh with bad intentions, and that perhaps it would be best to explain where her fear of dragons was born, but finally she simply remained silent, not wanting to tell unpleasant stories, less at that moment.

"Well, thanks to CERTAIN PONY we are very late." Rainbow Dash suddenly said after laughing, looking askance at Fluttershy, because although they were laughing now, the truth was that the attitude of her pegasus friend had bothered her a bit, mainly because it had caused them to linger, and there was nothing that would bother Rainbow Dash more than the fact that someone delayed her. "I think it's best to keep going."

That's how the six ponies finally reunited and continued their way to the mountain, because at that point, the slope of the mountain was too steep to continue climbing up the sides.

The sun had stopped being on their heads, being slightly inclined to their left side, which indicated that it was already afternoon and that they should hurry if they wanted to reach the top of the mountain, solve the dragon problem, and return before the daylight is gone.

"Be careful, the road has split a little further on." Rainbow Dash said from the air, who flew near her friends and went to the front of the expedition, to see the path that was ahead.

The rest of the ponies began to walk more quickly until they reached the place that Rainbow Dash had just indicated. There, the road was split apart by a deep abyss, which fortunately was not very wide where it separated the road, only a body and a half away in the empty zone, and on the other side the road that went up to the mountain continued.

"Okay, look it's not big deal." Dusk said backing a few steps to take a running start and jumping over the abyss, to fall comfortably on the other side of the road. "If you take a running start, it's easy to jump." Dusk added looking back to his friends to follow him, except for Rainbow Dash, who was already with him because she had flown there.

For safety, the mares took turns to jump, first Applejack, and then Pinkie Pie, and just as the latter jumped, a great roar of the dragon was heard and rumbled throughout the mountain, causing Pinkie Pie to fall a little unsteady on the other side of the road, but still made it safely.

"Great! That roar couldn't come at a better time!" Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, annoyed, making Dusk look at her and notice that she was pointing to the other side of the road, where after the roar, Fluttershy was with her legs buried firmly in the ground, shaking from tail to head, with a face of absolute terror.

"I think we have a problem here!" Rarity shouted from the other side, who had not yet jumped and was still with Fluttershy. "I don't think Fluttershy can jump!"

Dusk went over to the edge to return to where Rarity and Fluttershy were, but Pinkie Pie went ahead and jumped before he did. Once there, Dusk saw how Pinkie Pie and Rarity talked at length with Fluttershy, apparently trying to convince her to follow and jump.

"Ugh! This can't be possible, now she's afraid of jumping! She's a pegasus! She can fly!!" Rainbow Dash murmured annoyed, becoming more impatient and angrier.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie began to jump over and over the rift, from one side of the road to the other, showing her shy friend how easy it was to jump, all while Pinkie Pie was singing a song.

"What's wrong with me! How come that didn’t occur to me before!?"Dusk thought hitting his head with a hoof at an obvious revelation. "I guess because I spend so much time living between pegasi and earth ponies, I forget the basics of a unicorn."

Then Dusk shone his horn and, in a flash, disappeared and appeared instantly on the other side of the road, next to Rarity and Fluttershy, as Pinkie Pie had taken her last jump to stay with Rainbow Dash.

"Fluttershy, if you're afraid of jumping, I can use my-" Dusk started talking, thinking how foolish he had been not to think about teleportation before, so he could make Fluttershy appear next to him on the other side of the road in the twinkling of an eye. However, he didn't even manage to finish his sentence, as he was immediately interrupted.

"No! She'll jump, I know she can!" Rarity said seriously, interrupting Dusk, knowing what the unicorn lavender would say after he used his teleportation to appear next to them.

After looking at Dusk seriously, Rarity looked at Fluttershy again, just as seriously.

"Darling, I know you're scared, but there are things you must learn to overcome." Rarity said with a serious look but speaking tenderly. "I can understand everything that you are feeling, but the others may not always be as understanding as I am, and I also know that you can do it, you just have to prove it."

At Rarity's words, Dusk understood why she didn't want him to interfere. Rarity knew that this was a small obstacle, one that Fluttershy had to overcome on her own since no one knew what more difficult challenges prepared the way ahead, besides Rarity had touched another fundamental point, the irritation with Fluttershy for making them delay was increasing, finding its maximum exponent in Rainbow Dash, who from the other side of the road showed how irritated she was to have to be waiting; so, with Fluttershy's jump, Rarity wanted to show that Fluttershy could overcome this challenge by herself.

Listening to her friend, Fluttershy slowly raised her eyes and looked towards the other side of the road, no longer looking with fear, but still she seemed to be hesitant about jumping.  

"Fluttershy, if you want we can jump together." Dusk said, thinking that the shy pegasus might need a last impulse to encourage herself to jump, and maybe someone accompanying her in her jump was that impulse.

Dusk advanced a little and stood next to Fluttershy, smiling at her and stretching one of his hooves towards her so that she would take it and accept his proposal. Fluttershy looked at Dusk with big, tender eyes, and slowly put her hoof on top of his.

"O-Okay..." Fluttershy finally answered, agreeing to jump with Dusk.

Then Dusk clung to Fluttershy's side and made them both take a couple of steps backwards to gain momentum, while Rarity waited near the edge to give them space. As they prepared to jump, a part of Fluttershy couldn't help but be thrilled to be so close to Dusk, feeling the warmth and softness of his fur, making her heart race faster than just for the simple fear that she had in that moment before the 'huge' jump that she would.

"Now!" Dusk said, starting to jog, giving the signal to Fluttershy to do it too and didn't leave him.

Fluttershy began to run, with the growing fear of seeing the approaching abyss that she needed to jump but dulling this feeling of fear with the security and tranquility that it offered to be doing that with Dusk Shine.

Finally, both ponies reached the edge of the abyss, which was where they had to jump. They both flexed their legs to jump, but just at that moment Fluttershy couldn't help but glance briefly down, seeing how the deep abyss was lost in the darkness, which made her body to be paralyzed and could not take off her hooves from the ground.

With the sudden movement of Fluttershy, or rather for the lack of this, Dusk was destabilized while jumping to look to his side and feel that his friend had taken off from him, realizing at the last second of the jump that Fluttershy had repented to jump. At that moment Dusk also wanted to do the same, but everything was so sudden that the only thing he managed was to take a small leap forward almost without lifting his hooves from the ground, which made him stay in the air and start to fall from the edge of the road to the abyss.

"DUSK!" Rarity screamed, scared to see that Dusk was going to fall from the cliff, reaching to take a step forward to try to reach him.

In that fleeting moment, Dusk stretched his hoof trying to reach Rarity's hoof, but not reaching to touch it. And when he thought that he would fall hopelessly into the abyss, just in the last fraction of a second, he managed to grab something that held him, Rarity's scarf.

"Waaah!" Dusk screamed in fright, holding on to the front legs of Rarity's scarf while his backs legs were on the wall of the abyss to avoid falling.

"Hold on!" Rarity said as she strained her entire body to hold Dusk, and her aching neck suffered more than it had ever suffered.

Fortunately, Rarity didn't have to endure Dusk's weight alone for long, as Fluttershy immediately held Rarity to help her pull Dusk while Rainbow Dash flew to Dusk's back to push him onto the road again.

"Phew! That was close." Dusk said once he was back on the road, throwing his back to the ground and breathing hard.

"Too close! If you had fallen I don't know if I would’ve been able to grab you." Rainbow Dash said worried, looking at Dusk agitated, at Rarity rubbing her aching neck, and then at Fluttershy, that's where Rainbow Dash changed her look from worry to annoyance.

After a few minutes of rest to recover the air, Dusk stood up again, ready to continue the way.

"After that scare, I think I'll make sure to cross over by teleporting next time, hehe." Dusk smiled nervously, then looking at Fluttershy. "Is it okay if we do it like that?"

Seeing how Dusk still smiled at her even though it was her fault he had almost fallen into the abyss, Fluttershy was ashamed of herself and immediately began to think about what to say to apologize for everything that had happened, not knowing what to say, since it really seemed that she had been a complete hindrance for the whole trip, not only delaying, but also risking the lives of her friends.

"I... I..." Fluttershy started stuttering as she sorted out her thoughts to apologize to him and Rarity.

"Ugh! Enough!" Rainbow Dash said without being able to hold back her frustration, annoyed with Fluttershy because she thought that her friend was stuttering because she didn't want to accept Dusk's offer and cross the abyss with magic.

Then Rainbow Dash took momentum and took Fluttershy from behind her front legs as she flew and carried her in a jiffy to the other side of the road.

"Done, problem solved." Rainbow Dash said annoyed, without turning to see Fluttershy and beginning to fly at ground level as she began to move along the road to the top of the mountain.

As soon as Rainbow Dash started to move forward, Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked worriedly at Fluttershy and then slowly went after Rainbow Dash, thinking that the rainbow-maned pegasus had been very rough, but they also understood the discomfort she felt. Meanwhile, Dusk Shine and Rarity also crossed the abyss, joined with Fluttershy, and slowly the three began to walk to join their three other friends.

As they walked, the atmosphere was no longer like the six ponies had when they left Ponyville, now they were all tense and in an uncomfortable silence because of what had just happened, and no one regretted more than anyone that they were in this situation, that the very cause of that was Fluttershy, who just kept walking with her head down and her ears drooped, lamenting, having believed that she could match the values of her friends, and regretting having gone on that outing just to annoy and delay them all, and the worst was that she had already caused all those problems and they hadn’t even arrived to the dragon yet, and when they arrived there it would be worse, much worse, she would be worse than a dead weight, after all, what good would it do if she were there when her friends confronted the dragon?

Fluttershy's heart began to tighten while her low self-esteem disappeared completely, leaving her sunk in a great depression.

# End of chapter 27
> Chapter 28 - A Wild Beast Awakens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Wild Beast Awakens

"Finally, we did it!" Dusk Shine said with a great sigh of exhaustion, separating his legs and falling abruptly to the ground to finally rest after climbing the steepest part of the road.

While Dusk's friends, who were only a few steps behind him, came to his side and did the same as him, falling to the ground to rest and catch their breath on that small platform that had just arrived, where the road stopped rising and opened horizontally. It was on this platform that the road finally ended, the highest point to which that mountain could be climbed, and where the beast that they had to face rested.

Out of the six ponies that were on that trip, five of them were on the ground, tired, dirty, and slowly recovering their breath. The only exception was Rainbow Dash, although she was as dirty as the rest of her friends due to the recent events that occurred, she was in better condition than any of them, as she had avoided the exhaustion of having to climb the steep on their journey.

While still on the ground, Dusk Shine looked towards the side of the sky, where the sun was close to the horizon, which meant that there was little daylight left.

"We definitely took more time than expected..." Dusk said as he looked at the sun, thinking out loud.

"Well, at least it's not your fault." Rainbow Dash said annoyed, glancing at one of her friends, towards her shy pegasus companion.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but show her displeasure at the latest events, because if there was a guilt party that everyone had been so late for and that everyone was dirty, tired and in pain, it was Fluttershy. In Rainbow Dash's opinion, the yellow pegasus had been a huge headache for the entire trip, starting by refusing to climb the foot of the mountain, causing everyone else to wait for her arrival; it was also her fault when Dusk almost fell into the abyss halfway, just because she was afraid to take a little leap; and finally what had irritated Rainbow Dash the most was what had happened recently, before climbing that last part of the road...

Previously, while everyone was walking along the last stretch before reaching the top, Dusk made them stop when he saw that many rocks had fallen in the middle of the road from the side of the mountain, probably due to the roars and snores of the dragon, which indicated that that area was a potential zone of landslides. Dusk made a sign of silence to his friends, and slowly walked on that dangerous part of the road, however, without warning, while Fluttershy was walking, listening to the dragon's snoring, she looked to one side and saw a huge shadow, which was actually her own shadow that had been enlarged by the effect of the afternoon sun, however, she immediately thought that it was the shadow of the huge dragon that came to devour her. So, she gave a huge and sharp cry that frightened everyone and made the loose rocks of the slope begin to fall on them.

At the time of the collapse, all the others began to run, being led by Pinkie Pie, with her always, her mysterious Pinkie-sense, she managed to elude the rocks by jumping and instinctively helped her friends to do the same until they reached a safer area. The only one who didn't move was Fluttershy, who was paralyzed by fear, only managing to save herself thanks to Applejack running towards her and pushing her to wake her from her daze and guide her to safety. Finally, they all had managed to avoid that terrible collapse without any damage, with the only consequence of becoming dirty by the dust that had come after the collapse, something that they could tolerate, well except, perhaps Rarity.

Once the collapse had passed and the beats of their hearts returned to a normal speed, Dusk immediately pointed to the road and began to walk hastily up the steep and final road for his friends to follow, not stopping to talk or comment about what happened, since with only a glance, Dusk could see how all his friends glared at Fluttershy for what just happened, and if there was something he didn't want at that precise moment, it was to have more arguments, even though Dusk understood them and at that moment he shared the same thought that everyone else was thinking: 'Bringing Fluttershy here was a mistake.'

"I know that we said that she was even afraid of her own shadow, but I never thought it was actually true!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed at Dusk’s side while everyone rested on the top, finally venting and saying what she had been repressing since the collapse.

At that moment Rainbow Dash looked annoyed at Fluttershy, expecting to see her reaction to the comment that she intentionally said out loud to get her frustration out, however Fluttershy's mane hid her face and prevented Rainbow Dash from knowing if she had heard what she said.

Meanwhile, Dusk was still on the ground, seeing the road that was in front of him, focusing more on what was there rather than listening to Rainbow Dash’s acrid comments. There the road opened and the land formed a platform where from one end he could see down the plains of Ponyville and its surroundings; while on the other side of the platform the terrain rose steeply, forming the tip of the mountain, and right there, between the platform and the continuation of the mountain, it was a huge cave, from which came a huge cloud of smoke came out and the snores of the dragon were heard.

"There it is..." Dusk said, finally getting up.

Seeing that Dusk was standing up and his face was serious, the mares also stood up and looked where Dusk was looking, realizing instantly why Dusk's face had become more serious. There, right in front of them, was the cave that housed the fearsome, sleeping beast that they must somehow expel from there.

The six ponies began to walk slowly until they stopped in front of the entrance of the cave. The upper half of the cave was hidden by a constant cloud of smoke that came from inside, while from the rest of the interior the cave could hardly be distinguished, since the light couldn't penetrate the interior of the cave, the only thing that can be seen was the back of the cave where they could see a certain reddish glow, which went out and ignited like a half-dead fire. That brightness of the interior was the nose and snout of the dragon, that when snoring, it snorted small flames of fire that generated the smoke of the place.

While the six ponies investigated the cave, listening to the dragon's loud snores, none of them moved a muscle, all were paralyzed while their minds faced the imminent danger that was before them.

"We're finally here, but... Now what do I do?!" Dusk Shine thought nervously, swallowing loudly.

When Dusk and the others left Ponyville, he realized that they climbed the mountain without even having a plan to face the dragon, not knowing if the right thing and more prudent would be to dialogue to persuade, negotiate, or even threaten. Going out without a plan was something that Dusk Shine didn't normally do, as meticulous as he was, he always liked to go out and know exactly what he would do, even having back-up plans if possible, however, due to the short time they had, Dusk didn’t think about it when starting that dangerous excursion, thinking that at least he would’ve had enough time while climbing the mountain to think of a suitable plan, but what he hadn't calculated were all the interruptions that there were along the way and how he finally was thinking about how to deal with the problems with Fluttershy and the bad mood of the group instead of thinking about a course of action once they reached the critical point, where they were right now.

"If only I hadn't been so concerned about all the problems that Fluttershy caused..." Dusk thought dejectedly, beginning to think, like his friends, that bringing Fluttershy had been a big mistake. However, he suddenly realized something that made him jump. "Wait! That's it! I can kill two birds with one stone!"

"Fluttershy, I think you should go in and talk to the dragon." Dusk said with a tender smile, looking at a totally surprised Fluttershy.

"WHAT!?" All the mares, including Fluttershy, were all surprised, while Fluttershy's eyes filled with terror.

Dusk decided to ignore the surprise reactions of the other mares and focused on Fluttershy, so he turned around and faced her.

"You understand more than anypony the hearts of those around you, more than any of us, that's why I think you're the best pony for this." Dusk said looking at Fluttershy, with a smile to enthuse her.

"Dusk... I don't-" Fluttershy stuttered, crouching her head while her eyes showed deep terror.

"We need to understand the dragon in order to communicate with it properly, and I also believe that you can see the goodness in it, while we'll only see the terrifying side of it, just like what happened with that sea serpent!" Dusk said excitedly, interrupting Fluttershy.

"No... I can't..." Fluttershy said as her legs began to tremble.

"Of course you can! You just need more confidence in yourself!" Dusk said smiling.

"No..." Fluttershy said hiding her face behind her mane.

"With this you can prove that you really are a key player in this team, you are our secret weapon!" Dusk said encouraging her, indirectly saying the other reason why he wanted Fluttershy to be the one to convince the dragon, so that others could see how valuable she was for the mission, repairing with it all the problems she had caused.

"I-I don't..." Fluttershy said stutteringly.

"I'll be by your side, come on, trust me and trust yourself..." Dusk said softly, touching with his hoof Fluttershy's hoof so that she would follow him.

"I CAN'T DO IT!!" Fluttershy yelled loudly, brusquely moving her hoof away from Dusk’s, shouting so loudly that everyone around her was stunned. None of them had ever heard Fluttershy shout so loudly or so desperately.

While everyone remained paralyzed by the surprise, especially Dusk, who had been the one his shy friend had shouted at, Fluttershy lowered her head even more, without being able to see her friends in the eyes after having shouted so.

"I... I'm sorry... but I can't go in..." Fluttershy said, speaking again with her classic timid voice.

After a moment of silence that seemed eternal, someone finally spoke.

"Why can't you go in? Because you’re afraid? Because you’re so selfish that you think you're the only one who is afraid?" Rainbow Dash said, looking angry at Fluttershy, approaching her while everyone else looked at her in surprise. "What about Rarity or Pinkie Pie? Have they no right to be afraid?"

Fluttershy, who had kept her eyes closed after speaking, squeezed them tighter, the same she did with her mouth, but she didn't turn to face Rainbow Dash or say anything in response.

"You're just a coward, whenever there are others that can do the job for you, you hide behind them and let them take the risks. Do you really want others to think that about you?" Rainbow Dash said even more annoyed, getting closer to her friend.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said scared, worried about the hurtful words that the cyan pegasus was saying.

"During the whole trip you didn't do anything, you just let others do things for you, and now that there is something you can finally do, you’re going to refuse because you're scared?" Rainbow Dash said looking totally angry at Fluttershy, while the yellow pegasus remained motionless without answering, just squeezing her mouth and her eyes tightly.

"Rainbow Dash! Enough!" Applejack said also worried, seeing that the situation was getting out of control.

"Dusk came back for you and almost fell into the void, because he was trying to help you jump, Pinkie Pie also tried to help you and was able to save us from the collapse you caused, Rarity ran to save Dusk, Applejack saved you from the collapse, they all fixed the mistakes you did! And now, you can't even return the favor!?" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily, facing Fluttershy.

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie said pleadingly, looking at both pegasus friends.

"Even Rarity's scarf has been more useful than you on this trip!! Show me the opposite! Show us that you really have value in this team!" Rainbow Dash yelled furiously.

"I CAN’T!!!" Fluttershy said in a choked cry, turning around to run away while crying.

While Fluttershy was running, Dusk watched her run as his heart broke. He had been frozen by hesitancy while Rainbow Dash was facing Fluttershy, because while it was true that Rainbow Dash had been too hard in her words, he also understood that she needed to vent all the frustrations she had along the trip, but Dusk never imagined that she would go so far as to make Fluttershy cry, and when he saw his shy friend cried like that, Dusk knew that it was a mistake not to act before, because Fluttershy could be many things, but she wasn’t a coward, Dusk knew it from experience because of what he had experienced with the sea serpent, something that, unfortunately, Rainbow Dash had not seen.

"Rainbow Dash, that was too much!" Dusk said annoyed, turning to face the cyan pegasus, but could not see her face, as she hid it looking at the ground. "You think Fluttershy is a coward, but she isn't, she's braver than you think!"

"I already know that!" Rainbow Dash said raising her head and looking Dusk in the eyes, leaving the colt astonished for the second time in minutes. Rainbow Dash no longer had a look of anger, she had a look of grief and anguish as a few tears peeked from the edge of her eyes. "She is braver than everypony thinks..."

After looking at Dusk, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and quietly dried the small tears that were about to sprout, then she raised her head and looked at the sky as she remembered.

"A few years ago, I practiced maneuvers above the Everfree forest, there the clouds couldn’t move by themselves and the wind didn't follow a pattern, it was a risky place to practice, but at that time it didn't bother me. I had recently arrived at Ponyville, and the only pony I knew was Fluttershy, so I asked her to come with me. She was always afraid to go to that place, but she did it for me... While I was plummeting to try an old trick, the wind suddenly changed, and I was sidetracked, causing me to crash in the middle of the forest, I hit a tree and twisted a wing. I was so dizzy that I couldn't even walk, much less fly, so I just stood there waiting for the dizziness to pass, however while I waited, I heard some loud roars that came closer and closer, until among the trees a huge Manticore emerged. As soon as the beast appeared I began to tremble from tail to head, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't move myself, I had never been so scared... Then suddenly Fluttershy appeared and without hesitation she got between the Manticore and me, I begged her to run away and leave me, but she, trembling with fear even more than me, refused to leave me and approached the manticore. She did something incredible, she approached the manticore and spoke to it sweetly despite the terrible roars of the beast, and so they continued for a long time until she finally managed to calm it down. That's how she overcame her fears and managed to save me. "

"She doesn't realize it, but whenever her friends are involved in something dangerous, no matter what, she can be as brave or even braver than anypony..." Rainbow Dash added, ceasing to look at the sky and looking back at her friends. "I know you always want to protect her, but I want you to see the real Fluttershy, I want you to see her as I see her, a strong mare that is capable of doing anything for her friends, I don't want you to see her like everypony else does, the shy and helpless Fluttershy... That's why I get angry that she acts like that, I know she's afraid and maybe I overreacted a bit, but I also know that she is capable of more... so much more."

At Rainbow Dash’s words, another great silence reigned among the ponies. Dusk realized that Rainbow Dash thought exactly like him, she does see what Fluttershy was capable of, but as a friend, it bothered her that Fluttershy was so weak in front of others. Rainbow Dash wasn’t upset with Fluttershy because she really thought she was useless, she was frustrated because she knew that Fluttershy does have the capability, but she doesn't think so.

Dusk Shine gave a strong sigh after the whole whirlwind of emotions that had happened in those few minutes in which they had been at the top of the mountain. There was still a task to be done, there were also many things that they would all need to discuss together later, but the first thing was to reunite them all.

"Wait here, I'll go get Fluttershy." Dusk said to his friends as he walked in the direction where Fluttershy had run.

Fortunately, the platform they were on was not very big, and the path they had climbed was the only one, besides the cave, so Fluttershy had nowhere else to run and she remained hidden behind rocks. As soon as Dusk saw Fluttershy, he walked slowly until he reached her side, there she was sitting, with her head down, looking sadly towards the ground.

"Fluttershy, are you okay? Is it okay if I approach?" Dusk asked stopping a few steps from her, since he didn't know if his friend was still fragile because of what happened.

"I'm fine..." Fluttershy replied looking at him tenderly as she dried her tears.

"I... I’m sorry for what Rainbow Dash said to you..." Dusk said timidly, approaching slowly as he searched for the right words to comfort his friend. "She had other intentions, but I guess what she said was harsh, it's normal to feel hurt..."

"I didn't cry because of what Rainbow Dash said..." Fluttershy replied with a look of sadness. "I cried because everything she said was true, I know that, but still... I really wanted to try and act differently, I... I wish dragons didn't affect me that much, but... even if I try to act tough, I just can't..."

Dusk stared at his friend for a moment as he analyzed word for word what Fluttershy had said. She seemed to fear everything, but with the evidence on the way to the mountain and what she had said now, it seemed like there was something more to it than that, something he still couldn't see at all.

"Fluttershy... Is there a particular reason why you’re afraid of dragons?" Dusk asked looking tenderly but worried at Fluttershy. "I know that while we climbed the foot of the mountain, you told me that you were afraid of their teeth and claws, but I can't stop thinking... Is it really because of their fearsome appearance?"

Fluttershy looked into Dusk's eyes, those eyes that always looked at her with such compassion. Then an image of terrible red-golded eyes appeared in the pegasus's mind, demanding that she turn her gaze away from Dusk's and sink back into the fear of her past, but this time Fluttershy closed her eyes and breathed several times to calm down before her panic took control of her.

"Yes... There's a reason..." Fluttershy finally replied as she forced herself to endure and relive one of her most terrifying memories.





'Fluttershy's flashback.'

A young Fluttershy had stopped motionless for several minutes in front of the road that went into the dangerous Everfree forest. This was a place that she had always avoided and only went to if it was very necessary, unfortunately for her, this was one of those occasions.

"I must do it... For Harry." Fluttershy said talking to herself as she sighed and gave herself the courage to finally move forward into the terrifying forest.

Back then Harry was a little bear cub that the young Fluttershy had found a couple of weeks ago. It seemed that the little bear had been abandoned by his parents in the vicinity of the Everfree forest, probably because his parents' instincts told them that the bear was weak or maybe he was sick, unfortunately nature was like that, but the kind heart of Fluttershy was unable to leave him abandoned to his fate when she found him, so despite knowing that a bear was a fierce creature, Fluttershy took him under her care.

That is how Fluttershy took care of the little bear until he recovered much of his health, she bathed him, fed and pampered him, making him one more of the herd of small forest animals that she cared for, even giving him a name, something that she did just with those little animals with whom she became more attached to. However, not everything was happy for the young pegasus, as there came a time when little Harry fell ill, and nothing that Fluttershy did to help him heal seemed to work. There was no one in the town who knew about bear care, and no matter how much she looked in the library, she couldn't find any books to help her. Finally, when she didn't know what to do, a friend who knew botany told her that in the middle of the Everfree forest there grew some rare medicinal herbs that animals sometimes ate when they were sick, and that it could possibly help Harry to recover his health. Having no alternative, Fluttershy went to the forest to save her beloved bear cub.

In the forest, Fluttershy walked as fast and silent as she could, always following the path, as it was known that getting out of the path and going into the forest could be deadly. Fortunately, at that time it was almost winter, so a few trees had dropped their leaves, which made several sections of the forest exposed to the sun which reached through the dense foliage and illuminated the forest clearly, making it at least less intimidating in the day.

The young Pegasus had never gone so far into the Everfree forest, she had even left behind the main road that led to the old castle and now she continued to enter the forest on one of the many side roads, following step by step the instructions that her friend had given her. So Fluttershy continued until she saw a huge cave that was under a large hill composed of rocks. Thanks to her friend, Fluttershy knew that this place meant only two things: the first being that she was close to reaching those special herbs, since she only had to go around the hill and should be able to find them; but the hill also meant that she had reached the most dangerous part of her trip, because in that place lived a tribe of dangerous 'diamond dogs', ambitious and very territorial creatures, who would surely not like to have a pony near their land. Fortunately, diamond dogs normally spend most of their time in the underground tunnels and mines they built, something that Fluttershy counted on, otherwise it would be very risky to pass by.

As soon as Fluttershy saw the hill, she stared at it in the distance, waiting in silence to see if any diamond dogs appeared, however, none came into view, which gave confidence to the pegasus to approach, to go around the hill and quickly follow her path.

That was how Fluttershy finally got to where she wanted to go, a huge tree with crimson red leaves, with roots that grew some herbs of the same color. Those were the herbs she needed, the so-called 'kingsfoil', the medicinal plant that her botanist friend Tree Hugger, who also belonged to the ' Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures', had told her that it could perhaps save little Harry.

Fluttershy took several of the medicinal herbs she needed, filling both saddlebags she was carrying, as she wasn't sure how much medicine the poor bear cub would need. Finally, satisfied with the amount she was carrying, Fluttershy began her way back, heading for the dangerous hill inhabited by the diamond dogs, to move around it and return to the main road.

While Fluttershy was walking along the edge of the hill, close to it so she will not enter between the lush trees of the forest, she wondered if it really would be a good sign that she hadn't even heard a bark from the supposed dogs that lived there. Maybe the place was so silent because they had discovered her and now they were ambushing her! That made the pegasus look up and around scared, thinking that at any moment those dangerous diamond dogs could jump over her. It was then that, while Fluttershy looked up, the ground under her hooves suddenly gave way and she fell down a big and long hole, hitting the ground hard after the long fall.

After the heavy blow, Fluttershy got up slowly, taking her aching head, and as she did it, she began to quickly review what had just happened, which caused her to wake up quickly and look around when she realized that she had apparently fallen into a trap, however, nobody came to attack her.

While Fluttershy waited expectantly for her possible attackers, she looked around to see where she was. She had fallen into what appeared to be a huge tunnel, and she could only see a very small part of what a few steps in front of her was, thanks to the sunlight reaching faintly through the hole through which she had fallen, although the rest of the tunnel ahead was kept in total darkness.

After a few seconds in full vigilance, which seemed like an eternity to her, Fluttershy finally relaxed a bit when she saw that after several minutes nobody attacked her and that she had apparently just fallen into a regular hole by accident. Then the pegasus looked towards the ceiling.

"I think I can fly up there..." Fluttershy thought, finally getting up, ready to leave that dark tunnel as soon as possible.

Only when Fluttershy opened her wings, she realized that something important was missing. She had lost her saddlebags! And that immediately terrified her, even more than the fact that she had fallen into a dark tunnel, since it meant that she had lost the medicine to cure the bear cub Harry, and without the saddlebag she wouldn't have any way to bring more herbs to her house.

Fluttershy immediately began to search around, trying to find her lost saddlebag, until she finally saw, what was near at the point where the light stopped illuminating the tunnel and lost in the darkness, it was her saddlebag on the ground, with one of the bags open, revealing its valuable content.

"Hmm... medicinal herb... Are you sick...?" A thick and deep voice suddenly said in the darkness, causing Fluttershy to freeze in fear just as she was about to approach to retrieve her saddlebag.

Hearing that deep voice, Fluttershy froze completely, without even blinking or breathing, while a cold sweat ran down her back and her trembling eyes looked forward, deep in the tunnel, where darkness prevented her from seeing the owner of that mysterious voice.

"What's wrong, aren't you going to pick up what you've dropped?" The deep voice spoke again, putting a tone of kindness that seemed out of place for that thick voice.

At that moment Fluttershy couldn't take it anymore and breathed again, agitatedly and trying at the same time to do it as silently as possible, due to the fear of what she was facing.

"W-Who... who are you...?" Fluttershy finally asked, doing her best to calm her nerves, because although her instincts were screaming at her to run and flee scared, she needed to recover the medicine that was in front of her.

At the question, the creature snorted as he let out a choked laugh, like the laughter of an old pony who had trouble breathing.

"Hugh... Hah... Hagh... Hah... You could never pronounce my name correctly..." The creature responded in the dark with a slight mocking tone.

While the creature in the dark spoke, Fluttershy fixed her eyes deep in the tunnel, trying to see beyond where the light allowed it to see the creature she was talking to. Finally, Fluttershy's eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, so she could see something else in the dark shadows of the tunnel, what looked like huge red golden eyes that stared in her direction, which caused the pegasus to tremble with fear.

"A-Are you... a monster?" Fluttershy asked, still mired in fear, as she still didn't know with whom she was talking to.

"A monster? Can't you see me?" The voice answered, somewhat confused.

"It's... It's very dark..." Fluttershy answered timidly, still not knowing if it was the right thing to be talking to an unknown creature in the dark.

Then suddenly the mysterious creature began to cough, as if it had something stuck in his throat, however no matter how hard he tried, it seemed that the creature couldn't spit it out. Then the creature stopped forcing his throat for a few seconds, until finally he coughs again harder, straining his throat to the maximum, until to Fluttershy's total surprise, a light caused by a weak fire from apparently out of nowhere illuminated the place briefly where that creature's voice was heard, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, as the creature began to cough again as a small smoke came out from where the fire had appeared. That flare had been small and fleeting, however, it was enough for Fluttershy to see part of the creature she was talking to. She could see more clearly the golden eyes with crimson edge of the creature; she also caught a glimpse of a huge snout, of which only then Fluttershy understood that it had been there where that fleeting flare had appeared; finally, she caught a glimpse of the creature's eyes, and what appeared to be a shining and scaly skin that was lost in huge horns. That was a head, a huge head that occupied the whole height and width of the tunnel.

"I'm sorry... my fire is not what it used to be..." The creature said in the darkness, in a somewhat embarrassed voice, which quickly changed to a more solemn tone when he spoke again. "I AM A 'DRACO'..."

Fluttershy didn't know what a 'draco' was, but she knew what she had seen, surely a 'draco' was the way those creatures described themselves. That was a dragon! And not just any dragon, because although Fluttershy had never seen one in person, she knew perfectly well how they should look, but she had never heard of dragons being that big.

The next thing that followed was a long silence, in which the dragon didn't speak, waiting for Fluttershy to respond; and Fluttershy couldn't speak due to her fear and hesitancy to know what to do, since she knew that dragons are very dangerous creatures.

"So? Will you pick up the herbs you dropped or not?" The dragon finally asked, with a slight tone of impatience in his voice.

"I-I... I-I don't need it, I r-remembered that I have more at home..." Fluttershy replied nervously, since she knew she needed that medicine, but getting close to that huge and frightening dragon, was something that her fear prevented her from doing.

"Hah... Hugh... Hah... Hagh..." The dragon laughed again, with his choked laugh. "So you're afraid of an old, blind draco... Hugh... Hah..."

Fluttershy was surprised by the dragon's last comment. The voice and the way the dragon coughed indicated that the dragon was very very old, in addition to his enormous size, since she knew that dragons could live for thousands of years, and to be this enormous, that dragon was extremely old. But there was a second thing that strongly called the shy Pegasus attention.

"You... Are you blind?" Fluttershy asked timidly, with a small note of concern and curiosity in her voice. "But then... How do you know that there are herbs in front of you?"

"I can smell them..." The dragon replied as he let out a little smoke from his nostrils. "My nose is not what it used to be, but those herbs are close enough to smell them."

After the words of the dragon, an uncomfortable silence was left in the air, where Fluttershy was still trembling, feeling very tiny in front of such a huge and monstrous creature, not knowing what to say or do, just wanting to flee quickly from there, but her body refused to react.

"I think... I think I should go now-" Fluttershy said shakily, taking a step back.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Aren't you even going to pick up the herbs that you dropped near me?" The dragon said kindly. "Are you afraid of me?"

Fluttershy just fell silent, swallowing hard, not being able to admit that she really was afraid to approach him.

"I guess it's normal to be scared by my size... and my appearance." The dragon said, sighing heavily. "It's normal for other creatures to fear my race."

At those words, Fluttershy immediately remembered the little bear Harry. The poor cub bear was very tender, but his claws and fangs scared all the other little creatures in the forest, even some ponies in the town who had found out that she was taking care of a baby wild bear, warning her to stay away from such a ferocious and dangerous creature, however, Fluttershy saw beyond the claws and fangs, and had discovered the tender and kind heart that Harry actually had. Therefore, the words that the dragon said fell right into her heart, making her think about whether she was acting well or not.

"Am I acting like all those ponies who feared Harry just for being a bear? Am I judging this old dragon just because of his appearance?" These were the questions that began to pass through her mind, questions that made her kind heart gain ground in the face of the great fear that she felt at that moment.

"I... I'm not afraid..." Fluttershy finally answered, swallowing hard and taking courage to take a step forward. "No one should be judged by their appearance... it’s only their hearts that matters..." Fluttershy added timidly.

"Oh... that's good..." The dragon answered, as for a slight second his blind eyes shone. "Maybe we can be friends..."

"Friends?" Fluttershy said somewhat surprised, while, without realizing it, she was slightly moved by the thought that maybe she could become friends with a huge dragon like that, after all perhaps that dragon was just like Harry, a creature with a kind heart.

"Yes, of course, the last friends I had don't visit me anymore, and it's always good to have friends to help you." The dragon said kindly.

"You have friends?" Fluttershy asked, who slowly began to move a little closer to the dragon, already having a little more confidence to see that both were talking about friendship.

"That's right... They lived here and came to visit me from time to time, they were my only company since I woke up, because I can't get out of here." The ancient dragon said, in a voice that was increasingly calm and friendly.

"You can't go out?" Fluttershy asked with a little concern for her new friend.

"That's right, I decided to sleep here many years ago, but when I woke up the rocks had imprisoned me..." The dragon replied, as if what had happened was something normal.

Upon hearing those words, about that terrible beast was actually trapped and helpless, Fluttershy’s heart finally welcomed the huge dragon completely, because she realized that despite how imposing the dragon was, he could have difficulties like any other living creature, just like the helpless Harry had.

"How long have you been stuck in here?" Fluttershy asked, already speaking normally.

"Hundreds of years... maybe thousand. But I only woke up a few years ago." The dragon answered calmly.

Fluttershy was surprised again by the dragon's words. She had heard that dragons were able to hibernate for years, but hundreds of years!? How long can a dragon live? How long could a dragon sleep?! It seemed that that giant dragon was truly unique.

"How have you survived?" Fluttershy asked as her kind instinct made her slowly worry about the dragon's health.

"While we hibernate, we don't need food, as long as our internal fire is strong enough." The dragon answered in a calm voice. "When I woke up my body demanded food, and for my fortune some dogs had made tunnels near here, they collected gems for me, and that way I could survive all these years."

Upon hearing about 'dogs', Fluttershy immediately knew that the dragon must have been referring to the diamond dogs that lived there, and if they visited the dragon, it meant it was dangerous to stay there for a long time, since the diamond dogs didn't liked ponies.

"W-Will the diamond dogs that live here come back soon?" Fluttershy asked taking a step back, again getting nervous.

The dragon remained silent for a second until he finally spoke.

"No, it's been a long time since any dogs have roamed these tunnels..." The dragon replied in a monotonous voice that then returned to feeling. "They were the friends I spoke to... It's a shame, I suppose I miss talking with them a bit, they were very talkative... They informed me of all the changes that happened to the world, in all these years that I remained asleep... It seems that now everything has changed... And in the absence of the shepherds, the flock dominates the land..."

The dragon said those last words with a clear tone of resentment, but Fluttershy didn't notice, as she focused on feeling compassion for that lonely and helpless creature, because hear the dragon saying he missed talking to his friends gave her a lot of pity.

"He must have been alone for a long time... He made friends with the diamond dogs, but they abandoned him..." The kind Fluttershy thought, feeling more and more empathy for the dragon, however there was something that didn't quite fit.

"If the diamond dogs that lived here brought you gems to feed you, why didn't they try to free you? They're very good at digging..." Fluttershy asked, trying to solve the puzzle of why that dragon was alone.

"They feared me..." The dragon replied, speaking again with a tone without emotion. "That fear inspired them to bring me food, to talk to me and respect me, but that fear also prevented them from wanting to free me from here."

At the words of the dragon, Fluttershy couldn't help but think the little bear Harry again, who like the dragon, was feared only by his appearance. Then the young pegasus remained pensive for a few seconds until she made a decision.

"I... I could try to help you out..." Fluttershy said, putting aside her natural fear, after all, if there was anything she could do to help someone in need, she would.

"You… would you do that for me?" The dragon said with some surprise, although his sharp eyes again seemed to shine for a moment.

"Yes, although I don't know how I can help you." Fluttershy answered with a small and tender smile.

"Come… closer..." The dragon said with a slight tone of anxiety.

The pegasus began to walk slowly towards where the dragon was, passing the side where her saddlebag had fallen with the medicinal herb and entered the darker part of the tunnel, where Fluttershy could see a little more clearly the huge silhouette of the dragon's head. As she walked, her sixth sense told her that maybe it wasn't a good idea to approach such a huge and ferocious creature in the dark, but the thought that she might be leaving someone who needs her help kept her moving forward.

Approaching only a few steps from the dragon's huge snout, Fluttershy heard a small crunch, coming from where she was stepping. The young pegasus looked down but with the limited light of the cave she only reached to see what appeared to be some tree branches that were there, so she took another step to keep moving, however this time she stopped to feel that her hooves were entangled in something. She bent down to take what had stuck in her hooves.

"What’s this?" Fluttershy wondered innocently, thinking aloud, taking what appeared to be a torn piece of cloth.

Fluttershy stared at the cloth she had picked up, lifting it over her head so that the light of the place could illuminate it better. It was so she could see that the cloth was dark green, but for some reason it had large red spots all over it...

Like a lightning, Fluttershy realized what those red spots were and quickly dropped the cloth, taking a step back while a chill ran down her back.

"It's... it's someone's clothes... and it's all..." Fluttershy said in fright, talking to herself without realizing it, paralyzed by what she had just seen and held between her hooves. Then another revelation came to her, one more terrible, one that almost made her vomit as her body trembled from tail to head.

"T-They aren’t tree branches..." Fluttershy whispered thinking aloud, covering her mouth with a face of total horror when she realized what she had stepped on and broken.

"No. They are bones." The dragon said in a dry, deep voice, who opened his eyes wider and looked penetratingly towards where Fluttershy was.

Like a sudden flash, that stare made Fluttershy lose all will to act, she had never seen a stare so penetrating, so deep, a stare so strong that it made her want never to have been born or lived, a stare that made everything that surrounded her disappeared, in that moment there were only Fluttershy and the owner of that absolute stare, the stare of who would end her life...

The dragon's huge snout moved slowly towards where Fluttershy was, opening slowly and thus showing the giant fangs it contained. The dragon did everything slowly, since he knew that with his stare, his prey had lost all will to live and would never move until it was devoured.

As the dragon's snout approached, all Fluttershy could do was let out a few tears as she said her last words, the only thing she didn't understand.

"They... were your friends..." Fluttershy said in a weak and emotionless voice while her eyes seemed to have lost all signs of life, totally resigned to her cruel destiny.

The dragon laughed softly and sinisterly, stopping the advance of his snout towards his prey.

"The dogs fed me and took care of me, but there are times when I need to eat something alive..." The dragon said softly before laughing again bringing his snout towards Fluttershy. "Just for fun…"

Hearing that the dragon had eaten those who cared for him, affected her greatly, as if she had received a great blow in her heart, realizing the cruelty of that monster. But the last sentence the dragon said, showing that he had only killed for fun, just for fun!? That was devastating for the kindly pegasus. She had left the beautiful and peaceful world in which she lived and now she knew what pure evil was, and she had seen it in his eyes. There was nothing left for her, after knowing that world she could no longer live...

Fluttershy's eyes faded completely, as did her will to live. The dragon's snout opened as much as he could as the space in the cave allowed and began to close to eat his prey.

In the last breath of life that was left in the young pegasus, her whole life passed before her eyes, but since she had already lost the will to live, it didn’t seem like there was anything that can affect her. That was until her life came back, when she was taking care of her little pet, the bear cub Harry, who was still waiting, sick and in need for the medicine that would never come... that would never come... that never...





"NO!!!" Fluttershy shouted in the last second of life she had left, screaming with all her strength to get out of the dragon's haunting stare, jumping backwards while the beast's jaws closed in front of her, recovering her will to live, because she couldn't lose it, not yet! Because it was not only her own life that depended on it, but it was someone else’s as well, someone who needed her to come back with the medicine.

"Hah... Hugh... Hah... Hagh..." The dragon began to laugh after realizing what had just happened. "No prey had ever escaped me... I guess my stare is not what it was before. Hah... Hugh... Hah..."

That dragon began to laugh sincerely, and to Fluttershy that laugh sounded like the most chilling thing she had ever heard. That dragon had lost his prey and he wasn't angry at all, for him it was all a game, life and death were just a game for him! Fluttershy could hardly stand, for every second that passed in that cave, her notions of evil were changing and expanding to new levels, her world would never be the same again.

Suddenly the dragon stopped laughing and began to sniff, again and again.

"What is this? This smell... is not from a dog... What are you?" The old, blind dragon said as he continued to sniff, finally being able to smell Fluttershy now that she was close. "This... This smell... This smell is from-!"

RRROOOAAAAAARR!!!

The dragon growled heavily, not only making the little pegasus tremble more than she already was, but also that causing the whole cave trembled, causing several rocks to fall from the ceiling.

"You're a filthy pony!" The dragon screamed, who, being blind, all this time had thought that he had been talking to another silly diamond dog. "I curse your queen and your race! You who stole the eternal flame and condemned it to move at your will around the sky! You who dared to kill the greatest of my race! You who turned what was left of my race in a few weak lizards that are not able to assert their ancestral rights! You are the flock! You are scum!"

The more the dragon shouted, the furrier he became, and the cave shook even more. At that moment the dragon inhaled deeply and tried to throw a flare, but all he got was a heavy cough and only threw smoke, because the truth was that the dragon's internal fire was almost out, as were his days in this world.

Seeing that his flare didn't work, the dragon began to move his snout more furiously from one side to another, trying in vain to free himself, while all it did was caused the cave to collapse on him.

Meanwhile Fluttershy was still paralyzed with fear, watching the beast move wildly trying to approach her to devour her. Then a huge stone fell from the ceiling right next to Fluttershy, causing a great rumble and finally making the shy pegasus react when she saw that the cave was beginning to collapse around them.

The pegasus quickly took the saddlebags that was beside her, turned and flew towards the light, towards the hole where she had fallen. While fleeing, the only thing the pegasus could feel was absolute terror, making her shed tears of fear while all she thought was to get out of that cave quickly.

"I’m not finish! With you and with your whole entire race!" The dragon shouted from below while Fluttershy flew, hitting the cave with his huge snout while without realizing it, he made the whole cave collapse on himself. "I'll get out of here and devour you all! I swear by the father of dragons! We'll rise from the Withered Heath and reclaim the throne of this kingdom! We are the eternal! We are the ruthless! The children of the Sun and the fire! Our word is law!!"

Those words, spoken with such force and hatred, would be burned into the terrified memory of the pegasus, the oath of a beast that promised to destroy her and everyone she knew, the oath of a monster...

'End of flashback.'





"After I got out of there, I thought I heard everything collapsing behind me, the cave, the huge hill that was above it... I even thought I heard a last and pitiful final roar, but I didn't care, I never looked back, I just flew away, faster than I had ever flown..." Fluttershy said sadly after telling Dusk the story of her past. "When I arrived at my house I had no strength at all... Tree Hugger had to give Harry the medicine I brought, I just locked myself in my room for days, under my bed... Finally, Harry recovered, and I thought I could leave the memory of that terrible meeting behind, but it wasn't like that, I... I spent months being unable to sleep well, I woke up in the middle of the night, crying, terrified to remember what I saw in that cave, even, to this day, every time I hear someone say 'dragon', I feel my blood freeze, and... I can't stop hearing that evil laugh..."

Finally, Fluttershy fell silent, looking back at the ground and trembling again.

"Please... Don't make me go in there..." Fluttershy added with a weak pleading voice, unable to raise her eyes to look at Dusk. "I... I want to help, but... I-I'm too scared..."

Dusk looked at his timid friend with concern, now he can finally understand Fluttershy better and her reaction to his request about her being the one to convince the dragon to leave. What Fluttershy told him was horrible, to have fallen into a dragon's cave, to be deceived by him, to know since childhood how cruel and bloodthirsty certain beasts can be, almost to be devoured, to have seen corpses! Not even Dusk could imagine how terrifying it must’ve been to see that, since neither he nor most of the ponies had ever seen such a bloody scene, since the lands of Equestria were known to be peaceful almost entirely, with crimes of low character, but never to the point that crimes such as murder happened, much less for fun... And to think that a young, shy and fearful Fluttershy lived with all of that, it made Dusk realize that what his pegasus friend had was not fear, what she rather had was a serious and deep trauma, something that went beyond his abilities to solve.

"Now I understand why she sometimes wanted to fly or move, but her own body would not let her... It's more than incredible that she forced herself to come here despite the trauma she endured..." Dusk thought with a look of compassion.

"You... you’re stronger than you think..." Dusk said tenderly, stroking the mane of the trembling Fluttershy. "Calm down, I'll take care of everything, you wait here for me."

Only the touch of Dusk Shine was necessary for Fluttershy to stop shaking. Then she raised her head to see the face of the colt that calmed her, but he had already turned around and was heading back to his friends to face that great beast that was hiding in the cave.

The only thing Fluttershy could do was close her eyes and pray to heaven that her beloved Dusk would return so that she could feel his gentle caress again.

"You've finally came back! So, what happened?" Rainbow Dash said annoyed after having waited so long for Dusk to talk to Fluttershy again.

It was then that Dusk quickly told his friends what he talked with Fluttershy, the story of the pegasus and how her friend seemed to have a youthful trauma about the dragons. When he finished speaking, all of his friends looked worried and hurt knowing now what her friend had gone through and how she had carried that terrible secret for so many years without even telling them. And of all the mares, the one that seemed most hurt was Rainbow Dash, who had a look of fear mixed with anger, which hid in a bad way the fact that it seemed that she was going to cry at any moment.

Rainbow Dash was angry with herself, she had shouted at Fluttershy for not daring to go and deal with the dragon, without even knowing what she had suffered in the past, and what hurt herself the most was the fact of never having heard about that, even though she was Fluttershy's oldest friend. That made her wonder if she really was a good friend, which hurt Rainbow Dash’s soul.

"Should we go talk to her?" Rarity asked, looking up at the rocks behind which Fluttershy was hiding.

"No, I think the best thing for now is to let her calm herself, at least for now." Dusk answered, looking towards the sky and seeing how the sun began to slowly hide behind the horizon. "But right now, we still have a task to do, and we don't have much time, the sunlight is almost gone, we need to do this now."

"But, what can we do?" Applejack asked.

"I think I'll go in alone and try to talk to the dragon." Dusk said, saying what he had been meditating for a few moments. "I don't want all of us going in together, it may cause the dragon to feel threatened in some way, I think it's best to enter one at a time."

"Are you sure?" Rarity asked.

"Nope." Dusk answered sincerely, without ceasing to be nervous. Turning around and starting to walk towards the dark cave where the dragon was hiding. "But right now, I can't think of any other alternatives."

It was so the lavender unicorn began to enter the cave, clenching his teeth tightly as he forced himself to enter a dangerous and uncertain place, all while his four friends looked from behind, just as fearful, wishing that nothing bad will happen to their beloved Dusk Shine.

In the cave, Dusk slowly advanced blindly, because besides the cave itself was dark, the smoke coming from the bottom of it almost prevented him from seeing the path that was in front of him. Thus, Dusk advanced, listening closer and closer to the strong snores of the slumbering beast, slowly putting himself on guard, since he felt that the source of the snoring was only a few steps in front of him.

Suddenly Dusk stumbled over something and fell face first into the ground, causing the unicorn to give a little cry of pain when he hit the ground.

"Ouch!" Dusk screamed when he hit, but he immediately put his hooves over his mouth, because he realized that the noise could awaken the dragon.

"Dusk! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the entrance, worried as her friends were listening to Dusk's scream.

"Shhh! Yeah! I'm fine!" Dusk shouted in a whisper, totally nervous, immediately telling his friends not to make noise.

Dusk immediately realized how absurd he was acting, after all, he should wake the dragon anyway, so it didn't matter if the dragon had woken up or not. Then Dusk turned around and looked again towards the back of the cave, it was there that thanks to his eyes becoming more accustomed to the darkness and that the dragon seemed to have stopped throwing smoke for a moment, that finally Dusk could see the dragon, a huge beast with red scales, a huge snout with fangs, sharp claws and a huge tail, which stretched over much of the cave. Only then did Dusk realize that what he had stumbled into was not a rock, but part of the dragon's tail, which scared Dusk even more, since he knew that dragons were great, but seeing it with his own eyes was very different. Another thing that Dusk got to see was that the dragon slept under a huge pile of gold coins, jewels and gems, using them practically as a mattress, lying on it so firmly that it seemed that not even a coin could be taken out of that treasure without the dragon realized it.

The huge beast, who was several dozen times the size of Dusk, slept peacefully and noisily without even noticing the presence of the lavender unicorn. Realizing this, Dusk closed his eyes, mentally reviewed his plan to follow, then he took a deep breath a couple of times and finally became ready to act.

"Ahem!" Dusk coughed, clearing his throat loudly to awaken the dragon, however, seeing that the dragon didn't flinch, Dusk cleared his throat more and more loudly. "AHEM! AHEM!"

Finally, both dragon eyes opened suddenly, revealing their cold golden color, causing Dusk to jump backwards because of how sudden everything had been.

The dragon stared at Dusk, not moving a muscle, which was even more terrifying for the unicorn, since he didn't know what that beast was thinking about him right then.

"Calm down... breathe and don't get nervous." Dusk thought breathing slowly before speaking, unable to avoid remembering what Fluttershy had just told him about her encounter with a dragon.

"G-Good afternoon, Mr. Dragon." Dusk said tremulously at first, but calming immediately, since he didn't want to show fear in front of the creature he was about to expel from here. "My name is Dusk Shine, I am representing the kingdom of Equestria and its allied nations. I-It's my duty to inform you that your recent arrival in this part of the kingdom is negatively affecting the residents of the nearby villages of the mountain, as are the town of Ponyville and the great capital city of Canterlot."

Dusk paused for a moment to see the dragon's reaction, who finally narrowed his eyes a little, as if he was thinking about something, which Dusk took as a good sign, since the dragon should be realizing the seriousness of the situation he was in, so Dusk decided to continue with his speech.

At that moment Dusk used his magic to make glasses appear in front of him, a scroll and a quill. Dusk illuminated the place with his magic a bit as he put on his reading glasses and began to write on the scroll using the levitated quill.

"Mr. Dragon, I inform you that you are currently breaking the laws n° 37, 98 and 122 of the civil code of Equestria." Dusk said seriously while touching his glasses, getting excited when playing the role of lawyer and remembering some of the law books that he had memorized many years ago. "In addition to breaking the codes of ethics and conduct, articles 3 to 8, not to mention the pollution law outdoors and-Cough!! Cough!!"

Dusk had to stop his speech since the dragon had let out a small but dense column of smoke from his snout, right in front of Dusk, making the unicorn unable to continue talking.

After the cloud of smoke dissipated, Dusk half opened his eyes and prepared to continue talking, however stopped when he realized that the dragon had closed his eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep again.

"He... He's ignoring me!" Dusk thought surprised and annoyed, who didn't like it when someone interrupted him or ignored him when he recited some memory from a book.

Dusk quickly forgot that he had a potentially deadly beast front him, and he hit the dragon's snout a couple of times, as if it were a door, until the dragon opened his eyes again.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Dusk said annoyed, as if he were talking to a foal that ignored him. "You must understand that you are breaking the peace of-Cough!! Cough!!"

The dragon again spat smoke to interrupt Dusk's speech, however this time the dragon didn't pretend to fall asleep, this time the dragon continued to look Dusk and smiled mockingly after interrupting him.

"So... That's the way it is going to be..." Dusk said angrily, being able to speak again, deciding that if the negotiation failed, the next thing would be a threat. "Listen to me well, dragon, if you don't leave right now, all the power of Equestria will fall on you! And I don't mean only the strongest ponies of Equestria, the fastest pegasus, and the most powerful unicorns of the kingdom, but the same alicorn princesses that will come for you and take your scaly butt out of this mountain if you don't listen to me!"

Everything Dusk said was a simple bluff, since the truth was that Dusk couldn't ensure all that, however he hoped that that was enough to scare the dragon from this place.

At the beginning of Dusk's speech, the dragon seemed immutable, but Dusk could swear that he saw the dragon briefly narrow his eyes when he mentioned the princesses, Dusk knew that he shouldn't play with the power of the royal princesses, and it seemed that the dragon knew it too. However, when Dusk thought that his false threat had worked, the dragon inhaled strongly and blew with all his might on Dusk, causing the unicorn to roll quickly until he was launched out of the cave and back to where the other mares were.

"Dusk! What happened?!" Applejack asked worried, like her friends, seeing that Dusk had been rolled out of the cave.

"He... got rid of me like I was a fly..." Dusk answered holding his head, still somewhat stunned by all the turns he had given.

"That dragon is just a wild beast that will not understand reasons!" Rarity said, annoyed with the dragon for having mistreated her dear Dusk in such a way.

"I don't think he's a wild beast... It's true that he didn't listen to me, but I don't think we're unable to reason with him or reach an agreement." Dusk said, meditating a moment, trying to think logically even though he was still somewhat upset by the dragon's attitude and being pushed out of the cave. "He is massive, and he had the opportunity to devour me easily, he could have breathed fire at me, and instead he just pushed me with his breath... I may be wrong, but the impression I get is that this dragon is not as dangerous as the one Fluttershy faced."

"We should throw him out by force." Rainbow Dash said suddenly, who for some reason seemed nervous and upset. "If those beasts are as dangerous as Fluttershy told you, I think it would be best to attack before he attacks us."

"No, that's precisely why we should avoid using force!" Dusk answered. "If that dragon really is so dangerous, the worst thing we can do is provoke him, we need to continue this diplomatically."

"And what do you propose?" Rainbow Dash asked, still nervous. "I don't think you can talk to him, he must also be very moody after you woke him up."

Dusk Shine didn't answer, he just fell silent thinking about other dialogue alternatives.

"I have an idea! If he's in a bad mood, it's best to cheer him up before we can talk to him." Applejack said suddenly.

"What do you mean by ‘cheer him up’?" Dusk asked confused.

"I know, let's have a part-!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, before being silenced by Applejack, who put a hoof in her mouth to silence her.

"I don't mean a party, that would be absurd." Applejack said looking sideways at Pinkie Pie.

"Parties aren’t absurd." Pinkie Pie said, looking pouty after being interrupted.

"I mean, if he just woke up, it's likely that the dragon is hungry." Applejack continued, ignoring Pinkie Pie and turning her attention to others.

"So, what do you propose? Give him a banquet of six ponies on a pan?" Rarity said sarcastically.

"I'll give him something better!" Applejack replied, turning her head to put her snout in the saddlebag she carried, until with her mouth she took out one of the many apples she had brought with her. "I'll give that dragon a taste of the best apples of Sweet Apple Acres, he'll have a feast with my apples! And, he'll be so satisfied and grateful, allowing us then to talk to him more calmly. "

Dusk stared at Applejack with his mouth open, as if he was about to say something, but he couldn’t say anything. He knew that plan was crazy, but he couldn't think of any kinder way to tell his friend that it probably wouldn't work, nor did he come up with a better plan to replace that plan.

"Do you really think that could work?" Dusk asked finally, with a look of insecurity.

"Of course, no one has ever rejected the delicious Sweet Apple Acres apples before!" Applejack said confidently, walking with confidence into the cave.

For safety, none of the other ponies accompanied Applejack, since they didn't want to intimidate the dragon, so they only approached the entrance to the cave and watched expectantly as their country friend was lost in the darkness of the interior of the cave, everypony raising their ears to sharpen their hearing and listen to what was happening inside the cave.

"If I get that dragon to eat the apples from my farm, it'll be a great publicity!" It was the last thing the four ponies got to hear before losing sight of Applejack, who had been thinking out loud and due to the echo of the cave, it was a comment that everyone was able to hear.

After Applejack got lost in the dark, Dusk Shine, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood like statues with their ears on alert, waiting to hear if their friend's plan worked.

"Wow, you're bigger than I expected... Ahem, howdy, Mr. Dragon, my name is Applejack." Applejack's voice finally said from inside the cave. "I came here to offer you some delicious apples from my farm! I know you must be hungry after such a long nap."

There was no response to Applejack's words, just a loud growl.

"Then, what do you think of an apple pie?" Applejack's voice was heard again. "I also brought apple fritters, candied apple, apple-"

A sudden and loud noise was heard from inside the cave, like a whirlwind that echoed throughout the cave. At that moment a strong wind blew from inside the cave, accompanied by Applejack and a dozen apples, who went flying by the strong blow of the dragon, just as Dusk was a few moments ago.

"Applejack! Are you okay?" The friends of Applejack asked, approaching their friend, who had flown right up to where the others were, with her head covered by apple pie.

"He... He's dirty and rude!" Applejack said annoyed, getting up and angrily wiping the apple pie from her face. Then the country mare put on a serious look and started to walk back inside the cave. "That crooked beast will see! Nopony rejects my family's apples!"

"Applejack, wait!" Dusk said quickly, putting his hooves in front of Applejack to stop her, but he only managed to slow her down, since the mare had great physical strength.

"Wait! Don't you realize? It’s better this way!" Dusk added with a nervous smile, quickly thinking of an excuse to convince his stubborn friend, since he knew from experience that it would be very difficult to convince Applejack to not re-enter the cave. "If he had tried your apples, he probably would have left this cave and transformed Sweet Apple Acres into his new nest, do you want that?"

Dusk's comment finally made Applejack reconsider her plan and stopped. Then she looked angrily at the inside of the cave, and she turned to go back out.

"Hmpf! I guess you're right... I'll let it go this time" Applejack said with a little snort.

"Well... I guess Applejack's plan failed." Dusk said with a sigh of relief after convincing his friend not to go crazy, walking towards the rest of her friends. "Now... Does anyone else have a plan?"

"Me!" Pinkie Pie said surprisingly. "It's time for plan C!"

When everyone turned to see Pinkie Pie, they were surprised to see that their pink friend unexpectedly had disguised herself in a ridiculous outfit. Wearing fins on her four hooves, wearing on her body a box that pretended to be a birthday gift, with balloons tied to her tail and mane, completing the ridiculous suit with some extravagant and gigantic sunglasses.

"Darling, you look ridiculous." Rarity said with a hint of disgust at seeing her friend insulting fashion that way.

"What is plan C?" Dusk asked a little curious, without being able to avoid smiling a little, since he still didn't stop being surprised by the wild and unpredictable behavior of his friend.

"Plan C is for: Come to my party!" Pinkie Pie said smiling. "Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get somepony on your side! I'll invite him to join a party and so some ponies will see that parties are not absurd at all." Pinkie Pie finished, looking sideways at Applejack.

"Pinkie Pie, you know I didn't mean that when I said that about parties." Applejack said with a sad smile. "What I was referring to was- Hey! Wait!"

Applejack couldn't quite finish apologizing since Pinkie Pie had ignored her and had begun to walk into the cave.

"We have to stop her!" Applejack said trying to move towards where Pinkie Pie was going, however Dusk put a hoof infront her to stop her.

"Easy... If I learned anything from Pinkie Pie, you never know what she can do, maybe it would be good to give her a try." Dusk Shine said, leaving his worry aside to trust the instincts of his eccentric pink friend.

Applejack stopped, and after the words of Dusk, she was relieved a little, thinking that perhaps the colt was right, however the one that couldn't keep quiet was Rainbow Dash, who was getting more nervous by the minute, first when Dusk went in, then when Applejack went in, and now with Pinkie Pie going in.

While the pink pony walked awkwardly until she was lost in the darkness, the other four ponies returned to the same previous position, extending their ears towards the cave and remaining completely still and silent while they waited to hear what was happening inside the cave.

"Hi Mr. Dragon!" The strong voice of Pinkie Pie was heard in the darkness.

Again, there was no response, just a loud growl.

"How about we throw a party!" Pinkie Pie's voice was heard again, shouting louder and louder.

Again, the strong snort of the dragon was heard, followed by Pinkie Pie, who rolled out strongly by the wind to where her friends were, with her disguise all destroyed.

"Well... It seems he doesn't like parties, but that doesn't mean parties are absurd!" Pinkie Pie said from the ground, staring at Applejack.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Applejack said, who couldn't help but smile when she saw that her friend was still offended by her little comment.

"Well, any other plan?" Dusk asked, who still had no other idea on how to try and talk with that cranky dragon.

"I'll go!" Rainbow Dash said immediately, with a serious look.

"And, what’s your plan?" Dusk asked.

"Huh... I... I don't know." Rainbow Dash answered nervously. "But I don't want anypony else to enter..."

Rainbow Dash was getting more and more nervous, mainly for two reasons. The first was that even if her friends didn't feel it, she could feel it, the dragon was getting angry! Or at least that was what she believed, since her sensitive wings could feel the variation in the wind, and when the dragon pushed Applejack, he did it slightly stronger, the same with Dusk, but was a little stronger when he pushed Pinkie Pie out, and because the dragon began to blow strongly, it could mean that the dragon was being bothered; however, that was not something that Rainbow Dash could take for granted, it was only her assumption and instinct that told her that, for that reason she didn't want to share that with her friends so as to not make them unnecessarily nervous. That was enough for Rainbow Dash to make the decision to not want any more of her friends to risk themselves, besides there was also a second reason as to why Rainbow Dash was nervous... She kept thinking about Fluttershy, and her terrible encounter with the dragon, and how she had never been told about it until today, which still made her feel guilty.

"If you don't have a plan, then I think I'll go in." Rarity said, passing elegantly between Dusk and Rainbow Dash, moving into the cave.

"But what’s your plan?" Dusk asked when he saw that Rarity was beginning to walk towards the cave.

"Hehehe!" Rarity chuckled coquettishly, turning to look at Dusk and winked lovingly at him. "I'll try some pony charm."

Then Rarity kept walking until she was lost in the darkness of the cave, while again the other four ponies were put in position to listen to what was happening.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt you, Sir Dragon." The melodious voice of Rarity was heard from inside the cave. "I was about to leave, but I realized that I couldn't possibly head back home without mentioning what handsome scales you have."

"Is she trying to flatter him!?" Dusk thought scared, reconciling himself and getting in position to catch Rarity when the dragon blows her out of there.

Again, the dragon didn't respond, but to the surprise of the four ponies that were in the entrance, this time there was no growl.

"I mean, look how majestic and outstanding those scales are! Surely you take good care of them, worthy of a dragon of your magnificence!" The voice of Rarity was heard again, who continued speaking sweetly. "I can't help but think of the tragedy that it is that such beautiful armor is worn away and hidden in a cave as ugly and dark as this."

This time the dragon made a noise, which instead of a growl, it seemed to be a kind of purr.

"It’s working!?" Dusk thought surprised, seeing that the dragon was finally listening to someone and that he seemed to be in a good mood. Then Dusk thought about his brother. "Maybe Rarity has the power to charm dragons, hehe."

"Personally, I think you should skip the snoozing and get out there, to show them off!" The lovingly Rarity's voice continued speaking. "Obviously I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your jewels while you're gone."

GRROOOAARRR!!!

There was a loud roar that shook the whole cave.

Rarity was perfect with her plan, she almost achieved it, but unfortunately, she missed something very important, never touch a dragon’s treasure!

"Waaahhh...!" Rarity shouted from inside the cave.

"NO!!" Rainbow Dash shouted at once, who had been so nervous and tense that she was the first to react.

As soon as she heard Rarity's scream, Rainbow Dash flew into the cave to save her friend.

"I'm not going to let what happened to Fluttershy happen again! I was her friend! Why wasn't I there for her?! I'LL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!!" Rainbow Dash thought frantically as she flew by.

At the speed with which Rainbow Dash flew, it didn't take her long to get to where the dragon was, who was staring fiercely at Rarity, while the white unicorn was still trembling at the dragon's furious gaze.

Without stopping at all and taking advantage of the impulse that she had taken, Rainbow Dash stretched one of her hind legs and kicked the snout of the huge dragon as hard as she could.

"Suck on that!!" Rainbow Dash screamed after giving the strongest kick of her life, landing right next to Rarity, with a fierce look facing her enemy. "Get away! Get away from my fri… friend..."

Rainbow Dash’s courage quickly dissipated when she saw that the great kick she had unleased on the dragon apparently hadn't caused any effect, since the dragon didn't even move his snout after that blow, he still had the same fierce stare, only this time he not only looked at Rarity, but also at the pegasus.

"Run!!" Rarity and Rainbow Dash shouted at the same time, turning and starting to run at full speed towards the exit, because although Rainbow Dash could fly, she couldn't leave Rarity to her fate, so she ran with her.

GRROOOAARRR!!!

Again, a fierce roar was heard which shook the whole cave.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash continued to run at such speed in the dark, becoming blinded by the light that came from the exit, causing to not see or react to anything that would be in front of them, for this case, they were running towards Dusk, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, who were running inside to find them. The five ponies collided strongly, leaving all of them lying on the ground in pain.

In that moment another small tremor rumbled in the cave, then a small silence, which was followed by another small tremor.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity immediately jumped to their feet, understanding what that meant.

"Hurry! Get up! Run!" Rainbow Dash and Rarity shouted as they helped the other three ponies to stand up.

It was then that Dusk felt that the tremors were stronger, and he realized what was happening. Those weren't tremors, they were footsteps! The dragon had risen furiously and was after them!

The five ponies began to run swiftly, guided blindly by the only light that was visible, the light of the exit, the light of salvation... Thus they ran until they finally managed to get out of the dark cave, arriving just before the last ray of sun, which finally hid behind the mountains.

"Hurry up! Let's find Fluttershy and get out of-" Dusk said before being interrupted.

GRROOOAARRR!!!

The huge dragon hadn't taken more than ten steps to cover what the ponies had run. The huge beast had finally come out of hiding, but this wasn’t the only situation that they were facing... The beast was now furious.

Dusk quickly turned and pushed his friends to follow him to the road they had followed to reach the mountain, but Dusk and the mares only took five steps until they were stopped by the huge tail of the dragon, which a single blow fell in front of the ponies, blocking their only exit.

Without exits, weapons, or any other options, the only thing that the mares instinctively did was to hug Dusk while they trembled without knowing how they would get out of it, without knowing that the colt they were hugging was shaking as much or more than they were, because although Dusk was skillful in the magic, he couldn't figure out how to get out of that situation with all his friends safe, besides, dragons were the most resistant creatures to magic that existed, not even Dusk knew if any of his spells would have any effect on such a huge creature or if he would just make the situation worse. The only thing that Dusk could think about was that he wanted to live and that he wanted to save his friends, but he couldn't think of any way to do it, especially when confronting the fierce gaze of that huge dragon, who was bringing his huge head closer and closer while he seemed to want to kill them with his eyes. It was so that the only thing Dusk did was to also hug his friends tightly while he trembled with fear.

All that scene was witnessed by a silent spectator, the timid Fluttershy, who upon hearing her friends screaming, she couldn't help but peek out from her hiding place and look horrified at what was happening.

Sweat ran like ice on Fluttershy's face. Just seeing the great dragon that had come out of that cave made her paralyze and tremble from head to tail, although this one didn't look as big or terrifying as the one she remembered when she was a grown filly, but in the same way this was a huge and fearsome creature, with the same terrible features, like the skin made up of hard scales, ferocious fangs, sharp claws and terrifying eyes.

Fluttershy just stared, paralyzed, without any physical strength or will, as the dragon cornered her friends and brought his snout towards them.

The dragon brought his face close to those little insignificant creatures who had dared to disturb his slumber, those five little ponies that now were trembling completely in fear at his imposing presence. The dragon couldn't help but smile and laugh slightly at seeing how weak and terrified these creatures were.

As soon as the dragon laughed, it was as if something broke in Fluttershy, it was as if everything around her had vanished and she had again found herself in that cave, seeing that bloodthirsty creature while laughing at life and death as if it were a game. Then the images of the bones and skulls she had seen, passed through her eyes and were interspersed with the memories of her friends smiling at her and the sight of her friends trembling with absolute terror, knowing that the fate of her friends was about to be the same as the remains of the dogs...

"No..." Fluttershy yelled in a whisper, using all her willpower to overcome her trauma, knowing that if she didn't, she would regret forever. Struggling with herself to overcome her limits, her fears, and try to save the most important thing she had, her friends.

"NOOO!" Fluttershy screamed with all her breath, finally breaking the chains that bounded her and her greatest trauma. Finally leaving her hiding place to confront that terrible beast.

Fluttershy flew quickly, without thinking about anything, only acting with pure instinct, the instinct that was shouted to save her friends. Meanwhile, the dragon stopped laughing when he heard the scream of the pegasus and seeing from the corner of his eye that another insignificant pony appeared, a yellow pegasus, flying straight at him. The dragon turned his head and stared at her as she approached, with the same dark stare with which he had frightened the other five ponies with.

Arriving in front of the dragon, Fluttershy stopped, kept flying in front of him, with her face hidden under her long mane, with her hooves trembling as she remained motionless in the air.

"Heh! She isn't even able to look at me in the eyes..." The dragon thought laughing when he saw the weak pegasus trembling in front of him, thinking that out of all the ponies that had faced him there, this one seemed to be the most pathetic one of them.

Meanwhile, the only thing Fluttershy could think about was that she had to save her friends, however she can, however she couldn't get the image of that terrible stare of that bloodthirsty beast that she had known out of her mind, so she couldn't stop trembling. And although this was not the same dragon she had known years ago, for her it was the same situation, and all she could think about was that if she didn't act there and now, the great beast of her nightmares would devour her friends.

"You..." Fluttershy finally said, without even raising her head, with a voice so weak that the dragon even came a little closer to hear her better. "You... GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" Suddenly Fluttershy raised her head and shouted with all her strength, facing the huge dragon.

That shout from the little pegasus was so much that even the dragon opened his eyes in shock, even slightly retracting his head. That had been surprising, however there was something else that shocked even more, it was the fierce stare with which Fluttershy was giving him, it was as if that little pony had the most determined and intense stare that he had seen, a fierce look that fit more with a fierce dragon than with a weak pony.

Fluttershy hadn't noticed it, but at that precise moment she had the same stare that the old and terrible dragon had once used on her, the fiercest and most threatening stare she had ever seen, a fatal stare that was stored in her subconscious and that now, just when she was determined to save her friends and failing to get that terrible stare out of her head, she was able to unconsciously use it to overcome her trauma.

The dragon didn't say anything, without realizing it he was absorbed, seeing the stare of Fluttershy, a threatening stare that he hasn't seen for hundreds of years, since he was a baby dragon and when the old dragons controlled the skies of the world.

"Listen to me!" Fluttershy said without blinking, keeping her fierce stare on the dragon, full of more determination than she has ever been in her life. "You're going to leave my friends in peace right now, or I swear I'll make you pay, I don't know how but I will do it! I swear by the father of dragons, that I'll even look for you in the Withered Heath, because I don't care if you are eternal, ruthless, or the son of the Sun and the fire, I swear to you that if you touch my friends, you'll pay for it, and my word is also law!"

While Fluttershy spoke, in her mind the image of the current dragon with the memory of the old dragon that threatened her in her youth overlapped at times, Fluttershy felt so much adrenaline that she wasn't even sure if she was remembering her past or was reliving it. It was so she unknowingly almost repeated word to word the oath that the old dragon screamed as she fled, which had been burned into her mind.

That was also a new impact for the already surprised dragon. It could be that the fierce stare of the pony took him by surprise, a stare so threatening that no pony should have, but the dragon thought there could be a tiny possibility that someone could have it, however the threatening speech the pegasus gave him was more than the dragon could tolerate as a chance. Why did that pony name the father of dragons? And did she also know the name of the dragon's ancestral cradle? And how did she know the old oaths dictated by the ancient dragons? A dragon never said that oath unless he went to fulfill it, what that pony said was true, the word of a dragon was law! So... The threat she was making was true? How could a weak little pony threaten him in such a way? It was totally absurd! But that stare... There was no doubt, literally there was no doubt in the stare of that pony, it only showed fierceness and determination.

The dragon stared at the pony that was flying in front of him, both staring into each other's eyes, as if they had a duel of stares, and for the first time in decades, the dragon felt threatened. The dragon still thought it was ridiculous to retreat in front of a weak and insignificant pony, but his dragon instincts told him that that stare was something he shouldn't play with, as he vaguely remembered some of the ancestral dragons like his father or his grandfather, a millennium ago, before the power of his race was precisely diminished by a simple pony.

In that instant, the dragon finally lowered his head, diverting his gaze from Fluttershy's. Then the dragon put his tail in the cave, and with it, he skillfully took all the treasure he had and brought it out, he didn't drop a single gold coin. The dragon embraced his treasure in his claws and looked at Fluttershy for the last time, who was still flying where she was, with her eyes fixed on him; then the dragon opened his huge wings and finally took off and flew away from the mountain.

All of that happened in seconds, but to everyone present, it seemed like an eternity, including the five ponies who had only remained, trembling and dumbfounded to see how the most innocent, fearful and shyest of them all confronted and threatened an enormous dragon.

When the dragon was finally out of sight, Fluttershy finally and slowly descended from where she was and landed on the ground, breathing heavily as her hooves couldn't stop trembling, both because she still felt afraid and because she realized what she had just done.

"I... I... I did it." Fluttershy said shakily, lifting one of her hooves to see how it was still shaking. "I did it... I did it, I did it! I faced a dragon!!"

"I did it! I did it! I did it! I was brave!" Fluttershy added in euphoric shouts, beginning to jump on two legs in a circle, releasing all the excess adrenaline that still ran through her body.

"You did do it! That was amazing!! More than amazing!" Dusk finally said, awakening from the daze in which the situation had left him in and approached Fluttershy, who had landed right in front of him and the others.

Upon hearing Dusk's voice, Fluttershy became aware that Dusk was there, because with the euphoria of the moment she almost forgot it. With all the excitement the pegasus felt at that moment, and in a fit of joy at her great achievement, she took Dusk by her shoulders and began to spin in the air with him as she flew in circles.

"I did it! Dusk! Did you see me!? Did you see what I did!? I faced a dragon! I was brave!!" Fluttershy shouted, grinning happily as she spun Dusk in the air next to her.

"Of course, you were magnificent, the bravest mare I know! I knew you could do it!" Dusk responded affectionately while being span around in the air, happy to see Fluttershy so happy.

It was at that moment that Fluttershy noticed something else, Dusk was staring at her! And not as he always saw her, when sometimes he even looked away after looking at her, now he was looking at her with admiration, just as he looked at Rainbow Dash when talking to her!

"At last you’re looking at me! You’re looking at me in the eyes like when you look at Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy said ecstatically, smiling happily.

"Huh, yeah, I guess it's because this time YOU were the bravest of us all..." Dusk replied, not understanding much of what Fluttershy was referring to.

To hear that Dusk told her that she was very brave, it was more joy than she could ever bear at that moment, she hadn't been so full of joy since she had gotten her cutie mark.

"I'm not a princess in distress, I'm 'Rusty Sword'!" Fluttershy thought as she remembered the book she had read about the hero, the dragon and the princess. Still spinning in the air while smiling and holding Dusk, who looked at her lovingly. "I'm finally a hero!"

Then, full of euphoria and adrenaline, Fluttershy pushed Dusk slightly, only to give herself more momentum and draw him strongly towards her, drawing the lavender lips of the colt to her soft yellow lips, where she finally kissed, intensely and passionately, the colt of her dreams, to the surprised Dusk Shine. This was a brief but very intense kiss, in which the adrenaline that Fluttershy still felt made her feel like she was the queen of the world, an adrenaline that gave her the courage to achieve two important things that she had always wanted to do, to show that she was brave, and get a kiss from her beloved. However, everything that goes up must go down, and adrenaline is no exception.

After the kiss, Fluttershy separated her lips from him, and she remained blushing looking with a smile at the surprised Dusk, who was even more blushed. Then Fluttershy's smile began to slowly diminish as her mind began to calm down and little by little the situation around her became clearer and she realized what she was doing, which caused Fluttershy to slowly move towards an expression of surprise when she realized that she had been screaming and flying with Dusk. Then Fluttershy finally blushed even more when she realized how daring she had been to kiss Dusk on her own.





Returning all her emotions to the starting point, tied with how exhausted her body felt after that adrenaline rush, made Fluttershy faint, smoke shooting out from her ears from the red shame that she was feeling.

"I got you!" Dusk said quickly, using his magic to prevent him and Fluttershy from falling to the ground after the pegasus fainted while flying.





After a hectic afternoon, in which their emotions had risen and fallen like riding on a roller coaster, the six ponies began to make their way off the mountain, returning to the same path they had come from, all of them totally exhausted, both physically and emotionally. And although the six ponies walked down the road, only five of them did so consciously, since the one who had saved them, the timidest and introverted of the group, remained unconscious while being carried on the back of Dusk Shine.

Night had finally fallen, and for that reason the five conscious ponies descended all together walking at a prudent pace, since they depended on Rarity and Dusk, who illuminated with their horns the steep descent path. Meanwhile, while everyone was walking, and after a long silence in which everyone needed to reorder their thoughts and emotions, the silence finally broke.

"I still can't believe that Fluttershy had faced that dragon." Applejack commented without being able to stop thinking about what they had just experienced and seen. "I really could have expected it from anypony else, anypony but her! If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

"And probably nopony in town would believe you if you tell them." Dusk added with a smile. "I guess we'll be the only ones who know how incredible and courageous our friend really can be."

"I guess you're right." Applejack said thoughtfully, then glancing at Dusk with intrigue, since there was something that no one had yet dared to ask and that she knew that there was something that was eating away at everyone, as much or more than seeing Fluttershy confronting a dragon. "By the way... What was that kiss?"

As soon as Applejack asked that question, the ears of the other three mares awakened and stood up on alert.

"W-What do you mean?" Dusk replied blushing, getting nervous.

"I mean, Fluttershy kissed you, that... Doesn’t that mean something?" Applejack asked, still glancing at Dusk, pretending not to care about what she herself was asking.

Dusk stared at Applejack, fully blushed, then he looked up at his back, where Fluttershy was still sleeping peacefully, then instinctively he touched his lips briefly at the memory of that intense kiss, and finally he looked back at Applejack with a nervous smile.

"I-I think that was her emotions taking over... I mean, she was very exalted, I’ve never seen her like that before... I-I think she just got carried away for the moment, hehe..." Dusk finally answered, smiling foolishly as he didn't stop to blushing at the memory of the kiss, as always trying to justify the actions of the mares while his low self-esteem shouted that it was impossible that Fluttershy could feel something for him.

At the colts response, Applejack just moved her lip dissatisfied and turned her gaze to the road, not sure if Dusk Shine's response was good or bad, as she thought it was good that he still didn't notice Fluttershy’s true feelings, but that also meant that even with such a direct kiss, he still didn't understand the feelings of a mare, then how direct would she and others have to be to make him understand their feelings for him? How scatterbrained could Dusk be? Was he just naive or was there something else? All it did just left a bad taste in her mouth.

For her part, Pinkie Pie kept walking normally, as if nothing altered her, but now she had a flatter smile, because even though it didn't seem like it, her mind was already thinking and planning on what to do to regain the advantage in the race to win Dusk's heart, since it was obvious who had taken the lead after that day. Meanwhile, Rarity, who was at the front, illuminating the road with her horn, was only muttering annoyed, talking to herself.

"This can't be happening..." Rarity muttered annoyed. "First Applejack, then Pinkie Pie and now Fluttershy... I'm falling behind!"

At the question of Applejack, not only the mares were thinking about Dusk and Fluttershy, but also the same Dusk Shine, who couldn't get out of his head the passionate kiss that Fluttershy had given him, nor what had happened, however there was something in particular that had been said and that Dusk, after meditating on it, still didn't understand at all. It was what Fluttershy had said as she flew happily next to him, about how he had finally looked at her in the way that he looked at Rainbow Dash, did he look differently at Rainbow Dash than at Fluttershy?

At that moment Dusk turned his head a little to see Rainbow Dash directly in the eyes, who just flew close to him. Rainbow Dash felt Dusk's intense gaze on her, and she instantly blushed a little.

"W-What are you looking at?!" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.

"I have no problem looking at Rainbow Dash in the eyes, in fact, now that I think about it, maybe there is some truth in what Fluttershy said..." Dusk thought looking back to the front without answering Rainbow Dash, keeping a pensive look. "I’m more comfortable when I talk to Rainbow Dash because she doesn't care about all the feminine stuff, it's almost like talking to Spike. Maybe that's why I can look at her in eyes more easily than the others."

Then Dusk imagined the face and the tender eyes of Fluttershy in front of him, looking at him, and instinctively Dusk turned his head and blushed slightly, not understanding why he reacted like that. Not understanding his own reaction and because Fluttershy is very shy to even ask directly, neither of them would ever know that sometimes Dusk wasn't able to see Fluttershy directly in the eyes, not because he disliked her timid attitude, as the pegasus thought, but because sometimes that colt couldn't help but blush at her tender eyes.

Meanwhile, after Dusk stared at her and then back to face the front as if nothing had ever happened, Rainbow Dash looked annoyed at Dusk for a few seconds for making her blush without any provocation, however she quickly left those thoughts and returned to pay attention to what she really owed at that moment. Although right at that moment she was flying near Dusk, this time it wasn't to be near her crush, but to be alert when Fluttershy woke up, because after all that happened, she still hadn't had the time to talk to her shy friend, not only to apologize for having spoken to her so rudely and for mistreating her as a coward, but also to thank her for having saved them, and mainly, to apologize for having been a bad friend for not having realized before her great trauma, although Rainbow Dash could already see how her friend would forgive her, saying that it wasn't important, after all it was Fluttershy, the pony who would never be angry or would hold a grudge with her friends, that was her way of being, however Rainbow Dash felt that she should still let Fluttershy know her feelings and the guilt she felt.

Suddenly, while Rainbow Dash was still in her thoughts, the rainbow-maned pegasus saw Fluttershy move slowly, apparently, she was waking up.

Fluttershy woke up slowly, feeling her body shaking for some reason. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was moving, even though she wasn't walking. Then she moved her head slightly to the side and saw that in front of her was Dusk's back, even more! She was being carried on Dusk's back! Fluttershy immediately blushed and turned her head to the front before Dusk realized that she was looking at him. After a couple of seconds, Fluttershy smiled tenderly looking at the ground, thinking how lucky she was to be being carried by Dusk while her other friends had to walk, however a sound of flutter took her out of her thoughts, then she raised her head and saw that Rainbow Dash was flying beside her, and she just looked in her direction. Immediately Fluttershy closed her eyes and lowered her head quickly to stay just as she had been before waking up.

"What a cheater! So you're going to pretend that you're asleep just to enjoy being carried by Dusk for a while longer?" Rainbow Dash thought with a scolding look, which she then dropped to put on a tender smile. "Well, I guess I'll be quiet just for this time, after all, you earned it."

In the distance, the ponies could finally see some lights, coming from their beloved town that finally was seen from that part of the mountain, the town that didn't even know how close it was to be forever covered under the smoke and ashes if it hadn't been for those six ponies who again risked their lives to save the place they loved, especially not knowing the effort of a shy pegasus, who had overcome more obstacles than anyone and who now returned, happy and triumphant after having gotten her reward.





"Finally, we arrived!" One of the guards said, a veteran pegasus with white fur, landing in front of the balcony of Canterlot Castle with his four companions. "It was a long day..."

"What are you complaining about?" Another one of the guards answered, who had a gray fur. This was another of the oldest pegasus of the elite body of the royal guard. "All we had to do was lie in a cloud and spy from a distance."

"Yeah, but it was annoying to have to be tense all the time, not knowing if we would have to take action or not." The third guard of the group answered, another pegasus with white fur, who began to remove his armor. "Every time that dragon roared, I thought we'd have to go on stage and attack."

"I don't know about y'all, but at least I enjoyed it." The fourth pegasus said, one of orange fur, who took off his helmet and showed his blue mane. "Especially for being able to see those five mares, gosh, I really don't know who out of all them was the prettiest, I'm really envious of that Dusk Shine though. If I were him, I wouldn't have just kissed that cute yellow pegasus, but I would have kissed them all!"

"More respect, newbie!" The captain of the squadron said sharply, another pegasus with white fur, causing the other four pegasus to stand straight and in line. "You can retire now, I'll give the report to the princess.

At that moment the other four pegasus saluted, turned around, and began to retreat. While they were doing so, the captain could hear in the distance as the squad's novice was still talking about how beautiful the friends of Princess Celestia's student were.

"Huff... That Flash... has a great future ahead, but only if he learns to behave." The captain sighed as he made his way to the castle's main hall, which was where Princess Celestia waited patiently.

"Captain, everything in order? Is my dear student and his friends safe?" Princess Celestia asked once the captain arrived where she was, sitting on her throne next to a pile of scrolls that she had to check for some decrees.

"Yes your majesty." The captain responded immediately. "Although we were almost ready to attack the dragon when he woke up and left the cave, fortunately one of the friends of Dusk Shine solved everything without us having the need to act or reveal ourselves to Dusk Shine or his friends."

Then the captain gave a complete report to the princess about everything that happened, from the moment they made Dusk Shine believe that they were returning to Canterlot, until they followed him, hidden behind the clouds and observed everything that happened while they watched the whole situation.

"I see... so he never knew about your presence or that he was being watched. I'm glad." The princess said with a smile. "Otherwise the joke wouldn't have worked..." She added in a whisper to herself, with a more mischievous smile.

"That's all captain, thank you very much for your valuable service." Princess Celestia finished saying, while the captain greeted her, turned around and retreated.

When the captain had left, two maids of the castle entered the great hall, both mares of cream-colored fur, one with red mane and another with blue mane, both wearing maid attire. Both ponies began to prepare the central table, bringing several trays of cakes and bowls with different types of tea.

The two ponies were totally reliable to the princess, so she could finally relax and put aside all the work she had pending to go to the table to savor their delicious nightly cakes before going to sleep.

"I'm glad that the joke went well, but it bothers me a little that Dusk really believed that I'm so cruel as to send him to face a dragon without a group of guards guarding his back." The princess said, thinking aloud as she savored one of her favorite cakes.

Suddenly, noisy metallic footsteps were heard approaching the great hall, while the main door of the room was opened.

"Where’s my spear?" Princess Luna said, opening the door to the room, wearing an armor that was obviously too big for her.

Celestia almost spits out the cake she was eating when she saw her little sister looking so ridiculous.

"Luna, what are you doing?" Celestia finally asked, holding back her laughter.

"One of the guards told me that while I slept, a huge dragon arrived near Ponyville, and that you ordered Dusk to expel it." Luna responded totally worried. "Sister, a dragon is too dangerous, even for Dusk Shine, so it doesn't matter what you say, I'm going to save him!"

"Luna, dear, calm down, dragons are not as dangerous as they were a thousand years ago." Celestia said approaching her sister to reassure her. "Besides, everything's over, Dusk and his friends managed to make the dragon leave these lands."

"Huh?! Oh...! That... Huff... That... that's fine." Luna responded, taking a deep breath as she slowly calmed down after being so scared. "I really couldn't imagine my dear Dusk suffering..."

Immediately Luna realized what she had just said, she blushed visibly and immediately retracted what she said.

"Dear ponies!! M-My dear ponies! I-I couldn't bear the thought of seeing my dear ponies suffer!" Luna said nervously, repeating ponies many times to make her sister believe that what she had just said about Dusk had been just a mistake.

In that instant, noticing that her face was red with embarrassment, Luna quickly turned around and began to return loudly with her armor to her room.

While Luna retreated, her sister noticed that her mane seemed to float slightly in the air.

"Oh! It seems that her powers are returning little by little, and if so, Luna will finally be able to take her true form and be able to take care the dreams of our dear ponies." Celestia thought, smiling. "Our dear ponies..."

"Is it me or did she repeat the words 'dear ponies' a lot?" Celestia said suddenly looking at the two maids, only realizing then how nervous her sister had been. However, she decided not to give much importance to it and turned her attention back to her cakes and biscuits.

Meanwhile, the two maids looked at each other with a face that said the princess's question had an obvious answer, but neither of them answered. Both ponies had realized that for long ago, not from the fact that Princess Luna apparently got very nervous every time Princess Celestia mentioned Dusk Shine, in fact it seemed that everyone who worked at the castle knew about that, however, what had astonished the maids was that they had discovered that their divine majesty, the magnanimous Princess Celestia, who seemed to know everything about everyone in the kingdom just by looking at the ponies in the eyes, was totally clueless about her sister's feelings. It seemed that Princess Luna was the only pony to who Princess Celestia couldn't guess what was going through her mind or realize what everyone else knew, that Princess Luna apparently felt something for Dusk Shine. That left the maids with only one question: How would Princess Celestia react when she realized what her sister was apparently feeling for her faithful student?

# End of chapter 28
> Chapter 29 - Illusions on the stage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Illusions on the stage

The elegant white unicorn walked at a fast pace through the now almost empty streets of Ponyville, since many of the ponies had gathered in the central square of the town, momentarily discarding their businesses to watch and have fun with a show that had reached the town and attracted everyone’s attention. It was precisely that particular show that Rarity wanted, or rather, should be warning Dusk Shine about.

"Typical, there's a stir in town, and he's the last to know. What is he even doing?" Rarity thought once she reached the door of Dusk's home, the Golden Oak library.

Rarity knocked on the door a couple of times and waited a while for someone to come out or tell her she could come in, but all she could hear was whispers and giggles, even the unicorn thought she heard someone mention her name, but she wasn't sure because the murmurs were heard quietly behind the door.

"Come in." Spike said, finally opening the door from inside.

"Thanks, Spike, why did you take so long to open?" Rarity said hurriedly, without even looking at Spike, just entering the library and looking for who she needed at that precise moment. "Where's Dusk? I'm almost sure I heard his voice muttering next to yours."

"You must be confused, pretty lady, he is not here, it is just YOU and ME." Spike said with a odd accent, speaking slowly and emphasizing certain words.

"Pretty lady?" Rarity said surprised when she heard that word spoken from the little dragon, only then, did she turn around to see the little dragon, she didn't take the time to see in detail when entering the library. "Spike, why are you talking-?"

The unicorn stopped speaking abruptly when she realized what was in front of her and almost missed. Next to the door was her always adorable Spikey-Wikey, but for some reason, he now had a long, leafy and horrible black mustache on his snout, which the dragon touched with the tip of his claw and rolled the tips of it while he looked at Rarity with a flirtatious look.

After a while when Spike looked at Rarity with a flirtatious smile while waiting for a comment from her, and in which Rarity was still shocked and speechless by the aesthetic disaster she was witnessing, the dragon finally spoke.

"Well, what do you think?" Spike asked, obviously referring to his new facial accessory, while still playing with the tips of his mustache and raised and lowered his eyebrows quickly to continue with his terrible act of gallantry.

"Horrible! Awful! What were you thinking, my cute, silly, and tender Spike!?" was what Rarity wanted to scream, but she couldn't say that, because even though she was usually very frank and direct as far as appearance was concerned, since for her there was nothing worse than looking bad; this time she had to make an exception, since she was unable to tell Spike that cruel truth and that could hurt Spike's pride, knowing how attentive and helpful he always was to her. However, her great aesthetic and fashion sense also made it impossible for her to say a fake compliment to that horrid pile of hair on him, so she finally just fell silent, and looked away.

"I... uh... well..." Rarity began to stutter, not knowing how to respond to the tender baby dragon. Suddenly Rarity remembered what she had come to and realized that this was also a perfect way for changing the subject to avoid answering Spike's question. "That's right, Spike, where's Dusk Shine? I need to talk urgently with him."

Spike seemed disappointed to hear that Rarity was asking about Dusk and that she wasn't even paying attention to his fantastic new gallant look.

"W-Wouldn't you rather talk to me? If you have a problem, I could help you." Spike said making one last attempt to be alone with his beloved.

"I'm sorry Spike, but it's something that only Dusk can help with." Rarity answered with a sad smile, trying to look Spike in the eye, but all she could see was that horrid mustache.

"Hngh... okay..." Spike grunted reluctantly as he turned around to go find Dusk, annoyed to see that his plan to conquer Rarity with his new mustache had failed.

"I'm sorry Spikey-Wikey, but I don't have time for your childish things, this time I need to talk to somepony more mature..." Rarity thought, feeling bad for not being able to please her beloved Spike.

"Hello Rarity, what's wrong?" Dusk Shine suddenly said, coming out from the kitchen, which was where he had hidden at Spike's request when they heard that Rarity was knocking on the library door.

"Oh, Dusk, I'm glad-" Rarity answered, coming out of her thoughts and looking at Dusk, stopping in the act, shocked to see that the adult mature pony with whom she expected to speak to, had the same ridiculous mustache as little Spike’s.

"What's wrong, don’t you like our new mustaches?" Dusk said moving his lip to make his new hair accessory more noticeable. "I was practicing some spells when I remembered the problem we had with the sea serpent in the Everfree forest, so I searched and finally found a hair growth spell, after all, as we found out, you never know when a good mustache might be useful, hehe."

As Dusk spoke, the only thing Rarity could do is stand there, paralyzed with a face of total disbelief upon seeing Dusk with that ugly mustache.

"They look great, too!" Dusk added, putting on a gallant face, while Spike, who had approached, made the same gesture, both of them looking deeply at the horizon while caressing the tips of their moustaches.

Rarity, who was still in her stupor, realized that believing that the mustache looked good was fine for little Spike, but it was definitely not the right attitude for Dusk! I mean, how immature could Dusk be!? Then a ray of reality hit her when she realized that she was in love with that cute, but immature colt, it was then that a part of her cried comically when she realized that tragicomedy.

"Well, you still haven’t said what you think of them," Dusk asked again with a naive smile.

"Horrible! Awful! What were you thinking, my cute and silly Dusk!?" Rarity said finally saying what she hadn’t been able to say to Spike.

Dusk was surprised at Rarity's comment, then looked at Spike, who also looked at him, and then they both looked at Rarity as if she was crazy.

"But they look great." They said Dusk and Spike at the same time.

"Enough about the mustaches!" Shouted Rarity somewhat irritated to realize that she had wasted a lot of time and that she had gone there with a mission. "Dusk, I need you to come with me right now."

"Go with you? Where?" Dusk asked confused to see the serious face of Rarity.

"To the town square." Rarity responded by turning around and opening the door, looking back at Dusk while putting on an even more serious face. "We need you to teach somepony a lesson."





"Hurry, over here." Rarity said loudly since the noise of the crowd that were in the town square made it impossible to be heard at a normal volume of voice.

As soon as Dusk and Spike got to where Rarity was taking them, to the town's central square, they saw how a large number of village ponies were there, all in front of what appeared to be an improvised stage, each of the ponies laughing and applauding to a pony who was standing on the stage at that time, a blue-gray pony, who seemed to have a kind of cape and a large lilac hat, but neither Dusk nor Spike could see who it was because of how distant it was.

"Why are all these ponies gathered here?" Dusk asked surprised and somewhat uncomfortable since he still didn’t like being surrounded by so many unknown ponies that much.

"Dusk, Spike, around here!" Rarity shouted again in the hubbub, who had pushed inside the sea of ponies that were there and again told Dusk and Spike to follow her.

Dusk Shine and Spike began to approach the stage following Rarity, pushing and apologizing to each pony with whom they collided with, due to the great crowd that there was. It was so that finally, they both arrived next to where Rarity was, who had stopped very near to the main scene, just where they were, who was already waiting for them was Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be caressing a giant ball of light blue hair.

"Where did you go?" You disappeared without saying anything, that was very impolite!" Pinkie Pie said looking at Rarity while still touching the giant ball of hairs, pretending to be upset.

"You always disappear without telling anypony anything!" Rarity said a little irritated. "Honestly, I'm not one for jokes, but enough of this, I need to see what those two look like..."

At that moment Pinkie Pie turned her head to see who was behind Rarity. There she could see that Dusk and Spike were there, and as soon as they noticed that she was looking at them, they put their faces back on. Pinkie Pie didn’t know how to react when seeing her friends, her expressions were definitely fun, but what definitely caught her attention were the big mustaches that the both had on them.

On the way to the central plaza, Rarity tried to convince Dusk and Spike that the mustaches definitely didn’t look good, but neither of them thought they looked as bad as she said, so finally, Dusk used his magic on his mustache, but not to disappear, but to change the style, changing them to a more lush and curly style. Deciding that he would ask someone else's opinion to prove to Rarity that the mustache looked great.

"Well, Pinkie Pie? What do you think?" Dusk said with his gallant look and showing his new and improved mustache with Spike, who had the same look.

Pinkie Pie put a pensive face for several seconds until she finally smiled and answered.

"I think they look like a couple of plumbers who are looking for a princess, hahaha." Pinkie Pie responded laughing with laughter.

Dusk and Spike just looked at each other, not understanding what their crazy friend had said, but seeing that she didn’t stop laughing, Dusk decided that it was time to make those beautiful and misunderstood mustaches disappear from their faces.

"Applejack! What happened to you!? Did you also face her?" Suddenly, Rarity shouted, who only then realized that behind the giant ball of blue hairs was Applejack, with her back to the ground, tied from head to tail, almost looking like a mummy.

"Hmmppfff!" Applejack shouted, her mouth gagged.

Then Rarity approached her friend and helped her free her snout from the bonds.

"Ptui! I said yes! Huff... She... She said that not only could she defeat any unicorn, but also any pegasus or Earth pony! That bothered me a lot, so I decided to face her. " Applejack responded by spitting the strings from her mouth while still on the ground with Rarity trying in vain to release her from those strong bindings. "I did some tricks with my lasso, but she used her magic to bind me to it."

"Wait, I'll help you." Dusk said quickly, who had been surprised just as much as Rarity to see her friend tied in that way, seeing that Rarity found it difficult untying the rest of her friend's body.

Then Dusk used his magic to loosen the rope internally and thus finally making it loose enough to free her. As soon as the rope had loosened, Applejack could easily shake it off.

"Phew... Thank you, it has been several minutes trying to untie myself, it was quite uncomfortable, although at least it was better than Rainbow Dash..." Applejack said sighing in relief, pointing her hoof to the side.

Both Rarity and Dusk looked at the side pointed Applejack, where only Pinkie Pie, Spike, and that huge ball of blue hair were... That huge ball of light blue hairs! It was only then that both unicorns realized that Rainbow Dash's head peeked out of that huge ball of hair.

"Rainbow Dash! Is that you? She... She turned you into a giant ball of hair!?" Rarity screamed in horror when she saw the ball of hair in which her friend had apparently become.

"It's not that, it's... it's my own hair..." Rainbow Dash replied quite embarrassed. "I competed with her and showed her one of my best tricks, flying at full speed through the clouds so that my speed would attract a few drops of water to form a small rainbow behind me, but she used those drops of water to form a little storm cloud that shocked me with a  lightning bolt and... well... I was filled with static and now all my fur is tipped... "Finished Rainbow Dash who was full of shame, mainly for admitting that she had been defeated.

"I told you I was going to go to Dusk to teach her a lesson! It wasn’t necessary to face her!" Rarity said annoyed, but not with her friends, but with who had caused them to be in that shameful situation.

"Wait a moment, who is 'SHE', can somepony explain to me what is happening?" Dusk asked, beginning to get dizzy when he didn’t understand anything that happened there.

"I'll explain it to you! I'll explain it to you!" Pinkie Pie said repeatedly jumping in front of Dusk to be heard. Then she sucked in a large amount of air and started talking quickly. "We were all walking around here to pay you a visit, when we saw that there was a large crowd here, then I said, 'Come on!' And we came here, then we saw that all the fuss was because a mare recently arrived in town and was doing a magic show, so I was surprised, and I said, 'We should make you a welcome party!' But they all told me to be quiet, so they could watch the show, so we all stayed to see the magic show the new mare was doing, at first the show was very nice and funny, but then that unicorn said 'I am the most powerful magician in all of Equestria! I can beat any unicorn with my magic!' Then she started challenging some unicorns in the audience to do their best tricks, they did their tricks and she used those same tricks to make them look ridiculous, and the more she won, the more arrogant she became, then Rarity said 'I can't stand this petulant mare any longer! I’m going to bring the true, most powerful unicorn of Equestria to teach this mare a lesson in humility!' Then Rarity ran away while the three of us stayed here, then that mare said, 'I can’t only beat any unicorn, but I can beat anypony!' Then Applejack came up to challenge her, and she did with her lasso 'Whish! Whaplash!' and the unicorn used her magic, 'Whiplish!' and tied Applejack with the lasso. Then Rainbow Dash flew up and made a 'Zoom!’ a ‘Whosh!', And then the unicorn made a storm cloud, and the lightning bolt, ‘Bzzt! ' and Rainbow Dash went 'Puff!' when her hair stopped, and then you came. And that's it! Huff... Huff... "Pinkie Pie finished, giving a big sigh after saying all of that at full speed, making a great summary of everything that had happened, adding their own sound effects and their particular performances of the facts.

Dusk stayed a few seconds processing everything that Pinkie Pie had just said since when she spoke so fast, it took some a few extra seconds to sort and process all that information. Finally, after believing that he understood most of what Pinkie Pie had said, Dusk turned to face the stage.

"So, did all this happen because they faced each other in a magic duel with her?" Dusk Shine said for the first-time paying attention to the mare that had stopped on the stage.

Just at that moment, the unicorn on stage had finished a magic trick, so the audience erupted in applause as she took off her hat while receiving praise from the audience. Without her hat, and with her coat fluttering, revealing her figure better, it was finally that Dusk could see the famous unicorn, her face, and her cutie mark. It was a mare with bluish gray fur, with a tail and manes of grayish blue color, dark pink eyes, and a cutie mark with a new moon with some stars on it and a magic wand at its side. Seeing it carefully, Dusk opened his eyes a little surprised at what he saw.





"She... She's..." Dusk said as he remembered something from his past.

"Well, before finishing the show today, is there no other pony who dares to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?" The unicorn shouted on the stage, looking expectantly at her audience. "Is there nopony who dares challenge the most powerful unicorn of all Equestria?"

"You are not the most powerful unicorn of all Equestria!" Rarity shouted loudly to be heard. "You're just a vain pony who enjoys making fun of others, but here is a unicorn that will put you in your place and teach you to be humbler, the most powerful true unicorn of all Equestria!"

At that moment Rarity pointed to her side, where Dusk Shine was, however, to both her and her friends surprise, Dusk had disappeared.

"So, you think you're the most powerful unicorn of all Equestria?" Trixie said looking defiantly at Rarity, thinking that Rarity had been talking about herself.

"Err... No, I didn’t mean me..." Rarity replied, looking for Dusk.

"Oh... so you're cowering now?" Trixie added looking at Rarity and her friends and then glancing at her audience, so they would laugh with her. "I guess you don’t want me to make you look as ridiculous as that ball of hair next to you."

The audience burst into laughter as they remembered how Trixie had sparked all of Rainbow Dash's hair with lightning. Upon hearing how everyone made fun of her friend, Rarity immediately stopped looking for Dusk and looked seriously at Trixie, who returned her look with a mocking smile.

"Very well... I wanted it to be Dusk who did it, but I guess I'll have to be the one to teach you a lesson in humility and wipe that smile off your face." Rarity said furiously, approaching to get on stage.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie kept looking for Dusk, until finally, she managed to see a familiar purple tail behind two other ponies that looked behind them with a look of disgust. Pinkie Pie approached there and found that it was indeed Dusk, who was hiding there for some reason.

"What are you doing here? Why are you hiding?" Pinkie Pie asked looking at Dusk, who remained crouched behind those two ponies that were looking at him with disgust.

"I don’t want to go on the stage..." Dusk replied with a distressed look. "As soon as Rarity started talking, I understood immediately that she was referring to me and that she wanted me to face that unicorn on stage, but I don’t like to be on stage and have dozens of ponies eyes watching me. It makes me feel uncomfortable... and besides, I'm not as great as Rarity sounded."

Pinkie Pie stared at Dusk for a few seconds with a confused face, then she pulled her hooves up and stretched Dusk's cheeks tightly.

"Ouch! What are you doing!?" Dusk Shine asked annoyed, rubbing his cheeks after his friend let go.

"Oops! I'm sorry, I just thought maybe you were Fluttershy with a mask, hehe." Pinkie Pie answered with a sad smile. "It's just that I didn’t think you could be as shy as she was."

"I'm not, at least not as much as she is." Dusk replied looking at the ground. "It's just that I don’t like crowds or being the center of attention..."

"Please, let's give a round of applause to the last challenger of the day!" Trixie shouted once Rarity took the stage, causing Pinkie Pie and Dusk to draw their attention to the stage while the audience began to applaud and cheer for Rarity.

"Hmph, don’t act falsely with me, I know perfectly well that you don’t really want to cheer me up." Rarity said with her brow furrowed as she approached Trixie and began to walk in circles around her, all while Trixie remained motionless, just following her with her eyes as she continued to smile confidently. "You think you're rude with your supposed powers, but magic is more than your coarse habits, a unicorn must be more than just force!"

At that moment Rarity stopped in front of Trixie and her horn lit up. Immediately the blue curtains that were in the background of the stage were released and flew gracefully to where Rarity was, surrounding her completely while her magic was getting brighter and brighter, surrounding her in a big bubble of light. As soon as the light cleared, everyone saw in amazement how Rarity had become in just a moment, turning those ordinary curtains into a beautiful blue dress that she was now wearing, in addition, she had fixed her hair to have a higher and more refined hairstyle, all while she made an elegant pose.

"A unicorn must have style, grace, and beauty, that's what defines a true unicorn of greatness!" Rarity finished with an elegant smile as the audience erupted in applause and whistles of admiration, mares immediately falling in love with the beautiful dress that Rarity wore, and colts falling in front of the beautiful figure of the unicorn.

"So, beauty, huh?" Trixie said patiently after waiting for the audience to calm down a bit. Then she illuminated her horn. "But remember…"

Trixie fired her magic into the mane of an inadvertent Rarity, who only realized that something bad was happening when the entire audience that had been admiring her suddenly fell silent, and now each of them was staring at her hair with a face of horror.

"...beauty is ephemeral." Finished telling Trixie after her magic had taken effect, with a mocking smile as she delighted in her new triumph.

"W-What happened!? Did something happen to my mane!?" Somepony give me a mirror!?" Rarity began to scream, hyperventilating when she realized that her beautiful appearance had been destroyed in seconds.

"Here you go." Trixie said with false politeness as she levitated a small mirror in front of Rarity.

When she saw herself in the mirror, Rarity immediately put on a frightened face when she saw that that petulant mare had turned her beautiful purple mane into a pile of long, stinking green seaweed, which of course was something no one would consider beautiful.

"M-My beautiful mane..." was the only thing Rarity could say while she trembled, and her eyes were still too scared to see the rest of herself in the mirror, without believing what she saw, because her mane had been ruined in all possible ways. "It's... the worst possible color... and the smell... This... This is not possible..." Rarity whispered in horror.

"A round of applause for our participant." Trixie shouted looking at her audience with a kind smile, before glancing at Rarity and putting on a slightly more malevolent smile. "Who just discovered that seaweed is the latest fashion buzz at Town Ridiculous!"

Before Trixie's joke, the entire audience burst into laughter, to the total satisfaction of Trixie. All but Rarity and her friends, who, seeing herself humiliated in this way, unable to run as she was surrounded by ponies pointing at her and laughing at her, she did nothing but stay paralyzed while her eyes trembled as she tried her best not to start crying right there, a force of will that was gradually breaking under the continuous laughter of others, making little tears came from her tender eyes.

POOF!

"Easy, that’s an easy fix." Suddenly Dusk Shine said, appearing with his magic on the stage, right next to Rarity, all before the surprised look of the white unicorn, and before the suspicious look of Trixie.

Then Dusk Shine illuminated his horn and approached smoothly towards Rarity’s hair, and thus, as fast as Trixie was at transforming her mane into a pile of algae, it returned to normal, returning to the smooth, perfumed and well combed purple mane that she initially had. As soon as Rarity saw that her hair was back to normal, she couldn’t help but drop a few tears of happiness and hugged Dusk tightly as she said repeatedly 'Thank you!'

Once Rarity stopped hugging Dusk, he stopped smiling as he turned to look at Trixie, who had just waited patiently with a poker stare at Dusk.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your show, but I don’t like to see you humiliate my friends like that," Dusk said seriously looking at Trixie. "I didn’t want to go on stage, but I won’t let you keep mocking more ponies. My name is Dusk Shine, I'm the one Rarity was referring to, the unicorn who can stand up to you and show you some humility."

Those words said by Dusk sounded great, upon seeing Rarity almost cry because of the tricks caused by Trixie, Dusk couldn’t take it anymore and came to her defense, leaving aside his always friendly way of speaking and now talking to her plainly while his anger was still fresh.

Nopony in the audience moved or made any noise, all were watching expectantly from one place to another, between Dusk Shine, who looked seriously at Trixie; and Trixie, who had lowered her head, causing no one to see exactly her expression at that moment.

"So, your name is Dusk Shine, huh...?" Trixie finally said, without raising her head, speaking very slowly.

Dusk Shine remained motionless, ready to face Trixie's wrath and, if necessary, ready to have a magic duel against her if she asked.

"Wow, it's really you! You really are The Dusk Shine!" Trixie screamed euphorically, with a big smile, completely changing the arrogant attitude that she had maintained all this time. "I just met The Great Dusk Shine! This is the happiest day of my life!"

Meanwhile, everyone in the audience was surprised at the sudden change in Trixie’s attitude, as she hasn’t reacted this way with any of the other challengers who had taken the stage before. And of all those surprised ponies, nobody was more surprised than Dusk Shine himself, who had been waiting for any reprisal, anything! But he hadn’t expected Trixie to stare at him with admiration as she did at that precise moment.

"I can't believe it, I really am in front of the savior of Equestria! The personal student of Princess Celestia!" Trixie said with a big smile and eyes of total admiration as she began to approach Dusk, but not before turning to the audience to help follow in their admiration. "Come on everypony! Let's give a big and warm welcome to the Great and Powerful Dusk Shine!"

As soon as Trixie asked for the audience's applause for Dusk, there was only a great silence in which no one applauded at the time. Seeing that apparently everyone in the audience was still shocked by the surprise entry of Dusk, Dusk's friends began to applaud him to make the rest of the audience follow them, however, they stopped shortly after seeing that no one else in the audience applauded despite the fact that they did it. That hadn’t happened with any of the other challengers Trixie had faced, even with Rarity there had been no problems, usually when someone came on stage, was immediately encouraged by the applause of the audience; however, it seemed that only Dusk was the exception to that, even worse than that! It seemed that all the ponies in the front ranks looked at Dusk with resentment and distrust.

Everyone noticed the tense atmosphere, all but Dusk, who seemed to not notice the atmosphere around him while he was still shocked by the surprising change in attitude of Trixie.

"Y-You..." Dusk said stuttering, after all his conviction of facing Trixie, disappeared, trying in vain to recover the determination with which he had gone out to confront the blue-gray unicorn. "You were making fun of my friends, and I-"

"Making fun!? No, I would never do that." Trixie answered surprised and putting an exaggerated face of concern. "This is just a show, you know, it's to amuse the audience, after all it's a magic show."

At that moment Trixie approached Rarity, who was still standing next to Dusk and put a big puppy eye look.

"I really am sorry if I made you feel bad, it was never my intention, I guess sometimes I exaggerate a little bit with my show," Trixie said taking one of Rarity's hooves to hold it affectionately, ending with a big smile.

Rarity didn’t flinch at Trixie's performance; she could recognize a bad performance when she saw one, not so Dusk, who was only surprised at how easy it was for Trixie to change her attitude and apologize to Rarity, without either of them having to ask for it.

"So, everything is good now, right?" Trixie said looking at Dusk with a big smile but keeping a penetrating look. "Now tell me, why did you appear so suddenly on my stage? I think you said something about confronting us?"

"Huh... yeah..." Dusk began to stutter, still confused about what was happening, because all that anger he felt when he saw Rarity humiliated, had vanished when he saw that Trixie had apologized so kindly, and she had said that everything she did was part of her show, if so, he had only exaggerated to think that everything was getting out of control, or at the very least that's what Dusk thought.

At that moment Dusk glanced at the audience and saw that all eyes were on him, which immediately made him even more nervous.

"I-I was going to challenge you, b-but now I think it will not be-" Dusk added timidly before being interrupted.

"Challenge me!? But what could I do against the mighty Dusk Shine!? YOU defeated the mighty Nightmare Moon! YOU saved this town from being devoured by a dragon! YOU are almost like a son to Princess Celestia! What could I do against your great and powerful magic!?" Trixie said theatrically, speaking loudly so that the audience could hear her.

"How does she know all of that if she just came into town?" was the only thing Dusk could ask himself at that moment.

Suddenly Trixie lit up her horn, from which a few sparks flew.

"Also, as everyone here saw, I've been doing magic tricks all morning, I'm exhausted! Poor me! I definitely have no chance to beat you..." Trixie said taking a hoof to her forehead and leaving a drop to show how tired she was.

While Dusk was still frozen before the performance of Trixie, without knowing what to do or answer, the public slowly began to murmur things that Dusk couldn’t hear from where he was.

"You can Miss Trixie!" An enthusiastic foal shouted spontaneously from the audience, a small aquamarine unicorn, orange hair, and a cutie mark from scissors.

"Yes! You can defeat him!" Another foal shouted from the audience, a taller one, with mustard-colored skin and green hair, with a giddy look and a cutie mark of a snail.

As soon as those two foals shouted supporting Trixie, all the rest of the audience also started doing the same, motivating the heroine who was exhausted lying on the ground, motivating her to stand up and defeat the evil Dusk Shine.

"All right!" Trixie yelled surprisingly, jumping to her feet. "If the audience wishes it, then I will face this powerful unicorn, despite my condition, and I will do my best!"

Before the excellent performance of Trixie, all the public broke out in applause to motivate their heroine in her last duel of the day; meanwhile, she made a few obeisance’s, enjoying the applause of her fans.

"Wow... If she's tired, the best thing would be not to overindulge it." Dusk said scratching his head, thinking that he didn’t want to take part in a magical duel, let alone in front of so many ponies, but if she was struggling to do it, the least he could do was accept.

"WHAT!? Don’t you realize that everything she is doing is all just an act!? She did all that to make you look bad in front of everypony!" Rarity said, annoyed by Dusk's excessive ingenuity.

Meanwhile, Trixie, who was only a few steps away from Dusk, receiving the applause from the audience, managed to hear what Rarity said. Then she looked fleetingly and penetratingly at the white unicorn and then approached them again.

"Of course, it's a performance, remember this is a show!" Said Trixie, who directedly said that to Rarity and then to Dusk, all while she kept a big smile. "Now that the audience is motivated and will be more interested in watching the show, do not worry, you just have to follow me, we'll do a couple of spells in front of the audience, and we'll decide who the winner is, I'm just asking you not to measure yourself , that you use all your potential against me! "

"Oh, I see," Dusk replied surprised, realizing that everything had only been an act. Then he looked a little more worried at what Trixie had just asked. "You... Are you sure you want me to use all my magical ability?"

"Sure, don't worry, remember that this is just a show, it doesn't really matter who wins." Trixie replied with a big smile.

Then Trixie turned around and headed back to the front of the stage.

"Besides, I know who the winner will be..." Trixie murmured to herself as she turned her back on Dusk, hiding a sinister little smile.

While Trixie began talking to the audience again, Dusk waited patiently where he was, on the side of the stage, and a little more relaxed when he realized that the magic duel would be more of a demonstration to entertain the public than a real fight of magical power. Meanwhile, Rarity kept a hoof in her mouth without removing her view of Trixie, seeing her with a worried face.

"She's definitely planning something...” Rarity thought uneasily, who didn’t want anyone to make fun of or make her darling and naive Dusk feel bad.

"Well, my dear public, since we are facing a special duel, today I will ask for the collaboration of a couple of attendees," Trixie said looking at the entire audience until her eyes stopped on the two little foals that had been the first to shout to support her. "You two, come on stage please, let's give them a big round of applause!"

Again, managing the public at will, Trixie made the whole audience burst into applause while the little foals climbed onto the stage. There, both foals appeared, who coincidentally had the names of the cutie marks they carried, 'Snips' and 'Snails,' both looking with admiration at Trixie.

"Okay, my assistants are already present, with the great and fabulous Trixie, but the true star of the show is still missing, Let's give the powerful Dusk Shine a big round of applause again!" Trixie shouted enthusiastically as she pointed with a hoof towards Dusk to come to the front of the stage next to her.

At Trixie's signal, Dusk walked slowly towards her, again getting nervous when he felt the intense gaze of the entire audience on him. And so, absorbed was Dusk when feeling the eyes of the public gaze upon him, that he didn’t even notice that again nobody in the audience applauded his entrance, although Trixie had requested it; they only heard a couple of isolated applauses from their friends, who did everything possible to motivate the public in favor of Dusk, but they were unable to do so. All this before the watchful eye of Trixie, who seemed not to care that her request for applause to Dusk Shine wasn’t considered by the public.

"All right, now what we're going to do is three tests, we'll both try to do similar spells, and whoever wins two out three of them will be the one who wins the competition!" Trixie shouted for the audience to hear her. Then she went to her new assistants and asked them with a kind smile. "Very good little ones, tell me, what would you like to see?"

"Me! Me!" The tall young colt named Snails shouted with enthusiasm. "I'd like to see something spooky!"

"Something spooky? Very well, I'll do the best I can with the little magic I have left." Trixie answered with a big smile, then with a look of determination.

Trixie's horn lit up, and it seemed that the sky dimmed slightly, making the sunlight dimmer as if a cloud was hiding it. Then, from the shade that the sun was casting on Trixie, her shadow slowly began to rise from the floor, gradually rising and detaching itself from the real shadow of Trixie, until it began to take shape, extending four dark limbs to form its legs, also forming a tail, as if that shadow was a totally dark pony, only that this pony was missing something vital, the head.

Once the pony made of shadows completed its headless form, it stood on its hindquarters and began to jog in circles on the stage, finally rising threateningly in front of Snips and Snails, who couldn’t help but be surprised and a little frightened to see that dark pony with no head in front of them.

The magic lasted only a few seconds, in which Trixie maintained a full face of concentration, but finally, she seemed unable to bear it anymore and fell exhausted to the ground while her horn went out and the magic of shadows disappeared instantly, returning everything to normal.

"Huff, I'm too tired, but it doesn’t matter, I hope with all my heart that you were scared by my little version of the 'headless horse'!" Trixie said with a smile, while the audience burst into applause again.

The audience applauded Trixie to see a very good trick of shadows, something that in itself was difficult for any unicorn, however the biggest reason why the audience applauded with such enthusiasm, was the effort that Trixie had shown, because she really seemed exhausted and still she continued on with the show, which made it inevitable that she would win the sympathy of the crowd. And that's exactly what Dusk thought at the time, who when seeing the spell of Trixie, couldn’t help but think that it was a good spell, but only on a medium level, anyone who had studied advanced level magic could do a better spell than that, including him.

For Dusk, this challenge was something easy to overcome, however, after seeing the effort of Trixie, he didn’t want to do a great spell that exceeded that of Trixie since that would obviously mean underestimating the great effort she had made.

"Remember..." Trixie muttered as she stood up, looking Dusk in the eyes and immediately noticing the doubt on her face. "This is just a show, use your full potential! The public deserves it!"

At Trixie's words, Dusk shook his head loudly to clear his doubts. Trixie had asked him from the beginning to show her all of his abilities, she did all this to deliver a good show to the public, and if she asked him to please not stop, he couldn’t ruin the show. Finally Dusk closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them with a more determined look, determined to comply with what Trixie asked of him.

"Okay." Dusk said seriously as his horn began to brighten.

Unlike the dim opacity with which the sky darkened with the magic of Trixie, when Dusk used his magic, the sky darkened completely, as if the night had fallen surprisingly, only without the Moon and without any stars in it. firmament, the only thing that could be seen was the scenario in which Dusk, Trixie, and the two foals were standing. Then in front of Dusk, rising from the floor, appeared a large shadow, very similar to how it had happened with the spell of Trixie, only that this shadow seemed much more grotesque, as if drops of hot pitch fell from it while taking shape and it rose to a much larger size, being about two ponies high, slowly taking the form of a huge horse, with enormous black hooves, a black tail, and a large black head, making all kinds of terrifying and dreary sounds while his body took shape. Upon completing his form, the horse's eyes opened suddenly, showing an unnatural glow, while a large and ghostly whinny that made all the ponies in the first-row step back a bit, because although they knew it was part of the show, that ghostly shadow was something terrifying to see and hear.

Finally, the ghostly horse trotted to the side of the stage, turned abruptly, and then trotted at full speed towards Snips and Snails, while the head of the ghostly horse burned and disappeared, leaving only a terrifying headless horse heading towards those terrified little colts.

"WAAAHHH!" Shouted at the same time terrified Snips and Snails, hugging each other while the ghostly horse ran towards them to ram into them, but when it rammed them, all the shadows disappeared, the sky became clear again, Dusk’s horn stopped shining, and everything went from back to normal, except for the little Snips and Snails that continued to scream with their eyes completely closed.

After running out of breath and screaming at the top of their lungs, both foals fearfully opened their eyes and saw that everything had disappeared. Then both foals looked at each other, seeing that they were hugging each other, and quickly pushed themselves out of that hug.

"That... That was terrifying..." Snails said excitedly, still shaking a bit, breathing intensely after almost having a heart attack when he saw that terrifying ghostly horse.

"You didn’t just use shadow magic, you also used illusion magic, huh?" It was an interesting mix...” Trixie said with a thoughtful look, talking to herself. Then she realized that Dusk was still at her side and she immediately put on a big smile. "Wow, you're really amazing! I could never match that! You definitely overcame me!"

"Colts and mares! It's obvious who was the winner of this challenge!" Trixie shouted with a big smile at the audience. "With his advanced level of shadow magic, he has definiley surpassed me, let's give a big round of applause to the great Dusk Shine for winning his first challenge!"

Again, nopony in the audience applauded Dusk, the only thing the audience did was murmur among themselves, all with a face of discomfort and concern. Seeing that, without anyone noticing, Trixie gave a fleeting smile of satisfaction.

"Very good! Time for our next challenge! If I lose this I will have lost two out of three and I will accept my defeat." Trixie said turning around with an exaggerated smile to look at Dusk again.

"O… okay..." Dusk said a little surprised with how well Trixie had accepted losing the first duel, although of course, as she had said, there was no doubt that her magic had been more convincing to scare the foals and to the public.

"Tell me, little one, what will our next duel be about?" Trixie asked, approaching Snips with a kind smile.

"I... I always play near the Everfree forest, and sometimes it gets dark, and I get lost." Snips said as if he was trying to remember something. "I wanted to know, what can I do in case of getting a stray… getting lost?" Snips finished saying as if he himself didn’t know what the word ‘stray’ meant.

"Oh, very good! This will not only be a magic show, but it will also serve to teach important things to the little foals and fillies of the town, that's good!" Trixie said full of energy as if she was used to acting in front of small foals and fillies.

Trixie walked to the front of the stage and looked at each colt and filly that was in the audience, watching them with a warm smile.

"This is very important, you should never go alone to dangerous places, but if you do get lost and you don’t know how to get home, what you should do is make a signal! Something to warn anypony passing by that you are lost, and you need help." Trixie said speaking as if she were an elementary school teacher, all while the foals and fillies watched her attentively and their parents smiled at the sight of that kind pony teaching her children safety things.

As she spoke, Trixie illuminated her horn and a large beam of light shot into the sky.

"A light is the best thing you can do to get the attention of somepony who is far away and can’t hear you, especially if it's at night." Trixie said with a big smile.

Suddenly Trixie's horn let out a few sparks, her beam suddenly went out, and she put a hoof to her forehead while it looked like she was going to faint. Dusk immediately approached her to catch her, but just as Trixie was about to fall into Dusk's hooves, she recovered instantly and was back in a firm position.

"I'm sorry, dear public, but as I said, I've used a lot of magic today and I'm a bit exhausted." Trixie said with a pained look, which meant that without even asking for it, the audience gave her another strong applause to motivate her and thank her for her delivery despite being so exhausted.

"Maybe Dusk Shine can continue with the demonstration, and in the process win this duel." Trixie said with a kind look.

"That's not fair, all he has to do is make a light stronger than yours, that's not fair!" Snips said annoyed. "Do something else!"

Immediately the public began to support what Snips had said, all of them looking with resentment at Dusk while some began to mutter among themselves again.

"What do you want me to do…?" Dusk asked, who only then began to notice that he didn’t have the favor of the public at all.

"What happens if a pony who gets lost in the forest isn’t a unicorn and can’t make a light with his horn?" Snails asked with his always reckless look.

"Yeah, and what happens if it is daytime? What other signal can be made?" Snips asked, looking defiantly at Dusk.

"Huh... I..." Dusk began to stutter, feeling strangely pressured by the foals' questions, glancing at the public and becoming even more nervous to see that for some reason everyone was looking at him with a scowl.

"Hmm... I know! I know another signal that can be done! And by day!" Dusk said suddenly, using his horn to make appear with his magic a few branches of wood next to some stones.

While Dusk began to stack them with his hooves the wooden branches he had made appeared, everyone in the audience looked at him with confused faces, not understanding what he wanted to do, the same face that Trixie tried to put on, because as soon as Dusk got the wooden branches, she couldn’t help but put a strange grimace, as if for some reason she tried not to laugh.

"I have gone to the Everfree Forest a couple of times and I have seen that there is a lot of these in it." Dusk said loudly to the audience, proud of his wit. Lifting a branch and a stone with its hoof. "Pinewood and flint! With this..."

Then Dusk hit a couple of rocks near the wooden branches, which immediately made a few sparks jump and started to light the branches.

"With this fire-" Dusk continued speaking until he was interrupted.

"That's your advice!? The foals must make fire!? Don’t you know how dangerous it can be!?" A mother who was next to her foal shouted from the audience.

Immediately the entire public began to shout annoyed against Dusk for the irresponsibility he was teaching the children, unlike the kind and safe advice of Miss Trixie. Meanwhile, Dusk just bowed his head, but not by feeling intimidated, but to hide his smile, as he knew that this could happen and no one in the audience expected what was going to happen.

Without warning, only a few seconds after lighting the small fire, the flame went out on its own, leaving only a large column of smoke that rose to the sky. As soon as the flame of the bonfire was extinguished, everyone in the audience was silent, as they didn’t understand why the fire had suddenly gone out without anyone's intervention.

"Everfree forest is quite humid, so it's not hard to find wet wood." Dusk said continuing his explanation after the boos against him suddenly ceased. "Wet wood makes it difficult to keep a flame, it only generates smoke, also, as I said, this is pine wood, a soft wood that ignites fast but doesn’t keep the flame, that's why it's perfect to make a smoke signal!"

Only then the ponies of the public realized that from the beginning Dusk had wanted to make a smoke signal, not a bonfire. Besides this sign wasn’t small, Dusk had managed to make a large column of smoke with only a few branches of wood, something that was definitely more striking than the light that Trixie had done.

While Dusk smiled, proud of himself for believing to have surprised the audience by making them believe something and then giving them a surprise turn at the end, his smile was erased when he saw that the audience not only wasn’t smiling with him, but that they began to they murmur among themselves with worried looks, even now some began to point at him while they looked at him angrily.

"How awesome! Look at all the smoke you can make with just a couple of twigs...!" Trixie said approaching Dusk and looking up at the large column of smoke that had appeared, then turning again to speak to the audience. "I definitely can’t beat the intelligence and cunning of the great Dusk Shine! I have been completely defeated! Let's give a big round of applause to Dusk Shine! The savior of Equestria and hero of Ponyville!"

As soon as Trixie pointed to Dusk for him to be applauded, the audience stopped muttering, and everyone remained silent for a few seconds, with deep glares of hatred.

"He is not a hero!" yelled an angry pony from the front row of the audience, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes, he's a fraud!" Another pony shouted from the audience, adding to the ten cries of hate against Dusk that began to be heard from the audience.

All this took Dusk's total surprise, who was surprised and scared to see all the hatred that so many ponies had in the audience, because although only the first rows of the audience were the ones who shouted with hatred, the rows in the back kept silent with looks of doubt while those in the front row talked with them to try to put them against him too.

"You deceived us, you cheated the princess and the whole kingdom! You are a fraud!" It was heard shouting to a pony from the audience, one of the screams that Dusk managed to hear clearly from all the cries of hate that came to him.

"D-Deceive the princess? D-What are you talking about?" Asked Dusk stammering, without moving from where he was and not knowing how to react to see that almost half of the ponies present there seemed to hate him.

"I'll tell you what we're talking about!" A mare responded from the audience, one of the few ponies that Dusk recognized among those ponies that shouted against him, was Bon Bon. "With everything we just saw, we could prove it... Everything that happened on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration was a trick!"

"Yes, you are a fraud!" They began to support Bon Bon other ponies, all while Dusk looked confused and scared at all of them, still not understanding what they were talking about.

At that moment a small group of ponies, including Bon Bon, who seemed to be the leaders of the group called 'We Hate Dusk', turned around and looked at the rest of the ponies that were in the audience.

"Don’t you think it's too much of a coincidence that Princess Celestia disappeared right in front of him and that it was he who was actually 'rescued' the princess?" A pony shouted, pointing to Dusk.

"Yes, and what about the supposed appearance of Nightmare Moon?" Said another pony also pointing to Dusk. "Don’t you think that Nightmare Moon looks too much like the shadow pony he just made appear?"

"Yes, everything to pretend to be the savior of Equestria!" Bon Bon said looking at Dusk with resentment.

"That's ridiculous!" Applejack suddenly shouted, who along with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, stood in front of the group 'We Hate Dusk' and confronted them. "We were there too, and we accompanied him to save the princess!"

"And what if he also cheated on you? And if everything was an illusion as he just did to make it more realistic in the shade?" Replicated another pony of the group 'We Hate Dusk'.

"And how do you explain the appearance of Princess Luna!?" Rainbow Dash yelled furiously.

"Yes, and do you think that the princess wouldn’t have noticed if somepony had tried to deceive her?" Rarity said also annoyed.

"Princess Luna? The one that nopony, not even in Canterlot, has seen since she supposedly came back?" Bon Bon said in a tone of irony. "How is it that no pony has seen her in public yet?"

"Yes, I also believe that Princess Celestia did realize her deception, but she forgave him for being her favorite student." said another pony from the group 'We Hate Dusk', looking with hatred at Dusk. "I think the princess followed suit because otherwise he would have gone to jail!"

The public was quickly divided into three camps: those who totally distrusted Dusk, who were a large part of the public; those who didn’t know who to believe but who little by little began to believe in the conspiracy theories proposed by the first group; and those who completely believed in Dusk, who were basically his four friends there.

"And he not only lied to us that time, he also lied to us when he told us that a dragon was covering Ponyville with smoke!" Shouted one of the ponies from the group 'We Hate Dusk', pointing it out again. "If he made all that smoke with just a few branches, he could easily have done all the smoke we saw the other day and cheated on us again!"

"Yes, everything to make us believe that he is a hero!" Shouted another one of the ponies who hated Dusk, looking at Dusk and facing him. "Tell me, were you not the one who expelled that supposed dragon!?"

"Huh... I... I don't..." Dusk stammered, totally stunned to see such a large number of ponies shouting at him and looking at him with hatred. "It... it was actually Fluttershy..."

As soon as Dusk responded and named Fluttershy, he realized his mistake, while the audience still looked with more hatred at Dusk.

"And now you want to make us believe that the shy Fluttershy was the one who drove out a huge dragon!" How much more of a liar can you be!?" Bon Bon yelled furiously.

As soon as Bon Bon shouted, the whole group of ponies 'We Hate Dusk' turned to face Dusk, with furious glances, ready and willing to go and get that lying colt kicked out of his town if necessary.

The friends of Dusk, noting that those ponies were willing to attack Dusk, tried to move to stand between them and Dusk, but they found it difficult for all the audience around them and the commotion that was being caused, everything was getting out of control!

While Dusk was still on stage, he was frightened to see as part of the audience that watched him with hatred in the first row was approaching the edge of the stage to get on to his level and approach him with bad intentions. While also on the stage was still Trixie, who had her head down, and therefore couldn’t see what expression they had at that moment.

Three ponies reached the stage, all while the audience near them in the front row kept shouting against Dusk and supporting those ponies that were going to face him. Meanwhile, Dusk watched in fear as they approached him, and took a couple of steps back completely scared.

"STOP!" Trixie suddenly shouted, getting between Dusk and those ponies that wanted to attack him. "What do you think you all are doing!?"

Before the surprise intrusion of Trixie, everyone fell silent, both the public, Dusk and the ponies that climbed the stage, all looking intently at the blue-gray unicorn.

"Dusk Shine wouldn’t be able to lie to an entire town!" Trixie said theatrically, standing in front of him and taking his face between her hooves as he pulled him close to her face to look at him penetratingly. "All this must be a misunderstanding, you really are the hero that everypony believes in, right?"

"I..." Dusk said nervously before the fixed look of Trixie, without having time to answer correctly.

"Of course, you are, you even defeated me in the magical duel we just had!" Trixie said without giving Dusk time to speak, continuing her monologue, talking exaggeratedly while the entire audience was totally attentive to everything she said.

"But Miss Trixie, you only lost because you were tired." Said the little Snips, who was still on stage with Snails. "If you had all your strength, I'm sure you would’ve won!"

"No, you can’t believe that, I just lost." Trixie said melodramatically putting a hoof on her forehead. Removed it from her forehead and looked at the audience with a smile. "I know, that there are no doubts about the power of Dusk, we will face the sunset again, after all I just need a couple of hours to rest and recover all my magic."

"At sunset we’ll meet again in a real magical duel, and there, Dusk will show that he really is as powerful as he claims to be!" Trixie added moving to the front of the stage, leaving Dusk aside and speaking to her captive audience at the top of her lungs. "And I will do my best to show what a humble unicorn can do against the power of the Canterlot elite! It will be a great magical duel, so don’t miss it! This very evening in this same place!" Trixie added ending her act, making a small bow.

"Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!" They began to shout enthusiastically Snips and Snails, emphasizing that the rest of the audience would join them, giving Trixie a new heart while the unicorn enjoyed all that attention.

"Thank you very much, we'll wait for you right here at sunset! Meanwhile, I'll be signing autographs onstage!" Trixie shouted down from the stage as a crowd of older and younger ponies rushed forward to ask for her autograph.

As Trixie came down from the stage amid the din, Dusk had been frozen by the rapid turn of events. A few seconds ago he was about to be lynched, and now, for no apparent reason, he would have to face Trixie again in another magical duel. What was going on!? It was as if the audience was part of Trixie's show and this was as or fussier than Trixie herself!

For their part, the small group of ponies in the group 'We Hate Dusk' had remained standing, staring at Dusk. Then that group turned around and withdrew slowly, with Bon Bon at the head.

"Well, in a few more hours we’ll see if in reality he is powerful enough to have saved Equestria, or we’ll see if they were all just pure deceptions." Bon Bon said annoyed as she left the place with that small group of ponies that accompanied her.

Meanwhile, Dusk's friends remained off the stage, where they had been when they began to argue with Bon Bon’s group. All of them looked at Dusk, and he immediately understood that they were as much or even more scared than he was after everything that happened, the situation had definitely gotten out of control.

Dusk started to get off the stage, too, towards his friends, when a noise distracted him.

"Psst! Hey, Dusk!" Trixie said from below the stage, who was on the opposite side of Dusk's friends, surrounded by a large group of ponies.

Trixie reached out to whisper something to Dusk, which he immediately understood and crouched down near her, so he could hear her.

"I'm sorry I exaggerated a bit, but it was the perfect opportunity to get the ponies excited to attend another show at dusk. By the way, I wanted to visit you later, you know, to talk about the show this afternoon and fine-tune some details." Trixie added whispering in secret from her fans.

"What's all this?" All this is still part of the show!? Did those ponies really wanted to kill me or what!? I don’t understand anything!" Dusk thought scared and confused by Trixie's words. Had everything been part of the show? Was it really safe for him to continue with all that?

Dusk didn’t manage to say anything to Trixie, since she was forced by her fans to move from there, in order to go behind the scenes to sign more autographs, as she had promised. Only then Dusk's friends went on stage to go with him, because as soon as they saw that he had talked to Trixie again, they understood that he could be falling into another trap, after all, it was Trixie that had caused this disastrous situation to happen.

"What was that mare telling you?" Pinkie Pie asked as soon as they arrived.

"She told me she wanted to meet up with me to finalize some details about the show this afternoon." Dusk answered, still looking at Trixie as she walked away smiling at all the fans around her.

"What!? She can’t possibly believe that you’ll continue on with this charade, she’s only using you!" Rarity said very worried.

"Is she using me?" Dusk asked still confused. "I... I don’t know... It's true that this whole situation was strange, but she was the one who saved me from the furious crowd."

"It's because that mare knows how to handle the public at her whim like jelly on her hoof!" Applejack said also worried. "She makes you look like a criminal and makes everypony see her as a heroine."

"What? She never said any of that." Dusk said even more confused.

"We know, and that's the worst! She's manipulating everypony so that they think and say what she wants, without having to say it herself, she's a first-rate manipulator!" Rarity said looking annoyed in Trixie's direction.

"Wait, do you all agree?" Dusk asked looking at his friends one by one. "None of you trusts her?"

"I know manipulative mares like her, sometimes I take advantage of the situation, that's why I know her kind very well and I know she is using you." Rarity answered confidently, strangely proud to admit that even she was sometimes a little manipulative.

"I definitely know when someone is lying, and she's definitely either lying, or hiding something... possibly both." Applejack answered with a serious look when Dusk looked at her.

"My instinct don’t lie, and neither does my tail." Pinkie Pie responded with a look of alarm when Dusk looked at her, pointing to her tail, which was shaking slightly. "She's definitely planning something!"

"I... I don’t have a reason, but I'm upset with her for what she did to me!" Added Rainbow Dash finally, a little embarrassed for not having a strong reason to distrust Trixie as her friends had.

After listening to his four friends, Dusk put a hoof on his chin and put on a thoughtful face while meditating on what he should do.

"I don’t know... I definitely trust you, but I didn’t see her at any time being mean to me, she even seemed to support me." Dusk said innocently, not wanting to think badly about other ponies, remembering how Trixie had supported her when she had asked them to applaud him or when she came out to defend him when the audience pounced on him. "If she had bad intentions I would’ve noticed, I mean, I'm not that naive, am I?"

At that question, his four friends bit their tongues, not wanting to hurt his pride, after all Dusk had many qualities, such as being very studious and intelligent, but neither of those qualities could remove the fact that Dusk was too naive in many other aspects, especially to notice other intentions or hidden truths, something that they themselves had to live with every day since he kept confusing their attempts to approach him lovingly by seeing it as a simple gestures of friendship. In that aspect he was as cunning to notice second intentions as a two-year-old colt could be.

"By the way, where are Spike and Fluttershy?" Dusk asked, getting a little out of the subject when he noticed that two of his best friends were still missing. "If Fluttershy had been here, maybe she could have explained how she really drove the dragon out of the mountain."

"Naah... That would be pointless, what she did was too incredible, literally, that is, if I hadn’t seen it myself I would never believe it." Rainbow Dash said scratching her head. "Also, I haven’t seen Fluttershy since that day, I think she still needs time to absorb everything she did."

"And Spike fled as soon as Rarity came down from the stage... I don’t know why." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully.

"And then... What will you do?" Asked Applejack, returning to the main theme that called them at that time.

"Hmm... I don’t know, Trixie said she was going to visit me in the afternoon, maybe I can ask her some questions there and clarify for myself her true intentions." Dusk answered again putting a pensive look. "Also, I think helping her on her show is the least I can do, after all, I think it's a debt I can pay for all those years ago." Dusk added putting a small smile to remember something, talking more with himself than with his friends.

"What? A debt from years ago? What are you talking about?" Rarity asked surprised.

At the question of Rarity, Dusk left his thoughts and returned to reality, only realizing that apparently, he had been thinking aloud while remembering something.

"I... I'll tell you another time, I mean look at the time!" Dusk said a little nervous, looking towards the clock tower to quickly change the subject. "I think I'll go back home to wait for Trixie, and see if Spike is there, see you!"

Then Dusk quickly said goodbye and started jogging towards the library, regretting a bit for leaving so quickly, but talking about his past was a topic that always bothered him, plus, he wanted to solve a pending issue with Trixie before telling his friends that certain part of his past. Meanwhile, Dusk's friends stayed where they were, just watching Dusk move away from them.

"Can you believe that he's still hiding things from us!? How many secrets does he keep!?" Rainbow Dash said annoyed to see that Dusk was running away without answering what Rarity had asked him.

"Easy, I'm almost sure that little by little he will tell us more about his past, I think he just decided that this wasn’t the right time." Applejack said with a calm look, then touching her hat and squeezing an edge of it. "Besides, we all have our own secrets..."

At Applejack words, they all stopped grudgingly staring at Dusk, after all, their friend was right, because they all keep secrets that still didn’t see the light, a great example of that had been when they learned recently of Fluttershy’s trauma when they went up to expel the dragon.

"Also, I think there's something more important for now." Applejack said seriously, turning to face the other side, giving a more determined look. Something that her three friends also did, since they understood in the act to which Applejack referred. "We should have a talk with that Trixie."





In Sugarcube Corner was the most requested pony of the moment in Ponyville, the self-proclaimed 'Great and Powerful Trixie', sitting at a table, signing the last of the autographs to a couple of fillies who were there in line. Beside Trixie were two mares, who she talked happily with, they were: Bon Bon, who when Trixie saw that she entered Sugarcube Corner, invited her to sit next to her; and Lyra, who always accompanied her best friend Bon Bon, and by luck also ended up sitting next to Trixie, something that the young magician didn’t like at first, but as soon as they started talking about Dusk Shine, she discovers that Lyra seemed to know him a little, Trixie immediately changed her attitude towards Lyra to a more kinder one.

"So they say that Dusk Shine is a lousy librarian?" Trixie asked with great interest, after Bon Bon and Lyra told her about the time they both went to the newly reopened library.

"Absolutely! We couldn’t read anything in the afternoon!" Bon Bon answered annoyed. "If it hadn’t been because Rarity and the others, beging me to give him another chance and to not spread rumors about Dusk Shine, I would definitely have told everypony I knew about that. Only now I realize that I should’ve done it anyway, let everypony see the fraud that he is. "

Then Bon Bon put on a worried face as she remembered what had happened in the Trixie show.

"If it hadn’t been for your magic show, I wouldn’t have noticed, now everything is so clear, everything fits! It was all a trick! I do not know how I didn’t realize it before!" Bon Bon said with a look of resentment.

"Come on, Bon Bon, I think you're exaggerating, and I already told you that the library was a misunderstanding, and that he just got distracted because they were all fluttering around him to get his attention." Lyra said with a smile, trying to calm her friend, knowing that Bon Bon had never been a supporter of Dusk, but it seemed that since that morning the distrust she had towards Dusk had turned into hatred.

"Fluttering around Dusk, who are you talking about?" Trixie asked with great curiosity.

It was at that precise moment that the doors of the bakery opened, revealing on its portal four colorful and well-known mares that when they saw that Trixie was there, they looked at her with a penetrating look.

"Oops! It seems they caught me talking about them..." Lyra said laughing a little at the situation that they appeared just when she was talking about them and Dusk. Only then did Lyra put on a worried face. "Wait, I never said it was them... Or did I...?"

Lyra looked askance at Trixie, hoping that she hadn’t understood what she had just said, after all she almost missed what she had discovered about what Dusk's friends felt for him, something she had discovered the day that she had gone to the library next to Bon Bon. However, it wasn’t necessary for Lyra to say their names, for Trixie's nimble mind was able to understand who she had referred to, for those same four mares had been the only ones who had defended Dusk when the public turned against him.

"Now I understand...” Trixie thought as a glint appeared in her eyes as she saw Dusk's friends approaching. A fleeting smirk formed on Trixie's lips, who immediately hid it.

"Weren't you signing autographs behind the stage a little while ago?" Applejack asked earnestly, once she and her friends arrived in front of the table where Trixie was.

"That's right, but some fans decided to invite me to this place to eat some cakes." Trixie replied with a smile, using her magic to take a piece of cake with her fork and bringing it to her mouth while smiling. "Tell me, do you also want an autograph?"

"Don’t get smart with us, you know perfectly well that we didn’t come here for an autograph." Rainbow Dash said defiantly.

"Cake... I-I mean, yes, we didn’t come for that!" Pinkie Pie said quickly, who for a second seemed hypnotized to see the strawberry cake that Trixie was eating. Drying off the drool she had dropped without realizing it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my apologies. So, tell me, how can I help you?" Trixie said without letting go of her exaggerated friendly smile.

"Why did you do that to Dusk!? Why did you make him look bad in front of everypony? You made everypony believe that everything Dusk has done was a lie!" Rarity said very angry.

"I don’t know what you're talking about, I never said anything like that." Trixie said making herself offended. "The only thing I did was defend Dusk, in fact, I even gave him another chance to prove to everypony that he is as powerful as he claims to be, I helped him and this whole show was just another example of the deep admiration that I feel for Dusk Shine." Trixie finished saying, without letting go of her smile but also looking penetratingly at Dusk's friends.

"Well, if you really admire him as much as you say, you wouldn’t need to prove anything to show how powerful Dusk is." Rarity said with a triumphant smile, having finally found a gap in Trixie's arguments, to show that what she said wasn’t true.

For a second Trixie stopped smiling and looked fiercely at Rarity, but immediately she smiled again kindly.

"I really admire Dusk Shine, I just want him to prove to everypony what he really claims to be, after all, if he is truly the savior of Equestria, he can easily win in a magical duel against a simple and humble unicorn like me, so everypony who has doubts can see the real Dusk." Trixie finally responded with a smile.

"Exactly, everypony will see the true fraud that he is!" Bon Bon suddenly got angry, who was still sitting next to Trixie.

"Bon Bon... Don’t get involved..." Lyra whispered to her friend, who understood the tense atmosphere and that this was a fight they shouldn’t get involved with.

"Dusk isn’t a fraud!" Pinkie Pie said annoyed, looking towards Bon Bon.

"Yes, we have been by his side in each of the terrible situations he had faced! He really risked his life to save Equestria and Ponyville!" Added Rainbow Dash, also looking annoyed at Bon Bon.

"But who knows... Maybe you saw things that were never really there." Trixie said with a thoughtful face, looking towards the ceiling and then at the four mares facing her. "Maybe you were blinded... for love."

The four mares were paralyzed and blushed at what Trixie said.

"Bingo!" Trixie thought, smiling with satisfaction at the reaction of the four mares.

"W-Who told you... that?" Rarity said nervously, still blushing.

"Nopony, I just deduced it, because of the way you all protect Dusk. When Dusk used his magic, everypony realized that Dusk's supposedly heroic acts might have been a lie, but you are not the only ones who follow and blindly defend Dusk." Trixie said, still smiling. "And that attitude that doesn’t listen to reason can only mean three things: either you're crazy, or you're in love, or you've fallen under a spell."

"Don’t call us crazy!" Pinkie Pie yelled, surprisingly angry to hear the word 'crazy'.

"We're not in love with that fool!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the same time, totally blushed.

Trixie smiled to see that they themselves had given her the opportunity for her next move.

"Hmm? Then, if it's neither of them, maybe it's a spell." Trixie said as she stood up and moved towards the door while she continued talking. "Have you ever thought about it? Did some or all of you fall in love with Dusk's beautiful face just to see it? Do you see him as if he was the ideal colt? The perfect colt to love? So, maybe Dusk could have used some spell to make you all fall in love with him, after all, that would be a simple thing for somepony as skilled with magic as he is. "

At that moment, just as Trixie had reached the door of the bakery, she turned her head and looked at the four mares she had left behind, who, to her satisfaction, they had looks of confusion.

"Just think about it... See you later!" Trixie said with a big smile, closing the door of the bakery behind her.

As she retreated, Trixie couldn’t help but smirk at what she had just done.

"It doesn’t matter if they believe me or not, now that doubt will exist in their hearts forever, even if it is a small doubt, but it will remain there and grow over time like a virus." Trixie thought laughing, proud of herself for the power that her words could have in the hearts of the other ponies.

Trixie looked around until she found what she was looking for, the village library. Then she brought back that kind smile that she always had and began to go there.

"Step by step, patiently moving all the pieces of the board to achieve my goal." Trixie thought as she approached Dusk's home.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Trixie knocked softly on the door of the village library.

"Come in!" Dusk Shine's voice said from inside.

The showmare opened the door and entered Dusk's home. There she could see who she was looking for, Dusk Shine, but it seemed that he wasn’t even paying attention to her, since he kept his back to her, looking towards a small door on the side of the library.

"Ahem!" Trixie coughed for Dusk to pay attention.

"Oh, hello Trixie, how are you?" Dusk said turning to see Trixie with a friendly smile, and then looking back at the door with concern. "Get out of there now! You're worrying me!" Dusk added shouting at the door, hitting it a couple of times with his hoof.

While Trixie, who had entered the library with a big and exaggerated smile, gritted her teeth irritably while trying to keep her smile, because if there was something that irritated her, it was feeling ignored.

"Did I arrive at a bad time?" Trixie asked kindly, maintaining her smile with effort.

"Huh? No, it's nothing, or maybe yes, the truth is I don’t know." Dusk said worried. "What happened is that when I went back to the library, I discovered that my brother was locked in the bathroom, and he still hasn’t come out, I don’t even know why he’s doing this!" Dusk added shouting annoyed at the door so that Spike would finally open the door.

"Your brother!?" Trixie asked very surprised.

At that moment Dusk looked down to the ground, where he could see that under the door, a flow of thick red liquid came out. Immediately, fearing the worst and that it was a sign that Spike was hurt, Dusk used his magic to force the bathroom door to open, which opened suddenly, finally seeing what was behind it... On a small staircase, in front of the bathroom mirror, was Spike, holding a small brush, who took a scared jump as he heard the door slam open.

Dusk had entered the bathroom with a scary face, which only increased when he saw that both Spike, and much of the bathroom, were with large red spots. However, the more Dusk looked, the more he began to realize that he had apparently exaggerated, and his face slowly moved from fear to total confusion.

"That... that's not blood..." Dusk said slowly, thinking aloud.

"What!? No, of course not, could you not tell that it was just red paint!" Spike said as confused as Dusk, pointing to the floor, where there was a bottle of red paint, which was the one that had spillt and flowed under the bathroom door.

"And why is the bathroom full of red paint!?" Dusk asked beginning to get irritated after realizing that he had been unnecessarily frightened.

"W-Well, I had a hard time painting my back scales..." Spike said turning a bit so that Dusk could see him well.

Seeing Spike's back, Dusk again put a face of confusion to see that Spike for some reason had been painting the main scales of his back, tail and head, all painted in red. Dusk just kept quiet with a disbelieving face as he tried to understand the reason why his little brother had done such madness.

"What didn’t you hear me!?" Spike said looking at Dusk after understanding that his older brother still didn’t understand what he had done. "Rarity said green was the worst color, and all the scales on my back are green! Now I understand why the mustache didn’t work!"

At Spike's words, Dusk just opened his mouth, not believing how ridiculous his brother could be when it came to something related to Rarity.

"Don’t be a fool! Clean it up and take off that paint now!" Dusk finally shouted irritably, slamming the door.

Just when he closed the door, Dusk just remembered that Trixie was behind him all this time, who was looking at Dusk with a face of total surprise and confusion.

"I'm sorry... It was just a problem with my little brother, hehe." Dusk smiled sadly, looking at Trixie.

Meanwhile, the unicorn was still perplexed by everything she had seen. She had arrived at Dusk's house with a fail-safe action plan, prepared for any eventuality, yet nothing had prepared her to witness such a ridiculous scene of seeing a baby dragon in a bath painting his scales while Dusk acted as a clumsy older brother.

"D-Did you say that it was your brother?" Trixie asked confused, asking the first question that should be answered.

"Oh... yes, he's my younger brother, obviously we're not blood brothers, but we've been together since I was a foal and he's just a newborn baby." Dusk said with a smile, understanding perfectly the confusion Trixie had, after all, that was something he had already got used to answering.

"I see, so he treats the lizard as if it were his family... That's interesting, maybe I can use it later." Trixie thought, meditating as she finally got out of her surprise state and put her plan back into action, something that, despite the surprise, it had already started well, after all, she had come to Dusk's home, to get information about him.

"So he's your little brother, that's very cute!" Trixie said again with a big smile, ready to begin her attack. "Although I must admit that I was somewhat scared, when you said your brother was there, I thought you were referring... to your older brother."

Dusk's smile was instantly erased when he heard what Trixie said, looking worried. Dusk spent a few seconds in silence, without answering anything, like Trixie, who knew immediately that she had hit the nail on the head with his comment.

"You... Do you know my big brother?" Dusk asked, trying to hide that he had become nervous.

"Of course! I mean, not personally, but who wouldn’t know the new captain of the royal guard! One of the most talented and recognized unicorn of the princess's personal security corps!" Trixie said, again acting theatrically while she kept smiling. "As I heard, no other pony ever became such a young captain, it is an admirable achievement, ALMOST as much as YOUR own achievements..."

Dusk listened intently to what Trixie said while his eyes couldn’t help but show some discomfort as he listened to what she was saying.

"Yeah... I guess my brother is amazing... it's more than likely that I'll never be as talented as he is..." Dusk said looking down as he remembered part of his past, then he looked back at Trixie, putting on a sad smile. "And about my achievements, you're wrong, I guess I was just in the wrong place at the right time."

"Oh, please, enough of the false modesty!" Trixie said with a big smile. "Because I hate it." Trixie thought resentfully, completing the sentence in her mind while on the outside she kept her facade smile.

"Yeah, hehe... Huh... W-Well, now that you're here, tell me, how can I help you?" Dusk asked quickly, not wanting to talk more about his older brother. "You said you wanted to talk about the show this afternoon."

"Oh, yes, silly me, I almost forgot." Trixie said, banging her head gently and pulling her tongue out tenderly. "Well, in the show we'll both go on stage, but this time we'll both do magic at the same time and we'll compete to see what spell is more powerful, nothing great, don’t worry. Although I must admit, that’s just an excuse to be able to meet with you alone. "

"An excuse?" Dusk asked.

"Of course, I know that you are the personal pupil of Princess Celestia, and surely you know many powerful spells." Trixie said getting closer to Dusk, looking at him with admiration. "I'd love it if you could teach me some spells! You know, show me some spells to see if I can do them."

"Huh, do you want me to teach you?" Dusk asked surprised by the turn of events.

"Yes, my father always said, if you want to be the best, learn from the best!" Trixie said with a big smile.

At Trixie words, Dusk remained surprised for a few seconds, then put on a thoughtful face while deciding what to do. Normally he would be reluctant to teach magic, since he always tried to do the right thing and follow the laws, and he wasn’t at all a certified magic teacher, and if he had to teach magic, he would need to first teach the theory from books before putting it into practice. However, there was something Trixie said that made Dusk decide to accept, only that time.

"If that's what you want, I guess I could teach you some spells..." Dusk said with an unconvincing smile.

"Thank you! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it." Trixie said with a big and exaggerated smile.

During the next hour, Dusk began to make a sample of many different types of spells, such as transformation spells, telekinesis, and alteration among others. Every time Dusk showed her a spell, Trixie tried to do it, getting only mediocre results, and every time she failed, Trixie just smiled and praised Dusk for being better than her.

While continuing the spell show, Trixie began to become more talkative, becoming more and more curious about Dusk and his life, asking about his tastes, his relationship with the princess, and especially about his past, questions that Dusk avoided answering given that he didn’t like to talk much about his past, much less tell about this to a mare he had just met, no matter how nice and friendly Trixie was with him. Finally, what they talked about most in their final minutes was about Dusk's arrival in Ponyville and how he had met his friends, something that Dusk was very willing to tell, since he could avoid talking about his past, and also because in a certain way he was proud to tell how the friendship of his friends had changed the way he saw the world.

"Oh no, I failed again!" Trixie said with a pained face after a dozen books fell to the floor that Trixie had levitated with her magic after trying to imitate what Dusk had done a few seconds ago.

"Hmm... Don’t worry, it's always difficult to independently levitate and control several objects." Dusk said, who had put on a confused face for a second, but he quickly exchanged it for a kind smile, beginning to levitate a couple of books with his magic again. "Let's try with only five books this time."

"Yes... I suppose it's the best, I think my limit is to lift 10 books, I have a hard time trying to levitate and control more, hehe." Trixie said smiling with embarrassment, doing what Dusk ordered, levitating five books and spinning them around her. "So, continuing what you were saying, after you saved Princess Luna and went back to Ponyville, what happened?" Trixie added, looking at Dusk, repeating her kind tone that she had a while ago, when Trixie tried a spell, failed, and asked Dusk a question.

"Princess Celestia asked me to stay in Ponyville to study the magic of friendship, and that's what I've done since that day, studying that magic while I enjoying my time with my new friends." Dusk answered with a sincere smile.

"And what did your parents say, are they proud that you saved Equestria?" Trixie asked curiously.

Dusk was silent at Trixie's question as both unicorns stared at each other while both slowly turned the books around them with their respective magics. Dusk didn’t respond immediately because he felt bad about his parents or his family, in fact it was the opposite, but the fact that Trixie insisted so much on knowing about his past and about his family was something that was starting to bother him.

"Trixie, why are you so interested in knowing about me?" Dusk asked finally, saying what he had been wondering for a while.

"Well, it's because you're very interesting!" Trixie answered with a big smile. "This is how you come to know other ponies and how you become their friend, isn’t it? Talking and learning more about that pony."

"Hmm... yeah, I guess you're right..." Dusk replied with a thoughtful face, while Trixie's mouth winced, making a fleeting smirk as she saw that Dusk had believed her.

"But I still haven’t ask anything about you." Dusk added, looking with a friendly smile at Trixie. "Tell me, what about your parents? Are they proud that you have become a famous star of a magic show?"

"Huh!?" Trixie said surprised, so much that she almost dropped the books that were levitating around her. She hadn’t expected it to be Dusk who would now ask her about her past. "I... huh..."

At that moment Trixie realized that she couldn’t keep her smile fake when talking about her parents. Immediately she began to think of a lie to tell, however as soon as she opened her mouth to lie about them, a small pain in her heart prevented her from doing so. Finally, Trixie took a big breath and decided to tell the truth, although, only part of it, after all, Dusk didn’t need to know more details about her life.

"I never met my mother, it seems that she died when I was born, so my father was the one who raised my first years of life, but he also died when I was just a filly, so the truth is that I lived almost All my life alone...”Trixie finally answered, looking at the ground sadly.

"Oh... I... I'm sorry... I'm very sorry for your loss." Dusk said looking affectionately at Trixie, regretting having asked about such a sensitive subject, and also because of Trixie's expression, it was obvious that even if she tried to hide it, apparently that was an issue that affected her.

When Trixie saw Dusk in the eye, she felt a strange warmth and serenity inside her... How many years has it been since anyone looked at her like that?

"D-Don’t worry, I never met my mother, and my father... well, he was a naive pony and without ambition." Trixie said with her eyes still melancholy, trying to smile again. "Since I started living alone, I forged the goal that wouldn’t be like either of my parents: I wouldn’t be a stranger like my mother was, nor would I be a pony without ambition like my father was. I present myself as the Great and Powerful Trixie, so that no one will ever forget my name or forget how great I am. "

Immediately, at the end, Trixie realized that she was saying something unnecessary and that she was leaving her own plan, so she quickly erased the thoughts about her past and returned to focus on what mattered at that moment: using that basic magic to levitate the books and keep talking about Dusk, not her.

"But stop talking about me." Trixie said, putting back a big and exaggerated smile. "As you show me some barrier spell, how about you tell me about your cutie mark? How did you get it?"

At Trixie’s question and the sudden change of subject, Dusk was paralyzed and became nervous, now talking about him, who for a second lacked concentration and almost dropped the books he was spinning with his magic, as Trixie was asking about another of the many points about which he didn’t like to talk about, his cutie mark.

"I just... I really don’t like talking about my cutie mark." Dusk answered with a sad smile, scratching his head. Quickly thinking of a way to avoid answering the question. "Why don’t you tell me about your cutie mark? What does it symbolize? Is it related to 'The Royal Legacy'? Do you know anything about that?" Dusk added, moving a little closer to see Trixie's cutie mark.

"The Royal Legacy? What's that? I think I've heard it somewhere, but I'm not sure." Trixie responded by feigning ignorance on a subject she had often heard from some wealthy ponies.

"Of course, it’s something without real foundation, since the official genealogical records exist only for a few hundred years." Dusk started talking, excited to talk about history, putting himself in 'professor mode'. "But it is assumed that long before the alicorn princesses arrived, there was a large group of powerful unicorns, a council, who were in charge of moving the Sun and the Moon. This advice for unicorns was enormous, because year after year more was needed, power and more unicorns for such monumental work, however, that in turn implies that the first group of unicorns must have been very small, perhaps only two or three unicorns. It’s said that those first unicorns that were able to move the Sun and the Moon for the first time are those who had cutie marks in the beginning with the shapes of the Sun and the Moon. And as it is known that the symbols of the cutie marks can be transmitted in the same family if a strong bond is generated with your descendants, as it happens with the houses of the nobility, in which grandparents, parents and children share common symbols such as fleur de lis or family coat of arms; then it is said that those who today show cutie marks related to the Sun or the Moon, is because they are descendants of those first unicorns of royalty. This is called 'The Royal Legacy', although I repeat again, that is something that can’t be proven, it is just a crazy theory."

"Oh... How interesting." Trixie said, feigning interest. "But the moon of my cutie mark is because I'm interested in astronomy, it's not because it's related to anything from my ancestors or my family."

"That's right, hell with those silly ideas that the ponies have of nobility about giving themselves heirs of royalty, if I shine, it will be for myself, not for a foolish rumor about having a bond with my ancestors." Trixie thought seriously while she kept a false smile towards Dusk. "The nobles always believed themselves to be better than the others...”

"Oh... I see, although I will tell you that the nobles of Canterlot probably treat you very well just for confusing the origin of your cutie mark." Dusk smiled, thinking a little about the ponies of the capital. "They are something... superficial."

"And you don’t?" Trixie added with a fleeting, scathing look, unable to avoid saying out loud what she thought. "You’re different from them?"

"Huh!? I... well, I-I think so, I'm a little different from them..." Dusk replied timidly when he noticed the fleeting change of attitude of Trixie.

The unicorn immediately realized that she had left the role she represented and tried to quickly return to her submissive attitude.

"I-I mean, I just thought that maybe you should know a lot about the Canterlot nobility to say something like that, hehe." Trixie said quickly, returning to her exaggerated smile.

"I... yeah, something like that, that is, I lived for many years surrounded by the elite of the nobility of Canterlot." Dusk said with a nervous smile. "I'll just say I didn’t have an easy foalhood."

At that moment, Trixie lowered her head to hide her face, hiding the look of hatred she made and couldn’t help but express at that moment.

"Your foalhood wasn’t easy...?" Repeated Trixie clenching her teeth in fury. "YOUR FOALHOOD WASN’T EASY!?" Trixie screamed furiously.

For a second Trixie's horn lit up sharply, making all the books on the shelves of the library tremble as those that were spinning around her began to spin at a tremendous speed around her. But as fleeting as it was, Trixie's horn went out and everything went back to normal, then she raised her head, showing again a big and exaggerated smile.

"Oops, I'm sorry, I think I lost focus." Said Trixie keeping her smile, but in the background nervous to realize that she almost sabotaged her plan.

"Yes... that seems..." Dusk said slowly, who had been surprised by Trixie's magical outburst. "That was a lot of magic at once..."

"I think it was luck, hehe." Trixie said with a kind smile. "Or maybe it's because you've taught me so well!"

Dusk remained with a pensive face for a moment and then looked back at Trixie.

"Is there any other spell you want me to show you?" Dusk finally said, putting on a big friendly smile.

"W-Well, I've been told that you're very good at teleportation." Trixie said holding her smile, relieved that her plan was in order.

So Dusk showed Trixie his teleportation spell, followed by a few elemental spells, all performed to perfection by Dusk, and performed in a way that was little more than mediocre by an always smiling Trixie. So they spent about an hour more, until Trixie had finally felt satisfied.

"Well, I think that's enough for today, we should also rest, since in a couple of hours we'll have our magic show." Trixie said with a smile, seeing the clock on the wall of the library, which indicated that there were only a few hours left until sunset.

"Yes, I suppose it was a productive afternoon." Dusk answered, remembering that they had seen several types of spells in a very short time.

"Thank you very much for everything! You really are a great teacher!" Trixie said approaching Dusk and taking his hoof to say goodbye. "I'm in debt, if you need anything from me, just ask!"

Then Trixie turned and walked toward the library door.

"See you at the show!" Trixie said smiling kindly, turning to see Dusk one last time before leaving.

As soon as Trixie turned to see the door, not seeing Dusk, her friendly smile disappeared, changing it to a more sinister one.

"Everything went perfectly again." Trixie thought smiling proudly as she opened the door to finally leave that dirty library and leave behind such an unpleasant company. "Everypony is like a pawn in a chess game...”

"Trixie..." Dusk suddenly said just before Trixie left the library completely.

"Yes?" Trixie replied, turning back to see Dusk and putting back her false smile.

Dusk didn’t respond immediately, he seemed indecisive in what he was going to say, but finally he dared to say what he thought, what he had been thinking all afternoon...

"Trixie... Why are you lying to me?" Dusk asked with a slight look of concern.

At the question of Dusk, this time it was Trixie who didn’t respond immediately, just stood still, keeping her big smile.

"What do you mean?" Trixie finally asked, still smiling.

"Well... The truth is that my friends told me not to trust you, that you just wanted to use me, but as much as I tried, both in the show and here, there was no flaw in your attitude that would lead me to think that you were lying to me. " Dusk said looking with some distrust at Trixie, who just kept smiling at him. "But if there's one thing I've learned here in Ponyville, it's that I have to believe my friends, even though I believe something different."

At Dusk's final words, Trixie's smile faltered for a second.

"I don’t like to suspect or think badly about others, but if I take into account what my friends told me, and I had to put myself on the defensive and be more suspicious, there is definitely something that caught my attention..." Dusk added. Staring at Trixie. "That magic hit wasn’t luck, wasn’t it? That was something I was thinking about from the moment we started practicing spells, but it was something I didn’t want to believe in. You... were holding back, or am I wrong?"

While Trixie listened to Dusk speak, she slowly lowered her head, hiding her expression, while her smile disappeared. Finally, after Dusk finished talking and they spent a few seconds in silence, Trixie raised her head, showing for the first time that day on her face what she really felt, she had erased that exaggerated and false smile, and now she looked at Dusk with a mocking smile and a penetrating look.

At that moment Trixie's horn lit up quickly and a wind ran through the main hall of the library, then her magic levitated a hundred books and each book began to make different turns, all moving around the room, all making different types of turns, all before the surprised look of Dusk, who saw that mare that had pretended that she couldn’t levitate more than 10 books, now effortlessly levitated more than a hundred books, making each one make an independent movement, something that even Dusk didn’t think he could do, since controlling so many independent objects at the same time was something that required great concentration and power.

Finally, as sudden as it had begun, Trixie's horn lit up even more, causing each book to stop instantly in the air, then each book flew briefly to the exact spot where it had flown from the beginning, leaving all the room orderly and silent, before the surprised look of Dusk, while Trixie maintained a proud and delighted smile.

"Well yes, it seems that it wasn’t just luck." Trixie finally said, looking smugly at Dusk.





"W-Why did you do it?" Dusk asked with a slight fear.

"What? Using you to show me your spells?" Trixie asked smiling with malice at Dusk. "Because I needed to know the true magical potential of my rival, to know which spells you are better at and the ones that you aren’t... At first the idea was to make you think that I was useless for you to have some false confidence in our duel, but since the truth is now uncovered, I can tell you, besides I couldn’t stand having to smile and pretend to be somepony who is as mediocre in magic as you are!"

"I-I didn’t use-" Dusk began to say before being interrupted.

"I know you didn’t use your full potential, that's obvious, but with what I saw, it's enough to give me a clear idea of your limits, your capabilities and your strengths." Trixie replied, smiling with arrogance.

Dusk was silent for a second, remembering everything that had happened that morning.

"Why did you even defend me this morning?" Dusk asked confused.

"Because making you fall is easy, but what I wanted was to see you shattered on the ground and witness how nopony ever thinks of you as a true unicorn." Trixie replied looking at Dusk with hatred. "During the show, I could hardly contain my laughter when I saw the audience turn against you, just as I had planned... Did you really think that surprising the audience with that smoke signal would’ve work? That is just being one step ahead of your rival, I'm always five steps ahead of my rivals!"

While Trixie spoke to Dusk with genuine hatred in his voice, Dusk realized that what he had suspected was nothing compared to reality. It sounded like Trixie not only had tricked him into showing off his magic show, but she for some reason hated him deeply.

"Why me?" It was all Dusk could say, without understanding what he had done to cause such hatred on Trixie's.

"Because I hate ponies like you." Trixie said looking down at Dusk. "I hate all those favored ponies who have never had to fight for anything in life, everything was given to you on a silver spoon, you had a life full of luxuries and comforts, and yet you complain about how unfortunate you are!"

Dusk opened his mouth to try to say something, but was interrupted by Trixie, who continued with her hate monologue.

"And I especially hate you for being a fraud." Trixie added as a shadow seemed to cross her eyes as she remembered something. "You're just as despicable as my father." In his magic shows, he said he was the most powerful unicorn of Equestria, yet he was always humiliated and ridiculed by all those who challenged him. He was a fraud, just like you and your supposed heroic acts! But I am different, my power is authentic! I’ll not be a failure like my father nor a fraud like you! I’ll show everypony that I am the best and I’ll defeat anyone who dares to challenge me!"

At that moment Trixie turned around to head back towards the exit door, keeping her hateful gaze on Dusk Shine.

"I’ll show in front of everypony that I am the one who deserves to be recognized by the princess, and that I am more capable and powerful than any other pony in Equestria!" Trixie said almost in a scream, while making her horn shine and with her magic she made all the books in the library jump off their shelves and fall to the floor, causing a disaster. "And that includes you!"

After that, Trixie finally leaves the library, with a determined and serious look, eager for the sun to set so she can show everyone in the town, that Dusk was nothing more than a fraud, both his power, his achievements and... his past.

# End of chapter 29
> Chapter 30 - Truths behind the stage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truths behind the stage

Trixie was quietly resting on her bed, inside her comfortable wagon. Soon she would have to start preparing for her magical duel against Dusk Shine, but for now, all she wanted, or rather needed, was to rest; after all, she had two very busy days.

That same afternoon, Trixie had revealed to Dusk Shine that everything she had been doing since that morning had been part of her plan. Which was completely true, however, what the blue unicorn didn’t tell Dusk, was that her plan had really started from the day before, the day she had sneaked into town, before making her brilliant appearance.

"No... my plan to defeat Dusk was born much earlier..." Trixie said thinking aloud, talking to herself, a bad habit she had acquired by living alone for so long. "It started to form since I knew he was in this town... spreading those false rumors about being a hero..."

Trixie recalled that as she approached the center of Equestria, in some small towns, there was a rumor that a unicorn had saved the princess from the clutches of Nightmare Moon, rumors that only became more numerous as Trixie approached to Ponyville. It was then that she finally knew the name of that supposed hero that had saved Equestria, a name that she knew well and that to only hear it would cause herm blood to boil.

"That cheat! If he really saved the princess and Equestria, why didn’t his name appear in the newspapers? Why didn’t a parade take place in his honor? This stupid town!?" Trixie mumbled annoyed, still lying on her bed. "I know, it's because he invented all that... he would never be able to do something as great as that... It's just like that time... how he just lied to everyone..." Trixie added recalling part of her past.

Once Trixie learned that Dusk Shine lived in Ponyville, she began to devise her plan, the plan with which she would eventually defeat Dusk and unmask him before everyone.

A plan that involved five stages, of which, four had already been completed...

First, she had come to the town in secret, in different disguises, and had started spreading rumors that Dusk was just a fraud. Rumors that for her fortune were very well received by groups of ponies that, like her, already suspected that Dusk was just a fraud. It was so that Trixie, with her good skills to win over the public, only had to light the wick of the problem that was about to explode, encouraging that little groups of ponies who distrusted Dusk, to take action and to confront him.

The second thing she had done that same day which she had arrived hidden in town, was to find some foals that could spread and publicize the show she would perform. Which had turned out better than expected, when meeting with little Snips and Snails, who were so impressed by the magic tricks and fantastic stories that Trixie told them, ended up, without hesitation, doing everything she asked of them, even giving them valuable information to her on the ponies of the town, like how this was a town inhabited by the three races, but mostly consisted of earth ponies, and that in addition there was no schools of magic. All that information was valuable to Trixie, since she was able to prepare a good show, knowing that all those little-used villagers would be easily impressionable.

The third part of her plan had happened that morning, where Trixie had performed her show. There, Trixie had demonstrated her great magical ability, all to win over the public and at the same time to get the attention of Dusk Shine, which went as planned. Thus, Trixie intentionally allowed herself to be lost, with an arranged show, of which the little Snips and Snails were part, who in advance had already been trained by Trixie on what they would have to do on stage. All for Dusk to dig his own grave, raising even more the suspicions that grew against him, and thus causing the public to be partialized in her favor and against Dusk.

Finally, Trixie had recently and successfully completed the fourth part of her plan, which consisted of visiting Dusk, learning of his strengths and weaknesses, and knowing what she would face. All to finally give way to the fifth and final part of her plan, the sunset show, which will happen in only a couple of hours...

Deciding that she couldn’t continue to rest, since she was getting closer to achieving her goal, Trixie got up from her bed and bent down to look for something underneath it.

From under her bed, Trixie pulled out what appeared to be two simple bottles, one with a transparent bluish liquid, and another with a yellow liquid. Then she held both bottles and looked at them carefully as if they were a treasure.

"Yes... with this, I’ll have a guaranteed victory... With this everypony will know that Dusk Shine is nothing but a fraud..." Trixie said again thinking aloud while looking at the bottle with the blue liquid. Then she looked at the bottle with the yellow liquid, however, her gaze changed as she contemplated it, giving her a more serious look, as if she were hesitant about using that bottle or not.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Suddenly someone knocked on the door of her wagon, which caused Trixie to lose concentration and almost drop the bottles with the precious liquid they were carrying, however she managed to hold on to them at the last second, in which she let out a great sigh of relief. Then Trixie carefully placed the bottles on the floor, and stared fiercely at the door, annoyed with whoever dared bother her at such a crucial moment.

Trixie walked to the door and opened it suddenly, then looked from one side to another, but seeing no one, until she looked down and saw who had knocked on her door. It was the foals that had served her faithfully as undercover helpers in that morning's show, Snips and Snails, who were staring at each other in amazement as they saw her.

"You!? What are you two doing here!?" Trixie said annoyed and a little scared to see the two little colts in front of her door.

Quickly Trixie poked her head out of the wagon and looked around, verifying that no one else was nearby.

"Hurry! Get in!" Trixie said annoyed, using her magic to levitate and pull the foals inside her home and closing the door behind her again.

Once Trixie closed the door, she gave a great sigh of relief and then raised her eyes again with a look of annoyance.

"I told you two not to show up here anymore, I don’t want anypony to suspect that-" Trixie began to speak annoyed, looking at the foals, ready to reprimand them for risking all their plan; However, she stopped to see how it seemed that neither of the two foals paid attention to her.

Both young colts had taken the opportunity to enter the home of their idol for the first time to start looking at everything that was in amazement, from his clothes and costumes piled on the floor, to the strange objects that were there, and that Trixie liked. Collecting, as if everything were magical just for the fact that it belonged to Trixie.

The blue unicorn watched with annoyance as both the foals began to look and touch her belongings, now getting ready to stop them; However, she finally gave a sigh and looked away, deciding that she would give them a couple of seconds to observe the 'wonders' of her wagon, as a reward for everything that those two foals had done for her, after everything, if it hadn’t been for them, her plan wouldn’t have gone as perfect as it had happened that morning.

"Oh... What’s this?" Snips asked loudly.

Trixie looked up again and immediately almost had a heart attack when little Snips held the bottle with the yellow liquid, lifting it up and trying to see through the liquid.

"Wait! Careful!" Trixie shouted, running immediately to where Snips was, removing the bottle from his hooves. "You don’t know how expensive this potion is!"

"Oh... a magic potion..." Snips said in amazement. "What’s it for?"

Trixie smiled at the yellow liquid in the bottle, different from the look of doubt that she had when when she had taken it out from under the bed.

"Heh... what’s it for you ask? This potion will make the show much more fun and exciting... With this potion, I'll have my victory assured..." Trixie said smiling. Then, she glanced sideways at one of the corners of her wagon, where there was a dusty box, which kept several things that Trixie didn’t like to see, but that she treasured a lot.

Seeing that box, Trixie's smile vanished and she again looked doubtfully at the potion she held.

"B-But it will not be necessary to use it." Trixie added, carefully lowering the bottle and placing it next to Snips.

"And this one?" Snails said suddenly.

Seeing Snails, Trixie almost had a double heart attack, since the clumsy, thin colt held the other bottle, but for some reason it seems that he had found it boring, and now he was balancing it at the tip of his nose.

"Nooo!!" Trixie screamed terrified, grabbing the bottle from Snails before it fell from his nose and onto the floor.

"That was close!" Trixie thought, giving a strong breath of relief. "This potion will definitely be used, this is my trump card! I can’t lose it!"

"Oh, Great and Powerful Trixie, could you tell us again the story of how you defeated the great Ursa Major?" Snips suddenly asked, taking advantage of the opportunity that Trixie had remained silent while thinking.

"No, that's enough!" Trixie said annoyed, after those foals almost ruined her plans and almost broke the bottle with blue liquid she was holding. "It's time for you to leave, I'll see you two at the show, remember to be in the front row, I'll need you there."

"Pleeease!" Snails said with puppy eyes. "That story is amazing! It's my favorite!"

"That story was just a story, how can they be so naive and believe that somepony can beat an Ursa Major?" Trixie thought, looking and sighing upward, tired of the young colts' insistence.

Then Trixie illuminated her horn and pointed to both foals, who with a great and noisy flash of light, disappeared from the wagon.

After teleporting both foals out of her wagon, Trixie winced when she saw that all her clothes that were on the floor, close to where the foals had been, had also been teleported along with them.

"Teleportation was never my forte... Dusk would have easily teleported those foals without much noise and with more precision." Trixie thought as her mind began to set in motion for the upcoming duel.

"Dusk is an expert with the use of the teleportation spell..." Trixie said thinking aloud, while a malicious smile formed on her lips. "But I'll make everypony believe that I am too, hehe..."





The sunset had finally arrived, and with it, was the right time for the magical duel between Trixie and Dusk Shine. The stage was unfolded, the audience expectant, and one of the challengers was already standing on the stage, ready and prepared while her lilac cloak fluttered in the wind, smiling triumphantly as she watched her challenger finally appear on the horizon, approaching her with a look of determination as the audience opened to make way for him to reach the stage. An audience that for the most part looked suspiciously at the lavender colt as it passed by, all because of the events that occurred that morning.

When arriving in front of the stage, Dusk went up quietly, determined to ignore the audience, since he could notice how many fixed eyes were looking at him penetratingly. However, his determination to ignore the public lasted very little, because his heart couldn’t help but startle as he breathed a sigh of relief to see that just like that morning, his friends were in the front row, with very different looks then the ones with anger and mistrust that everyone else had there.

"You finally appeared, I thought maybe you would be afraid of my little challenge." Trixie said with a smile of pride, finally leaving aside her facade of being 'Dusk’s fan' that she had portrayed to everyone that morning.

Dusk Shine didn’t answer, with a calm but serious look, he kept his mind focused, knowing that because of what had happened in the library before coming here, he would need to be alert for the whole time.

"Hmm... This is a rather small place for our duel, don’t you think? That is, we could damage some buildings without meaning to." Trixie said suddenly with a thoughtful face, speaking loudly so everyone could hear her. A question that surprised Dusk, but thanks to his concentration, he didn’t manage to change it. "It's better that we go to a larger area."

At that moment Trixie's horn lit up and a large flash covered the stage and much of the ponies that were there. That flash of light caused Dusk to close his eyes, and upon opening them immediately afterwards, they were completely surprised, as well as all the ponies in the audience that were there.

Both the stage and the audience were now on the outskirts of Ponyville, quite far from the center of town, which was where they had been a few seconds ago. That flash had been a teleportation spell, and not just any spell, it was a very powerful one, one that was able to teleport them and the audience at the same time.

"That's impossible!" Dusk thought losing his temper as his mind began to try to explain what happened. "Even I can’t do that! No pony can do it without help!"

At that moment Dusk turned his head from side to side looking for something that could explain how Trixie had been able to perform such a great feat. Dusk's eyes finally stopped to see some small, fuzzy lines that seemed to be drawn under and around the floor where they now stood, black lines that released a faint smoke as they disappeared more and more.

"That's... She used 'arcane circles'!" Dusk thought as he recognized those lines drawn on the ground.

The arcane circles were one of the many ways to enhance magic, especially the appearance. In the case of teleportation, if you drew a magic circle in one place and another on another side, with the exact same magic diagram, you could enhance your teleportation and transport several objects from one place to another at a time, provided if they were inside the circle. That would have served as transport between cities if it didn’t have the disadvantage of the circles disappearing after a single use, besides that the same user who drew both circles should be able to use it, so it wasn’t used as a means of travel since you would have to be in the desired place to draw where you wanted to go.

Dusk Shine looked up and looked surprised at Trixie, who only returned her look with a big smile, knowing that Dusk had discovered her trick, but also knowing that it was useless. The trick itself had already amazed everyone in the audience, and the arcane circle has almost completely disappeared, and Dusk tried to explain the operation of those magic circles to the crowd that knew very little or nothing about magical enhancers. I would make it look like I was just looking for excuses to detract from Trixie's great trick.

"By the way, I see that your friends are not here." Trixie added suddenly, still watching Dusk, speaking loudly for everyone to hear. "My spell wasn’t that strong, I was only able to teleport half of the audience, but I heard that your best spell is teleportation... Tell me, can you bring the other half of the audience here?"

Because of this, without even having started the duel, Trixie already had the absolute advantage. Both unicorns knew that it was impossible for Dusk to transport so many ponies with just his magic, and Trixie had shouted as loud as she could that the teleportation spell was Dusk's best spell, and at the same time he had demonstrated, or at least made the public think, that she was better at this spell than Dusk.

"I... I can’t..." Dusk replied with a look of defeat, knowing he couldn’t do anything.

At the response of Dusk, the audience immediately began to murmur as the looks of distrust and displeasure increased in the crowd.

"Step one: make the public believe that I am better than Dusk in teleportation, done." Trixie thought triumphantly, smiling when she saw that as always, everything went according to her plans.

It didn’t take long until the other half of the audience that had been left behind came to where the stage and everyone else had teleported. All guided by Rainbow Dash, who when flying looking for where the others had gone, saw that they had magically appeared on the outskirts of town.

"I’m sorry that you had to come running over here, but it seems like Dusk didn’t want, or rather, he couldn’t do the same thing as I. It's a real shame." Trixie said to the newcomers, with a false look of guilt. Quickly continuing with her monologue so that Dusk couldn’t say anything. "Well, now that everypony is finally here, we'll start with the magic duel!"

The moment Trixie shouted, and took advantage of the fact that the sun was finally and completely hidden, the showmare used her magic to light several torches that were already placed around the stage, thus providing the desired light for the main event. All while the audience erupted in shouts and applause of emotion.

"First, I'll need a couple of assistants." Trixie said loudly once the applause ceased. In that instant she automatically lowered her eyes, finding precisely who she needed, little Snips. "You little one, can you please help me again this time?"

The little Snips jumped with joy knowing that he would be on stage again, next to his idol, and quickly climbed the stage, while the audience gave him a big applause and began to comment how kind and attentive Trixie was with small foals, creating the impact that she had planned. However, although this was part of Trixie's plan and she kept a big smile in front of the audience, her eyes went from one side to the other, as it seemed that something was not going according to her plan.

"E-Excuse me, little one, where's your friend? I'd like him to help us as well." Trixie asked smiling, hiding her annoyance because of the unexpected flaw in her plan.

"Oh, don’t worry, Great and Powerful Trixie, he’ll be here soon." Snips answered smiling and winking at Trixie, as if he was entrusting a secret Trixie knew nothing about.

"Why did they disobey me? I told them to be here in the front row!" Trixie thought annoyed, thinking quickly how to solve that. "Now I'll have to find someone else."

"How about you, could you help me with this challenge I will face?" Trixie said pointing to another pony of the public, to someone who, like the colts, had already chosen who to support in that duel, someone who wouldn’t present problems and who would keep a watchful eye on their rival. Trixie had chosen Bon Bon.

Bon Bon seemed surprised by Trixie's request, however she gave a scathing glance to Dusk Shine, and immediately accepted, taking a step forward to approach the stage. At that moment, another event occurred that fell out of Trixie's plans. As Bon Bon advanced to the stage, Lyra grabbed hold of her and begged Trixie to choose her as well, since according to her, they were inseparable, the bests of friends. At Lyra's insistence, Trixie had finally and reluctantly accepted, and both ponies took the stage with Snips.

"Yes... with three it will also work, it may even cause a better effect..." Trixie whispered thinking aloud as her plan adjusted to the new variants.

"Why do we need assistants? I thought it would be a magic duel." Dusk asked uneasily, who unlike that morning, was more on the defensive, assuming since all that was part of Trixie's plan.

"Of course, it’ll be a magic duel, I'm just making things a little more interesting." Trixie smiled falsely. "And by the way, these are MY three assistants, you have to choose three of yours."

Dusk was surprised by what Trixie said, he didn’t understand yet what she was planning, however he understood that at the moment he had no choice but to follow her terms, since he could feel the pressure of having the public's eyes on him, who would probably hate him even more if he rejected the preparations that Trixie had for that duel without reason. At that moment Dusk turned to see the audience and immediately realized that he had fallen into another trap, which made Trixie smirk to see the doubt and fear in the face of Dusk.

As soon as Dusk saw the audience, he realized that almost everyone in the audience was looking at him with distrust or resentment, all because of what happened that morning. Knowing that, Dusk knew that it would be difficult to ask anyone for help, which made Dusk's only option was to choose one of his friends, who were only Spike and his four friends, since Fluttershy was again absent. Dusk immediately discarded Spike, since he didn’t know what the assistants would do in the duel, so perhaps a baby dragon would be at a disadvantage, so it forced him to choose among his four friends, but that was the biggest trap of all! Trixie was forcing him to choose three of them to the detriment of the fourth! Trixie had discovered how important his friends were to him and now she wanted to break that friendship!

"Hurry, we don’t have all night!" Trixie shouted, not giving Dusk much time to think. "Three, two, one…"

"Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash!" Dusk shouted quickly, knowing that if he didn’t choose on time, it would cause him to fall into another trap that would force him to continue the duel without assistants. "P-Please... be my assistants..." Dusk added without being able to look his friends in the eyes, especially one of them.

The four friends of Dusk were surprised when their dear friend shouted the names, nevertheless the face of Rarity quickly changed of the surprise to doubt and pain, when realizing that Dusk had left of side.

"Rarity, I-" Dusk said quickly, approaching the edge of the stage, seeing the look of sadness on his unicorn friend. Without even reaching to excuse himself, since he was quickly interrupted.

"I see, you chose the strongest, the fastest, and the most eccentric." Trixie said also approaching the edge of the stage, speaking to Dusk but speaking loud enough so that Rarity could hear her. "I congratulate you, it is the most logical thing, to leave the dead weight behind."

"N-No! It's not that, I-" Dusk stammered, wanting to deny what Trixie had said.

"Enough of this insignificants, let's continue with the show!" Trixie shouted, interrupting Dusk again so he couldn’t justify himself. Walking back to the center of the stage while smiling when she saw how Dusk was slowly collapsing.

While the three would-be-assistants took the stage. Trixie used her magic to dim the light of the torchlight for a second. Then she made appear in front of her a bottle, the bottle with the transparent bluish liquid that she had been admiring that afternoon.

"This will suffice, I’ll not need the other potion, I know I can beat him justly." Trixie thought, finally deciding not to take the potion with the yellow liquid.

"What is that?" Dusk asked, afraid of another new surprise from Trixie. Asking the question that the whole public was asking at that moment.

"Madam mayor, could you do us the honor of helping us with this?" Trixie asked kindly, completely ignoring Dusk, while looking at the Mayor, who was curious to hear all the fuss of the show that morning, had attended tonight’s event. Something that had already been anticipated by the cunning blue unicorn.

The mayor, who had attended there, hoping to go unnoticed, was forced to take the stage after the audience applauded and encouraged her to do so.

"Mayor, could you have a drink of this bottle? Don’t worry, I assure you it is not dangerous at all." Trixie said with a smile, uncovering the bottle and bringing it to the mayor.

The mayor looked suspiciously at the bottle Trixie offered, however there were no real reasons not to trust Trixie or participate in that show, so she finally took a small drink of that blue liquid. When finished drinking, the mayor looked at Trixie and the audience, hoping that something extraordinary happened, worthy of a magic show, however nothing happened, that liquid even tasted like simple water.

"Tell me, madam mayor, is there some little secret that embarrasses you and you don’t want it to be made public?" Trixie asked kindly.

"O-Of course not, I'm the highest authority in Ponyville." The mayor responded almost offended. "I must be an example of transparency, I would never tell in public that my hair is really pink, and I dye it gray."

Realizing what she had just said, the mayor immediately covered her mouth, totally ashamed of what she had said. All while the public was surprised at the strange revelation of their beloved mayor.

"This is called ' Veritaserum ', it's a rare potion that makes it impossible to not tell the truth." Trixie said speaking to the public and glancing at Dusk Shine. At that moment Trixie made two glasses appear, serving a little of the potion in both glasses, and then looked at Dusk as she held both cups close. "We’ll both drink this potion, so we’ll prevent any of us from lying or cheating in our duel, what do you think? With this we will finally check if you are as powerful as you pretend to be."

Dusk was now annoyed at Trixie, everything she had said was to make him look like the cheat and the liar that she thought he was, when the truth was that Trixie was the one who had been fooling the public so far. Then Dusk returned to concentrate on the glasses that Trixie was levitating in front of him, thinking that he still didn’t understand what Trixie was planning, what was it that she would gain by having them both drink from that potion?

Finally, deciding that after all he had nothing to hide, Dusk took one of Trixie's glasses and held it to his lips, hoping for safety that Trixie would take her drink first, to know that he was not falling into another trap. Realizing Dusk's distrust, Trixie just smiled confidently.

"I may do tricks for my shows, but I'm not afraid of the truth." Trixie said, drinking the liquid from her potion, which gave security to Dusk for him to do as well.

Once both unicorns emptied their glasses, Trixie glanced at Dusk, checking that he had finished drinking the potion, then she sighed with a look of discouragement, knowing that now it was time to continue with the part of the plan that she least liked, but that it was necessary to unmask Dusk and the mockery about his great power once and for all.

"Before starting the duel, there is a story that I would like to tell you..." Trixie said looking seriously at the audience. "A story that happened many years ago, when I was just a little filly."

"My mother abandoned me at birth, so I was raised by my father, a mediocre unicorn who made children's magic shows to be able to survive with his daughter." He was always a failure with his magic shows, his magic was not strong enough to do great spells, and his tricks always went wrong in one way or another, so he was always made a mockery of all those who saw him... That made me sick... I didn’t like being the daughter of a laughingstock. I realized my skill in magic, which seemed to be far above young colts and fillies of my same age, something my father also noticed. This was how that good for nothing fool decided to collect all the money he had to give his daughter a chance... "

"Once a year, the most prestigious school of magic of Canterlot opens its doors for the small unicorns of the kingdom to test their skills in front of a jury and thus can get a chance to study in that great school, a unique opportunity for a pony of a lower class, since that school is only for the elite ponies, only for the wealthiest and noble blood of the kingdom, so my father used all the money he had to make sure I was the first on the list whom the judges would see and so I would have a better chance of being chosen when they saw my magical potential, despite that, that never happened... "

"The day before the exam I was happier than anypony else, knowing that I could finally show my great power and I would gain a place among the elites of magic, but that day my father became seriously ill... Only then did I realize that fool even gave up eating for days just to save money and give me an opportunity for the day of the exam!"

"I spent all night and the next morning with my father, even knowing that I had lost my place when I didn’t show up that morning. Finally, my father died... His last words were to go to the exam and promise to show my power to the judges and so I will finally win a good life, a life that he hadn’t been able to give me. "

"That afternoon I saw my father for the last time and I ran to the school where the exam was being done, determined to fulfill my father's last wish and to beg the judges that even if I were the last one on the list, they would see me, give me a chance!"

"When I got there, I saw with astonishment that there was no pony there, only one of the judges who was leaving the place. I asked him what had happened to all the applicants, and he replied that everypony had left and that somepony had already been chosen to enter the school that year, somepony who left everypony surprised with his great magical power. Then the judge pointed me to the ceiling of the room ... I couldn't believe it, there was little left of the ceiling, everything had been destroyed, and not only that, there were dragon scales in it! It seemed that the young colt that had passed the exam hadn't only destroyed the roof with a great beam of energy but had also made a huge dragon appear there. That was impossible! No filly or colt could do that! Even the judge himself couldn’t believe it, all the judges didn’t! That magic was of an advanced level! Not even the judges could do that! However, after that had happened, before the astonished gaze of the judges, the very Princess Celestia had appeared and had welcomed the magic school of Canterlot to that foal, all because she herself had seen from afar that magic from his castle."

"After the judge told me what happened, he left without a second, it didn’t matter how much I begged, nor did it matter that I showed him how advanced and strong my magic was to somepony my age. My chance had vanished, all because of a foal that played dirty... That was commented for weeks in Canterlot, the tricky foal that deceived even the princess, I’ll never forget that name... Dusk Shine... "

When Trixie finished speaking, the audience was silent, all surprised and stunned by the new revelation they now knew.

Trixie looked at Dusk with a deep look of hate as small tears peeked from the edge of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but it had been inevitable that she would be moved to remember that sad part of her past, something also inevitable to do since she had decided to tell that, and the potion she had just taken made it impossible to hide what she really meant. She could have avoided that very emotional memory if she hadn’t taken the potion, however it was necessary for her plan, after all she needed the truth to finally be known about Dusk.

"Now tell me..." Trixie added drying her tears with her hoof, still seeing Dusk with hatred. "What trick did you use? How did you pass that test? How did you do that powerful magic!? It was all a trick, wasn’t it? You didn’t do it!"

While Trixie told her story, Dusk had listened stoically, determined not to be affected by what Trixie said, whatever it was, but when he realized what it was about and that it was also his own past, Dusk froze. Nerves, totally frightened of what Trixie was counting, realizing what he had indirectly caused in the past without realizing it.

"I-I..." Dusk started stuttering, struggling with his nervousness and with the very potion he had just drank and made it impossible for him not to respond, glancing nervously at his friends who were on the stage behind him, who were motionless and silent as all the public present, looking confused.

"Was it you who made that powerful spell or not!?" Trixie screamed furious once more.

"No... It wasn’t me." Dusk finally answered, sadly lowering his head.

The audience had listened excitedly to Trixie's story, getting excited along with her in every sad moment she suffered, and now that same audience was also looking at Dusk with hatred, even some began to boo him, all the while he kept looking sadly at the floor.

"Sniff... Well, at last everypony knows the truth, it was something I needed everypony to know before we started our duel." Trixie said more calmly, drying the last tears that were still in her eyes and then put a totally serious look. "Your judgment has come, now we’ll start the duel!"

Being quick as lightning, as soon as Trixie finished saying that sentence, she illuminated her horn and made strings that were next to the stage tied to each of the assistants who had climbed the stage, both the three assistants of Dusk like the three of her.

"Waahh!" Lyra and Bon Bon shouted in unison as they were being tied magically.

"Not again!" Applejack shouted annoyed to be tied again, looking at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, who were in the same condition as her.

"What are you doing!?" Dusk said surprised to see what Trixie had just done.

"As I said, it's time to start our duel." Trixie answered, looking with determination at Dusk. "I said that the six of them would be our assistants, but I never said how they would help us."

At that moment Trixie used her magic to levitate the six ponies that were tied: Snips, Lyra, Bon Bon, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and levitated them slowly to the side of the stage, being levitated over a large mud pit that there was there.

"Catch them." Trixie said suddenly, ceasing to use her magic on the three friends of Dusk Shine, causing them to begin to fall.

Anticipating his movement, Dusk quickly used his magic to keep them levitated before they fell into the mud.

"We’ll test our resistance by levitating our helpers on the mud at all times of the duel, so if one drops his three assistants at some point, he will automatically lose the duel." Trixie said, speaking again loudly so that the audience could hear how her confrontation with Dusk would develop.

"I knew it, I knew that mud pot wasn’t there by chance here." Dusk thought, remembering that the pool had caught his attention when Trixie had made the stage appear there. "That's why I didn’t choose Rarity, I knew that if somehow Trixie occupied that pool of mud in the duel, Rarity hates getting dirty more than anypony."

"Trixie, don’t you dare let me go!" Bon Bon shouted, looking suspiciously at the mud puddle that was a few feet below her.

"Easy, my concentration is perfect, and I would never drop a friend in the mud." Trixie replied with a confident smile, then looking at Dusk. "Well, now that everything is ready, I will say the rules of the match, I’m sure you won’t have no trouble keeping a simple levitation spell while you use other spells during the duel, right?"

"This is bad... In the library she discovered what my strengths and weaknesses are, and now she's exploiting them!" Dusk thought worriedly, knowing what Trixie wanted to achieve with that.

The magic consisted of three basic elements to be conjured: 'Power', 'Concentration', and 'Imagination'. To make a spell all in one would require lots of concentration on the conjuration of this, then he had to gather his magical power in his horn and in the object that was affected by it, and at the same time he had to imagine and create in his mind a final image of what he wanted achieve with that spell. All unicorns knew those three principles and handled them, however it was also true that for all unicorns it was always easier to handle one of those three elements. In the case of Dusk, his fort was 'Power', which made his spells very powerful; in the case of Trixie, her strength was 'Concentration', which made it easier for her to do several things at once with her magic, as she had shown in the library, being able to levitate more books at the same time than Dusk; or how she did it right now, making them both have to do a levitation spell while they would have to do other spells at the same time. As she continued to prove it minute by minute, it seemed that everything was within Trixie's plan, and Dusk couldn’t escape.

"I’ll choose different types of magic that we’ll use in different duels, and only that kind of magic can be used in that duel, whoever wins three duels will be the winner." Trixie said, continuing her explanation of what the duel would be like. "I don’t think you have any objections, after all you are the one who supposedly defeated Nightmare Moon, you must be a master in all magical arts, isn’t that right?" Trixie added with a sarcastic smile.

Dusk Shine only nodded slowly, knowing that Trixie maintained control over the audience and that if he refused, the only thing he would achieve would be for the public to suspect him even more.

Then Trixie approached the mayor, who had stayed on the side of the stage, and asked her to be the judge and to give the countdown to start the duel, something that the mayor reluctantly accepted, since she didn’t want to move again onto the stage after the shame that had happened, however she did it since she couldn’t refuse a request when everyone was watching.

"Very good, First Duel! Alteration magic!" Trixie shouted, announcing the kind of magic that would be used in the first duel.

Dusk narrowed his eyes slightly as he realized that Trixie had also noticed that he was not good at altering spells.

"Come on Dusk Shine, you can beat him!" Mayor Mare whispered to Dusk, still annoyed to have been manipulated by Trixie, understanding a little of the public pressure that Dusk must be facing.

Then the mayor cleared her voice, raised a hoof, and looked at the audience as she counted down, while both Trixie and Dusk were on guard, looking at each other, pointing their horns while they maintained a faint glow to the keep their levitation spells on their helpers. Trixie smiling confidently, and Dusk with a worried look as his horn seemed to cast some small sparks of intermittence.

"Five... Four... Three... Two..." The mayor began to count, expectantly, like all the public, ready to witness that magical battle. Everyone was waiting expectantly for the countdown to end, all but two ponies, Trixie and Dusk Shine, who had already started fighting in their minds before the mayor had even begun the countdown, a struggle at the speed of thought, anticipating the moves of their opponents.

"Since my strength is not in alteration magic, I’ll stay on the defensive and wait for Trixie to attack, she’ll probably use..." Dusk thought, imagining the duel step by step in slow motion.

"... a spell of alteration to the floor, alter the density of the wood so that the floor acts as quicksand, then he’ll have only two options, alter his hooves to resist the change, or..." Trixie thought, also predicting the movements of her enemy.

"...jump it before it takes effect, conserving magical energy... When I move to the side, she can alter the curtains or the ropes that hold it in. The curtains will be slower to alter since they are tightly grasped, so she’ll surely use the ropes, altering them so that they act as whips and bind me, I’ll be alert, however, taking advantage of the fact that I jumped, I’ll be unbalanced, so she’ll reach to grab one of my back hooves, in that moment I’ll counterattack, I’ll alter her cape..."Dusk thought.

"...alter the cape to make it heavier and prevent me from moving, I’ll have to stop looking at my target and take off my cape before being immobilized by his weight. As soon as I take my eyes off him, I won’t be able to see where he is looking, so I won’t know what his next move will be. He’ll have two possibilities, alter the ground like me or alter my hat. The most effective would be to attack my hat, alter its shape so that it blocks my sight, it’ll succeed. However, I’d not only alter the ropes, but also the curtains, and these should have already unhooked and act as a huge blanket that will also hinder his sight..." Trixie thought.

"We’ll both be blindly fighting against the altered fabrics that we have on top of us, the first one that manages to get rid of it and see... Wait, she’ll use..." Dusk thought scared.

"...the gem that binds my cape and that I took off when he used his spell. I'll throw it and alter it so that it shines brightly. So..." Trixie thought with a twinkle in her eyes.

"...if I don’t remove the curtain, I couldn’t see, if I take it off, I’ll not react in time and I’ll be blinded by the light of the gem. Helpless, she’ll again use her alteration magic on the floor and catch me with the change of density... Probability that Trixie will win... 100%..."Dusk thought without hope.

"Checkmate." Trixie thought as a smile formed on her lips.

"Two... One... Start!" The mayor shouted with energy, beginning the duel.

After the mayor's shout, exactly everything that both unicorns had thought of, which was the most feasible way for both to follow, finally arrived at the same inescapable result, Dusk being trapped on the floor altered as quicksand after to have been screwed by the light of Trixie's gem.

Before the fierce and swift magic attack of both unicorns, all the audience were surprised, bursting into a applause after such a brief but heated duel, clapping with enthusiasm to the Great and Powerful Trixie, who smiled at the applause of her audience.

"F-First duel, winner Trixie." The mayor said, surprised a little when she saw Dusk Shine lose.

"What’s wrong mayor, do you find it hard to believe that a simple unicorn like me can defeat the supposed savior of Equestria?" Trixie said loudly for everyone to hear her, reading the mayor's mind.

"Yes, he's definitely a fraud!" Some adherents to the group 'We Hate Dusk' began to shout from the public, who each time were becoming more convinced that Dusk Shine was just a big fraud.

Meanwhile, Dusk Shine used his magic slowly to alter the floor and get out of the trap that Trixie had made, breathing with some difficulty while his horn for some reason began to throw sparks of instability. Dusk immediately looked at his three friends, who were still levitating fortunately.

"Next duel! Elemental magic!" Trixie shouted, glancing at Dusk with a smile, who just frowned. They both knew that that was another of Dusk's weaknesses, he didn’t have much command in elemental magic.

Again, Mayor Mare got in the middle of the stage and began the countdown while Dusk and Trixie looked at each other from each end of the stage.

"Five... Four... Three... Two..." The mayor counted while, as before, the duel had already begun in the minds of the two unicorns.

"This time it’ll be Dusk who will attack first, since he knows that if I attack first, I will have a hundred percent chance of winning in the second attack. He’ll start with a remote attack, given our environment, he’ll attack with a gust of wind. Knowing his attack, I’ll defend myself with a wall of mud, elemental earth magic." Trixie thought.

"But it's not just elemental earth magic, the mud contains water, and while the earth protects her, she’ll use the water to attack me, the most effective way would be using ice needles, I'll have to use magic of darkness, so she couldn’t aim them at me, and that way they will not reach me, but..." Dusk thought.

"There are torches, I can use them to take fire and make them surround the darkness before it completely covers the stage. Being confined, the only elemental magic he can use to get out will be the wind... Wait! How sneaky! The ice needles that I would throw at him will have melted and he’ll be able to open a path straight to me to attack me." Trixie thought slightly worried.

"She’ll have already thrown her earthen wall at me to block me in. My strongest elemental spell is the light, I’ll use a beam of light to get through the wall and hit her directly, there will be no escape, my win!" Dusk thought, slightly with relief as his horn lit up intermittently.

"Two... One... Start!" The mayor shouted once more to start the duel in the real world.

As it happened the first time, everything happened as both unicorns had seen it in their minds, from Dusk's gust of wind until Trixie threw the earthen wall to defend herself from Dusk's advance and threw a strong ray of light that went through the wall and hit Trixie squarely, causing her to back off a couple of steps, however, to the surprise of both unicorns, Trixie was not defeated by Dusk's beam of light.

They both stared at each other in surprise for a second, until Trixie, being the less surprised of the two, acted first. Trixie used a strong gust of wind that made Dusk spin hard in the air, causing him to fall to the ground, leaving him totally stunned.

"Second duel, winner Trixie." The mayor decreed for the second time in that confrontation.

Again the entire audience erupted in applause, and again Trixie bowed and was grateful for the applause, but this time as she did, she glanced at Dusk, who remained on the ground breathing hard.

"What's wrong with him?" I'm sure his light magic is more powerful, I had no escape, he should have won, and he was also surprised! Why?!" Trixie thought confused.

As Dusk began to rise with effort, the light of his horn was fading.

"Waaahh!" Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie shouted, feeling that the magic that made them levitate disappeared.

"No!" Dusk screamed, struggling to make his horn work again, managing to use his magic only partially, as he managed to hold only two of his friends before they fell into the mud.

SPLAT!! Pinkie Pie fell into the mud before Dusk managed to use his magic on her. He quickly used his magic to hoist his other friends, while Pinkie was now completely covered in mud, only her tender and always happy light blue eyes could be seen.

"I-I'm sorry Pinkie... I think I was careless..." Dusk said sadly, speaking with effort when breathing.

"Doesn’t matter." Pinkie Pie said smiling, then running her tongue over her face to clean herself. "Spit! Hey, this isn’t chocolate!"

"Look, he dropped his friend, he can’t even do that! Instead Trixie can levitate her assistants without even trying!" Another of the ponies that hated Dusk shouted from the audience, leading the boos to the unicorn lavender.

"It's too early for him to be tired..." Trixie thought uneasily, who would enjoy making fun of Dusk at another time, but as something happened that she couldn’t understand and that came out of her plans, that kept her uneasy.

"Hahaha! Miss Trixie was right, that potion made it more fun, Haha!" Snips said laughing, closing his mouth quickly when he realized he had said that aloud.

Fortunately for Snips, it seemed that nopony paid attention to that comment, it was silenced by the great booing of the audience towards Dusk, however Trixie did manage to hear what he said. Then Trixie approached the edge of the stage, where the six 'helpers' were being levitated, and approached Snips with her magic towards her, so that no one else could hear what they both said.

"What did you say?" Trixie whispered, not sure what the foal had said.

Snips tried to look seriously at Trixie, however he finally couldn’t help but smile, proud of what he had done.

"I gave Dusk a bit of that yellow potion, it was very easy, I just told him I was selling lemonade, hehe." Snips laughed remembering what happened moments before Dusk went to face Trixie.

"What!? How was that- !?" Trixie replied confused, pausing to realize what had most likely happened. When she teleported the foals out of her wagon, she not only teleported them with some of her clothes, but also with the yellow potion.

