> A Dusk's New Dawn
>  by ThatWritingDragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> (OLD CHAPTERS FROM 1 to 5)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey.." a gruff, raspy voice spoke. 

Tired eyes stared at the stone, purple fur matted with mud and water. His once clean dark blue hair with pink and purple streaks; now messy, strayed and chopped in some places.

Lightened fur littered his body, mostly around his forelegs and Barrel. The biggest scar on his fur was where a huge streak cut through his old cutie mark. While a healing spell could heal near-death injuries, it still abides the law of life.

He blinked once more, well more like winked. He'd kept his right eye closed at all times after his...Incident.

Dusk licked his molars, trying to find the words to say but the feeling of his teeth's sharpened state reminded him of what he did to get to this day. Dusk wondered what his teacher Solaris would think of his appearance now. After some pondering, Dusk realized:

He didn't care. 

Why would he care about the state of his body when Rainbow Blitz got his feathers plucked, his wings shattered, completely trashing his ability to fly?

Why would he care about his cutie mark when Applejack's hind legs were chopped off and his tongue ripped out of his own muzzle, forever not letting him tell the honest truth?

Why would he care about his eye when Elusive got both plucked out? Just because he wanted to be generous to some worthless pony in the street, and once they found out who Elusive was-

Why would he care about his looks when Butterscotch accepted anypony in need, no matter what they looked, thus leading him to his downfall because of his shred of kindness in this damn War!

Why would he care about the little scars around his ear and muzzle when Bubble Berry has his own ripped off, not letting him help ponies smile and hear their laughter?

Why should he care!?

Dusk slammed his left hoof at the ground in anger. He looked at the graves surrounding him in a semicircle, clean cuts of their Cutie Marks in the middle of the stones, forever reminding him that he wasn't fast enough, strong enough, talented enough, and determined enough to stop at least one of their deaths. Dusk choked back a sob, tears streaming at the end of his one eye as he remembered how he got here in the first place. Dusk let out a roar of despair and sadness as the memories of their disfigured bodies appeared in his mind. Tears began to stream down his face as the feeling overwhelmed him.

Every memory was making it harder for him to breathe, to see! Is this what they felt?

No.

Not for Dusk, this wasn't enough for him.

He had to see, had to feel, to be what they felt.

Dusk charged up his already cracked horn. Maybe if he did this, he would finally rest, finally empathize to what they dealt through while he was out here waiting it out like a coward.

I deserved this, he rationalized.

Dusk just hoped he could see them...

Just one more time.

[Very well]

Dusk's eye snapped open, his concentration shattered and the magic he was carefully building up for his last spell failed and he lost control, finally shattering his horn to pieces.

CRACK!

PAIN! Pure unadulterated pain shot through him, his maw wide open in a silent scream. The pupil on his remaining eye became the size of pinpricks as his brain tried to locate where the pain was and try to stop it.

Dusk couldn't feel the rain slamming onto his already matted fur, couldn't feel the vibrations of thunder as it slammed onto the ground nor the feeling of the rushing air as a storm of magical energy gathered above him, lightning flashing throughout the land.

Was this... was this- what they felt? Was Dusk's last thought as he finally fainted due to shock.

As another thunder flashed, a silhouette was seen before disappearing.

The storm began to dissolve as it finally let up, finally showing the beautiful sky for the first time in a while.





Dusk slammed straight onto the ground, he quickly rolled on instinct and got on his hooves; ears straight and swivelling as it attempted to locate where he was.

Dusk's remaining eye blinked, soaking in the green- Wait, green!? (He hadn't seen that colour in a LOOong while!) Green was everywhere, surrounding him. He gaped at the abandoned, not burnt to the ground Castle of Everfree. It looked like it got old from age not from-

(Fire. The screams of the foals and the begging of herds as they begged for mercy from Queen Umbra)

Not from that, but Dusk shrugged it off, quickly looking around his surroundings he noticed the wings he once had. A smile broke out and he brought the wing closer to him for him to inspect, hoping that it was just like its once original disposition but it faded as numerous scars he once had were seen throughout the wing. It seemed even though the spell worked, the mental scars must've been much deeper than he previously thought.

With a hoof, Dusk raised it to his forehead to see if he had his horn and felt its slightly curved shape to the light bumps that signify light scars. Dusk patted on the grass around him, attempting to be in a much more comfortable place, (which was impossible since he was the most relaxed in a while,) and curled up, slowly waiting for the spell to end.

The spell was made by Prince Artemis who had witnessed the gruesome deaths of his ponies as they rebelled against Queen Umbra and the torture that ensued as she tried to get more info of the Rebellion. The spell was the utilization of dream magic that, once activated, would form a dream with positive feelings, and is a known suicide spell, because the spell would use the ponies' internal magic to supply it, killing them slowly as they experienced their dream. After they were done, the spell absorbing the magic would explode in a surge, attacking its surroundings. Ponies who used this spell are usually a last-ditch effort and were mostly used by unicorns. For it to work for Pegasi or Earthlings, they had a special spell just for them.