"Well, thanks to this brat I lost my only magical weakening, and how expensive it cost me..." Trixie thought annoyed by the imprudence of Snips and his own carelessness not to notice that this potion had disappeared with him. "Besides, I had decided not to use that potion in this duel, I wanted to win-"

Suddenly a revelation of something more important frightened Trixie, who turned scared to see Dusk, who looked exhausted while doing everything he possibly could to keep levitating his three friends.

"How is it that he can continue to levitate his friends and still use other magic spells if he took that potion? That explains why he is so tired, but then... How much magical power does he have can he still use even after drinking the potion!?" Trixie thought scared, for the first time thinking for a second that maybe Dusk was not a total fraud as she thought.

While the audience was still booing Dusk, Trixie couldn’t help but feel some compassion for him, even a slight admiration for the way he refused to lose even though he had everything against him. However, she quickly dismissed those thoughts when she remembered that because of him, she hadn’t been able to fulfill her dream or the last promise she made to her father.

"I didn’t want to win like that... but to win is to win." Trixie thought as she looked at Dusk resentfully. "This is the punishment you deserve for living a life by deceiving others..."

"Gosh... Snails has been taking a long time with the other surprise..." Snips suddenly said, who was still levitating next to Trixie, breaking with his comment the concentration of Trixie.

"Another surprise? What are you talking about?" Trixie asked suspiciously.

"WAAAAHHH!" Suddenly a loud scream was heard, coming from among the trees that were at the edge of the forest, next to where the magic duel was taking place.

That scream caused some ponies to look toward the forest, hoping to find the source of that cry, however the vast majority just continued to boo Dusk. This, until another noise was heard coming from the forest, a huge roar that made everyone present, including Dusk and Trixie, who looked frightfully into the dark forest that was at their side.

Surprisingly, out of the trees, a thin young colt ran out, it was Snails, who ran out in a terrified direction towards where they all were. Trixie immediately knew that the foals had probably done some madness, however she didn’t manage to ask Snips, since the few seconds that Snails appeared running from the forest, there were strong footsteps as the trees opened to leave pass a huge creature that apparently followed Snails. The creature in question appeared to be a huge bear, tens times larger than Harry, the bear of Fluttershy; this bear also had a translucent blue skin, in which dozens of points shone, as if his skin was made of the mantle of the night; on his forehead he had a huge bright star, while his fiery red eyes stared intently at his prey, little Snails, who ran terrified for help.

ROOOAAARRR!

As soon as the huge bear roared, all the ponies that were in the audience exploded in panic, some began to run in different directions to hide from that huge beast, while others, became paralyzed by fear, crowded in front of the stage, to scared to even move a muscle and that the huge beast would hunt them.

"Wooow... Is that an Ursa Major? Then it was true there was one in the Everfree forest..." Snips said surprised, falling to the ground after Trixie lost her concentration with the roar of the beast and stopped using her magic, which she caused not only Snips to fall in the mud, but also Bon Bon and Lyra.

"Great and powerful Trixie! Help us!" Snails shouted, once he arrived at the front of the stage, totally exhausted from so much running, having been terrified but now being calmer, since he knew he would be safe with his heroine. "Get rid of that Ursa as you did in the story you told us."

"A-An Ursa Major!? You planned this!? You brought it up here!? Are you crazy!?" Trixie screamed, totally frightened to see the madness that those two foolish foals had made. "I never faced an Ursa! It was just a silly story I invented!" Trixie added scared, who inadvertently told the whole truth, because of the potion she had drunk.

"I-It's getting close!" A mare of the public shouted, totally scared while watching the Ursa begin to walk towards them.

"Trixie! What are you going to do!?" Another pony of the public shouted, looking with despair at the blue unicorn.

Trixie didn’t know what to do, all her instincts shouted at her to flee and save her skin, however for some reason, the desperate cries of her audience prevented her, she couldn’t disappoint them, they trusted her!

"I-I'll face it..." Trixie said stammering, with a look of fear that little by little was transforming into a more determined one.

"I'm stronger than Dusk Shine, I'll prove it by saving them all for real! Everypony will see!" Trixie thought firmly to give herself the courage to do what she would do.

Trixie came down from the stage and stood between her audience and the huge beast, which kept a fierce look as she slowly advanced towards where the ponies were.

"Think, think, think!" Trixie thought quickly, thinking of what to do to save everyone. "An Ursa Major is not any beast... It’s an astral creature, which means that I must attack with elemental magic of light!"

At that moment Trixie began to shine her horn, gathering more and more energy in her as the Ursa approached her.

"It's huge... And I'm tired of having so much magic in the duel... A normal attack will not be enough, I must end this in one shot! One shot with all my energy!" Trixie thought desperately, calculating her chances of success while putting in every drop of magic she reserved for what would be her attack towards the beast.

When the huge Ursa was close enough, and when Trixie could no longer stand the tension of the power accumulated in her horn, she finally released a powerful beam of light that hit the huge beast squarely, causing everyone to be blinded by the impact, the only thing they could hear was the Ursa's huge cry of pain.

"I did it!" Trixie screamed euphoric with her eyes closed after being blinded, but relieved to hear the Ursa's scream, which meant that she had hit the mark and defeated it. Then she slowly began to open her eyes as the light around her died away and everything returned to normal. "That’s what happens if you dare challenge the Great and Powerful..."

Trixie was not able to finish her sentence. As soon as she could see clearly again, she saw with terror that the Ursa was still standing exactly where it had been before losing sight of it, only now it had a huge scrape on its chest, right where Trixie's beam had hit; besides that, the ursa was still intact.

ROOOAAARRR!!!! roared the Ursa furiously, this time running in for an onslaught towards where the ponies were.

"Everyone, run away!" Dusk screamed in despair, seeing that the beast was heading to ram them and that everyone was still stunned after what happened.

Immediately all the ponies of the public that were there began to run, fleeing quickly from the place, only one pony remained in between the Ursa and the stage, Trixie, who had remained paralyzed in fear after seeing that her great attack on the beast was all for nothing and now the huge Ursa was heading towards her to ram her.

"TRIXIE!" Dusk yelled, running and pushing her at the last second, just before she was crushed by the Ursa's onslaught. Both unicorns fell heavily against the ground while the Ursa had followed along with his onslaught.

Only when Trixie felt that Dusk had pushed her to save her, was when she finally woke up from her daze. However, she could only go from bewilderment to horror and impotence, seeing that the Ursa’s attack, had hit the stage completely, who now stayed there, destroying every table of what her precious wagon had been. Each book, photo, clothes, memory, was now crushed, burning in flames after the torches from the stage fell on it, making it even more terrible to see the image of the ferocious Ursa destroying everything among the burning ruins of what it had been her home.

"No..." Trixie said in a choked cry, unable to stop herself from crying when she saw that she had lost everything, especially what she had most treasured for years, a dusty box full of memories.

"Oh no!" Dusk said with a serious tone of terror in his voice, looking away from the Ursa on the destroyed stage to see next to it, which was where the mud pit was, where Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Snips remained after the ursa destroyed the stage.

The six ponies that had served as assistants during the magic duel, were still tied up, and were fighting against the ropes to be able to free themselves and be able to flee from there. Trixie saw where Dusk was looking and saw the great danger in which those ponies were in, almost only partially freeing themselves from the ropes that bounded them, but they wouldn’t have enough time, because Dusk and Trixie were not the only ones that realized that they were there, but the Ursa had also noticed them too.

"No! No! No!" Trixie thought terrified when she realized that the Ursa had noticed the ponies in the mud. Then she, just as in the duel, began to calculate at the speed of thought how she could rescue those ponies, dozens of possible paths and solutions. "If I do nothing, there will be a fatal outcome... If I move and attack... No! Fatal result... If I throw this... Fatal result! If I make them... Fatal result! No matter what I do! There are no possible options! There is no way to save them!" Trixie finished thinking completely terrified after seeing all the possibilities and realizing that unfortunately her calculations have failed.

"There is one!" Dusk Shine shouted, who had done the same mental calculation as Trixie did. Shouting while running at full speed towards where the ponies were in the mud. "Only one possibility!"





"There isn’t any, we both get the same results in the duels! There is no way to save them!" Trixie thought desperately, not understanding what Dusk was referring to, since no matter how much she analyzed it, she couldn’t find a way to save those ponies.

What Trixie didn’t know was that she had unconsciously left a factor out of her equation, a factor that was impossible for her to consider, a factor that would also have been impossible for Dusk to add if it hadn’t been for all the time, he had spent in Ponyville.

Dusk ran with all his strength, arriving just as the Ursa raised its huge claw to hit those ponies that still couldn’t fully untie their bonds. Then, while the claw of the Ursa came down to hit the ponies in the mud, Dusk arrived with all the impulse that he could muster, and gave them a strong push, in addition, he used his magic to teleport them and transported them out of there.

The factor that Trixie hadn’t considered in the equation was...

"Self-sacrifice..." Dusk thought turning and closing his eyes, just when the Ursa's claw was already in front of him. Knowing from before while running there, that when pushing and transporting his friends out of there, he wouldn’t have enough time to save himself.

The strong blow of the Ursa hit Dusk completely and caused him to fly out and hit strongly against a tree.

"DUSK!" The friends of Dusk cried terrified. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who had finally got out of their bonds, and by the little magic that Dusk had left, were teleported just a few steps away; near to Rarity and Spike, who had ran away when Dusk ordered them, and who had run back to realize that their friends were in danger, but unfortunately weren’t able to make it before Dusk sacrificed himself.

The five friends of Dusk ran to where Dusk had hit, touching him immediately while they feared the worst after seeing such a brutal blow.

"I’m... I’m fine..." Dusk said weakly, who fortunately was still alive and conscious, although he felt that all his bones were broken.

"Easy, we're here." Applejack said softly, putting her hat under Dusk's head so that it would lean better.

ROOOAAARRR!!

The Ursa roared again as it turned and put its eyes on the nearby town, where it could be seen that several ponies were hiding, seeing it with evident fear for their lives.

"Hide..." Dusk said weakly. "I must stop this..."

"Don’t repeat this, you know that we’ll not go anywhere." Pinkie Pie smiled tenderly. "We know what you want to do, we are with you."

The Ursa began to walk towards the center of town, when surprisingly a small rock hit its back, which made it turn with a furious look for the culprit. There it saw five small ponies and a small dragon, all holding stones in their hooves, with determined looks on their faces.

"Over here, beast!" Dusk yelled as loud as he could so that the Ursa could hear him. "We’ll not let you get close to the town! It's our home and we'll protect it!"

The huge Ursa gave a loud roar and began to move quickly back to where Dusk and the others were.

"Well... it's coming here... Now what!?" Spike said totally nervous when he saw the Ursa approaching them.

"I-I have an idea..." Dusk said, trying to stand up despite his aching body. "Give me a moment, I need to concentrate..."

At that moment Dusk closed his eyes tightly and tried to concentrate his magic on his horn, which lit up slightly, but instantly a couple of sparks flew, and it went off again.

"Dusk... It's getting closer..." Rainbow Dash said trying in vain to hide her fear, seeing that the Ursa was already almost in front of them.

Dusk's horn repeated the same process several times, but it was always the same result, his horn was not able to channel the energy he needed.

"Huff... Huff... I don’t understand... Why’s my magic not working!? I... I'm exhausted... I don’t know why..." Dusk breathed with difficulty, opening his eyes with despair to realize that his plan wouldn’t work anymore, that for some reason his magic seemed to have ran out quickly from the duel with Trixie.

"You can’t! It's useless! The potion must have exhausted all your magic reserve!" Trixie thought screaming in her mind, paralyzed with fear as she saw Dusk and her friends from afar face the Ursa. She hadn’t wanted to move because like Dusk, she had run out of magical energy, and without it, she felt too exposed and vulnerable.

"DUSK!" Rarity shouted desperately, hugging her friends, once the Ursa arrived in front of them and raised it’s huge claw to give another fierce attack.

The four mares and Spike hugged Dusk, hoping he could save them and make the plan he said had occurred to him.

"Come on! Come on, it's the same with the dragon! I can’t stand still! I need to do something!" Dusk thought desperately, feeling the warm embrace of his friends over him, who had once again placed all their trust in him. Meanwhile, just for a fraction of a second, a faint rainbow glow passed through his eyes. "I don’t need a great spell! I'm not interested in proving that I'm a great and powerful wizard! I just want to save my friends!"

In that instant Dusk's eyes flashed for a second, just as his horn finally brightened. From the horn came a huge beam of light that hit the Ursa's face squarely.

"How…!?" Trixie said totally open-mouthed to see that Dusk had managed to cast a spell even though his magic had been consumed.

While the brightness of Dusk's spell of light was fading, as it happened with Trixie’s spells. The young mage realized that despite what it seemed in the first instance, Dusk's spell had been different from the spell she had made to attack the Ursa. While she had attacked the Ursa with a beam of dense light, which hit the Ursa directly, Dusk caused the light to focus in front of the Ursa's face, forming a small but bright ball that floated in the air, like a little star, which now kept floating in front of the Ursa, who seemed hypnotized by the little star.

Then, Dusk moved his head backwards, which caused the small star that had formed to fly towards the Everfree forest, leaving a great wake, as if it were a shooting star.

As the little star moved, the Ursa immediately went chasing it, totally hypnotized by that light, following the star back into the deep Everfree forest, thus finally leaving everything back mired in silence and tranquility.

"Phew...!" Dusk sighed heavily, finally turning off his horn, so tired that he almost fell by himself, but fortunately his friends were there for him, they held onto him and prevented him from falling. "Thank you." Dusk smiled at his friends, as always happy to have them with him.

"How…?" Trixie said suddenly, approaching with a face of total astonishment and bewilderment. "How did you do that, and... What did you do?"

"Oh, that little magic star?" Dusk answered with a small smile, thinking that Trixie was asking him about the spell he had occupied. "Thank Celestia, that I realized that it was an Ursa minor and not an Ursa major, otherwise my little trick wouldn’t have worked, after all the Ursa minor’s always follow Polaris, right?"

Trixie stared at Dusk with a strange look, not knowing what Dusk meant by what he was saying. Besides that, that huge beast had just been an Ursa Minor!? In that moment more doubts appeared in Trixie's mind, so many that she didn’t know where to start, however the biggest doubt hadn’t been answered, how Dusk was able to do a high-level spell since it had no magical energy? If she hadn’t seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.

During the duel, Trixie had already valued Dusk being able to perform spells when he was so exhausted. For that there was only one explanation, that Dusk truly had an enormous capacity and magical power, that seemed to be something undeniable. Added to how Dusk had discovered that this was aa Ursa Minor and not a Major one, something even she didn’t notice! And create a plan in such a desperate situation... Dusk Shine must have been smarter than Trixie had believed. And, also the courage he had to face the Ursa and to sacrifice himself for his friends...

When Trixie realized that her opinion of Dusk was changing so radically, she frowned, becoming angry with herself.

"So, you're not a fraud... You're really talented..." Trixie said annoyed with herself for what she was admitting. "But still... I can’t stop hating myself for being beaten by a spoiled child like you..."

"I... I'm sorry for everything you suffered." Dusk answered with a sad look. "I know you think I'm a well-to-do colt of Canterlot, but it's not like that, my family only has a weak military lineage, we're not noble or rich, if it was not for that test in which the princess accepted me in the magic school, my destiny would have been very, very different..."

Trixie looked Dusk in the eye. No matter how hard she tried, she found no spark of falsehood in that look, only honest and trustworthy eyes.

"And on the day of the test..." Dusk said quietly, finally feeling more relaxed to finally be able to have a conversation with Trixie without her interrupting or attacking him continuously. "You're right, I wasn’t the one who made that powerful spell that broke the ceiling, or at least it wasn’t my magic..."

Upon hearing that, Trixie gave a look of bewilderment, not understanding what he meant that it wasn’t his magic.

"When I was doing the test, I felt a strange power flowing through me." Dusk Shine continued speaking, with a somewhat embarrassed look. "I don’t know what happened, I only know that I was filled with a strange magic, a magic that made me feel very happy, something that caused so much magic that I had to expel it through my horn..."

"Are you saying it was you? Only you don’t know how it happened?" Trixie asked slightly frustrated, discovering that it seemed that Dusk had been the one who had performed such a foal feat, something she would’ve found impossible to believe if she hadn’t seen what had just happened with the Ursa.

"No... I really think it wasn’t me who did that." Dusk answered honestly. "I recognize the trace of my magic, that magic was something else, it was not only my magic, I've never felt it again-"

At that moment Dusk turned and looked at his friends with a face of astonishment.

"No. I did feel something similar again..." Dusk thought as his mind worked quickly. "I felt something similar when I faced Nightmare Moon, and now also, although on a much smaller scale... But Fluttershy isn’t here! Maybe if she had been here like the last time... Maybe everything is..."

Dusk's mind was about to reach an answer that would’ve been amazing and far-reaching for him, however, he finally undid that crazy idea for a simple and logical reason.

"It's impossible... I didn’t know them at that time..." Dusk thought somewhat disappointed, giving his friends a simple smile.

A bustle began to be heard again in the environment. The ponies of the public, who had run out to hide after the attack of the Ursa, finally returned after checking that everything had returned to normal, except for the stage, which was totally destroyed.

"Why did an Ursa suddenly attack the town!?" Several ponies shouted to meet everyone, trying to find an explanation.

"Are you fine?" Other ponies said, who had seen from afar, Dusk and the others facing the Ursa.

"Who expelled the ursa? Was it you Trixie?" A pair of ponies asked, approaching the showmare.

Trixie looked in amazement at those ponies who believed that she had saved them. Accepting that would easily duplicate her reputation as a powerful magician, but was it right to do so? Trixie decided and opened her mouth to answer; however, she was interrupted by another pony.

"She didn’t save us, she was the guilty one!" Said a pony who had Snips and Snails on their hooves, who had a scared face when they saw all that crowd. "I heard when Trixie and Snips were talking about a surprise, just before that huge beast appeared!"

The mood of the crowd changed immediately, those who came to thank Trixie for having saved them, now looked at her with distrust and fear because of the terrible situation they had experienced. Trixie looked around, and for the first time since she had come to the village, she didn’t see any kind smile or face looking at her, only looks of distrust and anger... For the first time she experienced what Dusk had to live with every day.

"She wouldn’t be able to do that!" Suddenly Dusk Shine said with a sad look, to the surprise of everyone, especially Trixie. "I think if there is anypony to blame for what happened, it would have to be me, I don’t know why, but during the whole duel I couldn’t channel my magic correctly, if I had done it from the beginning, none of this would have happened."

At that moment, the audience stopped looking at Trixie suspiciously and looked resentfully at Dusk, even more, now it seemed that everyone in the audience was looking at Dusk with hatred, while those who had always looked angrily at Dusk, now it seemed that at any moment they would lynch Dusk for risking their lives to proclaim himself the culprit of all that disaster.

"Why is he blaming himself? He lied only to show a false humility, because the fool didn’t work, now everypony hates him even more!" Trixie thought without understanding Dusk's attitude, looking confused towards her rival while her thoughts and feelings conflicted. "Everything... Everything is happening as I wanted it to happen... I achieved my goal! Everyone hates Dusk Shine! This is what I wanted! But then... Why, why don’t I feel happy!?"

Trixie watched as the audience began to boo Dusk and try to approach him while his friends tried in vain to calm the atmosphere, while Dusk just kept a sad look on the floor. Then, seeing Dusk fixedly, Trixie could see as a small thread of blood began to fall under the mane of the colt, in front of his ear, all from the strong blow that the Ursa had given him. Trixie put her hoof on her chest to feel a twinge of pain to see him in that state, even more to see how despite everything that Dusk had done to save the entire town, all the ponies there booed and look at him with such hatred, without anyone appreciating what the clumsy lavender unicorn had done for them.

Suddenly, a revelation came to Trixie's mind, something that made her completely astonish and see with even more astonishment Dusk.

"That fool... It's not like he wanted to be humbly falsely, he really believes this is his fault!" Trixie thought angrily.

While the public began to push the friends of Dusk to try to take him to make him pay for declaring himself to be responsible for everything that happened, a scream made all the noise go away.

"What are you all? STUPID!?" Trixie screamed suddenly, totally angry, not knowing if she was more upset with the attitude of all those ponies, or with herself. Then she made her way through the crowd and stood in front of Dusk, who just stared at her in surprise. "We are both still under the effects of the truth potion, so now you answer to everypony... Were you responsible for the Ursa attack?"

"...No..." Dusk said, responding to the fact that he didn’t want to answer as bluntly as he did.

"Was it you who casted a spell to get the Ursa out of here and save the town?" Trixie asked loudly for everyone to hear her.

"... Yes..." Dusk replied somewhat embarrassed to be forced to say something so unassuming in his opinion.

"Did you and your friends save Princess Celestia and take down Nightmare Moon?" Trixie asked again.

"Yes..." Dusk replied.

"So, you've saved this town and these ponies more than once... And they still distrust you..." Trixie said looking seriously at Dusk and then looking at the ground sadly. "Everything I said about being a fraud is not true, isn’t it?"

"I... I suppose so..." Dusk responded timidly, seeing how the ponies around him stopped seeing him with hatred and began to see each other with confused and embarrassed looks.

"I manipulated them all... I'm the fraud..." Trixie added sadly, still looking at the ground, no longer knowing if what she was saying was due to the potion or because she really needed to free herself from the weight she felt and wanted to say it for her own account "I spread false rumors because I didn’t believe that Dusk was capable of doing everything he did... I used tricks to make him look bad, and I used tricks to give me advantages in the magic duel, all so that everypony could see me defeat him..."

"You didn’t manipulate us..." Bon Bon suddenly added, who had been cut off from the crowd when they started booing Dusk Shine. "I and many others always believed that Dusk was a fraud and a bad pony, after having seen him scream at the princess in such a way... It's something I still can’t forgive!" Bon Bon added, looking with a serious look at Dusk, remembering what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration, the trigger for half of the people to hate Dusk, since not everyone could forgive him for being so rude and evil to scream to their beloved princess.

Bon Bon approached Dusk and looked at him seriously, all while the audience watched everything carefully, not knowing what Bon Bon would do, since she was one of the leaders of that group that had always disliked that Dusk was in the town.

"You have been involved in all the recent disasters that have affected the ponies, which is a valid reason to suspect you." Bon Bon said still looking sternly at Dusk, then lowering her gaze to hide her face. "But then I saw what happened tonight... When we were trapped in the mud, you sacrificed to save us... Besides... I also heard how you shouted at that beast that this was your home and that you would protect it, calling your attention so that Ursa attack our houses."

At that moment Bon Bon raised her eyes and everyone could see how her look towards Dusk had changed radically. Now she was looking at him with a look of regret.

"I was very wrong... We all were, it seems that you were only in the wrong place at the wrong time... Or maybe it's the other way around, you're in the right place at the right time, just to save us from some disaster..." Bon Bon added with a distressed look and a warm smile. "Heh... I still think you're clumsy... quite awkward actually, but now I also know that you're a good pony, a pony who is capable of taking risks to save me, Lyra, your friends, and everypony here in town... Thank you... For everything. Please, forgive me." Bon Bon finished adding, bowing her head slightly in sign of repentance, looking with a shy smile at Dusk, waiting for him to accept her sincere apology.

At the gesture of Bon Bon, Dusk just froze, red with shame after hearing how that mare who had always looked at him with hatred, now finally looked at him like a normal pony, even with a little admiration. And it was not only Bon Bon, it seemed that the words of the mare had penetrated deep into the hearts of everyone present, who now shared the same look of repentance and gratitude that Bon Bon had, which made Dusk blush even plus. Dusk had always believed that he didn’t care what others thought of him, so long as his friends knew the truth, but now that finally the looks of hatred and distrust of him were over, Dusk's heart felt a new joy, the to be finally accepted by all the people of Ponyville as one of them.

The ponies that surrounded Dusk began to get closer to him, they took him among their hooves, they raised him, and with voices of joy they loaded him to take him to the village hospital so that his wounds would be healed, the wounds that he had by saving his beloved town. For his part, Dusk was surprised to be lifted up and carried between cheers of joy and gratitude to him, then, the only thing he could do was smile to feel so loved and accepted by all there.

"Heh... What a fickle town..." Trixie whispered to herself as she watched the ponies happily carry their hero.

Then Trixie realized that she was not the only one who had stayed behind, Dusk’s friends were also there, the four mares who had accompanied him at all times and smiled as the town had finally accepted Dusk, decided to stay back so that Dusk could enjoy that moment with the other ponies of the town without having to worry about them being there. Seeing them there, looking at Dusk with smiles on their faces, Trixie couldn’t help but ask herself a question.

"I don’t understand, don’t you doubt him? Not even with the lie I told you that he could have bewitched you?" Asked Trixie looking at the four mares, remembering how she had looked at the doubts on their faces that morning in the bakery, however now there was no doubt about their feelings in their eyes.

The four friendly mares of Dusk looked at each other in confusion and then looked at Trixie.

"We never believed what you told us, because none of us fell in love with him at first sight." Applejack said. "Some of us fell in love with him faster than others, but none of us fell in love with him as soon as we saw him. It was after meeting him that little by little we were feeling something for him."

"Besides, none of us believes that he is the perfect colt as you said." Rarity added with a thoughtful look. "He is clumsy, naive, childish, distrustful..." Rarity began to enumerate while everyone nodded what she said.

"But we still like him!" Pinkie Pie added with a big smile, then looking at Trixie with a look of pity. "In the morning we looked at you with doubt, not because we doubted the things you said, but because we realized that you don’t know anything about love."

At what was said by Pinkie Pie, Trixie was shocked and amazed, as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown in her face, then she blushed completely

"I-I've never been in love..." Trixie said covering her mouth instantly. She wanted to say that she did know what love was, but since she was still under the influence of the truth potion, she involuntarily told them that instead of saying what she wanted.

That made her blush even more and quickly turned her gaze away from the mares, just watching where the crowd kept marching, carrying Dusk Shine. Then she stared at Dusk from a distance while a crazy idea flashed through her head.

"No, it's impossible, he's still my enemy!" Trixie thought, dismissing immediately the crazy thought she had had about Dusk. Then, as her blushed face returned to normal, she continued to watch Dusk Shine move away as she looked more serious. "That's right, what happened today doesn’t change the fact that he's still my enemy... Even so... I think I still owe him an apology, but I won’t do that in public anyway!" Trixie finished thinking, still wanting to save some of her dignity





A new day had dawned in Ponyville, and Dusk Shine was resting in his bed, with several bandages on his head and torso, while also baring the pain all over his body.

The previous night, the ponies of the town took him to the hospital, where they could verify that although Dusk had several injuries, there was nothing real serious, which was a great relief after the great blow he had suffered. There he was bandaged and administered some medications, and although he was recommended to stay a couple of days under observation, Dusk insisted that he was fine and that he would rest in his own home.

Dusk's rest lasted little, as someone knocked on the door of the library.

"Spike!" Dusk shouted for his little brother to take care of whoever he was, since he needed to rest his body.

"I'm going!" Spike shouted from the first floor.

"I-It's me..." Trixie's voice shouted from outside timidly, and when she heard Dusk's scream, she had to make him understand that she needed to talk to him.

Immediately Dusk Shine got up and went down the stairs, surprised after hearing Trixie's voice, one that he thought he wouldn’t hear again. Then Dusk came to the door just as Spike opened it.

"Hello... How are you?" Dusk said timidly, seeing a Trixie who had lost all the arrogant presence she had the day before, now she was standing shyly, with a fearful look.

Trixie looked doubtfully into the library once the door opened, she had expected to speak alone with Dusk Shine, however there was also his dragon. Finally, she decided it didn’t matter if it was just a baby dragon listening to her, so she sighed heavily and finally spoke.

"I... came to apologize... for everything I did yesterday." Trixie finally said, making a great effort to leave her pride aside and admit her guilt.

"Oh... I-It's not necessary, don’t worry, hehe..." Dusk replied surprised by the humility that Trixie was showing, which looked totally out of place for her characteristic proud personality.

After that an uncomfortable silence that followed between the two unicorns, in which Trixie didn’t know what else to say, since she was not used to asking for forgiveness; and Dusk, who got nervous when someone was as open as Trixie was at that moment, as well as the sudden change of attitude.

"W-Well... that's it, I think I have to go." Trixie said finally breaking the silence, looking back. "The best thing is to leave this town as soon as possible before I continue to soften."

"Will you leave town right now?" Dusk asked surprised, strangely with some pity. For some reason, he felt he would like to talk more with the mare that had so much in common with him, especially now that it finally seemed that their relationship had improved.

"Yes, after yesterday, many ponies here look at me with hatred, so it's better that I leave as soon as possible." Trixie replied with a sad smile. "The good thing is that I’ll be able to travel lightly, since the Ursa destroyed my wagon and everything that I had, so it’ll be a new beginning for me."

At that moment Dusk remembered that the Ursa had destroyed Trixie's stage, which had left the blue unicorn devastated when witnessing it. Then something else came to Dusk's mind, something that he had in his mind since he had returned from the hospital.

"Wait here a moment!" Dusk suddenly said when Trixie turned to leave. "I'll be right back!"

Then Dusk turned around excitedly and ran back to his room, stumbling as he took only two steps, since he was not yet able to run so abruptly, then he got up quickly, gave a silly smile to Trixie, as if nothing had happened, he climbed the stairs to his room, leaving Trixie and Spike looking where he had gone with expressions of confusion, not understanding what Dusk wanted to do.

"Hehe... I still have a hard time believing that fool can really be stronger than me." Trixie laughed thinking aloud, with a hint of her characteristic arrogance. "Since we weren’t facing each other in a fair match, we'll never know... But I guess I'll count this as a defeat."

"Of course, it was a victory for my brother, no one can beat him in magic! He's the best!" Spike said puffing his chest with pride, who was still annoyed with Trixie, since in his opinion, everything that Trixie had done against Dusk deserved more than a simple apology.

Trixie gave a sharp look to Spike, who immediately regretted bothering Trixie.

"Dusk Shine’s magic is strong and skillful, but easily deconcentrated." Trixie said seriously. "I have more experience in magical duels, and I never lose my duels... or at least almost never."

"So, Dusk is the first to defeat you?" Spike asked with a smile of brotherly pride.

"The second..." Trixie replied with a slight worried look, as she remembered something and began to talk more to herself than to Spike. "That time in Saddle Arabia... I never felt so helpless... She made me look ridiculous... I never saw anypony that strong in magic... I don’t think even Dusk would be a good rival for a pony like her."

"Haha, now you're bragging." Spike said with a confident smile, looking defiantly at Trixie. "So, what is the name of that supposed unicorn that is more powerful than my brother?"

"... Her name was..." Trixie replied, remembering the name she would never forget, the name of who had defeated her for the first time in one of her trips.

At that moment Trixie mentioned a name, upon hearing that name, Spike's smile disappeared completely.

"I'm back! Sorry to interrupt your conversation." Dusk said once he returned to the front door of the library. Then he focused his gaze on Trixie. "I know you want to leave as soon as possible, but I thought you'd want to take this with you."

Then Dusk showed Trixie what he was holding on his hoof, what appeared to be a great photograph. Trixie looked confused at what Dusk was showing her, then she took the picture and saw it more closely. Trixie's heart seemed to stop from amazement when she saw who the photograph was, it was a photograph of her father, specifically one of the many autographed photos that he used to give in his magic shows.

"You are the daughter of the 'Great Lulamoon', right?" Dusk said with a smile. "I knew it from the moment I saw your cutie mark yesterday morning, it's almost identical to your dad's."

Meanwhile, Trixie looked up and saw Dusk with amazement, as she would never have expected him to have an autograph from her father, and her astonishment only increased at the statement he had just made, which made it impossible to say a word.

"This morning, I was just thinking... when I asked you about the origin of your cutie mark, you told me that the moon and the stars were because you like astronomy, but yesterday, when I told you that the Ursa Minor always follows Polaris, you didn’t seem to understand what I was referring to." Dusk said recalling his conversation the day before. "If you knew astronomy you would know that the Ursa’s skin and their behavior is a reflection of the constellations in the night sky, that's why an Ursa Minor pursues bright lights, because the brightest star of the night belongs to the constellation of the Ursa Minor."

Trixie was still frozen where she was, not knowing what Dusk wanted to do with what he was saying.

"Do you remember what we talked about yesterday about the cutie marks and the Royal Legacy?" Dusk asked surprisingly.

"Huh?" Trixie said again surprised by the sudden change of subject.

"When we talked about the Royal Legacy, I told you that some cutie marks are inherited by a strong bond that can be generated from one's descendants." Dusk said with a tender smile. "I think your cutie mark doesn’t have the shape of a moon because you feel part of an old royal lineage, rather it's because you really loved your father, even though you say he was a fool."

Trixie's mouth opened to say something, but she was not able to say anything, her feelings were very confused at that precise moment.

"You know... If it hadn’t been for your father, I would never have dedicated myself to the study of magic." Dusk said with a small, sad smile, something that once again took Trixie's total surprise.

"When I was a young colt, I was very bad at magic, I couldn’t do even the basic spells that other colts of my age could do." Dusk added with a tender smile while remembering his past. "I was so frustrated, I decided that I would stop trying to be good at magic, that's until my grandmother took me to one of the magic shows of the Great Lulamoon, then I saw him, he was... terrible, his magic tricks always came out bad and everypony ended up laughing at him, hehe..."

Trixie continued to look at Dusk with a puzzled look, knowing that Dusk was describing perfectly how ridiculous her father's magic shows were.

"At the end of the show, I stayed with my grandmother until everypony else left, then the Great Lulamoon approached and made a small light appear on his hoof, which immediately exploded in his face, then he just smiled at me, but I couldn’t smile at his foolish act. I asked him why he kept doing magic shows if all his tricks went wrong, that it would be better to give up something that he wasn’t good at, then the Great Lulamoon, without dropping his smile, did the trick again, only this time thousands of stars illuminated the entire tent, changing color and leaving trails around as they fell. I had never seen such a beautiful magic... 'If you practice, you can achieve anything.' That's what he told me that day."

"Your father was a great magician, but I think he preferred to make others laugh than to demonstrate his great power..." Dusk added, finishing his memory. "I was always in debt to him for that advice, so yesterday, when you asked me to face you in a duel, I couldn’t refuse you... I owed him as much as I owe you."

Trixie had been frozen, not knowing how to react, her lip trembled as her eyes did their best not to close, trying in vain not to look weak at that moment. Then she lowered her eyes and saw once again the picture of her father, who was smiling wearing his typical wizard's outfit, one identical to the one she was wearing at that moment. Then she turned the photo and one last emotional blow hit her deeply. There, written with her father's hoofwriting, it was written: 'For my biggest fan, don’t give up and always smile.' That was what her father always told her, that she always smiled at the world.

Trixie clenched her teeth and bent her head down so that Dusk wouldn’t be able to see her face.

"Hnng... I-I... I'm sorry... Sniff! I-I got something in my eye..." Trixie whispered, taking a hoof to her eye to wipe away her tears as she did her best to keep her voice from breaking.

"Yeah... don’t worry, those things happen." Dusk said with a tender smile, respecting the fact that Trixie tried to look strong despite how emotional she was.

Dusk waited a few seconds for Trixie to calm down, until she finally lifted her head and looked at Dusk.

"Thank you." Trixie said softly, her eyes bright with tears and a tender look that Trixie had never gave Dusk until then. Seeing her that way, for some reason Dusk couldn’t help but look away and blush slightly.

"B-By the way... W-What were you talking about with Spike before I arrived?" Dusk said nervously, scratching his head, trying to change the subject so that Trixie was not forced to talk more about something that moved her so much.

"Oh, that!" Trixie said, immediately taking the opportunity to change the subject. "I was telling your brother that-"

"Nya~! Nya~! Dusk won! Dusk is stronger than you and always will be!" Spike interrupted suddenly, grinning at Trixie while mocking her face. "You can never beat my brother~ You can never beat my brother~!"

"Spike!" Dusk shouted annoyed, surprised by the sudden outburst of his brother, especially when he was finally getting along with Trixie.

Meanwhile, Trixie was also surprised by the baby dragon’s mockery. Then she slowly lowered her head, and slowly squeezed her teeth in anger as her competitive spirit and pride returned to her.

"It's true... I mustn’t leave my pride aside... My goal is still intact!" Trixie thought, raising her head with a look full of determination.

"The lizard is right!" Trixie said glaring at Spike and then looking back at Dusk Shine seriously. "This isn’t the end, don’t forget that you are still my enemy, my eternal enemy! Yesterday you only won one battle, but soon I’ll become stronger and I’ll challenge you again, and I’ll prove that I’m stronger than you! I’ll show you why everypony call me 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'!"

At that moment Trixie quickly levitated the photo that Dusk had given her, and turned around quickly, then looked back one last time, giving Dusk a fleeting smile of confidence, something that Dusk, who also responded with the same smile, both saying with their eyes 'We’ll face each other again!'. Then Trixie turned her back to Dusk and ran away.

Once she had gone far enough, reaching the outskirts of Ponyville, Trixie slowed down and eventually stopped. Then she again levitated her father's photo in front of her and smiled at the only memory left of her father, the memory given by her great enemy...

"Enemies... No. Rather rivals." Trixie thought as her cheeks blushed slightly at the thought of Dusk Shine, deciding that it was not necessary to hate Dusk to be able to face him, because in fact, she felt the total opposite feeling of hatred in that precise second when thinking about him.

On the other hoof, as soon as Trixie was out of sight, Dusk gave Spike a small blow to the head.

"Why’d you do that? You were being rude!" Dusk said annoyed, looking seriously at his brother.

"W-Well... S-She called me a lizard! So now we're even." Spike replied with a nervous look.

"Huff... Well, she's gone, but the next time you see her, I want you to give her a big apology!" Dusk said sighing, not wanting to turn the matter around, after all Trixie had left the town, and he just wanted at that moment to finally rest his aching body.

That's how Dusk turned around and headed back to his room, while Spike stood by the door, watching his brother walk away. As soon as Dusk climbed the stairs fully and was out of sight, Spike gave a big sigh, looking worriedly at his brother's room.

"Phew! That was close." Spike said with a sigh of relief and passing a claw across his forehead to wipe away the sweat. "If I hadn’t interrupted them, Dusk would’ve heard her name again."

Spike really regretted being so rude and making fun of Trixie at the time, but that was necessary for him and his brother.

"Dusk has already made new friends, he doesn’t need to be tormented by his past again." Spike thought worriedly. "Besides, if he knew where she was... I don’t know what he’d do..." Spike finished thinking, closing the library door behind him, hoping never to hear the name that Trixie had mentioned, the name of the mare that had defeated her, and who had made Dusk suffer so much.

# End of chapter 30
> Chapter 31 - I want it
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I want it

The Ponyville Day Spa was the perfect place to relax and leave one's worries behind, and Rarity knew it very well, she was the number one customer of that place. Whenever she felt tired, upset, sad, or just needed a place to think or vent her worries, she visited that place, where she was always well looked after by the twin girls Aloe and Lotus.

It had been days since Rarity had wanted to go to the spa, mainly to get rid of the stress after everything that had happened with Trixie and the Ursa attack. However, she decided to arm herself with patience and wait a couple of days as there was a day this week that was very special for her, the day she shared the spa with one of her best friends, a friend who had been hiding from everything and everyone for several days, however, Rarity had the confidence that she definitely wouldn’t miss their special day as spa friends.

While Rarity waited impatiently in the spa lobby, playing with the feathers of an elegant hat she was wearing, finally the one who she had waited for appeared. Opening the door to the spa, Fluttershy came in slowly, always with her shy presence, or perhaps a little more timid than usual, as Rarity instantly noticed that her friend was glancing behind her in fear, as if she was afraid that someone was observing.

"Fluttershy! You finally arrived." Rarity greeted happily, approaching her friend and inviting her to come by. "Come, dear. I have planned an extra special day for the both of us! I paid for both the full treatment of relaxation and beauty; there is so much to talk about!"

Knowing how enthusiastic her friend was when it came to the spa, Fluttershy just smiled and got carried away while Rarity told her to follow Aloe and Lotus, who had everything ready for them to have a nice and relaxing morning.

While both friends began their spa session with a nice steam bath, Rarity asked the question that had been worrying her for days now.

"Fluttershy, darling, why are you not around the other ponies these days?" Rarity asked with a trace of concern. "Were you hiding from us?"

"Eh? I... Um... No, it's not that..." Fluttershy replied timidly, lowering her head a little embarrassed. "I... I just needed to order my thoughts."

"Your thoughts? Because of what happened with the dragon?" Rarity asked worriedly.

Fluttershy nodded shyly as the steam from the sauna prevented her from seeing Rarity as Fluttershy had blushed, for when Rarity mentioned the dragon, what came to Fluttershy’s mind was not when she confronted that great beast, but what happened after, when she took Dusk Shine between her hooves and kissed him passionately, which was the real reason why she had not dared to appear in town, because even at that moment, she didn’t know what she would do if saw the others with Dusk Shine.

"Well, I guess it was normal for you to take your time to assimilate it, that it, it’s not every day you’d prepare yourself with courage, and face a huge dragon. You were really amazing!" Rarity said cheerfully, trying to motivate her friend into thinking that she was amazing when she remembered the dragon. "On the other hoof, the days that you weren’t around, many things happened."

"Oh, yes, something I heard on the way here." Fluttershy said with a thoughtful face. "It seems that a great uproar occurred."

"You can't imagine it, darling." Rarity said, excited to gossip to her friend about everything that had happened.

While both ponies were going through the different salons of the spa, taking a beauty treatment, followed by a relaxing massage, and finally taking a bath in the spa's large Jacuzzi, Rarity told Fluttershy everything that had happened in the town during those days, where obviously the most important event was everything that happened with Trixie's magic show. Meanwhile, upon learning of all that happened, Fluttershy was surprised and scared more and more to learn of the great danger that her friends had been exposed to. She never imagined that it would have been such a dangerous thing, a life-and-death situation that her friends were involved in while she had been hiding in her house because of her own silly worries! That made Fluttershy begin to feel very bad about herself for not being there with her friends, even though she knew that her presence there would have been useless.

"I... I'm sorry." Fluttershy said once Rarity finished telling her what happened, with a barely audible voice, as if she were about to cry. "I didn’t know all of that, I... I should have been with you."

"Don't worry darling. In fact, it's a good thing you weren’t, it was terrifying!" Rarity answered trying to encourage her friend. "Besides, it was really Dusk who saved the day. We didn't do anything."

At that moment Rarity remembered something else that could not be removed from her mind, from when in the duel of magic Dusk chose his three friends and did not choose her.

"I congratulate you, it's the most logical thing, to leave the dead weight behind." That's what Trixie said that time. Something that had been running around Rarity’s head and was still bothering her.

"Yes... I was totally useless..." Rarity added sadly, tormented not knowing if Dusk would truly see her as the weakest and most useless of all his friends.

Realizing that she was becoming melancholy for no reason, Rarity quickly erased those thoughts and returned to focus on Fluttershy, who had sunk deeper into the jacuzzi, keeping only her sad eyes on the water. Seeing her expression, Rarity knew immediately that Fluttershy was probably thinking the same thing she had been doing a moment ago, that she had been useless because she could not help her friends in danger, so the unicorn decided to change the subject to return to relax, after all that was the goal of going to the spa.

"Oh, Fluttershy, I just remembered, I need your help!" Rarity said with a radiant smile, lifting her front hooves out of the water and putting them on Fluttershy's shoulders to get her out of the water and look her straight in the eyes. "I want you to be my model!"

"Huh?" Fluttershy answered without understanding what her friend was talking about.

"You will not believe what happened! When I came here, I found the very same Photo Finish, the famous fashion photographer!" Rarity said very excitedly. "Don't ask me what I was doing in a town like Ponyville, but I was shocked to see a celebrity like her here, and that's not all! She came up to me! She seems to like my new hat, and she told me that we would go today in the afternoon to take some pictures in my boutique, don't you think it's great!?"

"Oh, that's fantastic." Fluttershy answered timidly, without yet understanding where she was coming in and the favor that Rarity asked of her. "But I don't understand-"

"I need somepony beautiful and elegant to model some of my designs, and you are perfect for it!" Rarity said, anticipating what Fluttershy wanted to ask.

"Um... I... I don't know." Fluttershy answered sincerely since modeling meant being the center of attention for everyone to look at her, and that was something that someone as timid as she was did not like. "N-You haven’t thought about asking the other girls?"

Thinking of her other friends, Rarity looked up and let out a sigh of disappointment thinking about what it would be like to ask her other friends to be her model. Knowing them, Applejack and Rainbow Dash would refuse immediately, and even if they accepted, they would not like to be receiving orders and would dislike being photographed wearing a beautiful dress. While Pinkie Pie would definitely approve, but Rarity could already see how her crazy friend would cause a big uproar, dressing in all her clothes at once while doing ridiculous poses for the camera.

"No, darling, you are definitely the ideal for this work." Rarity finally responded, moving closer to Fluttershy and looking at her with big puppy eyes. "Please! Please! Please!"

Fluttershy stared nervously at Rarity's pleading eyes. She didn’t want to play the role of a model, and less in front of a professional photographer, however, she could not say no to a friend who needed her, even after not being there with them when they faced a huge Ursa.

"I-It's okay..." Fluttershy finally said, agreeing to help her friend.

"I knew I could count on you, darling." Rarity said giving a small and affectionate hug to her friend.

"Sorry, Rarity." Aloe suddenly said, entering the main room where the jacuzzi was. "There is somepony who wants to see you, and I thought it would not be bad to let it go." the pink pony added, smiling knowingly as she looked at Rarity.

Then, after Aloe, appeared Dusk Shine, and he has recovered a little from the wounds he suffered after the blow of the Ursa, but still had some bandages on his torso and one of his hind legs.

"Hi, I knew I would find you two here." Dusk said with joy when he saw the heads of his two friends in the jacuzzi, knowing in advance that Fluttershy and Rarity usually went together that day of the week to the spa. "I... I wanted to know if we could talk for a moment." Dusk added, getting a little nervous for some reason, diverting his gaze and looking at the floor.

Suddenly Rarity heard bubbles at her side, where Fluttershy had been slowly lowering her head under the water while her face had gone completely red and it looked like the pegasus was foaming at her mouth because it was underwater.

"It can't be! Why is he here! I'm not ready yet! I don't know what to do!" Fluttershy thought hysterically, that as soon as she saw Dusk appear, she became completely red with embarrassment. However, the initial embarrassment she had, slowly gave way to fear and guilt. "Oh my! He really came out very hurt from that time, he still has bandages, and I was not there to support him as all the others were! I... I'm the worst friend in the world!"

"We'll go right away!" Rarity said with a smile, getting up from the jacuzzi.

"Oh! Um... I... actually wanted to talk to Fluttershy, alone if possible." Dusk said a little uncomfortable to see that he had not explained well who he wanted to talk to.

"I choose Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash!" It was what Rarity immediately recalled when she saw Dusk again leave her aside, such as the day of the magic duel with Trixie.

"I-It's okay... no problem, hehe." Rarity tried to smile even though she felt a temporary pain in her chest.

Upon hearing that Dusk wanted to talk to her alone, Fluttershy became much more nervous and left the jacuzzi slowly and awkwardly, at which time Lotus, the sister of Aloe, ran to dry her. As soon as Fluttershy was completely dry, she approached slowly with her head down to where Dusk was, without being able to look him in the eyes, much like Dusk, who when approaching Fluttershy, also became somewhat nervous. Then both ponies walked silently out of the jacuzzi room to leave the spa together.

"Wow... Why were they so nervous?" Aloe asked approaching the Jacuzzi, taking advantage of the fact that Dusk and Fluttershy had left, ready to talk about rumors with their best client and personal friend, Rarity.

"Surely it's because of the kiss..." Rarity answered in a muffled voice, and her head bowed, slowly emerging from the jacuzzi.

"Noooo! Dusk kissed Fluttershy!?" Aloe asked surprised, approaching with a towel to dry Rarity. "Then they're dating!?"

"No, it was more of an accident. Fluttershy was too excited and... well, it's a long story." Rarity answered again with the same tone of voice and her head still crouched.

"Oh... well, accidents happen." Aloe said, carefully drying Rarity's beautiful tail and nimbly combing it back into her usual elegant style. "But the best part is that you're still in the competition, are you not? You're going to make Dusk fall with your charms at any time, that's for sure!"

At Aloe's comment, Rarity was silent for a few seconds. Aloe knew that Rarity was after Dusk Shine, after all, she had been there when they met, so every time Rarity went to the spa, she enjoyed that girl talk in which she found out what that supposed love relationship was like.

"And why would he be interested in somepony like me?" Rarity asked finally, still not showing her face to Aloe, who was still drying the hooves and body of Rarity.

"Why? Because you're beautiful, one of the most beautiful mares in town, you don’t know how many mares come to the spa saying how envious they are of you, and I suppose that also includes me a little bit, haha." Aloe answered honestly, who had always admired the good taste, elegance and natural beauty that her friend had.

"That's just superficial... True love... value the inside." Rarity added in the same muted tone of voice, suddenly realizing something. "Maybe... my inside is wrong..."

"What are you talking about? You're even more beautiful on the inside!" Aloe said surprised at what Rarity said. "You helped my sister and I when we needed it the most, without you our dream of doing a spa would never have been realized! You are the most generous and self-less pony I know!"

Aloe finished speaking, just as she finished drying Rarity's hair, then she stood in front of her with a smile to finally see her face, but her smile disappeared instantly upon seeing Rarity's face.

"Sniff... then... Why am I the last one?" Rarity said looking at the ground with concern as tears ran down her cheeks. "Why are you leaving me out? Sniff... W-Why... why don't you like me?" Rarity added, crying tenderly as her frustration and doubts finally came to light.

Meanwhile, Dusk and Fluttershy had finally left the spa, then both stopped outside and stood, facing each other while an uncomfortable silence reigned and neither of them was able to look at each other in the eyes, with fear of what the other was thinking and feeling.

"This is really uncomfortable... She isn't even looking at me in the face, she should definitely be mad at me..." Dusk thought concerned, who had already drawn his conclusions about what he thought was happening. "She hasn’t talked to me for days, she has talked to every other pony but me, she didn't even appear for the magic duel that day... Maybe she’s upset about that kiss? After all, I am a colt. I am stronger. I could’ve stopped her. I let myself go and kissed her when she wasn't emotionally well... Does she think I abused her, is that why she doesn't want to talk to me anymore?"

"What do I do! He must hate me!" Fluttershy thought at the same time as her inherent insecurity played tricks on her. "First I forced him to kiss me and then I wasn’t there when he needed me most... I... I was so nervous about the kiss, I didn’t leave my house in days, but that's no excuse! Just as the other girls were, they are real friends, but I... Oh no, what if he doesn't even want to be my friend anymore!?"

"F-Fluttershy..." Dusk finally said nervous, deciding to break the silence and speak first of something that was not related to the kiss, since from that event was what caused Fluttershy to stop talking to him. "I-I haven’t seen you for a long time... M-Many things have happened around here. As you can see from my bandages, some real dangerous things happened, but luckily the other girls were there to support me, hehe... Still, it caught my attention that you were not-"

"No..." Fluttershy interrupted in a strangled whisper, with a face of horror, breathing agitatedly and with her eyes about to cry. "No! Don't say you don't want to be my friend anymore; don't say you don't want to see me anymore. I wouldn't be able stand it!" Fluttershy was terrified that Dusk would want to end their friendship.

"No!" Fluttershy screamed again, crying, turning and fleeing, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to hear Dusk say something so cruel.

Seeing Fluttershy flee, Dusk instantly felt a pain in his chest to confirm the fear that had been in his mind all those days, and now it was a reality. Apparently, Fluttershy hated him.





The Carousel Boutique was chaotic, though not literally. Well, although everything was in perfect order for the next visits to receive, the cries, comings and goings of Rarity made everything seem chaotic.

It was only minutes before Photo Finish arrived at the boutique and Rarity still felt dissatisfied, and it wasn’t because of her model, it was because Fluttershy had arrived more than an hour ago and had tried every dress that Rarity wanted, literally following every instruction she had given her, it was the insecurity of the white unicorn that didn't let her be calm.

"No! It's not good yet!" Rarity said looking at Fluttershy carefully, who was wearing a beautiful evening dress designed by Rarity. "Pincushion!"

As soon as Rarity said 'pincushion' Spike appeared almost magically next to the unicorn, lifting his back so that Rarity could get the pins she had accidentally stuck into Spike's hard scales. Something that the unicorn still didn’t realize, since she only stretched her hoof and took out a pin without seeing, always with her eyes fixed on the dress, just thinking that Spike was offering her usual pincushion.

While Rarity was retouching the dress for the hundredth time, Spike only looked with the face of a fool in love with the beautiful unicorn, thanking his luck for being able to be useful to such a beautiful being.

"Anything to see her smile..." Spike thought dumbfounded, not realizing that Rarity was so tense that she neither smiled nor realized what Spike was doing for her.

"More ribbons!" Rarity shouted, while Spike ran to put more ribbons to the headdress that Fluttershy wore on her head. "No! Less ribbon!" She immediately retracted, while Spike removed the ribbons he had just put.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood like a statue, obeying everything Rarity had said, making a promise to herself that she would not disappoint her friend, no, she would never repeat the terrible mistake she had made with Dusk Shine, she would never disappoint a friend again, even if they ask her to do something she didn't like, as was the case now.

Rarity stretched her hoof to take another pin, but when she did not find it, she finally turned her attention from the dress for a second.

"Pincush-!" Rarity shouted looking at the ground, only to see Spike, who wasn’t able to arrive in time for Rarity since he was putting the ribbons on Fluttershy. "Spike, what's on your back!?" Rarity screamed in horror when seeing her pins stuck in Spike's back.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt, my scales are very hard, it's like acupuncture." Spike smiled sweetly.

That pause in his accelerated work finally made Rarity see what was happening around her. She had been using poor innocent Spike as a pincushion and the poor little dragon didn’t say anything to disturb her; and there was also Fluttershy, who barely breathed as she tried to look like a mannequin.

"Oh no, please forgive me." Rarity said sadly, pulling with her magic all the needles from Spike's back and caressing him with her cheek tenderly as she looked at Fluttershy. "I let myself be carried away by my stress, you just wanted to help me, and I was abusing your goodwill."

"No, it's okay, you just want it to go perfect, and we really want to help you, right, Spike?" Fluttershy answered with a tender smile.

"Heh... Hehehe... Heh..." It was all Spike could say, giggling foolishly as he had lost all reasoning as he was caressed sweetly by the soft cheek of his beloved.

"I-I will give it my best effort." Fluttershy added, determined not to disappoint her great friend.

"I'm sure you will." Rarity answered with a satisfied smile, knowing that she could totally trust her friend. "Just follow my instructions and everything will come out-"

Clink-Clink! The bells at the entrance of the boutique rung and interrupted what Rarity wanted to say. The two ponies that were dressed in tights entered instantly, immediately putting on elegant poses and making their way for a pony with light blue hair, white hair, and wearing a bulky black dress with white, a set that combined perfectly with a big and opaque pink lens that covered her eyes completely.

"I, Photo Finish, have arrived." The pony of the pink lenses said proudly, making an elegant pose, worthy of a fashion catalog.

Both Fluttershy and Rarity froze on their nerves, knowing that the time for which they had prepared so much had finally arrived.

"P-Photo Finish, it's an honor-" Rarity greeted nervously, approaching the famous photographer.

Rarity was instantly silent when she saw that Photo Finish passed by her without even seeing her as if she had not heard her. Then Photo Finish stopped in front of Fluttershy, who made every effort to not be nervous.

"Yes ... this can be useful..." Photo Finish said speaking to herself. A comment that made a smile grow on Rarity’s face, she was happy to see that they valued their hard work in that dress. "Okay, let's start."

Then Photo Finish opened a suitcase that one of her assistants gave her, from which came a large camera. Then the photographer got into position behind the camera and only raised one of her hooves, which Fluttershy and Rarity had to assume that it meant she was ready to take pictures.

"I know you can do this. Remember, attitude!" Rarity whispered quickly into Fluttershy's ear to give her confidence, coming out from the scene quick so Photo Finish could do her job.

Fluttershy took a breath, gave a big sigh, and showed the most determined face she had shown until then, prepared to do whatever it took to help Rarity and so little by little to mend her grave mistake for having been a bad friend.

Fluttershy made each and every one of the poses that Rarity had shown her and taught her about fashion photographs, making heroic poses, dramatic turns, fatal looks, all perfect, all worthy of a professional model, something that moved and made Rarity very happy. However, the one who was not as excited as her was Photo Finish, who had been silent for the entire time, with each moment took pictures more slowly, just moving her right hoof occasionally as if she was trying to push a fly away from her.

"What's wrong with her? Obviously, she's a professional model, why isn’t she paying attention to the signals I give her?" Photo Finish thought frustrated, believing that Fluttershy was a professional when she saw those poses. "She's making good poses, but that's not what I'm looking for, do I have to tell her with words what I want as if she were a rookie!?"

Finally there came a moment when Fluttershy made another beautiful catalog pose, showing a flirtatious look, however, Photo Finish did not take the photo, instead, she just lowered her head and sighed disappointedly, thinking that all of this had been a waste of time

Clink-Clink! For the second time, the boutique bells rang, welcoming a well-known lavender colt.

"Sorry for the intrusion Rarity, but you haven’t seen Spike have you?" Dusk Shine asked as soon as he entered the boutique. "I've been looking for him for hours and-"

Dusk Shine was immediately silent to see that it seemed that he has interrupted something important, since the boutique was with several ponies, all turning to see who had interrupted them. The only one who did not seem to pay attention to Dusk was the photographer, who was always submerged in her own world and just kept waiting for that spectacular photo that she thought she could achieve when she saw that innocent yellow pegasus.

As soon as Dusk entered the boutique, Rarity's heart was glad. Arriving at such a precise moment was the best thing that could ever happen to her, so he can see her prevailing with one of her designs, being photographed by the most famous fashion photographer of Equestria, it was what she needed as an impulse to show Dusk her value as a mare, now he would see her triumph!

Also, Fluttershy’s mood had immediately changed, upon seeing Dusk enter, she instantly forgot her poses, and everything related to the photographer, becoming very nervous, much more than usual, hiding behind her hair, not wanting Dusk to see her at that moment, less after what had happened that morning.

"Yes!" Photo Finish suddenly shouted, coming back to life as her camera flash flashed one after the other as she pulled out a flurry of photos of Fluttershy.

"You came at the best time!" Rarity said approaching Dusk with a big smile, inviting him to move forward and enter where everyone else was.

"Huh... I... I just came for Spike..." Dusk said totally nervous, glancing at Fluttershy, and being reminded of that morning. "I-I don't think it's a good idea to be here... They must be busy."

"Not at all darling, you see, today in the morning I was wearing one of my most elegant hats, then you will not believe what happened to me! The pony herself Photo Fi-" Rarity said, beginning to tell what happened that morning, one of the most exciting moments that had happened to her, however, she stopped when she saw that Dusk didn’t even look at her.

Rarity followed Dusk's gaze and saw that he was fixed on Fluttershy, both glancing at each other with nervous glances. In that instant Rarity bit her lip with discomfort, feeling a twinge of pain in her chest as she felt ignored again by Dusk, it was even more painful to see that it was just when she felt she was doing something memorable and worthy of admiration.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy could not help but glance at Dusk while Dusk approached at Rarity's request, which made her breathing shake and becoming increasingly nervous and uncomfortable. The only thing Fluttershy thought was that he wanted to get out of there, she did not want to force Dusk to be seeing a bad friend like her, and most importantly, she did not want Dusk to come up and tell her that their friendship was over, just like In her imagination it had almost happened that morning, something that just by remembering it, made Fluttershy feel a pain in her chest, just as her friend felt, only for a totally different reason.

The shy Pegasus unconsciously took a step back from the fear of being near Dusk. Then she accidentally stepped on the edge of her dress, lost her balance and fell over.

Photo Finish instantly stopped taking pictures and looked at Fluttershy with a stern look, as if what she had just done was not of a professional of her standards.

"E-Everything is fine!" Rarity shouted when she saw Photo Finish dissatisfied, quickly approaching her friend to help her get up. "Easy, you’re doing well, just do what I told you." Rarity whispered in Fluttershy's ear as she helped her.

"It's true, I can't disappoint Rarity, no matter how I feel, I have to do this!" Fluttershy thought with determination, ready to start making the poses that Rarity had taught her, just as she had at the beginning. However, unfortunately, Fluttershy's feelings prevented her from complying fully with what she wanted.

Fluttershy started making the poses that Rarity had shown her, ready for Photo Finish to take her pictures, however, each time she made a pose, she could feel Dusk staring at her, and as much as she tried with all her might, she couldn’t help but get nervous. Every time she made an elegant and serious pose, it lasted only a couple of seconds, then she could not help but glance nervously and turn her head in shame so that Dusk would not see her.

While Fluttershy was making these strange poses, Rarity could not believe what was happening. Her friend was making perfect poses, but then ruined them shortly after, and the worst of all was that to her bad luck it seemed that Photo Finish took a picture of Fluttershy when she stopped making an elegant pose!

"Why, why are you doing this Fluttershy!?" Rarity thought frightened and frustrated to see how her chance to be recognized was fading because of Fluttershy and her strange poses. "Is she doing it on purpose? Maybe she... No! That's impossible! How can such a thought occur to me!" Rarity immediately dismissed her thoughts, knowing that her friend could never do such a thing to her.

"Keep a single pose! Stop changing so suddenly!" Photo Finish shouted suddenly, annoyed by Fluttershy's unprofessionalism. The only reason why she kept taking photos was because despite everything while taking the photos, she could see the potential that was in front of her.

For his part, Dusk Shine couldn't help but cover his eyes from embarrassment to see that Fluttershy was acting so weird in front of a professional photographer. If he could, he would have done anything to help Fluttershy, but obviously, that wouldn’t have been professional and the photographer could also get angry with Rarity, and also... surely Fluttershy didn’t want him near her, definitely, she must still be angry with him.

The shout of Photo Finish had made Fluttershy totally nervous, but what was decisive was seeing Dusk Shine covering his eyes so he would not see her, making her determination to help Rarity completely shaken, to the point that Fluttershy could not perform any more elegant poses and would only try to hide behind her mane, without the courage to run away from there.

At that moment, Photo Finish took out a series of quick photos, pressing her camera consistently, and automatically saving them into her suitcase again.

"I'm done!" Photo Finish said, turning around and heading towards the exit, without looking or speaking to anyone, followed by her two assistants. "What a waste, only half of the photos went well..."

Both Fluttershy and Rarity were silent with their heads down, knowing that everything had been a disaster despite all the effort they had given.

"Tomorrow we will repeat it, photo shoot in the park." Photo Finish said surprisingly as one of her assistants opened the door of the boutique. Then she and her assistants left the boutique and closed the door.

"This. Can’t. Be... Did you hear that!? She asked for another photo session!" Rarity shouted totally excited after knowing that her chance to be a star was still alive. "I can't believe she's giving me another chance!"

"I... I'm sorry, it was my fault." Fluttershy said with sorrow, approaching her friend.

"That isn’t true darling." Rarity said with a fake smile, then put on a more tender and worried look. "You did very well, and tomorrow we'll do even better! Just... remember, tomorrow do exactly what I ask, and don't get nervous."

As soon as Rarity said to not get nervous, she did the exact opposite, Fluttershy glanced sideways at Dusk, who was looking at both of them intently. Then Fluttershy looked away, hiding her face with her hair, not being able to look at Dusk in the eye, knowing that he must hate her for being a bad friend.

"I understand... Not only are you angry with me, you don’t even want to see me..." Dusk thought sadly, slowly and quietly leaving the boutique.





"That’s it! That's the perfect one!" Rarity said excitedly to see how well Fluttershy had one of her most beautiful outfits, a tight white suit decorated with bright blue sapphires.

Fluttershy and Rarity had spent the entire morning in the park, preparing for the arrival of Photo Finish, trying on dress after dress until finally Rarity was pleased.

"This dress will definitely fascinate you!" Rarity said, smiling proudly of her work, then looking at Fluttershy with a little more seriousness. "Now, remember Fluttershy, we shall not repeat the same mistakes of yesterday, you will concentrate, make the poses as I taught you, show with a unique pose to the beauty and elegance of a mare!"

"Yes, I won’t disappoint you this time!" Fluttershy answered full of confidence. "Also, Dusk isn’t here today, so I'll be able to concentrate without having any problems." Fluttershy thought relieved.

"Quick, we're late." Photo Finish suddenly said, finally appearing in the park followed by a retinue of ponies who attended her. Saying as if Rarity and Fluttershy were the ones who had arrived late to the place.

As soon as Fluttershy looked at Photo Finish, she concentrated, and before they even gave her an order, she made a great and elegant pose, much more dramatic and elegant than any of the poses made yesterday, worthy of the cover of any magazine.

"That's it! Fluttershy looks spectacular!" Rarity thought proudly of her friend. "I knew she could do it if she followed my advice, she-"

"What do you think you’re doing? Didn’t you understand anything I said yesterday?" Photo Finish said, totally annoyed by Fluttershy's unprofessionalism. "Stop doing that pose and get out of that ridiculous dress."

At Photo Finish’s comment, both Fluttershy and Rarity froze, as none of them expected the famous photographer to react to what they thought was right. The one who was hurt the most was Rarity, especially by the fact that someone of the caliber of Photo Finish would have called her suit that she considered cute, ridiculous. All that hard work she put in seemed like it wasn’t enough to satisfy her.

While both the mares remained frozen still, Photo Finish turned around and began giving instructions to her assistants. At that moment one of the photographer's assistants approached her boss, the only one of the assistants who had the courage to ask the question that everyone was asking at that moment.

"Excuse me, Madame." The assistant said timidly, who very rarely had dared to speak to her boss, but she found that this time it was necessary.

"What do you want." Photo Finish said without paying much attention, while still giving orders to the other attendees.

"I... um... I don't think that dress that the model was wearing is ridiculous, I think it's very nice." The assistant said with some fear.

"I already know that, I said it because I'm really annoyed that they are not following my instructions." Photo Finish responded as if what she was saying was the most obvious thing in the world. "That dress is very beautiful, but I don't need a dress to overshadow the model, the model must shine with their own light, that's what I'm looking for, that's why I came to this town! I'm looking for something unique!"

When listening to her wise boss, the assistant gave a smile of relief to see that her fashion sense was not bad at all, something very different from what was going through the mind of Rarity at that moment.

"Rarity, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked worried when she saw Rarity’s face, who had a face of pain that she couldn’t hide.

"Huh... I-I... y-yes, yes, I'm fine, don't worry." Rarity answered with difficulty, her mouth dry and showing a sad smile.

"Rarity, this dress is beautiful, I don’t think she knows what she's talking about." Fluttershy said honestly.

"N-No... she must be right, she's a fashion expert after all..." Rarity said with a sad look as if she had lost something very dear to her. Something not very far from reality, because with just one word, Photo Finish had made Rarity question all her sense of what she found beautiful and elegant. "Do what she tells you... take off your dress, maybe she wants to see another of my designs."

"Oh, no, no costumes, the model must be natural." Said the Photo Finish assistant, who reached out to hear Rarity's comment.

"B-But then how is she going to do-" Rarity said confused, stopping abruptly to suddenly realize the truth as she spoke. "She... She's not interested in me... She's interested in... Fluttershy." Rarity said almost in a whisper as she felt her dreams break completely.

"Huh!?" Fluttershy said surprised and scared at what Rarity had just said. Feeling great sorrow at seeing the pain on Rarity's face. "T-That's not possible... I... I won’t continue with this."

"Don't!" Rarity shouted immediately, waking up and taking Fluttershy by the shoulders to stare at her. "Listen Fluttershy, this is a unique opportunity! You can become a great star, be famous! P-Please, don’t sacrifice this great opportunity because of me..." At that moment Rarity did everything possible to remove the grief and disappointment in her heart and spoke to her friend with a sincere smile. "I would feel even worse if you lose this opportunity because of me, do it for both of us! Become a star for both of us! I... I’ll be supporting you."

Fluttershy looked at her friend's sad eyes and couldn’t help but share that same grief she felt, as well as a great guilt, since after all, she had seen how excited Rarity had been for all that, and now, without even meaning to, she had taken away her dream. And not only that, but now Rarity is supporting her in that stolen dream! Her dear friend sincerely wanted her to continue with that and triumph in her place. That being said, what other options did Fluttershy have but to accept? Although she’d give everything to go from being with her animals to helping her friends, fame was something that she didn't want at all in her life.

"It's... It's okay if that’s what you want." Answered Fluttershy, smiling kindly at Rarity, determined to respond to the confidence that her friend was giving her.

The photo session began, with Fluttershy in the center of a small garden, while Photo Finish was facing her a few steps away, with her camera ready to work. While Rarity only managed to be with the assistance of the famous photographer, who were much further away from Fluttershy and Photo Finish.

Moments before Photo Finish began taking her photographs, Fluttershy thought that although the objective of all that had changed, because now she was not even wearing a beautiful dress from Rarity to exhibit, she thought that she could similarly show that the sense of Rarity's fashion and beauty was not bad at all, so Fluttershy decided that she would still follow her friend's advice on modeling, about being quiet and quiet as a mannequin while putting on an elegant pose and following every order that was given to her.

With this thought, Fluttershy began to pose for the camera, just like yesterday, however, also like the day before, this only discouraged the famous photographer.

"Ugh, what don’t you understand!? Do what you did yesterday!" Screamed Photo Finish, finally deciding to talk to the model, as it seemed that her initial assessment had been wrong and that yellow pegasus was really only a rookie in modeling.

"I... I do that..." Fluttershy said in a nervous voice, but without losing her elegant pose or serious look, determined to faithfully follow the advice Rarity had given her.

"What is this? It seems she really doesn’t understand... I want something more natural! A genuine reaction and emotion, a real-" Photo Finish thought, stopping her train of thought after remembering something that could help to repeat the magic that she had sporadically managed to capture in her camera that day.

At that moment Photo Finish raised her hoove and instantly, two of her assistants ran to where she was. Then the photographer whispered something to the both of them and suddenly the assistants ran at full speed towards the town.

A couple of minutes passed in which Fluttershy remained immobile maintaining the same pose, not knowing what to do, since Rarity had told her that a model should be silent unless given some instruction, however, in all that time, Photo Finish just sat there, waiting for something that only she seemed to know what it was.

Then, finally, the photographer's assistants returned, but not alone, they returned with a third pony. Rarity was the first to realize who this third-known pony was.

"Why did they bring Dusk Shine here!?" Rarity thought uneasily, slightly suspecting the reason for the lavender colt's presence there.

"Who’s in danger!?" Dusk Shine asked as soon as he arrived, looking around, but seeing that it seemed like everything was quiet, he turned to see Photo Finish assistants. "You said-"

"Of course there’s something in danger, my photo shoot!" Photo Finish said annoyed as if every word was lost time. "Now go up there with the model."

As soon as Fluttershy saw Dusk, she immediately lost her composure and stopped doing her elegant pose and returned to her shy posture.

"Perfect!" immediately said by Photo Finish, taking advantage of the fact that Fluttershy had finally returned to the innate shyness that she so much wanted to photograph.

Dusk was confused for a second, trying to understand what was happening. It seemed that no one was in danger and that it had only been an excuse to go there to be photographed along with Fluttershy for some reason, but why him? In addition, although he didn’t understand the whole environment, Dusk did know something, and that was that Fluttershy didn’t want to be with him, or at least that's what he thought.

"I... I don't think it's a good idea to stand next to her." Dusk said to the photographer.

"Why? Don't you want to help her have some good pictures? Don’t you want to help her be recognized and famous? I need to photograph you both together!" Asked Photo Finish, without taking her eye off the camera.

Dusk turned to see Fluttershy, who in vain was trying to make a pose while also trying to hide her face behind her mane at the same time to avoid looking at Dusk.

"The photographer wants me to be with Fluttershy. If I refuse, maybe she'll get angry and leave, I should do it, maybe... maybe this is the opportunity to talk to her..." Dusk thought, deciding to follow the photographer’s steps.

As Dusk approached, Fluttershy became weaker and weaker as she tried to keep the poses that Rarity had taught her. As he stood at her side, the only thing that Fluttershy could maintain was her gaze away from Dusk's, looking towards the horizon, not realizing that the rest of her body had lost its mettle and kept her typical shy stance.

"Fluttershy... Can we talk?" Dusk asked once he stood next to Fluttershy.

"Don't say anything." Fluttershy responded immediately, after looking askance at Rarity and swearing to herself again that she would not disappoint her, so she had to keep quiet, just as Rarity had taught her that she should make a good model. She had to overcome her nerves by being with Dusk at that precise moment, and for that, as much as she wanted to, she should not talk to him in the photo session.

"Oh... It's... It's okay... I'm sorry." Dusk answered with regret, feeling rejected and looking with sorrow to another side.

"Yes! That's right! Keep it up! Perfect!" Photo Finish said ecstatic, happy to finally be able to take the photos of Fluttershy on her most timid side; and even happier to see Dusk's reaction. That couple looked so naturally beautiful in their feelings that Photo Finish finally began to photograph the couple from different angles while they remained motionless in their own thoughts. "You will be the most famous couple of all Equestria! I can feel it! This will be sensational!"

"Couple? That would never happen, he hates me!" Fluttershy thought sadly when she heard Photo Finish's comment.

"Couple? That would never happen, she hates me!" Dusk thought sadly when he heard Photo Finish's comment.

"Couple? That... Will that be true?" Rarity thought nervously when she heard Photo Finish's comment.

Although Rarity had told Fluttershy to continue with the photo shoot for the two of them, the truth was that since the session had begun, she had begun to feel a great emptiness in her heart, which had grown when she saw that her friend was stealing her dream of being famous, and her dream of being a recognized couple in love with Dusk.

"They... they really look like a shy couple in love, they're not even able to look at each other in the eye or in front of the cameras, they are... two of a kind..." Rarity thought sadly as she saw her lover and her great friend shared that 'happy moment' together, not realizing how uncomfortable her two friends really felt at that precise moment.





"Your dress was very beautiful." Suddenly one of the assistants of Photo Finish said, who was standing next to Rarity.

"Huh? Oh, thank you..." Rarity answered a little surprised when she heard someone talking to her.

"It's a shame, actually the Madame had been interested in your designs, if it had not been for that model, you would be the one that would be photographed." The assistant added, trying to cheer up Rarity by revealing that truth to her.

"If it had not been for that model? Does that mean it was Fluttershy's fault? Did she do something wrong? Then why did they choose her over me? And if so... What if she did something wrong on purpose to take away my dream?" Rarity thought, misunderstanding what the assistant had just said, again thinking that Fluttershy could have intentionally sabotaged her, just as she had thought the day before. "N-No! That's ridiculous... I'm thinking too much... It's... It's ridiculous." Rarity discarded that crazy idea from her head again, however, unlike the yesterday, this time that thought was not something she could erase completely from err mind.

"Very well, enough of nature, let's continue with the photos in the studio, I need the right light for the next shots." Photo Finish suddenly said, keeping her camera and starting to walk towards the town, quickly followed by all her assistants.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked at the photographer and then turned to see Rarity, unsure of what to do.

"D-Don't worry... go with them, I'll be fine." Rarity said with a false smile, determined to trust her friend until the end.

Fluttershy stared at the floor for a few seconds, then sighed and finally followed Photo Finish group into town, with a fixed goal in mind: Don't disappoint Rarity!

While Fluttershy was leaving, Dusk took the advantage to quickly approach Rarity to clear the doubts that he still had.

"Rarity, what was all that about?" Dusk asked confused. "Why were they photographing Fluttershy? Why did they ask me to accompany her? And how come they’re not taking pictures of your dresses?"

"Well... It seems they’re more interested in Fluttershy..." Rarity said sadly, but she immediately realized that she shouldn’t be sad about that and put on a nervous smile. "B-But don't worry, I-I'm really glad that she's being valued... in my place..."

"Oh... I see..." Dusk said scratching his head, regretting that Rarity didn’t understood what he asked, but relieved to know that she was okay, without realizing the truth. "So... what should I do now? Should I follow Fluttershy to her photo shoot?"

That question from Dusk, made an idea come to Rarity's mind. She remained silent for a few seconds, not knowing whether to put that idea into motion or not, as she was afraid of the answer she might get, however, she finally summoned up enough courage and asked.

"Y-You know, I just remembered that I have another photo shoot somewhere else..." Rarity lied, glancing at Dusk with insecurity. "You... you could come with me, or maybe you... you prefer to go with Fluttershy. Whatever you choose will be fine for me..."

"Stay with me, please! I feel so sad and alone right now... Even if it's just this time, just this time! Choose me! Please choose me!" Rarity thought intensely at that very moment.

Before his decision that he was about to take, Dusk remained thoughtful for a second, immediately analyzing logically which was the best option. Dusk immediately prioritized that he still had to try to solve his problem with Fluttershy, although she didn’t want to talk to him, he should keep trying to solve that big problem. In addition, Fluttershy surely was not used to cameras as Rarity is, she would definitely know how to handle herself better in a photo session than Fluttershy, after all, Dusk always found Rarity’s great inner strength admirable in comparison to Fluttershy or any of his other friends.

"I think I'll go with Fluttershy if it's okay for you." Dusk said after arriving at a logical answer, without realizing the Rarity’s true feelings at that time.

"I-It's okay." Rarity said with her voice almost on the verge of breaking, doing her best to show a trembling smile as she felt the feeling of rejection once again, her heart broke.

That's how Dusk left to catch up with Fluttershy, not realizing that he not only has one problem, but now two. Two hearts about to break without the possibility of a solution.





The small Ponyville events room had been taken as the venue for Photo Finish’s photo shoot. And there, in the center of everything, were Dusk Shine and Fluttershy, surrounded by lights, in front of a white background, in front of the whole group of Photo Finish’s team, who remained behind the photographer as she quickly took picture after picture. Photos that in her opinion went perfect, since, in all that time, neither Dusk nor Fluttershy had even looked at each other, both seemed so shy and uncomfortable together that you could even feel it in the air, a feeling that Photo Finish enjoyed trying to translate it into her work.

From the beginning of the photo shoot, Dusk had waited until there was some sought of break time so he would not interrupt Fluttershy's work or ruin the photos, however, everything had happened too quickly. As soon as he arrived at the living room, the Photo Finish assistants made him go up against his will, and immediately put him on the spot next to Fluttershy, who, as in the whole morning, didn’t even look at him; and then of course there was a series of photos that had not stopped for a second, so Dusk could only stand there, uncomfortable, without even being able to talk to his friend to resolve the great misunderstanding that was between them.

Meanwhile, in Fluttershy's mind, everything was in chaos.

"This is the worst thing that’s happening to me! Photo Finish is forcing Dusk to pose with me, but I know he must be thinking about how bad it feels to be with a bad friend like me!" Fluttershy thought desolate, still thinking that she was a bad friend and that Dusk must hate her for that. "I don't want to be here, but what can I do? I promised Rarity!"

Every time Fluttershy looked melancholy, it was as if Photo Finish found gold in front of her, the photographs kept coming out and taking the best angle of that shy and melancholy pegasus. And in the opinion of the photographer, the male model was not left behind, because although she had initially brought him here to only bring out the feelings of the Pegasus, that lavender unicorn hasn’t even understood what his role was about, giving looks of bewilderment and he doubts that they fit perfectly with the eyes of the pegasus. Now Photo Finish was sure; those two ponies were exactly what she had been looking for! She already had the photos, and now it was time to take the next big step.

"I think I will make a fashion show, and it will be the best way to let the world know my two new diamonds in the rough." Photo Finish suddenly said, stopping her photo picking and turning to see her three assistants and point at each one of them. "You, interview the models, I need their stories for the magazine. You, bring me a coffee. And you, bring me a pencil and paper, I need to write a letter to Hoity Toity."

Instantly, Photo Finish’s assistants ran to do what they were told to do. One of the attendants immediately approached Dusk and began to ask several questions while writing down what he said carefully, all to the dismay of Dusk, who had waited for that little break to finally be able to talk to Fluttershy. On the other hand, this was the perfect opportunity for Fluttershy to finally be able to think about what to do to get out of this uncomfortable situation.

Fluttershy sighed and closed her eyes, trying to calm down for the first time today and tried to think about everything more clearly, however it was more difficult due to the noise of the room, since behind it was Dusk talking to one of the assistants, apparently talking about what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration; and on the other hand there was Photo Finish, who spoke quickly while dictating a letter to her assistant, something that Fluttershy unconsciously couldn’t stop paying attention to since they were talking about her.

"...I finally found that 'something special' I was looking for when coming to a small town like this." Photo Finish said, dictating the letter to her assistant. "These new models, you can almost see in the photographs their true feelings! They are so shy and uncomfortable together, but you can feel that there is something beyond that! Those feelings, I want to capture those true feelings! I'm tired of photographing the same false faces of those models of the capital..."

"Wait... Is that what you like, that I'm shy and uncomfortable with Dusk Shine?" Fluttershy thought surprised, finally realizing why Rarity's beautiful dress didn’t satisfy Photo Finish. "It's not that Rarity was wrong, it's just that Photo Finish wanted something different! She wanted somepony shy like me..."

Realizing that, Fluttershy sighed in relief that she could make Rarity feel better knowing that, but she became concerned, even more than before, to discover something else, something more problematic.

"This is bad! She wants to photograph somepony as shy as me, and I... I can't stop being what I am! What can I do? How can I stop her from admiring me so that she will finally leave me alone?" Fluttershy thought frightened, but immediately realized the obvious answer. "If she wants to photograph somepony who is really shy, then she'll hate to photograph somepony who does something daring, if I can do that, then she'll not want to photograph me anymore, and Rarity will not be mad at me for giving up." Fluttershy thought innocently.

Meanwhile…

"Fluttershy?" Dusk asked after the assistant stopped interviewing him; however, Fluttershy didn't seem to listen and continued with a face of absolute concentration.

"Wow... she’s really concentrating... Maybe while I wasn’t here Photo Finish gave her some instructions... Who would even say that she would like these kinds of things..." Dusk thought a bit surprised, determined to put more effort into the photographs to help Fluttershy and so she could forgive him for what he thought he had done wrong.

At the end of Dusk’s interview, the assistant of Photo Finish finished her notes and set out to interview Fluttershy. However, she was immediately stopped by her boss, who had already finished dictating the letter.

"We’ll continue with the interviews later, now let's continue with the photographs!" shouted Photo Finish, putting herself back behind her camera. "Let the magic begin again!"

While Photo Finish’s assistants ran to get in position and adjust the lights of the set, a shadow slipped behind the window of that room to secretly spy on that photo shoot. That mysterious shadow that had gone unnoticed was Rarity, who had done her best to resist going to observe the photoshoot Dusk and Fluttershy, but finally, her insecurities about what could happen between them led her to go after them and spy on them from a distance.

"I know it's not good to spy, but I... I need to know if there's really anything going on between them!" Rarity thought completely worried, afraid of what she might see there now that Fluttershy and Dusk thought she wasn't watching.

"Action!" Photo Finish shouted beginning to take photographs again.

Dusk Shine maintained the same pose he had been holding all this time, which in his opinion was not even a pose, since all he did was stand right there like a statue, uncomfortable, not knowing what to do more than just standing next to Fluttershy, thinking that she was mad at him. Meanwhile, Fluttershy also maintained her same shy initial pose, only this time she kept her eyes closed as she sighed to give herself value to what she was about to do.

"Be brave, be bold, that's what she doesn't want!" Fluttershy thought to give herself one last impulse of courage.

Suddenly Fluttershy left her shy look, turned, and looked with a flirtatious look at Dusk, who could not help but look into her eyes when he saw the sudden change of attitude. Then Fluttershy took Dusk hoof, made him turn around to face her, and then pulled him closer to her giving her a tight, tight hug, in which even she slightly raised one of her hind legs to entangle her's with Dusk's, and so that their hug would be even closer and romantic, all while Fluttershy's face was almost touching the surprised and blushed face of Dusk.

Before Fluttershy's surprising and daring move, everyone in the room stood still and silent, even Photo Finish, who had been taken completely by surprise.

"F-Fluttershy... W-What are you-" Dusk whispered totally nervous and blushing, not understanding what was happening. However, he wasn't able to finish his sentence as Fluttershy interrupted him.

"I must stand it... I must stand it..." Fluttershy whispered to herself, who kept her eyes closed as she felt how her cheeks were going to explode from how red they were from the embarrassment of what she was doing. All this had been done so that Photo Finish would stop being interested in her as a model, but that didn’t stop her from being dead from shame at that moment for what she had just done. "I must stand it... I must stand it..." Fluttershy kept repeating herself to give herself courage for playing Dusk Shine so daringly.

"Must you stand it?" Dusk thought to listen to what Fluttershy was saying. "Does she hate me so much that she can't stand being with me? Did Photo Finish tell her to do this and she's hugging me just because she was forced?" He finished thinking sad and confused, misinterpreting what Fluttershy repeated.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

"Brilliant! Splendid! Magnificent!" Photo Finish shouted fascinated, taking photos at full speed, since she didn't want to miss a second of that beautiful image that her models gave her, all to complete surprise of Fluttershy.

What Fluttershy had done had not been in the plans of the photographer, she had even been frightened for a second to see the sudden change in the attitude of her model, from a shy presence to a bold attitude, as planned by Fluttershy. But what the shy pegasus had not taken into consideration, was that even if she tried, she couldn't hide her true emotions, so after hugging Dusk closely, she could not help but close her eyes and blush, becoming the living image of shyness, purity, and innocence that a mare could show when hugging a colt, which of course immediately fascinated Photo Finish.

"No... It didn't turn out how it was supposed to..." Fluttershy thought disappointed and crestfallen, releasing Dusk from the embrace and looking with sadness and resignation towards the floor.

"I knew it... She can't stand even touching me... she only did it because they asked her to..." Dusk thought sadder than ever, realizing that apparently his friendship with Fluttershy definitely had no solution.

"It can't be..." Rarity thought aloud, without believing what she had just seen. She just confirmed it, Fluttershy had just lied to her, she wanted to be the model of Photo Finish, she enjoyed that, and mainly, she enjoyed modeling with Dusk, and not only that, she was taking advantage of that opportunity, that it must have been HER chance, to take advantage and flirted with Dusk Shine.

Rarity didn't know what to do. Her feelings were a mess. At that moment she felt anger, sadness, disappointment, betrayal, jealousy, so many negative feelings that the only thing she could do was to run from there to her house, running with a broken heart while the only thing she wanted at that moment of her life was to be alone after feeling that she had lost everything.

"Well, we finished today's session." Photo Finish said, guarding her camera while her assistants quickly disarmed the entire set.

"I'm leaving." Dusk said sadly as he began to make his way out, without even looking at Fluttershy, as he knew that she barely resisted being close to him.

"D-Dusk..." Fluttershy said weakly in an almost inaudible whisper, stretching her hoof to try to catch up with Dusk, but stopping immediately.

"I knew it... Now he hates me even more..." Fluttershy thought, lowering her head, almost to the brink of tears at the feeling that every second she was drifting more and more away from Dusk Shine.

# End of chapter 31
> Chapter 32 - I don't want it
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't want it

Rarity had spent a horrible night. It had already been two nights in a row, and she could barely sleep. As much as she was tried, every time she had gone to bed, the only thing that comes to mind was Dusk Shine and Fluttershy. Those two must’ve been enjoying their time together, laughing and flirting with each other, modeling for a famous and prestigious photographer while everyone told them what a beautiful couple they were, falling more and more in love with each other.

Those thoughts stalked her day and night, ever since she fled after seeing Fluttershy lovingly embracing Dusk Shine in the photo shoot. Rarity had spent almost two days in complete solitude confined in her own house. It didn’t help knowing that Sweetie Belle was out with their parents these days. The only company that the unicorn had those days was her cat, Opalescence, a small and plump cat with white fur that always accompanied her owner when she was feeling upset or ‘suffering’ for some reason, but those had mostly been sorrows of love.

"Meow!" shrieked Opalescence annoyingly loudly, running away from Rarity's embrace after her owner threw herself to hug her and squeeze her between her hooves just upon waking up, awakening the angry feline in the process.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Opal, it's just... I had a bad night again." Rarity said with a sad expression. "I guess I'm just a nuisance to you too..."

Opal just stared at her owner with a face of indifference, as if she was already tired of seeing her that depressed. Then the cat approached its owner slowly and bit one of its front legs.

"Ouch! That hurt." Rarity shouted, removing her the cat away from her hoof and began tending the small wound her pet had left her. Then both the owner and pet looked at each other for a few seconds.

"You're right! Enough of this self-pity, this is not me! I must leave my room and go on with my life!" Rarity said with conviction as if her cat had given her a tremendous psychic speech.

Determined to put aside the problems that plagued her, Rarity finally decided to fix herself and began to look as stunning as ever. She remembered that that day was the weekly breakfast with all her friends. It was the perfect opportunity to be able to get rid of all her problems with them, maybe even talk to Fluttershy herself about everything that had happened. After all, she had to have finished all that fuss over those photos long ago. Surely now the two of them could talk more privately about everything that happened.

With that in mind, Rarity arrived at the main hall, full of hope of having a great day. She looked at herself in one of the many mirrors in her room, smiled to give herself some confidence, and with a big smile, opened the door of her house after two days in solitude.

"It is time to stop thinking about things that may never have happened! I will not think about what happened with Fluttershy and Dusk Shine!" Rarity thought determinedly, taking the first step out of her house.

"Extra! Extra! Fluttershy and Dusk Shine, the couple of the year! Extra!" Suddenly a small foal shouted out Ponyville newspaper, throwing a copy to the legs of Rarity, whose cover featured Fluttershy and Dusk Shine next to Photo Finish, both posing in front of the cameras with their characteristic shy pose.

In just a second, Rarity's positive mood fell and crashed to the ground. She stared at the cover of the newspaper with a blank stare, as if she literally could not believe what she was seeing.

While Rarity was still perplexed by the newspaper, a shadow that passed through the sky distracted her. Then she looked up and saw Rainbow Dash flying over the village, with a large canvas of an image of Fluttershy drinking a well-known brand of Ponyville juice.

The white unicorn stared at the large canvas with her mouth open, and a stunned look as one of her eyes trembled.

"What in the world does all this mean!?" Rarity whispered as her feelings fought each other to see who was the strongest. And since her optimism and joy had vanished, the victor would’ve decided to bring out depression, but what filled her emotions the most at that moment were jealousy and anger.

With a look of deep annoyance, it was that finally Rarity continued her way towards the town. Annoyed after seeing that, contrary to what she expected, it seemed that the fame of Fluttershy had not disappeared in those days, and what’s worse, as Rarity went deeper into the town, she could see that the fame of Fluttershy not only was it ‘not over’, but the whole thing had shot to a whole new level.

On her way to the village market, Rarity had already been amazed to see several posters where Fluttershy appeared promoting different products, and even more to see that almost everyone in the town commented on the photo in the newspaper where the images of Fluttershy and Dusk appearing together, which seemed to have brought up a great rumor of the week in the town. However, nothing prepared Rarity for what she would see when she arrived at the market. Her mouth could not help but open in disbelief when she saw that each market business had an image of Fluttershy. It was as if she was the new emblem of the town. It even seemed that they were selling merchandise that only related to Fluttershy. They sold figurines of her, autographed photos, or fashion magazines where she appeared posing with Dusk Shine.

"It can't be..." Rarity said totally surprised as jealousy, added to the feelings of betrayal, began to boil inside her.

Rarity kept walking, distracting herself when she saw a small filly with a hairstyle like Fluttershy's saying 'I want to be like Fluttershy!' When suddenly she collided with someone.

"Ops, I'm sorry." Rarity said apologetically quickly.

"Hey, wait your turn!" Said the mare she had hit, annoyed with Rarity when she thought they wanted to take her place.

It was then that Rarity realized that she had collided with a row of ponies waiting in front of a small stand to buy what appeared to be a magazine. When not seeing well what it was, Rarity approached a little to the stand and saw that up there was a sign of what appeared to be the silhouettes of Dusk Shine and Fluttershy, and under this sign read: 'Flutter-Dusk, a story of forbidden love. '

"What..." Rarity whispered incredulously.

Then she quickly snatched a magazine from one of the mares that had just bought it and read it. To her total surprise, this was not a magazine, but a small comic where someone had drawn cartoons in the oriental style of Fluttershy and Dusk Shine.

'I ... love you, Dusk Senpai.' said the drawing of a shy Fluttershy.

'I love you too, Flutter-chan.' said Dusk's drawing with exceedingly large and bright eyes.

And then the drawing ended with both characters kissing each other romantically in front of a sunset...

"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!" Rarity shouted after flipping through the comic she had just taken.





"I know, they sell like hotcakes!" Lyra said suddenly, appearing from behind the stand, who apparently was the creator of that comic. "Who would say that Flutter and Dusk's ship would sell so well! There are some rather fiery scenes, but it's a comic book for people over 18 after all."

Then Rarity looked in puzzlement as all the mares around her chatted about Lyra's comic, including Bon Bon, who after her conversion with the group 'We Hated Dusk', read enthusiastically the love story written by her friend, just like that all the mares there, who argued animatedly about how romantic Dusk could be and how good Dusk and Fluttershy looked in the story.

"Ugh...! Enough!" Finally, Rarity shouted furiously, turning around and walking quickly to get away from everything finally.

"This is crazy, why are you all so obsessed with Fluttershy and Dusk Shine!?" Rarity thought annoyed as she made her way through the ponies of the place. All while her anger gave way to jealousy. "Why!? Why couldn’t it be me! I should never have asked Fluttershy to help me!"

Finally, after much walking and evading all the places that had an image of Fluttershy as much as possible, Rarity managed to reach her destination, the Ponyville Café. There, who were already waiting were Applejack and Rainbow Dash; however, there was no sign of the others.

"I'm sorry for being late." Rarity said when she arrived, breathing a couple of times before speaking, because at that time of the day, with everything that happened, she was already in a terrible mood and didn’t want to meet up with her friends.

"We already thought you would not arrive, besides neither Dusk nor Fluttershy nor Pinkie Pie have come, so it doesn’t matter." Applejack said greeting her friend.

"Well, the only mystery is why Pinkie Pie didn’t come, because it’s pretty obvious why Dusk and Fluttershy haven’t come." Rainbow Dash added, scratching her head. "Those two have become very famous, they appear everywhere, even a merchant paid me to fly around, advertising the image of Fluttershy! Can you believe it! However, I can’t complain, he paid me very well. So, I could buy breakfast!" Rainbow Dash finished saying with a smile and showing a small bag with many bits.

"Oh yes, on the farm we are also taking the image of Fluttershy in our baskets. In fact, sales have increased." Applejack said also smiling.

"Doesn't it bother you? We're her friends! Doing that is like... you all are working for her!" Rarity said annoyed as her jealousy prevented her from understanding why her friends were not angry too. "And... and what about Dusk, doesn’t it bother you that everypony thinks they're a couple! She's taking advantage of Dusk!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other and then began to laugh, at Rarity's perplexed gaze.

"What are you talking about? Surely they’re all just rumors, hahaha..." Rainbow Dash laughed. "You know, those fashion magazines love to make up rumors about others, and Fluttershy would never do anything like take advantage of Dusk."

"That's what they think, but they didn’t see what I saw." Rarity thought upset, remembering the bold embrace that Fluttershy gave Dusk. "The truth is that there is a great possibility that they really are a couple, and they don't even bother to keep it a secret! I'm not sure, or rather I don't want to believe it, but it seems more real to me every time!"

"Yeah, besides, the only thing we can do is be happy for her." Added Applejack with a friendly smile. "If she has become famous, we should support her, right?"

Rarity only bit her lip without answering. She wanted to think like her friends. In fact, she had been the first to support Fluttershy before all that happened, even though she was hurt because she was robbed of her dream, however, with everything she had seen and lived with, it was difficult for Rarity to put aside her jealousy and feelings of being betrayed.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Rarity saw a pony with a big hat approaching them, a hat that hid half her face and that was enough for any pony that saw her not to recognize her, however for her friends it was clear who it was when they saw the yellow hooves and the pink tail. It was the pony that caused all the commotion of those days.

"Fluttershy, why did she come with that hat? Is she hiding?" Rarity thought as she approached Fluttershy.

"Oh, look, it's Fluttershy, hello Fluttershy, we were just talking about you!" Rainbow Dash screamed at the top of her lungs as she realized who was coming.

Upon hearing the name ' Fluttershy,' everyone on the street turned and put their eyes on the famous yellow pegasus that was hidden under that enormous hat. Then a great commotion was heard in the distance, and a lot of photographers appeared running towards Fluttershy. Immediately the yellow pegasus ran to where her friends were while being chased by a mob of photographers, paparazzi, and fans who had joined the road to realize that the famous model Fluttershy was there.

Fluttershy reached to where her friends were in only a few seconds, arriving there completely exhausted while she had a face of total fear.

"Hel-!" Fluttershy said trying to ask for help when she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but seeing that Rarity was also there, she immediately fell silent.

"No! Rarity is here! She cannot listen to me for help! She can't know I hate this!" Fluttershy thought terrified, remembering the promise she had made to Rarity and the promise she had made to herself to never disappoint a friend again.

Then finally the tumult of photographers and paparazzi came to where Fluttershy was, where camera flashes were fired at every second while the journalists flooded questions to Fluttershy.

"What do you think of the fashion show that Photo Finish will do? Do you think that after this you will be ready for the big leagues of Canterlot modeling?" One of the journalists asked.

"Are the rumors of a romance with Dusk Shine true?" Another mare journalist asked.

"What do you think of your new life? Do you like to be a model?" A third journalist asked.

"I... I..." Fluttershy started stuttering, not knowing what to do or how to respond to so many questions and under such pressure. Then she glanced at Rarity, who was watching her intently and immediately decided to answer at least that last question. "Y-Yes, being a model is the best thing that has ever happened to me... I've always wanted this... it's... it's my dream, hehe." Fluttershy added with a nervous smile, trying to appear cheerful before the cameras and mainly before Rarity, to show her that she would not disappoint her and that she would fulfill the dream of being famous for both.

"Why do you have to come here and say all of that in front of me? Does she want to rub it in my face?" She stole my dream!" Rarity thought, reaching her peak of anger at that situation. Then she looked down and saw the cup of coffee that had been served as soon as she arrived at the Café, which she took abruptly and held as she looked at Fluttershy next to her, still surrounded by all the photographers. "It would be so easy... to throw this coffee in her mane to ruin her image and thus end her career!"

Rarity continued holding the coffee cup in her hoof, glaring at Fluttershy as she continued to talk about how magnificent life was after becoming a famous model. But just when her anger was at its height as she looked at Fluttershy, something prevented her from doing that terrible act she had proposed, and no matter how much anger prompted her to do so, there was something stronger that stopped Rarity's hoof from moving. It was friendship, the friendship forged by years of good and bad times that made it impossible for her to do such a terrible thing to her friend, despite how betrayed Rarity felt for Fluttershy's actions.

"W-What am I doing..." Rarity whispered, scared with herself for what she was about to do, slowly and tremblingly lowering her coffee cup.

"She is my friend. She is and always will be!" I myself gave my support and now... Now jealousy had almost seized me!" Rarity thought with a face of pain as her generous and kind spirit finally returned to her. "I... I'm the worst friend in the world... A true friend would never do anything to humiliate a friend."

Finally, Fluttershy left the Café, although the journalists and paparazzi were the ones who were slowly pushing Fluttershy out of the Café while they kept asking her questions and the fans kept pushing to approach her.

"Wow... That was short. We couldn’t even talk to her... Well, I guess that's the way fame is." Rainbow Dash said after all the tumult that Fluttershy had brought along with her. "Well, I have to go back to work. See you!" Rainbow Dash finished saying before flying off without further ado.

"Yeah, I think I'm leaving too." Applejack said also getting up from her chair. "I hope that we can all have breakfast together again soon."

It was so that at the table remained Rarity, who stayed seated like a statue while in her mind she continued tormenting herself for what she was about to do.

"Psst!" a pony said suddenly, coming over to sit next to Rarity. The stranger was dressed in a dark cloak, and his face was covered by a thick black beard and mustache.

Rarity came out of her thoughts at the noise and was immediately startled to see that stranger sitting next to her. She immediately thought about getting out of there, thinking that maybe that colt could be some pervert hiding something behind that cloak, but stopped astonished to see the eyes of that colt, beautiful purple eyes.

"Hehe, I told you that the spell of the mustache would be useful at some point!" The unknown colt speaking with a familiar voice, winking at Rarity to confirm his identity.

"Dusk!?" Rarity shouted surprised, something that Dusk immediately prevented, putting a hoof on her mouth so she would not scream.

"Shh! not so loud, can't you see I'm incognito?" Dusk said a little nervous, looking everywhere. "It was the only way to be able to walk through the town without being harassed by the paparazzi."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rarity said with a look of pity. "I guess it must be horrible to be harassed by all those photographers, although... it seems that Fluttershy enjoyed it." Rarity added sadly resting her head on the table, unable to avoid thinking that she would like to be in Dusk and Fluttershy’s place.

"Well, I don't know if Fluttershy actually enjoys it... The truth is that we haven’t had many opportunities to talk..." Dusk said also getting a little sad, remembering how in those days everything had been so crazy and that he only had to endure being a model to help Fluttershy, who still didn’t even look at him. Which made Dusk even sadder than he expected, so he shook his head and tried to think of something else. "By the way, where are the others? Did I arrive too late for breakfast?"

"Yes... They left a few moments ago, but don't worry, we all understand that you and Fluttershy were very busy to join us..." Rarity said, still with her head on the table, already so sad that she couldn’t even put a false smile. "Enjoying the fame and recognition of the whole world... It's a shame."

"Rarity... Did something happen to you?" Dusk said finally realizing that something bad was happening with his friend. "I'm not sure, but you seem sad." Dusk said, risking to say that since it was hard for someone as direct as himself to recognize the feelings of others, especially when they tried to hide them.

Rarity looked at Dusk for a long moment. She didn't want to say what she thought since she knew that Dusk might think she was a lousy friend, but she also realized that all those accumulated negative feelings were poisoning her inside, so she finally gave a big sigh and took a chance to tell Dusk the truth.

"Dusk... Can I tell you a secret?" Rarity said with a sad look. Then she remembered that there was still the possibility that Dusk and Fluttershy were a couple in secret. "Just... Just swear that you will not tell Fluttershy, a pinkie promise!"

"A pinkie what?" Dusk asked, thinking that he had heard wrong.

"A pinkie promise!" Pinkie Pie said appearing out of nowhere from under the table, causing Rarity and Dusk Shine to jump out of fright. "Or you can also call it The Pinkie Pie Oath. I invented it myself!"

"P-Pinkie, where did you come from?" Dusk asked totally surprised.

"Oh, I was just following you in secret." Pinkie Pie answered with a big smile. "When I was on my way to breakfast, I saw that you were coming in disguise, so I started following you, it's fun to play spies with the four of us together!"

"Four?" Rarity asked confused.

Then Pinkie Pie put her hoof in a bush that was there next and from there pulled an astonished Spike.

"I found you!" Pinkie Pie said, thinking that all this was a game.

"I-I wasn’t spying on anyone! Especially Rarity!" Spike said totally blushed after Pinkie Pie discovered him.

After Spike was left on the ground, and Dusk decided to again, ignore the follies of Pinkie Pie, the lavender unicorn returned to the central theme.

"So... What is a pinkie promise?" Dusk asked again.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie Pie said while with her right hoof she drew a cross on her chest and then with her left hoof touched one of her eyes. "It's a promise, a super promise! And you have to fulfill it foreeeever..." Pinkie Pie added bringing her face to Dusk's with a menacing look.

Dusk looked at Pinkie Pie confused, then looked at Rarity, who just nodded. Then, despite the absurdity that it seemed to be; Dusk decided to do it since it seemed like his friends really valued that strange gesture.

"Ufff... It's okay, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I swear I will not tell anypony anything you tell me." Dusk Shine said doing the same thing Pinkie Pie performed, all while behind him Pinkie Pie and Spike also did.

Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie and Spike with slight fear, since she had only wanted to tell her secret to Dusk, but finally decided that there wouldn’t be any problem in telling them as well.

"It's okay..." Rarity said breathing deeply and looking at her friends with a big worried face. "I... I'm jealous of Fluttershy! I hate that she's a famous model and that everypony loves her for that!"

"What!? B-But I thought you asked for it?" Dusk asked confused.

"I know, and that's the worst!" Rarity answered with a desperate look. "I know I should support her for being her friend, but I can't help feeling jealous of her fame and feeling betrayed at the same time, I know that she may have not ruined my chance to be famous on purpose, but I can’t shake the thought out of my head that she did! It hurts me to distrust her, and I hate myself for feeling all this bitterness!"

Dusk couldn't help feeling sorry for his friend to see her so confused and hurt. It seemed that she really was suffering from all that.

"Rarity, I-" Dusk said slowly before being interrupted.

"Isn’t that Dusk Shine?" Suddenly said a paparazzi who was passing by.

"Yes, it's him!" Another paparazzi shouted, as soon as he heard the name 'Dusk Shine,' he appeared next to another tumult of photographers. "Tell us, when is your next photo shoot with Fluttershy? Is it true about your romance? Is it true that you will soon get married?" the paparazzi began to ask as they ran towards Dusk.

"Oops, time to disappear." Dusk said scared to see the herd of paparazzi’s that he had been avoiding since he had become a celebrity. Then he shone his horn and with a strong 'Puff!' He disappeared using his teleportation.

"He ran away again!" Said one of the paparazzi. "Although I think it's cute to escape from the cameras, he's as shy as Fluttershy! They really make the perfect match!"

"Where did you hear that they will get married?" Another paparazzi asked his colleague.

"Oh, it's a very good source. It seems that the relationship of those two lovers is very serious." The paparazzi answered while he and the others left the place.

While the Café returned to its usual tranquility, only Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike remained, watching the photographers retreat from there.

"Pfft! Did you hear that? Hahaha, they think Dusk is going to marry Fluttershy! Isn’t that hilarious?" Pinkie Pie laughed, elbowing Rarity and Spike.

The baby dragon laughed with alongside his pink friend, but Rarity didn't, her confused and tormented mind already began to distrust everything and everyone, and those absurd rumors were earning a place in the mind of the unicorn, after everything, if everyone in town said that Dusk and Fluttershy were already a couple, maybe it was not entirely false after all...





The photo session that day was particularly chaotic, all the press of entertainment was just outside the provisional photo room of Photo Finish, all wanting to capture some photos of the proclaimed new sensation couple, which in the words of the very same Photo Finish , would be the most famous pair of models of all Equestria, and the press of course, just lacked the words of someone as famous as the photographer, so they all immediately pointed their camera’s to the cute but nervous model called Fluttershy, and her gallant but shy partner called Dusk Shine.

Fluttershy had arrived at the studio only a few minutes ago, after answering many questions from the journalists and repeating again and again how great it was to be a model, finally she managed to get the paparazzi to let her into the studio, which seemed to be the only place where she could now be calm, or as quiet as she could be without the harassment of photographers, but Photo Finish and her assistants were there.

"I can't do this anymore!" Fluttershy thought as she got rid of the paparazzi. "I haven't been able to get together with Rarity or the others for days, and when I finally managed to sneak away, they caught me before I could even say hello to my friends!"

"There’s my star! Where did you go? We have to keep taking pictures for all the newspapers and magazines in Equestria!" Photo Finish said approaching her star model with a big smile and pointing to the windows of the studio, where the paparazzi crowded to try and take pictures. "What do you think?" In just a few days all the journalists from this town and the nearby towns became interested in my photos and my new models, and now, this is just the beginning! Those ponies out there are journalists from the capital. When my photos reach the newspapers and magazines of Canterlot, you will become the most popular model in the whole kingdom!"

"I... I don't know if I want to be so... famous." Fluttershy said in a low voice, unable to avoid saying what she thought when she saw all the plans that Photo Finish had.

"Nonsense, who wouldn’t want to be famous and admired? You don't know how many mares would kill for being in your place, and the many colts that would do anything to be in Dusk Shine’s place." Photo Finish said, who reached out to listen to Fluttershy. "And by the way, speaking of Dusk Shine, there's something I want to ask you, taking advantage of the fact that he's not here."

Then Photo Finish ducked a little so that only Fluttershy could hear her.

"That hug you did a couple of days ago was incredible." Photo Finish said excitedly, speaking to Fluttershy in a low voice as she blushed when she remembered that. "I wish you could do something similar this time, maybe even kiss him, but he mustn’t know, he has to be as oblivious as he was that time! I want to capture the surprise and confusion on his face! I want to catch that innocent reaction with the lens of my camera!"

"WHAT!? I... I couldn’t!" Fluttershy said loudly, totally surprised and flushed by what Photo Finish was asking of her. She immediately began to remember the time she hugged Dusk in front of the cameras and how Dusk had not even dared to look at her after that. "I... The last thing I want is to do something like that hug again, if possible, I don’t even want to be near Dusk Shine, that... that would be the best thing."

"I already done enough to him to think that I’m a bad friend, but after a kiss and another hug, he will think I’m a daring cheeky mare!" Fluttershy thought terrified.

"Oh, Dusk, it's a good thing you came in. Hurry! Makeup!" shouted Photo Finish without being able to hear everything Fluttershy had said, as she immediately paid attention to her male model, who had literally appeared magically right in the room.

Who managed to hear everything that Fluttershy had said, was the same Dusk Shine, who appeared with his teleportation only a few steps behind Fluttershy, who was unaware of his presence.

Upon hearing the name ‘Dusk Shine’, Fluttershy, by inertia, turned to see him, but all she saw was him avoiding her gaze.

"I knew it, he still doesn't want to look at me... he still... hates me." Fluttershy thought to turn around again, with a sad look at her face, which had been endured for days, the pain of seeing her lover rejecting her, was almost ready to explode, not being able to support it more.

"I knew it, I knew it, I always knew it, but for the first time... I heard it right from her own mouth..." Dusk Shine thought at the same time as Photo Finish’s assistants ran to go get the make-up. "She’s only doing this for the photos, but she... She loves me as far as possible! I... I knew it, but still... it hurts so much to hear her say that..."

Finally, the photo session began, and both models went to the center of the set. Fluttershy had her usual melancholy look and shy posture, and Dusk Shine looked different from how he had been all those days.

Dusk Shine always had a confused, uncomfortable look, but it seemed that after listening to what Fluttershy had just said, he now had a more distant and muted look, as if he had suffered the loss of very valuable possession. Photo Finish immediately realized that the look of her model was different, they were definitely true feelings, but it was such a sad and muted look that the photographer didn’t like to take those images, so she made both Fluttershy and Dusk continually change their poses to see if Dusk's gaze regained his natural look.

"I can't stand it anymore..." Dusk Shine whispered involuntarily in a moment, while he and Fluttershy were still trying to maintain a new pose. While Dusk obeyed the indications of Photo Finish literally, in his mind, the only thing he thought about was that he couldn’t bear to be in that nefarious situation, in which Fluttershy was tired of standing next to him and that she only did it for her work.

Fluttershy's heart almost stopped when she heard Dusk, hearing him say that he could barely stand to be here with her.

"No... How did we get to this?" Fluttershy thought as her emotions grew stronger and finally surfaced. "We were friends. How did it all end so badly? Every day is worse! Every day we get farther away! I... I...!"

"Sniff! Hah... Sniff! Snif ...!" Fluttershy began to sigh quickly without being able to stand his repressed emotions, trying in vain to repress her lips from tightening while also shrinking slightly and sheding tears from her sad and innocent eyes.

"Recess! Ten minutes of recess! Everypony out!" Photo Finish screamed, becoming scared after immediately seeing her model in that mood, pushing her assistants into another room, so that they would not see Fluttershy, and so the model image she was trying to create wouldn’t be destroyed.

All who was left in the main room, on the photographic set, were only Fluttershy and Dusk: The yellow pegasus that couldn’t help but cry when finally overflowing all the feelings that had accumulated, and the lavender unicorn whose eyes came back to life and stayed stunned to see her friend crying like that.

"F-Fluttershy... What's wrong with you?" Dusk said with his heart hurt seeing the way Fluttershy was and believing to know the reason for that. "I know you don't want to be with me, but... Why do you hate me so much?"

"I... Sniff! I don't hate you... You hate me... Sniff! Ah..." Fluttershy said in vain trying not to cry. Then she looked Dusk in the eyes and decided that nothing mattered anymore and she threw herself towards Dusk and hugged him tightly while crying. "Please forgive me! I didn't want to be a bad friend! I didn't want to! Sniff! If I had known about the Ursa, I would’ve gone. I swear it's the truth! It doesn't matter if something had happened to me. I would’ve been with you! Please, don't stop being my friend! Don't leave me!"

Dusk heard the cry of Fluttershy totally surprised, first by the surprise explosion of emotions of the Pegasus, and second and most important, by the new and vital revelation.

"Forgive you why!?" Dusk asked confused as his quick mind worked to tie loose ends. "Wait a second... Do you think I'm angry because you weren’t there for the Ursa attack?

"It was so selfish of me! Ah... Sniff! You almost died, and I was just hiding in my house!" Fluttershy continued crying with her head stuck in Dusk Shine's chest.

"Fluttershy, I would never get mad at something like that!" Dusk said grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders so that she would not bury her head in his chest and thus being able to look her in the eyes, not being able to avoid smiling when realizing that it seemed that she did not hate him at all. "I... I thought you were angry about the dragon and... about the kiss."

Upon hearing what Dusk said, Fluttershy looked at him in surprise and then lowered her head again as her face turned completely red.

"W-Why would you think I'm angry about that?" Fluttershy said in a weak voice, not being able to look at Dusk for shame.

"W-Well..." Dusk said nervously, this time being he who was blushing. "I-I thought you thought I... abused you..."

"Uh!?" Fluttershy answered surprised and confused. "B-But it was me who k-k-kissed you..." Finished saying Fluttershy, ceasing to embrace Dusk and looking at the floor totally ashamed.

"Y-Yeah, well, you know... I... I'm a colt, and... and I could have stopped you..." Dusk said as he looked down at the floor, very embarrassed.

So it was that both ponies stared at the floor for a few seconds, without anyone talking, then both looked at each other, and couldn’t help but laugh after finally feeling that great weight they had loaded on themselves during all those days had vanished .

"Haha, I can't believe it, then all this was just a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!" Dusk laughed, enormously happy to realize that his friendship with Fluttershy was as strong or stronger than before.

"Hehe, it looks like that." Fluttershy laughed tenderly.

"This is a relief. If it were not for this modeling craze we can barely talk about, perhaps we would have solved this much sooner." Dusk said with a smile, then he immediately covered his frightened mouth, realizing what he had said. "Sorry, I didn't mean that modeling was crazy."

"Oh, it's okay. I think it's crazy too." Fluttershy said with a somewhat nervous smile.

"You too? But... I thought you liked it." Dusk asked confused.

At that moment Fluttershy put back a discomfort face and remained silent for a while, biting her lip and looking at the floor with a look of indecision.

"Dusk... Could you keep a secret?" Fluttershy said timidly.

"Sure, no problem." Dusk responded immediately.

"With a pinkie promise?" Fluttershy asked with fear.

"What? Oh, that again..." Dusk said recalling his conversation with Rarity. "Okay, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Dusk said, mimicking the words Pinkie Pie had taught him.

"Okay..." Fluttershy said with a long sigh before finally venting what she felt and thought about her work. "The truth is that I... hate to model, I hate all this! Fame and photographers, I can't stand them anymore."

"What!?" Dusk said totally surprised. "T-Then why are you doing it?"

"Because I promised Rarity!" Answered Fluttershy desperately. "She trusts me, she wants me to succeed for the both of us, she supports me so much... I can't disappoint her!"

Upon hearing that, Dusk couldn't help but smile and hit his head with a hoof when he realized how absurd the whole situation was.

"And the misunderstandings continue... If only we had been more open to telling each other face to face the things we felt... Definitely, this wouldn’t have happened if Applejack was here!" Dusk Shine thought, still smiling.

"Fluttershy, this is all a misunderstanding!" Dusk said smiling at Fluttershy and approaching him. "You see, just a little while ago Rarity told me-"

"Flying kick!" Pinkie Pie yelled out of nowhere and hit Dusk in the back with a flying kick.

"Waaah! Ouch! What... What was that!" Dusk shouted after falling for the surprising kick of Pinkie Pie, knocking down in the process the lighting set beside where he was standing. "Pinkie Pie, where did you come from... and why did you kick me!?"

"The pinkie promises cannot break!" Pinkie Pie said with a stern look, then turned and looked at Fluttershy with a smile. "Hi Fluttershy, how are you?"

"Hey! Don’t go acting like nothing happened!" Dusk yelled annoyed.

"Oh Dusk, you must never break a pinkie promise, never, ever." Fluttershy said, drawing a cross on her chest while Pinkie Pie nodded.

"What is all this scandal!?" Photo Finish shouted going back to the main room when she heard all that noise. "And who are you?"

"Somepony who is already leaving!" Dusk said annoyed, pushing Pinkie Pie to the door, opening it and pushing his crazy friend towards the paparazzi who were still huddled at the door.

"I have enough problems with Rarity and Fluttershy, what I don’t need is Pinkie Pie kicking me out of nowhere!" Dusk thought totally annoyed with the sudden kick he had received.

"Well, it seems that everything is in order. Let's start!" Photo Finish shouted so her assistants would run and re-order the set of photographs before continuing.

"How is it that Pinkie Pie manages to appear out of nowhere?" Dusk said when he returned to Fluttershy. "Well, now that I've made sure it's not close, I need to tell you-"

"Dusk." Fluttershy said interrupting Dusk and putting a hoof over his mouth. "If you swore not to tell something and you made a pinkie promise, don't tell me, it's not right."

Dusk looked at Fluttershy confused as he debated what he should do. Finally Dusk chose to continue keeping the secret of Rarity.

"Okay..." Dusk Shine finally said, a little frustrated. "Although this could be solved much easier if I could say it all..." He added in a whisper to himself.

While the Photo Finish assistants finished preparing the set of photographs, Dusk and Fluttershy continued talking about what she had promised Rarity and how she really hated to pose as a model.

"How about you get fired, you know, doing the instructions that Photo Finish asks you wrong," Dusk said after thinking of some solution so that Fluttershy could escape all of this without her necessarily breaking the promise she made to Rarity. "So Rarity will not bother you for resigning."

"That would be like cheating, besides... I already tried." Fluttershy replied, blushing. "That day I hugged you, I did it because Photo Finish wanted to see my shy side. I decided to do the opposite and be daring. It didn’t work, in fact, it made it worse!"

"Hmm... maybe being daring is not what you need to show." Dusk said after thinking for a while. "Maybe you have to go further, be aggressive! If Photo Finish is looking for your tender side, get angry, scream and show your violent side!"

"My violent side?" Fluttershy repeated, lowering her gaze and then trying to glare. "That's OK?"

"It's a start... I guess." Dusk said after thinking that Fluttershy's gaze was still too sweet and innocent. "Now try to get mad more. Shout at me!"

Fluttershy looked at Dusk with a false look of anger, took all the air she could and prepared to scream. However, the only thing she ended up doing was letting go of the air and looking down in shame.

"I... I’m embarrassed... there are so many ponies present..." Fluttershy said returning to her classic attitude.

"It's not hard, just pretend that you got mad for everypony to hear, look... I don't want to see you anymore! I'm sick of you!" Dusk yelled, taking a more serious look and standing firmly in front of Fluttershy. "See? Now try it." Dusk added, returning to his kind voice.

"Umm... I... I don't want to see you any... more...?" Fluttershy repeated in vain trying to put the same firm tone of voice that Dusk, but only managed to whisper weakly what she wanted to say.

"Come on, stronger!" Dusk shouted for Fluttershy to imitate his tone of voice.

"Everything ready! Let's continue!" Photo Finish shouted, who didn’t seem to notice the small talk her models had and only got behind the camera as soon as her assistants finished fixing the photography set.

The next thing that happened was that the photo shoot continued, without Fluttershy getting any of her courage to scream in front of everyone. Dusk, after thinking about the situation a little longer, decided to desist from that idea.

"This reminds me of when Fluttershy tried to act like the other girls in the library..." Dusk thought remembering that occasion. "That was a disaster. It was very difficult for her to stop acting as she always does. Maybe acting aggressively is not the best option for her..."

Finally, the photo session ended when the sun went down, and finally Dusk and Fluttershy reached the agreement that it would be best to rest and think of some other solution the next day. Thus, both ponies returned to their homes, without the slightest idea that the next day would be even more chaotic than the last.





The morning came and Dusk quietly came from his room to the main hall of the library, ready to start a good day, determined to somehow solve the problem between Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Good morning Dusk." greeted Spike, who was already in the main room, with a broom in his hands. Then he turned to look at the door and gave a serious look as he picked up the broom, ready to attack. "It seems that they didn't come today."

"So it seems." Dusk responded, understanding immediately why his brother was in that position. "Maybe today there is no photo shoot."

For two days since dawn, the assistants of Photo Finish sneaked into his house and took Dusk out of bed, abruptly waking him up to take him as fast as possible to the photo sessions. However, today they didn’t.

"By the way, I'm leaving, I have some important issues to attend to." Dusk said approaching Spike and pointing to a lot of what appeared to be magazines. "Please order that in the library while I get ready."

"Okay." responded Spike, who approached what seemed to be magazines, only then the dragon realized that it was a comic, curiously titled 'Flutter-Dusk, a story of forbidden love.' Immediately Spike flipped through the comic, and his ears immediately went red when he saw a rather suggestive drawing of two ponies he knew well. "D-Dusk... H-Have you read this? D-Do you really want me to keep it in the library?" Spike asked totally blushed.

"Of course! Well, I haven't read it, you know I don't like comics." Dusk answered from the bathroom, without giving much importance to what he asked Spike. "Several mares asked to keep some copies in the library, it seems that it is from an artist of the town, and I thought it would be good to promote the local arts in the library."

While Dusk was talking, Spike continued to read the comic, already passing the initial shame and now being very interested in the story.

"Well, I'm leaving. See you later." Dusk Shine said goodbye, leaving the library while his brother was still immersed in that comic.

As soon as Dusk went through the door, he was instantly blinded by a dozen flashes.

"Is it true that you broke!? How does it feel to break the heart of the most famous model of the moment!? Does this mean you have a new lover!?" There were just some questions that the paparazzi shouted, surrounding Dusk just as soon as he left the library.

"Hey, wait a second. Uh? Wait. What are you saying?" Dusk said confused, with difficulty speaking as the paparazzi piled up, pushing him to try to get an answer.

Seeing that no one will answer and that they would just continue to ask question after question, Dusk used the same escape method he had used all those days and teleported away from there.

"Phew, finally some peace and quiet..." Dusk said, reappearing closer to the center of town. "What were all those questions that they were asking me...?"

Dusk immediately remembered something, and crouched in fright, looking in all directions, remembering that when he had done that method yesterday, fans appeared out of nowhere, swarming around him to ask for an autograph. However, to Dusk's surprise, this time nobody seemed to approach. Instead, Dusk could see how almost everyone in town read the newspaper of the day, while the few who had noticed the presence of Dusk, muttered among themselves as they pointed.

"What is happening?" Dusk thought fearfully, anticipating that all that sudden change in his situation could not have been better.

Surprisingly, a gust of wind caused a newspaper to fly and hit Dusk's face, which gave the unicorn the opportunity to know why everyone was reading it so intently:

"The break of the century!

The greatest love story ever told seems to have reached an early end.

Yesterday afternoon our sources indicate that the new top model Fluttershy started crying out of nowhere while with her boyfriend, Dusk Shine, who watched her with indifference. It was so that the star photographer Photo Finish decided to give them a moment alone. However, that small moment alone seems as though it wasn’t enough to repair the love between these two. The next thing that was known was that a strange mare appeared in the place, which made Dusk Shine very angry. Would they have surprised him? Was she her secret lover? Was that why the innocent Fluttershy cried? The only certain thing is that after the photo session continued, but not before the cruel Dusk Shine yelled again and again to his shy partner.

Is this the end of the fairy tale couple? It seems that the answer is yes, because if it were a fairy tale, Fluttershy would be beautiful and kind mare, and Dusk Shine, the cruel and terrible beast."

And under all that story, appeared a photo of the previous day, captured just as Dusk yelled at Fluttershy to teach her to be more aggressive...

"What the hay does this mean!?" Dusk screamed after reading that ridiculous article in which the tabloid press left him as an insensitive monster that had broken Fluttershy's heart.

With the scream he had just given, Dusk immediately felt the gazes of everyone around him on him. Without thinking twice, Dusk quickly teleported from there, not wanting to attract more attention, and he was determined to fix that new misunderstanding, after all, after his reputation in the town finally settled completely after the incident with Trixie. He could not let another silly invention of the celebrity press ruin his image again.

With a great flash, Dusk appeared on the outskirts of town, having remembered that Photo Finish had mentioned that on that day they would take some pictures of the outdoors. As soon as he appeared, Dusk immediately hid behind a tree to see what was there.

Sure enough, there was Fluttershy and Photo Finish with her assistants, but what impressed and scared Dusk immediately was seeing the huge amount of paparazzi there, many more than there had been the last number of days.

After briefly analyzing the situation, Dusk used his magic to put on the same costume with which he had managed to pass unnoticed before, making a cape, a hat, and a large mustache appear on him. That's how Dusk approached cautiously there, knowing he could complicate everything if the paparazzi saw him in person.

"Look how brave! Keep working even though you heart is broken. She's a professional!" One of the paparazzi said while taking photos away from Fluttershy's photoshoot.

"Yes, shout to a pony who’s so cute and shy... Who would’ve known that Dusk would be so cruel." Another paparazzi said taking notes of everything Fluttershy did. Comments that multiplied among the paparazzi and that Dusk couldn’t help but hear while approaching, like another pony, who smiled when she heard them.

"What a great tragedy! What a great tragedy! Our poor star model has her heart broken!" Photo Finish theatrically said looking at the paparazzi. "But this will only make her stronger, now more than ever, she will shine, she has the firm conviction of becoming the new star model superstar of Equestria! And she will show it this afternoon in the great fashion show that I have organized!"

After Photo Finish’s comment on the situation, the paparazzi applauded while others began to take even more photos and write new notes to send to their respective magazines and newspapers.

While that was happening and the paparazzi were distracted, Dusk watched as Fluttershy approached Photo Finish quickly with a worried look. Dusk immediately sharpened his ears and eyes to try to listen and understand what they were talking about.

"Don't worry, this is a great opportunity, a sweet mare with a broken heart, now you are even more famous; it's just what we needed!" is was what Dusk was able to hear from Photo Finish whispers. "Do you want to be the most famous model of all Equestria? Then pay attention and listen to me; let's take advantage of these rumors. Dusk Shine is a strong colt, he will most definitely be fine."

Upon hearing that Photo Finish mentioned being the most famous model of all Equestria, she stopped looking at Photo Finish and bit her lip with an uncertain look. Dusk immediately knew what must be going through his friend's mind.

"She must be thinking about the promise she made to Rarity... Ugh, if only she knew the truth, all this would be over!" Dusk thought worried and upset with everything that was happening. "Now I can't even get close to Fluttershy, I have to solve this now, and if I can't talk to Fluttershy, then I'll have to go talk to the other side of the problem."

Then Dusk again used his teleportation, this time appearing right in front of the door of Rarity's house.

"Who can that be-?" Rarity said when she heard a noise in front of the door of her boutique, without having time to finish her sentence, as the door opened unexpectedly and was passed by Dusk Shine, who quickly entered her home. "Dusk, is something happening?" Rarity asked worriedly noticing that Dusk must be upset by something since normally he always knocked on the door before entering.

"Rarity, we need to talk." Dusk said with a serious look. Then he looked around as if he were checking that there was no one else there. "You're alone, right?"

"Yes, but why do you ask-?" Rarity answered, again without finishing her sentence, since as soon as she said yes, Dusk quickly approached a window, looked out, and then closed the curtain, something he did repeatedly in each window of the boutique.

"What's wrong with him? He looks very nervous ... Wait! What if it's true! If what the newspapers say is true... What if he really was in a relationship with Fluttershy and now they broke? That would explain why he looks so nervous." Rarity thought with a nervous look, full of worry.

For a few days, Rarity's insecurities had only grown and grown, so much so that the doubts she had towards Dusk and Fluttershy were no longer worries, now her mind was making bad moves and she couldn’t stop thinking about how Fluttershy could have cheated on her and how she and Dusk must’ve been together in secret. All this added to the insidious articles that came out in fashion magazines, pink press articles that she had always read and believed sacredly, a bad habit rooted in her since she had read her first fashion magazine.

"It seems she's not here... It's now or never!" Dusk thought nervously, thinking of a particular pink pony while making an important decision. "I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but if I don't, my friends' friendship could be broken forever!"

After finally closing all the curtains, Dusk took Rarity from a hoof and took her to a table, where they both sat facing each other.

"Rarity, listen, there's something very important that you should know," Dusk said, whispering, then he pointed to Rarity to come closer, so much that Dusk's mouth was almost touching Rarity's ear. "The truth is that Fluttershy-"

"SHORYUKEN!" Pinkie Pie yelled surprisingly from under the table, wearing a red wrestling belt over her head, throwing a strong uppercut punch that hit Dusk Shine's mouth squarely. "PINKIE PROMISE!"





"OUCH...! Pinkie! Where did you…? How did you...! Why in the mouth!?" Dusk shouted annoyed, rubbing his sore mouth while he was trying to figure out if he was angry about being hit again, or surprised as to how Pinkie Pie appeared from under the table.

"I'm sorry for the blow. I'll compensate you in the future, but remember, the pinkie promises never break!" Pinkie Pie said annoyed, then looked at Rarity and smiled. "Hi Rarity! La~la-la~la-la~" Pinkie added, singing as she jumped and quietly left the boutique as if everything that happened was the most normal thing in the world.

"And now she's leaving as if nothing ever happened... Typical of her!" Dusk Shine said frustrated and annoyed by the blow that was received, not only to his mouth but to his pride, since only a few seconds ago he was sure that Pinkie Pie was not close and that he would finally be able to tell the secret and solve the whole misunderstanding. 

"Dusk! You should never break a pinkie pro-" Rarity said, worried before being interrupted again.

"I know, I know..." Dusk said angrily, thinking that the solution to all problems was within reach of his hoof, and even then, he couldn’t reach it.

"And there it goes again, how many times have you interrupted me already? Is it because you don’t like having a talk with me!?" Rarity thought frustrated at being interrupted again. "I know he's angry, but being angry about the problems he has with Fluttershy is not an excuse to get mad at me."

"I know that a promise should never be broken, but if breaking a promise can save a friendship, would that not be right...? Ugh! I can't stand it anymore! I can't stand having one problem after another!" Dusk said hitting his head and looking angry at the floor, more talking to himself than to Rarity while having a mental debate about what was the right thing to do.

Rarity looked at Dusk from a distance, noticing how angry and nervous he was as he seemed to be losing his mind thinking about some problem.

"Dusk... Is this all about... the problem with Fluttershy?" Rarity asked nervously, thinking that all of Dusk's behavior seemed to affirm the rumors about the break-up in their relationship, otherwise, why would he be so upset?

Dusk looked at Rarity and again felt the urge to want to tell her everything, about the fact that it wasn’t just a problem with Fluttershy, but that she was a crucial part of it. However, he knew that he couldn’t tell her that.

"Yes, I have a big, huge problem with Fluttershy, and I need to think about how to fix it." Dusk replied still annoyed at not being able to tell the whole truth.

"Now think... Rarity doesn't want Fluttershy to be a model, and Fluttershy doesn't want to be, but both firmly believe otherwise, and there's no way for them to tell the truth or a third to do it for them..." Dusk thought as he rubbed his head with his hooves for ideas to flow. "Wait, letting them tell each other the truth could be an option, the problem is modeling, Fluttershy being a model, that's the real problem! Neither Fluttershy nor Rarity can end that, but in this case a one pony can do that, and that pony is me!"

"I must ruin Fluttershy's model career..." Dusk muttered after arriving at a solution to the problem. "I must ruin Fluttershy's career! That's it!"

"What!? Dusk... What did you just say!?" Rarity said in astonishment upon hearing what Dusk muttered.

Then Dusk, still immersed in his thoughts, without listening to Rarity, followed with a thoughtful look as he reviewed the steps to follow in his plan, everything to make it perfect. Then it was that Dusk began to smile slowly.

"Yes, it's perfect! How did I not think of it before! Fluttershy herself knew it, but she herself was not capable of doing it, but I can do it for her!" Dusk thought, laughing at the simple solution, not realizing that for Rarity, the fact that he laughed in that way out of nothing and hearing him mentioning about Fluttershy's career, made it somewhat disturbing.

"Dusk, listen to me!" Rarity said approaching Dusk and holding him by the shoulders. Thinking that Dusk was speaking irrationally, all because of his broken heart due to his break-up with Fluttershy. "I know you're hurt over this, and maybe you think that ruining Fluttershy's career will solve something, but it won’t solve anything! You must think clearly."

Rarity said that by heart, since she had repeated it to herself during the past day, because she had also let that thought cross her mind, the idea of ruining the Fluttershy’s modeling career, even with more and more anger against Fluttershy kept on growing, Rarity always came to the same conclusion, that it didn’t matter that Fluttershy betrayed her, she was still her friend and she could never do something as low as ruin her dream, even if it was her own stolen dream.

"Listen to me Dusk." Rarity said seriously. "You must promise me that-"

"No! No more promises, at least until I resolve all this." Dusk said annoyed, already tired of Pinkie Pie surprising him when he was about to break a promise and hitting him. Then Dusk smiled confidently and looked at Rarity. "Quiet, everything will be solved soon."

With that, Dusk's horn lit up and he disappeared from Rarity's house, leaving the unicorn with a look of surprise and concern.

"Maybe... he really will do that?" Rarity said with a look of total concern, then she was thoughtful for a moment and then shook her head quickly. "No, of course, he wouldn’t, he's a friend of Fluttershy's, he knows he can't do it, no matter how embarrassed he feels at the moment, he'll realize that it would be a horrible thing to do that, just like I did."

Then Rarity realized something else, something that made her angry again with Dusk.

"Ugh...! Now he even leaves without saying goodbye!" Rarity said annoyed, turning around to go back to her workshop, after all, she still had to finish some details for the dress she would wear in that afternoon's fashion show.





The hall of events of the mayoralty was full, almost as much as for the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, and all because it had been chosen as the venue for the dazzling fashion show sponsored by Photo Finish, where they invited the ponies of the equestrian fashion elite, as well as dozens of journalists and photographers from the capital, all for the great debut in the fashion catalogs of the new flagship model, the famous Fluttershy.

"Alright, everypony to their positions! Let's start!" Photo Finish shouted behind the stage, quickly hitting the floor with her hoof to rush her assistants.

The makeup artists finished putting the finishing touches on the face of the new supermodel, and they left quickly to go to the aid of the other assistants. Behind the curtains were only Photo Finish and Fluttershy, who were already combed and made up, wearing a beautiful but simple evening dress.

"Well dear, this is your moment!" Photo Finish said full of emotion and squeezing Fluttershy's cheeks. "In just a few minutes you will be the new superstar model of all Equestria!"

"Hmm... H-How nice..." Fluttershy answered with little energy, looking sadly at the floor.

Then Photo Finish came out from behind the scenes and went to the main stage, ready to present her brand new diamond in the rough, leaving behind Fluttershy, who now looked at the ground with a lost look as she began to hyperventilate at the thought of everything that was about to happen, something that would change her life forever, ready to accept a life she didn’t want, but a life that she was willing to accept in order to prove that she was a trusted friend.

"Psst!" Someone whistled from behind one of the curtains, which surprised Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus came timidly towards the curtain. And when she got to the side of it, Dusk Shine appeared from one end of the curtain.

"Dusk, how did you get here!?" Fluttershy asked surprised and happy to see him there.

"Luckily, teleportation is my best spell, with so many guards and paparazzi around, it would’ve been impossible to get in here any other way." Dusk said pointing proudly to his horn, then looking more seriously at his friend. "Listen Fluttershy, there is not much time. I know how to get rid of all this; how to prevent you from becoming a famous model."

"Uh!? Really?" Fluttershy asked, as she couldn’t help but smile with relief when she heard that, but she quickly put back a sad look. "I can't do anything. I must do this for Rarity."

"Don't worry, I know a way out of this, and a way so Rarity won't be mad at you for breaking your promise." Dusk said seriously. "You just have to trust me."

Fluttershy was surprised by Dusk's comment and stared at him for a few seconds, noting the determination in his confident gaze.

"Trust in you? Always!" Fluttershy finally said smiling as she blushed slightly.

"And here it is! The new promise of equestrian modeling! The one and only Fluttershy!" shouted Photo Finish from the stage, giving the signal to Fluttershy to finally appear on stage.

"Go! Good luck!" Dusk said nodding to Fluttershy to come on stage.

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. Fluttershy swallowed nervously, took a deep breath and leaned out onto the main stage. There, she stopped immediately to see the huge number of ponies, cameras, and flashes that jumped as soon as she appeared on stage. Fluttershy glanced sideways to see back, and there she saw Dusk Shine, who was still behind the curtains but was now at the side of the stage so that Fluttershy could see him. Then Dusk told her to move forward and continue with her walk, which gave the pegasus strength to continue despite the fear of being the center of attention.

"That's it... you’ve moved so that everypony can see you..." Dusk thought with a clever smile, knowing that this was the crucial moment. It wouldn’t have been useful to do what he planned to do at another time. He had to do it in the fashion show, at the moment when everyone was focusing on Fluttershy.

"Wow, it really looks like Fluttershy..." Applejack said a little surprised, noticing how good the makeup was for Fluttershy, and for a second thinking that maybe, just maybe, it would not be such a bad idea to use a little on her own face from time to time.

"Yes, it looks really cute. It was totally worth it to get these seats." Pinkie said with a smile.

"Yeah, but Rarity got better seats..." Rainbow Dash said a bit jealously.

The seats for the Photo Finish fashion show had been highly valued, and although most of the ponies had seats to attend, the first few rows had only been reserved for journalists, photographers and high-profile ponies invited for the occasion. However, Pinkie Pie had managed to bother one of the assistants of Photo Finish day and night to give her and her friends a seat closer to the stage. That's how the four friends went to the fashion show together, discounting Spike, who of course didn’t like those things. However when arriving at the place, it seemed that Rarities beautiful dress impressed so many ponies that were in the first rows, who finally decided to invite her to sit with them, which the elegant unicorn immediately accepted with great joy to see that all the work she had done in her beautiful dress was being recognized.

"These ponies know as much or more about fashion than Photo Finish herself, and they even liked my dress!" Rarity thought happily to tears after finally being recognized by ponies who were skilled in fashion and a fan of her work, just before Fluttershy appeared on the scene.

As soon as Fluttershy appeared on the stage and the dozens of cameras settled on her, Rarity could not stop the jealousy returning to her for a second, but as soon as she saw how beautiful her friend looked, she finally just sighed and smiled, already more calm with her feelings towards her.

"How did we get to this, I don’t even know, but that's how it happened." Rarity thought with a renewed and strengthened spirit, determined to leave the past behind as everyone admired Fluttershy and at the same time could admire her own dress. "Now I just have to support you, now I’ve finally decided! I will become a famous designer on my own so that one day a famous model like you will see my clothes!"

Suddenly, as Fluttershy walked down the catwalk, right in front of Rarity, the yellow pegasus crossed strangely on her legs and tripped, causing her to wobble on the stage, which scared everyone present until Fluttershy managed to regain her balance. Only then did the public breathe a sigh of general relief, the one who was instantly silent when she saw that Fluttershy out of nowhere raised a hoof and put the tip of it on his nose, which obviously displeased the audience for doing something so dirty. The only one who didn’t show displeasure was Rarity who only remained paralyzed by what she saw.

"That... That was lilac color magic?" Rarity whispered after being sure that she had seen a fleeting lilac glow just before Fluttershy stumbled.

In that instant Rarity thought of the worst, something so horrific that she didn’t want to believe. Then she looked scared backstage and thought she saw a shadow.

Immediately Rarity made her way through the crowd backstage while all the other ponies present looked surprised and confused as Fluttershy began to turn on herself without continuing with her model ride.

Arriving behind the stage, Rarity felt the world crumble as she confirmed what she had not wanted to believe. In front of her, Dusk Shine made his horn glow dimly as he pointed it towards Fluttershy.

"Dusk... What... What do you think you’re doing!?" Rarity shouted terrified by what she was seeing.

"Shh! Don't yell or they'll find me." Dusk said without taking his eyes off of Fluttershy, who was now jumping like a rabbit because of Dusk's magic.

"Dusk! Stop!" Rarity shouted again, with a look of anger that was only increasing. "How can you be doing this to Fluttershy !? You... Look into my eyes when I talk to you!" Rarity shouted angrily to see that Dusk again didn’t seemed to be listening to her and not even giving a quick glance at her.

"Shush, you’re distracting me." Dusk answered without taking his eyes off of Fluttershy, since a corporal control spell, like the one he was doing, required all his concentration and that his eyesight never left his target.

The audience present began to murmur among themselves as the glances with which they saw Fluttershy changed from confusion to displeasure.

"Dusk! Stop!" Rarity shouted again with all her strength, terrified by what was happening, seeing how her friend was being ridiculed in front of everyone.

Rarity moved in front of Dusk to try to stop him, but Dusk ran with his head to avoid losing eye contact with Fluttershy. In the process, the curtain that was in front of them and that hid them at the side of the stage was moved due to the movement, which was allowing the public to see them both arguing.

"You don't understand, I must do it, with this everything will be fixed!" Dusk said starting to get irritated, knowing that he should continue with his plan, but at the same time he couldn’t tell anyone about this. "I'll make sure everypony remembers this and that nopony ever wants her to be a model again; everything will go back to normal!"

At that moment Dusk increased his magic and Fluttershy began making pig noises and making strange gestures to the audience, which caused several of the fashion ponies sitting in the front row to look at Fluttershy with more displeasure, and even with disgust as if they were looking at an ugly bug. Then, while Fluttershy was still moving strangely, she stumbled again with her dress, only this time she fell face down, or at least that was what they all saw, since Dusk noticed that he couldn’t keep Fluttershy from falling, he put a magic cloak between the floor and Fluttershy's face so she wouldn’t hit her face.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, who were in the front rows and had been looking stunned at what was happening, immediately leaping out to help their friend by believing that she had hit hard onto the ground.

"He's ruining Fluttershy's opportunity! I... I was jealous of her all this time, but I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this at all!" Rarity thought, looking helplessly towards Fluttershy, then she turned to look at Dusk, who still didn’t even look at her, and a huge rage like never before grew inside her. "She's he’s friend! How can he be so cruel! How can he be doing this to his friend!?"

Then Rarity lifted her hoof, and with the soft part of her hoof, slapped Dusk hard, a loud slap that echoed throughout the room. Instantly, Dusk stopped using his magic and was only stunned by the blow he had just received.

A pony was able to hit in two ways with their hoof, a strong blow with the hard and external part of the hoof, or a hit with the soft and inner part of the hoof. Obviously, if you wanted to generate damage, the first hit option was the best, however, hitting in a second way made it clear otherwise, this was an emotional blow, and Dusk had just felt it. In one slap, Dusk felt all the anger and disappointment that Rarity felt at that precise moment. Then Dusk looked up and saw his friend staring at him with a look of fury and tears in her eyes.

"How could you fall so low? What will all this even achieve? Did you do this so she would stop being famous and you could become a couple again? No matter what you thought, this is unforgivable! She's your friend! I don’t understand. I don't understand! How can somepony be so selfish!?" Rarity yelled still looking furious at Dusk while he was still paralyzed by what had just happened, touching his cheek where Rarity had hit him. "Now I understand... That's why I was the last... it's because we are totally opposed, I always try to give everything of me, but your pure egoism, you only think of yourself!" Rarity added while all her feelings of rejection and disappointment surfaced together.

After the slap, the room had become silent, and the focus of attention went to Dusk and Rarity, all listening word to word what Rarity said. And in that same instant, at the same time that Rarity was speaking, the pinkie sense of Pinkie Pie was activated.

"Two and a half turns from my tail to the right, a turn to the left, itching in my right upper body, and my left ear moves without stopping..." Pinkie Pie thought as she interpreted her body, the one that sent her one of the many signs of its pinkie sense. "This sign means... that something irreversible is about to happen."

"Something irreversible!?" Pinkie Pie whispered in fright, raising her head to look in terror at what Rarity was about to do. "Rarity! Don't do it!" Pinkie Pie yelled, but it was too late.

In that same moment...

"I told you to promise me you wouldn’t do this! And yet you did it! You never listened to me! I can't believe I've felt something for you!" Rarity shouted furiously, mixing all the feelings that had been overwhelming her during those last days. "You don't know how to make a promise!? I'll show you!" Rarity added furious without hearing the scream that Pinkie Pie made at that precise moment, doing a well-known mimicry that Dusk himself had done twice the day before. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I promise never to speak to you again in my life!"

Rarity made a pinkie promise full of fury, then she turned and saw how everyone there saw her, including her friends who were on stage, all looking at her with a face of horror, especially Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, the first looking at her with tears in her eyes while the second saw her with a face of absolute terror.

After the last scream to Dusk and to see her friends together with terrified looks, Rarity's fury finally vanished, leaving her heart full of absolute sadness and pain for what she had just done. Then Rarity fled the scene at full speed while her eyes kept crying for everything that had just happened and for the determination she had just made.





The next day, somewhere in Canterlot...

"Boss, I bring you the photos and the story about the Photo Finish fashion show." Said a young mare journalist, entering the central office of 'The Sun of Canterlot', the official newspaper of Canterlot and the most widely read in the whole kingdom; bursting into his boss's office with a bunch of photographs. "He will not believe what I found there. It turns out that one of the mysterious new models was neither more nor less than Dusk Shine, the pupil of the princess-"

"Forget it. We’re not publishing it." The editor chief said interrupting the journalist, an old unicorn with a white mane and who had a look at few of the friends.

"What!? But boss! You told me to go to Ponyville at the request of Photo Finish yourself, and now you don't want to publish the story!?" The young mare said totally surprised.

"Enough, I said no, and that's all." The boss replied, turning to look out his window, more moody than usual.

While the boss looked at the distance, the mare saw that there was a letter on the table of her boss, then, risking her job, she took the letter quickly without her boss noticing and took it with her before leaving.

"What's wrong? Did you argue with the boss again?" Said a young red-haired foal carrying a camera. "Didn't the boss like my photos?"

"Shut up and come with me." The young journalist said, taking her partner from a hoof and taking the foal to another unoccupied room.

Once the journalist made sure that only she and her companion were in that room, she closed the door and pointed to her partner with the letter she held on her hoof.

"The boss couldn’t have changed his mind so suddenly. I'm sure somepony made him change his mind." The mare said seriously while her partner looked at the letter with curiosity. Then the mare opened the letter carefully and began to read it.

"Someponey? Nopony could change the boss's mind." The mare replied with a look of disbelief. But while her partner was reading the letter, the foal realized what his companion was implying. "Wait... Are you saying that somepony ordered the boss not to publish the story? Who could... Wait! Does the letter have the royal seal!? If what you say is true, only somepony of royalty could do it. After all, the boss doesn't let himself be easily threatened. He has to appear at the end of the letter, does he have a seal from the sun, or perhaps from the moon!?"

"It's neither a sun nor a moon... but you're not wrong. It seems that somepony of royalty sent this letter asking not to publish the story..." The worried mare said once she finished reading the letter.

"But if it's royalty... and it doesn't have the seal of the sun or the moon... Then it must be-!" Said the colt, taking the letter between his hooves. He looked for the seal of the third princess of the kingdom but was only confused to see that at the end of the letter was the seal of the royal guard, not the seal of the heart, as he had believed that he would find. "I don't understand. You said it was somepony of royalty."

"That's right, or well, rather it will be, if the rumors are true." The mare answered as she put a hoof on her lips while she tried to work on figure it all out. "As I suspected... Not only is this story... What happened at the Summer Sun Celebration, the dragon that appeared in the mountains... In the village, I also learned that he saved that town from the attack of a ferocious Ursa... Has his brother been preventing all this news from coming to light?"

"His brother? Hiding the news? What are you talking about?" The colt asked, who didn't follow his companions thoughts.

"There were rumors that they didn't get along, but to get to this point?" The mare continued speaking, without listening to her companion while her mind kept working and deduced that mystery. "The name Dusk Shine is only known in Ponyville and the nearby towns, here in the capital and in the big cities nopony has heard of his exploits, Gosh! The mere fact of saving the princesses was reason enough to consider him a national hero! Why does HE want to hide it? Are they jealous? Does he hate him so much?" The journalist finished thinking, determined to unravel that mystery, and to do so she would have to visit the young promise of the royal guard, Captain Shining Armor, the brother of Dusk Shine.

# End of chapter 32
> Chapter 33 - Love can hurt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love can hurt

The Ponyville library was closed that morning. It was something that would’ve immediately shocked Dusk Shine, but he allowed it for this time. He and his friends needed to use the place to solve a serious problem that had more priority than allowing the ponies of the town to enjoy reading, and Dusk himself admitted that it was something of the utmost importance.

Pinkie Pie had told Dusk and her friends to meet in the library that morning. In the main room several chairs were placed: some on the right side of the room, where Dusk Shine, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were sitting; a pair on the left side, where Spike was sitting; and another behind a stool that was at the center of the room, which for the moment remained empty.

"Why did Pinkie Pie put these chairs like this? I thought we were going to talk about what happened yesterday." Dusk asked his friends after seeing what Pinkie Pie had done in the library room. "What is she planning?"

"It's Pinkie Pie, you never know." Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash answered at the same time, shrugging their shoulders.

"By the way, why is Spike sitting at the other end of the room?" Applejack asked looking at Dusk and then at the little dragon, who remained there.

"Huff... I guess it's because he's still mad at me..." Dusk sighed in despair. "Yesterday, when he heard about everything that happened at the fashion show, he blamed everything on me, he said that what I did was a big slap to the face to Rarity and since yesterday he hasn’t even looked at me... Even though I don't blame him, I suppose he's right... I was an idiot..."

"It wasn’t your fault, it was mine." Fluttershy added with a sad look. "I should’ve talked with Rarity before, so everything would have been solved from the first moment."

Dusk didn't want to answer, knowing that he would not achieve anything in arguing with his friends, because deep down he knew that Fluttershy and Rarity must be feeling the same way he was at that moment, each of them thought that everything that happened was just their own fault.

"By the way, did you talk to Rarity?" Dusk asked changing the subject a bit.

"Yes... when I got home, I begged her to open the door for me until she finally did and talked." Fluttershy answered remembering what happened yesterday.

After Rarity fled the fashion show, Fluttershy had been the first to react, because she, unlike her other friends, understood everything that had happened. That was how she ran at full speed to follow her friend to explain that everything had been an unfortunate misunderstanding.

"I told her everything, about me not wanting to be a model, me doing all of it so I wouldn’t disappoint her and how you did everything that happened in the fashion show so that no one would want me to be a model anymore." Fluttershy said sadly remembering what happened. "While I was telling Rarity everything, I could see her expression of horror... She told me that she had been thinking badly about me, that she had become jealous of all my fame. Like me, she didn’t want to tell me anything."

At that moment, Fluttershy fell silent as she was not sure whether to tell Dusk what happened next. As she thought it was more of an intimate moment between them since the two of them explained what happened. They cried together and forgave each other and what followed was Rarity beginning to cry in despair at the atrocity she had done with Dusk, about misjudging him and about the promise he had made. The only thing Rarity could repeat between tears was 'What am I going to do!? What am I going to do!?'.

"...we both forgave each other." It was what Fluttershy finally told Dusk, this time looking at him with concern. "Dusk... What Rarity did... she didn't want-"

"Fluttershy, you don't have to say it. Obviously, I know she didn’t do it for no reason." Dusk said interrupting the pegasus, giving a melancholy look. "She had every reason in the world to do what she did, it was all a misunderstanding, don’t worry, I would never get mad at Rarity for what she did, I just want to talk to her the way you did."

"Dusk, I too... I'm sorry I left you at the fashion show." Fluttershy added after a while, saying something she had wanted to say to Dusk since the morning. "After we fixed the misunderstanding, we both realized that we had left you in the fashion show and that everypony in the audience must have thought something horrible of you after Rarity slapped you in public, but when we wanted to return, we found ourselves facing Pinkie Pie, who told us that everything was solved, but... was there really no problems?"

Dusk was a little surprised at what was said by Fluttershy, and then smiled slightly.

"Actually, that's what Pinkie Pie said, there was no problem," Dusk answered smiling. "After you left, the first pony who jumped in front of me were the paparazzi. They pressed me with questions in which I seemed to be a novel villain, so Applejack and the others came and helped me get the journalists out. Then the rest of the audience rushed to the stage. I thought it was my end since Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack could not contain the crowd. Then came the biggest surprise.  The audience instead of pouncing on me, they helped us drive away all those annoying paparazzi!"

The last thing Dusk said, he couldn’t help but say it with a note of joy and pride in his voice since the false news in the newspaper that he had broken Fluttershy's heart had been published. Dusk had avoided the other ponies of the town thinking that they would again judge him severely without even giving him an opportunity to explain himself. However, after the audience at the fashion show helped him, Dusk realized that their eyes were not of judgment, but of confusion. This time the ponies of the town didn’t jump to conclusions, but they helped him instead, and calmly requested explanations about what happened, assuming that the hero who had saved the town from so many disasters must’ve had a good explanation for everything that had happened. That was the definitive sign that Dusk was now one of them and that his image couldn't be so easily smudged without him giving an explanation.

"Obviously I had to explain to everypony what happened, or at least part of it." Dusk said remembering how complicated it was to explain everything without giving away the secrets of his friends. "But I finally asked them to just trust me, and they all understood, in fact, many of them supported me. The only problem is..."

This time, Dusk Shine wasn’t able to finish his sentence, as there was something else that had happened, although he wasn’t sure if it was important to address it now. After he explained that he had done nothing wrong and what he had done was to help Fluttershy secretly, all the ponies let out a sigh of relief. They knew that he was not capable of doing something terrible to his friends; however, Dusk also heard a few other ponies talking to each other and saying that it was all Rarity's fault, or that she must have provoked Dusk just to make a show.

"...is that the journalists seemed to not believe me." Dusk finished saying, not wanting to worry Fluttershy about what he had heard about Rarity.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Pinkie Pie yelled suddenly, entering from the kitchen door into the living room, wearing a long black dress, and an old and pompous white wig. Then she went to the chair that was in the center of the room, in front of the podium, sat down, and hit a rubber chicken like a hammer. "Order! Order! The court of Pinkie Promises will now begin!"

After a long silence in which everyone looked at each other with faces of disbelief, Dusk finally spoke.

"Are you really going to make a trial?" Dusk asked a little annoyed by the attitude of Pinkie Pie for pushing a small issue to the limit.

"Justice is neither good nor bad, it's only the reflection of our actions." Pinkie Pie said solemnly without flinching. "Let the accused pass!"

At the shout of Pinkie Pie, the library door opened, revealing Rarity, who entered slowly with her head down, looking askance at all present. As soon as she saw Dusk Shine, she immediately stopped with a startled look and her lip trembling as if she was about to cry, but she finally closed her eyes for a moment, swallowed and kept walking with a comprehensive look. Concern filled the room, where Spike was, who seemed to be as much or more worried than Rarity herself.

"Very well, we are here today to resolve the validity and compliance of the Pinkie Promise made yesterday by Rarity." Pinkie Pie began her speech, speaking seriously, although her seriousness was reduced to having a rubber chicken on her stool. "This trial seeks to reflect that the defendant made a pinkie promise apparently without measuring the consequences, a clear reflection of the little importance that is given to the Pinkie Promises. Let's read the background that seeks to reflect a fair sentence to..."

While Pinkie Pie continued her speech, giving a summary of what happened at yesterday’s fashion show, Dusk Shine began to get restless because of the seriousness with which Pinkie Pie and her other friends seemed to take the Pinkie Promises.

"This is ridiculous!" Dusk whispered to Rainbow Dash. "I know that a promise is important and shouldn’t be broken, but is a punishment really needed to prove how bad it is to break them?"

"Well, Pinkie Promises are a little different. You should never, ever, break them." Whispered Rainbow Dash in response.

"And what happens if you break it?" Dusk asked, remembering that Pinkie Pie had beaten him before he could break his pinkie promises.

"Well, I'm not sure, I just know a pony who has broken her Pinkie Promise." Rainbow Dash said a little worried. "Did you meet the last librarian?"

"Huh ... no, there was no librarian when I arrived." Dusk responded by remembering.

"Exactly..." Rainbow Dash answered with a gloomy look. "It is said that the librarian made the Pinkie Promise that she would reserve a book for Pinkie Pie, but she lent it to another pony, and one day the librarian simply... disappeared."

Upon hearing that, Dusk obviously knew that it was all an exaggeration, after all, Pinkie Pie would not be able to make someone ‘disappear’. However, just at that moment, he turned to see Pinkie Pie, who just stared, as if she had heard what the conversation with Rainbow Dash was all about, which made Dusk chill. Then Dusk made the decision not to ever break a Pinkie Promise for anything, just in case.

"...That would be the summary of the case, a true reflection of what happened the previous day, does the accused agree with all?" Pinkie Pie said looking at Rarity, after finishing her speech.

At the question, Rarity opened her mouth to answer, but at the last second, she looked sideways at Dusk, and closed her mouth without making any sound, just nodding to what Pinkie Pie said.

"Well, before proceeding with the case, is there anything the defendant wants to say to the jury?" Pinkie Pie asked again, pointing to where Dusk and the other girls were.

"Huh? We’re the jury?" Dusk asked surprised and relieved to hear that, because if they were the jury, then they could say that Rarity was not guilty of having to fulfill the pinkie promise.

"Only Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The jury must be odd, plus your part of the Pinkie Promise case, you can’t be a jury." Pinkie Pie answered quietly. "And Applejack will be the president of the jury."

That discouraged Dusk a little since he was not a jury, meaning he couldn’t justify a reason to free Rarity of her promise, but that was only something minor after all his friends would not let Rarity fulfill this absurd promise. However, as soon as Dusk turned to see his friends, his hope fell on the floor. The faces of her friends were nervous, and it was recorded in their eyes that even if they wanted to, they couldn’t lie, especially Applejack. It was there that Dusk looked annoyed at Pinkie Pie because he realized that she had calculated everything, after all, if Applejack was the president of the jury, no one could lie.

"We all know that Applejack is the most honest of all here, so I guess no pony is against her being the president of the jury." Pinkie Pie said with a smile as if she had read Dusk's mind. "I fully trust her, so much so that only she as president of the jury will see the facts as they are and decide if the accused is guilty or not, I will only preside over the trial."

"How dirty, you don’t want to get your hooves dirty... You want Applejack to tell Rarity to keep her promise to never talk to me again." Dusk Shine thought angrily, thinking how cruel Pinkie Pie could be.

Dusk's thoughts began to swirl in his mind devising a way out of that situation while the feelings of anger, sadness, and mainly guilt, began to fill him.

"Easy Dusk, don't feel bad." Applejack said grabbing his hoof so that she could calm him down.

"Huh?" Dusk said surprised to see that Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy immediately noticed that something bad was happening to him. "No, nothings wrong with me..." Dusk added to reassure his friends, but then he realized that he was making the same mistake he had made earlier. "No... actually, something is wrong..."

At that moment Dusk realized that everything that happened the yesterday had been his fault, and what had just happened proved it. His friends always noticed when he had bad thoughts or was down, but he never noticed with Fluttershy or Rarity, he was totally hopeless at recognizing the true feelings of his friends. It was there that Dusk swore to himself that he would improve that great flaw he had, no matter what it took, he would achieve that goal, to be able to understand the true feelings of his friends so that they would never have to suffer something similar to what had happened.

"I repeat, is there anything the accused wants to say to the jury before we issue a ruling?" Pinkie Pie asked, again focusing on Rarity.

The white unicorn looked at her friends with a worried look, and then looked at Pinkie Pie for a few seconds.

"Oh! I understand! You can't talk because Dusk is here, and you swore you would never speak to him again." Pinkie Pie said surprised, realizing what Rarity was asking with her eyes.

Then Pinkie Pie got out of her seat, took a small blackboard that was there with chalk, and passed it to Rarity. Then the unicorn used its magic to levitate the chalk and began to write on the blackboard while showing it to the jury.

"I have no excuses for my behavior." Rarity wrote on her blackboard. "I totally regret what I did, it's unforgivable, I should’ve trusted Dusk, I'd like to retract, but I can't erase what I did. I made a Pinkie Promise, and everypony saw me do it. I have no way out; I must comply even if it hurts."

"No, Rarity..." Fluttershy said scared, feeling as guilty with herself as Rarity and Dusk felt at that very moment.

Dusk tried to say something, but Rarity continued writing on the blackboard.

"However, I have made a decision." Rarity wrote with a short pause to confirm the determination he had made. "If I can't talk to Dusk ever again, then I will not talk to any pony else anymore."

"What!?" Dusk yelled as his friends looked scared.

"Noooo...!" Spike screamed, throwing himself into Rarity's hoofs to hold her while he cried.

"Pinkie Pie, enough is enough! You can't let this go on!" Dusk said annoyed looking at the pink pony.

"Is the jury going to reflect their thoughts on a verdict?" Pinkie Pie asked as if she hadn’t listened to Dusk Shine. "The Pinkie Promise is valid, and Rarity has decided to fulfill it, do you want to reflect any objection?"

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other nervously, knowing there was nothing to appeal, then looked at Applejack, who just sadly lowered her head, accepting that Pinkie Pie was telling the truth and nothing else could be done.

"Then Rarity can never talk to Dusk Shine again, case closed-" Pinkie Pie said raising the rubber chicken to hit the stool, but before doing so she was interrupted.

"Stop! Objection your honor!" Scream appeared from the front door the same Pinkie Pie, wearing a suit of a lawyer.

Everyone turned to see who appeared from the door, then everyone quickly saw where Pinkie Pie had been for just a second, where now was a balloon with a face drawn and the wig that Pinkie had been used only a second ago. Everyone looked from one side to the other without understanding how Pinkie Pie had done that.

"How does she move so fast!?" Dusk thought desperate to understand the 'magic' that Pinkie Pie used to do her follies.

"Your honor, this case is a fraud. I demand that the defense is given one day to gather evidence to be able to defend my client." The lawyer Pinkie Pie told the balloon that now was the judge.

Then Pinkie Pie in a blink went under the stool, became dressed again in judge clothes, and went to the other side of the stool again occupying her place as judge.

"All right, the petition is accepted, the defense has one day to gather evidence that can save the defendant from keeping her promise, deferred case!" Pinkie Pie yelled, hitting the table with the rubber chicken.

When hitting the rubber chicken, the friends of Dusk came out of their astonishment to almost see Pinkie Pie in two places at once. She jumped to talk to Rarity, who just looked at them with a sad smile and answered what they asked writing on the blackboard, determined not to break her pinkie promise even though the trial still was not over.

While the friends talked among themselves, Dusk approached Pinkie Pie, who was leaving the room.

"Pinkie Pie, what was all this!?" Dusk said, annoyed with his friend. "Did you make this trial just to have fun? And what is that about you'll get proof for tomorrow?"

"Oh, I’m not getting the proof, I'm the judge, remember." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. "If I did, it could reflect that I act in favor of one side, and justice must be blind."

Then Pinkie Pie continued her way and left the library.

"That pony is definitely crazy." Dusk whispered to himself, angry at Pinkie Pie for all the madness of the trial against Rarity.

After Pinkie Pie left, Dusk turned his gaze to Rarity, the mare he really wanted to talk to, more than anyone else in the world. Knowing it would be difficult to speak normally after everything that happened in the fashion show, Dusk slowly approached Rarity, who was still talking through the blackboard with her other friends.

"Rarity... Can we talk?" Dusk asked timidly when approaching his friend.

As soon as Rarity saw that Dusk had approached her side, she immediately lowered her head, feeling a mixture of fear and shame that prevented her from making eye contact with Dusk. So Rarity remained silent, not knowing how to respond or how to act.

"Hmm... I think we'll leave you alone for a moment." Applejack said, noting that Dusk and Rarity needed to fix their problems in private, so she pushed her friends to follow her out of the library, taking Spike off the hooves of Rarity, who just glared at his older brother while Applejack took him out of the room.

"I... know you don't want to break your promise, but is it okay if I talk to you?" Dusk asked slowly and timidly.

Rarity took a while before answering, then she, still with her head down, levitated the chalk and the blackboard that was next to her and wrote 'Yes.'

"It's okay... Rarity, I... I'm sorry you're going through all this!" Dusk said with a look of pain, while Rarity put a face of surprise and fear. "I should’ve found a better way to do things, I should’ve realized what you really felt, and I shouldn’t have put you in such a compromising position! I thought I was smart, but in so many cases I was just a complete idiot, and I'm-!"

At that moment Rarity, who had been horrified by Dusk's apology, stopped Dusk, and began to write quickly on her blackboard.

"You don't have to apologize; how can you apologize if I was the guilty one? I didn’t know how to act, I was the one who got jealous, I was the one who made you promise not to say anything, I was the one who shouted at you in public I was the one who distrusted you, I was the one who slapped you!" Rarity wrote quickly on her blackboard, so quickly that the words piled on top of each other as if she wanted to say a thousand things at once. "Please, please, forgive me for everything, I know what I did was unforgivable, but-"

"Rarity, there is nothing to forgive." Dusk said, lowering the blackboard that Rarity levitated so that she stopped writing.

"But I-" Rarity wrote with a desperate look, trying to express on her blackboard all the guilt that tormented her at that moment. However, Dusk interrupted her again so she wouldn’t continue writing.

"The slap was all because you saw what I was doing to Fluttershy, which looked very unforgivable, besides it was the straw that broke the glass. For days you kept the feelings that tormented you, so much anger, so many doubts, so many bad feelings accumulated in you until you just exploded and let go of all that frustration and anger... I experienced it myself... when I yelled at Princess Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration." Dusk said, perfectly understanding what it was like to have an emotional explosion and get even with someone, looking Rarity in the eyes so that she could calm herself down because she understood how the guilt must’ve been, despairing at that very moment. "We’re all guilty of what happened, you and Fluttershy for not being able to tell yourselves the truth about what you both felt, and I... for not being able to realize what you really felt, despite being your friend..."

Rarity looked into Dusk's eyes, and she could feel how he really didn’t hold any grudges in his heart towards her, which finally reassured her a little more, although she still felt guilty.

"He's still worries about me despite everything I did... How could I not trust him?" Rarity thought, still feeling a thorn of pain as she remembered how she had tried to dismiss her feelings for Dusk, a love that now she felt less worthy than ever to deserve.

"Even though we were all guilty, only you are paying the price." Dusk added with a slight look of guilt. "So please, tell me what I can do, whatever it is, I will do it to earn your forgiveness."

"It's not necessary-" Rarity wrote on her blackboard before Dusk pushed it down, knowing that she wouldn’t accept it.

"Please, let me do something for you." Dusk asked with a pleading look, determined to do something for his friend. "I need to do something, anything, to earn your forgiveness and your friendship."

Rarity stared at Dusk's pleading look, seeing Dusk’s determined motive to do something nice for her, even though she felt she didn't deserve it.

"I know that look, it's the same look I gave to my friends when I forced them to accept my help, he's determined to do anything to help me, and I will not be able to change his mind." Rarity thought as she watched Dusk's intense gaze.

It was so that Rarity lowered her eyes again, taking a thoughtful look as she thought of something that was simple and that Dusk could also enjoy in some way so that he would stop feeling guilty, and both would feel better and could slowly resume their relationship as how it should be.

"We could have a date." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, turning red instantly when she realized she had written the first thing that had occurred to her. Then she quickly erased it quickly rewrote. "I mean, have lunch together!"

"A lunch date sounds good to me." Dusk said with a quiet smile, who had managed to read what Rarity had written first.

Rarity was red again at Dusks words, although she knew that Dusk’s idea of a date was a time where friends get spend the whole day together and nothing more.





There was a small diner in the town, and that was the place chosen by Rarity so that she and Dusk could eat, something not very simple or exquisite, perfect for the two friends who wanted to share and ask each other's forgiveness.

While they ate, the first few minutes were spent talking about the guilt they both felt, however, just as Dusk had done in the morning with Fluttershy, they both decided to stop talking about it since they knew that neither of them would ever accept that the another will take all the blame. Once they could resume a normal conversation, both could relax and talk again as they usually did as if nothing had happened. Of course, the only exception is that Dusk spoke, and Rarity responded by writing on the board. Not even that was impediment so that both had a fun conversation, talking only about trivial and silly things and leaving aside for a moment the guilt and concerns that they had been overwhelmed by yesterday.

"So Photo Finish is leaving the town without telling you anything?" Rarity asked on her blackboard, sipping the last of her tea.

"Yep. As she was leaving, I heard her say that this town was too real for her and that she would like to go back to Canterlot's false emotions for a while, whatever that means." Dusk answered with a smile, continuing with the lively conversation they were having, also savoring the last fried potato that was left on his plate.

At that moment Rarity raised her hoof, and the waiter immediately brought the bill.

"I'll pay-" Dusk said trying to take the bill; however, Rarity quickly pulled it away from him, this time being the one who interrupted him, writing on her blackboard.

"Don't even think about it, I'll pay, this is not a discussion!" Rarity wrote quickly, looking sternly at Dusk for a second. She then smiled happily, not being able to maintain her facade. After all, this lunch date had been great. Not only had she repaired a large extent of the bond she had almost broke with Dusk, but it had really been a fun date in which the two had shared, without tension, thinking of guilt, love or jealousy. It was just two ponies having a lovely time, and if there was something that Rarity loved to do, was to repay it with a gift when she was delighted, in this case it was to pay the bill.

Then Rarity opened her purse, and from it a few coins fell, just enough to pay for their lunch, leaving the purse completely empty. Dusk immediately noticed that.

"Don't worry." Rarity wrote on her blackboard when she saw Dusk's brief look of concern. "This week I have little money because I spent my time locked up, depressed by what happened with Fluttershy, it was a week when I didn’t work on any clothes but don’t worry, I'll soon work and recover all the money lost." Rarity finished writing with a big smile.

Dusk, knowing it would be useless to dissuade her friend from paying the bill, he decided to let it pass this time and invite her next time to make up.

"You know, it's good that you're so generous, but I think it can be dangerous for you to be so kind and always give everything away for others." Dusk said, fearing that one day some lousy pony would abuse his generous friend.

"You don't have to tell me; it's happened to me already." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, sighing heavily and looking to one side. After Dusk looked at her with confusion, Rarity sighed again and continued writing. "It's not something that happens very often, normally the ponies are understanding and never abuse others generosity, but there was a time where something bad happened... something I would rather forget."

"My dream has always been to buy a store in Canterlot, to run my own clothing boutique, and almost a year ago I achieved it." Rarity continued to write on her blackboard. "I saved all my money for years until I got enough money to be able to buy a tiny place in the commercial district of Canterlot. That time I was so excited that I put on my most elegant dress and went to Canterlot myself to deliver the money. Everything was fine until in the middle of a dark street I saw a poor pony with his clothes torn, crying and asking for help. However, all the ponies that passed by avoided him and looked at him as if he wasn’t there. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, and I got closer. Then I showed him the bag I was carrying with all my savings and told him I could get him what I needed, thinking that this poor soul would only want something to eat, but that Canterlot beggar ended taking all of my money and quickly ran away."

"No... Did he take all your money!?" Dusk asked surprised.

"Yes, he took everything..." Rarity wrote with a look of embarrassment. "And that was not even the worst thing that happened! As soon as he ran, I could see how the beggar went into the most expensive clothing and accessories store in Canterlot and then he appeared now with expensive designer lenses, with gold edges and gems... He probably spent half of my savings on those lenses, then he continued running until I lost sight of him, I was unable to do anything, I was so surprised by that beggar's attitude that I was completely amazed... I know that I offered to buy him what needed, but I never thought that he would abuse my generosity and that he would use my money to buy something so banal..."

When Rarity finished her story, Dusk made a quick calculation, thinking about the enormous amount of money that she lost. Dusk had started that conversation only to warn Rarity that such generosity could be counterproductive; however, he never imagined that she had already experienced, and even after that experience, she remained as generous with everyone.

"Don't worry, that's already happened." Rarity added writing on her blackboard, noting that Dusk had been very thoughtful. "All I want is never to see that pony again, because maybe now I would be able to give him my house if he asks me!"

Then Dusk and Rarity began to laugh together, with a more relaxed Dusk noticing that his friend took that tragic experience with humor.

Clink-Clink! The soda fountain doorbells rang. Three colts and three mares entered noisily, chatting among themselves and sat on the back table where Rarity and Dusk were seated, both tables being separated only by a few pots with decorative plants there.

"Can you believe all the fuss that was in town with all that fashion show!?" One of the colts that had sat on the back table.

"Don't tell me, who would think that Dusk Shine and Rarity would make such a scene, those two have become the scandal of the week! They shouldn't want to see each other after what happened!" One of the mares commented in response, who like all her group, had not managed to see that the next table were the two ponies they have been talking about at that moment.

Rarity and Dusk couldn’t help but listen to what the noisy group was talking about, even more, when they noticed that they were talking about them and that they haven’t even noticed that they were at their side. Then Rarity and Dusk looked at each other and laughed silently, after all, they had already solved that silly misunderstanding, now the only thing they could think about was the absurdity of it all and that others still thought they were still angry with each other. So they both remained smiling and raised their ears carefully to continue listening to what they had to say about them.

"It's not the first time that Dusk is news, it seems that every week he does something to get attention." Another of the colts said.

"But it's not that he does it on purpose, it's just that he seems to be a bad luck magnet, haha!" One of the mares laughed.

"Yes, Dusk already proved to everypony that he is a hero." Added the third mare, with a more biting tone of voice. "If you ask me, the culprit of yesterday's disaster was Rarity, wasn’t that obvious?"

"Yeah, that slap to Dusk Shine in front of everypony was too much." Said the second colt.

"She is the queen of drama, she always had to be the center of attention." Another of the mares added.

"Yeah... I guess if she wasn't so cute, she would be a total witch, hahaha!" One of the colts laughed.

"She's not so bad... although I suppose she exaggerates sometimes..." One of the colts said with a slightly nervous voice. "Still, she is the complete package: cute, feminine, sociable..."

"Yes... maybe too sociable... if you know what I mean." One of the mares answered, with obvious jealousy in her voice. "You should know, weren't you one of the ponies that went out on a date with her?"

"I-I... well, yes... even if it was only one time..." The colt replied; this time more nervous. "She... she never accepted another invitation..."

"Haha, don't worry, you're not the first one who fell for her charm, nor will you be the last, that's for sure, hahaha!" Another of the colts laughed. "Even I went out with her once."

"You see! She's probably gone out with all the colts in town." Another of the mares added. "Just because she's pretty, she believes she has the right to use the colts at her whim."

"I guess you're right, Hahaha!" The third colt laughed, making everyone at the table laugh together, just when the waiter finally brought the milkshakes they had ordered, which made everyone pause in their conversation.

"What a bunch of idiots, hehe!" Dusk laughed silently, thinking how absurd the whole conversation had been from beginning to end.

Then Dusk lowered his sight to meet Rarity's smile, but this time he saw that his friend was not smiling. Without Dusk noticing, Rarity had only lowered her head slowly, hiding her gaze, where the only thing Dusk could see was her lips, which for some reason, was trembling slightly.





Dusk looked at Rarity for a second and for a fleeting moment, Dusk's feelings synchronized with Rarity's, letting him feel what Rarity felt at that moment.

"Sadness... Grief... But, why? They were praising her beauty, I..." Dusk thought logically as he always did until his clumsy mind made the effort to think not only about the words but about the feelings they could provoke, in the hidden meanings, read between the lines, something that cost Dusk so much but something he had sworn to try to understand more clearly so he would not repeat the same mistake he made with Fluttershy and Rarity again. It was then that Dusk's level of empathy went up one point and Dusk managed to realize what those ponies had really wanted to express in their conversation and how Rarity must be feeling at that moment.

"Let's go Rarity." Dusk said seriously, standing up and taking a surprised Rarity from the hoof to do the same.

Then Dusk, guiding Rarity with him, walked to the next table and stood in front of it until the six ponies who were still drinking their shakes cheerfully looked at them sideways.

"Hey, you!" Dusk said with a serious look. "You all are just a bunch of idiots."

Then Dusk's horn shone briefly, which caused the six pony's milkshakes to explode in their faces, making everyone inside the soda fountain laugh at them. Instantly a second flash shone on Dusk's horn, and he and Rarity teleported away from there instantly, reappearing at the Boutique Carousel.

As soon as they got to Rarity's house, she was surprised where they were. She opened her mouth to speak, but only managed to emit a small moan as she remembered her promise. Then she retook her board and started writing.

"Dusk, what did you do!? It wasn’t necessary." Rarity wrote with a worried look.

"Rarity, I'm so sorry for being so slow in realizing the feelings of others..." Dusk said without answering Rarity's question, looking at her with a sad look. Then a sudden thought came to Dusk's mind. "I shouldn't have fled like that! I should have talked to them and told them to stop spreading false rumors about you!"

"It doesn't matter." Rarity wrote quickly on her blackboard. "I don't care what others say or think about me, I was worried about what YOU could think about me. About how I use colts at my whim... And that you think... I’m ... I’m a..." Rarity finished writing trembling, not being able to write the dirty word she was thinking, and begging Celestia that Dusk didn't think that way about her.

"I didn't believe it for a second." Dusk said quickly, understanding what Rarity was thinking. "Those lies about you, going out with all the colts in the town, I don’t believe it. I can’t believe they would lie about something like that! Why would they want to make lies like that?"

At that moment Rarity looked at the ground with a nervous look, slowly turning to a look of fear as many thoughts passed through her head.

"Maybe... it's not totally a lie..." Rarity wrote slowly on her blackboard, still with a look of fear and concern.

Now it was Dusk's turn to stay frozen, not knowing if he had understood what Rarity had just written.

"Don't get it wrong!" Rarity wrote quickly terrified, anticipating that Dusk could misinterpret what she had just written.

Then Rarity stared at the ground with a lost look full of concern. Her breathing shook as she made a decision about what to do since she wanted to explain so much about what she was talking and feeling at that moment; however, because she was not allowed to speak and can only write on her blackboard, she knew that it was difficult to express everything she wanted to say. Finally, Rarity gave a big sigh to know how she could make Dusk understand what she felt and think about everything they were talking about, something she was terrified to do. It was something she had never done with anyone, yet Rarity decided that it was necessary for Dusk to know certain secrets from her so that he could understand her better.

After a great sigh, still holding a look of fear and concern, Rarity used her magic to open a locked drawer that was close by and levitated a thick book in front of Dusk Shine.

"This is my diary." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, while she kept levitating that book in front of him. "I want you to read some parts of it, just... just promise me you won’t judge me so hard." Rarity added with a look of fear.

Dusk was surprised at Rarity's request, knowing how intimate a pony's diary could be, especially that of a mare, but Dusk also understood that if she asked him to do that, it was for a compelling reason.

"Are you sure?" Dusk asked with a slight look of concern.

Rarity didn't write anything on her blackboard, she just slowly lowered her head and nodded slowly. Then Dusk delicately took Rarity's diary between his hooves and opened it on the first page:

"Dear diary, today I start my new life and with a new diary, I'm no longer a filly, now I am finally a full-grown adult! Today I finally left my parents' house and rented my first house for myself!

It's a small but spacious house not far from the center of Ponyville, but far enough away to have some peace of mind. The owner told me that if everything goes well, she can sell it to me in a year, that's what I hope with all my heart! Once it will be mine, I can transform it and turn it into the Boutique of my dreams! I'm waiting excitedly!

...

I've been living alone for several days. Sometimes I want to regret what I did and go back to my parents... Gosh! If only I weren't so insecure about myself. I guess I'll keep hiding my insecurity under my mask, so no one will worry about me... Oh! Don't you know dear diary? Of course not, I wrote that in my other diaries, so you don't know anything about me. You'll have to catch up little by little, for now, I'll just tell you that the Rarity that everyone knows is not the real Rarity, or at least it's not how I always feel with myself.

It's hard to say, but I guess I'll have to tell you dear diary...

I was always a very insecure filly. With my parents traveling all over Equestria, it still cost me to feel loved or valued, even in school. I feared my companions, approaching them and talking, thinking that they would not like it. That's how I spent my first year of school until I got to know the fashion magazines.

I know that if you could laugh, you'd laugh, but it's the truth. One day a friend of my mother brought with her a fashion magazine of Canterlot. As soon as I saw her, I was immediately impressed by two things: the beautiful dresses that the models wore, and the very models, with elegant, beautiful expressions, sure of themselves while all eyes were turned to see and admire them.

That day I took the magazine and read it again and again, that's when my passion for sewing and design was born! It was the first time I thought about being a designer. However, I also noticed something, who would pay attention to a designer unsure of herself? The answer was obvious, nobody. It was then that I decided to change, to act differently, to move differently, to speak differently, to become more sure of myself, and there was no one more sure of myself than the models in the magazines. This is how my second year of school came with a renewed attitude.

I still remember that day, everyone looking at me strangely, all murmuring how strange it was after my sudden change of attitude. That made all my fears come back, all I wanted to do was run away, but I stood firm, kept my facade even though my legs were shaking and my stomach was churning. That's how everyone in the school gradually accepted the new Rarity, a more sociable, feminine and even somewhat flirtatious Rarity, just like the prestigious models of the capital. And while that Rarity was growing, the insecure Rarity was hiding in the depths of my being, but of course, she never disappeared, after all, you can't get rid of your own essence...

In short, enough of nostalgia for today, dear diary. For now, you just need to know that the Rarity that everyone knows is much more insecure than everyone believes, but as long as no one knows, everything will be fine, only you will know after all my soul needs someone to vent, even if it's just with a book."

At that moment the magic of Rarity moved several pages forward for Dusk to continue reading.

"Dear diary... I only talk to you.

I thought that my foalhood in solitude would prepare me to live alone, but no. Day after day, week after week, month after month, living alone terrifies me. I know I am an adult mare, but I can't help but feel like a little filly when I'm alone.

When I open the door of my house, I take a deep breath and go out walking with a smile on my face, that is my mask, which all the ponies see. But as soon as I return to my house and close the door behind me, my smile fades, and the insecure Rarity takes over me...

Crying from time to time is a relief.

...

Dear diary, today I met some very nice mares.

One of them was a little crazy, the other overly shy, the other a country mare without any notion of fashion, and a pegasus that looked at me like a weirdo. They are all weird! And I don't know why, but I still feel calm and hava fun when I'm with them, we're all so different! This day was finally a good day... But the day is over, and it's time to return home, and my mask smile disappears... Obviously, this is a face that they will never see of me, with them I'll be the always worthy and elegant Rarity, the unsure mare of herself stays at home."

Again, Rarity moved a few pages forward in the diary. However, what immediately caught Dusk's attention is that in the diary a name appeared many times, crossed out on each page 'XXXXX'.

"Dear diary, I feel so happy!

Today I met a handsome colt while doing shopping in the town, his name is XXXXX. He just came up to me, told me how pretty he was, and invited me to lunch. At first, I was going to say no, but he was so gallant that he finally convinced me.

During lunch he continued praising me and telling me compliments, he's so cute! He was so kind and friendly. The poor pony almost died when he realized he wasn't bringing money with him. Finally, I paid, and we were to meet again next time... Dear diary, I think I'm falling in love!

...

Dear diary, today I met with XXXXX, he is as gallant and friendly as ever.

We went to the park together, to the theater, to dinner. There I learned that he comes from far away and that for now, it seems he does not have much money. I told him that those things didn't matter, that money matters when there is love!

I finally found the cure for my insecure self, when I'm with XXXXX, I feel safe.

...

Dear diary, today I invited XXXXX to stay at my house.

The poor guy says he has no money, so he hinted to us if we could live together. I obviously accepted, after all, he's my boyfriend, and there's nothing more romantic than a couple living together. Obviously, that's all, for now we've only kissed... Oh dear diary, the truth is that I'm afraid to go further, will that bother you? Don't! Of course not, he is a gentlecolt, and as long as he keeps showing me his love, nothing else matters, he told me! We will be together for life! At last, I found my soulmate, somepony who loves me, somepony who cares about me, somepony who will never leave me alone...

...

Dear diary, I need to buy new curtains urgently!

Today I wanted to go buy new curtains since the previous ones are old, but when I went to see my savings bank, there was nothing there. Have I taken some out at some point and forgotten it? How strange, I'm usually not so forgetful.

...

Dear diary, today I had my first discussion with XXXXX.

I discovered that he had been the one who took my money. I told him that he should’ve asked me before because I was going to use that money, I was so angry! But he promised me that he would never do it again and we hugged each other sweetly.

He is so tender when he wants, it is hard not to forgive him that way, he also said that it would not happen again.

...

Dear diary, I... I don't know what to do.

Every day is a new discussion with XXXXX, he is no longer the same one I met if I ever really knew him.

He gets mad at me for no reason, but then he shows a tender side and forces me to forgive him. I'm so confused... The ponies say that love is stronger than anything, but... Is this really love?

...

Dear diary, XXXXX cheated on me.

Today I went to the market, and I saw him having dinner with another mare. I couldn't help but spy on them and see how they laughed together while he flirted. I couldn't help but remember how he did the same with me.

I don't know what to do! Everypony in town says that we make a cute couple, if I leave it, they will all blame me! Nopony will approach me and I... I'll be alone again.

The insecure Rarity seizes me... I will not leave him, I'll make this work!

...

I... I'm a fool!

Today I had to lie to my friends. I've always used a little makeup, but today for the first time I used eyeshadow. All of them told me how beautiful I looked with my new eyeshadow, and I, with my happy Rarity mask, thanked them with all my heart, telling them that maybe I would start using them permanently. If only they knew the real reason why I started using... Every night I cry without stopping! My weak eyes can no longer! I have never used eyeshadow before, but now it is the only way to hide from the world that I cry every day and night without stopping.

I know that XXXXX cheats on me, steals from me, lies to me, but I can't do anything! I... I tried to confront him, this time I didn’t let myself be overcome by his sweet words. And then I saw him... his real personality... He shouted at me, told me I was useless, that I should be grateful to have him, that he knew me better than any other pony, that if he left, I would be left alone and nopony would ever want to love me again... Why did I open up with him!? I told him everything! He knows that behind this secret facade, I'm just a dumb mare insecure! He screamed at me, and I just cried, and all I can do is write and drown my feelings in a silly book! I... I'm pathetic...

...

Dear diary, I need help.

...

Dear diary, today I made a promise.

Today I had breakfast with my friends. Every time I find it harder to smile, but I have to do it, I don't want to scare them or worry them, although I also know that it is becoming increasingly apparent that I have a problem. I can’t avoid Applejack's worried look, I think she suspects something, but she doesn't know what it is yet, and I want it to stay that way.

The one that definitely seems to know something is Pinkie Pie. She stayed with me after breakfast and told me directly that if she had a problem that she would trust in her and the others, that it is not good for her to keep my mask all day, did she always know? I can't help but think that she understands me because she also carries her own mask that she shows to others.

Oh my, only Celestia knows everything that I trust in my friends, but I don't want to involve them in my emotional problems or worry them more than necessary, this is something that I must solve myself. However, seeing Pinkie Pie's worried face, I decided that I should definitely do something about it.

I asked Pinkie how she would make a difficult promise to fulfill, so she was very thoughtful and said that she would help me to fulfill any promise challenging to fulfill that I did, even if it was by force. She swore to herself to be the guardian of difficult promises to fulfill and thus help me with the promise I could make, then she made a silly mimic that amused me, I decided to call it the Pinkie Promise, a name that Pinkie Pie liked a lot. And then I did, I made the Pinkie Promise to leave forever XXXXX, this time I'll fulfill it; otherwise, Pinkie Pie said she would give me a thrashing, haha... I wonder if Pinkie Pie said it seriously or not.

Here I go, dear diary, wish me luck.

...

Dear diary, several days have passed, but I have not had enough strength to be able to write everything that happened that afternoon.

I... I told XXXXX that I didn't want to see him again, that he left my house. I had to gather all the courage and determination I had for those words to finally come out of my mouth.

It didn't matter that he sweetened his words and asked me to forgive him as he did so many times before. It didn't matter that he threatened me as usual and that he would shout that I was just a weak and insecure mare. None of that mattered... But I never imagined that he would react the way he did.

He began to break everything in his path, all the things that were in my house, throwing everything into the air while screaming furiously and insulting me in ways no pony should ever do.

I... my legs trembled more than I could... I had never felt so much fear in my life, especially when after breaking everything in his path, he approached slowly to me with a look of total fury... And he... he..."

At that moment Dusk stopped reading. First, because the lines were blurred, because Rarity had cried while she had written that and the tears had erased part of the writing, but the other reason why Dusk stopped reading is that his blood froze completely after discovering the horrible situation that his friend had lived.

"Rarity..." Dusk said in a trembling voice and a look of fear, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer of what he was going to ask. "Did... did he...?" Dusk said shakily, unable to articulate what he was thinking.

Rarity, who was looking at the table with a look of panic, closed her eyes tightly and took her time before answering, knowing what Dusk wanted to ask.

"He pushed me against a chair... and it hurt my leg..." Rarity wrote slowly on her blackboard. "After that, he left, and I never saw him again."

Reading what Rarity wrote on her blackboard, Dusk's blood, which had been frozen from fear, heated up to boil as a blind rage grew on him.

With that brutish coltfriend Rarity had, discovering how he had reacted when she kicked him out of his house, Dusk was grateful that that brute had only pushed Rarity and nothing more serious had happened. Imagining his delicate and sweet friend being pushed by a rough colt, Dusk's blood boiled with anger as his sight turned red for a second.

"A colt doesn't lay a hoof on a mare, all the colts know that!" Dusk thought to try to reason in vain while trying to control his anger. "Rarity is my friend! If I ever see that brutish colt someday, I... I don't know what I'll do!"

"Please, keep reading." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, still with a look of shame and fear on her face.

Dusk breathed slowly to calm down, and with much trepidation, continued reading the diary.

"Dear diary, it's been a week since XXXXX left my life, and it seems that he was right, no matter how hard I try, I can't get out of the abyss I am in, a chasm that only seems to deepen each day.

Loneliness invades me, I hate being alone. Sometimes I feel like running in search of that idiot, but immediately I remember that would be the worst thing I could do in my life. Luckily, it seems that Pinkie Pie's sixth sense always warns her every time I think that. She appears to give me a hug and reminds me of my Pinkie Promise. But loneliness is not the only bad thing that XXXXX has left behind.

It took me a couple of days to find out why everypony in the town looked at me with such a dirty face after I kicked XXXXX out from my house. It seems that he left me one last gift before leaving Ponyville, talking to everypony in town, telling them how bad I was and how cruel I was to drive him out of my house. That's how everypony now thinks I was the evil one in that toxic relationship. That's something that bothers me a lot, but I'm so mentally tired that at this moment I do not care what everyone believes in the town, as long as my friends believe in me, that's enough for me... My friends, they were so kind as to ask me about what had happened, even to relieve my loneliness, they gave me a small kitten that I now take care of. Obviously, they know something terrible happened, but they wait for me to calm down and tell them, although I really don't know if that happens, I think there are things I prefer to keep away from my sweet friends."

Rarity again used her magic to advance a few more pages in the diary so that Dusk could continue reading.

"Dear diary, I want to stop being one on the outside and another on the inside, but I can't.

When I'm with my friends, I completely forget all the problems I had, but when I'm alone, I can't help but remember everything that I experienced and begin feeling weak.

The foolish and weak Rarity, who made one of the worst decisions of her life and fell in love with a boor, and now... now I can only be with my friends, only with mares.

I never thought that the damage done by XXXXX was so much. Now, every time a colt looks at me or touches me by chance, I can't help but remember that brute and all the damage he did to me. I tried to forget about him, even to erase his name from all my diary, but I can't, like a thorn in my heart, it seems that it will remain forever embedded there.

...

Dear diary, today I made a decision, I decided that I would not let that brute that I had as a boyfriend win.

I always believed in love, that love is the most beautiful and powerful force in the world. I always dreamt that when I was a mare, I would fall in love so hard that I wanted to scream with happiness. But now how do I do it? That brute left me a great wound, now the fear I feel to be with another colt only grows and grows, fearing that history will repeat itself. But if I lock myself in, he wins, and I can't let that happen, I must believe that love exists somewhere.

...

Dear diary, today I forced myself to try.

Today I'll be with a friendly colt from the town who invited me to go out.

When he spoke to me and looked me in the eye, I couldn't help but tremble and imagine the XXXXX face on that colt's face. But still I forced myself to accept, I must be strong and overcome my fears.

...

Dear diary, I don't know how many times the same thing happened already.

I try! I try because I want to overcome my fears, but it always repeats itself.

Every time a colt invites me out, we both have a good time together, going for a walk, having dinner, laughing. But every time a colt comes to touch me, I run away. I can't! I can't stop seeing the face of that brute trying to kiss me, and my body trembles from tail to head and I have to flee from my fears.

It seems that that brute won... I'll never be able to fall in love again.

...

Dear diary, today I realized that I have a new nickname in the town.

It seems that being with so many colts to try to break my fears made many mares began to say that I was a 'Femme Fatale', a mare that uses her attraction to conquer colts and use them at will. Of course, the rumors started by that brute before he left the town and now I’ve encouraged that story.

But you know what diary, I like it. I like everypony to think that I am a femme fatale, a fatal mare. So no pony will see my interior, and no other colt will come near me thinking that I am weak. I must be strong! Or at least, to make others believe that I am..."

The magic of Rarity was activated again, this time advancing several pages in the diary until almost reaching the end of this.

"Dear diary, today my heart jumped with emotion.

Today I went to the Spa and met a particular colt. He was definitely not my type, but as I always do with the new colts I know, I was sure of myself and flirted with him. The colts should never see me weak and insecure, they should only know the Femme Fatale of the town. However, that colt acted differently to all the other colts I've been with, and what amazed me the most was when he hugged me. For the first time I didn't run away, I just stood there, totally unarmed, not knowing what to do, but it was not a lousy insecurity, it was as if I knew it didn't matter if for a second I was weak in front of everypony, because those hooves would be there to protect me.

I... I think I've never felt like this. What is this? Is it what I have been searching for but could never find? I don't know, but I can feel it. I'm so afraid to say it, but I'll risk doing it. I think this can be-"

Before Dusk Shine kept reading, Rarity suddenly closed the diary.

"That hug was the first hug I received from a colt in a long, long time." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, glancing at Dusk while levitating the diary away from Dusk.

Rarity levitated the diary to her front, held it in her hooves, looked at it with sorrow, and placed it on a table.

"I know that now you think I was a fool, a weak pony who was not able to value herself and who suffered the consequences of her own weakness." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, her eyes almost ready to cry. "But I'd rather you know that I'm a coward than you think I'm a tramp."

At that moment Dusk quickly approached Rarity and hugged her tightly.

"You are not a coward." Dusk said softly as he hugged his friend. "In such a toxic relationship, the dominant in the relationship will gradually destroy the spirit of its partner to make the other feel inferior and worthless, to have its partner under their control. But you stood firm, you realized that he was killing you inside and you armed yourself with the courage to face him... Rarity, you are a very brave mare. "

As soon as Dusk said those words, ending with 'you are very brave mare', Rarity's tears couldn't contain themselves, and the white unicorn wept as she had never cried. A cry that mixed sadness and happiness, a cry that had been contained for years and now was finally released after finally being able to share that terrible experience that lived on that she believed was her first love and then broke her heart.

"I knew it... these hooves will always protect me..." Rarity thought as she cried and held on tightly to Dusk's hooves hugging her.

"I finally understand why Rarity kept that look of fear as I read the diary. Not only she thought I would think bad of her, but she also had to overcome the fear of opening up in front of another colt, knowing that the last colt that she opened herself to ended up betraying her feelings vilely and used that weakness to abuse her." Dusk thought as he continued to comfort his friend.

After Rarity finally finished crying and thus free her soul from that heavy load, both ponies slowly parted and watched each other with a sweet smile.

"And by the way, I would never believe that you are a tramp, I know you, and I would never believe in foolish rumors." Dusk said smiling at his friend.

"Then it was too much to show you my diary." Rarity wrote with a tender smile, making both of them laugh together.

"So... Who is the real Rarity?" Dusk asked curiously, getting a little more serious. "The one I've met so far is just a mask?"

"No. I have for a long time now accepted that the Rarity that appears with strength and security is part of me." Rarity wrote with a confident smile. "I love walking safely through the village. Being feminine by nature, sometimes a little flirtatious, being sociable. I learned that it's not a mask, it's just another part of me. It's just that I haven't always been like this and I don't always feel that way. Now you know that even though I promote my reputation as a coquette with the colts, I am a little, or rather, more shy than everypony thinks. Just keep it a secret."

"Besides, with you, I don't pretend to be flirtatious." Rarity thought, remembering that ever since she met Dusk, she realized that she was more daring and flirtatious naturally with him. Not because everything was a performance and she wanted to maintain her fame as a fatal mare, as it had happened with all the other colts that had invited her to a date sometime, but because only with Dusk she had the confidence to want and be able to be flirtatious naturally, him and only him.

"I'm glad to hear that, after all, I love the way you are." Dusk said honestly smiling, then blushing immediately when realizing what he had said, while Rarity also blushed. "I-I mean, I-I really like your way of being, elegant, feminine... you... it looks great on you..."

Both unicorns remained silent looking at the floor while they blushed.

"B-By the way, are you going to keep talking to me by the blackboard?" Dusk asked wanting to change the subject so as not to be embarrassed by the cheesy thing he had just said.

"I have to do, I must fulfill my pinkie promise." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes, I suppose she more than anypony else wants to fulfill her pinkie promise, after all, it was her who asked Pinkie Pie to invent them." Dusk thought, pursing his lip thoughtfully.

"Well, I think it's time to go, I have to see if I can make Spike stop being mad at me." Dusk said approaching the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, and don't worry, I'll think of something so that we can talk again normally."

"I'm sure you'll find the way, you always do it." Rarity wrote, showing a big smile to Dusk as she escorted him to the door.

While Dusk walked away from the Boutique Carousel, thinking about the roller coaster of emotions that had meant that afternoon with Rarity, Dusk turned one last time to look back. In the doorway of the house was his friend, saying goodbye tenderly with a big smile.

When seeing his friend smiling, Dusk couldn't help but smile as well, feeling happy just to see her with a smile after all she had suffered. Then a sudden image of a big, rough pony pushing Rarity and causing her to hurt, made Dusk's see red again, and unreasonable anger ran through his body for a second.

"I'll protect them... always." Dusk whispered, closing his eyes and breathing slowly to calm down. Realizing that he had never been so angry in his life more than imagining somepony hurting his friends.

"First Fluttershy and now Rarity... I still have a lot to know about my friends to consider me a good friend... I should try harder in my friendship lessons." Dusk thought after reassuring himself and thinking about the secrets he had discovered from his friends and that they had trusted him to tell them, a confidence that he should reciprocate.

Finally, reassuring himself, Dusk opened his eyes again and looked where Rarity had to go, saying goodbye, but he couldn't see well, because as soon as he opened his eyes, the sun just began to hide and the evening light was reflected just in the windows of the Carousel Boutique.

Dusk narrowed his eyes at the reflection of the sun, not sure if his friend was still smiling at him or not. And it was at that precise moment, with the sun reflecting in his eyes, that a brilliant idea hit him like lightning, which made him almost jump because of it.

"That... That can work! I can't be sure, but if it works, I’ll be able to help Rarity!" Dusk thought surprised and excited, turning and starting to run at full speed towards the town.

Meanwhile, Rarity, who remained faithfully at the doorway of her house saying goodbye to Dusk, finally after seeing that Dusk suddenly left running at full speed after seeing the Boutique, went back inside.

Once Rarity closed the door behind her, she gave a heavy sigh, resting from all the emotions she had had to live and relive that afternoon. Then she went to where she had left her diary, picked it up, and took it with her to keep it in the same drawer with a key where she kept it.

Just before putting it away, Rarity opened the paper one last time, right on the page where she had taken it from Dusk.

"I don't know, but I can feel it. I'm so afraid to say it, but I'll risk doing it. I think this can be... LOVE."

"It is, now I'm sure." Rarity said after reading what she had written the day she met Dusk and felt his warm embrace for the first time.





"Order in the room!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she entered the library room to continue and give a verdict on Rarity's pinkie promise.

The room was as it had been ordered the previous day, with Pinkie Pie in the center in front of her stool, Rarity and Spike on one side of the room, and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack on the other end, the only difference being the absence of Dusk Shine.

"As it was agreed yesterday, today we will finish the trial of the Rarity’s pinkie promise." Pinkie Pie said with a serious tone, looking at where her friends were. "Does the defense have any new arguments, witnesses, or evidence to add to the case?"

All the mares looked at each other without responding, with looks of concern to know that they were about to condemn Rarity to never speak with Dusk Shine again.

"Well, since there is no new antecedent to present, I ask the jury to give its verdict based on the facts and declare the accused as-" Pinkie Pie said raising her 'hammer' rubber chicken, before being abruptly interrupted.

"Wait!" Dusk shouted excitedly, surprisingly entering the library door, holding what appeared to be a piece of paper. "I have evidence to present to the jury!"

Then Dusk entered and approached the jury: Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, showing them the paper he was carrying, which turned out to be a photograph.

"Observe! This is a photograph taken at the fashion show, taken just as Rarity made her pinkie promise." Dusk said pointing the photo, which for some reason was somewhat blurred, but they were still able to see it, it had Rarity standing in front of Dusk, lifting her hoof while marking a cross on her chest to make the pinkie promise.

"What do we have to...? Wait! I know!" Rainbow Dash screamed after discovering what Dusk wanted them to see in the photograph.

"Rarity made the mark on her chest with her left hoof!" Applejack said in amazement, also discovering the meaning of the photo.

"Exactly!" Dusk said with a smile that was nervous for a second. "When Pinkie Pie taught me to make the pinkie promise, she would make the cross on her chest with the right hoof and then hit her eye with the left hoof. Every time I saw her, Fluttershy and Rarity made the promise. They all made the cross with the right hoof; however, in the fashion show, Rarity was so angry that she didn't notice and made the promise pinkie with the wrong hoof! What it means-"

"That the pinkie promise is not valid!" Fluttershy shouted with joy, looking at Rarity, who was the most astonished of all present.

"Then it's time for the jury president to give her verdict." Dusk said quickly, glancing at Pinkie Pie, who just stared silently at what happened with a small smile.

"You said you would trust what Applejack said, you can't question the jury, you said it yourself! You fell in your own trap Pinkie Pie." Dusk thought with some nervousness, preparing that answer in case Pinkie Pie wanted to extend the trial further, however, his pink friend did nothing.

Applejack looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and both nodded with a smile.

"The jury states that the pinkie promise of Rarity was wrongly made. Therefore, it is not valid." Applejack said trying to be serious but couldn't help but smile while saying the verdict.

"Well, case closed." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, hitting her rubber chicken twice on the stool.

As soon as Pinkie Pie hit her 'hammer,' Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy jumped to embrace Rarity, where Spike was already hugging her as she let out tears of joy, finally being able to talk to her friends again. The one that was delayed a couple of seconds before joining her friends was Applejack, who looked for a second out of the corner of her eye at Dusk while her sixth sense told her something.

"Dusk is hiding something... But I guess now ain’t the time to ask." Applejack thought, who felt that Dusk had been slightly nervous for a second.

While the jury met with the accused to celebrate the ruling, Dusk secretly used his magic to get rid of the photo he had used to exculpate Rarity. Even if his friends had not noticed, that photo did have something to hide, something that if someone looked at it in detail, they could realize that all this had been a clever deception.

The truth was that this photo was real. It didn't have any magical edition like that. However, the trick had been that that photo was only a reflection, a photo taken from one of the mirrors that had been in the fashion show that had coincidentally reflected Rarity making the promise pinkie. That's why she appeared making the pinkie promise with her left hoof although, in reality, she had done it with the right, and that was why the photograph appeared a bit blurred. Dusk had spent all the afternoon of the yesterday and the morning of today getting all the pictures taken in the fashion show and reviewing them one by one with hope of finding the photo he was looking for. For his luck with the enormous number of photographers who were in the fashion show, he finally found the photo he needed.

"The photo is real, but the image is not, it's just a reflection." Dusk thought as he made the photograph disappear so no one would take a second look. "I must admit that it was one of my brightest ideas, I don't even know how I came up with such a clever idea!" Dusk thought with a little pride.

"It's a relief that everything went well, right?" Pinkie Pie said surprisingly next to Dusk, who had already removed her disguise as a judge.

"Gah! I... I'm sorry, the picture is gone." Dusk said hastily, thinking that Pinkie Pie was there to ask for the picture, after all, the day before at the trial, she had been determined to judge Rarity, and maybe she had not given up.

"I don't want to see it, remember, the rules of the trial said that we would accept without hesitation what the jury said." Pinkie Pie said smiling. "As I said before, justice is neither good nor bad, it's just a reflection of our actions."

"That was also said yesterday... Why does she repeat that old saying so much-?" Dusk thought until he was struck down by a surprising idea. "Wait a second! Now that I think about it... Throughout yesterday's trial, Pinkie Pie unnecessarily repeated the same word again and again: 'reflect', she repeated it many times, and yesterday, when I said goodbye to Rarity, and I started thinking about the trial, the first thing that came to my mind was the word 'reflect', what if..."

Dusk looked astonished at Pinkie Pie.

"What if she repeated it so much so that word stayed in my subconscious and so I could discover that picture! What if it wasn't my idea but Pinkie Pie's... No, it's impossible, besides, what would she win with that? If so, why didn't she just tell me-?" Dusk thought until another revelation flashed into his mind. "She is the guardian of the pinkie promises, which means that if she came up with the little trick I used, she needed somepony else to realize that because she couldn't do it... And not only that! She forced us to accept what Applejack decided as president of the jury, I thought that would only hurt us, but if we managed to cheat Applejack, Pinkie would have to comply with the verdict despite knowing that everything was a farce... It can't be... It’s the only way to save Rarity from the pinkie promise she made and that at the same time Pinkie Pie didn't have to stop enforcing the pinkie promises. It is brilliant! This trial was not because Pinkie Pe wanted to abuse her power and punish Rarity as I thought, it was the opposite, it was to save Rarity!"

At that moment Dusk raised his sight after getting dizzy with his own deductions and theories. Seeing that Pinkie Pie saw him with a particularly sly smile.

"Something happened?" Pinkie asked, returning to her usual smile.

"Pinkie Pie... sometimes I think you're crazy, and then you're a genius... Maybe ... a little bit of both." Dusk thought with a smile, knowing that he would probably never know the truth about whether it had all been Pinkie Pie's plan or not, because even if it were, she would never admit it.

"Thank you." Dusk finally said in a whisper.

"Why?" Pinkie Pie responded smiling, answering exactly what Dusk knew she would say.

"In truth, pinkie promises can't be broken, we have to take them seriously." Dusk added, deciding to change the subject, going to something that still worried him about the pinkie promises. "Pinkie... Is it true that the former librarian disappeared after she broke a pinkie promise?" Dusk asked with a slight tone of concern.

"Yes... Do you want to know what happened to her for breaking a pinkie promise?" Pinkie Pie answered, looking darkly at Dusk. Then she changed face radically and smiled with her usual smile. "I paid her an all-paid ticket to Las Pegasus."

"Huh?" Dusk said confused. "She broke her pinkie promise, and you paid her a trip."

"Yes!" Pinkie Pie answered, putting a more thoughtful look as she remembered. "I was distraught with her, so I gave her that trip so I would not have to see her for a couple of days, and she would relax and reflect on her mistake and thus never break a pinkie promise again."

"T-Then, how come no pony else in town has seen her?" Dusk asked confused.

"Well, it turns out that while she was traveling, she found a better job, in the Las Pegasus library." Pinkie Pie answered with a shrug. "She wrote to me informing me of the news, but when I was going to tell the others, I realized that for some reason they all believed that I had made her disappear."

"But why-?" Dusk asked, thinking about why her friend didn't tell them the truth, but he kept quiet when he thought to know the answer... Surely Pinkie Pie didn't tell them the truth so that her friends would take their pinkie promises more seriously. "Hehe, so the punishment for breaking a pinkie promise is a free trip to Las Pegasus, maybe I should break one."

"Would you really like to leave the town?" Pinkie Pie asked with a slightly sad look.

At the question of Pinkie Pie, Dusk reflected and thought better what he had just said.

"No, you're right... I'll never break a pinkie promise, and so you'll never have to throw me out of town." Dusk said with a big smile, making Pinkie Pie smile happily too.

"Dusk!!" Rarity shouted after finishing receiving the hugs of her friends. Jumping to hug Dusk Shine's neck, screaming Dusk's name, something she'd wanted to do since she'd 'almost' made that silly pinkie promise.

"I'm glad to hear your sweet voice again." Dusk said, smiling when he saw Rarity so happy, and also blushing to have her so close as she was holding him.

"I promise to never distrust you or act so hastily again!" Rarity said with her bright eyes and a radiant smile, totally happy to finally be able to have a conversation with Dusk again. "I'll have to make you a great gift to compensate you!"

"Rarity, that is not necessary." Dusk said, quickly interrupted by Rarity.

"Please, let me do this." Rarity said with a determined look, repeating exactly what Dusk had said the previous day. "Yesterday you insisted on inviting me to lunch to apologize, now it's my turn to do something for you, and I know exactly what I'll do... I'll make you a beautiful Gala suit!"

"A suit for the Gala?" Dusk asked incredulously.

"Yes, and not just you." Rarity added, turning and looking at all her friends. "I'll make a dress for each of you, it'll be my way of thanking you for everything and compensating you for all the problems I caused you."

"A Gala dress!" Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said excited in unison, with a big smile.

"A Gala dress?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said in unison, with a slight expression of displeasure.

"Yes, they'll be perfect! There are designs that I have had in mind for a long time, they'll look great on you all!" Rarity said excitedly, already beginning to design in her mind what would be the best colors and designs of dresses for each of her friends. Then, seeing that unlike Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed with an anxious look, she decided to motivate them. "Easy, I promise you that the dresses will be as much or more beautiful than you can imagine, I assure you!"

At that moment each of the mares imagined what a perfect dress would look like, while Dusk did the same thing when imagining an ideal formal suit for the Gala, and with that thought, they all smiled and accepted the great gift that Rarity wanted to make them. It was so that Rarity smiled full of emotion as she imagined her own versions of the dresses for her friends, without guessing how abysmal the difference between the designs she imagined compared to the designs her friends had pictured.

# End of chapter 33
> Chapter 34 - Love can heal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love can Heal

"Are you really going to make a dress for each of them, including a suit for me?" Dusk asked as he entered Rarity's room, following his unicorn friend.

After Rarity told all her friends that she would make the dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala as an apology for all the problems she had caused, she ran up to her room, totally excited at the idea of designing beautiful costumes for them, her best friends. The only thing that Rarity managed to say while running down the stairs was that everyone showed up right there the next day so they could see the preliminary designs.

It was so the other mares smiled to see their friend so happy, and they left delighted for having finally solved that whole problem with the pinkie promise, however, before leaving, Dusk bit his lip and turned to see where his friend had gone. A strong feeling of not wanting to leave her alone took hold of him, after all, he had almost been on the verge of not being able to hear her beautiful voice anymore, and that fear made him want to talk with her a little longer before leaving. Finally, Dusk was motivated to go up to his friend's room, a room that also served Rarity as a sewing workshop.

"Of course, I will! The only thing I regret is that it never occurred to me before!" Rarity said excitedly as with her magic. She blew a lot of things at once, like needles, thread, and pieces of cloth, ordering her room. At the same, she was taking large sheets of paper and a pen in front of her.

Seeing Rarity's ability to manipulate so many things in detail, Dusk began to think about something, but he was quickly interrupted by a blow to his side.

"Excuse me!" Spike said annoyed, making his way through Dusk's hooves since the unicorn had stood in front of the door, preventing the free passage.

The little dragon had had a feeling very similar to what his brother had felt, so as soon as he saw Dusk going up to Rarity's room, he quickly followed.

"Spike, are you still mad at me? I told you it was all a misunderstanding." Dusk said with regret, realizing that his little brother apparently still blamed him for everything that had happened with Rarity. "I'm really sorry."

"I know it was a misunderstanding... Rarity explained everything to me." Spike said, pursing his lip, still not looking at his brother. "But even so, although everything was solved, I'm still a bit annoyed with you."

Dusk had learned that Spike really seemed to have a great passion for Rarity, something that seemed to be not just a passing crush since they were in Ponyville, it seemed that Spike was falling more and more in love with the white unicorn. For this reason, Dusk understood correctly why it was so tricky for Spike to forgive him.

"But you'll still forgive me, right?" Dusk added with a small smile, knowing that deep down his brother was not so spiteful.

"Yes... but it will take me a couple of days." Spike answered Dusk, admitting that deep down he knew that Dusk was not to blame and that he would have to forgive him at some point, despite the severe problems he had caused his beloved, but even so, his stubbornness made it impossible to forgive him in that same instant. His brother would have to wait a few more days until his anger finally dissipated completely.

Suddenly a drawing sheet went flying from where Rarity was and fell in front of both brothers. Both Spike and Dusk came to see the fallen sheet where the silhouette of a mare in a long evening dress was drawn. Then another one fell near them with another drawing of the outline of a pony wearing a similar but tighter dress at her waist.

"Wow, these are really good." Dusk said, admiring his friend's sketches.

"They are beautiful dresses.” Spike said flatteringly to his muse, but not falsely, since the drawings, although simple, really allowed him to see the process in making a beautiful dress.

"Those designs do not work at all." Rarity said while still drawing on her desk. "Each dress must be unique, but each dress must fit perfectly to each one, which is why even if they look good, I immediately know that those sketches will not work for the dresses I imagine for my friends."

Seeing that Rarity was still totally focused on her work, Dusk remembered what he had thought when he had seen her manipulate so many objects at once. He immediately thought of the three principles of magic and how his strength was 'power,' Trixie's 'concentration,' and for a moment Dusk thought that the latter was also Rarity's strong point. But seeing how different sketches flew, all born of nothing in the mind of his friend, Dusk had to change his appreciation to realize that his friend was definitely strong in the last principle of magic, the 'imagination.'

While he thought that, Dusk could see Rarity's eyes, which remained true to the sketches she drew, and Dusk could see 'that' shine in his friend's eyes, a brightness caused by Rarity's strong imagination. “Creativity”. Dusk was sure that while Rarity was drawing, her mind was already making thousands of costume designs, devising what would be the best designs for the dresses of her friends. At that moment, Dusk remembered how he had seen a similar glow when he saw Applejack harvesting on the farm but Dusk also realized that Rarity was something different. For the brightness in her eyes was not just for the joy of doing something she liked, like designing dresses, but also by the joy of imagining the smile on the faces of her friends from seeing them receive a gift from her and how they would adore them.

"You're..." Dusk said without taking his eyes off Rarity, not realizing he was thinking out loud.

"You're amazing..." Spike said, going ahead a fraction of a second to what Dusk was going to say, which was exactly what Dusk was thinking.

Being pulled from his thoughts by Spike's phrase, Dusk turned to see his brother, surprised to note that they almost said the same thing at the same time. Then Dusk realized that Spike didn’t even know what had happened and was only looking at her with the same stupid face he always has when she is around.

Noticing that, Dusk turned all red and turned quickly.

"I-I think I'll be leaving now; I'll see you tomorrow.” Dusk said nervously, saying goodbye to Rarity, who was totally focused on her work.

Dusk quickly trotted down the stairs, with one question in his mind.

"Have I been looking at Rarity with the same look that Spike has? A fool in love?" Dusk thought, totally embarrassed.





It was the next day, and as the unicorn fashionista asked them, Dusk Shine and his friends met again at the Carousel Boutique to see the expected designs that Rarity had prepared for them.

"Sorry for making you all wait!" Rarity finally said, going down the stairs of her room to the main hall, where the others were gathered.

Meeting with her friends, Rarity couldn't help but yawn, after all, she had stayed up all night thinking and working on the preliminary designs for her friends' dresses. But even the dream could not prevent her from smiling. Completely excited, she was ready to present the sketches to her friends. To her, they were the perfect designs for her friends.

"I hope you're not over-demanding." Applejack said, noticing the small circles that Rarity happened to miss while putting her makeup on.

"It's nothing, just had little sleep, but I'm just so excited!" Rarity said excitedly, completely forgetting the tiredness she felt. "Every sketch I made was discarded, again and again, always wanting the dresses to be perfect, unique, that represented the best of my friends, their tastes, their talents... It was so very complex that it cost me a lot to translate it into the design’s final, but I think I finally did it! The perfect dresses for each one of you!"

Before the words of Rarity, the other ponies were contagious with the emotion of their friend. Rarity was the best dress designer in the whole town, and if she said she had finally come up with the perfect dresses for all of them, it meant that the dresses really must be beautiful, with everything they would expect. This was how everyone's expectations grew to a maximum level.

"There you have them!" Rarity said excitedly, levitating with her magic several drawing sheets, passing one to each of her friends, the sheet on which was drawn the final design of their own gala dress that she would make for each of them. "What do you think!?" Rarity added excitedly, looking forward to the response of his friends.

As soon as Dusk took the sheet with the sketch of what would be his suit, the smile he had could only be kept frozen by obligation, because the sketch that appeared drawn with his future suit, was very, very distant of what he had expected. Because of Rarity's high expectations, Dusk had expected a magnificent gala suit, that would stand out, intelligent, sophisticated... But what Dusk saw in the sketch was rather a simple suit, with several unique details, of course, but Dusk could not avoid feeling that this was definitely not what he expected, less from someone with the talent that Rarity had.

Keeping his smile forced, Dusk glanced sideways at his other friends, and to his surprise, he saw that they were all having the same forced smile as he had. It was so that everyone understood that everyone felt the same way: 'It was not what I expected, but we can't tell Rarity!'

"W-What... Don’t you like them?" Rarity asked after an awkward silence, obviously noticing that her friends were smiling nervously.

"No, no, no, no... Hmm... well, yes." Applejack said with a nervous smile, unable to avoid telling the truth finally.

"Do you all think the same?" Rarity asked disappointed, focusing her gaze on her friends and stopping at Dusk.

"Err... well, it's not that I don’t like it, it's actually very... nice." Dusk responded timidly, not wanting to lie to his friend nor hurt her. "It's just that with everything you said..."

"I thought it would be cooler, I mean, if I'm going to wear a dress in public, I was hoping it would be cooler." Rainbow Dash said completing what Dusk wanted to say. Then the pegasus noticed the look of disappointment on Rarity’s face, and immediately retracted what she said. "B-But, Hey! I have no problem wearing something like that, I-I think it will be a... nice dress."

"Yes... it's... special, and I love the special kind of… uh… dresses!" Pinkie Pie added with a nervous smile, trying to cheer up Rarity.

"You don't have to lie, if you don’t like it, you have to tell me." Rarity said with a slightly more serious look, then she sighed and smiled shyly. "Listen, these are just sketches, I can change them, you can make arrangements, so don’t worry, now... wait here, I... I'll go up and see what changes I can make to the sketches."

Then Rarity turned around and climbed back to her room. In the meantime, her friends stayed there with guilty looks for having rejected their friend's hard work.

"Ugh... I feel terrible." Rainbow Dash said annoyed with herself, feeling that everyone shared there.

"The dresses are a gift from Rarity, we should... we should have said that we liked them even if it wasn’t true." Applejack said, chewing her lip, blaming herself for being so honest.

"At least she didn’t show us the finished dresses, can you imagine? It would have been a disaster." Pinkie Pie added with a nervous smile.

"She was so tired... She had to work all night on those sketches, if only we could help her." Fluttershy said with a sad look.

"That's it!" Dusk said surprisingly. "If we help her, maybe we can share the burden and at the same time, we can help her to really make them how we want them to be."

It was so that Dusk began to climb the stairs to Rarity's room, followed by his other friends.

Upon entering the room, Dusk immediately noticed that Rarity was again in absolute concentration mode, holding a pen and not taking her eyes off her desk. However, unlike the previous day, this time Rarity did not draw at full speed, this time she only bit the tip of the pen while holding her head with a hoof and kept an uncomfortable look, as if she could not flow any more ideas in her mind while watching the sketches of the designs.

"Ahem...! Rarity?" Dusk coughed heavily to get Rarity out of her thoughts.

"Huh!? Why did you all come up here? I told you to wait downstairs." Rarity said, confused.

"We thought maybe we could help you.” Dusk said with a kind smile.

"Oh, thank you darling, but it's not necessary, remember, this is my gift to you." Rarity said, smiling.

"Hmm... well, maybe you don’t want us to help you make the dresses..." Dusk said, scratching his head and quick thinking of another solution. "But maybe we can help you with some ideas for the designs."

"Ideas for your designs?" Rarity repeated confused, then stopped for a second to see her friends one by one, and then smiled with a slight air of arrogance. "I'm sorry, dear, but that's precisely what I meant, that is, I would prefer that you help me by making clothes to help me with the design, it is the most important step when it comes to making a new dress! But if I do let you help me with them, you may accidentally do more harm than good, I think it's better that I do it by myself."

"Please, we can do it, we can help you with the designs!" Dusk responded quickly, not being able to avoid be bothered a bit, since he didn't like to be underestimated, even if it was something he didn't know how to do, like making a dress. "I mean, we just have to give ideas on who wants what’s, how hard can it be?"

"How hard can it be!?" Rarity said slowly, this time she was getting upset. "Are you saying that my work is easy to do?"

Before the intense look of Rarity, Dusk Shine realized that what he had just said underestimated his friends work, which made him immediately regret it. Totally nervous, Dusk glanced at his friends behind him to seek some support, but his friends looked away and just kept whistling softly without making eye contact with Dusk, knowing that Dusk had screwed up and not wanting to get involved in a possible discussion.

"W-Well... w-what I wanted to say is... is that it should not be hard to know what each of the girls' like." Dusk finally responded, totally nervous. "That... that's it."

Rarity continued to look at Dusk with an intense look, not anger, but annoyance. Then, after a few seconds when no one spoke, Rarity changed her face, pursing her lip as she looked up with a thoughtful look, and then she looked back at Dusk, this time staring at him with a cunning smile, which could only mean that there was going to be some new problems coming for the lavender unicorn.

"Very well, if you think it's so simple to design the dresses, then YOU will make the dresses." Rarity said with a big smile. All before the look of shock in both Dusk and their friends faces.

"What!? No! I couldn’t, I mean, I don't even know how to sew well, and-" Dusk said panicking, regretful of having talked more than he should.

"Don't worry, I'll help you at all times, you just have to do the design and guide me when I make the dressing assembly, don’t worry, everything will be fine!" Rarity said with a sincere and friendly smile. "So we'll see if designing is really that easy.” Rarity added, giving Dusk a fleeting, penetrating look of punishment.

"Dusk will make the dresses?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

"Is that really a good idea?" Applejack added also doubting the ability and sense of fashion of Dusk.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise." Rarity smiled.

"Mine first! Mine first!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, jumping in front of Dusk.

"Heh... Maybe it's not so bad." Rainbow Dash said, also accepting the idea.

"Well, it's decided then!" Rarity said with a big smile.

Then the other four mares imitated Rarity, and they all stared at Dusk with a big smile.

"How do I keep getting myself into these situations?" It was the only thing Dusk thought about, making a nervous smile when he saw the unjustified trust that his friends put in him, with no other choice than to accept this ‘punishment’ Rarity had just given him.





The first obstacle to overcome, before starting with the dresses, was time. Because making five dresses and his own suit required more time than Dusk anticipated, so the first thing he had to do was look for someone to replace him as the librarian, after all, Dusk couldn't close the library, even now, since for some unknown reason, it was filled with mares reading a particular series of comics that was causing a sensation among the mares of the town and which Dusk had not yet taken the time to review its content.

Spike was who came to mind for the job, but Dusk doubted that Spike would accept easily, even knowing that this would mean that Dusk would be alone with Rarity at home. However, to Dusk's surprise, Spike didn’t give much importance and accepted without problems.

"No problem, and it doesn't bother me that you’re at Rarity’s without me." Spike had responded when Dusk asked him. "Besides, I'm Rarity's real star assistant, hehe." Spike added with a small clever smile as if he knew something Dusk didn't know.

Once that was resolved, the next thing was to order the shifts, since it was difficult to have all his friends in one place, so the mares took turns visiting Rarity and Dusk one at a time, and so they worked alone in one dress at a time.

That's how the first day arrived, with everything ready in Rarity's workshop. And the first pony to go and give their ideas for her dress was Rainbow Dash.

"Doesn't matter." Rainbow Dash said looking away.

"What do you mean doesn't matter?" Dusk answered.

"That it doesn't matter, you know, I don't really like to wear dresses, so it doesn't matter, anything you choose will be fine." Rainbow Dash answered with a shrug.

Since Rainbow Dash was the first dress he would need to design, Dusk had to admit that he was excited about what he would do, because although he was mostly forced to accept job, as time passed, Dusk began to see the positive side, because he was excited to do something new, and at the same time, to do something that would help him to know more about his friends. It was for that reason that Dusk's enthusiasm fell to the floor when rainbow Pegasus gave her ‘idea’.

For a moment, Dusk scratched his head, not knowing what to do. Then he approached one of the mannequins that Rarity had and indicated to Rainbow Dash the dress that was on this.

"How about this dress? Do you like it?" Dusk asked, kindly.

"Hmm... Nah!" Rainbow Dash responded negatively after seeing the dress pointed out by Dusk.

"Okay, how’s this?" Dusk asked again, this time pointing to another dress.

"Hmm... Nah!" Rainbow Dash responded again in the same way.

"How about this-?" Dusk said, being interrupted quickly.

"Nah!" Rainbow Dash said without giving Dusk time to speak.

"If you don’t like them, it's because you DO like something! Just tell me what you like!" Dusk finish screaming, irritated to see that he wasn’t getting anything from Rainbow Dash.

During Dusk’s outburst, Rarity couldn’t help but laugh seeing how the stress was just beginning, Dusk was already in trouble. Then Dusk glanced at Rarity and could only lower his head, frustrated to discover that Rarity was right, and it seemed that this would be more difficult than he expected.

"I don't know what I want, I just want something... cool." Rainbow Dash added to see that Dusk still didn't understand.

"Something cool?" Dusk said with a confused look.

Then Dusk put a hoof on his lip and began to think. After all, he hasn’t started on a completely blank canvas, he already knew a lot about his friends, now it was only for him to use that information and think about what someone like Rainbow Dash could consider 'cooler.'

Dusk took the drawing block for the first time and made a crude drawing of a dress for Rainbow Dash, although more than dress it looked like the dress of a racing pony.

"Hmm... yes... I think you have something there." Rainbow Dash said after seeing Dusk's drawing. "But it has to be cooler, you know, hmm... twenty percent cooler."

It was then that Dusk looked at Rarity with a proud smile, because he was finally able to achieve something, a design that Rainbow Dash liked, and that meant that he had already made an improvement when compared to Rarity's designs. At Dusk's glance, Rarity just looked at him and smiled kindly without malice.

"I already have the design!" Dusk said once Rainbow Dash finally gave the nod to Dusk's sketch, approaching Rarity with a smile. "Now what?"

"Well, what's left is to see the type of fabric to be used, the colors, the seam... Hmm, how are you at sewing?" Rarity asked, asking the question she needed to ask; however, there was no need for an answer since it was clear enough to her, she could see Dusk's nervous smile knowing that it was surely going to be a disaster. "Don't worry dear, I think I'll take care of that Hmm... you also have to take the measurements, and-"

"I can do that!" Dusk said, shouting with enthusiasm since at last Rarity was giving him a task that he could do without any problems.

Then Dusk took the tape to measure and approached Rainbow Dash.

"Don't move, I need to measure and record your measurements.” Dusk said, concentrating and beginning to measure the length of Rainbow Dash's front legs, all while the pegasus stood still as a statue and averted her eyes, trying to hide her blushed cheeks from having Dusk so close.

Every time Dusk wrote something near Rainbow Dash, the pegasus kept looking at him out of the corner of his eye, with an intense look at having him so close. However, as soon as Dusk noticed that she was looking at him, Rainbow Dash immediately averted her gaze.

"I think that's all.” Dusk said once he finished taking the measurements.

"Y-You know, uhmm… I-I don’t think you took the measurements of my neck well." Rainbow Dash said a little nervous, not wanting it to end so quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry.” Dusk said, going back to his friend and surrounding her with the measuring tape while putting his head under his friends to check that he measured correctly.

That was just what Rainbow Dash was looking for, who blushed even more as she felt Dusk's warmth and scent almost touching her neck.

"Hmpf!" It was the snort that Rarity made after noticing from the start that her friend was enjoying having Dusk so close to her.

After that, Rainbow Dash left, and Rarity and Dusk started making the first dress. Rarity followed everything that Dusk told her. The only thing Rarity did occasionally was to say, 'Are you sure?' But Dusk always told her to continue, after all, Dusk was just following the design that Rainbow Dash had approved.

And the second day arrived, and the next on the list was Fluttershy.

"A dress inspired by nature and French haute couture at the same time?" Dusk asked his new client.

"Yes... I really like nature, something inspired by wildlife, leaves, birds, butterflies, something that represents life itself... If a dress could have those things, I think I would like it." Fluttershy answered smiling. "But I also like haute couture, something beautiful and elegant, that serves both a banquet and a casual dinner, with fine stitching, that combines each accessory, with a first quality fabric that shines at night and stands out in the day, contemporary and creative."

Before the new order, Dusk put an even more pensive face, since Rainbow Dash’s dress so unique, he thought he would have an easier time with Fluttershy since she can tell him what she wanted, but what Dusk didn’t expect was how demanding her shy friend was in terms of dresses.

A small laugh distracted Dusk. Turning, the colt saw how Rarity began to laugh again seeing how everything was so confusing, which made Dusk put a serious look, he did not like to lose. Then Dusk made a quick sketch, drawing a rough drawing of a long dress with drawings of flowers on it. Fluttershy looked at him and almost discarded the entire dress, but unlike Rainbow Dash, she said in detail what to keep and what things to add.

"Do you like this?" Fluttershy asked, insecure each time she asked to add something to the design.

"Err... yes, it would be cute on you." Dusk always said, without really being sure of what he was saying, since he didn't know if he really had a fashion sense or not, but he could be sure of something, that anything his pretty friend wore would look good on her.

That's how, although it took more than three times as long as with Rainbow Dash’s dress, Dusk finally managed to create a final design for Fluttershy's dress.

"Darling, are you sure you want to follow this design?" Rarity asked once Dusk showed her the final sketch of the dress.

"Sure, that's all Fluttershy wants.” Dusk said with pride, while Fluttershy smiled, approving what Dusk said. "Now, time to measure.” Dusk added, taking the tape again to measure.

Just like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy just fell silent, totally blushed to have Dusk so close by measuring her, touching the tape with each part of her body as she brought his face closer to her body.

"Well, I'm finished!" Dusk Shine said, smiling, after finishing his measurements.

"I-I... uhmm... I-I think you did my neck wrong." Fluttershy said nervously, totally blushed.

"Really?" Dusk asked, confused, unable to believe that he had made the same mistake twice.

Then Dusk approached his friend and began to measure her neck, very slowly to check that he measured well this time, without even thinking about yesterday, he failed to realize how that was also an excuse used by his shy friend so that she could feel Dusk's hooves again on her neck, and have his face close to hers.

Meanwhile, Rarity was very surprised when it happened with Rainbow Dash but never imagined that her shy friend would dare to use the same trick with Dusk. Seeing how Fluttershy was smiling, fully blushed, having Dusk so close to her, Rarity could only let out a snort, a snort of pure jealousy.

Finally, Fluttershy left the workshop, although promising to return with some accessories for the dress that Rarity didn’t have in her studio, 'natural' accessories that only Fluttershy could get and that for obvious reasons Rarity would never have. Meanwhile, Dusk and Rarity began to work on the rest of the dress. With Rarity sharing a look of doubt and disbelief at what they were creating, and Dusk smiling to be creating the vision of the perfect dress that his friend wanted.

The third day had arrived, and now it was Applejack’s turn.

"I don't want something very striking, something simple and that can be occupied at any time." It was the simple order of Applejack.

"Well, I expected you to ask for something like that.” Dusk said, smiling, in advance anticipating how simple his country friend was.

"So you think I'm simple huh?" Applejack asked angrily, taking Dusk’s words badly.

"I-I didn't mean that, I just wanted to say that I think a simple dress might fit you better than a very elegant dress.” Dusk answered with a nervous smile.

"You think an elegant dress wouldn’t look good on me?" Applejack criticized again, annoyed to think that Dusk didn’t think she could be so refined to wear a dress.

"N-No, what I meant was..." Dusk replied, shrinking, not knowing what to say to flatter his friend without her misinterpreting it.

"Well, tell me then what dress would fit a 'simple' mare like me." Applejack said, annoyed with Dusk.

Before the annoying look of her friend, Dusk had no choice but to listen to her and begin to draw a dress without major clues. Sketches that one after another were discarded by Applejack.

"And what good would a dress like that last... No, that's not it, a simple dress would not work at the gala... That doesn't work either, many decorations..." was the criticism that Applejack said every time she was presented with a sketched version drawn by Dusk, who discarded each one of them  almost without looking, mostly because she was annoyed with Dusk than for the fact that she really didn’t like the designs.

This was how the design work again, happening almost the same as it had happened with Rainbow Dash, in which her friend rejected the entire design almost immediately, only this time, instead of receiving a silence, only received negative criticism. As he continued to try and gain the approval of his friends desired dress, Rarity seemed to be having a bit of fun watching the situation worsen, laughing silently, but enough for Dusk to hear her and let him know that this was her revenge for telling her that this was an easy job.

"This is pointless, Applejack is so upset that she will reject every dress design that I show her..." Dusk thought frustrated, beginning to think about how to solve the problem. "Wait, there is something common in what she always says... She always says that such a design does not 'work'… Why does she say it does not work instead of saying she doesn’t like it?" was what Dusk thought, coming to a revelation that maybe he could get him out of that loop he was in.

"How about this design?" Dusk finally said, drawing a dress that also wore boots. As soon as Dusk showed the design, Applejack immediately opened her mouth to dismiss it, but then Dusk spoke first. "These boots will serve you for any terrain, you see, they are perfect for a hardworking and versatile pony like you, something I have always valued about you."

"Hmm... yes... I guess that would be good." Applejack said a little blushed, finally accepting a compliment from Dusk and at the same time accepting an idea for the dress. "Maybe they could be waterproof... and have some apples embroidered."

"Yes, that's good, and maybe also..." Dusk began, happy to finally be making some progress with his friend's dress design.

Dusk and Applejack finally began to design the dress together. It was filled with so much tension in trying to reach an agreement, that without realizing it, Applejack stopped being annoyed with Dusk and accepted that the dress was not elegant, which had just been the reason for her anger with Dusk, but in Applejack's favor, the final design didn’t end up being a simple dress at all, but after a long time, the country mare was left satisfied.

"Well, next part is taking the measurements.” Dusk said, taking the tape to measure.

"Darling, maybe... I should do it." Rarity said with a nervous smile, while a small drop of jealousy erupted in her since she didn’t want her friends to be enjoying Dusk's touch so much.

"No, you already do almost all the dress, leave this task to me.” Dusk answered with a smile, not realizing Rarity's true intention to help him.

And as it seemed with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Dusk began the delicate task of measuring the length and contour of Applejack's body; and just as with the other two mares, Applejack didn’t complain about the fact that he was so close and touching her with a measuring tape, she just made a bad poker face while blushing as Dusk carefully and slowly did the work.

"Ahem!" Rarity coughed annoyed, noticing that in an oversight, when Dusk was taking the measurements on the hind legs of Applejack, she had taken the opportunity to give a quick glance at the back of Dusk. Immediately Applejack looked away and remained as if nothing had happened, grateful that Dusk was too focused on measuring to notice that.

"They’re all taking advantage of my innocent Dusk." Rarity thought, biting her lip and keeping a jealous look on her face. Same look she had when Applejack, like her other friends, used the same trick so that Dusk would measure her neck again so that she could have him as close as possible even if it were only a few minutes more.

Once Applejack left Rarity's workshop, the two unicorns began the arduous task of making the third dress. With Dusk guiding and giving the orders while Rarity continued to limit herself to just follow the instructions, but without ceasing to put a look of displeasure and guilt upon seeing the strange dresses she was making.

"This started only as an act of small revenge against Dusk, but I think if I'm not careful, it can get out of hooves." Rarity thought with some guilt, hoping her friends wouldn’t have a heart attack when they see the result of their dresses.

Finally, the fourth day arrived, and Pinkie Pie was the last to choose her design.

"Candies!" Pinkie Pie said immediately after Dusk Shine asked her what she would like her dress to look like.

"Candies?" Dusk repeated confused while drawing a few candies in the dress design he was preparing. "Yeah... I guess we can add-"

"And balloons! Many balloons!" Pinkie Pie added excitedly.

"I guess I could add a few balloons to the tail of the dress, and like that-" Dusk said adding the new order to the design of the dress, again being interrupted.

"Ooooooh and streamers! Definitely, an elegant dress has to have streamers!" Pinkie Pie again added excited, taking Dusk's drawing and drawing many streamers about the design of the dress. "Red streamers, blue streamers, green serpentines, violet streamers..."

While Pinkie Pie continued dictating object after object to be added to the dress, Dusk glanced sideways at Rarity, Pinkie Pie, like her other friends, was even more of headache to deal with, except she didn’t want something specific, it seemed like she wanted everything in her dress, anything that she could think of at that precise moment, which obviously meant that little of the initial design of the dress remained, now there was only one huge mess of things stacked in Pinkie Pie's design.

"Maybe also some pots with flo-" Pinkie Pie said before Dusk put a hoof over her mouth to stop talking.

"I think with what we have here is enough, hehe.” Dusk said, smiling nervously.

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie Pie smiled.

It was so that Pinkie Pie's dress design finally got a green light, and Dusk immediately began the task of measuring his friend. As it rarely happened, Pinkie Pie managed to remain completely motionless, like a statue, just watching Dusk while he worked and blushing with a little laughter included each time, he approached her and played with the tape to measure.

"Well, I think I finished.” Dusk said after a long time, this time measuring with twice the care, as he naively began to believe that he really had a problem to measure since all his friends had told him that he had misjudged on occasion.

"Actually, I think you made a mistake in one of your measurements..." Pinkie Pie said blushing, with a small nervous smile.

"Oh no! Let me guess, I made a mistake measuring your neck.” Dusk said sighing frustrated, seeing that apparently, he had made the same mistake again.

"Actually, I think it was under my tail that-"

"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity yelled, blushing, immediately stopping what her crazy friend was going to ask of Dusk.

"It was a joke... maybe..." Pinkie Pie answered smiling and winking at Rarity, all while Dusk looked confused, naively unable to understand why Rarity had put Pinkie Pie to silence.

Once Pinkie Pie left, Rarity and Dusk began to make the fourth dress, the most time consuming of all, but also the most special, because both their opinions on all the dresses were really unique, in more than a form, something that seemed to bother Rarity. While Dusk saw them, he immediately thought that those dresses were not much to his liking, but obviously, his fashion sense was null, and more importantly, as long as his friends liked him, it was fine for him.

Finally, the fifth day arrived, and Rarity finally found herself in solitude in her workshop, with an evident look of weariness after having a long and hard-working week making the different dresses for her friends.

"Well, I think today I'll rest a little before-" Rarity said, thinking aloud until she heard someone enter the boutique and go up the stairs. It was Dusk Shine who appeared at the door of her room.

"Dusk? What are you doing here?" Rarity asked, confused.

"Well, I was in the library until I remembered that I still have one more dress I need to make, yours.” Dusk said with a big smile.

"Mine? Oh no, dear, I don't need you to make me a dress." Rarity answered with a tender smile. "It's not that I don’t trust your skills as a designer, but... Um... I don't know how to finish that sentence." She said with a coy smile, embarrassed.

Then both unicorns started to laugh together.

"Haha, yes, I understand you, and I have it well deserved, I now understand that designing a dress is far more difficult than it seems.” Dusk said with a sad smile.

"You don't have to tell me that, we're still going to be in the middle of your lesson." Rarity said with a sweet smile. At those words, Dusk just looked at her, confused. "Easy, you'll understand soon.” Rarity added with a more mysterious smile.

"Huh, well, if you say so...” Dusk said still without understanding what his friend was referring to. "Well, then I won't waste your time anymore, I think I'll go back to the library."

"Actually..." Rarity added quickly, trying to think of an excuse to take advantage of the fact that Dusk was there and that they were finally alone with no work to do. "Taking advantage of being here, I'd like to show you something."

"Hm? What thing?" Dusk asked curiously.

"It's a surprise ~ Close your eyes." Rarity said coquettishly with a sweet voice.

Dusk did as his friend asked and closed his eyes quietly, while Rarity bit her lip and smiled nervously to see that she had Dusk Shine there for herself and that now she finally had the chance to flirt a little. With him, as his friends had done in those four days, only this time, she would do it a little differently.

While Dusk closed his eyes, he sharpened his ear to see if he could hear what Rarity was doing, but all he heard was something like moving cloth.

"Now you can open your eyes!" Rarity said, finally.

Dusk opened them and was amazed at what he saw. There, in front of him, was Rarity, but she was wearing a beautiful and elegant evening dress, dark pink and yellow, adorned with a few gems, with a fold on her tail that gave a touch of elegance, very attractive, all combining perfection and harmoniously with crystal slippers that highlighted the beautiful blue eyes of Rarity.

"What do you think?" Rarity asked, smiling, seeing that she had managed to amaze Dusk. "This will be my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala. Of course, on that day I'll also change my manestyle and make up for the occasion, but tell me, do you like it?"

"You look beautiful.” Dusk said honestly, answering without thinking about what he was saying. Instantly Dusk blushed when he realized what he had just told his friend. "I-I mean, it looks good on you, hehe."

"Thank you." Rarity said smiling, also blushing at the beautiful compliment Dusk had just told her. Then Rarity bit her lip again, smiling nervously, thinking that since she had succeeded in showing the dress, she should have the courage to continue with her plan. "Very good, now close your eyes again."

Dusk again did what his friend told him and waited patiently.

"I'm taking off my dress, it'll only take a few seconds." Rarity said with a slight flirtatious tone in her voice.

"Why can’t I look? I see her without clothes all the time, what's the difference?" Dusk thought without caring what Rarity said. However, the more he thought about how Rarity was in front of him, carefully and femininely removing that dress, Dusk only blushed more and more. "She's just undressing in front of me, she's just undressing in front of me!" Dusk repeated over and over, trying to calm down but getting the opposite effect.

"You can open them now~" Rarity finally said, with a sing-song voice.

Dusk again opened his eyes, and in just a second, his face went completely red, almost smoke coming from his ears.

Before him was the same old Rarity, only now she was wearing tight dark blue stockings, which combined perfectly with her skin and eyes, the whole added to the casual and innocent pose that Rarity did, all to leave Dusk without speaking before that sexy image.

"I know you must believe that clothing is just a mere accessory, but tell me, do you still believe it?" Rarity asked coquettishly.

"Sure, why would I look different just for wearing some cute and provocative stockings?" Dusk said in his imagination.

"Bleh... blah... eh..." was the only thing that Dusk managed to babble, still totally blushed, unable to take his eyes off Rarity's legs.

"Clothing is not just an accessory, it can attract, alienate, provoke, it's another instrument to express what you want or feel, it's just another form of art." Rarity said with a smile. "Now close your eyes again, darling, I'll show you one last garment."

Dusk, like an obedient slave, immediately closed his eyes and could not help but tremble slightly with emotion as his foal imagination flew with crazy ideas, fantasizing what kind of erotic garment could surprise him Rarity this time.

"Don't think of her that way, she's your friend, she's your friend!" Dusk thought frantically, trying in vain to calm down.

"You can open them now." Rarity said finally, excited.

Dusk Shine opened his eyes at the speed of light, holding his breath, completely impatient of what he would see. And in just a fraction of a second, his spirit crashed to the floor due to disappointment. This time Rarity was not wearing any clothing. Instead, she was just standing smiling at the side of a mannequin wearing some kind of suit.

"Ta-dah!" Rarity said with a big smile, pointing Dusk to the mannequin at her side.

"W-What... What is that?" Dusk said with a nervous smile, still trying to recover mentally from the disappointment suffered, all while mentally repeating 'Dumb! What are you waiting for!?'

"It's your gala suit!" Rarity answered, not being able to hold her emotion.

"My suit?" Dusk repeated, still not understanding. It was then that Dusk realized what it was and saw in more detail that suit on the mannequin, a gala suit that mixed shades of dark blue, like the color of his mane, with a modern design but maintaining an elegant cut. In Dusk's opinion, it was a nice suit, but when imagining himself dressed in that at the gala, he couldn’t help but be disappointed a little when he saw how normal his suit was, compared to the 'unique' dresses of his friends. "Ehhhh... you shouldn’t have.” Dusk said, smiling nervously.

"Don't be scared, it's not finished yet." Rarity said, smiling, noticing Dusk's disappointment immediately. "It lacks the most important part, the details, something that makes it really unique and special for you. Tell me, dear, is there something you like in particular? I mean, I know you like books and all that, but is there something I can rely on to add to the design?"

"Hmm... something you can use to add to the design..." Dusk said, concentrating and thinking about what could be of use to Rarity. "Well apart from the books I like history, obviously also everything related to magic, also astronomy..."

"Stars! That's it! How did it not occur to me before!?" Rarity shouted with excitement as her eyes shone to see in her imagination finally picturing a suit with stars on it. "Yes, yes, it will be splendid! On the edges and sleeves, flashing as-"

"A Cape!" Dusk said suddenly interrupting Rarity. Also visualizing in his mind what would be an ideal suit.

"What?" Rarity asked, confused, thinking that she had not listened well.

"A Cape.” Dusk repeated, smiling. "An old-style cape, like Star Swirl the bearded one, but with the constellations, embroidered on a starry background... It would look so cool!"

"Dusk... I don't think a cape is very... 'appropriate' for a gala." Rarity said slowly as she searched for the right words to tell Dusk that his idea was frightening.

"Please!" Dusk said with the eyes of a dog scolded. "We already did all the dress as they wanted, why can't my suit be the way I want it?"

Rarity stared nervously at Dusk while he stared at her with those tender pleading eyes.

"Hmm... Ugh, okay, I'll make you a cape." Rarity finally answered, giving up. "I should have stayed firm, why did I give in so easily?" Rarity thought at that moment.

Then Dusk came over and hugged her, saying thank you.

"Oh yes, for this." Rarity thought to answer herself as she blushed when she was embraced by Dusk.

And so, the long-awaited day had arrived, the day when Rarity and Dusk would finally show their friends the finished dresses.

In the main hall of the Boutique Carousel, the four mares were gathered together with Dusk Shine, Rarity and Spike, gathered in front of five mannequins covered with white blankets to hide the dresses and thus keep the tension to the maximum. Next to the mannequins, in front of their friends, were Dusk and Rarity, the designers of those dresses.

"Yawn...! Are... Are you sure you want to show them these dresses?" Rarity asked Dusk after a big yawn, unable to hide a slight look of concern.

"Yes, I'm sure, it's the designs they approved, so they should be fine.” Dusk answered with confidence. "How weird, I made sure I did most of the work with Rarity, why would she be so tired?" Dusk thought at the same time, noting that for some reason not only Rarity but also Spike, seemed very tired.

"Enough to make us wait, show us the dresses!" Rainbow Dash said, as impatient as ever.

"Well, without further ado..." Dusk said excitedly, lighting his horn as his magic lifted the blankets of the mannequins. "Here are your clothes!"

As soon as Dusk raised the blankets, the four mares looked surprised at what they saw, while Spike only tilted his head with a confused look; Dusk just stood there, looking expectantly at the faces of his friends, while Rarity only covered her face with a hoof because of the embarrassment of seeing those dresses.

As Dusk had said, the dresses were exactly as their friends had requested. Pinkie Pie's dress looked like a giant candy wrapper, with a large cupcake over her head and several balloons tied to its skirt that was shaped like wrapping paper; while Applejack’s dress looked more like an overall workwear made of scraps than a formal dress, with waterproof boots and a pretty ostentatious cowboy hat; Fluttershy's dress, on the other hand, consisted of a long, old-fashioned skirt with a huge breastplate on the neck that simulated a flower, and a hat that was an exact replica of a nest with eggs on it; and lastly, Rainbow Dash’s dress had very little to be said, since it hardly fell into the category of dress, more like an armor or suit for sprinters; and finally, to Dusk's surprise, there was a dummy completely covered from neck to toe with a huge cape full of embroidery with several drawings of the best known constellations.

The seconds passed, and no one said a word in the room, as if they had all been frozen watching the dresses.

"You see? I told you." Rarity finally said breaking the silence, with an expression of guilt. "This is what you wanted, your designs. Now you understand that-"

"I love it!" The four mares and Dusk shouted in unison, with genuine faces of emotion. To the total surprise of Rarity and Spike.

"You liked them!?" Rarity shouted shocked, watching as all her friends ran excitedly to check their dresses.

"Haha, I told you they would like them, you just had to give them what they wanted.” Dusk said with a triumphant smile, after demonstrating that he had been right and that he could be a good designer too. "By the way, great work with the cape, it's just as I imagined it, it will be great to be dressed like that at the Grand Gala!"

At Dusk's comment, Rarity only slightly frowned and looked down at the floor with a thoughtful look. This was definitely not the result she had expected. Since she had told Dusk to design the dresses, she planned for both Dusk and her friends to learn a lesson about the true tastes and how difficult it was to be a designer. At this point, it was where Rarity had thought. That her friends would realize that the initial designs that she had created were the ideals to take to the Grand Gala, however, to her total surprise, after seeing those aberrations of dresses, her friends had been more than satisfied with the course designer work of Dusk Shine.

"Huff... well, as long as you all are happy." Finally, Rarity sighed with a smile of resignation. "At least there's still a lot of time left for the Gala. There's still time for them to realize..." Rarity thought, relaxing.

"So those are the dresses that will lead to the fashion show?" Spike asked thinking out loud.

"What fashion show?" Rarity and Dusk asked in unison.

"Oh, well... it was a surprise for Rarity.” Spike said, blushing slightly. "I talked to the mayor to do a little fashion show, and that way, everypony could see the beautiful dresses that Rarity did, and so... everypony can see how wonderful she is..." Spike added with a dreamy look at Rarity.

"Aww... my dear Spikey-wikey, you did all of that just for me? You shouldn't have." Rarity said affectionately, approaching Spike and giving him a sweet hug, making the dragon stay all dizzy with a foolish look of a boy in love. Meanwhile, while hugging Spike, Rarity glanced at her friends who were beginning to dress in their peculiar dresses, and in that instant, a small shiver ran down Rarity's back as she imagined her friends modeling those dresses. "It's... It's very nice what you did, Spike, but the truth is..." Rarity added, releasing the hug and with a more nervous voice, carefully choosing his words to try not to hurt his beloved baby dragon.

"A fashion show... Actually... It's a great idea!" Dusk interrupted with energy, after having meditated the news that Spike had just given them.

"Spike had a great idea! After the disaster of the Photo Finish fashion show, Rarity can once again improve her image and silence those fools who slander her for no reason." Dusk thought, wanting to take advantage of that opportunity to help his friend, and of course to show off his spectacular new cape.

"W-Well... a fashion show requires a lot of work..." Rarity said with a nervous smile, while her brain worked at full capacity to see how she could escape this mess they have now involved themselves in.

"But the dresses are ready.” Dusk said quickly taking his new coat and putting it on while doing an elegant pose.

"So... Do you really think we should go to the fashion show with these dresses?" Spike asked with a doubtful face, as he looked at Dusk and then at Rarity, who seemed to have frozen at the sight of Dusk dressed in his constellation cape and doing an 'elegant pose.' "I thought maybe..."

"Of course we are! We’re going with these dresses!" Pinkie Pie said approaching to hear what her friends were talking about, after dressing in her new dress. While also doing a crazy pose to show her 'beautiful' new dress.

"So we can show everypony the wonderful work Rarity has done.” Fluttershy said confidently, making another elegant pose to show the splendor of her new dress.

"Actually, I don't like walking on some fashion runway... but with this dress though, I could make the exception." Applejack added, also in her new dress, with a confident smile and posing behind her friends.

"Yes, everypony will be surprised when they see me in this awesome costume!" Rainbow Dash said in her new dress, also doing an extravagant heroic pose.

While her five friends made great poses with their new dresses, Rarity could only clench her teeth and give a big forced smile while her right eye twitched slightly, as if her brain had literally been overloaded and she had no words to express herself before the aesthetic disaster that was before her eyes.





"Well, yes, they will definitely be surprised.” Spike added, scratching his head as he looked at the peculiar dresses of his friends.

As Spike spoke, Rarity returned to reality and managed to have enough strength to talk again.

"A-Actually, I think it would be better..." Rarity began with a nervous smile. She tried to think of some way to explain the horror of what her friends were asking her. However, seeing them excited and smiling with joy, posing their new and quirky costumes, finally made Rarity give up. "Huff... it's okay... if that's what you want... But on one condition! For the next fashion show, everypony will have to model a dress of my choice, deal?"

"Deal!" The five ponies said with huge smiles. Completely excited to showcase their beautiful outfits for everyone to look and admire their own original designs.

"Okay, as long as they're happy, I guess that's fine with me, too." Rarity thought, sighing and smiling slightly. "Besides, it's just a little fashion show, what could possibly go wrong?"





"Gulp! Wow... there’s a lot more ponies than I expected." Spike said gulping nervously, after peeping through the curtain and seeing that almost the entire town had gathered around the catwalk, they had set up to make the fashion show. "How are you not nervous?" Spike added, looking at Rarity.

"Oh, dear, it's not my first fashion show." Rarity said with a confident smile. "A lot more ponies than I expected have indeed come, but when you have confidence in your work, there's nothing to-"

Rarity suddenly fell silent as her friends approached her, all ready to go on stage wearing their original dresses.

"I take it back, I'm very nervous!" Rarity added almost hysterically when she saw her friends and the clothes they were wearing. For a split second, she almost forgot that they were dressed like that, but no matter how many times she saw them, in those clothes they call ‘dresses’, she had the same shock of horror.

"Don’t worry, everything will be perfect." Dusk Shine said, smiling affectionately, not realizing the real reason why Rarity was nervous. "Well, Spike, you’re up, make a great presentation!"

With the signal from his brother, Spike adjusted the elegant tie that Rarity had made for the occasion, and took the microphone, ready to announce the start of the long-awaited fashion show. While Spike began his presentation, Dusk, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash lined up behind the curtain, ready to go on stage.

"Listen... Do you really want to go out... like this... I... I think..." Rarity began to stammer, biting her lip and looking at her friends. She wanted to shout that the designs they had made were horrible from an aesthetic point of view, that she would never in her right mind make a fashion show with models dressed like that... but seeing the smiles and proud faces of her friends, Rarity didn’t have the heart to tell them how horrible their fashion tastes were. "Just... just walk around without looking at anypony and come back here quickly." Rarity finally said, resigned.

Finally, the curtain opened, and the five models began their way down the catwalk. They were all before the attentive look of dozens of ponies who had attended more than anything for the morbidity of going to a Rarity fashion show in which Dusk modeled, all after the scene that both had done in the last fashion show.

The audience held their breath as soon as the curtains opened, all waiting to see the models and dresses. For although the vast majority had attended for other reasons, none of those present could deny that Rarity's dresses were always beautiful, and independent of everything, there could only be one sure thing in that fashion show, and that was that Rarity would surprise them with some wonderful costumes. It was so that the public had their throats dried and almost choked on their own saliva when they saw the 'spectacular' new designs worn by the models who walked the catwalk.

One wore an ugly cape with some weird drawings, another wore an old tablecloth as a dress, the other wore a ridiculous children's costume, another looked like a plumber with a cowboy hat, and the last one wore some sought of strange armor; those five models could only be defined with one word: 'ridiculous.' With full faces of amazement, everyone in the audience were speechless, they could not believe what they have just saw, while Rarity just crouched down and covered her face with her hooves, totally ashamed. The only ones who were smiling were the five models who reached the end of the catwalk. They were proud to leave the public so impressed by their bold dress designs.

"Wow... they're really amazed." Applejack whispered, still smiling, but little by little noticing that something was wrong.

"Yes... maybe we should go back quickly, as Rarity told us." Fluttershy whispered, gradually returning to her natural shyness, nodding to them to return to the curtain, where Rarity was now standing, quickly moving her hooves desperately telling them to come back quickly.

"Maybe we're doing something wrong?" Rainbow Dash whispered, noticing that the audience had come out of his astonishment and now began to murmur, with faces of confusion.

"That's it! We're posing!" Pinkie Pie whispered in a scream so that all her friends would do the same as her.

Then the five models made extravagant poses, one after the other, trying to imitate models that appeared in fashion magazines that Rarity reads, believing that this way they would be able to impress the public even more so that they could finally applaud them.

"See the amazing new collection from the most talented designer of all Equestria!" Dusk cried with pride, glancing at Rarity, who for some reason, hid her face and shook her head as if she denied something repeatedly.

At Dusk’s words, the audience began to murmur louder as the confusion grew larger and larger. The five models managed to finally hear what the audience were saying, and finally understanding the real effect that their new clothes were causing.

"What is all this?"

"Is this a joke?"

"How ridiculous!"

The comments continued and continued, while Dusk and the others lowered their views to see their costumes better and began to feel ashamed after listening to everything the others thought of their designs. Then Dusk looked again at where Rarity should be to get some guidance on what they should do, but this time he could not find her, it seemed that she had disappeared from the catwalk.

"This is the worst joke of all!" A pony shouted suddenly from the crowd, making everyone look at him. It was a grey colt with a fan for a cutie mark, dressed very elegantly, with dark glasses and a long white mane finely combed and collected at the end. "I can't believe that me, the magnificent Hoity Toity, the greatest fashion critic of Equestria, is wasting his time on these… these abominations! This isn’t a designer's job, it's a job for a clown! This is the last time I do Photo Finish a favor." After that last comment, the elegant pony turned around and began to walk away.

Dusk's agile mind had already understood that his suit and his friends’ dresses had been a mistake and that it was his responsibility to try and fix the problem and save Rarity's reputation. However, hearing that elegant pony was indeed a famous fashion critic, Dusk's mind began to work at its full capacity to find a solution in less than a second; otherwise, Rarity's career as a designer would end.

With a flash, Dusk made Pinkie Pie's party cannon appear and fired it, causing balloons and confetti to be fired at the entire audience along with the sound of the Pinkie Pie cannon.

"Of course, it was a joke! What do you think this was!? Boing! Boing! Boing!" Dusk screamed at the top of his lungs to keep the fashion critic from fleeing, all the while turning a couple of turns on himself and making a clown's nose appear while putting on a stupid face. "The... The real fashion show will start soon."

As if it had been a signal, as soon as Dusk said that, the lights on the entire stage went out and only one light was left on, the light pointing to the curtains on the walkway. Then the curtains opened slowly, revealing a majestic Rarity, dressed in the same beautiful fuchsia dress that Dusk had seen a few days before. Besides, this time Rarity had added to the set some ruby earrings and a golden headband that highlighted her beautiful face in front of the stage lights, also, her mane was elegantly combed differently.

The entire audience was silent before the departure of Rarity, but it was a very different silence compared to when they came on the catwalk, this time all were hypnotized by the beautiful appearance of the white mare, with her beautiful dress that seemed to shine while she walked decently and elegantly down the catwalk. While Rarity walked, the audience began to murmur among themselves, smiling and unanimously approving of Rarity's beautiful attire.

"Now that's a dress worthy of a gala." Suddenly the fashion critic said, who seemed to have completely forgotten about his desire to leave a few seconds ago, hypnotized like everyone else by the beautiful appearance of Rarity.

Dusk Shine, who was on the edge of the catwalk, managed to listen to the fashion critic, however, his eyes could not get away from the beautiful Rarity, who slowly approached him and his other friends. It was there that Dusk realized that Rarity's horn glowed faintly, and that the glow of gems that seemed to surround her was not an imaginary effect for thinking about Rarity's beauty, but that Rarity was really making her dress leave a faint wake. Bright as she walked, doing everything to make her dress look even more beautiful.

As soon as Rarity reached the end of the catwalk, where her friends were, she gave them a fleeting signal with her eyes so that they should move. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the only light was centered on Rarity and that the eyes of the entire audience were fixed on her, Dusk and the others moved slowly into the shadows of the walkway to return to the curtain. As soon as Rarity noticed that her friends understood her signal, Rarity also made her way back to the curtains, only one step behind her friends, enough for the audience to remain focused on her and not on her friends.

When they reached the curtain, they all went through it, followed at the end by Rarity, who, before going through the curtains, glanced back at her audience, and gave them a big smile.

"Now the fashion show begins." Rarity said softly but with the volume just right for everyone to hear. Then she closed the curtain behind her and concentrated more to turn on some more lights and make a play of lights to entertain the audience in that little time-lapse that she had.

"Rarity! That was incredi-!" Pinkie Pie yelled, being quickly interrupted.

"We don't have time... Aloe! Lotus!" Rarity said completely serious while her horn was still lit.

In the act, Aloe and Lotus, the twins who work at the Ponyville Spa, appeared behind a folding screen that was back there and had been used for Dusk and the others to change their clothes.

"Dusk will be the first since the girls need manestyles, we only have a few minutes, I trust you will be quick!" Rarity said, trying not to look as worried as she was.

Then Aloe and Lotus smiled, knowing that this was the occasion to return the favor to the one who had helped them so many times, so they could not fail. Then both sisters quickly pushed Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy behind the folding screen, while Dusk was left alone with Rarity.

"Don't ask, please put this on as quickly as possible." Rarity said, looking at Dusk with a serious, almost pleading look as if she knew Dusk was about to ask what was happening. Then Rarity gave him a suit, which Dusk immediately recognized that it was the suit that Rarity had shown to him a few days ago, only that this time the suit had several stars of different shades and sizes in the sleeves, neck, and edges of the suit.

Dusk looked at Rarity, and the only thing he understood was that even if he didn’t know why at that moment, he had to do exactly what his friend asked of him. Then Dusk quickly removed his cloak, and in a matter of seconds, he dressed into the suit.

"Now go on, walk forward and then straight back." Rarity said quickly, giving Dusk a vague but concise instruction on what to do on the catwalk, as she opened the curtains for Dusk to come on stage.

Dusk went out to the catwalk, and as soon as he walked, he noticed immediately that the lights changed, turning and blinking differently while it seemed like the shine were like stardust falling from the sky. The audience was immediately fascinated by Dusk's modern and elegant suit, murmuring with joy and acceptance as Dusk walked down the catwalk.

At the end of the catwalk, Dusk looked at the audience seriously, unable to avoid looking briefly at the fashion critic, knowing that this time things were different, and turned around to go back to the beginning of the catwalk.

"Not bad... Not bad..." The fashion critic said, holding a hoof to his mouth while trying to hide a big smile of satisfaction, which clearly indicated that he had definitely loved that suit.

While Dusk was returning, the public began to applaud, lasting even after the curtains closed behind Dusk.

"Rarity, that was amazing!" Dusk said almost in a shout, impressed not only by the staging of Rarity, but also by the beautiful suit that he was wearing now, and only now realizing the detail on it, in front of a mirror that was there. "This outfit is amazing, I know you just added some details, but it's like a completely new outfit, the stars of the outfit almost seem to shine by themselves! The whole outfit is unique and beautiful."

"Huff... Thank you, I'm sorry for being so abrupt, but we didn’t have time, in a fashion show you should not spend so much time between one model and another." Rarity said, finally looking a little more relaxed. "And speaking of that..."

Just then Lotus was guiding Pinkie Pie out of the folding screen, who had been the first to be fixed and in record time had been made up, combed and dressed by Aloe and Lotus. As soon as Dusk saw Pinkie Pie, his mouth opened wide in amazement at how pretty his pink friend looked. Pinkie wore a dress with a white and light blue breastplate adorned with a cute pink bow, on her waist a white lace with candy embroidery, with a bulky pink skirt that completely hid her fluffy tail, her mane was gathered at the back, and wore a cute little hat that combined perfectly with her shoes, the whole design was inspired by the sugar candy at Sugarcube Corner, but without reaching the ridiculous end of the design that Dusk and Pinkie Pie had created.

"Rarity, this dress is beautiful! Yes, a lot more beautiful than the other dress!" Pinkie Pie said with a genuine smile of emotion.

"I knew that you would like." Rarity said, smiling too.

Then Rarity opened the curtains, and as she did with Dusk, the lights changed again as they changed colors and made a perfect background of a candy wrapper while Pinkie Pie began making her way down the catwalk with a huge smile.

It took a couple of seconds for Dusk to come out of his astonishment, then he saw Rarity, and before he could say anything, the first thing he noticed was that Rarity was tired because of all the effects and magic she had to do. Understanding that this beautiful show could only be performed by someone like Rarity, Dusk stood next to Rarity, almost touching her, and illuminated his horn, giving her support magic so that at least her job was a little bit easier.

"Thank you." Rarity said, smiling gratefully, and a little less tired feeling part of Dusk's magical energy supporting her.

"How did you... when did you make those beautiful dresses?" Dusk asked immediately, impatient to be able to solve all the doubts he had.

"I made them at the same time as I worked on your dresses." Rarity answered, smiling. "During the day I worked with you on your designs, and at night I worked on my own designs, it was very exhausting, but fortunately I had the help of my dear Spikey-wikey."

"So that's why they were both so tired..." Dusk thought finally solving the mystery.

"And in case you haven’t noticed, both your suit and Pinkie's dress and the others are exactly the same designs that I showed you the first day.” Rarity added with a smile full of pride, leaving Dusk surprised, since he had indeed not noticed at all. "I know you didn’t like my designs when I showed them to you, but I also knew that they would change their minds once they saw what my designs were really like when they were finished. Then I came up with the plan to make the two dresses for each one, although I must admit that the fact that they liked so many of their own designs was something that cause my plans to change. "

"Did... Did you know we would like your designs? I... I don't understand... How were you so sure? I mean, I don't understand how your designs worked, and mine didn’t." Dusk said, thinking aloud. "I know that your dresses are nicer, there's no doubt about that, but what Pinkie Pie just told you... I gave her everything she wanted in her dress, but now she says she likes your design better than the one we made, why is that? "

"Because they all think they know what they want, but there are things that they like more, and some that they wouldn’t even know." Rarity said, smiling at Dusk's confused face. Then Rarity pointed to Pinkie Pie, who was already back on the catwalk. "Look at Pinkie Pie, anypony who knows her will say that she likes partying and making a mess, right?"

"Of course.” Dusk answered for sure.

"Then you'll be surprised to know that somepony as crazy as her, actually likes order in certain things." Rarity said, smiling with pride, knowing that Dusk wouldn’t understand what she was saying. "Haven’t you noticed? At parties, she doesn't throw the balloons at random, nor the serpentine, she always follows patterns! For example, on Applejack's last birthday, she ordered the balloons in order: yellow, green, blue, yellow, red, green, and so she followed that pattern precisely."

Dusk opened his eyes in surprise at Rarity's discovery, something he probably would never have noticed.

"For your design, you only put candies and balloons in disarray, but in my design, I took time to make a pattern in the lace candies and the skirt edge, that's why I knew that when comparing them, Pinkie would like my dress more than yours."

As soon as Pinkie Pie came through the curtains, followed by a round of applause, Dusk became speechless again when Fluttershy appeared behind the folding screen, more beautiful than ever, dressed in a long green skirt that simulated designs of leaves, with an embroidery of flowers on her dress, a necklace finished with a nice cloth butterfly on her chest, identical to the one that adorned her left ear, while her mane had been slightly curled at the tips and adorned with different small flowers on it.

"This dress is beautiful! I don’t know what she thought when I designed my dress, I... I’m really sorry doubting your designs, Rarity." Fluttershy said, smiling, somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't worry honey." Rarity said, returning the smile.

When the curtains opened again, and Fluttershy entered the catwalk, Rarity changed the lights again, putting a green color under the floor and celestial up, making the effect that Fluttershy was modeling in a green and quiet meadow, which combined perfectly with her set inspired by nature.

"If you ask Fluttershy, she will tell you that she loves everything that is of nature, like trees, flowers, and animals." Rarity said, continuing the conversation with Dusk. "But then, do you think that a nest on her head was a good idea? Or that the spongy material that you put on the floor of the skirt to put real flowers was the right thing to do?"

"It... It's what she asked me to do." Dusk said, unconvinced.

"Fluttershy loves nature and is always feeding and pampering her little animals, but have you ever felt that foul-smelling dirty animal scent on her?" Asked Rarity, leaving a surprised Dusk, who only then realized that what Rarity was saying was true, Fluttershy always had that smell of flowers, never a bad smell despite spending a lot of time surrounded by animals. "That's because she takes great care of herself, more than all of us together. She always likes to be clean, which is why although at first, she thought it would be a good idea to have a nest on her head or real flowers on her dress In time, I knew that she would prefer a simpler dress, with a skirt that would not crawl and just reach her hooves, and that would not be a spongy material with dirt on it; using different fabrics to deliver the illusion of nature, not using true nature in the dress."

While Dusk listened more to Rarity, everything made more sense. Then Dusk began to wonder if he knew his friends only superficially, but that thought was quickly dispersed, at that moment, Rainbow Dash appeared in her dress behind the folding screen. She wore a long skirt with the colors of a rainbow, with an embroidery of cotton fabric on its edge that simulated a cloud perfectly, also wearing a delicate necklace of gems that simulated a bunch of grapes on her chest, with some golden shoes with ribbons that were tied beautifully to the middle of their legs, with her mane smoothed and well-combed, with a brooch of golden laurel leaf that gave a very elegant touch to the whole. Of all his friends, Dusk had to admit that Rainbow Dash surprised him the most, because it never crossed his mind that a dress could fit his cocky and rude friend so well.

"I... I’m not sure if I want everypony to see me like this..." Rainbow Dash said, blushing tenderly. Then she glanced at Dusk briefly and saw how he was watching her amazed with his mouth wide open, which gave her some confidence. "Although... maybe it's not that bad, it's really nice Rarity!"

"I knew you would like it, darling." Responded Rarity kindly.

Fluttershy left the scene, and it was now Rainbow Dash’s turn. As soon as she approached the catwalk, the lights gave a sudden change, moving quickly and simulating a lightning bolt on the stage, something perfect for the entrance of the pegasus.

"With Rainbow Dash, the truth is quite simple." Rarity said, smiling, continuing her conversation with Dusk. "She likes to show her strength, she's good at sports, she's tough and all that, but she also has a soft spot that she tries to keep hidden from the public, she likes to be feminine too, she likes cute things , likes to look good, likes to show that she is still a mare although she likes to do many things that you would normally say are more suitable for a stallion, although of course, she will never admit it, she likes to maintain her image as a ‘tough girl’, hehe."

"Rainbow Dash is a mare..." Dusk repeated in a whisper, as if for a second he had forgotten, unable to take his eyes off Rainbow Dash.

Then Rainbow Dash made her way back to the curtains, and in that instant, the last mare that was behind the folding screen appeared, Applejack. She wore a skirtless ostentatious than those of her friends, leaving her tail free, a green skirt completed with many leather ornaments in it both in the lower part and in the upper part, with the infallible apple ornaments in it, ornaments that presented a more simple but elegant boots that she wore, with a cowboy collar with an apple brooch on it, wearing a hat that was very similar to the one she usually wore, but with embroidery and a couple of apples drawn at the base of it, while her mane had been worked on the most, elegantly combed at the top with a slight wave, while her length had been beautifully braided, like her tail.

"It's... it's very beautiful, Rarity." Applejack said, looking in the mirror and blushing a little. "I never would’ve thought of somethin’ like this."

"I knew it would be perfect!" Rarity said, smiling satisfied.

Rainbow Dash came back through the curtains and Applejack gave a couple of sighs to calm her nerves and then entered the catwalk. As with the other girls, Rarity changed the lights again, making them dim red, as if apples fell from the sky.

"Applejack is a bit more complex." Rarity said, continuing her conversation with Dusk. "If you ask her, she will tell you things that relate to her work, simply because she is very practical, and also because in her family she was always brought up with that ‘love-to-work’ mentality, and that's the real reason why she thinks so. Because of her family! That is precisely the kind of difficulties that I need to unravel to find out what she likes so that you can understand, what she loves most of all is her family, or rather what she represents. That's what her whole life revolves around, apples, and keeping her family's legacy, but there is something she also wants in the back of her heart, she wants to show that not only is she another ‘Apple’ in the family, she wants to show that she is ‘Applejack’, her individuality, and this dress reflects it perfectly, something that she and no one else in her family can use, but always keeping her bond with her family alive. She wants to show that she is part of her family, but also that she is different and unique! "

At the words of Rarity, Dusk just kept quiet, amazed by the strong analysis that Rarity had made of her friends, all for the good of them, to make them a dress that fit perfectly on each of them. Indeed, Dusk had already seen that Rarity's dresses were more better than the ones he did, but now he sees that it was not only because they were more aesthetic and with more fashion sense than he did, but it was because there was a lot of love involved to make these dresses.

"So you discovered what they wanted in the back of their hearts..." Dusk whispered, smiling, looking amazed at his friend.

"Hmm? Well not just to them, that also applies to you." Rarity said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you mean?" Dusk asked, surprised.

"You also think you know what you want, but it isn’t as well as you think." Rarity said, smiling. "For example, you chose to put stars on your suit, right? Then tell me, why did you choose that?"

"W-Well, it's because the constellations are very impressive, from a historical and natural point of view, formed eons ago, the constellations-" Dusk began to explain, becoming a professor.

"It's because of what they make you feel." Rarity interrupted with a smile. "Surely it's because when you look at the stars they give you a warmth and serenity that nothing can equal, don't try to reason everything, that's what happens with you, you want to show your intelligence to others and show that you are a pony who is more calm and collective, but in reality, you feel like everypony around you, harbor feelings that you may feel ashamed of."

Dusk stared at Rarity with his eyes wide open, realizing that his friend seemed to know him better than he knew himself because he just accepted that what Rarity was saying was true, everything that he once was before arriving in Ponyville has changed.

"Hehe, I guess I'm just like the girls then.” Dusk said, smiling, admitting that he also needed to know himself more.

"It's a problem, right? Not knowing what you really want... or who you really want..." Rarity said in a whisper, looking at Dusk with a more nostalgic look. "Although I hope you discover it sooner or later."

With thunderous applause, Applejack was the last to leave the stage, and while the applause continued, Rarity re-aligned her friends, this time so that they would all go out together and finish the fashion show.

As soon as they came on stage, everyone in the audience was applauding, the applause only increased when, to Rarity's surprise, Dusk and his friends took a step backward so that Rarity was in front, and the audience, remembering that she was the designer of those beautiful dresses, recognized and praised her, which led to the white unicorn almost to tears of emotion, especially when her beloved Spike approached her with a bouquet of flowers, something he and Dusk had planned for the end of the fashion show as a surprise, and that Rarity thanked excitedly kissing the baby dragon strong and affectionately on both cheeks, which was enough to make Spike reach nirvana.

That was how the fashion show finally ended, and Rarity's reputation was higher than it had ever been in town, enough for them to forget about the false rumors about her for a while.

"Huff... I'm glad everything is over." Applejack said once they closed the curtains for the last time and the fashion show ended. "This dress is cute and everything, but I don’t really like to model."

"Yeah, although I still think that the helmet from the other dress was not so bad." Rainbow Dash said, looking a little uncomfortable at her mane, which was now well combed.

"Maybe I could put a couple of balloons in the queue to make it look better." Pinkie Pie said, looking at her own dress.

"I don't think you have to do anything to your dresses; you all look beautiful the way you are." Dusk said, smiling, then realizing that he had shamelessly just told all his friends that they were beautiful, and then he blushed.

"W-Well... if you really think so..." Rainbow Dash said blushing deeply, like her friends did, after Dusk told them that.

"Alright girls, please take off the dresses carefully to keep them perfect so you can wear them on the day of the Gala." Rarity said again, after all, there was still much to be ordered after the fashion show.

While the mares went behind the folding screen to remove their dresses, Rarity looked at Dusk, who just stood there to give some privacy to his friends. Then Rarity stared at Dusk with an intense and affectionate look, then opened her mouth to say something, but instantly stopped and her face changed suddenly. Dusk noticed that immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Dusk asked with a somewhat worried smile without knowing why Rarity saw him that way.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just that I saw somepony... that I would rather not see." Rarity said shaking her head and putting a rather nervous smile to try and not worry Dusk.

Dusk realized that Rarity had not been looking at him, but someone behind him, as he turned, he saw that there was a pony approaching them, the fashion critic, who approached with a big smile, walking elegantly.

"Fabulous! Divine! I knew Photo Finish wouldn’t let me down. She said I would find a great designer here in Ponyville who would be my next rising star, and she was right!" Said the fashion critic, named Hoity Toity, as he approached where Dusk and Rarity were.

"Do you remember the story of the colt that I told you the other day?" Rarity whispered nervously in Dusk's ear before Hoity Toity reached them. "The colt that I would not want to see ever again because of what he did to me..."

"The story she told me the other day?" Dusk thought, trying to remember. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the memory of the sad story of Rarity's ex-boyfriend fell like lightning into Dusk's brain, and at that moment Dusk's brain stopped thinking logically, at that instant his eyes became completely red.

Hoity Toity finally reached Dusk and Rarity and was about to open his mouth to meet and talk in person with the designer of that masterful fashion show, because on stage he had not seen his face very well. However, the only thing that reached Hoity Toity was that the lavender colt that was next to that mare turned abruptly, having a hateful look that could paralyze even a dragon, and then a strong punch hit him in the whole face.





With a hard punch from Dusk's right hoof, Hoity Toity fell to the floor, while Dusk's glare, blinded by anger, finally began to slowly subside. An instant rage born of the mere fact of remembering Rarity's story and imagining his friend being used by an abusive colt. Meanwhile, the other friends of Dusk, with Lotus and Aloe, all behind the folding screen, poked their heads and began to look confused and curious about what all those screams were due.

"Dusk! What did you do!?" Rarity shouted, surprised, and scared by what had just happened. Then she threw herself to the ground, next to Hoity Toity, and tried to help the still stunned fashion critic get up.

"He... he deserved it, for what he did to you... No colt should ever touch a mare like that!" Dusk said angrily, slowly calming down and regaining his senses, since even he was surprised at what he had just done, since Dusk was a calmer and more collected pony, not of action, and had never hit anyone like that in his lifetime.

"What are you...?" Rarity said confused, then quickly understood what was happening. "Dusk, you're wrong, this is not the colt that was my coltfriend, it's the colt that took my money in Canterlot! That's what I meant by saying that he was the colt that I told you about the other day and that I never wanted to see him again!”

Dusk's brain quickly began to think and then he remembered that Rarity told him the story of her ex-coltfriend and a story about a pony who took all her money when she offered it to him in Canterlot.

"Oh... Now I understand..." Dusk said awkwardly as all his anger and courage disappeared instantly and was filled with pure shame and regret. Then he looked at Hoity Toity, who seemed finally to be coming out of his daze. "Hehehe…. Whoops!"

"What was that!? That was unacceptable! Guards! Guards!" Hoity Toity started screaming, touching his cheek where Dusk had hit him, calling the guards as if he thought he was still in Canterlot.

"N-No! Please, calm down, it was a huge misunderstanding." Rarity said scared, trying to calm down the colt down so that no other scandal would happen since she had just left one.

“Calm down!?" Hoity Toity said offended, looking this time at Rarity, who was still sitting next to him. "How can I calm down when this barbarian-! Wait! I know you."

Then Hoity Toity took off his glasses to get a better look at Rarity's face and then hugged her tightly with a smile as if everything that had just happened has just been forgotten for a second.

"You’re that mare! That saint who helped me in my most desperate moment! You are my savior!" Hoity Toity said excitedly while still hugging a totally surprised Rarity, who like Dusk, didn’t understand what was happening.

"You remember me?" Rarity said confused, then she pulled away from the hug and held Hoity Toity by the shoulders, looking at him sternly. "Do you also remember how you took all of my money!?"

"Of course, I remember... Wait a minute, did you say all your money?" Hoity Toity said surprised, then he lowered his gaze as he sorted his thoughts with this new information, trying to understand what happened. "Oh... wait, I think I owe you an explanation..."

"That day I had just arrived from Manehattan to make a great deal in the capital, and since I didn't know Canterlot, I asked a kind colt to guide me through the city. Then he took me through the darkest streets of Canterlot, and that's when some thugs stole everything! My bags, my money, even my expensive clothes that I was wearing, all before throwing me into a quagmire and making fun of me. Then I started to ask for help, but none of the ponies in the capital approached me, everypony believed that I was a beggar. It wasn’t long until YOU approached me, a beautiful and elegant young mare, wearing a beautiful and expensive dress, and you offered me what was in your bag. I knew it was a lot of money, but I know that in Canterlot there are many rich families, so I didn't hesitate, and in my desperation I took your money and went immediately to buy some clothes, shoes and glasses, you know, a pony of my category can't be seen naked, I would lose my status as a fashion critic... Once I was dressed appropriately thanks to your money, I contacted my partners to carry out my business and they sent me more money to replace what was lost, and then, having solved everything in Canterlot, I stayed for weeks with a single goal, to look for that young wealthy mare who helped me at the time. I looked for her all over Canterlot, I even spoke with the more noble and wealthier families there, but I could never find you. I never thought that this beautiful and elegant lady would live in a little town like this and that was all the money you had."

Rarity listened to everything, amazed by the story, just like Dusk behind her. While his other friends kept listening to the drama, leaning behind the folding screen, eating some popcorn that Pinkie Pie had taken from somewhere.

"You know... I didn't really wear an expensive dress that day, I only wore a dress that I made myself, and with somewhat cheap materials." Rarity said, smiling a little, to finally relax the atmosphere.

"Unbelievable! That's even more amazing! Hahaha... Ouch!" Hoity Toity said, beginning to laugh with Rarity, until the laugh made the pain of the blow on his cheek return and that he remembered everything that had just happened. "Oh right! Why the hay did you hit me!?" Hoity Toity added looking at Dusk, already calmer but still angry at the blow.

"I'm so sorry!" Rarity said quickly before Dusk could respond, with a pleading look at the fashion critic. "It's just that he confused you with somepony else, somepony who hurt me a lot a long time ago, please forgive him, please don’t be mad at him, he just tried to protect me."

Hoity Toity remained pensive for several seconds, until finally he stood up, brushed off the dirt that was on his elegant suit, and looked more serious as he looked at Dusk and Rarity, who had also stood up and now he waited with an expectant look at Dusk's side.

"Oh very well, I'll forget this huge affront to myself, and then you will forgive me for what happened that time, is that appropriate my dear?" Hoity Toity said, extending a hoof to Rarity.

"Yes, thank you very much." Rarity said immediately, knowing that this deal meant that she couldn’t get the money that she gave to Hoity Toity back, but that didn’t matter, the most important thing was not that the problem didn’t escalate further and that neither she nor Dusk had problems with someone as important as Hoity Toity seemed to be.

"Great, now all that remains now is what I owe you." Hoity Toity said with a mischievous look.

"Sorry, what?" Rarity said, confused.

"What I owe you my dear, to pay you back for the money you lent me, it's been a couple of years now, and I'm still in debt. What, did you really think that my apology would be enough to pay you back for the great kindness you gave to me back then?" Said Hoity Toity with a smile, same smile that grew on Rarity’s face when she realized what he was talking about. "I think a good way to repay you would be to take your beautiful dresses to the main boutiques, to the biggest cities of Equestria, and that way everypony in Equestria can appreciate such beautiful work... Tell me, how would you like that?"

"That... That would be a dream come true!" Rarity said almost shouting, so excited to finally achieve one of the goals in her life, that she hugged Dusk Shine, who was by her side of her. "We did it!"

Dusk looked at her smiling and was about to say 'No, YOU did it,' thinking about rectifying him and telling her that it was only her who achieved it because of her clothes and her generosity that had given her this opportunity. However, for the first time, Dusk thought he understood what it was to see beyond what Rarity had told him, and then Dusk knew what Rarity really wanted. She could seem very focused in her work and always want to excel, but she didn’t want to do it alone, she wanted to do it with her friends, that's why she made dresses with them all, that's why she was looking at the details that could make them shine more, because it was important for her to shine, but she preferred to stand out with all her friends.

"Yes, we did it." Dusk finally said smiling and returning the hug, understanding that Rarity wanted him and his friends to be part of that special moment for her.





It was the next morning at Carousel Boutique, and Rarity was next to Dusk in the main hall, ordering the last things that remained of last night's fashion show.

"Thanks for helping." Rarity said, ordering some scraps of cloth on the floor.

"I figured you still have a lot of things to do, after all, I was here for five days, and I now know how much it takes to make so many dresses.” Dusk said, smiling. "I thought about asking Spike for help, but he's been acting a little weird since yesterday, I guess he might be very tired."

"Poor Spikey-wikey, I'm so grateful, it was very sweet of him to help me every night with the dresses... Well, now I just need to keep these fabrics and dresses, and we'll be ready." Rarity said, smiling, picking up the last pieces of cloth left on the floor. Then she stopped and spoke as she turned her back to Dusk. "By the way... I didn't thank you for yesterday."

"Hmm? for being part of the fashion show? No need to thank me." Dusk said, smiling.

"I don't mean that I mean... when you defended me, thank you." Rarity said still turning her back to Dusk, although from behind you could see that Rarity's cheeks were slightly blushed. "I know it was a misunderstanding, and at the moment I was very scared that you would cause more problems, but now that everything happened the way it happened, it really makes me happy to know that you want to protect me. So, Thank you!" In that instant Rarity turned with a vibrant and huge smile of genuine happiness.

At that moment, for a few seconds, Dusk's heart quickened as his cheeks blushed.

"I-It was nothing, hehe..." Dusk said awkwardly, laughing like a fool. Then he carefully took a couple of dresses and placed them on some hooks to store. "W-Where would you like these dresses?" Dusk said quickly so that Rarity would not notice how clumsy he could be with the simple smile of a mare.

"Come, I'll keep the dresses here." Rarity said, smiling, a little happy after seeing Dusk blush when she smiled. Then she took the last of the dresses, and together they kept the dresses in a large closet that was behind a large curtain, which was where Rarity kept most of her clothes and designs.

While Rarity kept and ordered the hanging dresses, she bit her lip and turned to see Dusk.

"You know, do you remember when I made you close your eyes and presented you with some clothes?" Rarity said with a slightly mischievous look.

"Y-Yeah..." Dusk stammered, who could only blush when he remembered Rarity with her sexy stockings.

"Well, let's play one last time, close your eyes." Rarity said as she turned to look again at the dresses there.

Dusk quickly closed his eyes like an obedient puppy, without questioning anything, just nervous as his imagination began to create crazy fantasies.

"No, what are you thinking!?" Dusk shouted at himself in his mind after imagining Rarity in her sexy lingerie. "She would never wear something like that... But... What if she... Ugh! Stop thinking about your friend like that!" Dusk continued to fight with himself in his mind as if a Dusk-angel and a Dusk-demon were arguing like children.

The seconds passed, and Dusk was still waiting for Rarity to tell him to open them. However, it seemed that nothing was happening, there was no noise to guess what clothes Rarity was wearing at that moment. The only thing that Dusk noticed with his eyes closed is that he was very close to something that smelled very good, something close to him.

Finally, when Dusk opened his mouth to ask Rarity how much longer it would take, he felt his lips the gent touch of a mare’s lips.

Dusk suddenly opened his eyes when he noticed that Rarity was kissing him, which made him blush completely, with an almost phosphorescent red. Instantly Dusk thought about taking a step back and retreating scared. However, his body didn’t listen, and while his heart was beating a thousand times a second, the only movement Dusk made was to slowly close his eyes and let go.

Just as Dusk closed his eyes completely, Rarity slowly left Dusk's lips, finally ending what felt like a long, soft kiss towards her love, with her cheeks completely red as she opened her eyes and looked at him intensely with a hint of fear.

As soon as Rarity finished the kiss, Dusk also opened his eyes, with a puzzled look, as if hundreds of thoughts and feelings were swirling around him and he didn’t know which one to listen to first. Then, with trembling lips, Dusk tried to open his mouth and say something, however his lips were silenced by another kiss, a fleeting and tender kiss that barely touched the lips of Dusk only for a fraction of second, but that was enough to make him blush even more, almost to make him smoke from his ears.

"Don't talk..." Rarity whispered, breathing hard and lowering her head quickly so Dusk would not see her eyes.

Then Rarity turned around and walked to the stairs to go up to her room.

"Uh... Ah... Err..." Dusk babbled weakly, trying to keep Rarity from leaving but still unable to do so as it seemed that everything inside him was confused, having trouble deciding what to do.

Hearing Dusk's babble, Rarity took a deep breath for a second, then turned to see Dusk, still blushing, and then winked. It was the only thing Rarity did before continuing up the stairs quickly and getting out of sight.

Dusk Shine stood, still frozen, not knowing what to do, waiting while his brain rebooted and worked again. Slowly emerging from his daze, Dusk turned and started walking to retreat.

"Ouch! Huh!?" Dusk said stunned after hitting a wall, so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize he was walking towards a wall.

Then Dusk closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, trying to get away from the swirl of thoughts that he had at that moment so he could focus, something tremendously difficult, since he could still feel the taste of Rarity's lips and her perfume. When Dusk realized that his cheeks blushed again just remembering Rarity, he shook his head to think clearly finally, because there were so many things to think about, so many that he understood that it would take more than a day to process everything that he was thinking and feeling at that moment.

"Don't try to reason everything... Feelings are not something to be ashamed of." Those were the words Rarity had said the night to Dusk, and now the lavender colt couldn’t get her out of his mind. He finally leaves the house of the mare that had just given him that sweet and tender kiss...

On the other hand, a few seconds before, just when Rarity finished climbing the stairs... She gently closed the door of her room and leaned on it while giving a big sigh.

As soon as Rarity exhaled the last of the air she had left, she pressed her lips together with her hoof, and her face turned completely red, even more than Dusk had put on after the kiss. She had managed to keep her composure partially for a few seconds, but this was her limit.

Rarity ran to her bed, jumped on her stomach, adjusted a pillow under her mouth, and then Rarity screamed with all her might, waving her hind legs quickly as if she were a small foal kicking with euphoria.

"Kyaaaaa! I did it! I did it! I can't believe I did it!" Rarity thought in ecstasy as she could not stop screaming with happiness and turning in her bed, cries that were fortunately muffled by the pillow that she was hugging.

Then Rarity hugged the pillow even more tightly while her blue eyes shone in ecstasy as she remembered what had just happened.

"It wasn't a perfect kiss from the novels, with a sunset, roses falling around us while we both say we love each other..." Rarity said, looking at the ceiling, for a second calming down. Then she remembered the kiss again, and her cheeks blushed again. "No, it wasn't like I imagined, but it's still the most romantic thing that ever happened to me! Hnnnn!" Rarity said, embracing her pillow with all her might, still feeling the warm taste of Dusk's lips on hers.

Rarity didn't know it, but that was the ultimate remedy. From that moment on it didn't matter how bad it was with her previous attempt on having a boyfriend, it didn't matter how much pain and sorrow that spawned from that occasion, because if she ever remembered that again, all Rarity had to do was relive that kiss, and her heart would burst with joy, pushing away all bad memories and reminding herself that true love can cure everything.

# End of chapter 34
> Chapter 35 - The Gift of Pinkie Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Gift of Pinkie Pie

In the middle of a stormy night in an unknown city, Dusk ran at full speed. He had been running so long that he didn’t know what he was running from, he just knew that he needed to keep running. The night was getting darker and darker, and Dusk kept on running through the gloomy streets without an apparent direction until he turned a corner, he saw the shadow of a mare. Then Dusk recoiled in fright and ran back down the street, to another corner, where this time another shadow of a mare appeared. Dusk fled from the place again until he turned into another corner, where this time the shadow of a tall alicorn appeared. It was so that Dusk kept running away, and every time he turned a corner, he backed away scared to see a new shadowy figure. The fear was so much that Dusk didn’t even give himself a fraction of a second to analyze those shadows, the shadows of all his fears and worries, the shadows of his friends, his teacher, his brother, his first ever friend, of all the problems that Dusk had always tried to run away from.

Then Dusk turned into one last corner, finding himself facing the only shadow he could recognize, his own shadow, or at least a shadow that resembled him, only difference was that his eyes were red full of fury.

While Dusk froze at what he saw, suddenly the shadow of Dusk became the fashion critic he had met two days ago, Hoity Toity, and without giving him any chances to escape again, Hoity's shadow fiercely raised his hoof and hit Dusk with all his strength, causing the poor unicorn to finally wake up from his nightmare.

"Waaah! Ah...! Huff...!" Dusk yelled, waking up suddenly and partially getting up from the bed, breathing hard. "What... What a horrible dream..." Dusk added speaking to himself as he slowly calmed down.

"Did you have a nightmare?" A sweet voice asked.

"Yeah... I... I don't remember how it started..." Dusk said still drowsy, answering the question calmly. "I just remember that last night I was uneasy, thinking about the kiss I had, the fashion show, the task the princess gave me, and then... Arrrh! I don't remember, all I remember was that in the end, I was in a kind of labyrinth, until the all those critic fashions of Rarity's fashion show hit me... "

"Wow, it sounds very weird... and terrible." The same sweet voice answered.

"Yes, it was." Dusk said sighing and finally leaning back on his bed while closing his eyes to go back to sleep. "I wish somepony could come and help ponies like me not have these horrible nightmares..."

It was at that moment, when Dusk was finally about to fall asleep again, that his brain gave him a mental kick to react. Then Dusk suddenly opened his eyes, only to find another pair of eyes, big blue eyes that stared back at him and were so close to him so that they were the only thing he could see.

Dusk jumped as if he was structed by lightning, sitting on the bed in an instant.

"P-P-Pinkie Pie! Why am I sleeping next to you!? And I'm sorry!" Dusk said quickly, embarrassed to be so cheeky to go to bed with a mare. Then Dusk stopped and looked around. "Wait a second... This is my room! What are you doing in my room...? And what are you doing in my bed!?" Dusk added almost shouting, not knowing if he was upset or embarrassed.

Pinkie Pie got up and sat on the bed as if it were just another regular morning in her daily life.

"Yawn... Well, I came in because Spike let me in." Pinkie Pie answered yawning. "I needed to ask him something, but Spike seemed lost in his own thoughts, so I decided to go up, and I saw that you were asleep, and your bed seemed so comfortable... So I decided to lie down with you for a while, after all, it was an exhausting morning, you know, it's that ‘time’ of the month..."

"'That ‘time’ of the month?" Dusk repeated confused before blushing as he remembered his sex education and female biology classes.

"Yes, it's that ‘time’ of the month, the time where I have an overload of pinkie senses." Pinkie Pie said nodding.

"Oh, well, I'm not very familiar with the period of... wait, what did you say?" Dusk asked, going from discomfort to confusion.

"It's my pinkie sense overload day!" Pinkie Pie repeated anxiously, suddenly realizing the confusion of Dusk. "Oh... I forgot that you don't know about that... Well, what happens is that my pinkie sense sometimes gives me signals about what is about to happen, but once a month it becomes a lot more frequent! Making my pinkie senses go crazy! "

When she finished speaking, Pinkie Pie stared at Dusk with a smile while the unicorn only kept a confused face, as if Pinkie had spoken to him in another language. Then Pinkie Pie suddenly trembled as she blinked rapidly, and her tail turned like a propeller.

"You see? There it goes again!" Pinkie Pie said after shaking. "Normally I wouldn’t have that signal, but since today is the day my pinkie senses are more sharper, it gave me this strange signal, the same signal that it’s been giving me all morning! Flashing, teeth trembling and tail turning to the left, it means... 'Gummy is with a friend'!"

Again, Pinkie Pie continued talking while Dusk continued with the same face of total disbelief and confusion.

"Oh, I guess you don't know, Gummy is my pet, he got lost this morning, and I've been looking for him, that's why I came here." Pinkie Pie said, keeping her smile while Dusk kept his face from seeing a weirdo. "By the way, Gummy is an alligator."

“PINKIE! One crazy at a time!" Dusk said holding Pinkie Pie. Reaching its oddity quota for a day.

Dusk had a lot to say, starting with the absurdity of all that talk about pinkie senses, and he also had a big question on whether Pinkie was serious when she said that she had a pet alligator, it would’ve been very unlikely if anyone else would’ve told him, but in Pinkie Pies case, there was always the possibility of making something absurd real. However, Dusk finally decided to leave with his doubts in order.

"First, Pinkie, don’t you find it strange lying down next to me?" Dusk asked with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"No why?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently. "I've already slept with my other friends, it's not strange, or do you want me to act differently with you?"

Dusk opened his mouth to argue what was said by his friend, but he realized that Pinkie Pie was right, after all, Dusk wanted to be part his group of friends, that meant that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of whether it was a colt or a mare. But was that really a good thing to do? That is, a colt and a mare are different physically and mentally, things, like taking a bath together or sleeping together, was another matter... or was it? Dusk couldn’t be sure since this was his first experience with a group of friends and being the only colt within a group of mares, Dusk could not imagine if friendship between different genders should be the same as that of a single gender.

At these confused thoughts, Dusk closed one eye while a sudden migraine hit his head. His horn gave a faint spark until just then Pinkie spoke and distracted him.

"What’s this?" Pinkie Pie asked, lifting a book that was on the bed.

"What, oh, that's a spell book.” Dusk answered, putting a hoof on his temple while the fleeting migraine disappeared. "Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I used a spell to put me to sleep. It's a somewhat complex spell, but very effective in making me relax and rest quietly for twelve hours."

"Quietly, but then, why did you wake up with a nightmare?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"W-Well... I guess it's not infallible, mental spells are not my forte... But at least yesterday worked well!" Dusk responded defensively, a little hurt in his pride.

"'It only works for unicorns...' 'Your horn will shine, and then...' 'Only use it in case of extreme fatigue...' Hmm... Isn’t that something extreme? You could’ve used the spell you used to put us to sleep when we were going after Nightmare Moon." Pinkie Pie said as she read part of how the spell worked, including the warnings section, looking at the book with a slight look of displeasure. "I thought that spells that alter the mind were dangerous and forbidden."

"Wow, I'm amazed you know that... But not to worry, there's no problem, it's not as invasive as it seems, it just relaxes the mind to help you rest, it's not like it's a memory alteration spell or something like that, that would be illegal." Dusk said wanting to lower the profile because Pinkie Pie was right again, but Dusk had or at least believed he had, the knowledge and ability to apply a spell of that caliber. "Besides, it only lasted twelve hours, there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh, good!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling again. "So... Do you want to go back to bed?" Pinkie added, reclining on the bed again.

"Yes, I think we can still- By Celestia! No!" Dusk said in a scream, totally blushed after realizing what Pinkie Pie said, reaching only to lean slightly to lie down next to her. "I-It isn’t right for a colt and a mare to sleep alone in a bed if they are not together!"

"Mmm... Well, that can be solveeeeed..." Pinkie Pie said with a cunning smile, before being interrupted by herself, again beginning to tremble, while her right ear moved, and her mane stood up.

"What's wrong!?" Dusk asked, scared.

"I already told you, it's my pinkie sense." Pinkie Pie answered with a thoughtful face. "Let's see... I think this means... 'Something is going to hit you.'" Pinkie Pie said, pointing to Dusk.

"What? Wait, doesn’t it your pinkie sense only work for you?" Dusk asked, confused.

"That's right, but when I have 'pinkie sense overload' I can prevent certain incidents from happening to my friends." Pinkie Pie said with a small smile.

"Oh... I see... What a convenient gift..." Dusk said, moving his eyes up sarcastically, since he, as a good logical pony, couldn’t believe in such barbarity.

"It's not a gift..." Pinkie Pie said in a whisper, for a second she stopped smiling and looking to the side. Then she looked at Dusk again, this time more seriously. "Dusk, you have to take it seriously."

"So you’re saying something is going to hit me? So what's that supposed to-" Dusk said with a disbelieving smile, stretching his hooves to get out of bed, however, he had forgotten that by getting away from Pinkie Pie, he was almost on the edge of the bed, so Dusk miscalculated, didn’t rest his hoof on the bed, and fell face down on the floor.

"Ouch!" Dusk yelled after hitting his face.

"See, I told you." Pinkie Pie said, approaching the edge of the bed to see Dusk rise from the floor. "Something was going to hit you, and it was the floor."

"First of all, the floor didn’t hit me, it was me who hit the floor! Secondly, this was just a coincidence, or maybe you saw that I was on the edge of the bed and you planned everything." Dusk said in a bad mood, touching his aching nose.

"Do you really think I would do something like that to you?" Pinkie Pie asked surprised.

"Well no, I know you wouldn’t... although now that I think about it, you have already hit me other times." Dusk said, looking sideways at his friend, but deep down knowing that Pinkie would not hurt him without reason. "Anyway, look, it was just a coincidence, okay?"

"It wasn’t, I’m telling you it was my pinkie sense." Pinkie Pie said looking more serious at Dusk. Then she shook again in the same way as before. "There it is again! My pinkie sense tells me that 'something else is going to hit you again.'"

Dusk remained quiet and silent for a few seconds, then he looked in all directions and then saw Pinkie Pie with a face of arrogance.

"See, I told you, nothing happened." Dusk Shine said victoriously.

Then Dusk took a step, and the board on the floor he had fallen on collapsed, causing the opposite end to rise quickly and hit Dusk's face squarely.

"Told you." Pinkie Pie said, covering her face and regretting that her friend didn’t pay attention to her.

"It was just a coincidence!" Dusk said, annoyed, rubbing his nose.

"I’m tell you it's one hundred percent real, I'll show you." Pinkie Pie said jumping off the bed and facing Dusk. Then she shook her head, then her hooves, and finally her tail, until she stood still as a statue.

"Uhm... Are you waiting for something?" Dusk asked, confused after seeing that Pinkie didn’t move after a while.

"I thought it would work... It's just that I can’t control it." Pinkie Pie thought going back to normal, giving up until her right ear went down quickly twice and returned to normal. "There it is! Although it was quite small."

"And what does that warning mean? Is the sky going to fall?" Dusk asked with irony.

"No it’s not a warning, sometimes it's just a signal." Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "That sign means you recently discovered somepony's big secret."

Dusk looked at Pinkie Pie confused until suddenly he remembered that only a few days ago Rarity had told him his secret about her first coltfriend.

"I-It's crazy, you're just saying things randomly, you're using the same tricks those scammers use, reading cards and predicting the future.” Dusk said defensively.

"Oh! Looks like my pinkie sense didn’t fail! Tell me! What secret did you discover!?" Pinkie said, looking through Dusk, excited to discover a secret.

Dusk took a step back when he saw that Pinkie Pie was approaching him, eager to discover the secret that Dusk had.

"It's... it's a secret about Rarity's past." Dusk said slowly after thinking that telling the truth was best against Pinkie Pie. "But I can’t tell you more since she told me in confidence."

"Oh, okay!" Pinkie Pie said with a sympathetic smile, leaving Dusk a little surprised, as he thought she would insist more. "We all have our secrets, and if Rarity thought she wanted to tell you hers, then good for her." Added Pinkie with a smile.

"Uhm... Do you also have a secret?" Dusk asked cautiously.

At Dusk's question, Pinkie Pie lowered her head, so that the shadow of her mane hid her face.

"I... I was born in a circus, my family was very poor, so we all acted in the function to entertain the audience, I was afraid of heights, but in the same way, my dad forced me to go up loose rope and juggle... "Pinkie Pie said in a sad voice.

"Pinkie... I... I didn’t know-" Dusk started talking, worried, approaching his friend, until he was interrupted by Pinkie herself.

"Boop! It was a joke! Hahaha." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile after pressing Dusk's nose as if it were a button. "Hahaha, did you really believe that I was born in a circus?

"Y-You shouldn't joke with those kind of stories." Dusk said blushing, embarrassed to believe his crazy friend while she continued mocking him.

"Not everypony has a dark past, hehe." Pinkie Pie said smiling, then tilting her head and looking at Dusk with more dreamy eyes. "I won’t tell you about my past, but if everything goes well, you will soon find out another of my secrets, a secret related to you."

"Then you do have a secret to tell me.” Dusk said, as clumsy as ever to not realize what Pinkie was referring to what she had just said. "You know, I already know some secrets of Fluttershy and Rarity, maybe it would be good if you will also tell me some of your secrets as well, not because it’s related to me and or about friendship? But so we can trust each other"

"You can’t really say that you have told us everything about your past. So maybe you tell me something and I’ll do the same." Pinkie Pie said holding her smile but looking more penetratingly at Dusk.

Dusk was surprised at Pinkie Pie's words, and then he lowered his head with a worried look.

"I-I guess you're right..." Dusk said after a while, realizing that Pinkie Pie had a good point. "I guess I should tell you a secret before I demand you tell me one of yours... Okay then, what do you want to know?"

"Hmm... How about your childhood friend, I'm really curious." Pinkie said, sitting on Dusk's bed and looking at him with a smile.

"Huff... okay." Dusk said after breathing heavily, deciding it was time to explain the cause why he didn’t believe in friendship, even before arriving in Ponyville. "I was just a young colt back then, I had recently been accepted into Canterlot's magic school, and-"

Suddenly Dusk fell silent, as he began to remember, he realized that he could not fully concentrate on his past, as there was something that had unconsciously been bothering him, a word, just a word that Pinkie Pie had said and that subconsciously Dusk I had not missed it.

"Another..." Dusk said with his head down, thinking aloud as he concentrated on understanding what his subconscious was telling him. "When I asked you about your past... you told me: 'I will not tell you about my past, but if everything goes well, you will soon find out another of my secrets' Another, then that means... That you do have a secret from your past!"

When finally deducting what had been bothering him, Dusk raised his head to look directly at Pinkie Pie, but for some reason, Pinkie Pie was no longer there.





"That Pinkie is a lot like a ninja, one moment she appears and then the next she disappears out of nowhere without anypony noticing..." Dusk thought as he walked down the library stairs, shortly after looking around his room and seeing that Pinkie Pie was no longer there. "Maybe I'm over thinking things a bit, after all, she said it herself: Not everypony has a dark past."

When Dusk went down to the first floor, the first thing he did was to go to the kitchen, where his little brother Spike was found sitting at the table, eating a small bowl of sapphires with milk while holding his head and having a silly and lost look on his face.

"What's happened to you? Looks like your head’s in the clouds." Dusk said, looking at his brother as he sat at the table and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Rarity... that's what happened..." Spike replied with a silly smile, while Dusk for a second was startled to hear the name of his friend.

"W-What's wrong with Rarity?" Dusk asked, feigning disinterestedness as he retook his juice.

"I just can’t get it out of my head... I think we're the perfect couple..." Spike said as his eyes seemed to shine. "Also, I finally got to third base with her."

"Pffft!! You what!?" Dusk asked almost in a cry, after spitting all the juice he was drinking.

"I got to the third base with Rarity.” Spike replied with a smile. "You know that kiss on the cheek she gave me at the fashion show, that was the third kiss she gave me, the first one was when we met, and the second was when I invited her to the Gran Galloping Gala... Three kisses mean that we’ve gotten to third base, right?" Spike asked naively.

"Uhhh... well..." Dusk said scratching his head while blushing, embarrassed to have thought that Spike could have really reached third base with Rarity. Then Dusk thought about how to explain to his little brother what the jargon of reaching third base really meant, but he decided that it was not the time and chose to explain it to him when he is older. "Yes... that's what it means to get to third base... But don’t go around saying it out loud!"

"Of course not, I'm a gentleman!" Spike said quickly, emerging from his daydreams and becoming serious for a second. "Anyway, I think it's time to go to the Café, today the girls gather for their breakfast, and I'll be able to see the most beautiful pony of all..." Spike added again, giving him a reckless look.

Then the little dragon got up from the table and headed for the lobby to exit through the front door. However, he stopped suddenly and looked back.

"What's wrong, you’re not coming to have breakfast with the girls?" Asked Spike confused to see that his older brother was sitting in the kitchen, not moving.

"Huh!? I-I... I think I'll not go this time..." Dusk said, trying to hide that he was nervous. "After all, I need to re-order the library, since lately we’ve had many visitors."

"Oh, well, I'll let the girls know, see you!" Spike said without giving it any importance, thinking again about seeing his true love again.

"Huff...!" Dusk sighed after Spike left, closing his eyes and turning his head back on the chair while covering his face with a hoof.

Dusk didn’t understand why he decided to lie to Spike. Normally he would be happy to go and have breakfast with his friends, but as soon as Spike started talking about the kiss on the cheek that Rarity gave him and how anxious he was to see her again; all his nerves began to take over. Since it had happened last night, it was another concern that had made its way into Dusk’s mind: how to deal with Rarity after the kiss, as well as how to tell Spike what had happened... besides almost ruining the fashion show and his friend's career... and Fluttershy's kiss... the important task that his teacher entrusted... the punch he gave Hoity Toity...

Suddenly another strong migraine crossed Dusk's head, causing him to close one eye in pain and, without realizing it, his horn released a few sparks.

"Again... Am I catching a cold or something?" Dusk said without understanding why these sudden headaches kept on emerging.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Dusk decided to not think too much into the pain, and only finish his breakfast and take a long bath, as if deep down he knew that the best thing for his body at that time was to relax, even if it was just for a moment.

"This is much better..." Dusk said after finally entering and relaxing in the small bathtub that was in his bathroom. Remarkably far from the comfort provided by the huge Ponyville Spa tub, but enough to allow him some relaxation, and to feel in complete solitude.

While Dusk let the tension in his body diminish little by little, a slight noise made Dusk need to open his eyes and leave the semi-trance of relaxation in which he almost fell into. When he opened his eyes, Dusk gave a look of confusion when he saw that in the water, near his back hooves, there was something green and apparently scaly floating. For a second Dusk thought it was one of Spike's scales, but he immediately realized that it was something else entirely, rather it looked like it had a small tail, a tail that began to slowly move towards Dusk's head.

As the strange tail approached Dusk's face, the young unicorn saw, emerging from the water, appeared next to the tail, appeared to be the backside of an animal, then two huge purple eyes popped up, followed by a long snout, allowing Dusk to fully recognize what the mysterious creature was.

"CROCODILE!" Dusk screamed, totally scared, giving a strong jump that almost made him jump out of the bathtub.

"Gummy!" Pinkie Pie yelled suddenly, suddenly appearing from the bathroom window and jumping towards the bathtub.

"P-Pinkie, be careful! It's a crocodile!" Dusk said nervously, so scared that for a second he ignored the fact that Pinkie had appeared out of nowhere from the window.

"It's a alligator, silly, didn’t I tell you already, it's Gummy, my pet." Pinkie said, smiling while holding the alligator, which only now Dusk saw with less fear and realized that the alligator looked more like a small lizard.

"Be careful, he can bite you.” Dusk said nervously, realizing that although that alligator was small, it was still a dangerous animal.

"Of course not, look!" Pinkie Pie said opening the mouth of the little alligator, showing that it had no teeth. Then the little alligator jumped and began to bite Pinkie Pie in various parts of her body, causing no harm.

"I-I see..." Dusk said slowly. Then both ponies were watching in silence while Dusk felt that yesterday morning was repeating itself, having too many questions to choose from.

"Pinkie... How do you suddenly appear like that?" Dusk asked finally, because Pinkie Pie arrived here without any warning through the window of his bathroom.

"Well, my pinkie sense warned me that Gummy would be in a bathtub, and you were the only one of my best friends who would surely be taking a bath, so I took a party cannon and shot myself here, you know, before Gummy could escape again. " Pinkie Pie answered quietly as if everything she had said was out of the ordinary in the world. "I have to be quick when Gummy runs away, he's very unpredictable, you never know where he'll appear next."

"Suuuure... I guess he’s very much like his owner..." Dusk replied, trying to get used to the follies of Pinkie Pie. "By the way, weren’t you supposed to be having breakfast with the girls?"

"We finished, it wasn’t very long, but it wasn’t just you, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were also missing, so we decided to have breakfast all together another day." Pinkie Pie answered while making a soap bubble with the soap that was in her mane after jumping into the bathtub. "Anyway, Applejack and Rarity said they would come later to see if you needed help ordering the library."

"Oh, I see... Hmm... Okay, one last question, why are you still in my bathtub?" Dusk asked, blushing, with a tired look, after realizing that both ponies have had a long conversation together in the bathtub.

"I don’t know, I thought maybe you wanted to take a relaxing bath with me." Pinkie Pie smiled mischievously.

"Believe me, whenever you’re around relaxation is pretty much gone.” Dusk responded by giving up on Pinkie Pie's follies and grabbing a towel while getting out of the tub.

Pinkie Pie had already broken that little moment of peace that Dusk had managed to get, and not only that but she also told him that Applejack and Rarity would soon be there, which made Dusk get a little anxious again.

"It's not that I don’t want to see my friends, but after what happened yesterday... for some reason I get nervous every time I think about meeting them together..." Dusk thought as he finished drying and walking to the door to leave the bathroom. "Maybe... it would be better not to see them, at least for today."

"Dusk! It's the signal!" Pinkie Pie suddenly said still in the bathtub, as she trembled and her mane stood on end. "Something is going to hit you."

"What?" was the only thing that Dusk managed to say, without being able to turn around to see Pinkie Pie, as the bathroom door burst open, slamming into Dusk's face.

"Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" Spike asked once he entered the bathroom, only then realizing that he had hit his brother with the door. "Oops, sorry."

"Why did you come in so suddenly without even touching the door!?" Dusk asked, annoyed, rubbing his sore nose.

"Well... after finishing breakfast, I was making my way back until I saw Pinkie Pie shooting herself straight from a canyon and crashing into the bathroom window, so I hurried to see if she was okay." Spike responded looking at his brother and then at Pinkie Pie, who finally came out of the tub with his little pet lizard. "Pinkie, did you come because your pinkie sense warned you?"

"Yep, it's just like I told you at breakfast, my pinkie sense never fails." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile. "This time it warned me that Gummy was here, and then it warned me that Dusk would get hit by something."

"Oh... Really, that's very useful..." Spike said, looking in amazement at his pink friend.

"Enough is enough, it's just coincidences!" Dusk shouted, who was already in a bad mood after the blow, and even more after hearing all that absurd conversation.

"I don’t know... the girls seemed to take the pinkie signs very seriously.” Spike said, scratching his head. Then Spike widened his eyes as he remembered something important. "Oh right, they've already vacated the bathroom, I need to use it to get ready for my date."

"...Huh?" Dusk asked totally confused while his brother put on a gallant face.

"That's right, I'm going on a date... With Rarity!" Spike said in ecstasy, almost ready to scream. "She invited me to a picnic in the park! She said she would pick me up later, so I have to start grooming now!"

"Rarity invited you... To a picnic?" Dusk repeated, doubting what his little brother was saying.

"Yes, although... well, not only will I go, but she also said... that she wanted to invite you to... But that doesn’t matter! You will be my co-pilot to love! You will help me look good before Rarity arrives!" Said Spike, bringing to light the plan he had been planning since Rarity made the invitation for the picnic.

Upon hearing that from the picnic, Dusk remembered that Pinkie Pie had told him that Rarity and Applejack were coming here, which made Dusk nervous again.

"I-I don’t know if I can accompany you... I have important tasks to do." Dusk said with a nervous face.

"Oh... Really! That's even better! Then I can go alone with Rarity to the picnic!" Spike said, moving quickly from disappointment to joy. Finally entering the bathroom and closing the door behind him, leaving Dusk and Pinkie Pie alone in the hall.

"So... Do you have any important tasks to do?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking with interest at Dusk Shine. "Anything at all?"

"Huh!?" Dusk answered without knowing what to say since that had been an excuse not to meet with his friends. "W-Well, it's... I... I-I decided I wanted to investigate your pinkie sense!" Dusk added, thinking quickly of something.

"Ohhh... That will be fun!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, started jumping for joy.

"Y-Yeah... Sure..." Dusk answered, scratching his head, as he thought about how to escape the new situation he had gotten into.

However, the more he thought about it, Dusk began to conclude that it really was a good opportunity to learn a little more about his friend and about her bizarre 'skills,' and thus having an opportunity to show that science could prove that everything was false.

"Very well, I guess I'll have to do several tests to see how that pinkie sense works for you, some tests, motor tests..." Dusk began as he began to walk towards the bottom of the stairs, getting a little excited to let his scientific side shine.

"Oh, so you want to do some tests? Then I'll give you some tests too!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile as she followed Dusk.

"Wait, you want to test me?" Dusk asked, confused.

"Sure, I want to learn more about you too." Pinkie Pie answered, then blushing slightly. "So maybe I can also find out who you prefer out of all of us."

"Who do I prefer from all of you? Do you mean the other girls?" Dusk asked with a smile of disbelief. "Did you want to know if I have a best friend? I don’t prefer any friend before another."

"Yes... I want to discover... who is your best friend..." Pinkie Pie said with a slight tone of irony, realizing that Dusk misunderstood what she was referring to when she said she wanted to find out who he preferred more. "I think that’s going to be easier to guess than you trying to understand how my pinkie sense works."

"Hehe, believe me, I'll find out, With the power of science!" Dusk said, finally stopping at the foot of the stairs, next to Pinkie Pie. "To the secret lab!"

With those last words, Dusk pulled out a small candelabrum, which turned out to be a lever, which opened a small hidden door beneath his feet. Then Dusk and Pinkie Pie slide down a small slide, crossing a screen as they slid, and finally landing in the basement of the library, both now in white coats and huge lab lenses.

"What was that? It was really fun!" Pinkie Pie said amazed and excited by the surprise of the hidden door and the slide.

"A few days after arriving at the library, I discovered that there was a small basement in disuse, so with time I cleaned it and installed that secret door.” Dusk said, smiling proudly. "I always wanted to have a secret laboratory, not even Spike knows this place."

While Dusk was talking, Pinkie looked around and watched as that small room had several scientific instruments, totally unusual to her. She could only recognize a few chemical specimens among many other instruments.

"Science is the observation, identification, description, experimental research, and theoretical explanation of all phenomena." Dusk began speaking formally, adjusting his scientific lenses and speaking as if he were a teacher in class. "Many ponies think that science is the opposite of magic, but in fact, both are very much the same. Magic is just another process that has a logical explanation, not everything can be explained with magic, and that's where science comes in! Now, there are many different types of- Hey! Don’t touch that!"

Dusk came out of his 'teacher mode' when he saw that Pinkie Pie was not even paying attention to him and just began to play with a magnifying glass over her mouth, looking at her reflection and laughing at herself. Dusk just facepalmed himself thinking about who looked more foolish, his friend playing with a magnifying glass, or him thinking that Pinkie would be interested in anything science related.

"Anyway... let's begin..." Dusk finally said, giving up. Approaching one end of the basement and dragging a slate that was there. "Now, let’s begin the study... Name of the investigation..."

Then Dusk noted on his blackboard, 'Investigation: The truth about the Pinkie sense - Reality or simply superstition?'

"Hey, my pinkie sense is not a superstition." Pinkie Pie replied, making a pout.

"It's just the name of the investigation, it’s not something to be offended by." Dusk answered with a superior look. "Although in fact, I already know what the result will be..." Dusk thought, confident that the pinkie sense was nothing but a series of coincidences.

"Hmm... And I also have to name my investigation?" Pinkie Pie asked, wrinkling her lip.

"Your what? Oh, yeah, of course, as you wish..." Dusk replied confused, then remembering that his friend had told her that she would also do an investigation.

Then Pinkie took another piece of chalk and wrote, 'Investigation: The truth about Dusk Shine, Is he gay?'

An uncomfortable silence remained in the small room while Dusk carefully read word to word again and again to process in his head what his friend had written.

"WHAT!? Why do you think I'm gay? Is it because of my purple fur!? I did not have say in the matter!" Dusk screamed in fright, reliving for a second the mockery he had received from other colts for his lavender coat and his less rough facial features.

"It's just the name of the investigation, it’s not something to be offended by." Pinkie Pie answered with an annoyed smile, hinting that it had bothered her knowing that Dusk doubted her pinkie so much. "Well, actually I just wrote it to mess with you, but maybe it's a good subject to study..." Pinkie Pie added, putting a more thoughtful face.

"Do you really think that I may not like mares?" Dusk asked, afraid of what his friend might be thinking about him.

"I don’t know, but when you woke up this morning you said you dreamed of a kiss... and then you mentioned Hoity Toity... That's enough to suspect." Pinkie Pie said remembering what happened that morning.

"They were different dreams, the kiss I dreamt about was when I kissed Rarity!" Dusk responded quickly, as he wanted to clear up that misunderstanding immediately.

"Huh? You... you kissed Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking with a penetrating look at Dusk as if she was analyzing each movement he made carefully.

"Uh!? I... W-Well... yes, I suppose so." Dusk began to respond slowly, realizing that he had talked more about the account. "It was yesterday... after the fashion show, I guess that a lot of things happened that day and... and that's why I dreamt-"

Dusk stopped speaking suddenly when again, a fleeting headache made him close his eyes.

"It doesn’t matter, I don’t want to talk about that now.” Dusk added after shaking his head slightly to clear his mind.

"What was that? Was it my imagination or did Dusk's horn just spark?" Pinkie Pie thought confused, not sure what she saw. In the end, she finally decided that it must have been her imagination.

"The important thing is that you know they were different dreams! I would never dream of kissing Hoity Toity or any other colt!" Dusk said determined so that Pinkie had no doubt about his sexuality. "You know, I support the LGBT community, but I'm not like that." He added quickly so that Pinkie didn’t think he was an intolerant either.

"Hmm... Well, if you like mares, maybe there's a way to prove it." Pinkie finally said after thinking for a moment and putting a fleeting mischievous smile.

Then Pinkie Pie had Dusk sit in a chair while she stood in front of him, not too far away, staring at him.

"Tell me, which of your senses do you want me to test?" Pinkie Pie asked with a flirtatious look, slowly approaching Dusk.

"What? I-I don’t understand." Dusk said, blushing slightly when he saw Pinkie Pie with that mischievous look.

"What I mean is, that the colts react very easily to the touch of a mare." Pinkie said, stopping and slowly touching her own neck with one of her hooves. "Tell me, would you like me to touch you... somewhere special?"

"Huh!?" Dusk said as he blushed heavily.

"Although the colts are also very visual, unlike the mares, sometimes it’s enough to see a mare in a certain position to get them…. excited." Pinkie Pie said continuing her slow and provocative walk, already in front of Dusk. "Is there a pose you would like to look?"

"W-What are you talking about?" Dusk said totally blushed and nervous.

"We mares are more emotionally expressive, the colts can even get excited with just the smell or sound of a mare." Continued Pinkie Pie, walking around Dusk while he was still sitting, motionless, with his face completely red while involuntarily smelled the soft and sweet aroma that emanated the mane of Pinkie Pie as it passed by him, and her soft voice, which in that precise moment, made it seemed sexier than usual.

While Dusk was lost in his thoughts, fighting against his crazy fantasies due to Pinkie Pie's speech. She approached Dusk from behind and without warning, she softly blew one of his ears.

"Waaah!" Dusk screamed with a start, jumping and falling to the floor while touching the ear that Pinkie Pie had blown and trying in vain to calm down so that his face would stop blushing due to the mixture of nerves and excitement.

"What happened?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently, with her usual smile.

"Y-You... you were... you were going to..." Dusk said blushing to the ears, trying to think of something, although the truth was that Pinkie Pie had not even touched him.

"I just went up to you and told you how colts like different types of mares, what did you think, did you think I would go and touch you, or what would make a sexy pose in front of you? Wow, what an imagination you have!" Pinkie Pie said mocking Dusk while the colt began to blush no more. "But now, I guess that proves my point, you definitely are attracted to mares, only stallions have that perverted imagination." Pinkie Pie added with a smile, gently tapping Dusk's forehead.

After Pinkie's words, Dusk just closed his mouth loudly and let out a small snort of embarrassment, for he knew perfectly well that Pinkie Pie had provoked him, but he couldn’t say it out loud since she was right, she didn’t. He was teased the entire time. All of that caused Dusk to feel embarrassed, but also a little relieved, as it seemed that Pinkie had only been making fun of him and she never truly believed that he was an effeminate pony, despite his purple fur; Even though the latter was only in Dusk's mind and Pinkie never said it.

"Dusk always blushes like this in these situations... He definitely feels something, but... maybe he doesn’t want to, or worse, he can’t admit it..." Pinkie Pie thought, putting a doubt face on her face. "Maybe... I should be more direct."

"Is something wrong?" Dusk asked, curious to see what Pinkie was thinking about.

"I just thought that maybe I should bet everything in a whole or nothing..." Pinkie Pie said looking at the ceiling while maintaining that pensive look, while Dusk looked at her with a doubtful face, without understanding what his friend was referring to.

"Do you like to bet?" Dusk asked curiously for the bad habit that his friend could have.

"No, because I always win." Pinkie Pie answered with a smile. "Anyway, how about we continue with your investigation?" Pinkie Pie added suddenly changing the subject.

"My what? Oh, yes! My investigation." Dusk said, remembering the real reason why both were in the basement of the library. Returning quickly to his professor mode and getting excited to have his lab coat on again.

After that, Dusk ordered the basement a bit to make more space and accommodated some rare instruments to start with his study of pinkie sense, happy to finally be able to release some of those little valued scientific instruments.

"I'll show the princess that this was worth it." Dusk thought with a smile as he remembered how Princess Celestia had told him how unnecessary those machines were. "I'll show you that science will one day rival magic in utility for ponies."

"First I’ll use this.” Dusk said, dragging a large machine that was throwing rolls of paper with a zigzag line drawn on it. This machine was tied by a cable to a strange helmet in the form of a strainer, with several lights on it, which Dusk tied over Pinkie Pie's head.

"What is this?" Pinkie Pie said with her eyes wide open with curiosity, laughing a little at the strange device above her head.

"This is a polygraph, it measures the variation of pulse, breathing, and other nervous stimuli in you.” Dusk said proudly. "This will measure your response when those supposed predictions of your pinkie sense occur to you, and they will tell me if something supernatural happens to your body or not."

"Ooooooh... Oki-Doki." Pinkie Pie answered with a big smile.

Time goes by, as Dusk still looked at the polygraph from time to time, and Pinkie Pie who’s been standing like a statue for what felt hours, with a face that showed that she was trying to concentrate strongly.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? Take one of those attacks of yours." Dusk said, frustrated after seeing that nothing happened.

"I don’t know how to do it, I told you, they just come and go." Pinkie Pie answered with a shrug.

"Ugh, it's okay, let's try another device, no, wait! It won’t work because it won’t do anything if you don’t have one of your capricious pinkie senses!" Dusk said, annoyed.

Dusk's frustration grew rapidly as at first he was thrilled to finally occupy all the equipment to go use, so for a second Dusk had really wanted to find something extraordinary about his friends “pinkie sense”, something to be able to investigate, whatever it was! But the only thing that Dusk was beginning to think was that he was making a fool of himself and that his teacher was right, and in fact Dusk could already imagine the mocking face of his teacher laughing while telling him how useless science was in a world of magic, and how absurd it was to have bought those crazy scientific devices.

"Every week, I send letters telling the princess about my friends and our adventures, just stories, nothing that deserves to be called a real study, and when I finally think I can do a real investigation, it doesn’t work!" Dusk thought. Annoyed with himself, remembering how his letters to the princess explaining his advances in the magic of friendship had gone from quasi-scientific explanations to mere accounts of his misadventures. Something that the princess congratulated him for, but still feeling unsatisfied with himself, like the good scientific pony he was.

"Maybe we can wait a bit longer to see if something happens." Pinkie Pie said, a little surprised to notice Dusk's sudden frustration.

"I don’t plan to be here all day waiting for something that may never happen.” Dusk answered, annoyed.

Then the ears of both ponies rose when they heard footsteps on the floor above them, then, hearing some voices, which was unfortunately difficult to distinguish from the basement.

"Maybe it's Applejack and Rarity, perhaps they’ve already arrived." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

"That's all I needed!” Dusk muttered, thinking aloud without meaning to, even with a look of annoyance, but this time mixed with worry.

Again, Dusk closed an eye for a fleeting migraine.

"I'll go see." Pinkie Pie said approaching the stairs.

"I don’t want you to go, I want you to stay here so we can once and for all solve the very thing we came here for!" Dusk said seriously, touching his head because of his headache.

Pinkie Pie looked at Dusk for a few seconds, without any expression, but with a deep look, as if she was analyzing him from tail to head.

"Hey, I don’t even know how my pinkie sense works, sometimes you just have to believe in things, even if you can’t decipher them." Pinkie Pie said with a small, calm smile.

"You can’t expect me to believe that you have a strange magical sense that nopony else has, I’m not believing in anything that cannot be explained." Dusk replied, annoyed, irritated by the headache that seemed to only increase.

"What about love?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Huh?" Dusk said, surprised. Setting aside his thoughts on the pinkie sense, his friends on the top floor and the teasing of his teacher, and by immediate coincidence, also ending his headache to stop thinking about everything that concerned him.

"Love can’t be seen, but if you can believe in it, maybe there’s no need for an explanation, right?" Pinkie Pie asked with a smile.

"I-I... I don’t know..." Dusk said, looking down a little confused while wondering if he was capable of answering that, since... Has he ever experienced true love? Maybe the answer would be...

"Or in friendship, you can’t see it either, but it exists without any sort of explanation." Pinkie Pie said, noticing the confused expression on Dusk's face and helping him understand.

"Hmm... Oh, yeah, I guess so." Dusk responded, much faster than before after immediately thinking about his beloved friends.

"Can I start with my research?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly, as always smiling as she approached the blackboard.

"Your research?" Dusk repeated confused, a little dizzy by the sudden changes of the topic that his friend was talking about.

"Yes, remember, you said that you would do some tests on me, and I would do some on you. The research on if you like mares or not was just to bother you." Pinkie Pie said deleting the title she had written on the board as her research, and writing 'Investigation: Dusk's Disasters.'

"What does that mean?" Dusk asked, confused, pointing to what Pinkie Pie had just written.

"It's what it says there." Pinkie Pie said removing the strange helmet that Dusk had put on her head, and holding a rope, putting a big and slightly disturbing smile. "Now it's my turn to do some tests."

What followed was really strange, because not even Dusk could understand how he agreed to what was happening. Now Dusk was sitting in a chair, his four hooves tied to the chair, while Pinkie Pie was staring at him with a big smile.

"W-What do you plan to do? What experiment involves me being tied up?" Asked Dusk worried while Pinkie Pie put a hoof in her mane and took out an object.

As soon as Dusk saw what Pinkie pulled out of her mane, he began to have cold sweats with a worried face as he moved his hooves trying to break free.

"Nothing good, fufufu..." Pinkie Pie laughed sinisterly, lifting the object she had pulled out of her mane and swiftly stabbing Dusk in the ribs.

"HAHAHA! NO! STOP! Hahaha!" Dusk started laughing without control after Pinkie 'stabbed' him with the object she had brought. A feather, with which she began to tickle Dusk everywhere.

Pinkie Pie began to tickle Dusk with a feather, then with two, and so she continued stroking the feathers on various parts of his body, trying to locate the ‘break points’ and get more laughter out of him, all while the unicorn lavender couldn’t stop laughing, since he was extremely ticklish

"Stop! Hahaha! P-pleas stop! Hahaha! T-This is not- haha! It has nothing to do with your experiment! Hahaha!" Dusk managed to say with laughter, trying to get Pinkie Pie to stop.

Then Pinkie Pie stopped and looked at the blackboard.

"Oh, you're right, I was wrong." Pinkie Pie said approaching the board and changing some letters. "There we go."

Then Dusk read the board again, where Pinkie Pie changed some letters, seeing the title now called 'Investigation: Dusk's de-stress.'

"De-stress? Do you think I'm stressed?" Dusk asked, surprised.

"I think so." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. "Yesterday you couldn’t sleep, you had to use a spell that is only used in extreme cases of stress, today you’ve been having several headaches, and you seem to get irritated very easily." Pinkie Pie added with a smile, this time she was the one who put on the glasses and spoke in 'teacher mode.'

Dusk looked at Pinkie Pie in surprise and then lowered his head with a look of concern because what Pinkie Pie was saying was correct, it seemed that all those worries that he’s been having made him stress to the point that his friend had noticed.

"I'm not sure what the cause is." Pinkie Pie added, raising the feather again and looking at Dusk with a wicked smile. "But more importantly, I want to solve the problem, and you already know what the best medicine is."

Then Pinkie Pie launched another attack and began to tickle Dusk again. Laughter again exploded in the basement while Dusk seemed to laugh even more eagerly after Pinkie explained the true meaning of her actions. Although the tickle didn’t let him concentrate completely, though there was something that Dusk was clear on, and that he really appreciated having a friend like Pinkie Pie to help him even against his will, and to notice things that he didn’t even notice in himself.

While Pinkie Pie continued with her tickling session, for a second Dusk's gaze met his friend's, and the colt blushed when he saw that not only he was laughing, but also Pinkie Pie, both playing and enjoying each other as if they a foal and a filly playing together, without any worries. It was at that moment that Dusk remembered his conversation with Pinkie that morning, and how she lay next to him because she treated him the same way she treated her other friends.

"If Spike was doing this to me, what would I do?" Dusk thought as a sinister smile formed on his face.

With a 'Puff' Dusk used his teleportation to get out of the chair and appear behind Pinkie Pie. Then Dusk's horn shone, and five magical feathers appeared in front of him, while Dusk smiled vengefully and Pinkie Pie just watched with a nervous smile, knowing what was coming.

Both ponies attacked each other, both using their feathers to tickle each other, jumping and hovering over each other as they moved their feathers and made the other laugh as much as they can.

"Haha... Okay... Enough... hehe..." Dusk finally said as his ribs could no longer endure the pain of laughing so much. Falling on his belly while Pinkie Pie fell on Dusk in the same way.

"Heh... hehe... So, you give up?" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile, also having trouble breathing because of her laughter.

"Yes, I give up.” Dusk said smiling, feeling the warm body of his friend on his back, but without seeing her face, because both were positioned across one another with Pinkie being on top of Dusk. Then Dusk put on a calmer smile and closed his eyes. "Thanks, I guess I needed that, by the way, what you did is still not an investigation, since you have to discover something after the experiment, but you already knew what I needed even before you did it."

"That isn’t true, I discovered something." Pinkie Pie said, moving a little, so her head was on Dusk's, and then she bit him gently on her left ear. "I discovered your weak point."

As soon as Pinkie Pie bit Dusk's ear, the colt fell asleep, as if all his muscles had stopped him from paying attention, leaving him in a state of complete relaxation.

"Hehe." Pinkie Pie laughed sweetly, blushing to see Dusk finally with a natural and relaxed smile on his face.





As if someone had ordered them, both ponies got up at the same time and sat on the floor, as if they both understood that this was the right time for both of them to be on top of each other without another more intimate desire surfacing, but still thus they both remained seated supporting their backs with the other, without seeing the others face but still feeling the comforting heat of the other on their fur.

"You're amazing, it seems like you always know what I need even if I don’t know it myself.” Dusk said, looking towards the wall, laughing while blushing a little for what he said.

"It's because we make a good couple, you know, like peas and carrots." Pinkie Pie responded with the same smile and the same blush as Dusk.

"Hehe, you got that right” Dusk said with a smile.

"Got that right..." Pinkie Pie repeated in her mind before closing her eyes and sighing slowly.

"Dusk."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to be my coltfriend?"

# End of chapter 35
> Chapter 36 - The Curse of Pinkie Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The curse of Pinkie Pie

"Dusk... Dusk..." A distant voice was heard.

"Hmm?" Dusk muttered, slowly opening his eyes and rubbing his head, with a clear look of confusion.

"Are you alright!? I'm glad you woke up, I was already getting scared." The voice said, this time becoming clearer for Dusk, confirming the identity of the owner of the voice by opening his eyes completely and seeing his pink friend.

"Pinkie Pie? What happened? Where...?" Dusk asked, confused, realizing he was in the basement of the library, then quickly remembering everything that happened: why he was there and what he was doing with Pinkie there. "Wait, what happened!?" Dusk added, still confused, trying to remember the last thing he did before falling seemingly asleep.

"I'm not sure." Pinkie Pie replied, relieved that Dusk woke up but still worried about what she had just seen. "We were leaning with each other in conversation when suddenly you fell out faint, and your horn began to shine and sparkle."

"What?" Dusk said incredulously, making a confused face. "Why do I pass out..." Then Dusk fell silent and remained silent with a thoughtful face until he suddenly opened his eyes wide with surprise.

Instantly Dusk used his magic and brought up a book in front of him, which Pinkie Pie immediately recognized was the book she had found on Dusk's bed when she lay beside him. Then Dusk quickly searched for the page with the spell he had used the night before.

"It must have been this!" Dusk said with a worried look. "As I told you, yesterday I used this spell, it's called 'Mental Relaxation Spell', it only works for unicorns, and it's supposed to make the magic be channeled into the horn automatically when the mind is very tired or very stressed, making the horn shine and one falls instantly into a dream to avoid any unnecessary stress. " Dusk said reading the description of the spell and remembering how the night before he had read that spell and had fallen asleep instantly.

"Stress?" Pinkie Pie repeated in a worried whisper, remembering that she had actually read that description when she took the book, but Dusk himself had told her not to worry about it.

"Hmm… It only lasts twelve hours, but now that I think about it, yesterday I went to bed late precisely because I couldn't fall asleep. I guess I was still under the last effects of the spell, surely it has some minutes of effectiveness left." Dusk added, looking at the clock on the wall. "I don’t understand, I thought that with that tickle war we had had, I had stopped being so tense. I... Hmm... Wait! We were sitting, and you... You asked me something...? I can't remember..."

Pinkie Pie looked at Dusk with a look of surprise and fright but quickly ducked her gaze so that Dusk didn't see her. Then she closed her eyes with concern and sighed to calm down and think a second before speaking.

"I… I'll tell you, but first, I want to ask you a question." Pinkie Pie said, trying to smile as she always did, although you could still tell she was somewhat nervous. "Do you remember that when we fell here, I asked you if you... if you liked mares?"

"What-!? Again with that!?" Dusk responded by blushing, unconsciously shrinking a little, as if trying to hide his large complex, having a lavender-colored coat and being told he was feminine.

"I know you like mares, it's just that I was wondering... Why haven't you done anything with us? With your friends... I mean, you are a colt that is constantly surrounded by mares, but it seems that... you have no interest in us... as mares." Pinkie Pie asked a little blushing, curiously looking more serious than normal.

At the words of Pinkie Pie, Dusk opened his eyes, totally surprised, then he blushed slowly and lowered his head so as not to see Pinkie Pie in the eyes.

"I-It's not that I don't find them attractive..." Dusk said, looking down and smiling unconsciously. "Every time I hear your laughter, I feel as if my day is brightening, and all my worries are gone... Or when Rarity passes by my side, and I feel her soft aroma that wakes me up... or I see Fluttershy's beautiful aquamarine eyes... Applejack’s firm flanks … I know it’s not like a gentleman to say those words but to me… you’re all the most beautiful mares I’ve ever met, and I can't help thinking about certain things sometimes when I’m with all of you…"

Pinkie Pie listened attentively to Dusk's words and felt her heart racing as she heard such words... But her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that a small spark jumped from Dusk's horn.

"It's not that I don't think of you as mares, but I keep thinking of you as my friends!" Dusk said, changing his smile for a look of fright, while not realizing his horn began to throw more sparks. "You are all my friends, and if I... And if I-!"

At that precise moment, Pinkie Pie jumped in front of Dusk and gently touched the tip of his left ear, just as Dusk's horn began to glow, and it seemed that the spell that Dusk had done to himself last night would once again have an effect. However, as soon as Pinkie Pie touched Dusk’s 'weak spot', he calmed down immediately and lowered his head with a totally relaxed look and his tongue out.

"That was close... This has to be exactly what happened when I asked if he wanted to be my coltfriend." Pinkie Pie thought with a thoughtful look as she kept stroking Dusk's ear with her hooves. "It wasn't necessary for him to finish what he was going to say, I know exactly what he was thinking..."

Pinkie saw the fear in Dusk's eyes and saw that it wasn't just any fear, it was the fear of losing something dear. But what could she risk losing if Dusk fell in love with one of her friends? There was only one answer, just that, to lose that friendship, that the one he fell in love with ceased to be her friend.

That might sound banal and silly, but Pinkie quickly understood that it wasn't that simple, and even she didn't have the answer since she hadn't fallen in love either. So, if she became Dusk's girlfriend... Would her relationship change? Would they stop being friends to become something else? That couldn't be assured, but what was certain was that it implied something different, something unknown. And for someone as recent in the world of friendship as Dusk Shine was, stopping as soon as he had a friend to turn her into something unknown was what really scared the young colt.

"Dusk's feelings may not be ready for that yet. Even if I think about it, even I am a little afraid to take that leap! And for Dusk, who has just discovered friendship and still doesn't understand love... It's as if he had barely learned to walk and now asked him to run a marathon..." Pinkie Pie thought, biting her lip when she thought she understood Dusk's feelings better. "If I force him to make a decision about love, it can be a double-edged sword, as it just happened, where he just got stressed... If I ask him again, he could refuse, maybe just run away, or even worse, accepting just to not hurt me or because you are not sure what you feel, but as long as Dusk no longer clarifies your own feelings, asking about love will only hurt you."

"D-Did something bad happen? You've been very thoughtful." Dusk asked slowly, becoming despondent after Pinkie Pie stopped stroking her weak point while still thinking.

"It's nothing, don't worry." Pinkie Pie replied with her usual smile.

"By the way, what were we talking about...? Oh! I asked you about what you told me before falling asleep." Dusk asked, looking at Pinkie with a smile as if the spell had partially acted and again he had forgotten the last few seconds of conversation before stressing out.

"Oh, yes. Well… Hmm… I think I prefer not to repeat it, at least for now." Pinkie Pie replied with a slightly sad smile, thinking that it was best for Dusk to have no more worries than he already had.

At Pinkie Pie's answer, Dusk opened his mouth to complain, but Pinkie Pie anticipated that.

"I won't tell you what I told you, but I will tell you what you murmured in your sleep." Pinkie Pie added.

"What!? I... Did I say something while I was passed out?" Dusk asked a little worried.

"Yes. You said several names." Pinkie Pie said, putting on glasses that Dusk usually wore while in teacher mode, and making Dusk sit on a chair while she sat on another in front of him. "I'm not a psychologist, but I think the names you said are related to your state of stress." Pinkie Pie added, adjusting her glasses and pretending to write in a notebook.

"What names did i say?" Dusk asked a little scared, believing he already knew the answer.

"You murmured the name of the princess." Pinkie Pie said, making a pensive face. "You also mentioned the name Shining Armor... And also Hoity Toity."

Dusk looked surprised at Pinkie Pie and then lowered his head with a sad smile. All that he was stressed about seemed crazy, but after what happened with the spell and passing out, and then Pinkie Pie named him precisely those names... All that was irrefutable evidence!

"Gosh... it seems you're right, it seems that I am a little stressed. After all, just yesterday, I dreamed of them all." Dusk said with a frown.

"Who is Shining Armor? I think I've heard that name before." Pinkie Pie asked.

"He's my older brother." Dusk responded even with his head down.

"And why would it stress you to think about him?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking closely at Dusk.

"I don't know... I mean, unlike Spike, with Shining... well, it's more complicated. He is Mr. Perfection, and I... I only seem invisible when he is close..." Dusk replied, feeling honest without realizing it.

"Inferiority complex..." Pinkie Pie murmured as she wrote down in her notebook, like every good psychologist.

"I don't have an inferiority complex! Hmm… well, maybe a little, but I've never had insomnia for what I feel for my brother. I think that has nothing to do with what's happening to me now." Dusk said quickly, becoming defensive.

"Why do you think you named Princess Celestia?" Pinkie Pie said, looking at her notebook as if she hadn't heard Dusk's last comment.

"Uh? I-I... I don't know either..." Dusk replied, looking up to see Pinkie, who just stared at him like a statue. "Maybe it's... because I'm afraid to let her down. That is, when she asked me to study the magic of friendship, I thought I could make a great study about how friendship worked and how it influenced ponies and magic. But... lately, I feel that my studies are not progressing and that I can't make a first-class report as I expected. Now I only send her letters telling anecdotes, and I am afraid to think that I can disappoint her...

"Fear of failure..." Pinkie Pie muttered again as she rewrote in her notebook.

"I… I don't have… Hmm… well…" Dusk muttered in response, not daring to totally deny what her friend was saying.

"What about Hoity Toity?" Pinkie Pie asked, adjusting her glasses again. "Do you feel guilty for hitting him for no reason?"

"Uh? No, well, yes. Yes, I am sorry for hitting him..." Dusk said, looking up and ducking again.

"But..." Pinkie Pie added, guessing there was something else that worried Dusk.

"I think... I think what worries me is something else..." Dusk said, trying to look at Pinkie Pie but looking away. "The truth is that it scares me to be changing. Before coming to Ponyville, I would never have hit someone, I only dedicated myself to studies, but since I arrived here, I feel that I have changed in many ways... and the breaking point was when I Hoity Toity. I had never acted like that, without thinking, nor had I felt so much blind rage..."

"Fear of change, denial phase..." Pinkie Pie said as she wrote again in her notebook.

"Huff... I guess so... you're right. Wow, you're a good psychologist! Who have thought it!?" Dusk said with a small smile of relief, realizing that he had said many things without realizing it. "So what is the verdict? How can I stop thinking about all that?" Dusk added, trying to see the diagnosis Pinkie Pie had written in his notebook while he spoke.

"I don't know, I just drew a kitten." Pinkie Pie said with a smile while showing Dusk the notebook, where instead of words, Dusk discovered that Pinkie had only been drawing a bad drawing of a fat cat.

"Really?" Dusk said, annoyed.

"Well, a good psychologist just listens and lets the patient vent his problems. Many times all that is needed is to talk about your problems." Pinkie Pie said, again adjusting her glasses while speaking more seriously. "Besides, yours isn't that hard to solve."

"What do you mean?" Dusk asked.

"About your brother, it is normal to feel a little intimidated by the success he has, but instead of seeing his virtues, you should see your own and realize that you are special in many other things. About the princess, I'm almost certain that she has never told you that she is disappointed in you, they are only your own pointless fears; what you should do is stop demanding so much, because I am sure that the princess is proud of you and what you do. Hoity Toity, well, it's normal for you to feel angry at a pony that you thought had hurt your friend. It's normal to defend a friend! If you've never felt this way, it's because you've never had friends to treasure and that you realize that you are not the same pony who first came to Ponyville, but changing is not bad, it is often the best; you are changing, but only because you are becoming a better pony. "

After Pinkie finished her long speech, she took off her glasses and stared at Dusk with a big smile, while Dusk just stared at her with huge eyes, totally amazed at the deep analysis she made about all his worries, and in just a few seconds.

"Well? I'm good, right?" Pinkie Pie added arrogantly while smiling.

"I-I think you're right..." Dusk said, coming back to himself while he kept chewing on every word of what Pinkie Pie had said, realizing that every word Pinkie said was right. "I think I always knew, but as I never talked about it with anyone..."

"It's not good to keep problems to yourself, remember that that's why you have friends." Pinkie Pie smiled.

"But I still don't understand it... That is, the problems I have with my brother, or my insecurity with being a student of the princess, I have had them for years, and I have also felt this way about changing since I arrived in Ponyville." Dusk said with a look of doubt. "Why did this stress me right now?"

"Hmm… well, surely everything accumulated, and everything exploded with the blow you gave to Hoity Toity and with the last kiss." Pinkie Pie said, thinking.

"The kiss?" Dusk asked.

Pinkie Pie quickly opened her eyes and realized her mistake. She had been hiding something from Dusk, something she wasn't sure whether to tell him or not, but since she had already done so, she thought it would be best to tell Dusk.

"Yes... what happened is that you not only named the princess, your brother, and Hoity Toity while you were passed out." Pinkie Pie said slowly. "In the end, you also said... Applejack... Pinkie Pie... Fluttershy... Rarity, and then you woke up."

"I... Did I name all of you? Why? You don't stress me out, at least I don’t think so." Dusk said, confused, frowning as he looked at the floor, thinking of an answer he couldn't see.

"Don't you see!? It's the order in which we kissed you! You have doubts about what you feel!" Pinkie Pie thought with a sad look as Dusk didn't see her.

Pinkie Pie hadn't wanted to say that to Dusk because it was something that hurt. Dusk was changing in many ways, and that included what he felt for them, but as he had already discovered, as long as he didn't realize what he really wanted and felt, the only thing she and her friends would achieve if they necessarily approached Dusk, would be stressing him out and hurting him.

"You know, it's probably about having a best friend." Pinkie Pie finally said with a small forced smile after seeing that Dusk seemed to have a headache after thinking so much about why it would stress him to think about his friends. "Do you remember that I told you that in the experiment, I would find out who you preferred? Surely you were also stressed by that, you know, by knowing who you preferred… as your best friend."

"Do you think that not knowing who my best friend is stressing me out?" Repeated Dusk unconvinced. "Hmm... Maybe you're right... But how can I solve that?"

"Well, I think the best thing you can do is- Ohhh!" Pinkie Pie replied until she was interrupted by herself when she began to shake. "My pinkie sense! Something is going to hit you!"

"What? Again with that!?" Dusk asked a little annoyed since they had been all that time without any of those supposed Pinkie Pie attacks, so much so that Dusk had almost forgotten that that was the initial reason why they were there in the basement.

When Pinkie Pie stopped shaking, Dusk looked at her strangely, then remembered that despite her disbelief, every time Pinkie had had that tremor, something finally hit him anyway. So, while still firm in his belief that these were just crazy coincidences, Dusk looked in all directions and waited for several seconds before speaking.

"See? I told you, nothing happened." Dusk said with a superb smile.

"Be careful. You must take my pinkie sense more seriously." Pinkie Pie replied, looking everywhere, waiting for her prophecy to be fulfilled.

"Enough, I… No, you know, I think it's better to get out of here." Dusk said after realizing that after all, it was not necessary to continue in the basement, after all, he had not even managed to study the capricious supposed sixth sense of his friend.

Then both ponies began to climb the stairs to climb to the first floor.

"Be careful with the door." Pinkie Pie said, warning Dusk as he approached the door.

"Nothing will happen." Dusk said with a smile, knowing that no one would open on the other side since Spike didn't know that place, and also the footsteps of his brother, Rarity and Applejack had long since been silent, which meant that they had already left the library.

SLAM!! A loud bang slammed Dusk's face right when he was about to open the door.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know there was someone inside." Lyra said sorry, after realizing she had hit Dusk.

"Ouch! You... Why are you here? And how do you know about that secret door!?" Dusk shouted, confused, and angry. It was then that Dusk saw that Lyra was not alone, but with a small group of mares behind her, all looking closely at Dusk.

"This is our secret room, I discovered it the other day. We used it as a reading club." Lyra replied with a smile. "What do you…?

At that moment, Lyra fell silent when she saw that Dusk was not alone, but with Pinkie Pie. Then she looked down and saw that all the instruments that were normally stacked in that room were now all discovered in the center.

"Dusk and Pinkie Pie... alone in a room... with lots of weird instruments..." Lyra murmured as she blushed, and her imagination flew at full speed. "Yes! I already have the idea for the next chapter of my fic! The 'Forbidden Love' reading is canceled today!"

Then Lyra turned around and ran swiftly out of the library, then the other mares who accompanied her saw Dusk and Pinkie Pie, blushed and ran after Lyra, hoping to see how she drew live her next romantic story.

"What the heck just happened?" Dusk asked without understanding why Lyra had appeared and had run away.

"Surely she was talking about her comic, you should read it, it's very good." Pinkie Pie said, finally leaving for the first floor. "Although if you don't like erotic stories, you may not like it."

"Erotic stories? Why would I read something like that?" Dusk asked confused, following Pinkie Pie

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to answer, about to tell Dusk that the protagonist of that story was an alternate version of himself, but finally decided not to stress Dusk anymore, at least for a while.

"The best thing is that you read it yourself, hehe." Pinkie Pie smiled as she opened the library door. "Well, I think it's also time for me to leave, it was a very fun morning!"

"Yes it was, it also helped me learn more about myself, Dr. Pinkie," Dusk said, smiling. "I'm just sorry I couldn't do the same for you."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.

"Your pinkie sense." Dusk replied. "You remember I said I would investigate it, but finally, I couldn't draw any conclusions since it never appeared when you had the polygraph. I was hoping to show you that everything is just a coincidence."

"Do you still think they are just coincidences?" Pinkie Pie asked with a somewhat sad look.

"Well, yes... although my nose doesn't want to admit it, hehe." Dusk responded by touching his sore nose. "You already know that I am a logical pony. Therefore it is difficult for me to believe in something supernatural. Even so, I must admit that I would like to believe that it is true. If it were, it would be a great gift."

"... More than a gift... it's a curse..." Pinkie Pie muttered, looking down for a second.

"Did you say something?" Dusk asked immediately.

"Nothing!" Pinkie responded immediately, raising her head and smiling as usual. "I'm leaving now, see you!" She added before jumping and running as she always did.

"That was strange..." Dusk muttered with a thoughtful face. "I couldn't hear what Pinkie said, but I am sure of something. For a second, her gaze was not the same as always."

With that last thing in mind, Dusk turned to re-enter the library, but then stopped and looked back. He had promised himself that he would pay more attention to the true feelings of his friends so that the disaster of what happened with Fluttershy and Rarity would not happen again. Now Dusk wasn't sure, but if there was a small chance of worrying about his friend Pinkie Pie, then Dusk must do something about it.





Dusk had checked something in the basement, what was the use of having Pinkie Pie under a microscope waiting for her pinkie sense to manifest itself. She had told him herself, all that show of her supposed sixth sense was happening without warning, and if, as Dusk thought, all that was just one of her friend's crazy things, she would definitely never react while Dusk was investigating her. This was the reason why Dusk now watched Pinkie secretly as she toured the town quietly.

The last thing Pinkie had murmured had been enough for Dusk to make the decision to sneak up on her friend since if there was anything about that 'pinkie sense' that worried Pinkie Pie, he needed to know. In addition, he had told her that he would investigate that supposed magic that Pinkie had to predict things, and Dusk was not someone who could half-do a research task, so he decided that he would not give up until he found even a small clue to help him show Pinkie Pie that the pinkie sense was just a fantasy of hers.

"She said this was the day her pinkie sense overloaded, so it's only a matter of time until it happens..." Dusk thought as he followed Pinkie Pie closely. "Besides, with my disguise skills, nopony will suspect what I'm doing." He added in his mind with pride.

The sophisticated Dusk's disguise he was so proud of was just a box, a simple box with a pair of holes to see outward. Something simple but effective to be able to follow someone throughout the city. And that would have worked perfectly if Dusk was doing a chase in Canterlot or in some big city, but in Ponyville, where there were few ponies on the streets and the streets were normally clean, definitely a solitary box called attention, especially when that mysterious box suddenly grew legs and ran at full speed, all because sometimes Dusk had to run to keep track of the fast Pinkie Pie.

On the other hand, Pinkie Pie seemed simply to be walking through the streets of the town as she always did, jumping from one place to another without any apparent direction, with her head in the clouds while smiling at everyone, but that was not at all true, since internally Pinkie was thinking about many things while she seemed to be distracted. One of the things that Pinkie Pie thought while jumping through the town was to think about how lucky she had been that day for not having had as many triggers of her pinkie sense as it had happened before since it was really exhausting for her to have so many different signs in a single day. The other thing that went through Pinkie Pie's head was about what she had discovered about Dusk, since discovering that Dusk could get so stressed out with so many accumulated feelings, and that finally the indecision of how to feel with her friends was the drop that overflowed the glass, made Pinkie Pie feel guilty with herself, with a mixture of annoyance and sadness at what she had to face. And finally, the third thing that went through Pinkie Pie's mind was to think of a way to solve once and for all that problem that Dusk felt, well, although she helped Dusk realize that the doubts he felt about the princess, his brother, and the blow that he gave to Hoity Toity, they were only in his head, Pinkie could not do the same with the doubts that Dusk felt with his friends, because that was not in his head, it was something real, a problem that was in the Dusk’s heart, and that was more complex to solve, and for more and more than Pinkie thought, it only came to one solution, a solution she couldn't reach alone, and that is why she was now looking for her friends.

"I was the one who started this..." Pinkie Pie thought as she remembered how she had deliberately kissed Dusk that day that her friends wanted to agree to get away from Dusk when they realized they were all in love with him. "After that, we all fight our way to fall in love with Dusk without realizing that it would stress his heart. His heart had barely opened up to friendship, and we began to force him to accept love immediately! We had to be more cautious... I should have been more cautious!"

It was so that between jumps, Pinkie Pie finally got to where she knew one of her friends would be; to Ponyville Park, where Rarity was next to Spike, both lying on a tablecloth, having what appeared to be a pleasant picnic.

"It is a pity that the others have not been able to come to the picnic," Spike said, blushing as he smiled and looked heartily at Rarity.

"Yes, it's a real shame. Although I still think it's strange that Dusk said he would be busy in the library but wasn't there when we arrived." Rarity replied, sighing. "And that the princess wrote a letter to Applejack... Doesn't it seem strange to you?"

"N-Not at all! Hehehe." Spike laughed nervously as he remembered what he had to do to achieve that moment alone with his beloved lover.

A moment earlier, Applejack and Rarity had arrived at the library to help Dusk with his supposed extra work; however, both they and Spike were surprised not to see him there, something Spike greatly appreciated, believing that his brother had hidden to support him in his plan to have an appointment with Rarity. However, although Dusk was no longer a problem, the next obstacle at the picnic was Applejack, so on the way to the park, the dragon mentally struggled to achieve an infallible plan. He suddenly let out a flare and pretended that a princess letter had arrived for Applejack, asking for help with a recipe for an apple pie.

The plan was brilliant, in Spike's opinion. As for Rarity, it was a very strange thing to believe that the princess sent something like that, but she could not distrust the word her dear and innocent Spikey-Wikey. For her part, Applejack, the walking lie detector, raised an eyebrow high with a look of utter disbelief as she realized that Spike believed she was so dumb as to believe in such an obvious lie. However, Applejack finally just sighed and pretended to believe such an absurd lie, after all, what Spike really wanted was seen leagues away, and Applejack finally thought it would not be bad to help the little casanova this time.

"Don't get nervous, you've already done the hardest thing, now you just have to make her fall with your charms!" Spike thought nervously as he sat on the tablecloth next to Rarity, speaking to himself to give courage while weighing the fact of being on a true date with his beloved.

Spike kept looking at Rarity, but as soon as she looked at him, he immediately averted his eyes, unable to look such a beautiful mare in the eyes and think that he really was on a romantic date with her.

Not sure what to do, Spike began to look around, where, like them, there were many couples in love enjoying a pleasant afternoon eating in the park. Many couples hugged, lying together, or feeding each other playfully.

"What's wrong with me! I have to do something!" Spike thought shouting at himself, deciding to imitate those couples who had more experience than him.

Then Spike moved his body slowly to get closer to Rarity's body, then he took one of the cherries that were inside the basket that Rarity had put together for the picnic, and offered it to Rarity with a trembling claw. "S-Say ah..." Spike said, stuttering, red with shame as he held the cherry near Rarity's mouth.

Rarity looked curiously at Spike about the way he offered food, but he didn't hesitate for a second and brought his mouth to the cherry and ate a bite with a smile, thinking about how cute his beloved Spikey-wikey was.

"As cute as always, my sweet Spike." Rarity said with a smile. "But tell me, why are you so nervous?"

"Uh…? W-Well… is that I… I'm not sure how a… a good coltfriend should act." Spike said, blushing, rubbing his claws while he was nervous at most.

"Hm? Coltfriend? Who?" Rarity asked without understanding what the little dragon meant.

"PSSST!" Suddenly a noise was heard in front of Rarity.

Then the mare looked up while Spike seemed not to notice the noise due to how nervous he was. Then it was that Rarity saw that behind a tree, Pinkie Pie peeked out, who seemed to beckon Rarity to come over there.

"Hm... Wait for me a second dear Spike, I'll be right back." Rarity said, smiling as she stood up and approached her pink friend. "What's is it, Pinkie? Why do you call me in secret?" Rarity asked once he got behind the tree.

"Oh, I just didn't want to ruin your date." Pinkie Pie said while looking at Spike sitting on the tablecloth, whispering that Spike wouldn't listen.

"Which date?" Rarity asked, still not understanding, until she saw Pinkie aiming at Spike. "Ha-ha, very funny." Rarity added with a slightly annoyed look.

"It's just that Spike told me he would go on a date with you, even that you were dating now." Pinkie Pie commented as she put on a thoughtful face when she remembered that morning, all while Rarity opened her eyes as wide as they could go, and her mouth fell open. "And he also said that you had reached third base."

"WHAT!?" Rarity shouted in shock at what she had just heard.

"I'm not sure, but I think Spike started acting a little weird after the kiss you gave him in the fashion show." Pinkie Pie said, thinking, with as good a memory as ever.

"T-The kiss?" Rarity repeated, confused, still shocked by what she had just heard Spike had said.

With that last word in mind, Rarity began to unite loose ends and thought she understood better what was happening.

"It was just a kiss on the cheek... but it wasn't the first... And yes..." Rarity began to murmur as she thought, speaking more with herself than with Pinkie Pie. "Oh, Celestia... I think I understand. My poor and innocent Spike thinks I became his girlfriend because of that kiss." Rarity added after a while, holding her head worried as she thought she understood what happened.

Then Rarity raised her head and looked at Pinkie Pie.

"Thanks for letting me know, Pinkie. This misunderstanding could have been even more serious if you hadn't let me know." Rarity said gratefully.

"You're welcome! Although I didn't really come to talk about it." Pinkie Pie said, moving from a smile to worry. "I actually came to talk about Dusk."

"Did something bad happen with Dusk!?" Rarity asked worriedly since she had been surprised that she had not seen Dusk all day.

"Hmm... Something like that..." Pinkie Pie replied, pursing her lip.

So, Pinkie Pie gave Rarity a quick summary of what happened with Dusk that morning. About how Dusk had self-bewitched because he couldn't sleep because of all the worries he had, and how Pinkie had discovered that one of those concerns was precisely not knowing how to feel about his friends in the romantic realm. Still, Pinkie Pie decided to skip the part in which she proposed to Dusk to be her coltfriend since that could lead to Rarity's jealousy coming up, and that was the last thing Pinkie Pie wanted at that moment.

"It can't be... He used a spell like that!?" Rarity asked worriedly, making a face of fear and then of sadness. "I... I didn't know that giving Dusk a kiss would stress him out..."

"I don't think it was the kiss. There were many things that accumulated in Dusk. Probably the kisses we gave him were just the tip of the iceberg. The thing that seemed to stress him most was knowing that he was changing his feelings." Pinkie Pie also said with a somewhat sad look. "I'm sure Dusk feels something for us, something that is becoming more than friendship, but-"

"We must not force it." Rarity said seriously, interrupting Pinkie, to her surprise. "I want Dusk to feel the same as I feel for him. And the way he answered that kiss... I'm sure that was the test! But the only thing that would hurt me more than Dusk not loving me would be to see him hurt because of me."

Pinkie Pie listened in amazement to what Rarity said, and finally smiled with bliss when she realized that her doubts had been unjustified, since on the way there, what worried Pinkie the most was that her friends didn't think like her, but now she realized that despite what they both felt for Dusk, they both thought and felt the same, which made the pink mare's heart happy.

"It must be Dusk who takes the next step, isn't it?" Rarity said, thinking she understood where Pinkie Pie was coming from.

"I think it's for the best." Pinkie Pie replied with a smile. Then he saw that Rarity unconsciously lifted a hoof and touched her lips with a thoughtful look. "What will you do when you see Dusk? You know, after the kiss." Pinkie Pie added, reading the unicorn's mind.

"I don't know... When you kissed him, nothing changed. I would love to tell you how special it was for me, but... as we just said, maybe it's best to wait for him to tell me something." Rarity replied with a thoughtful face, then looking at Pinkie Pie with a defiant smile. "This will only be a pause until Dusk recovers. I will continue in the race and wait patiently until I discover that ours is more than just friendship."

Faced with Rarity's challenge, Pinkie only smiled in the same way as Rarity, accepting that what she said was true and that she had not given up on Dusk either.

"Well, I'm leaving. I must tell the other girls the same." Pinkie Pie smiled with her natural smile and withdrew quickly.

Then Rarity turned and sighed with concern to see that she still had another big problem to solve, Spike's, who was still waiting for her sitting there in the park thinking that this was a date.

While Rarity returned with Spike, a wild box appeared from behind a bench and approached the tree where Rarity and Pinkie Pie had been chatting.

"What the heck was that?" Dusk thought worried, not understanding what had just happened.

After following Pinkie Pie to the park, Dusk stopped behind a bench and waited there to continue watching Pinkie study her friend's pinkie sense; however, Dusk finally put aside her study for a moment to see that for some reason Rarity approached Pinkie Pie and they both started talking with very worried looks. Dusk at that distance could not hear anything, much less because both mares only seemed to whisper so that Spike didn’t listen to their conversation, in addition, it was impossible to get closer since a box moving in the middle of a park was too noticeable, so he could only wait there until Pinkie moved, but with the growing doubt of wanting to know what his friends were talking about that worried them so much.

Finally, Pinkie Pie had moved, and Dusk quickly approached the tree, following in the footsteps of the pink mare, but her chase stopped when she heard that Rarity was talking with her little brother.

"Spike, we have to talk." Rarity said, looking at Spike with a mixture of seriousness and concern. "I think... you've confused things a bit..."

"What things?" Spike asked, fearing something bad would happen when he saw Rarity's countenance.

"Listen, Spike, you... Do you think we're dating just... because of that kiss?" Rarity asked worriedly, choosing her words carefully, since she wanted to solve that problem, if possible, without hurting Spike.

"Uh!? W-Well... no... or maybe yes..." Spike replied, blushing nervously. "It… it was three kisses... and once I heard that if someone came to third base with a girl, it is because they are both dating..."

"Spike, the third base is not... well, more important! Those kisses were only signs of affection, that doesn't force you to have to be my coltfriend." Rarity said with a weak smile, believing that Spike had proclaimed himself her coltfriend because he believed it was his obligation, not because he really wanted to be her coltfriend. "Now, please, I would like you to tell all the ponies to those who told you that you were my coltfriend that you made a mistake." Rarity added more serious, determined that this misunderstanding would not grow.

Spike looked at Rarity and lowered his head sadly. Deep down he knew that he and Rarity were not dating, but he believed that after reaching 'third base' with her, it would be a matter of time. And now that she told him all that, it was as if she was breaking up with him, but why? He hadn't done anything wrong, everything at the picnic had worked out well until Rarity had retired for a few minutes...

"Now, the rumors of having reached third base will only worsen my already stained reputation..." Rarity muttered to herself as she thought out how to deal with it since she had decided that her innocent Spike shouldn't know certain things unless that Dusk decided to explain them to them, so it would have to be herself who denied that false rumor.

"That's it! That's why she's breaking up with me!" Spike thought upon hearing Rarity's murmur, believing he realized the grave mistake he had made. "Rarity was annoyed that I said we had reached third base, Dusk warned me not to tell anyone! And I didn't! I just told Pinkie Pie on her way to breakfast... and Bulk Biceps was passing by over there... and Berryshine... and Cloud Kicker... and the boy who handed out the newspaper..." Spike began to remember, slowly realizing that maybe, just maybe, he had told more ponies than he knew about his 'love affair' with Rarity...

Rarity stopped thinking about the problems she would have, noting that Spike had his head down with a sad look, although what the dragon felt most at that moment was guilt rather than grief, due to misunderstanding Rarity's words and think they were breaking with him for talking about his supposed intimacy.

"Oh... my dear Spike." Rarity said tenderly, approaching Spike and giving him a little kiss on his nose, which made the dragon forget all his sorrows immediately. "A kiss is just a show of affection that is given. It's normal that you and Dusk don't show affection like that, but we mares are more open with our emotions, that's why I show you my love like that, but I don't want you to think that a simple kiss forces you to be my coltfriend. You are very special to me, and you always will be." Rarity added, hugging Spike, while the dragon blushed and swore to do everything possible to recover Rarity's love and for her to forgive him, and thus to be her coltfriend 'again'.

While the unicorn and the dragon ended their embrace, a box behind a tree was still at a fair distance to reach to hear all that conversation. There was Dusk, still hidden, who saw the whole scene through the holes he made to the box, and heard every word, except for Rarity's murmurs.

"She kissed Spike!?" Dusk thought confused, thinking that it was most likely that they were referring to simple kisses on the cheek. However, Dusk's doubts grew when he saw that Rarity approached and kissed Spike when he saw him so sad. An innocent kiss on the nose, but since Dusk only saw the back of Spike and Rarity from the front, Dusk was not sure he knew where Rarity kissed Spike.

At that moment, Dusk began repeating word by word what Rarity said to Spike, that a kiss was just a sign of affection and that Spike should understand that they were just friends.

"...a kiss will mean what you want it to mean..." Dusk repeated in his mind, remembering what Pinkie Pie had answered when he asked him about the kiss he had given him that morning of the Summer Sun Celebration. "They are just showing me their affection? Just... it's just a friendship kiss... Isn't it special for them? I... I guess I'm not used to friendship with mares... That means I don't have to worry that everything remains the same between Rarity and me... we're just friends... just... friends." Dusk finished thinking, thinking that he must feel relieved because he should not worry about Rarity's kiss or any of the other kisses his friends gave them in the past. However, no matter how much Dusk thought, He must be relieved, all he could feel, and he couldn't understand why he felt that was a disappointment.





After staying a few seconds looking at nothing with a sad look, Dusk shook his head to clear himself and take away those feelings that he didn't understand why he felt.

"Stop thinking of unnecessary things. For a minute, I forgot my true mission!" Dusk muttered, thinking out loud, putting a more determined look.

And that was how that mysterious box again came out lavender-colored hooves underneath, and it began to move in a very subtle way towards Pinkie Pie.

Fortunately for Dusk, although he had stayed in the park for quite some time listening to Rarity and Spike's conversation, he managed to find Pinkie Pie, who was a few blocks from the park, this time chatting with Applejack.

Dusk approached in his box costume and stopped at a safe distance to keep watching until Pinkie Pie had one of her famous pinkie senses. However, Dusk again had to put aside his investigation when he saw that while Pinkie Pie spoke with Applejack, the latter maintained the same look of concern that he had seen Rarity when she spoke with Pinkie Pie.

"What are they talking about? What does Pinkie Pie tell everyone that worries them so much?" Dusk muttered, also worrying that something bad was happening to her friends.

It was then that Dusk began to sneak up on her friends, all while all the ponies that walked there saw with surprise how that strange box was slowly moving through the middle of the street.

"...I think you're right." Dusk could hear Applejack saying, once he got close enough. "If things are like that, I agree with what Rarity said."

"Do they agree with what?" Dusk thought, regretting hearing only the end of what Applejack said.

"Yes, it is best to wait, at least for a while." Pinkie Pie said seriously. "That way Dusk-"

At that moment, Pinkie Pie could not continue talking because she began to tremble suddenly, to the surprise of Applejack and Dusk. Meanwhile, Dusk quickly understood that this was precisely what he had been waiting for all afternoon, and began to write down everything he saw in Pinkie Pie at that moment.

"Trembling body, rapid blinking, tail turning to the right without control..." Pinkie Pie muttered after trembling, going over all the symptoms she had just felt. "That means... Something or someone is in danger of getting seriously hurt!" Pinkie Pie shouted, scared.

"Danger of getting hurt?" Applejack repeated somewhat confused.

Despite not understanding what was happening, Applejack immediately began to look in all directions; however, it seemed that there was nothing out of place nearby, more than a box in the middle of the street. Then Applejack looked up and saw that just then, a carriage carried by pegasus dropped a piano, which would fall just above that box in the street.

Thinking that this box could have something important, Applejack took out her rope and quickly threw one end of it to launch that box and move it from there, something that required more effort than Applejack thought since the box was heavier than she thought. In this way, Applejack managed to remove that box from the road just before the piano fell there and was shattered by the impact.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Derpy said quickly, who was one of the pegasuses who had been helping to transport that carriage with the cargo. Frightened to see that near where the piano had fallen, were Pinkie Pie and Applejack.

"Don't worry, nopony got hurt- Dusk?" Applejack said, smiling, but then surprised to see that from the box she had moved with her rope, Dusk's head came out, with a dazed look after Applejack's rapid movement.

Immediately Applejack and Pinkie Pie approached Dusk while a stocky colt rebuked Derpy for throwing away his valuable cargo.

"Dusk, you should be more careful. Can you imagine if that had fallen on you? You would be hurt or worse, I mean, we are not in a cartoon." Pinkie said with a fake scolding look at Dusk.

"That's not my fault... How could I know that a piano would fall from the sky!?" Dusk claimed after shaking his head to focus his dizzy look.

"What were you doing in that box?" Applejack asked, confused.

"He was following me." Pinkie Pie replied with a pouty face.

"You knew I was following you!?" Dusk asked in amazement and annoyance.

"Nope. I only saw that a strange box was following me, I didn't know it was you." Pinkie Pie said, pointing it and then puckering her lip in disappointment. "How boring, all this time I thought it was a magic box that followed me... I was even thinking of adopting it as a pet."

"Why were you following Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked, still trying to understand what was happening.

"It's nothing important, I just wanted to finish my research," Dusk replied, finally coming out of the remains of the box that still surrounded his body. "As the research in the laboratory dind’t pay off, I thought it would be best to learn about the pinkie sense in its natural habitat."

"Are you trying to understand how the pinkie sense of Pinkie Pie works? Pfft!" Applejack mocked a little. Then she pointed to nothing and looked at Pinkie Pie. "Look, Pinkie! A parasprite!"

"Oh, no!" Pinkie Pie shouted scared, ducking and covering her head with a hoof while looking crazy in all directions looking for something invisible.

"You see it?" Applejack said, looking at Dusk and looking at Pinkie Pie.

"What is a parasprite?" Dusk asked, confused.

"Nopony knows, it seems like it's something she invented." Applejack replied with a shrug. "The point is that you can't understand Pinkie Pie, you'll go crazy if you try."

"So, you don't believe in the pinkie sense, either?" Dusk said, opening his eyes wide, hoping he had finally found someone rational like Applejack, who understood that this was crazy.

"Oh, no. The pinkie sense is something different. It is definitely real." Applejack replied, smiling, before Dusk's face of disbelief. Seeing that look in Dusk, Applejack knew what his friend thought. "Nopony knows how it works, but in this town, we have all learned to trust Pinkie Pie's strange pinkie sense. I mean, if I hadn't listened to her, that piano would have crushed you."

Dusk opened his mouth to argue with Applejack about the inconsistancy in believing in certain things that Pinkie said and not in other things, in addition to telling her that everything could be explained and that Pinkie Pie could simply have seen that the carriage went with the loose load, however Dusk regretted speaking when he realized that he and Pinkie Pie had been looking to one side and Applejack to the other, so Applejack had managed to see the carriage flying in that direction, and not he and Pinkie Pie, so that showed that Pinkie Pie had not been able to know in advance that the carriage would pass through there, which made Dusk put a doubtful look while a small, minimal, possibility opened in his mind to accept that indeed that of the pinkie sense really existed, after of everything, she just saved him from being badly injured.

"Hey! There's no parasprit- Ohhh...!" Pinkie Pie said, annoyed to realize that Applejack had tricked her after verifying that there was no parasprite nearby. However, she could not finish speaking because of another sudden tremor in his pinkie sense.

After finishing the tremor and the signs of her pinkie sense, Pinkie Pie stood still like a statue, with a lost look and her mouth open, as if something had scared her.

"I-Is something wrong happening?" Dusk asked, worried about seeing Pinkie Pie with that face.

"Uh? N-No! Nothing bad! Hehe." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, quickly changing her worried expression.

"That was a pinkie sign, right? What sign was that?" Applejack asked, with a slight concern.

"It's... it's the same sign as before, someone is in danger of getting hurt." Pinkie Pie said, trying to hide her nerves with a bad smile. "B-By the way, where are the other girls?"

"Uh? Well, Rarity and Spike should still be in the park." Applejack replied, remembering. "Rainbow Dash traveled to Cloudsdale, and Fluttershy thought he was going to change homes to frogs in the Froggy Bottom swamp."

As soon as Applejack finished saying Froggy Bottom, Pinkie Pie turned around and started running, right in that direction. Instantly, Applejack and Dusk Shine looked at each other and then started running in the same direction. Pinkie Pie had said nothing, but both ponies understood what was happening if Pinkie Pie was running in that direction it was because she feared that Fluttershy would be hurt what her pinkie sense foreshadowed.

"How strange..." Dusk thought as he ran. "Shaking body, fast blinking, tail turning to the right without control. That was the signal I saw when Pinkie Pie guessed that a piano would fall on me, and now, the signal was identical, but... I'm sure her tail turned to the left and not right... Weren't the signs supposed to be very specific?" Dusk kept thinking while running to help Fluttershy if necessary, even though he still didn't believe in the pinkie sense.





"Fluttershy! Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Dusk Shine shouted. The three in search of their shy friend.

The three friends had arrived at full speed to the Froggy Bottom swamp, a smelly swamp with large mudflats that remained on the outskirts of the Everfree forest, and was almost as terrifying. Once there, the three had started screaming for their friend, hoping she was well.

"I know this is ridiculous after all, Pinkie Pie's pinkie sense is a fraud, it's just coincidences! But... it doesn't hurt to follow the game, just... just in case." Dusk thought, trying to reason his fears while that spark of disbelief regarding the pinkie sense was getting bigger and bigger.

"There she is!" Applejack shouted when he saw in the distance the characteristic pink mane and yellow fur of his dear friend.

Everyone immediately ran to where Fluttershy was, who seemed to be saying goodbye to some little frogs that were on the rocks.

"Oh! Hi. What is everyone doing here?" Fluttershy asked happily, but confused, seeing his friends there.

Without answering the greeting, Pinkie Pie approached Fluttershy and lifted her mane, then her tail, and her legs one by one, carefully examining the yellow pegasus.

"Are you alright!? Nothing bad happened to you!?" Pinkie Pie asked, showing that she was scared.

"N-No, everything is fine," Fluttershy replied, a little surprised by Pinkie Pie's behavior. "The forest pond was very overcrowded, so I took these little friends to have their new home here," Fluttershy added, stroking a frog he had taken there.

"Aha! See? Fluttershy isn't hurt, that means your pinkie sense failed!" Dusk said with a triumphant smile, finally finding a test that belied what Pinkie Pie had supposedly predicted. Still, Dusk had breathed in relief when he saw that Fluttershy as well.

"Fluttershy is fine... then it means Rainbow Dash, Rarity or Spike..." Pinkie Pie muttered, speaking to herself.

Just then, Pinkie's sense of pinkie returned, and the pink mare repeated the same tremor she had felt last time. As it happened, Dusk again noticed that Pinkie Pie's tail had turned left again instead of right.

"No. It will happen here!" Pinkie Pie repeated, still talking to herself, looking down at the floor with a worried look.

Suddenly the ground under their hooves began to shake, which caused the four ponies to come together, frightened at that tremor, but more than by the tremor, seeing how the mud pool they were standing on began to rise, and so everyone discovered that this was not an earthquake.

The eyes of each of the ponies were stunned to see how a huge neck with a head with giant snake features stood at a huge height and stared with a dangerous look. Of all that, the most amazing thing was that while everyone saw the same thing, their eyes were fixed on the head of the beast that had just emerged from the quagmire, each pony was looking at a different head... There were four heads! A huge beast of the size of an adult dragon, with only one body, but with four long necks and four monstrous heads.

"A hydra..." Dusk murmured, barely speaking out of the beast's amazement before him. Then Dusk moved his neck to approach Fluttershy, without taking his eyes off the hydra. "Fluttershy... What should we do?" Dusk asked, hoping his friend might know how to deal with that huge beast.

GROOWWWL!! Roared the hydra, ready to attack.

"Run!" Fluttershy shouted at the same time, knowing that that territorial beast would attack without hesitation.

Whether it was the cry of Fluttershy or the hydra, there was only one option, and the four ponies quickly began to run for their lives, all while the huge and slow beast followed them, still close due to the great reach of their necks, throwing bites at the legs of the ponies while by some miracle they managed to evade those bites while still fleeing.

"Here!" Dusk shouted at his friends to follow him, running down a slope so that the beast would have a harder time reaching them.

"Waaaah!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she had another of her attacks due to the pinkie sense. "Y-You have to run awayyy..." Pinkie Pie said between tremors.

"I know it!" Dusk shouted, pushing Pinkie Pie with his head, who couldn't run due to the tremors of her pinkie sense.

Uphill, everyone's eyes widened in fear when they saw that there was a great ravine, one that they could not cross in any way by jumping.

GROOWWWL!! The hydra roared again, getting closer and closer as it climbed steadily up the hill, knowing that its prey had no escape.

"As if this was going to stop me!" Dusk shouted defiantly, illuminating his horn while concentrating his magic.

This was not the first time that Dusk could not continue advancing because the road was cut by a ravine, nor for his friends, since when they went to the dragon raid, they had been in a similar dilemma, although not before such a ravine big. But that didn't matter, and it wasn't the same situation either, so without warning his friends, Dusk set out to use his best spell, the magic of teleportation.

With a great flash, Dusk used his magic when the hydra was already a few steps away, achieving his goal of teleporting with his friends on the other side of the ravine.

"Phew...! That was close!" Dusk said, sighing with relief, seeing that apparently, his spell had worked well; however, he was interrupted by a scream.

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack shouted as he looked across the ravine.

Instantly Dusk looked up and saw that only he, Applejack, and Fluttershy were there. Then Dusk looked to the other side of the ravine, where they had been only moments ago, and saw that Pinkie Pie stood there, shivering in her pinkie sense as the hydra just got to where she was.

Dusk didn't even have time to think, he just acted on instinct. He immediately returned to the other side of the ravine with his magic and concentrated with all his magic on his horn as he hugged Pinkie to stop shaking, and teleported away from there just when the hydra was about to close one of their mouths on Pinkie Pie.

POOOF!! With a big burst, Dusk reappeared on the other side of the ravine where Fluttershy and Applejack were already, but this time hugging Pinkie Pie.

"Huff... Huff... That... that was dangerous." Dusk said exhausted, full of adrenaline for having acted so quickly in the face of such danger, still holding Pinkie Pie, who had finally stopped shaking from her pinkie sense. "The first time the teleportation didn't work for Pinkie because she was shaking. It's my fault... I must be more skilled in order to use teleportation even if someone is on the move." Dusk thought, sighing gratefully because everyone was safe.

"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, still hugging Dusk, to show her appreciation for saving her.

"I guess having a pinkie sense also has its bad side. I mean, you almost couldn't move because of all those tremors you had." Dusk said with a small smile after Pinkie Pie stopped hugging him.

"That's the least bad, believe me." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

It was then that Pinkie Pie again had another tremor, another of her pinkie signals. Exactly the same one he had previously: shaking body, rapid blinking, and tail turning to the right without control.

After that signal, everyone looked scared to the other side of the ravine, where the hydra was still, growling furiously at having lost their prey, but no matter how much they saw, there was no way that the hydra could cross, so they passed from scared to confused looks. However, the one that followed with a scared look, or rather panic, was Pinkie Pie, who just stared at the ground in fear.

"What do we do now?" Dusk asked, looking worried at Pinkie Pie.

"Uh?" Pinkie Pie responded by blinking several times as she realized that her friends had seen her scared, so she tried to put on a smile that was unconvincing. "Are you asking me what to do... me?"

"Sure! That signal you said meant something, or someone is in danger of getting hurt, isn't it?" Dusk said, staring at Pinkie Pie, then putting on a small smile. "I know I said I didn't believe in your pinkie sense, but I'll eat my words. With what just happened, all my skepticism definitely died."

As soon as Dusk uttered those last words, Pinkie Pie's body trembled again, but in a different way, as if a shiver had run from her tail to her head, all at the surprised look of the other three ponies.

"What was that?" Dusk asked, seeing that the tremor had been different from all the other trembling of pinkie sense that he had seen Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie remained a second without responding, looking down at the floor with a look of amazement, and then, without warning, launched herself to hug Dusk tightly.

"It’s gone!" Pinkie Pie whispered as she hugged Dusk with all her strength.

Dusk, for his part, froze at the sudden and strong hug Pinkie Pie was giving him. The way she was hugging him was strange, as if more than a hug, she was clinging to him so as not to let him go.

Although Dusk didn't see Pinkie Pie's face and found that the hug was too strong, Dusk finally lifted his hoof and hugged Pinkie Pie, even though he wasn't sure why he did it. Meanwhile, Dusk’s other two friends, who were standing behind him, had also been surprised to see Pinkie Pie hugging Dusk so suddenly, but what most amazed them and left them somewhat scared, was to see the expression on Pinkie's face, a face that Dusk could not see.





After a few seconds, Pinkie Pie noticed that Applejack and Fluttershy were watching her, so she quickly looked down and separated from Dusk.

"I-I'm glad it's all over... hehe." Pinkie Pie said with a forced smile, a smile that she knew she couldn't keep up so much, so she quickly looked down so the others wouldn't see her face. "I-I forgot that I had to do something with Gummy. I must go!"

And with that short farewell, Pinkie Pie turned around and started running back to town at full speed, leaving her three friends with confused looks, not understanding why so much trouble.

"What just happened?" Dusk asked with a small smile, turning to see his friends, thinking that this was just another normal behavior of Pinkie Pie, however, he froze to see that his friends had more than confused looks, even with some concern.

"Didn't you see her face?" Fluttershy asked, looking worriedly at Dusk.

"I've never seen Pinkie Pie like that..." Applejack added with a thoughtful look. "Her face was... Scared? Relieved? I'm not sure... As if she was about to..." Applejack said about to say the word 'cry,' but when she thought of Pinkie Pie, the only thing that came to Applejack's mind was her huge smile... Was she sure of what she saw?

"We should go after her." Fluttershy said, worried.

"No." Dusk said immediately. "Please leave this to me." He added, running to try to reach his pink friend.

Again his friends had realized something he had missed, which made him feel guilty. He hadn't seen Pinkie Pie's face, but he had felt that something was not right, now it was his responsibility to find out what worried his friend.

Dusk ran at full speed, checking that he was following the footsteps left by Pinkie Pie because of the mud they had stepped on, and although these were disappearing as the mud dried up, it was enough to prove that Pinkie Pie had actually run back to town.

"Mrs. Cake! Is Pinkie Pie here?" Dusk said once he arrived in town, thinking that Pinkie had headed there.

"Yes, she came just a moment ago." Mrs. Cake replied, a little surprised to see how agitated Dusk was. "I was organizing some things, but I heard when she arrived and quickly went up to her room."

Dusk barely heard that, turned around, and climbed the stairs, leaving a very confused Mrs. Cake.

"Pinkie... are you here?" Dusk said, knocking on the door of his friend's room, surprised to see that it was open, so he finally pushed it gently and entered the room.

Upon entering the room, Dusk saw the room as he had seen it the last time he entered there, the time he met Pinkie Pie. Everything was a disaster, a room with a bed in the middle and a lot of balloons and streamers everywhere; however, something missing was essential, the owner of that room, which seemed not to be there.

"How strange... she's not here..." Dusk muttered, confused, walking in the room, and wondering where his friend could have gone. "Maybe she, Aaaahh...!" Dusk shouted when suddenly, a trap door opened on the floor, and Dusk fell through it.

Unlike the secret room of the library, the room in which Dusk fell was much smaller and seemed to be on the mezzanine of Pinkie Pie's room and kitchen, so it was not very tall, which saved Dusk from falling too hard against the floor.

As soon as Dusk opened his eyes after the fall, he was surprised at what he saw. The small room only had the well-known Pinkie Pie party cannon on one side, and a large file cabinet on the other side, while much of the walls and ceiling of the room were marked with several chalk lines, hundreds of them marking all the walls in lines of four with a fifth line crossing them, like what a prisoner would do in a jail when counting the days. However, although only those marks caused enough to be surprised, what really shocked Dusk was to see Pinkie Pie, who was sitting in the middle of the room and had turned to see someone had fallen there, so Dusk could see Pinkie Pie in the eyes, and finally see something she never thought she saw. Pinkie Pie was crying.

Noticing that the noise had been Dusk and now he was staring at her with a look of fear, Pinkie Pie immediately turned so that Dusk didn’t see her like that, and began to dry her tears with her hoof.

"W-What are you doing here..." Pinkie Pie said still without turning around, wishing with all her might that Dusk hadn't seen her like that.

"I... I came to see if you were okay..." Dusk stuttered, still shocked by what he had just seen. Then he shook his head to clarify his ideas. "Pinkie Pie... were you... crying?"

"... ... No..." Pinkie Pie whispered, keeping her back to Dusk. But then, understanding that lying would only make everything worse and that Dusk had already discovered her ugly secret, so finally, she decided to admit the truth. "... Yes... It's... I just couldn't stand it."

"What thing could you not stand?" Dusk asked, confused. "Were you afraid that the hydra almost attacked you? I... I'm sorry, it was my fault for not doing my spell correctly..." Dusk added distressed.

"It's not that. It's my pinkie sense." Pinkie Pie replied sadly, deciding to be totally honest with Dusk. After all, he had been with her that morning.

"You mean the signal you felt that said someone would get hurt?" Dusk said, remembering.

"That was not that signal. My tail turned to the left, not to the right." Pinkie Pie said slowly as Dusk was surprised to realize that he had been right to notice that little detail. "When that signal ends with my tail turning right, it is that something or someone will get hurt... But if that same signal ends with my tail turning left, it means that... something or someone... will die."

Hearing that, a chill ran down Dusk's back, and it was then that Dusk began to get an idea of ​​why Pinkie Pie had reacted as she did.

"Do you remember when we left the library, and you said that my pinkie sense could be called a gift? Many may think that, but not me. For me, it's more like a curse." Pinkie Pie said, lowering her head while her voice was heard very slowly. "It only happens once a month when my pinkie sense goes crazy, and most of the time, nothing bad happens. But when those signs come that someone will get hurt, or worse yet! That someone will die... I... I just can't resist it... "

Dusk opened his eyes wide, believing he finally understood what Pinkie Pie had felt at that moment that she had that last pinkie sign.

"You... you were desperate." Dusk said slowly after assembling the puzzle of what happened. "When you felt that signal, you threw yourself to look for Fluttershy. You were scared, no, desperate when you felt that someone close to you could die, but you didn't say anything, you didn't want to tell us anything so as not to scare us... Then we escaped from the hydra, and you thought it was all over, but then you felt it again, and that's when I said ‘my skepticism was dead’, and it was only then that you felt it was all over. That was the face Applejack, and Fluttershy saw... a mixture of despair, of relief, of fear... "

"It was too much..." Pinkie Pie added, breathing hard to avoid crying again. "There were many things that I felt. Believing that I could lose them and then discovering that pinkie signal only meant that you would believe me... It was as if at one stroke, all my fears vanished. It was so sudden that my heart just endured it. "

"That's why you couldn't stand and wanted to cry," Dusk added, ending with one mystery and entering another. "But why didn't you cry there with the girls and me?"

"I can't..." Pinkie Pie said, still sadly in her voice. "No one can see me like that. I... Everyone is looking for me to make their day! Everyone always wants to see a smile on my face. Every time someone is sad or angry, they know they have nothing to fear because I will be there with a big smile to make your day... They... They can't see me cry!" Pinkie Pie added almost in a shout in her broken voice, while she sat down without turning to look at Dusk.

Dusk was silent for a few seconds, understanding that Pinkie Pie was delicate and that she had to go slowly in the conversation so that she could speak herself, without any pressure. It was then that Dusk was surprised at a sudden thought and began to see again the walls and all the marks that were there, finally reaching a disturbing conclusion.

"Every chalk line... Does it represent every time you've cried here?" Dusk asked, looking at the walls with a sad look.

Pinkie Pie didn't answer anything but finally nodded after a while.

"I don't want anyone to be disappointed in me. I don't want anyone to see me cry like that, that's why I come to cry in this room." Pinkie Pie whispered. "When I finally get all that grief out of my system, I leave here with a smile and go back to the same as always. All the sadness stays here, in those marks on the wall."

A short silence followed after Pinkie Pie spoke, where Dusk was thinking with a sad look. It was then that Dusk's horn shone, and the silence of the room was broken by a 'Poof!' of magic.

Hearing that sound, Pinkie Pie finally turned to see Dusk and what was happening, still keeping her eyes bright for crying so recently. Then Pinkie Pie looked confused to see that Dusk had made a chalk eraser appear with his magic.

The chalk eraser approached, levitating near the walls, and began to erase the chalk marks that were there.

"Dusk! What are you doing?" Pinkie Pie asked, standing up scared, thinking that Dusk erased those marks without even understanding their meaning, because for her they were important, they were a metaphor that her sadness would only be locked in that room and that she would never leave. "I need this room!"

"No." Dusk replied, taking advantage of the fact that Pinkie Pie had stood up to approach him and give her a warm hug, before the surprised look of his friend. "We all want to see Pinkie Pie happy, but we all understand that you can't always be happy. Being friends means sharing the good and the bad in life."

"But the girls-" Pinkie Pie began to reply before being interrupted.

"You don't want to worry about others, you want to keep your image so you can always help others with their problems, I understand." Dusk said, hugging Pinkie Pie harder and putting a hoof on her mane to stay closer. "But I don't want you to shut yourself up to cry anymore. I'll be your secret room! I'll be there when you feel bad when you want to cry. I don't want you to ever make a mark on a wall and cry alone. You will be the smile that will make a whole town happy! But when that task is very difficult to bear, I will be there to hug you while you cry!"

At Dusk's words, Pinkie Pie's eyes began to glow as they dampened again.

"Yes..." It was the only thing Pinkie Pie answered before pressing her face more on Dusk's warm and soft fur as her tears fell and she felt a peace and relief she didn't feel in years, a peace she could only feel when she hugged and take refuge in the embrace of that tender colt...

They both held each other like this for a long time, just listening to each other's breath and feeling the comforting warmth of the one they hugged.

"You know, you say your pinkie sense is a curse, but it may not be so." Dusk said after feeling that Pinkie Pie was calmer, but without breaking the hug. "If it weren't for your warnings, the situation would have been very tragic, but it wasn't like that, you were there to prevent that from happening. That is definitely a good thing!"

"... I guess..." Pinkie Pie replied with a sad look, without raising her head.

Finally, both ponies let go of their hug and looked at each other for a few seconds in silence, both with small but sincere smiles that everything was fine. Then both ponies left that secret room together, and Pinkie Pie accompanied Dusk to the door of her room, where they both said goodbye with the conviction that thanks to that little moment, their trust and friendship had become much stronger.

As Dusk left Sugracube Corner, he began to think more about what had just happened, and mainly, what he had just felt.

"A hug can be that powerful, yet so different... Only today, I was in hugs of thanks, relief, and comfort... All are very different and make me feel different feelings..." Dusk thought as he walked, remembering everything he lived through with Pinkie Pie that day, but then another related idea crossed his mind. "I... I have also kissed, but... Have I felt something different in each one?" Dusk thought, remembering the accidental kiss to Applejack, the surprise kisses of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, and the long kiss that occurred with Rarity... But although all the kisses were different, in different circumstances, and with different mares, no matter how much Dusk tried to remember, the only thing he could think about was that even though each kiss felt physically different, the heat in his belly and his heartbeat throbbing was the same...

"Wait a second!" Dusk suddenly said, stopping suddenly in the street.

While the emotional part of Dusk's brain was still trying to solve the mysteries of friendship and love, the logical part of his brain kicked him when he realized that by thinking of sensitivities, he had missed a very important detail in all that talk he and Pinkie Pie had had about pinkie sense.

"How did Pinkie Pie know that this sign meant that something or someone will die?" Dusk thought with a worried look as he turned his head to look at Sugarcube Corner. And so Dusk stayed for a few seconds until he finally shook his head and walked back to the library. "I think I'll ask another day, there were enough emotions for one day..."

While Dusk was on his way home, Pinkie Pie saw him walking away from the window of her room, with a small smirk.

"'Not everyone has a dark past' That is what I told Dusk this morning..." Pinkie Pie thought as she remembered what she had said to Dusk in the library when they woke up together. "I wish that was true..."

"It's the second time I feel that signal..." Pinkie Pie whispered with a sad look. "That time... I couldn't get there on time..." Pinkie whispered as a tear fell down her cheek, and she remembered herself as a child, dressing in mourning and attending a sad ceremony.

# End of chapter 36
> Chapter 37 - All is fair in war
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All is fair in war

There was a bright sun over Ponyville, with no cloud in the sky, you could still feel a pleasant heat on that autumn morning. Most likely, that day would be the last day of the year with that heat since it was already mid-autumn, and winter was just around the corner.

Despite the heat of that morning, a Ponyville pony was traveling through the town covered in sweaters and scarves, as if it were winter. Although more than transit through the town, the best definition would be about the town, and that pony was a recognized pegasus of the place.

"I'm roasting in this heat...! I hate going to Cloudsdale on this date!" Rainbow Dash murmured indignantly as she flew slowly, with one of many scarves clogging her mouth.

The rainbow-mane pegasus had spent a couple of days outside Ponyville, specifically in the largest Pegasus town of Equestria, Cloudsdale, the birthplace of her, Fluttershy, and the vast majority of pegasus living in Ponyville.

If that had been a normal visit to her hometown, Rainbow Dash probably would have enjoyed it much more. After all, in that city in the clouds, you could do many things that couldn’t be done in Ponyville, because it was an exclusive city for pegasus. However, every month she had to meet and make a special visit to Cloudsdale, visit her parents, and that was something that Rainbow Dash didn't enjoy too much.

Rainbow Dash's parents were quite overprotective with their daughter, they had always been there for her since she had memory, supporting her and encouraging her in all her skills and decisions. Something that was perfectly understandable, but in Rainbow Dash's opinion, sometimes her parents exaggerated a lot, maybe too much, with that to cheer her up, reaching the point of going to her disguised competitions like her and with giant banners of support, which was obviously embarrassing for her, more for someone like her, who liked to keep a bad girl image.

When Rainbow Dash decided to move to Ponyville, the only way to get her parents not to follow her was with the promise that she would visit them without fail once a month, which Rainbow Dash reluctantly accepted.  But that was far from better option than having to see her parents shaming her in front of her friends. However, the bad side of that always happened on those dates.

As autumn approaches, Rainbow Dash's parents sew a lot of sweaters and scarves, all with the colors or initials of their daughter's name, for her to wear in the winter. So usually on that date, Rainbow always came back from her parents' house with a load of clothes.

"I can't stand it anymore!" Rainbow Dash shouted, unable to hold the heat any longer while sweating to liters. She landed on the outskirts of the town so that no one could see it and to take off some clothes to continue on her way home.

With a tired sigh, Rainbow Dash began to take off one by one the dozens of scarves and sweaters she wore, thinking that her parents had exaggerated this time with all those clothes and that she had been lucky that no one saw her like that.

"Wooow…! Those clothes are great!" A voice said surprisingly, making Rainbow Dash take a surprising leap.

"I-It's not what it seems!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, blushing and embarrassed because someone had seen her with those ridiculous clothes.

Then Rainbow Dash noticed who had spoken to her and was surprised to see that it was little Scootaloo.

"What did you say?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking closely at the little pegasus, who looked at her with her huge eyes as if she saw the most amazing thing in the world.

"I said that those clothes look great! The coolest thing I've ever seen!" Scootaloo replied with a big smile, pointing at Rainbow Dash's body. "Especially that sweater."

Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that after taking off several sweaters, she was still wearing one, the most embarrassing one.  A light blue sweater with a badly made fabric of her face on it. Seeing the sweater, Rainbow Dash blushed heavily, but then she realized that of all the ponies, meeting Scootaloo could have been the best thing that could have happened.

"Do you like it? If you want, I can give it to you. In fact, take everything!" Rainbow Dash said, taking off that last sweater and giving the whole pile of clothes to the little filly.

"Wooow... Really!?" Scootaloo said with big excited eyes.

"Sure, after all, it's for my number one fan. And who knows, maybe they'll help you if one day you make a fan club for me, hehe." Rainbow Dash replied with a nervous smile while hiding the fact that she was glad to get rid of all those clothes since she had full closets with clothes made by her mom and dad. "Good, see you!"

Then Rainbow Dash flew out quickly so as not to give Scootaloo a chance to regret it, even though the filly kept frozen looking at those clothes as if it were pure gold.

"Huff... One less problem." Rainbow Dash said, sighing with relief as she flew, but still somewhat tense. "I need to get rid of this frustration... And I know the perfect pony for that!" Rainbow Dash added with a malevolent smile, changing her direction and flying swiftly towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Once she arrived at the famous Ponyville farm, Rainbow Dash didn’t take long to locate her target, Applejack, who was feeding the chickens.

For Rainbow Dash and Applejack, competing was traditional. Since they met, they had always competed, since both were of strong personalities, and neither of them liked to lose. For that reason, they usually got together to have a healthy competition, of whatever, always challenging each other. Although, of course, as neither of them liked to lose, many times those healthy competitions didn’t end in such a healthy way.

"Gosh! This farm is so boring when there are no apples to eat." Rainbow Dash said casually while slowly flying over her friend.

"Oh! Hi Rainbow Dash, I see you came back from your parents' house." Applejack replied, surprised to see her friend there, but then put on a mischievous smile. "How did mommy and daddy treat you?"

"Yes... they treated me well, cowgirl." Rainbow Dash responded by putting the same mischievous smile while looking at Applejack.

That was the traditional ritual they both had before competing. When one of them wanted to compete, they bothered the other to make her angry and thus accept her challenge. Applejack knew instantly what her friend wanted, after all, normally Rainbow Dash always came back wanting to have a challenge after returning to visit her parents.

"So, do you want to have a duel and to sweep the ground with you again?" Applejack scoffed.

"That last challenge doesn't count! That chicken-laying challenge was fixed!" Rainbow Dash shouted, blushing, staring grudgingly at the chicken pen and remembering how Applejack had challenged her to a chicken-raising contest, where Applejack was the undisputed winner after the chickens left Rainbow Dash pecked. "Silly chickens..."

"Hey! Don't blame 'Plocky III' for losing." Applejack said, stroking one of the chickens, who had just been the one who had given more pecks to Rainbow Dash at that time. "Well? What do you want me to defeat you this time?"

"I’ve got a lot of frustration to take out today." Rainbow Dash said, landing and placing a hoof on a barrel there, putting herself in a position to play the defeats. "So, it'll be a challenge of strength."

"With that to the defeated, huh?" Applejack said, sitting in front of Rainbow Dash, putting herself in the same position, and holding hard with her own right hoof the right hoof that Rainbow had on the barrel. "I hope you don't regret it."

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

With the shout from Applejack, both ponies began to use all their strength to try to lower the opponent's hoof. Both staying in balance, with similar forces and giving everything of themselves, determined not to lose, except against their eternal rival.

"You... You only got strength in your wings... This here is my thing." Applejack said with an effort, trying to distract her rival from loosening her strength. Something that both ponies always used to do when competing.

"Your strength... is in your back hooves... We’re the same in the front!" Rainbow Dash responded tensely, holding her right hoof firm and gaining some ground while taking on new strength by remembering her last challenge with Applejack. "I have a reason to win... I won't lose again against you!"

Rainbow Dash began to gain ground, tilting Applejack's hoof slightly. Meanwhile, the country mare realized that Rainbow Dash was more determined to win because of her previous defeat, so she also decided to find new sources of strength in herself. So Applejack recalled the discussion she had in the morning with her brother.

"Feed the chickens... It's your job, Big Mac!" Applejack shouted, remembering her anger with her older brother. Thus, she gained extra strength, managing to reverse the situation, and now she was the one who made Rainbow Dash bend her hoof near the table.

"No..." Rainbow Dash said perspiring as she watched how she was about to lose. But then she used her friend's same technique and brought out all her frustration to gain extra power. "Dad... Mom... I'm not a filly anymore!"

At that moment, Rainbow Dash drew her maximum strength and slowly began to revert the defeated fight and made this time Applejack bowed while her hoof almost touched the barrel on her side.

Applejack could barely sustain the strength of Rainbow Dash's hoof, so in desperation, she again sought another source of strength, something that bothered her or made her angry enough not to give up.

"Dusk and Rarity’s kiss!" Applejack shouted, renewing her forces and pushing Rainbow Dash's hoof quickly and strongly until she hit the opposite side of the barrel, winning the competition.

"Yes! I won!" Shouted Applejack elated, rising and stretching her right hoof upward in victory. "What do you-"

Applejack, who was about to make fun of her friend, stopped immediately when she saw that Rainbow Dash was still sitting, a little pale and looking lost. Applejack was a little surprised to think that it was an exaggeration for her friend to react like that just to lose, but then she realized. She had won so easy not because her scream of rage would have given her extra strength, but that with that scream her rival had lost her strength, a silly but important detail that only Applejack realized now, after all her friend was coming from Cloudsdale, and she hadn't heard the latest news.

"Rainbow Dash, you... you didn't know about Rarity and Dusk's kiss." Applejack said with a look of sorrow. "Sorry, I didn't want to distract you like that."

"When did it happen?" Rainbow Dash said with a monotonous tone, with her eyebrows furrowed but with her gaze still lost as if she was thinking about something important.

"Well... Pinkie Pie was the one who told me. It looks like it happened the day after the fashion show..." Applejack said, scratching her head.

Applejack waited for her friend to say something, but Rainbow Dash didn't move or say anything at all.

"Come on, it's not that bad, it bothers me a bit, but there's nothing we can do. It already happened, end of the matter." Said Applejack sitting again behind the barrel, in front of Rainbow Dash, lifting her hoof to put it in a position of defeat, and raising with her other hoof the hoof of Rainbow Dash, which seemed to have lost all strength. "Come on, I don't like to win like that. I want to win against you without distractions."

So Applejack stayed holding the Rainbow Dash hoof firmly, waiting for her friend to put some strength to compete again in the defeats. However, Rainbow Dash remained static, with her loose leg, and without saying anything.  Faced with this situation, Applejack thought that instigating her to return to her challenge at the cost of bothering her would be the best way for her friend to get out of that pseudo trance she was in.

"What's up, birdhead? Are you afraid of winning again?" Applejack said, faking a mocking smile, but without causing any effect on Rainbow Dash. "Are you so sorry that Rarity kissed Dusk?"

With that last comment, Rainbow Dash remained unaffected; however, Applejack noticed that her friend slightly frowned her eyebrows, so she knew that if she wanted her friend to have her competitive spirit again, she would have to bother her more with the latter.

"Oh... So what about the kiss bothers you? Tell me, what bothers you the most? That Dusk was kissed by Rarity, and also by Fluttershy, and by Pinkie Pie..." Applejack said, keeping her fake mocking smile while rejoicing that that seemed to work since, with every name Applejack mentioned, Rainbow Dash was frowning more and getting even angrier. Only a little more was missing. "Even I have kissed Dusk! Are you sad because YOU are the only one who hasn’t-?"

"RAAHHH...!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a cry of fury. Finally, she placed all of her strength into her foreleg, causing Applejack's strength to collapse into nothing as she lost on the spot, a loud boom resounding as her hoof collided with the barrel's lid.

Applejack was left with a stunned look, almost losing her balance and with her right leg in pain after the fierce way Rainbow Dash had won her in the defeats. It had been so strong that Applejack had no chance.

Then the earth pony looked at her friend and saw that Rainbow Dash had already recovered the fire in her gaze, but she kept on with a fierce look.

"Gosh, it seems I exaggerated. I just wanted you to get your spirits back, I didn't want to bother you seriously." Applejack said with a slightly distressed look.

"I'm not upset! Why would I be upset!? Just for a stupid kiss!? Hmpf! Why should I care who kisses that fool!?" Rainbow Dash replied, annoyed, as always, denying what everyone knew she felt for Dusk. Then Rainbow Dash snorted through her nose as she tried her best to quickly clear her anger.

"Wow! It really affected her to find out about the kiss... And I still haven't told her the other..." Applejack thought, biting her worried lip.

"What was that!? What are you thinking!?" Rainbow Dash said, who just looked sideways at Applejack and noticed that her friend seemed to be hiding something else.

"W-What! I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Applejack said, clenching her lips and looking away.

"Don't you fool me! Tell me! What are you hiding from me!?" Rainbow Dash said, facing her friend.

"Noooo…! Why does everyone always know when I'm lying!?" Applejack thought terrified, annoyed with herself while thinking that she also had her bad side always being so honest in everything.

"Nope! Nothing to hide." Applejack finally answered, keeping her bad poker face and starting to walk towards the house to hide before Rainbow Dash continued to interrogate her.

"She’s definitely hiding something..." Rainbow Dash thought pensively until a brilliant idea came to her head, and then she put on a malevolent smile.

"You know, I just beat you in the game of the defeats, so now you’re the new loser." Rainbow Dash said faking disinterest while flying to the side of Applejack, who, upon hearing those words, stopped dead.

"It was a draw!" Applejack claimed, looking upset at Rainbow Dash.

"Bingo! The hook has already stung." Rainbow Dash thought with a smile, knowing that she could get what she wanted if she appealed to her friend's competitive spirit.

"The first time you distracted me, you said it yourself, so that doesn't count. Now, for a whole week, you'll be a loser until our next competition." Rainbow Dash said casually. "But if we compete here and now, you could take that weight off and win, if you can. But if I win again, I won't only keep the winning title, but you'll also tell me what you are hiding from me. Deal?" Rainbow Dash added, stretching her hoof towards Applejack.

Applejack looked at her friend's hoof, knowing that it was obviously a trap for her to tell Rainbow Dash what she didn't want to tell, but her spirit of competition was stronger, and she finally couldn't contain herself.

"Deal." Applejack said, shaking Rainbow Dash's hoof, but then pulling her and bringing her friend closer to face to her face. "But I'll choose the competition."

"It doesn't matter, I'll win anyway." Rainbow Dash responded, for a moment forgetting her true goal and focusing only on beating her eternal rival.

Once the competition was agreed, Applejack guided Rainbow Dash to the side of the barn, where they would have enough space and the necessary tools for their competition.

"This will be an 'Iron-pony competition', the final competition! With this, we'll finally decide who of the two is the most athletic pony of all." Applejack said with energy, for a moment leaving aside what was really at stake and only savoring the excitement of competing against her friend. "There’ll be seven challenges, whoever wins the most challenges will be the champion."

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to beat you!" Rainbow Dash said with a smile of defiance. "Let’s begin!"

"I want to win fairly, but I can't forget what is at stake. I don't want to be the one who gives Rainbow Dash THAT bad news. With a long competition of seven challenges, I might manage to make Rainbow Dash forget to interrogate me." Applejack pursing her lips while thinking. "In addition, I gotta ensure my victory. The launch of horseshoes and barrel race could win either, I gotta think of something that can give me some advantage..."

"First competition! Hit the bell!"

Applejack led Rainbow Dash inside the barn, where there was a large board with a white hammer and a bell at the top, like the ones occupied by fairs to compete in strength.

"This was brought by Big Mac a couple of years ago, and we always do competitions to measure our strength with it." Applejack said, looking at the fair hammer.

"Hehehe, easy." Rainbow Dash said, approaching the target of the hammer, and hitting with her hind legs with all her might.

The weight of the hammer rose sharply and reached the end of the table, knocking the bell gently.

"Don't think that just because I’m a pegasus, I have no strength in my hind legs." Rainbow Dash said, smiling proudly and staring defiantly at her friend.

Applejack didn't respond, just passed by Rainbow Dash, approached the hammer, got into position and hit the target hard, causing the weight of the hammer to propel at incredible speed and hit the bell hard, making the sound of the bell rumbled loudly throughout the barn as it trembled, almost about to disarm.

"You’re strong, but not so much." Applejack said with a proud smile. "Last time I broke the bell, so this time I hit it a little slower." She added with pride, enjoying her first triumph.

1-0

"Second competition! Hay throw!"

Both mares left the barn and went to the open field, where each one stood in front of a bale of hay.

"This time I'll win, I'm sure!" Rainbow Dash shouted, biting the rope that tied the bundle in the middle, giving herself momentum and throwing the bundle with all the force of her mouth.

The bale flew high and fell quite far, a mark that improved even what Rainbow Dash believed herself would achieve.

"Woah! Did you see that!?" Rainbow Dash said excitedly, flying quickly to where her bundle had fallen. "I told you that-"

POW! Rainbow Dash failed to finish her sentence because a bundle hit her on the head, leaving her stunned for a second. Then the pegasus shook her head and realized what happened: the bundle that had hit her had been Applejack, which hit right against her head, and what was worse, had fallen a little farther than the bale of hay she had thrown.

"Careful there! You can't get in the middle of the field just in a competition, and even more so when I'll overcome your brand!" Applejack said with an arrogant smile, who had come up to where her friend was and couldn't bear to show off for winning another test, leaving Rainbow Dash clenching her teeth while having a bitter look.

2-0

"Third competition! Kick the ball!"

Both ponies positioned themselves at the same mark where they had thrown the bales of hay, only this time there was a ball instead of bales.

"We'll kick the ball, and whosever goes further will be-" Applejack began explaining before being interrupted.

"Wait a second! This won't be the same as with the bell!" Rainbow Dash claimed, admitting deep down that she couldn't compete against her friend if she kicked as hard as before. "If we're going to kick, this time it's with just one leg."

"Hmm… Whatever you want." Applejack said with a shrug.

"You hit very hard because you hit with both hind legs, just like when you harvest trees, but if it is with only one leg, then I do have a chance!" Rainbow Dash thought as he picked up her right leg and hit the ball hard, making it would fly much farther than the hay bale had previously thrown. "My kicks never fail!" Rainbow Dash thought snorting with pride.

Applejack slowly approached her ball, while Rainbow Dash smiled confidently. Then the ground mare quickly hit the ball, causing it to fly at high speed towards the sky, so much so that it was lost sight of, leaving Rainbow Dash speechless.

"You kick pretty well, but you only practice with clouds. But I’ve spent a lifetime using my hind legs, and both are equally strong." Applejack said, smiling, making Rainbow Dash even more annoying while her competitive spirit took hold of her.

3-0

"Fourth competition! Long jump!"

For the fourth competition, both mares moved to another sector of the farm, next to the chicken coop, where there was sand, in order to make the fall of the softer long jump.

"You let me choose the competitions, that was your big mistake." Applejack said with full confidence, enjoying being defeating her eternal rival in those competitions.

Both ponies approached the jump line, one with a confident smile and the other with a serious, slightly angry, and thoughtful look.

"Another test where we should use the strength of our legs, my victory!" Applejack thought, with such confidence that she would win, that she decided that it was not even worth waiting for Rainbow Dash, so she went ahead and made a great leap, falling strongly on the sand, a great distance from the jump line.

Applejack smiled at the sight of her mark and turned with a smile to see her friend in her attempt to jump, watching as Rainbow Dash took the momentum and also took a long and high jump. However, after Rainbow Dash fell, Applejack's smile faded when she noticed that her friend had slightly surpassed her in the jump.

"Uh…? You… Did you beat me in the long jump…?" Applejack asked stunned, seeing that her friend had defeated her in a test in which she must have been the clear favorite to win.

"Maybe your legs aren’t as strong as you think." Rainbow Dash replied with a mocking smile.

Then the pegasus turned and withdrew from the sand, leaving Applejack still stunned. It was then that the country mare noticed something strange.

"Why are the marks in the sand from Rainbow Dash's hooves so soft?" Applejack thought suspiciously, comparing the soft mark left by her friend with her own mark left after falling heavily into the sand.

While Applejack was left with that little doubt, Rainbow Dash just smiled, glad to have her wings and that her little trick to jump and plan a little in the air just before falling, had not been discovered.

3-1

"Fifth competition! Pushups!"

Both ponies faced each other, crouched down to chest, and then began their duel of push-ups.

"... Ninety-five... Ninety-six... Ninety-seven..." They said both mares in unison after arriving both at almost one hundred push-ups. However, it seemed that neither would reach until one hundred, since both were sweating to the fullest, with their sore legs and chest so much effort.

"Ninety-eight... ninety-n-nine...!" Applejack shouted with her maximum effort, already rising only by her willpower and stubbornness not to lose against Rainbow Dash; however, this seemed to be her limit.

As soon as Applejack reached ninety-nine push-ups, she went down to try to make the number one hundred; however, her tired muscles no longer responded, she was totally exhausted. Applejack closed her eyes tightly to try to get strength from somewhere, but there were none, the only thing she managed to catch while her eyes were closed, was what seemed to be the sound of a flutter.

"... And one hundred!" Rainbow Dash shouted victorious, finally reaching the hundred and knowing that her friend could no longer.

Hearing Rainbow Dash's shout, Applejack fell on the floor, breathing agitatedly due to fatigue. However, despite losing and her muscles screaming from exhaustion, there was only one thing in Applejack's mind. She was not sure due to fatigue since she had her eyes closed, but the suspicions she had had since the previous competition was now stronger than ever.

3-2

"Sixth competition! Pull the rope!"

After resting for a while, a few minutes in which neither of them spoke, both mares went to another area of the farm, next to the well, where a small quagmire had formed. Then Applejack took out a rope, and both ponies were put on opposite ends, with the quagmire in between and each with one end of the rope.

"Whoever falls into the mud loses." Applejack said with a serious look as he bit an end of the rope.

"You mean that you'll fall!" Rainbow Dash replied, biting the other end of the rope.

Without warning, both ponies began to pull the rope with all their might, trying to make the other fall in the mud.

Slowly Applejack began to have the advantage, taking a few small but firm steps backward, causing Rainbow Dash to slowly approach the mud. Thus, finally, the pegasus was about to fall to the mud, only one last pull was needed by the earth pony to make her friend fall, and of course, Applejack didn’t lose the opportunity and gave the last pull with full force from her teeth. However, Rainbow Dash never fell into the mud. Instead, she opened her wings at the last second, and now, without releasing the rope from her snout, she rose and flapped to keep flying right over the mud.

With that surprising movement, Applejack destabilized and almost fell into the mud, but since she continued to hold on to the rope, she also kept floating above the mud, just below Rainbow Dash, who was the one who kept her in the air.

"Hngh! Anoit! Uvben usan ur uins! (I knew it! You’ve been using your wings!)" Applejack said, trying to make herself understood since she was still biting the rope and couldn’t modulate well.

"Hngh! U deverei aikud usmi uins! (You never said I couldn't use my wings!)" Rainbow Dash replied, also speaking with difficulty due to the rope that she kept in her mouth.

"U ar a heaer! (You're a cheater!)" Applejack said, annoyed.

"Wha diuh ei? (What did you say?)" Rainbow Dash asked, pretending not to understand.

"I said you're a cheater!" Applejack shouted, annoyed, spitting the rope from her mouth. Only then did she realize that her friend had tricked her into releasing the rope. "Oops…" Applejack managed to say before falling to the mud and getting completely muddy.

3-3

"Puh! You're going to pay for this..." Applejack said, spitting the mud that was still in her mouth.

"I already told you, you never said I couldn't use my wings, it was your fault." Rainbow Dash replied with a defiant smile, happy to have finally tied the score. "Now, there is only the tiebreaker."

"Last competition! Move the chicks!"

After Applejack cleaned most of the mud on her body, both ponies approached the chicken yard.

"The last challenge will be to move all the chicken coops from the fence to the barn. Whoever manages to take them all without escaping, will win." Applejack said with a determined look, knowing that she would have the advantage in that last challenge, after all, moving the chicks was part of her normal job. "Now, help me to take the chicks to the starting line." Applejack added, peeping into the chicken coop and taking several small, cute chicks with her.

"As you wish..." Rainbow Dash said, peering into the chicken coop just like her friend. "It'll be easy to win if- Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Rainbow Dash quickly left the chicken coop, very scared, chasing after a group of chickens, who began to peck her without stopping.

"Stop!" Rainbow Dash said, rising with her wings to stay out of reach of those chickens while they were looking at her from below with murderous looks. "Those silly chickens have something against me, it's the same thing that happened when we competed by lacing the chickens that time... That way, I can't participate if they don't even let me get close to their chicks. Dumb chickens!"

Applejack smiled when she saw the unjustified hatred that Rainbow Dash's chickens seemed to have, but then she looked more serious again.

"Hmm... I guess you're right... So, what will we do to define the tiebreaker?" Applejack said, thinking out loud.

"Let someone else choose the competition!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, taking advantage of that opportunity for her friend to stop choosing challenges that favored her. "I want it to be a fair competition."

"Says the mare that cheated with her wings..." Applejack murmured in response, then pointing towards her house. "Maybe we could ask them."

Then Rainbow Dash looked at where her friend was pointing, specifically at the main window of the house, where Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom were seen, who, noticing that they were pointing at them, crouched down immediately to hide.

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had long realized that Applejack's family was watching them. After all, with all the fuss made, it was normal for them to wonder what was going on between both mares and their crazy competition. However, none of the two mares bothered to be observed, so neither of them noted the fact until that moment.

"An 'Iron-pony competition'!? That's great." Apple Bloom said excitedly after Rainbow Dash and Applejack approached there and entered the house. "It was fun to see them in secret, but it’ll be more fun to see them up close!"

"So, you want a tiebreaker competition? Hmm…" Granny Smith said after hearing the summary of what happened. "Yes... I think I have the perfect competition for you."

"Really!?" Rainbow Dash said, as always, excited to have a duel, and more now that she knew she would have a duel in which Applejack would have no advantages.

"Yes, although more than a competition, it's a test, the first one to pass that test will win." Granny Smith said, smiling. "But they must complete several things before you can win, are you ready?"

"Ready!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said at the same time, excited by the mysterious test Granny Smith would give them.

"Well, first... You gotta cook!" Granny Smith said excitedly.

"… What?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said confused as their previous emotion vanished instantly.