Dusk grimaced before he smiled, his friends and family would've loved it if he died remembering them, so he did just that. Quickly settling on his back as his wings wrapped around him in a hug, (He imagined it as the wings of his friends and family.) and he couldn't help but smile. He flared his magic once, just to feel the last remaining of the Elements of Harmony finally releasing from his core and onto the forest around him; he could even feel the Tree of Harmony humming in delight.

Dusk smiled once more as he made a small apparition of his friends and family surrounding him in a circle. He closed his eyes, knowing that they can finally meet in the afterlife.

He didn't know they would be so different the next time they saw each other.



Chapter 2

Dusk woke up.

He wasn't supposed to wake up- Dusk blinked over and over again as he tried to rationalize how he was still alive, he squinted in confusion at the fact that he woke up. Maybe he's still in the dream spell? well, with nothing else to do other than waiting for the dream to end and to finally die; he looked around for something to do. Dusk realized it was dark but a quick NightVision spell quickly resolved that issue, oh- he was still in front of the Everfree Castle; with a shrug, Dusk with a trot made his way inside.

Forgetting the fact that he just casted an actual spell and felt the light -almost minuscule- drain on his reserves but let's lay off the guy for a bit yeah? Maybe he's still feeling high- but what do I know? I'm just the Author!





As Dusk trotted his flank inside the Everfree Castle, a trio of fillies stumbled their way and saw the last remaining tail that is similar to that of Twilight Sparkle. They gasped and poked their tiny heads above the bush they were hiding in, showing a light yellow earth pony, a white unicorn and an orange pegasus trio of fillies as they tried to compute what Twilight Sparkle herself was doing in the Castle of the Two Sisters.

"Ey guys- ahm, not blind or anything but wasn't that just Twi' just now?" Apple Bloom asked as she swerved to look at her friends, her red mane tied with a pink bow on her head swerving with her as her orange eyes glistened with confusion.

"Maybe she was meeting up with a Stallion? to do some experiments, she is a scientist if i remember" Smirked Scootaloo as she propped her head with a hoof, a messy purple mane sat on her own head as her pegasi wings buzzing slightly in anticipation.

"That's disgusting Scootaloo! such behaviour is why no colts are into you! Besides, if Twilight would have a Coltfriend, everypony in Ponyville would know!" informed the unicorn with a pale pink and purple mane named Sweetie Belle as she crossed her hooves together in indignation at such language.

Scootaloo looked unimpressed "Like your one to talk Sweetie Belle, those PlayColts magazines we found sure wasn't ours-" and before the pegasi could finish a hoof was shoved in her mouth from a rather panicked looking unicorn as she swerved her head around trying to see if anypony else heard other than the trio that was stuck in the bushes.

"shush! how did you even find it!? Whatever that isn't the point-" stated the blushing Unicorn but before she can continue.

"-Tha point is we need to know what Twilight is doin' in tha castle and get our investigation cutie mark!!" interrupted Apple Bloom as she raised a hoof to the castle door, determination filled her as she finished her exclamation.

"Cutie Mark Sexual Investigators!!!!"

"SCOOTALOO!"

They didn't notice the glowing green eyes creeping upon them, too busy with their lecture to even sense the feral feeling.





After some time, deep in the hallways of the Everfree castle, Dusk's ears decided to perk up the moment a scream reached him. His eyes narrowed, he didn't imagine that- did he? 

A dark chuckle came from him, even in his dreams the screams reached him.

Wait...

Screams- screams, in a pitch he never once heard once in his life. 

Dusk turned a horrified expression plastered on his face as the realization slowly trickled through his thick head, his ears folding as thoughts started crawling in and rationalization started to smack him.

"i don't think this is a dream" he whispered as if trying to not shatter the already fragile illusion around his mind.

The screams, they were so- so similar to another. 

Oh... so similar...

"AppleJack! Help- please- i don' wanna die-"

"My wings- blitz... please- it hurts, everything hurts-"

"im sorry- im so sorry Elusive-, i just wanted to make you proud-"

Confusion and terror ran through him, feeling that would ground a normal pony yet his body worked on autopilot. Legs galloping back to where he came from, calm and rationality? there was nothing of semblance in him the moment he recognized those screams. His wings flapping as they attempted to fly him to his destination but not taking off completely, it has been a few years to a few months since he last used it after all.

So he surged with all he can, channelling his inner magic to work on his speed by focusing it on his legs. He was going to save them- this may just be a dream- or something along those lines but Dusk didn't care, he couldn't save them once- so he'll save them this time!

'Please- just a little longer, if this is a dream. Anypony- please... just let me reach them'

A trail of a panicked Dusk busted through the rusted and halfway broken castle doors, Dusk Shine's ears were swivelling everywhere trying to use his senses to well... sense them.

"Apple Buck! Scootaroll- Silver Belle!!!" He bellowed, trying to see if he could get a response however all he could hear growls and whimpers but he couldn't pinpoint it- he was way too deep in hysteria to calm down and use his head to even focus.