"Cook. You must cook something fast and delicious. You can take up anything in the kitchen." Granny Smith said, smiling.

"Granny, I don't think that test-" Applejack began to say with a look of disappointment, however, she stopped when she saw that Rainbow Dash had run at full speed to a cabinet and began to pour several ingredients into a saucepan.

"It’s definitely a rare test, but it doesn't matter! Whatever the competition, I'll defeat Applejack!" Rainbow Dash thought as she put her hooves to cook.

Noticing the determination of Rainbow Dash, Applejack decided that she couldn't waste time either and also launched to get ingredients to cook something too.

The minutes passed, and finally, at the same time, both mares finished their dishes. Rainbow Dash cooked a very basic hay soup with a few carrots floating in it, while Applejack made a small salad of apples and seeds.

The judge chosen by Granny Smith for the occasion was Big Mac, who savored the delicious salad made by her sister, making it clear that Applejack was a very good cook even with little time to make a dish; while the stallion almost vomited after tasting the tasteless soup Rainbow Dash had prepared, making it clear that Rainbow Dash had no future in the kitchen.

"I won!" Applejack shouted excitedly as Big Mac ran into the bathroom to spit out Rainbow Dash soup.

"That wasn’t the test, I just said it was the first thing we had to do." Granny Smith said, leaving Applejack confused. "The second thing is... Makeup! You can use all my old makeups to be beautiful."

"Makeup!? Granny, what are you talking about?" Applejack said without understanding what her grandma said, ready to refute again what they were asking. However, the country mare stopped again when she saw that Rainbow Dash without even thinking about it, had taken a lot of different makeups that were in Granny's bag, and had quickly started to put on makeup.

Applejack bit her lip, determined that whatever she wouldn't lose against Rainbow Dash, and then she did exactly the same as her friend did.

Once Big Mac returned from the bathroom, Granny told him to judge the participants again, without explaining what the new challenge was. Then Big Mac looked to the side and saw that there, looking at him expectantly, was Rainbow Dash, with her face made up excessively, almost at the level of a clown.

"What's it look like?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Nope." It was the immediate response of Big Mac, who could barely contain his expression of disgust at such bad makeup.

In that instant, Big Mac opened his eyes wide when he realized something vital. If Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in a contest, and now Rainbow Dash looked like this...

"Wait! That means-" Big Mac said scared, turning and checking with horror that what he had thought was correct.

There in front of him was Applejack, makeup equal to or worse than Rainbow Dash, smiling shyly waiting for her brother's verdict. However, Big Mac didn't make any judgment, such as the impact of seeing his little sister made up as if she were a vulgar mare on the street, that her mind only made a short circuit while maintaining a face of horror.

"Does that mean I lost?" Applejack asked, turning to see Apple Bloom, understanding that her brother's horror face could only mean that.

"Yeah! I win!" Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping with a big smile.

"Pfft! I-I think you both lost." Apple Bloom whispered in response to her sister's question, barely enduring laughter when she saw both mares with a make-up that would make Rarity faint from horror.





"Nopony wins. That was not the test, it was the second thing to do." Granny Smith suddenly said, leaving Rainbow Dash confused this time. "What follows is... A contest of silence!"

"What?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack said, totally confused.

"Wrong! You talked! You both lost!" Granny Smith said, laughing out loud, leaving Rainbow Dash and Applejack looking at each other with worried faces.

"Hey... I don't want to be insensitive, but... maybe your grandma has already reached that age that... well... won't she be senile?" Rainbow Dash whispered in her friend's ear, noticing that no one but her grandma seemed to understand what was happening.

"Granny, what is this all about?" Applejack asked, looking seriously at her grandma, without responding to Rainbow Dash but deep down admitting that her grandma's crazy evidence was worrying her too.

"Well, they told me they wanted a test to tiebreak, so that's what I'm doing." Granny Smith replied, looking at both mares calmly. "All these tests are to see who has the best qualities to be a good wife."

"…What?" Both mares asked for the umpteenth time, without understanding anything.

"For the way they competed, I thought they were competing for the love of some colt or something." Granny Smith said with a mischievous smile. "That's why I thought about proving her skills as a good wife: Knowing how to cook a delicious dinner for her husband, make up her hair to always look beautiful, be quiet, elegant, polite and obedient. My mother always said that those are the requirements for a good wife..." Granny Smith finished closing her eyes and smiling confidently.

At the words of Granny Smith, everyone in the room, both Rainbow Dash and her three grandchildren, stayed with their mouths open, looking at her with a look of surprise and fright.

There were so many things to say... First that Granny Smith believed that both mares were competing for the wrong reason, then discover that she had a notion of such an old-fashioned wife, and finally that she believed that her granddaughter and her granddaughter's friend would want to continue such outdated and obsolete ways of being a 'perfect wife.'

"I never thought that Granny Smith was so old-fashioned, that is, she is an old mare, but I never thought she would think that a good wife has to be someone who cooks and does her makeup well..." Applejack thought confused until a crazy idea fulfilled her. "Wait a minute! Granny has told me stories about her and grandpa. She was never like that! She was never a docile mare; she was very daring for her time... But then... Why would she say that...? Unless what-!" Applejack finished thinking, just when she was interrupted.

"That's a lie! That's not being a good wife!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, with a serious look.

"Oh… And then what is being a good wife?" Granny Smith asked, opening one eye and staring at Rainbow Dash, still smiling.

"A... A good wife is a mare that will always be there for him, but not to wait for him with dinner or to be his doll. A wife promises to always help him, and he'll also do it with her. When one falls, the other will lift them up, embrace them and comfort them." Rainbow Dash began to answer, looking down at the floor while blushing and imagining what a perfect relationship with her beloved colt would be in her mind. "Being a good wife doesn’t mean being quiet and obedient, it means counseling and getting the word out if you need to reprimand him. Being a good wife doesn't mean being the maid or a colt's trophy, it means being the same. Besides, being husband and wife isn’t just to share a home, it’s to share a life, your feelings, your fears, your joys, to be... to be the other half of a single being... of a single feeling... of... of a single love..."

When Rainbow Dash finished speaking, she realized that she was smiling while imagining a perfect love scene. Then she shook her head, realizing she had been carried away and then raised her head to look at the rest. There she could see that Applejack looked at her with a look of amazement, Granny Smith with a big smile, and Apple Bloom and Big Mac with dreamy looks, as if they were about to cry for emotion.

"I-I... I may be exaggerated a little..." Rainbow Dash quickly added, blushing and looking away.

"Hehe, very well, that was the right answer. You won." Granny Smith said, smiling and looking excited at Rainbow Dash, finally clearing up any doubt and clarifying what the true test she had done to both mares had been: Discover the true meaning of being someone's partner.

Noting that Rainbow Dash didn't even celebrate her victory, she just stood still, embarrassed that the others would hear her talk about love that way.  Granny Smith pushed then Big Mac and Apple Bloom out of the kitchen, so that the pegasus would calm down.  Only Rainbow Dash and Applejack were left in the kitchen.

"W-Well... it seems you won." Applejack finally said, also blushing a little and scratching her head.

"T-That test doesn't count. I… I just got upset because your grandma cheated on us! What an old-fashioned way to see a good wife!" Rainbow Dash said almost in a shout, still red with shame.

Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash and thought she would really like to accept that challenge as void. After all, she didn't like to lose; however, she must be fair and accept that she lost. In addition, after hearing Rainbow Dash talk about love in such a way, Applejack decided that it was not fair to keep hiding from her friend what she didn't want to tell her, even more knowing that this secret was directly related to those feelings.

"Huff... very well, I'll tell you what I didn't want to tell you." Applejack said, sighing, catching Rainbow Dash's attention. "It wasn't that I didn't want you to find out, it's just that I don't want you to be mad at me. I thought it would be better to tell you when we were all together..."

Then Applejack told Rainbow Dash what happened in her absence, what Pinkie Pie had discovered from Dusk, about her nightmares related to her fears, and how one of those fears seemed to be related to them, and how they had finally come to an agreement not to come closer to Dusk in a romantic way, at least until Dusk stopped having nightmares, and it was Dusk himself who was the next to show interest in any of them without any more pressing him again.

While Applejack was finished telling the story, Rainbow Dash slowly went from astonishment to annoyance and then to anger.

"When Pinkie Pie told Fluttershy and me, we both agreed." Applejack said, finishing her story, with a worried look at seeing her friend so upset. "I know it's hard, but it's the best for Dusk, otherwise-"

"Do you want me to avoid Dusk!? You don't decide that!" Rainbow Dash shouted furiously. "You didn't even take me into account! And I... And I...! GAHH!"

Rainbow Dash didn't even finish what she intended to say, she was so frustrated and upset that she just ran to the kitchen door and flew quickly away from the farm.





It was the weekly friends' breakfast day, where the six friends and the little baby dragon met to happily share a delicious breakfast at the Café.

As usual, someone was always late, and this time it seemed to be the turn of Dusk Shine and Spike, who usually arrived on time, but for some reason, neither of them was still there. That, however, could have been the best thing that could happen, since unlike so many other times, where there should be laughter and gossip, now there was only a tense air around and an awkward silence surrounding those present.

"So!? Is there nothing that my 'friends' have to say to my face!?" Rainbow Dash said angrily, making a sarcastic emphasis on the word 'friends,' while the other four mares gathered there just looked down, with sad looks.

When Applejack arrived at the Café, she managed to warn her friends that Rainbow Dash was furious about the decision they had made without consulting him, so when the rainbow-mane finally arrived, none of the mares dared to speak or look at her face.

"Oh darling, please don't get mad. We couldn't tell you because you were traveling." Rarity finally answered, being the first to dare to raise her head and speak.

"You should have waited for me!" Rainbow Dash claimed keeping her gaze serious.

"You didn't see Dusk that day. The poor colt even bewitched himself out of all that stress." Pinkie Pie added, looking shyly at Rainbow Dash.

"I know that! But... But it doesn't seem fair to me what you did!" Rainbow Dash claimed, slightly blushed.

"Fair? What are you talking about?" Rarity asked, confused.

"A-All of you have already kissed Dusk. You have all approached him and got more intimate, but I... I… I don't want to become more intimate with Dusk! But it just doesn't seem fair!" Rainbow Dash said nervously, blushed and still upset. "Now that everyone has done their thing... You don't want me to approach him!?"

"It's not that we're not going to approach Dusk, it's... it's just that we'll do it carefully." Fluttershy said, deciding that he shouldn't be left out of the discussion and that he should mediate the conflict before Dusk arrived. "But it's true, we should have asked for your opinion first."

"And we should have told you as soon as you arrived, I'm sorry," Applejack added with a look of guilt, understanding like Fluttershy that they should calm the discussion, which seemed to work since Rainbow Dash stopped frowning slowly.

"Yes, as soon as I saw you arrived, I should have told you, I'm sorry." Pinkie Pie also said with a sad look.

"Wait! You saw me when I got back from Cloudsdale?" Rainbow Dash said quickly, turning to see Pinkie Pie seriously.

"Yeah! You looked so funny with all those scarves and that sweaters that-" Pinkie Pie said with a smile as she remembered that moment until she realized that she had screwed up without realizing it.

"You saw me on that day! Why didn't you tell me right there!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, again becoming furious, even more, to think that all that idea of the agreement not to approach Dusk romantically, was Pinkie Pie's idea.

Realizing her mistake, Pinkie Pie cringed and looked down at the floor, not being able to look up, but feeling Rainbow Dash's stabbing gaze on her, staring at her waiting for an answer. Pinkie had an answer, but she knew that answer would only add more fuel to the fire and that it would most likely hurt her friend, but Pinkie Pie also felt that after all that, the least she owed Rainbow Dash was the truth. So she finally sighed slowly and decided to tell the truth.

"I… I didn't tell you, because… I don't think the agreement we made applied to you." Pinkie Pie said slowly, knowing that every word was like walking in a minefield.

"What doesn’t apply to me? What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused, staring even more at her pink friend.

"It’s just... when Dusk passed out, among the names he mentioned, he named us all... except you." Pinkie Pie said slowly and with concern.

"And what does that mean?" Rainbow Dash said slowly, narrowing her eyes as a slight fear made a shiver run down her neck.

Pinkie Pie didn't answer. She wasn't able to tell Rainbow Dash what she thought it meant. The other mares also ducked their eyes, knowing what Pinkie Pie was thinking. Finally, Rainbow Dash, who was slower to understand hints, slowly opened her eyes and frowned again, but this time with her slightly crystalline eyes, as if a tear was about to fall.

"Heh... I'm a bit slow, so tell me what you think it means exactly, Dusk doesn't find me attractive? Or what, unlike you, Dusk will never feel anything for me?" Rainbow Dash asked slowly, with an internal conflict, not knowing if she was more angry or sad.

A long silence remained in the air.

"Hey, girls! Sorry for the delay." Dusk suddenly said, walking to where her friends were.

All the girls turned to see Dusk, while Rainbow Dash quickly wiped her eyes and returned to her serious gaze. There the five mares could see with confusion how Dusk Shine and Spike approached walking slowly, both moving their shoulders exaggeratedly as if they were walking posing for a photo, both wearing dark glasses, and both with golden and shiny chains hanging from their necks.

Upon arriving at the mares, Dusk's horn shone, and a bright sign appeared above their heads with the words 'Here comes the money!' and then both the colt and the dragon began to dance strangely, taking a few steps back and jumping. The five mares stared with perplexed faces until the luminous sign above the heads of Dusk and Spike disappeared, as did their bright chains, which only then did the mares understand that it had also been part of Dusk's magical production.

"Well? How was our entry?" Spike asked proudly, slightly lowering his sunglasses to see his friends better.

"What the hay was that!?" Applejack asked with a mixture of confusion and anger due to the bizarre entrance that perplexed everyone after being in such a tense moment.

"Pfft! Hahaha! It was great, haha." Rainbow Dash genuinely laughed out loud, forgetting for a second how serious he had been. Being the only one of the mares that laughed after the entrance of Dusk and Spike, leaving the other four mares even more confused.

"Hehe, I knew they would like it," Dusk said, smiling, taking off his sunglasses. "It's my way of telling them that I'll pay for breakfast today."

"We have extra money!" Spike added, lifting a small sack that seemed to be overflowing with golden coins.

"Where did you get all that money?" Fluttershy asked, surprised.

"I don't even know!" Dusk replied with a big smile. "When we came here, we met Lyra, who just handed me this bag of coins for no apparent reason. I thought it was confusion, but as much as I told her she was wrong, she insisted on giving it to me."

"Why would Lyra be giving money?" Pinkie Pie asked, confused.

"I don't know. She just mentioned something that her comics have been selling very well and that it was fair that I had some royalties." Dusk replied with a shrug. "Maybe she wants to compensate me for using the library to gather her reading group, who knows."

Obviously, Dusk didn't understand what he was saying, but most of the others present did.

"Anyway, I'll pay for breakfast in advance. Ask for whatever you want, I implore you!" Dusk said with a smile as he walked away and entered the interior of the Café.

Once Dusk was out of sight, the other mares took the opportunity to speak with Spike.

"He hasn't read Lyra's comics yet!?" Rarity asked, worried, and blushing.

"Nope. I've mentioned it many times, but he insists he doesn't like comics, and well… I'm ashamed to tell him that they're doing erotic comics of him." Spike said nervously, scratching his head.

"I wouldn't say they are erotic, rather they are... suggestive, very suggestive." Pinkie Pie added blushing, remembering that Lyra's comic showed spicy situations, but without showing any explicit sex, to the joy and grief of several. Although it was necessary to accept that every time the situations appeared in the comic were more suggestive.

"I'd say it's more a romantic comic." Fluttershy added, blushing, remembering that in the first issue, a character identical to her had appeared.

"I still haven’t gotten around to the last volume." Applejack said blushing, also admitting of being a follower of Lyra's comics.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, who realized she was the only one who didn't understand what they were talking about.

Hearing her friend's question, the other four mares froze. It had never crossed their mind that Rainbow Dash had been oblivious to all this phenomenon of Lyra's erotic comics, but thinking carefully, Rainbow Dash hated to read, it was logical that she had not read that! The mares immediately began to burn their brains, trying to think of some excuse, given that if Rainbow Dash found out what the comics showed, the discussion they had previously had could explode to astronomical levels.

"Here, I brought the last volume that came out, I hid it from Dusk," Spike said with a smile as he passed the comic to Rainbow Dash, leaving the other four mares with looks of horror.

Rainbow Dash took the comic that Spike passed to him and read the cover: 'Forbidden Love 3 - Kinky Pie's Basement' and under the title were the drawings of two ponies: a colt very similar to Dusk Shine lying on a table, and a mare very similar to Pinkie Pie, who was holding a whip with her mouth.

Rainbow Dash immediately blushed at the sight of the drawing. Then she opened the comic and began to read it, or rather to look at the drawings, to quickly see what that comic was about. It was then that while Rainbow Dah read more, she became redder, and her eyes widened more and more at the drawings she saw. Everything inside her yelled at her to stop reading those obscenities, but she needed to know what this was all about, so she forced herself to finish leafing through all the comic drawings.

Once Rainbow Dash finished reading the comic, she closed it abruptly and closed her eyes for a few seconds while sighing and calming down to stop being so blushed. While doing so, she mentally reviewed what she managed to understand from the comic by seeing only the drawings…

The comic was that one 'Dusk Sempai' entered a secret basement of a sadistic and lustful mare called Kinky Pie, and in between many things and situations happened for adults, although, of course, leaving much to the imagination, but also making it clear That were dirty things. Finally, the Dusk of the comic ended up enjoying those sessions with that crazy mare and then returned to meet his other two loves, one such 'Flutter-chan' and another such 'Clarity', while another mare called 'Juicy Apple' watched 'Dusk Sempai' in the shadows, waiting for her opportunity... The references were more than obvious, and not only from Dusk Shine's friends but from several other mares in the village, from many others, with one great exception... there was no character that looked like Rainbow Dash.

"This... Is it the third volume of this comic?" Rainbow Dash asked with a grim look, returning the comic to Spike.

"Yeah, although it is not the first time that Kinky Pie appears." Spike replied innocently. "I think from the first chapter, everyone expected her to make her play. Fans say that in the next issue the protagonist could be the town's mailmare, it's a secondary character, but-"

At that moment, Rarity and Fluttershy covered Spike's mouth so he could stop talking and screw up.

"All of you... You’re all perverts!" Rainbow Dash said, looking furiously at her friends.

"I skip the dirty parts! I promise!" Spike said, immediately blushing, thinking they were talking about him.

"It's just a comic! None of us have done anything like that with Dusk!" Rarity replied, blushing.

"And how do I know that!? It wouldn't be the first time you’ve lie to me or hid something from me!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed, knowing deep down that her friends would never do the things that appeared in the comic, but still annoyed with them, and mainly annoyed because she herself didn’t appear in those comics. "You all have achieved something, but I..."

At that moment, Rainbow Dash fell silent, not daring to say out loud what she thought. Just then, Dusk appeared with a big smile, followed by the waiter, who was carrying a plate of food for each of his friends.

"Taking advantage of what I was paying for, I took the liberty of ordering for you. As a good friend I am, I think I already know what each one likes, hehe." Dusk smiled proudly.

"Yes, surely, you know them all very well..." Rainbow Dash muttered, annoyed, looking away.

"Uh… yes, I think I've learned to know them." Dusk answered, confused, not understanding his friend's bitter comment. "Anyway, I still have a lot of money left, so I think I'll also invite you to breakfast next week.

"Yippy..." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, taking a heavy bite of her hay burger.

Hearing that second bitter comment, Dusk looked confused at Rainbow Dash, thinking that he should ask if he had done anything that offended her. However, he looked at his other friends, and they all shook their head negatively so he wouldn't. It seemed that her friends knew the reason why Rainbow Dash was angry and also knew that it wasn't the best time to solve it. Understanding that there were times when it was better to wait before immediately resolving a tense situation, Dusk listened to her friends and just stayed like them, eating her breakfast in total silence.

"Are you still having nightmares?" Rainbow Dash asked suddenly, looking seriously at Dusk.

Dusk Shine was surprised by the broken silence and that peculiar question since he hadn't mentioned the nightmare to his friend Pegasus.

"Uh, well, yes, I had some nightmares a couple of days ago. But don't worry. Apparently, I'm already sleeping better, there's no reason to be scared." Dusk replied with a smile, glad that Rainbow Dash decided to talk to him.

Before Dusk's comment, all the mares were surprised. They expected Dusk to stop having his nightmares soon, but that was faster than everyone had thought, which made everyone feel relieved to discover that their beloved colt was apparently not as stressed as a couple of days ago.

"It's funny that you ask." Dusk continued talking. "In fact, yesterday I had a very pleasant dream. I don't remember it well, but it seems that I was floating over the night sky, next to the moon, until a sweet voice told me-"

"So, you have nothing to worry about?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, keeping her gaze serious.

Again, Dusk was surprised by that question and then opened his eyes wide when he thought he understood what was happening. Most likely, Pinkie Pie had told her other friends about the nightmare he had, and the concerns Pinkie Pie had discovered that he had.

"Oh… well, I wouldn't say that I no longer have concerns, I definitely have to solve some problems with my brother, and also learn to cope with the changes I am experiencing in my life since I arrived in Ponyville. But definitely, the talk I had with Pinkie Pie helped me realize many things, and I think I'm feeling a little better now." Dusk replied with a slight smile, thanking his friends to care for him.

Dusk stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment, waiting for her to continue the conversation, but her friend simply lowered her head again and continued eating her hamburger, leaving Dusk confused. Meanwhile, the other mares just stared sideways at Rainbow Dash, not understanding why she asked those questions.

"You know, you don't need to invite us to another breakfast with the extra money you have. You should do something else." Rainbow Dash said surprisingly, just when Dusk thought the conversation was over and he was about to eat again.

"It's not a problem, I like being able to invite you to eat!" Dusk said, smiling.

"I not saying you don't invite us, I'm just saying that, instead of inviting us all, you could just have dinner with... just one of us." Rainbow Dash said, looking down to hide that she was blushing.

As soon as Rainbow Dash said that, the other four got stuck with their food, coughing all in unison, while Dusk just looked surprised at Rainbow Dash.

"It's too soon! We said we would wait for Dusk to make the next move! Don't force him!" Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy thought nervously. Frightened to see that Rainbow Dash was doing exactly what they had said they wouldn't do.

"You... you mean something… like a date?" Dusk asked, slightly blushed.

Rainbow Dash remained static for a few seconds, with her gaze fixed on the floor so they wouldn't see her expression, but the tips of her ears, which were now red, betrayed that she was very blushed.

"I didn’t say it's a date." Rainbow Dash finally replied, breathing to calm down and then looking up to see Dusk in the eyes. "We often go out in pairs. Rarity goes with Fluttershy to the Spa, I get along with Applejack to compete, and sometimes I just get together with Pinkie Pie to make some jokes. I-I’m just saying that we don't always have to do everything all together, and... and maybe it would be nice if you ever went out alone with one of us to get to know each other better." Rainbow Dash finished speaking, trying her best not to be embarrassed in front of Dusk.

After Rainbow Dash's speech, Dusk looked surprised at his friend and then put on a thoughtful face as he analyzed what she had just said. Meanwhile, the other four mares got very nervous about what Rainbow Dash had just said, no matter how she disguised it, What Rainbow Dash asked was that Dusk had a date with one of them! And everyone knew that because of the feelings they all felt, date alone with Dusk could only be a romantic date. That was totally against what they had said they would do, however, for some reason, none of the four mares said anything, they just stared at Dusk with tense glances, waiting to see what Dusk responded.

"Hmm… yes, I think it could be fun!" Dusk finally replied with a big smile.

Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, finally breathed after holding the air. Everyone in the background was relieved that Dusk accepted that proposal by itself, since going out on a date with one of them meant that Dusk was better psychologically, and also, in a second thought, they weren't breaking what they had promised, then Dusk was the one who would make the next move and invite them on a date, just as they had wished it would happen.

"But who should I invite?" Dusk asked, looking at all his friends, knowing that with the extra money he had, he would only reach for an appointment with one of his friends, since going to dinner somewhere would be more expensive than just having breakfast.

At Dusk's question, an awkward silence settled again.

"I know how you can decide who to invite." Rainbow Dash finally said, raising her head haughtily and looking at Dusk with a look full of determination. "The annual Running of the Leaves!"

# End of chapter 37
> Chapter 38 - All is fair in love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All is fair in love

In Ponyville, there were very few ponies that loved both work and a tender and clueless gray pegasus with disparate eyes, blond mane, and one of the biggest hearts that any pony could know: Derpy Hooves.  Unlike many other ponies, it was not that she was a very skilled mare in a specific job.  In fact, one could argue that she was one of the least skilled ponies to do her job.  Still though, she loved to work, whatever the job. The act of working made her feel useful and valuable, in order to make up for the innate clumsiness with which fate had endowed her at birth.

Since Derpy had no mail to deliver today, she decided to meet with 'the weather patrol,' the team that was responsible for controlling the climate of Ponyville and driving away the rebel clouds that occasionally drifted in from the Everfree Forest.

It took Derpy a bit to find her pegasus friends, four mares and a colt.  For some reason, they were standing on a cloud on the outskirts of town, all peeking at the edge of the cloud and looking to the ground.

"Hi, everyone!" Derpy cheerfully greeted when she reached the cloud where the other pegasi were.

"Hi Derpy!" greeted Cloud Kicker, a pegasus with pale purple fur and a blond mane. "Don't you have another piano to throw away?" Cloud Kicker scoffed, remembering the disaster that had occurred when Derpy almost dropped a piano on Dusk Shine when they both helped in a move.

"Nope!" Derpy replied with a smile, knowing that a smile was the best way to respond to a mockery. "What’cha guys looking at?" She added, peering in the cloud to see what everyone was watching.

Seeing where everyone was looking, Derpy saw that under them was Rainbow Dash, flying at ground level at full speed between some trees that already had their brown leaves due to the season.

"What’s Rainbow Dash doing?" Derpy asked curiously.

"Don't you remember? Tomorrow is the annual Running of the Leaves, that's why she's training." Sprinkle Medley answered, another mare of the weather patrol, with aquamarine green fur and green mane. "But we still don't know why she’s training so hard."

"I say she’s trying to break her own personal record. Typical of her." Thunderlane added, the only colt in the group.

"It has to be something else... I say she’s learning the course by heart so that she could close her eyes and make the race more interesting for her." Sassaflash replied, a pegasus with cyan fur and a purple mane.

"Surely, someone promised her some prize if she won again." Cloud Chaser added, another pegasus present.

"Maybe her crush will see her compete and wants to make sure she'll win!" Derpy added with a big smile.

At Derpy's comment, everyone stared at her for a second and then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! As if that would happen! Haha!" Cloud Kicker laughed.

"Can you imagine Rainbow Dash in love!? Haha! That's really just Derpy's imagination!" Sassaflash laughed next to the others, while Derpy only put on a pouty face.

"I think it's time to stop speculating and just ask her.” Thunderlane added, jumping from the cloud to descend, followed by the other mares.

Seeing the pegasi descending down, Rainbow Dash halted from her practice and landed on the ground.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little annoyed at being surprised.

"We just wanted to know what our captain was doing out here." Cloud Chaser said with a smile, using the 'captain' with Rainbow Dash as a form of affection and respect since she was the fastest of all and the undisputed leader of the pegasi when something had to be organized.

"Just... stretching my wings for a while..." Rainbow Dash replied, scratching her head and looking away, not wanting to say what she was really doing.

"You sure? It seemed as if you were training for the annual Running of the Leaves." Sassaflash said, looking at Rainbow Dash with a questioning look.

"Of course not! W-Why would I be training for that silly race? Hehe..." Rainbow Dash replied nervously.

"Who knows, maybe you're training to win a date with your crush, huh? Hahaha!" Cloud Kicker said, laughing and punching Derpy's elbow, remembering the absurd words that the clueless gray pegasus had said a few seconds ago, making the other pegasus laugh too.

"Who told you!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, scared that she had been discovered.

The pegasi stared at her in silence, their eyes wide open and amazed at what Rainbow Dash had just said. It was then that Rainbow Dash realized that she had reacted without thinking and that, in reality, her companions did not seem to know the truth.

"You... Are you going to have a date if you win the race?" Thunderlane asked, looking shocked and confused.

"O-Of course not... It's... it's just... that my friends are going to compete for that." Rainbow Dash replied, totally nervous while coming up with a lie. "You know, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Dusk said he had some extra money and would invite the one who wins the race to dinner... But that's not why I'm going to compete! Not me, I'm interested in that silly bet! "

"Oh, I see." Thunderlane said with a slight sigh of relief as the other pegasi smiled at each other at the thought of how dumb they had been to misunderstand Rainbow Dash's words.

While her fellow weather patrol swallowed her lie, Rainbow Dash smiled proudly to keep her secret hidden.

"Then why are you practicing so much?" Derpy asked suddenly, with her classic innocence.

"Uh!? I... This... Uh..." Rainbow Dash replied nervously again, cursing Derpy for continuingly asking questions. "It's... It's because the others made fun of the pegasi!" It was the first lie off the top of her head that Rainbow Dash said to quickly get out of the mess she was in.

"They made fun of the pegasi?" The other pegasus asked in unison, all with confused looks.

"Yeah! That's it! My friends made fun of the pegasi." Rainbow Dash replied as his mind worked a thousand per second to keep his lie credible. "They said that they only fly, fooling around all day, don't do their jobs well, and that they shouldn't compete in the annual Running of the Leaves!"

"Did they say that?" Cloud Chaser asked with a doubtful look. "Even Fluttershy?"

"Especially Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash responded quickly with a look of total security.

"But she's a pegasus too." Cloud Chaser added.

"Uh?" Rainbow Dash said, opening her eyes wide and realizing her mistake. "Oh! N-No, it's not that. It's just what... The weather patrol! I didn't mean all the pegasi, they meant only the weather patrol!" Rainbow Dash quickly added nervous.

"They said we don't do our job well?" Sprinkle Medley asked, looking disgusted.

"Yeah! They said a lot of bad things about the weather patrol. That's why I was practicing so that I could win in the race and rub it in their faces." Rainbow Dash responded quickly, proud of her little lie. "I know that with my speed, I can easily win the race, but I don't want to leave anything to chance, I can't fail! I gotta win at all costs!" Rainbow Dash added with a determined look.

After Rainbow Dash finished speaking, the other pegasus looked at each other, huddled, and began to whisper among themselves, until suddenly everyone stopped muttering and turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

"Maybe we could help you with that..." Cloud Kicker said as she and the other weather patrol pegasus smiled mischievously.





The annual Running of the Leaves was a traditional race that took place in the main rural villages of Equestria.  It’s said that without the race, the leaves on the trees would not fall, which obviously was something that had to be done before unpacking the winter. In the case of Ponyville, a town with many forests around it, the race consisted of an extensive circuit around the entire town, going up and down hills, starting from the town's fountain, and ending in the same place.

Because her house was far from the center of town, Applejack was the last to reach the meeting point where the race would begin. She consciously came walking very slowly, deciding not to spend a bit of extra energy before starting the great race. After all, there was a lot at stake.

Applejack participated every year in the annual Running of the Leaves because as a good farmer, she felt responsible for helping to take care of the trees of her town.  However, this was not so for most of the other ponies of the town, who attended her most more for considering it a civic duty than for pleasure. That was why Applejack was so surprised to get to the center of town and see that unlike the previous years, there was a huge turnout this time, almost all with their respective competitor numbers stuck on their flanks.  In addition to that large number of participants, the other thing that drew Applejack’s attention was that almost all of them were mares.

"You never participated in this race before, but it wasn’t hard to guess that you would attend it." Applejack said as she approached Rarity and Fluttershy, who were already at the starting line. "Still, I'm surprised that there are so many other ponies in addition to you two."

"I don't know why this is so full of ponies." Rarity responded by greeting her friend. "And as for us, well, having a date with Dusk is an opportunity we can't waste.” Rarity added as Fluttershy looked down with a smile and blushed.

"And where are Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked, looking everywhere.

"Looks like Pinkie Pie won't compete.” Fluttershy replied, pointing to the side of the runway, where there was a hot air balloon at ground level.

Applejack narrowed her eyes to see better, and there she noticed that Pinkie Pie was above the basket of the balloon, playing with a megaphone while Spike was beside her, unleashing sandbags to prepare the balloon flight.

"More ponies came than I expected. It'll be fun to be the official announcer of the event!" Pinkie Pie said, turning and speaking through the megaphone next to Spike's ear. "Hurrah Team Balloon!"

"Hng! I still think we should have a better name." Spike muttered after being stunned by the noise of the megaphone and moving it away from his ear.

"Hmm... What do you think about Team Pink Cloud!?" Pinkie Pie said animatedly.

"Nah… how about Team Dragon?" Spike said, unleashing the last bag of sand, causing the balloon to begin to rise next to him and Pinkie Pie.

"And how about Team Blizzard?" Pinkie Pie said.

And so the hot air balloon went up while Pinkie Pie and Spike kept arguing about the perfect name for their team of announcer of the event.

"And what about Rainbow Dash?" Applejack asked after losing sight of Pinkie Pie.

"I'm here." Rainbow Dash replied from behind Applejack, making the latter turn to see her.

Rainbow Dash came flying very slowly at floor level, flying on her back, with her front legs crossed under her head, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. Her entire presence indicated that she was totally relaxed. She then landed in front of her friends and slowly stretched her legs and wings.

"Why so relaxed?" Applejack asked a little annoyed at the arrogant attitude of her friend.

"Well, let's just say I already know who’ll win." Rainbow Dash replied, smiling full of confidence.

"Why so sure? I've arrived before you in previous years." Applejack said, squinting.

"I’ve never flown the race at full speed before, I always just threw away the leaves on the trees.  But today it'll be different.  Nobody beats me at speed, and you know it!" Rainbow Dash said with a smug smile as she looked at her friends. "Don't feel bad, it's not the worst thing in the world to be the second."

Faced with Rainbow Dash's mockery, Applejack only pursed her lips in annoyance, not wanting to admit that what her friend was saying was very true, after all, Rainbow Dash was extremely fast.  But still, they were all competing, all with the secret hope of the miracle that they could defeat their fast friend.

Suddenly the crowd began to turn and shut up. The mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare, had gone up to a small stage next to the starting line, ready to start the race.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! It is a joy to welcome everyone to a new edition of our traditional annual Running of the Leaves!" The mayor said, greeting everyone with a big smile, causing the public's joyful uproar. "It is a pleasant surprise for me to see the large number of ponies that will participate this year. I think thanks to that, we can finally make a change as our traditions dictate!"

Hearing the latter, many ponies made a face of doubt and confusion, especially the younger ones.

"Excuse me, Mayor, what do you mean by making a change according to traditions?" A mare asked from the audience.

"Well, as you know, the true objective of the race is to shake the leaves from the trees with the rumble of the hooves of the ponies that gallop around them.  However, given the low turnout of the last few years, we have needed the help of the flight of the pegasi to finish shaking away all the last of autumn leaves." The Mayor explained. "But given a large number of ponies participating this year, we'll return to the traditional race of the leaves and give the honor of the change of season to the earth ponies. It'll be they who will run and shake the leaves on their way with the gallop on their strong hooves!"

As soon as the mayor finished speaking, there was chaos among the public. The pegasi and unicorns, who were a minority among the participants, began to claim that this was not fair, while the ground ponies began using the mayor's argument as an excuse to get some competitors out of the competition, saying that they must respect the traditions. The effect of the latter couldn’t be better reflected than in the group of friends present, where Rarity, Fluttershy, and mainly Rainbow Dash, had their faces distorted by the disappointment of not being able to participate, while Applejack kept a huge smile.

"No, no! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Rainbow Dash shouted, clenching her teeth, with a look of helplessness and frustration. After having planned so much for that race, everything was now going to waste by a silly tradition.

"I don't think it's very fair either." Suddenly said a voice, soft, elegant and of great volume, a voice that gave respect to just listen to it.

Hearing that voice, all the ponies fell silent and turned again, then they all opened their eyes wide as they recognized who that voice belonged to.

"Princess Celestia!" They said, all the ponies surprised to see the haughty alicorn walking where they were. Then one by one, they bowed as the princess passed by them.

The princess came to the platform where the mayor was and looked at her, smiling.

"Sorry for interrupting you, but could I say a few words?" The princess asked kindly, waiting for the mayor to give her permission before going on stage.

"O-Of course!" The mayor said immediately, stepping aside and feeling honored that the princess asked her permission.

"Princess! What are you doing here!?" Dusk Shine asked suddenly, being the only one who seemed to move freely in the face of the imposing presence of the Princess of the Sun. Then he ran to where the princess was just before she took the stage.

"Fall is one of my favorite seasons, so I decided to observe the beautiful landscape and also take advantage of greeting my dear student.” Celestia responded with a sweet smile, then looking sideways at the friends of Dusk Shine present among the audience. "Besides, I was very interested to see how this race will end.” Celestia added with a mischievous smile, remembering how Dusk had written to him in detail that he and his friends would have a little competition, and what would be the prize for the mare that won.

At that moment, Dusk looked towards the place from where the princess had appeared and then made a doubtful face when he saw that the princess had arrived alone, without the escort of any guard, as was the custom.

"Is it really okay that you’ve escaped all this way from your work?" Dusk asked, raising an eyebrow, guessing that the princess had sneaked away from the castle since he knew how much it bored the princess to do all her tedious work in the castle.

"Don't worry, I left a good replacement.” Celestia responded with a small smile.

"I CURSE YOU, SISTER!" Luna was heard shouting throughout Canterlot, after being deceived again by her sister to do her boring tasks of reading and signing real documents and edicts.





"Hehe, it's ever so easy to fool Lulu.” Celestia whispered to herself, having fun thinking about how angry her little sister must be. Then she looked at Dusk and turned to him again. "Luna would have loved to come, but she insists on not being seen in public until she regains all her power and attains her true form. Although I honestly don't think it'll be long before that happens, I have already noticed how my darling ponies’ dreams are calmer... She still can't get in, but she can already influence them. By the way, that reminds me, you should thank Luna for that. "

"Uh? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked without understanding what the princess was talking about.

"Oh! It's true, I don’t think you know." Celestia replied, remembering. "You see, Luna has the incredible ability to project on-"

"Umm… E-Excuse me, princess." Suddenly said a pony from the audience, the only mare with enough courage to interrupt the princess while she spoke: Fluttershy.

"Yes, Dear?" The princess replied kindly, only then realizing that she had been carried away by the excitement of being able to talk again with her beloved student and that she had completely forgotten that she had a multitude of ponies waiting for her.

"I... wanted to know if you could do something so that I and the other pegasi could compete in the race." Fluttershy said shyly, arming herself with the courage to make that request.  After all, she wanted, no, even more, she needed to compete in the race.

As soon as Fluttershy spoke, the uproar returned to the crowd, the pegasi and unicorns supporting Fluttershy's request and the earth ponies arguing that the tradition should be maintained now that there was an opportunity to do so.

Celestia looked a few seconds at all the ponies arguing, then finally took the stage and stood next to the mayor.

"I believe that traditions must be maintained. But it is also true that Ponyville is characterized as a kind town where the brotherhood that exists between the three original tribes prevails as nowhere else." Princess Celestia said, speaking at a normal volume, but with a voice so imposing that it made everyone immediately shut up and pay attention. "That is why I think the fairest thing would be that both unicorns and pegasus can also compete, as long as they don’t use magic or use their wings to fly. That way it'll be fair to everyone. What do you think, Madam Mayor?"

"Yes! Great idea!" The mayor smiled, feeling flattered again when asked by the princess.

At the idea of the princess, everyone in the audience burst into shouts of joy, all accepting the magnificent and fair idea of the princess.

"Yes! I can participate!" Rainbow Dash shouted happily until she realized the reality and made a panicked face. "Wait... I can't fly!?"

"That's the fairest thing." Rarity said at her side, with a smile.

"Definitely! And to be sure..." Applejack also added smiling as she pulled out a rope that she wore under her hat and tied Rainbow Dash on her torso so she couldn't even open her wings, all while Rainbow Dash was still paralyzed with a scared look.

"Without my wings, I’m nothing... Without my wings, I’m nothing!" Rainbow Dash began to think while hyperventilating and panicking.  But then she shook her head to try to calm down. "Calm down! You can do it! It's not all lost, you still have many cards up your sleeve! But... Without my wings, I’m nothing! I... No! I gotta do this!" Rainbow Dash thought, finally managing to calm herself down enough to regain her sanity.

"Very good! Everyone in the position! The race is about to begin!" The mayor shouted excitedly, making all the ponies begin to gather behind the starting line.

Rainbow Dash immediately stopped in the front row, touching the starting line, right next to Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, all with determined looks.

"I know it'll be difficult, but I hope I still win!" A mare said behind the girls in the second row.

"Yeah!  I want to have a real date with 'Dusk Sempai,' just like his date with Clarity in volume 2!" Another mare commented that he also expected to leave.

"Well, you'll have to beat me and everyone here, because we all want the same." Another mare said near the previous one.

Hearing the comments around them, the four friends froze at what they had just heard.

"How does everyone know about the date!?" Applejack whispered, scared, looking at her friends.

"I don't know! But now I understand why the race is so busy this year!" Rarity whispered in response. "With how famous Lyra comics have become, now all of his fans seem to believe that the true Dusk behaves just like the character that he’s based on in the comics!"

"Do they think they can have a romantic date like it happened in Lyra’s comics!?" Fluttershy also added scared. "Now we have to not only compete with each other but against almost all the mares of the town!? How did this happen!?"

While her friends whispered for explanations, Rainbow Dash only bit her nervous lip. Only one explanation could come up with all that. She told the weather patrol about the bet and the date.   They must have told their acquaintances, and thus the news had spread like fire in the grass! Now things got even more complicated.  What else could go wrong!?

"Could you guys move over a little?  I also want to start in the front." Dusk Shine suddenly said as he appeared in front of his friends and positioned himself in front of the starting line, leaving everyone surprised.

"Are you going to participate too!?" Rainbow Dash asked, scared.

"Sure! I've never participated in a leaf race before, so I thought it would be fun." Dusk replied, smiling. "I doubt I can win, but I'll do my best!"

"Wait for a second! What if you win? What about our little bet!?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.

"As I said, I don't think I win, but even if it were, don't worry, I won't participate in the bet." Dusk replied innocently. "Although with so many participants, perhaps none of you win and I’ll end up inviting someone else to dinner, Hahahaha!" Dusk jokingly added, hoping to laugh with his friends; however, none of his friends laughed with him.  They just turned around and put a tense look forward, thinking that Dusk's joke was more real than he thought.

Finally, everyone got into position, ready to start the race.

"Here reporting from Team Comet, who do you think is the favorite to win this year's race, Spike?" Pinkie Pie asked from her balloon, positioned high above the finish line, speaking through the megaphone and thus beginning her work as a race announcer.

"I don't know, everyone looks very lively, I think everyone has the same possibilities!" Spike answered enthusiastically, using the same megaphone as Pinkie Pie. "And by the way, we agreed that we would call ourselves as Team Announcer-Balloon!"

"I don't know, the bets gave Rainbow Dash as the favorite, but after the princess forbade the use of wings, the bets have split, and it seems that there’s no longer a favorite.  Although the least favorite in the bets is still Dusk Shine." Pinkie Pie commented loudly through the megaphone.

"Not even I would bet on Dusk, after all, everyone knows he is an egghead, not a racing pony! Hahaha!" Spike laughed, commenting next to Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! Everyone can hear you guys!" Dusk shouted from below, annoyed after knowing he was the least favorite to win the race.

"Sorry! Team Lightning will be more careful with our comments!" Pinkie Pie replied, smiling.

"You changed the name of the team again!" Spike shouted, annoyed.

After the self-proclaimed announcers of the race began to argue among themselves, Dusk again focused his eyes on the road in front of him, motivated by Pinkie Pie's comment, ready to show everyone that he was not just an egghead. On the other hand, the comments had also affected Rainbow Dash, but with the opposite effect. Just hearing that no one considered her a favorite for not using her wings, made her nervous again, thinking that she was really useless without her precious wings.

"Ready… Set… Go!" The mayor finally shouted, starting the race.

After giving the starting signal, all the ponies began to run, being so many that they soon began to crowd and push themselves ahead, all trying to take the lead quickly among a large number of competitors.

Rainbow Dash already suspected that it would be difficult to break through so many ponies, even if she started in the front row.  But once the race started, it was that she truly took the weight of the situation and knew that it wouldn’t be easy to gain the lead with so many competitiors. This is how the first obstacle appeared: too many participants. But to her luck, she already had something planned that would be perfect to avoid that problem.

"I have to get some ponies out of the competition... It's time to use the 'Weapon D'! " Rainbow Dash thought looking sideways as she ran until she could locate the 'Weapon D,' who was already doing her job: getting ponies out of the race.

A few ponies away from Rainbow Dash was Derpy, the “Weapon D”, who before the race had met with Rainbow Dash.  Derpy was rather surprised when she asked her to compete in the race with her. However, what surprised her most was when Rainbow Dash gave her only one instruction: 'Help everyone but me.'  Derpy, of course, did not understand why her friend asked her that, but she didn't hesitate to do so.

"Hello!  Do you need help?" Derpy asked as she ran beside a unicorn mare that passed by her.

As soon as the unicorn was distracted by Derpy's words, it crashed into a tree branch and was spinning, totally dizzy.

"Oops, sorry!" Derpy shouted worriedly but continued running as Rainbow Dash had told her. Then Derpy approached another mare, and she was also distracted to see Derpy so suddenly at her side and stumbled upon a stone that was in the way. "Oops, sorry!" Derpy said again as she ran to another mare to innocently ask if they needed her help.

"Well done, Derpy! Today your clumsiness will be a blessing!" Rainbow Dash thought smiling as her kind and clumsy friend made many ponies stumble inadvertently and out of the competition.

With a few less in the race, finally, the platoon of ponies began to disarm little by little to give way to the leaders of the race, where Rainbow Dash was, who smiled when she realized she was at the head of the group.

"Huff! Sorry!" Applejack suddenly crashed into Rainbow Dash, overcoming her and causing her to almost stumble.

"She… She pushed me on purpose!" Rainbow Dash thought furiously when she realized that her friend had almost made her fall.

What Rainbow Dash didn't realize was that Applejack had had a hard time taking off from the group they were all huddled in, so she tried hard to break through, and another pony almost made her lose her balance, that's why she crashed slightly with Rainbow Dash unintentionally.

"If that's how you want to play..." Rainbow Dash shouted angrily, struggling to reach Applejack, and shoving one of her hind legs, which caused Applejack to stumble heavily and fall after a couple of missteps.  Applejack was left behind, even being overtaken by the multitude of ponies that followed behind them, all while Rainbow Dash remained as an exclusive lead and totally lost sight of her country friend.

As soon as Rainbow Dash saw Applejack fall, all her fury vanished. She wasn't like that, she had to go back and apologize to her friend. But there was something in her mind that prevented her from doing so.  Apologies could wait, now she had to win.  She needed to win at all costs!

"Watch out next to you!" A voice shouted at Rainbow Dash's side, causing her to get out of her conflicting thoughts.

Then Rainbow Dash was surprised to see that at her side was both Fluttershy and Rarity sharing the lead with her, both very tired but doing their best to win that race.

"How did you guys reach me!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, surprised, running faster so as not to lose the lead.

"The power of love!" Fluttershy shouted, her legs burning with fatigue but determined not to give up a date with her love.

"As long as you don't fly, we have a chance!" Rarity shouted, also giving her all so as not to lose her place in the race.

Rainbow Dash looked nervous as she noticed how fast her friends were. It was obvious that they were more tired than her, but since she was not flying now, Rainbow Dash was not sure how much road was left to finish. If those two kept that pace until the end of the race, there really was a possibility that they could win!

"That won't happen..." Rainbow Dash whispered determinedly, putting her tongue between her teeth and lips, and giving a great whistle.

The whistle was the signal to execute Rainbow Dash’s true secret plan because she had not only talked to Derpy before the race...

As soon as they heard the whistle of their captain, the weather patrol appeared from the cloud they had hidden themselves in waiting for the signal.

"Here we go. We'll teach Rainbow Dash's friends not to make fun of the weather patrol!" Cloud Kicker said, raising her hoof.  All of her teammates let out a cheer in agreement.

Following Rainbow Dash's instructions, the weather patrol plummeted forward of the road, carrying a small cloud with them.  Before the first participants reached that point in the race, the weather patrol positioned the cloud just above the road and kicked it several times until it started to rain.

"What's that? Is it raining?" Rarity asked strangely, noticing the particular cloud that was on the road, and it was raining alone. "There was no rain forecast for today!" Rarity added looking suspiciously at Rainbow Dash.

"Who knows, maybe a lonely cloud escaped the weather patrol." Rainbow Dash said, looking away.

"A little rain won’t stop us!" Fluttershy shouted as they got closer and closer under the cloud, ready to go through the water.

"It is true!" Rarity added to her side, full of conviction, almost about to arrive under the cloud.

"Well, I would be a little worried. After all, Dusk is a few steps behind us." Rainbow Dash said with a mischievous smile. "What will he think when he sees us with our wet and muddy manes?"

At that moment, only two of the mares in the lead kept running, getting wet in the rain of that lonely cloud, while the third mare stopped braking before doing so. Fluttershy kept running with a determined look, while Rainbow Dash smiled triumphantly and turned briefly to see Rarity, who stayed behind in the dry zone, with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Two less..." Rainbow Dash thought, determined to win and apologize to her friends, but only once she finished the race.

As they emerged from the rainy cloud and returned to the dry path, Rainbow Dash glanced sideways at Fluttershy, who gave everything to keep up with Rainbow Dash.

For a second Rainbow Dash thought that maybe she could let her kind friend win, after all, she owed her.  But then Rainbow Dash remembered the great kiss that Fluttershy had given Dusk on the mountain, and then that idea vanished from her head.

Rainbow Dash whistled again, and the weather patrol mobilized again.

"Oh! What’s that over there? Does it look like an animal in danger?" Rainbow Dash said next to Fluttershy, causing Fluttershy to turn to see where Rainbow Dash was looking.

Seeing towards the edge of the road, Fluttershy saw that in the branches of a tree, there was what appeared to be an animal.  A strange animal that Fluttershy had never seen before: small, with a lot of hair, and huge eyes.

"I think it's trapped on top of that tree." Rainbow Dash said, faking chance.

Fluttershy didn't answer, she just kept running, her lips tight and a look of much concern. Rainbow Dash realized that her friend was trying her best to try to ignore that little animal.

"I-I won't fall into your trap..." Fluttershy whispered, determined to keep running and win the prize. "Surely it's not an animal, it's just-"

"Meow ~!" A sweet meow was heard from the tree where the little animal was.

"I'm coming!" Fluttershy shouted immediately, her heart being melted by that cute meow. Then she opened her wings and flew off the side of the road to the branches where that little animal was. "Shh... easy, now, calm down, everything will be fine." Fluttershy said sweetly as she took the little animal between her hooves to lower it.

As soon as Fluttershy took the little animal, her heart almost exploded with tenderness when she saw how soft and cute that little animal was until her smile faded when she saw that it was too soft and that it also didn't move or blink.

"It's... it's a plush toy." Fluttershy finally whispered when she realized the truth. "B-But… and that meow...?"

Then Fluttershy looked at the treetop and saw that there were Sprinkle Medley and Cloud Chaser, who smiled and flew away from there.

"Fluttershy used her wings in the race! So she's disqualified!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the balloon using her megaphone, while the balloon continued its progress following the leaders and left behind a very distressed Fluttershy.

"Do you think that was fair?" Spike asked next to Pinkie Pie, who had noticed how the weather patrol had tricked Rarity and Fluttershy.

"There was nothing in the rules that said you couldn't get distracted.  As long as you don't break the rules, you can look for some trick to win." Pinkie Pie replied, smiling. "For example, the princess said that wings couldn’t be used in the race, but she never said that we couldn’t fly any other way. So as I signed up for the race without anyone knowing.  As soon as we are close to the line of goal, I'll accelerate with the hot air balloon, I'll arrive before all, and I'll win!  Bwahaha!" Pinkie Pie added while faking a villain's laugh.

"Um… Pinkie?" Spike muttered.

"Yes?"

"You had the megaphone on." Spike indicated, pointing to the megaphone.

"Uh?" Pinkie Pie said silly, realizing her mistake.

"CHEATER!" All the ponies shouted from below, who were still running in the race.

Rainbow Dash whistled again, and the weather patrol flew to position itself in front of the news balloon, then all the pegasus began to quickly flap their wings, forming a small swirl that spun the balloon from side to side and flew it out of place at full speed.

"Team Rocket blasting off again...!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she flew off.

"I liked that name...!" Spike shouted as she flew off the globe with his friend until they both got lost in the sky with a twinkle.

Despite that crazy interruption in the sky, the race below continued as it was, with Rainbow Dash in the lead, but with several ponies slowly approaching. Then Rainbow Dash turned a corner and recognized the town not far away, they had already surrounded the town! There was only one last stretch of road before the end of the race.

Rainbow Dash hastened her pace, giving all of herself despite her fatigue, with the assurance that if she maintained such a pace, she would win. And so it was until she heard a gallop approaching quickly behind her.  She turned and was surprised to see that it was none other than Dusk Shine, who accelerated more and more the step until finally reaching her side.

"’Save your energy and use it in the last stretch of the race...’ That’s what the book I read said!" Dusk said, smiling, also tired but with more energy than Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry... But I think I'll pass by you..."

Then Dusk squeezed the gallop a little more and began to slowly overtake Rainbow Dash while she did her best so he wouldn't leave her behind. The desperation in Rainbow Dash began to grow, knowing that she couldn't leave anything to chance and that she had to make sure she won.

"Hey, Dusk..." Rainbow Dash shouted with her head bowed as she gathered all his strength to talk and keep running at the same time.

"You won't distract me. When I passed Rarity and Fluttershy, they told me that you distracted them to pass them." Dusk responded with a security smile without taking his eyes off the road. "Nothing you say will distract me."

"Dusk... I... I love you."





"Uh!?" Dusk said, surprised, looking back, just as a stone crossed his path, which caused him to stumble and fall heavily while Rainbow Dash passed him.

Rainbow Dash could barely run anymore, so she kept her head down, and only her blushed ears could be seen.  She knew that she couldn't make the same mistake as Dusk and lose sight of the road.  So, she took a deep breath and tried to keep her eyes straight ahead and keep running at the same pace. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that she was already on the last straight line, the finish line was right there! Only one last effort was missing.

"You won't beat me so easy!" Shouted from behind the voice that Rainbow Dash least wanted to hear at that moment, the voice of Applejack.

Applejack had firm and strong legs, which made it one of the favorites. In fact, if it had not been for Rainbow Dash pushing her earlier, the country mare probably would have stayed in the lead for the entirety of the race. And the strength of her legs was reflected at that moment, in spite of falling and being overtaken by most of the ponies, Applejack had managed to slowly return to the race until finally reaching the point, just when the race was about to end.

"No…!" Rainbow Dash shouted, giving it all that she had only to see that the goal was only a few meters away.

"You won the Iron-Pony competition yesterday." Applejack said as she ran with all her strength and positioned herself next to Rainbow Dash. "That means that if I beat you now, I'll be the true Iron Pony!"

Then Applejack gave her all and managed to pass Rainbow Dash shortly after the end. Then, before her imminent victory, Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash with an arrogant smile. However, her smile faded when she saw that Rainbow Dash did not even see her, her friend only kept her eyes fixed on the goal while running.  But the most shocking was her look of despair, a look that Applejack had never seen before from Rainbow Dash.

"... Dusk..." Rainbow Dash whispered exhausted, her eyes wet with tears and perspiration, with a look as if the world was going to end, knowing that losing that race lost her last chance... Her friends had said it themselves.  She didn't want to accept it, but it was a reality: Dusk apparently didn't have a place for her in his heart.  This was her last chance to have an excuse to be alone with him, and now... it was disappearing.

"She didn't even listen to me... She isn't interested in competing and winning me... She just thinks about..." Applejack thought while running, just a few steps away from winning.

While Applejack looked back, she suddenly tripped, falling face down, leaving her body lying just a step away from crossing the finish line. She tried to stand up, but Rainbow Dash was faster and crossed the finish line just then.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..." Rainbow Dash was breathing agitatedly, so physically and mentally exhausted that she hardly heard the screams and magic flashes announcing that she had been the grand winner of the race.

The public went out to celebrate the winner and took Rainbow Dash between their hooves and began to throw her again and again into the air, all while the rainbow-mane pegasus began to recover her breath, and her eyes came alive again. Then Rainbow Dash's mouth began to smile slowly, and her eyes dropped small tears as she began to notice what was happening.

"I did it… I DID IT!" Rainbow Dash shouted in ecstasy, feeling happier than she had ever felt when winning a race.

Slowly the rest of the participants also began to reach the goal while the Mayor took the stage with Princess Celestia. "I can say with certainty that this has been the most irregular and exciting race we have had in years!" The Mayor said with a big smile as the whole audience cheered in support of what she had said. "So, it is an honor for me to reward this year's big winner: Rainbow Dash!"

Then Rainbow Dash took the stage, and the mayor gave her a great trophy, while the princess hung the first-place medal around her neck. Then, everyone, both public and participants began to applaud her in congratulation, including her friends.  At first, they all gave her a look of retaliation to their friend, but then they simply sighed and applauded her with smiles of resignation, all thinking that they would take revenge someday.  But for this time, they would let Rainbow Dash enjoy her great moment.

After the first-place award, the Mayor continued to reward the next five first places, giving the second-place prize to Applejack, who came up with a small smile while the audience, especially her family, applauded her among cheers.

While the Mayor continued with the other awards, Rainbow Dash approached her country friend. She needed to know if what she suspected was true.

"Applejack, you... Did you let me win?" Rainbow Dash asked shyly.

"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about." Applejack answered from behind.

Since she only saw the back of her head, Rainbow Dash couldn’t see her friend's face or know if she was telling the truth or not.

"Thank you." Rainbow Dash whispered, not knowing the truth, but feeling in her heart that saying that was the right thing to do.

Applejack didn't answer, just turned around, and gave a kind and affectionate smile to her great friend and eternal rival.

At that moment, they delivered the last medal to the fifth place, which was won by Dusk Shine, who proudly took the stage to receive his medal among the applause of the public.

"Congratulations, Dusk, very good race for your first time." The princess said with a kind smile as she handed the medal to Dusk, and without anyone else noticing, she handed him a small note in his hoof.

"Thanks, Princess!" Dusk responded proudly.

Then Dusk opened the note delivered by the princess and read it: ‘Haha! A girl beat you!’

Dusk's smile disappeared, and he looked up to see his teacher, who kept her poker face in front of everyone but at the bottom was about to burst into laughter, missing with great happiness to bother her beloved Dusk Shine again.

After all the awards, the public began to leave little by little while the most exalted remained in the place, happy to have participated in such an exciting race and swearing that they would participate again in the coming years.

While that happened, Rainbow Dash took her trophy and began to make funny faces while reflecting on it, enjoying her beautiful trophy.  Although in reality that was a bonus, because she had not competed to win only a trophy.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Dusk Shine said, approaching her friend, taking advantage that she was alone.

"Y-YES!" Rainbow Dash responded instantly, blushing and staying completely still like a statue.

"I think you won the bet.” Dusk said with a smile, showing Rainbow Dash a small sack with several coins. "Tell me, where would you like to go to dinner?"

At Dusk's question, Rainbow Dash blushed more as she began to mentally review a list of the most expensive and romantic Canterlot Restaurants, far from Ponyville, so that both could have absolute privacy.

"Excuse me, but I think this is mine." Suddenly Princess Celestia commented, suddenly appearing and removing with her magic the bag of coins that Dusk levitated.

"What!? What are you talking about? That's mine." Dusk said, surprised and upset.

"I just remembered that there are still several things that you owe me and that I must charge you." The princess indicated with a thoughtful look.

"What things?" Dusk asked, confused.

"Well, like the train ride with which I sent you to Ponyville. Neither you nor Spike ever paid me that trip." Princess Celestia said with a smile.

"You sent us in a bag of cargo!" Dusk claimed annoying.

"Still count, bye-bye!" Princess Celestia said playfully, using her magic to teleport back to the castle.

"Hng...! Princess Trollestia... You'll pay for this..." Dusk murmured with a hoof on his face, knowing how his teacher enjoyed bothering him in secret.  Although he really couldn't get mad at her, after all, deep down, he missed that dynamic and was glad he could enjoy his beloved teacher for a while.

"S-So... I-Is it all over?" Rainbow Dash stammered with a look of hopelessness when she saw the princess disappear with Dusk's money.

"Hm? What are you talking about?" Dusk answered, confused, looking to Rainbow Dash with a smile. "I said we would have a date, didn’t I?  We don’t need money to have fun, I'll think of something to do just you and me."

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash's wings and ears rose in joy.

"What's up? Do you want a date with me so badly? Hahaha!" Dusk laughed, joking with Rainbow Dash.

"O-Of course not! I was only interested in eating for free, that's all!" Rainbow Dash said quickly with a false look of annoyance, with her cheeks blushed.

Seeing Rainbow Dash blush, Dusk looked away and blushed as he remembered something.  "You know, it wasn't just what you told me to distract me, if it weren't for that, I would have won.” Dusk said, slightly blushing, scratching his head.

It took Rainbow Dash a couple of seconds to realize what Dusk was referring to, so she turned quickly to turn her back on Dusk. "All is fair in war and love." Rainbow Dash whispered with her head down, totally blushed.

"Hm? What did you say?" Dusk asked, unable to hear Rainbow Dash's murmur.

"I said all is fair in war!" Rainbow Dash responded loudly, turning and smiling, with her cheeks still a little blushed "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Then Rainbow Dash opened her wings and flew away from there with a big smile on her face.

"It won't be a romantic date for dinner, but that doesn't matter!" Rainbow Dash said to herself as she flew. "Money doesn't matter, I just want to be with you!" She said while she felt her heart explode with happiness for having achieved her first great step in this war called love.

# End of chapter 38
> Chapter 39 - Nosedive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nosedive

It was morning when Rarity was ordering some furniture in the main hall of Carousel Boutique because although she was very tidy with her home, sometimes she simply needed to rearrange everything to give a new air to the interior of her house.

Knock Knock!

Rarity looked toward the front door, wondering who it could be.  For a second, the fashionista was hopeful that it was a surprise visit from her beloved Dusk. She approached the door with a smile and opened it, and as soon as she saw who it was, her smile disappeared.

"Hehe... Hi Rarity." Rainbow Dash greeted with a nervous smile.

"Look who decided to appear, Miss Rainbow 'Cheater' Dash." Rarity said, squinting.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. That's why I came here." Rainbow Dash responded by looking away in shame and scratching the back of her head. "I've already apologized to Fluttershy and Applejack for what I did yesterday in the race."

"And Pinkie Pie?" Rarity asked.

"She was going to cheat from the beginning, so it doesn't count." Rainbow Dash replied with an annoyed look and then looking back at Rarity with a distressed look. "I know what I did wasn't right, but I... I really wanted to win that race.  I felt it was my last chance to-"  At that moment, the prideful pegasus blushed and looked away again.  "W-What I mean is that I'm really sorry." Rainbow Dash quickly added, looking at Rarity with a guilty look. "I hope you can forgive me."

When Rainbow Dash finished her apology, Rarity was silent for a few seconds, with her lip pursed as she looked at her friend's face and felt that she was truly sorry for what she did.

What the cyan pegasus had done in the race had been very dirty, not only with Rarity, but with her other friends, and the more Rarity thought, the more certain she was that what her friend had done wasn’t so easy to forgive. But deep down, Rarity understood why her friend had done it.  The desperation the pegasus had felt to feel belittled by Dusk had temporarily clouded her judgment and if she was being honest, Rarity must have suspected that Rainbow Dash would plan something, after all both mares looked a bit like that, in that both were willing to break the rules if it was to achieve something with Dusk.

"Huff... very well, I forgive you." Rarity finally said, sighing, resigned to the look of her friend. "Just don't repeat it again, and remember, you owe me one! I only forgive you because I understand you wanted to have your chance to get closer to Dusk."

"I-I didn't do it because I wanted to be with Dusk!" Rainbow Dash responded quickly, blushing. "I-I just did it b-because I wanted a free dinner, that date doesn't interest me."

"Sure, as you say, darling." Rarity replied, looking up with a small smile, a little funny to see that Rainbow Dash was still trying to hide the obvious. "By the way, since Dusk doesn't have the money to invite you to dinner, what will you do on your date?"

"I don't know.  I was just about to go meet with him." Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug.

"You... will go to your date... like this?" Rarity said worriedly, stepping back to look at her full-body friend, tail to head.

"Hm? What's wrong with me?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at herself.

Indeed, Rainbow Dash was the same as always, with nothing out of the ordinary, but that was what scared Rarity. If she were in her friend's place, Rarity would surely have done herself up and look more presentable for a date with her beloved.  But that was something that Rainbow Dash either forgot or just thought that it was unimportant.  However, the fashionista knew the truth; this was Rainbow Dash's great opportunity and she couldn't afford to waste it.

Rarity stared at Rainbow Dash for a few seconds. If it had been another of her friends, Rarity would have told her immediately that nothing was wrong about going to a date looking so simple.  She was well aware that her other friends competed equally with her for Dusk’s heart, but Rainbow Dash was different.  Unlike the others, she really needed help! And although both were competing for the love of the same colt, rather than a rival, Rainbow Dash was a friend who needed a great deal of help.

"Well, I told you that you owed me one, right? I’ve decided that this is the time to pay me back and earn my true forgiveness." Rarity said, looking seriously at her friend. "Follow me."





"All that took way too long!" Rainbow Dash said, talking to herself as she landed in front of the library.

When Rainbow Dash prepared to follow Rarity, she never thought that Rarity would take her to the village Spa. Rainbow Dash had never entered there before, nor was it in her plans to ever do so. However, Rarity insisted that it was the right thing before going on a date with Dusk, although Rainbow Dash continued to insist that it wasn’t a date.  Eventually, with persuasion from Rarity and the twins who ran the Spa, Aloe and Lotus, Rainbow Dash finally gave in and agreed to get a basic cleaning treatment.  But what she never expected was that it would take up all her morning.

While thinking about how strangely light and relaxed she felt after the Spa treatment, Rainbow Dash lifted one of her hooves and watched it for a while.  She noted how clean it had been, even with extra shine where she could almost make out her own reflection.  She then took notice of her fur and her mane, which also felt more silky and pleasant.  While the treatment at the Spa had not particularly pleased her, the result was something else.  And although Rainbow Dash would never admit it, deep down, she felt good to think it was nice to look and feel pretty from time to time.

Then Rainbow Dash approached one of the library windows and observed her reflection.  Her mane was slightly more combed and stylized, which magically made the usually rough-and-tumble pegasus look a little more feminine than usual.

"I wonder if Dusk Shine will notice..." Rainbow Dash thought, slightly blushing as she settled a rebel lock in her mane.

"Finally!" Dusk suddenly said, opening the library door when he noticed that Rainbow Dash was in the window.

"Waah…! Yeah!  I’m here!  Like I said!" Rainbow Dash responded robotically after being startled by Dusk suddenly appearing by her side.  At that moment, both ponies were silent, both looking at each other, waiting for the other to say something else.

"How strange, it seems that there’s something different about Rainbow Dash... but I can’t place my hoof on what it is." Dusk thought with a doubtful look. "I'm not sure, maybe it's my imagination."

"So... Do you want to go inside, or do you want me to tell you here what I planned for our afternoon together?" Dusk finally asked, smiling.

"... ... I... It's fine here. Tell me what we'll do." Rainbow Dash said, slightly pursing her lips with a mixture of disappointment and annoyance when she saw that Dusk hadn't said anything about her mane.

The smile that Dusk had grew larger as he began his explanation.  "I have planned a special 'date' for today: an 'adventurous date'!" 

"An adventurous date?" Rainbow Dash asked without understanding what Dusk meant.

"Yes, well, since Princess Celestia ‘confiscated’ the money I was planning to use for dinner, and since you were the one who won the race, I thought we could do something that I believe we would both enjoy.” Dusk said, staring at Rainbow Dash. "There is something I’ve been wanting to do, and I would love for you to accompany me.  It’s something I couldn’t really do with any of the other girls except with the coolest mare in town."  Dusk then stretched one of his hooves for a hoofbump while giving Rainbow Dash a big smile.

At Dusk's words, Rainbow Dash was confused and somewhat disappointed at first.  But as soon as Dusk mentioned that it was something special that he could only do with her and with none of her other friends, her heart began beating with emotion knowing that she would be on an adventure alone with Dusk.  It made her feel a bit more special and partially erased some of her earlier doubts about the colt’s potential apathy towards her.

"Sounds like fun!" Rainbow Dash finally said, lifting her hoof and bumping Dusk's hoof, also with a big smile, ready to accompany the purple colt until the end of the world if necessary.

Thus, their ‘date’ began as the unicorn led the way as Rainbow Dash trotted closely alongside him.  While they were crossing through town, Rainbow Dash could not help but smile when she noticed the odd looks the other villagers were giving when they saw her and Dusk walking together.  The cyan pegasus soon began to fantasize as she imagined the other ponies talking among themselves, saying things like how close they were or speculating that the most awesome ponies in town had finally decided to become a couple.  Rainbow Dash was so enamored with her imagination that she didn’t even notice when the pair had left town and continued pass the town outskirts. After finally stopping, Rainbow Dash's proud chest deflated as she noticed the place where Dusk was taking her.

"Dusk... Do you want our date to be in the Everfree Forest?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to hide her nervousness as she eyed the dark forest before her.

"Yes, I told you, it's an 'adventurous date'" Dusk responded with a confident smile at his friend. "Don’t worry, I figured that we should be relatively safe as long as we stay together! Besides, I remembered how tough and brave you were last time we went through the forest when we were trying to find Nightmare Moon."

Once again, Dusk's comment made Rainbow Dash blush slightly, and she finally just nodded as she smiled at the colt’s praise.

"Hey, I have a fun idea!  Race you into the forest!" Dusk Shine said suddenly, playfully hitting the side of Rainbow Dash and starting to run along the path that led into the forest.

"Hehe, don’t forget that I was the one who won the Annual Running of the Leaves and got you to hang out with me in the first place!" Rainbow Dash replied with a big smile, starting to run after Dusk.

The two friends began their race through the forest. The Everfree Forest was relatively safe to run through, so long as it was daytime and that the pair continued to stay on the established path.  However, the twisting vines and life-threatening creatures that made their home in the forest had long since been moved to the back of the ponies’ minds. The truth was that both Rainbow Dash were having far too much fun together in their little race.  Whether it was jumping into shallow puddles of water to splash the other, passing each other only to then wait so that they could run alongside one another or playfully bumping into each other while running.

While Rainbow Dash had initially thought it was weird that her date with Dusk would be in the Everfree forest, she realized that this was actually the perfect activity for both of them.  With the fun of participating in a race, mixed with the adrenaline of running through the dangerous forest and finally along with the occasional contact they both had. For Rainbow Dash, this date had already begun perfectly, and she could no longer wait for what Dusk was saving her for later.

After entering deeper into the forest, Dusk stopped at the side of the road and looked at Rainbow Dash.

"Now we have to get off the path. Carefully follow me." Dusk said as he used his magic to clear some branches that blocked their path out of the way.  Rainbow Dash dutifully followed Dusk and carefully walked step by step after him.

While they were walking, Rainbow Dash couldn't help feeling a little helpless already out of the way, in the middle of the forest. Not so much because of the dangerous creatures, but because of the tall and leafy trees that were high above them.  The thick tree line blocked out almost entirely the view of the sky, making it impossible for Rainbow Dash to fly away from any danger.  The thought of not being able to use her wings freely in such a place made her feel somewhat claustrophobic.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks as she looked to the side of the road as Dusk continued walking. She seemed to see a strange shadow that wasn’t far from there among the trees. It almost looked like the shape of a head, which obviously made the pegasus curious.  Just when Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes to see if that strange shadow was a small tree, two faint gleams of eyes looking directly at Rainbow Dash appeared, showing that the shadow was indeed that of a head, now looking towards the peering pony. As soon as the strange figure noticed that Rainbow Dash was staring at her, it moved and ran away from its hiding spot.

Faced with the huge surprise of seeing what the shadow of a dark pony running away, Rainbow Dash flinched and took a few steps backwards out of caution.  Unfortunately, the pegasus began to stumble and fell just over the edge of a small hill that was on the edge of the path Dusk was making. 

"Waaahhh!" Rainbow Dash shouted from seeing the shadow and, at the same time, falling backward on the hill.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you alright!?" Dusk Shine said quickly, approaching to see where Rainbow Dash had fallen.

"Ptui! Yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow Dash answered, spitting a blue flower that had entered her mouth when she fell.  She then looked around and saw that she had fallen into a small plain of the forest where it was full of blue flowers that she had never seen.

"Do you want me to go down for you?" Dusk asked from the top of the small hill.

"No, I'm fine, I'm up." Rainbow Dash said immediately, standing up quickly, and without realizing it, unconsciously adjusting her mane to take care that all of the work she had done on it at the Spa wouldn’t be disheveled.  Fortunately, the hill wasn’t very steep, and Rainbow Dash quickly returned to Dusk with just a couple of jumps.

"Did you see that shadow?" Rainbow Dash asked once he arrived with Dusk, pointing where she had seen the shadow of that strange pony.

"Shadow? What shadow?" Dusk asked, looking where his friend was pointing, seeing nothing strange.

Rainbow Dash watched carefully where she thought she saw the shadow and finally just shook her head in denial. The truth was that she wasn't sure what she saw, and more importantly, she didn't want Dusk to believe that she already imagined things just for fear of being in that forest.  So finally, Rainbow Dash stopped worrying and both ponies went on their way.

"Don't worry, we're here." Dusk said after moving a little further.

Then Dusk moved some last branches that were in front of him, and Rainbow Dash saw with surprise how in front of her and Dusk there was a small flat area of the forest, very similar to the sector where she had fallen in the blue flowers.  However, this sector differed in that the tops of the trees didn’t cover the sky. Quite the opposite, in that small space the sky could be seen without problems, and the sun's rays illuminated all of the clearing strongly, creating a small oasis of light in that gloomy forest. While, probably because of the same amount of light that came there, many colorful flowers seemed to be growing in the clearing.

"It’s… very pretty." Rainbow Dash said, amazed to see that little oasis of light, and also feeling relieved and glad to be able to see the sky and the sun again, which made her stretch her wings a little in relaxation.

"Some time ago, I set out to look for an ideal space in this forest so that the flowers could grow without problems, away from the wild vegetation of the forest." Dusk said, looking at Rainbow Dash and then at the flowers, with a satisfied smile. "This was just a small space of light with a few flowers, but I’ve been expanding it little by little, although I haven’t managed to grow more than you see, after all the wild magic of the Everfree forest is strong and tends to want to recover and close this little oasis."

"And since when have you been doing this?  Never really considered you to be a botanist." Rainbow Dash said with a slightly mocking tone. Trying to hide how blushed she was when she was amazed by what Dusk had done. "Why are you doing this anyway?"

"For this" Dusk said with a smile, as he used his magic to move the tallest flowers a little and reveal some beautiful little flowers that reflected the colors of the rainbow. "They match perfectly with your mane, don't they? Hehe."

Rainbow Dash said nothing, just stared in wonder at those pretty flowers and their beautiful flashes of colors.

"These are very rare flowers called 'Rainbow Shine.' I found one when we came to defeat Nightmare Moon. In fact, if it hadn't been for that flower, I wouldn't have been able to defeat her." Dusk said with a small smile as he remembered what happened that night. "These flowers only grow in the Everfree Forest, so I set out to learn a little botany to grow a few seeds here. There are some buds of future flowers that will bloom in a couple more seasons, but at least there are already four mature flowers."

Then Dusk cut delicately with his magic the four flowers 'Rainbow Shine' that were more grown.

"They will definitely be a nice gift.” Dusk said, smiling.

"A... A gift..." Rainbow Dash repeated blushing as she watched the beautiful bouquet of flowers that Dusk held. Then she thought of something and looked away, blushing a little more. "I-If you give that to a mare... it would be almost like a declaration of love."

"Maybe you're right, hahaha. If I gave this bouquet of flowers to a mare with a boyfriend, surely her boyfriend would beat me to a pulp.  But if it's a single mare who understands its real meaning, I don't think there's a problem." Dusk replied, laughing.

"The real meaning?" Rainbow Dash repeated, still blushing, looking nervously at Dusk.

While Dusk was holding those rainbow flowers, Rainbow Dash could already guess that Dusk was referring to 'friendship'.  But she didn’t want to let Dusk continue with that. If he was going to deliver that beautiful bouquet of flowers, the pegasus needed to make him understand that it was time for him to take the next step and admit that what he felt was more than just friendship.

"Y-You should probably give that bouquet of flowers to your girlfriend." Rainbow Dash added, lowering her head, red with shame as she said it.

"Girlfriend? But I don't have a girlfriend." Dusk replied, blushing a little.

"T-Then maybe you should ask one of your friends to be your girlfriend.  You know, maybe one of us?" Rainbow Dash said, struggling to look up to see Dusk while her face remained red.

"Pfft! Hahaha, definitely none of the girls would ever accept me as a boyfriend." Dusk said with a somewhat forced laugh. "For example, you?!  That would never happen! Of all the girls, you are the one I least imagine having as a girlfriend, hahaha."

Those words of Dusk were like a giant bucket of cold water splashed right into her face for Rainbow Dash. She immediately froze and turned pale with a lost look.  Did she hear that right?  Did Dusk just say that they would never happen?  What about all the girls... She was the one who least imagined having something...? What Dusk had done with a few words had been hitting and completely squeezing Rainbow Dash's heart in a thousandth of a second.

"Well, enough about talking about girlfriends and fantasies that will never happen.” Dusk said, laughing nervously. "It is best to give the girls these four flowers while it’s still day."

"Uh?" It was the only sound that Rainbow Dash managed to express while still trying to understand well what Dusk had just told her.

"I grew these flowers thinking of the girls, it's really lucky that four flowers have just grown!  I'm sure Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy will love it." Dusk said, smiling as Rainbow Dash felt increasingly cold, and her chest tightened as she realized what Dusk was saying.

The truth was that those flowers were not for her. Dusk hadn't even thought about that. All the effort that Dusk had made in planting and caring for those flowers had been for her other friends. 

Not for her…

"After the girls lost the Running of the Leaves, they looked a little depressed, so I thought this would be the perfect time to give them away." Dusk continued speaking while Rainbow Dash was still paralyzed, listening carefully to each word. "As a good gentleman, I never liked to see a sad lady, so when you won the race, I thought we could use that excuse of the 'date' to have a little adventure up here together. I could only have done something like this with you.  It's a good thing that you don't like these girly things!  Right, dude?" Dusk added smiling, stretching a hoof to Rainbow Dash so that as before leaving there, she would clash it amicably.

Hearing Dusk's last words and seeing the hoof stretched toward her, Rainbow Dash finally understood. Dusk made that gesture only with her, with none of her other friends. Dusk gave flowers to her other friends and not her. Dusk called his other friends 'lady,' but to her he said 'dude'. The sad and cruel reality was that her friends had tried to make her understand and that she had refused to see... Dusk had never seen her as a mare... This had never been a date... She had never had a chance to win the love of Dusk...

With her heart so tight it almost hurt, Rainbow Dash lowered her head and shook her mane to get rid of the silly manestyle that at some point she thought might interest Dusk.

"Something is wrong?" Dusk asked when he noticed that Rainbow Dash had her head down and didn't look at him.

"It's... It's true that I don't really like flowers and stuff... And... And it's also true that we are friends and that I can be your 'dude'..." Rainbow Dash said slowly with her head down, and then suddenly she raised her head and shouted. "BUT I’M A MARE, TOO!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the top of her lungs with her red face, a look of despair and tears in her eyes.

Then Rainbow Dash opened her wings and flew quickly out of there, leaving in her wake her characteristic rainbow trail.  The hot tears from her aching crimson eyes quickly trailed from the pegasus’s cheeks then to her trail, causing it to have a small glimmer.  Rainbow Dash hardly care about that and was only focused with trying to get away from the pain she felt deep in her heart.

Her flight was so fast, it only took Rainbow Dash a few seconds to get to her home in the clouds. She flew through the door of her house, flying quickly and slammed straight into her room, finally standing still there for a few seconds. Once inside her room, in solitude, she lifted her hoof and wiped away the tears she had dropped, then closed her eyes for a few seconds, breathed, and became herself again.

"Gahhhh! Dusk is such a dumbass!" Rainbow Dash shouted furiously, going from grief to frustration and anger in record time.

Then she threw herself on her bed and began hitting the pillow hard in a vain attempt to vent her anger.





"Stupid! Idiotic! Oblivious! DUMBASS!" Rainbow Dash repeated banging her pillow furiously until so many blows, the small pillow made of clouds fell apart.  She then threw herself on her back on her bed and inflated her cheeks with air, enduring his frustration.

She wasn't sure what had made her angry anymore: how she cried in front of Dusk, how she reacted so dramatically, or how she abandoned him like that without further ado. Rainbow Dash had never felt this way, and after realizing how she had acted, the fury of having acted so out of her mind had made her strong personality come back in an instant.  But as the minutes passed and Rainbow Dash kept silent, reviewing in her mind everything that had happened, again the penalty was gaining ground, and Rainbow Dash covered her face again as the tears fell again.

"What do I do now?" Pegasus told herself sadly as she snuggled with her own wings, thinking that thanks to her wings, she had been able to flee from that situation.  Unfortunately, not even the strongest wings could help her get away from her own broken heart.





Having fallen emotionally rendered, Rainbow Dash fell deeply asleep, curled up between her own wings, and woke up in exactly the same position the next day. Slowly she moved from side to side in her bed, wishing to continue sleeping only for a while longer. However, that strange music didn’t let her rest in peace.

"Music?" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, opening her eyes with a start, realizing that the music sounded like the strumming of a guitar and seemed to be just outside her house.

Rainbow Dash got up reluctantly and opened the front door to see where the music was coming from. She looked from side to side without seeing anything strange, until she looked down at the ground, as her house was floating in a cloud. Looking down, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise, completely stunned to see that just below where her house floated, was Dusk Shine, wearing what appeared to be a giant-hearted suit, and held what appeared to be a box of chocolates with a heart shape, a bouquet of flowers, and levitated with his magic a guitar, in which he tried to play a song with a very debatable success.

"Hello, beautiful lady.” Dusk said, blushing, forcing a big smile as he looked coyly at Rainbow Dash.

At Dusk's words, Rainbow Dash’s face changed from confusion to a mixture of disgust and aggravation at what she heard and saw.

"What is all that supposed to be?" the cyan pegasus asked, continuing to scowl at the colt.

"This is for you, it's my way of apologizing.” Dusk said with a sad smile.

"By making a fool of yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"I behaved like a complete jerk yesterday. I always boast about being a gentleman, and the way I treated you yesterday was unworthy of me." Dusk added sadly. "I promise that from now on, I’ll fill you with flattery and treat you like the beautiful and delicate lady you have always been."

Rainbow Dash stared silently at Dusk for a long time, watching the flowers and the heart costume he wore.

"This is a joke, right?" Rainbow Dash finally said disgustedly.

"Uh? What do you mean?" Dusk said, confused. "I thought it bothered you that I treated you so unfemininely, so I thought..."

"You don't understand anything!" Rainbow Dash shouted, annoyed, angry at the colt’s complete obliviousness of her feelings.

Then Rainbow Dash turned around, opened her wings, and threw herself from her cloud house to fly away from that ridiculous show that Dusk was giving; however, her wings never opened.

Dusk felt confused and sad when Rainbow Dash turned her back and jumped out of her cloud. He watched as Rainbow Dash plummeted, something very normal since she often did it to gain momentum and then rise and fly away. However, while her friend fell, Dusk felt something weird happening.  Rainbow Dash fell and fell and didn’t rise.

"Rainbow Dash!" Dusk reached out to scream scared at the last second, activating his horn just as Rainbow Dash fell and hit herself hard on the ground.

'Dr. Horse – M. D.'

"Give me something! I need answers, what are we dealing with!?" The famous Doctor Horse asked, the best-diagnosed doctor in Equestria while limping impatiently from side to side, taking several pills from a small bottle he carried with him.

"It could be Osteogenesis Imperfecta." Said the blond stallion, part of Dr. Horse's team.

"The collagen test was negative." The other team member responded, a bald stallion with dark fur.

"Maybe it's Lupus." Said the new team member, a pretty mare with a cutie mark with the number thirteen.

"It's never Lupus!" Doctor Horse screamed angrily.

Thus, the medical team continued discussing, without arriving at a safe diagnosis, after having received a new patient, a pegasus of cyan fur and rainbow mane, who had entered the hospital for a sharp fall. Although, it seemed as though her case was more complicated than it had initially appeared.

Meanwhile, while the medical team was arguing in a room, in front of the central corridor of the hospital was Dusk Shine, standing in front of the door of a room.

Knock Knock!

"Rainbow Dash, may I please come in?" Dusk asked shyly after knocking on the door.

"NO! I don't want you to come in! Stay where you are!" Rainbow Dash responded from the other side.  She was lying on a hospital bed, with a bandage on her head and on her right leg, with a face of total horror.

At Rainbow Dash's answer, Dusk just sighed and rested his head on the door while clenching his teeth, annoyed with himself.  Rainbow Dash had fallen without apparent cause from her house in the clouds, and despite the fact that Dusk managed to activate his magic in the last second to try to stop his friend's fall, he only managed to partially dampen the blow that Rainbow Dash took. There was no argument that he had saved the mare’s life, but Dusk still blamed himself for not acting faster to prevent his friend from getting hurt.

"I'll go tell the other girls about the accident.” Dusk said sadly, thinking that maybe Rainbow was still mad at him, and that's why she didn't want him to come in to see her.

"NO! I don't want you to tell anyone about this!" Rainbow Dash said quickly in response, almost jumping out of bed.

Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily as if she had run a marathon. Anyone would say it was normal after what had happened, but that accident that left a blow to her head.  But that didn’t matter to the pegasus.  What really mattered to Rainbow Dash was the cause of the accident: her wings.  The feathered appendages on her back didn't move in any way, no matter how hard she tried.  It was as if her wings had lost all their strength.  They just hung inert at her side, and that kept the young pegasus terrified, moreover, never in her life was she more scared than at that moment.

After Rainbow Dash's refusal, Dusk withdrew his head from the door and threw himself on a chair that was next to the door, not knowing what to do or how to feel.

The minutes passed, and no doctor appeared in Rainbow Dash's room, it seemed that they were still arguing about the treatment of pegasus, and that made Dusk nervous. While shaking his head, trying to clear his mind, Dusk looked to the side where he was sitting, where there was a small table with several medical brochures. Dusk took the first pamphlet and read the title: 'The five stages of grief.'

"'Grief is a process that occurs when faced with a great loss.' "Dusk read the brochure. "'It is usually associated with the death of a loved one, but in reality, it is applied to any loss that affects the patient, whether physical or emotional. In psychology, five stages that a pony overcomes during the grieving process are recognized. The first of these is... '"

Dusk stopped reading when he finally saw a couple of doctors approach Rainbow Dash’s room. Noticing their worried faces, Dusk felt a chill and could not help following them once they entered his friend's room, he needed to know if his friend would be fine after that blow.  As soon as the door opened, Rainbow Dash became alert, and as soon as she noticed that Dusk also entered, she immediately took the sheets from her bed and covered her neck, trying to hide her wings.

"Miss Rainbow Dash, are you all right?" The doctor asked, with a small, somewhat nervous smile.

Rainbow Dash looked fearfully at the doctor and then looked away, not answering the question. The doctor, knowing that his patient already seemed to know that something was very wrong with her, respected her silence, and continued talking.

"You suffered a sharp fall, but fortunately, you only acquired minor injuries." The doctor said, checking the papers he had brought with him, then stopped checking them and paused a little before continuing. "However, we don't know what happened to your wings."

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash's face stiffened as she tried her best not to panic.

"Your wings? What happens to your wings?" Dusk asked, somewhat surprised at what the doctor was saying.

"I can't move them." Rainbow Dash said, breathing heavily. "T-That's why I fell... I... I don't know..." Rainbow Dash added, unable to continue talking because she started to shake and covered her face with her hooves, with so much fear in herself that she could barely control.

"We had never seen anything like this before.  Your wings seem to be physically well, but they don't react or move to any stimuli." The doctor said, alternating his sight between Dusk and Rainbow Dash. "Tomorrow, we’ll have the results of more tests, and I think we can give a better diagnosis, but until then..." The doctor added but stopped when he heard Rainbow Dash mutter.

"This can't be happening... This can't be happening..." Rainbow Dash repeated in a murmur again and again as she trembled and kept her face covered by her hooves.

First stage: Denial.

"Rainbow... calm down." Dusk Shine said worried, touching Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

Rainbow Dash lowered her hooves a little to show her fearful eyes. However, she didn't look at Dusk, she kept looking at nothing.

"Everything will be fixed, it must be fixed, it must be fixed!" Rainbow Dash repeated as she began to hyperventilate. "Without my wings... My life is ruined! It can't be happening! No, no...!"

Seeing how his friend began to despair, Dusk stood in front of her and made her look directly into his eyes.

"Rainbow Dash! Look at me! I promise you everything will be fine!" Dusk said, staring at Rainbow Dash with a determined look.

With Dusk facing so close, Rainbow Dash began to focus only on Dusk's deep, purple eyes, and began to breathe more slowly and calm down from her panic.

"E-Everything will be fine...?" Rainbow Dash asked with a frightened look, still seeing Dusk in the eyes.

"Yes, I promise you, everything will be fine.” Dusk said, also keeping his eyes fixed on his friend's crimson eyes.  The colt then pulled her into a small but warm hug.

After Dusk's gaze and hug, Rainbow Dash's heart finally calmed down almost completely as she thought about how fortunate she was for Dusk to be there to support her.

"Dusk is always when I need him... And always will be... This feeling... It's definitely more than friendship! That afternoon in the woods, he just chose the wrong words. Maybe... maybe he does love me..." Rainbow Dash thought with a growing hope in her chest that everything would be fine, not only her wings but also her feelings. Everything would be as it should be, she with her wings in perfect condition and with Dusk having feelings for her. A doubly empty hope, just born from denying what was really happening.

Dusk's little hug only lasted a few seconds, and as soon as Dusk broke up, he felt a great relief to see his dear friend calmer.

"Go, I'll be fine, just... come back tomorrow." Rainbow Dash finally said, looking away while blushing a little. "And remember, don't tell the other girls about what happened to me.  I don't want them to see me like this. Tomorrow, when I have the test results, everything will be fine, and they’ll never know I couldn't fly for a day."

"Okay." Dusk Shine said, smiling at the recovered confidence and optimism of his friend, leaving the room with the doctor, who, unlike Dusk, gave a worried look at the unfounded optimism of his patient...

The next day, Dusk arrived at the hospital early.  While he thought it was a shame that Rainbow Dash didn't want her other friends to report her accidents, he also understood how prideful the pegasus was and that she didn't like being seen as weak or vulnerable in front of others.  So, with some regret, he finally decided to keep his promise and refrained from telling the other girls for now.  As soon as Dusk opened the door to Rainbow Dash's room, he was surprised to see that the doctor was already there. It seemed that the doctor had arrived just a few moments ago with the results of her friend's medical tests.

"Oops! Sorry, I think I interrupted." Dusk said as the doctor and his friend saw him.

"Actually... I think it’s for the best that you were here for this.  A good friend at her side will make this slightly easier.” The doctor said with a somewhat sad smile.

"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked fearfully. She had been waiting for the doctor to speak before Dusk arrived.

"As you know, we performed a series of tests to determine what happened to your wings." The doctor said, looking at the papers and then looking seriously at Rainbow Dash, keeping silent for several seconds before speaking again. "We couldn’t find anything."

"W-What does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused, anticipating with fear the answer she could get.

"The results didn’t show anything.  As I said yesterday, your wings seem to be in perfect condition, but we don’t understand why you can’t move them... We have no medical explanation, and without knowing the cause... We can’t have a solution." The doctor replied with a look of sorrow and guilt. "The nerves are fine, as are muscles and bones. We could take a chance and say it's a magical problem, but that seems unlikely that..."

While the doctor continued speaking, he didn’t know that his words no longer reached his patient. The last thing Rainbow Dash heard was that there was no medical explanation for the problem of his wings and that there was no solution either. Hearing that, it was as if Rainbow Dash fell into an endless abyss.

"T-There must be another solution.” Dusk said, scared to see his friend so shocked.

"We’ll continue investigating, but... what your friend needs most right now is the support of a friend." The doctor said, turning around to touch Dusk's shoulder and then exiting to leave both friends alone in the room.

"Rainbow Dash, this... this is not the end of the world.” Dusk said shyly, thinking about how to cheer up his friend, who was still static, staring. "I’m sure that-"

Second stage: Anger.

"You lied to me." Rainbow Dash interrupted Dusk, speaking slowly, with her head down.

"What?" Dusk asked.

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Rainbow Dash shouted, looking up, looking at Dusk angrily as tears peeked out of her eyes. "You said everything would be fine! You said it by looking me in the eye! You lied to me!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she felt her whole world crumble.

"I… I'm sorry…" Dusk said with a look of pain, ducking his head.

The pegasus felt a mixture of feelings, fear, confusion, pain, frustration, anger. And it was that outburst of anger as a result of frustration and fear that made Rainbow Dash look for something to blame and unleash her rage on.  And that just so happened to be the only other pony in the room.

"Everything was ruined since that date! EVERYTHING!" Rainbow Dash began to cry, looking furiously at Dusk. "My heart broke, I lost my wings, everything since I went with you…You did this to me! This is all your fault!  YOU’VE RUINED MY LIFE!"

Dusk didn't answer anything, partly because he understood the pain his friend should be feeling at the time, but mainly because Rainbow Dash's words really hurt him.  He had already felt guilty about what happened before, but to hear such venomous words from one of his closest friends…The purple unicorn stood there like a statue.

"GO AWAY!" Rainbow Dash finally shouted. Then Dusk turned slowly with his head down and slowly withdrew from the room.

As soon as Dusk left, Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth and pressed her eyes with her hooves to try to stop crying and take away the pain she felt, which had only gotten bigger after feeling guilty for yelling at Dusk and blaming him for everything.  During the rest of the day, Rainbow Dash spent the whole day alone, sinking into her own anger, which at times was directed towards Dusk, but that the longer the hours passed, was now directed mainly against herself.

On the second night that Rainbow Dash spent in the hospital, lying on her bed with a lost look as she looked at the night sky through the window.  Her heart began to clench at the thought that she would probably never feel the air and the night breeze against her wings ever again. Instead of flying, she was bedridden. Her wings were not just a part of her body, they were a symbol of her freedom; with them, Rainbow Dash could go anywhere and do whatever she wanted, but now that freedom had vanished.

Third stage: Bargaining.

"What should I do now...? Why is this happening to me...? What did I do wrong...?" Rainbow Dash thought sinking into her own grief, already moving away from her anger to start looking even if it was just one response from the many questions that afflicted her.

"Maybe if I hadn't forced my wings as much as I always do..." Rainbow Dash whispered with a sad look as she looked into the night sky and tried to find a justification for one of the two things she had lost on the same day.

"Maybe... if we had met differently, maybe…if I had the guts to have kissed him when I had the chance, he would see me in a different way..." Rainbow Dash whispered again, thinking about the other thing she had lost.

Her wings and love.  The former she had spent her life shaping her identity around, and the second, she had always had the hope that Dusk felt for her. In just one day, she had lost both, which had left her devastated.  And now, all she thought was that she would give anything to recover them.

"If I had to choose just one..." Rainbow Dash whispered as she thought about regaining the movement in her wings or getting Dusk's true love. "I… I don't know if I could choose… But what does it matter… I don't have either." Rainbow finished whispering as tears fell down her cheeks, and her sad cry managed to be heard in that silent and dark room.

“I don’t have anything…”





It had been four days since Rainbow Dash had entered the hospital, and although Dusk was with her for the first two days, the next two days had not been such.  Dusk had come every morning and afternoon to visit her friend. However, Rainbow Dash had refused to receive him, which Dusk assumed was due to the anger she still felt with him for lying and telling her everything would be fine.

Today was the last day Rainbow would be in the hospital. There were no more tests or studies to do, her lack of mobility had finally been diagnosed as an 'unknown disease,' and Rainbow Dash was allowed to leave the hospital with the condition that she attended regular check-ups to see if there was any improvement.

Dusk was standing next to the hospital door. He had thought about going to look for Rainbow Dash in her room, but he wasn't sure if she was still mad at him or would yell at him again.  So, Dusk thought it best to wait for her outside.  Even if she refused to receive him in her room, Dusk had promised himself not to abandon his friend.

Finally, the main hospital door opened, and Rainbow Dash appeared, walking slowly, with her head down and her wings down and motionless.

Fourth stage: Depression.

"H-Hi Rainbow..." Dusk said shyly approaching her friend, unaware if she was still mad at him or not.

Hearing Dusk's voice, Rainbow Dash barely raised her head.  The purple colt’s heart sank further when saw how empty and lifeless her eyes appeared. The crippled pegasus simply lowered her head back down again.

"Hi." It was the simple answer that Rainbow Dash gave him, in a monotonous voice.

Then Rainbow Dash began to walk slowly towards the town, while Dusk quickly approached and began to walk beside her, relieved that his friend's anger had apparently disappeared.

"Rainbow, I… I'm sorry I made you mad at me.” Dusk said shyly, apologizing to his friend. "I shouldn't have lied to you, it's just that I really hoped that everything would have a quick solution."

"It doesn't matter... It wasn't your fault." Rainbow Dash replied without even turning to see Dusk.  She just continued walking.

That answer that should have made Dusk happy only left him more worried, seeing that his friend was so indifferent to everything.

"You know... now that we’re back in town, I would like us to go to my house." Dusk shakily said, trying to speak in a normal tone. "I've been thinking that... well... in your state, I think it would be good if you could stay in the library with me for a while.  I mean!...Only if you want to."

At that moment, Rainbow Dash stopped and looked at Dusk with those lifeless eyes for a second time.

"You…want me to stay at your house?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sure! It’ll be fun!" Dusk responded quickly, hopeful that her friend could recover her mood. "We can do sleepovers games, maybe read together... The library is quite large, so you can have as much space as you want!”

Contrary to Dusk's joy, Rainbow Dash just lowered her head again and thought about how happy she would have been to receive that invitation in the past.  But now… everything was useless. Dusk had never looked at her in a romantic way, let alone now that she was a useless pegasus who couldn't fly. All this was just Dusk's kindness, a subtle way of telling her not to go to her own house since she couldn't fly now.

"Dusk, I... I just don't want to be a bother." Rainbow Dash replied, walking again with her head down.

Thus, both ponies continued on their way to the library. Dusk tried in vain to cheer on Rainbow Dash, trying to tell her some bad jokes and giving her ideas of the jokes that could play on Spike together.  However, nothing seemed to motivate Rainbow Dash.  Even more, as they moved through the town, some ponies saw Rainbow Dash and how her wings swung limply against her sides.  Internally, the pegasus found some dark irony with the situation, thinking how only a few days ago she felt pride being seen walking with Dusk.  But now…nothing mattered anymore.  Finally Rainbow and Dusk arrived in front of the library, and they both stood in front of the door, looking at it as if they were waiting for something.

"Are you going to open it?" Rainbow Dash asked after a while to see that Dusk was still standing by her side.

"I think it would be good if you opened the door.  After all this will be your home for a few days.” Dusk responded with a small smile, putting all his faith in his last resort to cheer on his friend.

Rainbow Dash didn't answer; she just mechanically obeyed what Dusk told her, knocked on the door, and pushed it open.

"SURPRISE!" Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike shouted in unison, all while an explosion of balloons and confetti fell on Rainbow Dash.  The pegasus felt emotion for the first time since leaving the hospital, only for the surprise to fade after a few seconds.

"I know I said I wouldn't tell them, but they’re your friends, and I think it was important that they knew, after all, they are here to support you.” Dusk whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear with a nervous smile, not knowing how her friend would react. "I just told you that you have a problem with your wings, they don't know it's permanent. Still, they know how important flying is for you, so they insisted on making you this surprise party to cheer you up."

After listening to Dusk, Rainbow Dash looked back and forth at the library, seeing how her friends had struggled to decorate everything. Then she saw her friends, who were with big smiles, waiting for her to tell them something.

"They all tried so hard for me... I... I don't deserve friends like that..." Rainbow Dash thought sinking deeper into her depression. It didn't matter what Dusk and her friends did, no matter what others or strangers, friends or family said or thought.  The only thing Rainbow Dash could feel was sadness, and all she could think about was that she wanted to disappear.

"Thank you... But... I'm not in the mood to party." Rainbow Dash responded slowly, lowering her head again and made an effort not to run away from there.

Seeing the state her friend was in, the smiles of the other mares quickly changed to worried looks. They had never seen Rainbow Dash so depressed, almost to the point where she was an entirely different pony. They all knew how important flying was for Rainbow Dash, but they never thought that not being able to fly would change her personality so drastically. They expected the mare to be angry or even sad about the injustice.  But instead, the pony looked empty, soulless.

When they realized the seriousness of the matter, Applejack and Pinkie Pie immediately hid some rubber chickens they had managed to tease together that Rainbow Dash was now like a chicken and couldn’t fly for a while.  They had thought that it would be a good way to relate to her reputation of pulling pranks and jokes on others.  But it now clear that such teasing would probably worsen her state.

"KIUUUUHHH-!" The silence suddenly broke the sound of a rubber chicken that Spike pressed, who had not noticed the awkwardness of the situation. However, Applejack and Pinkie Pie instantly took the rubber chicken away and looked away, pretending nothing happened.  The crippled pegasus obviously saw it but had no positive or negative reaction.  Either she didn’t care, or she was too empty to care.

"Umm… Rainbow Dash, I brought you this from your house." Fluttershy said shyly, handing her a couple of papers. "These are letters that came to your house, and I thought of bringing them to you since you... well..." Fluttershy added nervously, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

Rainbow Dash didn’t flinch at the discomfort of her friends, she just slowly approached to Fluttershy, always keeping her gaze lost and head down, took the letters offered by her friend, and quickly read them one by one. However, Rainbow stopped for a moment and read the last letter more slowly.

"Puh...!" Rainbow Dash snorted, as if she had tried to laugh but she couldn't.

"Something wrong?" Dusk asked, approaching the blue pegasus worried.

"It's nothing. It's just an invitation to participate in the Best Young Flyer Competition to be held in Cloudsdale in two days." Rainbow Dash said, smiling, the saddest smile Dusk had ever seen.  Rainbow Dash could barely contain her tears. "Isn't life ironic?"

Dusk Shine opened his mouth to try to cheer up his friend but couldn't. The only thing Dusk could think about was how broken the crippled pegasus looked right now.  He could barely imagine how much of a toll this was taking on her spirit.  It would take a lot more than just words to help her friend.  Rainbow Dash crumpled the invitation letter to the contest and dropped it to the ground. 

"I'm tired, I'm gonna go lie down." Rainbow Dash said, speaking again in that emotionless tone of voice.

"Uh... u-use my bed, I'll sleep with Spike." Dusk said, stuttering, coming out of his sad thoughts.

With no intention of arguing with Dusk for his kindness, Rainbow Dash decided to do what she was told and continued on her way to the stairs to go up to Dusk's room. While passing through her friends, she didn't even look at them.  But she knew perfectly how they were looking at her with looks of pain and sadness. The normal Rainbow Dash would have been immediately affected by her friends being sad because of her, but by that time, nothing made her feel anything to her destroyed spirit.  Upon reaching the stairs, Rainbow Dash stopped for a moment and turned to see her friends for a moment.

"I'm sorry you saw me like this... Please try to remember me before…before all of this." Rainbow Dash said, trying in vain to smile, saying goodbye to her friends before climbing the stairs.

Once Rainbow Dash went up to his room, a disturbing silence remained in the main hall. None of Rainbow Dash's friends spoke, everyone was weighing the true gravity of their friend's situation.

"Let's... Let's give her time to rest and see how she is tomorrow. Maybe she'll get her spirits back a little." Rarity said, looking at her friends with a sad smile.

"Yeah... I think that’s for the best." Applejack said with a worried look.

Then one by one, the mares said goodbye to Dusk and began to withdraw from the library, regretting not being able to do more for their friend at that time. Thus Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack left, with only Pinkie Pie remaining.

"Dusk, listen to me." Pinkie Pie said, staring Dusk in the eye, before leaving the library, with one of the most serious looks Dusk had ever seen her friend. "Whatever you do, don't leave her alone, don't take your eyes off her."

Then Pinkie Pie looked down with concern and withdrew from the library, leaving Rainbow Dash's care in Dusk's safe hooves. So Pinkie withdrew, wishing her instincts were wrong for once, but unfortunately she had reason to doubt.  She knew what depression was and knew what someone like that was capable of doing in that state.  And seeing one of her closest friends in such a state made her fears grow even larger.

The evening gave way to the night, and Rainbow Dash was still locked in Dusk's room, while Dusk put together his own guest bed in the middle of the library room to go to bed and finally rest from that sad day.  While trying to fall asleep, Dusk's heart was still tight as he remembered how depressed his friend was and all the problems that had occurred since that 'date' he had had with Rainbow Dash.  Dusk continued to mentally review every detail from that day while little by little he went to sleep.

SLAM!

A bang-like noise woke Dusk in the middle of the night. However, it had not been a very loud noise, and as sleepy as he was, Dusk prepared to lie down and keep sleeping. However, at that moment, he remembered the words that Pinkie Pie had said before leaving the library, and as if he had had several jugs of coffee, Dusk got up immediately, fully awake, feeling that something bad could be happening.

Dusk climbed the stairs and knocked on the door of the room where Rainbow Dash slept. When he didn't get an answer, he knocked again. However, his instincts told him he couldn't wait any longer and finally just entered the room. There, he looked at the bed, then looked around the room and got the same result.  Rainbow Dash was nowhere.

Realizing that her friend was missing, Dusk ran to the bed where she should be to verify that he hadn’t misread the room.  However, his vision had not failed, the only thing that was in bed was a paper note signed by Rainbow Dash that said only three words: 'I'm sorry, bye.'

Dusk’s eyes widened in shock and panic.  He wasn't sure if the note meant what he thought it meant, but what he did know was that he needed to find Rainbow Dash as soon as possible before it was too late. Then Dusk ran down the stairs, opened the library door, and ran outside, in the middle of the night, to follow his friend.

"Hmm?" Spike whispered after Dusk ran out, and the loud noise of the door closing it woke him up.

With his gaze lost in sleep, Spike narrowed his eyes slowly, ready to fall back into sleep.  But then a new noise at the door prevented Spike from falling asleep, a soft series of knocks of on the door. At the second noise, Spike got up sleepy to the door and opened it, but then he was confused to see that there was nobody there. Then, Spike's sharp dragon eyes, which worked better than those of the ponies at night, saw a strange movement in the distance, someone running away.

"Is that a hood?" Spike whispered after thinking he saw a hooded pony run away from there. Then Spike looked down and was more confused to see that down there, in front of the door, someone had left something.

Far from there, at the entrance of the Everfree forest was Rainbow Dash, looking toward the forest with the same emotionless look she had had since she had left the hospital. She had arrived there in the middle of the night, and now that she had reached her destination, a strange feeling invaded her... It wasn’t the first time that Rainbow was afraid of the Everfree forest, but now she wasn’t afraid of what she was facing, but instead for what she was leaving behind, all her life.

"STOP!" Dusk suddenly shouted from afar, completely surprising Rainbow Dash as she was one step away from entering the forest.

"Dusk... What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked blankly, turning to see Dusk running towards her.

"Huff... Huff... I came looking for you... Huff... Was that not obvious?" Dusk replied, exhausted after running and reaching his friend.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, staring at Dusk but keeping her face blank.

"How did you find me?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.

Dusk looked worriedly at his friend, then lowered his gaze and also kept silent for a few seconds before looking back at his friend and answering.

"The note you left... It was a farewell." Dusk responded nervously. "I... I didn't know what you were saying goodbye exactly, so I thought of the worst, and this is the worst place you could come if you..." Dusk added very nervously, not wanting to imagine the terrible act again that he thought his depressed friend might want to do there.

"I don't care what happens to me anymore." Rainbow Dash said without expression as if what she had just said was something banal. “I’m more useful as some manticore’s dinner than I am now."

Hearing her friend say that, with that expressionless face and dead look, Dusk's heart couldn't stand it anymore.

"ENOUGH!" Dusk suddenly shouted as he looked down, then raised his head and looked directly at his friend as tears flooded his eyes. "Please... 'sniff'... Enough..."

Seeing Dusk crying in front of her, Rainbow Dash's eyes for the first time in the day shone alive again for a moment while her heart struggled to feel again.

"I've seen my sad friends before, I've also seen them crying... but seeing you like this now is different... It's like you're dying on the inside. It hurts me to see you like that, more than anything has ever hurt me before..." Dusk said, no longer able to suppress his tears. "Don't leave... Don't leave us... Don't leave me... You occupy a place in my heart more important than you think."

At Dusk's words, Rainbow Dash's eyes finally came back to life completely, and her face finally showed emotions again: the sadness, pain, and fear that had been hidden behind that deep depression that had sunk deep within her.

"I... I don't know what to do... Why did this have to happen to me!? Precisely to me?!" Rainbow Dash said slowly while her face gained more and more emotions, slowly going from fear to panic. "I had nightmares about this. Not being able to fly, not having my wings, it was always my biggest fear, and now... Now I'm living my biggest nightmare!" Rainbow Dash added, screaming in terror and ducking her head.

"You are not your wings. You are Rainbow Dash! You are so much more than your wings. You’re a strong, determined, loyal, brave pony. You’re…You’re so important to me that I don't know what I would do without you!" Dusk said, hugging his friend again with all his strength, hopeful to see the life return to his friend again. "Please, you have to move on. I know that the future looks dark, but together we can look for the light.  I promise you that tomorrow will be a brighter day for us.  Just... please be the Rainbow Dash we love again."

While Dusk hugged her, Rainbow Dash could feel the tremor in the colt, as he really feared for her well-being.  As she felt the hug filled with warmth and love, Rainbow Dash finally felt like she had stopped falling in that endless abyss of depression and despair.  Little by little, she began to see that her future hadn’t completely crumbled before her. She still didn’t have her wings, the most precious and cherished part of herself.  But she saw that she still had her friends.  She still had Dusk Shine. 

Last stage: Acceptance.

Finally, Rainbow Dash began to cry while Dusk hugged her, knowing that now she would have to take the most difficult path, to move on with her life.  Despite everything, she couldn’t escape from this, she would simply have to accept what she lost and recover her life little by little.

While she was crying and relieving her stress into Dusk's warm embrace, new tears of sadness began to sprout from her eyes when faced with a new doubt.  All of the grief she was going through wasn’t just about letting go and accepting her new flightless condition. It was also to let go and accept that the incredible colt who would comfort and support throughout her recovery would never love her or look at her as she looked at him. They would never be more than friends, and that was the doubt that now hurt in Rainbow Dash.  She no longer knew what would be harder for her:  accepting that she would never fly again, or accepting that she had lost Dusk’s love.

# End of chapter 39
> Chapter 40 - Many short stories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many short stories

A beautiful sunrise in Ponyville slowly began to creep its way slowly across the sleepy village.  Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes tight but still began to wake up slowly as the first rays of morning streamed through the window.  The crippled pegasus was desperate to gain some more sleep.  Her tired body demanded that she continue to snuggle herself in this comfortable bed, a far cry from the hospital bed in which she had had to sleep for almost a week.  Also, after waking up in the middle of the night to run into the forest only to have cried and finally release her repressed feelings, the only thing that Rainbow Dash wanted at that moment was to sleep more.  So, she reached down with her hoof to grab the blankets and snuggle up again. However, she stopped when she noticed that instead of blankets, there was something else on top of her.  Rainbow Dash opened one tired eye and looked down, noting that there was a purple-furred hoof hugging her body. As she looked at it, it took several seconds for her brain to wake up to finally understand whose hoof that was hugging her.

"Dusk!" The pegasus's brain screamed, finally realizing who it was.

Rainbow Dash jumped out of bed and looked back, where she checked what she had suspected.  She was not only asleep in Dusk Shine's bed, but TOGETHER with Dusk Shine.  It also appeared that Rainbow’s sudden jump had unintentionally shifted the colt awake as he now began to stretch and wake up slowly.

"Why was Dusk hugging me!? What does that mean to-!?" Rainbow Dash began to think with a hot blush on her cheeks, until suddenly her brain stopped the flow of agitated ideas she had and reminded her of what she had decided the last night. "No!  Stop getting nervous, I decided yesterday. I have to accept it... Accept that Dusk will never love me..." Rainbow Dash finally thought, slowly calming down, unable to avoid putting on a sad look.

"Hm? Good morning Rainbow..." Dusk said, waking up, rubbing one eye while the other noticed that his friend was there. "Did you sleep well?"

At Dusk's question, Rainbow Dash began to blush, but immediately closed her eyes, breathed slowly and calmed down.

"Yup, I slept well.  Although it seems that I slept with an unexpected company." Rainbow Dash said, speaking quietly, but without being able to look Dusk in the eye.

Dusk Shine blinked a couple of times, not understanding what his friend meant. Then he looked down and realized that he was lying on the bed that Rainbow Dash had used to sleep, and it was then that Dusk's face turned completely red.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. It's... It's just that yesterday I stood by your side, waiting for you to sleep." Dusk stuttered, his face red with shame. "Then, at some point in the night I think I felt tired and decided to lay down just a second to rest.  I didn't realize that I fell asleep next to you, I'm sorry!"

While Dusk was explaining himself, he remembered Pinkie Pie.  Not only did he remembered that this situation was very similar to when Dusk woke up one morning in surprise that Pinkie Pie was in bed next to him, only that now it was the other way around and it was he who had slept with one of his friends without her consent; but also because Dusk remembered that the night before, after reaching Rainbow Dash at the entrance of the forest and convincing her to return to the library.  He had followed Pinkie Pie's advice and decided not to take his eyes off the pegasus again, that's why Dusk had stayed in the room until he made sure that Rainbow Dash fell asleep.

"It wasn't my intention to go to bed and…invade your personal space.  I just... I didn't want you to spend the night alone... I'm sorry." Dusk finally added, already calmer, with a distressed look.

"I understand, don't worry." Rainbow Dash also said with a sad look. Looking for a second at her wings and then looking directly into Dusk's eyes for another couple of seconds. "I think I’m still not over what happened to me, but now I'm determined to move on.  Believe me, I feel a lot better than I was last night." Rainbow Dash added with a sad smile.

Based on her voice, facial expressions and body language, it was obvious that Rainbow Dash was feeling sorry for herself and her actions. However, she definitely looked a lot better than before.  She now seemed much more sincere and more expressive of her feelings, almost to the point of normality.  Relief washed over Dusk as he saw that his friend was finally showing signs of recovering both emotionally and mentally. 

"I'm glad you feel better." Dusk finally said with a small and honest smile. "Well, I think it's time for breakfast, let's go."

Thus, both ponies went down the stairs and headed towards the small kitchen of the library, walking carefully so as not to wake up Spike, who was still sleeping in his basket in the main hall of the library. Dusk decided not to wake up as he felt guilty for making noise at night and for surely waking him up.  With his magic, Dusk quickly prepared a basic breakfast, serving two glasses of orange juice, and preparing a couple slices of toasts with fried hay.  Rainbow Dash meanwhile had a satisfied smile at the gracious attention of the colt.

As Rainbow Dash began to eat and Dusk was preparing to do the same with his toast, he stopped when he noticed a piece of crumpled paper on the floor.

"What is this?" Dusk said, using his magic to levitate the paper and stretch it to see what it was.

Rainbow Dash took a look at the paper that Dusk was levitating and instantly stopped eating and put her toast back on the plate.

"It's the invitation to the Best Young Flyer Competition that came to me yesterday." Rainbow Dash said, pursing her lips and looking away.

"Oh! Sorry, I had forgotten." Dusk said with a sad look, remembering when Fluttershy had handed her the letter, and Rainbow Dash threw it after knowing that she obviously could not participate with the current state of her wings.

"Don't worry, I can't help talking about the things I did before.  I have to get over it." Rainbow Dash finally said, sighing and sipping her orange juice.

"Hmm... So... What is that competition about?" Dusk asked, internally thanking Rainbow Dash for being more willing to talk about an issue that she clearly did not yet overcome, but wanted to do.

"It's an exhibition held every year at Cloudsdale, where Equestria's best amateur fliers compete with each other.  Everyone can show their best flight skills, from speed, accuracy, dexterity, it can even be something artistic, and finally, the jury decides who wins." Rainbow Dash replied, cheering up slowly as she spoke and remembered last year's competition. "And this year there is an extra prize, the winner will be able to spend an afternoon with the Wonderbolts! I already had an awesome routine! I was thinking of using my speed and agility to-" Rainbow Dash added raising her hooves and imagining how she would do her routine but stopped suddenly.

For a second Rainbow Dash forgot her tragic reality. She then took a sad look at her fallen wings, her spirits disappeared completely, and she looked down sadly.

"Gosh... for a moment… I forgot it, how stupid of me..." Rainbow Dash said with a sad smile. Then she breathed slowly to calm down and looked at Dusk with a sad smile. "I wanted to participate this year, but not for the trophy, but for the extra prize of being able to fly with The Wonderbolts... But now the last thing I want is for them to see me like this."

Dusk looked at his friend with grief and then also lowered his head sadly, empathizing with his friend and feeling the pity that Rainbow Dash must feel after fate took away the opportunity to participate in that competition. Dusk was sure, with Rainbow Dash’s incredible speed, that she would have won easily. If only there was another way of...

Suddenly Dusk raised his head with wide eyes as he reviewed the idea he just thought.

"It could work..." Dusk whispered, thinking out loud while looking at nothing. Then he took the glass with orange juice from a sip, got up quickly and took Rainbow Dash by the hoof. "Come with me, I have an idea."





Dusk and Rainbow Dash had quickly left the library were now crossing the bridge on the outskirts of Ponyville and began to enter the small, luminous forest that was next to the dark Everfree forest.

"Where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked, walking next to Dusk, still not understanding where her friend was leading her. Then Rainbow Dash began to think for a second about what should have triggered Dusk to leave the library unexpectedly, and only one thing occurred to her. "Is it something about the Best Young Flyer Competition we were talking about?"

"Don’t worry, you'll know soon." Dusk responded while still walking forward to his destination. "You may not be able to participate in the competition, but there might be a way to win the prize. But I’m not sure, I think you better judge it for yourself."

Rainbow Dash looked curiously at Dusk, trying to guess what the unicorn was planning, without coming up with an answer.  Seeing how patience wasn’t one of her best virtues, she thought about continuing to insist that the colt tell her.  However, she decided to make an effort to not to ask more and just follow Dusk. No matter what it was, she was just thankful that Dusk was being so worried about her, and that in addition, he wanted to make a nice gesture to her.

While both continued walking, they stopped suddenly when they heard several familiar voices not too far away.  Giving way to their curiosity, both ponies diverted the way they were going and advanced to where the voices were coming from.  Upon reaching the voices, Dusk made Rainbow Dash crouch behind a bush next to him and then pointed her up.

There, in the treetop, there were three fillies that both knew very well: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.  The fillies were chatting on a small platform that was in the treetop, from which there was also a rope that looked like being linked in the distance with another tree.

"What are they doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, whispering to Dusk.

"I don't know, but I don't want to interrupt them." Dusk replied, smiling proudly. "Perhaps they’re learning some valuable lesson from-"

"Okay! Now we’ll earn our cutiemarks by throwing ourselves from a zip line!" Scootaloo shouted animatedly, while, from under the tree, Dusk opened his incredulous mouth after realizing that he had been completely wrong and that the fillies were just doing another crazy thing.

"Seriously... when they will learn that cutiemarks aren’t earned like that..." Dusk said hitting his frustrated face.  The colt remembered that he had sworn to himself not to help the three fillies or tell them how to get their cutiemarks, hoping they would find out by themselves and in turn learn a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, it seemed that every hint that Dusk told them was worthless since the fillies continued to do random activities trying to earn their cutiemarks, each activity crazier than the previous one.

"Are those three gonna be okay using that zip line?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching Scootaloo with a mixture of fear and amusement.

"They'll be fine.  Spike had told me about this zip line.  He’s used it a couple of times already." Dusk replied with a frustrated sigh. "As long as they go one at a time, there shouldn't be-"

Again Dusk was interrupted by the shout of the three fillies, which, to Dusk's horror, launched themselves from the zip line at the same time.

The three fillies traveled at high speed along the rope, only hanging from their harnesses. However, the friction and combined weight of the three ponies together was far too much than the rope could take, and it eventually snapped, causing the three fillies to fall screaming over the treetop.

"Ouch! That must have hurt." Rainbow Dash said, wincing one eye in pain after seeing the young ponies fall.

"Thankfully, the zipline wasn’t that high up to begin with. Still, we should probably go see if they’re alright." Dusk said, a little worried.

Dusk and Rainbow Dash approached to where the fillies had fallen to see if they were well.  But even before arriving, they could already tell that the fillies were not injured, since from a distance they were seen hanging from the tree where they had fallen.  It seemed that the sticky resin of the tree had stuck to their fur and saved them from falling to the ground.  Although, now all three had the new problem where they had to deal with the resin that wouldn’t come off their fur.

As Rainbow Dash and Dusk approached, they both managed to hear what the little fillies were talking about.

"I told you it was a bad idea; we should continue with my idea of getting cutiemarks for extreme mountaineering." Apple Bloom said, disappointed as she struggled to free herself from the resin and reach the ground.

"Maybe if we try again?" Sweetie Belle said, turning with an effort from the position where she had stuck to the resin, to verify that no cutiemark had appeared on her side.

"No, I don't think it’ll work... But I don't know what else to try! Maybe we're doing something wrong..." Scootaloo said, finally managing to take off one of her hooves from the tree's resin.

"I wonder if had taken my sister this much to get her cutiemark…" Sweetie Belle whispered, thinking out loud.

At Sweetie Belle's words, Scootaloo opened her eyes wide and stared at her unicorn friend.

"That's it!" Scootaloo said, holding Sweetie Belle and shaking her excitedly. "How did we not think of it before!?"

"What are you talking about?" Apple Bloom asked, who had also already managed to remove two hooves from the tree resin.

"We should ask the ponies that already have their cutiemarks how they got them." Scootaloo said animatedly. "And I know perfectly who to ask first, the coolest pony in Ponyville! She's fast, tough, fearless, the greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale!"

"Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle guessed in unison with confused looks.

"What?!  No!  I'm obviously talking about Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo replied with a great shout of enthusiasm.

Hearing her name, Rainbow Dash turned pale and stepped back from where she and Dusk had been listening.

"What's wrong?" Dusk asked worriedly when he saw the pale pegasus.

Without saying a single word, Rainbow Dash turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction from where the fillies were.

"Rainbow Dash, what's wrong?" Dusk asked again, running to reach his friend.

"Didn't you hear her!?  All those things that Scootaloo said about me, I... I'm not that pony anymore!" Rainbow Dash said with a sad and somewhat desperate look, then seeing her fallen wings, trying in vain to move them. "I... I'm not the pony she admires anymore..."

Dusk looked worriedly at his friend and then saw in the distance the three fillies, who were still trying to get out of the tree resin they were attached to.

"Scootaloo can't fly either... Maybe it would be good for Rainbow Dash to talk to her." Dusk thought as he looked at the little orange filly.

"I can't talk to her, Dusk. Not yet... I'm not ready..." Rainbow Dash said, looking scared at Dusk, reading what her friend was thinking.

Dusk looked at the prismatic mare for a few seconds and then lowered his head as he sighed. His friend had been through a lot, and only yesterday had she managed to accept what was happening to her. She was healing little by little, and perhaps it was not good to rush things.  Perhaps it would be best for Rainbow Dash to heal at her own pace before she could talk with her biggest fan.

"Okay..." Dusk finally gave up. "From what I see, it’ll be a good while until those girls free themselves from all that resin. Come on, let’s go back to where I was taking you." Dusk added, walking again to return to the main road.





"So, you wanted to take me here?" Rainbow Dash said after realizing where Dusk was leading her.

Moving along the path, Rainbow Dash finally recognized the place, but dismissed the idea when she thought it must be wrong.  However, there was no mistake, Dusk had taken her to where she had believed: Fluttershy's cottage.

In the small and beautiful meadow that was in front of Fluttershy's house was its owner, the shy yellow pegasus, who at that time of day fed the multiple animals that depended on her care.  As they moved closer to the cozy cottage, the confusion became more noticeable on Rainbow Dash's face.

"Do you want Fluttershy to participate and win the Best Young Flyer Competition for me?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously, reaching the only logical answer there could be to be there. "I thought you already knew Dusk, but Fluttershy... well, she’s not exactly the fastest pegasus."

As if to justify Rainbow Dash’s point, Fluttershy flew chasing a bunny, flying so slowly that a butterfly by her side passed her.

"I already know that, but just look closer." Dusk said, pointing back to where Fluttershy was flying.

After catching the rabbit and feeding him a carrot, Fluttershy began to turn and weave carefully around the little animals that already ate, as if she were a snake slipping through a pile of rocks. Then Fluttershy took more food and flew with subtlety and care between the branches of the tall trees, leaving food in every birdhouse that was there and taking care of never hitting any branch so as not to disturb her beloved birds.

"You see it!?" Dusk added enthusiastically, hoping that Rainbow Dash finally understood his plan. "You said it, Fluttershy is not the fastest, but she is very agile and careful.  Imagine her on an obstacle course! You said that the competition could be won in different methods other than speed. Well, here is our solution!"

Seeing Dusk's excited face, Rainbow Dash looked back at Fluttershy as she flew, and then looked down again to see Dusk.

"It won’t work." Rainbow Dash said with little emotion in her expression at Dusk's confused look.

"Oh! What a nice surprise!" Fluttershy suddenly said, only then realizing the presence of her friends. Then she landed and saw Rainbow Dash with special concern. "Did that rest yesterday make you feel any better?" Fluttershy added as she looked at Rainbow Dash with a small smile.

"Yeah... although it’ll be tough to get used to never being able to fly again..." Rainbow Dash said with a sad smile and then looking away, thinking that it still hurt to accept the truth.

"Never again!?" Fluttershy asked, scared.

Then Rainbow Dash remembered that Dusk had only told her friends that she wouldn't fly for a while. She scratched her head and looked at Dusk, who only answered her gaze with a supportive look.  Indicating to him that it was her decision, Rainbow Dash finally decided to tell her friend everything that happened.  When she had finished her explanation, tears flowed freely from Fluttershy’s eye and was then quick to pull her crippled friend in a tight embrace.

"Easy… Easy… Flutters, that's enough!  You're going to make me cry if you keep going." Rainbow Dash said, ending her friend's warm hug and wiping a tear, not wanting to get emotional again.

"That's why we came for your help.  We want you to participate in the Best Young Flyer Competition instead of Rainbow Dash," Dusk told Fluttershy in an attempt to change the subject so Rainbow Dash could avoid feeling more negative emotions.

Upon hearing Dusk's request, Fluttershy looked at him with an astonished face and stared at him for a second in silence, believing she had misheard him.  But at Dusk's watchful eye, she understood that he was not kidding.

"I-I couldn't... I'm not as fast as Rainbow Dash... Even a foal could beat me..." Fluttershy replied, lowering her distressed head.

"That's why we shouldn’t focus on speed but your dexterity instead!" Dusk said with energy in trying to cheer up his friend. "Look, just fly between the tree branches just like you did when feeding the birds, think that in each branch there is a nest and that you need to fly as carefully as possible."

Fluttershy looked at Dusk very doubtfully, wanting to tell him that putting his faith in her was not the best option, but then she glanced sideways at Rainbow Dash and her fallen wings.

"Okay… I’ll give it a try." Fluttershy finally answered, swallowing nervously.

Then Dusk took a couple of steps back to give space to Fluttershy.  The yellow mare opened her wings, closed her eyes, and then set a determined look before flying. With impulse, she then flew directly to the branches of the nearest trees, and as Dusk indicated.  She imagined that in each branch, there were nests of newborn birds that’s she couldn’t touch lest she ended up hurting them.

Fluttershy's speed was definitely average, possibly even a bit below average.  But what definitely stood out was that the yellow pegasus was able to pass between very small spaces without touching any branches with agility and skill rarely seen.

"Do you see!? If we make an obstacle course where Fluttershy has to-" Dusk said enthusiastically, looking back at Rainbow Dash, until he was interrupted by her.

"Huff... Listen Dusk, Fluttershy definitely has some skill.  But even so, this won't work, and I'll show you why..." Rainbow Dash said with a somewhat tired look. Then she took a couple of steps forward and stretched her hoof to put it next to her mouth and that her voice reached Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Remember that in the competition, there will be hundreds of ponies watching your routine!"

As soon as Fluttershy heard Rainbow Dash's scream, her concentration disappeared, and she immediately imagined hundreds of ponies pointing at her and mocking her. At that moment, Fluttershy's skill vanished, and she hit all the branches of the trees in front of her, causing her to fall to the ground, fortunately, without hitting herself hard.

"You're right... I forgot about that..." Dusk said, hitting his frustrated face.  He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten his friend's crippling stage fright.

"Hurry! I think it's over here! We’ll figure out how to get a cutiemark in no time!" A childish voice suddenly said.

In the act, Dusk and Rainbow Dash turned around, scared to look where the voice they had only heard minutes ago was coming from.  It was Scootaloo's voice, who seemed to be approaching there with her two friends.  Upon discovering who was approaching, Dusk and Rainbow Dash jumped to hide behind a bush before the perplexed gaze of Fluttershy, who did not understand why they both did that.

"Why are you hiding!?" Dusk asked in a whisper, surprised to see that Rainbow Dash had also jumped after the bush next to him.

"I already told you, I don't want Scootaloo to see me like this, and I don’t want to talk to her about how I got my cutiemark either!" Rainbow Dash whispered back. "And why are you hiding?"

Dusk looked nervous for a second and then looked away. "Probably for the same reason as you..." Dusk replied, remembering that he didn't like talking about his cutiemark either.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" The three smiling fillies said in unison as they arrived before the yellow pegasus, who still looked astonished as to why Dusk and Rainbow Dash had suddenly hidden themselves.

"Why hello, little ones.  What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked kindly smiling at Scootaloo.  The orange filly was on her scooter with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom riding in the cart towed behind it.

"We want to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo asked, very excitedly.

"Yeah! We want to know how she got her cutiemark." Sweetie Belle added.

"Oh! Knowing Rainbow Dash, she definitely has to have a very interesting story. Hmm… it's strange though, I never really asked her how she got her cutiemark." Fluttershy hummed in thought.  Despite knowing Rainbow Dash since childhood, the shy mare remembered that she had never told her about how she got her mark. Although, it wasn’t like that was exactly a rare occurrence among friends.  After entering adulthood, ponies thought of their cutiemarks as a mundane fact of life.  Normally, when discussing about cutiemarks, ponies would talk about their meaning rather than how they received them.  "I don't think I've told Rainbow Dash about how I got my cutie mark either. Which now that I think about it is quite surprising... In fact, if it hadn't been for her, I would never have gotten mine." Fluttershy said thoughtfully, speaking more with herself than with the fillies. Then, she looked at the three butterflies on her flank and smiled lovingly as she remembered.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash helped you get your cutiemark!?" Scootaloo asked with a look of amazement.

"Tell us!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"Let's get out of here." Rainbow Dash said from behind the bush.  She then began to gently shove Dusk in an attempt to get him to leave with her.

Despite Rainbow Dash’s pushing, Dusk still stayed in place hidden within the bush.  When he looked to her in astonishment as to why the pegasus would want to leave, he noticed the apparent nervousness on her face.

"Let's listen... just for a while," Dusk said with a small pleading smile since he really wanted to take this opportunity to get to know more about his friend and her past.

Rainbow Dash made a nervous face but eventually relented and sat back reluctantly as Dusk brought her ear closer out of the bush to hear more clearly the story his friend was about to tell the three fillies.

"It was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life..." Fluttershy said, faking a shiver as she remembered that memorable day of her childhood. "It was my first day at the Flight Camp... You may not believe it, but at that time, I was very shy and a somewhat clumsy flyer.  So, it took me several days to gain the courage to finally dare to fly by the practice circuit with the other foals my age.  But I was so nervous that as soon as I wanted to start with the circuit, I stumbled and fell right at the starting line.  A couple of bullies approached and began to make fun of me. It was the most humiliating moment of my life!  But then out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash appeared and landed in front of me and began to defend me from all their hurtful words.  Rainbow Dash then challenged the two of the bullies to a race on the circuit.  So the three of them took their places at the starting line, and I gave the starting signal to the race.  As soon as I gave the signal, the three competitors passed by me so fast that their tailwind blew me right off my cloud.  While I was falling, I was too terrified to open my wings.  But then, just when I was going to fall to the ground, a flock of butterflies saved me from falling. I had never seen those beautiful little creatures since the butterflies never fly as high in the sky as Cloudsdale.  And while I was on the ground, I was able to see a whole bunch of woodland critters that only ever saw before in books.  While I was fascinated by watching the different animals, I suddenly heard a loud boom and the sky was dyed green for a second... I never knew what caused it, but what I do remember that the animals ran away because of the noise. Seeing them so scared, only one thing came to my mind: I just had to help them. So, I approached all of them and began to calm them down little by little... That's when I discovered that I had the ability to communicate with animals at another level, and it was then that I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and my cutiemark appeared." Fluttershy finished telling with a bright smile.

"Wow... That’s a really sweet story..." Dusk said while smiling affectionately, as he was still hidden behind the bush, looking with some tenderness at Fluttershy.

"It is... if you don't know the whole story..." Rainbow Dash murmured with a sad look.

"And... That's it!? How did the race end!? What happened to Rainbow Dash!?" Scootaloo asked impatiently that unlike her other two friends, she lost some interest in Fluttershy's story as soon as she stopped talking about her idol.

"Oh! Well, I wasn't there, so I don't know how the race ended.  Maybe you should ask her." Fluttershy responded by looking over to tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders that she was just behind the nearby bush.  But as soon as Fluttershy looked at the shrubbery, she watched as Rainbow Dash peeked through the bush and signaled her not to say anything, hiding again just when the fillies looked there.

"Do you know where we can find Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked anxiously.

"Uh... M-Maybe she's taking a nap at home, you know how she likes to take naps on her days off, hehe..." Fluttershy replied nervously, deciding to listen to her friend.

Following Fluttershy's advice, Scootaloo urged her two friends to get back into the scooter's cart, and the three left swiftly to Rainbow Dash's house. While, as soon as the fillies moved away, Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash came out from behind the bush.

"Why did you hide?" Fluttershy asked, confused.

"Long story..." Rainbow Dash replied, not wanting to give details.

"I didn't know that’s how you got your cutiemark.  It was a very cute story." Dusk complimented, smiling as Fluttershy blushed. "It’s not common to ask other ponies about the origin of their cutiemark, but every time I hear about them, I’m amazed at the power that something that looks so simple can have. When thinking about the cutiemark, I can't stop thinking of all that powerful unknown magic that-"

Suddenly Dusk fell silent when a brilliant idea flashed his head, and he opened his eyes in amazement at what had occurred to him.

"Rainbow Dash! I have an idea to heal your wings!" Dusk said with great enthusiasm, taking Rainbow Dash by the shoulders.

"W-What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash said nervously, with all her being attentive to every word Dusk said.

"There is magic more powerful than that of the ponies, magic that doctors can’t occupy, but that we can occupy. Healing magic so powerful that it even served to save a powerful alicorn from darkness!" Dusk said, almost unable to contain his emotion.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash shouted in amazement at the realization of Dusk's plan, with the same amazement and emotion that Fluttershy also put at that moment.

"That's right! And for that, we need all our friends." Dusk said with a determined look, seeing his two friends present, who shared his gaze, knowing that they had discovered how to fix Rainbow Dash's serious problem.

Then the three ponies ran in search of their other friends, knowing who they should go first.





Applejack's house was the same distance from Fluttershy's house as the town, so it was the best option to go first.  When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Dusk, Rainbow, and Fluttershy didn't take much time to find Applejack, who was in the barn making some bales of hay for the winter. Once they found her, the first thing Rainbow Dash had to do, was to tell again that the problem of her wings was not something temporary as they thought, which left Applejack scared, knowing that flying was everything to her friend.  Before Applejack could be too sad about the pegasus’s situation, was that Dusk quickly told her about his plan to use the magic of Harmony.

"That... That may work!" Applejack said, regaining her spirits after hearing Dusk's plan. "I remember when we used the Elements of Harmony, it felt like everything was possible! It can definitely cure Rainbow Dash!"

"Well, it's decided, now we should look for Rarity and Pinkie Pie as soon as possible so that—" Dusk began to say excitedly, but suddenly shut up when his ear detected a sound he had already heard that morning.  Dusk turned and saw that in the distance, there was a small cloud of dust created by a small scooter that was rapidly approaching the barn where they were.

"It's Scootaloo and the others!" Dusk shouted in surprise, looking at Rainbow Dash.

Quick as a flash, Dusk and Rainbow Dash did the same thing they did at Fluttershy's house and hid behind some bales of hay.  Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived and saw only Applejack alone in the barn, who had been confused looking at the bundle behind which her friends had jumped.

"Fluttershy, why did you jump with us!?" Dusk whispered surprised to see that not only Rainbow Dash had hidden with him, but also his shy friend.

"I don't know... Everybody was doing it... I just wanted to be popular." Fluttershy whispered with a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Heya Sis!" Apple Bloom said greeting her older sister.

"Hi girls, what brings you here?" Applejack said, smiling, deciding to ignore at the moment the strange behavior of her friends.

"We wanted to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash today." Apple Bloom said. "We went to her house, but it seems she isn't there, and then I told Scootaloo that she sometimes takes naps in the trees in the farm."

"Yeah! It's very important! We have to find her!" Scootaloo added anxiously.

Applejack hesitated a little at the fillies’ question, then looked sideways at the bale and thought for a few seconds. She could guess that surely Rainbow Dash didn't want to be seen with her wings in such conditions, but she didn't want to lie to the fillies either.

"You won't be able to find Rainbow Dash at her house; she's staying in the library with Dusk. Probably if you go later, you’ll find them there." Applejack said finding the solution to not betray her friend or lie at the same time, thinking that at least she would give Rainbow Dash some time to prepare before talking to Scootaloo.

"Agh... we'll never know how Rainbow Dash got her cutie mark...!" Scootaloo said with a mixture of grief and frustration. The little orange pegasus had spent the whole morning looking for Rainbow Dash and had driven her scooter through almost half Ponyville and its surroundings, which obviously was getting tiresome.  But for her, every effort was worth it in order to get something as valuable as Rainbow Dash’s cutiemark story.

"Hey sister, could you tell us how you got your cutiemark?" Apple Bloom asked excitedly, taking the opportunity to ask for that detail that had never occurred to her sister.

"Have I ever told you that story?" Applejack said, remembering and remembering that she had never really told her little sister that. "Well, if you want to hear it..."

"Sure... whatever..." Scootaloo muttered in resignation, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Dusk Shine paid attention to listen to Applejack's story.

"It was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life..." Applejack said, faking a shiver as she remembered that day, making the same gesture that Fluttershy had made in telling her story. "At that time, it was just a little pony, a little younger than you, Apple Bloom.  One day, after seeing some pictures of my Aunt and Uncle Orange in the big city, I decided that I didn't want to spend my whole life in a dusty farm.  I wanted to try to live a sophisticated life.  So I took my things and traveled alone to Manehattan, the most cosmopolitan city in all of Equestria.  As soon as I put on a hoof in the big city, I realized that the city dwellers were very different from the ponies I had known until then, much more refined and polite, but also colder and carefree with others. Still, I didn't lose heart and went to my aunt and uncle’s house, who welcomed me warmly, happy for my visit, and somewhat curious and amused by my 'picturesque' way of talking, walking, and combing. The first thing they did was show me the manners that were used in the big city, as well as teach me to speak with property and to fix my way of combing and smiling, all so that I could fit without problems in the elegant parties to which they attended... I remember the first elegant party I attended; I was like a new attraction for all of them: a country pony that moved to the big city.  So everyone asked me questions about what living the big city was like, obviously I responded with proper grace and elegance, as my aunt and uncle taught me. But as soon as I remembered and talked about the farm, it was impossible for me to avoid talking as I always did and being myself, which made my relatives nervous, and me too. I was so worried that day that I couldn't close an eye all night, and I stayed awake until the sun came out that cold morning. It was there, watching the sunrise from the window of my room, remembering the orchards, the meals, the laughter, Granny, my brother and my whole family, that I started to look in the direction of Ponyville while crying with nostalgia.  While I was weeping, I heard a big ole boom in the distance, and the sky lit orange for a second! Then a rainbow appeared in the sky, pointing right at Ponyville and the farm, and everything became clear! I knew exactly who I was and who I wanted to be! Without taking anything or saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle, I ran and ran to the train station with a big smile and took the express to Ponyville. Upon arriving and getting off at the station, I kept running to the farm, crying with happiness to see my family waiting for me. It was then that I felt a tingle on my flank, and this beauty appeared." Applejack finished saying, proudly showing her cutie mark.

"Aww... What a beautiful story..." Sweetie Belle said after Applejack finished talking.

Given Sweetie Belle's comment, Dusk and Fluttershy thought they were totally in agreement. Like Fluttershy's story, Applejack's story was also pretty, but at that time, there was something else they both had in mind: The color in the sky... The distant noise... Was it common to see and hear that at discovering your cutiemark?

"I had already thought about it when I heard Fluttershy's story…" Dusk thought to remember. "Something similar happened when I got my cutiemark... Maybe it's normal, since I've never heard the stories of other ponies on how they got their cutiemark, but then... Why had I never read anything like that?"

"Alright, enough of cheesy stories, time to keep looking for Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said hurriedly, pushing her two friends to the cart of her scooter.

Then the three fillies quickly left the scooter, just as fast as they had arrived. As soon as the fillies moved away, Dusk, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy also left behind the bales.

"Well, we should leave too." Dusk said, again with a determined look as he gave priority to his mission of helping Rainbow Dash. "Time to go with Rarity."





Dusk and his three friends quickly arrived at Rarity's house, guided most of the way by Rainbow Dash, who seemed increasingly animated, eager to be able to use the Elements of Harmony to return to normal as soon as possible.  Upon arriving at Rarity's house, they knocked on the door several times, but it seemed that there was no one at home.

"Ugh! Where’s Rarity when you need her most!?" Rainbow Dash said, impatient to see that her friend seemed not to be home. "Maybe we should go to the Spa, or Cafe, or maybe-"

"Calm down..." Applejack said, putting her ear on the door of the house to hear better. "It seems that there is someone inside, I’m hearing something."

Then Applejack carefully opened the door, and everyone entered Rarity's house, deciding that because of the urgency of the situation, they would enter without their friend's permission, who perhaps simply hadn't heard the knock on the door.  Upon entering the main hall, everyone looked everywhere, verifying that indeed her friend was not there.  Then the four ponies put their ears on alert when they noticed that there was noise on the second floor, in Rarity's room, where they then heard several voices. The four ponies slowly climbed the stairs, feeling a little guilty for continuing to trespass in their friend’s home.  It was there that they saw the door to Rarity’s room was left ajar.  One after another, the ponies peeked through the crack with one eye to see who was in the room. Dusk and Rainbow Dash almost fell back when they saw that the self-proclaimed 'Cutie Mark Crusaders,' the three fillies that they had been hiding all day, were in the room wearing half-sewn dresses while Rarity quickly sewed the three dresses.

"Why are the girls here? And why are they trying on dresses?" Dusk whispered, surprised, and confused.

"Can someone explain to me why we are doing this?... When we should be looking for Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo suddenly yelled annoyed as if she had read Dusk's mind.

"It's a small favor, I'll compensate you." Rarity replied with a smile. "A client asked me for some dresses for her daughter. I planned to ask Sweetie Belle for help, but it was good luck to meet you three! That way, I could finish faster!"

"Yeah...’good luck’..." Scootaloo muttered annoyed, not only because her search for Rainbow Dash had been delayed, but also because she had been forced to put on a dress.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Sweetie Belle added, looking with a smile at her pegasus friend, who, unlike her, enjoyed wearing dresses, especially if it was to help her sister. "Besides, now we can also take advantage of asking my sister about her story."

"My story?" Rarity asked without understanding what her sister meant.

"The story of how you got your cutiemark!" Sweetie Belle replied excitedly.

"Oh!  Well, I don't think knowing how I got my cutiemark helps them get yours, you just have to be patient." Rarity said, smiling tenderly, but at the expectant look of her little sister, she finally relented. "But if you want to know so much... I remember it as if it had been yesterday.  It was almost winter; it was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life... The day before we were doing the rehearsal for a school play, I obviously decided to participate behind the scenes and make the costumes, from an early age wanting to fulfill my goal of being a dressmaker. I had been working for weeks to make the dresses for the work, and in the end, they all loved them! Everyone but me... I felt that I could do better, I wanted my classmates to shine on stage, and while their dresses were unique, but as much as I tried, I couldn't think of anything to improve them and give them that 'je ne sais quoi'. Finally, the day before the premiere, when I had lost all hope, the magic of my horn was activated! With a force that I had never had before, and against my will, my horn dragged me out and away from the town, attracted like a bee to honey, all afternoon and all night of that day.  I had no idea where my horn was taking me, but the magic of the unicorn doesn't happen without reason, deep down I knew it had to do with my love with fashion, even perhaps with my long-awaited cutiemark, whatever the reason, I knew it would take me to my destination! So obviously my disappointment was huge when finally, at dawn the next day, I arrived at my destination, a quarry, where there was only a huge and ugly rock... That was my destiny!? Be a rock farmer!? The most boring profession in the world!? It could not be possible!! But it was then that I heard something like an explosion that scared me, and the sky for a second lit a deep blue, and then it happened! The huge rock broke in two and revealed that inside it was full of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other more beautiful gems I had seen. At that moment I knew, that was what I was looking for, that was what my dresses needed. Without wasting time, I took those gems, ran back to the village, and gave my all to finish the dresses just in time before the presentation that night. Seeing how the audience cheered the show and looked at the dresses in wonder, my heart leaped with happiness, and a light appeared on my flank... it was my cutiemark that finally appeared."

"Another beautiful story!" Sweetie Belle said happy to know the story of her sister's cutiemark.

"I liked it too! I think it looks a bit like my sister's." Apple Bloom said smiling.

At that moment, behind the door, not only Apple Bloom had that thought, but also Dusk, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy, who had also listened carefully to Rarity's cute story, and we're also a little surprised at a few but obvious similarities between Rarity's story and the other stories.

"Is it normal to see colors in the sky when you get your cutiemark?" Applejack whispered, looking at Dusk.

"I... I don't know..." Dusk replied, thinking maybe it would be interesting to study a topic as forgotten as the cutiemarks in the future, as long as it wasn't his own mark.

"Yeah, yeah, a very nice story... But how does that help us!" Scootaloo suddenly said, annoyed, just when Rarity took off the dress she was wearing since she had already finished marking the seams. "None of those namby-pamby stories aren't getting us any closer to our cutiemarks! They're all about finding who you really are and boring stuff like that."

"Yes, Scootaloo, that's exactly what-" Rarity said with a smile, realizing that, although she hadn't realized, Scootaloo had finally hit the spot. However, it stopped when she was interrupted.

"Come on, Crusaders! We need action, we need to find Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said without even listening to Rarity, just thinking about Rainbow Dash while pushing her two friends to get out of there soon.

Hearing that the little fillies were approaching the door, Dusk and his friends jumped in fright and ran down the stairs. When they reached the first floor, the three mares hid behind a curtain, but there was no place to hide Dusk, so the colt quickly opened a small closet and hid there, just before the little fillies ran down the stairs and they ran out of Rarity's house.

"Sweetie Belle! Girls! Don't run in the house!" Rarity said down the stairs, too late for her cry to reach her little sister, who had already run out of the house. "Hmpf! That filly..."

Suddenly Rarity looked scared towards the closet next to her when she heard a noise. Then she jumped in fright when suddenly the door opened and Dusk appeared, who fell to her feet with a dress that got stuck in Dusk's body due to how quickly he had entered the closet. Then Dusk stared at Rarity with a silly face of guilt.





"Dusk... Did you just come out of the closet?" Rarity asked with a false face of doubt as she endured her laughter when she saw Dusk and the dress on him.

"Yes, I… No! Of course not!" Dusk said, blushing after noticing his friend's double meaning joke, quickly taking off the dress.

"What were you doing hiding there?" Rarity asked, this time more serious.

Before Dusk responded, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash came out from behind the curtain that hid them. Then Rainbow Dash, for the third time that day, had to explain everything that happened, starting by telling the truth about the condition of her wings. Hearing it, Rarity covered her mouth in horror, and her tears began to flow at the thought that her friend had lost the most valuable to her.

“Oh, my dear, darling, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said in between sobs.  “If only I had known that fate had dealt you a horrendous set of cards!  Oh, to lose your most cherished gift of flight!  Why, the mere fact that you are standing here before me despite how much you’ve lost…It’s the bravest, most heartbreaking act that I’ve…” 

"Enough! Please don't cry! We have the solution." Rainbow Dash quickly said, raising a hoof and looking away, since she felt a mixture of guilt and sorrow when she saw her friends crying because of her guilt after hiding the truth from them.

"Sniff... You have a plan?" Rarity asked, quickly wiping her tears.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash said with a big smile.

"The Elements…?" Rarity repeated, who then understood what her friend was referring to and the plan they had. "Yes! It's brilliant! That has to work!"

"I'm sure they will, we all felt their power." Dusk said with a calm smile, putting his hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

Then the other mares also approached and made the same gesture of Dusk, smiling at Rainbow Dash, swearing to themselves that they would do the impossible to help their friend.  While Rainbow Dash for a second, for the first time since Dusk had come up with that plan, she stopped thinking about herself and her wings, and only smiled with gratitude, thinking only of how lucky she was to have such great friends.

# End of chapter 40
> Chapter 41 - A single long story
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A single long story

That day had only started with Dusk and Rainbow Dash leaving the library, but as the day progressed, the group had grown. Now Dusk and Rainbow were joined by Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity in what had started as just a crazy idea of Dusk to have Fluttershy participate in the Best Flyer’s Competition in Cloudsdale in Rainbow Dash’s place, it had mutated into something far most important.  A quest to help Rainbow get back the most precious thing that cruel fate had taken away from her: her ability to fly.  After recruiting Rarity in their search and having informed her of all their plans, Dusk and his friends had left Carrousel Boutique to continue their search.

"Now we just need to find a Pinkie Pie, but... that could be easier said than done..." Dusk thought with a look of doubt.

"What are you waiting for!? Shouldn't we be running to Sugarcube Corner!?” Rainbow Dash asked, increasingly anxious, wanting as soon as possible to use the magic of Harmony to fix her wings.

"I don't think she's there. Today was her day off, and yesterday she told me that she would be taking Gummy to the lake for a ‘spiritual’ retreat.” Fluttershy said with a thoughtful face.

"But she told me that she would go with Daisy and the other florists to get rare flowers in the meadows." Rarity said remembering what Pinkie had said to her the day before.

"I heard she would be helping Bulk Biceps load up his exercise equipment." Applejack added confused.

"WHAT!?" Rainbow Dash shouted impatiently, while Dusk kept his thoughtful face.

That was precisely the problem that Dusk had anticipated in looking for Pinkie Pie. The truth was that their pink friend was unpredictable, mainly on her days off.  On top of that, she was friends with everyone in town, so she could be doing anything with anyone right now.

"And now what? We could go to Sugarcube Corner and wait for Pinkie Pie to come back, but Rainbow Dash is very anxious, and I don't want to disappoint her. I also want to help her and fix this as soon as possible!" Dusk thought, analyzing other options. "Maybe instead of going for Pinkie, we could go first for the Elements..."

Then Dusk suddenly raised his head with a scared look.

"We have to get to the library!" Dusk said talking more to himself than to his friends, and then suddenly he started running towards the library.

Seeing Dusk run towards the library, the mares looked at each other without understanding, but they quickly did the same as Dusk and followed him.

"Is something wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked once she caught up with Dusk, running beside him.

"Applejack told Scootaloo and the other girls that you were staying with me in the library. Because of that they were going there before Rarity intercepted them." Dusk replied as he kept running. "That means that when we go to look for the Elements in the library, we'll run into the girls!"

When Dusk finished talking, Rainbow Dash looked at him confused for a second, until she realized what Dusk meant by that, and then she started to run faster. If they arrived after the fillies to the library, it would mean that they would meet them.  If that happened, they would insist on knowing about her cutie mark, something that Rainbow Dash wanted to avoid telling at all costs, just like Dusk Shine.

While Rainbow Dash sped up to get to the library quickly, she knew it really had very little chance to get there before the three fillies to the library.  After all, Scootaloo and her friends had left Carousel Boutique before Dusk and them, plus they had had to explain to Rarity whole situation before departing, which had taken them even longer. Most likely, the fillies would be patiently waiting for them at the library door...

Rainbow Dash’s thoughts stopped when she had to brake suddenly when she turned a corner on the street and saw just who feared, the three fillies, who had their backs turned and had not seen her. Along with Rainbow Dash, Dusk and the other mares also stopped dead and backed away to hide behind the corner of the house they had just passed, just as Scootaloo turned her head when she thought she heard a noise.

"Why are we hiding?" Rarity asked, whispering confused, who only hid because the others were doing so.

Applejack and Fluttershy only shrugged at the fashionista’s question, as they too had done the same, just as they had done at Carousel Boutique, only unconsciously copying what Dusk and Rainbow Dash were doing.

"What are they doing here!?" Rainbow Dash whispered frightened at seeing that the three fillies were in the middle of the street and not in the library as they expected.

Then Dusk and her friends carefully peeked around the corner and saw that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were listening with a bored face, especially the latter, to Mayor Mare, who seemed to be animatedly telling them a story from her past. Not far from there was the library, which was exactly everyone's destination. It seemed that the fillies had almost reached the library but had been distracted by the Mayor.

"We’re in luck! They haven't reached the library yet!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"We’re not at the library either, and we can't go in front of them... We should turn around and find a surrounding route to the library, so they don't see us." Dusk said thoughtfully, with a hoof on his chin. "As long as the Mayor distracts them enough, there won’t be a problem. Once inside, we'll quickly pick up the Elements of Harmony and go look for Pinkie Pie."

"But where in Equestria could Pinkie Pie be right now?" Fluttershy asked thinking aloud.

"She could be sleeping in her bed or she could be climbing a mountain disguised as a clown... With Pinkie Pie, the possibilities are endless!" Rarity add, covering her face in frustration.

"Ugh...! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie! Where are you!?" Rainbow Dash repeated irritated, only wishing that her crazy friend would appear so she could heal her wings as soon as possible.

“Boo!”

Pinkie Pie's cheery, high-pitched voice suddenly said, appearing so suddenly behind everyone that it made everyone jump.  When they all turned around, they saw the familiar energetic, pink pony standing before them with a big smile on her face.  She was also wearing black-and-white striped stockings on her forelegs for some reason.  “Did you call me?”

"Pinkie Pie! Where were you!? Why did you just appear out of nowhere like that!?" Dusk asked surprised but glad to see his friend.

"Well, you called me. You said my name.  And here I am!" Pinkie Pie said with a shrug.

"Hold on, you came here just because you heard us say your name?" Applejack asked confused.

"You say my name three times!" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile. "Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie. You summoned me! And I didn’t have to play charades for you to guess it! Hahaha!" Pinkie added as she laughed out loud on the ground.

Seeing Pinkie Pie laughing out loud, for no reason other than to say that they had said her name three times and that she had appeared in those strange stockings, the other ponies looked at each other with confused glances.

"I…I don't get it.  What's so funny?  Is this some kind of reference?" Dusk asked confused.

"Hehe ... You wouldn't get it." Pinkie Pie replied, suddenly stopping laughing, just with a small smile, and holding a lollypop in her hoof like it was a cigarette.





"Enough of this crazy stuff!" Rainbow Dash said irritably, then looked uneasily at Dusk. “Alright, we have all six of us! We just need to look for the Elements of Harmony and I'll be healed!"

Dusk was a little surprised to see how anxious Rainbow Dash was, but it was totally understandable given her situation. Then Dusk looked out of the corner of his eye to see the three fillies, who just seemed to be saying goodbye to the Mayor, then he turned turned to his friends again.

"Pinkie Pie, I need you to distract Scootaloo and her friends." Dusk said looking seriously at Pinkie Pie. "Just distract them for a few minutes so we can get around them and get to the library. Once we get the Elements of Harmony, we'll all meet at Sugarcube Corner."

Pinkie Pie looked at Dusk for a second, then looked askance at Rainbow Dash's wings, which had been down and motionless since she saw them the day before.  Then her intuition made her understand that what they were asking must be something important.

"Okey-dokey-lokey!" Pinkie Pie said with a determined smile and a salute to the colt to show that she knew the importance of her mission.

Meanwhile, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed in relief after the Mayor finally walked away from them.

"Phew... Her story is finally over..." Sweetie Belle said, sighing wearily.

"What the hay! Now everyone wants to tell us their stories of how they got their cutie marks!?" Scootaloo yelled annoyed.

Ever since the three fillies had left Rarity's house, led by Scootaloo, they had sprinted toward the library. The only thing the little pegasus had in mind was finding Rainbow Dash.  She was eager to hear the story of her idol's cutie mark, as she was sure it would be the coolest story that could ever exist. However, as soon as they entered the town to cross it, they had run into three different ponies that precisely seemed interested in talking about their cutie marks, and when they were about to reach the library, the same thing happened with Mayor Mare… It was as if fate didn't want Scootaloo to find Rainbow Dash!

"Enough! No more stories! We won't hear any more stories unless it’s from Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo finally added with an irritated look, pointing her scooter towards the library, ready to finally reach her goal, determined that nothing in the world would distract her.

"Howdy howdy!" Pinkie Pie suddenly greeted, appearing right in front of the fillies as they prepared to resume their quest.

"H-Hi Pinkie Pie." Apple Bloom greeted, surprised like her friends by the sudden appearance of the party pony.

"What are you three up to today?" Pinkie Pie asked with a big smile, bringing her face very close to the fillies' faces.

"We were going to the library for Rainbow Dash to tell us how she got her cutie ma-" Sweetie Belle replied, not finishing her sentence since Scootaloo put the hooves in her mouth to shut her up.

The same had happened with the ponies that had been found in the path, when they had told what they were looking for, everyone seemed eager to tell about their own stories of how they got their marks, and now, without realizing it, Sweetie Belle had made the same error.

"Oh... you want to know about cutie marks." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look and then looking at them with a big smile. "Then I'll tell you how I got my cutie mark! It was a winter day, the-"

"Uh… Pinkie Pie, I don't think it's necessary-" Scootaloo interrupted with a pleading look.

"It was the fifth or sixth coldest day in my entire life..." Pinkie Pie continued speaking, as if she hadn't heard Scootaloo. Then the little filly hit her face with her hoof, resigned to having to listen to the Pinkie Pie story, since she knew that keeping Pinkie Pie quiet was almost impossible.

Meanwhile, Dusk and his friends had seen how Pinkie Pie had gone to where the three fillies were and had managed to stop them. Then they were ready to circle around the fillies from a wide distance and get to the library.  But when they heard that Pinkie Pie tell how she got her cutie mark, curiosity invaded them causing everyone to perk up their ears from the corner where they were hiding to listen to this important part of their dear friend’s past.

"On that day, like every other day, my sisters and I were collecting rocks at our family's rock farm. My father called us for breakfast and my sisters entered the house, but I didn’t.  I was motionless in the field with a strange feeling of sadness and loneliness. Every day working in the farm, without talking, without laughing, just... rocks. Was that all in life? Wasn't there something else? I couldn't stop thinking about it and I thought I was going to go bonkers!  Just then, I suddenly heard a loud bang and the sky lit up yellow for a second! I still have no idea what it was, but it made my whole body shudder, as if lightning had hit me, my mane stood on end and my heart beat a thousand times per second.  And then I saw it! The most beautiful thing I had ever seen, a large rainbow that crossed the sky... I had never seen one before!  At that precise moment as I stared at that rainbow, I felt a joy so intense inside my heart that I began to laugh and smile like I never had before, for no apparent reason, just because of the happy feeling inside me. After the rainbow disappeared after a while, all I wanted was to recreate that moment of joy again.  But not just for me, I wanted to share it with my whole family.  But how could I?  I couldn’t just make another rainbow appear at the drop of a hat.  It was then I thought of something else that could create smiles like that.  So, I ran out of the farm to find what I needed. Later that day my whole family came looking for me, since I was absent during all day. They were already getting nervous until they heard the noise I was making in one of the silos, so they came in and I yelled 'Surprise!' All that morning I gathered balloons, confetti, cake and streamers to throw a big party for my parents and sisters, all so that they too could smile! As soon as they saw what I had done, they nervously watched what was happening.  For a second, I thought that…" At that moment Pinkie Pie stopped smiling when she remembered something, but then she remembered that she was in front of the fillies and she smiled again. "They couldn't believe what they saw! Just when I thought they didn't like it, the smiles finally came to their faces, and we all danced and laughed together as a happy family. That was the feeling I had wanted to share with them! And in that instant I knew it, I didn't want only my family to share that joy, I also wanted to share it with everyone! And it was then that my cutie mark appeared!"

"Wow... Wait, you work on a rock farm?" Apple Bloom asked in surprise, as it was definitely surprising to learn that the happiest pony in the world came from a family doing probably the most boring job in all Equestria.

"I think that made it more beautiful and meaningful." Sweetie Belle said smiling.

"Well then... that story was very cute and all that, but... I think it sounds a bit like mine." Rarity said to her friends, from the corner of the house from where they were hiding.

"Not just yours. If you mean the big noise or momentary optical color blindness, it seems like it's a natural reaction of the body when someone comes to getting its cutie mark… It really is fascinating." Dusk said with a hoof on his chin as he called out the first scopes of a new theory he was formulating.

During that day, Dusk had already heard four detailed stories of obtaining cutie marks, and the four stories had several points in common. Four coincidences could already be considered a mathematical trend, this was something that could be studied further, theorized and created a model. And best of all, there weren't many studies currently that focused on cutie marks as it was considered a childish and impractical subject to study as not even unicorn magic could explain its emergence. This topic was definitely worth studying! And Dusk was already beginning to formulate his first hypothesis.

"Oops! It’s already late! I had to meet up with Dusk and the girls at Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie Pie said suddenly, remembering what Dusk had told her to do after distracting the fillies.

"Rainbow Dash is with Dusk!?" Scootaloo asked quickly, almost in a scream.

"Yes, I think... Uh-oh." Pinkie Pie said, covering her mouth after realizing she had spoken more than necessary.

"All right! Let's go Crusaders!" Scootaloo said quickly while getting back on her scooter.  Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hopped on the scooter cart, and the three fillies turned around and sped off in the opposite direction to the library.

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie yelled trying to stop them in vain. Taking a few steps but stopping at the corner when she saw that Scootaloo's scooter had already gone too far.

"They're already gone?" Dusk suddenly asked, appearing from behind some barrels with his friends, which made Pinkie Pie jump in surprise, something that gave everyone much satisfaction, since she always did the same to them.

"Uh!? Are you still here?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"Yes, we ended up listening to your story, and when Scootaloo and the others turned around and came this way, we jumped behind the barrels to hide." Rainbow Dash replied looking at the barrels and then looking seriously towards the library. "Now stop talking! We have wings to heal!"





Dusk and his friends quickly entered the library, hoping to have enough time to be able to use the magic of the Elements of Harmony and help Rainbow Dash before the three fillies returned.  As soon as everyone entered, Spike, who was in the main hall, was surprised to see Dusk and his friends rushing in there.

"Why are you guys in such a hurry?" Spike asked confused.

"There is no time to explain!" Rainbow Dash replied quickly, not even stopping to look at Spike, just running anxiously towards the stairs as her patience was running rather thin.

"Sorry darling, I think Rainbow Dash is a little anxious." Rarity said waving to Spike, just like the other mares, apologizing for Rainbow Dash's lack of manners.

"What are you waiting for!? Get your flanks up here!" Rainbow Dash yelled annoyed from the second floor.

"Coming!" Dusk yelled in response, then turned to look at Spike. "By the way, if you see Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, or Sweetie Belle, tell them that neither I nor Rainbow Dash are here at the moment."

Then Dusk and the girls went upstairs, leaving Spike scratching his head, not understanding anything that was happening.

"Rainbow Dash, you were very rude to Spike." Rarity said a little annoyed, once she went upstairs and found the cyan pegasus. "I know you're anxious and everything, but you didn't even say hello."

"What…? Oh! I… I'm sorry, I didn't realize it." Rainbow Dash replied, finally coming out of her slight state of despair, realizing her mistake, calming down a bit. "It's… it's just that I can't think of anything else… This has to work! I… I want everything to just go back to normal!"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Applejack said in a soft voice, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder to help calm her down.

"Yes, everything will be fine. Now, move back!" Dusk said taking a serious look and pointing his horn at his bed. "Now, all of you will see my best trick."

At that moment Dusk's magic was activated and a small chest came out from under the bed, which slowly flew until it was floating in front of Dusk.

"That chest... do you keep the Elements of Harmony in there?" Rarity asked confused. "Your greatest trick is to keep them in a chest under your bed?"

"That’s not the trick. Look." Dusk said levitating the chest near the eyes of his friends, so they could see the particularity of that chest. "It has no locks. I enchanted it so that it only opened with a secret phrase."

Then Dusk brought the chest closer to him, levitated it close to his mouth, and whispered a few words. The chest opened, revealing the brilliance of the precious and special gems that represented the Elements of Harmony, with the shapes of the cutie marks of the six ponies present there.

"Not having to rely on a key and a lock is a huge advance for magic. It's a million-bit idea! I’m already thinking about patenting it." Dusk said with his eyes closed, smiling with pride as he levitated the chest close to his friends so they could see the chest, now open. "It's such a difficult code that no one could ever-"

"One is missing." Pinkie Pie suddenly said, interrupting Dusk.

"Uh?" Dusk said confused, thinking he heard wrong.

"An Element of Harmony is missing, yours." Fluttershy replied with a worried look, tilting the chest so Dusk could see it.

Dusk quickly approached the chest and looked at it meticulously from corner to corner. Inside the chest were the necklaces with the Elements of Kindness, Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty and Generosity, but the crown, with the Element of Magic, was missing.

"That’s impossible! No one but me knows the top-secret code to open the chest!" Dusk said terrified, thinking about the horrid possibility of having lost something so valuable. "Maybe some spy or some thief... I should ask Spike if he’s seen anyone suspicious lately!"

Dusk then ran to the stairs and hurried down, terrified at the thought that some powerful unicorn had managed to overcome its magic and breach its supposed invulnerable security system. He still didn't know what terrified him the most, whether he had lost one of the most powerful magical elements in the world or confronted the Princess to tell her that he had lost it.

"Spike! It's an emergency! Have you seen someone suspicious who-" Dusk said, yelling once he went downstairs, but as soon as he turned down the hall to look for Spike in the main hall, Dusk froze when he saw that his little brother was not alone. There were Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who were as surprised to see Dusk as he was to see them there.

"Sorry I couldn't stop them..." Spike said with a look of pity, after the fillies had entered the library despite Spike insisting that Dusk and the girls were not there.

"Dusk was here! Spike lied to us." Apple Bloom said, looking indignantly at Spike.

"See? I told you, one liar recognizes another liar." Sweetie Belle said stretching out a hoof to press Spike's nose and tease the little dragon.

"Dusk! Have you seen Rainbow Dash!? It's urgent that we see her! We need to ask her something really important!" Scootaloo said approaching Dusk and looking at him with huge pleading eyes, which was repeated by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, knowing that Dusk was weak to the power of puppy-dog eyes.

"I...I haven't seen her all day, hehe..." Dusk replied looking away nervously.

Just at that moment, noises were heard coming from the second floor, causing the eyes of the three fillies to turn towards the stairs, which in turn caused Dusk to perspire nervously while also looking towards the stairs.

"Come on Crusaders! Maybe it's Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said anxiously, turning away from Dusk's front to go towards the stairs.

"No! I-It’s probably something else…" Dusk said in vain while the fillies ignored him and went towards the stairs.

There was no way that Dusk could convince the fillies to stay downstairs, he knew better than anyone how stubborn they could be when an idea got into their heads. They would go and find Rainbow Dash, who not only didn't want to tell the story of her cutie mark, but also didn't want little Scootaloo to see her with her crippled wings. It would definitely be a disaster for Rainbow Dash if the fillies found her, she had barely managed to overcome her depression just yesterday by losing her flight, she had told him that she wasn't ready to face Scootaloo yet. He needed to do something! Dusk needed to save Rainbow Dash at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

"Girls... Would you like to know how I got my cutie mark?" Dusk said somewhat nervously after having made his decision.

The three fillies, who had just stepped on the first step of the ladder to climb, stopped at Dusk's question. That lavender colt had helped them a lot in the past, in fact, if it hadn't been for him and his advice, they would never have met or had the courage to form their small group. The truth was that the three, from different points of view, had admiration for Dusk.

Apple Bloom turned to find out more about her future brother-in-law's past.  Sweetie Belle turned to know more about her future boyfriend's past, or her sister's, she hadn’t decided yet.  Scootaloo, who was still certain that Rainbow Dash was upstairs, also turned in interest, as she decided it was worth hearing how the second greatest pony she knew got his cutie mark.

"Huh... It's not a story that I really like to tell, but here it goes." Dusk said with a resigned sigh.

"All right! No more cheesy stories!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

"My interest in magic was born the day I went to the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot. There, with my own eyes, I saw Princess Celestia rise majestically while her powerful magic invoked the Sun to appear behind the mountains, beginning the new summer. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen…" Dusk said remembering with a smile. "From that day on I couldn't stop thinking about magic, so I started reading and studying every magic book I saw, practiced day and night, and although in my first attempts I have to admit that my magic sucked, with time I managed learn to use it correctly, even becoming a little more skillful than others fillies or colts of my age. Seeing my enthusiasm for magic, my parents used all their influences to get me to have an interview to enter the prestigious school of magic in Canterlot."

"I remember that day very well, it was the fifth or sixth coldest day of my entire life… There were dozens or hundreds of young ponies that came from all over the kingdom to try to enter that school. And my turn was almost the last! Thus, the hours passed until I finally entered and stood in front of the evaluators. I was so nervous that I could barely move, I trembled from head to tail non-stop, but then I thought about my family and their support.  I couldn't disappoint them, so I concentrated and started using my magic. I was so determined not to miss that opportunity that I used my best spells, spells that hardly a young pony of my age could do, and they all came out perfectly. However, none of the evaluators even made a gesture of approval, they just met, talked to each other and said that they had one last challenge for me, it was then that they brought a huge lilac egg with purple and green dots, a dragon egg."

"Wooow! A dragon! This already got good!" Scootaloo said in amazement, already excited at the mere mention of a dragon in the story.

"I didn't know it then, but that was a trap." Dusk said continuing with his story. "No ordinary adult unicorn, much less a young colt, could open a dragon egg with his magic. What the evaluators really wanted to do was have an excuse for not accepting me. Throughout the day they had already accepted the ponies who would enter the school, only the children of nobles or wealthy families who could otherwise convince the judges, for the rest of the common ponies, to enter that school of elite was a dream, which the same evaluators were in charge of destroying."

"When I saw that egg, I thought that what they were asking me was impossible, but as soon as I touched it, I felt something strange, as if that egg was calling me, as if it wanted me to open it. So I put all my effort into trying to open that egg.   But the more I tried, the more I realized how impossible it was, and I began to despair, realizing that everything had been my imagination, that there was no magic link between that egg and me, and so my magic finally stopped working because of how nervous I was. I gave up, with great sorrow in my heart for having disappointed everyone in my family, but then it happened! I heard a loud noise, I saw out the window and for a second I thought I saw the sky a violet color, and then... everything turned white. I don't remember that moment, but my parents told me about it. Suddenly my eyes flashed, and my horn exploded in magic surrounding my body and the hall, my magic went wild, it was more magic than any pony could contain. I began to levitate everything in the room while the evaluators flew through the air. Then the dragon egg exploded, and a huge dragon appeared that broke the entire roof. It was then that my memory returned... I was floating, radiating magic, and a sweet face looked at me while holding me and that explosive magic was diminishing. It was Princess Celestia, who had seen and felt that explosion of magic and had appeared to reassure me and save me. 'Everything will be fine' was what the Princess told me… Or was it another voice?" Dusk said remembering, thinking that it was all so fuzzy that he wasn't sure if the Princess had said that to him or not. "After calming down, I looked around, frightened by the disaster I had caused. The Princess said a few words to reassure me, but I didn't even hear her, I just pushed her and ran to where the egg had been, where now only the remains of the shell remained. Then I began to cry, for few seconds no matter where I was, what I had done or who was beside me, I just thought of that egg and how my magical madness had destroyed. But then Princess Celestia closed in, tenderly placed a hoof on my head, and moved the remains of the shell. It was there that I could see that I had not destroyed the egg, it had only been born, and there was a little purple baby dragon with green scales, looking at me innocently."

"Spike...!" The three fillies said in amazement, turning quickly to see the baby dragon with their mouths open, while Spike blushed slightly.

"After that, with the evaluators speechless out of being so impressed, Princess Celestia herself welcomed me to the magic school, and when I thought I couldn't be happier, she also pointed to my flank, and I saw that my cutie mark had appeared." Dusk said finishing his story, with a sad smile.

"That story is awesome! Although it's also cheesy, but amazing!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

"So… Dusk Shine is like your mom?" Sweetie Belle asked looking at Spike with a mischievous grin, teasing the little dragon a bit as he just pursed his lips in frustration at being bothered.

"There is something I don't understand... Why don't you like to tell that story?" Apple Bloom asked, looking confused at Dusk.

"Well... first, because my cutie mark looks a lot like someone else's..." Dusk replied sighing, remembering the teasing of his older brother. "But mainly because I don't understand what happened... A cutie mark must be a memorable moment, with meaning, where there is some personal self-discovery, but I still don't understand it! That powerful magic, everyone believed it was me, but it wasn't like that, I'm sure it wasn't my magic, that's why I...! I feel like my cutie mark is a hoax…" Dusk added, with a sad look, remembering his magical battle with Trixie and how she had also told him the same thing he thought.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle noticed Dusk's sadness and looked at each other confused, because Dusk was the first pony to tell them the story of how he got his cutie mark and wasn't smiling with joy like everyone else.

"Great! Now we just need to hear Rainbow Dash’s story!" Scootaloo said with a look of determination, who unlike her friends, had not paid much attention to Dusk's last words, since her mind was already on her next goal. "I wonder what her story will be like be like…!? I can already guess that it was a cold day and that it ends with an explosion and with the colored sky!"

"Oh! I see that you came to the same conclusion as my new theory." Dusk said surprised, after hearing what Scootaloo said. "From what I've heard, it seems like those are common parameters in all the cutie mark stories of all the ponies… It really is amazing! And even more that anyone else has noticed this before."

"Well, not everyone, just the cool ponies." Scootaloo said smiling and throwing some punches into the air to look radical.

"What do you mean?" Dusk asked without understanding.

"That only happens to cool ponies, like you, or my sister, or Fluttershy." Sweetie Belle replied remembering.

"And also my sister and Pinkie Pie." Apple Bloom added smiling. “On the way to the library we heard several other stories, they are all pretty cute, but only in the five of your stories does that explosion and the colored sky happen. That's why we think that only happens when someone cool gets their cutie mark!"

Hearing the fillies, Dusk made a surprised face. Was what the fillies said was true? Then his theory about what the explosion and colors in the sky was something common in all cutie mark was wrong. But then, what was the reason behind the repeated event in all of their stories?  Obviously, that it only happened in 'cool ponies' was not valid, since that was a subjective criterion, but then... What other explanation was there in all that...?

"Hey Dusk! How much longer are you going to take!?" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, impatiently coming down the stairs to search for Dusk, who had been too late.

As soon as Rainbow Dash went down to the living room, the scene from when Dusk came down was repeated. Both the three fillies like Rainbow Dash stood staring in surprise for a few seconds.

"Rainbow Dash!!" Scootaloo finally yelled, jumping with excitement, running to get closer to her idol. "I spent all day looking for you!"

"R-Really…? Who'd thought, hehe…" Rainbow Dash replied nervously, walking slowly back, trying to keep Scootaloo from seeing her wings.

She was so focused on Scootaloo not seeing her in profile, that as she stepped back, she hit the stair railing and tripped, falling and revealing that her wings were down and in an unusual position for a pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash... Did something happen to your wings?" Scootaloo immediately asked, looking concerned.

"N-No! Nothing happened! Hehe…" Rainbow Dash said quickly, standing up instantly and putting on a nervous smile.

Not knowing what to do, Rainbow Dash looked askance at Dusk Shine, who only looked at her with a sad smile, as if indicating that she could no longer escape and was only telling the truth.

"I... I... ... I had an accident... I don't know what happened to my wings, but... it seems that I ... I can't fly anymore..." Rainbow Dash began to speak sadly, deciding to admit to saying the truth, at the risk of losing Scootaloo’s admiration. But then she remembered something important and her spirits returned. "That doesn't matter anymore! Because right now I'll be the same as before!!" Rainbow Dash added full of energy, looking at Dusk with a look full of determination.

"Oh! It's true!" Dusk said understanding his friend and realizing that he had forgotten something extremely important after telling the story of his cutie mark: The crown with the Element of Magic was missing! "Spike!  Someone broke into my room and stole something extremely important! Have you seen anyone suspicious!?"

Spike looked at Dusk confused, but then he remembered something and ran to the kitchen. Then the little dragon returned with the crown of the Element of Magic in his claws.

"You…!? How come you have the crown? How did you flank my security!?" Dusk asked.

"Your security?" Spike asked confused.

"Yes! My secret keyword! The best security spell I ever invented!" Dusk said upset.

"Oh! Well, I knew you had used that spell, so I just thought: What key could my brother come up with…?" Spike said thinking and then looking at Dusk with narrowed eyes. "Seriously Dusk, using the keyword 'Dusk is great' is too silly."

Dusk blushed when he saw that his little brother had deciphered his great secret keyword.

"B-But, why did you want the crown!?" Dusk asked, still blushing.

"I needed to grate cheese." Spike replied with a shrug.

"You...!? WHAT!?" Dusk asked after a long silence, as he was finding it hard to believe that the baby dragon would do something like that.

"I needed to grate cheese." Spike replied again as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "The cheese grater was missing, and the crown shape is perfect for-"

"Were you using one of the most powerful magic items in the world as a cheese grater!?" Dusk yelled almost freaking out, interrupting Spike.

"Enough! Go crazy another time." Rainbow Dash said quickly putting a hoof on Dusk's back. Then she turned and shouted towards the stairs. "Girls, we're ready, come down here!"

After the other mares went down to the main library hall, each put on their necklace with their respective Element of Harmony, including Dusk, who put on the crown that the Princess had modified so that it didn't look like a feminine tiara. Dusk then motioned for Rainbow Dash to stand in the middle while he and his other friends stood in a circle around her, all under the watchful eye of Spike, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

"And now what?" Rainbow Dash asked anxiously, looking at Dusk intently, already wanting to return to normal.

"I think I should focus my magic now." Dusk said, who then closed his eyes to focus as much as possible, and then made his horn shine to activate his magic. "I must replicate the same thing we did when we defeated Nightmare Moon."

Dusk envisioned himself in the past, when he was in the old Castle of the Two Sisters. At that time, he was desperate, he had to save himself, the Princess, Equestria, but above all, he had to save his new friends, and now was the same. The only thing Dusk thought was that he should save Rainbow Dash, her dreams, her hopes... As he recalled that, Dusk concentrated more and more his magic... This was going to work! The power of harmony could do it all! As long as he and his friends were together, everything was possible!

"Dusk?" Applejack suddenly asked beside him, causing Dusk to snap out of his thoughts and slightly open one eye as he continued to focus his magic.

Opening his eye, Dusk saw nine pairs of eyes that looked at him with confused faces, and then he opened his eyes totally disappointed. While he had his eyes closed and focused, he'd thought he'd been replicating what had happened in the fight against Nightmare Moon, feeling the same way he had felt back then, so Dusk thought the same thing must be happening, and that when he opened his eyes he would see a whirlwind of magic and the Elements of Harmony connecting to create even greater magic. But nothing had happened, the library lounge was exactly the same, the necklaces of his friends were inert, without generating any magical glow.  The only one that had changed was Dusk with his horn, shining in vain trying to invoke a magic it seemed not to react to his wishes.

"What's wrong!? Why is nothing happening!?" Rainbow Dash asked with a slight despair in her voice.

Dusk slowly raised his head and looked at his friend with a scared face. He didn't want to say what he was thinking, Dusk knew he was the one who had given Rainbow Dash hope, and now... he had to face his mistake.

"It’s…It’s not working..." Dusk replied slowly.

Rainbow Dash heard Dusk's words and froze for a few seconds, her face pale. Then she lowered her head and walked slowly to Dusk.

"No..." Rainbow Dash said once stood before Dusk, raising her head and looking at Dusk with a look of desolation, almost about to mourn. "You’re doing something wrong! This can't end like this! You said it would work!"

Rainbow Dash's words were like a stab in the heart for Dusk. The day before she had finally accepted that her wings couldn’t be fixed, a long process of mourning that had ended with Rainbow Dash crying and accepting her new condition, and it was he who had given her new hope that morning! He was extremely dumb and sloppy! Dusk had felt the magic of Harmony, he knew that everything was possible with that magic, but it hadn't occurred to him that he couldn't activate it again, and worst of all, he had been so sure that the magic of Harmony would work that he never stopped to think about how it could affect her friend if it didn't work.

Dusk only lowered his head with a look of pain, feeling horrible guilt, without being able to look at his friend for the guilt he felt. Then Rainbow Dash also looked at the ground as she tried to calm down. She felt so many emotions in that instant: grief, anger, disappointment. But she had already been through that, she wouldn't go into a state of depression again, she wouldn't cry again... She wouldn't cry again!

"Damn it!" Rainbow Dash finally screamed, falling to the floor and hitting the floor with her hoof, breathing heavily as she tried to hold back her tears.

At that moment the entire room was silent. Everyone had been sure that the plan would work, but the only thing they had achieved was that her friend felt bad with herself again. While Dusk still felt the pain of giving his friend false hopes, the other four mares only wanted to jump and hug their friend to comfort her, however they stood still when someone else approached Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash... This... This isn’t the end of the world." Scootaloo said softly, who carefully approached the cyan pegasus and gently touched her with her hoof.

While still sitting on the floor with her head down, trying to order her thoughts and feelings, Rainbow Dash slowly raised her gaze and saw the little orange pegasus, then dropped her head again.

"I... I didn't want you to see me like this..." Rainbow Dash replied slowly.

"Why not? See you like what?" Scootaloo asked a little confused.

Rainbow Dash looked up again, this time seeing Scootaloo's confused face and then concentrating on the little wings of the orange pegasus.

"I know you admired me as a flyer... That you thought I was the coolest thing there was. I could see your gaze as I flew through town and did my stunts, all while trying to catch up with me on your scooter… But now I've lost everything and now… now I'm just a pony who’s lost her only talent." Rainbow Dash replied with a guilty look. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash in surprise, then looked up for a few seconds while thinking. Maybe the truth wasn't ideal at the time, but she couldn't help but say what she thought.

"Hmm, actually I'm a little disappointed to see you like that." Scootaloo said thoughtfully, while the others were surprised that she would say such a thing to such a vulnerable Rainbow Dash at the time. "But I'm not disappointed to see that you can't fly, I'm disappointed to hear that you already gave up."

At Scootaloo's last words, Rainbow Dash raised her head and looked at the little pegasus with a stunned look.

"It is true that you’re the best flyer I have ever seen, but that is only one of the things that makes you great." Scootaloo continued speaking with a small smile. "You are the bravest pony I know, and the way you speak and act… It seems that you will always achieve anything! That confidence you have in yourself is what I admire most about you! You can't just give up, so what if you can't fly!? Look at me! I saw you fly through the air not because I wanted to fly like you, I know that it could never happen.  I saw you because you always want to be the best! And if you can't fly, then you'll be the best at something else, and I'm sure you'll be the coolest at anything else! That's because you are Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony in Equestria!" Scootaloo finished her speech, getting a little emotional as she remembered her own helplessness when she discovered that she would never fly well and how meeting Rainbow Dash had changed her life.

Both pegasi stared at each other for a few seconds, both with their feelings in sync, seeing each other reflected. Rainbow Dash then stood up, sneakily wiping a small tear from her eye.

"All of you! Turn around!" Rainbow Dash ordered looking seriously at Dusk and the others, who had remained motionless looking at the scene of both pegasi. Then everyone immediately looked away.

After all the onlookers obeyed him, Rainbow Dash hugged Scootaloo tightly, to the surprise of the little pegasus.

"Thank you, little sis." Rainbow Dash said softly as she held the tight hug with the little filly. While Scootaloo after the surprise start, just closed her eyes comfortably, blushing while enjoying the warm embrace of her 'big sister'.

Both pegasi stood motionless in the hug for a few seconds, until they realized that many seconds had passed like this, then both opened their eyes and saw that they had all looked at them again, all with loving looks, as if they were seeing the most tender thing of the world.

"I told you not to look!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed, blushing.

"Y-Yeah, enough of the cheesy stuff." Scootaloo added, imitating Rainbow Dash's attitude, looking away.

At that precise moment, from behind her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at her with tender looks and big smiles.

"I knew it! You’re all tough on the outside but a softie on the inside." Apple Bloom said, with a big smile after verifying that her friend was not as tough as she appeared.

"If you needed a hug, you just had to say it." Sweetie Belle added, taking the opportunity to mock her friend a little, since she always repeated that she hated hugs and cheesy stuffs.





"N-No, I just… It's just that… I was… Agh! Scootaloo shouted red with embarrassment, trying in vain to find an excuse for her abrupt emotional slip. Then she looked to Rainbow Dash for help, thinking of what to do to put aside that awkward moment, and so it was that Scootaloo remembered that she still had an important task to perform. "Rainbow Dash! I still need to ask you something. That's why we came here, we want to know how you got your cutie mark!"

Scootaloo's question caught Rainbow Dash by surprise. For a moment she had forgotten that there were two reasons why she didn't want to meet the three fillies. It wasn't just to hide the fact that she couldn't fly anymore, it was also because the little fillies wanted to know something about her past that she didn't want to tell.

Rainbow Dash looked worried at Scootaloo, then turned her gaze to her friends, who were also watching her closely after hearing what the little orange pegasus asked her, and while looking at her friends, Rainbow Dash's gaze stopped on one of her friends, it made her gaze turn even more concerned. Then Rainbow Dash looked away again and looked back at Scootalooo, who stood motionless watching her closely, eager to hear about her cutie mark. After Scootaloo's words of encouragement, Rainbow Dash felt that answering what she asked was the least she could do, and although it pained her, she decided she would have to accept her past and finally tell the truth about her cutie mark.

"O-Okay... whatever." Rainbow Dash finally answered, sighing resignedly, sitting on the floor while looking not only at the little fillies, but also at her friends. “It was the fifth or sixth coldest day on my entire life.  As you already know from Fluttershy's story, we were both at Flight Camp, just that day some bullies were bothering Fluttershy and I challenged them to a race. I was eager to defend Fluttershy's honor, but once at the starting line, I forgot my initial motivation, and all I thought was that I wanted to beat those two idiots and prove that I was the best flyer. That was how I got into position, only focused on the victory and the flag in front of me that Fluttershy was holding, until she lowered it and the three of us flew at full speed, not caring anything, just with the views in front of the circuit before the attentive gaze of all the other fillies in the camp. The more I flew, the more speed I reached, and with more speed, the more happiness I felt! I had never flown so fast or felt like this, the speed, the adrenaline, absolute freedom! I enjoyed flying at full speed so much that I only got distracted when one of those thugs cheated and pushed me out of the race. It was there that something was born in me, I realized that not only did I want to compete and fly, I… I wanted to win! I threw myself at full speed to catch up to that little cheater, he had a lot of advantage over me, and there was only the last stretch left before winning the race, I needed to get there before him, so I flew down at full speed, wishing victory for at all costs, so I flew like a comet, faster than I had ever flown before but I felt like the wind against me didn't let me go faster, it marked my limit, it was as if my whole body tried to pass through the hole of a needle.  But I had to go faster, and I did it! Just as I passed the last mark of the race, I broke the sound barrier and I made a Sonic Rainboom! When I was about to reach the ground I got up, seeing the beautiful and intense cyan color of the sky, without any cloud in it, then I saw behind me and saw how my mane was leaving a rainbow trail behind me. There I learned that the speed and adrenaline was my thing, and my cutie mark appeared while I flew with the biggest smile I ever had... I could never repeat that Sonic Rainboom, but since that day never stop flying or to improve myself, until… until I couldn't fly anymore." Rainbow Dash ended, excitedly recounting the end of her story, until she remembered her reality and that she could no longer do what led her to earn her precious cutie mark.

"Wow... I knew it would be awesome!" Scootaloo said in amazement, looking excitedly at her friends. "I told you! I told you! The best story of all!"

"I don't understand, it's a very nice story." Dusk suddenly said, approaching and noting that, just like when he told his story, unlike his other friends, Rainbow Dash didn't smile at the end of her cute story either. "Why didn't you want to tell your story?"

Rainbow Dash looked worried down at the floor and then looked at Dusk sadly. She opened her mouth to answer but no word came out of her mouth, it seemed that she was still struggling with herself to say something, a detail that Dusk didn't seem to have noticed and that she was not sure whether to reveal it or not, since upon knowing it, both Dusk and her friends would realize how bad a friend she could be.

"Don't you remember? Fluttershy's story?" Rainbow Dash said, finally deciding to tell the truth. "She said that as soon as the race started, the wind pushed her from the cloud and made her fall. But it wasn't the wind… I… I felt like I hit something when that race started, but I was so eager to win that I didn't even stop to see what had hit."

Hearing that, Dusk remembered Fluttershy's story and instantly understood her friend's fear. Then he looked at Fluttershy, who had covered her mouth surprised by that revelation. It seemed that this was the first time she had heard of this.

"After the race, everyone came to praise and congratulate me. Only after a while did I realize that Fluttershy was nowhere to be found." Rainbow Dash said looking at Fluttershy this time, with a look of guilt and pain. "It was then that one of the ponies from the camp told me that you had fallen from a cloud when the race started, and I... I was scared! None of them knew that you weren’t the best flier. Then I flew down at full speed to look for you, but down on land, everything was so vast that it was like finding a needle in a haystack.  I spent hours and hours looking for you until I found you when it was almost nightfall."

"I remember... You were so happy to see me that you gave me a big hug." Fluttershy said remembering what happened in the afternoon of that day.

"I wasn't only happy to see you were okay, I was happy to know you were alive!" Rainbow Dash said taking up her story, with her breathing shaking as the guilt that had eaten her away for years finally came to light. "If it hadn't been for those butterflies, I could have made the biggest mistake of my life. I never forgave myself! It was then that you said that you had discovered what you wanted to do in life and that you would tell your parents that you would live there, on the ground. When you told me that, I made a decision, I would never leave you again!"

"You... took my hoof and told me you would go with me..." Fluttershy said slowly, surprised at the new revelations. "I never knew why you made that decision, and I never asked, because deep down... I was grateful that I wouldn’t be alone..."

"From that day on I made a promise... I would never leave a friend alone again." Rainbow Dash said approaching Fluttershy, with a look of pity. "I never wanted to tell you because I was afraid you would hate me... Please... Please don't hate me..." Rainbow Dash added, lowering her gaze, full of fear now that Fluttershy and her other friends knew how selfish and bad friends she could become.

"I... I have nothing to forgive." Fluttershy said putting a hoof on Rainbow Dash's chin to lift her up and look at her with a tender smile. "If you hadn't hit me, I would never have fallen or known my true destiny. If I have to do something, it would be to thank you."

"You don't get it!? You could die because of me! I was so eager to win the race that I dropped my friend! The butterflies that appeared was just luck!" Rainbow Dash said with fear in her voice.

"I don't believe in luck; I believe it was destiny." Fluttershy said smiling tenderly. "I was destined to get my cutie mark that day and take care of defenseless animals, you just… gave me a little push, literally, hehe." Fluttershy said with a small funny smile.

"No... it can't be that you forgive me so easy..." Rainbow Dash said amazed and then looking sadly towards the floor. "I deserve a punishment... I thought that when I left the Flight Camp, left Cloudsdale, and went to live on the ground with you, that would be my punishment, but it wasn’t so... I enjoyed every moment of my life here in Ponyville.  If there is a destiny, then it has no justice in it… or perhaps it has, and now this is my punishment…" Rainbow Dash added, looking sadly at her wings. "Yeah... this is a fair punishment."

"No! You are a good friend; you don't deserve punishment." Fluttershy said looking at Rainbow Dash seriously. "You were my first friend and you always accompanied me, if there is someone who has to ask for forgiveness it would be me. I never believed that you were with me only because of the guilt you felt, I never had remorse against you, nor do I have it now."

"It's ironic... everything happens just when tomorrow is ten years since everything happened." Rainbow Dash said, isolating herself in her own sadness, as if she hadn't heard anything Fluttershy said.

"Wait. Did you say ten years tomorrow since that happened?" Dusk asked surprised to hear that.

"Yes, tomorrow is ten years since that race, I remember it because it's the day I got my cutie mark." Fluttershy replied since Rainbow Dash seemed so absorbed in guilt that she would not respond. But then Fluttershy realized something very important. "Rainbow Dash! We got our cutie marks the same day!"

"Uh? Y-Yes, I think so." Rainbow Dash replied ruefully, thinking that she had already noticed that detail in the morning, when she heard when Fluttershy told her story to the three fillies.

"She not the only one... Tomorrow is also ten years since I got my cutie mark..." Dusk said amazed, thinking about the probability that he and two of his friends coincided with that date.

"Me too." Rarity said in amazement.

"And me." Applejack added looking at Rarity and the others.

"Me too! Me too!" Pinkie Pie said jumping with joy.

"What!?" Dusk said stunned. He had already calculated the probability that three ponies out of all the Equestria ponies, who had obtained their cutie mark on the same day, would be in a room together and be friends. It had been a very low probability, almost negligible; but not three ponies, but six! It was an unlikely chance, almost one in ten million.

It was then that Dusk came to mind what the three fillies had commented and the previous theory he had formulated. It had all been wrong, it wasn't that there were common factors in all the cutie marks of all the ponies, it was just that there had been a huge coincidence, a mathematical improbability, that the only six stories that Dusk had heard had all happened the same day. At that moment, another amazing idea came to Dusk's mind.

"Rainbow Dash... What is a Sonic Rainboom?" Dusk asked, breathing hard, anticipating what he thought his friend might answer.

"It... it is when a pegasus flies and breaks the sound barrier." Rainbow Dash replied, still amazed to learn that all her friends shared the same day of obtaining their cutie marks. "It's an old legend, it happens when there is an air blow in the sky when a pegasus flies at high speed, causing a sonic boom, where you can even see all the colors of the rainbow for an instant... Although I doubt that last part, I mean, I did the Sonic Rainboom and I verified that it was not a legend, I remember the explosion, but I never saw a rainbow explode in the sky, the only rainbow I saw was the one in the wake of my mane after do it, although all the other foals in the camp say they did see it."

"We all saw it! That was the explosion we heard! Those were the colors in the sky that we saw!" Dusk said excitedly, as his friends widened their eyes as they understood the meaning of it all and linked their own stories to the Rainbow Dash story. All except Rainbow Dash, who still didn't seem to understand. "You don't get it!? We all hear an explosion at the crucial moment when something changed our lives forever! And not only that. After hearing that explosion, for a second I saw the sky violet, Rarity saw it blue, Fluttershy saw a flash of green, Pinkie Pie saw the sky yellow, and Applejack saw it orange. We all saw the color rainbow of that sonic explosion!"

"B-But I didn't see any color in the sky, I-I don't think that-" Rainbow Dash said stammering. She had always denied telling her story and hated what she had done to Fluttershy when she got her cutie mark, but now Dusk told her it was just the opposite and that it was something much more important than she had thought, and this left her very nervous and confused.

"You also saw a color. I'm almost sure! It's just that you didn't notice!" Dusk said excitedly. "You did the Sonic Rainboom, swooped down, and then soared up into the sky. You said you only saw the intense cyan color of the sky, but it wasn’t the cyan of the sky, it was the cyan of the rainbow color, the missing color of the rainbow! You saw it and flew through it!"

When Dusk finished speaking, Rainbow Dash was speechless with her eyes wide. What Dusk had just said made all the sense in the world, but then that meant… That her Sonic Rainboom wasn't the symbol of her disloyalty as she had believed all her life. If something like fate existed, as Fluttershy said, that moment in her life had marked not only her, but her five dear friends. That race and the Sonic Rainboom that she had achieved, had made her friends earn their cutie marks, one of the things that a pony valued most… She had been the cause! And without any of them realizing until that day, that magic bond that had united them ten years ago, had now brought them all together years later to save Equestria with the power of their friendship, a friendship that they all valued most in the world.

Without realizing it, a tear began to fall down Rainbow Dash's cheek as she slowly assimilated everything they had discovered. And at that instant Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy ran to give Rainbow Dash a big, big hug, as much or more excited as their stunned friend was, all laughing and crying with joy at discovering the powerful magical bond that had made them united since childhood.

While Dusk Shine also smiled, shocked, but very happy, to have discovered all that. He wanted to join the girls' hug, but he didn't think it appropriate to join so surprisingly to hug the five mares. But that didn't matter to her friends, because, while his friends were still hugging, Rarity used her magic to pull Dusk to where they were, and then they all hugged Dusk warmly, who was surprised and then only joined the laughter of his friends.

"Yuck! Aren't there enough hugs for a day?" Scootaloo said, making a disgusted face, wanting to appear to be a cool girl.

"Nope! One more!" Apple Bloom said jumping over Scootaloo to hug her lovingly.

Then Sweetie Belle grabbed Spike by the claw and they both joined in Scootaloo's hug.

"E-Enough... Stop…" Scootaloo said totally blushed, moving only a little to reject the hug, because the truth, although she would never accept it, was that that hug from her friends felt very warm and welcoming, and she had also been a little emotional to see her idol Rainbow Dash so emotional. "J-Just for this time..." The orange pegasus added, surrendering to the tender hug of her friends.





After a long time, Dusk and Spike went up to their room. After having laughed and shared a good time with all her friends, finally, as the night approached, they all decided to leave for their homes, while Rainbow Dash, at Scootaloo's request, decided to accompany her for a tour of the town. Which gave Dusk and his brother the opportunity to go to the room to look for some things, since it was temporarily occupied by Rainbow Dash.

"Take note Spike, I think I'll take the opportunity to write a letter to the Princess. I think I have learned a valuable lesson." Dusk said going to the window to watch the sunset while Spike ran to find paper and ink.

"Ready!" Spike said with a hint of pride, since he knew that his brother would send an important letter to the Princess after everything they had lived that afternoon.

"Dear Princess Celestia.

Today I learned something amazing. Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with their friends, maybe even before they're met them.

If you're feeling lonely and you're still searching for your true friends, just look up in the sky. Who knows? Maybe you and your future best friends are all looking at the same rainbow.

Sincerely yours, your faithful student, Dusk Shine."

Dusk finished dictating, with a big proud smile.

"Gross! When did you get so cheesy?" Spike said confused and a little sickened by his older brother's cloying words.

"What do you know! Just send it. I'm sure the Princess will appreciate the letter." Dusk said blushing a little and getting annoyed.

Dusk knew that this letter was somewhat corny, but he also knew that the Princess had told him not to be so methodical or to give scientific explanations in his letters, to only be more emotional, since not everything had an explanation, and definitely what they had discovered this afternoon it deserved it. Not only they had discovered that he and his friends had obtained their cutie marks on the same day, but they had also revealed that everything seemed to have been caused by something magical, and that same magic had caused them to forge their powerful bond of friendship in the future, and that definitely had no scientific explanation, there was only one word to describe it: Fate.

"Okay! Sent." Spike said after blowing his green fire and that the letter was consumed by it.

Within three seconds of sending the letter, Spike suddenly belched out his green fire again, this time causing a letter to appear from it.

"What does it say?" Dusk asked impatiently, knowing it was a letter from the Princess.

Then Spike opened the letter and read.

"It says... 'Gross! When did you get so cheesy?' Spike said slowly as he stifled his laughter and showed the letter to Dusk, realizing that the Princess had written exactly what he had said after writing the dictation of that cheesy letter.

To the view the letter to verify its contents, Dusk blushed deeply, knowing that it was the usual harmless teasing of his teacher, but still couldn't avoid feeling bashful.

"You two don't know anything about the magic of friendship!" Dusk replied blushing, turning his back on Spike as he laughed and laughed out loud at him.

Then Dusk approached the window again and stared at the sunset while the Sun was almost completely hidden. And while he saw it, his annoyance and embarrassment slowly fading as his ideas and thoughts returned to normal.

"Violet, blue, cyan, green, yellow and orange..." Dusk said, thinking out loud while he remembered the colors that he, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack had seen respectively on the day they discovered their marks cutie. "But a rainbow has seven colors... I wonder if any other pony has seen the color red..."

"Hey, Dusk!" Spike said suddenly, breaking Dusk Shine's train of thought.

"Now what?" Dusk asked suspiciously, thinking that perhaps his brother wanted to continue mocking him.

"With everything that happened since you came to the library, I had forgotten." Spike replied, running to a nearby cabinet, pulling out something small, and approaching Dusk again. "Someone left this at the door the other day, when you suddenly left the other night."

Then Spike passed Dusk a small vial with a yellow liquid in it. Dusk carefully took it in his hoof and turned it to see it in detail, then Dusk widened his eyes when he saw what the label said, it said: 'Potion'.

At that very moment, while the Sun was setting in Ponyville, in a very distant land, another pony also saw the sunset.

"Tomorrow is ten years since I got my cutie mark... Maybe it's time to go back to Equestria." Said a strange mare with a thoughtful look, while belittling an old unicorn that was lying on the ground, the most powerful unicorn that was in those distant lands and that just moments ago had been easily defeated by that powerful young mare, the same mare that had defeated Trixie and so many other formidable masters of magic in foreign lands.

"After all, there is someone I’m eager to see." The mare added, with a disturbing smile as she remembered a very young colt with lavender fur and purple eyes.

# End of chapter 41
> Chapter 42 - Fast ascent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fast ascent

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes and stretched her body as she woke up to the new day.  Remembering the previous morning, she sneakily stretched her hoof to feel for something, or specifically someone.  However, she was a little disappointed to discover that unlike last night, Dusk had not slept with her.

“Guess there’s no other reason to stay in bed now.” Rainbow Dash groaned followed by a long sigh.

As she stood up, Rainbow Dash automatically attempted to stretch her wings as she always did, but just as it had since her accident, her wings still did not respond.  So, she stretched her neck and legs before preparing to leave the room. This was her second morning waking up in Dusk Shine’s bed, and although the bed was so comfortable and she couldn't be more grateful to him for letting her sleep there, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but sigh discouraged as she remembered her own bed  Her fluffy soft bed made of clouds that had remained intact since she had fallen from her home.

Hearing noises downstairs, Rainbow Dash hurried down to the first floor of the library, heading straight for the kitchen, where Dusk Shine and Spike were already sitting front the table.  Spike was drinking a glass of juice, while Dusk stared at him, not even batting an eye .

"What's wrong?  Why the look?" Spike asked after getting nervous at his brother's watchful eye.

"Uh!? Oh! I-It's nothing, don't worry, it's... it's just that you have a piece of gem in your teeth." Dusk replied nervously, snapping out of his thoughts and looking away.  Then Dusk saw that Rainbow Dash had finally woken up and stood up to prepare her breakfast.

"Good morning!" Dusk said cheerfully waving his friend while inviting her to take a seat as he made a pitcher with orange juice. "Sit down, I'll make you breakfast. In the mornings we prefer orange juice to apple juice, but don't tell Applejack."

"Gosh... I should be the one to serve you breakfast, it's the least I can do since you let me stay here and let me use your bed." Rainbow Dash said blushing slightly, scratching her head.

"It's not a bother.  Besides, to be honest, I doubt that you'll get up before us to make breakfast, you usually just conk out the second you hit the matress." Dusk said smiling as he brought a tray of bread to the table, along with a glass and the pitcher of juice.

"I-I'm not that heavy of a sleeper! It's… it's just…" Rainbow Dash replied blushing. “Well, with everything that happened yesterday, who wouldn't be tired!  Discovering that thanks to you all your best friends got their cutie marks isn’t just something you take in, it is ... It's mental fatigue!" Rainbow Dash pouted, not coming up with another better excuse to justify her morning laziness.

"Sure… whatever you say..." Dusk said smiling, offering the tray with bread to his friend.

While Rainbow Dash ate, Dusk used his magic to levitate a book that was on the table and began to read.

"What are you reading?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"It's an advanced spell book, I started reading it last night." Dusk said as he read. "I've been thinking about what other options we can look for to fix the problem with your wings, at least temporarily, until we can find a definitive solution."

Hearing Dusk, Rainbow Dash widened her eyes and then lowered her head with a sad look. Lots of things went through her head, but she wasn't sure to say them at the time.

"I... I don't know if it's a good idea..." Rainbow Dash said with a worried look.

"I found a spell that works so flightless ponies can walk on the clouds." Dusk added while still reading the book. "It is only temporary but lasts for several hours, I think we could try it."

"That is not the problem, remember that I fell from my house only when I tried to fly..." Rainbow Dash said with some regret when remembering. "Also, I don't think that-"

"Oh! Right! I had forgotten. That means we can then focus on this other spell…" Dusk said interrupting Rainbow Dash, quickly advancing in his book to find the spell he was looking for.

"Dusk, I-" Rainbow said before being interrupted again.

"Here it is! This is a temporary flight spell!" Dusk said excited to find what he was looking for.

"Dusk." Rainbow Dash said seriously, since she noticed that Dusk was not even listening to her.

"Wow, I've never seen such a complex spell, but I think-" Dusk said excitedly as he read the spell.

"DUSK!" Rainbow Dash yelled, this time being her who interrupted Dusk.

With the pegasus’s scream, Dusk was shocked and lowered the book. Then he saw his friend staring at him with a look of pity and concern.

"Dusk, I ... I can't do it again." Rainbow Dash said sadly, lowering her gaze. "Only two days ago, I accepted that this seemed to have no solution.  So yesterday you came up with the idea of ​​using the Elements of Harmony and my hopes were completely renewed. And after I had all my faith in the Elements of Harmony, and then… it all failed."

At that moment Rainbow Dash raised her head and looked at Dusk with a sad smile.

"Do you understand? I… I don't know if I could bear another disappointment." Rainbow Dash added sadly.

"B-But we can’t just give up... We must exhaust all options." Dusk said worriedly, ready to continue arguing against his friend. However, Dusk bit his tongue when he saw his friend so sad, just as it had happened the day before, when he himself gave her false hope before he was sure that he could heal her. "It's... It's okay... I get it..." Dusk added lowering her head, sad that he couldn't continue helping his friend.

"Thank you." Rainbow Dash said with a sad smile.

"Yeah... Uh... Can we continue having breakfast?" Spike said suddenly, trying to fix the tense atmosphere that had remained after the discussion.

Then Rainbow Dash blushed and ate her toast again, while Spike drank from his glass again. For his part, Dusk couldn't recover his spirits so easily, he just stared at his friend with a sad face, all while many thoughts crossed his head.

"Huff... anyway..." Dusk said with a sigh, thinking that despite what he thought, he would have to do what was best for Rainbow Dash at that moment. "Rainbow Dash, do you want juice?" Dusk added, shaking his head and smiling again, determined not to ruin breakfast with his sad face.

"Sure." Rainbow Dash replied, thanking Dusk for ending the topic.

Dusk poured the juice and Rainbow Dash sipped it, and as she drank it, a brilliant idea came to her mind.

"Hey, Dusk." Rainbow Dash said hitting the glass on the table, drying her mouth and putting on a huge smile full of determination. "Tell me more about that cloud-walking spell."





Above the skies over Equestria, a small pink hot air balloon soared, carrying a few well-known crewmen on it: five ponies and a baby dragon. While the balloon was being pulled into the air by a yellow pegasus, which flew very slowly while pulling on the balloon.

"Does Fluttershy really have to carry the balloon?" Rarity asked worriedly watching her friend fly as she pulled on the balloon.

"Well, we are a little late." Dusk replied with a guilty smile, then looking at Pinkie Pie. "It took you a long time to borrow the balloon from Cherry Berry."

"Oh, yeah! It was kinda difficult to distract her so she wouldn't see as I pulled out her balloon." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug.

"You stole it!?" Applejack asked scared.

"I didn't steal it, I just... borrowed it ... without her permission..." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, while her other friends looked at her with a scolding face. "What did you want me to do!? We needed the balloon and Cherry Berry said she would never let me borrow it again after the weather team nearly destroyed it in the Running of the Leaves!"

"Huff... Anyway, just remind me to apologize when we get back..." Dusk said with a resigned sigh, running a hoof over his face.

"Don't worry, if it's you, I think she'll forgive you. I have heard that she’s a huge fan of the Dusk-Sempai stories." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile.

"Who is that?" Dusk asked without understanding.

"This will be fantastic!" Rainbow Dash said suddenly, who hadn't been paying attention to Pinkie Pie's conversation. She had only been glad to see the towns and landscapes again from above, just as she did when she could fly. "When we get to Cloudsdale I'll give all you a tour of the most beautiful city in all of Equestria!"

After breakfast, Rainbow Dash had told her brilliant idea to Dusk, to take him and all her friends to see Cloudsdale, the hometown of not only her and Fluttershy, but also most of the pegasi that lived in Equestria.  Only pegasi lived in the city, which was logical given that it was floating in the clouds, for the same reason, other races were normally prevented from visiting that city.  But thanks to the spell Dusk found, Rainbow Dash could finally show all of her friends the beautiful city in the clouds.  Thankfully, the balloon was finally about to arrive at said city.  The clouds parted to reveal Cloudsdale in all of its glory.  

"I'll take you to the weather factory, also the coliseum... and then we can all go see The Wonderbolt Show!" Rainbow Dash yelled full of emotion.

"I know, it'll be great. I already came prepared to see the show." Spike said as he held up a package of popcorn, only this one was filled with gems instead of popcorn. "A good show deserves a good snack." Spike added, throwing a small ruby ​​into the sky and catching it with his mouth.

"Yeah, just keep an eye on saving a little for the afternoon show." Dusk said with a small smile. Knowing his brother so well that he would bet on whatever it was that Spike would end up eating all the gems before the competition.

Rainbow Dash smiled to see that Spike was also excited to see the show, then she turned and leaned on the railing of the balloon to keep looking down and enjoy the aerial view, however, this time she couldn't help but look askance up and see Fluttershy, who with effort was slowly guiding the balloon towards the approaching Cloudsdale.

"If my wings were fine, I would have brought them much faster..." Rainbow Dash whispered very quietly, sighing with a look of pity.  Something that didn't go unnoticed by Dusk, who had been looking at her at that moment.

Finally, the ponies reached Cloudsdale, where Fluttershy landed, a little exhausted after guiding the balloon, as it slowly fell onto a cloud that was already part of the city. Then Rainbow Dash jumped out of the basket and smiled as she could feel the soft touch of the clouds on her hooves again.

"At least I can still walk on the clouds." Rainbow Dash said smiling and then looking at her friends. "And now you guys can feel it too!"

"I’ll go first, in case this doesn’t work." Dusk said as his horn gleamed as he remembered the spell he read in the morning to walk in the clouds.

Then Dusk's horn flashed for a second and his hooves had a purple glow that lasted for a couple of seconds. After this, Dusk closed his eyes sighing, determined to trust his magic, and made the leap out of the basket of the balloon, where, like his two pegasus friends, he could fall on the cloud without going through it.

"I knew the spell wouldn’t fail!" Dusk said smiling with pride. "Whenever you cast a spell the first time there is a bit of a doubt, but I-"

At that moment Dusk stopped talking, as he turned to look at Rainbow Dash with confidence, but she was not looking at him, she hadn't even paid attention to him. The only thing the cyan pegasus was staring at was the dozen pegasi, flying above, going back and forth over the city. Noticing Dusk looking at her, Rainbow Dash quickly looked away and put on a nervous smile.

"G-Good! I knew you would make it, egghead!  Now who's next?" Rainbow Dash said, wishing her slight distraction had been overlooked.

Dusk looked at his friend with a sad look, then he closed his eyes and sighed as he made a decision.

"Wait a minute... Before that, I would like to try something else." Dusk said looking with a slight look of doubt at Rainbow Dash. "I… would like to test the temporary wings spell."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash said with a scared face. "No, Dusk. I already told you in the morning, and-"

"As we flew here, I could see your face when you saw Fluttershy fly." Dusk said a little sad." Today you'll see not only Fluttershy, but hundreds of pegasi around you, and I don't want to see you sad while watching other ponies fly.  Even if it's just for this day, let me help you."

"No. No more illusions." Rainbow Dash said, looking away in fear. "If this doesn't work, I..."

"It'll work, I'll prove it to you." Dusk answered confidently, knowing how not to excite his friend again without reason. "This time I'll not disappoint you, not again."

Dusk Shine closed his eyes and began to recite in his mind the spell he had to cast as his horn grew brighter and brighter. This spell was one of the most complex Dusk had ever read, so he needed a great deal of energy and focus. Still, as his magic was channeled, Dusk couldn't help but wonder what it would look like once it worked… Would he have big wings? Since he was a unicorn, would he look like an alicorn? Perhaps his new form would be so imposing that the city pegasi would bow before him at the thought that he was an alicorn prince.

The magic in Dusk's horn peaked and a great flash appeared, blinding everyone who saw him, making them close their eyes for a second, while the light that covered Dusk was slowly dimming until everything returned to normal.

As soon as the light faded completely, Dusk slowly opened his eyes, to see his friends in front of him, who looked at him with an astonished face, especially Rarity, whose eyes seemed to shine with emotion as she saw him. Something very different from the look that Spike had, who unlike mares, covered his mouth with effort, as if he was holding out a laugh.

"What happened?  Did it work?" Dusk asked confused, looking at his back when he felt that something had changed in him.

Looking back, Dusk's eyes widened, totally shocked and quite disappointed at what he saw. The spell had indeed worked, Dusk now had wings on his sides, yet they were nothing like what he had imagined. Instead of big and imposing pegasus wings, with strong and long feathers, Dusk had a pair of huge butterfly wings, almost transparent, as if they were made of silk, with various colors on them, from where the light shone, giving a beautiful show of colors on the ground he stepped on.

"Look!  What a beautiful butterfly, hahaha!  You look like a fairy!" Spike laughed out loud, not knowing what made him laugh the most, whether to see his brother with those pretty, feminine butterfly wings on him, or to see his shocked face when he found out what he had done to himself.

"What is this!? Why are my wings-? Woah…!" Dusk said frustrated, stopping when he noticed that his wings flapped unintentionally and now kept him afloat awkwardly.

"Are you... are you flying!?" Rainbow Dash said, amazed to see how Dusk's spell had worked when she saw him flying awkwardly with his new butterfly wings.

"Y-Yes... But it's harder than I thought." Dusk added nervously as his wings continued to flap and he spun out of control.

"Try to flap both wings at the same time, inhale and exhale once for each flap, level your tail or you will lose your balance, your eyes straight ahead." Rainbow Dash said, excited for some reason as she gave her friend flight instructions.

Dusk listened to his friend's instructions, which helped him to stabilize a bit, but he still didn't have total control over his wings, and even less with his way of flying. After several seconds, Dusk finally managed to get his wings to flap at the same time and he was able to land again.

"Huff... It's... it's hard..." Dusk said exhausted after finally landing.

"Hehe, it's harder than it sounds, right?" Fluttershy added with a small giggle, thanking someone with wings for sharing her opinion on the difficult task of flying.

"Those wings are divine!  Oh, they simply just go perfectly with your coat!" Rarity said from the balloon basket, staring in wonder at Dusk's wings. "I would look fabulous with wings like that! Could you try using that spell on me too? After Rainbow Dash of course."

Dusk Shine looked at Rarity in surprise, then he looked down thoughtfully for a few seconds while doing some mental calculations.

"I don't think I can, in fact the wing spell takes up a lot of magical energy, more than I thought." Dusk replied pursing his lip and then looking at Rainbow Dash worried. "I think it's still enough for me to use the spell on you, Rainbow Dash, but if I do, I don't think I have enough energy left to use the spell to walk in clouds on the other girls."

Rainbow Dash was surprised at Dusk's revelation, then she looked at her friends for a moment, and looked at Dusk again with a serious look.

"Use the cloud walking spell on the others." Rainbow Dash said with a small smile. "I would love to be able to fly again, even just for a day.  But I promised my friends that we would have a fun day getting to know Cloudsdale, and I never disappoint my friends.  Also, butterfly wings don't go with my style."

Hearing Rainbow Dash's response, Dusk smirked as he verified that his friend answered exactly what he thought, after all Rainbow Dash would not abandon her friends, even out of her most precious personal desire.

After that, Dusk used his magic on his other friends and finally the six ponies and Spike were able to stand on the clouds that were part of the great city of Cloudsdale.

"Okay, time to tour the city." Dusk said excitedly.

As soon as Dusk wished he could move forward, his wings reacted to his wishes and fluttered again, causing him to rise up and begin to awkwardly move from one place to another zigzagging through the air. Seeing that Dusk seemed to have no control over his wings yet, the other mares ran after him to try to catch up and stop him.

"Well, well, isn't it Rainbow 'Crash'?" A mocking voice suddenly said, just as Rainbow Dash was about to follow her friends, causing the rainbow-haired pegasus to stop and look back, scared to recognize that old nickname.

Looking back, Rainbow Dash froze to see who was landing behind her. They were two pegasi that she hadn't seen in years, but that she still remembered perfectly. They were the two little bullies from the Flight Camp, the same ones who had mocked Fluttershy and competed against her in the race where she got her cutie mark.  But now neither of them were little colts, they were both adult stallions with the attitude of little colts, one with brown fur with a cutie mark of a dumbbell, and the other with ocher fur with a cutie mark of basketballs balls.  Although both had grown, both maintained is as annoying smirks that Rainbow Dash remembered.

"Tell me, you still remember us, don't you, Rainbow Crash?" The brown colt said with a mocking laugh.

"My name is Rainbow Dash!  And yes, unfortunately I still remember you." Rainbow Dash replied with a serious look, trying to hide her nervousness. "You’re the two idiots I humiliated years ago in that race."

"You mean the race where you cheated." The ocher colored colt said with an annoyed look.

"What!?  I didn't cheat!" Rainbow Dash replied offended.

"And then why did you run away from the camp?  Not only from camp, you even left Cloudsdale, didn't you?" The brown colt said pointing at Rainbow Dash. "Surely your conscience bit you. If you hadn't done anything wrong, you wouldn't have run away."

At that moment Rainbow Dash widened her eyes and looked away while biting her lip. The truth was that what that clumsy pegasus was saying was true, she had left Cloudsdale because of the guilt she felt back then, but not for cheating in the race, but for having abandoned Fluttershy.

"Yes, I'm sure the Sonic Rainboom thing was just a silly trick you did to trick us." The other pegasus said. "No filly could possibly do that trick."

"I... I did so pull off a Sonic Rainboom." Rainbow Dash said, getting more and more angry with those annoying colts who continued to belittle her despite all the years that had passed.  If it were any other occasion, Rainbow Dash would silence them with some acrobatics in the air and she would only fly away from there.  But without her wings and with her self-esteem wounded, she had a very difficult time facing those two fools in a discussion.

"Then you'll prove it in today's competition, won't you?" The brown colt said, again putting on a mocking smile. "In the morning I saw the list of participants and, oh, surprise! Guess the name of who was inscribed there… yours, Rainbow Crash."

Rainbow Dash froze upon hearing that they already knew that she was supposed to enter the competition that day.

"What's wrong with your wings?" The ocher colt asked, for the first time noticing that Rainbow Dash's wings were down.

"I-I… Uh… I-I'm just resting, y-you know, to save energy for the competition." Rainbow Dash replied quickly and awkwardly, trying in vain not to be nervous.

The two colts looked oddly at Rainbow Dash's fallen wings and then looked at the hot air balloon behind her.

"Pfft! Could it be that your wings aren’t strong enough to fly to Cloudsdale and you had to come in that silly balloon here? Hahaha!" The brown colt laughed loudly, followed by his partner.

"T-That's not true, I… I used the balloon to bring my friends here." Rainbow Dash said blushing with embarrassment.

"Your friends? What friends?" The ocher colt said, looking around mockingly, finding no one.

"My best friends, ponies that are worth a hundred times more than you’ll ever be worth." Rainbow Dash said annoyed, ready to stop defending herself and start counterattacking. “Actually, I'm friends with one of the coolest colts in Equestria. The personal student of Princess Celestia, the savior of the kingdom, who has faced dragons and dark beings.  A true stud, not like you!"

"Heh... And where is that so-called cool colt?" The brown colt asked mockingly.

"He's there-" Rainbow Dash said raising her hoof ready to target Dusk Shine, however she stopped at the last second when she saw that in the distance , Dusk kept flying like crazy, with a scared face while her other friends were trying to grab him to get him down. At that moment Dusk looked so silly that pointing him out would be Rainbow Dash's downfall.

"There!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the last second, changing direction and pointing in the totally opposite direction from where Dusk was.

The two colts turned to see where Rainbow Dash was pointing.

"Over there!" Rainbow Dash yelled again before the two colts finished turning pair to see, causing them to look in another direction.

"Over there!" Rainbow Dash shouted a third time, making the colts dizzy without knowing where to look.

"I see nothing." The ocher colt said with his dizzy eyes.

"It's just that my friend is flying so fast that you couldn't see him, hehe..." Rainbow Dash said with a nervous smile as she scratched her head, hoping that both bullies believed her lie.

"Sure. Well, it's time to go, we'll leave you and your imaginary boyfriend alone, hehe." The brown colt said with a mocking laugh, not believing anything Rainbow Dash had said. "We'll see you in the competition, where everyone will see that your famous Sonic Rainboom was just a fraud, just like you!"

Then both colts spread their wings and laughed as they continued teasing each other in the distance of the rainbow maned pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash, why did you stay behind?" Fluttershy said, as she and her friends approached it again, all walking as Dusk continued to float, flapping his wings involuntarily as he was held by a rope on his hooves, which Spike was holding, as if Dusk was a balloon.

Seeing her friends return, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and quickly shook her head to clear her mind.  She had no time to get upset or worry about what that pair of fools who upset her said.  She had promised herself that she and her friends would have a great day in their beautiful hometown, and nothing would ruin that.

"N-No problem, I'm fine." Rainbow Dash said, with a big smile. "I'm sorry for the delay, now, let's start our tour of Cloudsdale!"





Going with Rainbow Dash as a guide, the first thing the group of friends visited was the Cloudsdale suburb, where almost all the houses were built with clouds.  Although, like Rainbow’s house, with a type of cloud much denser than the usual clouds in the sky. Constructions that could only be made and kept there in the sky, all following the aesthetics of the city, with large columns and arches that reminded a bit of antiquity.

After they continued through the market, which was quite basic but with very high prices, since there in the sky not all the things that were given on earth were given, such as food, gems or other raw materials, so that many pegasi preferred to shop in neighboring cities.

Finished with the market, Rainbow Dash smiled at what was coming as she intentionally led her friends down the most common and boring route to make a greater impact with the city's crown jewel: the weather factory.

Upon arriving at the factory, everyone's eyes widened when they saw the enormous construction of clouds, with chimneys from which many and varied clouds came out; while on one of their sides a rainbow river fell, from where the pegasi made precisely rainbows.  Once inside, everyone had to put on robes and helmets, all to keep clean such a delicate work area where the weather of all Equestria was manufactured, especially in the first room they entered, which was where the snowflakes were made.

"It looks like you've got the hang of it already." Rainbow Dash said looking at Dusk and his wings, as they moved through the winter room, noting that his friend was no longer flying awkwardly.  In fact, he was already able to fly slowly and stay suspended in the air like a normal pegasus.

"Yes, I think I already understood the trick of these wings." Dusk said proudly, taking a couple of turns in the air to show off his new acquired skill with his wings. “These wings aren’t like pegasus wings, they’re magical.  So once I understood that, I figured that I should focus and command them with my mind, not with my back muscles. It is a process that-"

Dusk stopped talking to noticing that all the pegasus workers of the place started running from side to side as snowflakes they worked on were flying all over the place. It took Dusk a couple of seconds to understand that doing his demonstration had flapped his wings too much and caused a wind that had blown away the delicate and light snowflakes.

"Oops! I'm sorry." Dusk said embarrassed, landing immediately as he put on a nervous and guilty smile.

"How can you be so careless!" An angry mare shouted, who looked like the boss of the place, who went furiously to where Dusk was. "These tourists... Didn't you read the sign that said- Wooaah...! Those are your wings?"

The furious pegasus stopped suddenly as she got closer to Dusk and saw his wings more closely, causing her to radically change her attitude and now show a face of profound astonishment.

"Uh ... yes, it's... it's a magic spell that allows me to fly..." Dusk said again embarrassed, only this time because of the excessive attention he was having, since when the other pegasi saw their boss amazed, most of the other workers also approached there, all showing amazement at seeing Dusk's wings.

At that time Dusk didn't understand it, but for a pegasus, wings were everything.  And seeing a pony with other types of wings, and even more, such cute butterfly-shaped ones, made all the pegasi be amazed and enchanted by those particular wings.

At first, all of Dusk's friends smiled when they saw everyone around them coming to admire Dusk, but when noticing that most of them were mares and that they were getting too close to Dusk, reaching out to touch him, it made some jealousy appear in them, which made them all begin to separate Dusk from his new fans. Then the mares began to hurry the way to leave this room soon and continue with the next.

As soon as the group of ponies reached the next room, they all instantly forgot about the hustle and bustle they had left behind and just stared in shock at what was in front of them.

"And this is the room where rainbows are made." Rainbow Dash said smiling, amused to see her friends so amazed to see the colored pools, each one with the most vivid and brilliant colors they had ever seen, colors that then mixed in waterfalls and formed the beautiful rainbows. "You can go on a tour, just be careful with..." Rainbow Dash stopped speaking when she saw that her friends had already separated, all wanting to go on their own in such a beautiful and exotic place, even Fluttershy, who had never been in that room.

While Fluttershy, Spike and Rarity watched the pools where the colors were mixed, and Applejack ran after Pinkie Pie after she tasted a little the flavor of the rainbows and ran away for how spicy it was; Dusk was once again being cornered by a group of mares that began to approach and flirt with him, none attracted to the colt himself, but rather to the beautiful and exotic wings that lavender colt had.

Rainbow Dash sighed and walked over to where Dusk was, ready to separate Dusk from all that crowd again, however she stopped noticing that in that crowd were the two bullies who had bothered her earlier, who just seemed to be working there. Noticing that those two pesky colts were there, Rainbow Dash jumped to hide behind a column that was right next to her.

"Wait a minute, this is silly. Why am I hiding?" Rainbow Dash thought as she unconsciously hugged one of her fallen wings with her hoof. It was then that she sighed and decided that she could no longer be ashamed of something she would have to get used to living with.

"Wings made of gossamer and morning dew… how wonderful! You’re like an alicorn!" A pegasus said, getting closer to Dusk while flirting with him.

"Yes! You are like royalty!" Another mare said, also smiling flirtatiously. "And tell me, prince... do you have a girlfriend?"

"G-Girlfriend?" Dusk repeated nervously, as always, getting a little scary when being in large groups of strangers.

"Yeah, I mean, I saw you arrive here with five mares." The pegasus who had asked the question said. "Surely one is your girlfriend, but if it wasn't, maybe you and I... you know..."

"Oh! No, they are my friends." Dusk replied trying not to be so nervous. "We all came by balloon from Ponyville to see-"

"Balloon? Wait a second, are you Rainbow Crash's imaginary boyfriend?" Asked the bully colt with brown fur, who had also come with his friend to see the strange wings of that lavender colt.

"Rainbow Crash? Oh! I think you were wrong; her name is Rainbow Dash." Dusk said smiling innocently as Rainbow Dash covered her face, red with embarrassment upon hearing how Dusk and the bullies were talking.

"What? Oh! Yeah, sure, I was referring to her." The brown colt said with a mocking smile.

"No, Rainbow Dash is not my girlfriend." Dusk said smiling. "In fact, of all the girls, she is the one I least imagine having as a girlfriend."

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash froze with pain in her chest. She had heard that phrase before from Dusk's lips: 'Of all the girls, you are the one I least imagine having as a girlfriend.' Those were the words that Dusk had said to her in the Everfree Forest when she thought they were on a romantic date, and it had been burned into her heart, because those were the words that began to collapse her love for Dusk, when she realized that she would never have a chance with him and that he had never seen her in a romantic way.

Although Rainbow Dash had already sworn to herself that she had to accept that Dusk would never see her as more than a friend, hearing that phrase again was like opening an old wound, which made Rainbow Dash put her back against the pillar and let herself fall slowly, with her head down, feeling desolate.

"Rainbow Dash is the coolest mare I know. She would never notice someone like me.  I just can't imagine that she would ever accept me as her boyfriend." Dusk added blushing slightly as he had a nervous smile. A comment that made Rainbow Dash raise her head in surprise. "She deserves to be the girlfriend of the best pony in the world, and I... I'm definitely not that pony"

As the other ponies continued to invade Dusk with questions, nothing else reached Rainbow Dash's ears. Dusk's last clarification made her start internally.  All those days since she had escaped her date with Dusk, she had repeated that phrase in her mind a thousand times, about that Dusk would never imagine having her as a girlfriend, which had led her to think that Dusk didn't see her even as a desirable mare, but it was just the opposite! Dusk had said that phrase because he thought that he himself was not worthy to be with her, that she had so many virtues that he was not worthy of her love. It wasn't that Dusk had ever thought of her romantically, but his damn low self-esteem!

In the realization of that and what it meant, Rainbow Dash lowered her head again, but this time to try to hide the huge smile that she could hardly bear when she realized that the colt whom she loved could indeed love her, in addition to discovering all the admiration he felt for her. With just one phrase, her wounded heart, which had been battered for days, had healed and now this made her want to scream and jump for joy.  

There was still a chance for her to earn Dusk’s love!





"Hm? Rainbow Dash, is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked suddenly, who approached her when she saw that her friend was hiding behind a pillar.

"Uh? N-No, everything’s good! Hehe." Rainbow Dash said blushing, scratching her head, still smiling. "Well, enough of the tours, it's time to go to the coliseum." Rainbow Dash added nervously, trying in vain to hide her happiness.

The very perceptive Fluttershy immediately noticed that something really good had to have happened to her friend to make her smile like that, an authentic smile full of happiness that she had not seen her friend in weeks, so Fluttershy could not help smiling too.  No matter what the reason was, the only thing that mattered was that after many days, the real Rainbow Dash had finally returned.





Once they left the weather factory, Rainbow Dash guided her group of friends again, only this time with a big smile that no one could take from her face.

"You’re looking a lot more chipper! Did something happen back at the factory that made you feel better?" Dusk asked smiling, intrigued by his friend's smile.

"Who knows." Rainbow Dash replied, bringing her face closer to Dusk and giving him a huge and authentic smile, which made Dusk blush slightly, while also being very happy to see his friend so happy.

As they continued walking, everyone's eyes widened in amazement when they saw the huge coliseum in the clouds, where dozens of pegasi were arriving, the vast majority to see the show, while a few lucky ones got ready to participate.

"Over here is the main entrance. Let's hurry up! If we reach seats in the front rows, we'll get a closer look at the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly, leading her friend s to the main entrance.

Along with Rainbow Dash, the five mares advanced towards the entrance of the coliseum, where there was already a line to enter.  However, not all followed Rainbow Dash.

"What's wrong?  Why aren’t you following them?" Spike asked confused, seeing that his brother had stood still, with a thoughtful look as he looked towards another sector of the coliseum.

"It's... it's just that I think I have an idea." Dusk said slowly, not moving his gaze from where he was looking.

"Here you are!  Why didn’t you two follow along with the rest of us?!" Rainbow Dash said a little annoyed, after noticing that neither Dusk nor Spike were in the group, which forced her to return thinking they were lost. "I told Applejack and the girls to go ahead and find and reserve seats."

"Hey Dash... Is that other entry what I think it is?" Dusk asked without moving his eyes.

Then Rainbow Dash looked where Dusk saw, which was one side of the coliseum, where a few pegasi, with numbers stuck on their flanks, also entered the coliseum.

"That’s the entrance for the participants." Rainbow Dash replied, narrowing her eyes to see clearly.

"I thought so... Come on, follow me." Dusk said seriously, who flapped his wings and flew over there, to the surprise of Spike and Rainbow Dash, who looked at each other confused and ran to catch up with Dusk.

As soon as Dusk landed in front of the other entrance to the coliseum, Rainbow Dash and Spike also arrived, both a bit tired from having to run so suddenly.  In front of the entrance, there was a corpulent stallion, with dark glasses and a military mane cut, who blocked access with one of his wings.

"I think I ran too fast." Spike said, putting a claw in his mouth, pretending that he was going to vomit. Exhausted from running so fast with his short legs.

"Excuse me." Dusk asked, approaching the guard gently. "We wanted to know if-"

"Only participants." The guard said roughly, interrupting Dusk.

"I have an invitation." Dusk said, surprisingly pulling out a crumpled letter.

"Uh!? You… did you bring that!?" Rainbow Dash said in surprise, acknowledging her invitation to the competition.

"Just in case, hehe." Dusk replied smiling as he passed the invitation to the guard.

"This invitation is for a certain ‘Rainbow Dash’." The guard said, lowering his glasses to see Dusk from head to toe.

"Yes, she can't participate, so I thought-" Dusk said pointing at Rainbow Dash, before being interrupted.

"The invitation is for her, not for you. You can't get in." The guard said, putting his glasses back on and standing in front of the entrance, motionless as a statue.

At the guard's refusal, Dusk lowered his head in frustration, biting his lip. If only they had found a less embittered guard, Dusk's plan would have worked.

"I’m serious... I... I don't feel very well... Blargh...!" Spike said approaching Dusk, not being able to avoid vomiting right at his hooves.

"Eww! Spike! Are you okay?" Dusk said worried, seeing that his little brother had just expelled his last meal from his mouth: a lot of gems, the ones he had been eating in his pack of popcorn while they were going there. "You should be more caref-"

At that moment Dusk stopped speaking when he noticed the guard, who for the first time showed emotions, since he had taken off his glasses and was looking at the gems vomited by Spike as if it were the most beautiful thing he had seen. It was then that Dusk understood what was happening and levitated the gems before they fell through the clouds.

"Oh, but what a waste! My brother threw up this pile of gems, now what shall I do with this?" Dusk said in a mock theatrical voice, glancing sideways at the guard. "Perhaps some good pegasus could make better use of these gems than us..."

"Uh, hmm... m-maybe I was a little harsh in saying you couldn't participate." The guard said, looking away embarrassed, while looking askance at the gems that Dusk levitated. "I guess if your friend can't participate, it wouldn't hurt for you to participate instead."

"Thank you!" Dusk said with a big smile, stopping levitating the gems and dropping them into the guard's hooves, who looked at them smiling avidly, not caring that they had dragon slime; while Dusk and company finally entered the coliseum.

"Did you bribe that guard with Spike's vomit?  I'm a little impressed.  Kinda grossed out, but mostly impressed." Rainbow Dash said with a hint of mockery, amused to see that Dusk, who always respected the rules, had done something illegal.

"Bribing is a very ugly word, rather it was a small gift that inadvertently opened a door for us, hehe." Dusk said smiling and blushing slightly. "It was fortunate that in Cloudsdale the gems are worth more than in the land cities, and especially the rubies that Spike likes so much, after all they can't be extracted here."

As they entered the hall under the coliseum, the three saw how dozens of ponies stretched their wings or exercised with them, getting ready to soon fly off to try to win the competition and the prize: One afternoon with The Wonderbolts!

"Dusk." Rainbow Dash said as she stopped the lavender colt. "Are you doing what I think you’re doing?"

Dusk gave his friend a warm smile to his friend. "Yes, Rainbow.  I’m going to try and win that prize for you.  It’s a little different the similar plan we had with Fluttershy, but I think these new wings present us with an opportunity.  I figured that maybe spending the day with your heroes would really brighten your mood."

The cyan pegasus’s heart swelled as she heard the colt’s proposition.  Being with the Wonderbolts was an absolute dream for her, a dream that she thought she would have to give up.  But seeing how Dusk was going through all this effort just to have her wish granted, it proved to her even more that the lavender unicorn had her close to his heart.

"Wait here for me, I'll go get you a number to compete in." Rainbow Dash said, coming forward to look for the manager.

"Gosh... I still don't feel quite right... I wonder what I ate that hit my stomach...." Spike said touching his belly as it growled.

"Maybe it's the potion I gave you." Dusk said with a small nervous smile.

"What potion?" Spike asked confused.

"Well… do you remember the potion you showed me yesterday? The one that someone left at the door the other day." Dusk replied scratching his head. "I thought about giving it a try to Rainbow Dash, but I wanted to make sure it worked, so… I put some of your juice in for breakfast."

"You... Did you use me as a guinea pig!?" Spike said annoyed, until his stomach growled again and he had to bend down to endure the pain. "You don't know how much I hate you right now... I'll take revenge….ugh, eventually." Spike added in pain, looking annoyed at his brother.

"Oh, come on! And what about that time you made me believe I ate noodles when they were actually worms? I would say now we're even." Dusk said sticking his tongue out in disgust as he remembered that prank that Spike had played on him years ago.

"It looks like the potion only gave Spike a stomach ache... Maybe it doesn't work." Dusk thought at that moment. "Although Spike is a dragon, and also he has no wings. Maybe the potion will work with Rainbow Dash... There is no way to know.”

After a while Rainbow Dash finally returned, with a sticker with the number 15, which Dusk put on his flank.

"You'll be the last to go out. By the way, I think I already guessed your plan." Rainbow Dash said with a mischievous smile. "You plan to fly and use your horn to put on a show with your magic! That would be something never seen in competition, after all the pegasi can't use magic."

"No, that would be cheating.  I’ll participate only using my wings, like the other pegasi." Dusk replied with a shrug.

"What!? But then, how do you plan to win!?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.

"You just said it, you have to do something unique, and these wings are!" Dusk replied. "All day long the pegasi have approached me to admire these wings. I think if I fly and do some simple stunts, it'll be enough to impress the public."

"So, you plan to win with something artistic instead of speed or skill..." Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully, not sure if that would be enough to win. Then she saw to the side, one of the unused dressing rooms, where there was a box with various ornaments, which seemed that nopony was going to occupy, since rarely did anyone compete with an artistic number. "I know! We can use those trims and makeup to fix you up and make you look even better."

"Wear makeup? I... I'm not sure about that..." Dusk said nervously, as he remembered how much he was teased as a colt for his purple fur which in turn caused him to avoid looking too feminine.  Then Dusk saw the sparkles in Rainbow’s eyes and remembered that he was doing this for her, in order to win the prize that she so badly wanted. "O-Okay… I will. Call to Rarity to come to help us."

"Pfft! Rarity isn’t the only one who can use makeup.  I totally got this!" Rainbow Dash said, puffing up her chest with pride. "In fact, few days ago me and AJ had a makeup competition at her house and I won.  Don't worry."

Then Rainbow Dash went to the box next door to search decorations and makeup, and put on her hooves to work, quickly 'beautifying” a nervous Dusk Shine.

"Number 15! It's your turn to go out!" The announcer said, just as Rainbow Dash was putting the finishing touches on Dusk's makeup.

"And…. there you go! What do you think?" Rainbow Dash said proudly, holding a mirror up to Dusk so he could appreciate her artwork.

Seeing himself in the mirror, Dusk's brain froze and stopped working due to the impact. What he thought would be subtle makeup to perhaps make his eyes pop and look fiercer was actually excessively overloaded makeup.  Dusk had layers and layers of makeup all over his face, making him look like a circus clown or a little filly who had applied makeup for the first time.

"Pfft! I think it matches perfectly with your butterfly wings, hahaha!" Spike laughed out loud.

"I have to take this off!" Dusk shouted in terror, looking for some towel to remove all that makeup, while Rainbow Dash looked at him innocently, not understanding what was wrong.

"Number 15, go on stage or you'll be disqualified!" Screamed the announcer a second time.

Dusk Shine glanced nervously toward the exit, then he closed his eyes tightly and resigned himself to having to go out like this.  Then he approached the exit of the hall, and nervously walked to the center of the coliseum to the starting of where he would start his show.  Dusk took a breath, repeated to himself that everyone would pay attention to his wings instead of his face, and then he jumped up and started the flight for his show.

As soon as Dusk began to fly, voices in the coliseum began to murmur.  At first, the audience was perplexed by the current participant.  His flying was entirely basic and lacked any sort of high speeds or stunts that the previous participants had done.  But as soon as he ascended, the public was amazed by the unique butterfly wings that were never seen on any other pegasus.  The beautiful color mixing along with the sparkles that gleamed off the wings earned Dusk his first applause.

"It’s working! I knew that these wings would wow everypony here!" Dusk thought, smiling more as he flew higher and more confidently. "Now to approach the stands so that they can see my wings better."

Then Dusk moved closer to the stands and began to fly in a circle so that everyone around had the opportunity to see those wings up close, which caused the screams of astonishment to increase, as did Dusk's confidence. At least until he reached the main box, where, to his utter surprise, was Princess Celestia, who had been the guest of honor at that competition.

As soon as their eyes met, they both looked at each other in amazement, since neither expected to find the other there. After recognizing that it was her faithful student who was before her with feminine butterfly wings and excessive makeup, the princess had to block her face with one of her wings so that on one would see her hysterical laughter.  The princess had had to attend that competition only by protocol commitment, like so many other ceremonies that were in the kingdom, so she didn't expect anything really exciting there.  But just seeing her beloved student with such appearance had been enough to make that trip to Cloudsdale worthwhile.  She would no doubt spread this juicy gossip to her little sister.

For his part, Dusk was for the first time grateful for the makeup as it no doubt covered the burning blush that was spreading on his face.  While flying, Dusk bit his lip and decided to ignore his teacher and the inevitable teasing that he would receive from her.  He couldn't fail and ruin his show, he was doing this to win the award for Rainbow Dash, so he continued with his show as planned.

Dusk had previously noticed that the wings were translucent, so he had planned to close with a flourish his show.  The flying unicorn put everything he had into his wings as he flew high above the coliseum.  All of the audience’s eyes were on the colt as he put himself between them and the Sun.  Dusk then opened his wings and allowed the sunlight to pass through them.  What resulted was a beautiful spectacle of colors that bathed the coliseum in a soft rainbow spectrum.  Dusk then closed his eyes and basked in the resulting “Ooos” and “ahhs” from the audience.  

As the public watched the show of colors skyward, a great flash appeared, and the colors disappeared. Then everyone started clapping loudly as they thought that flash had been the mark of the end of the show. The applause went on and on, slowly easing as everyone stared confusedly around, trying to find the mysterious participant.

"DUSK!!" Suddenly, a lonely, piercing scream was heard, leaving everyone even more confused.

Seconds earlier, Dusk Shine was about to receive an unwanted surprise. He had been illuminating the public with the light passing through his wings, until, to his surprise, Dusk felt a heat on his back and a great light flashed behind him, and then... he began to fall right out of the sky.  The wings were made of gossamer and morning dew, and being so high, directly receiving the rays of the Sun, it happened that the magic wings no longer withstood the heat and dissolved in a magical outburst.

Dusk began to flail around and scream for help as he began to plummet.  Unfortunately, the speed of his falling combined with the applause from the audience.   All the coliseum was still looking up waiting for Dusk to emerge from the great flash, only they failed to realize that said colt was falling to his death.

Almost all, that is.  Unlike the public in the stands, Rainbow Dash was lower, at the starting point from where Dusk had started his show. So, she was the only one that noticed from the corner of her eye that something falling through the floor of the coliseum.  As Rainbow poked her head through the clouds to see what was falling, her blood froze when she saw that it was an all too familiar lavender unicorn.

"DUSK!!" Rainbow Dash screamed in terror.  She didn’t waste a second thought and instinctively jumped through the clouds to catch her friend.  Only after that did she remember her crippled wings and now found herself falling to the ground.

As Rainbow Dash fell, she realized too late that her wings weren't working, but even that didn't matter to her, she didn't yell for help to save herself either. What Rainbow Dash did, was lean back and put her hooves in front of her to gain more speed to try to catch up with Dusk. There was nothing else in Rainbow Dash's mind. Neither her safety, what she would do next, nor anything else.  All she thought about was reaching Dusk.

Within a few seconds of jumping, Rainbow Dash heard a noise behind her, fast approaching. Then, just to the side of her spent three ponies wearing the same suits colored blue with yellow highlights, wearing goggles on their eyes. They were The Wonderbolts, the fastest fliers in all of Equestria.  No doubt thanks to their fast reflexes that they were the first to react after the Rainbow Dash scream and now they had even reached her.

"Take flight, we'll save him!" One of the Wonderbolts shouted, who seemed to be the captain. The captain had said that thinking that Rainbow Dash could fly and that she had jumped to try to save Dusk.  The Wonderbolts flapped their wings to try to gain more speed, and little by little they began to overcome the Rainbow Dash free fall, thus flying at enormous speed.

"No... It's not enough!" Rainbow Dash thought terrified when she saw the speed of the Wonderbolts, the distance Dusk was, and the little distance that was left to the ground.  Even with their incredible speed there was no way that they were going to reach Dusk in time.  Rainbow Dash had a lot of experience flying at high speed, and she was never wrong about that sort of thing. She began to breathe heavily and closed her eyes tightly as she began to cry helplessly at what was about to happen.

"No! No! NO!! Don't give up! Don't fail! Don't lose hope!" Rainbow Dash crying shouted, looking up and penetratingly looking at where Dusk was, with an absolute resolution. "I’m not gonna let you die, Dusk!  Not before I tell you how much I LOVE YOU!”

Rainbow Dash's wings spread, but there was no time for the pegasus to be impressed.   A strong flap, two strong flaps, three strong flaps, Rainbow Dash surpassed the Wonderbolts... four strong flaps, five strong flaps, Rainbow Dash reached her maximum speed, the wind hit her face, the air became dense, it was like swimming in water, this was the speed limit of a pegasus... Six strong flaps! A desperate heart!  A rainbow explosion flashed in the sky as Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier.

Rainbow Dash flew like lightning, reaching Dusk and lifting him, overcoming the inertia of the fall, just before both hit the ground, making a bow and rising both followed by the rainbow trail that Rainbow Dash was leaving in her path.

"Rainbow Dash! You're flying!" Dusk screamed, so agitated from a near-death experience that he could hardly breathe.

"That wasn't flying, that was falling with style." Rainbow Dash said with a huge smile, happier than she had ever been in her life. "This is flying."

So Rainbow Dash held Dusk tight and she began twists and pirouettes as she ascended, all while maintaining her rainbow trail and breakneck speed.

The Wonderbolts had been stunned after seeing that sonic explosion, and even more when seeing that that rainbow pegasus had saved that colt and she was now making those spectacular stunts in the air. And the Wonderbolts were not the only ones who had seen that show, because everyone in the coliseum had been expectant to see the rescue, and amazed to see that Sonic Rainboom. But the most excited in the public were four mares, who had remained on the edge of fear to see Dusk and Rainbow Dash fall, and now cried with relief and joy to discover that both were safe and to recognize that particular feeling of the Sonic Rainboom that they had also felt years ago and that had united them since they’re fillies.

"Does the cloudwalking spell still work for you?" Rainbow Dash asked ecstatically as she continued to ascend and hold Dusk.

"Yes, it should work until sunset." Dusk answered from below, not understanding why his friend asked him that.

"Okay, wait for me here." Rainbow Dash said as she released Dusk onto a cloud as she continued to ascend towards the coliseum. "I have a competition to win."

Already without Dusk's weight, Rainbow Dash got more speed on the rise and sped up over the coliseum, leaving a rainbow behind her as the crowd leaped to make the biggest cheer ever heard that afternoon, all while Rainbow Dash continued to spin and twist, taking advantage of the fact that she still had her beautiful rainbow trail caused by the Sonic Rainboom.

"Go get ‘em, Rainbow." Dusk said to himself as he saw his friend soar high.

From below, in a small cloud, Dusk could perfectly hear the screams, applause and praises that everyone gave Rainbow Dash, both for saving him, and for the great and beautiful show she was giving them. There was no doubt, right now the great winner of that competition was flying.





"You lost!?" Dusk Shine yelled in shock once Rainbow Dash returned to his cloud and told him what happened after the competition ended.

"I didn't lose, rather we were disqualified." Rainbow Dash said scratching her head as she landed on the little cloud she had left Dusk in. "Turns out taking my place meant we were both disqualified from the competition for trying to cheat."

Dusk Shine had waited patiently for his friend to come back for him, time he took to remove the rest of the ridiculous makeup that was on his face.  He had enough time to clean up since Rainbow Dash didn't return immediately after finishing her routine, where Dusk thought that it was most likely that after her act they were rewarding her.  So, it was a total surprise to know that she hadn't won despite having performed one of the most impressive air shows ever seen in Cloudsdale, surprising and very discouraging.

"I'm sorry you didn't win. I know how much you wanted that award." Dusk said with a look of pity.

"Nah, it's okay!  Plus I was able to talk to the Wonderbolts anyway." Rainbow Dash said with a huge smile. "After the awards show, the Wonderbolts approached me and told me how amazed they were after seeing my Sonic Rainboom.  And not only that, even the princess herself came to congratulate me!  Everyone was super impressed, all thanks to my wings working again!  I knew it was only a matter of time, I managed to get them to work again only with my awesome will power!"

"And with a little orange juice." Dusk said with a guilty little smile. "I guess it took a while to take effect, like with Spike's vomit."

"What? What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked without understanding.

"The other day Spike found a little bottle that said 'Potion' on it.  And this morning I secretly used it on him and I was ready to use it on you, but then you said you didn't want any more false hopes, that made me hesitate, but… anyway I took a chance and put it in your juice." Dusk replied looking at his friend with a guilty face. "I know you didn't want to try more things, but I didn't want to give up... nor did I want you to give up."

Rainbow Dash was amazed at Dusk's story and remembering the orange juice he had offered her at breakfast.

"And where did that potion come from?" Rainbow Dash asked in amazement.

"That... is a long story." Dusk replied with a thoughtful look, knowing that he still had a great mystery to solve. "By the way, isn't it about time we got back to the others?"

At that moment Rainbow Dash blushed a little and looked away.

"The... the girls are already gone." Rainbow Dash said blushing. "I told them to come back on their own because…" At that moment Rainbow Dash fell silent as she was unsure whether to say what she wanted to say, but then she reminded herself that she had promised to be braver after the near-death experience that both she and Dusk had experienced. "Because I... wanted to spend time with you alone..."

Dusk was surprised at Rainbow Dash's proposition.  Then she approached the edge of the small cloud and fluttered a few times to give it momentum and it began to move.

"Welcome to the Rainbow Dash Air Express. Next stop, Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said with a shy smile, sitting next to Dusk once the cloud picked up momentum and started to move on its own.

As the cloud moved, a few seconds of silence followed when Rainbow Dash knew she should talk about something, but she was so nervous she didn't know what to talk about.

"I’m honestly kinda surprised that you didn’t spend the rest of today hanging out with the Wonderbolts." Dusk said suddenly, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah.  I kinda wish I was, but what other choice did I have?  I couldn't leave you here abandoned on a lonely cloud." Rainbow Dash replied with a smile, thanking Dusk for breaking the silence and her nervousness.

"I'm sorry." Dusk said blushing a little, regretting that his friend put her dream aside for having to come back for him.

"Don't be silly. You’re my friend, stop thanking me for everything." Rainbow Dash said looking towards the horizon with a smile.

The cloud moved slowly but safely towards Ponyville, which luckily didn't was too far from Cloudsdale at that time of the year.  So they would arrive in a few minutes, but at the least it would give them enough time to enjoy in the past rays of the sun before sunset.

"You know, everything in my life felt like it was downhill since our last date." Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully, glancing at Dusk. "The only thing I hope is that now that everything will get back to normal."

"Well, your wings are back, and more importantly, your smile is back.  So everything seems to indicate that we're on the right track." Dusk said smiling, until he remembered their previous date which his friend meant. "About that adventurous date we had in the forest, I... I'm so sorry I made you mad."

Rainbow Dash remembered that moment, and she blushed embarrassed.

"I guess sometimes I'm not sure how to treat you." Dusk added with a confused look.

"I-I think that time I exaggerated a little.  It's… it's just that it bothers me a bit that you treat me differently than other girls…" Rainbow Dash said, still remembering when Dusk called her 'dude' and treated her like a boy.  “I mean, sure, we’re all different from each other.  But the end of the day…we’re all still mares.  And that's something I don't want you to forget."

Dusk Shine remembered what her friend was referring to and this time it was his turn to blush embarrassed as he remembered his mistake.

"I promise." Dusk said sadly, then put on a thoughtful face as he remembered something else. "You know, this is the second promise I’ve made to you, but this one I intend to keep.”

"Hm? What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.

"The day of the Summer Sun Celebration. You won the bet to clear the clouds in less than ten seconds, and I promised that I would do anything you wanted, but you still haven't asked me to do anything, hehe." Dusk said with a small smile.

It took Rainbow Dash a few seconds to remember what Dusk was saying, and then she blushed and looked away.  What Dusk was saying was true, that time she had been about to ask Dusk for something, but Pinkie Pie had taken him away before she could tell him.  But now it was different, they were both alone, no one could interrupt them.  However, would she be able to ask what she had wanted to ask him on that occasion?

Rainbow Dash lowered her head and she breathed slowly to calm down a little.  Just moments ago, she cried helplessly as she believed that Dusk would fall to his death. She had vowed to be braver, and she couldn't hesitate any longer for her own fears about what might happen or think others if they found out what she said.

"I already know what I want." Rainbow Dash said, with her head down, so Dusk couldn't see more than her reddened ears. "I want... a kiss."

Again, an awkward silence followed for a long time, with both ponies static as statues. With Rainbow Dash hiding her face and Dusk with his eyes wide open in surprise at what he had just heard.

"You... You want a kiss?" Dusk asked blushed and nervous, wanting to confirm what he had heard, even though he was sure of what he heard.

"Y-You’ve kissed all the girls, and I... I'm the only one who..." Rainbow Dash started to speak, looking up, showing her blushed face, but still not being able to look Dusk in the eye. So nervous that she was unable to finish saying what she thought. "I was just saying that I don't want you to treat me differently from others. That's... that's why... just for that. I... I don't want to feel different."

Dusk was always nervous when it came to romance, so he perfectly understood what Rainbow was feeling right now.

"You... Do you want to know how a kiss feels...? Have you ever kissed anyone?" Dusk asked nervously.

Rainbow Dash didn't reply, but she unbelievably turned redder than she already was, her gaze even more embarrassed. Which was enough of a response for Dusk.

"It's... it's just that those things have never mattered to me." Rainbow Dash added blushing, looking out into nowhere. "And now that everyone has done it… sometimes I think, how I might screw it up when I do it?"

Hearing Rainbow Dash's words, Dusk was surprised and thoughtful as his mind tried to find an explanation of what was happening and it was inventing a mental puzzle to try to justify something that had a much more obvious answer, but that his own self-esteem prevented him from seeing.

"Maybe she wants to practice kissing so as not to ruin it in the future with the colt whom she loves..." Dusk thought after joining the last thing Rainbow Dash said with her particular request.

"O-Okay... I will." Dusk finally said, also blushing full. "But I think it is a waste that your first kiss is with me and not with the colt whom you love..."

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash was surprised for a moment and then she looked to the side with a small smile.

"How dumb can you be, egghead... you are that pony." Rainbow Dash thought with a tender smile.

"If you don't want to do it, that's fine... I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do." Rainbow Dash said nervously, looking sheepishly at Dusk.

"What are you talking about? It seems more like an award than a penalty, haha." Dusk said, thinking out loud, until he realized he had spoken out loud and blushed even more than Rainbow Dash was, getting totally nervous. "I-I... I didn't mean... I mean... I did say it, I just thought... no, I thought it... well, yes I did, but what I wanted to say is... uh... I…" Dusk started to stutter awkwardly, without finishing any ideas and without knowing how to justify what he had just said.

Seeing Dusk being so clumsy, Rainbow Dash smiled fondly noticing that he, like her, was also very nervous.

Finally, both were silent and stared at each other, both with their cheeks blushed, knowing that words were already superfluous.  At that moment the cloud, which had gradually decreased its speed, had almost reached its destination, and had stopped just above a lake that was next to Ponyville, causing the rays of the sun that was hidden in the sunset to be reflected in it, resulting a romantic atmosphere and creating the perfect moment.

"A-Are you ready?" Dusk asked shyly.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head in acceptance and nervously began to move her face closer to Dusk Shine's.  She would finally kiss Dusk. It didn't matter that she was the last of her friends to kiss Dusk, that didn't matter, right?  That didn't mean she was losing likewise… right?

As Dusk Shine stood still, his eyes closed and his cheeks blushed, he gradually felt Rainbow Dash's breathing approaching him slowly, just as the lips of both ponies almost touched; the pegasus suddenly widened her eyes at a sudden bright idea, the brightest idea that had ever occurred to her, and then she stopped.

"No, I don't want to kiss you." Rainbow Dash said stopping and receding her face, before Dusk's surprise gaze. "I... want you to kiss me."

"Uh? What is not the same?" Dusk asked confused.

"It’s not the same!" Rainbow Dash said completely blushed.

And it was then that things were reversed. This time Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and slightly bowed her head, waiting for Dusk Shine.

Then Dusk looked at Rainbow Dash, she was more helpless than he had ever seen her, and he slowly brought his face closer to that of the pegasus. As he got closer, Dusk saw the beautiful features of Rainbow Dash's face more defined, her eyebrows, her beautiful rainbow mane, he could smell her soft scent, and saw her small lips waiting for him impatiently; And it was then that Dusk understood what Rainbow Dash was saying.

"She’s right… Kissing is different from being kissed!!" Dusk thought blushing fully as his heart beat a thousand per second.

Finally Dusk closed his eyes at the last moment and he joined his lips to Rainbow Dash's, fulfilling his promise and kissing her.

The first seconds were just a touch of the lips, in which both froze with their lips glued together. Both with almost no experience and so nervous that they expected the other to make a move. But finally they both relaxed and let themselves go for the moment, moving their lips and finally giving each other a passionate kiss.

Dusk didn't have much experience kissing, besides, he still didn't know if this was good or bad, since he had only done it with his friends.  An intense and fleeting kiss with Pinkie Pie, a quick and accidental sweet kiss with Applejack, a strong and passionate kiss with Fluttershy, a tender and romantic kiss with Rarity, and just like all her friends were different, their kisses were also different, because Rainbow Dash's kiss was slow, inexperienced, but also tender and natural.

After several seconds, both lips finally peeled off, and Dusk and Rainbow Dash stared at each other closely, their cheeks blushed as they slowly caught their breath.

Only a couple of seconds passed and instinctively they both began to slowly approach again. And without warning, Dusk disappeared, before Rainbow Dash's stunned and confused eyes.





SPLASH!

Rainbow Dash heard a noise below her and peeked through the cloud, noting that there was Dusk Shine, who had fallen into the lake that they were flying over at that moment.

"Sput! Cough! I-I think the spell for walking in the clouds ran out." Dusk said from below, spitting water and looking into the sunset, which was the time he had previously predicted when the spell's effect would end.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Why are you always so clumsy?!  Hahaha!" Rainbow Dash giggled, blushing at the thought that she liked that silly side of Dusk, too.

Rainbow Dash watched from above as Dusk swam towards the lake shore, then she looked towards the town and smiled again, amazed at the thought that so many good things could happen in one day only, which made her decide something, something different from what she used to. This time she would take things easy, after all, even before that day, everything had gone wrong for rush things.

She knew that the race for Dusk's heart was far from over, but now she finally felt part of the race, she was no longer the last in the race, for the first time since she met love, she was in the lead, and now she would use everything she had learned and give her all to win that race.

"Town’s over there.  Will you be okay getting there on your own?" Rainbow Dash asked, flapping her wings so that the cloud she was falling down next to her.

"Sure, no problem." Dusk said as he pulled out a seaweed that had been left on his mane.

"Hehe, see you tomorrow, Dusk." Rainbow Dash said smiling, barely able to contain her happiness. The pegasus felt her heart swell when the lavender colt gave her a smile back.

It was then that Rainbow Dash grabbed a portion of the cloud between her hooves and flew away, taking it with her. 

After all, back at her cloud house, a beloved home that she had spent days from, there was a pillow that she had beaten into nothingness out of fit of anger.  She needed a new pillow, and the tuft of cloud she now had would be the perfect replacement.  After all, what better pillow than the one where she had given her first kiss, a pillow that in her mind still kept the sweet and pleasant smell of the colt she loved.

# End of chapter 42
> Chapter 43 - External changes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

External changes

Mornings were back to the way they had always been at the Golden Oak Library with just Dusk Shine and Spike eating breakfast together, since Rainbow Dash had returned to her own home the day before. That morning Spike was eating absentmindedly while Dusk held some toast with his magic while reading a book, or at least he tried to, since as much as he tried to concentrate, his mind was elsewhere: yesterday.

"Ugh, it’s no use!" Dusk said resignedly, closing the botanical book he had taken to try to distract himself, and dropping his head on the table while sighing.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked looking confused at his brother. Then his eyes widened in surprise at an answer. "Oh, I know! It's because of Rainbow Dash, right?"

Hearing his friend's name, Dusk instantly raised his head, completely red with embarrassment.

"W-What do you mean...?" Dusk replied nervously, thinking that his brother had hit the spot.

"Yesterday she left you alone on an abandoned cloud. Not a bad prank." Spike replied smiling and eating his breakfast again. "Maybe it was bad for you, but I was a bit more fortunate.  I was chatting the whole trip back with Rarity, hehe." Spike added, blushing and giggling.

Dusk felt relief at his brother's blessed innocence of not thinking that anything else had happened between him and Rainbow Dash, but then Dusk became nervous again when Spike mentioned Rarity. By itself it would be difficult to explain to Spike the reason why he kissed Rainbow Dash, but he also had to tell him that he had kissed his beloved Rarity, and that would be much, much more complicated.

Speaking of his friends, Dusk Shine began to feel a huge weight from how he would react in front of his friends after what happened with Rainbow Dash.  He hadn't only kissed Rainbow Dash, but also Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Now the circle was complete, he had kissed his friends without exception! That meant... What kind of friend did it make him into!?

Dusk dropped his head again and hit the table, totally discouraged and confused.

"What?  You okay, Dusk?  What's wrong with you?" Spike asked confused.

"I really would like to know..." Dusk replied without raising his head.

While looking at Dusk, Spike suddenly remembered something and put on a malevolent smile while Dusk didn't look at him.

"By the way, you still didn’t drink any juice yet.  Why don't you drink a little? Maybe that will help you think clearly." Spike said making a great effort to hide his evil smile.

Dusk reluctantly raised his head and took the glass of juice, sipping it all in one gulp.  It was then that Spike finally laughed out loud.

"Bwahaha! My revenge is complete!" Spike yelled, imitating the laughter of a villain.

"What revenge?" Dusk asked without understanding.

"The potion you gave me to drink yesterday that gave me a stomach ache." Spike replied pursing his lips. "I took the last of potion that was left in the bottle and put it in your juice. Bwahaha! Now you’ll get a stomachache now!"

Dusk stared blankly at his little brother while he laughed and pointed at him.

"Yeah…. Hmm, remember Rainbow Dash didn't get a stomachache. Surely that effect doesn't happen to ponies, only to dragons." Dusk replied with a shrug.

"Uh!?" Spike said freezing and stop laughing as he realized his mistake. "Geez! You're right… I'll have to find another way to get revenge…" Spike added biting his lip and thinking aloud.

"Will you really take revenge on me for what happened yesterday?  It was for a greater good." Dusk said trying to get serious, but he couldn't help but smile remembering that he had used his younger brother as a guinea pig to try the potion that cured Rainbow Dash.

"If I want to play a good joke on you for revenge, perhaps I could ask the princess for help so- BUUURP!" Spike said thoughtfully until he was interrupted by his own belching, which was followed by a green flame and a scroll that came out of the dragon's mouth. "Ugh! How I hate that she does that without telling me!" Spike added, referring to the princess's letter, wiping the slime from his mouth.

"She would have to send you a letter to warn you that she will send you a letter, it wouldn’t make sense.  Also, I'm sure that deep down she enjoys bothering you, just like with me." Dusk said taking the scroll that Spike had thrown. "Here we go... I was wondering why she took so long to send this letter..." Dusk added, thinking that since his teacher had seen him the day before with all that makeup on his face, he knew that she would make fun of him sometime.

Dusk opened the letter and read:

"Dear Dusk.

Yesterday I wanted to write you a letter, but I didn't find it fair to bother you on your little stroll with your friend Rainbow Dash."

"How does she know about my ride with Rainbow Dash!?" Dusk thought blushing completely, then continued reading the letter.

"It was a total surprise to have seen you yesterday in Cloudsdale, even more when seeing so creative and avant-garde style of makeup that you had in you.

I know you were probably expecting a letter where I would bother you, as is our custom, but this time I must put aside my sense of humor.

Dusk, I never want you to risk your life like that again!"

Dusk suddenly opened his eyes in surprise when he noticed the change of attitude in the princess's letter. Then he continued reading.

"After having lived for so many years, more than any normal pony has lived, the notions of life and death are blurred. That intrinsic fear that all mortal beings feel is seen as something alien and distant.

But yesterday, for the first time in years, I felt that fear of death again.

When you fell and your friend jumped to your rescue, I realized too late what was really going on. For a second, when you almost hit the ground, my heart stopped, and I was willing to use magic that no one should ever have.

Your friend not only saved you, but me from doing something that would have caused enormous and serious consequences for everyone. All for love.

I know I will never take the place of your mother, Twilight Velvet, nor do I want to, but I hope you don't forget that to me you are more than just my faithful student. You are my little Dusk Shine, my little bright light.

I may be over a thousand years old, but my heart is still fragile. Please don't do anything so dangerous again, because I don't know what I would do if I lost my beloved little one.

With love, Celestia."

When Dusk finished reading the letter, he stood holding the letter surprised, speechless.

"Wow... And she said you were too cheesy in your last letter..." Spike said with a tiny smile, who had come to Dusk and had read the letter behind him after seeing his brother give so shocked.

"She's not cheesy! The princess… took a big risk writing this letter…" Dusk said with a bit of fear, bringing the letter closer to his chest.  For some reason, bringing the letter closer to him reminded Dusk of the warm hugs the princess would sometimes receive when he was a foal.   "She can't have favoritism... She is the ruler of this world and must treat everyone as equal. That’s why she has never had a family... despite her strong maternal instinct..." Dusk added whispering to himself the latter, knowing that the princess saw him as her own son, just as he saw her as a second mother.  Although neither of them had ever said it out loud.

"Then she must have been very concerned to write that letter to you." Spike said thoughtfully.

"That's right..." Dusk said holding the letter even stronger, knowing that the correct thing would be to burn that letter so as not to cause problems for the princess.  But he didn't want to do it.  He was also having a debate between what was logical and what he felt, for the letter of truth had moved him.

"Ugh...! I hate feelings!" Dusk said hitting his head on the table again. "Sometimes I feel that everything was easier when I thought everything with cold logic."

While keeping his head stuck on the table, Dusk shifted his eyes and saw a small bottle that Spike had left on the table. That bottle was the one that contained the potion that had cured Rainbow Dash, and that a few moments ago Spike had used to put what was left of the potion in his juice.

"Well, enough of emotional entanglements. I have something more important to think about, feelings can wait." Dusk said as he remembered that he still had a great mystery to solve. "Come on Spike, we'll go talk to the girls about the potion so they can help us find out who made it." Dusk added standing up and walking towards the door.

"Sure! But what did you mean by 'enough emotional entanglements'? Do you have another sentimental problem apart from the princess's letter?" Spike asked innocently, while Dusk Shine became deaf and just kept walking while his ears were blushing.





The six ponies and the baby dragon were reunited at Sugarcube Corner. Dusk had explained to them in broad strokes how Spike had found the potion at the library door and how it had finally healed Rainbow Dash’s wings.

"That’s why I would like to investigate all of this." Dusk said to her friends after finishing his explanation. "And I think a good place to start would be the Everfree Forest."

"W-Why do you want to go investigate the forest?" Fluttershy asked, trying in vain to hide her fear.

"Because whoever left the potion at the door knew what caused the problem with Rainbow Dash's wings, after all, he or she had the cure." Dusk replied confidently. "And the only place Rainbow Dash was before going to her house and waking up with her crippled wings was the day before, when she was in the forest with me. The other option is that something in the Rainbow Dash house caused that rare effect on her wings, but I highly doubt that’s the case."

"Yeah, nothing in my house was out of place. It must have been something that happened in that gloomy forest!" Rainbow Dash said, who was also very suspicious of the dangerous forest. "For a moment, I even thought that someone may have entered my house at night and done something to my wings, but that would be ridiculous, no one definitely entered, I'm sure."

Hearing Rainbow Dash, Dusk lowered his head thoughtfully. He had also thought about the option his friend had said, but he had discarded it since Spike had said that he saw someone hooded running away the night he discovered the potion, and if it had been a pegasus, they would have flown away.  No, the mysterious hooded pony was not a pegasus and had definitely seen Rainbow Dash in the forest before her wings broke.

"Anyway, that's why I think we should go to the forest and recreate step by step what happened that day. That way we'll know what happened and who helped us." Dusk said looking again at his friends and taking the opportunity to take out a cupcake that Mrs. Cake had left on the table, which Spike and her friends also did.

"So, that's why you called all of us here? How boring..." Pinkie Pie said, taking a cupcake in each hoof and devouring them quickly. "I came because I thought you would tell us about your kiss with Rainbow Dash."

"PFFFT!!" Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash spit up the food at the same time, both choking with the cupcakes, with shocked faces, while the others were frozen, with the cupcakes in their mouths.

"H-How did you find out about that!?" Dusk asked completely red, almost as red as Rainbow Dash, who just hung her head in embarrassment.

"Well, we all went back to Ponyville while the two of you were left alone behind. I just guessed." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug, who was the only one at the table who was neither embarrassed nor shocked by the conversation. "But from how you reacted, it looks like I was right!"

Realizing that he had foolishly fallen into Pinkie Pie's trap, Dusk lowered his head, turning even redder with embarrassment. While Rainbow Dash was making a huge effort not to run away, she was so blushed that her face boiled.

"It can't be! Now everyone knows about our kiss! Everyone must be shocked to know that I'm in love with Dusk Shine!" Rainbow Dash thought naively, not realizing that her great secret love was no surprise to her friends.

"Oh... don't worry, Dashie. Now we are all the same!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile, hugging Rainbow Dash when she saw her so nervous, who was right next to her.

"That's not true... My kiss doesn't count, it was an accident." Applejack said a little annoyed, also blushing slightly.

"Of course it counts! A kiss on the lips counts regardless of the circumstance. All kisses count!" Rarity claimed, looking fierce at Applejack, thinking that her friend wanted to take advantage.

"K-Kisses on the lips..." Spike said slowly, looking scared, as he looked at Rarity with his huge eyes. "W-What do you mean that you are all the same...?"

Realizing her mistake, Rarity blushed and looked away slightly, pursing her lip. She didn't want to hurt her beloved Spikey-Wikey, and she wouldn't have wanted him to find out about her kiss with Dusk Shine like that.

After Rarity averted her gaze, Spike looked intently at Dusk, who all he thought about was teleporting away from there, yet knew that he could no longer evade that issue with his little brother, so he forced himself not to look away and look at Spike straight in the eye as he tried to put his thoughts and feelings in order to give his brother a good explanation, or perhaps an excuse, about why he had kissed the mare Spike liked.  However, that was easier said than done.  Since Dusk didn't find the right words, it was as if he couldn't speak. Seeing his older brother so silent, Spike just glared at him, stood up from his chair and left running from Sugarcube Corner.

"Spike! Wait!" Dusk shouted also getting up and trying to go after his brother. "It was all a mistake... That kiss meant nothing!"

"That kiss meant nothing!?" Rarity suddenly yelled offended. Dusk's words had been so harsh and direct that they made her completely forget the situation they were in. "That kiss meant nothing to you?! For me… It was special!" Rarity shouted hurt.

"I-I didn't mean that!" Dusk said stopping his pursuit of Spike and turning to look at Rarity again. "I-I mean, I did say it, but what I meant to say is... Uh..."

"Did you mean that all the kisses we have given you are the same for you?" Fluttershy asked, who, like her friends, looked seriously at Dusk.

"Yes! That's it!" Dusk yelled pointing at Fluttershy. So nervous that he didn't even notice how his friends looked at him as they bombarded him with quick questions.

"So, none of those kisses mean anything to you?" Applejack said seriously.

"Exactly!!" Dusk replied quickly as his mathematical mind followed the thread of the conversation and accepted that that answer could be obtained logically from what he had initially answered.

It took a few seconds for Dusk to mentally go over everything he had said, this time not from a logical point of view, but an emotional one. And seeing that now all his friends were glaring at him, it made Dusk finally realize the horrible thing he had said.

"NO! NO! It was very special to me! I…. It's just that…" Dusk began to stutter as he tried again to order his mind to find the words he wanted to say.  But again, he was so nervous, and furthermore still worried about the 'betrayal' towards Spike, that he was again lost for words. "I-I don't know what to say..." Dusk finally said, lowering his head, being completely honest not finding a correct answer.  Like that morning, it seemed that Dusk was unable to synchronize his thoughts with his feelings that day, much less be able to explain it in words.

"Enough, leave it at that." Rainbow Dash said, standing up and walking towards the door with her friends, all passing by Dusk's side while he remained frozen with his head down. "That clumsiness of yours is cute sometimes, but there are other times that you're so clumsy that it just makes we want to hit you." Rainbow Dash added from the doorway, while Dusk was still frozen.

Dusk remained motionless for a few seconds, looking at the floor sadly. Rainbow Dash was right... Why was it so hard for him to express himself and know what he really felt?

"What are you waiting for?  Are you going to stay still like a statue or are you going to come with us?" Suddenly Applejack asked from the door, which surprised to Dusk.

As Dusk turned around, he saw that his five friends were still there, waiting at the door, and they hadn't left furious as he had thought.  However, even though the five of them were still there, they didn’t look at him in the eyes.

"I-I thought you were gone..." Dusk said with a rueful look, walking slowly towards where his friends were.

"You said you needed our help to go to the Forest.  Come on, we won't leave you alone." Applejack replied, indicating him to hurry up. "But it doesn't mean we aren't mad at you." She added when Dusk put on a small smile.

"I know." Dusk replied with a resigned sigh, understanding that his friends were not as angry as he thought, but they were still annoyed with him, so he could not escape as easily from that problematic situation he had gotten himself into.





After walking for a while, Dusk didn't know what would be more uncomfortable: Going back to the library and face Spike to chat about what happened with Rarity or continuing with the silent march that everyone had through the Everfree forest.

Since leaving Sugarcube Corner, none of the six ponies present had uttered a word. The five mares were still upset with Dusk for what he had said, and although they already knew from experience that it was normal for Dusk to be clumsy when talking about his feelings, the words he had said were still quite hurtful.  Whereas Dusk remained silent thinking that if he opened his mouth he could ruin everything again. No, this time, if he was going to speak, he had to have a clear head beforehand so as not to stutter or tangle himself.

"Everything I said was wrong. I said that Rarity's kiss meant nothing for Spike not to get mad, then I got nervous and said that all the kisses had been the same, but I didn't mean that they were the same in a bad way… They were the same because they were all special!" Dusk thought trying to organize his thoughts before speaking. "Yes! That's! They were all special and they were all unique and different! That... Does that make sense? Ugh! Why are my ideas so complicated when I think about the kisses I gave them and what they make me feel…"

As Dusk kept debating with himself in his mind, he looked sideways at his friends.

"Well, I'm not sure about a lot of things, so let's start with the facts.  I’ve kissed my five best friends, and I... I liked kissing them!  And that's... okay? I don't know! It's normal that a colt likes to kiss a mare, especially when he feels so much affection for her, but... But they’re all my friends!" Dusk thought, managing to put his ideas in order a little, but frustrated when he saw that he always reached a dead end.  So he shook his head hard, trying for the third time to order his thoughts, still not understanding that he would never succeed if he didn't first he ordered his feelings.

"What's wrong?  What are you thinking about?" Applejack suddenly asked, noticing that Dusk seemed frustrated for some reason.

Dusk looked up to see Applejack, who as always seemed to be the most mature of the mares, and mainly, more mature than him. Then he saw her straight in his eyes and remembered the element she represented, and so he thought that perhaps the best thing would be to be totally honest.

"Even I'm not sure what I think, that is the problem." Dusk said with a sigh, lowering his head as he kept walking. "I can't find the right words to apologize properly... I search for the answer, but I can't find it."

Applejack looked at Dusk a little surprised and then looked up thoughtfully.

"Maybe you think about things a lot, and you just... should say how you feel." Applejack replied.

"I... I don't know how I feel either..." Dusk said a little embarrassed to admit that out loud. "Perhaps it's easier for mares to express their feelings, but for colts it's more difficult, especially for someone as logical as me."

"Hehe... Sometimes that idea runs through my mind." Applejack said with a little giggle as she recalled all the love issues they'd had since Dusk's arrival. "How it would have been different if you had been a mare instead of a colt."

Hearing that, Dusk froze for a second, totally stunned, with a shiver running down his back. Unknowingly, Applejack had struck a chord.  Dusk hated being told he was feminine or anything related, given the teasing he had been subjected to since he was a young colt due to his lavender fur and his finer facial features.

"Well, I also thought that perhaps would be better if all of you were colts!" Dusk said with an annoyed look, walking faster to get away from Applejack's side. "That way I wouldn't have as many problems or worry about things as vain as my feelings."

This time it was Applejack's turn to stop for a second with a shocked look, all while her other friends looked at her confused, as none of them understood why Dusk had said something like that so suddenly and abruptly.

"So... you want like to be surrounded by colts instead of mares?" Pinkie Pie asked with a slightly mocking smile, not being able to avoid teasing to lighten the atmosphere. "Isn't that a bit gay?"

"I don't mean that!  I-I'm just saying that the colts don't talk about their feelings all day or get mad at trifles." Dusk replied nervously, still slightly annoyed at Applejack's hint that he might be a mare.

This time it was the five mares that gave annoying glances and pursed their lips as they felt their gender attacked.

"Hey Bud! Let's pee standing up on that tree over there." Rainbow Dash said imitating a masculine tone and hitting Dusk with her elbow.

"Let's fight each other to see who is the most macho!" Pinkie Pie also added in a deep tone, following Rainbow Dash's game.

"Let's go to look at sports magazines and discuss about them all day long!" Rarity said in a deep voice, joining in the teasing.

Then the five mares stopped walking when they couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha... keep mocking." Dusk said pursing his lip, feeling the obligation to defend his gender. "If you think that this is the way all colts are, you’re wrong.  On the other hoof, it has been scientifically proven that males have better decision-making and better orientation than females."

"That is not true!" Rarity said feeling offended.

"Yeah, we totally have good orientation!  And Derpy doesn't count!" Rainbow Dash claimed, quickly including in her answer her absent-minded friend so that she was not taken as a prototype of female orientation.

"Oh, really? Then tell me, what path should we follow to get to the part of the forest that we went that day of our date?" Dusk asked with a mocking smile.

Rainbow Dash got nervous, looked everywhere and blushed realizing that she didn't remember where it was, and wasn't even sure where in the forest they were at the moment.

"T-That's because I'm not used to being on the ground.  But in the sky, I never get lost!" Rainbow Dash finally replied, red with embarrassment at admitting defeat.

"See!  And about decision making, it's obvious that the colts make better decisions.  After all, colts are more logical, while mare are more emotional and sensitive." Dusk added, feeling victorious in the discussion of the genres.

"That's what you lack, sensitivity." Rarity replied annoyed, passing Dusk's side and continuing on her way. "If you had some, you would notice when someone yells 'I love you' in your face."

"What?!  What are you talking about? No one has yelled 'I love you' in my face." Dusk said confused, not understanding what Rarity had said to him.  All while her other four friends looked at Dusk with tired looks, all thinking the same thing, and continued walking, leaving behind a confused Dusk.

Thus, what had started out as an awkward and silent walk became an even more awkward and even more silent walk.  The six ponies thought that all that discussion about the genders had been totally stupid, however, neither Dusk nor the mares wanted to give in, because deep down they all unconsciously felt that they represented their respective gender and could not lose to the other.

"Here it is..." Dusk said suddenly, finally breaking the silence. "Here we deviate from the path and go into the forest to a small clearing."

"Yeah, I remember this part." Rainbow Dash said taking a couple of steps along with her friends to follow Dusk, however she stopped when she saw that not all her friends advanced with her. "Applejack, what's wrong?"

At Rainbow Dash's words, Dusk stopped and turned to see Applejack, who had been the only one who hadn't advanced. The orange mare stood motionless, her eyes wide and her lip trembling as she stared fearfully at where her friends were moving.

"Dusk... W-We shouldn't go through that part of the forest..." Applejack finally said, after calming her breathing.

"Why not?" Dusk asked curious and somewhat worried to see his always firm friend tremble like that.

"They’re... There are evil creatures that inhabit this part of the forest." Applejack replied looking down at the ground nervously and then looking at Dusk. "And I don't mean animals or magical creatures. There are… There are wild ponies living there… Dark beings."

"Dark beings?" Dusk asked, trying not to panic at what his friend was saying.

"Many years ago, I saw two strange mares living in this part of the forest. They… had their bodies full of scars, wore terrifying clothing, and… worshiped d-death…" Applejack said, breathing hard again as she remembered that part of her past.

Dusk was thoughtful for a while at what his friend had just said. After all, Applejack, the most honest pony in the world, had just said it, that meant she couldn't be lying.

"Dusk... Do you remember that day of our date? T-This is where I told you I saw a shadow." Rainbow Dash said, who after the Applejack story, also seemed to be very nervous, like her other friends. "That day I didn't tell you everything, but I remember seeing a pair of eyes looking at me..."

Applejack’s story combined with Rainbow’s sighting suddenly made the Everfree Forest seem a bit darker.

"Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash have seen someone strange in this part of the forest. So it's very likely 'that someone' is the mysterious hooded pony who gave the potion to Rainbow Dash…" Dusk thought, thinking that if that mysterious hooded pony had helped Rainbow Dash, perhaps they was not as evil as Applejack said.  However, it was only then that another idea occurred to Dusk, something that hadn't occurred to him before. "Wait! What if that same hooded pony who saved Rainbow Dash was the one who caused the problem in the first place!?" Dusk thought scared, thinking about various things, from dark magic to curses.

At that moment Dusk looked up and saw that all his friends were trembling, with scared expressions. Even the usually brave and trustworthy Applejack was now trembling from tail to head, as if she were seeing a ghost of your past.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to us while we’re together." Dusk said approaching his friends and making his horn shine, as if he had drawn his sword, ready to attack whatever appeared.

With Dusk's words, the five mares finally calmed down a bit and they all moved forward together, repeating step by step the path that Rainbow Dash had taken that day before she crippled her wings.

"It was in this part that I saw that strange shadow." Rainbow Dash said pointing to her right. "Then I stepped back a bit and- WAAAHHH!"

Like that day, Rainbow Dash fell again and rolled down a small knoll until she landed in a small field full of blue flowers.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked scared to see her friend fall.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry.  I'll be right up." Rainbow Dash said standing up quickly.

Rainbow Dash started to get on the road again but stopped when she saw Dusk slide down carefully to where she was.

"Why did you come down?  I told you I could get back up myself." Rainbow Dash said looking at Dusk, who seemed to be concentrating on something else.

"I heard you, but I wanted to take the opportunity to take one of these flowers with me." Dusk Shine said walking through the flower meadow and reaching out to carefully dig the ground to get a blue flower out of the root. "The other time you fell, I saw this flower, and I have been looking at botanical books from Equestria, but I don't recognize it... I'll take this opportunity to take one away. The flowers of the Everfree Forest are not well documented, and this could be interesting."

As Dusk took his time to gently remove the flower without damaging it, the other mares grew impatient and also descended to the field of blue flowers.

"Yes... a colt that likes flowers, I know it's not masculine." Dusk said blushing, saying what he thought his friends were thinking when they saw him doing that after their discussion about males and females.

"What are you talking about?  You're not less macho because you like flowers." Rarity replied with a confused look, then smiled at Dusk. "In fact, I'd say that reaffirms your masculinity."

It was only then that the mares and Dusk met eye to eye after arguing, and all six smiled. Neither said anything, but the six understood that this was the end of their foolish discussion. But Dusk knew there was still something missing to get everything back to normal.

"I almost forget it! Come with me." Dusk said, indicating his friends to follow him.

Then the six ponies climbed the small knoll, followed the path just a little more, and reached Dusk’s secret flower field, the one that only Rainbow Dash had known until then. And while the mares were amazed to see a bright clearing in that gloomy forest, Dusk took the opportunity to take out the four ripe rainbow flowers that he had wanted to take out on the day of his date with Rainbow Dash and offered them to his friends.

"I know what I said at the town was callous and stupid." Dusk said with a smile and his cheeks blushed.  Extending the flowers to his friends. "I still don't know how to answer correctly, but what I do know is that each moment I spend with you is special and unique for me.  I only have four of these flowers, but I hope you will accept them as a sign of forgiveness."

The five mares blushed slightly, and each took one of Dusk's offered flowers, except for Rarity, since there were only four flowers.

"Don't worry about me, I still keep the one you gave me the night we went to save Princess Celestia.  It’s already dry, but now it is a beautiful bookmark that I keep very fondly." Rarity said smiling. "Now we'll all have the same beautiful rainbow flower."

"I guess we can now…probably forgive you for that dumb stuff you said earlier." Rainbow Dash said slightly blushed.

"That’s a big relief, hehe." Dusk said smiling a little nervously.

"Maybe I'm not so bad at understanding mares as I thought... They all like flowers!" Dusk thought sighing in relief internally.

"Don't be silly. We didn't forgive you for giving us flowers." Rarity said looking seriously at Dusk, the same look that her other friends had when they intuited what Dusk was thinking.

"T-Then, why?" Dusk asked confused.

"We’re not tell you. You'll have to find out on your own." Rarity replied, looking at her friends, and the five of them smiling, complicit in what Dusk still didn't understand about the girls.

Finally the six ponies made their way back exactly where they came from, since from that point Rainbow Dash had fled after her date with Dusk that day, so there was nothing more to do. Although the worst thing was that they had found no evidence of what, or rather, who it was that caused the problem for Rainbow Dash’s wings.  For Dusk, after listening to Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s stories, the likely culprit was that the mysterious hooded pony was some wild pony that lived in those sectors, but if it was as dangerous as Applejack predicted, Dusk preferred not to risk going with his friends and just go back to town before dark.

Once they reached the village, each went home, but before, the five mares made Dusk promise that they would speak soon about his feelings, since they thought it was time to put them in order so that Dusk would not suffer any more for this, something that Dusk finally reluctantly accepted, as he remained firm in his belief that feelings were more a problem than a solution to his mental entanglements.  It was then that Dusk headed home, knowing that he still had an awkward task to complete before the end of the day.

"Spike...?" Dusk said shyly once he got to the library and went up to his room.

Upon entering the room, Dusk noticed that his little brother was already lying down, in his little basket in front of his own bed, completely covered to pretend to be asleep and not see Dusk.

Dusk walked slowly over there, knowing how angry his brother must have been with him.

"Spike, listen... It's true that Rarity and I kissed, but... it wasn't something I was planning, it just... happened." Dusk said with a sad look, hoping that Spike would forgive him. "Still, it's not an excuse. I should have mentioned it to you and-"

"Yes, you should have told me!" Spike said suddenly, standing up and looking at Dusk with deep resentment.  So he took his blanket with one claw, and the basket-bed with the other claw, and walked with firm steps to the other end of the room. "I don't want to hear your excuses today, I'm still too mad at you."

With those last words Spike was silent again and went back to bed, this time looking at the wall, to turn his back on Dusk, who just stood still, with a sad look, understanding how betrayed his brother must feel.  Deciding that it would be best for Spike's anger to subside a bit before speaking, Dusk sighed sadly, left the strange blue flower he had brought from the forest into a small vase nearby, and finally lay down on his bed, wishing that tomorrow was better than the hectic day had been.





It was another morning at the Golden Oak Library, and while there was still only Dusk Shine and Spike there, just like the morning before, the mood couldn't have been more different.  Since they had woken up, Dusk had tried to get close to Spike, being extremely friendly, opening the bathroom door for him, preparing breakfast, but as much as he tried, Dusk obtained the same result, Spike kept ignoring him, without even looking at him.

"Maybe I should give him more time… I shouldn't force these things." Dusk thought as he levitated a toast to eat.  However, he stopped when his stomach growled strangely. "Since I woke up my stomach feels strange... Who knows, maybe the potion that made me drink Spike yesterday does cause stomach pain..."

"DUSK! DUSK!" Shouts were heard after the front door suddenly opened.

Dusk peeked out from the kitchen and was surprised to see Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo there, all three completely exhausted with scared looks in their eyes.

"Hi girls… What happens?" Dusk asked a little concerned to see the three fillies so scared.

"Oh, thank Celestia you’re okay." Sweetie Belle said, sighing in relief.

"Hurry, you have to come with us!" Apple Bloom yelled, running behind Dusk and pushing him to hurry out of the library.

Without offering further explanations, the three fillies pushed Dusk to run and follow them.  Seeing the three fillies so disturbed, Dusk had every intension of following them, thinking that maybe it really was an emergency.

"There! Now please tell us what's going on!?" Apple Bloom said almost on the verge of hysteria, just as they stopped in front of the Hayburger, the local fast food restaurant.

Dusk looked confused at the yellow filly without understanding, then he looked towards the restaurant, and walked there, closely followed by the three fillies. Once they entered, Dusk saw that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  The Hayburger wasn’t particularly busy for this time of the morning, with the exception of five colts eating together at the end of the room. 

Seeing the group of colts, Dusk narrowed his eyes to see them more clearly.  However, once he got a better look, Dusk's blood ran cold as his eyes widened in terror and his mouth began to tremble.  Of the five colts sitting there, the first was a big colt very similar to Big Mac, except that this one had orange fur and blonde mane who also wore a red scarf covering his neck, and the same characteristic stetson hat that Applejack normally wore.  The second colt was a pegasus with yellow fur and a pink mane, but his most distinctive feature was his shy gaze.  The third colt was pink with a reddish pink mane and a huge smile on his face as he conversed with the others.  The fourth colt was a unicorn with white fur and a very elegant and well-groomed purple mane.  The last colt was a pegasus with light blue fur and a messy mane that had the colors of the rainbow on it.

It was more than obvious who those five colts looked like.  They were nearly identical to Dusk’s five friends with the striking difference of gender.  In fact, if it wasn't impossible, Dusk would swear those colts could be...

"A-Apple Bloom... T-That's just one of y-your many cousins…Right?" Dusk asked fearfully, unable to look away from the five colts he was seeing.

Just then, the five colts stood up when they noticed that their hay burgers had been finished. Then the five of them walked to the bar to ask for another order. By doing this, Dusk could more clearly see another huge and very important detail... Dusk recognized their cutie marks! But... It was impossible! That... That meant...

"Heya, Lil'sis! What are you doing there?  Come eat a hayburger with your big bro." The orange colt suddenly said looking at where Apple Bloom was. "You too Dusk, or you'll miss out on some hay fries." The colt added looking at Dusk Shine this time, causing the lavender unicorn to freeze in shock.

"Nope. That is not my cousin." Apple Bloom finally answering the question that Dusk had asked her, although at that point the answer was redundant.  There was no doubt... Those five colts were Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash!!





After several seconds, in which it seemed that Dusk had to reboot his brain, the lavender colt finally managed to take his eyes off the five colts and turned to stare in terror at the three fillies.

"What the hay happened here!?" Dusk asked looking scared at the three fillies.

"We don't know. When I woke up, Applejack was like this… Everyone in the house was frozen, unable to ask anything." Apple Bloom said with a worried look.

"It was the same with Rarity." Sweetie Belle added. "She… or he, was really talkative this morning, just like always. I-I think they haven't realized what happened to themselves."

"Haven't they noticed they changed gender!?" Dusk said stunned, almost in a scream.

"It's not that.  What I mean is that they seem to think they’ve always been colts." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Yeah, when I asked Rainbow Dash, she said she didn't know of any Rainbow Dash, that his name was 'Rainbow Blitz'." Scootaloo said, remembering her encounter with 'Rainbow Blitz' that morning.

Dusk turned slowly to look back at the five colts sitting back down with a dozen trays full of fast food, eating voraciously, as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.

"It's impossible... No magic is able to change ponies like that!" Dusk thought terrified, not understanding what was happening and slowly accepting that it seemed to be true that those rough colts were his pretty mare friends. It was then that his rational mind began to try to find some explanation, but nothing occurred to him, until he remembered his trip to the Everfree forest and Applejack talking about wild and scary ponies. "Maybe a curse... No! Those things don't exist! But... What other explanation is there!?"

"What's the matter, Dusk!? Are you going to sit down to eat or are you going to stand there all day like an idiot?" The colt that looked like Rainbow Dash suddenly asked, which according to Scootaloo, was called 'Rainbow Blitz'.

At the call of the colts, Dusk turned again to see that the three fillies seemed to be more scared than him and had hidden behind the lavender colt, indicating for him to go to where the five colts were. Then Dusk swallowed hard and walked slowly to the table where the five colts were eating.

"Bubble Berry! You're eating all the hay fries!" The white unicorn shouted annoyed, pointing at the pink colt.

"Sorry, Elusive. You snooze, you lose! Right, Blitz?" Pinkie Pie's alter ego called 'Bubble Berry' said, replying to Rarity's alter ego called 'Elusive'.

"Hell yeah, survival of the fastest!" The Rainbow Dash's alter ego, 'Rainbow Blitz' yelled. Then looking at his friend, the yellow pegasus. "You should be more aggressive too, Butterscotch, otherwise you'll run out of hay fries!”

"No problem, I'm enjoying eating my burger." Fluttershy's alter ego, 'Butterscotch' replied.

"Applejack... Are you guys fighting over food?" Dusk asked once he got to the table and stood next to Applejack's alter ego. Realizing very late that he had apparently said the wrong name, though he still didn't know what Applejack was called now.

"They're not fighting, it's just a normal discussion between friends, hehe." Applejack's alter ego answered, who apparently was the only one keeping her name. "And you know I prefer you to just call me 'AJ', Mister Dusk Shine." 'AJ' added, giving Dusk a strange confused look.

Then AJ made a space for Dusk so that he could sit next to him. Dusk slowly sat down and just stood like a statue, watching the other five colts were eating their junk food, and trying to calm down as he seemed to be sharing with total strangers, although the reality was Dusk knew them perfectly before that day.

"What's wrong, Dusk?  You look kinda nervous?" Butterscotch suddenly asked, in the same shy tone of voice that Fluttershy used only a tad bit deeper.

"N-Nothing's wrong, t-thanks... Butterscotch." Dusk replied with a nervous smile, making an effort to remember the new names of his friends. "B-By the way... Do you guys remember why I'm living in Ponyville?"

Asking that, the five colts looked at Dusk confused and then looked at each other confused.  While Dusk nervously smiled as he had decided that he needed to start to find out what had happened, and one of the things that had to be started was what those five colts knew.  Since apparently, whatever it was that It affected them, it had made Dusk's friends not only change their gender, but also in their minds, and perhaps also in their memories.

"Because you want to be with your friends to investigate the magic of friendship, don't you?" Bubble Berry replied with a confused look. "Although I suppose that doesn't matter to you anymore and you just enjoy staying here and hanging out with us."

"Why are you asking that strange question?" AJ asked.

"I-I just wanted to know if you guys knew, hehe..." Dusk said nervously, scratching his head and then turning to see Rainbow Blitz. "Rainbow... Blitz. Do you remember what we did two days ago?"

"Two days ago? We all went to Cloudsdale together.  You fell out of the arena and I had to rescue your butt with my Sonic Rainboom." Rainbow Blitz replied, inflating his chest with pride.

"And then... how did we get home?" Dusk asked with a serious look.

"Uh... I don't know, weren't we all back together on the ground?" Rainbow Blitz replied unsurely, scratching his head and looking at his friends.

"Rar... Elusive! Do you remember the fashion show we had and when we talked about your diary?" Dusk asked, this time looking anxiously at the white unicorn.

"Of course I remember the parade, but I don't remember anything from a diary. Do you think I'm like a girl and I would have a hidden diary?" Elusive replied, smirking.

"And do you remember what we did yesterday?" Dusk asked looking attentively at everyone.

"Yesterday?  We didn't meet yesterday.  I was on the farm all day." AJ replied, narrowing his eyes, as if, unlike the other questions, this one was hard to remember.

"Yes, yesterday I... I gave Angel and the other bunnies a bath." Butterscotch said, also closing his eyes slightly and remembering with difficulty.

"I... I moved some clouds... I think." Rainbow Blitz said, making the same gesture as the previous two ponies.

"If I remember correctly... I think I was sewing some new jackets.  Normal things I do every day." Elusive added, holding his head, as if he had a sudden headache.

"No... Yesterday we were at Sugarcube Corner... No, it must have been my imagination.  I think I only made a few cupcakes." Bubble Berry said, starting to speak normally, but also with a headache in the middle of his explanation.

After everyone spoke, Dusk lowered his head and put on a thoughtful look as he tried to understand what was going on.  It was already more than obvious that those five colts were his friends, there was no doubt, and Dusk's first theory had been proven too.  Not only had they changed on the outside, their minds had also been altered.  It seemed that they were still remembering past events and parts of their routines, but yesterday had been as if it had not existed, like the parts of their lives where they had acted as mares.

"Dusk, are you feeling alright?  You won't be thinking about ruining the 'Bros Day' that we'll have today, right?" AJ asked looking carefully at Dusk and then smiling.

"Bros Day?" Dusk asked confused.

"Bros! Bros! Bros!" The five colts shouted at the same time, raising their hooves and hitting the table, making a lot of noise as if that was a tribal cry or something like that.

Seeing that Dusk was not joining the battle cry, AJ and Rainbow Blitz held him one on each side to join the hug and shout with them. Faced with the surprise gesture of brotherhood, Dusk couldn't help but smile a little, first seeing how strange it was to imagine his female friends doing male things, but what Dusk also valued internally, was that brotherhood among colts that existed.  Afterall, he had never had colt friends that include him like this in a group, and Dusk had to admit that it felt good.

"So? What will we start this Bros Day with?" Bubble Berry asked, drawing everyone closer and hugging each other in a circle.

"How about Dusk chooses? He seems a bit distracted today, perhaps he has a good activity that he is thinking about." AJ said smiling at Dusk.

"M-Me? I don't know what activity you might like…" Dusk replied nervously, forgetting for a second how strange that whole situation was. "Yesterday you wanted us to talk about our feelings."

Hearing what Dusk said, the other five ponies froze, then looked at each other, and burst into laughter and mockery at what their friend had just said.

"Oh-la-la, yes, let's talk about our feelings, hahaha." Rainbow Blitz said feigning a feminine voice and then burst out laughing again.

"Hahaha! Dusk, why are you always so sentimental? Hahaha!" Elusive scoffed as he pointed at a Dusk Shine that was blushed with embarrassment.

"Hehe, leave your feminine side somewhere for today. Today is Bros Day!" AJ added, giving Dusk a brotherly blow on the back, something he was not used to, so he almost fell down at the sight of AJ's force.

After recovering, and the teasing stopped, Dusk looked thoughtful until an idea occurred to him.

"Maybe we could go to the Everfree Forest." Dusk said looking at his friends, who were surprised by Dusk's proposal.

"Yeah, that could be fun... An epic adventure for six brave bros." Rainbow Blitz said throwing punches at an imaginary opponent. "If we go, it’s got be to a dangerous part, where no one else has gone before!"

"I know a place." Dusk said smiling, happy that his idea was well received, since it was not only for an adventure, but as part of Dusk's plan to find out how to solve all that. "I have heard that in a certain part of the forest lives a mysterious wild pony, who casts curses and-"

"I-I'm sorry, I remembered that I have some jobs to do later. B-Better to do something else, something that doesn't take us so long." AJ said surprisingly, totally nervous, with the same characteristic face of his female alter ego when she lied.

Dusk immediately noticed that what AJ was saying was just an excuse, and then he remembered Applejack's fear for that part of the forest.  It seemed that her fear had not been altered by the gender change.

"Sorry, I forgot you were afraid to go to that part of the forest." Dusk said with a small supportive smile, looking at AJ.

AJ was surprised at Dusk's comment, then he looked at the rest of his friends, who were also watching him closely. AJ felt the pressure of the group, and then looked at Dusk again with an annoyed face.

"I'm not scared!  I'm not lying!" AJ said looking away annoyed, then looking down sadly at the floor. "I'm not lying…"

"Well, anyway, if we can’t go to the forest, we’ll just plan another activity for Bros Day." Bubble Berry said, starting to brainstorm as the others joined in the discussion as well.

As the five ponies returned to discussing what activities to do, Dusk stared askance at AJ, thinking how much he missed the real Applejack, and that if she had been in that situation, it wouldn't have bothered her to look weak in front of the others if it was to tell the truth.

After reaching no consensus on what activity to do, where it seemed that every time they didn't reach an agreement, everyone would start fighting; finally everyone chose to leave the restaurant and that they would think of something while they walked through the town.

Once they started their tour, Dusk was amazed that his new colt friends were less eye-catching than he had expected.  As soon as they came across someone, the first thing they had were astonished glances, obviously due to the immense similarity of those five colts with those of the well-known five mares that lived there in the town.  However, after a few seconds, the other ponies stopped seeing them and went on with their business.  Even Dusk seemed to hear the words 'brothers' and 'cousins' a couple of times, that he guessed was what the other ponies thought of those five colts. And Dusk didn't blame them, after all, it was impossible for a pony to easily change its gender!  As far as everyone in the town was concerned, they were finally seeing only five ponies who were probably relatives of the five mares, and no other choice was in their closed- minded minds.

"Hey, guys! I know what we can do! There is only one thing you can do after eating junk food and drinking liters of soda." Rainbow Blitz suddenly said, stopping and putting a hoof on his chest while pressing lightly. "~Burping~Contest~!" Rainbow Blitz said, saying the latter with belching.

Instantly, the colts burst out laughing, even Dusk, who hesitated for a second at Blitz's surprise speech, but then he couldn't help but laugh at how funny it had been.  Although he knew it was very silly, it was also very 'colt thing' laugh at such nonsense. It was then that the other colts also began to say words with belching, where Bubble Berry stood out, who tried to dictate the alphabet with his belching belches.

"Well Pinkie Pie would have participated in a belching contest too, hehe, but the other girls would never have." Dusk thought as he joined the challenge and said his name between burps, and then burst out laughing with the others.

While looking at his friends, Dusk couldn't help but stop at Elusive, who had also joined the challenge, but belching very little. Clearly seemed to feel somewhat uncomfortable, just as it had been Rarity in such awkward situation, however, likewise he had joined the group.

"Rarity is quite a lady… Her femininity and delicacy… She would never have done this." Dusk thought, inadvertently, giving a sad look as he recalled Rarity's unique style and grace.

It was then that Dusk realized that perhaps it was bad to laugh and have fun with the five colts, after all he had to make his friends return to normal.  But... How would he even be able to do that?  Was it possible if he didn't even know the cause? What if he couldn't find a solution to get them back to normal…!? And for the first time Dusk began to think about the terrible possibility that perhaps his friends would never return.

"Pfft! What's wrong?  Did your stomach turn inside-out or something?" Bubble Berry said suddenly, who was next to Dusk and seemed to be the only one who had noticed Dusk's scared face.

"I... I'm fine. It's… it's just that I remembered something." Dusk said shaking his head and putting on a nervous smile.

Bubble Berry looked curiously at Dusk, then he raised his hooves and approached Dusk as if he was going to hug him, however, at the last second, Bubble Berry realized they were in public, in front of his other friends, so finally he just tapped Dusk in the side.

"Don't make that face, whatever worries you, you can say it and we'll help you." Bubble Berry said giving Dusk a big confident smile, to lift his spirits.

"Uh... yes, thank you. I'll be fine." Dusk replied, smiling more relaxed and touching his side, where Bubble Berry had beaten him gently as a sign of masculine affection.

Dusk had noticed the action of Bubble Berry and that he almost hugged him, but that he had changed his mind at the last second.

"The Bubble Berry's hit was fondly, it was his way of showing support, but... Pinkie Pie wouldn't have hesitated to give me a big hug..." Dusk thought looking down at the ground and touching his chest remembering Pinkie’s soft and warm hugs.  "Maybe sometimes it is necessary to show your feelings through actions..."

After their belching contest, in which Bubble Berry was the clear winner, the six colts continued to walk the streets of Ponyville, aimlessly, only walking and telling jokes, which made Dusk recover his spirits and laugh again at the silly and rare occurrences that everyone was saying, jokes and situations that he could hardly have heard from his mare friends.

"I'm so happy to live in a town where so many mares live." Elusive said suddenly, who a few seconds ago had seen two mares pass nearby, he had winked at them, and both mares laughed coquettishly. "I'm glad to be a costume designer, but sometimes I'm thankful that the mares walk without any clothing." Elusive added whispering to his companions.

"Yup, I know I’m thankful for seeing all those firm hindquarters." AJ said imagining a strong country mare.

“It’s called an ‘ass’, dingus.” Rainbow Blitz corrected with a playful jab to the side.  “And I’m with you there, although I like a bit more bounce to a mare’s behind.  Derpy may be a klutz, but she has one rocking bubble butt.”

"I like to see their necks; I think they’re... really sexy." Butterscotch said blushing slightly.

"Her lips! She definitely has to have good lips to kiss." Bubble Berry said smiling.

"What about you, Dusk?  What do you like the most in a mare?" Rainbow Blitz asked looking mischievously at Dusk.

When asked, Dusk had to admit that he also liked all the physical characteristics that his friends had said. After all he was a colt too, and he couldn't help seeing, thinking and fantasizing about mares.  Like with Rainbow’s athletically toned flank, Rarity's soft and aromatic mane, Applejack's beautiful eyes, Fluttershy's elegant neck, Pinkie Pie's soft lips… And without realizing it, Dusk began to focus his thoughts on his mare friends and what he liked them, but when he did it, he realized that this was only a small part of what he liked about his friends.  There were many more things that caught his attention.

"I like when a mare is tender and kind, generous, honest and loyal... that she has a beautiful laugh, that she loves you for who you really are..." Dusk said thoughtfully, more talking to himself than to his companions, who watched him closely.

Listening to Dusk, the other five colts were silent for a moment, thinking that perhaps their responses had been very simple.

"W-What are you talking about...? We’re talking about a mare's physique here, not feelings!  Damn, you're always so sentimental…" Rainbow Blitz said blushing slightly and then looking at the rest of his friends. "A mare’s look always comes first!  All that other mushy crap come later.  Right, guys?!”

"Yeah! Bros! Bros! Bros!" They all screamed in unison, hugging each other and spinning animatedly in a circle.

As Dusk spun, forced by the embrace of his friends, he looked at Rainbow Blitz and how he was smiling normally after what he had said.

"Rainbow Blitz and Rainbow Dash are admittedly pretty similar. They’re both really afraid to express their true feeling.  But Rainbow Dash would have done it anyway, and… she would have blushed very cute while doing it clumsily…" Dusk thought, missing that so bipolar but tender attitude of his dear mare friend.

"Look! Two girls are watching us." Bubble Berry suddenly said, thus ending the boys' tribal cry.

Dusk saw where Bubble Berry was looking, and immediately recognized the two mares he was talking about.  They were Lyra and Bon Bon, who had remained motionless, with eyes of astonishment when they saw the six colts present.

"Rule sixty-three... Rule sixty-three! Why didn't I think about that before!?" Lyra suddenly shouted, full of excitement as she looked at the colts.  At the same time she made a little notebook appear with her magic and she began to write down quickly in it. "I already know what I'll draw in my next comic!  A little 'BL' will definitely bump up my reader base!  New lounge chair, here I come!"

Then Lyra turned around and started running back to her house.

"’BL’? What does that mean? Lyra, what are you up to this time?!" Bon Bon asked confused, running after Lyra, not understanding what had happened to her friend's perverted mind for her next love story.

"What happened to those two? They ran off as if they saw a ghost." Elusive said after watching Lyra and Bon Bon run.

"I don't think they've seen a ghost, but I suppose they did notice the truth, unlike the others in town." Dusk whispered, believing that both mares had fled upon realizing who those five colts really were.

"Oh! Speaking of ghosts, I know what else we can do for our Bros Day!" Bubble Berry said suddenly, then put on a sinister smile. "How about we pull some pranks on some unsuspecting victims?"

"Great idea!" Rainbow Blitz said supporting his friend.

"Yeah, that does sounds kinda fun!  We could go to the library and prank Spike!" Dusk said smiling, encouraged by the idea.  Dusk and his little brother had always had a habit of pulling pranks on one another over the years.  However, only then Dusk remembered that his little brother was still mad at him. "Oh! N-No… W-We better do something else…" Dusk added nervously, immediately regretting his idea.

"Too late, egghead!  Plan’s already in motion!" Rainbow Blitz said smirking at Dusk.

"Trust us, Dusk you really need this.  All day you’ve been acting like a mare with all these feelings and whatnot.  Time for you to start acting like a stallion!”  AJ said, looking at Dusk intensely, like the other colts.

For the first time, Dusk felt the overwhelming pressure of feeling part of the group and not wanting to be less macho than his colt friends, although these were actually mares without knowing it.

"O... Okay..." Dusk finally said, yielding to the pressure, while the other colts hit him in affection, and all together they went screaming through the streets: 'Bros! Bros! Bros!'.





Spike was alone in the library lounge, lying on his stomach while holding the 'ultimate weapon' in his claws, his last resort for revenge against Dusk Shine for what he had done to him.  The baby dragon had held that little paper he had for hours, determined to send it to a certain pony so that Dusk would really suffer for the betrayal he had done, however Spike kept holding that 'ultimate weapon' without knowing whether to use it or not.

"I'm angry... furious with Dusk! But… I don't know whether to send this…" Spike thought holding the small paper between his claws. "He’s my brother, and I don't want to be mad at him. I know he regrets it but... What's done is done! Why had so many girls around him, he had to just kiss Rarity!?" Spike thought frustrated, this time covering his face and then dropping his head on the floor.

KNOCK KNOCK

The little dragon jumped up when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in." Spike yelled from the living room.

The door opened and a group of colts entered the library, preceded by Dusk, who entered at the end with a guilty face on him.  Spike stared at Dusk's guests and narrowed his eyes at something strange but still couldn't recognize. Those other five colts were very familiar to Spike, and since when had Dusk had a group of colt friends?  Seconds ticked by and Spike continued to stare those five ponies head to hooves.  His mind seemed to have already realized who those five colts were, but his reasoning prevented him from accepting it.  But as the seconds passed, his mind understood that his eyes didn't deceive him, his instinct was right, and his eyes and mouth began to open as could be fully impacted the realization of who were the five colts.

"Spike, darling." Elusive said suddenly, approaching Spike with a fake flirtatious look. Realizing who that colt was, Spike's little use of reason faded away, leaving him completely frozen with a terrified face. "I know you've been secretly in love with me all these years, so have a love letter for you." Elusive added, offering Spike a small letter with a heart stamp.

That was the maximum seriousness that the colts could endure in this situation, so without being able to bear it any longer, the five colts burst out laughing at how stunned Spike had been after the joke.  Not realizing that Spike had stayed frozen not by the letter, but by the fact of seeing his beloved Rarity transformed into a colt. Meanwhile, Dusk only covered his face and approached Spike, thinking that his brother had reacted as he had predicted.

Before they reached the library, the five colts pressured Dusk to play a prank on Spike. So what Dusk finally told them was that the last night Spike had dreamed of a beautiful mare with white fur, from which he had fallen love, an mare coincidentally much like Elusive. So, to make fun of the little dragon, it occurred to everyone that Elusive gave Spike that love letter as a mockery of the false fantasy that Dusk invented.  And as Dusk had thought, the colts had confused Spike's shock at seeing them, with the impact of his silly joke.

As the five colts continued to laugh at Spike's face, Dusk moved closer to Spike's ear.

"I'll explain it later. For now just play along." Dusk whispered to Spike.

"What did you do to Rarity and the others!?" Spike asked weakly looking at Dusk, still angry with him but so shocked that he was barely recovering from the shock.

"I didn't do anything to them, and I don't know what happened to them. But I swear I'll fix it." Dusk whispered, looking determinedly at Spike to trust him despite his anger.

"Come on Spike! Aren't you going to kiss your pretty sweetheart?" Rainbow Blitz said, approaching Spike and shaking his head so that he looked at Elusive, who was making a false kiss.

"Spike, who would think that you would dream and fall in love with a mare that looks like me." Elusive said mockingly. "Now I understand why sometimes you looked at me with desire, hahaha."

"Our little baby dragon has entered puberty!  Even if it's falling in love with an imaginary mare, hahaha." AJ teased, getting closer to Spike to tease him more closely.

Hearing the jokes, Spike slowly turned red with embarrassment.  He understood that apparently all the joke was a deception of Dusk, but still, the laughter and mocking voices that pointed to him was a lot to be enduring without getting upset.  The same thought of Dusk, who at first laughed to pretend that he was having fun with his friends, but now it was no longer funny that they mocked Spike so shamelessly.  It was then that Dusk also noticed that Butterscotch, who had laughed with everyone like the others, was now laughing more nervously at how they seemed to abuse the teasing of Spike.

"Fluttershy's soul knows that this isn’t right, and if she were here, she would have put out her voice despite everything and convinced us all that enough was enough." Dusk thought as he watched the nervous Butterscotch surrender to the peer pressure.

"You were right, Dusk.  It was a lot of fun teasing the little casanova with his imaginary girlfriend." Bubble Berry said laughing next to Dusk Shine.

Unfortunately, Dusk was not the only one to hear that comment, since Spike was attentive to everything.  His face was red with embarrassment enduring the humiliation, but upon hearing that Dusk had planned to annoy him with 'his imaginary girlfriend', Spike's anger could more than anything else and finally he decided it was time to humiliate his older brother.

"Hey guys. I didn't know you liked hanging out with a colt as effeminate as Dusk." Spike said looking at the colts and then fiercely looking at Dusk, who froze at his brother's ruthless comment.

"What do you mean?" Elusive asked, looking curiously at Spike.

"See for yourselves." Spike replied, holding up his 'ultimate weapon', the small piece of paper, which turned out to be a photograph.

The six colts, including Dusk, approached to see the photograph that Spike was holding.  And Dusk's blood ran cold when he saw that it was a photograph of the day of the Cloudsdale competition, when he flew with his butterfly wings and wore a strange makeup on his face.

The five colts immediately burst out laughing, laughing much louder than when they mocked Spike.  It seemed that none of the colts had memories of that performance of Dusk, so the lavender colt rushed and tried to take the picture to hide it, but among the five colts they passed it to him, so that Dusk couldn't take it.

"Well, well... no wonder you were so sentimental today.  Really we have a princess in our group of males, hahaha." Rainbow Blitz scoffed at the photo, handing it to Butterscotch before Dusk took it from him.

"Hehe, sorry Dusk, but that makeup definitely doesn't fit you." Butterscotch said unable to resist teasing Dusk due to the ridiculous photo.

"Look at that beautiful butterfly, I almost want to hug her, haha." AJ said, taking the photo before Dusk snatched it from Butterscotch, then passed it to Bubble Berry.

"You talk about your feelings, you like to put on makeup, you wear butterfly wings… Are you hiding something from us that we don't know?  Just tell us, we'll won’t judge you if you think that deep down you are a pretty mare, hahaha." Bubble Berry scoffed with a shrill laugh and passed the photograph to Elusive.

"I know all about fashion, Dusk.  Those wings definitely go with your purple fur, haha, although for next time, try to use less blush on your checks, hahaha." Elusive scoffed, laughing loudly.

With that last joke, Dusk stopped trying to reach the photo of his humiliation.  Everyone had cruelly mocked him, humiliated him, just as it had happened when he was younger at school. And with each joke from his friends, his spirit sank further, until finally he just stood still, pressing his lips together to endure such humiliation.

Seeing his brother like this, almost on the verge of tears, Spike felt deep regret, believing that perhaps he had gone too far with his revenge.

Suddenly, Dusk felt a soft hoof resting on his back.

"Dusk, take it easy, we’re just giving you a hard time because we care." AJ said suddenly, stopping laughing and looking at Dusk with an affectionate smile. "We like to joke, and sometimes we exaggerate a little, but we do it that way because we're friends."

"Yeah, the crueler the jokes, the more we have affection for each other." Bubble Berry added, who also noted that Dusk had taken the jokes he had been told very badly. "It's like when Elusive passed gas and stank up the entire Spa."

"Hey! I told you never to talk about it." Elusive yelled blushed.

"We're friends and we joke around with each other, but only between us." Butterscotch said smiling tenderly. "Don't worry, nopony else but us will see this photo."

"When you came to Ponyville, you said you wanted to study the magic of friendship.  Well, that's how friendship works between colts." Rainbow Blitz said smiling. "We might joke with each other, so much so that anyone who saw us would say we hated each other.  But if someone messes with one of us, they’ll have to face all of us, because that’s what brotherhood is all about!  No pony gives our Princess Dusk the business but us!"

At that moment the five colts looked at Dusk with friendly and trustworthy smiles.  It still wasn’t the same feeling as when he was with his mare friends, but still, he could feel the affection and security that this group of friends gave him.

"I'm not worried... If anything, Rainbow Blitz has me more worried.  Don’t want him to get too dizzy from seeing so much book together, after all he's an airhead." Dusk finally said, smiling and finally understanding the dynamics of being in a group of trusty colts.

Finally, the atmosphere relaxed, and the six colts began to joke around with one another, which ended up causing a lot of laughter.  Every once in a while, mostly Rainbow Blitz or AJ, they talked about times they had to fight someone else, causing everyone to come together imaginatively and see themselves fighting together to help each other, that was the brotherhood they had and felt! A masculine affection that was not expressed in words but with actions.

Eventually, night fell, and the colts decided to end their Bros Day, but not before making one last tribal cry of ‘Bros!'.  Each one returned home, leaving a Dusk Shine with a very pleasant feeling, because now he knew a new type of friendship.  Granted, a very different one from the one he had with his mare friends, but still, a friendship of great value.

After saying goodbye, Dusk went up to his room, where Spike was already lying down, still in the corner opposite where Dusk's bed was.

"Spike... do you want to talk to me already?" Dusk asked, knowing that he still had to explain what had happened with Rarity and the kiss between the two.

"F-First fix Rarity and the others... Then we'll talk." Spike replied without turning to see Dusk. Who, after the cruel revenge that he did in the afternoon, already felt as guilty as Dusk felt with him, but even so, his stubbornness inherited from his inner dragon, still prevented him from forgiving Dusk so easily.

Noticing that Spike's anger was already waning, Dusk smiled and walked over to his bed.  Then he noticed that with everything that had happened that day, he had completely forgotten the strange blue flower that he had brought from the Everfree Forest, so he put some water in the vase and promised himself that he would study it the next day.  After watering the flower and placing it next to his bed to remember to study it, Dusk finally went to bed and prepared to sleep.

"Wow… it feels like my stomach doesn't hurt anymore." Dusk thought, putting a hoof on his stomach, remembering that morning had awakened with stomach pain, mild discomfort that had fallen during the day and had now completely disappeared.  "It’s the same as with everything on this day.  It started strange, but finally everything went well." Dusk thought, remembering with some guilt that although his friends didn't remember who they really were, they were still the same good ponies at heart, and he had spent a great afternoon exploring the masculine side of friendship.  Dusk Shine turned to the side of his bed and continued to analyze everything while trying to fall asleep.

"Deep down Applejack and the others are very similar to their male versions, only that these male versions try to hide their feelings more to look stronger..." Dusk thought, analyzing the differences between the two groups of friends. "I wonder if I’ve been doing the same thing without realizing it... hiding my feelings..."

Dusk Shine turned again to settle in, almost on the verge of falling asleep, but still with one last dilemma on his mind.

"Friendship between colts is different from friendship with mares. But if it's about sensations... The feelings that the five colts left me today are more like the feelings that I felt when I met the mares the first few times... But it’s different from what I feel now towards my five mare friends..." Dusk thought as he fell asleep, having a revelation that for the first time his mind allowed himself to accept, that his friendship with his friends could be something else. "So if it's not friendship how I feel about girls... what is it?" Dusk finished thinking, before falling asleep, while deep inside, the truth was finally beginning to emerge in his mind.

End of chapter 43
> Chapter 44 - Internal changes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Internal changes

It was early in the morning and the birds were already singing, announcing the new day. With a big yawn, Dusk raised with a lot of slack from his bed, stretched each of his muscles, and got out of bed to go to the bathroom to start the day.  After all, there were plenty of things to do that day: answer Princess Celestia's letter, study the flower he had brought from the Everfree Forest, and of course, the highest priority of all, to solve his friends' problem of getting back to being the pretty and tender mares they had always been.

"At least their memories were altered too... I can't imagine how disturbed the girls would had been if they had awakened overnight with another genre..." Dusk thought while walking with a zombie-like trance to the bathroom, so sleepy that he could barely open his eyes to see in front of him.

"Good morning Spike... Cough! Cough!" Dusk said when he saw Spike move in his little basket, coughing a little when he noticed that his voice had sounded a little strange, probably because he had just woken up.

With all the noise Dusk made, Spike gave a big yawn and looked at Dusk when he said good morning.   little dragon almost forget that he hadn't yet made peace with his brother, however, Spike forgot about everything and just didn't greet him back by the impact of seeing THAT pony walking there in front of him.

"W-Who are you...?" Spike asked slowly, totally pale and with his mouth and eyes wide open. Having a slight suspicion of knowing who that pony might be, but it was so far-fetched that it needed confirmation.

"What are you talking about?  And what’s with the face?  It looks like you've seen a ghost, Cough! Cough! Gosh! What's wrong with my voice today?" Dusk replied, smiling a little when he saw the funny face that Spike had, then continued his way to the bathroom.

Once he reached the bathroom, Dusk washed his face, and for the first time that day, he looked at himself in the mirror.  Seeing his reflection, he stayed longer than usual looking at it. There was definitely something strange… His mane had grown!  And not as it had grown last time, before the princess cut it when she sent him to Ponyville. This time his mane had grown long and smooth, as he had always wanted to have it, to resemble his older brother's long and beautiful mane a little more.

Seeing his new mane, Dusk put on a satisfied smile. But instantly, it was a smile that slowly faded when he noticed that not only his mane had grown... It was only then that Dusk noticed that his muzzle had shrunk a little, being thinner what it was.  His eyes now stood out, being slightly bigger, with longer and defined lashes.  All that made his terror of looking more feminine begin to take hold of him.





"What happened to me!?" Dusk thought to himself as he looked at his reflection and put a hoof on his face.

Then Dusk noticed that his coat felt softer... also he was slightly shorter than before... and it wasn't that his voice had morning problems, it was his new voice, sharper and feminine...

Terrified, and completely pale, Dusk slowly lowered his head to look down at his groin.  Where all his fears were confirmed.

"WHERE IS MINI-DUSK!!" Dusk screamed in his mind, discovering that his greatest male trait was missing.  Which was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the reality bomb finally exploded.

"WAAAAAHHHH!!" Dusk yelled hysterically in front of the mirror, then running out of the bathroom with a crazy look as he sprinted in circles around the room, screaming desperately and throwing everything in his path.

While Dusk ran as a hysteric around the room, Spike stared frozen like that strange but familiar mare ran uncontrollably. After seeing that mare run in such horror, Spike's doubts about that mare's identity were dispelled.

"Dusk?" Spike asked, looking confused at the mare.

At that moment Dusk stopped running and looked at Spike. Dusk's heart seemed like it could barely bear everything it felt in that instant. Fear of not knowing what had happened and why, anger to see that his greatest fear of looking 'feminine' had come true, confusion to not know what to do or how to react, and now, that even his little brother questioned his identity, it was more than his heart could bear.

Normally Dusk tried to save his feelings and analyze them slowly one by one, but this time it was different.  He hadn't only changed on the outside, he felt different and thought different... For the first time he felt that now his feelings were priority before thinking logically.  And it was then that Dusk's eyes began to tear up and he dropped to the floor from this collapse of new sensations and emotions.

"Spike... Of course it's me!" Dusk said crying on the floor as he tried in vain to calm his emotions and reactions. "What happened to me!?"

Spike was surprised to see that mare cry, even more so knowing now that she was indeed Dusk Shine. Then the baby dragon slowly got up and walked fearfully to where Dusk was, putting a claw on his shoulder.

"E-Easy... everything is going to be fine..." Spike said cautiously, thinking about what the best way would be to comfort Dusk in that moment.

Feeling Spike's claw, Dusk looked up and saw his little brother smile nervously at him, making a great effort to try to comfort him.  It was then that Dusk remembered that he hadn't seen him smile like that since Spike had gotten mad at him, and for the first time they were close again, looking into each other's eyes. And again, Dusk's new sentimental priorities brought guilt feelings to him, stronger than ever.

"Spike!! I… I'm so sorry!" Dusk said starting to cry harder as he looked at Spike. "I should have told you about the kiss with Rarity immediately. It wasn't something I planned, it just happened, and... and I don't regret it. My feelings were so confused, and they still are!  B-But above all things, I want you to know that I never thought of betraying your affection, I just... I was afraid to tell you; I didn't want to see you suffer! You are my dear little brother, and I… I love you!" Dusk finished still weeping, but with internal relief, as if for the first time he had been able to get all his feelings out.

While Dusk looked at Spike, the little dragon was somewhat shocked to hear Dusk's sincere apology, especially when he saw him cry and notice how sorry he was. Furthermore, in Spike's mind, it was still difficult for him to accept that this mare was his brother, a young mare who was hugging him, seeing him with watery eyes and blushed cheeks...

"O-Okay, Dusk... I-I forgive you." Spike finally said, looking away and blushing slightly.

"R-Really!?" Dusk asked, smiling a little and wiping his tears away.

"Yeah... I know you didn't do it on purpose.  Also… I can't be mad if Rarity chose to kiss you. I don’t own her or her choices." Spike said looking away again and putting a sad look. "That just means I'll have to give even more of myself for her to notice me."

"Spike!" Dusk said smiling, hugging Spike tightly for having forgiven him.

"T-There, there..." Spike said blushing at the mare's embrace. Instantly separating from the hug so that his brother didn't see him blushing. "Anyway, I still owe you a good blow as punishment. I'll give it to you… you get back to being yourself."

"Myself?" Dusk said confused, as his brain took a few seconds before remembering what that meant. Then Dusk opened his eyes and mouth wide as he remembered his new status as a mare, ready to scream hysterically again.

"No! Enough screaming!" Spike yelled, covering Dusk's mouth, anticipating his cry. “No matter how you look, you are still Dusk Shine. And my brother would never go screaming hysterically around the room."

Hearing Spike's words, Dusk's breathing began to calm slowly. Then Dusk closed his eyes for a few seconds as he calmed down and thought that his brother was right.  Noticing Dusk was finally calmer, Spike pulled his claws out of his mouth.

"Thank you... I needed to calm down." Dusk said, speaking more calmly, looking at Spike with a grateful smile.

"All right. Now… What the heck happened to you!?" Spike asked almost in a scream, this time reversing the roles and being the one who was now hysterical for a second.

"I-I don't know... Whatever it is, the same thing happened to me that happened to the girls." Dusk replied, looking at himself and shaking his head in denial. "Wait... that's it! Why did this happen to me a day after the girls!?"

"Besides, you can remember who you are, the girls couldn't." Spike added thoughtfully. "It's as if what affected them had had a late effect on you, and it seems that it also had less effect."

"Late effect... less effectiveness... it seems the indications of a medication." Dusk thought curiously. It was then that he widened his eyes when he realized something.

"The potion! Two days ago, you made me drink the potion that cured Rainbow Dash of her broken wings!" Dusk said surprised. "Maybe that's why, whatever caused this, affected the girls yesterday and not me, until today."

"T-That means that if you don't solve this today, you... Maybe tomorrow you’ll also forget who you are?" Spike asked fearfully.

At that moment Dusk imagined himself, living a life as a mare, wearing dresses and singing happily in a field of roses. Which made him scream with panic in his mind.

"That will not happen!" Dusk yelled scared.

"Well then... what caused this?" Spike asked.

Dusk was thoughtful for a second, analyzing all the information he had so far to try to put together this difficult puzzle. However, a piece was still missing, and although Dusk didn't have that piece, he did know where to get it.

"I must go to the Everfree Forest. Whether or not this was the doing of that mysterious hooded pony, we need to track them down." Dusk said with a look of determination.

Suddenly the ears of both became alert when hearing noises coming from the main room. Then both brothers looked at each other confused and headed towards the stairs to see who had entered the library.

Going down the stairs and seeing the main hall, Dusk and Spike were surprised to see their five mare friends, now, their five colt friends, as the five mares were still the same five colts that had been the day before. The five colts were all muttering and chuckling as they stared at a magazine that Rainbow Blitz was holding. Then the blue pegasus turned the magazine, causing one of the pages to extend downward, causing the faces of the five colts to blush and smile even more awkwardly. It was then that Dusk was able to read the cover of the magazine, which said: 'Playpony'.

"Hey! You can't bring those dirty magazines to the library!" Dusk said annoyed, quickly going down the stairs, also blushing when he saw the erotic magazine that those five colts had brought.

The five colts jumped from the scare, then they passed the magazine to each other until it reached Butterscotch's hooves, who just blushed and hid it quickly behind him while the other four colts looked away, whistling absentmindedly.

"W-What magazine...?" Butterscotch said blushing, with a clumsy look of guilt.

"The magazine you hid behind you." Dusk replied with an obvious face, since he could still clearly see the magazine the pegasus was holding behind him.

"Sorry, it's just that yesterday I told the guys the library was missing one of these." Bubble Berry replied with a nervous smile. "You know... a more... stimulating reading, hehe."

"By the way, who are you?" AJ said suddenly, noticing that the mare that was standing in front of them was familiar, but he didn't recognize her.

"Uh!?" Dusk said surprised, only then remembering that he was no longer 'he', but 'she'.

"Yeah... because of how upset you were, for a second I thought you were Dusk Shine... you look a lot like him..." Elusive said, looking carefully at the mare in front of him.

Before the attentive gaze of the five colts, Dusk Shine closed his lips tight and began to perspire, totally nervous.  With everything that had happened the day before, he had understood that the jokes between colts were heavier, and if those colts found out that he had changed his gender, he would be the focus of their teasing forever!

"I-I... I'm..." Dusk finally said, stuttering nervously.

"S-She is Twilight Sparkle!" Spike said quickly with a nervous smile, helping his brother seeing him so nervous. "She is our sister... Dusk's twin sister!"

"Twilight Sparkle!?  Why did you choose such a ridiculous name!?" Dusk thought nervously, understanding that his brother had chosen that name as it was the feminine equivalent of his own name.

"Y-Yes! I-I'm the sister of Dusk and Spike. M-My name is… Twilight." Dusk added quickly, blushing as he admitted his new female name.

The five colts looked curiously at Dusk, as if they still had their doubts about what they were being told.

“You’re Dusk's twin sister? Then how come Dusk hadn't mentioned you before?" AJ asked narrowing his eyes.

Dusk and Spike looked at each other, both trying to think of how to make their false story more credible. Then Spike came up with a brilliant idea, and as he turned to see the colts again, without anyone seeing him, he pinched Dusk's side hard and fast.

"Ouch!" Dusk screeched, closing his eyes in pain at Spike's surprising pinch.  Making a face of pain and letting out a small tear.

As soon as Dusk screeched, Spike took two quick steps forward to approach the colts and moved his claw to bring their ears close to him.

"Don't say Dusk hasn't told you about his sister!  Twilight is very sensitive about it!" Spike said whispering to the five colts. "Dusk doesn't like to mention Twilight because he doesn't like that they’re so similar, and you know what Dusk dislikes being told that he looks feminine. That's why he is not here today, he was visiting Canterlot when he found out that Twilight would visit us today."

Hearing Spike's story, the five colts gave surprised looks, and then looked at 'Twilight', this time not with suspicion, but with some pity, believing it was a shame Dusk tried to hide from his sister.  Meanwhile, Spike looked askance at Dusk and gave him a proud smile when he saw that everyone had completely believed his false story.

"Sorry, I didn't know that Dusk was so shy not to tell us about his sister." Elusive said with a sad smile, thinking that 'Twilight' had cried upon found out that her brother was ashamed of her.

"Uh… yes. I'm- Dusk! Dusk is very shy, hehe…" Dusk replied, smiling nervously, not knowing what Spike had said, but it seemed that all the doubts about his false identity had been cleared.

"Do you live in Canterlot? What brings you here?" Butterscotch asked, blushing slightly when talking to a mare.

"Yeah... uh, I... I was coming to visit Dusk Shine." 'Twilight' answered, accepting that SHE would have to accept her new identity, at least until she solved that problem.  It was then that Twilight came up with an idea to quickly solve both her problem and that of her friends. "I wanted to go see the Everfree Forest! I wanted Dusk to take me on a tour of that mysterious place. But now that he is not here... Would you be so kind as to accompany me there?"

At Twilight's request, the five colts gave surprised looks.  Going to the Everfree Forest was no game, and everyone preferred to avoid it unless absolutely necessary, and taking a mare, especially one that looked as delicate and feminine as Twilight, for a walk in that gloomy forest, was not a priority at all.  Still, they couldn't look weak or fearful in front of a mare, that went against the colt code.

"Bros talk." Rainbow Blitz said, making all the boys hug each other and form a circle to talk to each other.

Then the six ponies looked at each other, ready to agree whether to go to the forest or not. Until they realized that there should be only five ponies, not six, so the five ponies stared at Twilight, who had joined the hug without being asked.

"Sorry, we said 'BROS talk'." Elusive said, looking confused at Twilight.

"Uh?" Twilight said confused, since he, now her, had done that the day before with no problems, so she thought that was the right thing to do. It was then that Twilight is looked at herself and blushed to understand that now 'she' was not part of the group of 'bros'. "Oh! Yeah… sorry." Twilight added blushing, stepping out of the circle.

Then the five colts started talking to each other for a minute, whispering and occasionally raising their heads to give Twilight a quick look. Finally, the five colts broke apart and smiled at Twilight.

"Okay, we'll accompany you." AJ said looking at Twilight, putting on a huge smile.

"Really!?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Of course, as the gentlecolts that we are, we couldn't abandon a beautiful damsel who asks for our help." Elusive said, blushing slightly as he put on a huge smile, the same gesture the other five ponies made.

"Uh... sure… thank you." Twilight replied, uncomfortable to be called 'beautiful damsel', but more uncomfortable to notice those peculiar smiles, without having the knowledge or experience to understand what it meant when a colt smiled at a mare that way.





The six ponies and the baby dragon were walking through the streets of the village in direction to the Everfree Forest. Although Twilight asked Spike not to accompany them because of the potential danger, the dragon insisted on wanting to go, determined to help his new sister, and especially, to try to find a cure for his beloved Rarity soon.

As Twilight led the group, she realized that her new appearance seemed to matter little to the other ponies in the town. In fact, since there were many more mares in the town than colts, it seemed that the five colts received the most attention, since now Twilight realized that the mares that passed near them looked with peculiar glances at her five friends.

"They are definitely flirting with their eyes..." Twilight thought, looking curiously at the mares that passed near them. Then, she was surprised to realize that now she seemed to be more perceptive about certain details than before. "This is strange, it seems that not only have I changed on the outside... It's like what I felt this morning, the feelings in the mares are very intense... This very morning when I saw myself in the mirror and felt overwhelmed by so many feelings at the same time. But looking at it on the positive side, feeling my most intense feelings, now I feel that I can even identify them better than before... Right now, I feel fear about what we'll find in the forest, concern about whether we'll find a solution to our problem, joy about knowing that Spike forgave me, annoyance about not understanding what is happening... And satisfaction! Because I can finally put my thoughts in order... And I can do that because I understand better how I feel."

"What if Rarity can't get back to normal!?" Suddenly muttered Spike, who was walking next to Twilight and who, like her, seemed to be thinking of other things as they headed towards the forest.

"Don't worry, I promise you that soon everything will return to normal." Twilight said, smiling affectionately to her brother. And seeing that sweet and tender smile from his new older sister, Spike did indeed calm down, though he also had to look away while blushing slightly.

After talking to Spike, Twilight glanced at the five ponies walking behind them, who were talking and whispering among them, what made Twilight wonder about what they were talking so secretly.

"Are they talking about me? Or maybe they just chat about some silly macho joke…” Twilight thought a little nervously as she recalled the talks they had had the day before. "Also, why don't they walk beside me like they always do…? Colts like to be leaders by nature. Why would a colt want to walk behind a mare? Standing behind a mare, all he would see would be her-"

It was then that Twilight blushed with embarrassment and looked quickly back, causing the five colts to quickly look away from what they were seeing, which only confirmed Twilight's suspicions. So the mare jumped to turn around, and thus move away the back of her body from the eyes of those perverted five colts.

"All of you! From now on you'll walk in front of me, not behind me!" Twilight yelled in her high-pitched voice, glaring at the colts.

At Twilight's scream, the five colts opened their mouths to try to say something, but upon seeing Twilight's furious and blushed face, they understood that she had surprised them by seeing her 'back charms', so finally they just lowered their heads in shame and they walked to stand in front of Twilight, just as she had been instructed.

"I can't believe they were looking at my... Ugh!" Twilight thought embarrassed, not wanting to even think about the word 'butt'. And blushing even more at the thought that although he always tried to avoid it, sometimes he also looked with lust on the bodies of his friends, which made him even more embarrassed. "Gosh... It's fortunate that mares don't see colts that way..."

It was then that Twilight looked up at the five colts, who were now walking in front of her, and as she saw their flanks, Twilight blushed and shook her head sharply.

"No! My friends don't see me that way... do they?" Twilight thought with many doubts, blushing at the thought that perhaps the mares were more similar to colts than she thought, and that perhaps her friends could also see her masculine form in a more lustful way and that she hadn't realized it. "No... They don't see me like that, They... They don't like me physically..." Twilight hesitated with her own insecurities, but increasingly questioning what she believed about her friends.

Finally, the group reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest and little by little they entered it, always following the main path.

As they walked, Twilight couldn't help but think that this adventure was very similar to the one she and her mare friends had had two days ago, the only differences were that Spike was now going, and of course, that the six ponies had changed their gender.  Otherwise, the route was the same, as was the mood of that time, since like that time, none of the ponies mentioned any words, but now it wasn't that the mares were upset with Dusk, now it was Twilight who was angry at the five colts.

“Hey… We can't just keep going all the way in silence. Someone should apologize to Twilight." AJ said, whispering his friends.

Then the five ponies looked sideways back, where Twilight walked with Spike. Then Twilight noticed that she was being watched and glared at the colts, causing the five colts to quickly look away and duck their heads in fear.

"I don’t know... Mares are really scary when they get angry." Rainbow Blitz whispered with a shiver.

"Then... who will ask Twilight for forgiveness?" Butterscotch whispered looking at his friends. And it was then that to his horror, the yellow pegasus noticed that his four friends were staring at him and smiling maliciously.

As Twilight walked, she suddenly stopped when she saw the five ponies wrestling with each other for a few seconds, and then, Butterscotch was thrown out of the melee they made, falling right in front of Twilight.

"Sorry Butterscotch, one of us had to be sacrificed..." The other four colts thought with false tears, looking up at the sky, as if Butterscotch had died.

Then the four colts were whistling, pretending nothing bad was happening while Butterscotch looked at them reproachfully. Then the yellow Pegasus turned to see Twilight, who just stared at him in surprise, not understanding what those five ponies were up to.

"T-Twilight... I... I-I wanted to a-apologize..." Butterscotch said looking down at the ground shyly and then raising his head to see Twilight, who was very close to him, so his face almost collided with Twilight’s head.  Then Butterscotch saw Twilight stare at him with her huge, beautiful purple eyes. And with the face of a mare so close to him, Butterscotch turned completely red and all his ideas got tangled up. "Y-You... we walked without seeing... sorry because... butt... pretty eyes..."

With each word Butterscotch said, he grew redder and lower his head ever lower.  Then he stood up, turned quickly, and ran back to where the colts were, leaving a very confused Twilight, who only looked at Spike and noticed that the dragon hadn't understood anything of what had happened either.

"Gosh… how can he get so nervous just talking to a girl…?" Twilight thought confused, and then she blushed too as she remembered that she had also acted like that many times.

"Sweet Celestia! That was the worst apology in the world!" Rainbow Blitz said annoyed, hitting his face after Butterscotch returned to them.

"Huff... I guess there is no other option, I'll have to go." Elusive said shaking his mane and making a handsome face. "You don't understand the heart of a mare."

Elusive looked around, took a small yellow flower that was growing there, and approached with a gallant gaze to where Twilight was.

"This little flower doesn't compare at all with your beauty, my sweet damsel." Elusive said looking coquettishly at Twilight, which completely stunned her. "But I hope you can take it as sign of our-"

"Not interested." Twilight said glaring at Elusive.

"Uh?" Elusive said surprised at Twilight's reaction.

Twilight didn't answer, she just kept glaring at Elusive, who erased his silly gallant gaze from his face and only backed away slowly, completely defeated, not realizing that he had made the situation even worse, since, for the male mind of Dusk, who was still struggling to maintain his own gender, the fact that they offered her flowers and said 'sweet damsel' was the last thing she wanted to hear at the time.

"Damn it! They're only making it worse!" Rainbow Blitz yelled in frustration, taking a few steps forward and looking seriously at Twilight. "Listen Twilight, you shouldn't be mad because we were watching you.  If you have a good body, you shouldn't mind showing it-Mmpph!" Rainbow Blitz was unable to continue her macho speech, as AJ jumped up and covered his mouth so he wouldn't ruin the situation any further.

"Excuse my friend, Twilight.  He doesn't know what he’s saying, hehe." AJ said quickly while struggling with Rainbow Blitz. "Sometimes listening to Blitz is as painful as get kicked in the balls, haha.  Although you don't understand it, of course, hehe."

At AJ's comment, Twilight made a weary face and an annoyed look.  Not only because she perfectly understood the metaphor of get kicked in the balls, but also because it had been Applejack herself who had kicked him in the sensitive area a while back.

"Sput! Stop pretending you're always the most mature of the group!" Rainbow Blitz said once he managed to spit out the hooves AJ had in his mouth. Looking annoyed at the orange colt. "You also said back there that Twilight had a good body!"

"Well, to avoid misunderstandings, I was the first to say that." Bubble Berry suddenly said, lifting his hoof. "So, you know. I saw Twilight first."

"That's not true! I saw her first!" Elusive said, entering the discussion.

Then the five colts got into a fight. Jumping over each other, nibbling over there, and head butting over here... all before the astonished gaze of Twilight and Spike, who were still trying to figure out what was happening.

"I don't get it... Were they apologizing or flirting with me?" Twilight said confused, thinking aloud.

"Were they flirting with you!?" Spike asked in amazement.

"I think so..." Twilight replied, still confused.

"I don't know... not counting the fight, I think they were acting like they always do." Spike said confused, scratching his head.

"Did they act the same as always?" Twilight whispered, thinking of the implications that might have, making her blush. "If that were true, then..."

Suddenly a scream brought Twilight out of her thoughts, which was given by Elusive when Bubble Berry bit his ear.

"I can't take it... They are so stupid!" Twilight thought annoyed, changing her mood radically when she saw that those five ponies were still fighting.

"Spike, when they stop fighting, tell them I got mad and went back to the library." Twilight said whispering to Spike. "I'll continue on my own."

Then Twilight used her magic and teleported a little further down the road, away from the colts' bustle.

"I should have done this from the beginning... It's safer and simpler to go alone." Twilight said, sighing in frustration, continuing her solo path, searching for the mysterious hooded pony.

Twilight finally reached the part of the forest where she was to leave the main path and go deeper into the forest, heading for her small private garden.

"This is where I need to move to the right... where Rainbow Dash said she saw a shadow." Twilight thought once she reached the part where Rainbow Dash had fallen twice, on whose left side, under the hill, Twilight could see the field of blue flowers that she was still unable to study.

Within a few steps of advancing, a dense mist began to appear in the forest, making it even more difficult to advance. And the further Twilight moved, the thicker the mist became.

"This mist is not natural... This confirms it! There is definitely someone here trying to hide!" Twilight thought, immediately lighting up her horn as a sign of defense.

With the magic light from her horn, Twilight could see a little more clearly what was in front of her, but then another concern came to her.

"This mist isn’t magic… it's not an illusion either… So what is causing it?" Twilight thought confused, since she couldn't think of anything else that could be causing the mist if it wasn't magic.

"What a surprise that a mare appears here in my home..." Suddenly said a dark female voice, that boomed all over the place.

The voice made Twilight stop dead in her tracks, with a mixture of fear and surprise. Then she looked everywhere, trying in vain to find where that voice came from through the dense mist, aiming in turn with her lighted horn, ready to strike down any threat that appeared.

"Or maybe I was wrong, and there really is a colt behind that pretty skin..." The mysterious voice added, with a tone of voice that made it seem that it seemed funny.

"She knows who I really am!" Twilight thought in surprise at the new revelation. "That confirms my theory… She is the one who did this to us!"

"I came here to take away this curse that you put on me!" Twilight said, screaming angrily.

After Twilight screamed, the mysterious voice fell silent completely, leaving an awkward and dark silence.

"No." The mysterious voice finally answered, leaving Twiligh paralyzed. "Now go away." The voice added, this time angrier.

Twilight instinctively raised one of her hind legs to back away.  This went beyond what she had predicted.  All this time Twilight had been trying different spells to clear the mist, but none of them worked. And if she was facing a different power that could overcome a magic, then she was in real danger.  However, just as Twilight recoiled one of her hooves, the images of her five mare friends came to her mind, and then she remembered that she was not alone for her, but for her friends, and if she could not find a cure, her friends, her true and dear mare friends! They would never return. Then Twilight instantly put her hoof back where it was and stood firmly, with a determined look.

"I'll not run away." Twilight said full of determination, ceasing to light her horn, as a sign that she was completely helpless. "I just want to talk to you."

"Hahaha! So, you won’t run away with your tail between your legs… hehe, I like that…" The voice laughed loudly, making Twilight tremble inside, but on the outside she kept her gaze steady. "Then we'll make a little game..."

"A game?" Twilight repeated, surprised and confused by the proposal the voice was making.

"I'll tell you three riddles.  If you get even one answer before the end, I'll agree to talk to you." The mysterious voice said.

"What if I don't answer them?" Twilight asked, understanding that this could be a risky game.

"Hehehe... well, if you fail, I'll show you the answer myself..." The voice answered laughing evilly, leaving Twilight confused, not understanding what she meant by that. "Are you ready?"

"Ready." Twilight said without hesitation, looking seriously ahead, thinking that the consequences didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was that she couldn't fail.

"First riddle: Not animal, mineral or vegetable, but can it grow, dance and die. If you feed it, it lives; if you give it drink, it dies." The sinister voice said in the mist.

"What!?  How can something grow and die if it's not alive!?  By definition, only animals and plants are alive…" Twilight thought quickly, remembering her biology classes and using all her logical reasoning to eliminate millions of alternatives before being absolutely sure that her answer was correct. "Maybe it's a metaphor, and it's not really alive. If so, there are many things in nature that may be alive, and-"

"Time." The voice finally said, after a few seconds.

"What!? You didn't say there was a time limit… You only gave me a few seconds!" Twilight said claiming against the voice.

"My game, my rules." The voice said seriously. "Also, someone know or don't know the answer... Someone don't need to think that hard."

Then a sudden flame appeared a few steps in front of Twilight, where a small fire was created that lit up and scattered a bit of the mist, much to the mare's surprise.

"Fire! Fire dances and grows when you ‘feed’ it fuel and will die when it ‘drinks’ water." Twilight thought, frustrated in acknowledging that she had already come to think that she was an element of nature, but that she had been too slow to come up with the answer. After all, in the ponies' towns and cities, fire was little used as lighting, as most were illuminated with magic.

It was then that Twilight understood something else: what the voice had told her about that she would show her the answer if she was wrong.  For that reason, that fire had appeared, she was showing her the correct answer.

"Second riddle." The mysterious voice said, taking Twilight by surprise, who was still analyzing what had happened. "Red and hot as a flame. If you want to see me, get me out of my home, but be careful what you wish for, without me you'll not live."

"Red and hot... Wait! Fire is a distraction, it's not fire." Twilight thought frustrated at having so little time to think. "Something red that is inside something, that's what it means by its home... But it can't come out... No! She said it was dangerous for it to go out, not that it couldn't go out… Ugh! Why is it so hard for me to get the answer!?" Twilight thought desperately, remembering that she had many times played riddles with the princess, but it had never been so difficult for her to find an answer.

"Time." Sentenced the mysterious voice after Twilight again didn't give an answer.

Twilight lowered her head, annoyed with herself for not knowing the answer, but then she raised her head confused, since unlike the previous riddle, this time nothing appeared before her.

"So, what was the answer?" Twilight asked, still unable to come up with an answer.

Suddenly Twilight heard a low whistle, like something moving swiftly through the mist, until suddenly something brushed against her cheek at high speed, causing Twilight to jump.

What brushed Twilight had been a spear, which had been nailed into a tree behind Twilight. After the impact, Twilight felt something warm on her cheek, and with fear, she put a hoof on her cheek and saw the answer.

"Blood..." Twilight whispered fearfully, running her hoof back over her cheek to notice the small but clean cut on it that had drawn a few drops of blood.

Suddenly Twilight widened her eyes in surprise as she realized she couldn't be intimidated and needed to stay focused.  Then Twilight couldn't help but glance at the spear that had stuck behind her and that could have cost her life.

"Last riddle." The voice said, which sounded more intimidating this time. “I am powerful and respected, but everyone avoids me.  I am always close, but you never see me.  I reach everyone without running, I find everyone without searching.  Rejoice in your luck if I come to see you later, because I have no end, and your end is me."

In the face of such a riddle, the first thing Twilight thought was that the voice was referring to itself, but that would be cheating, since the answer must be something that Twilight knew.

"Fire, blood, things that all ponies know, but we avoid thinking about because... Because we fear them! That must be the answer! Something we are afraid of." Twilight thought quickly, though she knew she was running out of time. "Come on! Think! If I don't respond, this can be dangerous… If I don't respond she could-"

Twilight raised her head in amazement, understanding that the answer was equal to her punishment. Then she opened her mouth to say the answer.

"Time." The mysterious voice said just before the sound left Twilight's lips.

"Death... that's the answer." Twilight said breathing heavily in fear, knowing she had answered late.

"That's right... but you didn't respond in time." The voice said ominously.

Long, eternal seconds passed, in which Twilight froze, and the mysterious voice fell completely silent.

"W-Will you show me the answer?" Twilight said trying to smile, but she couldn't help shaking knowing what was to come.

"If you know I'll show you the answer, why don't you run away?" The mysterious voice asked curiously. "Tell me, Dusk Shine, do you fear death?"

At another time, Twilight would have been surprised to know that the mysterious voice even knew her real name.  But at that moment, she needed all her concentration to not show emotions, just keep her gaze determined, because although everything seemed against her, she had found a small light of hope.

"Of course I fear death.  But there are things that I'm even more afraid of, like never seeing my beloved friends again." Twilight replied with a small smile, as she decided to take a chance and play her ace up her sleeve. "And before you show me what death is, I'd like to see you even once… After all, I've never seen a zebra up close before."

After Twilight's words, the thick mist began to slowly disappear, until Twilight could see that a few steps in front of her there was a mysterious hooded figure, who when noticing that Twilight saw her, took off her hood, thus revealing to a mare with light gray coat with dark gray stripes, her manestyle was a white and dark gray Mohican, but her most distinctive feature was her large gold earrings and hoops that she wore around her neck.

"How did you find out I was a zebra?" The mysterious hooded asked, looking with mild amazement at Twilight.

"This mist is not something created with magic, but even so, it's not natural.  It took me a while to think that perhaps it could be done by some kind of chemical alchemy, known as witchcraft in the Eastern lands, where they are experts in this science..." Twilight replied with a small smile of pride. "Also, the spear you used has some tribal engravings, typical of the desert tribes that live there... And finally, I remembered that my friend had said that years ago she had seen two strange mares with their bodies full of scars. It was then that I thought, what if they weren't scars but stripes? After all, normal ponies have rarely seen or even know that zebras exist."

"Hahaha!" The zebra laughed loudly at Twilight's brilliant deduction. "You really are interesting..."

Then the zebra slowly approached Twilight, who just stood still, wishing her instinct wasn't wrong.  Then the zebra pulled out a bottle of liquid and rubbed a little on Twilight's cheek. Instantly, Twilight felt a comforting warmth on her cheek, causing her to touch her cheek and realize that the scratch she had had until a second ago had completely disappeared.

"Done." The zebra said as she tucked her vial into her cloak. Then she took the spear that had been nailed to the tree behind Twilight, turned and walked slowly away.

"W-Wait!" Twilight yelled, surprised to notice that the zebra was just leaving. "W-What is your name?"

"My name is Zecora." The zebra replied without stopping or looking at Twilight, just following her path through the forest.

"P-Please, wait!" Twilight said running after Zecora, but unable to reach her given the thick forest. "Take this curse from us!" Twilight screamed as she almost lost sight of Zecora.

"No." Zecora replied, turning around behind a tree and losing sight of Twilight.

Knowing that this was her only chance, Twilight struggled against the branches to hasten her path, until she reached a strange and huge tree, from which smoke was coming out of one of its holes. It was then that Twilight understood that this must be Zecora's home.

Twilight walked around the big tree, noticing strange tribal masks around her, until she was finally able to find a door and entered the tree.  There, Twilight was surprised to see many more tribal masks, some much stranger and more chilling, and there were even skulls and bones of different creatures, which made Twilight tremble.

"I don't know all the manners of ponies, but in my culture, it's impolite to enter someone else's home without being invited." Zecora said without taking her eyes off what appeared to be a huge cauldron, in which she stirred what appeared to be a potion of some kind.

"Don't talk to me of being rude when you have a pony skull here!" Twilight shouted frightened, unable to keep from screaming at the recognition that one of the skulls there was undoubtedly of an equine.

Zecora saw what Twilight was seeing and then looked at her seriously.

"That is my mother's skull, and I would beg you not to scream in front of her." Zecora said calmly.

Twilight took a scared step to the side, away from the creepy skull, and then looked at Zecora in terror.  Applejack had definitely been right when she had warned them that there were dark beings who worshiped death... Her appreciation of Zecora had been wrong, she was dangerous! But she couldn't run away, not until she and the five colts could return to normal.

"T-That spear you threw at me... I-It's also made of bones." Twilight said, making an effort to carry on a conversation despite her fear.

"That's right. I told you I would show you death, and there it was." Zecora replied staring at Twilight.

"You... do you worship death?" Twilight asked, thinking that despite how dangerous Zecora appeared to be, she was chatting quietly, not disturbed in the least despite the sinister conversation.

"I don't worship death, but I'm not afraid of it either." Zecora replied. "Here in Equestria, the ponies fear death and all that it brings with it.  That is why you have cemeteries far from the cities, all of you prefer to get as far away as possible from those who have already left.  But in my culture, death is well received when it comes, many times it's a rest for the suffering lived."

"And you keep the skulls of your families?" Twilight asked with fear and a little disgust.

"Only when it's necessary to purify a place." Zecora said approaching to the skull that Twilight had seen, taking it and smiling affectionately. "Zebras believe in the cycle of life... Nothing really ends, it only transforms. After her death and purification, each part of my mother's body became a tool for me, as our religion dictates.  And her skull is here so that her soul can visit me when I require her advice and she know where to go from the great meadows where she rests…"

"That... that's perverse." Twilight said without being able to avoid saying what she felt.

"For your race it is, just as for me it is perverse to think that you only throw the bodies of your dead into a pit, waiting for them to rot." Zecora said looking seriously at Twilight.

Twilight blinked in amazement at what Zecora told her.  She had never thought of it that way, the way Zecora explained what the ponies did to their dead, made it sound truly appalling, and still, it was true.  Then Twilight began to calm down a bit and to understand that she shouldn't judge something so quickly just for being different, after all, that the ponies believed in something and had a certain culture, it didn't mean that they were right and that their culture was the correct one.

"You said you kept your dead because that dictates your religion... I didn't know there were still species that believed in religion." Twilight said curiously.

"Religion is just a word to name the acts with which we connect with the gods and their astral plane." Zecora replied with a smile, reluctantly thinking that she was enjoying the conversation with that pony more than she had planned, as she had never seen a pony interested in her culture. "I suppose that believing in a connection with the spiritual and with nature is difficult for you, who only believe in magic, science, and your ruling goddess."

"Ruling goddess? You mean the princess? She isn't a goddess, not even a queen, so she only uses the title of princess." Twilight said with a somewhat mocking smile.

"And yet the ponies do ceremonies in her honor and revere her like a god." Zecora said, this time being the one who smiled, leaving Twilight speechless, given that the zebra's arguments were very solid. "A god doesn't make mistakes, and believe me, your princess has committed many."

Apart from Zecora, Twilight had only met one other pony who saw the princess's work so critical, and who also agreed that she shouldn't be revered.  That pony was Princess Celestia herself, who had intimately told Dusk Shine of her fears and regrets.

"What Zecora says goes against what all of us think… But still, talking to her is fascinating." Twilight thought, seeing Zecora in the eyes for the first time, and then feeling a sensation very similar to the one she felt when she looked at Princess Celestia, as if both locked up wisdom and were eager to share it. "They'd probably both get along..."

"You can't take this curse away from me, because it wasn't you who threw a curse at us, wasn't it?" Twilight asked suddenly, finally realizing the truth.

"That's right." Zecora said, nodding slowly, pleased to see that Twilight was no longer accusing her unfairly. "What happened to you and your friends was the product of pollen from a very peculiar plant. A blue flower called a 'Poison Joke'."

"Blue flower?" Dusk said confused, and then opening big eyes and striking her forehead to the relate everything that happened since the fall of Rainbow Dash in the field of blue flowers, to flower had the side of her bed. "How did I not notice it!?"

"Seeing your surprise and confusion, I now offer you a potion." Zecora said, pointing at the cauldron behind her, and then, realizing something, blushed slightly. "Forgive me on that rhyme.  In my village, shamans usually talk like this, but it's a habit that I abandoned when my mother died."

"Can you heal me right now!?" Twilight shouted excitedly, wishing she could return to normal right now.

"Unfortunately not, the potion takes a night's sleep to take effect.  Also, I am still missing an ingredient for the potion." Zecora said with a thoughtful look. "I used the last of that flower in the potion I left in front of your home to heal your friend of her crippled wings."

"Let's go for more!" Twilight said impatiently.

"It's not that easy. That flower doesn't grow here, so deep inside the Everfree Forest.  It's near the town where you live." Zecora replied with a somewhat worried look.

"But then it's so much easier!" Twilight said excitedly. "Let's go to town and-"

"I can't leave my home. I have a mission to accomplish." Zecora said looking seriously at Twilight.

"A mission?" Twilight asked confused.

"Stop the draconequus, an ancient being who has sworn to bring chaos to our world." Zecora said with a serious look. "Years ago, my mother prophesied that its prison would be released here, in this forest of ancient magic. And I have to fulfill her mission."

"Draconequus? I've never heard of any of that." Twilight said trying in vain to remember something of that peculiar creature that Zecora mentioned. "Maybe it's just an old legend."

"Yes. The legend has it that thousands of years ago the alicorn sisters used the Elements of Harmony to enclose it in stone." Zecora said staring at Twilight. "It's not the first time that your princess hides her past from you, is it not?"

Twilight bit her lip as she recalled that until that year's Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Celestia had never mentioned her past or her relationship with Nightmare Moon, who eventually turned out to be her younger sister.

"If what you say is true, the Elements of Harmony will re-enclose that creature if it is released." Twilight said, still not sure whether to believe about that strange creature Zecora mentioned.

"I thought so, but a few months ago the Elements of Harmony were extracted from the old castle." Zecora said narrowing her eyes. "The balance was broken.  The princess allowed the Elements to leave the castle, weakening the magical barrier that prevented chaos from growing in this forest... And she gave the most powerful magical elements in the world, to six irrelevant little ponies." Zecora added staring Twilight in the eye.

"Irrelevant?  Do you think the princess made a mistake in giving me and my friends the elements of harmony?" Twilight asked slowly, noticing Zecora's resentment.

"I can't deny that I have noticed that you are special, Dusk Shine." Zecora said, as she took some purple powders from one of her vases, and threw them upwards, where they made different silhouettes and drawings in the air. "You have a magical aura that even I can feel, plus an enormous thirst for knowledge, courage and resolution.  But living beings are changing, like the flow of the river, and I don't know if in the future, you'll not give in to power or fear, against the great challenges that await you... or your friends..."

Twilight listened carefully to what Zecora said and fully understood what she meant.

"You’ve tested me, and you think me worthy of carrying an Element of Harmony, but not so to my friends." Twilight said looking seriously at Zecora.

"To trust the hearts of six ponies to carry the Elements means to abandon Equestria to its fate." Zecora said, reaffirming her stance. "It's better to return them to the Forest and that nature, always fair and impartial, take care of the harmony of this world."

Twilight realized that Zecora's posture was very closed, and her arguments were valid, although of course, that was because she didn't know the true value of the heart of her dear friends; but anyway, the best thing was not to continue arguing about that topic, at least for the moment.  It was then that Twilight realized something else she had overlooked while they were talking.

"You said you didn't leave your home for your mission here in the forest, but still, you went to town to leave me the potion that healed my friend's wings." Twilight said with a thoughtful look, to Zecora's surprise. "Tell me... Is there no other reason why you don't want to go to town?"

Then Zecora looked away for a second, after she looked back at Twilight, this time with a slight look of fear on her.

"In the past, I tried to visit the town... But I wasn't well received." Zecora said with a sad look. "As soon as I appeared, everyone would run away from me, without even giving me an opportunity to speak.  As time went by, I stopped going."

Instantly Twilight understood the enormous loneliness Zecora must have lived in that forest after her mother died, surely she tried to meet someone in the town, but she was feared because of her appearance.

"For that reason, Zecora couldn't help but smile when, despite my fear, I stayed and talked to her..." Twilight thought, seeing herself reflected in the lonely zebra. "It's even greater than the loneliness I felt before meeting my friends..."

"Zecora, now it's my turn to ask you a riddle." Twilight suddenly said, surprising Zecora a little. "I'll follow your same rules. If you fail, you'll accompany me to town to find the missing ingredient."

Zecora stared at Twilight for a few seconds, looking through Twilight and thinking that there might be some trick if she accepted her proposal.

"What if I get it right?" Zecora replied with a confident smile, as her loneliness had made her an expert in riddles, so she definitely couldn't lose.

"I'll give you the Elements of Harmony." Twilight replied with a confident smile, then looked seriously at Zecora to say her riddle. "A pony without magic, or wings, or tools, only with a strong tie.  How can you move a stone five times heavier than you?"

Zecora narrowed her eyes and smiled confidently, believing she knew what Twilight was thinking.

"She believes that I have lived totally isolated, but it's not so. I have observed from a distance and learned what is happening in the town. I know that Dusk Shine is the student of the princess, and that he is a logical and mathematical pony... There is the solution!" Zecora thought as she thought of a solution like a pulley or something related.

"Time." Twilight suddenly said, to Zecora's surprise, who stared in surprise at Twilight. "I told you I would use the same rules." Twilight added with an arrogant smile.

"Hahaha! You've caught me." Zecora laughed loudly, realizing her mistake. "So?  What was the answer?  Did you use the same or trick that I used? Something I knew but didn't see commonly."

"Something like that... If you can't move a stone by yourself, there is only one tie strong enough to help you: friendship.  If you can't do something alone, and you don't have the power, skills, or tools to help you, you can always count on your friends." Twilight replied with a tender smile. "And since you failed, just as you showed me the correct answer to the riddles, I'll show you the answer to my riddle."

As Twilight smiled at Zecora, the zebra stared straight into her eyes, where she could see a spark in those big purple eyes full of hope.

"So this is the Element of Magic..." Zecora thought, finally smiling and accepting the invitation of Twilight. "It really is interesting... "





For the first time in years, Zecora was in broad daylight on the edge of the Everfree Forest, from where the entrance to the small town called Ponyville could be seen not far away.  As Twilight walked alongside the zebra, just before putting a hoof on the edge of the forest, Zecora stopped dead.

"I still believe it's not a good idea." Zecora said with a serious look, pulling her hood up to hide her face.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Twilight replied with a smile as she used her magic to pull the hood down again. Then she saw through Zecora's serious gaze and understood that what the zebra really felt was fear.

"The ponies are very prejudiced." Zecora said looking away as she remembered her last appearances in town. "They fear what is different."

"That was years ago.  Now the ponies are different." Twilight said, giggling a little to reassure her. "What do you think?  What some pony will jump to attack you as soon as it sees you? Hahaha…"

Suddenly a rainbow lightning bolt came down from the sky and hit Zecora directly, knocking her to the ground, before Twilight's puzzled gaze. That rainbow lightning had been none other than Rainbow Blitz, who was now standing on top of Zecora, with a threatening look, while Zecora was on her back, with a confused look.

Quickly understanding that his friend's act could spoil her entire strategy with Zecora, Twilight immediately used her magic to surround Rainbow Blitz and levitate him to free Zecora.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Twilight asked annoyed, as she kept her magic to hold Rainbow Blitz up in the air.

"I was saving you from... from her!" Rainbow Blitz said pointing at Zecora and regarding her suspiciously. "She looks suspicious... No pony with so many tattoos can be good."

"She is not dangerous, and she has no tattoos, they are stripes!  She’s a zebra!" Twilight said pointing to Zecora for the pegasus to see her better. "She... she’s my potions teacher." Twilight added to make Rainbow Blitz more quickly trust Zecora was not a danger.

Rainbow Blitz stared at Zecora, with his eyes trying to find a hint of danger in her.  But as much as he looked at her, the only thing strange about that zebra was her appearance.

"I... I'm sorry, I think I exaggerated a little." Rainbow Blitz finally said sorry, so Twilight finally released him from her magic. "Anyway, now that I have a good look at you... Your manestyle is awesome!" Rainbow Blitz added as he fell to the ground and looked closely at Zecora and her particular mane.

"By the way, what were you doing here?" Twilight asked, looking curiously at the colt.

"I-I was just passing by and I saw you." Rainbow Blitz said looking away and blushing slightly.

"I don't think that's true." Zecora suddenly said, bringing her nose closer to Rainbow Blitz and sniffing him closely. “I can smell the forest on you… It seems like you've been waiting a long time here at the entrance to the forest."

At Zecora's comment, Rainbow Blitz blushed completely.

"W-Well... yeah, I-I just stood here waiting..." Rainbow Blitz said nervously and blushed, glancing at Twilight. "After me and the guys argued with each other and you disappeared, Spike told us that you returned to the library, and we all returned.  So I quickly flew to the library and couldn't find you, and I thought maybe you had gone to the forest on your own… I wasn't sure, but I still felt responsible, so I just stood here waiting to see if you would show up."

After listening to Rainbow Blitz, Twilight was surprised and then smiled warmly as she recognized that that colt still had the loyal soul of her friend Rainbow Dash.  She would never abandon a friend if she suspected that it needed her.

And Twilight wasn't the only one who noticed that.  Zecora also noted the responsibility and loyalty that pegasus showed towards Twilight. Not only in his words, just by looking into Rainbow Blitz's eyes, Zecora's perceptive and trained eyes, who could see beyond the obvious, noticed the strength in his soul and determination to never abandon anyone who needed him.

"Also, you dropped this when you left." Rainbow Blitz suddenly added, handing Twilight a flower, which she immediately recognized as the flower Elusive had previously given her. "I know it's just a dumb flower, b-but it's still a way to apologize for what happened this morning."

Twilight took the flower carefully and blushed slightly at Rainbow Blitz's eyes.

"He’s different when he is alone… He’s still the sincere, rough but sweet Rainbow Dash." Twilight thought, blushing at Rainbow Blitz's gesture and words, and also surprised to discover something she hadn't understood when the girls had told her. "Now I understand! When I gave the flowers to my friends as a sign of asking for forgiveness... They didn't forgive me for the flowers themselves, but for what they represented!  That I had been worried all morning thinking about them and a way of asking for forgiveness."

"This is!" Zecora yelled suddenly, taking the flower that Twilight was holding, much to the mare's surprise. "This flower doesn't grow deep in the forest, it's fortunate that there was one so close to the edge of the forest… This is the missing ingredient!"

Then the zebra opened her cloak, showing that she carried several small jars. After, Zecora opened one of the jars and put a flower petal in the potion, causing the liquid in the jar to change color.

"Drink it." Zecora said directly, stretching her hoof for Rainbow Blitz to take the jar she offered.

"W-What is that?" Rainbow Blitz asked, looking suspiciously at the jar and then at Zecora, whom it no longer considered to be a danger, but still he didn't trust her.

"Trust me. You need to drink this for your own good." Twilight said, looking warmly at Rainbow Blitz, who also stared at her.

"Woah, weird... her gaze conveys the same confidence as Dusk Shine... Eh, probably has something to do with them being siblings." Rainbow Blitz thought, finally accepting the bottle and drinking its contents in one gulp.

"Thanks for trusting me." Twilight said with a big smile.

“Y-Yeah, well… since you're fine and all that.  I think I'll leave now." Rainbow Blitz said looking away and blushing. "Bye." The pegasus added before spreading his wings and flying away from there.

"Well, one less. If we're lucky, tomorrow they'll wake up and they shouldn't remember any of this." Twilight said, smiling at Zecora.

"I think so. Since the flower affected their memories, I suppose the potion will do the same.” Zecora said opening her cloak again to take out five jars and offer them to Twilight. "Take them, now that we have the last ingredient, I no longer need to accompany you."

Twilight was surprised by Zecora's words, then she smiled and stretched her hoof towards the jars, but instead of taking them, she pushed Zecora's hooves so that she put the jars back.

"I want you to accompany me." Twilight said smiling. "I told you that I would show you what friendship is, and our journey is not over yet."





"We're almost there." Twilight said as they walked through a beautiful woodland, very different from Zecora's dark forest home. Almost reaching Fluttershy's house.

"Are you sure you don't want to drink the potion?" Zecora asked curiously.

"I'll drink it only when all my friends have drunk it." Twilight replied smiling as she walked.

"You really do care a lot about your friends. You have a kind soul, Twilight Shine." Zecora said smiling.

"That's not my name, it's Twilight Sparkle, I mean! Dusk Shine... Although now... you know what, it doesn't matter." Twilight said putting a face of frustration, thinking something uncomfortable that she was hardly paying any attention to the fact that her current identity was not her true identity.

Finally, Zecora and Twilight could see Fluttershy's house.  Not far from there, was Butterscotch who was feeding some bunnies, except for the little bunny Angel, who weeping inconsolably.

"How curious.  Angel is always very authoritative with Fluttershy, but it seems that it affected him more than anyone that his beloved caretaker was replaced by a colt." Twilight said smiling at the situation.

"Is he... the bearer of the Element of Kindness?" Zecora asked, looking curiously at Butterscotch.

"Yes.  By the way, did you bring your spear or something sharp by chance?" Twilight asked casually.

Zecora was a little surprised, then she opened her cloak and pulled out a small rock that had a sharp edge on both sides.

"I use this flint to set fire. What do you need it for?" Zecora asked confused, handing the stone to Twilight.

"Don't worry. Trust me." Twilight said with an affectionate smile, and then smiling a little more sinisterly. "I just need you to see something. Oh! And sorry in advance… AAAHHH…!"

With a loud scream, for Butterscotch to hear them, Twilight levitated the stone Zecora passed her and scratched the cheek of the zebra, a swift and clean cut, but deep enough to draw a few drops of blood.  Then Twilight lunged at Zecora, leaving her on her back and standing on top of her, all before Zecora's stunned gaze, who didn't understand what was happening. On any other occasion, Zecora would have reacted to protect herself, but seeing Twilight's eyes, she could see that there was no evil in her gaze, and finally, she just decided to trust Twilight and play along.

"Butterscotch! Over here!" Twilight yelled, pretending to be scared as she subdued Zecora.

Hearing the scream and seeing Twilight attacking that stranger, Butterscotch immediately ran to the scene, with a scared face. Upon arriving at the scene, Butterscotch gave Twilight a quick glance, and then Zecora, who stood motionless under Twilight's pressure, trusting the unicorn but still very confused by what was happening.

"Twilight! What did you do!?" Butterscotch said scared, moving Twilight to get off Zecora.

Then Butterscotch, always keeping his face in fear, helped lift Zecora and then touched her cheek fondly, under Zecora's stunned gaze.

"Are you okay? Don't be afraid." Butterscotch said, looking worriedly at Zecora, then looking annoyed at Twilight. "Why did you attack her!? Can't you see how scared and confused she is?"

"B-But she's so weird... Look at the clothes she's wearing! And... And her stripes!" Twilight said pretending to be scared, then looking sideways at Zecora and smiling at her without Butterscotch noticing.

"I-I have a first aid kit in my house. Maybe we can-" Butterscotch said, looking fearfully at the small scratch Zecora had on her cheek.

"No need." Zecora interrupted, opening her cloak and pulling out a small vial. "It's just a scratch.  With a little bit of this ointment, it'll heal in seconds."

Butterscotch quickly opened the bottle, put some of the ointment on his hoof, and gently rubbed it on Zecora's cheek.  Meanwhile, Zecora was stoic, not taking her eyes off Butterscotch for a second.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Zecora asked as she let Butterscotch finish applying the ointment.

"I... I'm terrified.  I've never seen a pony as scary as you before." Butterscotch replied shyly, gulping and then smiling a little less nervously.  "But more important than my fear is knowing that you are well.  No one deserves to be hurt without warning or provocation… N-No matter how scary they look."

At that moment Zecora looked askance at Twilight, who was smiling with satisfaction, which made Zecora also sigh with a small smile when she understood what Twilight had done and what she had wanted to show her: the kindness of that shy pony.

"A-are you alright?" Butterscotch finally asked, stuttering a bit.

"Yes, I am." Zecora said with a nod.

As soon as Butterscotch heard Zecora's statement, he jumped back a step and stood between Twilight and Zecora, staring at Zecora and stretching a hoof to protect Twilight behind him.

"I-I don't know what brings you close to my house, b-but I'll protect Twilight if you... i-if you are evil." Butterscotch said shaking and stuttering, determined to protect Twilight from any retaliation from that strange tattooed pony.

Seeing Butterscotch's back, trembling but determined to protect her, Twilight recalled how Fluttershy and Dusk had met in a similar situation, and just like on that occasion, the mare blushed when she saw that despite her fears, the colt in front of her took risks to protect her.

"W-Wait Butterscotch, it's just a misunderstanding." Twilight said quickly, still a little blushed at what she had thought.

Twilight quickly invented again that Zecora was her potions teacher and that they had planned that little prank.

After finishing her story, Zecora approached Butterscotch and offered him one of her jars with the cure.  And just like what happened with Rainbow Blitz, Butterscotch looked suspiciously at the jar, but finally he drank the potion when Twilight told him to trust her.

"Two less... Three more to go." Twilight thought with a hopeful smile as they said goodbye to Butterscotch and headed for the next target, which was left at Sweet Apple Acres.





"So, this other pony doesn't live in town either... Maybe that makes him as receptive as the pony of the Element of Kindness." Zecora said, obviously more optimistic after the Butterscotch visit.

"Yes, Applejack lives on this farm with her family." Twilight said a little anxious since they had been in the huge Apple family orchard for a while, and she still didn't see AJ or anyone in his family. "Maybe we should go to the house to ask where-"

Twilight suddenly fell silent at the sound of a rumble, a sound she knew well from her dear friend when she worked.  Then Twilight and Zecora ran following the sound until they finally found AJ, who was hitting an apple tree that looked like it hadn't dropped all its leaves.

Seeing her friend, Twilight set out to call him, however, for some reason, she stared at him for a moment.  As AJ hit the tree hard, stressing his now-masculine muscles, sweating, and smiling manly as he worked, they unwittingly made the hormones in Twilight's female body react.

"AJ has…a really nice body. A lot more muscular than my normal body. All those years working on the farm has really done wonders!  So…strong." Twilight thought, blushing, both from her body's reaction, and how embarrassed she was to admit that AJ could be more masculine than Dusk Shine.

"Shall we get closer to him?" Zecora asked suddenly, seeing that Twilight had remained motionless looking at the orange colt from afar.

"Y-Yes..." Twilight said completely blushed, shaking her head to clear her ideas. "We need to fix this as soon as possible..." She added in a whisper.

As They got closer to AJ, Twilight began to think about the changes between her feelings and sensations in just three days.  She still couldn't find the answer she was looking for, but for the first time the pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to fit together.

"Oh, wow! Hi Twilight!" AJ said with a big smile, then looking curiously behind Twilight noticing that someone was coming with her. "Who's your friend-"

Seeing Zecora, AJ's face turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Hi AJ!  I just wanted to show Zecora what the farm was like and-" Twilight started to speak smiling but stopped when she noticed that AJ seemed to be paying no attention to her. It was as if he had froze upon seeing Zecora. "Uhh... AJ, are you okay?" Twilight added, touching AJ's side.

"UH!? I-I... yes, yes. I'm fine." AJ said coming out of his trance as soon as Twilight touched him. Then AJ shook his head abruptly, as if he wanted to erase something from his head. "Sorry, it's just that... when I saw your... guest, it reminded me of a strange nightmare that... I can't quite remember."

"Well, little Applejack, you may not remember it, but we've seen each other before." Zecora suddenly said in a solemn voice, shocking AJ and Twilight.

At Zecora's words, AJ stared at her. His breathing began to shake rapidly, and his face grew more and more terrified as his brain refused to remember anything, but the feelings of terror that those repressed memories involved did appear.

"Wait! Don't go!" Twilight yelled in concern when she saw that AJ had stepped back and he was about to run away. Then AJ looked at Twilight as she smiled warmly at him to trust her. "Please, just listen to me."

At Twilight's words, AJ closed his eyes and slowly calmed down, until he finally opened them and nodded slowly, still with a look of fear, but now calmer.

"Zecora, it's your turn to speak." Twilight said, looking suddenly at Zecora, to the zebra's surprise.

"Wouldn't it be better if you asked him?" Zecora asked a little worried, since with the previous two colts, they had only agreed to drink the potion after Twilight asked them to.

"Just be totally honest." Twilight replied smiling.

Finally, Zecora just sighed and looked AJ directly in the eyes, while he made an effort to calm down and also look her in the eyes.

"You have a rare condition that has affected you without your knowing it.  You have been the victim of a strange magical flower called a 'Poison Joke'.  Not only has it changed you physically, but it has also altered your memories." Zecora said seriously, following what Twilight asked about being openly honest. Then Zecora took out one of her potion jars and offered it to AJ. "You have to drink this.  It's the cure."

When Zecora finished speaking, she kept her eyes on AJ, who just kept looking at her just as she did, without moving a muscle or saying anything.

"I knew it, telling him the truth was not the best thing." Zecora thought at that moment. "The truth is that everything sounds crazy, it would have been better to lie or omit certain details like Twilight did with the other ponies so that -"

At that moment Zecora stopped her train of thought as AJ quickly took the jar she offered him, and drank the entire potion in one gulp, without saying or asking anything.

"I still don't know why I'm so scared to see your face." AJ said after drinking the potion. "But your eyes are honest, there is not a shred of lies in what you said... Although it sounds crazy."

Hearing AJ, Zecora looked at him in surprise, then she put on a small smile as she finally recognized the bearer of the Element of Honesty.

"Well, it's time to go, or it'll get dark before I’m able to show Zecora around Ponyville." Twilight said, saying goodbye to AJ and heading towards the town with Zecora.

"AJ's fear is the same fear that Applejack showed when she talked about 'dark beings' living in the Everfree Forest." Twilight thought as she walked, glancing at Zecora. "There's definitely a hidden story there... But I'd rather have Applejack tell it to me when she gets back to normal and think the time is right."





The next colt on Twilight's list had been Bubble Berry, so they had headed straight for Sugarcube Corner, however, as soon as Twilight and Zecora got there, they were frustrated at not finding him.  And the worst thing was that now they would have to go through the same thing that had happened when they entered the town.

As soon as Zecora had set hooves in Ponyville, the town ponies ran desperate and hid in their homes when they saw the dark and singular appearance of that strange tattooed mare, without anyone knowing what a zebra was.  It didn't help that Twilight tried to scream and explain, Zecora seemed to have been right all along, and the ponies only saw appearances to judge others.

"As soon as we get out of Sugarcube Corner, the ponies will hide and run in fear again…" Twilight thought, glancing sideways at Zecora, who seemed indifferent to everything that had happened, but her new acquired ‘sixth sense’ that the time being a mare gave her told Twilight that in truth it did hurt to see so many ponies run away from her. "We have no choice.  We'll go with Elusive and then I'll have to go out alone in search of Bubble Berry."

Saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who had hardly received Twilight and her private guest, Twilight and Zecora headed to Carousel Boutique, obtaining on the way the same result they had obtained when going to Sugarcube Corner.

KNOCK-KNOCK!

Opening the door, Elusive smiled gallantly as he saw his muse Twilight Sparkle return to his hooves, however his smile instantly faded when he saw who was accompanying the mare.  Elusive immediately tried to close the door, but Twilight put her hoof up, and with a friendly smile, asked him to let them through.

"So... you are a zebra." Elusive said, after Twilight talked him into talking with Zecora. "And... what is a zebra?"

"We are an equine race, like ponies, but our connection with magic and nature differ much besides our culture and religion... In addition to our stripes, of course." Zecora replied calmly, realizing that this colt was more talkative than the other colts, and that even after the initial fear, he seemed to be interested in his breed. "Our stripes show our different families, it's like carrying a family tree on our skin... to our ancestors."

"Fascinating!  Stripes on the fur… I think I just came up with a brilliant idea for my next winter outfit!" Elusive said excitedly looking at Zecora.

"Elusive, now that you know who Zecora is, could you drink this potion for us?" Twilight said, offering Elusive one of Zecora's jars. "I can't tell you why, but it's very important that you drink it." Twilight added, thinking that although Elusive was more open to accepting new things, he would definitely be defensive if she told that the potion would change him in any way.

"Okay, sweetie. I'll do it for you." Elusive said smiling and trusting Twilight's sweet smile, identical to that of his dear friend Dusk Shine. Then Elusive drained the contents of his potion into a cup of tea, and drank it slowly, like a gentlecolt.

"All right!  Now, would you happen to know where Bubble Berry went to?" Twilight said getting up from her chair, excited to think that only one of her friends was left to cure.

"Bubble Berry is so unpredictable, he could be anywhere." Elusive said after finishing his tea. "It would be best if the three of us went out to look for him."

"Uh? W-Well… I actually thought that maybe you could stay to talk with Zecora." Twilight said a little nervously. "The town ponies got a little crazy when they saw Zecora on the way here.  Maybe it would be better if she didn't go out this time." Twilight admitted somewhat sadly, knowing that what she had said about the ponies of this generation being less prejudiced had resulted in complete failure.

It was then that a Twilight came up with a brilliant idea.

"The ponies are scared to see Zecora with her hood up, but when she is without a hood, they’re scared to see her stripes and believe they are dozens of tattoos." Twilight said with a thoughtful look as Zecora lowered her somewhat sad gaze, anticipating what Twilight would ask of her. "Maybe if she goes without her hood and we cover up some of her stripes, the other ponies might-"

"Don't even think about it! It's ridiculous." Elusive said suddenly, cutting Twilight off and looking slightly offended. "Listen to me Twilight, from what Zecora told me, those stripes are part of her lineage!  You can't hide that!  She must be proud of her lineage and her ethnicity!  The problem is not Zecora, nor is it the prejudice that ponies feel.  It's ignorance!  It's because they don't know what a zebra is."

At Elusive's words, Zecora couldn't help but smile slightly, as Twilight lowered her head in embarrassment.  What the white unicorn said was correct, and without realizing it, she had made Zecora feel bad about her origins and family.

"Elusive is right... but how do we get the ponies to know if they don't even want to get close to Zecora?" Twilight asked concerned.

"Hmm... I think I have an idea.  Come with me." Elusive said, taking Twilight to accompany him to a mirror, where both stood together and Elusive smiled. "Look at that. Don't we make a nice couple?" Elusive said with a flirtatious look as he saw the reflection of both in the mirror.

Twilight was surprised at Elusive's abrupt change of topic, but seeing the reflection of both, the mare couldn't help blushing when realizing that it was true.  Elusive was quite attractive as a colt, and next to him was the beautiful and stylized mare figure of her, a beautiful couple of unicorns in love.

"W-Why do you say that!?" Twilight asked blushing, annoyed at what she had thought and Elusive's abrupt change of topic.

"I just wanted to see our reflection together before my plan." Elusive said smiling and winking at Twilight.

Ten minutes later, the two ponies and the zebra left Carousel Boutique in search of Bubble Berry.  And just like when Twilight and Zecora had first entered the town, the town ponies' first reaction was astonishment, however, this time, no one fled.

The big difference in this new walk, was Elusive, who had painted some stripes on his white fur, in addition, he had cut part of his mane, leaving a wild and somewhat ridiculous manestyle.

"You... Why are you going out on the street looking like this!? Hahaha!" Suddenly said a colt from the town, slowly approaching next to two mares towards where Elusive and the others were.

"Oh! This?  It's just a crazy idea that occurred to me after seeing my fellow zebra." Elusive said smiling a little nervously, since although getting that reaction was part of his plan, he still felt uncomfortable knowing that the others would be making fun of his appearance.

"What’s a zebra?" The colt asked, making a curious face, just like the mares that had come alongside him.

Then Elusive took aim at Zecora and repeated what he had learned about the zebras, leaving the ponies who had approached very surprised and curious about the new equine that was before them.

Meanwhile, the ponies that had come closer, were not the only ones to be surprised, as Twilight was also amazed at the simple but ingenious idea of ​​Elusive.  He had painted stripes so that the other ponies could associate him with Zecora, but that alone was not enough, he had made a ridiculous and funny manestyle to compensate for the dark initial appearance of Zecora, and so the other ponies came to ask.

Elusive and the others continued walking through the town and continually repeating the process, gradually getting more ponies to come closer and start asking about the stripes and what a zebra was about.  Even Elusive stopped talking in a moment, so that Zecora herself was the one explaining to others about her species.

"That was a very clever idea..." Zecora whispered to Twilight as Elusive giggled with fillies who had come over to see his silly manestyle.

"Yes, but beyond that, he’s giving you this little gift while sacrificing himself." Twilight said looking at Zecora, who didn't understand what she meant. "Both Elusive and Rarity live by and for their appearance.  They are fashion designers.  Being seen in public wearing a ridiculous manestyle hurts them more than anyone, because damaging their image is damaging their business and their reputation. So that's why he keeps smiling nervously at the teasing, he knows the consequences, and still he's doing it for you." Twilight finished with a loving smile, while Zecora was surprised at what she had just discovered.

"Generosity..." Zecora whispered as she looked at Elusive and realized his sacrifice.

"Hey, ladies!" Elusive said suddenly after finishing talking to the fillies who had come to laugh at his manestyle. "These fillies say they know where Bubble Berry is."

Then Twilight's group followed the fillies until they reached the park outside Ponyville, where Bubble Berry indeed was, surrounded by a dozen foals and fillies. It seemed that Bubble Berry was doing a little show for the young ponies, inflating various balloons and making different animals with them.

"He looks so cute... I think he would be a good dad." Twilight thought, smiling as she watched the pink colt play with the foals and imagined her and him as parents. But then Twilight turned blue with terror at what she had just thought. "We must end this now!  I'm thinking more and more like a mare!"

As they approached where Bubble Berry was, the fillies who had guided Twilight there called out to their friends, and then they all cast amazed glances at Elusive, laughing at his crazy appearance.

"Look! Now there is a clown!" A small filly said innocently upon seeing Elusive.

"Why are your fur scratched?" Other filly asked, looking curiously at Elusive's stripes. "Are they tattoos?"

"Hahaha! Of course they’re not tattoos! How ridiculous you look! Hahaha!" Bubble Berry suddenly laughed as he recognized his unicorn friend, pointing it at him as Elusive blushed. "Little foals, don't panic, that's just paint, nothing more."

Then Bubble Berry turned his gaze to Zecora, and stared at her in surprise for a few seconds.

"Oh... But her stripes aren't painted..." Bubble Berry said, putting on a scary voice and raising his front hooves towards the foals while mimicking a ghost. "That mare is not a pony... It's a strange creature from a distant land... where they wear terrifying masks and use spears bones..."

As Bubble Berry scared the foals, the mood of the environment changed immediately, and the foals' curiosity towards Zecora changed to fear, causing the foals and fillies to slowly drift away from Zecora.

"Bubble Berry!  Don't say those things!" Twilight said, concerned to see that all of Elusive and Zecora's work was being wasted. "You're going to make everyone scared of Zecora again!"

"Hmm? Why would they be afraid of her?" Bubble Berry asked naively, who had just scared the foals for fun. "Look at her!  She’s completely striped!  It's as if she was wearing her pajamas all day! Hahaha! Hahaha!" Bubble Berry started to laugh out loud.

Everyone was surprised at the joke that the pink colt had told Zecora, leaving everyone stunned and silent, because no one knew how Zecora would react. However, the first to laugh was Zecora, who couldn't help but laugh at the silly joke of that pony, even more because, as much as she tried to remember, no one had ever played a joke on her.

As soon as Zecora started laughing, the mood relaxed completely, and the foals also burst out laughing. It was then that the foals and fillies approached Zecora and began to touch her and asking a lot of questions, they weren't only curious about her for being a zebra, but they were interested in approaching her because it was funny and nice to see her laugh at herself.

"My uncle had told me stories about zebras... I never thought they were real." Bubble Berry asked, after calming his laughter. "Is it true that you throw big parties by the fire, where all of you dance and tell stories?"

"That's right... We have many parties where we thank Mother Nature and- Ouch!" Zecora replied with a big smile, while foals climbed on her and a young filly was pulling her earring curiously.

Seeing Zecora smiling like that, Twilight also smiled when she saw that thanks to Bubble Berry's laughter, Zecora had finally felt part of the town, because Twilight had not realized that it was not only necessary for the town to accept Zecora, it was also necessary for Zecora to put aside her fears and accept others as well.  And just like the mysterious Pinkie Pie, Twilight would never know if Bubble Berry had noticed this and did it on purpose, or if it had just been a happy accident.

"Laughter can change everything." Twilight murmured with a smile as she looked at Bubble Berry. A murmur that Zecora managed to hear, which made the zebra also see the pink pony with an attentive look and a small smile.

Twilight finally asked Bubble Berry to drink the potion, which the pink colt drank avidly, thinking it was some strange new drink from the distant lands Zercora came from.  At that moment, the Sun was beginning to go down, and the parents of the foals and fillies came to the park to look for their little children, where they also took advantage of joining the laughter and conversation about the amazing guest coming from distant lands.  It was then that Bubble Berry gathered all the ponies that he could and began to make a huge musical number about how bad prejudice and discrimination were.

"Yeah... uh, I think it's time to go." Twilight whispered, seeing how Zecora watched with fear as the ponies were adding to the musical number. "I think joining a song would be too much for today, isn't it?" Twilight added, touching Zecora's shoulder.

"One step at a time." Zecora said with a smile of relief, thanking that Twilight didn't force her to participate in a musical number, in which several ponies already made a pyramid and sang about the good of being different.

Taking advantage of the hustle and bustle, Twilight and Zecora slowly retreated and made their way to the edge of the Everfree Forest, where Zecora had to take the path to return home.

"What do you think of my friends now?  The bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Twilight asked smiling as they walked.

"From the beginning you planned this, didn't you?  Show me the bearers to change my mind about where the Elements of Harmony should be." Zecora replied with a mischievous smile. "I suppose I have to admit that your friends are as interesting as you... but only time will tell if the princess did the right thing or not by giving you six the elements of harmony..."

"I believe now I understand what their princess wanted to do by giving the Elements of Harmony to simple ponies." Zecora thought, pondering what she had concluded after seeing the beares. "With the Elements out of the forest, their bearers can spread the values ​​they represent much easier, perhaps throughout Equestria! But in contrast… the magic of chaos grows faster in the forest, and that, sooner or later, will awaken the beast… It is a risky bet that you decided to play, Princess of the Sun."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here in town?" Twilight asked, knowing it was time to say goodbye to the zebra.

"I can't leave my home. Also, I have a mission to accomplish." Zecora replied, smiling. "But it won't be the last time we see each other, after all, thanks to you and your friends, now I can appear in town without the others running away from me."

"I'm glad to hear that." Twilight said with a friendly laugh. "Besides, I also think I'll come visit you a few times." Twilight added, putting on a more mischievous smile, to Zecora's surprise.

"Do you plan to visit me at my home?  I thought you were terrified of going in there." Zecora said a little confused.

"Yes, but now I understand that not because something is different, it has to be bad." Twilight replied a little embarrassed by her previous attitude. "Also, I told the others that you were my potions teacher, and well... I wouldn't like to lie to them about that, hehe... There are many things that I would like you to teach me, things that I know I'll not learn elsewhere."

At Twilight's words, Zecora looked down thoughtfully, as if she still had doubts about something.

"Indeed, there are many things that I can teach you. But some of those teachings… don't follow Celestia's ways." Zecora said with a somewhat somber look.

"I get it..." Twilight replied slowly, understanding what Zecora was referring to, about learning knowledge that could be forbidden in Equestria, and then remembering her beloved teacher and her love for her, and contrasting it. "But still, I think you shouldn't be afraid of knowledge. Although my teacher said-" Twilight added.

"You should... Knowledge is not bad, but it can be used to do good, as well as to do evil." Zecora replied looking worriedly into the forest, inadvertently saying the same thing the princess had said to Dusk Shine many times. "There are very dark powers in this world, and that star on your side, it's destined to face all of them." Zecora added, pointing towards Twilight's cutie mark.

"Uh? What do you mean?" Twilight asked confused.





"Heh... I think one day you will understand... Maybe we'll talk about it in your first lesson." Zecora said smiling, accepting that from that day on she would have a disciple. "By the way, don't forget this."

Then Zecora took the last potion jar she had and handed it to Twilight.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Twilight Sparkle. But I think I'd rather have the young Dusk Shine as a student." Zecora said smiling.

"Me too." Twilight said also smiling. Finally drinking the potion knowing that all her friends had already done so.

"Well, now is the time to go." Zecora said, touching her hood to cover her head, but then realizing that was no longer necessary.

"I told you I'd show it to you... What friendship was." Twilight said with a confident smile, stretching one of her hooves to offer it to Zecora.

Looking at Twilight's hoof, only then did Zecora realize what the unicorn was referring to.  All that afternoon, Zecora had believed that by telling her 'I'll show you what friendship is', Twilight had meant to show her the friendship she had with her friends. However, with that Twilight gesture, the unicorn was showing her the correct answer. Twilight never wanted to show her the friendship she had with her friends, but during the day, with everything she had lived through, she and Zecora had finally become friends.

"Heh... You really are interesting." Zecora laughed, stretching her hoof to greet Twilight's, and thus bid her new student and friend goodbye.

After saying goodbye, the night finally fell, and Twilight headed home.  Once there, she took the blue flower that was next to her bed and hid it in a book, which in turn kept it as far away from her bed as possible, since the last thing she wanted was to wake up another morning with some other crazy change in her body. Then Twilight threw herself onto her bed and fell asleep immediately after the exhausted day she'd had.





"IT’S BACK!! MINI-DUSK IS BACK!" Dusk Shine screamed with joy, waking up and discovering that his masculinity, and all the attributes that it included, had returned to his body.

"What!?" Spike said confused, waking up startled at Dusk's scream. Then he saw his brother and stared at him for a few seconds. "Oh... I see..." Spike said slightly blushed, with a pouty face, realizing that it hadn't been so bad having a sister.

Suddenly a noise was heard in the main hall, where there seemed to be several voices. Fearing the worst, Dusk and Spike slowly made their way to the bedroom door to go downstairs.

"Perhaps it's the same as yesterday and the five colts are watching yesterday's erotic magazine!" Spike said scared.

"Of course not, the potion must have cured them... I hope so. Also, you got rid that vulgar magazine. Right?" Dusk said worried.

"Uh... yes, I... I got rid that dirty magazine..." Spike said blushing, hiding the fact that he hadn't wanted to throw away the magazine that the colts had brought the day before.

Going down a couple of steps on the ladder, Spike and Dusk timidly poked their heads to see who was in the library. At the moment, their hearts leapt with joy recognizing their dear five mare friends, who conversed calmly among themselves, as if nothing strange had happened in those two days.

"RARITY!" Spike cried tears of joy running down the stairs to jump and hug to his beloved muse.

"Spike! What happened?  It looks like you haven't seen me in days." Rarity said smiling, surprised at the embrace of her dear Spikey-Wikey.

Seeing his dear friends laughing tenderly at Spike's strange attitude, Dusk also smiled fondly, blushing and feeling great relief at having his friends back.

"Now everything is back to normal... Or so I would like to say..." Dusk thought, looking away and grimacing as he settled on the wall.

On the outside, the girls and Dusk had returned to normal, but on the inside, Dusk knew that something had changed in him.  During those three days, Dusk had experienced many different feelings and sensations regarding his friends, both in their feminine and masculine forms.  Dusk already knew the strong friendship that he and his friends had, but then he had also known what it was to have a strong brotherhood between only colts.  Then he had experienced what it was like for someone to feel mere physical attraction to his body, and had finally felt that he, in his feminine form, had also felt feelings towards the masculine forms of his friends.  However, now Dusk realized that what he felt for his friends was still different from everything he had experienced.

"Affection..." Dusk whispered, drawing a purple dot in the air with his magic. Remembering how his friendship with his friends had begun, how everyone's joy and sympathy had fit together to form a group full of fellowship, the basis of their friendship.

"Passion..." Dusk whispered again, drawing another point. Thinking that the closer he got to his friends, the more beautiful and attractive they seemed to him, admitting that his desires towards the female body of his friends were on the rise.

"Past..." Dusk whispered, drawing a third dot in midair. Thinking that the more stories they had lived, the stronger that bond with his friends had become, so much so that now it was difficult for him to imagine his life without them.

Dusk again analyzed his relationships with his friends on those two days, added to how he had started his relationship with them when he arrived in Ponyville.  At all those times, Dusk noted that he had felt one or two of those points he had mentioned, but never all three at the same time. Then Dusk again used his magic and joined the three points forming a triangle... only one of all the relationships he had experienced, he had felt those three sensations at the same time... It was at that precise moment, the new feeling that he finally recognized and that had been slowly growing in him as he shared more with his friends.

"Love..." Dusk whispered wistfully, putting a dot in the center of the triangle.

Finally, he had discovered it, the strange feeling that he hadn't been able to recognize, or perhaps, he hadn't wanted to recognize.  A new feeling that went beyond friendship.

At that moment, Dusk thought he should be happy and relieved to finally acknowledge what he felt. Even happier still, since love supposedly generated enormous happiness in those who knew it. But that joy of knowing that he was in love was overshadowed by another feeling: concern.

"What do I do now...?" Dusk whispered with a fearful look, looking from the top of the stairs at his beautiful friends, at his FIVE dear friends, who, alike, had captured his heart.

End of chapter 44
> Chapter 45 - Sleeping with the enemy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sleeping with the enemy

In Canterlot Palace, a mare with cream colored fur, blue mane and maid's clothing was rushing to bring the last tray of cakes for princesses’ breakfast.  Breakfast time was always the busiest for butlers, maid and cooks of the castle, especially because it was one of the few occasions when both princesses shared the table, due to their different schedules.

The table was overflowing with trays of food, with many delicious alternatives for the princesses to have a varied and assorted menu to choose from.  Although the truth was that most of that food ended up being eaten by the castle staff, since the princesses almost always ate the same thing.  For that reason, the blue-maned mare hurried to drop the last tray just in front of the seat where Princess Celestia sat.  And knowing from experience that it was the tastes of her beloved princess, the maid mare left the tray with cakes right there.

Just then, as if it had been all I timed perfectly, Princess Celestia entered the room while the blue-maned mare and her sister, a mare with same colored fur, red mane and the same maid dress, stood close to their majesty's chair, far enough away to give the princesses privacy, but close enough to be attentive to any request or gesture the princesses might make to request something.  Of all the maids and butlers, they both were the closest to the princesses, the sisters Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel. A tradition that had begun many generations ago with their great-great-grandparents, and that now they proudly continued to maintain, always faithful to their princess.

Princess Celestia sat down as always, elegantly in her chair, and began to drink her tea like every morning. However, years of experience in the service of the princess gave Sweet Creme the knowledge to realize that something strange was happening… The princess was not eating her cakes! And those were her favorites!

Hastily the maid approached the princess's chair and asked sheepishly.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" The mare asked.

"Nothing is wrong, Sweet Creme. Everything is delicious." The Sun Princess replied with a sweet smile.

Any other pony would have been satisfied to see the princess's sincere smile, but although the princess was the best in the kingdom to hide her true emotions, the experience of years of her family that ran through her veins told the royal maid that something it wasn't right.

"Excuse me, but… you seem much less cheerful than normal." Sweet Creme said, following her intuition.

The princess squinted at the maid, a little amazed that she always knew her true state of mind.  So the princess, taking advantage of the fact that no one was closer and that the maid already knew the truth, left her facade and sighed wistfully.

"It's an honor to serve the princesses, but even more honorable is to serve someone as humble as Princess Celestia." Sweet Creme thought, loving that despite all her power, Princess Celestia had the same sentimental problems as any other common pony.

"I'm a little worried..." Celestia replied, childishly dropping her head to the table and putting on a pouty face. "Dusk still hasn't answered the last letter I sent him... And he always responds immediately."

"The last letter?" Sweet Creme said remembering that although she didn't read the princess's private correspondence with her student Dusk Shine, she did notice that the princess had put on a worried face when sending her last letter. "Was there something in the letter that young Master Dusk could be concerned about?" The maid asked, treating Dusk's name with respect even though they were almost the same age.

Celestia squinted at the worried maid and then just sighed, not answering. She recalled that she hadn't been very sure about sending her last letter, because this was much more personal, where she asked Dusk not to risk his life doing crazy things and also told him that he was like a son to her.  She knew that it wasn't correct to hint at her feelings as she was the ruler and protector of an entire nation.  However, she couldn't help it, she felt that Dusk needed to know how important he was to her so that he wouldn't risk his life again as he had when he fell and nearly died in the Cloudsdale competition.

"Was it wrong to send that letter? Maybe… I made Dusk feel uncomfortable, after all I… I'm not his real mother.  Oh, whatever would Twilight Velvet think of me?" Celestia thought with a sad look.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll reply soon. He must have been very busy, that's all." The maid said with a smile, trying to reassure the princess, but deep down furious that Dusk had made her beloved princess sad.

"Yes, I hope so..." Celestia said with a pouty face, with a melancholy look and thinking that she wouldn't be calm until receiving an answer to her letter. "It looks like this will be a lousy morning."

"What a wonderful morning!" Princess Luna suddenly screamed, slamming the door open and entering the room with a huge, bright smile, something very rare for her.

Sweet Creme's sister, the red-maned mare named Sweet Caramel, immediately ran to attend to Princess Luna, knowing that the princess of the night liked a very hot coffee to bear being awake in the morning.  So, the patient maid waited until Princess Luna sat down to serve her coffee, along with a croissant and some fruit, which was already served in front of her seat.

Ever since Princess Luna had returned from her exile, it had been chaotic for the castle staff to endure the night princess's bad morning mood, given that being awake at that hour was annoying after staying up late. If the coffee they served her was slightly colder than she was used to, she used to scream furiously.  It had taken a couple of days for the royal maid sisters to discover that Luna's screams of fury were not such, but that she had been used to speaking like that in ancient times, a traditional royal Canterlot voice, a tongue that Princess Celestia no longer spoke in.

Getting used to Princess Luna’s rhythm was difficult, and even more to gain her trust, because Luna was much quieter and more reserved than her older sister. However, Sweet Caramel had made it, and now she was the one Princess Luna trusted the most, which made her very proud as a royal maid.

After the coffee was served, Sweet Caramel stood by the chair while Luna drank her coffee.  Normally she would have returned to her place, but seeing her beloved princess smile as she did, was a sign that something good had happened, and experience told her that this meant that her princess wanted to gossip with someone.

"My sister seems to be in a bad mood." Luna said looking sideways at the other end of the table.

"It seems." The red-maned maid replied, looking at Princess Celestia with her head on the table, and then looking at Princess Luna, who was elegantly drinking her coffee.

"It's an honor to serve princesses, but even more honorable is to serve someone as refined as Princess Luna." Sweet Caramel thought, who adored the elegance that inspired the princess of the night. An opinion that had recently caused the two maid sisters to argue over who their favorite princess was.

"It's preposterous that my sister is in a bad mood today. This is a wonderful morning!" Luna said, carefully cutting a piece of croissant and eating it gently as she smiled, glancing at the maid, as if expecting something from her.

"I don't want to be a busybody, but how was your night?" Sweet Caramel asked, glancing at her princess, knowing that she was waiting for that question.

"Extravagate! If you insist so much, I guess I'll have to tell you." Luna replied quickly, putting on a big smile.

The night before, Luna traveled the world of Equestria's dreams, traveling in her true form, one of the privileges of being in her astral form. This was her job, a job that she had done for hundreds of years and that she had abandoned for the last thousand years, that of caring for and safeguarding the dreams of her subjects.

Since she had returned from her exile and 'Nightmare Moon' was finally banished, Luna had struggled with herself to try to regain her own power soon and thus regain her true form.  It had taken months for her to project herself into her astral form and enter the world of dreams.  And although she had now succeeded, she still couldn't fully enter dreams. The only thing her power currently allowed her was to be able to see the dreams of the ponies and whisper to them and thus slightly influence the nightmares of her subjects. She still didn't have enough power to fully project herself into a dream and end stronger nightmares, such as those caused by guilt or trauma.

That night, Princess Luna was watching the sleep of one particular colt, one she had been constantly watching.  A colt she couldn't get out of her head.

"And here we go... let's hope Dusk Shine has a peaceful sleep tonight." Luna said to herself, as her astral form moved between the dreams and approached to see Dusk’s dream.

Luna knew it was wrong to constantly watch a single pony, but she had told herself that she was doing it for Dusk's sake.  After all, he had had a few nightmares in which her influence had helped calm him down.  Luna also told herself that she constantly needed to practice to enter a pony's dreams in order to see that her power was recovering, and what better option for a pony than to choose Dusk Shine?

That night Dusk didn't seem to be dreaming anything particularly dangerous, she just saw him in a big library, wearing a big cape, while books flew around him like birds.

The dream wasn’t dangerous to supervise, nor particularly interesting to observe, however Luna couldn't stop smiling and continue to see the handsome lavender colt who had saved her from the darkness.  And so, a long time passed until Dusk in his dream finished reading a book and prepared to go elsewhere.  But then the shelves and books around Dusk disappeared, leaving him scared in the dark, which immediately caught the attention of Luna watching above. Then the silhouettes of two ponies in the shadows appeared near Dusk and he began to argue with them.

"Cease your fear! Those shadows are not real!" Luna screamed, doing what she could do within reach, so that subconsciously her words reached Dusk's mind and his nightmare ended.

"Who said that?" Dusk suddenly said, looking everywhere and then looking up, where he narrowed his eyes at a spot of light in the dark.

Hearing Dusk, Luna was shocked. She hadn't expected Dusk to answer her. Normally her voice only came as a whisper that the ponies couldn't quite remember the next day, but with Dusk's response, it seemed that he had heard clearly and strongly what she had said.

"Could it be that..." Luna whispered, bringing in a hoof into Dusk's dream and noting that it was now permeable. 

Then she bent down and immersed herself in Dusk's dream, managing to physically appear in her astral form in Dusk's dream.

"SUCCESS!! I finally made it!" Luna screamed with joy, all while Dusk watched in disbelief as an alicorn had magically appeared before him.

"W-Who are you?" Dusk asked confused, and still scared after arguing with the two shadows next to him, who had remained motionless after Luna's entrance.

"Uh? Y-You don't recognize me?" Luna said with a bit of pity in her voice.

"Hmm, I think I would remember if I had seen you... I only know three alicorns." Dusk replied confused. "Although... you look very familiar... As if I had seen you in a dream..."

Luna was surprised at Dusk's words, then she raised her hoof to see herself and understood.

"This is my true form… He hasn't seen me in this form!" Luna thought, realizing what was happening.

"I... I am..." Luna said uncertainly, thinking that perhaps she could take advantage of the fact that Dusk had not recognized her, and thus find out what he really thought of her. "My name is 'Lady Night', Guardian of Dreams." Luna finally said, using her royal Canterlot voice, the one that seemed almost like a scream.

"Guardian of Dreams?" Dusk asked confused. It was only then that he looked around and realized the truth. "This is a dream!?"

"So is it." Luna said solemnly. "You seem to be having a nightmare."

Dusk looked confused at the alicorn, and only then she remembered what was happening.  Then Dusk turned and saw the two shadows he had been arguing with again, two shadows that were looking directly at him.

"I... saw those shadows and... started arguing with them." Dusk said fearfully, looking towards the two shadows.

"Everything in dreams has a meaning." Luna said coming closer to stand next to Dusk. "Those shadows seem to be..."

"They’re representations of my decisions that I am afraid to make... That’s what I was discussing with them." Dusk said seriously, anticipating what Luna would say and then pointing them down. "One of those shadows tells me to keep everything as it is and only focus on friendship... The other shadow tells me that it is time for a change, to forget friendship, and focus on love."

Luna was surprised at what Dusk was saying. It seemed that he was clear what his problem was, but he still had nightmares about it.  These shadows represented his doubts, and they were making it difficult for hi to make a final decision, nor let him properly rest.

"I discovered something recently… I know I'll no longer be able to look at my friends the same way.  But I'm afraid that when I decide something, everything will change for the worse." Dusk said fearfully, holding his head confused.

"I think you should get close to those shadows and see what they are." Luna said, looking affectionately at Dusk.

Dusk looked incredulously at the astral alicorn, however, there was something in her smile that calmed him. So, after briefly hesitating, he decided to listen to her and walk towards where the two shadows saw him. As he approached, Dusk looked carefully into the shadows, thinking that since he now knew that this was all a dream, those shadows that represented his wishes could take whatever form they wanted, even some terrifying one. However, as he got closer, Dusk's eyes widened in surprise when he saw that the image was closing and that it seemed that these shadows were also walking towards where he was, until finally Dusk could see who, or rather, what were those shadows.

"It's me..." Dusk whispered in surprise after finally arriving in front of what he had thought were shadows, seeing that they were actually two mirrors, both simply returning his own reflection.

"It doesn't matter what decision you make.  You'll always be you.  You'll always be Dusk Shine. A feeling will not change who you are." Luna said with a note of pride after seeing that Dusk finally discovered what tormented him.

"They’re both... part of me..." Dusk whispered as a small smile of relief appeared on his lips.

Suddenly everything began to slowly clear up as everything around it began to flutter strongly and fade away.

"What's going on!?" Dusk asked confused.

"You're waking up." Luna said with some regret. "I have to go."

"Wait!" Dusk shouted just as Luna began to rise into the sky and everything became very bright. "Will I see you again?"

Hearing that, Luna couldn't help but blush and smile warmly.

"Yes, we will definitely see each other again, dear Dusk." Luna said just before the dream faded.

It was so Luna finally woke up from her trance in the real world, just when her sister raised the Sun. And thus Luna had gone to have breakfast with the biggest smile she had had for hundreds of years, with her heart jumping with joy, and looking forward to the next night to see her beloved Dusk again.





"This day is horrible!" Rarity said annoyed while working in the park.

The white unicorn was in a bad mood after the weather team forgot to schedule a drizzle the week before.  So to make up for it, they had scheduled a big storm for that day, ruining what might have been a beautiful sunny day.  And that was not the worst, since due to the lack of personnel, the mayor of Ponyville had raffled off some earth ponies and unicorns to help cut the branches of some trees so that they weren't a danger to nearby houses during the storm.  And to her bad luck, she was chosen in the draw! So now she had to be doing yard work in the park. And that was not the worst of the worst!  As a pruning partner, she was stuck with a certain stubborn country mare.

While Rarity delicately cut a few branches from a tree, leaving some she believed to be unnecessary cuts, she took advantage of arranging them and making some cute shapes by shaping the leaves.  After all, if she was going to do that job, why not take the opportunity to embellish the park a little?  But her work was ultimately in vain since after finishing fixing that branch, making a figure with leaves of a pegasus, Applejack came and abruptly threw her lasso to remove the branch that had cost Rarity so much effort to fix.

"Why did you do that!?" Rarity said indignantly, looking angry at her friend.

"The Mayor said to cut off all the loose branches from the trees, not to decorate them!" Applejack shouted annoyingly.  The country mare was frustrated at how they were taking longer than necessary in pruning the branches, a task that she would have ended quickly with any other pony of the town.  But to her bad luck, she had to work with the least practical unicorn of the world.

"It's not necessary to cut every branch, only the ones that are most fragile.  Some of these branches are sturdy enough and we can take advantage of arranging them and doing a better job than what we were asked to do." Rarity said indignantly, then looking down at the ground and seeing all the branches that Applejack had carelessly left scattered throughout the park. "If you just go around breaking everything, the park will look horrible after the rain."

"It doesn't matter what the park looks like! Now there’s no time!" Applejack said angrily, turning around to stop wasting time talking to someone so impractical that only noticed minor details.

As Applejack turned around, Rarity looked at her friend in disgust, but then she was surprised to see something that triggered her fashionista sense.

"Wait a minute!" Rarity said approaching Applejack and stretching a hoof towards her friend's head. "I think your hat has loose threads that-"

"Don't touch my hat!" Applejack yelled with a mixture of horror and anger, immediately holding her hat with her hoof so Rarity wouldn't take it off her head.

"Calm down... I'm just saying that hat is very worn out." Rarity said, feeling was a little offended by Applejack’s attitude. "If you could pass it to me, I could fix it, and even put some pretty decorations on it! So that it looks more feminine and highlights your face more." Rarity added with a thoughtful look as she imagined her friend with her hat trimmed and a cute flower-shaped embroidery on it.

"Don't-even-think-about-it." Applejack said slowly, glaring at Rarity. "It's a hat. It useful to cover my head from the sun. That's all I need. I don't need you to put your silly decorations on it.”

"Silly decorations!? I just wanted to do something nice for you!" Rarity yelled angrily.

Then both mares looked angrily at each other, then looked away. The two ponies were quite different: one liked the life of the big cities, the other the rustic and simple country life. One was elegant and liked to dress well, the other was simple and liked hard work.  One was always attentive to details, the other was practical and functional...

"I don't know how we’re friends..." The two mares thought at the same time, being one of the few times that both ponies came to think the same way.

While the two mares looked at each other with hatred, two other mares flew in the sky, accommodating the last clouds before the storm.

"And... that's it!" Sprinkle Medley said, one of the weather team pegasi, placing a dark cloud in the clear sky last space remaining, ending of clouding the sky.

"That was the last one.  We should start with the storm now." Cloud Kicker said, another of the weather pegasi, who had to supervise that everything was ready.

"Hey, isn’t that Applejack and Rarity down there?" Sprinkle Medley asked, looking down at where the orange mare and white unicorn seemed to be talking to each other.

"Yeah, we should probably tell them to go home to start the rain." Cloud Kicker replied scratching her head.

"Hmm... That reminds me.  Weren't those two of the Rainbow Dash friends who said that weather team were bad at our jobs?" Sprinkle Medle said, looking down in disgust.

Then Cloud Kicker remembered what her friend was referring to... In the Running of the Leaves, Rainbow Dash had told them that her friends had made fun of the weather team, and for that reason the whole team had set out to help their captain by sabotaging her friends in the race. What none of the weather pegasi knew was that this had all been just a lie from Rainbow Dash, and it was something that the clueless Rainbow Dash had forgotten to clarify.

"Yeah... It sure would be a shame if they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a rainstorm..." Cloud Kicker replied slowly, glancing at her friend and winked.

Then both pegasi smirked and hit the rain clouds hard without warning.

"Not everything is solved with bows and ribbons." Applejack said in a bad mood, glancing at Rarity after seeing that the discussion with her friend was going nowhere.

"And not everything is solved by kicking like a brute." Rarity replied also in a bad mood, looking at Applejack the same way.

Suddenly, a great clap of thunder was heard and the rain began to fall heavily on Rarity and Applejack, leaving both mares shocked.

"Why didn't they tell us they were going to start with the rain!?" Applejack yelled annoyed, looking up at the sky but not seeing any pegasi there. Then she turned her angry gaze on Rarity. "You see it? I told you we should’ve hurry up!"

"No! No! My mane!" Rarity said without listening, who was trying to cover the rain with her hoof so that her manestyle would not be ruined.

"Consarn it!  It’s raining cats and dogs out here and the farm is at the other end of town!" Applejack said thinking out loud.

“The Boutique is also at the other end... But I think we should go our separate ways." Rarity said looking at Applejack, knowing that they both had to take the same route to go home, something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I totally agree." Applejack replied, also looking annoyed at her friend, a friend whom she didn't want to see again for the rest of the day.

A great light appeared in the sky and a strong thunder caused everything to shake around, causing both mares to jump in fear and hug each other tightly. After the scare was over, both mares saw each other and separated instantly.

"It's raining too hard..." Applejack said looking around, looking for somewhere to take shelter, until she finally remembered that there was somepony living nearby who could take them in. "Come! Follow me!"





"I'm finally done!" Dusk said, holding up a letter in his hooves. "I think this is the best answer I can send the princess." Dusk added with a satisfied smile.

A few days ago, Princess Celestia had sent a letter to Dusk, where for the first time, in writing, she revealed her maternal feelings towards Dusk. This was something that Dusk couldn't answer lightly, because not only was it was difficult for him to talk about his feelings, it was more difficult to explain them and put them in a letter.  Furthermore, Dusk still felt that the princess could be in danger if the letters with her feelings were to become public.  But even so, Dusk wanted to respond to her with his letter with the same affection that she had written him.  The truth was that Dusk did think of the princess as a second mother to him and her words had meant a lot to him.  So, the decision of what answering was somewhat more complex than it seemed.  And out of all that, all the problems he and his friends had had after exposing themselves to the pollen of the 'Poison Joke' flower, had caused Dusk to postpone writing his response.

Seeing that Dusk finally finished his letter, Spike approached, looked at it with curiosity and then with confusion.

"Is that the answer you want to send the princess?" Spike asked confused, who after having seen Dusk for hours thinking about what the best answer would be, he thought that his brother would send a long speech explaining his feelings, but instead, Spike saw that Dusk had finally only written a few words.  A letter much shorter than what he normally sent. "Are you sure?"

"I’m sure." Dusk replied, handing the letter to Spike, who then blew out his green fire and magically sent the letter to the princess.

After Spike sent the letter, the ears of both brothers became alert when they heard a noise outside.  Then they both ran to the window and saw that the first drops of the rain announced for that day began to fall.

Both brothers watched the rain fall with big and expectant eyes, then looked at each other and smiled like little foals at a new toy.

"Our first storm in Ponyville!" Dusk shouted full of emotion.

"And a stormy night only means..." Spike said with a knowing smile, taking out a small box that he had already ready since he had found out that it would rain all night in town.

"Bro time!" Both brothers shouted excitedly, clashing their fists and hooves, ready to relive one of their favorite hobbies that they kept only for special nights like this one.

Dusk and Spike sat in the middle of the room as the baby dragon opened the mysterious box he had brought. Opening it, Dusk and Spike's eyes widened as they saw an extendable board, several spreadsheets, dice with many faces, and cards with different badly made drawings made by themselves.

"Night of Ogres and Oubliettes!" Dusk said excitedly, taking some spreadsheets.

This was a famous heroic fantasy role-playing game, or at least famous among those who loved board and role-playing games, since Ogres and Oubliettes was a game in which the imagination was widely used, and in which there were many rules and instructions.  So, it wasn't a game everyone wanted to play.  But for Dusk and Spike, it was the best game in the world.

"The rain always gives the best atmosphere to play." Spike said excitedly, who mainly loved being the hero in that fantasy world. "We'll be able to play all night without interruption, like we did in Canterlot!"

"Sure... all night." Dusk added smiling and rolling his eyes, knowing that his brother always said the same thing, but he always ended up falling asleep before midnight.  After all he was still a baby dragon.

Spike began to search through the cards in the game, until he found the one he was looking for and put on a huge smile.

"Now I'll be 'Grabunkle', the wandering wizard!" Spike said excitedly as he showed a card that he himself had drawn years ago, in which a dragon similar to him appeared, but wearing a cloak and a large wizard hat, in addition to having a huge beard and mustache. "Garbunkle is the last disciple of Normenor, who was the most powerful wizard in Spiketopia. He has inherited his greatest spells and has set himself to be the kingdom's new supreme sorcerer." Spike added, giving background to his character, and pretending to hold a staff and cast a spell, as his character would.

"And I'll be 'Sir Ethmun Mess', the rebel paladin!" Dusk said just as excitedly as his brother while showing his character's card, which was also a foal's drawing that looked like him, but wearing golden armor and a scar on his face. "Sir Ethmun was the most loyal paladin to the ancient king, until the cruel Duke of Shinetopolis took the throne.  Now he is a kingless knight seeking revenge." Dusk added, pretending to brandish a sword.

Both brothers saw themselves, imagined themselves dressing as their characters, and giggled. Both were very excited about the imaginary adventure they would have soon.





Suddenly both brothers returned to reality when they heard someone knock on the front door. Dusk and Spike went to the door and opened it, where they saw that their friends Applejack and Rarity were there, completely drenched in the rain.  Dusk and Spike immediately ran to get them some towels while the mares entered Dusk's home.

"Thank you so much, dear." Rarity said smiling, thankful the towel Spike offered her, and drying her mane slowly and delicately.

"Yeah, thanks." Applejack also said, strongly shaking her body to remove the water, to the displeasure of Rarity, who ended up wet again by the water that Applejack splashed. "This is one heck of a storm. The weather team really outdid themselves this time."

"What were you doing outside in this rain?" Dusk asked confused.

"I had to cut the branches of the trees in the park with Miss Perfection." Applejack said, glancing angrily at Rarity, who returned the same angry look. "We were late, and the rain caught us."

"Can we stay here until the rain ends?" Rarity asked looking at Dusk.

"Uh... Of course you can. But this rain will last all night." Dusk said, using his magic to levitate the weekly weather chart that always came to the library.

"All night!?" Rarity and Applejack said at the same time, since they both knew that rain was scheduled, but they didn't know it would be that long.

"Oh! This is great!" Spike yelled excitedly after a great idea occurred to him. "We can have a slumber party!"

At Spike's great idea, there was only an awkward silence in the air.

"A slumber party with Applejack!?" Rarity thought frightened, looking at Applejack in disgust. "I don't know if I could bear it..."

"A slumber party with Rarity!?" Applejack thought frightened, looking at Rarity in disgust. "I don't know if I could bear it..."

"A slumber party with Applejack and Rarity!?" Dusk Shine thought nervously, seeing his friends and blushing. "I don't know if I could bear it..."

"A slumber party with Rarity... Hehehe..." Spike thought with dumb face as he imagined Rarity playing Ogres and Oubliettes with him, and pictured her own character: a sexy Level 100 thief clad in some rather scandalous armor.

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, and aside from their discussion, they knew that they both thought the same thing: It was impossible for both of them to be in a slumber party next to each other without their other friends helping them to support each other. Then they both nodded and looked at Dusk, ready to make up an excuse to avoid Spike’s idea.

"I don't know if it's a good idea..." Dusk suddenly said with a thoughtful look as he thought that there was a powerful reason not to be hosting a slumber party for his friends.

Suddenly Dusk looked up and saw that his friends were watching him closely after anticipating what they were planning to say, and only then Dusk realized that he had said the latter out loud, which embarrassed him.

"I-I'm sorry... It's not that I don't want to have a slumber party with you. It's… It's just…" Dusk said nervously, and then lowering his head in shame. "I... I've never been to a slumber party before."

"Never? The foals and fillies in my school always had slumber parties." Rarity said curiously.

"Yeah, but... when I was at school, lots of foals and fillies had slumber parties, but... they didn't invite me, hehe." Dusk said scratching his head and putting on a sad nervous smile. "I never had large groups of friends at school... That’s why I never held one of my own, because I don't know how to hold one... And even if I held one, I don't know if it would be good." Dusk added melancholy, remembering his past and in vain trying not to get sad when remembering it.

Hearing Dusk's story, both mares looked at each other again. Their plan to invent an excuse to evade the slumber party had grinded to a halt.  Now they had a new shared mission: Give Dusk Shine his first slumber party and make sure that it would be the best slumber party of all!  And they would do it despite the fact that they could hardly bear each other for so long together.

"Tut tut, darling!  We may not be foals anymore, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late for you to experience the fun that a slumber party provides!" Rarity said lovingly, looking at Spike and then winking at Dusk.

"Y-Yes... a slumber party will be... fun." Applejack added with a nervous smile.  “What activities do you have in mind, sugarcube?”

Dusk looked surprised at his friends, and immediately understood what they were trying to do for him, which made him smile warmly for their kind gesture.

"Well, slumber parties... slumber parties... What is done in slumber parties...?" Dusk said as he thought aloud, until his eyes widened when he discovered that he already knew the answer. "We should be playing some fun games, don't you think, Spike?" Dusk added, glancing at Spike, so that his brother understood what he meant.

Then Spike widened his eyes and ran to the main room to get the board and the box with accessories from their favorite game and thus show it to their friends.

"Hehe, that reminds me of that time when the last storm Big Mac brought us all together in the dining room because he wanted us to play a silly game called 'Ogres and Oubliettes' with him." Applejack said casually, remembering how his strong, big brother had a nerdy side hidden in him.

"Yes! I know that game. At the school, there were a couple of nerdy colts who used to play that. I know it's bad of me to say it, but those games are so silly…" Rarity added with a small giggle, remembering her clumsy companions dressed up as goblins and wizards.

Just then, Spike, who had managed to hear what the mares had said, slowly backed away with the box and the board he was holding in his claws.  Dusk and Spike’s faces turned pink out of slight embarrassment and the purple colt quickly and subtly gestured his little brother to hide the game from sight.  After all, there was nothing more embarrassing than their two friends finding out that they loved playing those kinds of games.  On the bright side though, the pair had at least learned from Applejack passing comment that there was another potential player that could join in their bro time.  Once Spike returned after hiding the box with the board game, the four went up to Dusk's room, since it was warmer thanks to the chimney that was there.

"So... what should we play?" Applejack asked confused after seeing that neither Spike nor Dusk had said anything after reaching the room.

"Yeah... uh... I... I'm not sure what to play because... Because I don't know what games are played in slumber parties!" Dusk replied nervously, since the girls had unknowingly destroyed his great idea of ​​playing role-playing games at the slumber party.

"I have a game!" Rarity and Applejack said at the same time, who then looked at each other in disgust, remembering that they were still annoyed with each other.  But they quickly put on normal faces again for the sake of Dusk's slumber party.

"Is something wrong?" Dusk asked, noting the discomfort of his friends.

"N-Nothing's wrong, darling. It's just that… you don't want to play the Applejack game." Rarity replied nervously, glancing at the orange mare. " Surely it'll just be something that will get us all dirty and potentially ruin your soft, pristine…coat…”  The fashionista then let out a mock cough in an attempt to cover up her swooning.

"Now hold on, what you don't want is to play something chosen by Rarity." Applejack added looking at Dusk and then at Rarity in disgust. "It’ll just be some fru-fru frilly game that you’ll lose interest in.  Surely nothing a stallion like yourself would enjoy." Applejack then quickly shot Rarity a smug grin at how she subtly complimented Dusk by appealing to his masculinity.

Noticing that there was some tension in the atmosphere, Dusk looked confused at Spike, who just shrugged, not understanding why their friends seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Dusk said excited, suddenly remembering something.

Then Dusk went to one of the many shelves full of books in his room, reading the spines of several books until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Here! 'Slumber 101'." Dusk said, proudly showing a book he opened before his friends, showing some pages with illustrations. "This book explains the whole theory of slumber parties, such as what activities to do, what schedules to do, what to eat..."

"That! I always wanted to do that in a slumber party!" Spike suddenly said excitedly, pointing right at the page of the book that Dusk was showing at that moment. "That's the first thing we have to do before we start the games."

Applejack walked over to get a good look at what Spike was saying and made a confused face.

"Roasting marshmallows?" Applejack asked incredulously. "Have you never roasted marshmallows before?"

"Hmm... well... once we tried." Dusk whispered with a nervous smile, as he and Spike remembered something.

Both brothers then remembered an image of half of Canterlot Castle on fire as the castle staff ran in panic to stop the flames.

"Yeah... uh... it didn't turn out very well." Spike said embarrassed, scratching his head and putting on a nervous smile just like his brother.

Determined that this time it would turn out well and that they would not set fire to anything on the spot, Dusk went to the kitchen to find all the necessary candies and utensils.  Then Applejack took a few marshmallows and threaded them onto the tips of a few rods, moving them slightly closer to the fireplace so that they roast slowly over the flames.

"The key is to turn them around and not let them burn." Applejack said proudly, as Dusk and Spike watched in amazement and hunger as their friend roasted those marshmallows to perfection. "If they’re too far from the fire, the inside doesn't melt.  And if you bring them too close, they burn on the outside."

So, Applejack finished roasting the first marshmallows and shoved them quickly and surprisingly into the mouths of Dusk and Spike.  The pair were amazed at the new texture and flavor they tasted in their mouths, making Applejack smile with pride.

"It's so delicious!" Dusk said as he enjoyed the marshmallow melting in his mouth.

"We always made marshmallows with my cousins ​​over a campfire." Applejack said smiling. "Normally Granny Smith wouldn't let me eat marshmallows at night. She said they didn't let me sleep well.  But this time I think I'll make an exception." Applejack added, also enjoying some freshly roasted marshmallows.

"Ugh, what a common and unoriginal way to eat a marshmellow.  While don’t I whip up something a bit more refined!" Rarity suddenly said, she couldn't help but feel jealous seeing Applejack get all the attention.

After saying that, Rarity took a couple of roasted marshmallows, along with a couple of crackers and some chocolate. Then she made some nice sweet and tasty s'mores, putting the marshmallow and chocolate between crackers, and offered to Dusk and Spike.

The brothers' eyes sparkled as they saw Rarity's beautiful creations, and they brightened even more as they felt that new combination of flavors explode in their mouth.  It was now Rarity who was smirking as Applejack looked at her jealously.

"Eating it this way is also delicious!" Dusk said very happy as he finished savoring his s'more.

"Yeah, that’s fine and all, but it's a lot of work and the marshmallows will end up cold." Applejack said looking annoyed at Rarity and then looking seriously at Dusk. "Better eat them hot straight from a stick, right?"

"Of course not. Take time to combine and make something delicious is much better, right?" Rarity said, also looking annoyed at her friend and then looking serious at Dusk.

"Hmm, I think they are both delicious." Spike said as he still eating his s'more with a claw, and in the other claw had two rods with marshmallow.

"No! You have to choose one!" Both mares said at the same time, looking seriously at Dusk and Spike, letting their rivalry boil to the surface again.

"Choose one..." Dusk whispered as he looked at his friends. Then he understood that this dilemma could be applied to something that went beyond the way of eating marshmallows, to something related to the new feeling that he had discovered that he felt.  Which made Dusk blush completely. "I... I don't know what to choose..." Dusk finally said looking away to hide his blush.

In looking at Dusk, both mares noticed that he was uncomfortable, and then realized that forcing him to choose what marshmallow was better was totally the opposite of what they set out to make Dusk enjoyed his first slumber party.  So, both mares looked at each other in disgust and then looked away, deciding to not settle the marshmallow issue for now.

"Maybe it's just my idea, but Dusk seemed more nervous than usual..." Applejack thought, glancing at Dusk, who for a moment seemed lost in thought as he blushed.

"So, what do we do now?" Spike asked after devouring the last remaining marshmallow.

"I know what to do!" Applejack said quickly, lifting her hoof, anticipating Rarity and glancing at her.

"Whatever." Rarity whispered annoyed, determined not to argue with Applejack again in front of Dusk.

"Whenever I went camping with my cousins, we roasted marshmallows at night.  But the other thing we always did was…" Applejack said excitedly, then turned off the light and illuminated her face with a flashlight. "Tell horror stories!"

Hearing Applejack, Spike trembled and put a nervous glance on, which amused Dusk as he knew his brother was a bit of a scaredy cat.   Meanwhile, the room was not completely dark, since the fireplace was still lit, but that same caused everyone's shadows to dance to the flames, which gave a chilling atmosphere, perfect for telling horror stories.

"That sounds fun!" Dusk said excitedly. "Who will tell it?  I don't know many horror stories."

"I know one!" Rarity said with a smile, also amused to see Spike tremble just for mentioning that they would tell horror stories.

"Telling horror stories isn’t such a bad idea..." Rarity thought, almost about to compliment her friend, but since they were fighting, she kept it to herself. "If I tell that story that I told Sweetie Belle once... It sure will scare them!" Rarity thought amused.

Applejack was far from amused, who felt Rarity had taken away her chance since she had come up with the idea of ​​telling horror stories, and she wanted to be who frightened everyone.

"This is the story of a lonely mare... wandering alone through the dreary Everfree Forest one night on Nightmare Night..." Rarity said with a sinister air, to give atmosphere to the story, while Dusk and Spike watched her closely.

"Surely she was alone because she was unbearable and no one could stand her complaints..." Applejack muttered in a bad mood while giving Rarity a scathing look, which surprised the white unicorn.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" Rarity thought annoyed at Applejack's interruption.

"Yes... this mare was dirty, clumsy and rude, and lived alone all her life until she married one of her hundreds of cousins, as rustic ponies of her type used to do." Rarity said angrily, glancing at Applejack.

"Oh yeah... I know that story too..." Applejack said, glaring at Rarity. "Except that wasn’t how I remembered it.  That mare was alone because she was an irritating, bitter and shallow pony, and she never married.  She grew up and became an old spinster surrounded by cats, and she was never loved by anyone other than herself and her huge ego."

Both mares had leaded forward and were glaring at each other, almost touching their faces.  Meanwhile, Dusk had shrunk nervously, feeling the hatred in the air that for some reason his two friends were expressing each other.

"Hmm... I don't know... that story isn't too scary..." Spike said scratching his head, not getting it at all.

"I-I have a story! Hehe…" Dusk said quickly nervously, taking advantage of the fact that his brother had broken the tension for a second so that his friends didn't continue to look at each other with hatred.

"Why are they so angry...? Well, I'll ask later. Now I must think of a quick horror story, before they argue again!" Dusk thought nervously, thinking about the few horror stories he knew, which were mostly boring. Then he looked down and felt the carpet on his hooves. "Wait, I know! This can work!"

"Well, what I'm going to tell you isn’t exactly a horror story, rather it’s historical and scientific data." Dusk said with a smile, and then getting very serious to attract the attention of Spike and his friends. "Did you know that the Pegasi originally invented lightning bolt to kill unicorns?"

Saying that chilling fact, Spike and the mares' eyes widened with fear, to Dusk's satisfaction.

"In ancient times, thousands of years before Princess Celestia, the three pony tribes were at war, with the unicorn having the upper hoof.  With their abilities to use physical magic, they had the advantage over the other two tribes.  Thus, the Pegasi had to invent a countermeasure so as not to be an easy target for the unicorn horns when they attacked from the air.  And so, the lightning bolt was born... A powerful electric shock generated from the collision of two storm clouds.  This weapon ran at incredible speed, faster than magic, and was designed to hit high things on flat ground, so unicorn horns were the first to be hit once this great weapon was unleashed…" Dusk said speaking seriously, as if he was giving a history class, but little by little he made his voice more gloomy as he advanced in his story, all while Applejack had her mouth open and trembling, Spike had his teeth clenched with fright, and Rarity had a shocked face as she gently touched her horn. "Now, a lightning strike can generate an electric shock of two hundred thousand amps and a million volts, in addition, for a micron of a second, its temperature reaches six thousand degrees, enough to carbonize everything it touches... But those times are over, there aren’t any wars to worry about now. The only thing to worry about is not standing next to a tall tree in a thunderstorm."

"B-But we’re inside a tree..." Spike whispered in terror, looking around.

Just then, a big flash appeared, putting out the fire in the chimney and leaving everything dark. And in that same instant, an electric current ran through everyone's body.

"KYAAAA!!" Applejack, Rarity and Spike screamed in terror in the dark.

After a few seconds of darkness, the light returned to the room, revealing a very smiling Dusk, and Rarity, Applejack, and Spike, the three of them holding each other tightly and trembling with terror.

"Hahaha, it seems like my horror story worked better than I expected." Dusk said with a big smile, levitating the slumber party book next to him, and writing some notes to take into consideration for his next slumber party.

"Y-You put out the chimney?" Applejack asked, still trembling with fear.

"Yes, a simple spell. I also made that flash of light to simulate lightning." Dusk said smiling.

"B-But, I did feel an electric shock." Rarity said also trembling, who, like Applejack and Spike, had felt for a second electricity in her body, which she thought had been struck by lightning.

"Oh! That was electricity." Dusk said smiling, then looking at the floor and slowly dragging his hoof over the carpet that was there. "It was a little static electricity. I guess the suggestion made all you feel like lightning had hit you."

"B-But what if a lightning bolt actually hits the tree!?" Spike asked still shivering, looking up at the ceiling.

"Don't worry.  This, like all houses, has a magic lightning rod." Dusk said with a shrug and a smile, thinking that it had been a fortune that none of his friends knew that information.

Once Dusk had explained everything, Spike and the two mares stopped shaking slowly, and gradually recovered and relaxed.  It was then that Applejack and Rarity looked at each other and realized that they were still holding each other tightly.  Realizing this, both mares quickly parted and shifted their embarrassed glances. Then Rarity looked down at her, and saw that Spike was still holding her tight, looking at her with a clumsy blushing face.

"Hehe... sorry." Spike blushed, slowly letting go of Rarity, and thinking that despite the scare, it gave him the opportunity to hug his beloved Rarity.

After everyone calmed down completely and congratulated Dusk on his terrifying story, it was time to continue the slumber party games.

"Okay, now it's my turn to pick a game." Rarity said shaking her mane and glancing at Applejack. "Now, let's make a circle."

"It'll surely be boring..." Applejack whispered, still in a bad mood with her friend, while doing what Rarity asked.

"On the contrary, I think even you'll enjoy this game. The fillies at school used to play it when they made the first parties between fillies and young colts." Rarity said with a little giggle and putting an object in the middle of the circle they had just formed. "We'll spin this."

Seeing what Rarity put in the middle of the circle, Applejack blushed when she saw that it was a bottle, so she immediately guessed what they would play.  When the orange mare looked to Dusk, she saw that he had a confused look on his face.  It seemed that the colt was unaware at what they could all possibly play by spinning a bottle.

End of chapter 45
> Chapter 46 - Sleeping with your love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sleeping with your love

On a stormy night, Dusk Shine and Spike had a slumber party with their friends Applejack and Rarity.  And despite all the arguments between the mares, due to their notable incompatibility of personalities, the slumber party had been a successful until then: roasting marshmallows and telling horror stories… However, now it was time for the most difficult test to face.

"You want us to play Spin the Bottle!?" Applejack with a heavy blush, looking nervously at Rarity.

"What’s 'Spin the Bottle'?" Dusk asked curiously, seeing the bottle in the middle of the circle, and like his little dragon brother, not understanding the concept of the proposed game.

"It's a kissing game." Rarity said bluntly, causing Dusk and Spike to be surprised and blush. "Each one of us will spin the bottle, and whoever points to the tip of the bottle will receive a kiss from the one who spun it."

"B-But the kisses are..." Applejack said nervously, then blushed even more.

"The objective of the game is to give a kiss on the mouth.  Now, there have been many versions of the game, some of which are a bit more…risqué. However, since we are few and we may get someone who is uncomfortable to kiss, we'll give the option so that they can also kiss on the cheek." Rarity said smiling while glancing at Dusk.

"I have one in three chances of kissing Dusk Shine, and if I missed my turn, I still have another chance when Dusk spins the bottle! This is definitely a great opportunity that I can't miss." Rarity thought smiling and screaming with excitement in her mind.

As everyone sat in a circle, following Rarity's instructions, Dusk looked at Applejack and noted that she was as nervous as he was, although he concealed his nervousness better.  The only ones who seemed more excited were Rarity and Spike.  Granted, the little dragon was also nervous, but the swelling emotions of finally being able to kiss his beloved crush overcame his fear.

"Well now, who will be the first-?" Rarity said quietly, who was just as nervous and anxious as everyone to be kissed, but she knew how to hide her nervousness much better. After all, she couldn't look nervous after being herself who had taken the courage to propose that daring game.

"Me first!" Spike interrupted, quickly raising his claw.  Eager to know if his luck would favor him in that game or not.

Spike slowly approached the bottle, and spun it around quickly, knowing that there would be no point in trying to calculate to target Rarity, it was just luck.  That's how Spike stared at the bottle carefully, without blinking an eye and with his claws clenched tightly, watching slow rotation of the bottle until finally it stopped altogether.

"Wow! It looks like it's pointed at me." Rarity said in surprise, then giving Spike a sweet smile.

"YES! YES! YES!!" Spike screamed in his mind, as dozens of little Spikes partied in his head.  All while the real Spike pressed his lips tight to avoid screaming with excitement at the luck that had favored him.  Slowly Spike got up and walked over to Rarity, who was just sitting next to him. Then Rarity closed his eyes and waited for the baby dragon closer.

From the beginning, the white unicorn knew that having to kiss Spike was a possibility, but this was not something she disliked.  Spike was like a little brother to her, so it didn't bother her to receive a quick and innocent kiss on the lips from her little Spikey-Wikey.

For his part, Spike began to tremble with nerves when he saw his beautiful Rarity with her eyes closed, waiting for him.  And the closer he got to her lips, the more nervous he became, and even more when he noticed that Dusk and Applejack were watching him intently, also blushing when they knew what was about to happen.

Spike and Rarity’s lips were mere inches apart, he could already smell her sweet perfume, and his lips kept trembling, knowing that his first kiss would be with the mare that had stolen his heart... but... but...

Finally, Spike closed his eyes and gave Rarity a quick kiss on the cheek, quickly turning around and sitting with his head down and blushing.  Furious at himself for not having the courage to kiss Rarity on the lips.

Sensing Spike's kiss on her cheek, Rarity opened her eyes and touched her cheek, very surprised that Spike would pass up the rare opportunity to kiss her on the lips.  Then Rarity looked at Spike and saw that the little dragon was so embarrassed that he didn't even dare look at her.

"Oh...! My sweet and tender Spike." Rarity said lovingly, who had been captivated by the sweet innocence of her beloved baby dragon.

Then Rarity stood up and gave Spike a big kiss on the cheek and hugged him tightly and lovingly, like he was a little stuffed animal.  Spike had then stopped being embarrassed and put on a silly face of satisfaction at feeling Rarity's love in that sweet kiss and that warm hug.

"Okay, now it's my turn!" Rarity said excitedly, after returning to her spot to sit down. Then she spun the bottle and waited impatiently for it to come to a complete stop.

"I-I think it' me..." Dusk said nervously, red with embarrassment when he noticed that the bottle was pointing at him.

"YES! YES! YES!!" This time it was Rarity who shouted victorious in her mind, because her wish was fulfilled.

Seeing Rarity stand up, Dusk did the same as she had previously done and simply closed his eyes as his cheeks blushed with nervousness at what was about to happen.  Meanwhile, Applejack only looked away in a bad mood as Rarity approached Dusk, however, the orange mare couldn't help but look sideways to see the kiss anyway.

"I know a kiss in a game is not a big deal, but I'll make it a kiss to remember!" Rarity thought, blushing, very nervous as she approached Dusk's lips, but also very excited and determined not to miss the opportunity to finally further her love for the purple colt.

As she approached her beloved, Rarity couldn't avoid seeing askance at Applejack and notice that she had an angry look.  The fashionista felt little guilt in kissing Dusk in from of her rival, as she was still annoyed at the orange mare from earlier.  But the look that surprised Rarity most was Spike's, who unlike Applejack, watched intently as she approached to kiss Dusk.

"Spike! Don't look at me like that!" Rarity thought nervously, just as she was about to kiss Dusk's lips.

Then Rarity couldn't help but think about how her dear Spike had felt hurt when he found out that she had kissed Dusk, and now she was kissing his brother again, and in front of his eyes!  Even more, her dear Spike hadn't dared to kiss her on the mouth and now she did with Dusk Shine, how cruel could she be with her dear Spikey-Wikey!?

Eventually, Rarity closed her eyes tightly and quickly kissed Dusk's cheek, causing Dusk to open his eyes in surprise as Spike and Applejack sighed in relief.

"Wow... A kiss on the cheek..." Dusk said thinking aloud, sounding a little disappointed.  But then he raised his head and smiled nervously. "Sorry, you mentioned earlier that the objective of the game was to kiss on the mouth.  So, I guess I was expecting you to kiss me, hehe... heh... heh..." Dusk added with a clumsy laugh, completely blushed.

"Yeah... I... I think I got nervous, sorry, hehe..." Rarity said slowly, also with a nervous laugh as she returned to her spot.

"Noooo!!" Rarity thought as she wept into her mind. "Clumsy and tender Spike… why didn't you kiss me on the mouth!?  So, I could have kissed Dusk without regrets!"

"I- I think it's... m-my turn..." Applejack said awkwardly, blushing even before she spun the bottle. Then she started her turn, spinning the bottle abruptly because of how nervous she was, and just as nervous she waited, until the bottle finally stopped and pointed to…

"Um…this isn’t necessary, is it?" Rarity said with an annoyed look, after seeing the bottle pointed at her.

"I don't know... I'll search in the slumber party book to see if the rules for this game appear!" Dusk said quickly, not understanding that Rarity had asked a rhetorical question.

"Whatever, let's get this over with quickly." Applejack also said a little annoyed, who had lost all nerves when she saw that Rarity had been chosen. "Move your face." Applejack ordered for Rarity to move around and show her cheek.

Reluctantly Rarity did as her friend told her, and she looked up scornfully as she waited for the kiss on her cheek.  While Applejack approached with the same reluctance to kiss Rarity's cheek, the farmer pictured an image of Granny Smith looking at her disapprovingly.  She knew exactly why her grandmother would reprimand her for something as intimate as a kiss in a game.

Of the many differences that Rarity had with Applejack, there was also another important one, which was in the act of kissing.  Rarity had kissed often in her childhood, like most fillies her age, with nothing sentimental involved, only to act out what she saw adult ponies do.  But Applejack had never kissed anyone in her childhood, neither on the mouth nor on the cheeks.  Being raised by her grandmother for much of her life had made her much more conservative about kissing than other mares.

"But this isn’t my first kiss... I already kissed Dusk!" Applejack thought, stopping, starting to get nervous thinking more than she should. "But that was an accidental kiss... But it still counts anyway!  But... I always tell the girls that kiss didn’t count... besides if I had to kiss Dusk I wouldn't be so nervous.  It's just... if I'm in love with Dusk, then my lips should only touch Dusk... But this is just a silly kiss on the cheek! This doesn't count at all!" Applejack kept thinking, internally arguing with herself.

"Why is she so nervous!?" Rarity thought uneasily, glancing at Applejack and seeing that she had stayed still near her cheek, but she wasn't kissing her.

"Enough is enough! I'm going to do it! Just do it fast!" Applejack thought, closing her eyes tight, full of determination.

"Are you going to do it or I-!?" Rarity said, turning to face Applejack, just as she advanced with her eyes closed towards her, which finally caused the mares to kiss each other on the mouth with great force.

The instant Applejack felt something strange about the kiss, she immediately opened her eyes and saw with amazement that she was kissing Rarity on the mouth, the same stupor that Rarity had at that very moment.  For two seconds both mares were so shocked that they froze just as they were. Then the reasoning returned to them and they quickly separated, completely red with shame.

"Why did you kiss me on the mouth!?" Rarity yelled completely red, both embarrassed and furious.

"You moved your face!" Applejack yelled as red as or even redder than her friend.

"Because you were taking forever to kiss my cheek!" Rarity yelled almost hysterically.

"Forgive me Granny Smith! I kissed a girl! I lost my purity!" Applejack screamed in her mind as she cried.

As the mares kept yelling at each other, Dusk looked away as his cheeks turned slightly blushed, all for having been moved for a small moment to see two beautiful mares kissing in front of him. A guilt that made him redder with shame.  Spike, meanwhile, said nothing as he only looked on in shock as he was hugging his tail tightly.

"I think it's my turn." Dusk finally said, shaking his head to push away all libidinous thoughts about his friends.

Then Dusk walked over to the bottle and spun it around, causing Applejack and Rarity to stop arguing and looking at each other with hatred for a second, as they were both interested in knowing the result of this last spin of the bottle.  The bottle finally stopped spinning slowly, until it was pointed at the target, right in the middle of the two mares.

"Enough of the mixed signals!" Dusk frustratedly screamed in his mind to see that the bottle was not pointed at Rarity nor Applejack completely.

"Well… I guess I'll have to..." Applejack said blushing after seeing and believing the bottle was pointed at her.

"What are you talking about?  The bottle is clearly pointing at me!" Rarity said indignantly.

After saying that, the mares again began to argue among themselves again as they had been doing throughout the slumber party.

"Let Dusk decide!" Rarity finally said, looking seriously at Dusk, while Applejack accepted what her friend was saying and looked in the same intense way at Dusk.

"Huh? I… w-well…" Dusk said nervously, thinking that his friends wanted to win just to show that they were better than the other.  But for the first time, Dusk thought and accepted that maybe there was a small, tiny possibility that they were arguing why they really wanted to kiss him, which made him blush slightly.

Then, before the attentive and expectant gaze of his friends, Dusk put on a reflective face while thinking about what would be the correct answer to this problem, since it would be very shameless of him to say that he could kiss both of them, and very cowardly of him if he said he didn't want to kiss neither of them.

"What's wrong?  Why is he thinking about it so much?  It's not like he can calculate something, he just has to choose-" Rarity thought in confusion when she saw that Dusk seemed to be solving a mathematical problem instead of deciding who to kiss.  But it was at that moment that Rarity was shocked to discover what Dusk was thinking and that it was she who had just made a terrible miscalculation.

"I-If I have to choose one... I think I'll choose Applejack." Dusk said blushing, after thinking for a while about his answer, at the surprising and equally red face of Applejack.

"I knew it!  Dusk, sweet as he is, is too logical and has a cookie-cutter mentality!" Rarity thought frustrated as she understood what Dusk had to think about before deciding. "When I kissed Dusk the first time, I gave him a long kiss and then a little kiss goodbye... That was two kisses!  Dusk’s must still be unsure about his feelings for us and thus decided to choose Applejack since he only kissed her once.

After the impact on hearing Dusk's response, Applejack shook her head and tried to look calm, even though she was totally nervous.  However, she also realized that she wasn't nervous in the same way as when she had to kiss Rarity on the cheek.  Despite the fact that her granny and her very conservative customs, told Applejack that it was wrong to kiss Dusk without being formally in a relationship, Applejack couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of nerves mixed with emotion and anxiety when seeing Dusk looking at her directly to the eyes.

"Don't be silly... You shouldn't get so excited just for a kiss on the cheek." Applejack thought, anticipating what Dusk would do, since with so much time to know him, she knew that he wouldn't do anything daring like kiss her on the mouth, much less in front of Rarity and Spike.

"Okay..." Applejack said pretending to be calm, closing her eyes and turning to show her cheek. "Do it quick-"

However, Applejack failed to finish her sentence, since Dusk gently moved her face and gave her a quick and surprising kiss on the lips.

That was a short but very intense kiss that left everyone present with their mouths open from the impact of what they had just seen, and in the case of Applejack, what they had just felt.  Spike had a face of complete surprise.  For her part, Rarity had a face of fright and amazement, almost on the verge of fainting from how she never imagined that Dusk would be so daring. As for Applejack, she was left speechless as her lips began to tremble slightly after Dusk retreated back.  The country mare quickly lowered her hat over her face to hide the massive amount of red blooming on her face.  

"WHY DID YOU KISS HER ON THE LIPS!?" Rarity yelled after coming out of shock.

Dusk looked at Rarity and lowered his head, completely embarrassed.

"I-I thought that was the objective of the game... You said so..." Dusk said embarrassed, slowly realizing how daring he had been and blushing more and more. "A-Applejack, I... I'm sorry if I was too impulsive..."

Applejack was still so embarrassed by what had happened that she still couldn't speak, so she, still keeping her face covered by her hat, just shook her head quickly, signaling that she wasn't upset with Dusk.

"Dusk is hiding something..." Rarity thought after looking closely at Dusk. "He seems to have changed from the shy, awkward colt that I met all the time ago..." she thought narrowing her eyes and, like Applejack before, noticing that something inside Dusk seemed to have changed, and only time would tell them if it was for better or for worse.

"I... I think it would have been fine if I had kissed Rarity too, after all, this is just a game... But there was another reason why I had to kiss Applejack." Dusk internally reassured himself, still blushing and looking down at the floor. "I was Applejack's first kiss, but we both know that was just an accident... And if it was really her first kiss... I don't want her to remember me for a bad kiss without feelings." Dusk thought blushing again before the other meaning than had the last kiss, which itself was given with much feeling.

"Hey! Well done!" Spike suddenly whispered, hitting Dusk's side. "If you like Applejack, we could put the slumber party aside and start a double date." Spike added, whispering into Dusk's ear.

"Hehe... maybe another time, casanova." Dusk said blushing, laughing at the idea of ​​his brother, who was really just looking for an excuse to have a date with Rarity and get Dusk out of his way. "Besides, I don't think you'll be awake much longer, it's past midnight." Dusk added, smiling at Spike's tired eyes.

"Nah... I'm fine... 'yawn'..." Spike said, not being able to avoid yawning, since his bedtime was long past.

It was a while before Applejack was able to calm her face and took the hat off her face.  However, she wasn't able to look Dusk in the eyes again, since she knew that only one look of his would be enough for her to return to turn red with shame.

"It's your turn to choose a game." Rarity said pursing her lip and looking at Dusk a little annoyed.

Dusk started to think of some activity to continue with the slumber party, but since he had never been to one, no idea came to his mind.  So, he finally took the slumber party book he had taken out and started going through it looking for some game.

"Maybe we could play this game. It's called 'Truth or Dare'." Dusk said, starting to read the instructions for that game. "Let's see... first you have to ask someone to either to tell a truth about themselves or dare them to do a certain activity... How is that about the challenge? I don't really understand."

"It's easy." Rarity said, glancing at Applejack and still feeling jealous for the kiss that Dusk had just given her. "For example, I could dare Applejack to be more delicate and feminine, although she surely never will."

"Oh yeah? Well, I dare you to stop being prissy and boring." Applejack said, knowing that Rarity must be jealous of her at the time.

"I dare you to use shampoo to wash your mane for one day." Rarity said angry.

"I dare you to stop putting on makeup even for one day." Applejack replied just as angry.

"Yeah... uh... I think we better not do 'dares' and we'll do the part where we tell the truth, hehe." Dusk said nervously, seeing that they must be playing something soon, because if his friends stayed a long time doing nothing, they would start arguing quickly. "Please don't keep arguing."

Hearing Dusk's request, and seeing him so nervous, both mares looked at each other annoyed and again looked away to stop arguing, only for a moment.

"So... what kind of questions should we ask?" Dusk asked calmer, relieved that his friends stopped arguing.

"This opportunity could be useful to learn more about Dusk..." Rarity thought looking at Dusk, then looking at Applejack, and she couldn't help feeling upset by that last kiss they had given. "That's right! I could take advantage of knowing what Dusk felt when he kissed me and the other girls.  So, I'm going to start with…"

"I already know a question!" Rarity said, glancing at Applejack and then looking at Dusk. "What was your first kiss and how did you feel about it?"

At that moment Dusk and Applejack blushed completely, looked at each other, and then quickly pointed at Rarity, much to the unicorn's surprise.

"Huh? Me?" Rarity said surprised, who had not expected to be the first to tell her story.

Rarity made a thoughtful face, and the first thing that came to mind was that of her first love, that toxic relationship that Dusk was already aware of, but Rarity didn't want to relive it, much less tell Applejack, since it was very painful and intimate for her. Then she went further back in her memory until she smiled as she remembered something she had almost forgotten.

"I remember that.  My first kiss was at school when I was a little filly." Rarity said smiling as she remembered how childish she was at the time. "It was my first time attending a birthday party with both fillies and colts, and the birthday girl wanted to play the spinning bottle game because there was a colt she liked.  We all played that game, but at the end of the game there was a very sad little colt, a young colt with a somewhat awkward face, who had been refused to be kissed by all the fillies at the party. That made me really sad, so I finally stood up and kissed him. Since it was my first kiss, it was awkward and so fast that we barely touched our lips.  But it left me very happy, more than I expected.  Not because I felt something for that colt, but because he was very happy after that kiss." Rarity finished with a smile, thinking about how powerful a simple gesture of affection could be.

"And... what happened to that young colt?" Dusk asked curious, for a moment feeling a curious sensation, a new feeling that he couldn't explain at the moment when he imagined another colt kissing Rarity.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. I think the next day his parents went to live in Canterlot and I never saw him again." Rarity said with a shrug.

"It's your turn!" Dusk said quickly, pointing at Applejack when he understood that it was now up to someone else to tell his story, and he wasn't good at making a nice story like the one Rarity had just done.

Applejack was surprised to be pointed out and then lowered her blushing head as she debated against her own shame so she could tell about her first kiss, since the colt that had been was just there.

"M-My first kiss was on the farm... a few days before this year's Summer Sun Celebration." Applejack said slowly as she made an effort to avoid blushing more than she was. “A-A clumsy colt had climbed onto one of the trees in the orchard to try to help us harvest apples. I was watching him and he… fell on top of me and… we accidentally kissed."

At that moment Applejack looked askance at Dusk, who was also red with shame knowing that she was talking about him.

"When that colt kissed me, the first thing I felt was surprise, then annoyance and confusion, but later, as more time passed, what I started feeling was..." Applejack said blushing more and more, so much that it was impossible to finish in say the feeling she had felt. Then she closed her eyes and forced herself to continue speaking. "I know it was an accidental kiss! But… But it was very important because it was my first kiss!" Applejack added almost in a scream.

While everyone was surprised by Applejack's words, she took the opportunity to look at Dusk seriously, although she still kept her cheeks blushed.

"Now is your turn." Applejack said seriously. "How did you feel with your first kiss."

"E-Enough is enough... I-It's not necessary that we continue this game." Rarity said quickly with a worried look, stretching one of her hooves to prevent Dusk from speaking.

"This is bad!" Rarity thought when she noticed that things were taking a course that didn't favor her. "I can't let them continue talking about their first kiss and how they felt between them."

"I want to listen to Dusk." Applejack replied in a bad mood, understanding that Rarity was interrupting so Dusk wouldn't be honest about his own feelings about that kiss.

"I already know the story of the first kiss between the two of you! I don't want to have to hear the same story twice!" Rarity said annoyed, bringing her angry gaze closer to her friend.

"It may be the same story, but you said yourself that we had to say what we felt!" Applejack said, looking angry at the unicorn.

"Uh... I don't know if it's important.  But Applejack wasn’t my first kiss." Dusk said shyly, causing an awkward silence to remain in the room.

Rarity and Applejack had frozen with their angry looks, looking at each other. And so, they stayed for several seconds, until they both turned and saw Dusk with confused looks.

"Huh?" Both mares said at the same time, still not sure what they had just heard.

"Dusk had kissed someone before reaching Ponyville? But he himself said he had no friends." Rarity thought confused, still surprised by the revelation.

"W-Who was your first kiss?" Applejack asked, also stunned by the revelation.

"Hmm... It was in Canterlot. I remember that-" Dusk said, beginning to remember, until a stab of pain made him close one eye, and it was very difficult for him to remember what had happened. "It was... it was a long time ago.  It was an afternoon... or maybe a morning.  There was a lot of mist… and she… kissed me." Dusk finished, holding his head with a hoof, confused when he realized that something he had always taken for granted, he had a hard time remembering.

"That's all? Who was? Where? When?" Rarity asked curiously.

"I-I don't know..." Dusk replied very confused. "I don't remember her face, nor the place... but I do remember the kiss."

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other in confusion and then looked back at Dusk.

"Maybe it was a dream." Applejack said, thinking that maybe Dusk had such a hard time remembering because it had been something that never really happened.

At Applejack's words, Dusk just stared at the ground in confusion for a second.

"M-Maybe you're right..." Dusk finally said, more and more unsure if that memory had really happened, but what he couldn't deny was that that memory brought back strong emotions.

While Dusk continued to meditate on why it was so difficult to remember that memory of his childhood, both mares decided to stop harassing him with questions while he calmed down, and while they looked at each other, little by little, the rivalry that had been strengthened that day after arguing all day was returning to them.

"So, you weren't the first." Rarity said with a mocking smile.

"No, but I was the last one." Applejack replied smiling the same way.

Then war was declared again between both mares and both were silent but seeing each other so furious that it almost seemed that they were shooting lightning through their eyes.  It was only then that Dusk came out of his thoughts and realized that his friends were getting ready to argue again if he didn't intervene soon.  He looked to the side to see if Spike could help him, but only at that moment Dusk realized that his little brother had long since fallen asleep, with his sleep so heavy that no scream woke him up.

"I think we should play to something else.  Let's see..." Dusk said quickly to change the hostile atmosphere, then he turned, levitated his book on slumber parties and looked for another game. "Here's something! It says: Pillow Fight."

"Pillow Fight?" Dusk thought raising his head, immediately imagining what that game would be about.  And then the image of Rarity and Applejack surrounded by pillows came to his mind, laughing and flirting as they playfully hit each other with soft pillows.  "Wait… What the hell am I thinking about!?" Dusk screamed in his mind realizing how wrong it was to think of his friends in such a way, as he shook his head to push that crazy and lustful image away from his mind.

"Pillow fight?" Rarity said looking at Dusk and then looking at Applejack with an evil smile.

"Sounds good to me." Applejack said, also looking at Rarity with an evil smile.





And it was only then that Dusk came out of his crazy fantasies and returned to reality when he turned and saw that his friends looked each other with deep hatred, with a mental image quite different from what Dusk Shine had imagined.

"Yes... I think we'd better play something else..." Dusk said nervous, realizing that if he let them play that, it could turn into a 'pillow massacre'.  Then Dusk kept looking in his book until he found another game, that after reading the instructions, he knew it was the perfect game for that occasion. "Here it is! We'll play: Guess Who."

The mares looked at Dusk confused as he levitated small pieces of paper and quills.

"Someone writes something on the paper, be it an object, place, feeling or even another pony, and then the other two will put the paper on top, see each other and give clues about what the other represents, and at the end of the turn they'll see if each one guesses the name that was written above." Dusk said smiling, handing Rarity two papers and a quill. "You go first, Rarity."

The white unicorn took what Dusk had to offer and thought for a moment.

"You just have to write something.  You don't need to be adorning the pieces of paper." Applejack murmured with a mocking smile.

That comment was the last push Rarity needed to put into action a brilliant plan that she had come up with to annoy Applejack.  So, Rarity finally wrote something on the two papers, she passed one to Dusk, the other to Applejack, and they both put their papers on their heads for the other to look at.

"All right. Begin." Rarity said with an innocent smile.

"Me first." Dusk said excitedly, reading what Applejack had written on her paper. "You wear it on your hooves and… you are dirty, although that would be easily fixed by washing. You probably look ugly and battered from so much work." Dusk said describing 'a dirty boot', which was what was written on the Applejack paper.

Applejack blushed with embarrassment upon suddenly hearing Dusk saying she was dirty and needed washing, and then she understood that Rarity had written something for Dusk to sneakily insult her, embarrassing the orange mare.  However, the thing that embarrassed Applejack the most was that Dusk had written on his paper: 'Being Feminine'.

After Dusk finished giving his hints, Applejack thought about how to explain Dusk’s word.  Her first thought was to target Rarity, but that would only compliment the fashionista even more.  So, unsure of what to do, Applejack started acting like she was putting on makeup, and then exaggeratedly moved her hips.

"What does that mean?" Dusk asked without understanding what Applejack’s mimicry could mean.

"Maybe she doesn't know how to explain her concept because she doesn't know it." Rarity said with a mocking smile as Applejack turned red with embarrassment and looked at her with hatred.

Finally, neither Dusk nor Applejack guessed their respective concepts, and although there seemed to be two losers, the only one who felt she had lost was Applejack, completely flustered at how Rarity cheated at the game.

"It's my turn!" Applejack said annoyed, this time taking two papers, writing on them and handing them over to Dusk and Rarity. "Get started!"

Dusk read what Rarity's paper said and started with his hints.

"You look pretty, but… I don't think you really have any useful purpose.  You are extremely delicate and could easily break." Dusk said giving the first hints when reading 'crystal chandelier' on the paper of Rarity.

As with Applejack, it pained Rarity to hear that Dusk had told her that she was useless and very delicate, but she quickly understood that Applejack had used the same trick on her to make Dusk say bad things to her face. Then Rarity read Dusk's paper and blushed reading 'Chicken Dance'.

"Hurry Rarity! It's your turn to give me a hint." Dusk said excitedly.

At Dusk's insistence, Rarity put herself in a silly position, and began to do a ridiculous dance by swinging and waving her hooves while imitating a chicken, a very popular dance when they had all been foals. All while Rarity was red with embarrassment at having to do something so ridiculous.

"Hahaha!  I know this one: The chicken dance! Haha." Dusk said guessing his concept, laughing a lot at seeing Rarity doing that silly dance, the same laugh Applejack had at that moment, which made Rarity look at her in fury, red with shame for forcing her to do that in front of Dusk.

Finally, it was Dusk’s turn, and he had an idea as to how to ease the tension between the two mares.  The colt wrote something in the papers and handed them to his friends, who were already glaring each other with fury in their eyes.  As they looked up to see what the other had written in their heads, both were surprised to read what they had written. Applejack had a piece of paper saying 'Applejack' and Rarity had a piece of paper saying 'Rarity'.

"Begin." Dusk said, as both mares smiled wickedly, knowing that they could attack each other as part of the game.

"You're a shallow pony, who only cares about minor things." Applejack said looking angrily at her friend, launching the first attack.

"You're a sloppy pony who only uses her brute force without thinking." Rarity said, also angry.

"Those are lousy descriptions." Dusk said as he watched the game, ready to carry out his true plan. "Come on! I know you can give better descriptions than that. Something that really helps you guess who you are."

After a couple of seconds of silence, Applejack finally spoke.

"You... you're generous." Applejack said with effort, looking away.

"And I suppose you're honest." Rarity said also looking away, but then sighing and looking back at Applejack. "You're... you're mature, trustworthy and... a great friend."

"Y-You're passionate and dedicated, and... you're also a really good friend." Applejack said, also looking back at Rarity.

For the first time at night, both mares stared at each other for a moment without a hint of anger. At last, it seemed that they were both leaving their fury behind, after all they were friends and they had to forgive each other at some point. Only that was missing, say 'I'm sorry', but... Who would say it first?  For after such a bitter and cruel dispute, the ego of neither of them accepted to be the first to say those words.

Finally, Rarity's lips parted slightly to utter that few words, but just then an enormous snore from Spike ruined the entire moment.

"I think I should take Spike to his bed." Dusk said a little worried, looking at his little brother, then looking at his friends, who finally just looked away.

"So close!" Dusk thought frustrated after seeing that his friends still didn't see each other. "I think they’re no longer upset with each other, but they're not on good terms yet..."

After looking at the clock, everyone decided that it was time to sleep.  So, Dusk prepared Spike's basket-bed next to the chimney, since on rainy days the dragons needed to be closer to the heat.  Dusk then prepared an extra bed that could be installed in front of his.  Applejack and Rarity agreed to sleep together, however it was still clear that there was still some tension between the two of them despite the fact that they had yet to insult each other again.

Applejack was the first to go to bed, taking advantage of the fact that Rarity went to the bathroom. Then Dusk lay down on his own bed and stared at the ceiling while waiting for sleep to come to him. All the lights went out in the library, allowing everypony to get some much-needed sleep.

Though Dusk had his eyes closed, his senses were still quite awake.  That was how Dusk was able to hear Rarity exit the bathroom and make her way to the spare bed.  However, the purple unicorn was then surprised when he heard Rarity making her way down stairs instead of climbing into her bed.

"Why did Rarity go back downstairs?" Dusk thought in the dark, after noticing that Rarity hadn't yet gone up to bed. "It's late, she should be back in bed here..."

Thinking 'back in bed here', Dusk unconsciously thought of lying on the same bed next to Rarity, which caused him to blush red.

"Back in the other bed, back in the other bed!" Dusk repeated in his mind to get out that lustful idea.  However, the thought was already nestled in his mind, which made him begin to take the weight of the situation for the first time. "Right now, two beautiful mares are sleeping in front of me, and I could... No! Don't think about dirty things!" Dusk thought frantically, totally red, closing his eyes tight to force himself to sleep to stop thinking about inappropriate thoughts.

The night progressed and the only thing heard was the sound of rain on the roof and some occasional thunder in the distance.  Then Dusk could hear a soft snore coming from Applejack, who, unlike him, had already fallen fast asleep.  And finally, when Dusk was about to fall asleep, he heard Rarity go up to bed.  Dusk's first reaction was to pretend he was already asleep, but he was curious to know what had taken his friend so long.

"Rarity, is everything alright?" Dusk whispered, lifting his head from his bed, to see that Rarity was holding Applejack's hat in her hooves.

Rarity carefully put down the hat and walked over to Dusk's bed to chat without waking Applejack.

"Yes, I'm fine." Rarity replied whispering next to Dusk. "I only went down to the living room for a while because I needed light to-" Just then a lightning struck near the library and loud thunder broke the reigning silence, scaring Rarity and instinctively leaping and hiding under the covers on Dusk's bed.

"R-Rarity, what are you doing?" Dusk whispered nervously, completely red when he saw that Rarity had lain down on his bed and hugged him while trembling.

"I'm sorry." Rarity replied, slowly ceasing to tremble and releasing Dusk. "It's just that I'm really scared of thunder."

Both ponies fell silent and neither spoke for several seconds, in which Rarity was almost touching Dusk's body, and Dusk stood pressing his lips nervously, his heart beating a thousand time per second when he saw that Rarity had snuggled closer to his side.

"Dusk... I’d terribly hate to disturb Applejack now that she’s fast asleep in bed." Rarity finally said, ducking her head. "Can I sleep with you?"

Dusk Shine swallowed hard due to how nervous he was, then he looked askance at his friend, who couldn't see her face due to the angle and the darkness, so he couldn't see that Rarity was as blushed or even more than him.

"It wouldn't be correct." Dusk Shine's rational mind said.

"A-Alright..." Dusk finally replied, ignoring what his rationality was telling him.

After that, there was no more conversation.  They both laid motionless, close to each other. Rarity's body wasn't touching Dusk's, but it was so close to him that Dusk could feel the heat emanating from his friend's body, enough that the colt couldn't calm down to sleep.

"I'm sorry I ruined your first slumber party." Rarity said suddenly.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Dusk asked confused.

"For... all the discussions Applejack and I had." Rarity replied sadly.

"Oh, don't worry.  Still, it was a lot of fun." Dusk smiled. "But now you two are on good terms, aren't you?"

Rarity was silent for a few moments before answering.

"She hasn’t apologized to me, and... neither have I." Rarity said sadly. "I told her so many hurtful things that I regret... I'm a terrible friend."

"That's not true!" Dusk said immediately, turning to get a good look at Rarity. "You're a wonderful friend.  You just…had a bad day.  I assure you that tomorrow everything will be right." Dusk said staring at his friend.

Rarity was surprised at how confident Dusk said those words, and she put on a loving smile. And so, both unicorns stood watching each other, so close to each other that their faces almost touched.  Both unconsciously froze in that position, looking directly into each other's eyes as they blushed slowly, and their feelings slowly took control of their actions.

Suddenly a noise from the front of the bed caused both unicorns to come out of their reveries. Then they both raised their heads and saw that Applejack had gotten up and was staggering as if she was about to fall, all while she had her eyes almost completely closed.  Then the orange mare mumbled some unintelligible things and began to walk awkwardly from side to side.

"What's wrong with her?" Rarity asked concerned.

Dusk looked confused and somewhat worried at Applejack, and as he saw her, a sudden thought came to his mind to finish explaining what was happening.

"Normally Granny Smith wouldn't let me eat marshmallows at night. She said they didn't let me sleep well. But this time I think I'll make an exception." Dusk recalled what Applejack had said when they made the marshmallows in the fireplace.

"It seems... that she’s a sleepwalker." Dusk said a little surprised.

Suddenly another loud thunder rumbled in the room, causing Rarity to hug Dusk tightly and start to tremble with fear again.

"Huh? You're scared lil' sis…" Applejack suddenly murmured, who seemed to be dreaming while still sleepwalking.

Then Applejack awkwardly approached Dusk's bed and stroked the colt's cheek.

"Don't worry, lil sis... Here I'm... I'll sleep with you..." Applejack murmured, opening the bed and lying down on the other side of Dusk, hugging him tightly and finally resting her head on the pillow, thus ending her sleepwalking tour.

Rarity, Dusk Shine and Applejack were all now in a single bed, with the colt in the middle of both mares, being hugged tightly by both sides.  Dusk only remained static, looking at the ceiling, completely blushed and with his eyes wide open.

Minutes passed on and there was no movement or noise from the three ponies.  The only thing Dusk heard was the sound of the rain and the strong beating of his own heart that seemed like a drum ringing next to his ears.  It seemed that Rarity and Applejack had fallen asleep after a while, as Dusk could hear Applejack's faint snore and Rarity's quiet breathing.  It was then that he looked askance at his right side to check that and saw the beautiful face of Rarity sleeping peacefully stuck to his side, then he did the same to his left side, and also saw the innocent face of Applejack with the same blissful expression.

"Gosh... Why are they so pretty!?" Dusk thought are his cheeks blushed.





Determined to calm down, Dusk closed his eyes and tried to sleep.  But as he closed his eyes, his hormones decided to stimulate his other senses.  And that was how his nose began to smell the soft and intoxicating perfume of Rarity, at the same time that he could also sense the sweet aroma of apples that Applejack had on her body.

"Why do they smell so good!?" Dusk screamed in his mind, trying in vain to stop sniffing to calm down.

Forcing his mind to focus on something else, Dusk's senses focused on something else, on the hooves and bodies of his friends that hugged him tightly on either side, as if two warm pillows surrounded him and pleasantly squeezed.

"Why are their bodies so soft!?" Dusk screamed a third time in his mind, opening his eyes wide and realizing that the hormones in his body and his own imagination wouldn't allow him to sleep peacefully that night.





The next morning Applejack was slowly waking up, and as she shifted between sleep and reality, she felt a pleasant, familiar male scent on the sheets, and someone hugging her warmly.

"Mmmm, feels nice..." Applejack murmured with a smile, dreaming that she would wake up that morning with Dusk Shine.

"Yes... it feels good..." Whoever hugged her murmured in response.

It took Applejack a few seconds for her brain to react and realize that the voice that had answered her wasn’t male.  Then Applejack immediately opened her eyes and saw that Rarity was holding her in front of her.  The fashionista had also opened her eyes at the same time, creating an air of awkwardness between the two mares.

Seeing that they were both hugging each other affectionately, both mares parted instantly with equally red faces.

"Why were you hugging me!?" Rarity asked annoyed.

"I don't know! I thought I'd wake up hugging Dusk!" Applejack replied just as annoyed and flustered.

"Wait a second... how did you know you would wake up in Dusk's bed?" Rarity asked looking annoyed at her friend since Applejack was supposed to have been sleepwalking the night before. "You were pretending to be sleepwalking!"

"I-I wasn't pretending." Applejack replied nervously. "I-It's just that at some point in the night I woke up and saw that I was next to Dusk, and... and I didn't go back to my bed... But that's all!" Applejack added even more blushed.

"By the way, where's Dusk?" Rarity asked, looking everywhere.

"Here I am..." Dusk suddenly replied, who was just entering the room, with a towel in his mane and with tremendous dark circles under his eyes.  The poor colt was so overwhelmed last night he could only get a few minutes of sleep.  "Sorry, but I needed a cold shower... very cold..." Dusk said slightly blushed.

After seeing Dusk approach, both mares looked at each other, narrowed their eyes, and looked away again, knowing that both of them still hadn't solved all their problems.

"Oh, come on!" Dusk said, annoyed to see that his friends were still not on speaking terms. "It's a new day and this shouldn’t continue.  I want you to apologize to each other right now and to be good friends again!"

At Dusk's comment, both mares looked at each other sideways and pursed their lips. They both wanted to apologize, but neither wanted to be the first to do so. However, Rarity decided to swallow her pride first and give Applejack her attempt at making amends.  

"Here." Rarity finally said, using her magic to levitate Applejack's hat and pull it closer. "Last night I took the opportunity to fix it a little while you slept."

"You did what!?" Applejack yelled terrified, immediately grabbing her hat and looking it all over to see how Rarity had ruined her beloved hat, but after completely checking it out, she was shocked to see that nothing had changed.

"I just repaired the seams.  If I hadn't, your hat would have fallen apart in a couple of days." Rarity said looking down at the floor. "It would be quite the shame to have something you value so dear be ruined beyond repair.  I would have loved to do some nice embroideries, but I know that hat is important to you, and I would never think of changing it if you don't want to."

Listening to her friend, Applejack understood that Rarity's attention to detail had prevented her precious hat from ripping apart, and she hadn't wanted to listen to her for being as stubborn as she was.  She now knew what she had to do.

"I'm sorry..." Applejack finally said, unable to help but shed a small tear. "I'm sorry I said such horrible things to you. You're one of my best friends and I didn't know how to value it."

"I'm sorry too." Rarity said crying with happiness. Then both friends hugged each other and finally ended their biggest fight.  “From now on, let’s talk instead of bicker with each other.  Like friends.

"Hmm... what's going on?" Spike asked, finally waking up and moving closer to where the others were. "Why are Rarity and Applejack hugging each other?"

"Just a little reconnecting between friends..." Dusk said smiling, excited to see his friends finally making peace.





It was a new morning at Canterlot Palace, and the royal maids, the sisters Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel, were preparing to wait for their princesses to attend them at breakfast.

The previous morning had been quite particular, with Princess Celestia arriving very depressed, and Princess Luna very happy, making a very noticeable contrast between the two.  So both maids hoped that their princesses had already regained their normal moods.

The first to enter the room was Princess Celestia.  The white alicorn had entered the dining room totally opposite to the previous day with a huge smile that she didn't even care to hide.

"You seem much more radiant this morning, my dear princess." Sweet Creme said, while serving tea to the princess of the Sun.

"Indeed, I am, Sweet Crème!" Celestia said smiling as she ate a cupcake.  "Dusk Shine finally answered my letter." The princess added as she levitated a letter with her magic.

Seeing the levitated letter, Sweet Creme couldn't help but read it and then look at it strangely. The only thing the letter said was:

'I'm sorry to have worried you on the day of the tournament in Cloudsdale. I promise never to do something so risky.

I say goodbye, wishing you happiness and prosperity.

Yours truly, Dusk Shine.'

"That's all!?" Sweet Creme said annoyed, after seeing that this was the answer that her princess had long awaited after she put her feelings and heart in the last letter she had sent to her beloved student. "I-I apologize, princess." The maid said immediately when she noticed that she had thought out loud.

As Sweet Creme retreated back to give her princess some space, Celestia smiled, realizing that her dear maid hadn't discovered the true nature of the letter.  And while she would have loved to share that information with her maid, yet Dusk had tried so hard to hide the true message that Celestia didn't want to waste Dusk's effort.

Dusk's first secret message was that he hadn't put at the end of the letter 'your faithful student' as he always did.  He had only put his name, which meant that Dusk wanted to tell her that for him the princess was more than just his magic teacher. But the main message went much further and wasn't even written in words.

What Sweet Creme, and probably very few ponies, would notice about that letter was that there were several inconspicuous lines on the paper that ran across and across the letter from one side to the other.  But those marks were not there for no reason, they were instructions!  In a distant land, there was an ancient art that was made on paper, called 'origami', something that Dusk had read a long time ago and that the princess also knew.  And if that letter that the princess had, she folded it following the instructions, the letter took the shape of a small heart.  And that heart had more than one meaning.  When Dusk lived in Canterlot, in his first year at the castle, he had given the princess an origami heart on Mother's Day. So that letter Dusk had sent Celestia, had a deep and strong emotional meaning that only they both knew, what made Celestia enormously happy.

"This morning is wonderful!" Celestia said happily, sipping her tea.

"This morning is horrible!" Luna said to herself, walking through the room doors and reluctantly sitting down at the breakfast table.

Realizing that her princess had arrived, Sweet Caramel rushed to serve her a cup of coffee, which Luna snorted. This immediately signaled the maid that her beloved princess was in a much crankier mood than she normally was in the morning, and of course, in a completely different mood than she had the morning before.

"I-Is something wrong, my dear princess?" The maid shyly asked, knowing Luna didn't like to talk when she was in a bad mood, but the maid decided to take the risk anyway.

Princess Luna looked askance at her maid and only grumbled roughly as she looked away and ate a croissant. Then she began to remember what had happened the night before...

As promised, Luna had returned to the dream world that night, ready to meet her beloved Dusk Shine again.  She waited and waited, but as the night wore on, it seemed like Dusk wasn't sleeping that night, which made the night princess impatient.  As much as she felt there were some ponies having nightmares at the time, her stubbornness caused her to ignore them that night, all because she was eager to reunite with Dusk in his dream.

Finally, when it was close to dawn, Dusk Shine's dream window appeared, allowing Luna to finally enter it.  Once there, Luna saw Dusk sitting on his bed, shaking his head from side to side, as if he wanted to get some thoughts away from his head.

"Were you up late, dear Dusk?" Luna said once she landed in front of Dusk.

"Lady Night!" Dusk said surprised to see the alicorn that had appeared in his previous dream. Then Dusk blushed. "Yeah... I had a slumber party and... I think I had a hard time falling asleep... If you're here again, does that mean I'm in another nightmare?"

Hearing Dusk, it was Luna's turn to blush a little.

"Y-Yes... it seems like you are having a little nightmare..." Luna lied, knowing that she couldn't tell him that she was only there because she wanted to see him. "Tell me, why were you shaking your head so much? You seem confused by something… And why is it so hot here?" Luna asked realizing how high the temperature was in the dream.

"It's probably because I'm very nervous..." Dusk said looking down at the ground blushing and scratching his head. "Right now, I'm sleeping next to two mares."

Luna was surprised to hear that, and then she gave an annoyed look.

"I never thought you were one of those colts who liked to partake in such lustful orgies..." Luna said looking at Dusk with a bit of displeasure.

"Is not that!" Dusk said quickly, even more flustered. "It's a long story to tell, but in short, they're my friends, two of them."

"And you... do you have feelings for them?" Luna asked curiously.

"I think so..." Dusk whispered, looking down. "I don't know what to do.  First, I don't even think my feelings are reciprocated. And even if they were…"

At that moment five windows appeared around Dusk, to the surprise of Luna and the colt. Then they both looked out the window.  One had Dusk and Rarity on a romantic picnic in the park; Dusk and Pinkie Pie appeared in another window playing and kissing while they cooked together; Dusk and Applejack appeared in another window, walking on the farm with two foals that appeared to be their children; Dusk and Rainbow Dash appeared in another window, lying on a bed together and hugging each other; and in the other window Dusk and Fluttershy appeared helping as a couple a small wounded rabbit.

"I feel something for all of them... And at some point I'll have to decide and see if any of them also feel the same way about me..." Dusk whispered, his mind calmer now, knowing perfectly well what his feelings were and that now he only had to face them. "Thank you for showing me this dream, Lady Night."

Turning to see the alicorn, Dusk saw that 'Lady Night' looked confused, and she was looking everywhere, as if searching for something else.

"Is something wrong?" Dusk asked confused.

"D-Don't you have another window out there?" Luna asked looking around and then looking at Dusk. "You only have those feelings... For those five mares?"

"Huh? W-Well, yes, I think so." Dusk replied surprised and a little nervous. "I mean, there are other mares that I think are pretty, like Trixie, or some other mares in town. But with my friends it's different, I think that only with them could I say that I'm... in love."

Suddenly the dream began to shine, and everything began to undulate, just as the previous dream that Lady Night visited had ended.  And as the dream faded, the last thing Dusk saw in his dream was Lady Night, who for some reason seemed very upset.

"I'll not give up..." Luna muttered annoyed, after remembering what happened that night.

Seeing that her princess seemed not to want to gossip that morning, Sweet Caramel slowly withdrew and positioned herself next to her sister as they watched the princesses eat.  At that moment both maids looked at each other sideways and I know that they both thought the same.

"This ever-changing mood in our beloved princesses... It's all the fault of that Dusk Shine!" The maid sisters thought, annoyed that a simple pony was able to have so much influence on the mood of the two ponies that they respected the most.

End of chapter 46
> Chapter 47 - Captive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captive

"I have a craving for apples!" Dusk had said to himself that morning.  The days had progressively gotten warmer, signaling that the first harvest of spring apples must be almost ready.  And if Dusk had a craving for apples, there was only one place he could go.

The huge span of land that made up Sweet Apple Acres farm spread out before Dusk's eyes, with the trees already full of leaves and blooming.  Most of those apple trees would have their fruits ready for the big summer harvest, but Applejack had already anticipated to Dusk that they had an early harvest on the farm for those who wanted to enjoy that juicy fruit in the spring.

As Dusk walked through the apple trees, he couldn't help but give an embarrassed smile as he remembered the other time he was here.  Specifically, when he met Applejack, he and Spike had carelessly picked apples without their owners' permission.  Something that Dusk could do again if he wanted to, since there was no vigilance and the sweet fruits were within reach of his hoof. However, he had learned a lot since that time, and the last thing that Dusk would do now would be to steal and disrespect his dear friend and her family.

When Dusk finally saw the Applejack's house and headed towards it, he stopped when he saw that Applejack and her siblings were outside the house, lined up with their heads down and solemn gazes, all three in the shadow of a lone apple tree.  As Dusk got closer there, he started to get a little worried seeing that Applejack and her siblings had looks of grief and pain as they looked down at the ground under the tree, and what scared Dusk the most was that Applejack suddenly started to cry.

"Calm down..." Big Mac said holding Applejack and comforting her with his hoof. "I know it's sad, but... you have to let her go."

"Let her go? To who?" Dusk thought confused as he approached the Apple family, who seemed to be at a funeral of sorts.  It was then that Dusk realized that a family member was missing, which made Dusk swallow hard when he understood what was happening and 'who' had left.

"It can't be... Granny Smith has left this world!?" Dusk thought scared.

"I... I'm sorry to interrupt..." Dusk said shyly, feeling very sad, but struggling to be strong to support her friend.

"'Sniff'... This is not a good time." Applejack said sadly, drying his tears.

"We're saying goodbye to a family member." Big Mac added, looking annoyed at Dusk for interrupting the moment.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Dusk said sadly, lowering his head in respect and then giving Applejack a sad smile. "But you have to be strong... Surely Granny Smith is in a better place now."

"Yeah... She is in a better place." Apple Bloom said looking away sadly.

"You shouldn't be sad." Dusk said with a tender smile, approaching his friend.

"I know... but... It hurts so much to let her go!" Applejack said, again on the verge of tears. "I think it's still too soon!"

"W-Well, I don't know if it's too soon... I mean, she was old enough." Dusk said scratching his head nervously.

"Who are you calling old!" A familiar voice suddenly screamed, causing Dusk to turn.

"A GHOST!" Dusk shouted, frightened when he saw that Granny Smith had appeared behind him, leaning against an unknown stallion.

"I'm not a ghost, at least I think so, hehehe." Granny Smith laughed when she saw Dusk's funny face.

"I-I don't understand, what's going on...?" Dusk muttered, still scared and confused.  It seemed that all that sad ceremony was not a funeral as he had been thinking.

"Granny!  I told you to stay at home, you'll be more comfortable there until your back stops hurting you." Big Mac said reprimanding his grandmother.

"I know, but I also wanted to say goodbye to 'Bloomberg'." Granny Smith replied, putting a sad look.

"Who the hay is Bloomberg!?" Dusk said confused, beginning to get irritated by not understanding what was happening.

"My dear apple tree..." Applejack said as she tenderly hugged the tree in front of her. "Tomorrow she leaves for a distant land, to be planted in a new town."

Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and Dusk gave a look of complete disbelief.

"You’re crying for a simple tree!?" Dusk asked confused and irritated.

"It's not just a simple tree!  She's a member of the family!" The four members of the Apple family said annoyed.

Dusk stared in disbelief at the faces of everyone present, amazed to see how serious everyone was about their relationship with their apple trees.  And it was only then that Dusk noticed the face of the other pony present, that stallion who had helped Granny Smith to get there and now stared at Dusk, as if he was analyzing Dusk with a magnifying glass.  The unknown stallion had yellow fur, light brown mane and tail, a cutie mark of a red apple on his flank and was wearing a leather vest and hat.

To calm the mood, Dusk had to apologize, even though he still thought it was foolish to become so attached to a tree, and then he explained that it had all been a misunderstanding on his part. Then Applejack also explained that this farewell was made for 'Bloomberg', which was the youngest mature tree on the farm.  She also explained that the unknown stallion, named Braeburn, would take it away from there.

"Almost a year ago, some members of the Apple family founded a town in the southern plains, called Appleloosa." Applejack explained to Dusk. "They have their own apple orchard, but they don't have an apple tree of as good a quality as the ones we have here at Sweet Apple Acres.  So Braeburn came to take this for his new town."

"Oh… now I get it." Dusk said, finally understanding what was happening.

"So, this is the famous Dusk Shine..." Braeburn said suddenly, who had kept watching Dusk carefully. "Well, I'm sorry to say AJ, but considering everything you told me in your letters, I thought he would be a stronger and beefier colt.  But... he's just a scrawny city foal."

Dusk was surprised to be insulted without reason, and even more so by somepony he didn't even know. Then Dusk did the same as that stallion and analyzed him with his eyes.

The stallion was young, probably an adult colt of his own age, but he was noticeably stockier than Dusk.  He also had a long mane that gave him a rebellious look, something that Dusk had always envied, much like how the luscious mane his brother had that could cause any mare to swoon.  In addition, the way Braeburn spoke and moved, it was seen that he had a great trust and confidence in himself, something he had just demonstrated by saying to Dusk's face that he thought Dusk was scrawny.

"How is it that you know me?" Dusk asked, rather annoyed.

"Applejack always writes to me about her friends.  More recently, she’s been writing a lot about you." Braeburn replied, pointing at Applejack with his eyes and then looking intently at Dusk again. "Now, I’m fine with a twig like you being her new friend... But get yourself in line, scrawny!  Because now I'm here, and I'm Applejack's number one best friend!" Braeburn added, putting on a big smile of pride and giving Applejack a big hug.

"S-Stop, Braeburn." Applejack said blushed, trying to break free of the hug and glancing at Dusk, as she was embarrassed that Braeburn had admitted that she wrote about Dusk Shine in her letters.

"I-I'm not a scrawny one." Dusk said embarrassed, getting defensive.

"Mmm, I wouldn’t exactly say that.” Big Mac stated.

"Yep... Those hooves definitely need more hard work, spend less time lifting the pages of books and more time with bales of hay." Granny Smith said, also analyzing at Dusk with her eyes, which made Dusk blush with embarrassment. Then Granny Smith made a face of pain and quickly touched her back. "Oh! This old pain… I think you were right… I'd better go back to the house."

"I'll help you, beautiful young lady." Braeburn said gallantly, approaching to Granny Smith and holding her the same way he had helped her get there. "After all, that’s what a true gentlecolt does." Braeburn added, giving Dusk a fleeting and almost imperceptible glance, a glance that only the unicorn noticed.

"I-I can use my magic to teleport you to the house, it would be faster."  Dusk quickly added, feeling that for some reason he was in competition with that new colt.  Although Dusk thought he was losing in physical appearance, he would make sure not to lose in one of his strengths, which was to be chivalrous.

"No! Don't even think about using magic tricks on me." Granny Smith said scared, who like a good old-fashioned earth pony, didn't like unicorn magic at all. "I prefer to walk and be accompanied by this handsome gentlecolt, hehe." Granny Smith added, smiling flirtatiously at Braeburn.

Along with Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom also headed home after saying one last goodbye to the apple tree, leaving Applejack and Dusk Shine alone.

"What's wrong with that colt!?" Dusk said resentfully as he watched Braeburn walk away with Granny Smith, feeling a new feeling grow within him. Then he turned to see Applejack again and narrowed his eyes. "That… Is he your best friend… colt?" Dusk asked with a slight concern in his voice.

"Well... I've known Braeburn since we were foals.  We always did everything together, until his family moved out of Ponyville." Applejack replied with a thoughtful look, not imagining that Dusk could be feeling a conflict at the moment.  "Still, we continued to maintain contact by letters. We're real close like that!"

"But he'll be leaving tomorrow... isn't he?" Dusk asked, pretending to be casual about the question.

"Yeah, well, we'll be leaving together tomorrow." Applejack replied while looking at the apple tree. "Braeburn asked me for help planting Bloomberg in his town.  But I think it's just an excuse for me to go, get to know his town and spend more time together like the good old days." Applejack added smiling.

"I-I want to go too!" Dusk said impulsively, not understanding what he felt.  He didn't know why, but Dusk was uncomfortable with the idea of such a young and handsome colt being all close and personal for such a long time with Applejack.

"You want to go?" Applejack asked in surprise.

"Y-Yes... you know... I-I always wanted to know about more places in Equestria... and this could be a good opportunity, hehe." Dusk replied with a nervous smile, still not understanding why such a hasty idea had occurred to him.

Applejack stared at Dusk for a moment, then looked away so Dusk didn't notice that she had blushed.

"Yeah... I think that would be a good idea." Applejack said, as her imagination began to fly at the thought of a solo trip with Dusk Shine.

"Fantastic!  I’ll be head back for the library.  I have to make a list for my first big trip!" Dusk said excitedly, forgetting for a second of his true reasons to travel, and thinking that he would soon have an adventure in another town, something that excited him as he only knew Canterlot and Ponyville.

As Applejack watched Dusk leave the farm, she lowered her head and gently tapped the apple tree in front of her.

"This may actually be a great opportunity!" Applejack muttered with a smile, talking to herself. "I'll go on a solo trip with Dusk... We’ll be able to get to know each other better and have a genuine romantic kiss!" Applejack added blushing, thinking that she was still unhappy with the kisses she had with Dusk, since one was by accident, and the other was for a game.  And although that last kiss had been with feelings, Applejack still dreamed of having a true romantic moment alone with Dusk.

"All the other girls have had their romantic moment alone with Dusk... I can't waste this opportunity!" Applejack said full of conviction, with a smile full security.

"Wow... It's a shame that Bloomberg is leaving.  It was the most comfortable apple tree to sleep in." Suddenly a voice in the branches said, a voice that made Applejack freeze and her smile fade immediately.

"R-Rainbow Dash! What are you doing there!?" Applejack said in surprise, as she looked up and saw her friend pegasus leaning on one of the highest branches of the apple tree.

"Taking a nap." Rainbow Dash said jumping and landing next to Applejack. "I think I'll leave now."

"Y-You... did you hear what I said?" Applejack asked nervously.

Rainbow Dash turned to see her friend, keeping a poker face that made it impossible for Applejack to guess what her friend was thinking.

"I don't know what you mean." Rainbow Dash finally answered after a while, then she turned and spread her wings. "I think I'll go talk to Dusk."

Then Rainbow Dash took off quickly in the direction of the town, giving Applejack no chance to say anything.

"Well... My big plan was ruined before I even started." Applejack said with a look of resignation, knowing that her friend was going to talk to Dusk so that now all her friends would also accompany them on the long journey.





It was early in the morning and the train to Appleloosa was already at the station.  Since Appleloosa was a new town, the train that went there was not one of the most modern designs. In fact, it was one of the old trains that were pulled by a dozen strong stallions.  But although this train didn't depend on magic or steam to function, its driver wanted to have the same punctuality as the other trains, so the first whistle was given, announcing that in a few minutes they would leave.

At the train station, there were very few ponies at that time in the morning, only those that had to board the express to Appleloosa, and all of them were already inside the train.  With the exception of Applejack, who was still on the station, looking impatiently towards the town, as it was getting late and neither Dusk nor her friends had appeared yet.

"Maybe I was wrong and Rainbow Dash didn’t tell the others about the trip and instead convinced Dusk not to come with me.”  Applejack thought, beginning to hold a grudge against her friend.

"Sorry for the delay!" Dusk said suddenly, finally appearing at the station, with a huge hiking backpack on his back.  Next to him, Spike came walking, with a backpack much smaller than the one Dusk was carrying.

"Phew! It's about time" Applejack said with a sigh and a smile, happy that Dusk had not regretted going. "The train’s about to leave."

"Yeah, I'm sorry.  It's just that I took some time packing, since it's my first trip to another city… Not counting the time the princess sent me in a mail bag to here, hehe." Dusk said laughing, then looking around, as if looking for someone. "And where are the others?"

"Braeburn is accommodating Bloomberg in the back wagon." Applejack replied nervously, knowing deep down that Dusk was asking about someone else's location.

"I mean the other girls." Dusk said making a disgusted face briefly as he remembered that they would be traveling with Braeburn. "Rainbow Dash said she would tell them about the trip."

"Nah, they’re not coming." Rainbow Dash suddenly said, landing at the station with the two ponies.  "I told them yesterday, but it seems that they were all busy.  And I... I won't be able to go either." Rainbow Dash added, averting her gaze when she said she couldn't go, as if she had a hard time saying the latter.

"Wait! Rarity isn't going?" Spike said immediately, putting on a thoughtful face and then a nervous smile. "I-I just remembered that I also have something to do..."

"What are you talking about?" Dusk asked confused, bringing his head closer to Spike.

"This is your chance! Do you remember what happened at the slumber party, the kiss you gave Applejack?  Now you two can spend more time alone!" Spike whispered excitedly into Dusk's ear.

"Sure... And isn't it that you just want to take advantage of being alone with Rarity?" Dusk said narrowing his eyes, seeing the true intentions of his little brother.

"Nah….! Not at all…" Spike said with a nervous smile. Then the baby dragon turned and said goodbye. "Have fun!" It was the last thing Spike said before he ran back to town, specifically to the home of a certain unicorn mare.

While Dusk and Spike had been chatting, Applejack had stared at Rainbow Dash, who just stood there, looking up at the sky to avoid her gaze.

"Well... I guess it'll just be us." Dusk said looking at Applejack and smiling.

Just as Applejack opened her mouth to answer, the last warning whistle sounded at the station, indicating that they were only one minute from leaving.

"I better hurry to put my backpack away." Dusk said quickly, walking towards the door of the train and making a great effort to get through the door the huge backpack he had with him.

As soon as Dusk entered the train, Applejack turned and looked seriously at Rainbow Dash.

"Okay, what are you up to?" Applejack asked, squinting.

"Why are you looking at me like that!?  You should thank me." Rainbow Dash replied with an annoyed look. "If it wasn't for me, Dusk would have gone to tell the other girls about the trip.  I was the one who convinced him that I would go tell the others myself.  Although of course… I think in the end I forgot to tell them."

"Why?" Applejack asked with an incredulous look, still not understanding why her friend helped her with her plan to be alone with Dusk.

Rainbow Dash was a little surprised at her friend's insistence, then she looked away with a bit of embarrassment.

"Well... I owed you.  For the Running of the Leaves..." Rainbow Dash replied slightly blushed. "I really needed to win that race to have a moment alone with Dusk. And although you said you hadn't let me win; I know that… well… now we're even!" Rainbow Dash added, looking sheepishly at Applejack.

The orange mare was surprised to hear her friend's confession and what she had done to return that favor in the race. Then, without warning, she pulled her daredevil friend into quick embrace.

"Thank you..." Applejack said with a tender smile, heartily thanking her friend for that noble gesture. The country mare released her friend, who had a bright blush on her face.

"Yeah, I'm just returning the favor.  It's not like I was giving you Dusk.  He'll still be mine!" Rainbow Dash said drastically changing her attitude and looking defiantly at her friend. "I still have the advantage! I've been the only one Dusk has voluntarily kissed."

Hearing that, Applejack couldn't help but grimace, as a few days ago, at the slumber party, Dusk had also voluntarily kissed Applejack in the spin the bottle game.

"If you think I don't know about that kiss in the slumber party, you're wrong.  Rarity already told us about it." Rainbow Dash said, smiling arrogantly, guessing what her friend thought, which surprised Applejack a lot. "If you think that kiss can compete against the romantic kiss that Dusk and I had on the lake at sunset, you’re dead wrong." Rainbow Dash added, looking defiantly at her friend.

Hearing the latter, Applejack forgot her friend's noble gesture and put on the same challenging look as the pegasus.  Now she understood, it was true that Rainbow Dash was returning the favor, but it was only because she was self-confident that no one could overcome her romantic moment with Dusk that she was even challenging her. And worst of all, Rainbow Dash had hit the spot, because Applejack continued to doubt if any of the moments lived between her and Dusk had become even half as romantic as those of her other friends.

"I'll not lose." Applejack finally said, giving Rainbow Dash a fierce, defiant look, just like the ones they had on every time they competed against each other.

"Heh... good luck. You'll need it." Rainbow Dash said spreading her wings and winking at her with an arrogant smile. Then the pegasus took off and flew back towards the town.

"You gave me a chance to date Dusk, and now you're the one who's losing..." Rainbow Dash thought as she flew, thinking that she wanted to help her friend, but she also didn't want to lose to her. "If you don't take advantage of this opportunity to have 'your moment', then you'll be out of the race. And I want you to keep running until the end! … Although of course, in the end I'll win."

After Rainbow Dash flew off, Applejack finally entered the train, just as it started to leave the station.  As she walked, Applejack kept thinking about the Rainbow Dash challenge and pressed her lips tight as she made up her mind.  This trip was no longer just to have a good time alone with Dusk, now she had a new goal.  Before that trip was over, Applejack would make sure to have the most romantic kiss of all with Dusk Shine.

Upon arriving at her wagon, Applejack knew immediately what their seats were, as Dusk was standing in front of them, trying to press the huge backpack into the upper compartments.  While the lavender colt tried to crush his backpack to its maximum expression so that it fit, Applejack took the opportunity to sit in one of the seats by the window.  Just then, Braeburn entered the wagon, who also approached the seats.

"I'm done seating Bloomberg in her private wagon." Braeburn said as he approached the seats. Then he saw Dusk who was still struggling with his backpack. "It looks like you need help, scrawny."

Hearing Braeburn's voice, the mane on the back of Dusk's neck stood on end, feeling an instant displeasure with the yellow colt.  Without paying any more attention to it, Braeburn pushed Dusk, stood on two legs and with a strong push finally managed to put Dusk's huge backpack into the compartment.

"You just had to apply some strength." Braeburn said, looking with a vain smile at Dusk, who just stared back at him annoyed. "If you didn't carry so many things... I guess all scrawny city colts are just as impractical."

"It's my first trip away, so I wasn't sure what to bring..." Dusk began to reply, but he realized that explaining that was even more embarrassing, so he finally just chose to stop talking.  Then Dusk sighed and started to sit next to Applejack.

"I think I'll sit here." Braeburn said, quickly getting in between and winning Dusk the place next to Applejack. "We have a lot to talk." Braeburn added giving Applejack a big smile.

Seeing him being ridiculed again, Dusk only gritted his teeth in frustration and reluctantly sat down in the front seats, sitting across from a table looking at Applejack and Braeburn, who had already begun to chat animatedly with each other.





The hours passed and Dusk discovered without realizing that time was relative, since that couple of hours became eternal for the lavender colt.  Since everyone had sat, Braeburn had monopolized Applejack, talking about so many things they two had done in their childhood, like the time they had traveled by canoe, when they had played a joke to Granny Smith, all the times they'd camped together... And of course, none of those anecdotes included Dusk Shine, so the unicorn quickly felt left out of any possible conversation. Every time Dusk tried to introduce a new topic, or Applejack tried to include Dusk in the conversation, Braeburn quickly brought up some old and funny anecdote that made Applejack laugh and totally distracted her.

The hours passed and Dusk only stared angrily at Braeburn, something he had done covertly to the principle, but with the passing hours, Dusk could no longer hide it... The more he saw Braeburn making laugh Applejack, the more he disliked him.

"He thinks he's so cool just because he's Applejack's closest friend..." Dusk said in his mind as he looked fiercely at Braeburn, smiling at Applejack and being so close to her. "Applejack would never notice a colt like him... it doesn't matter that they have been friends since childhood... or that his mane is cooler than mine... or that he is stronger than me... nor that... nor that... Well, I was the first kiss Applejack!  You can't beat that!" Dusk thought irritably, as a new and unpleasant feeling unknown to him grew in him.

CRASH! Suddenly everyone jumped from the scare when something small took a strange turn in the air and crashed to the floor, breaking.

"No! My microscope!" Dusk suddenly said worried, discovering that what had gone flying had been his microscope, which he carried in his backpack.

"Are you carrying a microscope on this trip?" Braeburn asked in a mocking tone.

"W-Well, you never know when you might need one." Dusk replied embarrassed. "Why did it fall out of the backpack if it was closed?  And what was that strange turn in the air?  For a second it seemed like it was flying."

"Yeah... that was strange." Applejack said confused, who had also noticed that strange microscope flight before falling.

"Oh... maybe it's the ghost of the train... Booo..." Braeburn said pretending to make a gloomy face. "They say that in this old train, there lives a ghost that scares foals... and scrawny colts..." Braeburn added, taking advantage of the occasion to make fun of Dusk, who only looked at him annoyed.

"Haha! I remember now, you were the best at making up horror stories during camping trips! Haha!" Applejack chuckled, remembering how Braeburn always scared everypony around the campfire.

"Haha! So you remember that, huh?  Then you may also remember our… Tickle Wars!" Braeburn said laughing and taking the opportunity to tickle Applejack a few times in the belly, making Applejack burst out laughing.

Suddenly the table in front of them shook, rose slightly in midair, and fell into exactly the same spot, leaving the three ponies frozen in shock.

"T-That ghost story was a lie... R-Right?" Dusk asked trying to hide that he was scared by what he had just seen, since that seemed to have no explanation.  They were the only ones in the wagon, and the three ponies had genuine faces of fear at what they had just witnessed.

"O-Of course it was a lie..." Braeburn finally replied, also trying to hide his fear.

After that particular supernatural experience, the three ponies were silent for a long time, since their eyes, ears and other senses were on alert, in case any new paranormal phenomenon occurred.

Night finally came, and everyone decided that it was the perfect excuse to change wagons and go to the sleeping wagon.  The trip to Appleloosa was long one and the train would only arrive until morning.  There was no one else in the sleeping wagon, so the three ponies could choose any of the beds in the bunk beds to sleep. Applejack chose one of the lower beds and went to bed. And seeing which bed Applejack chose, Dusk hurried to jump on the bed above his friend's.

"I'll sleep here." Dusk said smiling with pride, because this time Braeburn hadn't won the place and he had chosen to sleep in the same bunk as his friend.

"Oh, you can sleep there." Braeburn said raising an eyebrow, noticing Dusk's fierce gaze and then looking at Applejack. "I think I'll sleep curled up next to Applejack like when we were foals." Braeburn added, jumping onto Applejack's bed and lying down next to her, to the mare's surprise and Dusk's outrage.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea... we're not foals anymore." Applejack said blushing.

"Don't worry, it's just to annoy that dumb city boy." Braeburn whispered with a smile. "I’ll wait until he falls asleep and then I'll go to sleep in my own bed."

The minutes passed, and it was impossible for Dusk to fall asleep.  The only thing he could focus on was the murmurs and giggles he heard under him in the lower bed.  Applejack and Braeburn continued to happily recall their childhood, conversing at a low level so as not to disturb Dusk with their noise. And although the volume of the conversation was not at all something that prevented Dusk from sleeping, what didn't let him sleep was that strange feeling that he still didn't decipher.  An unpleasant feeling that grew when he thought that Applejack was lying in the same bed with another colt, a feeling he had already felt on other occasions, but never as intense as he felt at that moment, so he still didn't discover what it was.

After a while, Dusk Shine closed his eyes tight and covered his ears with his pillow, wishing he could fall asleep so that he no longer felt that unpleasant feeling that was growing in him. But his closed eyes lasted only a few seconds, as a strange noise was heard next to his ear, and when he opened his eyes, Dusk was paralyzed when he saw that three pillows were floating, circling in the air, then collided and shot out.

A sepulchral silence remained in the air after this strange phenomenon.

"D-Dusk... Those pillows... Was that you?" Applejack said slowly from below, in a trembling voice.

"N-No..." Dusk replied just as scared, after seeing that it seemed that the ghost of the train had followed them to this wagon.

After everything was silent again, with the three ponies motionless from fear of the unknown, Braeburn rose slowly from the Applejack bed and lay down on the bed opposite.

"I-I think we better go to sleep..." Braeburn said nervously, as it still seemed crazy to him that his ghost story was coming true.

Once each pony was in their own bed, the three ponies closed their curtains and just poked their heads out into the hallway, all watching intently everywhere, waiting to see if that strange ghost phenomenon would happen again.  But as much as they waited, it seemed that the ghost refused to appear when they were attentive.  Thus, the three ponies finally closed their curtains completely and closed their eyes to hopefully fall asleep quickly, before another strange thing happened.

"Okay, now I don't just have to worry about Braeburn being too close to Applejack, but also about a ghost on the train!" Dusk thought as he closed his eyes tight and forced himself to fall asleep fast. "At least in my dreams I can be calm... Surely I'll see it again... to her..." Dusk said in his mind, and with that last thought, Dusk finally fell asleep.

"I was waiting for you." A sweet voice said in Dusk's dream, and the colt smiled when he saw a beautiful blue alicorn smiling at him in a beautiful dreamy landscape.





The morning finally came, and the three ponies woke up to the first rays of the Sun that pierced the windows of the sleeping wagon.  As soon as they woke up, they opened the curtains and stared at each other, wondering with their eyes the same question: had anyone ever seen the ghost again at night? However, it seemed that everyone had been able to sleep without problems and that the 'ghost' had not reappeared.

"It would be best to get back to the main wagon quickly." Dusk said with a nervous smile, since it was very difficult for him to admit that he was afraid of something as unreal as ghosts were.

Following Dusk's words, the three ponies quickly got up and returned to the wagon where their seats were.  They all remained static, hoping that that ghost wouldn't follow them back to that wagon.  In addition, Braeburn had already told them that they would arrive at Appleloosa early in the morning.  So instead of continuing to talk, the three ponies decided to remain alert the last leg of the road until they reached Appleloosa, to finally discover if this strange phenomenon was a ghost or not.

As everyone continued in silence, looking everywhere, a sudden blow made the whole wagon wobble.

"The ghost of the train!?" Braeburn yelled in fright.

"No... This was different..." Dusk said scared and confused, since other times they had only seen some things float, but now it had been the whole wagon that had suddenly trembled.

A new blow to the wagon caused Dusk and company to hold onto their seats so as not to fall.

"Someone is hitting the train!" Applejack suddenly said when she looked out the window.

Dusk and Braeburn approached Applejack’s window and were surprised to see a herd of buffalo running at full speed next to the train.  They were all wearing feathers on their heads, with unfriendly faces as they took momentum and hit a third time the side of the train, causing the three ponies to almost fall to the floor again on impact.

"If they continue like this they'll overturn the train!" Dusk said fearful of what might happen.

Braeburn glared at the buffalo and quickly opened the wagon window.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Braeburn yelled furiously. "You don't see what- Wow...!" Braeburn stopping his speech and amazed at what he saw.

Out of the crowd of buffaloes, a small young buffalo leapt between the backs of its companions and leaped on top of the moving train, doing a reckless stunt that Braeburn couldn't help but admire and that made the colt forget his anger for a second.

"What happened?" Applejack asked confused to see that Braeburn seemed to be looking at something while still sticking his head out.

"Someone jumped on the train and... It looks like it's running on the roofs of the wagons!" Braeburn said, still undecided whether he was more angry or amazed at what he saw.

"This looks like an assault... Like those stories from the old west!" Dusk said fearfully, remembering that he had read something about bandits in distant lands.

"An assault? But what do they want to steal…?" Applejack asked confused, thinking that there was nothing of much value on the train, other than her little- "Bloomberg!" Applejack yelled scared, quickly getting up and running towards the last wagon, where her beloved apple tree was.

"I don't think they’re coming to steal an apple tree." Dusk said incredulously, who, like Braeburn, ended up running after Applejack.

After crossing the wagon where they were and the sleeping wagon, Applejack opened the next door to continue to the next wagon, but she stopped when just from the roof, a small buffalo, the same one that Braeburn had seen before, jumped nimbly and landed right outside the door of the next wagon, across from where the ponies were.

"That leap was incredible..." Braeburn muttered in amazement.

"Wake up, knucklehead! She's going to steal Bloomberg!" Applejack said annoyed, slapping Braeburn lightly to wake him from his stupor. "After her!!"

Just as the young buffalo was about to open the door of the wagon where Bloomberg was, she was distracted when she looked back and saw three ponies leap on her. After struggling a bit, the ponies finally managed to restrain the buffalo right in the middle of the two wagons, thus preventing her from reaching her target.

"We got you!" Braeburn said victoriously, staring at the buffalo.

"Do you think so?" The buffalo said with a mocking smile.  She then used one of her back legs that wasn’t restrained to kick below her.  The kick directly hit the small connection point that held the two wagons together and caused it to unhinge.  The three ponies could only watch on as the wagon carrying Bloomberg was left behind as the train continued to speed on.

"Bloomberg!" Applejack shouted terrified when she saw that the wagon where her beloved apple tree was traveling was left behind and was kidnapped by a herd of buffalo.

"No more apple trees in our sacred lands!" The buffalo said triumphantly, with a challenging look at the ponies, especially Braeburn.

"We have to rescue Bloomberg!" Applejack said desperately, taking Dusk by the shoulders and shaking him.

'It's just an apple tree...' It's what Dusk would have liked to say, but he knew that for Applejack that tree was like a member of her family.  So, Dusk concentrated lit his horn, and teleported outside the train, which was much less risky than jumping off the moving train.  However, due to inertia, the four rolled down on the ground to the side of the railroad tracks once they reappeared.

"Is everyone okay?" Dusk asked shaking his head, a little dizzy after the fall.

"Don't let her escape!" Applejack yelled suddenly, pointing forward.

After the fall, the little buffalo had seen her chance, and although she was dizzy from the teleportation, she immediately ran as soon as her paws touched the ground.

"She won’t get far." Braeburn said, taking out a lasso that he had under his vest and throwing it with great aim, thus managing to throw his prey, who fell to the ground, staring fiercely at Braeburn. "Sorry honey, you're good. But I'm better." Braeburn said with a challenging smile, at the buffalo's hateful gaze.

With the same rope that Braeburn had used to lasso the buffalo, the yellow colt tied one of the buffalo's legs firmly to stop her from any future escape attempt. The four then began to walk in the direction of where they had seen the rest of the herd of buffalo flee.  The impromptu rescue mission was rather slow, since the buffalo prisoner refused to run, all to prevent the three ponies from catching up with the other members of her tribe.  Likewise, the buffalo refused to answer any questions about where their tribe was located or the reasons why they stole the apple tree from the train.

"I remember you saying something about their sacred lands... Does that have to do with the apple tree being stolen?" Dusk asked, still trying to converse with the buffalo as they walked.  However the buffalo only ignored him and continued to remain silent.

"Stop trying to talk to that thief." A bad-tempered Applejack said. "We don’t need her to tell us where Bloomberg was taken.  We just have to follow the hoofprints left by the other buffalo." Applejack added looking at the ground, where she could see the trail in the desert of the tracks of the buffaloes when they fled.

"But even if we find the buffalo herd, we need a plan." Dusk said slowly, noting that Applejack was more sensitive and irritable since her beloved apple tree had been stolen. "So, I think it's a good idea to talk and listen to what she has to say."

"They’re just a tribe of savages... I don't think she tells us anything interesting." Braeburn said as he gave the buffalo a little tug, which made her angrier than she was. In fact, of all the ponies, it seemed that she had seized a special hatred for Braeburn, who in turn was looking at her with the same displeasure. "She and her tribe are just vulgar thieves."

"We're not thieves!" The buffalo said slowly, clenching her teeth. Finally saying her first words since she had been captured. "You are!" She added, glaring at Braeburn.

"What do you mean?" Dusk said immediately, taking advantage of the small opportunity that opened up so that he could finally strike up a conversation.

The buffalo looked at Dusk for a second, then she looked away again and fell silent.  However, Dusk noted that at least she didn't look at him with as much hatred as she did at Braeburn, so perhaps this was his chance to move on in the dialogue.

"I think we haven't introduced ourselves yet.  My name is Dusk Shine, Princess Celestia's protégé." Dusk said with a kind smile, deciding to emphasize that he had a link with the ruler of their great nation, to see if with that he could better reach the young buffalo. And indeed, that worked, since upon hearing the name of the Princess of the Sun, the young buffalo's eyes widened, and she looked at Dusk differently.

"M-My name... is Little Strongheart." The buffalo finally said slowly, as if she had still been undecided about whether to open her mouth or not.

"It's a pleasure!" Dusk said with the same kind smile, happy to finally be able to talk. "We really regret holding you captive like this-"

"I don't." Braeburn said with a mocking smile, making the buffalo and Dusk look at him annoyed.

"Yes... as I said, it's a shame.  But we need you to accompany us until we can recover our friend's apple tree… It's very important to her.  Perhaps you could tell us where they took it…" Dusk said looking at Little Strongheart intently, and noticing that she was returning to look defensive, he decided to quickly change his question so as not to miss his opportunity to chat. "But let’s change the subject!  A while ago you said that you weren't thieves, that the ponies were... Why did you say something like that?  We haven't stolen anything."

"He and those who live in his town have." Little Strongheart said looking angrily at Braeburn. "Ask him."

Dusk looked confused at Braeburn, who in turn looked with disgust at the buffalo.

"What does she mean?" Dusk asked, staring at Braeburn.

"I guess she means the town's apple orchard..." Braeburn said looking seriously at Little Strongheart. "A year ago, when we founded the town, we planted some apple trees on a plain. The apple trees grew rapidly and everything was fine until a few days ago, when we discovered that some apple trees had been destroyed… I guess that's what she means."

"Those were our sacred lands!" Little Strongheart said angrily. "It's our ancestral route that we must cross every year, and you occupied and blocked it without caring about anything.  All of our ancestors traveled that route for centuries, and now you arrive and usurp our lands and destroy our ancestral traditions."

Dusk and Braeburn widened their eyes and were surprised to hear that.

"W-We didn't know that..." Braeburn said worriedly, remaining silent for a second as he thought. "But still, we-"

"You are just thieves who don't care about anything." Little Strongheart interrupted, glaring at Braeburn.

"We don't care about anything!?" Braeburn replied offended, now looking furiously at the buffalo.  "Do you know how much work it cost us to plant those apple trees in these lands?  You savages just rip apart everything without thinking about what's left behind!  Our families were starving!  Nothing else grew or flourished in these lands, until we managed to grow those apple trees. Those apple trees are our last hope of being able to live in peace in our own town with our families, and you destroy them!"

Hearing that, it was Little Strongheart's turn to be surprised by the fact that she didn't know.

"I-I didn't know that..." The buffalo said slowly, but, as stubborn as Braeburn, her mind also refused to give in. "But still... You should have asked us before..."

Then Braeburn and Little Strongheart looked at each other fiercely and began to argue with each other, each saying that their point of view was more valid than the other's.  Meanwhile, Dusk approached Applejack, who was walking in front of everyone, with her eyes fixed on the horizon to see if she could see Bloomberg or the buffalo herd.

"Did you hear that?" Dusk asked looking at Applejack. "It seems that Little Strongheart and the buffaloes had their reasons for stealing from Bloomberg. I don't justify it, but-"

"But nothing!" Applejack said firmly, who had heard what they had discussed behind her. "I don't care what that stranger says.  My family in Appleloosa needs to eat and those buffalo destroy and steal. They’re just dirty thieves!" Applejack added harshly.

Dusk was surprised to see his friend so angry and rigid, since she was always the most mature and conciliatory in discussions and tried to see everything from different angles.  But it seemed that with this situation, her judgment was not going to change, and the buffaloes were simply not right.  In fact, Dusk looked back and realized that although Braeburn and Little Strongheart argued, they shared their opinions and deep down it was noted that they accepted that the other was somewhat right, but Applejack was closed to any other opinion.

"Family always comes first..." Applejack whispered with fire in her gaze. "If you're going to contradict me, then I don't want to talk to you again." Applejack added full of fury and determination, which left Dusk paralyzed, since he had never seen his friend like this.

For the rest of the search, Applejack and Dusk were silent, the mare because she was totally focused on searching for Bloomberg, and Dusk because he was concerned to see his friend acting so closed-minded.  Meanwhile, the only ones who couldn't stop talking now were Braeburn and Little Strongheart, who had started arguing for the apple trees, and then, they took their discussion to another level, arguing about the correct way to jump, or who was stronger... It seemed that those two were like water and oil, and they kept mocking each other and saying that each one was better than the other.

Suddenly, the three ponies and the buffalo stopped when they heard a rumbling noise, like that of an avalanche that was rapidly approaching.  Then they all saw how a cloud of dust was fast approaching towards them.  It was already too late when they realized that this cloud of dust and noise was caused by a huge herd of buffalo, which quickly surrounded them and blocked their way.

Several dozen buffaloes had surrounded them, all very different from Little Strongheart, since these were adult males, large and corpulent.  They all shared disgusted looks when they saw who invaded their lands.  And those disgusted looks quickly turned to angry looks when seeing that these invaders had one of their own tied with a rope, as if she were a vulgar cow.

"Untie the lasso..." Dusk whispered under his breath to Braeburn, almost without opening his mouth and still staring at the angry buffalo.

Braeburn swallowed as he was surrounded, and slowly did as Dusk said, releasing the lasso that was tied to the leg of the little buffalo.

"Hehe... Now it's my turn to throw you, cowboy." Little Strongheart said with a mocking laugh, this time being the one who tied the lasso around Braeburn's neck, before the furious gaze of the yellow colt. "We'll bring them before the Chief!" Little Strongheart added in a shout, looking at the other buffalo.

Then the herd of buffalo turned, keeping a circle to surround the ponies, and all together they began to go deeper into the desert, walking towards where their tribe was settled.  As they walked, Dusk began to think of alternatives to flee, which he had already prepared a couple of escape plans using his magic.  However, he decided that perhaps it was a good opportunity to learn more about the tribe and their thoughts, so that he could come up with some solution.  While Applejack just followed with her angry gaze, narrowing her eyes at a severe headache she had had for a while, thinking that she should rescue Bloomberg and that she now had an even more important mission, to scare those buffalo away from Appleloosa, from her family's town… She didn't care that the buffalo said that this was their ancestral land, her family needed apple trees to live, that was all that mattered: her family. For his part, Braeburn kept walking with an annoyed look as Little Strongheart occasionally tugged on the lasso to annoy him, as if she enjoyed making him angry.

Finally, when the Sun was about to set, the herd of buffaloes and their captives reached the place where the tribe settled, a plain with several cloth and leather huts where the buffalo lived temporarily.  Immediately the buffaloes pushed them to the center of the place, where there was a bonfire and a huge standing buffalo, much more imposing than the others and wearing a large Indian plume.

"Why are you bringing these pathetic ponies before me?" The great buffalo said in a deep voice, looking with extreme disgust at Dusk and company.

"Oh, Big Chief Thunderhooves.  I have captured these prisoners with me after robbing the train.” Little Strongheart said ceremoniously.

"Captured us?  Last I remembered, I was the one who captured you with my lasso, precious." Braeburn suddenly said annoyed.

"It was all part of my plan, tough guy." Little Strongheart replied, giving her a false compliment just like the pony had done to her.

"Yeah... sure…" Braeburn said with a mocking laugh, and then he and Little Strongheart brought their faces close, looking at each other with hate.

"Enough with these dirty and disrespectful ponies..." The Chiegf said angrily. "Crush them!"

In listening to the Chief, the buffalo herd gave cries of euphoria and started running in circles, ready to attack and crush those intruders, before the terrified eyes of the ponies.

"W-Wait, Big Chief." Little Strongheart said quickly, looking worriedly at the ponies and then at the Chief. "We can't crush them!"

"Why not?" The Big Chief asked annoyed, since he didn't like to be contradicted.

"W-Well... I... have talked to them..." Little Strongheart said, glancing at Braeburn. "They're not bad, they're just ignorant savages... They say they didn't know that their apple trees-"

"I don't care what they told you." The Big Chief interrupted, looking at Little Strongheart as if she had gotten dirty just by talking to the ponies. "There is no goodness, kindness or anything pure in the dirty souls of the ponies.  They are just savages who must go far from our lands... The war council has already decided.  Tomorrow we'll crush the town of those ponies!"

At the announcement of war, the buffaloes again began to run in circles, getting closer to the three ponies to attack them and end their miserable lives. Meanwhile, Little Strongheart looked back at the ponies, this time more scared.

"W-We can't dirty our hooves with blood before the battle!" Little Strongheart said in a cry, to make herself heard. Then she looked at the Chief with a pleading look. "It's bad luck!  Let's lock them up until tomorrow!"

The Chief looked with disgust at the little buffalo, for it was the second time that she had contradicted him in front of his warriors.

"Please... Father." Little Strongheart added in a whisper, ducking her head, since it was not correct to call his father as such in front of the other buffalo.

The great buffalo stared at Little Strongheart for a long time, unsure whether to think of her as his daughter or as another of the tribe, since he should have no preferences.  However, eventually his parental instincts won.

"As you wish..." The Big Chief finally said reluctantly. "Tomorrow at noon, anyway, we'll crush them all."

With that said, the buffaloes stopped running and reluctantly shoved the three ponies into one of their tents and blocked the entrance with wooden bars. And since it was Little Strongheart who challenged the Chief to lock them up instead of crushing them, it was she who was tasked with the task of watching them all night as punishment.

The three ponies fell silent once they were thrown into the tent, either from pent-up rage or from nerves from being nearly crushed.  The night had already fallen, and the only noise in the tent was that of their stomachs as they hadn't eaten all day.  But they weren't the only ones in that situation, so when no one saw her, Little Strongheart brought some plates of food for them.

"Thank you very much." Dusk said thanking her for that gesture, but he couldn't help but look strangely at the plate of food she had given him, which was an ugly dough without much color or flavor, which seemed more like plaster than food.

"It's the only thing we have to eat in these lands." Little Strongheart said with a sad smile. "It's not tasty but it's very nutritious."

"And this is your way of asking for forgiveness?" Braeburn said annoyed. "You lock us up and now give us our last meal before squashing us!?"

"I saved your life!" Little Strongheart said angrily, again arguing with Braeburn, as they had all day.

"Tomorrow they'll crush the whole town! With foals and fillies in it!" Braeburn said angrily. "Do you agree with that!?"

Little Strongheart looked fearfully at the ponies, knowing that this was terrible, but she couldn't help but close her eyes in pain and only turned to turn her back on the ponies.

"Ponies have broken our traditions, they kill our lifestyle... The ponies take away more from us every day, and we're less and less... We're dying out!" Little Strongheart said painfully, a tear falling down her cheek. "If you don't want to listen to us... How else will you listen to us if it's not with violence?"

After those words, it was Braeburn's turn to show a face of pain and regret upon hearing that her race were dying out, and like the little buffalo, he turned and closed his eyes in pain, knowing that what the ponies were doing was not right, but there was no other way out.  And Braeburn wasn't the only one who was affected by those words, because Dusk also lowered his head, thinking that the two positions were irreconcilable.  Then Dusk looked askance at Applejack, who had been strangely silent since they had been caught.  Applejack hadn't even touched her food, she was only lying on the ground, it seemed that she had a debate with herself, because she kept her eyes tightly closed and the only thing she repeated in a whisper was: 'They're wrong... they don't matter... family comes first...' over and over again.

After eating the porridge they had to eat, sleep began to fall quickly to Dusk, since after such a hectic day, his body demanded that he sleep to recover.

"I must... stay awake..." Dusk said in his mind as his eyes closed, fighting against his own body that demanded rest. "Just... just five minutes..." Dusk told himself, finally giving in to exhaustion and falling fast asleep.





When Dusk opened his eyes again, he stood still for a moment and moved his eyes everywhere to recognize well where he was before moving.  And when asking 'where was he', he didn't mean to discover where he was physically, but rather to discover if he had awakened or if he was in the dream world, since he had been living lucid dreams for days, thanks to the presence of the mysterious 'Lady Night'.

"I was waiting for you." Said the same sweet voice every night, who always greeted him in the same way and who already announced to Dusk that this was a dream.

"Hi, Lady Night." Dusk said smiling, seeing the beautiful blue alicorn smiling at him.

Since she had first appeared in his dream, 'Lady Night' had without fail visited the dreams of Dusk Shine.  The first two times, she had appeared because Dusk had had nightmares.  And she, as a guardian of dreams, had appeared in them to help him overcome them.  But after that, Lady Night had continued to appear every night without fail, taking Dusk through different and fantastic unreal landscapes that could only exist in that dream world, telling him that she was there no longer because it was her obligation, but because she simply enjoyed of his company and their conversations.  And Dusk, who for a second thought that maybe that could be uncomfortable, because he had someone invading his dreams, quickly forgot that discomfort when seeing the beautiful figure of Lady Night.

Every time Dusk saw Lady Night, he couldn't help but blush a little at how beautiful she was, and while he knew his love feelings were now focused on other mares, he couldn't help but think that the graceful and curvy figure of Lady Night made her look like one of the most beautiful mares he knew.  This led Dusk to think that perhaps he had a weakness for alicorns, since his first love had also been an alicorn.

"My first love?" Dusk whispered thoughtfully. Only then remembering his beloved babysitter and realizing something very important.

While living in Canterlot, Dusk had childishly sworn that his undying love would be for that beautiful and loving pink alicorn that had been his nanny.  But now, that seemed so far away... Now, every time he thought about the word love, the image of that pink alicorn, which had previously been clear as water, now looked diffuse, and instead, what now he saw clearly, it was the face of his five dear friends.

"Your first love?" Lady Night repeated, looking at Dusk curiously.

It was then that Dusk came out of his thoughts and blushed realizing he had said that out loud while thinking about his past.

This time was not the first time that Dusk said what he thought aloud in a dream.  As Dusk had more experience in lucid dreaming, he had realized that in the dream world it was more difficult to differentiate when one spoke or only thought about something.  It was as if the barrier between words and thoughts was thinner in this world, causing one to unconsciously say more easily what one thought and felt.

"I-It's nothing, I just thought that even feelings of love can change over time." Dusk said a little nervously. "Or maybe... that was never true love..." Dusk added with a more thoughtful look.

It was then that near where Lady Night and Dusk were, two ponies-shaped clouds appeared.  The first was lavender, shaped like a laughing young colt; And next to it, the second one was taller, in the shape of a pink alicorn, who also laughed next to the colt.  And then a third cloud appeared, shaped like a white colt. And as soon as the third cloud appeared, the alicorn cloud head turned and stared at the white colt's cloud instead of the lavender colt's cloud.

"The feelings change over time.  And just as you forget about ponies that you loved; you'll also meet new ponies that you… will fall in love with." Lady Night said calmly, but not being able to avoid blushing and looking at Dusk from the corner of her eye when she said that. "Very well then, where do you want to go tonight?" Lady Night added with a smile, changing the topic.

At Lady Night's question, Dusk lowered his head thoughtfully.  He knew he was in a dream, but he also couldn't help but think that right now, in the real world, there were great and serious concerns that his attention should be on.

Seeing Dusk with that confused look, Luna knew that Dusk was worried, so she decided not to wait for the colt's response and surprise him.  Then the alicorn’s magic began to work and the landscape around it, which until a few moments ago was nothing but hazy and shapeless, changed radically, taking shape and color.

"I have told you that in this dream world you're safe from everything.  You don't have to worry about anything here." Luna said, gently lifting Dusk's head and giving him a loving smile. "Look at the landscape that I have made for you."

Raising his head, Dusk widened his eyes.  Before him was a starry night sky like he had never seen, crowned with a huge moon that illuminated everything with a soft light.  Not far away there were small mountains from which dozens of waterfalls fell, taking the crystal clear water to the middle of a large lake, where both ponies were, right on an island in the middle of the lake, surrounded by huge and colorful flowers that surely they would never see in the real world.  The whole landscape was a delight for the eyes, and also for the other senses, since Dusk could smell the aromatic flowers and feel the soft night breeze.

"All of these are... beautiful." Dusk said in amazement, turning his head to look at everything around him, stopping at Lady Night and realizing that when he said that everything was beautiful, that also included the beautiful alicorn.

"I knew that you would like it." Luna said, sitting down and looking at Dusk to sit next to her.

"I... I don't know if I should relax." Dusk said lowering his head nervously. "I need to wake up soon and-"

"I already told you, you shouldn't worry in this place." Luna said with a kind smile.

Dusk looked undecided at the beautiful blue alicorn offering him peace in a moment of tension, and he felt as if he had deja-vu.  Then Dusk looked around again and decided to do somewhere in between, for an instant he would stop worrying about what was happening in the real world, but he wouldn't completely relax either, so he would take advantage of some answers.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Dusk asked, looking curiously at Lady Night.  A question he had already asked the alicorn on other occasions.

"I have already told you. Because I enjoy your company." Luna answered calmly, since it was not the first time that Dusk asked her that question. "And I want to see you happy."

On other occasions, Dusk stopped asking, since Lady Night always changed the subject, however, this time he was faster and insisted.

"Why me?" Dusk asked with concern. Then he looked back at the beautiful scenery around him. "Why do you give me such a beautiful gift?  I'm no one important."

"That's not true! You... you're important." Luna replied quickly, then getting nervous and blushing slightly. "You're very important… to me."

Looking up, Luna saw that Dusk was still looking confused, and although all she wanted was for Dusk to relax, she didn't want to reveal her identity yet, not without knowing if Dusk could someday feel something for her.

"Without you, I would still be a ghost full of suffering and pain.  Please don't ever say you're not important again." Luna added shyly, knowing that Dusk needed a more extensive response. "I owe you my life, and all I want... is to see you smile."

Hearing those words, the first thing Dusk felt was surprise, and then, seeing that majestic and beautiful alicorn turn shy and blush, Dusk couldn't help but blush too.

"I would remember if I had saved a beautiful mare like you." Dusk said thinking aloud, and then blushing completely realizing that he had made the same mistake again, all because of being in a lucid dream.

Hearing that, Luna blushed and had for a second a conflict of emotions, because she realized that Dusk still didn't remember her or know who she was, but even so, he just told her that her true form was very beautiful.

"You... do you think I'm beautiful?" Luna asked trying to get serious, but unable to hide her blushed cheeks.

"Y-Yes… well… everything here is beautiful! Hehe…" Dusk said embarrassed, feeling for a second that he couldn't call another beautiful mare if he was already in love with someone else, although that someone wasn't yet specified among her five friends.  "I-It's a shame that none of this is real..." Dusk said nervously looking around, trying to change the topic.

"What your real body feels is not what you should call real.  What is real is what your soul is capable of feeling." Luna said with a thoughtful look and then looking at Dusk and blushing slightly. "For example, the memories you have here will be real... just like the feelings you have here."

Dusk gave a thoughtful look and then touched his chest, where his heart was, thinking that he wasn't sure if his heart was there, but there were the feelings that he felt at that moment. Just then Luna stood up and looked at Dusk with a warm gaze.

"I do this for you, because you are important to me, and because... because someday, I also want to be important to you." Luna said staring at Dusk, with her cheeks blushed.

"Was... Was that a declaration of love?" Dusk thought confused and blushed, clenching his lips tightly to avoid again saying out loud what he thought.

Suddenly the bright night began to darken, and storm clouds appeared in the distance, causing both ponies to turn their heads and face the sky.

"Lady Night... what is that?" Dusk asked confused and somewhat fearful, since it was the first time that the alicorn made a storm appear in his dream.

"I don't know... I'm not causing that..." Luna replied with a look of fear, since it wasn't normal for a dream protected by her to change without reason. "It seems to be an interference..."

"An interference? Is someone entering my dreams!?" Dusk asked worriedly, and then realizing that it wasn't something as terrible as it might sound, since Lady Night was precisely there for that.

"Not necessarily... An interference may be because someone close to you in the real world is having a great nightmare." Luna said looking worriedly at the distant storm cloud. "But even if it were, that would mean that..." Luna whispered with a thoughtful look, with an increasingly worried look.

"Help..." A distant voice from a mare was suddenly heard, a voice so distant that it was barely audible.  Hearing her, both ponies raised their heads closely.

"Applejack!" Dusk said scared, realizing that that distant voice was that of his friend. "Applejack had to have fallen asleep next to me in the real world!  Could she be the one having that nightmare!?"

Luna didn't answer Dusk's question, she just stared at the distant storm cloud with concern.  Then she lowered her head and then looked at Dusk.

"If your friend is having a nightmare, maybe you can help me." Luna said looking seriously at Dusk and extending a hoof to hold her. "Dusk, a dream may be more dangerous than you think, but are you willing to join me?"

"Yes!" Dusk said immediately, holding Lady Night's hoof. His quick determination came for two reasons: because it was one of his friends who might be suffering with a nightmare, and also because Lady Night's serious gaze instilled confidence and security in him.

Then Luna spread her wings and guided Dusk, who floated beside her, flying into the distant storm cloud.  As they approached, Dusk noticed that in front of the dark cloud there was a kind of small open window, which apparently connected with another world different from the beautiful landscape where they were.  Seeing it, Luna went directly to that window, they both went through it, and everything turned to darkness around them, until suddenly a light blinded them both.

End of chapter 47
> Chapter 48 - Freed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Freed

After entering that particular window that was within the storm cloud in Dusk's dream, the young colt was sure that they would appear elsewhere in someone else’s dream.  However, after passing through the window, Dusk only saw darkness around him, until a huge electric lightning bolt crossed in front of his face and almost hit him, followed by the loud sound of thunder caused by the lightning.

"What was that!?" Dusk shouted in fright, starting to look more carefully around them, and seeing that in that vast darkness that surrounded them, there were many rays that appeared and disappeared around them. "Wait... Did we enter the storm cloud?  I thought we would be entering Applejack’s dream through that window?"

"This is not your dream anymore, this is somepony else's nightmare." Luna replied looking worriedly around her while trying to remain stable in the air, since the storm wind was stronger than expected. "But this storm is too strong... It's not a normal storm.  Something must be terrifyingly tormenting this pony."

"There!" Dusk yelled as he looked down and noticed a small orange dot, which seemed to be at the center of the colossal storm.

Seeing where Dusk was pointing, Luna held him and they both swooped down there.  As they approached, Dusk cleared all his doubts by confirming who was there.  It was indeed Applejack, who was with her mane and tail tousled, without her characteristic red bows or her stetson hat, also she had her face hidden by her hooves. Meanwhile, Luna had slowed down her descent as the wind got stronger and her magic could hardly prevent her and Dusk from flying out of the storm.

"Help..." Applejack said weakly as she cried with her eyes closed and her face covered.

Hearing his friend cry, Dusk hurried down faster.  However, there came a point when neither he nor Luna could continue to descend due to the strong wind around Applejack, who seemed to be in the eye of the hurricane. Then Luna and Dusk looked around and were surprised to finally discover what was really causing the stormy conditions.

Hundreds of ghost buffaloes were circling around Applejack, which, just as in real life, surrounded Applejack and prevented her from leaving, except that now they did so fiercely that they had formed a huge storm.

"Applejack!" Dusk yelled loudly, since he couldn't reach his friend. "Applejack, I'm here!"

It took Applejack a few seconds to recognize a voice among all the thunder and hooves that rumbled around her. Then she finally raised her head and recognized Dusk Shine, who was floating above her along with an unknown mare.

"Dusk?" Applejack said weakly looking up, which made Dusk smile relieved to see that his screams had worked.

As soon as Applejack felt some relief upon discovering that she wasn't alone there, the buffaloes around her snorted in anger and ran faster, causing Dusk and Luna to squint in the strong wind.

"A great nightmare like this can be caused by a great feeling of guilt." Luna said as she concentrated her magic so she could stay stable in that strong nightmare.

"Guilt?" Dusk repeated confused, then looking at Applejack and the buffaloes running around. Then he remembered how his friend had acted all day, with a closed opinion, repeating over and over again that her family was right and that the buffalo tribe were wrong, without even listening or trying to understand the position of the buffalo tribe. "Applejack! These are your guilty feelings!  You don't want to listen to buffaloes!"

Applejack was still looking at Dusk, now fully focused on him and able to hear him better.  Even still, Applejack just lowered her head and said nothing.  Meanwhile, the storm continued without slowing down or stopping.

"Applejack! I know you want to protect your family, but sometimes you have to listen to others." Dusk yelled again. "Your family could have made a mistake, and the buffalo could have also made a mistake.  But now what matters is that both-"

"I already know that!" Applejack yelled interrupting Dusk, while she touched her chest to feel a pain inside her. "I- I don't want buffaloes to be left without their land, but- AGH!!"

Suddenly Applejack's eyes lost their sparkle, then she touched her chest, and a lock appeared in front of her chest.  Several chains emerged from that lock, which tied Applejack to the ground. This caused the storm to intensify more than ever.

"No! Family comes first... Family comes first!" Applejack yelled fiercely, in an almost robotic voice, very different from the pleasant tone of voice she always used.

"Something isn’t right..." Dusk whispered worryingly.  For a moment, he could recognize his friend, who always thought about how to solve problems intelligently and peacefully.  But then she had turned to her irrational side, who kept saying again and again that her family came first and that nothing else mattered.

"This is troubling." Luna said very concerned, finally understanding why the storm was so strong, and looking with extreme concern at the lock on Applejack's chest. "This storm is not just because of guilt... There is something else behind that prevents her from accepting her mistake... Trauma."

At the discovery of what was the real cause behind this nightmare, Luna tund her magic and a glow appeared on Applejack’s head, which soothed the mare orange momentarily and made the storm diminished its strength for a moment.

"This will not last for long.  Those chains... are a representation of the trauma that binds her... That's what keeps her from making the right choice! We must get into that memory quickly!" Luna said looking at Dusk, holding him tight and flying together until finally being able to land in front of Applejack.

"The problem is that lock... I don't know if I can easily open it." Luna thought uncertainly as she landed.

Seeing his friend chained, Dusk's first impulse was to help her, but he understood that it was only a representation of the dream and that it was important to heal her mind.  So, he and Luna reached out to touch the lock and chains that came out of Applejack's chest.

"NO!!" Applejack suddenly screamed, breaking out of the trance Luna had put her in, thus resuming the storm around her.

Fortunately, since they were already on the ground, neither Luna nor Dusk flew out, but the strong wind prevented them from moving forward to touch Applejack's chest. It was then that Dusk realized that his friend had her normal eyes, not that dull, dark gaze she had seen when her trauma screamed for her.

Determined not to give up on his friend, Dusk concentrated hard, knowing that the resistance was not physical but mental, and with great effort slowly advanced until he reached Applejack. Then he got up on two legs and gave her a big hug, both to comfort her and not to be blown away by the wind.

"Applejack... we must see that memory in order to help you..." Dusk said narrowing his eyes in the wind, hoping to be able to converse with his longtime friend and not with her trauma-controlled side.

"You can't... You can't..." Applejack replied weakly, with a look of terror and then starting to cry. "If you see that memory... you'll hate me forever..."

Hearing that, Dusk looked at Applejack head-on and brought his head closer to hers.  Their foreheads touching each other, leaving nothing more in sight than the other's eyes. Then Dusk raised her hoof and gently stroked Applejack's cheek.

"I could never hate you... My heart wouldn’t allow me to do otherwise." Dusk said with a look of affection, not realizing that once again the truth came out of his mouth more easily in that dream world. "You're so precious to me that I could never hate you... Please don't carry this burden alone."

Applejack listened carefully to Dusk's words, then she closed her eyes tight and the lock on her chest clicked and opened. Just then the storm subsided, giving Luna and Dusk a chance to finally be able to touch the chains that were holding Applejack.

"Please don't hate me." It was the last thing Applejack said before Luna and Dusk touched the chains and both vanished into another dream world, the world of memories, where they would only be mere spectators of the most tragic episode of Applejack's life.





Two ponies were walking along the path that crossed the Everfree Forest.  One was a big stallion with pale yellow fur, red mane and a stetson hat, with a cutie mark of a half of a green apple with star in the center.  The other pony was a pale orange mare, orange curly mane, and a cutie mark from a jar of preserves.  They were both pulling a large cart full of several of their apple farm produce.  Either one would have preferred to take another route to reach their destination, but they had to deliver an order to some strange country ponies who lived on the edge of one of the forest swamps, so that was the only route to follow.

Suddenly the mare grimaced in pain and stopped for a moment, under the frightened gaze of her mate.

"Are you alright, darling?" The stallion, called the Bright Macintosh, nervously asked, helping to support his wife.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The mare, named Pear Butter, replied kindly, gently touching her stomach, which was already beginning to swell slightly, given her pregnancy.

After the pain passed, the mare sighed and put on a big smile for her husband to calm down, but the stallion only looked away and continued with an uneasy look.

"I knew that this was a bad idea..." Bright Mac said scared. "You and I knew about the risks of a third pregnancy... The doctor warned us after your last labor!"

Pear Butter looked at her husband with concern and then looked up at the sky with a smile.

"I always dreamed of a house full of young colts and fillies identical to you running happy and playing with Granny Smith... and maybe one day, with their grandfather..." Pear Butter smiled imagining her ideal image of a happy family. "Fate will not prevent me from giving life to the next generation. This baby will be a blessing… A new little brother or sister for Big Mac and Applejack."

"Did someone say my name?" A very young Applejack suddenly said, coming out from inside the wagon.

"Applejack! What are you doing here!?" The father said surprised and worried, taking the little stowaway between his hooves. "This place is very dangerous!"

"But if I'm with mom and dad I'm not afraid!" The little filly said with a big smile, which made both parents look at each other and put guilty smiles.

"Okay little one, stay in the wagon at all times." The mother said as the father put her daughter back in the cart.

Bright Mac and his wife were already halfway to deliver their order, so they finally decided to finish the order and take their daughter with them.

"As long as we don't get out of the way, there's nothing to worry about." Bright Mac said with a reassuring smile looking at his wife, knowing that she must also be wondering whether to proceed with the request or not, due to their unexpected new companion.

"Mommy! What is that?" Applejack suddenly asked, pointing to her right, toward a side path that joined the main one, and through which two hooded figures were approaching.

Seeing those unknown figures, Bright Mac immediately got defensive and stood in front of his family, while Pear Butter stood next to Applejack, ready to run with her if those strangers were dangerous.  Seeing that the ponies in front of them were scared, both figures took off their hoods, revealing their faces.  However, the effect was not as desired, since when removing the hoods, the ponies could see that those two strangers were odder than they had thought.  It was a young mare and an old mare, which seemed to be ponies, however their coats were different.  They were totally scratched, in addition to having exotic manestyles and strange objects adorning their bodies, as well as paint on their faces.

"No need to make a fuss, you don't have to fear us." The youngest zebra said, called Zecora, who at that time maintained the tradition with her mother of speaking in rhymes.

Seeing that the ponies remained static and with terrifying faces, Zecora lowered her head sadly and indicated to her mother to continue, who did what her youngest daughter told her, since at that age she was already almost blind.  As they passed by the side of the ponies, Applejack couldn't help but see those strange ponies impressed, and she jumped in fear as the strange old mare suddenly raised her head high and turned to look at the ponies more closely.

"Oh, what a terrible tragedy for you! I feel a dark breath." The old zebra yelled as she waved a bone staff in midair and then pointed at Pear Butter. "For there to be one life, there will also be one death."

At the hearing the word death, Pear Butter put a hoof to her mouth full of horror, while Bright Mac immediately hugged her and glared at the old mare.

"Enough mother, you need to rest.  For ponies, death is an unwanted guest." Zecora said, taking her mother by the side to get away from the ponies, however, she decided to turn at the last second, as she had to give those ponies a warning. "My mother never fails with her designs.  Unfortunately, in your future there is a dark sign."

Then Zecora turned again and pushed her mother to follow her.

"W-Wait!" Suddenly Bright Mac said, who was still scared by those strange and terrifying mares, but they had said something that worried him a lot, something that was just Bright Mac's greatest fear since his wife had gotten pregnant.  Those strange mares had guessed his wife's future, and if there was a chance to avoid that black future, he should know it. "I-Is there any way to get death away from my house and my wife?"

Zecora turned her head again to look back and sadly looked at the stallion.

"Where there is death, there will always be death." Zecora said seriously, regretting not being able to give better news to that young family.

"No... There must be some way!" Bright Mac said with slight despair in his voice.

"Where there is death, there will always be death... But while fate snooze, you may be to choose..." The old zebra suddenly added, turning too and looking for something in her bag hidden behind her cloak, until she finally found what she looked for and showed strange yellow and red flowers in his wrinkled hoof. "If she eats this flower, you can save your wife.  If she eats this flower, you will kill the new life."

Hearing that, Bright Mac's face turned pale, the strange old mare spoke in strange rhymes, but he perfectly understood what she meant.  Then Bright Mac slowly lowered his gaze and stared long and hard at the flowers the old mare offered him. What they were offering him to do was horrible, but if what she said was true, then it was the only way to save his beloved wife.

"Don't even think about it! I'll have this baby whether you like it or not!" Pear Butter suddenly screamed, throwing the flowers to the ground and looking at her husband with a look of fear and anger. "Let's go!" The mare added, turning and putting on the harness to pull the wagon again.

Bright Mac looked at his wife for a few seconds, then closed his eyes in pain and did the same as her, and the wagon began to move, leaving the strange zebras behind.

"Mommy... what were those ponies?" Applejack asked, timidly poking her head over the wagon, surprising her parents, who for a second almost forgot that their little daughter was there.

"They are sorceresses... evil witches who speak of... horrible things." Pear Butter replied, still furious at what those strangers had suggested.

Seeing her mother so angry, Applejack fell silent and glanced back to see those strange ponies for the last time, and a shiver ran through her body as she saw the youngest still watching them from afar, and the little Applejack would swear that she was staring at her.  The young Applejack had rarely heard the word 'kill' in her short life, but she knew the meaning of it, and the memory of those terrifying witches with striped bodies talking about killing would be scorched in fire in her mind. One of the most horrible words a pony could pronounce.

That memory quickly disappeared like smoke in the air, quickly forming a new memory, where the Apple family's house could be seen. There, on the second floor, was Applejack, just as young and small, along with a very young Big Mac, both with nervous glances waiting in the hallway and glancing nervously towards a closed door.

The ears of the two young ponies went up in alert as they heard their mother's groans of pain on the other side of the door.  Just then, Bright Mac ran up the stairs carrying a huge bucket of water. Then he knocked on the door and Granny Smith, several years younger, opened the door to let him in, then quickly closed it.

Although they tried, neither Applejack nor Big Mac could see their mother when their grandmother opened the door, but that was the least of it.  Just by hearing their mother's groans, added to the faces of concern and fear that his father and grandmother had, were all the signs the young ponies needed to know that their mother's labor was going very badly.  The labor date had been anticipated, the doctor hadn't yet arrived, and everyone was becoming increasingly nervous and scared.

"That baby... It's all that baby's fault!" Applejack said scared, covering her anguished face, then looking scared at her brother. "If it continues like this... Mom’s gonna..." Applejack added, but a lump in her throat prevented her from finishing such a terrible sentence.

Big Mac just looked away and looked fearfully at the door. He had already heard his parents argue about how dangerous this labor would be to his mother, and he understood that the worst could happen.

"There’s nothing we can do, sis..." Big Mac said with a sad look.

Seeing her older brother's hopeless gaze, Applejack lowered her head in anguish and began to cry.  Really?!  there was nothing they could do!?  Applejack started thinking, closing her eyes tight, until she suddenly opened them when she remembered what had happened a few months ago, when she and her parents had traveled through the Everfree Forest.

"Those witches..." Applejack whispered at her brother's confused gaze.

The prophecy those strange mares had said was being fulfilled, but more important than that, Applejack recalled those flowers they had offered to their parents.  With that last thought, Applejack turned and ran down the stairs, leaving his older brother even more confused.  As she ran in the direction of the Everfree Forest, Applejack had only one thing in mind, that she would save her mother no matter what.  She didn't care about anything else, whether they punished her, or hated her, or even... if that baby wasn't born.

Upon reaching the forest entrance, Applejack entered the main path, just as her parents had done.  She was terrified of entering such a dangerous forest, but her determination to save her mother outweighed her fear.  She continued to run quickly as she was trying to remember the route they had taken.  However, she wasn't sure where it had been, and there came a time when she stopped and looked around trying to remember.

At that moment a distant noise was heard inside the forest, a noise that would have driven any other pony away, but Applejack had the firm hope that she would find those strange witches.  So she pushed some branches with her small body until she managed make her way through the lush trees, off the main path.

"It's all that baby's fault… it should never have come." Applejack repeated in her mind in anguish, recalling the argument her parents had had that day.

Suddenly Applejack stopped dead when she saw two bright little green circles appear in front of her.  Then two more appeared, and another two, always appearing by pairs, until Applejack realized that they were eyes, that they were watching her. Slowly the eyes peeked out from the darkness of the branches, showing some peculiar and terrifying wolves made of branches and leaves, as if they were wild spirits of the dark forest.

Applejack froze in fear, her mind screaming that she should run but her hooves didn't respond, so when the timberwolves lunged at her, all the little filly did was shrink and shut her eyes tightly.

"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!" A loud, familiar voice screamed just then, making Applejack's eyes widen. It was his father, who had rammed the wolves heavily, causing several to fly away.

Bright Mac went into full blown panic mode when he couldn’t find his daughter anywhere in the house.  When he asked his son, all Big Mac could say that she mumbled something about ‘the witches’ before bolting out of the house.  The stallion immediately understood where Applejack was going and quickly made his way to the Everfree Forest.  That was what lead him to not only find his daughter in the dark forest, but also find her in great peril. He and his daughter were surrounded by a dozen timberwolves, half of whom were still watching them fiercely while the other half had already recovered from the attack and returned to join the group in order to attack all together.

Seeing that he was at a great disadvantage, Bright Mac grabbed his little daughter with his mouth, threw her on his back and ran deeper into the Everfree Forest, as the wolves quickly came out to chase him.  They only manage to run a short way, with the wolves almost biting the stallion's tail, until Bright Mac came to a dead end, with a huge stone wall blocking the way, and above them, the branches of the trees blocked the upward view.  Then Bright Mac quickly grabbed his daughter again with his mouth and threw her with all his strength up through the branches, to the top of the ravine where they were... Bright Mac couldn't see where his daughter fell, but seeing that she hadn't fallen down again, he knew that she had managed to land on top of the cliff, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.  His plan had worked, he knew that the timberwolves were faster than him, so he took advantage of the fact that he knew this part of the forest to at least leave his daughter out of the reach of the wolves.

"DAD!" Applejack yelled terrified from the top of the ravine, looking down and seeing only the tree branches, knowing her father was underneath them.

Applejack started screaming again, but fell silent as she saw the branches beneath her move violently, as hoof hits and loud wolf growls were heard from under the tree branches, until suddenly the branches stopped moving and a dark silence remained in the forest, the most terrifying silence that Applejack had ever felt, an instant of fear that seemed eternal...

When little Applejack began to tremble, not knowing what to do, her father finally jumped from below, who with a lot of effort grabbed himself from between the rocks to climb the ravine, finally managing to ge to where his daughter was.

"W-We should go home." Bright Mac said, again lifting his daughter onto his back and walking slowly back to the farm.

"Dad... Sniff...! Dad…" It was the only thing Applejack murmured as she sadly cried on her father's back and hugged him tightly.  She had never been more scared than at that moment, but unfortunately her crying wasn't because of the fear she had felt, but rather of pain and helplessness at seeing all the wounds her father had on his body...

Fortunately, Applejack hadn't managed to get too deep into the woods, so Bright Mac didn't take long to return to the farm, despite the slow walk back had done, since his body barely answered him.  Upon arriving at the house, Granny Smith saw her son from the second-floor window, and immediately ran to meet him.

"Bright Mac!" The grandmother screamed, terrified to see her beloved son so wounded. "W-We have to get you to the hospital!"

"There's no time... I-Is the doctor here yet? How are my wife?" Bright Mac said weakly, feeling that with every word he uttered he would pass out.

"The doctor still hasn't arrived, and Pear... she’s still fighting." Granny Smith replied with tears in her eyes.

"I want to be with her..." Bright Mac said, knowing that even if he got to the hospital, he wouldn't have time to be with his wife one last time. "Family comes first…"

As Bright Mac slowly entered the house, aided by Granny Smith.  Big Mac was horrified at his father's condition and then saw with a fury that he had never felt towards his little sister, who had remained static at the entrance of the house, knowing that it was all her fault.  Hardly controlling his anger, Big Mac ran out of the house to find the doctor who must be on his way, to hurry as much as possible.

Before climbing the stairs, Bright Mac turned to see his daughter and saw how she was crying inconsolably without moving.

"Applejack... come here." Bright Mac said with a smile. Seeing her father's effort, Applejack quickly approached, then Bright Mac took off his hat and put it on her daughter's little head. "You should always protect the family... Family comes first." Bright Mac said with a grimace between pain and a smile, turning again and slowly climbing the stairs to go be with his wife.

Time passed and Applejack could do nothing but listen again in the hallway as her grandmother struggled to save three lives at that very moment. The minutes seemed eternal until Applejack heard a foal cry, which made her heart beat a thousand times per seconds, knowing what that could mean.  And everything got worse when soon after, the little filly heard her grandmother's heartbroken cry, causing Applejack to cover her ears with force, without wanting to think that the worst could have happened.

Just then Big Mac finally arrived, accompanied by the doctor and a nurse, who quickly entered the room where the labor was taking place.  So, the two siblings were left alone in the hallway again.

"What have you done!?" Big Mac said furiously, glaring at his sister, who just kept covering her ears with her dad's big hat.

The minutes passed and all noise stopped in the room where the doctor and their parents were, leaving the entire house in a gloomy silence. The time passed, until after a long time the door finally opened completely, and the first to leave was the doctor.

"I'm sorry..." The doctor said with genuine pain, thinking about how cruel fate had been with that family. "Your mother didn’t survive the childbirth... and... your father had very serious injuries...They both passed away together at the same time."

Hearing this, Big Mac closed his eyes tight, trying in vain not to cry, while Applejack only looked without emotion, as if her mind refused to accept what the doctor had just said.  Then Applejack stepped forward and finally entered the room. There, the first thing she saw was her grandmother, sitting, exhausted and covering her face so as not to show her enormous pain to her grandchildren.  The next thing Applejack saw was the center bed, where her two parents rested covered with a sheet, revealing only their heads.  To the orange filly, they looked so peaceful, as if they were merely asleep.  An allusion that Applejack desperately wished was reality instead of the nightmare she was now living.  And finally, the last thing Applejack saw was the nurse, who was carrying a small lump in her hooves.

"That baby... It's all that baby's fault!" Applejack thought, her emotions so mixed up that she wasn't sure what to feel, but what she did know was that it was all that baby's fault.

Seeing that the little orange filly was looking at the newborn baby, the nurse lowered her slightly so that Applejack could see her better.

"I hate you… I hate you… I hate you!" Applejack screamed in her mind as she approached the baby with an emotionless gaze.

Upon arriving in front of the baby, Applejack moved the blanket that covered the baby to see her better, and then her heart almost exploded with emotion and her eyes recovered their life when she saw such a tender baby filly, who just had the same fur colors and mane than her father, which made Applejack finally begin to cry when seeing reflected his father in her new baby sister.

'You should always protect the family. The family comes first.' Those were her father's last words, and the only thing Applejack could think of when she saw that filly so similar to her father, a baby that she had been willing to kill a few moments ago.

"I... I'll protect you always..." Applejack said crying heartily and hugging the little filly.  Finally releasing her feelings and feeling the guilt, grief and pain of everything she had caused.

A few steps behind Applejack was Big Mac, who finally saw his little sister cry with the weight of guilt. Then he closed his eyes strong and realized that this was now his family and he couldn't hate it... his parents would never have wanted that.

"Family comes first." Big Mac repeated, hugging his sisters and crying alongside them.





Dusk Shine opened his eyes wide after finally seeing the great trauma that haunted Applejack.  Returning to the real world, he looked everywhere, but only then he realized that he wasn't in the real world but was still in Applejack's dream and that what he had witnessed had been a memory within a dream.

Looking around, Dusk realized that the storm around them, caused by the ghost buffalo, was running its course, and even seemed to have gotten stronger.

"The storm is stronger for having relived that memory." Luna said narrowing her eyes in the wind, realizing the same thing Dusk had noticed.

"Now you know..." Applejack suddenly said, who was still chained. "I'm a killer!" She screamed loudly, making the chains that bound her tighten her tighter.

"It's not true!" Dusk yelled sadly, now knowing from the terrible pain his dear friend had been through. "You can't blame yourself... You were just a filly and you didn't know what would happen."

"It was my fault... I killed my dad..." Applejack cried, unable to hear Dusk Shine's words.

"It wasn't like that; it was an accident!" Dusk shouted. "I’m certain that Big Mac and Grandma Smith also blamed themselves for not stopping you from going into the forest before it was too late!  Do you blame them for that?"

"I... don't blame them." Applejack responded slowly, as the storm followed her moods and also lessened with Dusk's doubt.

"You're all family.  None of you could never live hating and blaming each other for such a tragedy.  So I know your parents wouldn't blame you either." Dusk said looking warmly at Applejack. "They knew that you tried to save your mother out of love. They would regret to see you suffering in this way… Just as it hurts me to see you like this."

Seeing that Applejack was silent and that her chains seemed to loosen, Luna took advantage of the moment to make several images appear above their heads, which were different memories of Applejack; multiple moments of her caring for and protecting Apple Bloom as she grew up..

"Look at those memories..." Dusk said noticing the images in the sky. "It doesn't matter how much you hated your little sister before she was born.  It doesn't matter the terrible accident that happened.  The only thing that matters now is that you love and care for your sister as they would.  They… would be proud."

Applejack raised her teary eyes to see those memories of her with her little sister, and her gaze began to soften, even more when she heard Dusk's tender words.  However, the trauma in her was very strong, and for a second the brightness of her eyes disappeared, and the chains tightened again.

"I'll never know if my father would be proud of me, because he died because of me!" Applejack yelled, closing her eyes tight and causing the storm to pick up again. "I'll never know if with his last breath he blamed or hated me for what I did!"

"I know." Luna suddenly said with a serious look, something that surprised Dusk and Applejack, who were silent in confusion. Then Luna sighed and looked at Dusk. "Do you know how a memory is created?"

Dusk's eyes widened and he looked thoughtful.

"I suppose they're created by imprinting an image into the mind." Dusk replied thoughtfully.

"So, you think a blind pony has no memories when he dreams?" Luna asked with a small smile. Then Dusk recalled the conversation they had both had before going to the Applejack dream, about what was real and what wasn't. "A memory is much more than an image, they're sensations and feelings that are recorded in our mind." Luna said, smiling at the sight that Dusk had quickly understood what she wanted to do.

Luna knew that the greatest power in dreams were feelings, and to free Applejack from her trauma, it would have a greater effect than someone closer to the orange mare, like Dusk, who would show her the truth instead of her.

"Lady Night... What is the strongest memory etched in Applejack's memory?" Dusk asked, looking at Applejack, who was still confused by everything they were talking about.

At that moment the magic of Luna made another memory appear in the sky, one that they had already seen: the moment when Applejack last saw her father alive and he gave her his hat.

"This is the most powerful memory kept in the mind of this mare." Luna said solemnly, looking at the memory as an emotion invaded her.

"I knew it..." Dusk said, doing the same as Luna, turning to see the memory.

"I don't get it..." Applejack said crying when she saw that sad memory.

"You recorded that memory with powerful guilt, but... that's not the strongest feeling you feel when reliving that memory..." Dusk said, who then turned to see his friend and showed that he was crying with a warm smile. "I can feel it, that memory was imprinted with a lot of love... No matter the gigantic guilt you felt at that time, your father felt so much love when he gave you his hat, THAT was what recorded that memory... Until the end, he didn't hate or blamed you. The only thing he felt towards you was love."

Seeing that little fragment of memory floating in the sky, Applejack could also feel that a very warm sensation emanated from it that calmed her heart. Dusk was right, the feelings recorded the memories, and she recognized that feeling, it was equal to the joy that her heart felt when her mother and father hugged her as a filly...

"After what I did... even at the end... my dad was still..." Applejack whispered slowly as her eyes filled with tears as she finally discovered the truth about what had haunted her for years. Then the chains that bound Applejack faded as she began to cry, but this time it wasn't a cry of pain and guilt, but a cry of peace and relief, as she was finally able to leave behind a very heavy burden on her heart.

Seeing her friend so emotional, Dusk prepared to approach her, but hesitated when he saw that despite of the chains surrounding Applejack had vanished, buffalo storm around them continued to be maintained.

"We have managed to remove the trauma that closed her mind and heart." Luna said approaching Dusk, since the storm was much weaker than when they had arrived. "Now she'll be able to listen without barriers and will be able to make a correct decision."

"Applejack... wake up..." Suddenly a distant and strong voice was heard that sounded throughout the place. At that instant Applejack began to slowly disappear, as did the storm and everything around it.

As the dream faded, Dusk Shine and Luna were left floating in a blank space, as if they were inside a cloud.

"Someone woke up your friend... And I think they’re about to wake you up, too." Luna said looking around and then lowering her head sadly.

"Thank you very much Lady Night.  If it hadn't been for you, we would never have saved Applejack from the trauma that plagued her." Dusk said with a smile, but then he put on a confused look when he saw that Lady Night wasn't looking at him and was only keeping a sad and thoughtful look. "Is something wrong?"

"I have been a selfish fool." Luna finally said, talking to herself, then turning to look at Dusk with a look of pity. "This was just ONE nightmare.  Who knows how many more ponies are suffering like this while I escape my duties?  While I… enjoyed my time here with you." Luna added, closing her eyes in pain.

Then she looked at Dusk firmly, determined that she had a decision to make.  One that hurt to make, but one that needed to be made.

"I won't be able to see you again, my dear Dusk." Luna said trying to get an emotionless look, despite the sadness she felt.

"What? Never?" Dusk asked surprised and anguished.  He had yet to realize it but being visited by the beautiful alicorn every night had brought great comfort and joy in his life.

Luna looked at Dusk and was about to say: 'No, of course you'll see me again', but that experience with Applejack's great nightmare had taught her that she had abandoned her duty for pleasure, and she had to fulfill it, and unfortunately, her duty was eternal.  And although she would have liked to visit Dusk again on some occasion, Luna realized that Dusk had become her great weakness.  An escape to enjoy her life, something that she did not deserve.  Instead, she needed to be punished to atone for the horrible crimes and actions that she committed when she was consumed by the Nightmare. 

"Until our paths meet again." Luna finally said, feeling that her heart refused to completely close the possibility of seeing Dusk again.

"Don't abandon me..." Dusk begged, again feeling the effect of the dream world and saying what he was thinking at that moment. "I want you with me." Dusk added blushing, and also surprising Luna, who put a sad smile to see that she finally managed to become an important part of the pony who saved her, just when she could no longer see him.

For Dusk, it was difficult to explain what he felt.  He had spent days living a parallel life with Lady Night in the world of dreams, so much so that Dusk felt his heart clench now that she told him she wouldn't return.  He didn't understand it, but new feelings had been born in him, and now it was painful to have somepony so important to him abandon him, just as it would have been if one of his five friends decided to suddenly abandon him.

"Wake up, scrawny..." A distant voice was heard, identical to the one that had awakened Applejack, which meant that Dusk would soon wake up.

"Goodbye, dear Dusk..." Luna finally replied with a sad smile. "I hope the next time you see me; you can recognize me."

"Recognize you?" Dusk said confused, and then widened his eyes in realization as to why sometimes he felt a sense of deja-vu with Lady Night.  Since he had his first nightmare, that hadn't been the first time he had seen Lady Night.  He had seen her another time, in a nebulous fantasy created the night he saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon. Then Dusk slowly looked up to see Lady Night again, who looking at him warmly as his dream world vanished. "Princess Lun-?"

Dusk was interrupted by a surprise, sweet and intense kiss from the blue alicorn, who wanted with all her being that Dusk didn't forget her and that he would imprint that kiss of love in his memory.





"Hey, city colt!" Braeburn repeated in the real world, pushing Dusk, and causing him to finally wake up.

"Hm? What's going on?" Dusk asked, opening his eyes and finally waking up.

At that moment, Dusk concentrated on trying to remember the events of what happened in his dream.  He went through everything he had experienced in the dream world, until he reached the end of his dream and touched his lips, unable to be sure if he had been kissed, or it was his imagination that wished that his dream had ended like that.

"Get your scrawny hide up. We gotta get going." Braeburn said impatiently, since it seemed that Dusk hadn't yet fully awakened to see him with a lost look.

"Go where?" Dusk asked confused and then saw that the prison gate was open.

However, when he looked around, Dusk's gaze remained fixed on something else, Applejack, who had also recently been awakened and was still wiping tears from her cheeks, as it seemed that she had woken up crying. Seeing Dusk staring at her, she also looked at him closely, a look of doubt in her.

"That dream... You were there...? It was real?" Applejack asked sheepishly, finishing drying her tears.

"It was." Dusk replied with a warm smile, wanting to hug his friend to comfort her.

"You can talk later, now you must go!" Little Strongheart said in a quick murmur, poking her head through the entrance.

Seeing that they couldn't waste any more time, the three ponies silently left the tent, where they saw that not far away, the buffaloes were asleep around the campfire. Then Little Strongheart signaled to them, and the four of them slipped silently through the tents until they emerged from the area where the buffalo had settled.

"Go in that direction." Little Strongheart said silently, pointing towards the night desert. "If you run for a couple of hours, you'll reach your town at dawn."

"Why are you helping us escape?" Dusk asked confused.

"Warn the other ponies about the onslaught, try to convince them to leave the town." Little Strongheart said with a small smile. "I don't want them to think we are monsters, I just want peace.  You are not buffalo, but I know you all have good hearts and can be trusted…except maybe for him." Little Strongheart added, glaring at Braeburn.

"Say what you want cuteness, but you're helping us because I was convincing you all night to let go." Braeburn said, looking with distaste at the little buffalo.

"You didn't convince me; I was the one who convinced you to do the right thing!" Little Strongheart added, glaring at Braeburn.

Seeing that those two were going to start arguing again, Dusk pushed Braeburn and the three ponies began to run quickly following the indicated direction, with the new mission of saving an entire town.





The three ponies had been running for a few hours, fearful even of turning around, knowing that at any time the buffalo tribe could discover they fled and could hunt them down again.  For this reason, they sighed with relief when they saw that together with the first rays of the sun, they could also glimpse Braeburn’s town, Appleloosa.

Upon seeing the town, Dusk immediately noticed how rustic it was, much like the old towns of the Old West, with large wooden houses, carriages pulled by the ponies themselves, a tavern, and of course, all wearing hats like it was done in the old west.  Once they entered the village, Braeburn led them to a small house at the entrance to the village, where a stallion with a large mustache rested, wearing a blue leather jacket, a red scarf around his neck, and a black hat, but what caught Dusk's attention the most was the silver star he had on his jacket, and his intimidating look.

"Sheriff Silverstar, I have very bad news!" Braeburn shouted exhausted after arriving before the town sheriff.  The stallion didn't seem to pay much attention to Braeburn at first, but as soon as Braeburn started his story about the train robbery and mentioned the herd of buffalo, his gaze changed completely, putting on a very serious look.

While Braeburn told the story of what happened, emphasizing the 'annoying little buffalo girl' that had started everything, Dusk took the opportunity to see his friend Applejack, with whom he hadn't had time to talk since they had run at full speed for hours to the town.

"Applejack... I'm sorry we weren't able to take Bloomberg with us." Dusk said with a sad look.

"Uh? Oh, well… there are... more important things…" Applejack replied with a sad and thoughtful look. "I mean, Bloomberg worries me, but it's more important to warn the town ponies about what's about to happen."

Seeing his friend responding more calmly and rationally, Dusk realized that this was the Applejack he knew, and now she could better prioritize and think things through, unlike the biased outlook that she had the yesterday.

"What do you think we should do?" Dusk asked.

"I... I still think that family comes first." Applejack said with a thoughtful look, then looking up to see Dusk. "But now I understand that doesn't mean that I always have to agree with my family… And now, the way to protect them is by convincing them to leave town."

"So those buffaloes intend to intimidate us and raze our dear town to the ground, huh?" The Sheriff said with a furious look after Braeburn finished telling him what had happened.

"Yeah. That's why we should try talking to them one last time, perhaps… convince them to give us more time to remove the apple trees." Braeburn said, knowing that that was an option the buffalo chief would hardly give them. "And if they don't listen to us, maybe... we should evacuate the town."

"Evacuate the town!? Never!" The Sheriff said indignantly. "You well know everything that it took us to build this town.  Every pony that lives here has put their heart and soul building this new place for their family.   Do you want us to run away because a pack of savages threatened us?  I'm not interested in them saying that this was their land, nopony was here when we started building our town. This is our land and that’s finally." The Sheriff finished with a fierce look.

Seeing that the Sheriff was as stubborn as Chief Thunderhooves himself, Dusk and the others looked at each other, thinking they were at a dead end. While the sheriff, seeing that the idea of ​​leaving the town didn't seem to disappear from the mind of those three ponies, he looked at them with anger.

"Follow me!" The sheriff said in a commanding tone, so the three ponies followed.

The sheriff led them to the outskirts of town, where, from a ravine, Applejack and Dusk were finally able to see the point of conflict.  In the middle of the ravine there was a large plain, in which several dozen apple trees were planted.

"These lands were flat and uncultivated... We worked them and made it a productive land." The sheriff said proudly as he pointed at some ponies that were underneath and were hitting the apple trees with great effort. "All the other nearby plots of land are too arid and rocky.  Without these apple trees, our families would starve in half a year!  Is that what you want!?" The sheriff added, annoyed to see that those three ponies were still doubting which side to support.

Seeing that there was no reply again, the sheriff gave a great snort, spit out a great deal at the ground, and looked at them with rancor.

"We'll not leave our land, we'll defend it! And if necessary, we'll go to war!" The sheriff said in a powerful voice, showing that there was no way to change his mind.  Then the sheriff turned around and went down to the apple trees to tell the ponies they were harvesting to stop, because now they would be soldiers who would defend their lands from the invaders.

After the sheriff left them, an awkward silence remained between the three ponies.  All three had concluded that there were some solid points in the sheriff’s speech.  But they also knew the other side of the coin, and knew how important it was for the buffaloes to respect their ancestral traditions... When all three remained silent, Dusk looked downward and noticed how exhausted all of the ponies looked after harvesting all the apples.

"Heh... it's a shame there aren't a dozen Applejacks working here." Dusk said with a nervous smile, deciding to make a joking comment only to break the uncomfortable silence. "Applejack harvests apple trees twice as fast as those ponies there."

"Yeah... it's just that they're not used to that work.  It’s the first harvest after all." Braeburn replied with a sad smile.

While Applejack was flattered by Dusk's compliment, her mind was distracted by the sight of those ponies weakly kicking the apple trees.  She stared at them as she felt something important was slipping away. Then Applejack looked down and saw where the sheriff had spat, where saliva, mixed with sand, had formed a small circle of mud.

"THAT’S IT!... I know how to stop all of this!" Applejack yelled excitedly, taking Braeburn and Dusk by the shoulders. "Braeburn, I need you to stop the sheriff from fighting the buffaloes as long as you can."

"Uh? What are you talking about? You heard him, there's no way that-" Braeburn said confused until Applejack cut him off.

"Just do it! Trust me." Applejack said seriously.

After the surprise, Braeburn also gave a serious look and ran to go back to town, determined to trust Applejack. Then the orange mare turned to face Dusk.

"I'll go talk to some family members who live here.  We’re gonna need the help." Applejack said with a look of determination.

"What do you need me to do, Applejack?" Dusk asked confused but decided to trust also his friend.

Then Applejack lowered her gaze and walked over to a cart that the harvesting ponies had brought there, where Applejack guessed that there would be various tools that are sometimes necessary to cultivate. Once there, she took out the tool she needed.

"I’ll need you to do some chopping." Applejack said with a sad smile, handing Dusk an ax and pointing at the town's apple trees.





The morning at Appleloosa had passed quickly.  Once the sheriff had broken the news to the rest of the villagers, panic had gripped the town streets, and the peaceful town Applejack and Dusk had seen upon arrival was replaced by a completely warlike one.  The ponies had swiftly prepared themselves as best they could to stop an invasion. Gathering sticks and spears, forming dangerous and deadly barricades, and all the streets had become deserted, while all the adult ponies were now at the entrance of the town, with farm forks and torches, ready to defend the town at all costs.

Noon had arrived, and with perfect punctuality, the herd of buffalo peeked out from a hill, all with fierce glances, with war paint on their faces, and their horns sharper than ever, ready to destroy whatever they got in their way.  In front of the buffalo tribe, was the imposing Chief Thunderhooves, who looked with hatred at all the ponies in front of the town, especially the one with a mustache and a star in his jacket, who coincidentally also looked at him with the same hatred.

"Sheriff, we should try talking one last time!" Braeburn said next to the sheriff, who had failed to convince the sheriff to stop all preparations for battle. Then he saw the distance and could see Little Strongheart, who also seemed to be struggling to convince the Chief not to ram the town.

"It's useless, you can't converse with those savages." The sheriff replied without taking his eyes off the Chief.

Hearing that while looking at Little Strongheart, Braeburn glared at the sheriff. Then he jumped over the barricade and walked slowly to where the buffaloes were.

"What are you doing, Braeburn!? Come back here!" Sheriff Silverstar yelled, but seeing Braeburn ignore him, he glared at him and hurried after him.

As Braeburn and the sheriff approached the middle of the battlefield, Little Strongheart and Chief Thunderhooves also advanced from the other end, the latter apparently being pressured by the little buffalo to advance. Once in the middle of the battlefield, an awkward, tense silence hung in the air as the four of them finally came face to face.

"Get away from our land, and MAYBE we let you go without hurting you…or worse." The Chief finally said, looking menacingly at the two ponies before him.

"We'll not do that.  No one will flee or give up a grain of sand from our territory." The sheriff replied, glaring at the buffalo chief with his eyes. "If you turn around now, you'll be saved from extinction."

"What is this Braeburn!?" Little Strongheart yelled offended and furious, looking at Braeburn. "You were supposed to convince them to leave town!"

"Well I couldn't do it!" Braeburn yelled angrily too. "The sheriff is as stubborn as your Chief.  I thought you would have already convinced him not to do something as beastly as crushing an entire town."

"Are all the ponies this stubborn or are YOU just that airhead!?" Little Strongheart yelled, bringing her face closer to Braeburn to see her furious gaze.

"And all the buffaloes are so bossy or only you are!?" Braeburn replied too, bringing his angry gaze closer.

"Fool!" The buffalo yelled.

"Coward!" Braeburn yelled.

" Weakling!" The buffalo shouted again.

"Chubby!" Braeburn yelled again.

As the insults ended, the colt and the buffalo just stared at each other, breathing hard, staring at each other fiercely for several seconds... until they both closed their eyes and kissed passionately.  At that moment, the mouths of the sheriff and the Chief opened completely, unable to believe what they were seeing.

After a few seconds, Little Strongheart and Braeburn's eyes suddenly widened, they realized they had been carried away by their instincts and quickly separated, both blushing completely.  And at that precise moment, the Chief Thunderhooves's brain woke up from his stupefaction, and his face turned red with anger when he saw that this dirty pony had kissed his tender daughter. The chief then gave a great snort and tried to ram at Braeburn, but was barely stopped by Little Strongheart, who used all her strength to stop her father's onslaught.

Seeing the Chief's angry look, Braeburn understood that there would be no words that could calm the Chief, so he and the sheriff ran to return to their barricades. While the ponies who had been attentive to what was happening, they saw how the huge buffalo had tried to lynch Braeburn, so they knew that the negotiations had failed and began to play the drums of war just when the sheriff arrived, who was determined to finish off the invaders that same afternoon.

As the drums sounded, a song of hatred began to spread through the hearts of everyone present.

"~ What can you expect ~ From filthy little beasts? ~ Their whole disgusting race is like a curse. ~" The sheriff sang ruthlessly to the beat of the drum, cheering on his ponies. "~ Their horns want to thieve ~ They're only good when leave ~ They're vermin, as I said and worse. ~"

"~ They're savages, savages ~ Cruel and ruthless beasts! ~ Savages, savages ~ Drive them from our land! ~" The ponies sang in unison, with fierce glances.

"~ Destroy their evil race ~ Until there's not a trace left ~ We must sound the drums of war! ~" The sheriff sang, raising a challenging hoof towards the buffalo.

"~ They're savages, savages ~ Dirty wicked devils ~ Now we sound the drums of war! ~" The rest of the town sang, lighting torches and pointing their spears and forks towards the buffalo.

For their part, the buffaloes also began to beat their war drums and bang their hooves hard on the ground just as the Chief came back to them, ready to retrieve what had been taken from them.

"~ This is what we feared ~ The pony is a demon ~ The only thing they feel at all is greed. ~" Chief Thunderhooves sang to the sound of the drums, spreading his hatred among his tribe. "~ Beneath that fluffy hide ~ There's emptiness inside ~ I wonder if they even feel. ~"

"~ They're savages, savages ~ Cruel and ruthless ponies! ~ Savages, savages. ~ Thieves at the core! ~" The buffaloes sang, throwing defiant horns into the air.

"~ They're different from us ~ Which means they can't be trusted ~ We must sound the drums of war! ~" The Chief sang, beginning to walk decisively towards the town.

"~ They're savages, savages ~ Let the onslaught begin ~ Now we sound the drums of war! ~" The other buffaloes sang as they accompanied their chief and slowly gathering momentum to launch their final onslaught.

As both sides closed in on their inevitable fight, Braeburn and Little Strongheart were the only static, seeing each other from afar with helpless glances at what was to come.

"Hey Sheriff!" A loud voice suddenly shouted, distracting them all.  It was Dusk Shine, who was on a hill looking down at the town ponies and buffalo but pretending to speak only to the sheriff. "We have finished the secret weapon to kill the buffalo tribe!  Keep the buffaloes away from here for a little while!"

Hearing that, the sheriff made a confused face, not understanding what he meant. The same confusion that the buffalo tribe had, who stopped their stampede and put nervous glances when they heard about 'secret weapon'.  Meanwhile Braeburn and Little Strongheart also looked at Dusk confused, but quickly understood that this must be some kind of plan, and both ran towards the lavender colt.

After hearing about the ponies' secret weapon, the chief looked suspiciously at the young unicorn, as it was hard for him to believe that the ponies had created a weapon in just one morning.  However, seeing his daughter running alongside that scoundrel yellow pony, his doubts disappeared and with a great snort he made his tribe change direction and direct his onslaught towards where Dusk Shine was.

Seeing that his plan had worked, Dusk quickly started running in the opposite direction, but since he wasn't exactly very athletic compared to buffalo and farm ponies, he was quickly caught up with Little Strongheart and Braeburn.

"What's the plan, scrawny?" Braeburn asked running to Dusk's side.

"Run and don't get caught!" Dusk shouted in fright as he looked back and saw that the herd of buffalo was running at full speed and was almost reaching them. "Stay very close to me!"

At that moment, the buffalo tribe almost stepped on Dusk's tail to trample him and incidentally Braeburn and Little Strongheart who ran beside him, but just then Dusk activated his teleportation and disappeared from there. Seeing that strong flash and that their prey had disappeared, the buffaloes stopped dead in their tracks and looked everywhere, not being sure what had just happened.

"Where are they!?" Chief Thunderhooves yelled furiously. "We must…! Sniff...! We must... sniff-sniff! W-What is that delicious aroma…" The big Chief suddenly said, smelling the air and feeling a very sweet aroma, which made him forget for a moment all his fury.

Seeing their chief distracted, all the buffaloes also smelled the air and made silly smiles at experiencing such a delicious aroma.

"Over here, Chief!" Applejack said suddenly, not far from there, waving to the buffaloes with a friendly smile.

When they saw a pony again on their way, the buffaloes thought about resuming their attack, but their stomachs were weaker and growled when they felt that the delicious aroma came from where that orange mare was.  So their fury subsided, and slow and carefully they approached where that pony greeted them.  At the arrival, they saw that next to the orange pony there were a couple of more mares, sitting in front of a couple of tables, where they had several dozen aromatic and delicious apple pies.

"Chief... I think I’ve found a solution." Applejack said smiling and pointing towards the plain where the apple trees were planted.  An entire row had been cut down, leaving a narrow but accessible passage that crossed the middle of the apple field. "As you can see, we have cut several apple trees so that you and your tribe can freely cross these lands, your lands!"

"Uh... ahem... Yes, I see!" The Chief replied absentmindedly, since it had taken him effort to take his eyes off those appetizing apple pies. "These… these are our lands indeed.  But our traditions dictate that we run freely like a great herd, and by that narrow path we don't-"

"Forgive our rudeness, Big Chief." Applejack said, purposely interrupting the Chief and offering him an apple pie, who couldn't help but drool by having it before his eyes and smelling it. "Before we continue talking, we would like to offer these pies to your fierce warriors, as a sign of our forgiveness.   If they’ll just form a line, we'll be able to give one pie to each one, before you all continue your march."

Hearing that, without even waiting for Chief Thunderhooves' order, the rest of the buffaloes quickly formed into a long line, and one by one they passed in front of the table, where the Applejack cousins ​​offered them the pies with happy smiles when they saw how much those buffalo enjoyed their goods. Meanwhile, the buffaloes were eating and enjoying the pies, and the first to finish eating his was the big chief, who after quenching his hunger slowly began to regain his composure and his strong temperament.

"Yes... these pies are a very welcome offering..." The Chief said, still running his tongue over his mouth and feeling the sweet taste of the pies. "But as I said, our land must be free of-"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Applejack said feigning surprise and pointing to where it ended the field of apple trees, where there were two other ponies with another table and more pies on it. "At the end of the apple orchard, my other cousins ​​are waiting for you with more slices of pies... So those who finish eating here, can go on their way and eat one more across the path."

Hearing that there were more pies on the other side, the Chief's ears rose happily, and he again forgot his pride and rancor, and hurried to run among the apple trees, along the new path that was there.  The same happened with the other buffaloes, where each one began to run down the path, eager to eat another apple pie.  And since each buffalo had been lined up and therefore finished eating in order, there was no problem going down the new path, as each buffalo ran one after the other in the order that they had eaten their apple pies.

"What the hay is going on here!" The sheriff said angrily, arriving alongside the rest of the ponies who had been ready for battle. Seeing what was happening, he glared at Applejack. "You cut down our apple trees so that those dirty buffaloes could run!?"

"We only cut one row of apple trees, but it wasn't just for the buffalo to pass.  It was so we could better harvest the apple trees." Applejack said with a proud smile, then she pointed to the apple field, where the buffalo kept running. "The buffaloes are much heavier than us, and their strong hooves will save us from having to harvest the apples."

Without understanding what Applejack was referring to, the sheriff and several ponies looked closely at the apple trees, and then were surprised to see that the loud rumble of the buffaloes as they passed by made the apples fall on their own, without the need to kick the trunks.

"I-I see… well... that may work, but-" The sheriff said nervously, who was fighting with his own pride, since he didn't want to give up without a fight.

"Won't we have to harvest again?" A pony asked, putting on a big smile, since he wasn't used to that heavy task.

"This is the best thing that could have happened to us!" Another pony said cheerfully, raising into the air his clawed hooves that had suffered so much from the previous day's harvest.  “We can use this to spend more time with our families and build up our community!”

Then the ponies leaped for joy around the sheriff, who finally had no choice but to lower his hat resigned and admit that that was a great idea.





Sunset was approaching and Applejack was saying goodbye to Bloomberg, who had been brought in by the buffalo tribe after making amends.  Sheriff Silverstar and Chief Thunderhooves had personally planted the tree together at the top of the field of apple trees as a symbol of peace and union between the ponies and buffaloes.  Overall, Applejack couldn’t help but be proud of her beloved tree.

"That was the best idea in the world, Applejack!  How did you come up with such a brilliant plan!?" Dusk said looking in amazement at the country mare.

"I already told you… When I saw that the town ponies were lacking strength in hitting the apple trees to harvest, I remembered the loud rumble of the buffalo herd when they caught us.  So, I thought that they would never voluntarily help the ponies, but then I saw some mud and it reminded me of that ugly dough that the buffalo ate.  It was then that I came up with the apple pies plan." Applejack said blushing, as Dusk was still very amazed at her great plan, which had worked perfectly.

Then both ponies smiled and walked together back to the town's train station, as their train was about to depart.  As they approached the village, they both looked contentedly at ponies and buffaloes still celebrating in the village, and then remembered how quickly things had happened after the Applejack plan...

After all the buffaloes ran through the apple field, and the Chief's and buffaloes’ stomachs were full and their faces smiling from having had a chance to eat those tasty apple pies, the sheriff along with Applejack had approached to propose to them that this arrangement could be an annual tradition every year when the buffalo made their yearly trip.  Thus, the ponies could keep their apple trees and in exchange they would receive and dismiss them with lots of apple pies for their trip.  At first, the big boss's pride had been hesitant about changing his old tradition even if it was partly.  But finally, Applejack was able to convince him that the new traditions could be a good thing, and in this particular case, very tasty.

After making peace, the ponies and buffaloes forgot their hatred, some happy not to have to go back to the heavy labor of the harvest, and others happy for eating something so delicious. With peace and harmony established, Appleloosa became the center of a huge party where ponies and buffaloes celebrated the new peace treaty.  Though they were of different sizes, beliefs, and traditions, the two races happily shared the merriment of the new friendship.  And the ones who were the happiest were Chief Thunderhooves and Sheriff Silverstar, who had shared the apple cider of the ponies and the peace pipe of the buffaloes, and now they were laughing and hugging drunk and happy as if they were brothers.

Once Dusk Shine and Applejack arrived at the station, they saw Braeburn and Little Strongheart waiting for them there to say goodbye.

"Too bad you have to leave Applejack... even you scrawny." Braeburn said smiling, teasing Dusk one last time. "I hope you can come back soon."

"Yeah, yeah... I'm scrawny." Dusk replied smiling uncomfortably, since with everything that happened, he almost forgot how irritating Braeburn was.  Then he looked one last time to the village and saw how a couple of buffaloes were drinking cider hugging a couple of colts. "It's amazing how well they all get along now... No one would believe that just a few hours ago they all hated each other."

"Yeah, well, ponies are naturally friendly creatures.  We're always ready to make new friends." Braeburn replied with a smile.

"Indeed, but buffaloes have always been peaceful." Little Strongheart added, looking a bit annoyed at Braeburn. "If you had agreed to speak earlier, this could have been resolved much earlier."

"But it was your dad who didn't want to talk to the ponies." Braeburn said looking annoyed at Little Strongheart.

"And it was the sheriff who didn't want to talk to the buffaloes." Little Strongheart replied also annoyed.

"I think you're both right, hehe." Dusk said quickly to stop them from arguing again, and then he remembered something he almost forgot. "By the way, what happened with that kiss?"

Hearing what Dusk said, Braeburn and Little Strongheart widened their eyes and looked away, both blushing.

"Wait, the both of you kissed?!" Applejack asked in surprise, since she hadn't been when that happened.

Seeing Applejack's surprise, Dusk gave an awkward look.

"I-I didn't want you to find out like this..." Dusk said nervously, since he knew that she and Braeburn were very close.  Then Dusk realized that although it wasn't correct, he could use that to demonstrate that Braeburn was unfit to be the partner of his friend. "I know this may hurt, but I guess this means that Braeburn isn’t the biggest gentlecolt that he thinks he is.”

"Why would it hurt? I think they both make a nice couple." Applejack replied, looking confused at Dusk, causing Braeburn and Little Strongheart to blush even more. 

"I-I thought it would bother you to know that Braeburn loves someone else." Dusk said even more confused.

"What are you talking about?  I'll continue to love Applejack, after all she's my favorite cousin." Braeburn replied with a big smile.

"... Uh... Cousin?..." Dusk whispered slowly as in his mind a little Dusk with the word 'it was obvious' written in his head, kicked him in the brain, finally understanding why Braeburn and Applejack were so close. Which made Dusk put on a silly smile of relief as he felt that strange and unpleasant feeling he had felt towards Braeburn disappear.

Seeing him smile so foolishly, Applejack and the others looked at him with confused looks. Until Braeburn was shocked to discover what Dusk had thought, then he put on a mocking smile.

"I see what happens..." Braeburn said mockingly, then he whispered something to Little Strongheart in her ear and she also put on a mischievous smile.

Applejack couldn't hear what his cousin whispered to Little Strongheart, but Dusk read Braeburn's lips and saw what he had said: 'Dusk was jealous.' Noticing that, the little Dusk in his head reappeared and again gave him a kick of 'obvious' when he finally realized what was that unpleasant feeling that he had failed to recognize.

"I don't understand... what are you laughing at?" Applejack asked confused.

“I-It's nothing! W-We better get on, the train is about to leave." Dusk yelled quickly nervously, not wanting Braeburn to tell Applejack what had really happened. Then he turned quickly and got on the train.

While Braeburn and Little Strongheart laughed, Applejack continued with a confused look, but hearing the train whistle, she decided to follow Dusk.

"See you Applejack." Braeburn said giving one last hug to his dear cousin. "That Dusk might be a scrawny city colt, but he's not as bad as I thought.  I’m sure you’ll be able to get him to get some muscles on those bones.  He just has to work on that jealousy of his."

"Jealousy?" Applejack repeated confused.  However, she couldn't ask any more since the train started to move and Applejack had to quickly get on the train

While the train was leaving, Applejack said goodbye from the door of her cousin and the little buffalo, until the train gained speed and she lost sight of them. Then Applejack moved between the carriages, seeing that this time the train was getting fuller, since it would stop not only in Ponyville, but also in other cities.  So, Applejack finally reached her seat, where on one side was a mare with her little foal on her lap, and in front of her was Dusk Shine, who had saved a seat next to him.

"Your... Your cousin told you something before you left?" Dusk asked nervously, wanting to sound casual, but without success.

"H-He just told me you weren't as bad a pony as he'd thought..." Applejack replied slightly blushed, omitting the last thing Braeburn had whispered to her.

Believing that Braeburn hadn't told Applejack that he was jealous, Dusk sighed in relief and finally relaxed further.

"It looks like it'll be another long trip... yaaawwn..." Dusk said taking advantage of changing the subject, giving a big yawn because of how tired he was.

"Yeah, yaaawwn... Surely we'll sleep the whole trip, since we’ve spent two nights without being able to sleep well." Applejack also responded by yawning, remembering that the night before they had slept only half the night before escaping from the buffaloes, and the night before that they had been nervous about the 'ghost' of the train.

"Do you think the ghost of the train will reappear?" Applejack asked, remembering what had happened on the outward journey.

"Who knows... maybe it was just a prank by Braeburn." Dusk replied with a shrug, blushing a little as he realized that now that he knew Braeburn was just Applejack's cousin, the yellow colt didn't seem like such an irritating pony anymore.

With the wobble of the train, and with how extremely tired they both were, Applejack and Dusk fell fast asleep almost at the same time.  Thus, the minutes progressed, and the sunset light fell on the train.

Applejack suddenly woke up when she felt a blow to her forehead. Opening her eyes, she saw that a small rattle had fallen on the table in front of her.

"Sorry, my little daughter threw it." The mother sitting across from her said embarrassedly, rocking her baby to fall asleep again.

"No problem." Applejack replied smiling and handing her the rattle back.

After giving the rattle back to the mother, Applejack turned pale when she saw that diapers and bottles began to float behind the mother. Then the mother looked back when she saw Applejack looking there and was also surprised by what she saw.

"I-I don't want to scare you, but there seems to be a ghost on this train." Applejack said, trying not to be nervous so as not to scare the mother with her baby. "But don't worry, it's not dangerous."

Hearing that, the mother covered her mouth and giggled.

"It's not a ghost, it's my little daughter." The mother said smiling, uncovering her daughter's head a little more to show that she was a little unicorn filly. "I'm an earth pony, so I was also scared when I saw some things start to float near my little baby.  But then my husband's mother told me that was normal for small unicorns, since they don't control their emotions well, so every time they feel something new, their magic is activated."

Seeing that her little daughter was very restless, the mother stood up and prepared to change wagon.  Meanwhile, Applejack had been thoughtful after hearing what the mother had said.

"Wait... That...doesn't that happen to adult unicorns, does it?" Applejack asked quickly before the mother got out of the wagon.

"Hmm, I don't know.  Adults already know how to recognize their feelings, so I don't think that happens very often." The mother replied with a shrug and exited the wagon with her foal.

After being left alone in the wagon, Applejack stared at Dusk, who was still fast asleep… Could it be that the 'ghost' was only Dusk unknowingly reacting to a new feeling?  Then, remembering more closely, Applejack realized that the 'ghost' had only appeared when Braeburn had stayed with her for an extended period of time.

'He just has to work on that jealousy of his.' Those were the last words Braeburn had said to her about Dusk when he said goodbye, words that finally echoed in Applejack's mind.

"Dusk... Was he jealous of Braeburn?" Applejack thought, blushing slightly. "But if that were true... Was he jealous for friendship or... for love?"

Applejack stared at Dusk peaceful face, then she timidly laid her head on Dusk's side and looked up to admire his face.  Without realizing it, She stared at Dusk's face in the same way he had admired her at the past slumber party... Seeing his beautiful face, feeling his soft breath, smelling his sweet aroma, feeling the warm heat of his fur, and hearing the calm and comforting beating of his heart.  As she peered at each faction on Dusk's face, Applejack stopped looking at Dusk's lips, then she remembered that she had told herself that she would show Rainbow Dash that she could have a romantic kiss with Dusk like the one the pegasus had. However, with everything that had happened, that promise had passed into the background and now she was returning to Ponyville without achieving her goal.  But now there were Dusk's lips, waiting for her.

Applejack blushed slowly, shyly lifting her hoof and gently touching Dusk's warm lips. Then she raised her head and slowly brought her face close to that of the colt, but when she was about to touch his lips, she sadly closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"No... I don't want it to be like this." Applejack whispered sadly. Then she raised her head again and continued to look at Dusk, feeling that seeing his face sleeping peacefully also reassured her.

"I didn't thank you for helping me with my nightmare." Applejack whispered, looking at Dusk, as if he were awake. "My biggest mistake, my biggest pain in life.  I…thought you might hate me after seeing that, but…your eyes didn't change at all." Applejack said putting on a tender smile, remembering that despite what she feared, Dusk's gaze had kept seeing her with warmth and affection. Then Applejack smiled again as she had with her the colt that had magically managed to enter her dreams and had helped her heal her soul.

Recalling that nightmare and what had happened, Applejack recalled the lock that had appeared on her chest in that dream, then she touched her chest, where she could feel her heart beating, and remembered something from her past, from when she was a filly and her parents were still alive.

"I'll never love any colt... I'll only love my dad." The filly Applejack had said, hugging her father tightly.

"That's what you say now..." Her mother had replied with a tender smile. "But someday, you’ll meet a colt that’ll have the key to your heart..."





"You had the key..." Applejack whispered snuggling on the shoulder of the sleeping colt and closing her eyes to feel again the soft tempo of Dusk's heart and the warmth of his fur. "No one has ever done something so beautiful for me... and I... I have never loved anyone as I love you..." Applejack finish saying in a tender whisper with her tearful eyes of happiness when feeling full confidence with that sweet colt, who now knew her better than anyone.

With that thought, Applejack snuggled deeper into Dusk's warm body, feeling like she could stay like this forever.

"It's not a kiss, but for me this is my romantic moment... because I finally realized that I can never love anyone as I love you, Dusk Shine..." Applejack whispered as the dream returned to her and her consciousness was lost, thinking in that she hadn't failed in her goal, but that it had simply become more ambitious. "The next time I kiss you, I'll not hide anything... the next time I kiss you... it'll be when I'll declare my feelings to you..." Applejack finished saying before falling asleep hugging the warm body of the colt she loved.

Dusk Shine: the owner of the key to her heart.

End of chapter 48
> Chapter 49 - New Concern
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Concern

Once a week, Fluttershy and Rarity got together for a full spa day.  After a couple hours in complete relaxation, both mares left the Ponyville Day Spa with a renewed spirit, with their coats and manes shining as if they had been reborn.

"If only the other girls could appreciate how comforting a steam bath is and exfoliating your hooves…" Rarity said smiling with great satisfaction at feeling fresh and beautiful.

"Indeed, it would be fun if we all went together." Fluttershy replied also smiling. "But I doubt Applejack and the others will agree to go, unless it's for a special occasion."

"Wait... that's it!" Rarity said startled with a big smile. "The Grand Galloping Gala is only a few days away!  Before the big night, I'll pay for a full beauty treatment for the five of us! If it's to impress Dusk, I'm sure none of them will reject it."

"Hmm... yeah, that a good idea." Fluttershy said thoughtfully, picturing her friends at the spa. "I can already imagine Rainbow Dash's face of horror when we tell her we're going for a beauty treatment, hehe." Fluttershy laughed, imagining her friend's face.

"And surely Lotus and Aloe will spend hours working on Applejack's tough hooves." Rarity laughed also imagining that scene. "And Pinkie Pie... well, you never know what she'll be able to do."

Both friends continued to laugh while gossiping about their other friends. That was also part of their spa routine, laughing a bit about their other friends, though of course, never in a cruel way, just laughing a little at the eccentricities that each of the mares possessed.

"Yeah, it's like that time Pinkie Pie showed up just because we repeated her name so many times." Fluttershy laughed. "It seems like she always shows up when someone talk about her."

"Was someone calling me?" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, jumping up in front of Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Pinkie! Why do you always have to appear so suddenly!?" Rarity said surprised and a bit annoyed by her friend's abrupt appearance.  “You’ll give me a heart attack one of these days, darling.”

"Because it’s funny to see your reaction!" Pinkie Pie replied with a big smile, then looking curiously both ways. "By the way, haven't you seen Dusk Shine around here? He wasn't in the library when I went to see him, and Spike doesn't know where he is either."

"No, we haven't seen him all day." Rarity answered thoughtfully. "Maybe he's with Applejack or Rainbow Dash."

"He's not with me." Rainbow Dash said suddenly from above, landing next to her friends after seeing that they were there. "I was just at Sweet Apple Acres; Applejack wasn't there, and Big Mac didn't know where she was either.  Maybe... they’re together."

After Rainbow Dash's words, the four mares gave worried looks while thinking that it was strange that Applejack and Dusk Shine were alone together, and they hadn't warned anyone.  But the four of them quickly came out of their thoughts when they saw a strange hooded pony exit the flower shop nearby.  However, the hooded pony seemed to notice something important and took off her hood, showing that it was Zecora, the zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest.

Initially, the four mares recognized Zecora, but the realized something rather strange.  Despite that they were aware of the zebra’s identity, they had a rather blurry recollection of how they actually knew this. Then the four mares looked around and saw that no one else in the town seemed to pay attention to that zebra, in fact, some fillies greeted her with big smiles instead of running away because of the fear that her presence instilled.

"That zebra... looks familiar..." Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy thought at the same time, as the name 'Zecora' appeared as a distant memory in their minds.

Feeling observed, Zecora saw the four mares staring at her.  She greeted them with a smile and walked over to where they were.  Meanwhile, when the four mares saw the zebra approaching, they felt a strange sensation, a confidence towards her that couldn't be explained, since it was the first time they had seen her.  But the closer the zebra got, the more the mares questioned that last statement, because it was as if they remembered her face from some hazy dream.

"I'm glad to greet you four again, and this time to be able to see all you as you are..." Zecora said smiling at them, then she laughed a little when she saw how confused they were. Then Zecora started to continue on her way, but she just remembered something important and turned to Fluttershy. "Kind Fluttershy… I remember seeing a chicken coop near your house the last time I went there.  I was wondering, do you have a rooster among your chickens?"

"Uh... y-yes... that's right." Fluttershy answered confusingly.  The timid mare still couldn’t place, but she felt a sense of familiarity and comfort with the zebra, despite never even meeting her.  When did the zebra ever visit her house?

At Fluttershy's response, Zecora lowered her gaze thoughtfully. Something had been bothering her recently, as an Everfree Forest beast seemed to have gotten very close to the edge of the forest, right near where Fluttershy lived.  But if the yellow pegasus had a rooster nearby, there was no reason to worry, and it would be best not to scare the shy pegasus unnecessarily, since Dusk Shine had told her that this particular friend of his was very fearful of everything.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Zecora said smiling again. "Have a good day, everypony." the zebra added, finally saying goodbye to the Bearers of Harmony.

As they watched the zebra walk away, the four mares remained static with looks of utter confusion.

"Well... That was the weirdest thing that’s happened today." Rainbow Dash said scratching her head, not understanding anything of what had happened or what she had felt.

"The second weirdest thing... This is the weirdest thing of this day!" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, remembering that she wanted to show her friends something.  So she raised her hoof to show them a magazine that she had brought with her. "Here’s the latest issue of the 'Forbidden Love' comic series!"

Seeing the magazine that Pinkie Pie showed them, the other three mares immediately understood that it was the most recent comic Lyra had drawn, secretly, or perhaps too openly, telling a love story inspired by Dusk Shine and the five mares. They had all read the comic series before but hadn't yet read the latest issue.  Upon seeing the cover, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were shocked to see that in this latest comic, a mare very similar to Dusk Shine appeared, surrounded by five colts that curiously were also very similar to themselves.

"What is that!?" Rarity asked stunned, taking the comic and starting to read it.

"It seems that in this issue of the comic, the Dusk of the comic traveled to another dimension where everything is the same, only that everypony’s gender swapped." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. "Though it looks like this chapter isn’t canon.  Typical fanservice."

"That is…disturbingly interesting." Fluttershy said uncertainly as she read the comic with Rarity.

"Yeah!  Look at that mare that looks like Dusk! That makes no sense!  Can you imagine how weird it would be if Dusk was a mare?" Rainbow Dash said feigning a chill.

As the four mares read Lyra's latest masterpiece and blushed at the new and suggestive images drawn in the comic, someone else came out of the flower shop.  Looking up, the four mares saw that the ponies coming out of the flower shop were Applejack and Dusk Shine, the first with a melancholic look, and the second giving her a hug to support her...

After returning from his trip to Appleloosa, Dusk Shine had realized that he had finally been able to solve a mystery that had kept him intrigued for weeks, which was to discover why Applejack was afraid of the part of the forest where Zecora lived and why her male version had acted so fearful seeing her.  With the events that happened in Applejack's dream, Dusk had discovered Applejack's past and had obtained the answer he needed.  Finally knowing the truth, and with Applejack free of her trauma, Dusk thought it would be a good idea to reunite her friend with his zebra teacher, so that Applejack could finally put the past behind her.

The meeting had turned out better than expected.  Although Applejack didn't remember what she had done the day she changed gender and met Zecora, she was able to recognize her quickly and they were able to talk calmly about what had happened that day years ago when they had first met.

"Thank you for having us meet, sugarcube... I think I needed it to bring closure to this." Applejack said, separating from Dusk's hug and smiling affectionately at him.

"I'll always be there for you." Dusk said returning the smile, happy to have helped his friend.

"Yeah... I know." Applejack whispered, blushing slightly and looking away.

As the pair had their private chat, the other four mares widened their eyes when they noticed that something strange was happening. Words couldn't describe it, it was more like a sensation, but the four of them felt there was something different about Applejack.

"They... They're looking at each other differently than they did before." Fluttershy said worriedly.

"What did they do on that trip they had together?" Pinkie Pie said, also worried.

"This is your fault! You didn't tell us about that trip and now we don't know what those two did together!" Rarity said looking annoyed at Rainbow Dash.

"D-Don't worry, I-I'm sure nothing happened on that trip..." Rainbow Dash said with a nervous smile, trying to look firm, but having the same doubts as her friends inside her.

Then Rainbow Dash came flying slowly towards where Applejack and Dusk were, followed of course by her three friends. When they got to where Dusk was, the colt started to greet them, but right from inside the flower shop Daisy came out, one of the three ponies that owns the flower shop, and handed an old book to Dusk.

"Oh! Zecora forgot this book.  I think I'll try to catch up her. I'll see you later." Dusk said quickly, taking the book and running in the direction of where the zebra had gone.

As Dusk left, the accusing stares of the mares immediately turned to Applejack, who was only surprised by the intense stares of her friends.

"What happened between the two of you on your trip to Appleloosa?" Rainbow Dash asked, staring at Applejack.

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash for a few seconds and then sighed, lowering her gaze and closing her eyes.

"We didn’t kiss, if that's what you’re curious about." Applejack answered, making her way through her friends to return home.  At her honest friend's response, the four mares sighed in relief. "But… we connected in a way that goes far beyond a simple kiss." Applejack added with a small smile, remembering how Dusk had entered her dream and helped her overcome her trauma.

Looking back, Applejack saw that all four of her friends were looking at her blushed and with open mouths, as if all four of them were speechless at what she had just said.  Applejack immediately understood that her friends had most likely misinterpreted what she had just said, but instead of correcting them, Applejack decided to indulge herself in revenge for the time Rainbow Dash underestimated her. Then Applejack gave her friends a big smile and wink and continued on her way home.

"This time, I'll take the advantage and keep silence, because I finally understand… This race can't last forever." Applejack thought as she remembered the promise she had made to herself about declaring her love to Dusk.

"C-Connected beyond a simple kiss…? What does that mean!?" Rarity asked scared, looking at her friends, thinking of all the lustful and carnal acts that could go beyond a kiss.

"It can't be… I shouldn't have let those two go on a trip alone!" Rainbow Dash screamed in her mind, as she imagined Dusk and Applejack lying together on a bed caressing each other. "No! There’s no way something like that could happen... Right?" Rainbow Dash thought trying to convince herself that her crazy imagination was playing against her.

"I'll be right back." Rainbow Dash said quickly, putting on a serious look and flying at full speed after Applejack, determined to get the truth about what had happened to her and Dusk on that trip to Appleloosa.

While Fluttershy was still dazed and blushing from imagining what might have happened between Applejack and Dusk, Rarity took Pinkie Pie by the shoulders and shook her while demanding an explanation.  It was then that Dusk finally returned. However, the lavender colt didn't return alone to where his friends were.  Three well-known fillies that had thrown themselves on his back and had made the unicorn walk slower from the extra weight.

"I didn't manage to return the book to Zecora ... I came across certain fillies that made it impossible for me to continue running." Dusk said labored while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had fun being carried on Dusk's back.

"Sweetie Belle, get off Dusk!" Rarity said scared to see her little sister teasing her beloved.

"Don't worry, it's no problem." Dusk replied with a nervous smile, wanting to sound friendly, although the truth was that the three fillies were heavier than he had imagined.

"Yeah, Dusk is playing with us." Sweetie Belle added with a big smile, hugging Dusk's neck.

"He even promised to accompany us to our slumber party!" Scootaloo said also smiling, resting her head on that of her unicorn friend.

"Slumber party?" Fluttershy asked.

"The first slumber party of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!!" The three fillies shouted at the same time, full of emotion, making Dusk and mares remain deaf by the screech of the fillies.

"Please don't do that again..." Dusk said shaking his head because the fillies had shouted that ultrasonic scream next to his ear.

"Dusk said he was going to our slumber party!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, jumping with her two friends from the colt’s back to the ground.  

"Yeah, well, you didn't give me many options..." Dusk muttered, remembering how the three fillies had jumped on him when he was running, and repeated 'Please, please!' until Dusk agreed to go to their slumber party.

"And the best part is that Dusk will be sleeping with me!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly, hugging Dusk's leg and giving her older sister a mocking look.

"Y-You can't sleep together!" Rarity said annoyed, noticing immediately that her little sister wanted to make her jealous with Dusk.

"I have to agree... It wouldn't look good for a stallion to sleep with three fillies." Dusk said sadly, thinking that Rarity was referring to him with that last comment. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if any of you can help me take care of the girls at their slumber party.  It would probably be better if there was also an adult mare.  Also… I don't think it's a good idea to let the girls have a slumber party in the library." Dusk added with a shudder, thinking about how the three fillies could destroy all the books in the library while making a fire in the room.

"Oh! I could help you. We could have the slumber party at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie Pie immediately said excitedly. "We could bake cakes together and eat all the candies we want!" Pinkie Pie added, imagining what could happen at the slumber party, although more than imagining herself playing with the three fillies, she imagined being alone with Dusk, cooking together and eating a cake while they snuggled into bed.  Which made Pinkie Pie blush for a second and put on a goofy smile at her fantasy.

Seeing Pinkie Pie blush, Rarity immediately imagined what her friend must be thinking, and put on a nervous look, knowing how dangerous it could be for Dusk to spend a night alone with Pinkie Pie.  Then Rarity blushed too and quickly shook her head.

"Oh wait!  Now I remember, I can't make parties at Sugarcube Corner for a while because there's a baby on the way." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look.

At Pinkie Pie's comment, everyone present froze, with shocked looks upon hearing that Pinkie Pie was expecting a baby.  Seeing the shocked faces of her friends, Pinkie Pie realized what they were thinking and began to laugh.

"I'm not pregnant, silly ponies.  Mrs. Cake is the one who has a special bun in the oven!" Pinkie Pie said laughing, which made everyone breathe in relief again. Then Pinkie gave Dusk a flirtatious look. "Although... I wouldn't mind trying to have one if the right colt came along.  I’d love to spend all night cuddling with him while coming up with baby names."

Seeing Pinkie Pie's flirtatious gaze, Dusk completely blushed and looked away.

"D-Don't joke about that." Dusk said nervously.

Seeing Dusk blush so hard, the three fillies laughed when they saw his face, completely different faces from the three adult mares.

"It wasn't a joke..." Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity thought at the same time, the latter two narrowing their eyes and putting serious looks on guessing that their pink friend wasn't kidding.





"Since it took so long for Mrs. Cake to get pregnant, I don't want to scare her or make her tense, so I won't be able to have parties at the bakery for a while." Pinkie Pie added with a shrug.

Seeing that Pinkie couldn't help Dusk with the slumber party, Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and immediately spoke up.

"Well, since you can't have the slumber party either at the library or at Sugarcube Corner, how about doing it at my Boutique?" Rarity said with a kind smile towards the fillies and then looking at Dusk. "I could help you take care of them."

"Well then, it’s decided!" Apple Bloom said excitedly looking at her two friends. Then the three fillies inhaled loudly and screamed in unison.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders are having their slumber party at Rarity's house!!" The three fillies shouted sharply, again causing Dusk and the mares to be momentarily deaf by that ultrasonic scream.

"It seems that everyone is in favor." Dusk said smiling and thanking Rarity for her help.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy just lowered her head and scratched the ground with her hoof, feeling frustrated with herself. For she too had raised her hoof to offer her home for the slumber party, but as was customary, her soft voice had not been heard.





It was already sunset, and while Fluttershy was at her house in the clearings of the forest, she couldn't get out of her head the idea that Rarity would be at a slumber party alone with Dusk Shine.  The funny thing was that it wasn't the first time that had happened, since Applejack and Rarity had already had a slumber party with Dusk in the library, but that had been without the others knowing.  This time was different now, Fluttershy knew it would happen, and her jealousy didn't let her think about anything but her two unicorn friends hugging each other warmly on a bed.

"M-Maybe I should go to the Boutique… to see if Rarity needs any help before the slumber party starts." Fluttershy said talking to herself, making up an excuse to go see if Dusk had already arrived at her friend's house.

Fluttershy hurried out of her house and quickly headed towards the Carousel Boutique. Once there, the timid mare saw that the door was ajar and slowly walked into her friend's house.  There, she watched as Rarity ran back and forth through the main hall, as if desperately searching for something.

"Hmm, Rarity… are you busy?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly, noting that her friend seemed so distracted that she hadn't even noticed her presence.

"Who?  Oh! It's you, darling.  Sorry if I didn't hear you come in." Rarity said stopping her search and giving her a nervous smile. "Tell me, what brings you here?"

"Uh? Hmm... I... I came because I thought you might need help! Hehe… That's right! I thought I could take Opal with me tonight, since she gets really upset when Sweetie Belle and her friends play near her, hehe…" Fluttershy said nervously, quickly making up an excuse to not admit that she had come there just out of jealousy.  However, his perfect excuse seemed unnecessary, as Rarity had once again looked away while trying to search for something with her eyes. "Rarity, did you lose something?" Fluttershy asked, noticing how distracted her friend was.

"Yes, there is a gold silk that I have been looking for and can't find anywhere." Rarity replied with a nervous sigh and holding her face with her hoof. "An hour ago, an important customer came who urgently needs some dresses for tomorrow. I'll have to work all night, and worst of all, I can't find the silk I need!" Rarity added scared.

"So… how can you take care of the fillies tonight?  Has Dusk already arrived?" Fluttershy asked concerned, looking for Dusk and the fillies.

"Dusk hasn't arrived yet, and the fillies-" Rarity stopped talking when she heard something breaking on the second floor. "Sweetie Belle and her friends are in my room..." Rarity added making a very nervous face.

Seeing her friend so nervous, Fluttershy put on a thoughtful look and then widened her eyes to discover the great opportunity that was presented to her.

"I could take the fillies and have the slumber party at my house.  So that you could work quietly tonight." Fluttershy said with a kind smile, thinking that she could help her friend, and at the same time… This could be her chance to be alone with Dusk!

At Fluttershy's proposal, Rarity put a hoof in her mouth and put on a very thoughtful look.

"Hmm... yes... It's not as risky as leaving Dusk alone with Pinkie Pie..." Rarity muttered while thinking aloud.  Something that Fluttershy overheard and left her confused.

Realizing that she had thought aloud, Rarity put on a nervous smile and walked over to Fluttershy.

"Yes!  That would be a great idea!  It would help me a lot to be able to finish the order that was entrusted to me." Rarity said smiling kindly. Then she turned and screamed toward the staircase. "Girls, come here!  We’re move the slumber party to Fluttershy's house!"

After Rarity shout, a silence fell on the second floor, then several murmurs were heard, and finally a new ultrasonic scream.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders slumber party at Fluttershy's cottage!!" The three fillies yelled excitedly, running down to where Rarity and Fluttershy were.

As the fillies reunited with Rarity, she immediately noticed that all three fillies were now wearing badly sewn red capes.

"And where did those layers come from?" Rarity asked curious when she saw that red cloth.

"I did them! They’re really pretty, don't you think?" Sweetie Belle replied, proudly waving her cape.

As Sweetie Belle flapped her new cape, Rarity noticed immediately that the reverse of the capes had a particular golden color, and then her face turned blue with terror. Then she quickly took the cape and knew that there was her lost silk.

"No, no, no no..." Rarity said dropping her head to the floor as her ears turned red as she held back her anger, knowing that her little sister had ruined her gold silk and now you would have to work twice as hard to finish your order on time. "Take them out of here!" Rarity screamed, barely controlling her frustration, not knowing if she would cry or scream in fury at what had just happened.

Realizing her friend was about to explode, Fluttershy pushed the three fillies out of there quickly.

After leaving the Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy led the three fillies to her home, who followed her obediently as they carried a huge box on Scootaloo's scooter cart. As they walked, the three fillies kept whispering to each other, chatting about the many things they could do at their slumber party now that they were at Fluttershy's house. And seeing them chatting quietly, Fluttershy sighed in relief, thinking that maybe the fillies would stay this quiet all night long, which of course was a far cry from what the little fillies really wanted to do.

When they reached the meadow where Fluttershy's house was, the three fillies ran happily in the direction of the house.  But Fluttershy immediately became alert when she saw that they continued on and headed towards the grove that led towards the Everfree Forest.  Noticing that, Fluttershy ran at full speed and got in their way.

"You can't go there! That's the way to the Everfree Forest!" Fluttershy said scared as she stretched her front hooves to prevent the fillies from continuing into the dark woods.

"We know, that's why we want to go there!" Apple Bloom said smiling.

"Yeah! Maybe we could get our 'Monster Hunters' cutie marks!" Scootaloo added with a defiant smile, imagining herself fighting a huge beast.

"No, no, no, no..." Fluttershy said quickly shaking her head, then looking at the three fillies and noticing that none seemed to understand how dangerous that forest was. "Listen to me, promise me you won't go to the forest." Fluttershy said trying to put on a serious look, a look that wasn't very convincing since she was used to having a tender and kind look.

The three fillies looked at each other, all thinking the same thing, and then they smiled at Fluttershy.

"We promise." The three fillies said with big fake smiles as they crossed their hind hooves as a sign of their false promise.

"Well... now, I suppose you can play inside the house for a bit..." Fluttershy said thoughtfully but stopped talking when she saw that the three fillies had already ran inside the house before she barely spoke.

Fluttershy approached her house, and when she looked out the door she was concerned to see how the three fillies ran from one place to another, opening cabinets, throwing things, and causing great disorder from their great childhood curiosity.

"Sweet Celestia... maybe I bit off more than I can chew..." Fluttershy thought worried about the great mess that the fillies had caused in just seconds. "I should try to make them be more careful when playing... I don't want Dusk to come and think that I'm not capable of taking care of some fillies or keep my own house in order."

"Hi Fluttershy." Dusk Shine suddenly said behind Fluttershy, making the yellow pegasus jump in surprise.

"D-Dusk! What are you doing here!?" Fluttershy asked nervous, glancing sideways inside her house and seeing all the disorder that was there.

"Rarity told me that you had moved the slumber party to your place." Dusk answered with a friendly smile.

"Y-Yes! Here are the little ones. They're just… they're just playing for a bit, hehe." Fluttershy replied with a nervous smile, thinking that even if the fillies caused a mess, she still could spend some personal time alone with Dusk Shine.

"Hello-Hello!" Pinkie Pie said suddenly with a big smile, peeking out from behind Dusk, since it seemed that Fluttershy hadn't seen her yet.

"P-Pinkie Pie!?" Fluttershy said very surprised. "I-I thought you couldn't go to the slumber party."

"No, I said we couldn't have the slumber party at Sugarcube Corner.  So, if the slumber party doesn't go to me, I'll go to the slumber party!" Pinkie Pie answered smiling and putting her sleeping cap on her head.

"Oh! Look at that, your chicken coop has a broken gate." Dusk said suddenly, who had been looking around and noticed that the chicken coop that was next to Flutterhsy's house was almost broken on one side. "I'll go fix it, I don't want a chicken to escape at night and ruin the slumber party."

Then Dusk went to the chicken coop and with his magic tied the wire again so that it would stay in place.  Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were left alone, which gave them the opportunity to speak privately.

"Sorry to be a last-minute guest.  The truth is that I wanted to come to the slumber party so that Dusk wouldn't spend a night alone with Rarity…" Pinkie Pie muttered with an embarrassed smile. "But now that she's not here, I'll be able to take the opportunity to have some time alone with him instead of her." Pinkie Pie added smiling.

At Pinkie Pie's comment, Fluttershy put on an annoyed look and stared at her.

"Oops, yeah… you can also take advantage to be with Dusk, of course! We both can." Pinkie Pie quickly added, noting that she had inadvertently belittled Fluttershy with her comment.

Thinking that the misunderstanding was fixed, Pinkie Pie smiled normally and headed towards the house.  For her part, Fluttershy just stood still, not sure if she was feeling more sad or upset. 

"Rarity’s afraid of leaving Pinkie Pie alone with Dusk, and Pinkie Pie’s afraid of leaving Rarity alone with him. But … Doesn't it bother anyone if I'm alone with Dusk!?" Fluttershy frustratingly thought, narrowing her eyes.

After fixing the chicken coop, Dusk approached Fluttershy and they both started to enter the house.

"By the way, I brought this with me." Dusk said to Fluttershy, levitating a book next to him. "It's the book that Zecora left behind.  I'll be away for a while to go deliver it and then I'll come back for the slumber party."

"Will you go now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, I want to go before dark, but first I would like- What happened here!?" Dusk said surprised and scared when he entered Fluttershy's house and saw that everything was very messy, as if a hurricane had passed through inside.

"I-I think the girls were very excited to start playing..." Fluttershy said shyly, regretting that Dusk thought she couldn't control the fillies. "Girls...!" Fluttershy called for the fillies to stop making a mess, but none of them seemed to want to pay attention to her.

"I'll take care... Girls, come here!" Pinkie Pie said, who was already in the middle of the room.  Then the three fillies saw the pink pony, and it seemed that they were going to ignore her too, but then they noticed that Pinkie Pie was showing them something on her hoof and the three fillies obediently ran towards her.

Neither Dusk nor Flutterhsy got a good look at what Pinkie Pie and the fillies were doing, as Pinkie Pie was giving them back, but both were amazed by how she had managed to calm the fillies.

"Wow... You seem to know how to handle fillies." Dusk said smiling and approaching Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, you just have to understand what they want." Pinkie Pie replied with a smile, slightly blushing at Dusk's compliment.  Meanwhile, Fluttershy just lowered her head sadly, thinking that unlike Pinkie Pie, she was a failure to get the fillies to listen to her.

Upon reaching the center of the room, Dusk looked around him and smiled when he saw Fluttershy's couch.

"That couch brings back memories… This is where I spent my first night in Ponyville." Dusk said smiling at that memory.

"Uh!?  Did you sleep with Fluttershy too!?" Pinkie Pie said very surprised, then putting on a thoughtful look. "I mean, I already knew that Rarity and Applejack slept with you at the slumber party. I also knew that you slept with Rainbow Dash once when she was staying at your house.  I even slept with you once, but I never expected Fluttershy to too..."

Hearing Pinkie Pie speak, Dusk turned redder than he had ever been and covered his face with his hoof.

"Sweet Celestia… When Pinkie says it, it sounds terrible, and yet… it's all true!" Dusk thought extremely ashamed, remembering that regardless of the circumstances, the truth was that Dusk had shared a bed with four of his friends.  Although nothing lewd had happened, but still, it was enough to embarrass Dusk Shine.

"I-I didn't sleep with Fluttershy that time..." Dusk replied still blushing. "She slept in her bed, and Spike and I slept on the couch."

“Oh… hahaha! I see.  I thought that sounded too weird to be true, haha." Pinkie Pie said smiling, laughing when she saw Dusk's red face, so she took out a fan from somewhere and began to fan Dusk's face so that it would return to normal.

For her part, after hearing that, Fluttershy just lowered her head and gave a thoughtful and confused look.

"Am I the only one who hasn’t slept in the same bed as Dusk...? Is that so weird?" Fluttershy thought confused, feeling more and more belittled in the race for the love of Dusk that she and her friends had.

As the three adult ponies chatted, and each one was lost in thought, none of them realized that their conversation had also been overheard by someone else: Sweetie Belle.  Who upon hearing that they were talking about who had slept with Dusk, had put aside the games with her friends and had begun to pay attention.  After having listened to all that conversation, Sweetie Belle pressed her lips tightly and gave a look of disgust when she felt that her beloved Dusk was being stolen from her.  Then jealousy took hold of her and she jumped hard on Dusk to hug him, causing the colt to fall to the floor with the filly on him.

"So Dusk, it’s alright if you sleep with me tonight, right?" Sweetie Belle said with a big smile as she hugged the lavender colt under her.

Seeing the little unicorn being so cheeky, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie blushed and looked at her annoyed, both thinking that the little filly was trying to monopolize Dusk for herself.

"I... I'm sorry, but that wouldn't be suitable." Dusk said slowly, thinking that Sweetie Belle was just being childish, not for a second did it occur to him that the unicorn filly had jumped on him out of jealousy. "You are like a little sister to me, but it would still be frowned upon."

"Why would it be frowned upon?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently.

"W-Well… because… because we're not actually family or anything like that.  Only blood siblings or couples can sleep together… Normally." Dusk answered nervously, adding at the end the “normally " part when remembering that he had just slept with four mares that were neither his partner nor his family, which made him blush again.

At Dusk's response, Sweetie Belle pursed her lip in disappointment and then put on a thoughtful look.

"So… you want to be my coltfriend then?" Sweetie Belle asked with a huge smile.

"WHAT!?" Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom screamed in shock at the same time. The other two fillies had stopped playing and paid attention to what the others were talking about when they saw that their friend had jumped on Dusk.

"Pfft! Hahaha! That’s awful sweet of you, but I think I’m much too old for you." Dusk replied smiling, softening a bit at the thought that Sweetie Belle was an innocent little filly who still didn't even know about love.

Seeing that Dusk laughed at her proposal, Sweetie Belle again made a pouty face, since it bothered her that they didn't think of her as an adult.  So, she decided to show Dusk that she was no longer a young filly and gave a flirtatious look.

"I... could please all your desires..." Sweetie Belle said flirtatiously, remembering a phrase she had read in one of her sister's books, although she didn't really understand what it meant, but she did understand that it was a romantic phrase for some reason. "Besides... in ten more years, we'll both be adults and the age difference will not be noticeable..."

Seeing the little filly flirting with Dusk, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie froze, as if for a second their brains had been disconnected from what they were seeing.  Meanwhile, Dusk far from blushing, only put a nostalgic look.

"This may be what they call first love... Like what happened to me with Cadance..." Dusk thought as he looked at the tender unicorn filly. "I... I wouldn't want to destroy that fantasy of first love... But I can't give her any false promises either..."

"Hmm… how about this.  If neither you nor I find true love in ten years, then in a few more years I'll be your coltfriend." Dusk said with a smile, thinking that this would give Sweetie Belle time to discover what love truly was, something that would obviously happen before ten years, and thus he could maintain an illusion without breaking her heart.

At Dusk's response, Sweetie Belle put on a big smile and gave him a big hug.  Satisfied that he had intelligently evaded that problem, Dusk stood up and looked at her friends, who only seemed to be coming out of their daze.

"Fluttershy, do you have any blankets so we can use them on the beds?" Dusk asked looking at her friend.

"Uh? Oh! Yes, come with me." Fluttershy said shaking her head and glancing at Sweetie Belle, feeling a mixture of jealousy and envy at the thought that even a filly had more guts than she to approach Dusk directly.

Then Fluttershy led Dusk towards the stairs, and as they walked toward it, Fluttershy saw Pinkie Pie also stared at Sweetie Belle, in the same way she looked at Rarity or Applejack or Rainbow Dash when one of them monopolized Dusk Shine for a long time.

"It can't be… Now Pinkie Pie even considers Sweetie Belle more dangerous than me!?" Fluttershy thought scared and annoyed.

"I'm going to my room with Dusk!  And… and we'll both be alone in my room!" Fluttershy yelled glancing back as she was slowly going upstairs.

"Okay... you're going to get some blankets, I already heard you." Pinkie Pie said without paying attention to Fluttershy, just keeping her questioning gaze fixed on Sweetie Belle, who just kept smiling triumphantly at what she had accomplished.

After checking that Pinkie Pie didn't even consider her a danger in her love competition for Dusk, Fluttershy sighed dejectedly and continued up the stairs very depressed, all while Dusk looked at her confused, not understanding what was going through her friend's head.

Once in Fluttershy's room, the pegasus pointed out to Dusk the closet that was next to her bed, then Dusk came over and began to take out some blankets from there.  As Dusk turned his back to her, Fluttershy remained depressed, her lip curled up thinking that it was true that she wasn't as direct or brave as her other friends to take the initiative to approach and do something with Dusk, but she never thought that her friends won't even think of her as a rival to fear in love.

"It's not true… I gave Dusk a kiss!" Fluttershy thought with a confident look, but immediately her depressed look returned. "But since that time… what progress have I made with Dusk…? Even that time, I kissed Dusk in the heat of the moment.  I... I don't know if I would have the courage to do it again..."

Then Fluttershy looked at Dusk, who was still with his back to her, arranging the blankets right next to her bed.  And in that instant a POOF! sounded next to Fluttershy's right ear, and in her imagination a little Fluttershy appeared flying next to her, only this Fluttershy had bat ears and bat wings, her mane and tail were messier, and on her face there was an evil smile.  Then Fluttershy looked to her left side, waiting for an angel shaped Fluttershy to appear.

"Um, isn’t there usually supposed to be another one?" Fluttershy asked to the little vampire Fluttershy, after noticing that the angel Fluttershy didn't appear.

"There is no other one.  YOU are the other one." The little vampire Fluttershy answered, looking at her with an annoyed glare. "Always so kind, so correct... And you always put me aside... Your darkest and dirtiest desires."

"M-My desires?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly.

"That's right, you always hold back and don't say or show what you really want." The little vampire Fluttershy said, looking annoyed at Fluttershy and then looking lustfully at Dusk. "Why don't you admit that you want to make Dusk yours here and now? You want to touch him, kiss him, let his strong hooves caress your whole body… Just imagine it." The little vampire Fluttershy added as the original Fluttershy blushed at what was going on in her imagination...

Fluttershy walked seductively over to where Dusk was, then she turned him sharply and threw him on his back on her bed.  Then, to the surprise of the colt, Fluttershy slowly climbed into bed, above his body, and before even he said a word, she kissed him passionately, with a kiss so hard it took their breath away. Then she would stick her body closer and closer to Dusk's, while he gently caressed her body, she slowly began to wobble her whole body, and her hips slowly lowered to seek...

FIRE!! A dozen little Fluttershy screamed in the yellow pegasus's brain at the lustful fantasy they had created, a fantasy that made Fluttershy turn completely red and puff smoke out of her ears.

"Fluttershy?  What's wrong?" Dusk asked concerned as he turned around and saw that Fluttershy seemed to be muttering to herself, as well as having her face so red that she seemed about to explode.

"NOTHING! NOTHING’S WRONG! I’M NOT A LEWD PONY!" Fluttershy screamed completely embarrassed, not daring to look Dusk in the face. As blushed as she was amazed to discover that lustful side inside herself that she never thought she had.





While that was happening on the second floor of the house, another argument had taken place on the first floor. As soon as Dusk and Fluttershy went upstairs, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom started scolding Sweetie Belle for what she had done.

"You can't just ask Dusk to be your coltfriend!" Apple Bloom said looking annoyed at her unicorn friend.

"Yeah!  That’s like…all kinds of wrong!" Scootaloo added just as annoyed.

"Why do you two care about who dates Dusk?" Sweetie Belle asked with a shrug.

At Sweetie Belle's question, both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo opened their mouths to answer, then they both glanced at each other, closed their mouths, and looked away.

They both had their reasons for preventing Sweetie Belle from wanting to be Dusk's marefriend, but neither could say it out loud. For Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash had told her that she and Dusk were dating, but Scootaloo couldn't tell her friends as she had sworn to keep it a secret.  Beside, she enjoyed the idea of the pair as a couple since it provided her something that she was desperately missing in her life.   For her part, Apple Bloom was in a similar situation where she thought that Dusk was her sister's coltfriend.  After all, they were even about to get married back before the Summer Sun Celebration!  The only thing stopping the filly from telling her friends was Big Mac, who unlike her, seemed not to be very supportive of Applejack's courtship with Dusk.  So, Apple Bloom preferred not to talk about it with anyone so that Big Mac wouldn't find out that she did support her sister's courtship.

Seeing that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom held their secrets and didn't give Sweetie Belle a real reason to not ask Dusk Shine to be her coltfriend, Pinkie Pie took the opportunity to get closer to the little unicorn.

"Listen Sweetie Belle, Dusk may seem like a good match, but... he might not be the one for...somepony as beautiful and elegant as you." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, thinking that if the little unicorn was like her older sister, the best thing to convince her to change her mind would be to flatter her.  Which seemed to work, as Sweetie Belle started to smile vainly. "Maybe you could be the marefriend of someone much more special... like Spike."

"Spike?" Sweetie Belle said with a displeased look.

"Sure! After all, he is a dragon… A dragon of royalty!  He'll grow into a strong and great dragon that would shower you in jewels every day." Pinkie Pie said putting into action her plan to dissuade Sweetie Belle from showing interest in Dusk. "Besides, I've seen how Spike looks at you every time.  It's definitely the look of a dragon in love."

"Is Spike in love with me...?" Sweetie Belle said with a thoughtful look, and then smirking as her ego skyrocketed. "Well yeah, now that you mention it, I have noticed Spike looking at me weird a few times… Maybe I'll give poor Spike a chance." Sweetie Belle added, imagining Spike following her like a slave with the eyes of a fool in love.

Seeing that her plan seemed to work, Pinkie Pie wiped her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, if I don't become Dusk's girlfriend, I guess I'll leave him to Rarity.  They do make a nice couple. Plus, I’d get a big brother to boot!" Sweetie Belle added thoughtfully. A comment that made Pinkie Pie more worried than she was before, thinking that perhaps instead of remedying the problem, she had only complicated it.

Just at that moment, Dusk and Fluttershy were coming down the stairs, with Dusk Shine carrying several blankets with his magic, and Fluttershy with her head bowed as a symbol of defeat.  Despite having Dusk to herself in her room, she had not dared to do anything her crazy lustful side suggested to her.

"What were they talking about?" Dusk asked when he arrived with the others, noticing that they seemed to have been talking about something important.

"I was telling the others that now you can be a couple with-" Sweetie Belle said quietly until Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie put their hooves in her mouth to stop her talking.

"W-We weren't talking about anything important." Pinkie Pie said quickly.

"Yeah, j-just slumber party stuff." Scootaloo added that, like the others, she didn't want Sweetie Belle's extreme sincerity now to make her ask Dusk to be her sister’s coltfriend.

"By the way! What are all those blankets for?" Apple Bloom asked, wanting to quickly change the subject to protect her future brother-in-law from more declarations of love.

"This is a surprise." Dusk said smiling and levitating the blankets higher. "Now that you're going to bed, I thought-"

"No! We're not going to bed yet!" The three fillies said at the same time, interrupting Dusk. "Now, our Special Slumber party begins!"

"Special slumber party?" Dusk repeated confused.

"Yeah! Look!" Apple Bloom said, hopping on top of the big mystery box that she and her friends had brought in Scootaloo's cart there.

So, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did the same as their friend, the three of them stuck their heads into the box, as if they were looking for something inside that mysterious box.  Finally, the three fillies took their heads out of the box and looked at Dusk and the others.

"We'll have a costume slumber party!" The three fillies said in unison with huge smiles. Showing that Apple Bloom was now wearing a firefighter hat, Sweetie Belle a sailor hat, and Scootaloo a pair of wide glasses and a tie.

While the three fillies posed, Dusk craned his neck to see better inside the box, and so he could see that indeed the fillies had brought several accessories and clothes of different types.  Most likely they came from Rarity's boutique, although it seemed they had all contributed to filling the box and having the most options for their costumes.

"Oh! That sounds really fun." Fluttershy said, smiling tenderly.

"Yeah!  What’cha gonna do with your costumes?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly, ready to join the game.

"Do something?" Apple Bloom said confused, then looking at her fireman hat and putting on a thoughtful look. "W-Well... I'm a firefighter and I'll put out a fire." Apple Bloom added holding an imaginary hose.

"And I'm a sailor who... sails?" Sweetie Belle said also confused, since she had only grabbed the first hat she had seen.

"And I'm a... office worker..." Scootaloo said depressed, realizing that this wasn't really funny at all.

Then the three fillies looked at each other in confusion and lowered their heads in disappointment. All of them had been very excited to think of wearing costumes to the slumber party, but now that they were wearing them, they realized that they hadn't planned anything else, and a costume without purpose was quite boring.

"Perhaps you could dress up as something more fun?" Fluttershy said smiling kindly, noting the disappointment on the fillies' faces.

"Hmm… Oh! I know!" Apple Bloom said coming up with a great idea.  So, she took off her firefighter hat and searched for something in the costume box until she found what she was looking for: a tiara.

Apple Bloom put the toy tiara on her head, put on a scornful look, and wrinkled her nose as if she was smelling something distasteful.

"This is my costume party!  So I order everyone to pay attention to me, because I'm sooooo important." Apple Bloom said arrogantly, pretending to be Diamond Tiara, which made Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo burst out laughing. "I'm the richest pony in Ponyville, so everyone must adore me."

"Oh! Of course they do, Tiara!" Suddenly Sweetie Belle said, who had taken some glasses and a necklace out of the box; perfectly imitating the tone of voice of Diamond Tiara's friend, Silver Spoon. Then Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle approached, knowing they were both thinking the same. "Dumb, dumb, sugarlump, rump." The two fillies said imitating the greeting of their two archenemies, although changing a word to mock them.

The three fillies began to laugh out loud, and Dusk and his two friends also smiled when they saw the little fillies so amused.

"It's my turn." Scootaloo said, searching the bottom of the costume box until she finally found what she was looking for: The Rainbow Dash fan club hat she had made herself, which mimicked the colors of her idol's mane.  "Make way because here comes the coolest pony in all of Equestria!" Scootaloo said with her Rainbow Dash hat, stretching out a hoof while pretending to fly.

"Haha, yeah, that's a perfect imitation of Rainbow Dash." Pinkie Pie said amused, thinking that she had heard Rainbow Dash say that phrase many times.

Hearing the compliment on her impersonation, Scootaloo remembered all her days watching her idol and decided to do the best Rainbow Dash impersonation there could be.  Then Scootaloo wagged her tail and mane in the same way that Rainbow Dash did, and put the same fierce look that Rainbow Dash used when she wanted to compete against someone.

"What's up Pinkie, are you bored?  Let's play some pranks on Spike for fun!" Scootaloo said near Pinkie Pie, imitating Rainbow Dash perfectly, causing Pinkie Pie to start laughing as well.  Then Scootaloo walked over to Fluttershy and glared at her. "And you gotta stretch those wings and get off the ground!  Gosh, Fluttershy!  We're both pegasi, we have to take flights through the clouds more often." Scootaloo added, causing Fluttershy blushed and laughed, because it really was like watching a younger version of Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo finally approached Dusk, but for some reason she started acting differently.  All the bravado that was characteristic of Rainbow Dash disappeared, and Scootaloo approached shyly.

"I-I landed here not because I wanted to be near you, I just landed here because I was tired." Scootaloo said pretending to be nervous around Dusk. "Don't look at me like that, or... or do you want me to hit you..." Scootaloo said, looking away and blushing a little.

"Wait, what?  You were doing great, but Rainbow Dash doesn't act like that." Apple Bloom said, disappointed by the failure of her friend's performance.

"Of course she does, she always acts like that when she's around Dusk.  I’ve seen it myself." Scootaloo replied, looking annoyed at her friend for doubting her imitation.

At Scootaloo's comment, Dusk blushed, thinking that what Scootaloo said must be wrong.  Or maybe… Was something happening but he had never noticed?

"I'm the coolest mare in town, but... when I get close to Dusk... for some reason... I get shy and nervous..." Scootaloo said continuing with her performance, approaching Dusk shyly, who for some reason took a step back before the vivid image of Rainbow Dash before him, telling him those things. "If you're with me... We could be the best couple in the world... We would have great adventures every day... just you and me."

Dusk Shine knew that it was Scootaloo who was telling him all that, but her entire performance as Rainbow Dash had been perfect, and those words, with that tone of voice... he could imagine the blue pegasus saying the same thing to him, word for word.  All that made Dusk look away, trying to stop thinking about false love proposals.  However, what Dusk didn't expect is that when he looked away, he now saw another of his friends reflected.

On his left side, just where Dusk had looked away, Sweetie Belle had approached, who had taken advantage of Scootaloo's performance to comb her mane and tail in the same way as Rarity styled it.

"Dusk, darling, don't pay attention to Rainbow Dash.  Let your eyes only fixate on me." Sweetie Belle said with a flirtatious look, imitating her older sister's way of speaking perfectly. "I have always liked to look good and presentable.  But it’s different with you… Every time I know that I'll meet with you, I spend hours in front of the mirror, all to make sure I look pretty for you." Sweetie Belle said remembering how Rarity acted every time she went to meet Dusk.

"R-Really?" Dusk asked blushed and nervous, thinking if it would be true that Rarity did that only with him.

"Of course I do, darling." Sweetie Belle said imitating her sister's movements, and flirtatiously touching Dusk with her hoof. "Just think about it, we would be the perfect couple.  I could give you a life of romance..."

Suddenly Sweetie Belle stopped talking when a lasso fell on her, tightened and pulled her away from Dusk.  Then Dusk saw that the one who had done it was Apple Bloom, who now also wore a hat very similar to that of her older sister.

"There're things more important than romance, and Dusk knows it, right?" Apple Bloom said looking seriously at Dusk, perfectly imitating Applejack's accent and tone of voice. "Rainbow Dash can offer you adventure, Rarity romance, but if you want a quiet life, I… I could offer you what is dearest to me.  A family." Apple Bloom said slowly, who knew her sister so well that Dusk was very surprised to notice each gesture and movement identical to that of her friend Applejack.

At that moment Apple Bloom opened her mouth to continue her performance, but as she imitated her sister, something inside her told her that perhaps there were things that were better for her sister to say in person instead of her imitating her.  So Apple Bloom took off her hat and stared at Dusk.

"Something changed when my sister came back from Appleloosa." Apple Bloom said putting aside her imitation but steeping herself with her sister's honest soul.  "When she got back, she gave me a big hug.  A warm and sincere hug that I’ve never felt before.   Whenever she hugged me before, I felt that my sister hid a great pain inside her.  But not anymore... For that reason, I wanted to thank you, because I know it was thanks to you... And for that I know that you two are made for each other.  And I’m excited that hopefully, you’ll be my big brother one day."

At Apple Bloom's sincere words, Dusk was very surprised and felt a comforting feeling when he saw that the help he had given his dear friend hadn't only helped her, but also her family.  And when Apple Bloom mentioned that they could be 'the perfect couple' and he could be her big brother, a part of Dusk's mind couldn't help but imagine him having a family with Applejack, which made him blush even more.

Suddenly two small shots were heard, and a lot of streamer and confetti flew over everyone's heads, causing everyone to be surprised and forget what was happening.

"It's time for the piñata!" Pinkie Pie said with an exaggerated smile jumping in front of the fillies and pointing them back from where they were, where she had quickly installed a small piñata that she had brought for the slumber party.

"Piñata!" The three fillies shouted excitedly, taking off their costumes and completely forgetting what they had been doing, beginning to jump excitedly under the piñata to wait for the candies that would fall.

Seeing that her distraction plan had worked, Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief as she was very concerned about the effects that the fillies’ declarations could have on Dusk Shine.  Both she and Fluttershy had been nervously watching the imitations of the fillies, seeing how they were leveling up the closer they got to Dusk.  It was then that both realized that these imitations could be a danger for Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, since the fillies were telling secrets that perhaps Dusk shouldn't know yet, unless they themselves were the ones who decided to tell him.  In addition, Pinkie also realized that the three fillies could influence Dusk much more in favor of their older sisters than she had anticipated... If she wasn't careful, the three fillies could score too many points in favor of their sisters in the race for Dusk's love, and that was something Pinkie didn't want to happen, after all she had gone to that slumber party so that she would be the one to get closer to Dusk.

"They're very good at imitating their sisters... Right?" Pinkie Pie asked, glancing at Dusk to see his reaction.

"Y-Yes, they are... Although they said things that I don't know are true..." Dusk replied, blushing slightly.

"Who knows." Pinkie Pie replied with a shrug, thinking that she had done the right thing, and that even if she was in a competition with her friends for Dusk's heart, it was best to keep her friends' secrets until they were ready themselves.  Then Pinkie remembered the conversations and put on a mischievous look. "Adventures, romance and family... It’s great if a mare can give you that, but everypony knows that the best that a mare can give you in life is laughter, right?" Pinkie added getting very close to Dusk and giving him a flirtatious smile.

"I-I guess that's very important too..." Dusk said blushing even more and looking away, thinking that Pinkie Pie was making fun of him by flirting with him just like the fillies had done when imitating their sisters.

Then Pinkie Pie also blushed and smiled with joy, thinking that she adored that innocence in her beloved Dusk Shine.  Meanwhile, Fluttershy just stood where she was, with a sad look as she watched Dusk blush at having Pinkie Pie so close.

"Rainbow Dash could give him adventures, Rarity romance, Applejack a big family, Pinkie Pie smiles and happiness, and I… What could I give Dusk?" Fluttershy thought sadly, as her self-esteem prevented her from thinking of a good answer, which depressed her even more.

For his part, Dusk was also lost in his thoughts, analyzing everything that had happened a moment ago.

"The fillies were just pretending but… if one day I had more than one mare declaring their love to me… what would I do?  Would I be able to choose?" Dusk thought, blushing at that crazy idea. "What am I thinking!? As if something like this could happen!" Dusk thought, immediately discarding that thought, because although he had discovered that he was in love with his five friends, he also knew that his friends only saw him as a friend.  However, with each moment that he shared with his friends, that last thought that had remained firm in his mind, became increasingly weak.

End of chapter 49
> Chapter 50 - New Determination
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Determination

The slumber party of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was turning out well so far.  After the fillies played dress-up with their costumes (which had brought an awkward moment for Dusk, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie), they were now enjoying the candy that came from the surprise piñata that Pinkie Pie had brought.

"Is it really okay for them to be having this much sugar at night?" Dusk asked a little worried, seeing the three fillies eating.

"Don't worry, I have the solution." Pinkie Pie replied with a confident smile, which reassured the lavender unicorn a bit.

Then Dusk looked at the clock that was on the wall and was startled to see the time, then he looked out the window and saw that night had fallen.

"Geez, it’s getting really late." Dusk said concerned, approaching the door and opening it to leave the house.

"Late for what?" Fluttershy asked confused.

"Remember when I told you that I wanted to take advantage of visiting Zecora to return this book to her?" Dusk said levitating the book that he had brought with him.  Then Dusk's eyes widened to remembering something. "Although, there is something I want to do first before I go."

Dusk called the three fillies, who followed him outside the house, with their mouths covered in candy.  He then made his horn shine and he threw some magic sparks over the heads of the three fillies, who just remained static, looking expectantly at what Dusk was doing.

"I told you I would have a surprise for you for the slumber party." Dusk said after casting the spell on the fillies, next looking skyward until he found what he wanted.  The colt used his magic to lower a cloud from the sky until it was level with the ground. "Come on, get on it." Dusk added smiling at the fillies.

The three fillies looked confused, but then they understood what that spell that Dusk used on them must be for and all three jumped on the cloud.  As they did so, the three fillies widened their eyes in amazement as they saw that they could walk on top of the cloud.  Then the three fillies looked at each other and began to jump full of excitement for that new and great experience.

"I wanted to do something fun for this slumber party, so I thought I'd use the cloud walking spell so the fillies can use a cloud as a bed tonight." Dusk said smiling, satisfied to see that the fillies were enjoying their gift. "Plus, they only need blankets now, so we don’t have to worry about not having enough beds." Dusk added looking at Fluttershy smiling.

Dusk began to levitate the cloud with the three fillies through the doorway of the cottage and arranged it neatly in the living room.  He then levitated the extra blankets to the side so that the fillies could use them when they when to bed.  At that moment, seeing the fillies having so much fun jumping on the cloud, Pinkie Pie also asked Dusk to use the spell on her.  After Dusk agreed and casted the spell, the pink pony joined the fillies, the four of them jumping happily and eating all the candies that Pinkie Pie had brought with her.

After being thanked by the fillies for their prize, Dusk finally left Fluttershy's house to go to Zecora's house. However, Fluttershy ran after him before he left.

“A-Are you sure you want to leave now?  It's already night and… and the Everfree Forest is very dangerous." Fluttershy said very concerned.

Seeing his dear friend so scared, Dusk smiled as he thought about how cute Fluttershy looked when she cared for others.

"I'll be fine.  It’s not very far to Zecora's house from here.  I'm just going to deliver the book and be back for the slumber party soon." Dusk said with a confident smile.

After assuring his friend, Dusk turned and continued on his way, walking along the path that led to the Everfree Forest.  Meanwhile, Fluttershy just stood there, with fear in her heart, unable to help but worry about her beloved colt as he entered what seemed to be a very dangerous situation.

After losing sight of Dusk, Fluttershy finally lowered her head and slowly made her way home. Once inside, Fluttershy's concern faded into surprise at what she saw. The three fillies were running swiftly back just and forth, like when they first entered Fluttershy's house. However now they seemed to be with much more energy and causing much more disorder, as if they were running and playing at twice their normal speed. And as the three fillies ran back and forth, Pinkie Pie ran after them, trying and failing to calm them down.

"What’s happening?" Fluttershy asked scared looking at Pinkie Pie.

"I don't know!  We were eating candy and then they started saying they wanted to get their cutie mark for this and that, and they started running around and doing a lot of things!" Pinkie Pie answered with concern.  Pinkie was usually the one that caused lots of commotion, not the one in charge of keeping order, so now she was worried that she had lost control of the little fillies.

Seeing how the fillies kept running from one place to another without paying attention to Pinkie Pie or her, Fluttershy realized what was going on.

"Maybe it was too much candy... I think I once heard that it’s not good for foals to eat too much sugar before going to sleep... it makes them hyperactive." Fluttershy said thoughtfully, who wasn't sure about that, since like Pinkie Pie, this was her first time taking care of fillies. "But they ate the candy from the piñata only a few minutes ago… How are they this hyper already?"

"Yeah, I don't think that's it... After all, I've been giving them candies all afternoon and this hadn't happened." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully as she scratched her head.

"What!? Have you been giving them candy all afternoon!?" Fluttershy repeated scared.

"Well yeah, how do you think I was able to convince them to stop running when I got here?" Pinkie Pie said with a shrug.

It was then that Fluttershy remembered how she and Dusk thought Pinkie Pie had a gift for controlling fillies, when in fact what Pinkie Pie had done was bribed the with sweets.

"That's why they are so hyper now!" Fluttershy said, annoyed with Pinkie Pie. "Besides the candy from the piñata…. Wait, now I remember! You told Dusk not to worry, that you could solve the problems caused by the candy in the piñata." Fluttershy added looking closely at Pinkie Pie.

"Yes! I can totally fix it… with this!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile and a proud pose, lifting a small box on her hoof. Then Fluttershy came over and read what the box said.

"Floss?" Fluttershy said confused, looking at the box Pinkie Pie was holding.

"Yepperoni! That way no matter how much candies they eat, they won't get cavities." Pinkie Pie replied proudly. "You see? I had it all sorted out."

"Dusk didn't mean that candy gave cavities!  He was referring to that they could be hyperactive!" Fluttershy said annoyed.

During that time, the excess energy of the fillies had caused them to go from curiously exploring Fluttershy's house, to start doing different 'crusades' to discover their talents and thus their cutie marks.  They tried to get their cutie marks in carpentry, causing them to smash a table and repair it in a horrible way. Then they tried to get their cutie marks in coal miners, so they had made a mess in the chimney of the house and left the whole floor stained with soot marks. Then they had tried to get their cutie marks from playing catch and ran back and forth without stopping while playing. And after all that, the three fillies were still full of energy from Pinkie Pie's candies, and ready to go on with their crusades.

"Girls... Girls!" Fluttershy tried to yell at the fillies to get their attention, but none of them paid attention to her. "They don't listen to me... Pinkie, do you have any more candy to convince them?"

"N-No... I ran out of sweets..." Pinkie Pie said slowly going from worry to sadness.

Pinkie Pie didn't know that giving fillies a lot of candy made them act like that, and now she felt guilty. She had gone to that slumber party with the intention of getting closer to Dusk Shine, and she hadn't paid more attention to what she would have to do to take care of the three fillies.  She thought it would be easy, but now she realized her big mistake. And the worst of it was that she had thought that even in the future she might’ve been a good babysitter to help Mr. and Mrs Cake with their baby.  But now she saw that she was a terrible babysitter and that as much as she wanted it, Mr. and Mrs. Cake could never trust her to take care of their precious foal..

"Pinkie! What do we do?" Fluttershy asked scared.

"I-I don't know..." Pinkie Pie said sadly as she was still lost in her depression.

"When you feel lost, don't get depressed… Just smile and you will find the answer." Pinkie Pie remembered a phrase that somepony very dear to her had told her once and always remembered when she was in trouble.

Then Pinkie Pie shook her head to shake off the depression she felt, forced a small smile and looked around as she tried to think of a solution to the problem she had caused, until her eyes stopped at Fluttershy's kitchen.

"Whenever I come here and you ask me for tea, I feel very relaxed after drinking it..." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look, looking at her friend. "Maybe that could work."

Then both mares went to the kitchen to make some chamomile tea while the Cutie Mark Crusaders kept running around the room with their inexhaustible energy.  After they finished making the tea, Pinkie and Fluttershy went to the main room and tried to get the fillies to drink the calming beverage.  But it seemed that nothing they were told caught their attention and they were just ignored.

"They don't want to listen to us… Dear Celestia!  How can they be so restless?!" Pinkie Pie said frustratingly as the fillies kept running around like crazy, not realizing the irony that she would say something like that.

Seeing that nothing caught the fillies' attention, Fluttershy gave a thoughtful look as she tried to figure out what she could say that could possibly work.  Eventually, she did think up of one idea, but it might lead to embarrassment for the poor mare.  Nevertheless, Fluttershy figured that she would try anyway just so that Dusk wouldn’t have to return back to a house of three hyperactive fillies.

"Girls... Would you like to know my biggest secret?" Fluttershy said speaking quietly, hoping her idea would work.

Hearing the word 'secret', the three fillies raised their ears high and looked at Fluttershy intently, then the three of them ran and sat in front of her, expectant at the thought that they might know a big secret.

"A-Alright… let's sit down.  Let's drink a cup of tea while I tell you my secret." Fluttershy said with a smile, relieved to see that her plan seemed to have worked.

So, the five ponies sat on the floor and each had a cup of tea.  And although the three fillies were finally still in one place, it seemed that their eyes were vibrating with all the energy they still had.  Fluttershy realized that she would have to speak quickly, otherwise the fillies would lose interest and play around the house again.  So, the yellow pegasus sighed and thought that since she had reached that point, perhaps it would be best to be truly honest.

"Tonight has been very difficult for me... Not only because I had never cared for fillies like you, but also because... I saw how you, with your imitations of your sisters, were able to… make the colt I like nervous." Fluttershy said sheepishly as she blushed.

"The colt you like?" Apple Bloom said confused. "But then..." The red-headed filly muttered as her eyes widened, as did her two friends, who also understood what that meant.

"That's right... my secret is... I love Dusk Shine." Fluttershy said blushing, but with a serious look.

Hearing that confession, the three fillies blushed and covered their mouths in astonishment.  Since each one could have suspected that there was a certain nervousness in Fluttershy when she saw Dusk, but that she was able to say 'I love Dusk' was something that none of the three had expected to hear so directly.  And after the surprise, the three fillies realized something else and gave astonished looks.

"Then that mean’s my sister has a love rival now..." The three fillies said at the same time.

Saying that at the same time, the three fillies looked more astonished and looked at each other with concern.  Then an awkward silence hung in the air for several seconds, until finally Sweetie Belle decided to break it.

"Y-Yeah, well... it's pretty obvious that Rarity likes Dusk... I thought everypony already knew..." Sweetie Belle said scratching her head in confusion.

"I thought she just liked his appearance, or that it was just a little passing fancy?" Apple Bloom said looking at her friend.

"Nope, I may have…peeked in her diary.  And I've never seen her act like this with any other colt before.  I'm sure she’s head-over-hooves for Dusk." Sweetie Belle replied, also staring at Apple Bloom. "What about Applejack?"

"Well... it's kind of the same.  Everyone in the family knows that she likes Dusk, me included... I’ve just been quiet about it because Big Mac isn’t that fond of Dusk and I don’t want him to find out that I support their relationship..." Apple Bloom said a little worried, then turning to look at her other friend. “So, Rainbow Dash has a crush on Dusk Shine too!?"

Seeing her two friends staring at her, Scootaloo looked away, but then lowered her head in resignation.

"If Fluttershy could tell her secret, I guess… I should tell one too…" Scootaloo said sadly. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash is definitely in love with Dusk.  She even told me that they were dating. But... now I think maybe she told me that just to keep her secret that she’s in love with him...."

"Wait…so does that mean all the friends Dusk made when he got to Ponyville has a crush on him?" Apple Bloom asked looking at Fluttershy, who just blushed and pursed her lips.  Then the three fillies realized they were leaving someone out of the equation, and all eyes turned to Pinkie Pie, who also blushed at being discovered.

"Yeah…I may also have an itty-bitty crush on Dusk Shine..." Pinkie Pie said blushing, being a bit surprised at how shy she herself had become when talking about love.

"Wow...! And I thought for a second that it would be difficult for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to be in love with the same colt…" Scootaloo said surprised and thoughtful. "And now I find out that there are not two mares that are after Dusk Shine, but five!"

"Six!  You forgot about me!" Sweetie Belle added, glancing at her friend.

"I thought you said you would try asking out Spike?!" Apple Bloom said raising an eyebrow.

"Yes... but I'm not completely decided yet." Sweetie Belle replied, getting serious and then putting a goofy smile on her face. "Besides, it's fun to imagine two boys fighting over me... hehe..." Sweetie Belle added laughing at the image of Dusk and Spike donned in armor and fighting like ancient warriors while she waited for them in a tower dressed as a princess.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say..." Scootaloo said deciding to ignore her infatuated friend. "But now the important question is, who will Dusk end up with in the end?"

"Hmm... We should ask him when he comes back!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly.

"No! W-We can't do that.  He doesn't know that we’re all in love with him." Fluttershy said quickly blushing.

"Well, you all should tell him.  I don't think it's fair that everyone is suffering for love while Dusk doesn't make a decision." Apple Bloom said thoughtfully, being the most mature of her friends. "You all just have to tell him what all you feel and let Dusk do the rest.  He just has to make a decision, it's not very difficult to do." Apple Bloom added, thinking that Dusk would obviously choose the best mare, which was her older sister.  Similar thought to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with their respective older sisters, and the same as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy thought with themselves.

"Listen, your sisters and I already know that Dusk has to choose one of us, but the four of us reached an agreement not to pressure him." Pinkie Pie said with a weak smile.

"Five of us." Fluttershy corrected her looking seriously at Pinkie Pie, realizing that she once again hadn’t included her among her rivals in love.

"Uh? Oopsies!  Sorry Fluttershy.  I didn’t include you because you would never pressure Dusk, hehe." Pinkie Pie added with an awkward smile. Meanwhile Fluttershy just stared at her annoyed.

"I don't understand... How is it that five mares end up falling in love with the same colt?" Scootaloo said scratching her head in confusion.

"That's it!  Tell us how you fell in love with Dusk!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly, finally taking a few sips of the tea that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had made.

Seeing Sweetie Belle drinking the tea, only then did Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie remember that the end goal was calming the fillies, something they almost forgot as they told their love secrets. Then Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked at each other and smiled, deciding to tell the fillies what they were asking for, so that they would drink their tea and their sugar high would finally go down.

What followed was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy telling the fillies how they met Dusk the first time, what they had experienced with him in the days leading up to the Summer Sun Celebration, and the events that occurred the night when Nightmare Moon was released.  Each of the mares told their point of view and the moment they began to fall in love with Dusk, and since it was a story that the five friendly mares had talked about several times, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also told the fillies how Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had started to fall in love with Dusk.

At first the three fillies thought that love had been at first sight, but slowly they began to understand that many things had happened between Dusk and the mares to get to where they were and how the feelings of the mares had gone from feeling a certain attraction for Dusk, to then liking him, and finally feel in love with him. Where the fillies paid the most attention, however, was when they recounted the kisses they shared with Dusk, from Applejack's accidental kiss, Pinkie Pie's stolen kiss, Rarity's kiss after the fashion show, Rainbow Dash's kiss over the lake, and then finally Fluttershy's kiss after driving the dragon off the mountain.

"So, that part of the story about Fluttershy managing to scare a dragon with her terrifying stare was it true? Hahaha." Scootaloo said laughing at imagining something so bizarre.

"Haha, yeah, that’s kinda hard to imagine." Sweetie Belle added laughing as well, while Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, you should be careful when Fluttershy gets mad. She becomes a completely different pony. You know, all strong and determined…" Pinkie Pie said smiling, but seeing Fluttershy blush with embarrassment, she thought that maybe her friend didn't want the fillies to fear her. "But don't worry, Fluttershy’s normally calm and shy, so you shouldn't be afraid of her." Pinkie Pie added while lovingly hugging her dear friend.

As Pinkie Pie hugged Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus understood that Pinkie Pie had said that with good intentions, but she couldn't help feeling again undermined at the thought that Pinkie and her other friends thought that way about her.

"'You shouldn't be afraid of her'… Would they think that of me even with Dusk?" Fluttershy thought a little anguished, remembering how neither Rarity nor Pinkie Pie were afraid that she was alone with Dusk.

After taking the last sips of the chamomile tea, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were glad to see that the three fillies were calmer based on the lack of subtle vibrations in their eyes.  However, that didn't mean that the fillies were completely void of energy.

"And now... How about we all go to sleep?" Fluttershy asked kindly, who unlike the fillies, was already feeling a bit tired and wanted to lie down.

"Nooo..." The three fillies moaned at the same time, with scolded puppy-dog eyes.

"It's not that late, and Dusk still hasn't come back." Sweetie Belle added.

"Let's continue our costume party!" Apple Bloom said, jumping and running towards the costume box, followed by her two friends.

Seeing that the fillies still had energy, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at each other with tired looks and only sighed in resignation, both thinking that taking care of three fillies was much more difficult and tiring than they had thought.

The three fillies then proceeded to persuade Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to dress up and play with them.  This time, Pinkie Pie put on the toy tiara and imitated Diamond Tiara, while Fluttershy put on the glasses and imitated Silver Spoon.  While Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made messy hairstyles and goofy looks to appear like the clumsy colts Snips and Snails, Apple Bloom changed her hairstyle, put a picture of a flower on her flank and imitated her teacher, Miss Cheerilee.  Thus, the fillies and mares enjoyed their time playing out a typical day at school all while playfully making fun of each other’s antics. 

Finally, after quite some time, the chamomile tea finally took its sleepy effect, however, not with the ponies it should have.  Since Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also drank the tea and their adult bodies had much less energy than the fillies, they ultimately fell asleep first without realizing it while they were playing with the girls.  The Crusaders noticed this and were touched by those funny mares who had cared for them and had played with them, and they put a blanket over them so that they could sleep better.

"So, what can we do now?  I'm not sleepy yet." Sweetie Belle said looking at her two friends and shrugging.

"Don't you think it's strange...? Dusk Shine said he'd be back soon, but it's super late and he's still not back." Apple Bloom said looking at the time on the clock.

"Maybe he just decided to go home instead." Scootaloo replied sadly.

"No way!  Dusk said he would return, and he’s a true gentlecolt.  He would never break a promise." Sweetie Belle said immediately.

"Hmm... Maybe something bad happened to him... I heard he told Fluttershy he was going to the Everfree Forest to deliver something to Zecora." Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

"I know!  We could go find him!" Scootaloo said excitedly. "It’ll give us a good excuse to explore the forest like we wanted to earlier!"

"I-I don't know if that’s a good idea… It's night now and it can be dangerous." Sweetie Belle said fearfully.

"Hah! I laugh in the face of danger!" Scootaloo said laughing recklessly. "Plus, Fluttershy lives near the forest.  Do you think that a shy mare like her would live near a dangerous place?"

"Yeah! You're right!" Apple Bloom said, also getting excited about the idea of ​​going on a little adventure. "Let's go find Dusk Shine!"

Then the three fillies inhaled loudly to make their classic battle cry, but at the last second they remembered that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were sleeping next to them, so they stopped and put their heads together to whisper.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders to the rescue!" The three fillies cried out in a whisper. And then the three of them quietly left Fluttershy's house and walked in the direction of the dangerous Everfree Forest, having no idea of ​​the great danger they were exposing themselves to.

Fortunately for the fillies, there was only one path on that side of the forest, so if they wanted to find Dusk, they only had to follow that route.  Also, as it was the edge of the forest, the trees were not so leafy, and the moonlight was enough to illuminate the landscape.  But as they advanced, the forest became denser and therefore darker.  Despite all the darkness and the gloom of the forest, the three fillies walked calmly, lost in their conversation and in their anxiety for adventure.

"I still think it’s kinda silly for my sister and the others to wait for Dusk to realize that they’re in love with him." Apple Bloom said as she kept walking, since the three of them had been arguing about what they had discovered about Dusk and their sisters. "The easiest thing would be for them to tell Dusk and force him to choose one."

"Yeah, what’s so difficult about choosing one of them to be his marefriend?  The right choice is pretty obvious to me." Scootaloo added.

"Hmm... Maybe they’re scared to think about what would happen if Dusk doesn’t choose them." Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully. "But anyway, maybe we should just tell Dusk that-" Sweetie Belle suddenly stopped talking to seeing a figure in front of them.

Seeing the figure, the three fillies stopped and narrowed their eyes to see better.  They soon recognized that it was the figure of a pony, with an appearance that they knew very well.

"Dusk!!" The three fillies shouted excitedly, running towards where Dusk Shine was.

As the fillies latched onto the colt with a hug, they realized that something was very wrong.  Instead of feeling Dusk's warm fur, they felt a cold and rough surface.  Then the three fillies looked up to see Dusk better and saw that the colt was motionless and pale, with a shocked expression on his face.  Just at that moment a ray of moonlight filtered through the branches and the three fillies were shocked to see that it was a statue, a perfect stone statue of Dusk Shine.

"It's... it's a statue..." Sweetie Belle said completely terrified.

"I-It can't be… Dusk… He turned to stone!?" Apple Bloom said just as scared.

Then a noise was heard in the bushes, and the three fillies hugged each other tightly and screamed in terror...

Meanwhile, at Fluttershy's house, the two mares slept peacefully next to each other. And everything was going well until Pinkie Pie's snoring woke up the yellow pegasus.

As soon as Fluttershy opened her eyes, she was surprised to see everything around her slightly blurry, then she realized that she was wearing glasses, and remembered everything that had happened at the costume party.  She must have fallen asleep while still wearing the glasses.  Remembering everything, Fluttershy looked around for the fillies, but she didn't find them anywhere.

"Where are the fillies!?" Fluttershy said as she jumped up in scared shock. This caused Pinkie Pie's head, which had been perched on her shoulder, to fall and hit the ground, causing Pinkie Pie to wake up as well.

"Hmm? What's going on? It's morning already?" Pinkie Pie said sleepily.

"The fillies! The fillies are not here!" Fluttershy said scared.

After hearing Fluttershy's words and seeing her terrified face, Pinkie Pie just stared at her with the same sleepy eyes. It took her brain a few seconds longer for her to realize the gravity of the situation and cause her eyes to widen in horror.

"Calm down… They can't be far. They're probably playing hide and seek." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, trying to look calm so as not to worry Fluttershy more.

"I don't think they are playing." Fluttershy said while having a bad feeling.

"Don't worry, we just have to think like them." Pinkie Pie said, who then shook her mane and crouched down to be as tall as the fillies were, starting her show of impersonations.

"So, what can we do now?  I'm not sleepy yet." Pinkie Pie said with Sweetie Belle's manestyle, mimicking her perfectly.  Then she quickly changed places and shook her mane quickly to change her manestyle.

"Dusk Shine said he'd be back soon, but it's super late and he's still not back." Pinkie Pie said, this time imitating to Apple Bloom. Then Pinkie quickly switched places again and changed her manestyle again.

"I know! We could go find him!" Pinkie Pie said, this time mimicking Scootaloo's manestyle and attitude as she pointed towards the door.

When Pinkie Pie pointed to the door of the house, it was only then that she and Fluttershy realized the door was open, and they both gave terrified looks as they discovered where the fillies had gone.

"They went into the forest!?" Fluttershy shouted terrified, who then immediately ran to find the fillies.

As she ran out of the house, Fluttershy realized that her vision was still blurry, and she realized that because of how scared she was, she still hadn't removed the glasses with which she had fallen asleep after imitating Silver Spoon, just like that like Pinkie Pie kept her toy tiara on her head.  Then Fluttershy touched her glasses and started to take them off.

"D-Don't take your glasses off." Pinkie Pie said suddenly, who started shaking suddenly. "I think... My pinkie sense says we should keep them on." Pinkie Pie said after shaking.

Fluttershy looked at her friend confused, but she had long learned to trust her friend’s mysterious sixth sense.  So she did what she asked, and they both kept running into the Everfree Forest.  It didn't matter that both of them, especially Fluttershy, were terrified to enter that forest, especially at night. The only thing that mattered to both of them now was the well-being of the three fillies, who didn't understand how dangerous that forest could be.

"Fluttershy… Did a chicken get away?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly, stopping when she saw a mark on the ground.

"Uh? Why do you ask that?" Fluttershy said confused, stopping next to Pinkie Pie and looking at the mark her friend was seeing.

On the ground were a pair of footprints that closely resembled the feet of a chicken, but these were larger than a normal chicken.  When Fluttershy saw them, she went pale when she recognized which animal those footprints were from.

"That's why she asked me if I had a rooster..." Fluttershy muttered in terror, remembering what the mysterious zebra had asked her that very morning.  And finally understanding why that zebra had asked her that strange question, Fluttershy opened her mouth in horror as she confirmed her suspicions. "We must find the fillies right now!" Fluttershy screamed in terror, starting to sprint down the forest path.

"What's wrong?  Why did you mention a rooster?" Pinkie Pie asked scared, who immediately ran to her friend's side, very worried since very few times she had seen Fluttershy this scared.

"The crowing of a rooster is the only thing that drives away a cockatrice. That is why I have a chicken coop next to my house." Fluttershy said as she continued to run.

"A cockatrice?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"It's a beast from the Everfree Forest." Fluttershy replied terrified. "Normally the beasts of the Everfree Forest don't leave the depths of the forest, but a long time ago the cockatrice came to hunt near the edge of this area."

"And did you see that monster!?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise.

"No, I only... saw what it did to my bunnies... You can't look into a cockatrice’s eyes, because otherwise..." Fluttershy said terrified, shutting up at the last second, because she didn't want to imagine what would happen if some of the fillies saw such a beast in the eye.

Meanwhile, moments before, the three fillies had jumped in shock upon encountering a petrified Dusk Shine and then hearing a strange and scary sound from behind a bush.  And as soon as they saw something peek out of that bush, none of the three waited to see what it was and quickly ran out of there completely terrified.

Heading into the forest, the three fillies made their way through the trees and bushes trying to get as far away from the main path as possible.  After breaking some branches, none of the three realized they were heading into a small ravine.  Scootaloo and Sweete Belle suddenly slipped and fell, but luckily they were saved at the last second by Apple Bloom, who was behind them and managed to throw herself so that each of her friends could hold onto one of her hooves.  The three fillies stayed on the edge of the ravine, only being supported by the yellow filly, who little by little was giving way, since the weight of her two friends was too much for her to bear alone.

"H-Hold on!" Apple Bloom cried terrified looking down, where her two friends saw her.  The ravine below appeared bottomless as it was so deep that no light reached the bottom.

"Apple Bloom... Let go of me... You can't hold us both." Scootaloo said totally scared, not only because she was about to fall, but because she knew that if she didn't sacrifice herself, her other two friends would also fall.

"Don't do it! Let go of me! Save Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said through tears, understanding that her pegasus friend was sacrificing herself for her, something she would not allow.

As the three fillies struggled between life and death, to make matters worse, the strange sound they had heard behind the bush before running sounded like it was slowly approaching them.  Apple Bloom glanced back in terror as she saw the shadow of a strange beast, with a hen-shaped head and elongated snake-like body slowly rose above them, ready to devour its prey.

"What do I? What do I? What do I do!?" Apple Bloom thought completely scared, not knowing what to do. Understanding that with each passing second, she and her friends had less chance of surviving, but… She couldn't make up her mind!  There was no correct decision!

The land under Apple Bloom began to give way, and Apple Bloom began to fall down the ravine. But just at that moment, Pinkie Pie appeared from behind and managed to hold Apple Bloom, who also didn't let go of her friends for any second.  With a lot of effort, Pinkie Pie slowly managed to make the fillies rise and not fall through the ravine.

As soon as the three fillies were safely up the ravine, they hugged each other tearfully for what they had just lived through, but the shadow of a strange creature quickly reminded them that there was still a terrifying beast there near them.

"Pinkie! Don’t let the girls look the cockatrice in the eye!" Fluttershy screamed immediately before the fillies could see what was there.

Following what her friend was telling her, Pinkie Pie quickly lowered her head and made the fillies do so too.  The only thing that they could see was Fluttershy’s hooves, who was standing right in front of the strange creature that had chicken legs and the scaly body of a dragon.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie and the fillies were startled to see that, although they only saw the bottom of Fluttershy and the beast, they could see that Fluttershy's tail began to slowly turn to stone.

"Fluttershy!" Scootaloo said scared.

"Don't move!" Fluttershy yelled loudly.

Then the beast seemed to try to get past Fluttershy to get closer to the fillies, but Fluttershy quickly got back in the way.

"Don't you dare!  Look me in the eye when I speak to you!" Fluttershy yelled in a commanding voice.

Fluttershy was still wearing the glasses that Pinkie told her to keep on.  But even though her sight was slightly blurred, she could perfectly see the beast in front of her, a creature like she had never seen before. Part dragon and part bird, but what Fluttershy was most terrified of was its eyes, intense, glowing red orbs that could intimidate even the bravest Canterlot Palace Guard.  However, Fluttershy knew that she couldn't give in to fear, because the stakes were high... And although those eyes were terrifying, she had already faced a much more terrifying pair of eyes once before.  She had already imitated it once when she expelled that dragon a few months ago, and now all her senses made her relive that memory to use that stare again, a stare so fierce that no animal or beast could resist.

The cockatrice stared at the seemingly weak pony and her intense stare.  That beast had never seen such an intense stare look at it in that way, and after a few seconds, the beast felt the power of its stare languish before that of the pony.  So, the cockatrice began to slowly crouch before that 'beast dominator' pony and her intense stare.

"I don't want you to go near the edge of the forest ever again, do you understand!?" Fluttershy said keeping her fierce stare, not blinking at all.

Finally, the cockatrice closed its eyes and quickly crawled away from there.  As soon as the beast moved away, for a few seconds everyone froze in a long silence, still fearful and surprised at everything that had happened.

"Fluttreshy! That was awesome!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, who started to approach the pegasus with her friends.

"You three!  I told you not to go into the forest!  I’m very disappointed in you!  What would your sisters think if they found out you got seriously hurt, or even worse?!" Fluttershy yelled angrily and maintaining her fierce stare with which she had controlled the cockatrice, only this time she stared at the three fillies for disobeying her.

Seeing Fluttershy's fierce stare, the three fillies froze and lowered their heads as their eyes filled with tears, knowing that they were to blame for everything that happened.  As soon as the fillies started crying, Fluttershy closed her eyes and hugged them tightly.

"I don't want to use this stare on you... please don't do something so silly ever again." Fluttershy said already calmer.

"We promise... We'll never disobey you again..." The three fillies said crying, this time, without crossing their back hooves, simply making a true promise.

Seeing the tender hug of Fluttershy and the fillies, Pinkie Pie also joined in and hugged them all, so the five of them stayed for a long while until they were all able to calm down completely.

"Fluttershy! Your tail!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly, remembering that Fluttershy's tail had been turned to stone but was now slowly returning to normal.

"Yes… that happens when you scare a cockatrice.  Everything that turns to stone returns to normal." Fluttershy said with a small smile, deciding to explain herself better, since everyone was surprised to see that she knew such things. "It's not the first time that a cockatrice approaches from these sides. Some years ago, I found some rabbits turned to stone. It was then that I looked in books until I found out that a rooster crow scares away the cockatrice. That time, after the rooster crowed, the bunnies became unpetrified."

"Wait, I almost forgot!  Dusk was also turned to stone!" Apple Bloom said, suddenly remembering the poor petrified colt.

Then they all went quickly to where the statue of Dusk was. Upon arriving at the place, they saw that Dusk was indeed unpetrified, lying on the ground passed out.

"I don't think Dusk will wake up until tomorrow." Fluttershy said a little worried, remembering how that time with the petrified bunnies, the bunnies had slept a whole day after being unpetrified.

Then Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie accommodated Dusk between the two of them and both carried him on the way back, while the three fillies got very close to the two of them, since now they finally understood how dangerous the Everfree Forest could be.  Although they knew everything would be good as long as they were with those two mares who had saved their lives.

"By the way, you can take those glasses off now." Pinkie Pie said with a smile as they walked, seeing that her friend still had her glasses on.

"Thank you… it was very helpful. I think your pinkie sense saved us." Fluttershy said smiling.

"My pinkie sense was useless... It just warned me to keep wearing our costumes." Pinkie Pie said with a sad look, remembering how Dusk had told her that perhaps her pinkie sense was not a curse, but a gift. "Was it really helpful to you to wear your glasses all this time?"

"Oh, yes.  Definitely." Fluttershy replied. "From what I read, the stare of the cockatrice has an immediate effect, but I suppose that thanks to the glasses it didn't affect me all at once."

"You mean only your tail turned to stone?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"Yes, and besides, I wasn't affected by the curse either. That was what worried me the most." Fluttershy replied with a nervous smile.

"The curse?" Pinkie Pie asked even more confused.

"Yes. If someone sees the cockatrice straight in the eye, they turn to stone.  But if you look into its eyes for long time, then the curse-" Fluttershy said with a concerned look but stopped when she saw the fillies looking at her with scared looks. "I-It doesn't matter, it's nothing important." Fluttershy quickly added with a nervous smile.

"These little girls have already suffered a lot tonight… I don't want to scare them with more scary things… It's best not to tell them about that curse." Fluttershy thought worriedly, looking askance at Dusk, who was being carried on her back.

Once they got to the cottage, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy carried Dusk up to the second floor to take him to Fluttershy's bed, since it was the most comfortable bed to rest on.  Meanwhile, the three fillies settled into their cloud bed, ready to finally sleep.

"What is that?" Scootaloo asked seeing that Apple Bloom was reading a book.

"It's the book that was near Dusk when we found him.  I think he wanted to give it back to Zecora." Apple Bloom replied, putting the book down so her friend could see it. "I think it's a book about beast from Equestria… Look!  Here is the cockatrice!"

Then Apple Bloom pointed to a page in the book, where was the drawing of a cockatrice. Scootaloo saw the picture and also saw the one on the page opposite it.

"What’s a basilisk?" Scootaloo asked looking at the page that was before the cockatrice.

"That's what I was reading.  Although the basilisk is more like a snake, it's very similar to a cockatrice." Apple Bloom replied reading. "The basilisk is born from the egg of a snake incubated by a hen, and the cockatrice is ​​born from the egg of a hen incubated by a snake.  Furthermore, both beasts can turn ponies to stone with just one glance."

"So, they’re almost the same." Scootaloo said scratching her head.

"Yeah, although their curses are different." Apple Bloom said, reading the book carefully. "If you force your gaze towards the basilisk and look at it for a long time, its curse is that you will die at that very moment... On the other hoof, if you look very intently at a cockatrice, its curse will be... that you will see how you will die."

"Gosh... then the basilisk is much worse than a cockatrice." Scootaloo said in surprise.

"I guess." Apple Bloom said closing the book, ready to finally sleep. "Hey, where's Sweetie Belle?" The filly added suddenly when she saw that one of her friends was missing.

Just at that moment, on the second floor, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had finished putting Dusk on the bed.

"Will he really be alright?" Pinkie Pie asked worried, seeing that Dusk didn't react, as if he was passed out.

"I hope so." Fluttershy said also worried. "I think it'll be fine as long as he can rest properly tonight."

"I'll watch him!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly, jumping on the bed next to Dusk and hugging him. "I'll sleep next to Dusk so that nothing bothers him."

"Of course not!" Fluttershy said immediately annoyed, grabbing Sweetie Belle and pulling her off the bed.

Seeing that Fluttershy had taken her away from Dusk when she only wanted to take care of him, Sweetie Belle prepared to argue.  But immediately she saw that Fluttershy was looking at her seriously, and she remembered Fluttershy's fierce stare, so she finally lowered her depressed head and went back downstairs to sleep with her friends.

"Dusk needs to rest. I don't want anyone to bother him." Fluttershy said closing her eyes and sighing, thinking she was about to use 'her stare' again.

"Yeah, Dusk needs to rest, but you know... What Sweetie Belle said isn't such a bad idea..." Pinkie Pie said, looking away and blushing slightly. "I could stay and take care that no one bothers Dusk tonight. Maybe-"

Suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped talking as she glanced at Fluttershy and saw that she was staring at her with big eyes. It wasn't Fluttershy's fierce stare, but it wasn't the normal shy look that she used to have either.  If Pinkie Pie had to guess, she would say it was a middle stare, a stare without anger or intimidation, but full of determination and assurance.

"This is my house and I'll take care of Dusk Shine tonight." Fluttershy said without a hint of hesitation, which made Pinkie Pie very surprised at this new attitude from her friend.

Slowly and unconsciously Pinkie Pie was pushed by Fluttershy's stare, and once she was out of the room, the yellow pegasus slammed the door in her face. With only Fluttershy and Dusk left in the room, the pegasus sighed exhausted and approached the bed where Dusk was resting.

For what seemed like very long seconds, Fluttershy stared at Dusk.  Then she slowly opened the covers and lay down next to him.

"Very good... You finally take the initiative..." The little vampire Fluttershy said in Fluttershy's imagination, which appeared flying over her. "Now is the time!  You can do whatever you want with Dusk and no one will ever know!" The Little vampire Fluttershy added with a look full of lust.

"No... This is all my courage allows me to do for now." Fluttershy whispered responding slowly, without taking her gaze from Dusk's face. "I'm sorry... I can't change my personality and become aggressive, because... Because I want you to fall in love with the real me!" Fluttershy added blushing.

"Gosh... you're so boring.  Well, I’ll be back.  Probably when you have another…naughty dream." Fluttershy's little demon said, disappearing with a 'Poof!' in the air when she saw that she was being ignored.

Then Fluttershy remained silent lying next to Dusk, not even daring to touch his body, but feeling a pleasant sensation just by feeling the warmth of Dusk next to her.  Furthermore, she smiled tenderly when she realized that now she had also shared a bed with Dusk, just like all her other friends did.  And as she thought about it, Fluttershy also recalled what had happened to the filly's declarations when they imitated their sisters.

"Rainbow Dash can give you adventures, Rarity can give you romance, Applejack a big family, and Pinkie Pie a lot of smiles…" Fluttershy whispered blushing. "I'm not sure what I could give you... more than my love... and swear that I will always protect you..." Fluttershy added with a tender smile as she finally fell asleep next to her beloved Dusk.





The next morning, Futtershy woke up with a smile on her face.  She didn't know why, but she had slept more comfortably than she had ever remembered.  Then she opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was lying on the same bed with Dusk, hugging him.  Only then did Fluttershy begin to remember what had happened the day before.

After blushing and shaking her head to calm down, the yellow pegasus brought her head closer to Dusk's to see him better, and she could see that he was still unconscious, but unlike the night before when he seemed simply passed out, now he seemed to be sleeping comfortably, which made Fluttershy smile in relief and slowly get out of bed to let him sleep peacefully.

After getting out of bed, Fluttershy went down to the first floor, where her eyes widened to see that her kitchen was in a mess, and in the middle of the kitchen was Pinkie Pie sitting, calmly eating some fried hay and a glass of milk.

"Oh! Good Morning." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.  Seeing that Fluttershy looked scared at the mess in the kitchen, she understood her confusion. "Sorry, as soon as they woke up, Apple Bloom and the others insisted that they wanted to make us breakfast as a way to apologize for yesterday." Pinkie Pie added, showing Fluttershy some badly burnt pancakes that had the drawing made in syrup of the three fillies and said: 'We're sorry'.

"And where are the girls now?" Fluttershy asked concerned.

"They're playing with the chickens." Pinkie Pie said pointing towards the window.

Fluttershy walked to where Pinkie Pie indicated and saw out the window that the fillies were chasing a chicken around the chicken coop.  It seemed that they had returned to their idea of ​​playing dress up, only now Sweetie Belle wore a manestyle similar to Fluttershy's, Scootaloo had stuck some candy on her flank to resemble Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark, and Apple Bloom was completely still, probably imitating Dusk turned into stone. All while the poor chicken had had to play the role of the cockatrice.

"Stay away from the fillies and Dusk!  I'll save them all!" Sweetie Belle yelled, widening her eyes and staring intently at the chicken. It was clear that they were doing a very exaggerated performance of how Fluttershy had saved them the night before.

Seeing the fillies mimicking her and making her look like she was a hero, Fluttershy blushed and smiled, thinking how happy it made her to see that the fillies now finally respected her.

"By the way... did you sleep well last night?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly, as she feigned disinterest and drank her glass of milk.

A seeing that look in her friend, Fluttershy was surprised because she didn't remember Pinkie Pie having seen her in such a way before, with a look of suspicion on her.  It was then that Fluttershy realized why.

"So... Now do you take me seriously as a rival?" Fluttershy asked thinking aloud. Who immediately realized what she had said and blushed at saying something so blatant.

"Take you seriously as a rival?" Pinkie Pie repeated confused, then she widened her eyes as she understood what her friend must be referring to. "Oh… No, I always considered you as a rival in love, it's just that… I thought that you only took the initiative in extreme cases, like with the dragon." Pinkie Pie said a little embarrassed.

Then Pinkie Pie put on a more thoughtful look and looked at Fluttershy with a little concern.

"I... I thought that, but yesterday, when you said that you would take care of Dusk and you kicked me out of the room, I realized that you can be more determined if you put your mind to it..." Pinkie Pie said looking sadly at Fluttershy. "Sorry if I made you feel so insignificant, I didn’t mean it like that." Pinkie added ruefully.

Just as Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer, they both turned when they saw Dusk Shine slowly walking down the stairs with an exhausted look and walking awkwardly, affirmed from the edge of the stairs.

"Can someone explain to me what happened yesterday?" Dusk asked when he finally reached the first floor, holding his head for the headache he had.

Seeing that Dusk was staggering and still looking weak, both mares quickly approached him, helped him to sit on the couch, and each of them sat next to him. Then they both explained to him what had happened the night before, about how they had found him petrified, the escape of the three fillies, and their encounter against the cockatrice.

"A cockatrice?" Dusk said in amazement after hearing the story.  He put on a thoughtful face while trying to remember. "Everything is so confusing… I remember I was on my way to see Zecora, then I saw a chicken and then… I don't know… everything’s still fuzzy.  Although I think I can remember more if I think hard enough." Dusk said confused, still with a headache.

"Perhaps it's the effect of the petrification.  Don't worry, you just have to rest." Fluttershy said smiling kindly when she saw that Dusk had no major sequelae other than his headache.

"Yeah, I hope so..." Dusk said sighing, throwing his head back to support it on the couch. "It's strange, I can't quite remember what happened last night, but I vividly remember the dream I had last night."

"A dream?" Pinkie Pie asked curious.

"Yes… I remember that I was in a very dark and cold place.  But then an angel came down from heaven, hugged me and told me that she would always protect me…" Dusk said remembering, blushing when he remembered that beautiful faceless angel who hadn't only sworn to protect him, but also to give him all her love.

Hearing that, Fluttershy also blushed, since she didn't think that Dusk could have heard what she had whispered to him at night, although he seemed to believe that it had all been a dream.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie stretched her hooves and hugged Dusk tightly, putting her head close to Dusk's body.

"I won’t give up." Pinkie Pie whispered as she hugged Dusk, but not looking at him, but at her pegasus friend, looking at her with a defiant look.

After the surprise upon hearing Pinkie Pie's words, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel happy and satisfied to see that finally Pinkie Pie saw her as a worthy rival just like with her other friends.  Then Fluttershy put on a stare of determination and although she was very blushing, she hugged Dusk in the same way that Pinkie Pie did, leaving both mares facing each other while hugging Dusk's belly.

"I'm not going to give up either." Fluttershy replied with the same challenging look as she looked at Pinkie Pie. Then both friends smiled and stared at each other like great friends and rivals in love.

While both mares understood that now the competition for Dusk's love would be fiercer, Dusk turned his face away, completely red with shame at seeing his two mare friends hugging him so tightly.

"I know I should tell them that this isn’t appropriate, but… it feels great." Dusk thought ashamed, thinking about how good the soft and warm fur of his friends felt hugging him.





While Dusk and the mares were hugging on the couch, from one of the windows, three fillies were watching carefully what was happening.

"Look at that... Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed to hug Dusk!" Sweetie Belle said with surprise, as her jealousy made her want to go and ruin that moment, but since she felt indebted to both mares, she barely controlled herself and decided not to.

"That just proves that everything they told us was true... They’re all in love with Dusk!" Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

"That’s all the proof we needed..." Scootaloo said, observing her friends with a grim look.

"It seems there is no other option..." Sweetie Belle said with the same grim look as Scootaloo.

"That's right..." Apple Bloom added with the same look as she remembered what she and her friends had discussed moments before.

When Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie told them that they were also in love with Dusk, the three fillies had thought that they should force Dusk to choose.  After all, it was simple, Dusk only had to make one decision.  However, when they went to the forest the night before and were about to fall down a ravine, they understood that there were cases in which choosing an option wasn’t so easy, especially if there were feelings involved that complicated everything.  It was thus that the fillies understood that in this war for love, they could never all be happy, and even if Dusk chose one, there would be four other mares that would be unhappy, and that included their sisters.  So, after arguing for a long time, the three of them had come to a conclusion...

When making their decision, the three fillies put on dark glasses at the same time, the kind they had brought in their costume box, and looked decisively towards Dusk, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"Looks like it’s time for 'Plan H'!" The three fillies said at the same time, while striking a cool pose and making serious faces.

"By the way... 'Plan H' stands for 'Hentai', right?" Sweetie Belle asked confused.

"Of course not!  Stop making up words!" Scootaloo replied, blushing for some reason. "What does that even mean?"

"I don’t know?" Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I just keep hearing that word from some of the mares that read those comics that Lyra Heartstrings sells."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and then corrected her friend. "'Plan H' is for 'Harem'!"

"That's right... We'll support all of them..." Apple Bloom said seriously. "We'll make Dusk Shine stay with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at the same time..."

While the three fillies made the decision to support the five mares to win Dusk's heart at the same time, Dusk was still sitting on the couch, not even imagining all the shenanigans that would lie ahead now that those three fillies had made the decision for whom he should confess his love to.

End of chapter 50
> Chapter 51 - Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fear

It was early morning and a little baby dragon was standing in front of a mirror, doing various contortions and exaggerated poses while taking pride in his almost nonexistent muscles, which in his imagination would impress a certain white unicorn.

"So, Rarity… What do you think?  Do you notice that I have been exercising?" Spike said as he flexed his arms in front of the mirror and made duck lips to look cooler. "These muscles are for you, baby."

Suddenly Spike moved his claw at his back, and side of him, facing the mirror, appeared a plushie that closely resembled his beloved Rarity.  A new plushie that he had secretly order, which had cost him days of sacrifice of not eating gems to save them and thus pay for that little miniature imitation of his beloved muse.

"Oh, Spike! You look so strong and masculine!" Spike said imitating a high-pitched voice, moving his mouth almost imperceptibly to ventriloquism, all to make it seem that Rarity's plushie was the one speaking to him. "I am definitely in love with you!"

"I know, honey. I know." Spike said with a proud face, then looking Rarity's plushie and bringing his mouth towards it while his imagination flew and made him imagine himself being about to kiss the beautiful mare.

Just when Spike was about to kiss his plushie, he felt something move behind him, so he quickly hid the plushie behind him and quickly turned around.  Then Spike saw that the movement had been from Dusk Shine, who had just woken up and was about to go to the bathroom.

"D-Dusk! I-I thought you'd sleep in a little more. I… I wasn't doing anything embarrassing!" Spike said quickly, who had taken advantage of the fact of getting up early to do that little show with his plushie, but he didn't want his big brother to make fun of him.

At Spike's words, Dusk glanced at him and saw that his little brother was embarrassed about something, and it most likely had to do with the plushie he was hiding behind his back.  Since Spike was in front of a mirror, Dusk in the same way could see perfectly what his brother was hiding behind him.  Any other day, Dusk had questioned his brother to know what he had been doing exactly, and then tease him, but that very morning, Dusk was not in the best of moods.

"Do what you want, my head is somewhere else right now..." Dusk said, sighing tiredly and continuing his way to the bathroom.

"Uh? What's wrong?  You look a bit discouraged." Spike asked after hesitating a little, since he was glad that his brother had not seen his little show, but he was still worried about Dusk's mood.

"I don't know.  I didn't sleep very well… I think I had a nightmare or something." Dusk said trying to remember the last thing he saw before waking up.

"Oh, then no problem.  You're already awake, so no more nightmare, right?" Spike said a little nervous, walking slowly back to hide Rarity's plushie in a drawer so Dusk wouldn't see it.

"I know, but… it's strange… I don't know if it was a nightmare or something I imagined as soon as I woke up.  I only remember one image and… the feeling it left me is very confusing." Dusk said as he uncomfortably remembered the only image he could remember from that nightmare. "Besides... if I had a nightmare... Why didn't she show up?"

"Hm? 'She' who?" Spike asked.

"N-Nopony..." Dusk replied slightly blushing, since he didn't want to tell Spike who he expected in the world of dreams.

Dusk still remembered the last time he saw 'Lady Night' and how that last time he had believed to have discovered her true identity.  But more important than that, were the words that she had said to Dusk that time, about not being able to see him again.  Something that seemed to be fulfilled, since Dusk had just had a nightmare, but SHE hadn't appeared to help him, which made Dusk Shine quite sad.

Once Dusk went to the bathroom and had breakfast with Spike, the unicorn got ready to start a new day.  And just as his little brother told him, he tried to stop thinking about a silly nightmare.  After all, he was awake now, and there was nothing to worry about, neither the nightmare, nor the strange feeling he felt.

"I think I'll go for a walk around town to clear my mind a bit." Dusk said saying goodbye to Spike and opening the library door to go out.

As soon as Dusk opened the door, a cannon shot of streamers and confetti hit him in the face.

"Yippee! You finally open the door!" Pinkie Pie said with an exhausted, yet happy face.

After the initial surprise and shaking his mane to remove the confetti stuck in there, Dusk looked confusingly at Pinkie Pie.

"Were you waiting for me to open the door?  Why didn't you just knock or come in without warning like you always do?" Dusk asked confused.

"I couldn't knock on the door to get in, since today I'm celebrating 'Opposite Day'." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

Dusk Shine stared at his friend for a few seconds, knowing that asking would only leave him with more questions, but he took a risk anyway.

"Opposite Day?" Dusk repeated very confused.

"Yeah! It's a new holiday I made up to throw a party for!  Here are the non-invitations." Pinkie said showing that she was holding several cards in her hoof. "So, I don't want you to go to my non-party." Pinkie added with a big smile.

"So… if it's Opposite Day… That means you don’t want me to go to the party, right?" Dusk said raising an eyebrow and smiling at the crazy things his friend came up with.

"Nope." Pinkie Pie replied with a big smile as she nodded her head to indicate that Dusk was right, and then she handed him one of the invitation cards she was holding.

"Well... it'll definitely be a confusing party..." Dusk said scratching his head and taking the invitation to the 'non-party' that Pinkie Pie offered him.

Seeing the invitation, Dusk's eyes almost jump with excitement to see that the invitation was basically a photo of Pinkie Pie with suggestive bedroom eyes, lying on her bed with a sexy pose.

"P-Pinkie! W-Why are you giving me an invitation like that!?" Dusk said completely blushing when he saw the photo of Pinkie Pie.  He tried his hardest to not ogle the suggestive image, but his basic instincts made it difficult for him to take his eyes off the sexy photo.

"Well, I wanted to give you a different kind of invitation..." Pinkie Pie said blushing a little and looking at Dusk with a flirtatious look.

"I-It's definitely different, and… it stimulates the imagination." Dusk said nervously.  The poor colt then began to fantasize imagining Pinkie Pie in that pose lying on his bed and enticing him to lie down next to her and get a taste of her special ‘pie’, which made him blush even more. "Wait! You'll also invite the girls, right? And… Are all invitations like this?" Dusk added concerned, imagining dozens of photos of Pinkie Pie in that sexy pose.

"Well, yours is special.  The other girls’ invitations are a bit different." Pinkie Pie replied with a smile while she showed Dusk how the other four invitations were for her other friends.

Seeing the other invitations, Dusk's eyes again almost pop out of their sockets, but this time not by emotion but from the horror to see that the invitations of his friends were almost exactly the same as his invitation, but the one who was in a sexy pose on a bed… was himself!





"What…!? How…!? W-Why…!?" Dusk stuttered horrified to see that photo of him in that sensual pose. "WHERE DID THAT PHOTO COME FROM!?"

"Obviously it's not you, at least not completely." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile. "I asked the 'Forbidden Love' fan club to find someone to cosplay 'Dusk-Sempai' and then I pasted a picture of your face on the body."

"Lyra's comic fan club?  And what does that have to do with me?" Dusk asked confused, unable to take his eyes off the invitation from his friends, where Pinkie had done an excellent job of editing the photo to make it seem almost true that it was Dusk Shine.

"I'm definitely going to have to start reading those comics... It seems like everyone knows something that I don't know..." Dusk pondered, thinking that even though he didn't like reading comics, he would have to make the effort to read that series.

"Why did I have to be the one on the invitations?" Dusk finally asked, after managing to calm down a bit, even though his cheeks were still red.

"Because I had to make sure everypony went to this non-party." Pinkie Pie said smiling.

"And how is it that a photo of me in... such a pose will convince them to go?" Dusk asked, blushing again.

"Who knows?" Pinkie Pie answered looking at Dusk flirtatiously and bringing her face a little closer to Dusk's. "Why do you think we would like to see you in such a pose?"

A seeing his friend so close, Dusk instinctively drew back a bit as he blushed more and looked again at the invitation he had in his hoof.

"Wait... The party is this afternoon?" Dusk asked confused, since when he saw the invitation with the photo of Pinkie Pie, surprise hadn't let him read the message after it, but now that he was paying attention, he could read what it said.

"Nope." Pinkie Pie said again as she nodded affirmatively, remembering that she was celebrating the made-up holiday. "Just today, Mr. and Mrs. Cake went out for two days in Canterlot, so I wanted to take the opportunity to have a party at Sugarcube Corner."

"It's a bit sudden… But I'll definitely go!  After all, your parties are the best." Dusk said with a big smile.

"Hehe... I'm very sad to hear that!" Pinkie said with a big smile, as she started to jump backwards. "And remember, I don't want you to go because you're not important to me." Pinkie added blushing a little.

While his friend walked away, Dusk just laughed nervously, thinking that if the party was about the opposite of everything, he couldn't even imagine the crazy things his festive friend had planned for that strange occasion.





Punctual as always, Dusk and Spike arrived at Sugracube Corner for Pinkie Pie's party, although since their friend had told them that they were celebrating Opposite Day, Dusk wasn't sure if arriving on time as he always did was the right thing to do.

Once they entered the bakery, Dusk and Spike were surprised to see that everything seemed to be turned upside down in the main hall. With a carpet and a table somehow glued to the ceiling, and the floor full of balloons with their strings up, which finally gave the illusion of walking on the ceiling. And to Dusk's surprise, it seemed that he and Spike were the last to arrive, since their five friends were already there.

"Oh! It's a shame you already have to go, bye!" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile seeing that Dusk and Spike had finally arrived at the party.

It took Dusk and Spike a second to understand that that farewell to Pinkie Pie was their way of welcoming them to that party of the opposite.

"Yeah... uh... goodbye..." Dusk greeted with a nervous smile, thinking that he would have to play along with his friend and say goodbye instead of saying hello.

"Will we have to do like this throughout the party?" Spike asked confused, thinking that it was kind of annoying to have to do everything backwards.

"Yes! But, it'll be fun!" Pinkie said laughing, but she quickly widened her eyes realizing her mistake. "Whoops! I mean, no! It'll be very boring!" Pinkie Pie corrected herself to continue her game.

With a quick glance, Dusk noticed that Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only really happy one at that party, since unlike other parties, her other friends seemed to have confused and uncomfortable looks.  Rarity and Fluttershy were quietly eating some sandwiches in one corner, while Applejack and Rainbow Dash were chatting near a large bucket of water in another corner.

Seeing where Rarity was, the little dragon immediately ran to be with his beloved. And seeing his brother run, Dusk took the opportunity to approach his other two friends on the other side.

"Hi girls, how's the party going?" Dusk asked smiling, noticing that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were looking confused with the large bucket of water in front of them.

"Dusk!  About time you showed up!" Rainbow Dash said smiling.

"I was punctual as always." Dusk said raising an eyebrow. "What surprises me is that you arrived before me.  You're always the last to get everywhere."

"Yeah... well... I-It's just that I was excited for the party, hehe." Rainbow Dash replied blushing and looking away, the same gesture that Applejack also made.  Though the four mares all enjoyed the parties their pink friend threw, the truth was that they had arrived very early to the party because they all had the small hope that at Pinkie Pie's party they could see Dusk Shine in the same pose sexy that he had appeared in the invitations they had received.

"By the way, why does everyone look so confused?" Dusk asked. "You're not celebrating like you normally do at Pinkie's parties."

"Well... it's complicated." Rainbow Dash replied scratching her head. "When we got here, the four of us were thinking of celebrating like we always do, but Pinkie Pie insisted we had to walk backwards, or speak differently.  So, we don't really know what to do."

"That’s why me and Rainbow started here.  We thought that there’d be some apples to bob for in this here bucket, you know, like that typical carnival game." Applejack added with a confused look. "But there ain’t no apples or anything floating in there."

"Oh! That is because you haven't searched in there yet!" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, appearing from behind with a smile.

"S,o is there something to look for?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Well duh!  It wouldn't be a game otherwise, silly." Pinkie Pie answered smiling.

Seeing that that bucket of water was indeed a game, the competitive spirit between Applejack and Rainbow Dash was kindled. Both mares looked at each other seriously, and quickly both dipped their snouts in the water to look for what was to be found there.

"I think I found something!" Rainbow Dash muttered excitedly, with half of her mouth still submerged in the water. "I think- AGH!" Rainbow Dash suddenly screamed as she felt something stick to her face.

As she pulled her head out of the water, everyone watched in amazement as Pinkie Pie's little crocodile, Gummy, had its mouth wide open and seemed to be eating Rainbow Dash.  Although of course, the baby crocodile was so small that it barely covered part of Rainbow Dash's nose and forehead.

"What is that?  Why was Gummy swimming in the bucket?" Applejack asked very confused.

"He wanted to help me with the game." Pinkie said laughing. "After all, we're celebrating Opposite Day, so instead of bobbing for a surprise, here the surprise bobs for you!" Pinkie Pie added excitedly.

"Ptui!  So all the games will also be the other way around?" Rainbow Dash asked, spitting a bit after pulling little Gummy off her face, who had clung tightly to his prey despite having no teeth.

"Of course!" Pinkie Pie said smiling and taking out a board with the drawing of a pony that had a pin from which a toy tail hung. "You want to play pin up tail on the pony?"

Seeing the pin with the toy tail, Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately imagined how they could play that game in the opposite way and imagined the worst, so they both made scared faces.

"I-I think that's enough games for now, hehe…" Applejack giggled nervously as she imagined Pinkie sticking a pin in her behind.

"Geez, Pinkie, this is definitely your weirdest party." Rainbow Dash said covering her face, unable to avoid being honest and saying what she was thinking at that moment.

"Yeah... but it's not fun to have the same parties every time, hehe." Pinkie Pie said with a small smile.

While that smile was normal for Pinkie Pie, it was also slightly different from the ones she had been having before hearing that disapproving comment from Rainbow Dash, and that was something that didn't go unnoticed by Dusk.

"Let's go over to Fluttershy and Rarity, it looks like they put on some music." Dusk said quickly changing the subject and pushing the others to get everyone together.

Just moments before, Spike had been listening to Rarity and Fluttershy talking about how confused they were about Pinkie Pie's party, as they couldn't seem to do anything without her telling them to do it backwards.  And while the mares were talking, Spike had begun to drink the punch provided, taking advantage of the fact that Dusk wasn’t looking.  The little dragon was forbidden to drink any punch that Dusk didn't try first, all after the incident at the Summer Sun Celebration when he had gotten drunk.  And it was after having a couple of drinks and noticing how discouraged everyone was that Spike had the great idea to put music on the turntable to make the atmosphere more cheerful.

"Oh Spike!  That’s a wonderful idea." Rarity said, noting that the music would indeed make the atmosphere more festive and thus maybe they could finally start celebrating like they always did.

Hearing Rarity's compliment, Spike blushed slightly and then bit his lip lightly when a great idea occurred to him.

"W-Would you like to dance with me?" Spike asked sheepishly, his cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

"Of course!" Rarity said lovingly, approaching her beloved Spikey-Wikey to dance animatedly together.

"Okie Dokie Lokie! Let's dance!" Pinkie Pie said very animatedly, seeing that her friends began to dance and cheer up.

"Dancing backwards would be too complicated.  So I think it would be best if we dance the normal way." Dusk murmured near PInkie Pie as he approached to dance with her, anticipating what his friend might come up with and wanting to prevent her from doing so.

"Yeah... I think you're right..." Pinkie Pie said, sighing slightly disappointed, until her eyes widened when another great idea occurred to her. "Wait, I know how to keep dancing normally and keep celebrating Opposite Day."

Then Pinkie Pie walked over to the turntable, turned the needle in the opposite direction to where the disc was spinning, and turned the music back on.  At that moment, everyone's dancing stopped when listening to the new music, which came from the same disc.  But now that it sounded backwards, it seemed to be playing some strange music in a strange language, which seemed more like a dark curse than harmonious music.

"I-It's a little different, but we could dance it anyway." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, looking expectantly at everyone.

At Pinkie's proposal, they all narrowed their eyes and looked at each other as the strange music played.  The pink pony’s idea was admittedly horrible, that music was impossible to dance to, as it was more noise than music.  Everyone was beginning to think about how annoying Opposite Day was getting, but of course, no one wanted to tell Pinkie Pie so as not to hurt her feelings.  Something that wasn't really necessary, since Pinkie Pie realized that her ideas weren't working, and her smile was becoming sadder, despite the fact that she tried not to show it.

"Stupid Pinkie! I wanted to throw a different party, but I'm making everyone feel uncomfortable…" Pinkie Pie thought sadly lowering her head.

Just at that moment the music stopped, and Pinkie Pie raised her head to see that Dusk had been the one who had stopped the turntable.

"Since it's Opposite Day, let's not dance to music.  Let's make our own music instead!" Dusk said with a big smile, taking Pinkie Pie by a hoof and starting to dance with her while he hummed a tune.

Seeing herself dancing so suddenly, Pinkie couldn't help but have a surprised face.  But when she noticed that Dusk did that to try to help her, Pinkie Pie felt a great joy to see that her dear Dusk had noticed her depression and had jumped in to help her. Then, the pink pony laughed with a joy in her heart, and also began to hum to support Dusk's melody.

Thus, Pinkie and Dusk continued dancing while the others also began to add different hums at different times, each one different, thus achieving a quite catchy rhythm that made everyone have fun listening to the music they formed just by humming.  Then it was Spike and Rarity's turn in the center to dance, and then each mare had their turn to dance with Dusk, which left a lot of laughs at all times.  All except for Spike when he saw Rarity dance with Dusk, where the dragon just looked away annoyed and drank quickly from the punch, as if that would make him forget what he saw.

After that dance, the atmosphere at the party became more cheerful, and each time they thought of doing something at the party, they did it in a different way to play along with Opposite Day, but this time everyone contributed so that this time it felt a lot more fun.

"Thank you..." Pinkie Pie whispered in Dusk's ear while the others laughed while playing limbo, only instead of going under, they played who jumped higher.

Hearing that whisper, Dusk turned and saw Pinkie Pie smiling warmly at him with a grateful look.

"Why? I don't know what you mean… This was all your idea; look how much fun everyone is having!" Dusk answered smiling, feigning ignorance.

Upon hearing that, Pinkie saw that Dusk hadn't only helped her when she needed it, but also helped her not to feel bad about herself. That made Pinkie lower her head and blush.

"You're definitely the one..." Pinkie whispered to herself, smiling at what she felt in her heart.

"Dear Rarityyyy… Hic! I… I love you sooooo much… Hic!" Spike said suddenly, approaching Rarity with a wobbly step and a somewhat lost look, while holding a glass of punch in his claw.

"Darling, Is something wrong with you?" Rarity asked concerned to see the baby dragon in that state, until she saw the glass of punch he was holding and got scared. "Spike! Don't tell me you drank too much!? "

"Ju-Just a little... Hic!" Spike replied with a goofy grin, hugging Rarity's leg tightly. "I love you sooooo much... Hic!"

"Pinkie! Why did you put alcohol in the punch!?" Rarity asked annoyed as she looked worriedly at Spike, who looked like he would fall at any moment.

"Did you try the punch?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"Of course not!  I was going to do it when I got here, but I thought I saw Gummy swimming in it, so I didn't want to drink it." Rarity replied worriedly, holding Spike tenderly like a baby and walking beside him to the couch.

Seeing his little brother so drunk, Dusk walked over to the punch, sniffed it carefully, then poured himself a glass and drank it.

"This punch is alcohol-free." Dusk whispered confused.

"I know, that's why I asked Rarity if she tasted it." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug.

"But then… why is Spike drunk?" Dusk asked even more confused.

"Maybe he still remembers drinking the punch that summer night when he got drunk... I think it’s called the placebo effect." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look.

Dusk looked at Pinkie with surprise that she knew those specific medical terms, since even he had hardly heard of it.  It was then that Dusk also remembered the time Pinkie Pie was a psychologist with him when they were studying her pinkie-sense, where Dusk had already been surprised that his peculiar friend could do such accurate mental analysis.

"Pinkie, you're a box full of surprises." Dusk said with a big smile.

Hearing that compliment, Pinkie Pie felt even happier than she already felt, and began to laugh.

"Hey, if it's Opposite Day, then you don't have to laugh when you're happy." Applejack said suddenly, who had come jumping back to where Dusk and Pinkie Pie were.

"Oh! It's true." Pinkie Pie said surprised. Then she tried to put a serious look but seeing Dusk out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't bear it and smiled again with happiness. "Sorry, I can't, hehe." Pinkie Pie added, smiling again. Then it was Pinkie Pie's turn to jump back to get closer to chat with Fluttershy while she didn't stop smiling at Dusk's compliment.

"Hehe, I knew she couldn't do it… It's hard for me to imagine Pinkie Pie sad." Applejack said with a smile as she watched Pinkie Pie jump.

At Applejack's words, Dusk remembered that he had seen Pinkie Pie cry, when she was locked in her secret room.  But that was something they both kept secret, because Pinkie was the symbol of happiness of the town.  An image that needed to be kept for everyone’s benefit.

"M-Maybe the opposite of happy isn't sad... Maybe the opposite is being angry." Dusk said slightly nervous, wanting to change the subject to remove from his mind the painful image of seeing his cheery friend crying. "Although I don't think I’ve seen Pinkie Pie angry either... I can't imagine Pinkie yelling at someone angrily."

"Hmm… I think you're right.  I've seen her upset, but I've never seen her angry enough to yell at somepony else." Applejack said thoughtfully, until her eyes widened at the memory of something. "Although… there was that time when Trixie was in town.  That time, after her first show, we went to see her because we knew she was planning something against you. Then she told us that it was strange that the whole town was against you except us, and she said that it could be because we were crazy or because we were under a spell..."

"Did Trixie really say that?" Dusk said surprised, but then he remembered everything that mare had done to make the town see him poorly, and then he realized that what Applejack was telling him was not really that far from reality.

"Yeah. When Trixie called us crazy, I remember Pinkie yelling very angrily 'Don't tell us crazy'… I remember it well because I've never seen Pinkie Pie scream like that." Applejack said thoughtfully.

"Maybe she doesn't like to be called crazy." Dusk said thoughtfully.

"Or maybe she got mad because Trixie was offending how she felt about the colt that she lov-" Applejack said, quickly shutting up, as she was about to say that Pinkie loved Dusk. "R-Rainbow Dash! You called me!?" Applejack said quickly, blushed, quickly moving away from Dusk since she knew that if she kept talking she could be risking the secret of love of her friend and the others, because the truth was that that time, Trixie had deduced that they were neither crazy nor bewitched, but in love.

After making sure Spike was sleeping peacefully on the couch, Rarity turned to go back to the party.  It was then that she saw that Dusk was eating some snacks, and for the first time at the party, alone. This was a great opportunity to get closer to him and talk more in private, after all, her sharp eye had noticed that her other friends seemed to be paying more attention to their other friends than to her.  Actually, since Applejack had returned from Appleloosa, Rarity had noticed that Rainbow Dash didn't take her eyes off Applejack, as if she feared leaving Applejack alone with Dusk for a long time again.  And something similar happened with Pinkie Pie, who after the slumber party at Fluttershy's house, she always glanced at Fluttershy to make sure she didn't spend too much time alone with Dusk.

"With them busy keeping an eye on each other, that leaves the field open for me!" Rarity thought, smiling with pride as she approached Dusk. "Time to flirt with my 'darling' a bit."

Once she arrived next to Dusk, Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but at that same moment, she saw that her other four friends had also approached Dusk, and without him noticing, they all glanced at Rarity. With just one look, Rarity fully understood what her friends were thinking: 'You won't take advantage, we haven't forgotten about you.'  Which made her chance to flirt with Dusk slip away.

While Dusk ate, he saw his five friends, who without him noticing, had surrounded him.  They all smiled kindly, but it seemed that none wanted to speak, as if they expected Dusk to be the first to say something.  And in that smiling silence, in which none of them dared to take the step to approach Dusk, knowing that if one did the others would also act, it was that they all understood that they had reached the next phase in their war for Dusk's love: A Cold War, in which none could get closer to Dusk without the others waiting passively, without the others retaliating.

"Why…isn’t anypony saying anything?" Dusk finally said, with a confused smile, thinking that perhaps his friends were playing something without him knowing.

"Hmm... You know Dusk, I've been thinking..." Pinkie Pie said smiling and then suddenly frowning and looking at Dusk with an angry face. "I hate you."

"W-What?" Dusk said very surprised, like the other mares, since none of them expected Pinkie to say something so hurtful so suddenly.

"That's right, I’ve hated you since the day we met, I hate you with all the strength of my soul." Pinkie Pie said again, this time unable to bear her facade and smiling again, slightly blushing.

It was only when Pinkie Pie smiled that everyone remembered the party they were at, where nothing was what it seemed and everything was backwards. And if Pinkie said she hated Dusk, what it really meant was...

"W-Well, I hate you more, much, much more!" Rarity said quickly, the first to understand her pink rival's bold move.  Blushing in the same way when saying that while taking a step to approach Dusk.

"I hate you too, I hate you since I met you and I hate you more and more every day." Fluttershy said, completely red as she looked at Dusk.

"T-That's nothing. I hate you more than anyone. I hate you today, I'll hate you tomorrow and… And I'll always hate you!" Rainbow Dash said blushing.

"I… I also hate the way you are.  I hate you so much that I don't know what to do." Applejack said staring at Dusk.

"I... uh... yes... we all hate each other a lot, hehe..." Dusk said very red when he saw that his friends stared at him directly while showing their feelings of affection. "Since I met all of you, I have learned to hate you with all my heart.  If you hate me, know that I hate you much more, hehe." Dusk added with a nervous smile, thinking of how to 'hate' could mean 'affection' and 'friendship' in this crazy party, so everyone was really saying how much they wanted themselves as friends, showing how important and valuable their bond of friendship really was.

"But… the exact opposite of 'hate' is… 'love'." Dusk thought nervously. "If only one of the girls had said that, for a second I would have believed that, but since they all did the same, I understood that it couldn't really mean love… Right? … right!?" Dusk thought nervously, feeling his heart for a second almost paralyze with emotion at the thought of what all of his friends really meant, but his rational mind had quickly acted.

At another time, Dusk would have settled the matter with that answer, but now his heart wouldn't let him.  Since he had discovered his feelings for his friends, a small spark of hope in his low self-esteem had created a space to believe that there was a slim chance that one of his friends might feel something for him. And now, with that little spark of doubt, Dusk was forced to ask to get out of doubt.

"Uhm... W-Which really means-" Dusk started to say, until he was interrupted.

"How dare you tell my dear Rarity that you hate her!" Spike said suddenly, waking up with his psychological drunkenness. Then Spike staggered to where everyone was, glared at Dusk, and then looked at Rarity.

"Don’t worry, Rarity, I’ll always like you." Spike said with a goofy grin.

"Hmm, but Spike, today is Opposite Day." Pinkie Pie said laughing at Spike's fake drunkenness. "So, what you're really saying is that you’ll always dislike Rarity."

Hearing that, Spike's fictional drunkenness seemed to dissipate, and he made a face of horror.  Seeing that Spike realized his mistake, they all began to laugh at the foolishness of the situation.

Finally, seeing that it was already night, everypony decided to end the party.  Dusk carried Spike on his back, who seemed to be very depressed because of what he had said to Rarity.  And while everyone was leaving, Pinkie was listening through the window as her friends were talking about how strange that party had been, but that everything had finally turned out well, despite it starting very boring.

"I just wanted to throw a different party... if I don't try new things, I'll never know if they could work." Pinkie Pie said speaking to herself as she began to tidy up the mess they had made in the room, then she pulled out a list and crossed out where it said, 'try an Opposite Day party'. "I don't think I'll have a party like that again.  Although… thanks to Dusk, everything turned out fine in the end."

In that instant, Pinkie Pie widened her eyes in surprise and then closed them tightly, showing concern.

"Oh geez… I should stop talking to myself." Pinkie Pie thought remembering something from her past that scared her.

After deflating the last balloon, Pinkie Pie looked around her, seeing that she was completely alone in a quiet room.  It was a pretty big juxtaposition had been just minutes ago, with all her friends laughing together. Then a terrifying feeling of loneliness seized her.  The party mare had always been the definitely of a social butterfly.  She was always in the presence of other ponies, be it her friends or some other pony in town.  Even in the evening, she with Mr. and Mrs. Cake and knowing that they slept in a few rooms down from her own brought her a sense of comfort. 

But this time she was completely alone, and that alone began a small trickle of dark thoughts to pop up in her head.

"Sleep!  I need sleep... If I fall asleep quickly, tomorrow will come faster, I'll be able to get together again with my friends, and I'll stop being alone..." Pinkie Pie said, who again realized that she was talking to herself and pressed her lips strong in frustration. So she took Gummy next to her and hugged him. "I'm not talking to myself, you're here with me, right Gummy?" Pinkie said with a small smile as she went upstairs to go to bed.





As fast as Pinkie Pie closed her eyes, she opened them the next day.  She had been so tired that she felt as if she had barely blinked and it was already dawn, and the fact that she hadn't dreamed that night gave more to the illusion that the night had lasted only a blink.

Rubbing her eyes from exhaustion, Pinkie got up and sat on her bed, staring blankly.  Her mane was long and straight, without a hint of the usual tousled and fluffy mane that she always had.  For several seconds, Pinkie froze, trying in vain to remember if she had dreamed something, but her fatigue had been such that the night before had simply been like turning off her conscience and that morning she would have turned on again.

"It's not usual to sleep without dreaming anything... I wonder if that’s what death will be like... not like a long dream, but just... you stop thinking and your consciousness is lost..." Pinkie Pie murmured with a dark look. "Although it doesn't matter if sleeping is like being dead.  There are worse things than death…" Pinkie added with a scared look, even more concerned when she realized that she was speaking to herself again.

In that instant, Pinkie realized the dark thoughts she was thinking and then noticed the morbid expression she had on. No one wanted to see a sad Pinkie Pie, not even herself.  Then Pinkie Pie shook her head to drive away all those gloomy thoughts, causing her mane to fluff up as it normally was, and then Pinkie smiled happily, ready to start a new day in the best possible way.

Pinkie started her daily routine; bathing herself with Gummy, having breakfast and chatting with her little crocodile so as not to feel alone.  Then Pinkie placed some orders that Mr. Cake had asked of her to keep her busy at the bakery, but she finished them quickly, fixing a few things in the kitchen and delivering some cake orders that a couple of ponies had left in advance.  Finally, the pink mare was completely unoccupied, alone in the bakery, with a silence that made her feel more and more uneasy, until the solution occurred to her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake come back home tonight... meaning I can throw another party with my best friends before they come back!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, taking Gummy between her hooves and setting him down on the main counter. "Gummy, I’m leaving you in charge of the bakery while I go to invite my friends to the party." Pinkie said looking seriously at Gummy, who just replied indifferently, sticking his tongue out and touching his eye with it.

After leaving Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie knew who she wanted more than anyone at the party, so her first visit was to the Golden Oak Library.  Once there, she knocked on the door this time, unlike the day before.  However, the one who came out to greet her was not Dusk Shine, but little Spike.

"Hey Pinkie, how are you doing?" Spike said smiling.

"Hi Spike!" The pink pony greeted happily. "Where’s Dusk?  I wanted to invite you both to my after-party this afternoon!"

"Dusk isn’t here right now.  He’s been having some strange nightmares lately, so he went to the Everfree Forest to meet with Zecora for her advice." Spike said scratching his head, until he realized the invitation Pinkie Pie was giving him. "Wait?!  Did you say you were having a party THIS afternoon?"

"Yep!" Pinkie said very happy. "But we’re not having an Opposite Day party this time. I still don't think about what I'll do differently for this party, but I assure you it'll be fun!"

"Yeah… uh… I remembered that I won't be able to go, because… because I have to tidy up the library!" Spike replied nervously, trying to smile at Pinkie Pie.

"Oh… But is it a lot of work?  Maybe you could save it for tomorrow so you can go to the party." Pinkie Pie said with a small smile.

At Pinkie's insistence, Spike narrowed the door and sneezed into the library.

"Oh no! Look!" Spike said feigning surprise and opening the door. In doing so, Pinkie was surprised to see a small fire in the library. "There's even a fire in the library, that's how messy it is!  I-I think it would be best if I started, I'm sorry I can't go to your party!" Spike added quickly, slamming the door, leaving a very confused Pinkie Pie outside.

"How strange… it almost seemed like Spike had caused that fire on purpose…" Pinkie Pie muttered thoughtfully, but immediately shook her head. "No, why Spike would do something like that, he loves my parties!" Pinkie Pie added smiling again, thinking how silly she was for mistrusting Spike, and regretting that the little dragon couldn't come to her party.

After going to the library, the next pony on her invite list was Rarity, so Pinkie headed towards the Carousel Boutique, knowing that at least her unicorn friend wouldn't be busy with her work.

"Oh, I'm sorry darling.  I won't be able to go to your party this afternoon." Rarity said with a nervous smile after Pinkie had asked her the question just as she was taking out the trash on the street.

"Why not?  I thought I heard you say yesterday that you would be free from work today." Pinkie Pie said disappointed, remembering what her friend had said the day before at the party.

"Uh… yes, quite.  That's not why… I won't be able to go because…" Rarity answered shakily, looking around until she saw the trash bin that she was holding in her hooves. Then, having great willpower, Rarity stuck her head in the trash, completely dirtying her mane. "I can't go because I need to wash my mane today... Ugh!" Rarity said quickly, holding back the urge to vomit and running back to her house, slamming the door behind her, leaving Pinkie Pie alone and confused for the second time.

Unfortunately for Pinkie Pie, when she went to invite Fluttershy, she had no better luck.

"I'm sorry, I can't go to your party because… I have to take care of Angel!" Fluttershy replied after Pinkie arrived at her cottage.

"B-But that's not a problem, you can take Angel with you." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile.

"Uh… I couldn't. It's just... Angel doesn’t get along very well with Gummy." Fluttershy said quickly, looking askance at Angel, who only shrugged, knowing that this was a lie.  Then Fluttershy used 'The Stare' to scare Angel, and the little bunny had no choice but to pretend to be angry and wild to hear that he would be with Gummy.

With a new wave of disappointment, Pinkie left Fluttershy's house and headed over to where she knew Rainbow Dash should be with the weather team.  And as Pinkie walked, she started to become a bit more suspicious, because what all her friends had told her seemed like simple excuses for not going to her party, but her heart refused to suspect her dear friends in that way.

"Sorry Pinkie, I have a lot of work to do today.  But count me in for the next party." Rainbow Dash said worryingly as she flew over Pinkie when she stopped her to ask her.

"What are you talking about? We're almost done-" Cloud Kicker said, one of Rainbow Dash's pegasus companions, who couldn't finish her sentence, as Rainbow Dash quickly put a hoof in her mouth to shut her up.

"Hehe, yeah, like I was saying, sooo busy." Rainbow Dash quickly added, getting very nervous. "Bye!" The blue pegasus added, flying quickly away from Pinkie Pie.

This was the fourth rejection that Pinkie Pie received for her party.  It seemed of little use to continue inviting her friends, however Pinkie decided that even if only one of her friends could go, that was enough for her.  So, she went to Sweete Apple Acres to invite the last of her best friends, hoping that she could be with her to accompany her and get her out of her loneliness.

"So, can you go to my party this afternoon?" Pinkie Pie asked her honest friend, Applejack, with a smile that almost seemed like a plea.

Hearing her friend, Applejack froze and closed her lips tightly, then she began to sweat a lot.  The orange mare was horrible at lying and she knew it.  So finally, she just pointed at her throat and spoke without making a sound, thus pointing to her friend that she had suddenly become hoarse and could no longer speak.

Seeing Applejack's gestures, Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes and brought her face close to her friend's, who just looked at her nervously.

"Is your throat really that sore?" Pinkie Pie asked looking questioningly at her friend.

Seeing Pinkie's intense gaze, Applejack just squeezed her eyes shut and nodded quickly, then ran back to the barn and shut the door behind her.

As the last door closed in her face, Pinkie Pie couldn't help but sadly lower her head and frown when she saw that her friends couldn't be with her, and perhaps worse still, they DIDN'T WANT to be with her.

"No! I can't distrust my friends! They wouldn't fool me! They… they like to be with me…" Pinkie Pie said very sadly, although she couldn't help but doubt her friends a bit.  Then Pinkie realized that she was talking to herself again, so she closed her eyes tightly in frustration.

Finally, Pinkie decided to go back to the library to see if Dusk had returned.  Not only because he was her last chance for someone to agree to be with her, but also because she was beginning to feel very sad, and she knew that in those cases she needed to be close to Dusk for him to help her cope with that sadness.

When Pinkie was about to arrive at the library, she stopped when she saw that suddenly the door of the library opened and Spike crept out wearing a strange raincoat and a hat, which instead of making him go unnoticed, it generated the opposite effect.  At the sight of the little dragon in such a suspicious attitude, Pinkie decided to quickly hide behind a house and started tailing Spike from afar, while the baby dragon trying to go stealthily through the streets of the village.

After a short chase, Pinkie saw that Spike went to Rarity's house.  Seeing that, Pinkie Pie sneaked closer to hear what they were talking about.  The pink mare thought it strange that the pair looked so nervous.  Weren’t they supposed to be busy this afternoon?

"Where is Dusk?" Rarity asked after opening the door of her house and seeing the little dragon in his raincoat.

"He still hasn't come back from seeing Zecora.  By the way, is the package ready?" Spike asked Rarity, as if they were in a spy novel.

"Yes, here it is." Rarity said levitating a box next to her. "Now we must move fast.  Before Pinkie Pie sees us."

"Yeah… By the way, I probably said some weird stuff yesterday, but it wasn't my fault! It was the punc!" Spike said blushing, taking the opportunity to apologize.

As Spike and Rarity sneaked out of Carousel Boutique, Pinkie Pie continued to secretly follow them, repeating in her mind what she had just heard Rarity say: 'Before Pinkie sees us.'  Why did they want to do something secretly from her?  Pinkie couldn't get the thought out of her head as her heart clenched a little at the doubt that grew in her.

Following Rarity and Spike around town, Pinkie was surprised to see them reunite with Fluttershy, since her pegasus friend was supposed to be taking care of Angel as she had told her.

"Were you able to gather the other things to… you know." Rarity muttered once she met Fluttershy behind a house, who had another box on her back.

"Yeah, but it was hard to hide so that Pinkie wouldn't see me in town." Fluttershy answered a little worried. "Even I had to lie to her and tell her that I would take care of Angel.  Thank goodness she believed me."

"Yes, I know, I also had to lie to her." Rarity said a little embarrassed. "But it was necessary.  If she finds out about our little secret meeting, she'll ruin everything."

As her two friends and the dragon were walking towards a new location, Pinkie Pie tried to move to chase them again.  But after hearing what her friends had said, her heart clenched with so much pain that it was impossible for her move for a few seconds.

"They… they lied to me so that I wouldn’t be with them…" Pinkie Pie muttered with a pained look, but then she squeezed her eyes tight and shook her head. "No, no, no!  They're my friends! I... I must have misheard them... That's it!" Pinkie added starting to breathe heavily at feeling so cheated, but still holding out a little hope that it was all a misunderstanding.

When Pinkie was finally able to move again, she looked up as a shadow passed over her. Then she saw Cloud Kicker fly over her, doing a few twirls while having fun.

“C-Cloud Kicker!  Have... have you finished your work yet?" Pinkie Pie yelled from below to call out to the lilac pegasus.

"Yeah, quite a while ago." Cloud Kicker replied smiling.

"And... do you know where Rainbow Dash is?" Pinkie Pie asked with a nervous smile.

"I don't know.  When we finished moving the clouds, we wanted to all go for a hay burger together, but Rainbow Dash said she couldn't because she needed to see one of her friends, and she went to a secret party or something." Cloud Kicker replied thoughtfully, but as soon as she finished speaking, she realized that the pony who shouldn't find out about Rainbow Dash's secret party, was precisely the pony she was talking to! "Uh… I'm sorry! I-I remembered that I have to do something!" Cloud Kicker quickly added in embarrassment, quickly flying away from the pink pony.

As Cloud Kicker walked away, Pinkie Pie remained static, with her eyes wide and her mouth dry from surprise.  She had finally verified her biggest fears, her friends were having a party without her!  And thinking about that, Pinkie started to breathe rapidly as she felt her chest tighten.

"Why did they lie to me!? Why don't they want to be with me!?  Was it because they didn't like my party yesterday!?" Pinkie Pie began to say as she began to hyperventilate when she felt betrayed by the ponies she loved the most, her best friends, the same ones who no longer wanted to even see her and lied to her face. "Why are they doing this to me!?  Were we... Weren't we friends!?  I… ENOUGH! STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF!" Pinkie Pie suddenly screamed in pain, closing her eyes tight as she realized she was doing something she hated doing again.

When she was silent, Pinkie Pie tried to calm herself, but in her mind she kept asking herself the same questions without getting an answer, and with each question, she felt a pang of pain shoot through her heart.  At that moment Pinkie closed her eyes tightly as she felt that they began to fill with tears.

"I have to find Dusk… I need to be with Dusk!" Pinkie Pie thought when she realized that she was about to cry, and that now that she no longer had her room of sadness, Dusk was the only pony she could trust, who could help her deal with this great pain.

Pinkie sprinted into the Everfree Forest in a desperate attempt to find the lavender colt.  Once there, she remembered when with Dusk they had gone in search of the 'curse' that had affected Rainbow Dash's wings, and thanks to her GPS (her Great Pinkie Sense), she was able to make her way until she reached a strange hut that it was in the middle of a big tree, right near where she felt that Dusk could be close.

Pinkie approached the hut slowly, give how terrifying it looked on the outside, and approached a window, where she could see that Dusk Shine was indeed there, talking with that strange zebra called Zecora.  Watching from outside, Pinkie immediately felt that the atmosphere was tense for some reason, so she just kept seeing them secretly and listening carefully to what was happening.

"I can't!  I can't believe that that image and that… feeling will stay with me forever." Dusk said with a scared look.

"It was too early for you; you shouldn't see it yet." Zecora said with a calm voice. "For us shamans, it's a normal ritual, but we perform it only when the mind is ready to accept it.  In your case, there is no turning back, now you must learn to use it, that is the way to overcome yourself and learn to use your magic beyond the common limits!"

"I… I don't think I can.  Wouldn’t it be easier... to erase that memory?" Dusk muttered closing his eyes in frustration. "It's forbidden but... there is magic capable of erasing memories..." Dusk added fearfully, thinking about what his teacher Celestia would say when hearing him talk about using forbidden magic.

"You could, but then you would erase all the progress we've made with your magic and your concentration so far.  You must understand that your soul has not rejected what it saw in that vision, nor has your mind.  It's only your prejudice that prevents you from accepting it completely." Zecora said seriously. "So far your magic has taught you to control the aura around you, but it'll not take you beyond where you are now.  If you want to advance to the next level, you must accept that there are things that you can't control, and that there are things that you must let go... You must let go of the illusion of control!"

After Zecora's words, the unicorn fell silent, still thinking that what his new teacher was telling him was crazy but knowing in part that she was right.

"I need…I need some fresh air.  I need to think." Dusk muttered, turning around and leaving Zecora's hut.

Once Dusk was outside the hut, he closed the door and leaned his back against it while closing his eyes, and, against his will, he felt a chill again when he remembered the 'nightmare' he had had that morning, the same one he had had also the day before.

"I know I asked Zecora to be my teacher, but I never thought she would even make me question everything I’ve learned throughout a lifetime.  And mainly, that it made me question who I am and... where I’m going..." Dusk thought while feeling a mixture of confusion, frustration, fear and anger at the unknown. "Zecora was right about something… I wasn't ready for this."

"Dusk?" Pinkie Pie asked shyly, slowly approaching Dusk.

"Pinkie Pie!?  What are you doing here?" Dusk asked surprised to see his friend there.

"Dusk, I... Is there something worrying you?" Pinkie said shyly, still feeling great pain for all the feeling of betrayal and sadness that she felt.  But seeing Dusk so confused, she tried to put Dusk first before herself.

At Pinkie's question, Dusk widened his eyes in surprise and then looked away.  It was very obvious that something was bothering him, but he couldn't tell his friends, no matter how confident he felt towards them.  What he felt was something that not even he could deal with at the time, and if any of his friends found out about it, Dusk couldn't even imagine all the pain and worry that it would cause in his dear friends.

"It's nothing, please don't ask." Dusk grumbled, closing his eyes tightly.

"Dusk…You know can talk-" Pinkie said shyly until she was interrupted.

"I said it's nothing!" Dusk interrupted abruptly, scaring PInkie Pie a bit. "Why are you here anyway!?" Dusk added annoyed, feeling that his thoughts about what Zecora had revealed to him were making him want to vomit.

"I... came here because... I needed to be with you." Pinkie said sadly, not wanting to mention that she wanted to be with him because she was about to cry. "Today... I went to invite our friends to a party, but I discovered that none of them want to be with me."

"That can't be true... Why do you think of something like that?" Dusk asked narrowing his eyes, since his head was starting to hurt because he couldn't focus on what his friend was saying, all he thought about was the discomfort he felt and what Zecora had revealed to him.

"Because I heard them!  They lied to me!  They … They said they didn't want to see me and… and that I could ruin everything if I was with them … "Pinkie Pie said hyperventilating, no longer able to bear it and expressing all the fear and pain she felt.

"That can't be true..." Dusk repeated annoyed, feeling that at that moment he needed to be alone.

"They tricked me! They… They don't want to hang out with me anymore!" Pinkie Pie said on the verge of tears.

"You're wrong..." Dusk said, closing his eyes tightly while he couldn't get that image of that nightmare or that uncomfortable feeling out of his mind.

"I followed them! They want to have a party without me because they don't like my parties!" Pinkie said releasing the weight of the greatest fear she felt. "They don't want to be my friends anymore!"

"They'll have their reasons." Dusk answered again, with more and more headaches, thinking that he had more important things to worry about at that moment than that Pinkie was worried because she wasn't invited to a party.

"No! I'm sure! They-!" Pinkie Pie screamed in fear, until she was interrupted.

"STOP!!" Dusk yelled annoyed. "They rejected you because they have something important to do! And I have more important things to think about right now!  For once in your life, act normal and stop acting CRAZY!"

At Dusk's scream, Pinkie froze, her eyes wide and dull, as if she had seen a ghost. For his part, Dusk just closed his eyes, frustrated and angry with himself, and lowered his head as his breathing began to calm down.  What Zecora had revealed to Dusk was already causing a lot of trouble, not only for him, but also for those around him, and Dusk quickly realized his mistake.

"What am I doing?  I'm taking my fear and frustration out on Pinkie Pie." Dusk thought after calming down a bit, a temporary peace of mind that he had when he found himself completely silent.  But it was that very silence around him that made him realize something important. “She looked upset.  She didn’t go to her secret room.  She looked for me.  My promise to her!”

"Pinkie?" Dusk said as he opened his eyes and looked up again.  However, as he feared, when he opened his eyes, Dusk saw that his friend was no longer there. "PINKIE?!  Great Celestia... what have I done?" Dusk muttered as he began to grasp the consequences of his actions.

Meanwhile, far from Zecora's hut, was Pinkie Pie, running at full speed, her eyes full of tears at the fear, sadness and helplessness she felt.

"Dusk! What have you done!?" Pinkie Pie yelled as she cried uncontrollably and kept running. "You promised that you would be there when I needed a place to cry... But what do I do if it's you who makes me cry!?" Pinkie Pie cried, feeling sadder and more lost than ever.

“Without you, I’m all alone!”

End of chapter 51
> Chapter 52 - Courage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Courage

After making Pinkie Pie run away, Dusk closed his eyes tightly and held his head.  He had been so scared and worried while Pinkie had spoken to him that the resulting confusion didn’t let him pay attention to the true state of mind of his friend, who apparently needed him at the time.  Instead of giving her support, he made her flee.  And although Dusk realized his serious mistake and tried to think about his friend, a part of his mind kept torturing him about what he had discovered about himself... what Zecora had told him and that kept turning his stomach.

"Maybe zebras aren't afraid of… that!  But that still doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid." Dusk muttered while trying to calm himself down. "And if that wasn't enough to make me feel bad, now I feel so much worse for what I said to Pinkie Pie!" Dusk added closing his eyes in frustration.

Just moments ago, Dusk had reached his maximum stress level and had yelled at Pinkie to stop worrying because her friends were hiding something from her and because they weren't inviting her to a party.  Pinkie didn't know, but there was a reason behind her friends' behavior. But he had been so dizzy with his own misery that all he had done was yell at the happiest pony in the world to stop acting crazy.

As Dusk continued to hate himself for what he had just done, another memory came to his mind.  A conversation that happened the day before with Applejack...

"When Trixie called us crazy, I remember Pinkie yelling very angrily..." Applejack had said at the party, when she remembered the only time she had seen Pinkie Pie yell at somepony.

"Pinkie… what did I do!?" Dusk whispered, very concerned, thinking of the damage he could have caused his dear friend with just one word. "I need to fix this!"

While Dusk ran back to the forest path to try to follow Pinkie Pie's trail, the pink pony found herself in a place where none of the ponies she met would think of looking for, the collapsed castle that remained in the middle of the Everfree Forest known commonly as 'The Old Castle of the Two Sisters'. Although, all of the running to get away from the lavender colt did little to quench the pain she was feeling.  That pain was coming from her heart, making her cry non-stop.

Once Pinkie reached the ruins of the castle's main hall, she fell from exhausted to the floor and covered her face while wiping her tears with her hoof. Little remained of the cheery festive mare that was the smile of Ponyville.  Her eyes were a sea of ​​tears, and her mane and tail had lost all their fluffiness, making her look much sadder and desolate.  She had endured the sadness of feeling excluded by her friends, then the pain of finding out that they had lied to her, and the pain of feeling betrayed.  However, none of that compared to the great pain she felt when Dusk yelled at her that she was crazy.  That had hurt her deeply, the word she hated most in the world, had been spoken to her by the colt she loved the most, who had sworn that he would be there for her when she needed to cry.  But now she was alone, abandoned with her grief and pain while the gloomy echo of the ancient castle made her cry reverberate all around her.

Hearing the echo of her own crying, for a second Pinkie Pie felt as if she was surrounded by other ponies that were crying alongside her too, but she knew that was not true, that she was completely alone there.  And feeling that she was surrounded by invisible voices, Pinkie covered her ears as her greatest fear began to take hold of her.

"Please... I don't want to be alone..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she cried sitting on the floor and covered her ears, then gritting her teeth as she realized that she was doing what she hated the most: talking to herself.

"You're not alone." Dusk said suddenly, who was near Pinkie and was looking at her with a sad and painful look.  The colt was looking at what he feared the most, his happy friend crying because of him, which made Dusk feel like garbage with himself for having caused that.

"Dusk!?" PInkie Pie squeaked in surprise, turning her neck to see the colt that had appeared behind her. "W-What are you doing here?" Pinkie added, still surprised to see that Dusk found her in such a desolate place.

"When you fled, I went to the main road.  From there, there were only two routes: to town or to the old castle.  And I know you don't want anyone to see you cry, so I figured you'd come here." Dusk said softly, slowly taking a step closer to face his friend and stretch a hoof towards her. "Pinkie… I'm sorry I made you cry.  You needed me, you wanted to tell me something! But I… was so distracted that I didn't realize it. I'm really sorry."

Hearing Dusk's words, Pinkie lowered her head with a confused look.  She could still hear how Dusk had yelled that despicable word to her when she was extremely fragile.  He had made her walk away when she was only seeking his comfort, so Pinkie would have liked to make Dusk explain why he had acted that way with her. However, the emotions inside Pinkie were in chaos, and for the first time in years she wasn't crying like she always had, hiding in her room.  Pinkie only slowly rested her head on Dusk's hoof to feel the tender warmth of his skin, and she began to cry, finally venting all her accumulated grief, fear and insecurity that she had felt that day.

As Pinkie settled on his hoof and cried, Dusk got closer to his friend and hugged her, without saying a word, only gently stroking Pinkie's mane so that she could vent her grief.  Internally, Dusk felt like the lowest scum of ponies for having made such a sweet and tender mare cry.

After several minutes, Pinkie finally calmed her crying and slowly separated herself from Dusk's hug.

"You... you promised that you would be there when I needed to cry..." Pinkie Pie sniffled slowly looking at Dusk, still with tears in her eyes.

"I know... I was a fool." Dusk answered with pain in his heart for having betrayed something as sacred as his friend's trust. "You were looking for comfort, and I yelled at you.  I'm so sorry.  I promise never to hurt you like I did!" Dusk added leaning down and closing his eyes tightly, swearing to himself that he would never make Pinkie cry again.

When Pinkie saw Dusk, she saw how the colt really suffered from seeing her cry.  Seeing him so sorry, Pinkie's heart told her that she should forgive him, but her brain could still hear when he yelled at her that she was 'crazy', that word that hurt and scared her so much.  Then Pinkie closed her eyes and realized that Dusk knew that he had hurt her, but he still didn't know that detail, and she couldn't blame Dusk for that, because it had been she herself who had hidden from him and from her other friends that part of her past and… her future, so after thinking about it, Pinkie decided that Dusk needed to know the truth.

"Dusk... There is something I need to tell you." Pinkie Pie said fearfully as her straight mane hid part of her sad face. "I ran away because you yelled at me, it's true. But... what really hurt me... was that you called me crazy..."

"I'm really sorry. I don't think you're crazy.  It's... it's just that I was upset and confused, and-" Dusk said, apologizing again, but Pinkie interrupted her so that he wouldn't continue speaking.

"I know you don't think that of me." Pinkie said with a sad look. "But there is a reason why I hate that word..."





'Pinkie Pie's flashback.'

The young pink filly was in the room she shared with her sisters, playing a new game that she had invented herself. The game itself had such weird and convoluted rules that neither Pinkie's sisters, nor the game's creator herself, were sure they understood all the rules.  But that was the least of it, after all, what mattered was having fun.  It was time of day was one of the few when the sisters were completely alone in the house, and it was when they could be themselves, without follow any of the strict rules imposed on them by their parents and the rest of the ponies living in their 'Community'.

Pinkie Pie's family lived in an old and very conservative community of earth ponies, which lived under strict rules of coexistence, following customs that earth ponies had used for thousands of years.  Both unicorn magic and current science was shunned and highly discouraged by the inhabitants, who were quite insistent on keeping with tradition.  Everypony in the closed community lived only on what the land gave them, as their ancestors had always done, with ancient clothes and complying with laws and habits of life that for most ponies in Equestria had been deprecated hundreds of years ago.

That day, Pinkie was laughing with her older sister Limestone Pie, and her younger sister Marble Pie.  The three sisters were very similar to each other physically, all three of similar size and with their hair smoothed and well combed, thanks to their mother's work. However, unlike her sisters, who both had their coats and manes of varying shades of gray, Pinkie had a colorful shade of pink in her fur and mane.  Also, unlike Pinkie, her sisters already had their own cutie marks.  Limestone had a cutie mark of one-lime with two rocks, while Marble had three rock marbles.  While Pinkie's other older sister, Maud Pie, was not home that day, in fact, she had been away from home for days, for some reason unknown to little Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Marble said as she clapped and jumped, just when she saw Limestone hiding a rock in her mouth as she balanced standing on just one of her hooves.

"It's not cheating…! At least I think so." Limestone grumbled, but then confused, since with Pinkie Pie's crazy rules of the game, she was no longer sure if the objective of the game was to get more rocks or get rid of the rocks.

"Hmm.. Yep!  That’s cheating!" Pinkie replied with a cheery smile. "Unless you went around twice before and said a tongue twister.  In which case, it means it's not cheating, and we all have ten seconds to catch as many rocks as we want."

Hearing this, Limestone put a thoughtful look and then jumped over a pile of rocks in the middle of the room to try to grab as many as she could.

"You cheated again!  You didn't do anything Pinkie said!" Marble said angrily, but seeing that her sister was ignoring her, she also jumped on the pile of rocks and both began to remove stones from each other, which Pinkie Pie also did to join the fight for control of the stones.

At that moment, the door of the room opened, and after it appeared the mother of the three fillies, Cloudy Quartz, who left a traveling saddlebag next to her and narrowed her eyes in disgust when she saw how her three daughters were fighting in the floor while playing a silly game.  As soon as the three fillies saw that their mother had appeared in the room, the three froze and quickly rose to their hooves, static, formed side by side.

"What is this!?  Are thou taking advantage of the fact that neither thy father nor I are at home to make a mess?" Cloudy Quartz said, annoyed with her daughters for the mess they had caused. "Thou know how exhausted I am after coming back from mine spiritual retreat, and I come back to find all of thee struggling on the floor!"





Hearing her mother scolding them, the three fillies closed their lips and looked at her silently, knowing her mother always irritated easily. Then, while silence reigned, Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to spit out a stone that she had also hidden in her mouth.  As she did so, her two sisters couldn't help it and started laughing at what their sister just did.

"ENOUGH!" the older mare yelled when she saw her daughters laugh. "Not but a second ago thou were fighting, and now thy are laughing!?  I… I do not wish to see thee change thine attitude so easily!  It irks me so!  A self-respecting pony must be constant without changing emotion from one second to the next."

"You mean like Maud is with her dull-as-dirt attitude?" Limestone asked, looking annoyed at her mother.

Hearing the name of her other absent daughter, Cloudy Quartz glared at Limestone, who also glared back. Then the older mare turned and stormed out of the room.

After their mother was gone, the three sisters returned to act as they always did when their parents were home controlling their own emotions so as not to be 'mood-swinging' ponies, since that was something that their mother seemed to irritate greatly.  Limestone returned to her usual scowl, and Marble to her timid gaze.

For Cloudy Quartz, her daughter Maud was an example to follow for her other sisters, at least when she was still at home.  The eldest sibling was always calm and didn't show any emotion on her face, and that was something that the mare had always instilled in her daughters.  However, for her other three daughters, be indifferent was something of a challenge for them.  So, to avoid that 'mood-swinging' she hated, each of her daughters sought always try to keep the same mood, which had ultimately caused each to accentuate a single dominant emotion in them.  In spite of that, though Limestone was irritable, and Marble was shy; in Pinkie Pie it seemed found it impossible to get a feeling that defined her and that made her mood constant. Despite her parents being present, Pinkie kept laughing if she was happy, sad if she was feeling depressed, and seemed not to be intimidated by her mother's warnings.  Thusly, Cloudy Quartz was constantly irritated by her daughters changing personality.

As Cloudy Quartz chatted with her husband, Igneous Rock, about her latest trip, she packed a few things in her saddlebag, ready for one last visit to somepony before she could fully rest at home.

"I am going to visit Uncle Fuzzy, does anyone wish to accompany me?" Cloudy Quartz asked from the front door of the house.

"I wanna go!" Pinkie Pie said immediately, who had been poking her head out of her room waiting for her mother to ask that question, since she always went to visit her brother after a spiritual retreat.

For a moment, Cloudy Quartz stared at her daughter.  It seemed that Pinkie Pie was the only one who was ever interested in accompanying her to visit Cloudy Quartz’s brother.  If it had been up to her, she would have preferred any of her other daughters to go instead of Pinkie Pie.  However, she had to agree to let Pinkie come along, since she couldn't force her other daughters to see their peculiar uncle if they didn't want to.  Besides, it was always better for her brother to see that she wasn't the only one interested in visiting him and at least one of his nieces was interested in him.

Pinkie and her mother proceeded to take a long walk through the entire small town of their community.  All of the houses were similar to each other, with all its inhabitants wearing similar old-fashioned clothes.  They then reached a small house which was quite far from the rest of the community.  Once they arrived at Uncle Fuzzy's house, they were treated by a very ill-tempered mare who took them to his room. Then PInkie Pie's mother made Pinkie wait outside while she pulled out a key and walked into the room alone.

"I hope it's one of those days when I can see Uncle Fuzzy." the young filly thought expectantly, knowing that there were times when her mother wouldn't let her see her uncle. "I don't know why Uncle Fuzzy is locked up if he's so funny..."

A few seconds later, Cloudy Quartz opened the room door again and gave the signal for Pinkie to enter, which the pink filly did with great enthusiasm.  Upon entering the room, Pinkie saw that her uncle's room was still as she remembered it, a very small room where there was almost nothing, just a bed full of small plush toys, and a small table next to the bed, but what surprised Pinkie the most was always seeing the window of the room, the one that for some reason had bars.

"Hello-Hello! If it isn’t my favorite niece!?" Suddenly said a stallion with grayish-purple fur and a very fluffy orange mane. This was Fuzzy Quartz, Cloudy's older brother and Pinkie Pie's uncle, who jumped in front of Pinkie with a huge smile on his face, grabbing her between his hooves and giving her a big, loving hug.

"Hi, Uncle Fuzzy!" Pinkie greeted, smiling at her uncle's big hug. "I came because I want you to finish telling me the story from the last time."

"The story of the last time?  Hmm … What was it…" Uncle Fuzzy said with a thoughtful look.  "Was it the story of when I met those strange seaponies?  Or maybe the story of when I was in the far grasslands and danced with those zebras?"

"No... You already told me those stories." Pinkie said smiling. "It was the story of when you saw a rainbow and walked over it!"

"Oh… yeah, that one." Fuzzy said smiling, because he knew perfectly well that this was his niece's favorite story since little Pinkie had never seen a rainbow before. "Well, let's get started.  It was a beautiful day when I had begun my adventure to travel the world..."

As Fuzzy told his story in great detail and with wacky gestures to amuse his young niece more, Pinkie smiled with big eyes as she used all the power of her imagination to dream of how beautiful a rainbow must be.  Meanwhile, Cloudy Quartz just sat at the other end of the room, not taking her eyes off her brother as he spoke, and from time to time, she sadly lowered her gaze wistfully.

Thus, the three ponies continued to spend the afternoon together until the evening light was seen through the small window of the room.  Then the grumpy mare who had let them into the house told them that it was time for them to leave.  Upon the warning, Cloudy Quartz stood up and took her little daughter to retire and go home.

"Before I forget." Cloudy Quartz said as she was about to leave, pulling out a small bag from her saddlebag. "I brought those ‘sweets’ that thou enjoy so.  But remember, thou should only eat one a day, otherwise they will run out, and they are not easy to acquire." Cloudy added, looking with a serious look at her brother.

"Yeah, I know.  Don't worry." Fuzzy answered smiling and then said goodbye to his sister and his beloved niece.

After that day, several days passed in which Cloudy Quartz didn't visit her brother.  It was rock harvest season, the busiest time of the year, so she and her husband spent all day dragging rocks so that they were impregnated with the valuable minerals that strengthened them. The demand was so great at that time of year that even their daughters were helping with the harvest, which was a cause for depression for little Pinkie Pie.  Every time she had to drag rocks with her head, she became very depressed when she felt that she wanted to do so much more with her life, like going out on a world tour and seeing rainbows, as her beloved Uncle Fuzzy had done.

Despite the depression that Pinkie Pie felt at that time, that particular day would change everything.  While she was working, she saw a rainbow for the first time and felt an explosion of joy that ruffled both her mane and her heart in a very special way; which had led her to want to share that feeling with her family, and throw a party to celebrate.

"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie had screamed with excitement when she saw her parents and sisters enter the silo where she had thrown a surprise party.

At that instant, everyone's faces were one of utter surprise and confusion, mainly her mother's, who seemed to be horrified for a second.  Then her husband had gently touched her shoulder to reassure her, and pointed to Pinkie Pie's flank, where her new cutie mark was shining.  The normally reserved ponies both smiled when they saw the beautiful party that their daughter had thrown and that she had finally discovered her special talent, and as their parents did, Limestone and Marble also smiled seeing that their parents approved of what they saw.

That it was one of the happiest moments of Pinkie Pie, where most of her family held together and laughed with her little surprise party, and only when her sisters came over to congratulate her on her cutie mark did Pinkie realize that she had it, which made her even happier than she already was.  The filly that she didn't even notice the worried look her mother gave every time her little daughter didn't see her...

The day after the party, Pinkie had insisted her mother go visit her uncle to show him her new cutie mark. After much insistence, Cloudy Quartz finally gave in and, after Cloudy tried in vain to smooth the her daughter's crazy mane, which had remained very fluffy and impossible to straighten after her daughter got her cutie mark;  they both went back to the distant house at outside of the rustic and isolated community.

"It's a shame Uncle Fuzzy couldn't make it to the party." Pinkie Pie said as she walked with her mother, just as they passed through the middle of town.

"Hush thine voice, Pinkamena." Cloudy Quartz said a bit concerned as she glanced sideways. "Listen well, daughter.  Yesterday was a special occasion.  Thine father and I were happy to see that thou got thine cutie mark.  However, parties in our community are few in number.  We only celebrate certain occasions and… sobriety is the mark that characterizes our community, just as our ancestors did, who enjoyed life only with simple things."

"But… I want all the ponies to have as much fun as we did yesterday." Pinkie Pie said with a shy smile.

"If thine cutie mark appeared to make us all happy, then thou can make us all happy in our own way." Cloudy said smiling. "Yesterday's party was…admittedly enjoyable, but it is best to keep it secret.  And for next time, thou can celebrate like we all do here in the Community."

"But... the parties here are soooo boring." Pinkie Pie said, pursing her lips. "Everyone is very boring here!  They should be more like Uncle Fuzzy.  He’s the only one whose any fun and they have him locked up."

Hearing that, Cloudy Quartz stopped in her tracks and glared at her daughter.

"Thou are to behave as I instruct, Pinkamena! And throw away such notions of Uncle Fuzzy as a role model!” Cloudy Quartz said glaring at Pinkie, who just flinched in fear seeing her mother so upset.

After that discussion, neither of them spoke as they continued on the way, but in Pinkie's mind, she began to feel a grudge towards her strict mother.  She wasn't just telling her not to enjoy the parties, but it seemed like she didn't want anyone to have fun at the parties!  And that grudge against her Uncle Fuzzy… Why did she keep the only pony that really smiled in town locked up…!?  That was a question Pinkie had asked herself many times, but now, with the grudge she felt, in her mind the image of her mother was turning into a grumpy one who didn't want anyone to be happy.

Finally, both ponies came to the house on the outskirts of the village, and again repeated the same ritual, with the embittered mare guiding them to the room, and Cloudy Quartz removing the key and entering first one to the room to see Fuzzy.  However, unlike the previous time, this time Cloudy Quartz didn't leave the room for a long time, so Pinkie put her ear to the door, and was surprised to hear her uncle cry.

At that precise moment Cloudy Quartz opened the door and closed it quickly behind her.

"I am sorry, but thou will not be able to see thine uncle today." Cloudy Quartz said with a serious look.

Pinkie Pie looked at her mother with disappointment and opened her mouth to reply, however her mother didn't give her the option and only took her firmly by the hoof so that they both quickly left the building.  As they returned home, they both walked without saying a word to each other. With Cloudy Quartz being lost in her own grief, and Pinkie Pie feeling even more upset with her mother, who had now somehow made her beloved uncle cry.

Once arrived home, Cloudy Quartz quickly joined her husband to continue helping with the rock harvest, but unlike other days, Cloudy ordered her daughter to stay indoors, as if for some reason she wasn't even able to see her at that moment.  Being alone in the house, Pinkie looked resentfully at her mother from the window, then she turned her head and saw the saddlebag her mother had left on the table. Then Pinkie had a great idea.

After running to her room, and taking advantage of the fact that her sisters were working with their parents, she opened her secret hiding place, where she kept a bag full of candies, then she returned to where her mother's saddlebag was and took out the key to Uncle Fuzzy's room.  Sneaking out the back door, Pinkie started running to visit her beloved uncle again.

"Maybe Uncle Fuzzy is sad because he ran out of candies and grumpy ol’ mom doesn't want to give him more." The naive pink filly thought as she ran, thinking how happy her uncle would be when he saw her with a big bag of candy.

Once she got to the remote house, Pinkie smiled at her luck when she saw that the door was ajar, so she wouldn't have to run into that grumpy mare.  Then Pinkie walked silently until she reached her uncle's room and used her mother's key and entered.

"Yay! Hiya Pinkie! How happy it makes me to see you today!" Uncle Fuzzy said with a huge smile, jumping up like he always did to greet his beloved niece.  Something that surprised Pinkie a bit, since it hadn't been that long since she had heard him cry with her mother, but now her uncle was happy, not a hint of having been sad just minutes ago.

"I knew you would be happy to see me!" Pinkie said with a big smile and showing her uncle the bag of candy she had brought with her. "I brought these candies so that you won't cry anymore."

"Cry? Why would I cry?  I am the happiest pony in the world!" Fuzzy answered confused but laughing, nonetheless.

"But... I heard you cry." Pinkie Pie said confused. "Maybe... Was it because of something bad that Mom told you?"

"Cloudy’s a dummy, but she would never make me cry." Fuzzy said smiling, leaving Pinkie Pie even more confused. "Tell me, do you want me to tell you another story?" Fuzzy added, noticing that for some reason his niece seemed confused.

"No… I know! Let's play something!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, deciding not to give importance to what she thought she heard earlier.

"Great idea!" Fuzzy said excitedly, taking several of his plushies that he had on his bed and sitting them around the small table. "We could have a little tea party.  Look! This could be your twin sister!" Fuzzy gleefully said as he took a pink plushie, which did indeed look a bit like a little Pinkie Pie.

"That's a good idea, but…" Pinkie said with a mischievous smile as she used the key again to open the room door. "... it would be more fun to play outside."

Seeing the open door, Fuzzy's smile froze for an instant, and then his mouth fell open in surprise.

"P-Play outside?" Fuzzy said nervously with a strange face, as if trying to smile despite how nervous and fearful he was.

"Yeah! It'll be fun. We never play outside." Pinkie said with a huge smile, jumping with excitement just like her uncle did every time he received her.

While the door remained open, Fuzzy just stood still, as if many things came to his mind in just a second, fighting his own fear and insecurity.

"O-Okay… We can play outside this time." Fuzzy finally said with a nervous smile.

After her uncle agreed, he and Pinkie walked slowly out of the room, with Pinkie Pie leading the way to make sure the grumpy mare at the gate wasn't around to ruin their secret outing. Meanwhile, Fuzzy walked very slowly, as the uncertainty of whether what he was doing was right or not remained in his mind.

Pinkie and Fuzzy finally left the house without being seen, and after many years, finally Fuzzy could be back on the ground and feel the wind running through his mane.  The eccentric stallion had seen and felt all that years ago, while traveling the world, but since a few years ago he had deprived himself of that and locked himself in his room... for his own safety and that of everyone around him.

Once outside, Pinkie touched her uncle and ran for him to catch her, then Fuzzy began to jog slowly, feeling the dirt and grass brush against his hooves, and then he began to laugh loudly and run fast while a joy that he believed forgotten returned to him.  So Fuzzy caught his niece and they both kept laughing and playing tag with each other, rolling across the grass and looking up at the beautiful blue sky.

"This... This is real, right?" Fuzzy asked suddenly, for a second fearing that this was all an illusion, like so many others he used to have.

"Of course, it's real!" Pinkie said, not understanding why her uncle was asking such a weird question.

Then Fuzzy turned quickly to see Pinkie and touched her, as if he wanted to verify something.

"Thank you." Fuzzy said with a gentle smile, but quickly turned and looked away. "I just thanked her; you don't have to repeat it!"

Seeing where Uncle Fuzzy was looking, Pinkie Pie was confused to see that no one was there.

"Don't tell me, I know I have to go back." Fuzzy said, this time looking away, where Pinkie checked again that there was no one else there.

"Uncle?" Pinkie asked confused.

"No! I couldn't leave, no, no!  It wouldn't be right.  Cloudy has already done so much for us…ME!  I mean me!" Fuzzy added angrily, looking into another empty space. "You shut up!"

"Uncle! Who are you talking to?!" Pinkie yelled, feeling a bit scared at seeing that her uncle was acting strange.

At Pinkie's scream, Fuzzy turned to look at her, and saw that her beloved little niece was scared… because of him.

"I... I'm sorry." Fuzzy said closing his eyes tightly. "It's late... We should head back now." Fuzzy added with a pained look, walking slowly back to the place that housed him.

After that, they both returned in silence to the house from which they had left.  The grumpy mare had reappeared and saw with horror how Fuzzy was outside his room.  So, she reprimanded Pinkie Pie, took Fuzzy for a hoof and marched him back to his room.  All the while, Fuzzy only allowed himself to be guided, with a lost and sad look as he couldn't forget the scared face of his beloved niece.

Without understanding much of what had happened, Pinkie Pie had to give her mother's key to the mare in charge of the place and then she returned home, happy to have spent a pleasant time with her beloved uncle.  Although there was a small part of her that felt a grow sense of dread at what happened with her uncle near the end.

The next day arrived, and Fuzzy was alone in his room, as usual.  However, unlike the day before, this time he was staring blankly, covering his ears as he trembled and swayed from side to side.

"The voices… why don't they shut up!?  Leave me alone!" Fuzzy screamed in horror as he felt himself lose control of himself again. "I couldn’t hear them for so long… why am I hearing them again now!?" The frightened stallion yelled again.

"Hi, Uncle." A voice that Fuzzy recognized suddenly said.

Looking up, Fuzzy saw that in front of him was his niece Pinkie Pie, who had somehow entered his room despite the fact that the door was still locked.

"Pinkie?!  H-How did you go inside?" Fuzzy asked, shaking as the voices kept screaming in his head and he felt his emotions take over, so much so that he could hardly control them anymore.

"Listen to the voices..." The image of Pinkie Pie suddenly whispered with a disturbing smile.  “They just want what’s best for you.  Do it for meeeeee?” 

"Shutupshutupshutup SHUT UP!  This is your fault, you stupid filly!  We were fine until you got us out of here!" Fuzzy yelled angrily, feeling his own personality split and lose to an unknown force that lived in him.

Then Fuzzy's gaze changed, and nothing was left of the sparkle in his eyes, only a look full of fury as someone else took over his actions.

"Yes... It's your fault…IT’S YOUR DAMN FAULT!" Fuzzy yelled, jumping on Pinkie and putting his hooves tightly on her neck.

As Fuzzy forced his entire body to squeeze Pinkie tight, the stallion’s senses came back to him, and he saw in horror what he was doing.

"NO!" Fuzzy yelled in fright and walking away from the pink plushie that he had been strangling.  At some point during the violent struggle, the head of the plushie had popped off the rest of its body, leaving the toy in two pieces on the floor.  However, the stallion’s broken mind made him see something far worse.  The fluffy, white stuffing on the floor appeared as a red and sticky fluid.  The head of the toy slowly morphed into the head of his beloved niece.  It was then Fuzzy fully felt the realization of what he thought he did.  "No! No! No! It's not real!!" Fuzzy screamed as the voices kept screaming in his head, not knowing if everything that was happening was real or not.

As Fuzzy breathed heavily, he covered his eyes and ears in horror at what he had just done.  Then, he looked at his hooves and could have sworn that they were stained red for a brief second.  This only caused the stallion to become more distressed at his actions.  What he had done was so horrible, there was nothing else he could do.

"No... I can't escape... I can't escape..." Fuzzy whispered as his eyes faded again, and his broken mind made an irreversible decision. "There is only one way to escape from it all... To save you all from me..."

Not far from there, the real Pinkie Pie was having breakfast with her family. She had had to tell her mother that she had stolen the key to her uncle's room, to which her mother severely punished her for.  For the next week, Pinkie would be grounded to her room locked away, save for family meals and the occasional bathroom break.  In addition, the filly was forbidden from talking unless spoken to or making any rambunctious noises such as laughing, lest she wanted to extend her sentence.  This last part was especially disheartening to Pinkie, as she absolutely despised the complete silence.  However, she finally accepted her punishment, knowing that it would have been much worse if she had told her mother that in addition to stealing the key, she had made her uncle leave his room.

Suddenly, Pinkie stopped eating her breakfast when her body began to shake uncontrollably, and her eyes began to blink rapidly.

"Pinkie! What's wrong?" Marble asked a bit scared, who was sitting at the table next to Pinkie.

"I-I don't know, I think it's one of my strange signals." Pinkie answered a little surprised, since she knew that her body sometimes reacted mysteriously to warn her of some event.

"Cease this foolishness at once, Pinkamena!" Cloudy Quartz said, reprimanding her daughter. "Remember thou are still grounded and forbidden from speaking unless spoken to."

"Hmm... your tail’s going nuts too." Limestone added, unable to help but be curious to see Pinkie's tail wag uncontrollably. "It's spinning like crazy to the right."

"To the right?  That's new." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully while still shaking.  With the vast number of signals that Pinkie often received, she had already recognized some of the ones that followed a pattern.  But this current signal: trembling body, rapid blinking, and tail turning right out of control, was new to her. "I wonder what it means..."

"I said silence!" The mother of the fillies said again, with a more authoritative tone, which made everyone fall silent.

After finishing her breakfast, Pinkie went to her room, but on the way, she started shaking again and her tail wagged to the right.  Seeing this strange behavior, Pinkie's mother became extremely irritated and quickly approached her daughter to grab her roughly.

"For the love of all, stop acting crazy, Fu…er, Pinkamena!" Cloudy Quartz cried.  There was definitely still anger in her voice, but it was being quickly overcome by fear.  

"I-I'm sorry, I can't help it." Pinkie said sadly as she didn't stop shaking. "I don't know what this sign is… Maybe it's because Uncle Fuzzy didn't like the candy I gave him."

"Wait… Did thou break into thine uncle's room yesterday!?" Cloudy Quartz asked as her fear quickly grew.

"Uh... yeah... I paid him a surprise visit and we went outside to play." Pinkie Pie said timidly, since in her carelessness she had admitted that she had used the stolen key to see her uncle.

Hearing that, Cloudy Quartz gave a worried look, then looked fearfully towards the door and ran out.  After watching her mother run, Pinkie felt her pinkie sense intensify more, as if it was telling her that where her mother was going was where the signal she felt came from.  So, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else at home, Pinkie also ran off, chasing after her mother.

As she ran, Pinkie suddenly shuddered loudly, her shaking stopped, her tail quieted, and her pinkie signal completely disappeared.  That made Pinkie smile with relief when she saw that that strange signal had finally disappeared.  However, for some reason, she began to feel very sad, as if her soul had known the true meaning of what those signals meant and now it was crying.  After that, Pinkie kept running, not knowing that when she met her mother she would discover the truth of that mysterious sign, and that she… hadn't discovered its true meaning in time.

It was two days later when the funeral for Fuzzy Quartz was held.  Although, the only ponies in attendance was the Pie family.  The other members of the rustic community didn’t want to be present at the funeral of a lunatic; a few of them mumbling how his twisted soul would spread a blight on their crops.  After the funeral was over, Pinkie's father retired to his home with Limestone and Marble, while Cloudy Quartz stayed there, next to the grave in sad silence. Pinkie Pie also remained with her mother in silence, however her loss of words was caused by the complete confusion and sadness of what happened to her favorite uncle.

"Why did Uncle Fuzzy do something so horrible...?" Pinkie whispered with a mixture of grief and confusion. "He was happy."

Hearing such sad words from her daughter and seeing her lost gaze, Cloudy took advantage of the fact that they were both alone, and gently caressed her daughter.

"Pinkamena, I must apologize.  I had hoped that thou would never have to know about this…but I believe it’s time thou knew.  Thine uncle was sick.  Although he seemed happy, in truth he was in much suffering." Cloudy said sadly. "That is why he was locked in that house, so that he wouldn't do anything against others or... against himself."

"He was sick?  B-But he looked so well! He didn’t have any booboo or bruises when I saw him!" Pinkie said with worry. "Why didn’t he tell me?  I would have tried to make him feel better!"

"Sweet daughter, sometimes there are wounds that cannot be seen. And illnesses that have no cure... especially in the village where we reside..." Cloudy said sadly, with a hint of resentment in her voice. "I knew it was not right, but mine occasional spiritual retreats were nothing but a bold-face lie.   In truth, I was travelling to the big city to obtain medicine which is prohibited in our community."

After her mother said that, Pinkie remembered the 'candy' her mother always gave her uncle, and then she remembered that she had given him real candy, and the weight of guilt fell on her.

"It's my fault!  I gave him real candy!" Pinkie said starting to cry. “He ate that instead of his medicine, and…and…”

"No!  Tis not thine fault, Pinkamena.  Thine uncle had a very serious illness and… it was a matter of time, the medicine only helped up to a point." Cloudy said, hugging her daughter. "He was always a wonderful brother, but at one point in his adulthood, he suffered a fate that also afflicted thine grandfather.  He began to hear voices that didn't exist, saw phantoms that were not, and… performed actions that were not of his own.  But we must remember him as the happy pony who was always with us, and who always protected us from everything..."

When saying that last bit, Cloudy recalled the letter she found at the side of her brother.  How that he took his life to protect his family from himself.  Then Cloudy remembered when they were both young and how her brother always protected her from the ruffians who bothered her.

"Thine uncle loved you very much, Pinkamena, as much as I love you." Cloudy Quartz said as tears rolled down her cheeks.  She looked straight into her daughter's eyes and felt that she had already seen those sweet eyes before.  "That's why it scares me to think...what could happen..." Cloudy wept, while she fearfully remembered every time she saw Pinkie so happy, having parties and saying crazy things, she saw her dear brother when he was younger.

Pinkie didn't need to read her mother's mind to understand what she was feeling.  For the first time, her mother embraced her with her true feelings.  It was that unconditional maternal love that made her fear for the future of her beloved daughter. And Pinkie understood how terrifying the future could be.

“This illness has already taken so much of mine family, Pinkamena.  I do not wish to lose thou, as well.”

'End of Flashback.'





"After a while when I left my community, I was able to learn more about that illness.  The scientific term for it is Bipolar Schizophrenic Disorder.  It's a mental illness that can cause hallucinations and changes in personality…" Pinkie Pie said with a mixture of fear and sadness after telling her story. "It's a non-curable disorder that usually appears in adulthood and... is hereditary." Pinkie said almost in a whisper.

Dusk was speechless.  One of the things that Dusk had wondered a while ago was how Pinkie recognized one of her pinkie sense signs as something dying, and now that question finally had an answer.  But what surprised and scared Dusk the most was discovering why Pinkie knew so much about psychology… She had studied it because she was afraid that what happened to her uncle would one day happen to her!

"That’s why you fear being alone... Do you think that talking to yourself is one of the first symptoms of..." Dusk said with a trembling voice, unable to finish his sentence, feeling that he now felt an unknown and terrifying fear for the future. "That... that won't happen to you."

"It may never happen... But the truth is that no one can be sure." Pinkie replied sadly. "Now you know what my biggest fear is… It's the future.  It's waking up one day being alone, without even being able to recognize my friends, or know what’s real and what’s not." Pinkie added with a terrified look.

Before Pinkie's response, Dusk opened his mouth to answer, but it then slowly closed.  Although his heart screamed that this misfortune would never happen to his friend, his rational mind told him that he couldn't be sure, because there were things that weren't in his control.  And when he realized that there was something that could harm his friend and that he couldn't do anything to prevent it, Dusk began to breathe heavily, feeling a sense of impotence like he had never felt before.

Suddenly Dusk's eyes widened as he thought about control in his mind and remembered what Zecora had told him about the illusion of control.  As much as he wanted to deny it, there were things that he couldn't control, not with his friends, not… with himself.  And although Zecora had revealed certain information that his mind had refused to accept, with this that Pinkie just revealed, now a new thought was beginning to break the paradigm of what he thought he understood about things.

"Pinkie, you're right... There are things I can't control, but... maybe that's not so bad." Dusk said looking at the ground and then at his friend with a somewhat scared look. " I think that since you have been sincere with me, it’s fair that I also tell you why I was so upset and confused when you came to talk to me.  It's… because I… saw my own death."

Pinkie widened her eyes and turned pale at those last four words.

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie said scared.

At that moment, Dusk again felt his stomach twist into knots due to the feeling he had felt since he had seen that 'nightmare', which only that day, Dusk had discovered that it wasn't a nightmare, but a vision.

"The eyes of a cockatrice not only turn their prey to stone... they can make their prey see their own death, as well." Dusk said fearfully, as Pinkie remembered what happened at Fluttershy's slumber party and covered her mouth in horror. "When I got unpetrified, I didn't remember what happened well.  But as the days went by, that memory has become slightly more vivid... The image I saw is still not entirely clear, but I do remember seeing a couple of terrifying and profound black eyes, a great glare and… a piercing scream.  But more important than the image, is what I feel when I remember that moment... I felt my life escaping from my body, while my body froze and the pain decreased as I exhaled for the last time..." Dusk added, remembering the uncomfortable and terrible feeling that had tormented him those days when he woke up, the feeling of dying.  A feeling his own mortal body rejected and made him nauseous every time he remembered it.

"That… That can't be. Maybe it's just a bad nightmare!" Pinkie Pie said approaching Dusk and embraced him fearfully.

"It wasn’t a nightmare, Zecora confirmed it to me... For zebras, it's not something so devastating to know.  In fact, it's a ritual that their shamans do, because for them death is only part of life.  But for me, it's not.  It's hard to think that one day not too far away, I might just cease to exist." Dusk said feeling confused and tormented, until he realized that he had said something that he shouldn't, since Pinkie now looked at him more scared after hearing that last thing. "Yes... I forgot to mention it, but…in my vision, I... I was not an old pony..." Dusk added with a sad smile, knowing that it could scare his friends.

Hearing that, Pinkie tightened the hug around the colt and began to cry.

"That's not true. I won't let that happen!" Pinkie said while crying and feeling more scared than she had ever felt.

Seeing his friend so scared, Dusk hugged his friend back and felt a strange feeling of astonishment.  For the first time in his life, he believed he completely empathized with another pony.  He was surprised to realize that one could be more scared by what can happen to a loved one than to what happens to oneself.  Because he and Pinkie now knew that their futures were uncertain.  However, despite the fear that everyone felt for their own destiny, what really hurt them and scarier, was the inability to do anything to help the other.

"I know that fate is not set in stone... The vision may or may not be fulfilled, only time will tell." Dusk said, caressing his friend sweetly to calm her down. "It's just as it happens with you. Our futures are uncertain, but not for that-" Dusk added until he stopped when he understood something vital.

Finally, Dusk understood it completely. There were situations that were beyond his control, but he couldn't live his life suffering because he couldn't control those things, he simply had to accept that they happen or didn't happen.

"We simply must take advantage of our lives... without the fear of tomorrow, just live for today." Dusk said as he smiled at Pinkie, feeling as if he had woken up from a long sleep and could finally smile again as he pushed away his fears about the uncertainty of the future.

"Live without the fear of tomorrow..." Pinkie repeated timidly, looking at Dusk's smiling face, with that smile that always comforted her in her moments of weakness.

"That's right, just enjoy the present." Dusk said smiling and glancing around the old castle. "And if you're afraid, remember what a certain pink pony once told me right here... That together, we are stronger." Dusk added while still smiling warmly, while Pinkie opened her eyes with surprise when she saw that Dusk still remembered what she had told him that night that they defeated Nightmare Moon.

Then Pinkie seemed to regain some life in her eyes, and despite the fact that her mane and tail were still straight, without a trace of her usual fluffiness, she felt a weight inside her vanish.  She hugged Dusk tightly, feeling that she finally felt like she no longer had to face her biggest fear alone.  Now they both kept a sad and cruel secret.  Both had strong reasons to fear their own futures, and while that hadn't changed, they now both knew that neither of them was alone, and would fight for living their lives to the fullest without fear.

After being embraced for several minutes in complete silence, just feeling the other's warmth and affection, Pinkie raised her head and saw Dusk, her beloved Dusk, who always saved her from her worst fears and who now shared a promise of life with her…

"Live and enjoy life, without the fear of tomorrow..." Pinkie Pie thought as she admired the colt.  Those words were burned into her, and now she had decided.  She didn't want to wait any longer, she wanted to enjoy her life to the fullest, and that would only happen if HE was by her side.

"Dusk..." Pinkie Pie said as a blush spread on her cheeks, knowing that she had made the final decision, the most important decision of her life, that of knowing which colt she wanted to have by her side in her life forever.

"Oh no!" Dusk said suddenly, who just at that moment looked up at the sky through the destroyed roof of the castle and saw that it was late in the afternoon. "We need to get going! I almost forget it!" Dusk added, a little scared, remembering that his other friends had given him a very important mission. Although with everything that happened that day, he almost forgot it.

Then Dusk broke away from the hug and looked towards the door of the old castle, but then he put a thoughtful look, he looked again at Pinkie and held out a hoof for her to take.

"Come to me, I think I'll try something new." Dusk said with a smile.

Seeing that she had lost her chance to declare her love, Pinkie softly sighed in frustration, then she put on a big smile, took Dusk's hoof, and launched herself to hug Dusk as hard as she could which made the colt blush.  For the spell he planned to do, it was necessary for both of them to be together, but it wasn't necessary for them to be this close together.  However, Dusk bit his lip and decided not to break the embrace, since the truth was that he loved being hugged by his soft and tender friend. Then Dusk closed his eyes and concentrated again.

"Magic controls the aura around things, but to go further, I must understand that in reality… control doesn't exist." Dusk thought concentrating, remembering the mental exercises he had been practicing with Zecora and feeling that at last the last barrier of restriction was released, that of his own preconceptions, and he could finally see beyond what normal magic of a unicorn could achieve. "You cannot beat a river into submission; you have to surrender to its current and use its power as your own..." Dusk thought, remembering what Zecora had told him.

At that moment, Dusk’s horn lit up with a huge flash, and the two ponies disappeared from the old castle in the middle of the Everfree Forest, instantly reappearing outside Sweet Apple Acres' barn.

"Wow...! Did you really teleport us here from so far away!?" Pinkie said in amazement after seeing where they were.

"Y-Yes..." Dusk said as he felt dizzy and exhausted, so much that he almost fell to the ground, but he was caught just in time by Pinkie Pie.  "I'm sorry... It worked, but I think it wiped out all my magic reserve..." Dusk added, still dizzy, satisfied that he had broken his own limits, but also realizing that it also had its drawbacks.

"Wait here, I'll find Applejack to help us get back to town." Pinkie said, a little worried at seeing Dusk so dizzy.

"Don't worry, I just need to rest for a moment." Dusk said quickly, until he realized that he could take advantage of that inconvenience to achieve his plan. "Wait, actually… I think I do need a little help.  Go get Applejack, I think she's in the barn." Dusk added pointing at Pinkie exactly where he wanted her to go.

Pinkie quickly ran into the barn and opened the big door to call out for her friend.

"SURPRISE!!" 

Pinkie Pie was caught completely off guard as Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gave gigantic smiles while they threw balloons and confetti to the surprised pink pony.

"W-What's going on…" Pinkie said with her eyes wide, so confused she wasn't sure what to ask first.

"It's a surprise party for you, what does it look like?" Applejack cheered.

"Geez! It took you a long time to bring her!  I was about to go looking for you." Rainbow Dash added looking at Dusk.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. There was… something that delayed us." Dusk said with a bashful smile, walking slowly behind Pinkie, as he was still a bit dizzy from his magical exhaustion.

As Dusk entered the barn, Pinkie continued with her stunned eyes, looking around the barn, where her friends had beautifully adorned the barn with dozens of balloons, canvases and streamers, as well as several tables filled with food and cakes.

"This... This is a party... For me?" Pinkie Pie said slowly, her mind still trying to process the surprise.

"Yeah, that's why we didn't want you to have a party today." Fluttershy said with an embarrassed smile. "We even had to make up those silly excuses."

"Quite right! You almost ruined the surprise." Rarity added and then took a closer look at Pinkie. "By the way, is that a new look?" the mare asked, referring to her straight mane.

"You always throw parties for us, so yesterday we decided to throw you a surprise party." Dusk whispered close to Pinkie, as she saw that his friend still didn't say a word.  “We just wanted a way to show you how much we appreciate you and your desire to spread happiness to everypony!”

Upon discovering the truth of it all and seeing her friends so happy and concerned for her, Pinkie lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"How could I ever distrust my friends..." Pinkie thought, feeling guilty, but at the same time very relieved. "They would never betray me… They… They still want to be my friends!"

"Uh... Pinkie, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked worryingly, when she saw that her friend hid her face and that some tears fell to the floor.

"Yes! I... I'm happier than you can imagine! Hehe!" Pinkie Pie said raising her head to see her friends.  The ponies were surprised to see that her crying was not from sorrow but were in fact tears of joy.  The pink mare had a huge smile and great joy in her heart to discover that her friends still loved her, a lot.

Pinkie crouched down again and began to shake with excitement, then suddenly her mane and tail exploded back to how they normally were, and Pinkie jumped up with the biggest smile she had ever had in her life.

"Now let’s get this party started!" Pinkie yelled with happiness.

Thus, Pinkie Pie's party started in earnest, with all her best friends gathered there, just like at the party the day before. The only difference was that the members of the Apple family had also arrived a little after the party started, since the party was at their home, and Apple Bloom had also invited Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

Spike and Big Mac talked animatedly among themselves, since it seemed that Spike had found out that the red stallion was a fan of a certain board game that he also loved.  In another corner were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, planning some secret things between them.  While in the center of everything was Dusk, who conversed with his five friends, chatting about trivial things, so as not to have to admit why he and Pinkie had taken so long to get there.  Meanwhile, in another corner, was Granny Smith next to the turntable to listen to the music well, sitting on a chair and staring at Dusk Shine, smiling when she saw how the lavender colt blushed slightly every time one of his friends got too close to him.

During a moment of the party, Dusk raised his head to look around and smiled at seeing how everyone smiled and laughed together as they chatted, danced and played with each other.  And as he did so, unintentionally his eyes locked on Pinkie's, who inadvertently had also done the same.  The pink mare wanted to keep that happy moment very well in her memory, until her eyes met those of Dusk.   When their eyes met, both ponies smiled, feeling that they both thought exactly the same:

"No matter what the future holds, the important thing is to treasure the moments that we have together..."

The party continued and the mares again insisted on dancing with Dusk, but this time to the sound of the music.  And just as in the previous party, each mare had her turn to dance with Dusk, although the dances were more awkward than those of the previous day.  Every time Dusk danced with one of the mares, 'mysteriously' he would always bump into Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom, causing Dusk to get closer to his partner, which made him blush a lot.  

"Is something wrong, darling?" Rarity said, the mare madly blushing but trying to appear calm, after one of the fillies for the fifth time hit Dusk while they danced, causing Dusk to come dangerously close to Rarity's face.

"N-Nothing is wrong." Dusk said, his face completely red having his friend so close, and even more ashamed to see that everyone saw him dancing that way.  Although what he didn't see was that his other friends only saw their rival with jealous eyes, despite the fact that they had all had their moment dancing with Dusk.

"Hehehe! Ain’t no difference at all…" Granny Smith laughed as she remembered something from her past when she saw poor Dusk blush every time a mare got too close to him.

Suddenly the music stopped, and everyone looked towards the turntable, where Spike was staggering and pointing towards where the others were.

"Stop there!  Hic!" Spike yelled, pointing at a certain white mare and slowly approaching as he staggered.

"What's going on?  Does he think he’s drunk from drinking normal punch again?" Dusk asked, a bit annoyed.

"N-Nope." Big Mac replied, hanging his head in shame as he raised his glass of punch. "He drank from my punch."

"What!? Why did you give Spike a drink of your punch!?" Applejack asked in annoyance, knowing that the special cider that Big Mac drank was too strong, even for her.

"He said he normally drank that kind of punch." Big Mac replied sadly. "Besides, he only took a sip."

"YOU!" Spike screamed again, finally approaching his goal, taking the soft white hoof of his beloved and looking her directly into her beautiful eyes. "I… I love you!" Spike added in a cry, before kissing her beloved and falling unconscious from drunkenness.

In the barn, everyone was surprised by Spike's sudden declaration, but no one was more surprised than Sweetie Belle, the mare who had just been declared, and that Spike in his drunkenness had mistaken for his older sister.

"Oh… This is so embarrassing… The problems with being so beautiful." Sweetie Belle said blushing and covering her face in embarrassment.  Then she glanced at Dusk and knew that her vision of seeing Spike and Dusk fighting for her love would come true. "Please Dusk, don't be mad at Spike. I… I have love for both of us!" Sweetie Belle said melodramatically, while Dusk just stared at her in confusion.

Seeing that Spike had fallen unconscious again, Dusk decided to end his participation in the party and retire with Spike on his back.

"See you tomorrow!" Dusk said goodbye with a smile. "Don't forget, tomorrow is a very special night." Dusk added smiling, knowing that her friends wouldn't forget the important date of the next day, after all, they had been looking forward to it for months.

"I'll never have punch again... I swear..." Spike murmured on Dusk's back as they both retreated towards the library.

Meanwhile, Big Mac retired sadly to his room, since he felt guilty for getting the little dragon so intoxicated.  The three fillies retired to the house to chat about the shocking revelation of Spike's love towards Sweetie Belle, who continued to stroke her own ego at how scandalous the situation was.  The only ones remaining in the barn were the five mares and Granny Smith, the former staying to clean everything inside the barn, while Granny Smith had only stared at Dusk with a smile as he walked away from there.

"Why are you smiling so much, Granny?" Applejack asked, noticing how much the old mare was smiling throughout the party.

"It's just that I hadn't noticed how similar young Dusk is to Grandpa Apple." Granny Smith answered, remembering fondly of her dear husband, who was no longer among them.

"Really?" Applejack curiously asked, who hadn't gotten to know her grandfather before he had passed.

"Yep!  He was as shy with the mares as Dusk is, hehe." Granny Smith replied with a chuckle as she remembered her youth. "I liked your grandpa a lot, but every time I got close to him, he got more jittery than a junebug in January and ended up running for the hills, hehe…. Good times."

"Wow, that sounds exactly like Dusk, he's always completely clueless to my awesomeness to do anything about it." Rainbow Dash added with a sigh, who, like her other friends, had come up to where Granny Smith was to hear her story.

"Didn't matter how much I flirted with him, what gifts I gave him or what compliments I gave him.  It seemed like he never realized my feelings." Granny Smith added, smiling longingly.

"But then... how did you two end up together?" Rarity asked curiously, excited by that talk of love from Granny Smith.

"Well... One day I just stopped him, looked at his handsome face and told him I liked him." Granny Smith answered, laughing at the memory. "There are some stallions so hardheaded that they don't realize how someone feels about them if someone don't yell at their faces, hehe."

"Did you really do that!?" Fluttershy asked with a hot blush. "And what happened next?"

"Next? Well, he turned all red and confessed that he was also pinning over me and he fell in love, as well.  But the poor thing was so shy that he was afraid to tell me and break our friendship." Granny Smith said looking up at the sky with a smile. "It was the happiest time of my life... very happy..." Granny Smith added, falling softly asleep remembering such a happy memory.

Seeing that Granny Smith had fallen asleep, Applejack indicated her friends to be quiet and they all continued to tidy up the barn while trying to make as little noise as possible. Finally, the five mares finished cleaning, said their proper goodbyes, and each took their route home: Rainbow Dash flying towards her house in the clouds, Fluttershy going to her cottage in the forest clearing, Rarity walking slowly with her little sister towards the town, while Pinkie was going ahead with her jumps to get home early, and Applejack walking to her house that was next to the barn, while Big Mac was in charge of putting Granny Smith to bed.  And although the five mares were walking in different directions, without knowing it, the five mares had a goal in common, a goal that they had decided they must reach once and for all.

"Tomorrow is an important day… perhaps the most important day of the year. If not tomorrow, when will it be? I... I can't wait any longer... I need to tell him!" Rarity thought determinedly.

"Granny Smith is right… I can't doubt myself anymore!  I already made my decision; I just lacked the right moment... And tomorrow will be that special moment!" Applejack thought decisively.

"This is your chance.  If I'm not firm, I can never achieve anything.  I... must leave my fears behind and... And have courage! Tomorrow is the day!" Fluttershy thought, sighing and inhaling hard to pluck up her courage.

"This is the most important race of my life, and I'm not going to lose it!  I was waiting for this moment, finally the occasion is right and I'm ready!" Rainbow Dash thought with a look of security.

"I have to live in the moment!  I was going to do it today when he hugged me, but if it's not today, it'll definitely be tomorrow!  At the most important party of all!" Pinkie Pie thought smiling with a determined look.

And unbeknownst to them, the five mares at the same time shouted in their minds the same sentence full of determination:





"TOMORROW AT THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA, I'LL DECLARE MY FEELINGS TO DUSK SHINE!"

End of chapter 52
> Chapter 53 - The most expected night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The most expected night

The Ponyville Day Spa was busier than it usually was on a typical day, which meant that its owners, Aloe and Lotus, had to rush back and forth to attend to all their clients who had arrived all at once. However, the extra work left them a greater sense of satisfaction rather than stress.  Afterall, a full beauty treatment to five mares would leave them a big gain in profit pride, resulting in the big smiles on their exhausted faces.  The same type of smile that her favorite client, Rarity, had when she saw that for the first time she was in her favorite place with her four best friends.

While Rarity wore a face mask to relax her facial muscles, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie took a relaxing bubble bath in the huge spa tub, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat comfortably in chairs while the spa twins used all their skill to file their hard hooves.  Although Rainbow was a bit twitchy at first when the mares started filing her hooves.

"How long has it been since your hooves were filed?" Aloe asked after breaking a file a second time while smoothing Applejack's hooves.

"Hmm... never?" Applejack replied scratching her head, causing Aloe and Lotus to make faces of horror. "Yeah well, working on the farm requires strong hooves." the farmer added quickly, looking away and blushing a bit.

"You see?  I told you that it was good that we came to the Spa early, there is a lot of work to do!" Rarity said from her position.  Although she didn't see what was happening due to her mask, she heard very well what was happening and could perfectly imagine the horrified faces of Lotus and Aloe. "Hoof scrub, relaxation massage, moisturizing mask, mud and steam bath, and not counting what comes next!  Dresses, the manestyle, the makeup…" Rarity added thinking that one day wasn't enough to get totally ready, and she was so sure of it that she had even taken the dresses and mane dryers to the twins' Spa to save time and do everything right there.

"Whatever... I still can’t believe that Fluttershy tricked me into coming here." Rainbow Dash added looking sideways towards the tub, where the yellow pegasus was.  Said mare just covered her mouth and laughed tenderly at her friend's inquisitive gaze.

"You and me both, sugarcube.  Rarity even went looking for me at the farm!" Applejack said, remembering how when she woke up she had seen that in the dining room of her house Rarity was talking to Granny Smith.

"I went to Sweet Apple Acres for another matter, but I took the opportunity.  Otherwise I wouldn't have convinced you to come." Rarity said, unable to help but lift a cucumber slice she had over her eye to look at her friend.

"I keep telling you, all this fancy-smancy treatment ain’t necessary.  It’s already enough that I have to wear a dress." Applejack added, just as Aloe was finished exfoliating her hooves, which made them feel too soft for her liking.

"Don't forget where we're going, darling; the most prestigious party in Equestria! We cannot let those Canterlot nobles see us as simple village mares.  And more importantly... Don't forget who we're going with." Rarity said, emphasizing the latter statement.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash both blushed a little, knowing what she meant. "I could have had the beauty treatment on my own, but it wouldn't be fair to our little… competition.  No, I want Dusk to see us all shine tonight, and believe me, you'll thank me when Dusk sees us tonight." Rarity added with a smile.

After Rarity's words, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and noticed that they were both still blushing, and then looked away, admitting that Rarity was right about something.  Although the others didn't know it, each one had made the decision to make an important declaration that night.  And if they wanted even a slight chance to succeed, it didn't hurt to accept Rarity's gift and look as radiant as possible for that special night.

As the fashionista anticipated, the day went by quickly with the five mares spending the whole day in the Spa, and when sunset came, finishing the last details before the big night.  They now only had to wait for their beloved lavender colt, who had told them that he would go looking for them to pick them up, like a true gentlecolt.  For his part, Dusk had also spent the entire day being very busy, but in a very different way from how his friends had occupied their time.

At that time in the afternoon, Dusk was already fully dressed in his gala tuxedo, something that hadn't taken him more than five minutes.  After trying in vain to comb his crazy mane, Dusk decided that he was ready for the gala, so he spent the rest of the afternoon practicing a spell that he wanted to try to make the night extra special for his friends..

"Well, enough practice, it's already sunset.  Time for the moment of truth!" Dusk said closing the spell book he had been reading.

Stepping out of the library with Spike, Dusk placed an apple on the ground and focused his magic into his horn.  Then the apple began to shine and deform rapidly, until a great flash blinded them both. When the pair opened their eyes, before them appeared an elegant and large carriage, which kept its apple shape, but only aesthetically, since inside it was provided with comfortable seating.  On the outside there was now a door and one window finely decorated for access to the interior of the carriage. In addition, the carriage had several inlaid gold linings, giving a greater air of elegance that combined perfectly with the wheels it now owned.

"Wooow... You've outdone yourself this time." Spike said in amazement when he saw his older brother's new spell.

"Hehe. It wasn't such a complex spell, but it took a lot of rehearsal to get it perfectly." Dusk said smiling proudly. "If we're to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, it’s only appropriate that arrive in an elegant carriage.  I hope the girls like the surprise." Dusk added thinking about how he would surprise his friends with that carriage.

While Dusk kept his smile full of pride, praising himself in his mind for having done such a perfect spell, Spike looked around the entire carriage curiously and then looked at Dusk with a confused look.

"And… who’s going to pull the carriage?" Spike asked raising an eyebrow.

"I’ve also been practicing another spell, a spell that turns other living beings into equines for a short period of time." Dusk answered with a very exaggerated smile.

"Oh… And what will you transform?  A mouse, or perhaps-" At that moment, Spike stopped talking when he noticed that his brother was still watching him with that huge smile, which added a level of terror to the colt that Spike thought he would never see.  And the instant Dusk lit his horn, Spike knew what his brother was planning to do. "Waaah!" Spike yelled, jumping and dodging the transforming beam that Dusk threw at him, right at the last second.

"Don't move! The spell won't work if you don't stay still." Dusk said, scolding his brother.

"No! Definitely not!  Get yourself another guinea pig for your crazy experiments." Spike answered, running behind the carriage so that it would come between him and Dusk.

"Oh, come on.  It won't be that bad, you'll just turn into some kind of… equine dragon or something like that, I guess." Dusk said with a fake smile, thinking that even he wasn't sure what Spike would become if he used that spell. "I need somepony to pull the carriage."

"I won't do it for all the gems in Equestria!" Spike annoyingly yelled. "It's bad enough to know that you'll go to the Gala with Rarity.  I’m not going to be some weird hybrid creature just to pull her carriage."

Seeing his little brother's refusal, Dusk looked away and exhaled in frustration, thinking that he must have been faster with his spell.  Now that Spike was refusing to pull the carriage, he had to think of another alternative. He still had one last resort, which was to pull the carriage with his own magic, but for that he would have to go outside the carriage to see the way, and it would ruin the trip he had planned with his friends.

"Err, excuse me.  Has the library already closed?" A deep voice suddenly asked. "I came to see if the latest volume of 'Forbidden Love' was available."

Looking up, Dusk saw with a bit of amazement that it was Bulk Biceps who was speaking to them, the huge and muscular white pegasus that lived in the town.  And to Dusk's surprise, it seemed he was also a fan of Lyra's love comic.

"Uh... No, sorry, somepony else took that comic from the library this afternoon." Dusk answered a little confused, who still hadn't read Lyra's famous comic.

Hearing that, Bulk Biceps lowered his head sadly and turned to leave.  At that moment, seeing the huge muscles of the white pegasus, a great idea popped up in Dusk's head.

"Hey, Bulk Biceps, you… are you busy tonight?" Dusk asked a bit nervously, since he had actually only talked to the stallion once before, who, from what he remembered, was very kind despite his intimidating appearance. "I need someone to pull this carriage to Canterlot for the Gala, and I… thought maybe you could help me with this, obviously I'll pay you!" Dusk added quickly, so that the pegasus wouldn't think he was abusing him.

"The Grand Galloping Gala?" Bulk Biceps whispered as he imagined himself at the prestigious party. Then he quickly shook his head back into reality and flexed his muscles hard before answering. "YEAH!"

After Bulk Biceps accepted the proposal, Dusk sighed in relief, indicated to the pegasus how he should hook onto the carriage to pull it. Then he approached Spike to say goodbye.

"Don't stay up late, and don't eat too many gems before bed." Dusk said looking apprehensively at his little brother.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Spike said with a big smile.

Reassured over his little brother’s wellbeing, Dusk gave the dragon a quick goodbye hug before he left.  Then Dusk got into the carriage and Spike stared at him as he went away.

"Okay, time to do the secret mission that Rarity gave me." Spike whispered to himself after he was left alone. Then the little dragon opened the library door and ran in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Meanwhile, Dusk rode comfortably in the carriage, satisfied with how comfortable the seats were and how spacious it was inside. He then leaned out of the carriage window to see Bulk Biceps, who was heading slowly towards the outskirts of town.

"Bulk Biceps, before we leave, we need to stop by the Spa, so you can go faster if you like." Dusk said a little concerned when he saw the carriage move slowly and thinking that it was because the muscular pegasus didn't want to make Dusk stagger inside the carriage.

"It's… it's just that I'm saving energy… for Canterlot… it's… it's a long way…" Bulk Biceps replied with a weak smile.

Upon hearing that response, Dusk looked closely at the white pegasus, and only then did he realize that despite the pegasus's great musculature, his hooves weren't as strong as the rest of his body, so Bulk Biceps probably wouldn't have enough strength to pull the carriage for the entirety of the trip to Canterlot.

"Wait, Bulk Biceps! We need another plan." Dusk said quickly, making the pegasus stop. "Maybe this wasn't the best of ideas..." Dusk added getting off the carriage.

Seeing Dusk's worried face, Bulk Biceps quickly put on a serious look.

"Not! Leave it to me, I… I can do it!" Bulk Biceps said, a little embarrassed and disappointed to see that his big muscles would be useless for this occasion.

"If it's for money, I'll pay you anyway-" Dusk added, ready to take out some bits.

"I don't want money!  I… I want to be of help!" Bulk Biceps said quickly, surprising Dusk. "You're a good pony and… I like to help good ponies and get to know them better…" Bulk Biceps added shyly.

At that moment Dusk opened his eyes wide as he translated and understood what Bulk Biceps really meant.

"Does he want to be my friend?" Dusk thought with surprise, noticing that what Bulk Biceps wanted was to form a bond of friendship with him.  That thought led to another big question. "Could it be that I’ve been so focused on my friendship with my five friends, that I hadn’t realized before that other ponies also want to be my friends?"

"Wait! I have an idea!" Bulk Biceps said suddenly, breaking free of the carriage and running towards the center of town.

While Dusk waited, thinking about this new revelation about friendship, it didn't take long for Bulk Biceps again, only this time he was accompanied by three other colts.

"So this is the carriage that needs pulling… Yeah, it won't be a big deal between the four of us." Said a brown colt with a horseshoe cutie mark, whose name was Caramel, whom Dusk had seen walking around town several times.

"Yeah, it's lucky that we didn't have anything to do tonight, unlike you, huh?" Said another of the colts, one with gray fur and clovers like cutie mark, named Lucky Clover, who playfully tapped Dusk's shoulder.

"If we could go flying, we would’ve gotten there right away, but hey… I suppose it'll be useful to exercise our hooves." The last colt added, a blackish gray fur pegasus with a cutie mark from a thundercloud with lightning, a pegasus that Dusk had seen on Rainbow Dash's weather team named Thunderlane.

"A-Are you all going to help me?" Dusk asked surprised.

"Sure! B.B. says you need to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. And if you go to such an elegant party, you gotta arrive in a carriage.  Shows class." Lucky Clover replied smiling.

"Yeah, it's our way of thanking you for all that you have done in town." Thunderlane said while he and the others hitched themselves to the carriage. "You've saved the town a couple of times, haven't you?  So, I guess that's fair."

At the hearing that, Dusk had to smile as he feel a warm sense of joy to discover that while blinded by his feelings for her friends, perhaps many more ponies had also wanted to become his friends.

"Yeah, also... we can stay at the entrance and see the beautiful mares that come to the party..." Caramel added with a silly smile, the same smile that the other colts that pulled the carriage also made.

Then the four colts started laughing, and then Dusk also joined in the laughter, noticing the real reason why they wanted to help him.

"Maybe that's the real reason... Or maybe it's just an excuse to get closer to me, help me and form friendship..." Dusk thought smiling, briefly remembering the time when his five friends had changed gender and how that situation had led him to discover that friendship with colts was a little different.  Less sincere when expressing feelings, but no less strong in the sense of comradery.

While the carriage was guided in the direction of the town's Spa, Dusk and the four colts talked about various things. They were topics without much meaning but made them laugh a lot.  One such topic included some questions from the colts about Dusk's true relationship with his five mare friends, to which Dusk always responded sheepishly that they were just friends, and hid the fact that in his heart, he had many times wanted to be more than a friend to someone of his friends.

"I'm telling you dude!  We're a minority!  In this town, for every colt there are at least seven mares!" Caramel said, pretending to be scared. "There should be a law that allows us to be with seven mares at a time!" The brown colt added with an amused grin, making everyone laugh.

"By the way Dusk, when you have some time... Could you introduce me to your pretty sister?" Bulk Biceps suddenly asked when they were about to arrive at the Spa. "I think her name was Twilight."

"Oh yeah!  She was cute." Lucky Clover added smiling.

"Yeah... I don't think that's possible..." Dusk replied completely red, grateful that those colts didn't know that ‘Twilight’ was actually his female alter ego.

"Hey, don't push him.  Nopony likes slackers flirting with their sister." Thunderlane added, noticing that Dusk looked uncomfortable.

"Who are you calling slacker!?" Lucky Clover said pretending to be offended.

"Well, you, who else?" Dusk added, feeling more confident, causing everypony to start laughing again.

"You know Dusk, I thought you would be some lame bookworm who only talked to girls." Caramel added looking askance at Dusk. "But you turned out to be more fun than I expected."

Hearing that, Dusk didn't respond, he just smiled warmly, thinking that in that short period of time, he also thought the same.

"This is strange… Is it really so easy to make friends?" Dusk thought, just as the carriage stopped in front of the Spa. "If so… why do I keep thinking that my five friends are even more important than any new friendships I might form?" Dusk kept thinking, even though deep in his heart he already knew the answer... 'Because you see them as more than friends!'

"Why are we stopping in front of the Spa?  I thought you were heading to the Grand Galloping Gala on your own." Thunderlane said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no.  I’m not going alone.  I’m actually-" Dusk replied, who became silent when he saw that the door of the Spa opened, and out of it appeared the five most beautiful mares he had ever seen.

Dusk's five friends sparkled in the evening light, wearing the beautiful dresses that Rarity had made especially for each of them, which accentuated the unique personality of each mare.  Dusk had already seen those dresses on his friends before.  However, unlike at the fashion parade, now the mares seemed to shine even more.  Their manes and tails were well combed and so perfumed that they would drive any colt that passed by their side crazy.  Their coats were so clean and soft after the spa treatment, that they seemed to shine on their own.  And finally, their faces appeared softly made up, enough to highlight the beautiful features of each one.  Faced with such a vision, Dusk and the other colts froze, their jaws dropped at what they saw.

For their part, the eyes of the five mares were amazed when they stepped out of the Spa and saw the beautiful carriage in which Dusk had arrived in, something that none of them expected. However, that astonishment took a back seat when they saw Dusk's expression. They knew that they looked pretty for the Grand Galloping Gala, not in vain had they spent the whole day preparing, but not even in their wildest fantasies had they thought that they would impact Dusk Shine in such a way, which made the five of them blush.

"You're welcome." Rarity whispered with a proud smile, looking at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had reluctantly agreed to all that beauty treatment, but now they were both very happy to see that they had left Dusk flabbergasted with their beautiful appearances.

After that, Rarity was the first to move and advance towards Dusk, who for his part remained static.  The poor colt’s brain still couldn't accept that he would really go to the Grand Galloping Gala with such beautiful mares.

"What a splendid carriage, darling!" Rarity said approaching Dusk. "Won’t you be a dear and invite us up?" Rarity added with a playful smile, enjoying the charm she had caused in Dusk.

"I… Uh, Y-Yes! Of course!" Dusk said awkwardly, realizing that he had been left with his mouth open for too long.  Then Dusk rushed to open the carriage door and made a small bow while extending a hoof to Rarity to invite her to get on the carriage, like a good gentlecolt.

“R-Rarity,” Dusk partially mumbled.  “You look…quite extravagant tonight.”

“I know, dearest.” the white unicorn replied, trying her hardest to suppress the blush lighting up her cheeks.  “But it means the world to me to hear that from you.”

Rarity gently took Dusk's hoof and got into the carriage.  Meanwhile, the other mares also did the same one by one.

"Do I look pretty to you, Dusk?" Pinkie Pie asked when she reached Dusk's side, being the second to approach him.

"Y-You look beautiful." Dusk said shyly, inevitably looking away, blushing at admitting what he really thought.

Hearing that answer, Pinkie Pie put on a big, flustered smile, then took Dusk's hoof to also get into the carriage.

"I... I'm not used to wearing this type of clothing..." Applejack said when she reached Dusk, shyly looking away while blushing.  “Hope you ain’t too disappointed.”

"The dress only highlights your natural beauty." Dusk said, trying to ease the mare’s nerves, only to realized that he was too honest and that he had actually given his friend a romantic compliment.

"Yeah... uh... I better get in the carriage." Applejack said quickly, lowering her head as her ears flared red and got into the carriage with her other friends.

The next to approach was Fluttershy, who curiously seemed less nervous than her other friends.  She breathed slowly, as if she had been practicing not to get so nervous on such an important night.

"Y-You... You look very handsome in your suit, Dusk..." Fluttershy said, trying to speak casually but couldn't help stuttering from nerves.

"Thank you... But you look much prettier in your dress." Dusk said with his cheeks flushed, because he knew that his friends would definitely stand out much more than him at the Grand Galloping Gala.

All plans to be firm and confident in front of Dusk flew right out the window when the yellow pegasus couldn't help but blush and smile shyly at Dusk's compliment, and then she got into the carriage. Thus, finally Rainbow Dash was the last to approach Dusk.

"Don't say anything!" Rainbow Dash said immediately as she approached Dusk, very blushed. "If you say anything about my appearance or that I'm wearing a dress, I-I swear you'll pay for it!" Rainbow Dash added, red in embarrassment.

Dusk just kept quiet and stretched his hoof for Rainbow Dash to get into the carriage.

"You look very pretty, Rainbow Dash." Dusk said from behind when Rainbow Dash already had a hoof inside the carriage.

At that moment Rainbow Dash stopped and froze, feeling her entire face turn red with shame yet felt so happy that she wanted to scream, but she held back and quickly entered the carriage so that Dusk wouldn't see her like that.

After his five friends were inside the carriage, Dusk stared inward with a silly smile, thinking how he was the luckiest colt in the world to be with those five beautiful mares. Then, while maintaining his silly smile, Dusk turned to indicate to the colts that it was time to leave. However, his smile disappeared instantly when he saw that the four colts, especially Caramel and Thunderlane, looked with penetrating gazes at Dusk, as if they’re looks could kill.





"Is... Is everything okay, guys...?" Dusk asked timidly, seeing that the colts that until a few moments ago were laughing with him and practically already considered him one of their own now they saw him with murderous looks.

"Yeah…all good.  Just remembered that we'll have to charge you triple for tonight!" Thunderlane said frustratingly, looking with obvious envy at Dusk, turning with the other colts to begin his trip to Canterlot.

Seeing the surly attitude of his new 'colt friends', Dusk only lowered his head in resignation, thinking that finally the trip would be much more expensive than expected.  However, he couldn't blame those colts, after all, they had just seen that another colt would go to a big party surrounded by five beautiful mares... What colt wouldn't be consumed with jealousy!?  And without saying anything else, Dusk got into the carriage and finally everyone started their journey to Canterlot.

As the carriage began its journey, Dusk only stared at the window next to the door with Pinkie Pie.  Despite the fact that Dusk wanted to talk to his friends, he was still ashamed of having been so stunned by seeing them when they left the Spa.  Now he feared that being alone, surrounded by them, would once again cause him to ogle at them like a fish with its mouth open. 

"What were you talking about with those other colts?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

"It's nothing, just that I think… they would like to be in my place." Dusk said with a nervous smile.

"Why’d you say that?  You telling me they actually want to go to the Gala too?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, I don't mean the Grand Galloping Gala.  I mean being surrounded by five beautiful mares." Dusk said with a small smile, making his friends blush. Then Dusk again realized that he was being too sincere and blushed.  "I-I mean..." Dusk stuttered, until he realized he didn't really have to fear being honest, after all he was with his best friends. "I mean, any colt would be the happiest in the world if he was the coltfriend for any one of you." Dusk added with a tender smile, slightly blushed.

"So… does that include you?" Fluttershy asked shyly.

At that question, Dusk was very surprised, and he blushed deeply.  He then looked up at the ceiling and put a thoughtful look as he remembered everything he had experienced with his friends, and mainly, how his feelings had changed, going from a point where even he couldn't sleep when thinking about how his feelings changed, until he spent more time with each of them and finally realized his epiphany.

"Yes." Dusk said sincerely, looking away to hide his blush and pretending to see something interesting outside.

Hearing that, and out of sight of Dusk, the faces of all five mares grew even more red.  In that moment, Dusk had just admitted that he could fall in love with one of them.  If that same question had been asked to Dusk in the past, the lavender colt would have been very nervous and evade the question.  He had even undergone great stress thinking that he could be in love with one of them, which was precisely why the five mares had decided not to romantically attack Dusk so directly.  However, Dusk had changed.  He seemed no longer stressed by that, and in fact some of them had already noticed that Dusk acted more confident in certain romantic situations.  The previous admission from the colt was just the final confirmation to the mares’ suspicion. 

"W-Wow! W-What a beautiful night!" Rarity said quickly, feigning disinterest and looking out of her own window.

After that, the five mares began to quickly talk about other topics.  Unbeknownst to Dusk or each other, each of the mares had made a decision that tonight would finally be the night that they would profess their love for the lavender colt. However, they all knew that they were among their fellow rivals in love, so it felt risky to discuss the topic further in the presence of each other.

So time went on, with the six ponies talking about simple trivia and their plans for the Grand Galloping Gala, which Dusk already knew from the time his friends argued about the extra ticket. Then Dusk told his friends that he too had plans, as he wanted to spend more time with his beloved teacher, Princess Celestia, and talk face-to-face with her about the advances and discoveries he had made about friendship.

So immersed were they in their conversation that they only realized they had reached their destination when the carriage stopped. The six ponies all looked out the window and widened their eyes in amazement to see the enormous Canterlot Castle in front of them, fully decked out for the Grand Galloping Gala, with dozens of guards guarding the surroundings and hundreds of elegantly dressed ponies entering the castle.  The night sky was beautifully lit by various fireworks that heralded the start of Equestria's largest annual party.

The six ponies got out of the carriage, with the always chivalrous Dusk helping his friends down, and they quickly headed for the castle gate.  As they walked towards the door, each of the mares recalled their dream about what a perfect night would be like at the Grand Galloping Gala, and although none had given up on that dream, the five of them knew that in addition to fulfilling that dream, they had another mission: To declare their love!

As the ponies approached the castle gates guarded by two guards who were checking the invitations before admitting the guests, they began to get excited as they heard the music of the orchestra and saw through the windows and through the open door all the ponies that were already inside the castle, enjoying the Grand Galloping Gala.

"It's the princess!" Dusk said excitedly as he noticed through the open door that his beloved teacher was in the main hall near the grand staircase, greeting the newly arrived guests.

When Dusk saw the princess, he was very excited and started to run to reunite with his mentor. However, he only managed to take one step before realizing that he couldn't run off, because he had to wait and stay with his friends.

"No problem, sugarcube.  Go ahead, we'll catch up you later." Applejack said smiling, the same approving smile that her other friends gave to Dusk, knowing how important it was for him to talk to the princess.

"Thank you!  I’ll meet with you guys later, I promise!" Dusk said excitedly, running to show his invitation and quickly enter the castle before the princess went elsewhere.

After Dusk left, Rarity put a hoof to her mouth to try to hide a mischievous smile, because now that Dusk was gone, it was time to put her plan into action.

"At last!  We're in the Grand Galloping Gala! Where all our dreams will come true!" Rarity said with a big smile, acting theatrically.  Then she scooted really close to Pinkie Pie. "The only thing that disappoints me a little is that nopony here celebrates like we celebrate in Ponyviile..."

At that instant, Pinkie Pie's ears perked up.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

"Well, see for yourself." Rarity said, pointing to the ponies they could see through the window and the open door of the castle. "Nopony is laughing, singing or jumping around... I’ll bet this soiree will really jump up a notch if a certain party expert shows them how it’s really done." Rarity added glancing at Pinkie and smiling, while her pink friend paid close attention to every word she said.

In that instant, Pinkie Pie felt the call of the party and knew that Rarity was right. Then her whole body began to tremble with impatience and excitement, and she finally ran towards the door to enter quickly.

"You're right!  See you inside!" Pinkie Pie screamed worriedly, thinking that her friend was right and that if the party wasn't being fun, there was only one party pony like her to help everyone start laughing and enjoy the real biggest party in the kingdom.

"Wow... Pinkie was in such a rush." Fluttershy said a little surprised to see the pink mare bolting to get into the castle quickly, just like Dusk.

"And who wouldn't be in a hurry?  I would be too, especially in your situation, darling." Rarity said, this time moving closer to Fluttershy and feigning disinterest.

"My situation?" Fluttershy asked confused.

"Of course. You said that you wanted to take the opportunity to see the royal gardens that are open only for this great occasion, and thus see the cute little animals that live there." Rarity said with a fake thoughtful look. "But if you want to enjoy the animals, you would most likely have to go soon, before the gardens fill with ponies and the animals get scared away with so much noise..."

Hearing that, Fluttershy widened her eyes, realizing that her friend was right.

"Sorry! I think I'll get ahead too!" Fluttershy said quickly, this time being the one who hurried to skip the line and quickly enter the castle before the gardens filled with ponies.

"Pinkie and Fluttershy had the right idea.  We should just skip the line so that we can get in faster.” Rainbow Dash said, a little upset seeing that three of her friends had already gone ahead of her to enter the castle, and she didn't like being behind anypony.

"We must have patience, darling." Rarity said smiling. "It's not like we are VIP guests, unlike the great Wonderbolts, whom must already be sharing the VIP lounge of the party."

"How do you know that!?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously and excited to hear about the Wonderbolts.

"Well, it's something I heard from one of my clients for whom I make their dresses for the Gala." Rarity said thoughtfully, glancing at Rainbow Dash and smiling mischievously.  "The Wonderbolts have such a busy schedule, so they make their show in the middle of the party and then they leave before it gets too late.

Rarity didn't need to say anything more.  Hearing that the Wonderbolts were already inside and that they could leave at any moment, Rainbow Dash knew she couldn't miss her chance and quickly flew to skip the line and enter the castle as well.

Finally, there were only two mares left out of the six that had started in the group, and Rarity looked at the last rival in sight to be disposed of.

"I know you’re up to something, Rarity.  So I’m not moving a muscle until I figure out what it is!" Applejack said crossing her hooves and staring at her unicorn friend.

"What are you talking about?  Why would I want to be alone?  I just want you to go and enjoy your dream night." Rarity replied with a big smile.

"Well, then you won't mind if I stay with you and go into the castle together." Applejack said, looking suspiciously at her friend.

"Excuse me. Are you Miss Rarity?" A young colt dressed in messenger garb suddenly asked.

"That would be me." Rarity replied smiling, feigning surprise.

"Your package arrived without problems. I t's located in the carriage sector, as they don't allow us to bring packages to the castle gates." The messenger said, taking out a scroll and a quill. "Sign here please."

As Rarity signed, Applejack looked at her very confused.

"A package? What did you ask to be brought here?" Applejack asked suspiciously.

"It's not for me, it's a surprise for you, darling." Rarity said with a generous smile, to Applejack's surprise. "I spoke to Granny Smith earlier this morning about making some samples of her delicious apple candies, and I asked Spike to ship the order on the afternoon train.  So you too can fulfill your dream and promote the products of your farm at the Grand Galloping Gala."

Hearing that, Applejack's jaw dropped in surprise, as she never imagined that that was the reason why Rarity had been so early at her house that morning.

"Y-You really did that for me?" Applejack asked, a little excited.

"Of course! That's what friends are for." Rarity said with a big smile.

Then Applejack came over and hugged Rarity.

"Thank you!  I... I didn't know if it was right or not to bring some products from the farm, but... if you made all that effort for me, then I'll not hesitate and fulfill my dream." Applejack said as she hugged her friend tightly.

After that, Applejack turned around and followed the messenger who would lead her to the package Rarity sent.

"Rarity, wait for me here. I don't want you to go ahead alone." Applejack said suddenly, turning around and looking at her friend, who was now alone in line.

"Of course!  I'll wait for you, don't worry." Rarity answered with a big smile, as her friend turned around again and continued on her way to the carriage sector.

Losing sight of Applejack, Rarity let go of her facade, put aside that huge smile she had had, and began to laugh sinisterly.

"I'm sorry dear Applejack, but I will not be wait for you.  I need to go in alone to take advantage and get closer to Dusk now that everyone's gone, fufu..." Rarity laughed maliciously, finally showing her true intentions.

Seeing that the ponies in front of her were finally entering the castle, Rarity fixed her mane and prepared to enter the castle, thinking that all is fair in love and war.

"Your invitation, please." The castle guard said as Rarity was about to go through the gates.

"Of course." Rarity said smiling as she reached for her invitation in the inside pocket of her dress. At that moment Rarity's smile slowly faded as she began to touch her entire body looking for the invitation, which was nowhere to be found.

"If you don't have an invitation, you can't come in." The guard said seriously, noticing that Rarity wasn't handing him anything.

"N-No… wait a second.  I-I'm sure that I had it with me..." Rarity said nervously, thinking she was sure she had come down from the carriage with her invitation.  Then the fleeting memory of Applejack's hug crossed her mind, and Rarity's face was disfigured with anger as she discovered what had happened. "APPLEJACK!!"

Not far from there, way to the carriage sector, Applejack was walking with a cheeky smile, with an extra invitation tucked away safely in her dress.

"I knew you were planning something Rarity, so you'll not be entering until I enter the castle with you." Applejack laughed as she walked, thinking, like her unicorn friend, that all is fair in love and war.





After leaving his friends, Dusk had quickly entered the castle and immediately headed towards where Princess Celestia was, completely ignoring the elegant ponies lined up in a line that were waiting to greet the princess before him, and who looked at him with disdain to see him skipping the line.

"Princess!" Dusk said happily when he finally reached his teacher's side.

Seeing that her beloved student had finally arrived, Celestia's face lit up for a second.  But she immediately realized that she couldn't show such personal affection for Dusk in front of so many ponies present, so she quickly returned to her poker smile and I greet him in the same way as she greeted everyone who arrived.

"Dusk Shine, it's a pleasure that you were able to attend." Celestia said calmly.

Realizing that his teacher needed act with the greatest possible dignity in front of the other ponies, Dusk bowed and also adopted the same attitude.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, princess." Dusk said with great respect.

Then both ponies stared at each other, while their eyes shone and they both knew that although they couldn't put it into words, they were both very happy to be together again.

"Ahem!" A couple of ponies annoyed coughed, after Dusk was interrupting the official princess's greeting that everyone expected to do.

"Oh! Sorry." Dusk said quickly, getting out of front and sighing sadly when he saw the long line of ponies that came to greet the princess.  He would have to wait a long time before he could talk alone with his teacher.

Seeing Dusk so down, Celestia couldn't help but feel sorry for her beloved Dusk, and against what was expected of her, she decided to go out of protocol a bit.

"Dear Dusk, if you would like, you could stay by my side while I finish my greetings." The princess said with a big smile. "You can update me on how your studies are going." The princess added quickly, so those snobby Canterlot ponies wouldn't think it was personal.

Hearing that, Dusk put on a big smile and stood proudly next to his teacher, while she continued greeting the ponies, only this time, she also introduced Dusk Shine as her personal student.  While Dusk knew it was out of protocol, he still felt very happy because it was a way in which the princess indirectly told everypony that Dusk was important to her.

Celestia and Dusk Shine continued to greet all the ponies that entered the Gala.  And with Celestia's great memory, the princess greeted everypony by name and title, what made those who waited to meet the regent of the kingdom very happy.  And best of all, since the ponies had to go up the stairs before greeting them, that gave Celestia and Dusk a few seconds between one pony and another so that they could talk to each other.

"So, you have to greet all the guests one by one?  How many guests are there?" Dusk asked after greeting a couple of very elegant ponies, who greeted the princess with a big smile, and greeted Dusk Shine with a more forced smile.

"Normally there are always about 500 guests." Celestia replied, only glancing at Dusk, as the next couple was already approaching to greet her.

As the new couple greeted the princess, Dusk couldn't help but worry as he realized that with such a large number of guests, the princess would spend most of the night greeting instead of soliciting at the party.  So Dusk quickly calculated, thinking about the guests who had already entered and the little time they had to talk between each greeting, finally concluding that he could only converse with the princess for about thirty minutes, always being interrupted every 5 seconds, which it disappointed Dusk a lot.

"Maybe someone could replace the princess in the official greeting..." Dusk thought, looking for some way to talk longer with his teacher.  And then he remembered somepony very important. Somepony he also wanted to see very much that night.

"B-By the way... Where is Princess Luna?" Dusk asked, blushing for some reason unbeknownst to him.

After greeting the pair of ponies in front of her, Celestia looked at Dusk carefully while raising an eyebrow.

"It's funny that you ask about Luna.  She also seemed interested in knowing what time you would arrive." Celestia said curiously. "She said maybe she would come down later, but for some reason she seemed to be very nervous."

Hearing that, Dusk lowered his head in disappointment.

"I guess that confirms it… It seems that Princess Luna doesn't want to see me again." Dusk thought sadly, feeling that he really wanted to see the princess of the night, and especially, talk about what happened at the end of the last dream they had seen each other in.

For her part, Celestia kept glancing at Dusk as she remembered the talk with her sister before the Grand Gala...

"Dusk Shine is always punctual.  He'll surely be one of the first to arrive at the Gala." Celestia had answered when Luna had asked her about Dusk.

Hearing that response, Luna had bit her lip and ran to see herself in the mirror.

"I… would like to see him… But I mustn't!  I must prioritize my royal duties!" Luna whispered as she looked at herself in the mirror, very upset to think that she was still unable to obtain her true form in the real world.  Only her mane had managed to partially change. "Sweet Caramel!  I need to see my ball gowns!" Luna cried nervously.

Instantly, Luna's maid entered the room and took out several dresses from the closet, which Luna levitated while posing in front of the mirror.

"What am I doing!?  No!  I shouldn't see him!" Luna cried in frustration, turning around and dropping her head hard on her bed. "I can't go, sister... Maybe I'll come down for a while when the Gala is about to end..."

"I wonder why Luna was so nervous... Will she still think she can't appear in public until she regains all her powers?" Celestia thought, coming back to reality after remembering that situation with her sister.

To everypony in the castle, it was already obvious that Princess Luna was in love, after seeing her act like a filly in love for the first time.  But for Celestia, who knew everything in her great kingdom, her sister's infatuation continued to go unnoticed, being the only one in the castle who didn't know the truth or couldn't imagine it for some reason.

"It seems like you and Luna have seen each other a lot lately." Celestia said looking at Dusk as he widened his eyes and blushed. "It makes me very happy that you and Luna are becoming so close. She is in dire need of some good friends while she adjusts back after her…extended absence." Celestia added with an appreciative smile.

"Yes... friends, hehe..." Dusk murmured with a blush, remembering the kiss Luna had given him before saying goodbye. "Maybe-"

"Ahem!" A pony coughed again when he saw that Dusk again captured the princess's attention too much, causing the queue of the official greeting to be delayed.  Then Dusk closed his mouth and continued waving next to the princess, feeling increasingly uncomfortable when he realized that if he continued like this, he wouldn't be able to converse alone with the princess.  Also, he wouldn't even be able to have a pleasant time with his friends again.

As Celestia returned to greet another new pair of ponies that were arriving, she couldn't help but glance at Dusk again and notice that now he seemed more unmotivated than before. Then the alicorn began to think about what she could do to cheer up her beloved student, until a wicked idea made her smile.

"Dear Dusk, could you continue with the official greeting while I go to the bathroom for a second?" Celestia asked, approaching Dusk's ear and putting on a big smile.

"Uh?" Dusk said, surprised at the princess's request. The alicorn princess didn't wait to hear his answer and simply withdrew while Dusk stared at her.

"It feels nostalgic… I haven't seen the princess smile like that in a long time.  She only smiled that happily after…" Dusk thought smiling, but then his smile vanished when he realized the truth. "She only smiles like that after pulling a prank on me!  She… She’s not come back!" Dusk thought terrified, realizing the truth very late.

Dusk immediately prepared to go after the princess, but for the third time that night a pair of ponies stood in front of him and coughed to make themselves known when they saw that no one greeted them.

"Where is Princess Celestia?" Asked a mare with a very upturned nose, looking at Dusk Shine with some disgust.

"Uh… T-The princess had some business to attend to… She said she would be back soon.  In the meantime,… I'll welcome you to the Grand Galloping Gala." Dusk said with a nervous smile.

Hearing that, the pair of elegant ponies only looked away in disgust and withdrew.  After they left, Dusk wiped his sweat from how nervous he was, but immediately another pair of ponies stood in front of him, forcing him to stand gracefully again.

"Where is Princess Celestia?" The new couple of guests asked, which made Dusk sigh in resignation, knowing that now he would have to take the place of the princess and greet everyone, and that everyone would ask him the same question.  However, even though he would have a new and unexpected job at that party, Dusk couldn't help but smile a little as he felt nostalgic and remember that he and the princess hadn't played jokes like that for a long time.

"Nothing better to lift your spirits than a little joke." Celestia thought as she smiled and was glad to find a replacement for her royal work, which would give her the opportunity to enjoy the party a bit before returning to Dusk.





After entering the castle, it had taken Fluttershy a while to get to the royal gardens, as inside the castle there were a large number of ponies, all enjoying snacks and chatting in the large corridors, which made moving a bit difficult.  However, finally Fluttershy had reached a part of the castle that had far fewer ponies around, which was precisely the door that led to the big royal garden.

Once she got there, Fluttershy was surprised to see the huge, beautiful garden illuminated only in moonlight with well-tended trees and shrubs, all with the beautiful spring flowers sprouting from their branches.  Then Fluttershy put on a big smile, thinking that that the garden was even more beautiful than she had imagined.  However, a great detail was missing for everything to adjust to what her imagination had presented her.

"How strange... There doesn’t seem to be any animals nearby." Fluttershy murmured, a little worried.  Although it was well known that the royal gardens had the most beautiful animals in Equestria, there wasn't even a bird flying and the air was void of any sounds from critters, only the sound of water flowing from the fountain.

Thinking that the little animals might want to be further away from the bustle of the castle, Fluttershy wandered further into the huge garden.  She searched among the treetops and stuck her head in various bushes looking for signs of life.  She found only traces of animal hair and feathers, but other than that, she couldn't find any animal.

"I know you’re here... Please don't be afraid." Fluttershy said, speaking in her sweet voice as she looked around.

At that moment, a small squirrel and a small monkey poked their heads fearfully from a distant bush, looking at Fluttershy with great caution.

"Is that a red squirrel and a spider monkey!?" Fluttershy said gleefully when she recognized those two little animals that she normally didn't see in her forest.  She then ran quickly towards where those two animals were, but when she did, the squirrel and the monkey immediately got scared and ran to hide elsewhere. "No!  Please don't go." Fluttershy said sadly.

As Fluttershy pursed her lip in disappointment, she looked up and saw where she had been before running, where she could see the heads of a toucan and a spotted owl poking out of the treetops. Then she raised her hoof again to say something that would prevent those birds from fleeing, but before she even said a word, both birds flew fearfully to hide again in another tree.

"Oh my... I thought I was shy..." Fluttershy whispered, sad to see how shy the animals were.

At that moment she heard a beautiful whistle of a bird.  While a whistle that she couldn't specifically identify what bird could be, it excited the pegasus even more.  So she quickly went to where the whistle was coming from, but began to walk slowly and stealthily, so that this time the bird wouldn't fly away.

"Maybe I should catch the bird before it flies away, to show it that I can be its friend and that I won't hurt it." Fluttershy thought once she found herself behind the bush where the whistle was coming from.  So, she decided to take a chance and leapt through the bush to catch the songbird with her hooves.

"I caught you!" Fluttershy yelled happy to feel that she had caught something.  However, her happiness didn't last long, since when she opened her eyes she saw with disappointment that what she had really caught between her hooves was the snout of a pony.

"Easy lady!  If you don't want me to whistle anymore, just say so." The pony said with his lips pressed together by Fluttershy's hooves. This pony was the gardener of the place, an old stallion dressed in his work clothes.

"I-I'm sorry." Fluttershy said quickly, red with embarrassment, releasing the gardener's mouth.

As Fluttershy lowered her head in shame, she was surprised to see out of the corner of her eye that several animals were peeking out of the bushes to see her, but as soon as they noticed that she saw them, they quickly hid again.

"This is not how I imagined this..." Fluttershy thought sadly.

While this was happening in the royal garden, Pinkie Pie was in the center of the ballroom, looking around as if looking for something.

"Lots of ponies, lots of food, lights and music, all perfect, but… where's the fun!?" Pinkie Pie thought confused, seeing the faces of the ponies that were there, all finely dressed, talking briefly among themselves, but there was no laughter or dancing, or anything that Pinkie Pie knew a party should have.

"Rarity was right... Somepony is missing to liven up this party!" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile.

Then Pinkie Pie climbed up on a table and began to sing aloud as she danced, singing from the heart as she always did in her beloved Ponyville.  She sung about what she was feeling at that moment to share her feelings with the other ponies so that they could join her in a great and fun song.

"~ Here I am at the Grand Galloping Gala~ The bestest best party in Equestria! ~ But the one thing it was missing was a pony named Pinkie! ~ For I am the best at parties, all the ponies will agree ~ Ponies singing, ponies playing.  Dance with me at the Grand Galloping Gala! ~" Pinkie Pie sang as she jumped and danced wildly like she always did.

After singing that verse, Pinkie Pie smiled and widened her eyes to look around.  But unlike what she expected like what happened in the town, where the ponies immediately accompanied her by dancing and singing, the ponies of the Grand Galloping Gala were still static in their places.  The only thing that had changed was that now everyone had stopped talking and now they were looking at her with looks of confusion, and even displeasure.

"W-Why isn't anypony singing?" Pinkie Pie said in confusion, because it was something new for her, the feeling of feeling rejected, something that began to make her feel uncomfortable.

"~ Ponies singing, ponies playing. Dance with me at the Grand Galloping Gala! ~" Pinkie Pie sang the last verse again, repeating the same dance.  Only this time she approached a table where there was a young couple of unicorns and held out a hoof to invite them to dance, while maintaining a nervous smile.

Seeing how that strange pink pony looked at them and invited them to dance with her, both unicorns looked at each other and covered their mouths while bursting into laughter.

"Yes! Finally!" Pinkie Pie said very happy to see that finally some ponies began to smile.

"How ridiculous!" The elegant unicorn mare said, retreating from there and looking with disgust at Pinkie Pie as she did so.  It was clear that she wasn't really laughing because she found something funny, but to make fun of that vulgar pony who had been invited to the Gala.

"Uh?" Pinkie Pie said, opening her mouth in surprise when she realized what was happening, as if a bucket of cold water had suddenly fallen on her.

At that moment all the snobby ponies of the place began to talk among themselves again, all with a new topic of conversation: that unrefined mare that had disturbed them for no reason.

"This… is not how I imagined this..." Pinkie Pie said slowly, lowering her head sadly.

"That dance was so much fun!  Would you mind if we talked a bit?" a voice behind Pinkie suddenly said, making the pink mare jump in surprise...

Not far from the ballroom, in a long and wide corridor of the castle, was Rainbow Dash.  Her mouth and eyes were wide when she saw that at the end of the corridor, which connected to another large room, were her great idols.  The most fantastic pegasi in all of Equestria: the incredible Wonderbolts.

After a couple of seconds of shock, Rainbow Dash slowly raised her hoof and slapped her own face to wake up.

"Okay, calm down... It's not the first time you've seen them.  You just … just go up and remind them who you are." Rainbow Dash murmured to herself, remembering Cloudsdale competition and how, despite having talked with Wonderbolts that time, she had to go to rescue Dusk from the cloud in which she had left him. "Now there's nothing stopping you from having a long talk with them and showing them how cool you are."

After giving herself courage, Rainbow Dash walked confidently towards the room at the end of the hall.  However, when she was about to take her first step inside the room, a gray hoof stood in her way and prevented her from moving forward.  After the surprise, Rainbow Dash looked towards the owner of the hoof, who was a big unicorn guard with gray fur and golden armor, who looked at Rainbow Dash with a serious look.

"This is the VIP lounge." The royal guard said without removing his hoof in front of Rainbow Dash.

"Oh! Well, I guess then there’s no problem.  I was invited by the princess herself after all." Rainbow Dash said with a proud smile.

"Name?" The guard asked unfazed, as he levitated a list with his magic.

"Rainbow Dash!" The blue pegasus said with her characteristic proud smile. "The fastest pegasus in Ponyville, soon to become-"

"You're not on the list." The guard quickly interrupted, causing Rainbow Dash to halt halfway through her grandiose presentation.

"Oh, come on!  I'm famous!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed. "Nightmare Moon?  The Elements of Harmony?  The Element of Loyalty...?" Rainbow Dash added raising her hooves in surprise.

"Hmm... No, it's not ringing any bells." The guard replied without changing his gesture, but this time moving completely in front of Rainbow Dash to completely block her path. "If you are not on the list, you cannot enter."

Seeing the serious look of the guard, Rainbow Dash looked at him with a very annoyed look.  Then she looked behind the guard and could see how, just a few steps in front of her, were the great Wonderbolts.  So close to her that she could almost touch them, if it were not for that stubborn royal guard.  Then Rainbow Dash frowned and told herself that no lousy guard would stop her from fulfilling her dream.

"Do you know why else I'm famous...?" Rainbow Dash asked, glancing at the guard. "For being the fastest pegasus in the world!" the daredevil added almost in a shout, leaping, spreading her wings wide, and flapping at full speed to fly over the guard to sneak into the VIP lounge.

"That’ll teach him!" Rainbow Dash thought with a proud smile as she flew at full speed. However, after a few seconds, she widened her eyes when she saw that despite how fast she flapped, the VIP lounge didn't seem to be approaching any closer.

Seeing this strange phenomenon, only then did Rainbow Dash realize that she was surrounded by a faint golden aura.  An aura that made no matter how much she flapped, she remained motionless in the air without advancing. Then Rainbow Dash looked at the guard and saw that he was the cause.

"And do you know why I am famous?" The guard asked with a mocking smile, as his unicorn magic caused Rainbow Dash to land and still unable to enter the VIP lounge. "I'm famous for stopping intruders who don't know their place."

Seeing that the guard's magic had been faster than her reflexes, Rainbow Dash pressed her lips together in frustration, then she turned and walked away grumbling as the guard laughed and mocked her.

"So close... yet so far away..." Rainbow Dash thought in frustration, then putting on a sadder look. "This... this is not how I imagined this..."

"Whooops!" A pony suddenly screamed as it fell, throwing a tray with various sandwiches.

Looking up, Rainbow Dash saw the tray with the sandwiches flying through the air, ready to fall and cause a mess. Then Rainbow Dash's sharp reflexes made her instinctively jump to grab the tray and fly swiftly to catch the food before they hit the floor.

"Wow! That was amazing!" The pony that had stumbled said, who was then more surprised to see who was in front of him. "Wait a second... I know you!"

While that pony saw Rainbow Dash, the blue pegasus kept holding the tray with the sandwiches, however she almost dropped it to the surprise of seeing who was talking to her...

Away from the bustle of the party but living a situation similar to that of the blue pegasus, Rarity was still standing in front of the great castle door, without even being able to enter the Grand Galloping Gala yet.

"How do you not know that I am the bearer of an Element of Harmony!?" Rarity said extremely frustrated, yelling in front of the guard's face that prevented her from accessing the castle.

"I know about the Elements of Harmony, but I don't know anything about bearer mares or anything like that." The guard replied without even looking at Rarity. "But that doesn't matter.  Without an invitation, you don't come in, no matter who you are, that's the rule!"

Rarity closed her lips tightly, feeling like she wanted to cry and scream helplessly.  She had been waiting a long time for Applejack to come back, but as much as she waited, her friend never came back.  And the worst thing was that almost all the guests had already entered, so at the castle gates only Rarity and that stubborn royal guard remain.

Seeing how the other guests entered and enjoyed the most elegant party of the year without her presence, Rarity had tried everything to be able to enter without being seen.  She had even gone so far as to hide herself under the enormous skirt of a pompous mare that had entered, but the guard had always discovered her and blocked her way.

"Please! If only you would let me talk to Dusk Shine.  Look!  He's right there!  He's the student of Princess Celestia, he'll tell you that I was invited!" Rarity yelled, frustratingly pointing towards the inside of the castle, where she could see Dusk, who seemed to be greeting all the guests who entered.  However, the line of guests was so long, and the bustle inside was such, that for more signals and screams that Rarity made from the door, Dusk couldn't see or hear her.

"I've already told you so many times, madame!  Without an invitation, you cannot enter!" The royal guard said angrily, looking annoyed at the white unicorn, who kept insisting and wasting his patience.

Seeing that the royal guard was getting very upset, Rarity got a little scared and lowered her head sadly.  Then she turned and walked away from the door.

"Silly Applejack!  I just wanted to distract the others while I was getting closer to Dusk, but I can't believe that she did something as low as leaving me out of the Grand Galloping Gala!" Rarity thought with a mixture of anger, sadness and frustration, hitting the ground several times with her beautiful glass slippers.  Then she took a second to breathe and calm herself and began to think more clearly. "No, Applejack would never do that.  Maybe something bad happened that delayed her, that's all.  I... must have faith in my friend." Rarity thought while she was undecided whether to go find her friend or stay in case Applejack came back to look for her.

"Oh, what a beautiful dress!" An elderly mare said suddenly as she passed Rarity, who was elegantly dressed, accompanied by her partner, also an elderly stallion.

Hearing that compliment from who seemed to be a very refined and distinguished mare, Rarity quickly raised her head and put on a smile to appear calm despite how bad she really felt.

"T-Thank you very much!  It's one of my own designs!" Rarity said smiling, responding proudly while striking a small pose.

"It's divine!  Would you mind if we continue talking about your beautiful dress inside the castle?" The elegant mare added, smiling as her partner indicated that they should hurry up and enter the castle soon.

"Uh... I..." Rarity replied very nervous, looking askance at the guard, who seemed to hear that talk and looked annoyed at Rarity, showing her with the look that it was better for her not to approach again if she didn't have an invitation. "I... I'm sorry, but I lost my invitation..." Rarity added with a sad smile.

"Oh, it seems as though I was mistaken." The elegant mare said, drastically changing her gaze, giving Rarity a scornful look before taking her eyes off her. "This party is only for the elite of Equestria.  Not for the common rabble.  While it’s adorable that you’re trying to play dress up to appear like a high-born, elegance is in the blood, not in the clothes, fufu..." The mare scoffed before continuing on her way and entering the castle.

After those cruel words and being left alone again, Rarity pressed her lips tightly and again hit the ground hard with one of her hooves to vent the frustration she felt.  However, as she did so, suddenly the glass slipper with which she hit the ground broke its heel, causing Rarity to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Once on the ground, Rarity froze, feeling that she could no longer bear her frustration and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"This is not how I imagined this..." Rarity whispered sadly, trying in vain to hold back her tears.

"Please don't cry." The tender voice of somepony who had approached her suddenly said, causing Rarity to raise her head and be surprised to see who was speaking to her...

Several minutes before the events at the castle gate, on the far side of the castle's outskirts, Applejack had finally reached the carriage sector with the messenger Rarity had hired.  There, he had given her a huge suitcase that Applejack recognized as the one that her family used when they wanted to set up a small stand to sell their products.  From the weight of the suitcase, Applejack could guess that Granny Smith had prepared a lot of candies from apple to sell on that special occasion.

"Hey, Applejack! What are you doing here?" Thunderlane suddenly greeted Applejack there, who had decided to stay a while in this sector along with the other colts that had pulled the carriage from Ponyville, all chatting flirtatiously with some passing mares.

Seeing the four colts reunited, Applejack decided to try something before entering the castle, and kindly offered them some free apple rolls from her big suitcase.  Tasting the sweet apple rolls, the four colts put on big smiles as they tasted those delicacies.

"Hmm! I would be the happiest colt in the world if I could eat these sweets every day." Lucky Clover said as his friends nodded at that.

"Good! That was the proof I needed!  Everyone at the party will love my family's apple candies!" Applejack thought confidently, as she began to drag the heavy suitcase with her products to go back to Rarity.

"Applejack, if you want to get into the castle faster, you should enter through the service door." Bulk Biceps said as he finished eating his apple roll and pointed Applejack towards a door that was next to the carriage area. "I think if you walk in that way, you'll avoid making such a long detour to the front door."

Seeing the service door, Applejack hesitated for a second, since she had to go back to the main door to enter with Rarity.  However, the suitcase was very heavy, and just as Bulk Biceps said, if she entered through that door, she could go straight through the corridors of the castle and thus get faster to the main door inside the castle.  Having made that decision, Applejack said goodbye to the colts and entered through the service door, where another guard looked at her strangely, since all the elegant ponies liked to show themselves in front of everyone entering through the great front door.  But the orange mare seemed not to care about that, and most importantly, she had her invitation, so there was no impediment for her to enter.

Minutes passed, and to Applejack's terror, she still couldn't reach the front door.

"Rarity is going to kill me!" Applejack thought as she dreaded to bear witness to the unicorn’s fury.

For Applejack, a country mare who was used to working outdoors and living in a small town, it was impressive to walk through a place as huge as the castle, full of hallways and large halls.  However, it was also quite overwhelming as well.  It had gotten to the point that she had become lost in the winding corridors and was no longer even sure where the front door was now.  She had tried to ask some of the nearby partygoers for directions, but it seemed that her inelegant accent had driven them to just ignore the country mare.

"I can't go on like this... Gotta find my way back to Rarity before she ends up serving my flank to me on a silver platter!" Applejack said frustratingly as she kept pulling on her huge suitcase, and sweat began to appear on her face.

Applejack had thought about deploying the suitcase to make use of the internal wheels to make it easier to move, but there was something that was preventing her from displaying her products.  Applejack dragged her suitcase through the great corridors of the castle, she saw how there were dozens of tables with thousands of elegant sandwiches, most of them so elegant that she didn't even know what they were.  And when she saw those fine snacks, all the confidence she had had in her family's delicious apple candies slowly began to fade, shaming herself at the thought that a simple apple roll could even compete with treats prepared by the palace's royal kitchen itself.

"This is not how I imagined this..." Applejack thought sadly, thinking that not only had it been useless to bring her apple sweets, but also, because of her, her friend Rarity couldn't enter the party.  Then Applejack shook her head and decided that at least she could do something to prevent the latter.

Having made the decision to forget her dream and go in search of her friend, Applejack dropped her suitcase and started to run through the corridors until she found the front door.  However, she didn't manage to take even a step, since when she dropped her suitcase, it fell to the floor and the blow caused it to open automatically.  The case extended to obtain the shape of the small sales stand that had her family’s apple products, with a small table with several trays of apple rolls and apple pies.

Seeing that strange apple stall surprisingly spread out, the ponies around Applejack looked strangely at the stand and Applejack, who just clenched her teeth hard, blushing with embarrassment.

"What is this!?" A plump, finely dressed stallion asked in disgust when he saw that simple apple stand in front of him, which made Applejack shyly crouch as she felt observed and criticized by all those elegant ponies that surrounded her...

Until that moment, the six ponies of Ponyville thought that the expected night of the Grand Galloping Gala had been a failure, far from everything they had hoped and dreamed of, even more, going in the worst possible way they could imagine. However, the night was only beginning, so there were still many different emotions that the six pony friends were about to experience.

End of chapter 53
> Chapter 54 - The most unexpected night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The most unexpected night

Oblivious to the bustle inside the castle, Fluttershy was still in the royal gardens. After shutting the gardener's mouth by mistake and seeing that none of the beautiful little animals in the garden were approaching her, Fluttershy had hung her head in sorrow and resignation.

"Hm? Why so discouraged there, missy?" The gardener asked suddenly with great curiosity, since it was rare to see one of the guests of the Grand Galloping Gala being so far from the great halls of the castle.  Most ponies came to approach the royal gardens only for the surroundings, without going as far as that finely dressed yellow pegasus had.

After depressed sigh, Fluttershy lifted her head and stared at the old gardener.

"I wanted to get close to the little animals in the garden, but... they seem to fear me." Fluttershy replied with great pity, lowering her head again as she felt that her dreams had been broken. "I love animals, and I always dreamed of being here and seeing all the exotic and beautiful species that live here.  But… if none of them want to approach or even see me, maybe… maybe I'm not as good with animals as I thought." Fluttershy added, lowering her head even lower.

After the yellow mare spoke, the old gardener was touched when he realized that this pegasus was really hurt by not being able to get close to the little animals in the garden, animals that were always ignored by the other guests of the Grand Galloping Gala.  Then the gardener gave a thoughtful look and he smiled and decided to help her.

"Listen honey, the animals that live here aren’t like the wild animals you probably know.  These critters were raised here their entire lives.  So they aren’t particularly used to other ponies.  Especially on nights like these when the castle is full of strangers and the noise from the halls bothers them." The gardener explained as he rested a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, causing her to look up. "I'll teach you a trick to get them closer.  But if they want to trust you, it'll depend solely on them."

Then the gardener cleared his throat and began to whistle sweetly, just as Fluttershy had heard him before she got there. The sound was so sweet, it seemed strange to hear it coming from that old gardener.

It didn't take long for the heads of various animals to timidly peeked between to trees and shrubs.  As soon as they saw who was there, the animals were afraid to see that there was an unknown yellow pegasus.  However, they were so attracted by the sweet whistle of the gardener, who was the only one who accompanied them daily in those gardens, that finally they began to slowly approach where both ponies were.

"A flamingo… an angora rabbit… and a wallaby!" Fluttershy thought, opening her mouth wide with excitement and happiness when she saw that the animals finally approached.  But she quickly closed her mouth and froze, wanting to prevent the animals from running away from her again.

Once the animals surrounded both ponies, they timidly stared at Fluttershy, as she was a complete stranger to them.  Then the gardener, without saying anything, indicated with his eyes to Fluttershy to try to approach them.  She accepted shyly, swallowing hard and very slowly extended a hoof towards the same little red squirrel that had run away from her the first time and that now was before her.

"They're shyer than the animals that live near my cottage..." Fluttershy thought.  She found herself somewhat supposed at how she could relate with the skittish creatures.  

"I understand… I know how difficult it is to meet somepony new and trust them. I'm just like you." Fluttershy said shyly, opening her heart and looking with kindness and some concern, at the little animals, timidly extending a hoof towards them. "Please... don't be afraid, I just... want to be your friend." Fluttershy added sweetly, deciding at the last second not to touch that beautiful little squirrel, waiting for it to decide to come closer, so as not to force it or make it feel uncomfortable.

After a couple of seconds, the little squirrel timidly sniffed at Fluttershy's hoof and then stared at her.  Looking at those big aquamarine eyes, the little squirrel felt that look had no hint of evil and that this pony kept only kindness in her heart.  Then the squirrel approached Fluttershy's hoof and allowed itself to be caressed meekly by the shy pegasus.  Instantly, after the squirrel verified that there was no danger, the other animals did the same, happily approaching Fluttershy, smelling her and playing with her mane and tail, which made Flutterhsy laugh with excitement when she saw that the animals finally trusted her.

"I told you, animals know who to trust. They know a kind heart when they see it." The gardener said with a big smile, who actually never seen a pony so quickly earn the confidence of the garden animals.  Not even himself, who had taken weeks to earn that confidence when met.

Then, knowing that the shy little animals in the garden were in good hooves, the gardener slowly withdrew with a grin on his mouth as he saw that beautiful pegasus smile when playing with the animals.

The night continued to advance and Fluttershy enjoyed being surrounded by such exotic and cute little animals like never before.  They now had formed a circle around her, taking turns being caressed by the soft hooves of the mare.  Then Fluttershy began to walk more around the garden, since her trust with the animals reached such a point that they invited her to visit their burrows, and in some cases their own young, which amazed the tender pegasus even more when she saw the new life blooming in that beautiful garden.  And every place that she went, all the animals followed her and threw themselves on her hooves so that she would continue to give affection for them, since very few times did a pony approach to caress them as tenderly as she did.  Most likely from Fluttershy’s timed experience as to where along the fur and feathers felt the best for animals.  So, the criiters fought to be Fluttershy's darling and to be caressed and pampered longer, while the kind pegasus did with great pleasure. She could the love that those animals felt for her, which filled her with joy.

"This is like my dream… No… It's more wonderful than I could imagine!" Fluttershy thought, laughing as the animals had made her fall back to the ground and tenderly pressed their heads against Fluttershy's fur to express their trust and affection, being completely surrendered to her caresses. "This... This is the perfect night!!" Fluttershy thought with the biggest smile she had ever had that night, but as soon as she felt content with herself, the image of a lavender colt popped into her mind, and then her smile faded.

That moment with the animals was one that Fluttershy would never forget, but she realized that she didn't want to live that moment alone.  She wanted to share it with somepony special, with the colt that had changed her life and with whom she had fallen in love slowly until finally falling completely for him.  And if she wanted to be completely happy, she needed to be with her beloved Dusk Shine.

"No… Tonight is not perfect… I… I still have something very important to do!  I promised myself that I would do it tonight!" Fluttershy said with a serious look, standing up as she remembered that she had another important goal to accomplish.

Knowing that she had to fulfill the self-imposed promise that she had made and that she couldn't let that night pass without fulfilling it, Fluttershy saw those cute animals one last time.  Although her whole body screamed at her to continue enjoying the caresses of those tender animals, her heart finally made the pegasus understand that she had to put aside the animals to fulfill a new dream, and if the night was perfect, maybe at some point she would return there to share with the animals again, but this time with the colt she loved. Then Fluttershy stroked the animals one last time and said goodbye with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry. I would love to stay, but I must see somepony very important to me." Fluttershy said sweetly, turning and starting her way back to the castle.  However, she didn't manage to take two steps, as something stopped her hooves.

Turning around again, Fluttershy was surprised to see that the animals had clung to her hooves, all with looks of fear and sadness when they saw that sweet mare left them.  The mare who had caressed them like nopony else, the mare who seemed to understand her feelings, the mare that they want to stay with forever... Then the animals began to cry and kept holding on tightly to Fluttershy's hooves so that she wouldn't abandon them.

"Oh, oh..." Fluttershy said worried, feeling moved when she saw those cute animals cry, and also worried when she realized the great problem she had gotten into, because now... How could she leave there without hurting her beloved animals...?

While that was happening in the royal gardens, a great ovation was heard in one of the great halls.  Specifically, in the hallway next to the designated VIP lounge of the Grand Galloping Gala, where several ponies applauded in surprise to see the agility with which Rainbow Dash had prevented a tray of sandwiches from falling to the floor.  And although there were several ponies that were applauding her, Rainbow Dash's eyes had been fixed only on one of them, on the colt that had accidentally dropped that tray.

"You... You're Soarin!" Rainbow Dash said full of amazement when she saw in front of her the vice-captain of the Wonderbolts, a colt with pale light blue fur and dark blue mane, who, like the captain of the team, was wearing their characteristic uniform.

"And you’re Rainbow Dash, I remember you. You're that pegasus that made that amazing sonic rainboom at the Cloudsdale competition." Soarin said, remembering Rainbow Dash from her particular rainbow mane.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't that complicated, hehe." Rainbow Dash said with mock modesty, blushing at the compliment of one of her idols.

"You're still as fast as I remember you.  Thanks for saving my snacks!" Soarin said with a huge smile, taking the tray of snacks that Rainbow Dash was holding and quickly eating that delicious food. "I was so hungry..." Soarin added with his mouth full of food, smiling as he approached the guard guarding the VIP lounge.

Seeing how Soarin stooped paying attention to her and head to the VIP lounge, Rainbow Dash lowered her head sadly and turned around, resigned that that little moment would be all she would get from the Wonderbolts that night.

"Hey girl!" Soarin said suddenly turning to look at Rainbow Dash. "Wanna come to the lounge with me?  I'm sure Spitfire will like to see you here." Soarin added smiling.

After hearing that, Rainbow Dash's mouth opened slowly in amazement as she barely contained herself from screaming in excitement.

"Uh... Excuse me, but I think she's not on the list..." The guard blocking access to the VIP lounge said.  It was clear that he was still upset at the daredevil and would rather not admit defeat by letting her in.

"Uh, isn’t it obvious?  She is one of us!" Soarin said smiling and pointing to the Wonderbolts emblem on his uniform. "We need her for the closing of the Grand Galloping Gala.  You don't want to tell the princess that the flight show was ruined because you forgot to put a name on the list, right?" Soarin added, bringing his face close to the guard to scare him a bit.

The guard was almost certain that what Soarin said was false. But even if there was a slight possibility that that was true, he decided to accept that possibility, since in no way did he want to ruin the final show and have the princess reprimand him for it.  So finally, the guard had to swallow his pride and ducked his head as he cleared the way for Rainbow Dash to enter the lounge.  Then Rainbow Dash, after removing her amazement at the great way in which Soarin had managed to get her to enter, happily advanced to where Soarin was.  Before entering the lounge though, she stuck her tongue out at the guard, unable to bear teasing him since she had finally been able to enter the VIP lounge.

Once inside the room, if Rainbow Dash had paid more attention, she would have seen that in that room there were ponies dressed even more elegantly than in the other halls, even dignitaries from other nations who had been invited for that occasion.  However, the pegasus's eyes only focused on two ponies, the pegasi that wore the official Wonderbolts uniform: Soarin, who was in front of her; and Spitfire, a mare with yellow fur and orange mane, captain of the Wonderbolts, who was just approaching the two of them, which made Rainbow Dash's heart race.

"Where were you, Soarin?  Without you here, I've had to deal with all the talk from the local fans..." Spitfire said once she approached where they were.

"Yeah well, I wanted to find something to eat." Soarin replied, still eating voraciously from his snack tray. "Also, I invited somepony who might interest you." Soarin added, gesturing his eyes at Rainbow Dash.

"And you are…?" Spitfire asked raising an eyebrow when she saw Rainbow Dash.  Although she didn't like ball gowns very much, she had to admit that that pegasus looked good in that beautiful dress.

"I-I'm Rainbow Dash!  I… I was the one who did the sonic rainboom in Cloudsdale." Rainbow Dash responded quickly, trying in vain to hide her nervousness.

It took Spitfire a few seconds to remember, but as she did so, she widened her eyes and approached Rainbow Dash with a huge smile.

"You were that mare!?  I can't believe it!  I didn't recognize you in that dress." Spitfire said excitedly. "Barely had time to speak with you since you left the competition in such a hurry.  It's amazing that a civilian was able to beat me flying in free fall.  You have guts, girl!" Spitifire added, playfully hitting Rainbow Dash.

The instant Spitfire touched Rainbow Dash and praised her, the blue pegasus pressed her lips tightly as she inwardly screamed like an uncontrolled filly of excitement.

"I think she can be a good replacement for Fleetfoot." Soarin said suddenly, finally finished eating his snacks.

"Replacement?" Rainbow Dash asked, not sure if she had heard correctly.

"Yeah. It turns out that Fleetfoot twisted a wing in the last practice, and that complicated the show we have to do for the grand finale of the Gala." Soarin replied. "But if we ended the show with that sonic rainboom of yours, I think it would be a good alternate ending to tonight's show."

"Yeah, it's not a bad idea..." Spitfire added with a thoughtful look and then glanced at Rainbow Dash. "What do you say?  Do you think you could pull it off again?"

"A-Are you inviting me to fly with you!?" Rainbow Dash asked stunned, who quickly pointed somewhere behind Soarin and Spitfire would turn and look away.

As soon as both Wonderbolts were distracted, Rainbow Dash bit down on one of her hooves to stifle the scream of excitement she felt, and she jumped for joy, but quickly regained her composure when Soarin and Spitfire turned back around.

"Ahem! Y-Yeah, I think I could." Rainbow Dash said seriously, maintaining a facade of calm while inwardly feeling like she would explode with excitement.

After that, Soarin and Spitfire invited Rainbow Dash to go to a window to look outside and began to explain what the routine would consist of, the movements they would do and when she would have to enter to perform the grand finale.  And as they talked about those details, more ponies came closer seeing that the great Wonderbolts were already starting to prepare their great routine, and as they did so, Soarin and Spitfire commented about the great show that Rainbow Dash had done in the Cloudsdale competition.  They were quite excited that everypony tonight would see the magnificence of a sonic rainboom that only a few pegasai could pull off.

Feeling the center of attention, Rainbow Dash quickly began to integrate into the conversations and tell anecdotes about so many other stunts she had performed in her workouts.  The night went on and Rainbow Dash felt that her dream had been fulfilled.  However, as everypony watched on and smiled as she started explaining a secret trick she was working on, the pegasus had a small epiphany.  While Rainbow Dash saw the smiles and heard the words of encouragement from all those ponies, she realized that the smiles of her friends were missing, and especially that of a certain lavender colt.  She knew that if he were there, he would be the first to support her and congratulate her, as he always did, being always at her side... Then Rainbow Dash realized that despite having managed to meet her idols, she wanted to be with somepony else at the same time.  That clumsy and cute colt named Dusk Shine who had stolen her first kiss and her heart.

"Excuse me, I think I need to head out for a moment." Rainbow Dash said suddenly, remembering her important mission for that night.  She then began to make her way through the ponies that surrounded her to get out of there.

"Wait! Where are you going!?" Spitfire said, holding her from behind. "There’s only a little time left before the show starts, we need to go over every last detail of the routine so that everything goes perfectly!"

"Y-Yeah, I know.  I'll be right back; it'll only take a few minutes." Rainbow Dash said nervously.  She had learned in that short span of time that Spitfire was a perfectionist and didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Rainbow Dash started walking again to leave the VIP lounge.  As she did so, she noticed that Spitfire and Soarin were following her.  Then Rainbow Dash picked up her pace, and behind her Soarin and Spitfire did too.  Finally Rainbow Dash ran off at full speed, while both Wonderbolts kept up with her.

"We already told everypony that we would end the show with the sonic rainboom! Quit running away!!" Spitfire yelled as she chased after Rainbow Dash.

"I'm not running away!  I just need to be alone for a few minutes!!" Rainbow Dash screamed in response as she fled, completely terrified to realize that if she didn't get away from the Wonderbolts, she couldn't be alone to declare her love for Dusk...

As Rainbow Dash fled through the corridors of the castle, in another part of the castle in the great ballroom, everyone had been stunned to see who had entered.

"P-Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie said in surprise.  The mare could hardly believe that the only pony who had enjoyed her impromptu dancing was none other than the princess regent of the entire kingdom of Equestria!  "Y-You want to talk to me?" Pinkie Pie repeated, since all the other ponies in the hall had made fun of her and turned away from her after her dance.

"Of course!  Although I always attend these parties, the truth is that I never have the pleasure of chatting much with the guests, since I have to greet them all one by one at the entrance." Celestia said with her angelic smile. "Fortunately, I got a replacement for a few minutes." Celestia added with the same smile but narrowing her eyes to avoid laughing when she remembered the joke she had just played on Dusk to replace her.

"I… I'm sorry!  I didn't know that I had to greet before entering the party!" Pinkie Pie said quickly with a bow, thinking that she had made a serious mistake and that perhaps the princess was coming to reprimand her and her friends for not knowing that.

"Don't worry, I'm actually glad you didn't. That way, we can talk without any time constraints." Celestia added, gently touching Pinkie Pie's head to cease her bowing. "I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a long time.  I wanted to ask you for some advice."

Hearing that, Pinkie Pie widened her eyes and her sight went blank as her brain repeated what she heard to see if she understood correctly.

"You want advice... from me?" Pinkie Pie unbelievingly asked.

"Of course!  According to what Dusk Shine has told me in his letters, you're the most festive pony he knows.  An expert in parties and celebrations." Celestia confirmed. "I always attend these Galas, but the truth is that I always think they’re…well..."

"Too fancy?" Pinkie Pie said, trying to soften what she was really thinking.

"Boring!" Celestia said sincerely, making Pinkie Pie laugh upon hearing the princess admit that her own party was boring.

Then both mares giggled for an instant, with Celestia quickly regaining her usual composure.

"Well… I think there could be a few changes around here to spice things up.  We could start with the music and then…" Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look, feeling surprisingly comfortable despite talking to the great and imposing Princess Celestia.

With Pinkie Pie giving her advice on how to brighten the Grand Galloping Gala, and Celestia listening carefully and contributing some crazy ideas, both mares realized that in some respect they were both very similar... Although they both had an appearance on the surface that was adored by the ponies around them, they both also had inner side that was more than the happy façade they put on every day. This made it possible for the two to converse fluently and comfortably, and to relax and laugh from time to time.

"So, Dusk told you that when he discovered your secret room?" Celestia said, slightly surprised after the conversation turned to Dusk and some anecdotes that Pinkie had with him.

"Yep... he said he would be there for me, whenever I needed him..." Pinkie Pie said with dreamy eyes, blushing at the memory.  And it was only in that instant that Pinkie Pie realized that she might have accidently opened up too much with the princess. "W-What I mean is… That Dusk is a very good pony! Hehe!" Pinkie Pie quickly added, slightly embarrassed.

Princess Celestia often had that effect on ponies, generating an aura of confidence that made them open completely when they talked to her.  It was one of the reasons why it was said among ponies that nothing escaped her.  She also had another amazing talent she had obtaining from hundreds of years of experience. The alicorn could observe her ponies and decipher every word and gesture to know what they thought about something. It was this talent that told Celestia that it was obvious that Pinkie Pie held great love for Dusk and that she had something special for him tonight.  

"Hmm... I see." Celestia said, narrowing her eyes slightly as her gaze analyzed the cute pink pony.  Then she sighed and smiled with a thoughtful look. "Well, I think it's time to go back to my post.  I think I need to free Dusk so that he can…enjoy the party." Celestia then smiled, guessing that her beloved Dusk had many surprises waiting for that night.

After the princess said goodbye to Pinkie, the pink pony sighed and touched her heart, feeling that she had regained her cheerful spirit at just the right moment.  Before the princess arrived, she had begun to get depressed after the teasing of those ponies from the ballroom.  Fortunately, after that happy conversation, everything seemed to have been solved.

"I wonder if the princess noticed that I was depressed and that's why she approached me..." Pinkie Pie thought, smiling a little when she realized that now she knew that she and the princess were more alike than anyone imagined.

"Excuse me... You... Do you know the princess!?" a stallion next to Pinkie Pie suddenly asked.

Turning to see who was speaking to her, Pinkie Pie was surprised to see that many of the ponies in the room were now standing beside her, staring at her with shocked eyes.

"What were you talking about with the princess?" a very elegant mare asked, looking curiously and wonderfully at Pinkie Pie.

"Uh, well... She wanted to ask me for some advice." Pinkie Pie answered, not understanding why everyone was paying so much attention to her now.

After Pinkie Pie said that, the eyes of everypony present widened in amazement, and they quickly began to mutter among themselves: 'Did you hear that? Princess Celestia asks her for advice!' 'She must be a very important mare!' 'She's the princess's private advisor!'… And like a fire in a pasture, the rumors of 'the princess's advisor' spread rapidly through the great hall, causing all the ponies to come to see and try to chat with such an important mare.

"What do you think we should do to win the approval of Princess Celestia?" A very elegant stallion asked, while everyone around him nodded, as they also wanted to win the favor of the princess.

Hearing that question, Pinkie Pie's eyes sparkled with excitement, knowing that this was her chance to throw the party she'd always dreamed of.

"All you have to do... is start having fun!" Pinkie Pie yelled animatedly, running over to where the orchestra was and instructing them to play more upbeat music.

With the change of music, the elegant ponies in the ballroom were perplexed, not understanding how such music could be sounding at such an elegant party.  However, no one thought to question a suggestion from 'the councilor of the princess', and likewise, no one said anything when the pink mare began to dance and invited everyone to dance with her.

Despite their initial reluctance, slowly and timidly the ponies in the room began to imitate Pinkie Pie's dance, albeit with some crazy and a little ridiculous poses.  But everything was valid if with that they managed to win the appreciation and favor of the princess.  However, what none of those ponies expected was that as time passed, they really began to genuinely enjoy that crazy dance and that simple and spontaneous music.  It seemed that the party pony’s famous began to infect the hearts of those rigid ponies and soon the sincere laughter of everyone began to be heard throughout the ballroom, making Pinkie Pie's heart feel full of joy to see what she had achieved.

"This is it!  This is the party I've always wanted!" Pinkie Pie thought as she danced in the center of the dance floor and everypony followed her steps, laughing among themselves.

As she led the dance, Pinkie Pie felt she could spend the whole night like this.  Celebrating alongside all those new friends, filled with the satisfaction of having taught those snooty ponies to have fun, sharing, dancing and laughing all together until everyone at the Grand Galloping Gala gathered and shouted that the best night of their lives had been spent... That dream could be fulfilled!  It was within reach!  But then… why did she feel like something was missing!?

At that moment, while Pinkie was dancing, she imagined herself dancing with somepony truly special.  Dusk Shine, who was smiling lovingly at her even knowing her darker side... Because he hadn't only seen the Pinkie Pie that everyone loved, he had seen her other side, the one that concealed her past and her future.  And yet, he was there for her… and always would be.

"I'm sorry... I think I should go." Pinkie Pie said, stopping her dancing suddenly.

As soon as Pinkie Pie stopped dancing, the orchestra stopped playing, and all the ponies that had been dancing also stopped. They all looked at each other in confusion, as if for an instant they had been caught in a spell of smiles and now they came back to reality and slowly realized how embarrassing and inelegant it was to dance that way.

"N-No! Wait!  G-Get the orchestra play again!" Pinkie Pie said quickly, feeling that the atmosphere around her was changing rapidly and that boredom and seriousness wanted to re-impose itself in the room. "I'm still here!  Keep the party going!" Pinkie Pie yelled with a nervous smile.

Hearing that the party continued, the orchestra played again and the ponies in the hall slowly began to dance again and forget their inhibitions.  Thus, the joy once again overcame the boring atmosphere. But despite the fact that the joy returned, there was a pony that was not entirely happy even though she danced along.

"I'm trapped here..." Pinkie Pie thought with a nervous smile as she danced, realizing that now she was the engine of that party cheer, just as she had wished.  But without that engine, the party would die. "How can I go be with Dusk!?" she thought, scared of what she herself had caused...

As the party began in the ballroom, not far from there, in a corridor on the side of the castle, another crowd of ponies gathered in front of a small, makeshift apple stand.

Minutes earlier, while Applejack was desperate to find her way to the front door, her suitcase with Granny's apple candies had suddenly been opened, leaving everyone present speechless at the strange situation.  And in said situation, it was that a certain elegant pony had questioned her as to what was going on.

"Are you stealing food from the kitchen or something?" the elegant stallion had asked, beginning to look at Applejack with distaste.

"N-No, I haven't stolen anything.  This food…" Applejack said quickly to justify herself. "These candies were made by my granny on the farm..." she added, saying that last bit more slowly and with her head hung down with shame.  She remembered the fine sandwiches that were on the tables in the halls, and her confidence was still somewhat undermined when she felt that her food was out of place at such a fancy party.

"Of course it's not royal kitchen food!  Just look at it!  Do you think real cooks would make scones and apple pies?" Another noble-looking mare, looking with distaste at the produce from Applejack's little stall.

Having heard what she had most dreaded, which confirmed all her fears, Applejack just pressed her lips tightly together and looked away as her cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh! Rural gastronomy, what a wonderful idea!  I always wanted to try typical country food, it's so exotic." a white stallion suddenly said, who seemed to stand out from all the other ponies there in elegance, wearing a fine tuxedo and a monocle in one of his eyes. "What do you think Fleur? Would you like to try one of these apple scones?" The stallion asked his companion, a long and beautiful white mare with pink mane, who was very attached to that elegant gentlecolt.

"You know I'm on a diet, dear Fancy.  But… I think I could make an exception." The beautiful mare, called Fleur de Lis, answered, looking flirtatiously at the stallion and then looked to Applejack. "Are they natural products?"

"Uh... Y-Yeah, made one hundred percent with apples from my own farm..." Applejack replied with a little shock.  As the representative of the Element of Honesty, she could recognize that the couple genuinely seemed interested in her apple candies.

However, that hadn't been what had surprised Applejack the most.  As soon as that stallion appeared, everypony around him had fallen silent and were listening carefully to what he was saying.  All while they murmured among themselves and wondered if he really was the famous aristocrat 'Fancy Pants'.  Although Applejack had never heard that name, she quickly understood that he must be someone very respected.

"Fantastic!  Then I think I'll take two apple scones." Fancy Pants said, pulling his hoof close to his suit and pulling out six gold coins. "Will this be enough?" he asked, setting the bits on the small counter at the apple stand.

Seeing the money, Applejack's eyes widened, not only because those apple scones only cost one bit each, but because those bits were encrusted with tiny diamonds, something Applejack had never seen but could only mean they were worth a lot more.  However, although ambition began to grow in Applejack's mind, she quickly pushed that thought away.  She realized that the stallion was not only being too generous but had also saved her when the other ponies were about to make fun of her.  So, Applejack decided to reward that kind gesture.

"Don't worry, those scones are on the house." Applejack said with a kind smile, finally regaining all her confidence and pushing the bits for the stallion to retrieve them.

"Nonsense, I insist!  Free food would make for a lousy business.  Trust me, I know about that." Fancy Pants said, smiling kindly at Applejack as he pushed the bits back for the orange mare to take.

"Great Celestia!  These scones are delicious!" Fleur de Lis suddenly said, who had timidly tasted the exotic and rural apple scone, and now ate it with a smile on her face at its delicious taste.

After seeing the genuine reaction of happiness of the beautiful mare when eating that apple scone, the other ponies looked with yearning at the other candies that were on the small apple stand, and they all quickly approached to also taste those exotic rural delicacies.  Faced with the avalanche of customers, Applejack quickly positioned herself behind her small stall and quickly began to sell the various apple candies that Granny Smith had prepared for the occasion.  The ponies rained the gold coins on her small counter, selling everything for double or triple its value since Applejack hadn't even given prices. The ponies had simply taken as a reference what Fancy Pants had paid.  In addition, another factor that raised prices was a phenomenon that Applejack was unaware of until that moment.  It seemed that all the elegant ponies competed in status and in demonstrating who could more easily detach from bits in those simple candies, just to show their high status.  So as the prices of all the apple candies went higher and higher, Applejack was amazed to see so many bits that she had already lost count.  And the best of all, was that despite all the money that the rich ponies spent, everypony was fascinated and very satisfied with what they paid after eating the tasty candies, since, as Fancy Pants said, those candies made entirely from naturally harvested apples really gave a unique and delicious flavor.

"Three apple scones... Two pieces of apple pie... Two caramelized apples... A whole apple pie!" Applejack counted in her mind when she saw the products go, and quickly turning them into profit and its equivalent in repairs for the farm. "New door for the barn… A new plow… More grain for the hens… New chair for Granny!"

Sooner than Applejack could even imagine, the products finally ran out, leaving Applejack with a huge pile of bits on the counter of her little stall.  Then she stared in amazement at all that she had earned in a few minutes.

"This is so much more than I expected… This… This is perfect!  Much better than I could ever imagine!" Applejack thought in wonder as her imagination flew and she imagined herself swimming in bits while in the background her house was completely remodeled, all new and with her family enjoying great comforts.

As she enjoyed her fantasy, Applejack's smile slowly faded as a question popped in her mind.

"I made a lot of money, but… Is money really the most important thing tonight…?" Applejack thought, slowly remembering that she had something more important to do than make money that night.  What she wanted to look for was love.  Something more elusive and difficult to find than bits, but which she had finally found, and now she needed to tell the colt she loved.

Determined that now that she had fulfilled one of her dreams, she should fulfill her other dream in order to have a perfect night.  Applejack tried to dismantle her stall to convert it back into a suitcase and keep all the money there, but due to the weight of the bits on the counter, the stall couldn't be completely disassembled.

"Troubles with disassembling your stall?  Don't worry, I could have somepony take it apart and safeguard your earnings." Fancy Pants said suddenly, who had been waiting for Applejack to finish selling her products and now saw that the orange mare seemed to want to leave. "After all, if the negotiation goes well, trust is a highly valued commodity among partners in this business." Fancy Pants added with a sly smile.

"Uh? What do you mean?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I've been thinking, and I know a good deal when I smell it, or in this case, when I taste it, hehe." Fancy Pants laughed elegantly, then looked seriously at Applejack and smiled. "I would like for us to do business together so that we can sell your delicious apple treats all over Equestria."

"A-All over Equestria!?" Applejack repeated, amazed at what she heard.  She realized that her ambition had fallen short with what was happening in reality and now she was facing a business that could change her life and that of her family.

"Yes, we could start with a branch office in Canterlot... Invest a few thousand bits to start and then we'll see." Fancy Pants added, quickly calculating numbers in his mind and predicting that this could be a very lucrative business. All while poor Applejack was stunned to hear 'a few thousand bits'.

"Wait, Fancy!  That’s not fair.  I also want to invest in this business." Suddenly another elegant stallion said, taking an interest in the business that Fancy Pants was proposing and wanting to take it off before losing to the aristocrat. Then the elegant stallion turned to look at Applejack. "I know Fancy Pants, surely he'll ask you for royalties at twenty percent.  I promise you royalties of twenty five percent and an investment greater than his by five percent!"

"I would increase the investment by two percent and promise a two hundred percent return on business capital in the first year!" A third interested investor added, beginning to improve the offering.

Then the three potential investors began to argue like sharks of business that they were, arguing in financial terms that Applejack didn't understand, and that she only got dizzy to hear such complicated concepts.  But what the mare did understand was that this was the opportunity of a lifetime and that she couldn't move from there until 'the sharks' stopped negotiating.

"But that… How long will it take!?" Applejack thought scared, realizing that she was trapped and that if everything continued like this, she wouldn't be able to meet with Dusk Shine...

Applejack had been so busy in those remote corridors of the castle, that she had completely forgotten about Rarity, whom she had left abandoned at the entrance door of the castle, completely alone until a certain colt approached her when he saw her cry.

"Please don't cry." A tender voice had said next to the beautiful white unicorn, which had made Rarity raise her head and was surprised to see who was speaking to her.

Before her was the most handsome colt she had ever seen.  A tall and well-built stallion, an elegant unicorn with impeccable posture, white fur that gleamed in the moonlight, long golden mane, with beautiful blue eyes, wearing the upper part of a fine tuxedo.  He held out a small handkerchief so that she could dry her tears.  If Rarity had to describe him in just a few words, it was how she imagined a fairy tale prince must be.

"W-Who are you?" Rarity asked, unable to help but blush a little when she saw that she had been staring at the colt too long.  Then she took the handkerchief that that colt offered her, and elegantly wiped her tears.

"Oh! Forgive my manners. I am Prince Blueblood." The white colt said, bowing a little and showing Rarity a hoof to invite her to stand up.

"A prince!?  It can't be true, I must have misheard, there are no royal princes... or are there?" Rarity wondered in amazement as she took Blueblood's hoof and stood up..

Upon getting up, Rarity almost fell back to the floor because she had forgotten that she had broken one of the cleats of her glass slippers.  Then she lit up her horn and used her magic to repair her beautiful broken slipper.

"It's not a perfect arrangement, but at least it'll last through the night." Rarity thought, happy to have learned that little binding spell, something she had fortunately envisioned when making slippers from such a delicate material.

"Wow... Along with being beautiful, you're very skilled, Miss..." Blueblood said gallantly, with his perfect smile.

"Rarity." The mare replied, blushing again at the compliment.

"So tell me, Miss Rarity, what is a beautiful lady like you doing out here?  I thought that all the guests to the Gala would be inside and that I would be the last to arrive." Blueblood said, looking at Rarity curiously.

"Oh well I…" Rarity replied, pausing as she remembered that the previous couple had made fun of her for not having an invitation. "I forgot my invitation at my house, so I was going to come back to look for it, hehe." Rarity lied as she started to walk away, regretting that she couldn't talk to that chivalrous colt anymore. However, it was better to leave and have the colt believe that lie, than to admit she had no invitation and be ashamed again.

When Rarity turned to leave, Blueblood quickly grabbed her by the hoof and pulled her close to him, surprising the fashionista.

"Do not fret, my lady.  Come with me." Blueblood said, bringing Rarity close to his body and making her accompany him to the castle gate.

Once they reached the door, the guard again stood in front of the door and stared at them.

"Your invitations?" The guard asked seriously, focusing his eyes mainly on Rarity, not wanting to have to explain to her again that she couldn't enter uninvited.

"This is her invitation." Blueblood said pulling out his own invitation.

After seeing only one invitation, the guard started to ask where the other invitation was, but before that happened, Blueblood took out a medal with the emblem of a sun on it and showed it to the guard.

"And this is my invitation.  I'm the nephew of Princess Celestia, and this emblem proves it.  The castle is like my second home, are you really thinking of stopping me from my own home?" Blueblood said looking with some contempt at the guard.

Seeing the emblem of Princess Celestia, the guard tried to hide the fact that he had been scared, and finally let both unicorns pass.

"I can't believe it… Is he really the princess's nephew!?  A real prince!!" Rarity thought as her heart raced at the thought that she was facing a real prince, like in the fairy tales she read as a filly.

As they walked, Blueblood glanced at Rarity and smiled proudly, as his title always had that effect on mares.  While the title was true, in reality it was something more honorary than of real importance, as he didn’t have any official ruling over the kingdom like the princesses.  However, as a show of appreciation towards the nobles, Princess Celestia always granted the honorary title of ‘Prince’ to the sons of the noble families of the kingdom.  And since the current generation only mares had been born and he was the only colt, currently he was the only one in the kingdom to hold that honorary title, which filled him with pride.

"It seems that this year I'll close the deal quickly... It was fortunate to find a beautiful mare as soon as I arrived at the Gala." Blueblood thought with a mischievous smile, since the truth was that he always went alone to the Grand Galloping Gala, because he liked to conquer beautiful mares on his way. "After all, no one can resist my charms." Blueblood smiled vainly.

After advancing to the main hall, Blueblood stopped when he saw that Rarity had stood still to look at something.  Following the mare's sight, Blueblood was surprised to recognize the colt he saw. It was Dusk Shine, the student of his 'Aunt' Celestia, who for some reason had taken the place of the princess and was in charge of the official greeting to the guests.

Recognizing Dusk Shine, Blueblood frowned.  He had always held distain for the lavender colt. Despite not being of noble birth, the princess held him in high esteem for some inane reason, something that neither he nor the Canterlot noble families liked.

"Come, let's eat something, I think we'll skip the official greeting." Blueblood said, pushing Rarity into another hallway.

"Uh? B-But I…" Rarity said shyly, still looking at Dusk, since now that she was inside the castle, she wanted to get closer to Dusk.  However, she realized that it would be very impolite to abandon Blueblood so quickly after he helped her into the castle, so Rarity finally just looked away and followed Blueblood.

That gaze from Rarity to Dusk didn't go unnoticed by Blueblood, who immediately found it inconceivable that the eyes of that beautiful mare weren't fixed on him and would have turned away to see that simple and silly lavender unicorn.

"What was that!?  I have charm, money, gallantry… Why did she stare so hard at that fool Dusk Shine!?  Isn't it enough for him to steal the attention of my 'Auntie', who by right should be mine!?" Blueblood thought, starting to get angry. "Easy Blueblood… Don't overdo it, now show this mare that you are a thousand times better than a clumsy lavender colt." Blueblood breathed to calm himself, fixing his gaze on Rarity, taking it as a personal challenge to win her in love.

"Would you like a tour of the castle?  I know it perfectly, and it would be an honor for such a beautiful lady to accompany me tonight." Blueblood said, using all his charm and his perfect smile.

"Of course! The honor would be mine." Rarity answered dreamily, being enchanted by that handsome face, and thinking that it wouldn't be bad to walk around the castle a bit, just as she had always dreamed of. 

After that, Blueblood led Rarity through various corridors, chatting about 'his important tasks' as the prince of Equestria, exaggerating a lot to impress the mare, and always talking about his attributes and accomplishments.  To which Rarity was smiling sincerely, as it was thrilling to discover what a real prince did in real life.

Eventually, they came to a large door that led outside to one of the many gardens of the castle.  Then both ponies stood in front of the door, waiting for the other to open it.  It took a couple of seconds for Blueblood to understand that, since he wanted to impress that mare to show that he was a much better option than Dusk, he would have to be the one to open the door. Something that he normally didn't do, since the mares that accompanied him always did it for him.

"Here." Blueblood said gallantly, as he 'made a great effort' and opened the door, an act that Rarity found most chivalrous, and made the mare smile sincerely at him.  Blueblood was a bit surprised, as it was a kind of smile that no mare had ever give him before.

After that, Blueblood invited Rarity to smell the most beautiful roses in the garden, and he cut one to put on his suit, but while Blueblood still had the rose in his mouth, a crazy idea that had never occurred to him before crossed his mind, and finally he gave the rose to Rarity.

"A beautiful rose to match your beautiful features." Blueblood said chivalrously, but inwardly thinking that that rose would look better on him.

"It's beautiful!  Thank you so much!" Rarity said, again with a big, genuine smile of appreciation, blushing at the gift.

"What is this...?  Her smile... It makes me feel weird..." Blueblood thought quizzically as he blushed at the sight of Rarity's beautiful smile.

"I-I think I've talked enough about myself… Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" Blueblood said, slightly nervous.  This came as an internal shock to the stallion as this was the first time that he was really interested in knowing more about one mare.

Rarity then smiled and began to chat about her life. About her work, her sister, her friends, and eventually shifted to some fun anecdotes, which made them both laugh and began to talk cheerfully.  Blueblood starting to open up as well and also telling humorous anecdotes, while Rarity began to marvel at the thought that princes really existed.

"Not only is he handsome, he's elegant, funny, gallant... He's the colt I've always dreamed of as a filly..." Rarity thought excitedly, feeling that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a fault with Blueblood.  Until she snapped out of her daydreams by discovering Blueblood's only flaw. "His only flaw… is that he is not Dusk Shine." Rarity thought with a sad smile.  Though Blueblood was perfect in every sense of the word, neither her mind nor her heart could stop thinking about Dusk. Through all of his faults, the lavender colt had earned a warm place in the unicorn’s heart that no other colt could hope to achieve.

"I’m sorry.  Tonight was perfect…but I really must be going now." Rarity said after Blueblood finished telling a funny story.

Hearing that Rarity was leaving, another strange feeling was born in Blueblood.  Normally, he was the one who left the mares, never before had a mare told him that she had to leave his side.  Then all those new emotions that Blueblood had felt began to intensify in his chest, and he had a revelation.  No longer was this just a silly competition against Dusk, now he had discovered something wonderful that he could no longer let go.

"Rarity, you can't go!" Blueblood said fearfully, tenderly taking Rarity's hooves next to his own and looking at her with big and sincere loving eyes. "I think I love you." And although it might seem impossible with Rarity's fur, the white unicorn turned pale with surprise...

With the five Ponyville mares having their own problems escaping from their respective situations after having fulfilled their respective dreams, the only one who remained without fulfilling his dream was Dusk Shine, who was still up the stairs of the main hall. His hooves were sore after having to greet so many ponies and his throat was dry after having to explain to everyone why HE was waving instead of the princess.

"This is not how I imagined my night at the Grand Galloping Gala would go..." Dusk sighed wearily after finishing greeting a couple and waiting for the next one to approach.

"Then tell me... How did you imagine spending tonight?" A familiar voice suddenly asked from behind Dusk, causing him to jump in surprise upon seeing his teacher.

"Princess Celestia!  You’re finally back!" Dusk said with a mix of surprise and relief.

"Why the face?  Did you think that I would leave you here all night?" Celestia asked warmly, slightly narrowing her eyes.

Faced with that question, Dusk just kept quiet and analyzed his teacher's face, a face that he knew perfectly.  Dusk was able to recognize that in his teacher's mind, there had really been the option of leaving him there all night, which made Dusk just smile nervously, relieved that she didn't choose that option.

"You may go ahead and enjoy the Gala before it ends.  We can talk later." the princess said, relieving him of his position to the joy of Dusk and the other guests, who smiled when they saw that they could now be greeted by the princess in person.  Then Dusk turned around and decided to go with his friends to enjoy the party before going back to his teacher.

"By the way, Dusk..." Celestia added suddenly, before Dusk moved away, causing him to turn around to look at her.  The alicorn was silent for a moment, and then she smiled. "Nevermind,.  Go be with your friends.  I'm sure they can't wait to see you." Celestia added with a sly smile.

"I think something very important is ahead for my little Dusk..." Celestia thought, as she remembered her conversation with Pinkie Pie, and her sixth sense warned her that something important could happen to her beloved Dusk that night.

After saying goodbye to his teacher, Dusk moved away from the main hall and started walking through the halls of the castle. Suddenly, he felt someone pull him aside and cover his head with a sack, making everything go dark.  After that surprising act, Dusk felt somepony pick him up and take him from where he was.  While this was happening, Dusk was perplexed, not understanding what was happening or how he should act.

"Is this another prank from the princess?" Dusk said out loud for his captor to hear him.  However, no one answered him, his captor just kept moving while carrying him.

When he didn't get an answer, Dusk began to have serious doubts as to whether that was a joke, so he tried to move.  Only then did he realize that an immobilizing spell was casted on him, which scared him even more.  Before Dusk could think of anything else, his captor suddenly stopped and lowered Dusk to the floor, and then removed the sack on his head.

As soon as Dusk could see again, he had to focus his eyes a bit, since this place was very dark, totally different from the illuminated corridors of the castle where he had been before being kidnapped. There, the only thing that illuminated the surroundings were small torches on the walls.  It appeared to be an entirely new location of the castle to Dusk.  A rather surprising fact considering he had spent much of his childhood wandering the corridors of the castle.  

Once his sight got used to the darkness Dusk was surprised to discover who his captor was, or rather, captors, since before him were two mares that he knew from his time living in the castle.

"Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel?" Dusk asked in surprise and confusion, recognizing the twin sisters as the elite maids of the princesses. "What are you doing?  And… Where are we!?"

"This is one of the secret corridors of the castle.  Very few ponies know about it, so no matter how much you yell, no pony will hear you." The twin with red mane, Sweet Caramel, said while giving a threatening look at Dusk Shine.

"Yes, so you better not resist and give us what we want!" The mare with blue mane, Sweet Creme, said with the same menacing look.

"What are you doing Creme!?  It was assumed that I would be the bad cop and you would be the good cop!" Sweet Caramel whispered, scolding her sister.

"Oh, that’s right! I'm sorry." Sweet Creme apologized with an embarrassed smile.

"Uh... what's going on?" Dusk asked, raising an eyebrow, still not understanding what those two mares were planning.

During his childhood, Dusk had seen both sisters being with their parents while they were learning the trade of serving royalty, so they had seen several times in the castle.  They even had played together some few times.  However, for some reason, one day both sisters stopped talking to him and distanced themselves from him.  Ever since then, Dusk had only seen them occasionally when Princess Celestia requested their presence.  However, despite not knowing them so well, what Dusk did know was that they were both extremely loyal to Princess Celestia.  So Dusk was amazed that they were both doing something like that in secret from the princess.

"Wait… the princess asked you to play this prank on me?" Dusk asked, suspecting again that that could be the reason for all of this.

Hearing that, both mares turned to glare at Dusk with fire in their eyes.

"Princess Celestia is the most magnificent and sensible pony in all of Equestria.  She would never stoop to doing something as a joke." Sweet Creme said in a cold tone of voice, feeling that she had just been insulted personally.

Seeing Sweet Creme's face of fury, Dusk bit his lip and looked away, having forgotten that the jokes between him and the princess were something that no one in the castle knew, because it was a side that the princess didn't show to others.  And even if Sweet Creme ever saw the princess playing a prank on Dusk, in her mind she had Celestia's image on such a high pedestal that it was impossible for her to think of her beloved princess doing something so vulgar.

"This is not a joke." Sweet Caramel said, calming down and looking at Dusk seriously. "We brought you here because we want to offer you a deal."

"A deal? What deal?" Dusk asked, looking back at the twins confused.

Sweet Caramel gave a signal to her sister, and the mare with the blue mane turned around to look for something, and then with her magic levitated a huge bag, almost as big as Dusk. Then Sweet Creme dropped the heavy bag, and as soon as it fell there was a metallic sound inside it.  The bag was so bulky that it fell open, showing that it was full of bits.

Seeing the huge amount of bits, Dusk was surprised to see such a great treasure before him.

"This is all that my sister and I have saved over the years since we began our service at the castle." Sweet Caramel said, still looking seriously at Dusk. "And this can be all yours."

While the red-maned mare spoke, Dusk saw the enormous amount of money and imagined all he could do with that.  Ever since he had moved to Ponyville, his lifestyle had changed a lot when compared to living in the castle.  Though nowhere near unbearable, he had missed some of the previous luxuries he had that he could no longer afford with his librarian salary. But if he had that money, he could enjoy those luxuries, not only for him, but Spike and his friends.

"And you... why would you give me all this?" Dusk asked, coming out of his daydreams, realizing that there had to be a catch.

"You just have to do us a little favor..." Sweet Caramel confirmed. "You have to promise never to see the princesses again... Never again."

"What!?" Dusk said, amazed at what they asked him. "Why don't you want me to talk to Princess Celestia again!?"

"We have our reasons!" Sweet Creme said quickly, her lips tightening as she remembered that this was for the sake of her beloved princess.

"I said princesses, not just Princess Celestia.  This also includes my… includes Princess Luna!" Sweet Caramel added, blushing slightly, thinking that she almost said, 'my princess', out of the respect and great affection she had for her beloved boss, the princess of the night. " I guess you could keep meeting with Princess Cadenza, but you could never speak or write to either of the other two princesses again."

"I… I couldn't do that.  Princess Celestia is my teacher.  And Princess Luna…" Dusk said seriously. "I... I don't want to stop seeing Princess Luna." he added with a blush, since every time he thought of Princess Luna, he always remembered the kiss she had given him.

"What if we double this amount!?" Sweet Creme said anxiously, bringing her face closer to Dusk to stare at him. Thinking that they would have to dedicate their lifetime wages to fulfill such a promise, but if with that they managed to drive away the colt that influenced the lives of their beloved princesses, then it was worth it.

"I wouldn't do it for all the money in Equestria." Dusk said, looking seriously at Sweet Creme, causing her to recoil back.

Seeing that their bribe had not worked, both sisters glanced at each other and nodded, accepting that they would have to use another plan: force.

"You know... I'll remind you again.  We are alone here, you can't move, and no pony will ever find you here." Sweet Caramel said with a threatening look. "If you don't do what we ask, we'll have to use force to convince you." The mare added as she and her sister lit their horns to threaten Dusk with their magic.

"Actually, I can move." Dusk said smiling, moving his hooves to show that he had long since freed himself from the immobilizing spell that had been casted on him, which left both mares speechless.





Seeing that Dusk had freed himself from their spell, both mares used their magic at the same time to perform the spell again. However, with a quick flash of magic from Dusk's horn, he freed himself again.  And when seeing that Dusk was released again, both mares repeated the process over and over again, always with the same result.  All the while Dusk remained immobile, with his lips pressed together, just moving his eyes, seeing how the twins got angry when they saw that their spell was so easily canceled.

"Remember that I am the student of Princess Celestia.  If you want to use a spell against me, it won't be that easy." Dusk said with a nervous smile, not wanting to upset both mares more than they were.

Seeing that their backup plan also failed, both mares turned their backs on Dusk and began whispering to each other.

"What do we do now, sister!?" Sweet Creme asked, a little scared.

"Hmm… wait!  I have an idea." Sweet Caramel replied with a thoughtful look, and then she leaned closer to her sister to whisper her plan.

Meanwhile, Dusk simply stood there, waiting for both mares to speak to him again, as he began to have some compassion for both mares when he saw that their plan hadn't worked.

"They're more fun than I expected… I wonder why we stopped talking to each other when we were younger?" Dusk thought, starting to laugh at the situation.  He couldn’t think of any situation the mares could come up with to make him stop seeing the princesses.

"Hmm... it's a shame our magic doesn't work on you..." Sweet Caramel said suddenly, narrowing her eyes and speaking in a softer tone of voice. "I guess if magic won’t work, we'll have to tie you up with this rope…" Sweet Caramel added, playfully swinging a rope near her mouth and then approaching Dusk.

"You know that I can also unleash myself with my magic, right?" Dusk said with a smile full of confidence.  However, that smile vanished when he felt Sweet Caramel hugging him and stick her head next to his as she passed the rope behind his back. "T-That won't work..." Dusk added nervously, blushing at having the red-mane mare so close.

"What is the matter?  Are you nervous about something?" Sweet Creme asked, also approaching Dusk and looking at him with the most innocent face she had, making Dusk blush even more.

"I-I'm not nervous… W-Why would I be nervous?" Dusk said looking away, his cheeks still blushed.

"Well, you seem nervous to me." Sweet Creme said tenderly, placing her head on Dusk's chest, which made Dusk turn even redder. "Goodness, your heart is beating very fast... you're definitely nervous about something." Sweet Creme said, looking at Dusk from below with her big eyes.

After seeing Sweet Creme, Dusk once again looked away, deciding not to speak anymore, since everything he said turned against him and made him blush more and more.

"You know, I discussed it with my sister, and we decided that there is more than one way to convince a colt..." Sweet Caramel said, moving away from Dusk a little so that he could see her fully.

The mare with the red mane stared at Dusk with a seductive gaze and slowly began to remove her maid outfit.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Dusk asked, red with shame, looking away quickly.  His brain was struggling to understand why while ponies normally didn't wear clothes, it was so erotic to see a mare taking off her clothes.

"If you do what we ask... we could fulfill all your desires." Sweet Creme said with a flirtatious look, moving Dusk's head with her hoof so that he didn't look away. "Whatever…they…may…be." Sweet Creme added seductively.

"Uh... Bleh... Uh..." Dusk stammered as his brain stopped working properly after hearing that very suggestive phrase.

"What do you say sister?  It seems that tonight we could take the innocence from a certain colt." Sweet Caramel said smiling coquettishly, recognizing that those nerves that Dusk showed were because surely he had never been with a mare before.  “We could…demonstrate all the pleasures a mare’s body can give.”

"I think that's how it is, sis.  I must admit, he is rather cute.  But only if he promises to do what we ask." Sweet Creme said with a tender smile.  Then both sisters hugged each other and looked intensely at Dusk Shine, one with a seductive look, and the other with an innocent and tender look.

Seeing both twin sisters before him, in such a position with their loose clothes, Dusk's heart accelerated to a thousand beats per second, feeling that he was in some crazy erotic fantasy of some story.  In what real world could it happen that two beautiful twin sisters were flirting with him and promising that they would do 'whatever' he asked them...? Then Dusk remembered the four colts that had pulled his carriage that night, and with absolute certainty Dusk realized that any of them would kill for be in his position.

While Dusk kept thinking about how crazy this whole situation was and how excessively nervous he was, both sisters slowly approached Dusk and, one at a time, approached and gently kissed Dusk on his trembling lips... As soon as Dusk received the kisses, his mind felt like it exploded because of how racing his heart was and how his body was reacting, but...

"Uh?" Dusk thought suddenly, his eyes widening when he realized something as both mares kissed him. "This... It doesn't feel like I expected..."

There was no doubt, Dusk's body had reacted like that of any other colt to having two mares flirting with him, even more so since both mares were so beautiful. However, leaving aside the bodily reactions and his racing heart due to his nerves, Dusk realized that after the kiss... he felt nothing.  At least, nothing like what he had felt in his previous kisses.

"Every time one of my friends had kissed me… even with Princess Luna, I… I felt a surge of happiness that filled my heart, a joy like nothing else makes me feel." Dusk thought. "I felt their affection, the passion when they did it, I felt my emotions go crazy and my heart goes crazy sharing that..."

"Love..." Dusk whispered after discovering why despite having two beautiful mares kissing him, he didn't feel comfortable.

"Did you say something?" Sweet Caramel asked, without leaving her facade and keeping her flirtatious gaze towards Dusk.

"I…I’m sorry.  You two are truly beautiful, but…I couldn’t be with either of you, because… because I'm already in love." Dusk said without a hint of doubt, his eyes wide as he realized how easily those words came out of his mouth.

Hearing those words, both maids froze and looked at each other in confusion, as if they didn't know what to do, because it never occurred to them that Dusk would tell them something like that.  And seeing that the confusion was mutual between them, the two sisters removed their facade and again turned their backs on Dusk and began to murmur among themselves.

"He… is he already in love with somepony?" Sweet Caramel whispered, thinking that Dusk's look was unmistakable, and he was so in love that he even resisted the charms of both sisters combined.

"Wait! Maybe that can help us." Sweet Creme whispered, who was a little shyer than her sister and now that she had let go of her facade, she was blushing because of what she had done to Dusk. "If he starts dating with a mare from the town where he lives, then he'll have less time to write and meet with the princesses."

"That could work..." The red-maned twin added with a thoughtful face.

While both twins whispered between them, Dusk, who had just stood still, staring at nothing while his mind realized what really mattered to him that night.

"I love my friends. I would be the happiest colt in the world if I could be with any of them right now." Dusk thought slowly, coming back to reality and smiling. "I can't waste any more time here, I… I want to enjoy the Gala with them!" 

Then Dusk used his magic, and with a silent Poof!, he teleported away from there. Right at that moment, both maids had decided what their new plan would be, and they turned to see their prisoner and offer him a new deal.  However, they were surprised to see that Dusk Shine had disappeared.

"No way!  He escaped!" Sweet Creme said, pursing her lips in annoyance.

"Don't worry, we'll catch him again." Sweet Caramel said with a look full of determination. "And next time, we'll take more drastic measures to ensure that Dusk doesn't disturb our beloved princesses again..."

Then the two sisters bumped their hooves, vowing that they would keep that promise.

"I imagine you two had fun?" A third female voice said suddenly, causing the twins to freeze.  Then both sisters turned slowly to see who was behind them, and both were paralyzed when they saw who that pony was, going pale and speechless when they realized the problem they had been involved in.

End of chapter 54
> Chapter 55 - The declaration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The declaration

Fortunately for Dusk, the maids hadn't carried him too far after his kidnapping, so he assumed that that hidden corridor was very close to the hall where they had taken him.  Something that was confirmed when he teleported at the same place in the castle that he had been to before disappearing.

Once he returned to the illuminated halls of the castle, Dusk looked everywhere, seeing that it seemed that no pony had noticed his disappearance or paid attention to the fact that he had just appeared there with magic.  And as he looked around, Dusk saw towards the lounge he had left behind, where Princess Celestia followed her monotonous routine of greeting the guests who were still waiting in line just to greet her.

"I wonder what the princess would say if I told her what the twin maids just did..." Dusk thought with a small grin.  Even though what the maids had done was crazy, it wasn't really out of evil and only they did so because they wanted to somehow protect the princesses. "I still don't understand why they wanted me to stop talking to the princesses, do they think I'm a bad influence?"

While Dusk was thinking, a clock on the wall marked the time and seeing how late it was, Dusk remembered that he had promised that he would find his friends to enjoy the Grand Galloping Gala before it ended.  So, Dusk turned around and started walking through the corridors of the castle to look for his friends.

During his 'kidnapping', Dusk had realized how different his friends made him feel compared to other mares.  However, as Dusk walked and reviewed what happened, he realized that when he remembered that feeling he felt when one of his friends kissed him, another mare had been on his mind as well.  A mare that wasn't part of his five friends and to whom he hadn't seen her all night, several nights, in fact.  Then Dusk began to walk slowly, until he finally stopped with a thoughtful look.

"There... There is somepony else I want to see tonight..." Dusk thought, raising his head and changing direction, now walking towards the stairs that led to the upper towers.

While Dusk walked, he couldn't stop thinking about Luna and how lonely perhaps she felt.  So much so that Dusk thought that perhaps that was the reason why she had told her sister Celestia that she wasn't sure whether to appear at the Grand Galloping Gala or not.

"This is the first Gala since she returned from exile.  Maybe she’s afraid or insecure about something..." Dusk thought as he went upstairs of the tower, where he guessed Princess Luna's room should be. "Or maybe I’m just making up excuses, and the truth is... I just want to see her." The lavender colt blushed, again remembering the kiss that the Princess of the Night had given him after that sad goodbye the last they saw each other.

Meanwhile in the room he was going to, Princess Luna was coping with her own internal struggles.  The Princess of the Night's room was a mess, with dozens of ball gowns thrown on the floor as she stood in the middle of her room, standing on just one of her hooves as she flexed the rest of her body, with her eyes closed and breathing slowly.

"Who knew that the ponies of this time would invent something so useful." Luna whispered, thinking aloud as she practiced this relaxation technique she had been taught called 'yoga'. "I’m beginning to feel much more relaxed now."

Luna's serene figure was in stark contrast to how she had been just minutes before practicing those relaxation positions.  A couple of hours before, when her sister Celestia had asked her if she would appear at the Grand Galloping Gala, Luna had doubts of whether to make an appearance or not.  She eventually decided against it, as she knew that she would no doubt forget her royal duties if she once again met Dusk Shine.  However, after Celestia left, Luna ordered her maid Sweet Caramel to stay with her to help her choose a dress for the Gala.  And so, they had both spent hours while Luna tried on each dress and then rejected it, thinking that it would not be pretty enough to appear with it in front of Dusk.

After she finished trying on each garment and feeling frustrated at not finding a perfect dress, Luna screamed angrily and flopped onto her bed like a grumpy filly. T hen Luna glanced at her faithful maid and saw that she just kept staring at the floor with an annoyed look.

"Sorry Sweet Caramel, I have you here with me having a hard time while you should be enjoying the Gala." Luna said with a sad smile.

"N-No, it's not a bother at all, my princess." Sweet Caramel responded quickly with embarrassment.  While it was true that she felt somewhat annoyed, it certainly had nothing to do with her beloved princess.  Rather, it was that bothersome colt Dusk Shine that always seem to put the alicorn in a frazzled state whenever the colt came up in conversation.

"Huh... You can leave, after all... I think I’ve finally decided to not come down after all." Luna said with a sigh. She decided that she would no longer be plagued with these distractions.

After that, the maid had left and Luna had spent the next few minutes trying different yoga poses while trying to relax, something she hadn't been able to achieve for almost an hour.  She couldn't help but think that deep down in her heart, she did want to meet with Dusk, even if it was just for a while.  But finally, after a lot of willpower, Luna was completely relaxed and no longer thought at all about the Grand Galloping Gala or Dusk Shine.

'KNOCK-KNOCK!' There was a knock at Luna's door.

"Huff… Sweet Caramel, is that you?" Luna asked, exhaling air as she assumed another pose and achieved absolute serenity.

"It's Dusk Shine." The colt's voice answered from the other side of the door.

As soon as Luna heard Dusk's voice, she completely lost her concentration, lost her balance and fell heavily to the floor, causing a lot of noise.

"Did something bad happen?" Dusk asked after hearing her fall over.

"N-N-NOTHING! NOTHING IS WRONG!  ALL IS WELL!!" Luna yelled, red with embarrassment and so nervous that she ended up yelling to answer.

After the surprise, Luna rushed back up and immediately ran to the door to prevent Dusk from opening it and seeing the mess that was her room. Then she took a shaky breath after running, and slowly propped her head on the door as she tried to calm herself.

"W-What are you doing here?" Luna asked after calming down a bit.

Faced with Luna's question, Dusk was silent for a few seconds, not sure how to answer.

"I... wanted to see you... and talk to you again." Dusk said sighing, deciding to honestly say what he felt.

On the other side of the door, Luna was surprised to hear that, so she raised her head from the door and put a hoof on the knob to open it.  At the last second, however, she stopped and looked back, where on the other side of her room, she could see her own reflection in the mirror. Then the alicorn sadly lowered her head and slowly pulled her hoof off the doorknob.

"I’m sorry… It wouldn't be good for you to see me.  I still haven't regained all my powers and… and I'm not the same mare you saw in your dreams." Luna said sadly.

"Not the same mare...?" Dusk repeated.  Then he understood that Princess Luna must be referring to her appearance as the beautiful 'Lady Night'. "I… I know that wasn't your true appearance, but that doesn't matter to me.  I just want to talk with you."

"No, you cannot.  I mustn't see you." Luna replied sadly, closing her eyes tightly as she remembered her determination to put her duties before what she really wanted.  "Nothing would make me happier than being able to be with you and chat together… And that's why I can't see you.  I… I can't enjoy my life, that's my punishment.  I have to repent for my previous actions." Luna added, saying that last thought with a whisper.  She knew she couldn't be happy after all the damage she had caused to Equestria.  To her sister.





"But..." Dusk said quickly.

"Please! Go away." Luna interrupted quickly, feeling very weak emotionally, realizing that if she spoke longer with Dusk, she would give in and try to be with him.

"Stop there!" A third voice suddenly yelled.

As soon as Dusk turned around, he realized that two ponies were approaching down the hall.  The same maids who had kidnapped him minutes before.  When Sweet Caramel saw Dusk was in front of the door of her beloved princess, she was enraged and ran swiftly to get between him and her princess's door.

"You heard the princess. You had better go." Sweet Caramel said, glaring at Dusk.

"I... I need to see the princess." Dusk said with a serious look as well. Then both he and the red-mane maid stared in silence for several seconds.

"Maybe it's not bad for you to talk to the princess. After all,... we can't refuse a princess's order if that's what she wants." The other maid, Sweet Creme, said slowly, who had stayed behind her sister after she ran, and now she was slowly approaching where Dusk and her sister were. "But we must make sure that this is what the princess really wants." Sweet Crème added, looking seriously at Dusk, and giving a fleeting glance at her sister, who being her twin, quickly understood what she should do.

"Huff... listen well Dusk, there were certain... events that made us change our minds, regarding preventing you from talking to the princesses." Sweet Caramel whispered so that her voice wouldn't be heard through the door, her eyes narrowing slightly as she remembered the pony they had talked to in the secret corridors of the castle after Dusk disappeared. "I'll convince the princess to come out and talk to you.  But for now, you need to go."

After the red-maned maid spoke, Dusk stared at her, looking for any sign of deception on her face.  However, no matter how much he looked at her, it seemed that what she said was true.

"Come with me.  While my sister talks to the princess, we'll go downstairs to wait for her in the main halls." Sweet Creme said kindly, inviting him to come down from the tower next to her. However, before Dusk followed the blue-maned maid, he took a step closer to the door, and spoke in a loud voice so that Princess Luna could hear him.

"No matter what you look like, you are still Luna." Dusk said with a small smile, accidentally forgetting to add the honorific 'princess', and simply calling the blue alicorn by her name. "I just... want you to promise me that we'll meet again." Dusk added, feeling he couldn't go there without making clear what he really wanted: for Princess Luna to forget her promise to never see him again.

After a long silence, in which Dusk and the maids froze, finally a weak voice was heard.

"Okay... I promise." Luna answered slowly from behind the door.

Satisfied with that answer, and that later in the party he would be able to talk to Princess Luna again, Dusk smiled in relief, and accompanied Sweet Creme as they descended the stairs to return to the main halls of the castle.

"Sweet Caramel! I need you!" Luna shouted after a while, after checking that Dusk had already left.

Knowing what was coming ahead, Sweet Caramel turned and entered the room of her beloved princess, knowing that again she would have to see how the princess tried on all the ball gowns before choosing one to go down to the party.





For their part, Dusk Shine and Sweet Creme calmly went down the stairs until they returned to the halls where the celebration was taking place.  Once there, Dusk noticed that for some reason, Sweet Creme raised her head high, as if looking for somepony in particular.  And before Dusk could ask her something, she pulled Dusk's hoof for him to follow her.

"Are you taking me somewhere specific?" Dusk asked somewhat confused, seeing that they were advancing through the corridors full of guests, without apparent direction.

"I'm just looking for the best side so that you and the princess can talk quietly." Sweet Creme replied without turning to see Dusk, only pulling him to follow her at all costs.  Then the maid suddenly stopped when she came to a corridor that was next to one of the castle gardens. "This is a good place." Sweet Creme added seriously.  Then, to Dusk's surprise, she used her magic and teleported away from there.

After the sudden disappearance of Sweet Creme, Dusk was left confused, thinking about why she had left him in this place in particular.  Surely if he waited to meet with Princess Luna, he knew that there were many better places in the castle that were either more private or scenic.  Dusk looked around and saw that this corridor was ordinary just like the others, with several guests walking around.  The only thing that appeared different seemed to be a small group of ponies, which because of their clothing, seemed much wealthier than the other ponies that circulated there. These ponies seemed to be arguing aggressively in front of a small apple stand, a small wooden structure that Dusk was very familiar with.

"Psst!" somepony whispered suddenly.  Dusk raised his ears attentively to see who was whispering at him. "Psst!"

Looking for the source of the whisper with his eyes, Dusk stopped when he saw a statue that was right in the garden next to the corridor.  Behind it, he could see the tip of a stetson hat that Dusk knew very well.  Then the colt left the hall and went to where the statue was.

"Applejack, what are you doing hiding here?" Dusk asked with a small confused smile when he saw that his friend was sitting behind that statue.

"I knew it was you, sugarcube!  How did you get here!?" Applejack asked, who had seen Dusk's silhouette and had called him, but without being completely sure if it was him.  Then she pursed her lips and glanced to where those elegant business ponies discussed in front of her small stall of apples. "I hid from them."

"Who are they?" Dusk asked, thinking that perhaps those elegant ponies had somehow made fun of his country friend.  "Wait a second... is that Fancy Pants!?" Dusk added, surprised when he recognized one of the stallions that were arguing there.

"Do you know him?" Applejack asked curious.

"Everyone at Canterlot knows him.  He’s one of the richest businesscolt in Equestria." Dusk answered, sitting next to his friend. "Did he offend you in any way?"

"No.  The opposite, in fact." Applejack said with a nervous smile.  "It turns out that he and those other ponies were very interested in the apple candies that I brought to sell.  And now they… want to be my partners to do business."

"That... That's amazing!" Dusk answered excitedly.  No doubt a business venture with one of the wealthiest ponies in Canterlot would greatly benefit the country mare and her family.  "Then, what are you doing here?  Shouldn't you be negotiating with them?"

Seeing that Dusk was supporting her, Applejack lowered her head and was thoughtful for a moment.

"I'm not sure.  I mean, I think it would be great to make the apples on my family's farm famous, but maybe it's too big of a leap.  I think I’d prefer something smaller…" Applejack answered with a nervous little smile. "Also, every time they talked about business; they spoke in fancy words I didn't understand and... I was a little scared that they would think I was just a silly country mare."

"You're not a silly country mare!  I assure you that you know more about taking care of a farm than all of them put together, hehe." Dusk said with a big smile. "There is no pony who knows everything in this world.  Even me, with everything I know about magic, I'm also ignorant of how to run a business.  But I've seen you sell apples in town, and I assure you, you know more than you think.  You may not know some technical words, but the experience is there." Dusk added, touching his friend's chest to instill confidence.

Applejack touched the place where Dusk touched her when he removed his hoof and lowered her head while blushing slightly.

"That... That’s not the whole truth." Applejack said slowly, without lifting her head. "It's true that I hid from those ponies because I wasn't sure if I should negotiate with them, but I also did it because there’s something very important that I have to do… In fact, there are two important things that I have to do before I can think about any of that business nonsense..."

"Oh.  Well, what things do you need to do? Can I help?" Dusk asked curiously. "Are you going to do it now that you managed to hide from those ponies?"

Dusk waited for his friend to answer him.  However, as much as he waited, Applejack simply remained motionless and silent, keeping her head down.

"I know I have to do those two things, but… I'm not sure what to do first." Applejack finally answered as her ears blushed slightly. Then she suddenly raised her head, with a look of determination. "Best to get the most daring one out of the way first!”

Applejack stood up, and took a couple of steps forward, and seeing that her friend stood up, Dusk also did the same.  Then Applejack turned around and stared at Dusk with a slightly nervous look, but full of determination.  Then she slowly raised a hoof to gently touched Dusk's cheek, which made the lavender colt blush. Then Applejack looked tenderly at Dusk and slowly brought her mouth close to kiss him.

As soon as he felt Applejack's lips touching his, Dusk turned completely red from surprise, however he didn't move at all to get away.  Instead, Dusk slowly closed his eyes and returned the kiss of his beloved friend.

"I was right... This kiss is nothing like the kisses the maids gave me.." Dusk thought suddenly, feeling his heart leap with emotion and enormous happiness ran through his body as his feelings ran wild. His mind screamed for that sweet sensation of that beautiful moment to last forever.

How much time passed, neither Applejack nor Dusk Shine were sure, because in their minds the concept of time disappeared for that little moment.  Until finally, Applejack slowly released Dusk's lips and stopped touching his cheek.

"I guess I was finally able to give you... the kiss I always wanted." Applejack whispered shyly, completely blushed, lowering her head and shyly looking up at Dusk.

"W-Why... did you kiss me...?" Dusk asked, just as red as he was completely stunned after his brain started reacting again.

"That was one of the things I had to do." Applejack answered, as she breathed slowly to catch her breath and give herself strength for what was coming. "Because the other thing I had to do is… tell you that I love you."





Hearing his friend's declaration, Dusk slowly opened his mouth.  Although words failed to leave him as his mind still tried to contemplate under that thick layer of low self-esteem what he had just heard.  However, his heart had overtime learned to accept such realities of being love and allowed to Dusk to fully realize what Applejack just said.

"You..." Dusk said slowly, struggling with himself and believing that perhaps he misheard.

"I love you." Applejack quickly interrupted while still staring at him, knowing that in that declaration there could be no ambiguity.  This was HER moment, and not even Dusk's stubborn head would take it away. "I… I’ve known for a long time I doubted what I felt.  I was afraid to feel that feeling and that it would somehow harm others.  But now I realize that my indecision was a mistake, and I want to correct it.  I love you, Dusk Shine.  Without me realizing it, you swept me off my hooves since you foolishly fell from that tree the day we met, and... and slowly you were making me feel more and more things for you, until finally it was useless to deny it, and I had to accept... that I love you." Applejack said on the verge of tears, while in her mind all the moments with Dusk passed that led her to that precise moment.

"Dusk, we've been through a lot, and… and I don't know if what I'm saying will change our relationship for the better or for the worse.  But my heart could no longer bear to hide it anymore.  I love you Dusk.  It doesn't matter how many times I repeat it, or how many times you doubt that you're hearing wrong, but this is my honest truth.  This is who I am.  In front of you is the most honest mare who you can find, the mare that loves you with all her being." Applejack added, still blushing, but removing every bit of doubt from her heart and looking with a confident gaze at the colt she loved.

Throughout the speech, Dusk had remained completely immobile, with his lost gaze.  But even though he was in that state, in his mind he accepted every word that Applejack said to him.  As she said, there was no doubt, his mind and his low self-esteem couldn't deny it more, less with that stare full of security that Applejack had.  She really loved him, and she finally declared it to him.

"There you are!  Why did Sweet Creme bring you here!?" A third voice suddenly said.  As soon as Dusk turned around, he saw that it was Sweet Caramel, who quickly approached Dusk and grabbed him by a hoof. "We must go, the princess is waiting for us." The red-maned maid added, lighting her horn with magic as soon as she touched Dusk Shine.

"No! Wait!" Dusk shouted, recognizing the spell that Sweet Caramel activated.  However, it was too late.  Sweet Caramel's magic was activated, and with a great flash they both disappeared from where they were, appearing elsewhere in the castle.

As soon as Dusk realized that he had been teleported away from Applejack, he looked everywhere in confusion, and then glared at the maid.

"What did you do!?" Dusk demanded, although it was for naught.  Since as soon as he turned to see the culprit of his disappearance, he saw the maid had activated her teleportation again and had evaporated from there, leaving him completely alone.

Faced with this new loneliness, the first thing Dusk did was take a good look around him, to discover in which specific part of the castle he was. The first thing that crossed Dusk's mind was that the maid had teleported him away from the castle, since there were no guests around.  Not only that, there were no halls, no corridor, no ceiling, the only thing they had were several beautifully flowered trees and shrubs.  It was then that Dusk finally recognized where he was and that even though it didn't seem like it, he was still inside the castle.

"These are... the royal gardens." Dusk whispered, looking around.  Then Dusk went over everything that had happened in the past few minutes and blushed, with a mixture of joy, frustration and confusion. "Great Celestia!  Is this really happening?" the lavender colt added, holding his face with his hoof, still amazed at Applejack's declaration and annoyed to see that his friend had been left alone without an answer from him.

Suddenly Dusk was distracted by hearing noise near him, as if dozens of animals were purring and singing at the same time.  A very strange symphony that Dusk couldn't help but hear and be curious, so he slowly approached the place where all that fuss was coming from.  Finally, Dusk arrived behind a bush and with his hoof moved some branches to see what was happening there, surprised at what he saw.

Before him was one of the most tender images he had ever seen in his life.  Lying on the grass, in front of a small pond bathed in moonlight, was his beautiful friend Fluttershy laughing while dozens of small and cute animals hugged her and insistently searched for her hooves for her to love and pamper them.

"Hehe! I know you don't want me to go, but I really must insist." Fluttershy said, looking tenderly at her little new friends, who every time she said she would abandon them, they started to cry and hug her harder. "Please, I promise I'll be back." The pegasus added, trying in vain to stand firm, but every time the animals cried, she gave in and went back to playing and laughing with them.

"It seems you made a lot of new friends." Dusk said with a tender smile, while looking at the pegasus.

Upon hearing that somepony was there, Fluttershy immediately looked shocked to see who had arrived.  When she saw that who was there was precisely her beloved Dusk Shine, she blushed deeply and tried to cover her face with her hooves to avoid showing how embarrassed she was to be surprised under those circumstances.

"It can't be!  How did Dusk get here!?" Fluttershy thought, red with shame as she was lying on her back on the grass, then she got up quickly and with her hoof smoothed the folds of her dress to check that she still looked elegant.

Once Fluttershy checked that her dress was in order and that she had no leaves or grass stuck in her long mane, Fluttershy smiled and started talking to Dusk.  However, as soon as Fluttershy opened her mouth, the little animals, who had felt that they had lost the attention of the tender mare, began to moan and with their little paws they gently pulled Fluttershy's dress so that she would sit back together to them.

"No... Please, you must understand... I really have to go." Fluttershy begged, lowering her head to talk to the animals so that they finally understood that she should go.

"What's going on?  Is something wrong?" Dusk asked with concern, seeing how Fluttershy begged the animals to let her go.

"Umm, something like that." Fluttershy replied with a sad smile, looking back at Dusk. "I had a hard time, but I finally got all the cute little animals in the garden to accept me. But it seems like they got addicted to my caresses, hehe." She smiled so as not to worry Dusk.

"Oh! But… I thought you would like that." Dusk said, remembering how happy and adorable he had seen his friend when he saw her play surrounded by those little animals. "I've heard that the garden animals are very shy around strangers.  Even when I lived here, they always hid when I walked around here.  But it’s no wonder they took a liking to you so quickly… After all, you're the pony with the kindest heart in Equestria.  And who wouldn't want to be caressed by you?  Haha!" Dusk laughed, imagining that no animal would resist his friend's caresses.  Only then, as he imagined dozens of different animals being caressed by Fluttershy, did Dusk imagine himself being caressed, so he blushed after imagining that.

Hearing Dusk's compliment, Fluttershy blushed, lowered her head only to look at Dusk tenderly, while remembering that she had something very important to do.  Now that the lavender colt was there, everything had become easier.  However, one big question remained to be answered… Would she have the courage to do what she wanted to do?

While Fluttershy began to doubt if she would have enough courage, the animals again insisted and pulled on mare’s dress so that she wouldn't abandon them.

"Why don't you use 'the Stare'?" Dusk asked, a little nervous seeing that the animals didn't seem to want to leave his friend alone.

"I couldn't.  It took me a lot to earn their trust, and I… I don't want to scare them, and I don't want to be mean to them, because they're just showing me how much they love me." Fluttershy said, smiling tenderly at her little friends.

"Heh, you're right." Dusk said, looking in amazement at his precious friend. "Every time I see you with the animals, I'm surprised to see how you manage to understand what they feel without knowing what they’re saying."

"Well, that's my special talent, hehe.  But it's not just that I manage to understand the animals, they also understand my feelings, and so we can understand each other." Fluttershy answered, until she realized that what she had just said was precisely what she needed at that precise moment: to make the animals understand how important that moment was for her.  Then Fluttershy crouched down again and looked fondly at her new little friends. "Please, I want all of you to feel what I feel… The pony that just arrived is very important to me, I know you can feel it.  That's… That's why I'm asking for your help, please let me tell him what I have to say, if I don't do it now… I don't think I'll ever have the courage to do it." she whispered to the animals while touching her heart, wishing with all her being that her feelings and desires would reach the hearts of the little creatures.

Seeing the pleading gaze of the pegasus, with her eyes filled with the strong feeling of love, the little animals finally understood how important that night was for that mare.  They all took a few steps back to give Fluttershy space, then they looked at Dusk and smiled.  The critters then went towards the nearby trees and bushes, in order to leave both ponies alone, and at the same time have a front row seat for what that they felt was about to happen.

Dusk couldn't hear what Fluttershy had said to the animals, but he was surprised to see that with a few words, she had finally made them leave her alone.  Although soon after, some of those animals returned doing things that surprised Dusk even more.  Some monkeys and squirrels began to swing between the branches of the tall trees, dropping some flower petals on him and Fluttershy.  At the same time, the birds seemed to magically coordinate to sing at the same time a soft chirping very pleasant to the ear, as dozens of fireflies began to fly and dance in circles around both ponies.

"Did you tell them to do all this?" Dusk asked, watching the beautiful scene that the animals were creating around them, then saw his dear friend, and realizing that that image was the most beautiful he had seen all night..

"No… I didn't tell them to do this.  They just… finally understood my feelings." Fluttershy said shyly, looking at Dusk out of the corner of her eye and blushed.  Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gathering what little courage she had to finally say what she wanted to the colt she loved. "I… …. ……" Fluttershy said, opening her eyes and moving her mouth to speak.  However, as much as she moved her lips, no sound came out of her throat.

"Uh? Did you say something?" Dusk asked, approaching his friend a little, since he wasn't sure if his friend had said something to him or not.

Seeing that despite feeling determination, she wasn't able to express what she felt, Fluttershy began to breathe heavily as she began to panic, feeling that she was missing her big opportunity.

"Dusk… Dusk! I… I… … …" Fluttershy muttered, again trying to say those three words that summed up everything she felt. Unfortunately, her nerves were such that no matter how hard she tried; those words didn't come out of her mouth.  Then Fluttershy closed her mouth and her eyes gleamed as little tears of frustration appeared in them.

"Run! Flees!  You can't do this!" A voice in the pegasus's mind said, the voice of her common sense.  However, another voice also spoke in her mind. The voice that was clearly the opposite of common sense as it continued to encourage her to stay: love. "No, this is our moment, and I won't run from it!"

"Fluttershy?" Dusk asked worried when he saw his friend so distressed.

"It's not fair." Fluttershy finally said, breathing slowly and taking all her courage to look Dusk in the eye as she spoke, deciding that if she couldn't say those three words she wanted, then she would explain what she felt. "It's so easy for the others to say what they feel, but not for me.  And now it hurts me how I can seem to say the words that truly express how I feel... I... I want my feelings to reach your heart, that you can feel a pinch of this emotion that I feel every time you speak to me, when you look at me, when you touch me."

"I… feel that even, even though I can't say them, those three words that aren't enough to express all that I feel for you.  That heat in my chest that suffocates me, intoxicates me and makes me immensely happy, that strange feeling that I knew… when I met you..."

"For so long I felt it, but I wasn't sure what that feeling was, because I had never felt it before.  Nopony had ever seen me as you do, nopony has cared about me like you do, nopony has made me feel like YOU make me feel … That feeling of wanting to give everything for somepony, that feeling that burns in my chest and that I can no longer bear to keep it just for myself … That feeling… That is my love!  Because I… Because I… I LOVE YOU!" Fluttershy screamed, finally being able to say the three words that she hadn't been able to pronounce, feeling liberated when saying them, which made the mare finally lose all iota of fear, thus managing to see Dusk full of determination, feeling that although she feared many things, what she no longer feared was her feelings for Dusk.





After Fluttershy spoke and shouted her declaration of love from the rooftops, Dusk froze, more surprised than he had ever been in his life.  Not only by what he had just heard, but by Fluttershy's attitude.  Dusk had never seen her so sure of herself, and he immediately understood the great courage that her shy friend had to have to declare herself in that way.

"Is... is this real?" Dusk whispered in surprise, while his low self-esteem tried to force him to believe that it was impossible that two of his beautiful friends had fallen in love with him.  Yet there was Fluttershy, staring at him, with her face blushed, but with a look full of determination and love.

"Why are you here!?  This is not where I left you!" Somepony shouted suddenly, approaching through the bushes until they reached Dusk.

Feeling a bit of deja-vu, Dusk turned to see who was approaching, and saw that a maid was approaching him again, only this time it was Sweet Crème rather than Sweet Caramel.  The unicorn reached Dusk and quickly activated her teleportation magic before Dusk could react.

"What!?" Dusk yelled in surprise, seeing that he had suddenly appeared in one of the halls of the castle. "Why did you bring me here!?" Dusk yelled in frustration, turning to see the maid, who, like her sister, didn't wait to answer Dusk and simply activated her magic again to disappear from there.

The same situation had occurred twice now, where he had been suddenly whisked away right after one of his friends had declared her romantic feelings for the colt.  Dusk lowered his confused gaze, full of frustration, breathing heavily while a whirlwind of emotions hit his chest.

"I need to get back to Fluttershy." Dusk whispered, thinking that his shy friend deserved a respond to her feelings after all the courage she had in declaring her love to him.  But, despite the fact that Dusk knew that he should give her an answer, his mind still didn't ask himself the most important question: What answer should he give?

As Dusk concentrated to teleport to return to the royal gardens, a pony suddenly touched his back, causing the unicorn to become distracted.

"Excuse me." The colt that had touched Dusk's back said, with a very elegant voice. "I'm looking for-" The colt added, who immediately fell silent as Dusk turned around and he recognized him.

"Prince Blueblood?" Dusk said, astonished to see who was speaking to him, and more so at hearing him speak so respectfully with him.  Something that had never happened in the few times they had seen each other in the castle when Dusk was studying there.

"Oh! It's you." Blueblood said reluctantly, putting aside all the formality he had previously used. "My mistake, I actually confused you for some noble-born pony.  It's incredible how the quality of guests at the Grand Galloping Gala has declined this year." Blueblood added with a pretentious smile, taking the opportunity to mock Dusk.

"Yeah… sure... did you want to ask me something... ‘Your Highness’?" Dusk asked, reluctantly adding the honorific at the end, since being surrounded by ponies of the nobility, Blueblood could make a fuss if he didn't treat him appropriately with his title.  It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

"It's nothing that concerns you.  I'm just looking for the love of my life." Blueblood replied, smiling as he remembered the mare who had stolen his heart.

"You’re in love?" Dusk asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.  It was known that Blueblood was a casanova, so he had never been engaged, and even more so, Dusk had never heard him speak of being in love before, ever.

"You wouldn't understand." Blueblood responded quickly in annoyance, guessing what Dusk must be thinking. "I've never fallen in love before, because the perfect mare never came before, but I finally found her.  I fell in love with a noble mare of enormous beauty, elegance and grace like no other.  Very different from the common town mares you live with today, as I've been told!"

“Hey!” the lavender colt shot back.  “I happen to be friends with some of those ‘common town mares’, and I would appreciate it if you treat them with a bit more respect!” Deep down, Dusk could help but get a bit fired up at how Blueblood was indirectly insulting those beautiful, kind and wonderful mares that he had grown to know and…well, love.

“You…with friends?  Ha!  Now I’ve hard everything!  Now if you’ll excuse me, commoner.”  Finally, Bluebood decided that it was unworthy to continue wasting his time on a pony who was only at that party at the request of the princess, unlike all the other celebrities and special ponies out there.  Then he went on his way while raising his voice and calling: 'Where are you, my beautiful muse?'

Once Blueblood was gone, Dusk lowered his head in frustration, but couldn’t help but give a sardonic smirk.  Since living so long among the friendly ponies of Ponyville, he almost forgot how unpleasant the noble ponies were to him.  He couldn’t help but give a dark chuckle at how, despite everything Blueblood told him, the prince was one of the kindest, when compared to the other nobles, who even looked at Dusk with disgust for not belonging to a noble family.

While Dusk's mind was distracted by his past, his mind suddenly forgot all that when his nose caught a very particular sweet aroma.

"I... recognize that perfume." Dusk whispered when he recognized a subtle but intoxicating fragrance that was in the air near him.

To better focus on his other senses, Dusk closed his eyes a little and walked down the hall where he felt the soft aroma grow stronger.  Until finally, Dusk came to a table with sandwich and ducked his head to see under the tablecloth.

"Rarity!?" Dusk said, surprised to see that his friend was sitting there, hidden under the tablecloth.

"Shh!" Rarity squealed with her hoof in her mouth to make Dusk shut up, and quickly motioned for him to come closer to her.

Thinking it strange, but not distrusting his friend at all, Dusk lifted the tablecloth and quickly hid next to Rarity, sitting next to her.

"Why are you hiding!?" Dusk asked, whispering so that no one would discover them there. "You were one of the most excited to come to the Grand Galloping Gala!  I thought you would be showing your beautiful dress and talking to the high-born ponies that come here."

"Yes well, my plans had to change a bit after I ran into a certain prince." Rarity said, a little embarrassed. "I think without realizing it... I made him fall in love with me."

"You were the 'muse' that Blueblood was looking for!?" Dusk asked even more astonished. "How did you make the greatest casanova in the kingdom fall in love with you?"

"I don't know!  It seems like he was used to being around mares that just did what he wanted, but I realized that for some reason, he began to force himself to try to be nice to me, and it seems that it caught his attention." Rarity replied with a shy smile.

"Huff... well, I guess I can’t really blame him. Who wouldn't fall in love with you?" Dusk said thought aloud, after seeing his friend smiling tenderly, as elegant and radiant as ever. Then Dusk realized that he had said that out loud, and quickly blushed. "W-Well, I mean, y-you're beautiful…. I-I'm sure any colt would be lucky to have you as a marefriend, hehe." Dusk added nervously, trying to disguise what he had just said.

Seeing Dusk blush after that compliment made Rarity smile even more and blush at the thought that she loved seeing Dusk's nervous face.

"So... what do you think about Prince Blueblood?" Rarity asked, looking away from Dusk and looking straight ahead, pretending not to care about that question. "Do you think he and I would make a nice couple?"

"Uh!? W-Well…" Dusk said, surprised at that question, then kept an awkward silence while he thought about what to answer, until he finally decided to be completely honest. "The truth is that Blueblood is a spoiled colt who only cares about social status.  However, I think deep down he's a good pony, and I'm sure if he were with such a wonderful mare like you, you'd even change that bad side of him.  Because that is one of your gifts: to see the inner beauty of all things, and to make shine what others would think is unpleasant... Besides, he is a prince, and I'm sure that he could give you a great life full of luxury and glamor.  And there is no mare that loves those things more and that continues to keep her generous soul intact than you.  So maybe… you both would make a good couple."  Dusk had trouble forcing himself to say the last thing about accepting to see Rarity as the marefriend of another colt, feeling a strange pain in his chest when he said that, which made Dusk have to look to the same side as Rarity.  He couldn't bear see her friend and imagine her in the hooves of another colt.

After listening to Dusk, Rarity smiled again, keeping her gaze fixed on the tablecloth just like Dusk, not daring to look at the colt sitting next to her. Then she sighed and blushed before speaking.

"Perhaps we would make a good couple.  He is the prince I always dreamed of since filly." Rarity said, smiling as she reminisced about her past. "The only problem is… I'm already in love."

Hearing that, Dusk felt his chest tighten even tighter, and although he tried to ask something, the fear of the answer when imagining Rarity with another colt, made Dusk remain silent.

"Honestly, I still don't understand it myself.  Unlike Blueblood, the colt I love isn't the typical handsome, muscular stallion that fillies dream of.  Rather, I'd say he's more cute and cuddly instead.  Besides, he's certainly not a perfect prince, in fact, he's far from perfect, hehe." Rarity said, blushing and giggling as she opened her heart.  "He's always making mistakes and puts on quite the goofy face when he's nervous.  But… it’s those same mistakes are what I love the most about him.  I love when he makes that silly and cute face when he's confused.  I love when he gets nervous and blushes up to his ears.  I love when he makes mistakes and struggles to fix them, I love his badly cut mane and his beautiful purple eyes, so intense and full of sincerity that make my heart tremble every time he looks me in the eye."

As Rarity spoke, Dusk began to realize who her friend might be talking about, but then his logical mind struggled to deny it.

"It's not you!  It's impossible!  A beautiful mare like Rarity would never notice somepony like you!" Dusk's low self-esteem screamed in his mind.  However, Dusk's heart, which was beating a thousand seconds, was fighting against that low self-esteem, and it made the colt finally stop looking at the tablecloth and turn to see his friend.

When Dusk turned around, he was amazed to see that Rarity had also turned around, and now she was looking at him with an intense gaze, with her fearful blue eyes as she finally opened up in front of the pony she loved.





"That colt…is you, Dusk.  With you, I finally discovered what true love was.  I… struggled so long to find love, so long that I even made serious mistakes that left a mark on my heart… And when that happened, I thought I could never love again.  Until that faithful day you arrived in Ponyville." Rarity said, looking more helpless than ever as she remembered her past, shaking a little as she held her own hooves to her chest. "Dusk, you have my heart and you'll have it forever.  I'm madly in love with you, and nothing in the world can ever change this beautiful new mark you have left on my heart."

As soon as Rarity finished speaking, she couldn't help it and had to wipe away the tears she had been holding back, and with how well Dusk knew his friend, he understood perfectly how emotional and vulnerable she felt at that moment.  Unlike Fluttershy, who was extremely shy on the outside but had great courage inside, Rarity was the exact opposite.  She displayed a trusty breastplate to hide the wound in her heart that a certain evil colt had caused her generating enormous inner insecurity.  Yet here she was in front of him, taking a risk and showing herself completely vulnerable, knowing that the colt before her had her absolute trust, and more importantly, her complete love.

"Rarity..." Dusk said, touched by the beautiful declaration of his friend.  However, Dusk couldn't say anything, since suddenly a hoof crossed the tablecloth that hid them and grabbed Dusk tightly.  For the third time that night, Dusk disappeared by magic, instantly appearing in another hall.

Dusk's confusion was enormous when he saw that, despite being hidden under a tablecloth, one of the maids, this time Sweet Caramel again, had touched him and activated the teleportation again without even asking him.

"Why are you doing this!?" Dusk said furiously, reaching to grab Sweet Caramel's dress before she fled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The red maned maid said, looking away to avoid seeing Dusk. "I left you in another place, you're the one who moved from where I left you." The annoyed maid added, taking off the hoof that Dusk had put on her, and using her teleportation again to get out of there.

After Sweet Caramel disappeared, Dusk lowered his head in frustration and then looked around.  He was again in another part of the castle, specifically in one of the small internal courtyards, quite far from the corridor where moments ago he had been talking to Rarity.

"No more distractions, I must fix this." Dusk said quickly, closing his eyes and focusing his magic to return to Rarity.

"Watch out!" A voice suddenly said from afar.

As soon as Dusk turned to see where the voice was coming from, it was too late. The owner of the voice collided with him and knocked him to the ground, both falling in the middle of a bush.

After the initial daze, Dusk opened his eyes and was surprised to see that the one who had collided with him was his friend Rainbow Dash, who was now standing on all fours above him to prevent Dusk from getting up, all while she looked back to where she had come flying from with concern.

"What are you-!?" Dusk asked, until Rainbow Dash quickly put a hoof in his mouth to shut him up.  Then the pegasus turned and poked her head a bit to see through the bush.

When he didn't get any answer, Dusk got up slowly, remaining in a sitting position like his friend, and slowly poked his head out of the bush along with the pegasus.  As Dusk watched, he was surprised to see that not far from there were two pegasi that he didn’t recognized. But that was the least of it, since both wore the indistinguishable uniform of the famous Wonderbolts, who seemed to be looking for something, but when they didn't find it, they snorted in annoyance and left the courtyard, returning to the inner corridors of the castle.

"Huff... Finally managed to lose them." Rainbow Dash said with a relieved sigh.

"You were running from the Wonderbolts!?" Dusk asked in amazement, not giving credit to what his friend said.  Then he approached his friend's face and put a hoof on her forehead. "Are you feeling okay?  Don't you have a fever?"

"Hey, quit it!!" Rainbow Dash said with a hot blush, quickly removing Dusk's hoof from her forehead and looking away.

"I'm sorry, it's just… why were you running away from the Wonderbolts?  Weren't they your idols?" Dusk asked confused.

"Yeah, they still are.  It's just that they wanted me to help them with a stunt but I… I needed to do something else." Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head and looking at Dusk out of the corner of her eye.  Her blush was still quite present on her face.

"They invited you to fly with them!?" Dusk asked in amazement. "What do you have to do so important that you refused to fly with your heroes?"

"Yeah, well... there were more important things, and... well... you know..." Rainbow Dash stuttered out in embarrassment. "I had to meet with this pony because… you know, sometimes there are things that… and then I… needed to say… you know…" Rainbow Dash added, more nervous than she had ever been.

"Sorry, I don't understand you." Dusk said with a nervous smile, noticing that Rainbow Dash's speech was going nowhere and was full of gaps.

At Dusk's response, Rainbow Dash blushed even more and put on an angry look, covering her face with her hoof.

"Ugh! Why does it have to be so difficult…" Rainbow Dash growled, pulling her hoof off her face and looking at Dusk again. "I’m Rainbow freaking Dash!  This should be so complicated!  You... you're clumsy, and an egghead, but... but that's okay, because you're great, and I... I don't dislike ponies like you." The pegasus said, looking seriously at Dusk.

"Uh… yeah, I don't dislike you either.  I thought that's why we were friends, because we liked each other even though we’re kind of different." Dusk said, raising an eyebrow in confusion, finding it strange that Rainbow Dash doubted their friendship at a time like that.

"I-I already know that!  But... But I don't want to be your friend!" Rainbow Dash said, smiling victoriously.

At that latter sentence, Dusk felt as if a vacuum had been generated in his stomach, feeling a huge depression that was reflected in his face.  And only when Rainbow Dash saw Dusk's sad face did she realize that he had misunderstood what she wanted to ask of him.

"N-No! No! It's not that I don't like you!  I want to be your friend!" Rainbow Dash corrected, scared and getting even more nervous, prompting her to give a speech full of gaps. "I want to continue being your friend, but… you know, this happened… and I feel like this… and we… Ugh!  I can't do it!" Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration, hitting the ground angrily with her hoof.

"If you don't want me to be your friend, I think I'd better go." Dusk murmered, since he didn't understand what his friend wanted to say to him, and he was still not sure if she wanted to be his friend or not.

"Stop! I know what you're thinking!" Rainbow Dash quickly ordered, before Dusk even moved a hoof to get up from where he was.  Then she stared at him, forgetting for a second her embarrassment and postponing her declaration. "Look at me in the eyes!  Who is the most loyal pony you know?  Do you think I would abandon a friend?" she asked seriously.

At Rainbow Dash's words, Dusk widened his eyes, and understood his mistake.

"You’re... You're right, you would never abandon me." Dusk said smiling, remembering who he was talking to. "You're Rainbow Dash, you never abandon anypony, especially your friends.  I'm sorry I got confused, it's just… that sometimes I have a hard time understanding how such a brave, self-confident, loyal and reliable mare can be friends with somepony like me, haha." Dusk added, taking the opportunity to flatter his incredible friend a bit.

"And cool!  Don't forget how cool I am." Rainbow Dash added with her chest swollen with pride, blushing a little at Dusk's flattery.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll never forget how cool you are." the colt said, rolling his eyes at the characteristic 'great humility' of his friend.  "But then, if you don't want to stop being my friend, why did you say that?" Dusk asked, remembering that everything had been caused by what the pegasus herself had said.

"Uh… I… was confused… t-that's it." Rainbow Dash said nervously, looking away while putting on a goofy smile while trying to give a nonchalant laugh.

While his friend laughed nervously, Dusk widened his eyes when he remembered that he had to do something very important: go back and talk to his other friends.

"Well, then, excuse me, I think I should go.  There is something important that I have to go do." Dusk said seriously, drastically changing his gaze and turning to stand up.

Seeing that Dusk was leaving and that she was going to miss her big opportunity, Rainbow Dash started cursing herself in her head for being so clumsy and getting so nervous expressing her feelings. While her life was full of daring feats, expressing her romantic feeling felt like one of the most challenging experience in her life.   However, when she saw that Dusk was going to stand up, her body acted on instinct and launched herself to hug Dusk from behind, resting her head on his back, to prevent him from standing up and leaving.

"Please don't go... I have something important to do too." Rainbow Dash whispered in a soft voice, red with embarrassment as she rested her head on Dusk's back.  However, not having to meet his eyes finally made her able to speak without getting so nervous.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Dusk stuttered in surprise, looking back and only reaching to see his friend's colorful rainbow mane. Out of all his friends, Dusk never thought that he would ever feel that Rainbow Dash would hug him like that.

"I'm pathetic, aren’t I?  Just a few moments ago you were saying how brave I am, but the truth is that… right now I'm so scared that I can't even look at your face." Rainbow Dash said slowly. "Dusk... I love you."





Hearing that, Dusk again turned pale upon hearing that declaration, but despite his surprise, his heart quickly recovered and began to beat wildly upon hearing those three beautiful words.

"Don't you remember? She had already told you this once… It's a joke!" A voice screamed in Dusk's mind, reminding him of that time in the Running of the Leaves, when Rainbow Dash tricked him to distract him.  However, while thinking about that, Dusk looked down and could see how Rainbow Dash's hooves were trembling with fear, then he felt the heat of Rainbow Dash's face on his back and her nervous gasping breath, a genuine show of true emotion.. "What if... that time was not a joke?" Dusk thought as his heart struggled to accept and feel worthy of such feelings of love.

"I… always wanted to show myself as a cool mare who’s not interested in that thing called love.  But… no matter how hard I tried; my heart can no longer deny it." Rainbow Dash said, breathing hard as she finally told the colt how she really felt about him. "Dusk… I think of you before I go to sleep.  And when I wake up in the morning, you're the first thing I think of.  And every time I feel lonely, just remembering your smile makes me feel better, and I… I told you that I didn't want to be your friend because… Because I want to be more than that!" Rainbow Dash added, yelling at the end, sticking her head out of Dusk's back, causing Dusk to fall backwards onto the grass.  The prismatic mare then got on top of the lavender colt and got face to face with him.

When Dusk fell to the ground and looked up, he could finally see the face of his friend, who was looking at him intensely with her beautiful magenta eyes, with her blushed cheeks, a shy look, so close that he could feel the warm breath of her agitated breathing.

"Dusk, I love you!" Rainbow Dash said, staring at her crush. "I love you, I love you, I love you!  I don't want to hide it anymore, I don't care if they call me sappy, if with that... I get you to see me as a mare and you can feel even a little of all the love I feel for you." Rainbow Dash said, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she was finally able to say what her heart was screaming this whole time. 

While Dusk was staring back in amazement, feeling again a swirl of emotions in his heart, Rainbow Dash stared at him, fearful of the answer that would come now.  She had gambled everything, and now her fragile heart feared the answer that would come. Then Dusk, with his heart beating at its maximum capacity, acted according to what his own heart dictated, and slowly raised a hoof to touch the soft cheek of the pegasus and feel her warmth. Every iota in his body then told him to try and close the distance between the two of them.

In that instant, Rainbow Dash was distracted and looked up when she heard somepony pass through the bush behind which they were hiding. Then Dusk raised his eyes too, and all he saw was a huge flash, and when he blinked for the second time, he saw that he was once again inside one of the castle halls.

Knowing what had happened, Dusk jumped up and searched for the culprit, whom had teleported him again. That's when Dusk saw that this time it had been the blue maned maid, Sweet Creme, who had interrupted his moment with his friend.

As Dusk saw Sweet Creme, he saw that she had a distressed look, but that didn't worry him, since he realized that her horn was lighting up to leave again.  At that, Dusk immediately thought of grabbing her to interrupt her spell, however, he realized that he shouldn't make the same mistake again, and he should prioritize going back to his friend.  So, as soon as Sweet Creme disappeared, Dusk did the same, and activated his magic to teleport back to Rainbow Dash... And at that precise moment, Dusk felt a strange pressure over him.

"Somepony... Somepony blocked my magic?" Dusk whispered in surprise, realizing that that brief but intense pressure had caused his teleportation spell to be canceled, leaving Dusk stunned. "Who could do something like that?"

Dusk turned to look around and discovered that there was no one close enough to have done something like that.  In fact, now that he could see well the room where he was, he was struck by the fact that that hall was empty, even more so since this was the castle's ballroom, which, since it was the Grand Galloping Gala, should be full of guests.

While Dusk wondered where everyone was, from the back of the hall a well-known figure appeared, a pink mare that walked slowly towards him.

"Pinkie Pie?" Dusk asked confused, after seeing that his friend was the only one in that room. "Why are you alone here?"

"I'm not alone, silly." Pinkie Pie replied, smiling tenderly as she blushed and took Dusk's hoof to invite him to dance. "I'm with you.  But enough about that.  Shall we…dance?"

Without waiting for an answer, Pinkie Pie began to dance an elegant waltz with Dusk, who just out of inertia got carried away, surprised by what Pinkie was doing.  Dusk had seen Pinkie Pie dance many times, however he never believed that she would know how to dance a slow ballroom dance.  Something he was well accustomed to thanks to his etiquette classes when he lived in the castle. For the next couple of minutes, they both danced elegantly in circles, to the sound of soft classical music.

"Music? "Dusk thought, who a little late noticed that there was music in the room. Then he looked to the center stage, where he checked that the orchestra was playing music. "How strange... I could have sworn that there was no one in the room until a moment ago..." Dusk thought confused.

As Dusk went with the flow, dancing with his friend, he looked at her carefully.  Along with the empty ballroom and orchestra nowhere to be seen, there was something else that was bothering him.  Pinkie Pie had remained silent throughout their dance, with her eyes closed and a smile small.  The pink pony looked so elegant and calmer than Dusk had ever seen her.

Finally, the orchestra finished its song and Pinkie stopped dancing.  She separated a little from Dusk, and made a small bow, as was traditionally done in those types of ballroom dances.

"What say you, Mr. Dusk?  Did you enjoy our dance?” Pinkie Pie asked, with a small and very calm smile, showing her elegance and refinement.

“Um…the dance was…nice, I guess.  Though I have to admit, but it didn’t exactly feel right.” Dusk explained with an awkward smile.  The Pinkie Pie I know wouldn’t be the biggest fan of these fancy ballroom dances. She would want to be the life of the party and dance around wildly.  I definitely know some here that would think that kind of partying a disturbance, but I know the real Pinkie Pie wouldn’t care about nonsense like that.  I also know that she definitely wouldn’t want to dance all alone in a dark room.  She would want to invite as many ponies as she could so that as many ponies as possible could be having fun and laughing together.  So, that’s the Pinkie Pie I know, and it’s also the Pinkie Pie I would like to dance with.

Upon hearing Dusk's words, Pinkie Pie began to drop her calm facade and her big and characteristic smile began to spread on her blushing face.  She had heard precisely what she expected to hear, yet she just wanted to verify that that cute colt was indeed the one who knew her best.

At that instant, Pinkie Pie looked towards the orchestra and gave a great whistle. Then the ponies in the orchestra nodded and radically changed the style of music they were playing, beginning to play a much more upbeat and rhythmic melody in contrast from the graceful slow ballroom music they had been playing seconds ago.  And to the sound of that festive music, dozens of ponies, who had been hidden behind the tables, waiting for that signal, came out of their hiding place and quickly filled the ballroom, before Dusk's astonished gaze.

"One, Two, Three, Go!" Pinkie Pie yelled as cheerful as ever, giving the signal to all the other ponies to start the real show.

With the absolute certainty that they were following the advice of 'the councilor of the princess', all the refined ponies of the room began to dance among themselves, following the instructions that the pink pony had indicated.  Each one dancing with their respective partner, but as the music progressed, they began to mingle with other couples and perform a highly coordinated dance.

"~ What do I feel?  I’d like to know ~ What is this emotion? That I can't contain ~" Pinkie Pie began to sing happily, dancing in the middle of the room, following the joyous melody of the music. "~ His gaze makes me smile, his lips make me dream ~ His kisses make me feel, and my soul can’t stop trembling ~"

"~ Oh! Oh! Uh! Oh! ~ What will it be? ~ Oh! Oh! Uh! Oh! ~ What will it be? ~" Everyone in the room sang in chorus, little by little cheering up at the fun show they were putting on.

"~ With a small gesture we met ~ With a look we liked each other ~ With a hug we loved each other ~ With a kiss we fell in love. ~" Pinkie Pie sang with a blush, grabbing Dusk by the hooves to accompany her to the dance.

While Pinkie danced with Dusk, everypony in the room made way for them and continued to sing the chorus of the song, smiling and dancing more and more joyfully, not only dancing to believe that they would please 'the councilor of the princess', but because they really enjoyed it.  Pinkie led Dusk to the stage, and to Dusk's surprise, the ponies that were next to them lifted them between their hooves and left them on the stage, next to the orchestra.

The orchestra began to play more animatedly while the other ponies in the room, following the choreography they had rehearsed, began making figures in the lounge as they danced and threw streamers and confetti, making a great show that Dusk never thought he'd see in the castle, much less from those boring sophisticated ponies, which made Dusk even more astonished at the enormous positive influence his friend had on others.

As Dusk looked at his cheerful friend with wonderous eyes, Pinkie Pie blushed and continued with the second verse of her song.

"~ What do I feel?  I’d like to know ~ What is this emotion? That I can't contain ~" Pinkie continued singing, getting more and more excited. "~ At last I have your friendship, but now I'm looking for more ~ This is the truth, and I'll never deny it ~"

"~ A feeling that reaches the stars ~ An emotion that surpasses the above ~ I would like to be your lady for today ~ And that when you hear it, don't feel fear ~" Pinkie Pie sang, standing in front of Dusk and stopping dancing. "~ What do I feel?  I'll say it with courage ~ What is this emotion?  This is called LOVE ~" Pinkie Pie sang, ending the second verse, which was the signal to all the dancers that the song ended, without them knowing that there was a hidden third final stanza.

With Pinkie Pie's cry of love, the pink pony pulled the curtain off the stage, causing only her and Dusk to remain behind the curtain.  And as the orchestra finished its melody, and all the ponies on the other side of the room laughed and congratulated each other for having achieved such a beautiful show, Pinkie Pie and Dusk froze, looking at each other in silence, completely blushing.

After a few seconds, Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to sing the last verse, but at the last second she realized something important, and decided to make a sudden change of plans.

"Dusk, I don't want you to think that this is just one of my random song, or that you believe... that this is just another of my shenanigans." Pinkie Pie said shyly, looking at Dusk tenderly. "Everything I sang was real, every word.  And I did this, because that's how I am.  This is the best way to express what I feel, because what I feel for you is so great that I want to share this happiness with everypony and let them know how happy that makes me to be with you."

"I knew it a long time ago, and I wanted to tell you since then, but I didn't say it because… I was afraid of what might happen when I said it… But not anymore!  Just like we talked about yesterday, I want to live my life to the fullest!  And for that, I want the colt I love to be by my side. The colt that knows me better than anypony.  The colt that laughed and suffered with me.  The one pony that even saw me cry, but still saw me as the pony that loves to spread happiness to others.  That colt is you, Dusk!  Nopony but you makes my heart go wild every time I see you, nopony but you makes me feel so safe and so happy.  I know that’s what love is supposed to be, and I… I want to share it with you and… and always be by your side loving you." Pinkie Pie finished speaking, breathing heavily as she felt a mixture of fear and joy after finally declaring her love.





With Pinkie Pie's love declaration, Dusk was again stunned.  Not in his wildest dream could he have imagined one of his friends declaring herself in such a romantic way as her friends had done that night, making enormous efforts and having enormous courage to do what they did.  And yet what really made his brain short-circuit was that all five of his best friends had confessed to him on the same night!

While Dusk thought about everything that happen, it was that he remembered that this time he had to avoid letting one of the maids teleport him away at all costs before he could speak.  So, Dusk quickly turned and looked around, the magic of his horn on guard, thinking that he would avoid being transported again.  However, this time neither of the two maids appeared nearby, there was just him, Pinkie Pie, and a dozen pony heads that surprisingly peeked out from behind the curtain.

Seeing that he and Pinkie surprisingly had spectators, Dusk stared confusingly to the sides of the curtain.  The ponies in the room, who had helped Pinkie Pie's declaration of love, had finally peeked out after seeing that the pair followed behind the curtain, wanting to know if the love declaration had managed to make that colt fall in love.

When Dusk saw the curtain, he saw that only a dozen ponies had peeked out to spy, but with each passing second, the number increased exponentially.  It seemed that everypony was curious as to what happened with the declaration.

"Watch out!" Dusk suddenly yelled, noticing that the ever-increasing number of ponies grabbing onto the curtain had caused it to tremble.

The huge curtain then ripped from the ceiling and fell on top of all the ponies that were on stage: Pinkie, Dusk, the orchestra, and all those who were spying on the couple, causing a huge disaster in the room, with screams of fear and surprise when seeing that everyone had been trapped under the great curtain.

A few minutes earlier, with all the noise caused by the chorus song and the choreography arranged by Pinkie Pie in the ballroom, it made the ballroom catch the attention and curiosity of everypony in the castle because of how loud it was.  So, the great majority of the guests, servants and guards of the castle had approached the great ballroom to observe what was happening.  And everypony was shocked and scared to see the uproar caused on stage by the fall of the great curtain.

"Is that Dusk!?" Applejack said in surprise, who had come to the room out of curiosity, and now she saw Dusk, who had been the first to come out from under the fallen curtain.

"There’s Miss Applejack!" Fancy Pants said enthusiastically, rushing to secure her promising apple candy business.

"Not this time, Fancy!  She'll do business with me!" Another of the wealthy stallions shouted, who, along with other ponies, ran to try to catch up with Applejack and be the first to close the deal.

Seeing the business ponies desperately running towards her, Applejack freaked out and ran over to where she had seen Dusk was, causing even more noise and disorder in the great ballroom.

"I already told you I'm busy!  I need to find Dusk!" Rainbow Dash yelled suddenly, flying into the ballroom.

"There’s no time!  We promised we'd end the show with your Sonic Rainboom!" Spitfire yelled angrily, flying as fast as Rainbow Dash as she flew into the room with Soarin.

With the three pegasi speeding through the room, their swift flight brought with it a great gust of wind that sent the hats of the other ponies in the room flying through the air, as did the snacks on the tables, causing even more clutter over the already chaotic ballroom.

"What is all this ruckus?" Rarity said in surprise upon reaching the ballroom.

"There you are!  My dear Rarity!  My true love!" Prince Bleublood shouted from across the room, seeing that he finally found the mare he longed for. "Guards!  Make way for me to my muse!" Blueblood commanded a few guards there, since the crowd of ponies would make it difficult to advance.

As the guards reluctantly began to advance with Blueblood, another growing rumor began to grow in the ballroom, that of dozens of young mares of the nobility who dreamed of being the lover of Prince Blueblood, and who had just heard that he had shouted that he was already in love.

"Who is that mare!?  I'm prettier!  Look at me, Prince Blueblood!" Several mares began to shout, causing more noise and disorder as they tried to approach Blueblood to demand an explanation, as the guards tried to advance in the squabble.

For her part, Rarity began to flee again when she saw that Blueblood had found her.  However, a few other mares who had managed to see that SHE was the mare that Blueblood was looking for, began to corner her and pressure her, demanding to know how it is that that mare had dared to fall in love with the most sought-after colt in all of Equestria.

Suddenly, just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any more chaotic, the whole room began to shake slowly, increasing more and more, until suddenly the door that led to the royal gardens were thrown open, and a frightened yellow pegasus entered.

"Please! Don't follow me anymore!  I really must be going!" Fluttershy screamed back, crying with grief, just as the shaking reached its maximum expression, and a herd of different animals stampeded into the room, all looking to catch the sweet pegasus.

As the animals entered the room, they all marveled at all the food and sandwiches that had fallen from the tables as a result of chaos.  Then the animals ran everywhere, trying to eat those delicious delicacies they weren't used to.

With the entrance of the animals to the room, the elegant ponies couldn't bear it any longer and they all began to run like mad because no one would have ever imagined even in their worst nightmares that in the middle of Canterlot Castle, at the most elegant party of the year, in the presence of Princess Celestia herself, such chaos could occur.

With the desperate cries of dozens of ponies, one of the last ponies entering the hall was Celestia, who couldn't bear the curiosity anymore when hearing all that noise.  As soon as she saw the scene before her eyes, with the smashed stage and dozens of ponies under a curtain, Blueblood trying to give orders to the guards, some business ponies almost about to hit each other while arguing, the Wonderbolts flying around the room trying to fix the damage caused, and all the garden animals running around the room... the only thing that Celestia inevitably did was cover her mouth to avoid laughing.  Never in her more than a thousand years of reign had she seen a Gala so chaotic and fun like that. And as she looked around the room, Celestia couldn't help noticing that precisely in the middle of the room was her beloved Dusk Shine, completely paralyzed and pale upon seeing the disaster that, Celestia guessed, he had caused in one way or another.

"Dusk always told me in his letters that the parties in Ponyville were a bit crazy... But I never thought they were at this level." Celestia said speaking to herself, still struggling not to laugh at what she saw. "I wonder what happened..."

"I think it's all due... to a declaration of love." Sweet Creme, Celestia's personal maid, said suddenly. Who upon seeing her princess move towards the ballroom, quickly followed her. "Actually, to be more specific... five declarations of love."

After Celestia raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the maid was referring to, Sweet Creme quickly proceeded to tell her what had happened, about how Dusk Shine's five friends had declared their love for him at the same time.  Although in the story, the maid omitted the participation that she and her twin sister had had in all that.

"Enough!" a guard yelled suddenly in an authoritative voice.  It was a white unicorn with blue mane.  As soon as that guard entered the ballroom and yelled, everypony in the hall, including the other guards, froze and fell silent at his commanding voice. "Who is responsible for this!?" Shining Armor, the young captain of the royal guard, yelled.

Upon hearing the question, dozens of hooves stood up pointing out different culprits, however, the keen eye of the captain of the guard noted that the accusations were mainly focused on six ponies: A yellow pegasus with a shy look, an orange mare with a graceful cowboy-style dress, a rainbow-maned pegasus, a white unicorn with a well-combed purple mane, a pink mare that just came out from under the great curtain very dizzy, and...

"Well, time to step in, I suppose." Celestia muttered, swiftly activating her magic just as Shining Armor turned his gaze towards Dusk Shine.

In an instant, the six ponies to which all pointed in the ballroom disappeared with a huge flash, along with the princess herself. And at that very moment, in a café specialized in selling donuts not far from the castle, the seven ponies appeared, to the absolute surprise of the café owner.

"The usual, Donut Joe." Celestia said calmly as if nothing had happened, walking towards the bar and away from the six ponies that were still static, fearing even to move.

"R-Right away, princess." Donut Joe said quickly, the stallion who owned the place where Princess Celestia always went at night to get a donut when she was craving something sweet and didn't want to disturb the royal cooks, something that was already routine for him.  What was not routine for Joe was that the princess had shown up with six more ponies, and just when the princess was supposed to be at the Grand Galloping Gala.

"P-Princess... did you teleport us?" Dusk finally asked shyly, after coming out of his stupor.

"That's right.  I think it was for the best.  I didn't want some malicious journalist to photograph you and accuse all of you of ruining the Grand Galloping Gala." Celestia said without turning to see Dusk, just sitting at the bar and concentrating on the delicious plate of donuts that Joe put in front of her.

"W-We ruined the Gala..." Dusk said slowly, remembering the chaos of the ballroom and feeling enormously embarrassed before his teacher.

"Dear Dusk, of course you didn't ruin it.  In fact, I'd say it's the funniest Gala I've ever been to!" Celestia said trying her first donut and turning to smile at Dusk. "But you know how tabloid newspapers are, they always exaggerate things."

Despite the princess's smile, Dusk only lowered his gaze sadly, knowing that not everypony had the particular sense of humor of his teacher, and that surely many ponies would hate him even more for ruining their sophisticated party.  And worse of all, his own older brother had arrived and had seen the disaster that he and his friends had caused, although Dusk wasn't sure if Shining caught sight of him or not before the princess used her magic.

"Don't worry yourself about what others might say about what happened." Celestia spoke again as she ate a second donut, but this time with a more serious look as she pointed her gaze at Dusk to look back. "I think you have something much more important to worry about right now." Celestia added.  Without Dusk knowing it, THAT was the real reason why she had also teleported with Dusk, since she didn't want to miss that moment.  No matter how it turned out, he alicorn knew that she could not miss seeing such a special moment for her little colt.

With the gesture of Celestia, Dusk looked back where were his five friends, who looked among them with looks embarrassed by the chaos they had caused.  However, when they noticed that Dusk was seeing them, the five of them stared at him and blushed.

This was the first time they had seen each other face to face since each one had confessed to Dusk, and although no one spoke, the five mares had the same question on their minds: 'I already declared my feelings to Dusk, now... What will happen?' And that was something that Dusk was very clear about, he had to give an answer to their feelings.

"But… what should I answer!?" Dusk thought, turning pale with fear and confusion, because, no matter how much he thought, there was no correct answer. "If I answer that I'm not sure what I feel, it would be a lie and it would hurt them… Because the truth is that I do feel something every time I see them, but… if I say that I feel something for all of them, I would be acting like the most shameless colt of the world!  And if I only chose one, I would never be able to look the others in the face again by betraying their feelings... And if I said that I don't want to be with any of them, it would be the coward's exit and it would be like making fun of them after the courage they had for declare. No… There’s no correct answer!!" Dusk thought, breathing heavily, analyzing every possible answer and realizing that there was no logical path in which everypony would end up happy.

While Dusk thought and began to panic, looking for a way to the correct answer, in which he didn't hurt anyone's feelings, he looked his friends in the eye.  Despite seeing that they were just as fearful as he about what might happen, Dusk also felt the enormous love they felt for him.

"Everything led us to this moment, I… I love them all." Dusk thought slowly, calming down as he looked at his friends.

Every time his eyes met those of his friends, Dusk remembered all the moments that lived with each of them.  The happy moments, tense moments, awkward moments, sad moments... Every experience recorded in Dusk’s heart, each moment had brought them closer to each one, forge a powerful bond that went beyond mere friendship.  Now they all knew each other like no other pony knew them, and what was more important, they complemented each other. Now, Dusk realized that each of them formed such an important part of his life that he couldn't live without any of them... Dusk could no longer live without seeing the beautiful figure of Rainbow Dash, nor could he live without feeling Pinkie Pie's warm hugs, nor could he live without feeling the sweet aroma of Applejack, nor could he live without seeing Fluttershy's beautiful eyes, nor could he live without hearing Rarity's melodious voice… But, no matter how wonderful the five were, Dusk knew that one decision had to be made.

"I don't know if it's the right thing to do, I don't know if I'm going to hurt someone with what I'll say, but… for the first time, I'll be honest with what I feel." Dusk thought, closing his eyes tightly.

"I..." Dusk said finally, blushing and getting more nervous than he had ever been. Then Dusk gasped and realized again the great courage that his friends had to have to be able to declare their love, but now, it was his turn. "I...!"

'Clink! Clink!' The front door bells rang as the cafe door opened.

"Dusk! At last, I found you!" A mare's voice shouted excitedly from the door.

They were all so immersed in what Dusk was about to say that it was difficult for all of them to turn to see who had interrupted this important moment.  Dusk was the last one to see who had opened the door.  However, his eyes went wide as dinner plates and his face turned pale as he saw one of the ghosts of his past in the doorway.

Without waiting for an answer, the mare that opened the door rushed forward quickly, like red and yellow lightning, crossed the cafe and pounced on Dusk to hug him, who for his part was so surprised and incredulous at what he saw that he lost strength on his hooves and fell to the floor with the mare on him as she was hugging him.

"I finally returned to Equestria... You don't know how long I waited for this moment." The new mare said with a big smile, while Dusk continued with his pale and scared face.

"W-Who are you?" Rainbow Dash asked, being the first to react.  Like her other friends, she was paralyzed and confused when she saw that unknown mare jumping on Dusk Shine.

Only upon hearing the question the unknown mare averted her eyes from Dusk and gave a brief but cold look at Rainbow Dash and to other mares.  Then she slowly got up and smiled kindly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself." The mare answered.  She was a unicorn with yellow fur, red and gold mane, and a cutie mark of a red and yellow sun. "My name is... Sunset Shimmer." The mare said smiling.





Upon hearing the name of the unknown mare, Dusk's friends kept their perplexed looks, because that name didn't explain anything, and they thought that at least that mare would explain to them why she had thrown herself to hug Dusk with such confidence.  However, after saying her name, Sunset Shimmer didn't say anything else. She just kept smiling.

"But, why did you-?" Rainbow Dash asked again after a long silence, being interrupted by the yellow unicorn before finishing her question.

"And I..." Sunset Shimmer said, having fallen silent to purposefully interrupt Rainbow Dash when she spoke.  Then she radically changed her smile, replacing her kind smile with a more arrogant one. "…am Dusk Shine's fiancee." Sunset Shimmer added, looking defiantly at the five mares in front of her.

A long and tense silence hung in the air after hearing those words, with the yellow unicorn smiling maliciously while Dusk stayed under her, still pale when he saw that mare, the same pallor that Dusk's five friends now had after hearing the declaration of the unknown mare.

"Wow... I didn't expect that..." Celestia whispered, just as surprised as everypony.

In the distance, the castle bells were ringing to end the Grand Galloping Gala.  And just as if it were a fairy tale, it seemed that those bells also announced the end of the fantasy of Dusk Shine.  Whose mind was still in shock he realized that from that moment on, nothing would be the same.

End of chapter 55


~ END OF SEASON ~

> Interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Interlude 1 – The arrival


With the distinctive sound of the brakes, the last train of the day finally arrived at Canterlot station.  It was already night, something that wasn't common for that train to arrive at that time.  But today was special, because the most prestigious celebration in Equestria was being held: The Grand Galloping Gala.  So that day train traffic was increasing due to guests from all over Equestria.

The last train had started its journey two days earlier, departing from the distant regions to the South of Equestria.  Being one of the longest journeys by train, normally the passengers who boarded it got on at some station and got off at two or three subsequent stations.  However, this time, a passenger had stayed on the train from the first station, from those distant lands, until she reached the last station in Canterlot.

"Finally... I hate train rides so much..." Sunset Shimmer said sullenly, slowly getting off the train as she levitated a dirty old travel bag.  Then she looked up and saw that it was already dark, which made her grumpier. "If the train hadn't stopped in that small town, we would have arrived much earlier… Trains shouldn't stop in such insignificant towns as that!" The unicorn growled, annoyed to remember that the train in which she was traveling had stopped in a small town called Ponyville to pick up a package.

Deciding that she couldn't continue in a bad mood, since after all she had finally returned to the capital of the kingdom, Sunset Shimmer breathed deeply to soak herself with the night air from her home city.  With a small smile full of confidence, she started walking to enter the city, always keeping in mind her objective, the real reason why she had returned to the capital.

As she walked the streets of Canterlot, Sunset stared at all the buildings around her with distaste, noting how little they had changed in ten years since she last saw them, and thinking that if she were on the throne, she would make sure that Canterlot was the most modern city in the kingdom.

After turning a corner, Sunset smiled when she recognized one of the main streets, since she herself had used that path many times in her childhood to go to the castle.  At that memory, Sunset looked up and saw that not far from there was the entrance to the castle.  Although her objective was precisely in the castle and she wanted to get there as soon as possible, a feeling of nostalgia made her turn to look towards a side street, because that path was the one she took when she returned from the castle in her childhood.

Erasing her smile and putting on a serious look, Sunset slowly changed direction and walked down that side street.  She walked lost in thought, not paying attention to any pony that crossed her side, until she came to a huge and dark building whose entrance sign read 'Orphanage'.  There, Sunset stopped for a few seconds with an expressionless look and returned her gaze to the road and continued walking.

Finally, Sunset came to a huge tower-shaped house with the doors and windows boarded up from being abandoned for several years, giving the tower a very gloomy appearance.  Undeterred, Sunset activated her magic, and without much magical effort she tore the door open to enter.  Once inside, she walked slowly through the house, paying no attention to any of the objects around.  Then she went upstairs until a small, dark room that was sparsely decorated and with a very battered bed.

Once there, Sunset activated her magic again and broke some boards on the floor until she found what she was looking for, a small hidden box.  She levitated the box, opened it, and smiled to see that its contents were intact. Then Sunset put the box in her saddlebag and went back down the stairs of the tower.  However, when she was about to leave the house, Sunset stopped for a moment and looked around while remembering part of her past, then she levitated one of the picture frames that hung there, and she saw the photo that was there.

"So many memories..." Sunset Shimmer said with a wistful smile.

Then she dropped the frame, causing the glass to break as it fell. With an insensitive look, she used her magic to set fire to all the photos that were there. And as the fire began to consume the main hall, Sunset calmly left the house with a satisfied smile.

The nostalgic trip had taken longer than she had thought, but finally Sunset got to where she wanted, the entrance to the great castle of Canterlot.  And even though it was late at night, the Grand Gala was not over yet, so she could still find the pony she wanted so badly to see.

"I guess I'll stand out a bit for not wearing a ball gown." Sunset thought with a smile as she approached the main entrance of the castle, remembering that she had never actually worn a ball gown in her entire life.

"Where do you think you are going?" The guard at the entrance suddenly asked, stepping forward to prevent the mare from entering, annoyed to see that this unknown mare intended to enter the castle as if nothing else. "I need to see your invitation."

"I have no invitation." Sunset replied unfazed, just staring at the guard with a cold gaze.

"Without an invitation, you cannot enter." The guard replied, instinctively on guard against such an aggressive look.

Sunset narrowed her eyes and was silent for a second.  Then she slightly illuminated her horn, which immediately alerted the guard, who took a spear from his side and illuminated his horn as well.

"Are you challenging me!?" The guard asked irritably, glaring at that unknown mare for provoking him.

"Of course not." Sunset replied, looking away and sighing, as her horn lit up with a great flash.

As soon as Sunset's horn lit up, the guard's defensive magic activated instantly, but to the total surprise of the guard, it was as if his magic had never been activated... The magic level difference was too great, and the guard fell unconscious to the instant.

" You aren’t even a challenge..." Sunset Shimmer added, stepping past the unconscious guard and calmly entering the castle.

Once inside the castle, Sunset's gaze immediately went to the main stairs of the great hall, at the top of which was Princess Celestia, greeting several ponies that were still in line waiting for her greeting.  As soon as Sunset saw the princess, she narrowed her eyes and slowly made her way up the stairs to where she was.

As she went upstairs, a great commotion was heard in one of the nearby halls, causing all the ponies in line to look curiously at where the sound was coming from, including Sunset Shimmer and Celestia.  With a confused look, Celestia apologized to the pony that was about to say hello and withdrew to investigate what was causing all the fuss.  And seeing the princess retreat, Sunset gave a thoughtful look for a moment and decided to follow her stealthily.

Once Celestia reached the ballroom, she saw all the chaos there, with ponies running in terror everywhere while others fought and argued and the animals from the royal garden invaded the hall.  And as Celestia watched the strange sight, a few steps back, Sunset Shimmer put on the same look of astonishment as the princess when she saw the mess that was the great ballroom of the castle.

"Dusk always told me in his letters that the parties in Ponyville were a bit crazy... But I never thought they were at this level." Celestia said, speaking to herself. And as soon as Sunset heard the princess speak of 'Dusk', she immediately used a spell to amplify the sound in front of her to not miss anything the princess spoke while keeping herself hidden. "I wonder what happened..." Celestia added thoughtfully.

"I think it's all due... to a declaration of love. Actually, to be more specific... five declarations of love." Sweet Creme suddenly said, Celestia's personal maid, whom Sunset remembered seeing before many years ago.

As the maid explained to Princess Celestia what had happened, Sunset Shimmer's eyes widened in terror and amazement at what she heard.  This was something that Sunset didn't expect at all upon her arrival in Canterlot.  She expected to meet Dusk Shine, but it seemed that five mares had come to declare to Dusk their love this very night.  This threw off all of the plans she had made, and she hated it when something didn’t go according to plan...

While Sunset was still processing all of this new information in shock, she only came back to reality when she felt Princess Celestia's magic kick in.  Then Sunset watched as the princess teleported along with Dusk and some mares, which Sunset quickly guessed must be the five mares that had declared to him.

After Princess Celestia disappeared, Sweet Creme lowered her eyes in regret.  She had told the princess what happened, but still, she hadn't told her everything, and that made her feel very guilty.  But, even if she wanted to tell her beloved princess the whole truth, she simply couldn't.

"Where did Celestia go?" A voice asked suddenly, causing the maid to snap out of her sad thoughts of guilt.

Hearing that someone was bold enough to call the princess by her name, without her title, Sweet Creme furiously looked up to confront that insolent pony.

"Who dares to-!?" The maid said furious, but that fury instantly vanished when she saw the mare that was before her. "Y-You..." Sweet Creme added slightly scared.

"Where did Celestia go?" Sunset Shimmer asked again, this time moving closer to the maid to be face-to-face, looking at the maid with a cold and cruel gaze.

"I-I don't know..." Sweet Creme answered, shaking her head to ward off certain unpleasant memories and looked firmly at Sunset, determined not to be intimidated.

"Then you're a lousy maid.  I thought your family took great pride in serving the princess to the highest degree…" Sunset said with a mocking smile, without taking her gaze from the maid's eyes for a second. "I know you're hiding something from me, so you better tell me the truth."

The truth was that Sweet Creme did think she knew where the princess might be.  With how well the maid knew her majesty, she knew that her princess would seek to take Dusk and his friends to some place away from the castle, so that no one would follow or interrupt them.  And although the Princess of the Sun believed that no pony knew her secret, the faithful blue-maned maid knew that her princess sometimes escaped at night to Donut Joe's café to eat some donuts before bed. However, even if Sweet Creme guessed the right place where the princess had gone, she wouldn't reveal it.  She felt bad enough about herself for hiding information from her beloved princess, so no matter that Sunset threatened her, she wouldn't betray her princess twice in one night.

As Sweet Creme wandered in her thoughts, just one glance into the maid's eyes was all it took for Sunset to discover that the maid did know where Celestia might have gone. Then Sunset smiled and slowly leaned closer to the maid's ear.

"If you don't tell me where Dusk Shine went, I'll reveal your little secret to the princess..." Sunset whispered, smiling cruelly, which made Sweet Creme turn pale and look scared.

Feeling her heart clench, with her lost gaze and trembling lip, Sweet Creme slowly lowered her head and squeezed her eyes tight.

"Do… Donut Joe's café..." Sweet Creme said weakly with her eyes closed, shedding a tear as she felt that she was once again betraying her beloved princess.

Finally getting the answer she wanted, Sunset Shimmer smiled arrogantly, lit her horn, and disappeared from the castle.






Interlude 2 – Midnight disappointment


Just a few minutes before, Dusk Shine had been standing behind Luna's room door, and after much hesitation, the Princess of the Night had finally relented and agreed to see him before the Grand Galloping Gala ended.

"It will only be tonight… Only tonight!" Luna thought nervously as she began to get excited and tried on her ball gowns again.  Despite the fact that the blue alicorn had promised herself never to see the colt for whom her heart yearned for again, hearing his voice and his plea for wanting to see her finally made her emotional heart win the battle against her own determination not to see him again.

"Tell me, Sweet Caramel, are these really all the ball gowns I have?" Luna asked, pursing her lip when she saw all the dresses on the floor of her room, thinking that she had already tried all those dresses without being satisfied with any.

When she got no response, Luna was a bit surprised, as her maid always answered everything immediately. Turning around, she could see that for some reason her faithful maid seemed not to have heard her. Sweet Caramel was still standing by the door, with her eyes nervous and lost.

Realizing that her princess was watching her, Sweet Caramel quickly turned and looked at her princess, regretting that she had been briefly distracted.

"It's not fair for Sweet Caramel to be here with me… She wants to go enjoy the Gala like everyone else." Luna thought with a sad smile, thinking that for that reason her faithful maid was distracted.  Another wave of guilt washed over the alicorn; putting her happiness over the feelings of others. 

"Dear Caramel, I think that's it for today. You can retire now." Luna said with a gentle smile.

"Uh!? No, I-" Sweet Caramel immediately said, wanting to apologize again with her princess for not being attentive, and so she can be by her side a little more time.  However, the maid bit her tongue when she remembered that even if she didn't want to, she indeed had to withdraw, beacuse she had to fulfill another mission elsewhere. "A-Are you sure, princess?" Sweet Caramel asked slowly, unable to help but worry about her beloved princess.

"Don't worry, I just have to choose a dress, hardly a complicated task for myself.  Go to the party, I shall meet you later." Luna replied, smiling kindly.

Thanking her princess for her enormous kindness, Sweet Caramel quickly left the room, leaving Luna alone again.

"Well, time to choose a suitable dress to see Dusk. How hard can it be?" Luna said, looking in the mirror and levitating all her ball gowns.

The seconds and minutes slowly turned into an hour; Luna still couldn't decide.  After trying on all her ball gowns for the second time, Luna finally tried again for the third time the first dress she had tried on that night: a long dark blue dress with small shades of lavender on it, adorned with various shining stars on the skirt.  Luna's instinct had led her to choose precisely that dress in the first place because it just matched Dusk Shine's mane, however, her insecurity had led her to try on every dress she had before finally choosing her first choice.

"Okay… This will be it.  If I still don't choose a dress, the Gala will end before I go down." Luna said, sighing and putting on a nervous smile as she looked at her own reflection in the mirror, putting a lot of emphasis on her mane.

"I still haven't gotten my powers back… Everypony will be able to see me like this… Everypony will be disappointed… Especially Dusk!" Luna thought frightfully.  This would be the first time that the ponies outside the castle would see her since her return, something she had wanted to avoid until she regained her powers. However, Luna strongly shook her head and remembered the words that Dusk Shine had said to her before leaving. "No! Dusk is right. No matter what I look like, I… I am still me!" Luna thought, looking at herself with determination.

Finally, Luna left her room and walked at an irregular pace down the stairs of the tower, because every five seconds, her insecurity returned to her and all doubts took control of her. Nevertheless, every time she came to a complete stop, her heart's desire encouraged her to resume her march.

"Everything will be fine; you are not abandoning your duties… You will only see Dusk tonight, only tonight!" Luna repeated in her mind, over and over again, each time her rational side told her that she shouldn't see Dusk, that she should lock herself up and fulfill her self-imposed punishment. All to give herself the determination and courage to enjoy her life even for just one night.

After reaching the main corridors of the castle, Luna was surprised to see how few ponies were there.  A strange sight for that night, since Luna knew that a hundred ponies had been invited to the Grand Galloping Gala.  Then Luna heard a great commotion coming from the great ballroom, so she slowly approached to see what was causing such a scandal.

Upon reaching the grand ballroom, Luna was shocked to see that the ballroom was packed to capacity, almost as if all the guests had arrived there for some reason.  But the most impressive thing was seeing the great chaos that was there with ponies arguing and running hysterically everywhere, animals running from one side to another, and the guards trying in vain to calm the crowd.  And before Luna could better notice what was happening, a big flash flickered in various parts of the room, causing the bustle and confusion only to increase among the guests.

As the ponies began to murmur among themselves, all trying to figure out what had happened, Luna looked everywhere, trying to find someone she knew to explain what had happened.  It was thus that Luna could see that not far from her, near a large window, was her maid Sweet Caramel, who, unlike the other ponies in the room, didn't seem to be interested in conversing with others.  She only kept her gaze fixed on the floor with a sad look. Luna slowly made her way to the red-maned maid and gently touched her side to get her attention.

"Sweet Caramel, what happened here?" Luna asked, confused at what had caused some much chaos.

Sweet Caramel jumped a bit in shock as she saw that it was her beloved princess who had addressed her.

"I-I'm sorry, my princess!  I didn't see you approach." The maid said awkwardly, bowing out of habit, something that caught the attention of some ponies around.

"What happened here?" Luna asked again with a raised eyebrow, since it seemed very strange to see her maid so nervous, who was normally the calmer of the two twins.

At that moment, Sweet Caramel looked away slightly, unsure for some reason.  Then she gave a sigh and began to tell the Princess of the Night what happened with Dusk Shine that night since he left the door of Luna's room.  Going through the declarations of his five friends, until the disaster caused in the grand ballroom. Sweet Caramel tried to tell her beloved princess as much as possible, as her loyalty to her dictated.  However, like her sister with Princess Celestia, Sweet Caramel also omitted her participation in this whole situation, including the reason why that both sisters had done what they did.

When Luna heard Sweet Caramel's story, she couldn't help but widen her eyes when she found out that all of Dusk Shine's friends had proposed to him on the same night.  Upon hearing that news, Luna was shocked, and for a second she felt as if she had run out of air, feeling as if a chill ran through her body and an emptiness pulled her from her own stomach.  Despite feeling all of that, though on the outside she remained unscathed, like a statue, without showing emotions.

"Princess...! Princess!"  Someone yelled suddenly, bringing Luna back to reality after her mind had shut off for a brief moment.

Hearing that someone called her, Luna blinked several times, as if her mind had been lost in the mist for a few seconds. Then, Luna could see that in front of her was the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, bowing slightly before her.

"Y-Yes?  What is the matter?" Luna asked, maintaining her composure yet also feeling her mouth dry and her eyes starting to sting.

"Your Majesty, Princess Celestia seems to be nowhere to be found." Shining Armor said respectfully, as although he had seen the Princess of the Night before, it was the first time he had spoken directly to her. "I wanted to know what your orders are to proceed after... this disaster."

Then Luna raised her head and looked around her and only then did she remember all the disaster that was there, something that she almost forgot after finding out what happened with Dusk Shine.

As she looked around, Luna also noticed that now all the ponies in the room were staring at her and muttering among themselves, surprised and confused.  As soon as Shining Armor said the word 'princess', they all paid attention to the blue-maned unicorn, and only then did they realize that it was actually an alicorn, which left them all amazed.

That was the mysterious Princess of the Night!  The lost sister of Princess Celestia who had returned several weeks ago, but who had not appeared in society until that very night.  And while the eyes of all the noble ponies finally saw the mysterious princess, most couldn't immediately avoid making the comparison between her and her older sister, the magnanimous Princess of the Sun, whose figure was much more majestic and imposing than that of that beautiful, but much more worldly, alicorn.

As soon as everypony’s eyes fell on Luna and the murmurs began, Sweet Caramel immediately understood what was going through the minds of those clumsy ponies, and her face was filled with anger. She was furious at those ponies who didn't understand true elegance and royalty that resided in her beloved princess.

"This was not the way my princess wanted to appear to her subjects… Not until she regained all her powers!" Sweet Caramel thought in frustration, remembering how, as a good confidante, she had talked about this with her princess several times.

"Princess Luna, I think we should..." Sweet Caramel said to the alicorn, ready to both leave this embarrassing situation, but she stopped in mid-sentence.  The maid was surprised when she saw Princess Luna maintain a calm demeanor, emanating an aura of authority and dignity. 

"Captain, we will end the Grand Galloping Gala for tonight. You and your guards escort the guests to ensure their peace of mind and safety." Luna said elegantly, then she raised her head high and inhaled to speak with the traditional royal Canterlot Voice, which corresponded when speaking with subjects. However, she remembered that her sister had told her that the long-used custom was no longer used and at the last moment changed her tone, higher than normal, but without becoming a scream, which made for her voice more solemn and shocking. "Dear guests, I am terribly sorry for this disaster. I assure you that with my sister we are extremely sorry for what happened.  Please accept my apologies and the promise of this princess that I will ensure that in the future we can once again have a placid and pleasant evening, as ponies of their status deserve it." Luna said politely, speaking with grace and elegance, slightly bowing her head in respect.

Faced with such a display of class and refinement, all the pompous guests in the great hall applauded the princess's beautiful gesture, which caused everyone to quickly change their first impression of that alicorn, by demonstrating an innate dignity worthy of royalty. Slowly and quietly, the guests began to leave the castle, still confused by the strange uproar that had occurred, but satisfied that they had been recognized by Princess Celestia's sister herself as part of the Equestrian elite.

And of all the ponies that had been fascinated with the elegance shown by the princess of the night, no one was more enchanted than Sweet Caramel, who saw her princess with shining eyes, because now they all knew how sublime her princess was, who could deliver poise, class, grace and elegance, even if he was in a mess like that.

When Sweet Caramel approached to speak to her princess, Luna slowly turned around, spread her wings, and flew out the window behind her, leaving the red-mane maid confused.

With the night wind waving her mane, Luna flew to one of the castle towers, where there were big bells that were used to ring to announce an important event that was celebrated in the castle. Then Luna landed next to them, lowered her head, and breathed heavily.

"A princess must be strong... A princess must be elegant and attentive... a princess must be perfect..." Luna whispered quickly as she breathed hard to calm herself. However, her temperance eventually dropped, and she hit one of the bells hard to take out her frustration, causing the other bells to sway as well and begin to ring.

The rumble of the bells was deafening from standing right next to them, but Luna didn't care, she just leaned down and covered her face, grateful that the sound of the bells drowned out her crying.  After thinking that she could make a good memory that night, everything had collapsed.  Not only had she ruined her presentation in society and all the ponies had seen her weak and powerless as she was now, something she had tried to hide for months, she had found out that she had acted too late. Dusk Shine's friends had already gotten ahead of her, and now the lavender colt’s heart belonged to one of them.

"What do I do now..." Luna cried with desolation in her heart as a dark voice from her past whispered in her ear: 'It is what you deserve... It is your punishment to be alone... Return to the shadows...'






Interlude 3 – Stallions


The castle bells rang in the middle of the night, alerting all the ponies in the castle that this year's Grand Galloping Gala was over, which would be remembered as the most unusual and chaotic gala in Canterlot history.

"How strange... Usually the bells that announce the end of the gala go off after the Wonderbolts’ closing show." Fluffy Cake said, one of the mares who worked in the castle kitchen. Said mare was not in her usual place of work, but in the carriage parking area of the castle.

"Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, I can barely hear the sound of those bells over the beating of my heart when I look at you.  Well, that and your melodious voice." Caramel said coquettishly.  The mare swooned and hugged the stallion, falling in love with that excessively sweet compliment.

After the four stallions that had pulled Dusk' carriage finished eating the apple candies that Applejack had given them, they began pacing the sector carriages to find something to do. Specifically, 'somepony' to talk to. Afterall, being four young stallions right next to a great party, they only had one goal in their minds: to find a beautiful mare to talk to and make the night more pleasant.  Fortunately, it didn’t take long for them to find a group of four mares that had left through the back door of the castle, and that, by their uniforms, it was evident that they worked in the castle kitchen.

Following the routine in such situations, the stallions let Thunderlane approach the mares first, as he was generally the most successful in chatting with mares; followed closely by Lucky Clover, who advanced with a great calm smile.  Then came Caramel, with a clumsy gallant smile, the one most eager to want to chat with a beautiful mare; and finally Bulk Biceps, who despite his intimidating appearance, was the shyest of the four stallions.

Seeing the stallions approaching, the leading mare of her group quickly elbowed one of her friends, causing the others to pay attention as well. Then the four mares laughed playfully and waited with flirtatious glances for the stallions to approach, thus beginning the game of love conquest.

The conversation flowed quickly, with Caramel taking the lead in the conversation once he felt more relaxed.  While on the mares' side, Fluffy Cake, a mare with white fur and pink mane, encouraged her friends to also chat with the handsome strangers.  It was then the stallions found out that the mares were taking a break from cooking the myriad dishes they had made for the Grand Galloping Gala, and that they would then have to come back to clean before the Gala was over.  And as the conversation progressed, so did their game of cat and mouse, and slowly and naturally each mare began to focus her conversation on a specific stallion, and pairs began to form.

"Wow... I've never seen anyone so muscular... You must do a lot of exercise.  Your marefriend must be very lucky." Violet Glow, a mare with lavender fur and red mane, said flirtatiously, who had fixed her eyes on Bulk Biceps.

"Uh, YEAH!  I-I mean… No! I…" Bulk Biceps stuttered nervously with a blush, not being able to look the mare in the eye. "I... I don't have a marefriend... yet."

"Yet?  Is it to say that you already have a special pony in your heart?" Violet Glow asked again, having a bit of fun with the muscular stallion.

At the mare's question, Bulk Biceps fell silent and blushed deeply, causing the other mares and stallions to laugh at his timid reaction.  All except Caramel and Fluffy Cake, who just then embraced under the sound of the castle bells.

"B.B. doesn't have a marefriend, but some time ago he fell in love with a mysterious mare who came to Ponyville." Lucky Clover added after he stopped laughing.

"Oh… And is she very pretty?  What’s her name?" The mare asked again, excited to talk about a 'secret love'.

"Her… her name was Twilight Sparkle…" Bulk Biceps replied sheepishly. "She was very pretty and... And if I see her again, I'll declare my feelings to her!" Bulk Biceps added, plucking up his courage and flexing his muscles for confidence, which made the mares laugh at the hilarious gesture.

"Well, if she's pretty, you should hurry.  Pretty mares don’t usually stay single for long." a new voice said suddenly, causing the four stallions and four mares to look back to see who had spoken.

Behind them was a young pegasus with pale orange fur and blue mane, wearing the characteristic golden armor of the castle guard.  As soon as the pegasus saw that everypony turned to see him, he smiled gallantly, causing the stallions to look at him with disgust and the mares to be delighted.

"Flash Sentry!" The four mares said at the same time.  The four of them blushing, for they well knew that handsome young guard.  This included Fluffy Cake, who immediately stopped hugging Caramel and stared at the young guard, to the surprise and fear of poor Caramel.

"Sorry to bother you ladies, but I came to let you know that the Grand Galloping Gala is over. I think you better get back in the kitchen before the head chef gets mad at any of you.  You know how he is." Flash Sentry said, smiling closely at the mares, then raised his head and looked at the four stallions. "And you should bring your carriage back to the entrance; the guests are leaving right now." The guard added, looking seriously at the stallions.

Then Flash Sentry turned and retreated slowly, closely followed by the four mares, who were so fascinated by accompanying the handsome guard that they completely forgot about the four Ponyville stallions and left without even say goodbye.  Leaving the stallions shocked, especially Caramel, who had believed for a moment that he had finally found his long-awaited soul mate.

"W-Wait..." Caramel said stretching a hoof in the air watching his new love walk away.  Then he lowered his head sadly with a look of complete resignation, feeling his heart broken again.  But luckily, his friends were there to comfort him...

"Wahaha! Dumped again! Hahaha!" Lucky Clover sneered, as Thunderlane clapped and Bulk Biceps tossed some confetti in the air, as was the ritual they always did to taunt Caramel whenever a mare rejected him. "Fluffy Cake, Amethyst Star, Rarity, Cheerilee, Daisy… Gosh!  It has definitely been a bad year for you, haha." Lucky Clover added, starting to list the mares that recently had rejected his friend, only a few of a long list of failures in Caramel’s quest for love.

"Ugh! Shut up! It's not my fault. I can't compete with that pretty colt in golden armor." Caramel said annoyed, but quickly overcoming his love depression.  Something already routine for him, since he had a bad habit of falling in love very easily. "Maybe I should enlist to be a castle guard, mares love stallions in armor!"

"Nah! Have you seen those guys? They all look the same." Lucky Clover added, patting Caramel's back gently to encourage him.

"Don't worry, you'll find the right mare eventually." Thunderlane added smiling, being the most mature of the group, but he couldn't help but laugh at his friend's misfortunes.

"YEAH!!" Bulk Biceps shouted, cheering for his friend.

The four friends then returned to the carriage, ready to search for Dusk and his friends and thus finally return to Ponyville.  Thinking that despite the abrupt ending, the night at Canterlot had been a lot of fun for everyone.  Although, of course, Dusk and his friends had probably had a much better time at the Grand Gala... Or so they thought.

For his part, Flash Sentry walked back to the castle accompanied by the four mares, who didn't take their eyes off him. That gave him a lot of satisfaction, knowing that he was handsome enough to win the heart of any mare without even trying, which made his ego and self-esteem rise through the roof, although of course, at a much more humble level than ego from other casanovas, like Prince Blueblood.  But even so, Flash was extremely proud of his undefeated record of never being rejected by a mare.

"Flash!  Have you already told the ponies in the parking to return to pick up the guests?" Another castle guard in the distance suddenly said from one of the balconies, with identical armor as the one Flash Sentry wore but with a small star on his side.

"Affirmative, Sergeant!" Flash Sentry responded immediately, standing up to salute his superior in a military fashion.

"Good.  After you finish your round, the princess requested to speak to you, so hurry up."  The sergeant added before leaving the balcony.

"Yes sir!"  Flash responded quickly.  Then the stallion remembered who was next to him and glanced at the mares. "But first, I'll accompany these beautiful ladies to make sure they arrive safely at their destination." Flash added gallantly, causing the four mares to blush and giggle at the compliment.

After Flash escorted the mares to the castle kitchen, he left to continue his work, but not before promising the four mares that he would visit them again.  And although Flash Sentry was delighted with the idea of flirting with four mares, and to accept the sweet desserts that they gave him on his next visit to the kitchen, his mind was set elsewhere at the moment, on something that had caught his attention before he separated that group of mares and stallions in the parking.

"So, a mysterious beauty circulates the streets of Ponyville… Perhaps I could ask to be assigned a mission there to see if there really is a beautiful mare that has escaped my radar." Flash Sentry said as he walked through the corridors of the castle, remembering his last visit to Ponyville, when they had had to watch over Princess Celestia's student when he expelled a dragon from the mountains. "Yes... There are a lot beauties in that small town..." Flash added, remembering Dusk Shine's five beautiful friends.

As he walked, Flash suddenly stopped with a shocked face as he realized something very important.

"Damn!  I didn't ask the sergeant which princess requested my presence." Flash Sentry said, widening his eyes and hitting his head for being so careless for not asking something so obvious.

Thinking of how clumsy he had been, something else suddenly caught Flash's attention as he saw out of the corner of his eye that one of the doors leading to one of the castle's outer courtyards was wide open.  He went over to the open doorway to investigate.

As he advanced across the courtyard, Flash gave an angry look as he confirmed what he had feared.

"Oh, great… Not only was there a disaster in the ballroom, the vandals also attacked the courtyard." Flash Sentry muttered as he stood in front of a stone pedestal, on which, until before the gala, there had been a statue there.  But now there was only the pedestal and a few pieces of stone on the ground.

Flash didn't particularly appreciate art, especially the statue that had been there.  It was a statue of a strange creature, and the truth was that it had always caused him an uncomfortable feeling whenever he was near it.  Nevertheless, his feelings about the statue was irrelevant when it came to vandalism.  Whoever it was, they would be in trouble for breaking something from the royal palace.

"Hm? How strange…" Flash added suddenly as he looked closer and saw that there were too few pieces of rock on the ground to be the remains of such a large statue. "Maybe somepony stole it? But who would steal such an ugly statue?  Hmm… Maybe the statue just unpetrified and went on its own, haha."

Then Flash turned and went back into the castle, thinking that now to his report, he would have to add that an old statue disappeared.

"Definitely the most chaotic gala in history." Flash said as he walked and returned to his work, not realizing that those words were prophetic of the harbinger of chaos to fall in Equestria.






Interlude 4 – The next morning


Celestia woke up with a big yawn, ready to raise the sun and thus start a new day in her kingdom.

The fatigue of this morning was greater than that of a normal one. After what happened the night before at the Grand Galloping Gala and what had occurred after, Celestia had spent much of the night wondering how everything had ended in such a way and what would happen now with this new 'character' entering the world of her faithful and beloved student.

After raising the sun and looking at herself in the mirror until she was sure her volatile mane was well combed, Celestia left her room ready to start the day with breakfast.  A daily event that she had learned to love this past year, as it was one of the few times she could enjoy a meal with her sister.  And Luna was precisely who Celestia was thinking about as she approached the dining room.  For better or for worse, her younger sister had missed all the chaos that occurred at the gala and Celestia was sure that she would enjoy learning how the garden animals had come in to cause all the fuss with those prissy noble ponies of the Canterlot elite.

"I wonder if I should also tell Luna what happened with Dusk and his friends..." Celestia murmured thoughtfully, without being able to stop thinking about her dear student, or what he would doing right now. Because the truth was that after the events of the previous night, not even Celestia was totally sure where Dusk would be at that moment.  But knowing her student and the surprise guest who had thrown herself on him, Celestia had a hunch where Dusk would be that morning.

Realizing she was putting on a worried look, Celestia paused for a moment and shook her head.

"I can't do it... I can't go with him..." Celestia thought closing her eyes in frustration and continuing her walk. "I am a princess of Equestria, the ruler of this kingdom.  I was involved enough the night before. I can't always interfere with Dusk's life.  I just… I must trust him to do the right thing." Celestia thought, determined to stop thinking about Dusk at least for breakfast.  However, she couldn't remove from her mind Dusk's frightened gaze upon seeing Sunset Shimmer the night before, nor Sunset's defiant look before they both disappeared.

Finally, Celestia reached the dining room where, as was customary, Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel had already brought all the dishes that their royal highnesses would eat that morning from the kitchen and were waiting patiently for their arrival.

As Celestia approached her seat, she couldn't help raising an eyebrow as she noticed that instead of being served by Sweet Creme, it was Sweet Caramel who served her, who was usually the one who served Luna at her breakfast.  After sitting down, Celestia pretended not to mind the matter and simply began sipping from her cup of tea while the red-maned maid moved the sweet cakes to her plate.

"Sweet Creme, darling, is something wrong?" Celestia finally asked, after taking a couple of sips from her cup.  Staring at her faithful maid, who was standing still at the table.

Hearing her name, Sweet Creme pressed her lips tightly together and lowered her head slightly, while her twin sister quickly became nervous.

"I… I'm sorry, Princess.” Sweet Caramel said quickly with a smile. “It's… it's just that today we wanted to change places so as not to get used to…".  However, she stopped when she saw that Celestia was staring at her, without a hint of anger or annoyance, just staring at her.  And then Sweet Caramel understood that it was useless to lie to the princess and lowered her head in sorrow. "I'm sorry, Princess.  I didn't mean to lie to you... I... I was the one who suggested Sweet Creme to exchange tasks this day."

"Oh, I see..." Celestia said again, closing her eyes and feigning disinterest as she sipped her tea.  Sweet Creme, knowing that her princess did that because she was really interested in it, quickly approached where her sister was so that the questions didn't fall only on her sister. "So, is there a reason you wanted to do this?  Maybe Luna did something to upset you?"

"NO! Absolutely not!" Sweet Caramel immediately yelled, then lowering her head in embarrassment.

In that instant, Sweet Caramel remembered the night before, when Princess Luna flew out the window after calming down the guests, and only then did the maid realize the true state of mind her beloved princess must have had to fly out in that shape.  Which made Sweet Caramel feel guilty about herself for not having stopped her beloved princess from avoiding the crowd and feeling bad about it.

Sweet Creme felt something very similar that morning, when she felt very bad about herself for not having told her princess the whole truth about what happened with Dusk Shine the night before.  So, she agreed immediately when her sister suggested that each one attend to the other princess. That way at least, Sweet Creme believed that she could avoid seeing the face of her beloved princess and avoid feeling guilty.

Sipping her tea again, Celestia closed her eyes and thought for a moment.  She had said that she would try not to think about Dusk at least during breakfast to try to separate herself from him a bit, and thus not show that she had a special interest in her beloved pupil. However, the maids had made it impossible for that to happen, because with the attitude they showed that morning, all the pieces began to fit together.  Celestia realized that the theories that she had thought the night before were beginning to gain strength.  Now it only remained to confirm them.

"Sweet Creme... How did Sunset Shimmer know where I teleported Dusk and his friends?" Celestia asked, calmly continuing with her breakfast.  Sweet Creme instantly panicked and fearfully lowered her head.

"I... I was the one who told her where you could have taken them..." Sweet Creme said, feeling a pang of guilt in her heart.

"I see..." Celestia said, keeping her eyes closed and sipping her tea again. "Sweet Caramel, do you know what happened to my student Dusk Shine and his friends the night before?"

This time it was the red-maned sister's turn to tremble.  Then she glanced at her sister, sighed, and told what had happened to Dusk Shine the night before, exactly the same thing she had told Luna the night before, and exactly the same story, word for word, that Sweet Creme had told to Celestia the night before.

"Exactly the same story Sweet Creme told me.  And you two have never lied to me.  So there is no reason to doubt what you tell me." Celestia said, finishing her tea, putting the cup slowly on the table, opening her eyes and looking kindly at both sisters. "You know, there's something I've been wondering about.  The two of you said that Dusk's five friends proposed to him at the same time.  However, when I teleported them to Donut Joe's cafe, none of the mares looked at each other.  They didn’t say anything either, their gazes only focused on Dusk, as if they were simply waiting for an answer from him.  At that moment I understood… None of the mares knew that they all had also declared to Dusk Shine that same night."

Hearing that, the sisters didn't respond.  They simply lowered their heads in shame, not being able to look Celestia in the eyes.

"It was then that I thought, how would it be possible for all five of his friends to declare their love to him at once?  Knowing Dusk, if one of his friends had declared her love to him, no matter how scared, confused, or nervous he was, Dusk wouldn't have run away, he is too chivalrous for that. He would have been unsure, but he would have stayed with that mare to give her an answer." Celestia said, continuing her deductions. "The only way that Dusk could have heard another declaration of love, and then three more, is that somepony deliberately interrupted each of the mares’ declarations before he had even responded… Tell me, was that what really happened?"

In that instant, the sisters shyly looked up, where they could only see the kind gaze of the Princess of the Sun, which made their hearts tremble and scream for wanting to confess what they had really done.  However, despite her wishes, both sisters remained silent.

"Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel, were you the ones who interrupted the mares before Dusk could respond to their declarations?" Celestia asked, raising a confused eyebrow, as she was surprised that despite being discovered, her faithful maids were still silent. "Please, I want you to tell me exactly what happened last night."

"I-I... I'm sorry, Princess." Sweet Creme said shyly, who was the less fearful of the two sisters, since she knew her beloved princess better and she knew that she would never hurt them.  Meanwhile her sister, deep in her heart, still believed that Princess Celestia was capable of exiling them to the moon if they made her angry. "I'm sorry but… we can't tell you."

Hearing that, Celestia's eyes widened in surprise. That was definitely an answer she never thought to hear from her faithful maid. Then Celestia felt a strange feeling of annoyance.  Partly caused by Sweet Creme's response, but primarily by the fact that she felt something was escaping her understanding and now she was going down a path she couldn't understand:  Sweet Creme refused to answer her questions, Sunset Shimmer had come out of nowhere and had interrupted Dusk's declaration of love, and the future that she had foreseen for her beloved student now hung by a thread because there were variants that she couldn't see!  And for a second… Celestia became serious.  Not enough to be angry, but enough to use the old titles and scare the maids a bit to finally reveal the truth.

Then Celestia stood up and approached both mares.

"I am Princess Celestia, The One the Burns the Sun. Ruler of the great kingdom of Equestria and its overseas provinces. Protector of life and justice, Guardian of harmony and ancient magic.  And with my authority I order you to tell me what happened last night!" Celestia said, standing in front of the two maids, without a hint of anger, but looking seriously at both ponies, showing her hierarchy so that they understood that what she was requesting was no longer a request, but an order.

Having the princess in front of her, after having heard her speak like that, Sweet Caramel began to tremble so much that it was impossible for her to utter a word, thinking that she would soon be exiled to the moon or sent to a dungeon.  For her part, Sweet Creme also trembled, but less than her sister, something strange since normally her sister was the bravest of the two; however Sweet Creme was shaking for a different reason than her sister.

"I… I'm sorry, Princess.  W-We can't tell you." Sweet Creme said slowly, not being able to meet her princess's eyes, trembling with helplessness at not being able to tell her beloved princess what she requested.

Then Celestia approached Sweet Creme and gently raised her face to look at her.  Looking up, Sweet Creme was surprised to see her princess looking at her with a sweet smile.

"I'm sorry I scared you.  It's just that I needed to confirm what I suspected." Celestia said, also stroking Sweet Caramel's face to apologize for scaring her, leaving the red-maned mare surprised. "You may continue with your duties." Celestia added, turning around and sitting back in her chair, leaving both sister maids very confused and staring at each other.

"But… We didn't tell her anything.  What did she confirm?" Sweet Caramel whispered in confusion.

"We can't tell you..." Sweet Creme repeated with a thoughtful look, until she realized something, she looked at the princess and she returned her gaze with a smile.  Then Sweet Creme got it. "We can't tell you!" Sweet Creme shouted excitedly, realizing that without even realizing it, those words were precisely the biggest clue she could give to her beloved princess.

Upon discovering that, Sweet Creme finally regained all her spirits and continued setting the breakfast table with a big smile.  Happy to get rid of the weight of believing that she had betrayed her princess by not telling her the truth and amazed at how smart her beloved princess could be. Sweet Caramel, meanwhile, was very confused, who didn't understand the sudden change in her sister's attitude.

Seeing Sweet Creme smile, Celestia also smiled realizing that she had figured it out.  And as she levitated a cupcake to continue her breakfast, at the same time she continued her thoughts on what she had just discovered.

"Of all the maids who have been to the palace, I believe the ‘Sweet twins’ are the most loyal I have ever met.  Niether of them would ever cheat or lie to me, especially Sweet Creme." Celestia thought with a hoof over her mouth, unraveling the mystery. "However, after giving her a direct order from a princess, she kept saying that she couldn't tell me what I was asking.  She didn't say 'I don't want' or 'I won't', she said 'I can't', which means someone ordered her not to talk about it, but who could order them not to reveal information if even A PRINCESS was the one who ordered them to reveal that information? There is no one in the kingdom who has greater authority than a princess, and that means… There is only one possible answer!"

Satisfied with finally having solved a mystery, Celestia continued eating with a thoughtful look.

"Why would SHE have done that?"

Then the room door opened, allowing Luna to enter, who for some reason seemed a bit depressed that morning. And as Luna came over to sit, Celestia kept staring at her, eating her cupcake and thinking that maybe it would be good to talk to Luna about certain topics.






Interlude 5 – The interview


The star journalist of 'The Canterlot Sun', Nosey News, was smiling quietly behind her desk, as she had finally managed to get the interview she had wanted so much.  Sitting across from her was Shining Armor, the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard.  The only thing preventing Nosey from getting started with her long-awaited interview was the old office sweeper, who had just chosen that moment to sweep the floor of the Nosey News office, raising a great deal of dust with his old broom.

"Cough! Cough...! Enough!" Nosey News finally said reluctantly, seeing how slowly the old stallion swept. "I have an important interview, so please sweep another time!"

The old sweeper looked annoyed at the young journalist and left the office grumbling, finally leaving both ponies ready to begin their interview, or rather, their duel...

"You don't know how glad I am that you have finally accepted my request for this interview, Captain." Nosey News said smiling, while adjusting the glasses she normally wore, which made her look even more professional.

"Yeah, well, it was a hard thing to ignore…" Shining Armor replied reluctantly. The truth was that he didn't want to be interviewed at all, but Nosey News had been harassing him for months to interview him.  Visiting him at home, interviewing his parents, breaking into his workplace... so Shining Armor was left with no choice but to accept the meeting.

"Yeah, I guess after the disaster in Gala last night, you had no choice." Nosey News said smugly, knowing that the Captain of the Guard was obliged to give a statement in the newspaper to explain what happened the night before. "But we can talk about what happened last night later.  After all, the morning is still young, and there are many interesting things we could talk about before we get to that topic!"

At seeing the true intentions of Nosey News, Shining Armor couldn't avoid grunting slightly as that was precisely the reason why he had been avoiding giving interviews until that moment..

"I just came in to explain what happened last night.  I don't gossip about my personal life." Shining Armor replied seriously.

"Gossip is such an ugly word.  I'm simply saying that the Canterlot ponies would like to know a little more about what lies behind the gallant figure of the Captain of the royal Guard.  What he likes, what he dislikes... if he’s ever fallen in love..." Nosey News explained, smiling mischievously and glancing at the white unicorn at the last query.

"Don't pretend that you're interested in my life!  All you want me to do is tell you about Princess Cadance and the photo that was in the magazines last week!" Shining Armor shot back, unable to help but get a little angry.

A few days ago, in every Canterlot entertainment magazine, a blurred photo of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the third princess of the kingdom, had appeared on the front page, kissing a stallion of her royal guard in one of the palace gardens.  But given the blur of the photo, plus the fact that the guards' armor was all very similar, and that there were many white-furred unicorns on guard; it wasn't absolutely certain who was the stallion whom the princess had kissed.

Consequentially, it had become the great mystery that had been all the rage in the Canterlot magazines in recent days.  Which then caused dozens of paparazzi to start trying to photograph the princess and her secret partner at all times.  Shining Armor had become furious with the Canterlot journalists for such behavior, and especially with THAT journalist who was in front of him at the time.

"You're the one who took that photo, aren't you?" Shining Armor said, looking annoyed at Nosey News.

"You're the one who appears in that photo, aren't you?" Nosey News asked back staring at Shining Armor.  They both fell silent during their staring contest.  They both knew they were correct, but neither of them could admit it.

Nosey News was a professional journalist, and as such, she had been the first to hear about the rumors of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's affair with Guard Captain Shining Armor.  And since that day she had been spying on the princess day and night, until finally she managed to get a picture of her kissing Shining Armor, and just as she took the picture, for a fleeting moment, the gazes of Shining Armor and Nosey News crossed.

Fortunately for Shining Armor, the Nosey News photograph had been blurred.  And the journalist, being as professional as she was, although she herself had been the one who saw both ponies kissing, couldn't publish a story without evidence.  However, the astute journalist sold the photograph to tabloid magazines so that Shining Armor would be further pressured to expose the secret.

Thus, although both ponies had briefly recognized each other that day, neither could admit it. For if Shining Armor said that he had seen her, it would mean that he was admitting that HE was the 'mystery stallion'; and if Nosy News said that she had seen them that day, it meant that she admitted that SHE had been the one who had taken that picture and sold it.

And so, they both remained silent, waiting for the other to admit the truth.

"Enough of this!" Shining finally said annoyed, standing abruptly and looking seriously at Nosey News. "I came here to talk about what happened yesterday at the Grand Galloping Gala. Yesterday, when the Gala was in full swing, before the Wonderbolts’ closing show, some guests caused disorder and disturbances in the ballroom, causing the great curtain on the stage to fall on several guests.  In this chaos it was that for reasons that are being investigated, the animals of the royal garden entered the room and pounced on the buffet food... As Captain of the Royal Guard, I extend the corresponding apologies to all those who were affected by this mishap. That's all." Shining Armor finished his speech, looking annoyed at Nosey News one last time, and turning to leave the office.

"Wait, captain!  We haven't finished the interview yet!" Nosey News said, jumping out of her seat, scared to see that she was missing her big opportunity to get a scoop.

"I just came to talk about the Gala.  Not about my personal life or anypony else's." Shining Armor said without turning around, reaching the office door.

"But you can't talk about one without talking about the other!" Nosey News said quickly. "Did you know that your brother was present yesterday at the Grand Galloping Gala?"

Hearing that, Shining Armor instantly stopped, as if someone had frozen him.

"Yes, I knew he was among the guests, but I didn't see him all night, since I was on duty." Shining Armor answered dryly, looking askance at Nosey News fiercely.

Seeing that she had again caught Shining Armor’s attention, Nosey News smiled and sat back down at her desk.

"Your brother's name is Dusk Shine, isn't it?  He's the personal student of Princess Celestia... It's fortunate that you and your brother have achieved such renowned positions at such a young age... Even more so knowing that you don't come from a noble family." Nosey News said smiling, while she secretly levitated a notebook and a pen to write the development of the interview, seeing how Shining Armor reacted to the notes she was saying.

"I didn’t get where I am today because of luck.  Everything I’ve achieved has been the product of effort and hard work." Shining Armor answered, looking annoyed once more at Nosey News, because he knew that what the journalist was saying was something that many ponies of aristocracy also thought of him.

"Only you?  So, your brother had to rely on luck to get to where he is?" Nosey News asked insidiously.

A long silence followed after Nosey question, in which Shining Armor didn't answer, he only kept looking at Nosey with an annoyed look.

"Did you know that your brother was the one who saved Princess Celestia on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration's Eve?  And not only that, he was also the one who helped bring Princess Luna back from her exile." Nosey News said, going through some notes in her notebook as she fixed her glasses.  "He also saved a small town called Ponyville from the attack of an Ursa, and drove a dragon from the mountains that threatened to cover Canterlot and its surroundings with the smoke of his snoring... But do you know what is most extraordinary!?" Nosey News added, putting down her notebook and staring at Shining Armor. "The most extraordinary thing is that none of these feats have been in the newspapers so far..."

Under the watchful eye of Nosey News, Shining Armor was unflappable, like a statue.  He continued to maintain absolute silence; he just narrowed his eyes a little while looking at the journalist.

"They're definitely feats that should be recognized throughout Equestria, but every time I want to publish a story about Dusk Shine, my boss says he has orders not to publish them." Nosey News said with a sigh, and again staring at Shining Armor. "It would be a scandal if it were known that the princesses are censoring the freedom of the press... Or perhaps it's not a princess who orders that these news not be published, but somepony closer to Dusk Shine... Somepony who also has a high position in the Canterlot hierarchy and could be jealous of the achievements of his younger brother... Achievements that would make the achievement of being Captain of the Royal Guard seem like something of little importance."

"Are you accusing me of intervening with the newspaper?" Shining Armor asked nonchalantly.

"No, of course not. I have no proof, they're just simple assumptions." Nosey News responded with a shrug. "My boss insists that I don't post anything related to Dusk Shine. That is why he commissioned me to report on this year's Grand Galloping Gala."

Those last words said by Nosey News seemed unimportant, and so Shining Armor thought for a moment.  But then he realized where the journalist wanted to get to, and for a second, his eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.  Something that didn't go unnoticed by Nosey News, who smiled victoriously.

"That's right, my boss ordered me to do an article on this year's Gala, and Dusk Shine was one of the guests. He arrived with his friends and apparently had a very busy night." Nosey News said, smiling slyly. "Tell me Captain, do you know who caused all the fuss at the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"We already have some witnesses who have given us some clues as to who that cause of the riot looked like.  However, there are no names or photographs." Shining Armor said seriously.

"Yes, it's a shame that no one was able to take a photograph of the culprits... that no one other than ME was able to take the only photos of the culprits." Nosey News said with a dirty grin, one that grew even more so when she saw that it finally made Shining Armor drop its annoyed look and now have a look of surprise, and even, something fearful. "I suppose once the photograph of the culprit is published, everypony will be interested in knowing who that stallion is and where he comes from… How good would that be for your career?"

At that moment Nosey News leaned down a little, still looking at Shining Armor with a smile, while she opened her desk drawer and searched for the photographs.

"And when the whole world wants to know about that stallion that caused chaos at the Gala, not even the princess herself will be able to prevent me from publishing everything related to..." Nosey News said maintaining her speech while looking for the photos with her hoof, but noticing that her hoof couldn't find what she was looking for, she stopped talking abruptly and bent down to look in the drawer. Then Nosey began to open all the drawers of her desk while her smile faded, and she began to panic. "The photographs... Where are the photographs!?" Nosey News said frantically.

Seeing Nosey News's shocked face, Shining Armor couldn't help but smile as the annoyed journalist seemed to have lost her trump card.

"Well, if the interview is over, I'll withdraw." Shining Armor said, turning around again, opening the office door and slowly walking out of there.

"W-Wait!" Nosey News screamed in fright, leaping from her desk and running to the office door to catch up with Shining Armor before he left.  However, she accidently collided head-on with the old sweeper pony, who just then had been sweeping right outside her office.

After the abrupt blow, Nosey News glared at the old sweeper pony for getting in the way, and quickly stood up, only to catch a glimpse of Shining Armor was coming out of the building.

"Great!  I just lost my chance at the interview that would have made me famous…" Nosey News said, slapping her face in frustration, getting up and reluctantly walking back to her office. "I bet he took the photos without me realizing it… Damn!  If it weren't because the boss is afraid that the princesses would retaliate, I would post everything I know even if I have no proof!" Nosey News yelled in frustration, slamming the door behind her, leaving all the other ponies present from the newspaper very confused, not knowing what had happened in that office.

For his part, the old sweeper pony that Nosey News had collided with put down his broom and walked slowly out of the newspaper building.  Once out on the street, the old sweeper pony stuffed a hoof into one of the pockets of his cleaning uniform and pulled the photos he had sneakily taken from the Nosey News desk. There were six photographs that had five mares and one lavender stallion respectively.  And from what the sweeper pony had overheard as he peeked behind the door on the conversation between Nosey News and Guard Captain Shining Armor, those six ponies were the cause of the Grand Gala disaster.  One of them was even somehow related with Shining Armor.

"It seems I was right to take these pictures... They might be useful for our purposes." The old sweeper pony muttered, hiding the photographs back in his suit, then looking back at the building he had just came out from. "So even journalists don't publish all the news for fear of what the princesses might say..."

Then the sweeper pony started walking and put on a disturbing smile.

"Well, I don't have that problem. Because I don't serve a princess." The old sweeper pony added, whose eyes glowed an intense and unnatural green for a second. "I serve a queen!"






Interlude 6 – The Lovers


Shining Armor walked uneasily through the corridors of the castle. After having to attend that annoying interview with the journalist from 'The Canterlot Sun', Shining had immediately returned to the castle to fulfill his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard.

"We’ve been hiding this for too long.  Maybe… it's time to go public with our relationship…" Shining thought nervously, not sure what decision to make.  All while dozens of doubts filled his head.

Before the interview, Shining already had many doubts about various matters, and after the interview, all those doubts only increased. Insecurity hovered over his head about whether Princess Celestia would reprimand him for not keeping order at the Grand Galloping Gala because, even though the princess hadn't yet requested his presence, his reputation and even his position as captain could be at risk!  Plus… there was the matter of his secret relationship with Cadance; if he wasn't more careful, the paparazzi would manage to take a picture of them together and it would be a scandal all over Canterlot… How much longer could they keep it a secret…? And finally, to all those worries, now he had to add that of worrying about his younger brother, Dusk Shine.

"So it really was him I saw last night." Shining Armor muttered in annoyance as he walked, remembering that on the night of the Gala, he had caught sight of five mares when the guests pointed out the culprits of the disaster.  When he went to see the sixth culprit, he only managed to see that it was a lavender stallion, before they all disappeared.  "How did I not see it before!?  Teleportation is his best spell!  The damn coward ran away without even apologizing for all the mess he and his friends caused… Grrr… He only causes trouble!" Shining Armor growled.

After going through the main corridors of the castle, Shining came to one of the outdoor gardens where all his doubts and anger vanished when he saw the beautiful vision that always made him forget all his problems.

Standing next to a large rose bush was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or as her friends called her, Cadance.  A pink alicorn with long violet, rose and yellow mane, and a cutie mark of a crystal heart, she also wore gold regalia on her hooves and chest, which matched the small gold crown on her head.  Her regalia much less imposing than those of the other two princesses, but they fit her perfectly.  Besides, what stood out the most in this princess were not what she wore or her size, but rather her impressive beauty.

As soon as Shining Armor reached the garden, he paused for a moment at the entrance and only stared at the princess with a small smile, always repeating in his mind how lucky he was to be the coltfriend of such a wonderful mare.  It took Shining a moment to realize that Cadance wasn't alone, but was chatting with Flash Sentry, a young guard cadet who Shining thought was very promising, if it weren't for the young pegasus's big ego.

Noticing that Shining Armor had arrived, Princess Cadance smiled and said a few last words to Flash Sentry, who then greeted her with the typical military salute and left, also respectfully greeting Shining Armor as he exited the garden gate.

"What were you talking about with Flash?" Shining Armor asked, slowly approaching the princess once the Flash Sentry withdrew.

"Oh nothing.  I was just…assigning him a little mission." Cadance said in her melodious voice, also approaching Shining.  Then Cadance gave a thoughtful look and then looked at Shining with a mischievous smile. "Is my big, handsome guard jealous?"

"I never would be, princess." Shining said indifferently, stopping in front of Cadance as he made a small bow.  And as he did so, with his eyes he glanced at the surroundings, trying to find if there was somepony else present.

"Easy, I already put a shield around the garden.  Nopony is watching us." Cadance said with a somewhat sad smile.

As soon as Shining heard that, he got up and passionately kissed his marefriend, who in turn, also eagerly kissed him back.  After all, even though they saw each other every day, they didn't always have the possibility of being alone and share an intimate moment like this.

"I have to go to inaugurate the new wing of the hospital in a few minutes, but we have enough time to take a little walk in the garden." Cadance said, smiling after breaking away from the kiss, but still hugging Shining.

"It would be great." Shining gladly replied.  Then both ponies began to walk very close together through the beautiful garden of the palace. "You've gotten pretty good with shield spells."

"Well, I had a good teacher." Cadance replied, looking lovingly at Shining, for it was he himself who had taught her since that was his best spell. "You never know when you might need a good shield, I think it's a very important spell."

"Yeah, maybe one day it’ll be used to stop a great threat and not just to hide from the paparazzi..." Shining Armor added with a frown.

"So, how was the interview?" Cadance asked, to which Shining only responded by making an exaggerated face of disgust. "That bad, huh?" Cadance added in surprise.

"Well, at least that journalist still doesn't have proof that I'm the one in that photo kissing you." Shining replied with a sigh.

At that moment, Cadance's smile slowly faded into a sad look.

"Shining... How long do you want to keep hiding our love?" Cadance asked, stopping her walk.

"Cadance, you know I love you, but... I don't want everypony starts harassing us, more than they already do!" Shining replied, lovingly touching the face of his beloved. " I don't want hundreds of journalists come to ask you why you're dating an ordinary stallion..." Shining added, looking away sadly.

"Oh Shining!  You worry too much.  You're not just any stallion, and not just because you’re Captain of the Royal Guard." Cadance said with a smile. "You're brave, intelligent, loving, and the second cutest colt in all of Equestria… You were able to win my heart and that's all that matters to me!" Cadance added, lovingly hugging her coltfriend.

As the beautiful alicorn hugged him, Shining was comforted by the loving words of his marefriend.  But after a while, while they were still holding each other, Shining couldn't help but remember something that his beloved marefriend always said to him that he always found a bit irritating.

"Are you really going to keep saying that I'm only 'The second cutest'?" Shining asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As amazing as you are, you can't compete with this cutie!" Cadance said quickly, breaking away from the hug and used her magic to summon a small gold, heart-shaped locket that Shining knew well, since she always carried it everywhere.  She opened up the locket to reveal a photo of a small young lavender colt smiling. "Look at that little face!!  He's sooooo cute...!  You can be the most handsome stallion, but Dusk will always be the greatest little cutie pie in all of Equestria!" Cadance added, speaking to the photo of Dusk as if it were a baby, always remembering how cute the young colt was when she was babysitting him.

Seeing that Cadance was in 'babysitting mode', Shining only sighed as his marefriend returned to normal.  The truth was that Shining knew that Cadance only saw Dusk as a baby colt and not as an adult stallion, despite his age.  However, that rivalry that they had as brothers annoyed Shining from how Dusk had such a great place in the heart of his marefriend.

"Speaking of that clumsy... Did you get to talk to him yesterday at the Gala?" Shining asked, getting a bit serious.  Something that took Cadance completely by surprise, who upon hearing said question, immediately left the 'babysitter mode' and returned to normal.

"I wasn’t able to, yesterday I was… a little busy." Cadance replied, looking away, remembering what she had done the night before.

Seeing that Cadance had a worried look, Shining blamed himself, thinking that perhaps the fact that he was hiding their courtship was affecting her more than usual.  After all, Cadance had the virtue of being one of the happiest and joyful ponies in Equestria, and if she seemed to be distracted or worried, it was because something really wasn't right.

"You know... I've been thinking about it a bit and I think... maybe it wouldn't be so bad to announce our engagement." Shining said with a nervous smile, not being completely sure what he was saying, but it was worth it if that would make Cadance stop having that worried look.

"Really!?" Cadance asked almost jumping with excitement, smiling her beautiful smile again. "Didn't you say you were worried that journalists would harass us?"

"Yeah, well, they already do that now, it's not something I can prevent." Shining replied scratching his head, knowing that what he proposed to Cadance would change how the world saw them forever.  But at some point everypony would find out the truth, and the great moment was already near!  "If that journalist continues investigating, sooner or later she'll get evidence. So maybe it would be better if we announced it before it came out in some silly magazine." Shining added with a resigned sigh.

"Oh, Shiny!" Cadance said feeling immensely happy, giving her well-loved coltfriend another passionate kiss.

Seeing Cadance so happy, Shining enjoyed kissing her and sharing his love, satisfied that he could make his marefriend so happy.  Although, of course, Cadance was almost always in that mood, it was very few times that Cadance felt sad, and even less that he had seen her angry.  As the Princess of Love, Cadance always went with a smile on her face, and Shining would make sure that even he wasn't the cause to erase that beautiful smile.

Just as both ponies were kissing, they both heard the garden gates opening, which instantly caused both of them to separate and put some distance between them, as they couldn't allow themselves to be seen together before the big announcement.

As the garden gate opened, a unicorn guard with gray fur and black mane, wearing his customary golden armor.  After approaching Shining, both stallions greeted each other with the typical military salute.

"Sergeant." Shining Armor said.

"Captain." The gray unicorn said, levitating some papers with his magic. "I have the report from the guard from last night."

"I'll take it." Cadance said with a kind smile, levitating the report with her magic before Shining took it.

This caught Shining's attention, since Cadance wasn't normally interested in reports from the guards. Why did she want to read it now?  Was she looking for something?  And in that moment Shining remembered what Cadance had told him about being 'a little busy' the night of the Gala… Busy with what?

"Something to report?" Shining asked, raising an eyebrow after glancing at his marefriend reading the reports with interest.

"Besides the disaster caused at the end of the Gala, nothing very relevant that we haven't already reported in the night meeting." The gray unicorn replied, until he remembered something important. "Although this morning we learned of a strange report... The guard in charge of the front door, Silver Spear, was reported for breach of duties by falling asleep last night.  But this morning he spoke to me, and he insists that it wasn't like that, that apparently someone knocked him unconscious, a mare."

"Are you saying that an ordinary mare knocked him unconscious?" Shining Armor said incredulously. "Maybe it's just an excuse to-" At that moment Shining stopped speaking when he glanced at Cadance and noticed that she had been frozen, as if she had seen a ghost.

"A powerful unicorn mare, with yellow fur, red and gold mane..." Cadance said slowly, reading the report of that guard and reading the description of that supposed mare.  Then she raised her eyes and stared at the sergeant with a mixture of amazement and anger.

"Uh... yes, t-that's right, Princess." The sergeant said in surprise.  Shining was just as astonished, since he had never seen the always smiling Princess of Love make such a fearsome face.

"T-That's all sergeant. You can leave now." Shining said quickly for the guard to leave them alone.

Once the sergeant left, Shining looked with concern at his marefriend, who was now looking away with a thoughtful and concerned face.

"What was that Cadance?  I've never seen you this upset." he said gently, touching his marefriend with a worried look.

After a breath to calm down, Cadance slowly looked back at Shining, but still unable to smile.

"Don't worry, honey.  It's just… a bad memory." Cadance replied, trying to smile but not succeeding. "A bad memory that I'll make sure doesn't cause pain to the ponies I love again." she added, forming an angry look again as she thought that even though she was the Princess of Love, there was a mare that she couldn't forgive.






Interlude 7 – The first encounter


It was night in the Everfree Forest. The prevailing darkness added to the gloomy and terrifying features of the trees and the wild beasts prowling the surroundings, it could be assured with certainty that a night in the Everfree Forest was the equivalent of being in the scariest place in Equestria.  However, that particular night, it seemed that there was something else in the air, as if a strange veil of cold and fear ran through the entire forest, announcing that a strange being had invaded it.

Winding across the dark forest ground and moving through the shadows of the big trees was a strange shadow crawled swiftly, advancing towards one of the most recognizable points in the forest: the ruins of the old castle of the two sisters.

"hmm, I suppose time truly doesn't stand still..." The shadow suddenly whispered upon seeing the ruins of the old castle, stopping for a moment in front of it before continuing to advance.

The strange shadow rushed into the ruins of the castle, always stuck to the ground, like an ordinary shadow, with the difference that a normal shadow was the dark reflection of something in the way of the light.  However, this shadow was the reflection of nothing, meaning that 'something' that must have produced that shadow was nowhere to be seen. This was a freely moving shadow, and it had a goal in mind.

The shadow crept swiftly until it reached the old throne room, a huge hall with a destroyed ceiling where the moonlight managed to illuminate more than in the rest of the old castle.  Then the shadow came to a wall and crawled onto it from the floor, as if its two-dimensional figure had risen to its feet.  By doing so, the moonlight was able to more clearly reflect the living shadow that was there: a strange figure that resembled a huge snake, with long dissimilar horns, as well as its four legs, which although only its silhouette could be seen, clearly seemed different from each other, as if they were parts of animals of different species.

Always stuck to the walls of the old castle, the shadow moved down the hall the throne until it stopped when it saw an altar in the center.  A structure that he knew well, for he had seen it a thousand years before.

"As I expected... The Elements are not here..." The shadow said as it held his head in one of his claws thoughtfully. "But it's strange... I didn't feel that they were in Canterlot either."

Suddenly the shadow stopped reflecting when he heard something falling towards him. Then a small vial struck the wall it was projected on, and instantly a large flash illuminated the entire room for a few seconds, causing the shadow to disappear.

Once the shadow disappeared, a hooded figure advanced from the other end of the room, who when feeling the light of the moon falling on her, took off the hood of her head, thus revealing her striped coat and her peculiar Mohawk-styled mane.

"A zebra?  What fun, what fun!  I haven't seen one in years... Although to be fair, I haven't seen any creature for over a thousand years." The voice of the shadow suddenly said resoundingly throughout the room, who after the effect of the brightness caused by the vial had passed, began to form again in the same place it had disappeared.

Zecora's face remained impassive after the shadow returned to its shape.  She knew that a potion with such a simple effect wouldn't defeat this creature, least of all if 'this creature' was who she thought it was.  But despite the fact that she had spent years preparing with her mother to face this creature, the truth was that she didn't know what could really affect it.  So she would have to try everything before understanding how to defeat it.

"Are you the draconequus of legend?" Zecora asked, keeping her distance.  She couldn't be completely sure if this creature truly was the draconequus, but the dark magic that surrounded it was reason enough not to approach it.

"I am 'ONE' draconequus.  It's not like I'm the only one." The shadow replied calmly with a shrug. "Now then... Could you tell me if you know where the tiny stones that were inside that altar are?" The shadow added with an evil smile as he pointed to the altar in the middle of the room.

"There is no doubt. This is the being of chaos that the alicorn sisters fought against." Zecora thought worriedly, confirming her fears when she heard that creature ask about the Elements of Harmony. Without a doubt this was the creature she and her mother had been waiting for, and now she had to stop it as much as she possibly could.

"You're different from how I imagined you... More than a creature, you seem like a living shadow." Zecora said slowly.

"Keep stalling.  Analyze its movements, its gestures, everything.  If the stories are true, I have no chance of winning alone against it in a direct confrontation." Zecora thought as she spoke.

"Well, I haven't regained all my powers yet." The shadow of the draconequus said, flexing his arms to pretend he had muscles, but they comically deflated in a cartoonish manner. "It'll take me some time to fully recover, so in the meantime, I'm just a shadow of my former self." the shadow added nonchalantly, something that surprised Zecora, as that was definitely very important information.

Then the shadow of the draconequus slid across the floor to get close to another wall near Zecora, where he rose again and projected on the vertical wall.  After seeing the shadow near her, Zecora instinctively jumped back to maintain her distance.  Not just because she was cautious, but because her body instinctively reacted to feeling the enormous amount of chaotic magic emanating from the terrifying being.

"And now that I've been completely honest with you... How about in return you tell me where the Elements of Harmony are?" The shadow asked with a huge smile, staring at Zecora, who did her best to remain expressionless.  "It's the second time I've asked you. You definitely know where they are.  Don't try to fool me.  It wouldn’t be wise to lie to the king of deception." The shadow added, moving his claws as if imitating a ghost.

It seemed that this being took everything as if it were a joke. And that was precisely what was beginning to terrify Zecora.

"If you tell me what your plan is, I might tell you where they are." Zecora said slowly, always staying on the defensive, without taking her gaze from the strange shadow being.

"Pfft! Plan?  Do I look like the kind of creature that would have a plan?!  I'm the master of chaos!!  It's not like I’ve spent a thousand years planning a brilliant strategy." The shadow laughed, mocking Zecora's question. Then the shadow stopped laughing and put on a thoughtful look as he looked up at the sky.  "Although it seems that there are other individuals who do have big evil plans for Equestria…" Immediately after adding that, the shadow glanced at Zecora, and smiled wickedly upon discovering that the zebra seemed genuinely intrigued by what he had just said.

"Hehe!  There’s the winning number!  I'll tell you what I know and you'll tell me what I need to know." The shadow added with a cheerful smile, again sliding across the floor until it casted itself in an old and broken column of the castle, even closer to Zecora.  "I have only been free for a few hours since I returned, but I can see it... how the flow of magic is changing." The shadow added pointing to his dark eyes, which for an instant seemed to glow fleetingly in a multicolored manner. "No magical being sees magic as I see it.  And that's why I can handle it like no one else can.  And I can see things that no one else can..."

"Tell me what you know." Zecora said with a serious look, which made the shadow being smile evilly.

Then the shadow began to talk about what he had discovered. Although more than having evidence of a secret plan, what the shadow had discovered were small and subtle traces in the flow of magic. A small clue here, another there.  Which, added to his vast experience in creating chaos and meeting all kinds of magical creatures, was what the lord of chaos needed to guess what someone very ingenious could be creating.  And without realizing it, the being of chaos had discovered the truth, an ingenious and terrifying plan of someone secretly pulling the strings in the dark, a terrifying truth that was hidden in plain sight.

When the shadow finished telling what he had discovered, Zecora's face was pale. Not only because of the magnitude of disaster that what the shadow had just told her involved, but also because of the mastermind who was planning all this.

"It can't be… If what this creature says is true… Not only are ponies in danger, but every creature in this world is also!  And without realizing it… We ourselves are helping this catastrophe to come!" Zecora thought terrified, feeling that never before in her life had she felt so much fear.

"Now now, don’t look so bleak. Life is much too fleeting for creatures like you to stress yourself over the inevitable!  It'll be a great journey until that grand finale comes." The shadow said, laughing and pretending to celebrate next to Zecora.  Unknowingly to the zebra, the shadow had been getting closer and closer to her.  "Now then… it's your turn, dear.   Could you be so kind as to tell me where the Elements of Harmony are hidden?" The shadow added, radically changing his attitude, taking on a wicked smile as he projected on Zecora's own shadow.

Zecora snapped out of her disturbed thoughts at the shadow’s question and remembered that she had to deal with the immediate danger right in front of her before she could start worrying about the dangers that lie ahead.

"I cannot tell him where the Elements of Harmony are. This… This is worse than I could imagine… I must warn everypony about this!" Zecora thought terrified.

Shifting her frightened gaze to one full of determination, Zecora again threw a potion of light on the shadow beast, causing it to once again disappear for an instant.  Then as fast as lightning, Zecora turned and started running.

Hours earlier, when Zecora sensed a strange disturbance in the chaotic magic that surrounded the Everfree Forest, she understood that she had to prepare for a great final battle. Therefore, instead of the customary flasks with ingredients she carried under her hood, the zebra brought potions with great and powerful effects for everything that could be presented to her in a battle, in addition to having several 'bottled spells', an ingenious and difficult way to store unicorn magic that Dusk Shine himself had helped her prepare as an experiment.  All this was to give her a small chance against the mighty lord of chaos, or so she had thought before facing him.  Now, after finally feeling the great difference in power, and with the new information obtained about that catastrophe to come, Zecora's new plan was to escape from there as soon as possible.

'Snap!'

"We haven't finished talking yet." The shadow's voice echoed through the castle at the same time as a snap of fingers was heard.  In that instant, a stone wall rose from the castle floor and blocked the exit from the main hall.

Zecora stopped instantly and turned again to face her opponent, a shadow that quickly took shape again, only this time much larger and more imposing.  Ready to fight, Zecora pulled her hood back up to hide her face and took two flasks under her cloak. They were both ready, and the fight began.

'Snap!' Snapping his fingers, the massive shadow beast released an electrical bolt with his other claw, one that Zecora was able to evade by leaping right at the last second. Then Zecora threw the two flasks she was holding to the floor, causing the entire room to fill in an instant with a thick fog that made it impossible to see anything.

"Oh, come now.  This wouldn’t exactly be a thrilling read if you made it too simple." The shadow said, smiling wickedly.

With another 'Snap!' of his fingers, the fog began to dissipate rapidly, so that the shadow could see that the zebra was trying to flee down one of the stairs that led to a destroyed roof.  With another simple snap of his fingers, the steps of the stone stairway disappeared, causing Zecora to slip and slide back into the main hall.

The shadow came swiftly closer to catch his prey as soon as she fell into the room, but Zecora anticipated this and threw another vial into the shadow as it crawled across the floor, causing tree branches to swiftly grow across the floor, breaking the slabs of the castle and making it more difficult for the shadow to advance directly.

From outside the castle, it was possible to see the fleeting flashes of light and the rumbling of the walls from the battle fought.  Over and over again the sound of a glass flask breaking was heard and repeated, always immediately followed by the characteristic 'Snap!' from the shadow's fingers.  For every potion and bottled spell Zecora used, the shadow easily undone any effect with a simple snap.  Potions of growth,, fire, light, any attack from Zecora only gave her a couple of seconds of advantage to flee, but instantly the shadow used his magic and shortened the distance again, bringing the entire battle to a deadlocked. But that stalemate was about to end, for the shadow magic seemed inexhaustible, and Zecora's flasks of potions and spells were almost gone.

After throwing a flask that encapsulated a teleportation spell that Dusk Shine himself had saved for Zecora in one of her flasks, the shadow was surprised to see that upon receiving the blow from the flask he had swapped places with the zebra.

"Interesting.  I didn't know you could keep that kind of spell in flasks." The shadow said, turning to see the hooded zebra that he had lost sight of for a second, but that logically was now where he had been a second ago. "But it doesn't matter how many potions and spells you use.  No unicorn magic, not even alicorn magic, has ever been able to defeat me!"

And with that last shout, the shadow lunged at the hooded zebra, finally managing to reach her and place his dark shadowy claws on her body.  But the victorious smile of the shadow only lasted an instant, feeling that as soon as his claws caught the zebra, it disintegrated, falling a pool of water as soon as he touched it, thus leaving only the zebra's hood in his claws.

That second of absolute surprise at what had happened was all that Zecora needed to finally take the advantage.

The same water that had fallen from the false body that the shadow had trapped quickly gathered again, transforming into a high and thin ice sheet akin to a huge ice mirror, in which the shadow was now reflected.

"What magic is this?" The surprised shadow asked, touching the edges of the ice mirror he now found himself in, realizing that he seemed to be trapped in it.

"You said you knew all pony magic, so I had to use magic foreign to pony magic." Zecora said calmly, coming out from behind a stone column where she had hidden, without wearing her cloak, since she had used it for the decoy of the false body of water. "It's a pretty decent imitation of the magic that kelpies occupy in my homeland." Zecora added, remembering part of her past, where she had shared her childhood with some kelpies: aquatic equines that manipulated the water in their body at will.

Without wasting any more time, Zecora took the last vial she had and threw it into the shadow's claws, who was surprised to see that the vial contained a sticky molasses that stuck to his fingers, immobilizing them.

"Now you're trapped in that ice mirror and cannot use your magic." Zecora said with a small smile, finally sighing in relief after that fierce battle. "Every time you used your magic, you snapped your fingers.  Now you won't be able to."

As Zecora spoke, it seemed that the shadow wasn't paying attention.  The beast only kept looking at his own claws, trying to snap his fingers but without success.  However, despite everything, instead of giving a worried look, the shadow just put a mischievous smile, as if he was enjoying that.

"And here I thought the zebras kept their word... I told you a very important truth, now you have to tell me where the Elements of Harmony are." The shadow said calmly, something that gave Zecora the chills.

"We never made a deal, I just said maybe I would tell you." Zecora answered, becoming uneasy again.  Despite having won the fight and having the shadow beast captive, the environment around her was still gloomy and terrifying, even more so with the perverse smile that the shadow had.  "I cannot reveal where the Elements of Harmony are to one as dangerous as you.  I only faced you because I needed information.  To find out your secrets and weaknesses."

After Zecora's words, instead of getting angry, the shadow began to laugh out loud, something that sounded extremely terrifying in that lonely and gloomy castle.

"Hahaha!  Congratulations, I think you did a great job." The shadow answered laughing, while trying again to snap his fingers without success, since the molasses stuck to them prevented it. Then the shadow's face changed radically, staring at Zecora with an evil smile. "You just forgot a tiny detail... Do you remember when I told you that I was the king of deception?"

As soon as the shadow said that, a long and wide dark shape began to be seen extending from under the ice mirror where the shadow was trapped. The long dark line was nothing more than the natural extension of the shadow itself, a shadow that was never free, a shadow that was never magical on its own.  That shadow was only the natural extension of its true owner, who had only hidden his projection to make it seem that the shadow was the one that lived by itself.

Realizing the truth, Zecora whirled around to see the true enemy, whom she only saw for an instant.  From the brightness of the moon, Zecora could see the strange creature in front of her, a great beast that seemed to have everything in its body armed in parts.  But what struck Zecora the most was finally seeing the true eyes of the beast, fearsome yellow eyes with bright red pupils, which was the last thing Zecora saw before losing her senses when the claw of the draconequus touched her head and put her in a trance.

"Hehe!  Well, this was a delightful little battle we had; I haven't had fun like this in centuries! I guess it wasn't fair to lie about not having all my power yet, but you always have to have an ace up your sleeve."  The draconequus said, smiling as he rolled up some imaginary sleeves, thus wrinkling his own arms and leaving his claws floating by itself in the air. Meanwhile, Zecora remained motionless, her gaze lost, where her pupils had been replaced by a multicolored swirl that meant that she was now hypnotized and at the complete mercy of the lord of chaos. "Well, time to see what you have hidden in that little striped head of yours!"

'Snap!' As soon as the draconequus snapped his fingers, the top of the head Zecora opened like a jar and dozens of images out of this, filling the room where they were. Memories of Zecora's childhood, her arrival in Equestria, and everything she had experienced up to that precise moment, like videos floating in the air, repeating themselves over and over again.  Then the draconequus began to walk calmly around the room while observing the memories of the zebra and looking for the one he needed.

"Whoopsie! Spoiler!" The draconequus said when he saw the memory of when his shadow told Zecora about the secret plan he had discovered.  Then the draconequus snapped his fingers and the memory disappeared. "It would be boring for you to tell what is going to happen.  Everything will be much more fun when it is a surprise for everyone.  And of course, when that time comes, I'll no longer be here." The draconequus added with a small shudder, thinking that even he didn't dare to interpose himself in the plan of 'that individual', not because he didn't have the power to stop that plan, but because he simply preferred not to approach that being.

Then the draconequus kept walking until he saw a memory that glowed slightly brighter than the others.  As he approached, the draconequus smiled wickedly as he saw six ponies conversing with each other, six ponies that exuded a certain special magic in them.

"So, Luna and Celestia are no longer the ones in charge of carrying the elements, huh?" The draconequus said, then looked closer at the six ponies. "Hm…nothing out of the ordinary for these namby pamby ponies.  A meek wimp, a spaztastic party mare, a drama queen, a plain cowgirl and an egotistic hotshot, what a bore!"  He then looked at the purple colt of the group.  “Although this one, I have a wonderful feeling that he will be very fun to ruin.

Once his mission was accomplished, the lord of chaos snapped his fingers and the memories returned to Zecora's head and her head returned to normal.  However, her eyes were still lost in the trance of the draconequus.

"Good. Now, what will I do with you?" The draconequus said putting a thoughtful look as he looked at Zecora. "I could alter your mind so that you become the enemy of your friends … No, too predictable!  I know!  I'll turn you into a boring office worker who hates nature and forests!" The draconequus said laughing like a foal playing with a new toy, undecided about what would be the most fun to do to his new victim.

For her part, as soon as Zecora fell into trance, she lost all her senses.  In her mind, she was in a huge lake, sinking lower and lower, losing sight of the light from the surface as the abyss at the bottom of the lake engulfed her.  Zecora had no way of knowing what the lord of chaos was doing with her mind, but even though she didn't know that the diabolical draconequus was about to alter her personality in the deepest part of her being, Zecora could sense that something terrible was coming and that her mind, even her own soul, was in danger.

At the moment that Zecora was about to touch the bottom of the abyss, and when her eyes were about to close completely, a sign that she was completely surrendering, a small but intense light appeared on the surface of the mental lake into which she fell, and as a magnet began to draw her out of the abyss, filling it with a cozy warmth. That light and heat grew bigger and bigger until it was enough for Zecora to finally wake up from her trance.

"That was too reckless, sorceress. You should never have faced that monster on your own." A male voice said, a voice that Zecora couldn't recognize.

After coming out of the trance so abruptly, both Zecora's mind and body felt extremely exhausted, making it hard for her mind to remember what had happened and what was happening at that moment.  Little by little Zecora's senses came back and the zebra could feel the wind on her face and the warm fur of the back where she was now.

Someone had rescued her, and now that someone was carrying her on his back and galloping fast to flee the old castle.

"This… This is not the gallop of a pony." It was the last thing Zecora could think of before she passed out.

For his part, in the old castle, the lord of chaos had remained motionless, watching as the unexpected intruder fled in the distance with his new toy.  Everything had happened very quickly, the intruder had interrupted his fun just before altering the personality of that zebra, and after stopping the draconequus for a few seconds, he had fled quickly.

Despite the fact that the intruder and the zebra had already moved far away, the draconequus knew that it was only a matter of snapping his fingers and in an instant he could appear in front of them to stop them.  However, when he was about to do that and raised his claw to snap his fingers, the draconequus stopped and put on a mischievous smile.

"No, that was very unexpected... And I love unexpected things!" The draconequus said smiling with satisfaction. Then he raised both claws and moved his fingers ominously. "More toys… more unexpected things… More chaos! Hahaha!" He added, laughing wickedly.

The lord of chaos stretched his entire body as if he were about to exercise, raising his claws together and moving his neck from side to side.

"Okay, enough of this interlude nonsense." The draconequus said smiling wickedly as he raised one of his claws and brought two of his fingers together, ready to snap them. "Time for the main show to start."

'Snap!'


~ END OF INTERLUDE ~

> SEASON TWO
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Sunset's statement, Celestia stopped eating her donut. What would Dusk do in this situation?