"HELP!!"

There!! through the bushes-

Dusk saw the hind of a timber wolf and filled with desperation and hysteria, slammed straight at it. Pain slammed straight through him once again, he should've questioned the fact that he felt pain in the first place- he wasn't supposed to feel pain but he just shoved it to the back of his head. He had better things to do like saving those- Fillies!?

Dusk's eyes widened as he turned to look at the clearly feminine versions of the CMC, but a growl and the horrible rotting smell reminded him what he should focus on. Okay, ignore that Dusk Shine, deal with that later. Deal with the Timberwolves first, ask why their crossdressing later and think on why he even dreamt of that in the first place, his thoughts start to ramble somewhere else but he caught himself.

Suddenly, his whole attitude switched from his once panicked state to a serious focused one. His once awkward stance changed to a guarded and tense form, his wings flaring and teeth barred in a show of dominance. His whole aura screamed that this is one nopony should mess with, just from the scars to his stocky build were intimidating on itself and it clearly affected the Timberwolves the moment he actually tried to be intimidating.

Whimpers and whines escaped some of the canines yet most stood still, tense and ready to pounce clearly waiting for Dusk to attack.

And attack he did.





They didn't understand, the pony that they once thought was Twilight... wasn't Twilight-

He -he looked like a he to them- was waaaay bulkier than Twilight was, he had a much shorter mane and last they knew Twilight is a Unicorn not- not an Alicorn! and he was taller and bigger than Big Mac is obviously different to Twilight's slim body! so clearly to them, he wasn't Twilight sparkle.

Perhaps a brother?

"You... What were you fillies doing here?" they blinked out of their thoughts and realized- the fight! it was over! Scootaloo groaned in disappointment at missing a flight due to being such an egghead. Sweetie Belle looked around and realized that twigs and other things similar were burned or half-crushed around them. Applebloom couldn't help but admire the frame of the Stallion in front of her, strong and caring just like...

Just like...

His eyes... so similar shining with concern for somepony he doesn't know. Apple bloom couldn't help but sniffle slightly, her eyes tearing up slightly causing the Stallion-Twi to be so blurry, mashing with- with...

'Pa...'




Chapter 3





A Purpose





Everything was reversed.

From what Apple Buck- he meant Apple Bloom told him (along with the others). There is no Prince Solaris the Prince of the Sun.

There is only Princess Celestia the Princess of the Sun.

No Prince Artemis, The Prince of the Moon.

Only Princess Luna, the Princess of the Moon.

There is No Stallion Six-

Only the Mane Six.

Dusk couldn't help but let out a rough exhale from exhaustion, they were kids- he shouldn't be taking their intel so seriously perhaps they were just confused but...

He glanced at the fillies trotting beside him, chatting and laughing as if it never happened. They acted just like-

Tartarus, they looked just like them and with how similar they accounted the 'Mane Six' it was like everypony he knew had some secret reverse gender Twin.

Dusk wondered if the spell just changed their genders and this is all just a weird dream his magic thought up.

He couldn't help but think if this was another chance to be with his friends again, he's pretty sure the Mane Six are just like his friends-

No. Don't think like that, they may have the chance to look the same but they aren't. Dusk gritted his teeth, frustration bubbling inside him but he kept it where it is. He shouldn't let the fillies worry, fillies like them shouldn't worry about stallions like him; he could handle it. 

Dusk will never replace his friends, that he vowed.

"Hey... Mistah" Dusk's eye trailed to the voice of Apple Bloom, concern 'bloomed' (heh- truly he was a comedian) through her features as she stared up at him. 

Eyes just like Buck's...

"Are ya' okay?" Dusk's mouth formed to a -what he hoped to be- smile, careful to not bare his teeth and frighten her by such features on a face he 'assumes' that she knows to resemble somepony. Hoping that the filly would not cry once again, his ears folded slightly as he remembered the scene.

"i am alright, Apple Bloom. Just thinking about the situation at hoof" Dusk answered, a smile still on his muzzle as his group made their way out of the forest. 

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched the interaction before they nodded, Scootaloo suddenly tripped on a large vine.

Time to see what this Stallion would do.

What she didn't expect was the wing of purple to cradle her, as the owner backed up and shielded her as if Scootaloo herself was in great distress. Eyes and form guarded as he towered over the three of them, magic charged not attempting to be discreet as the fillies felt its power around them.

A Warning she realized.

Dusk's form relaxed slightly after a few moments when he realized there wasn't any immediate threat. Dusk tried to see if he should do it or not, but after a few seconds he bit their necks and threw them on his back, It was wide enough to carry the fillies and if they were to fall down. He flexed his wings, he got these along with his magic.

"Are you fillies okay?" he asked as he started galloping a steady pace, careful to not let them fall. Years of instinctual carrying of a small creature appearing once again while he made his way to the path out of the Everfree Forest. His wings flapping not completely taking off just a simple exercise while helping him gain speed.

"we're al'ight mistah', ahm... i shoul'da asked before fallowin' ya but..." a pause from Apple Bloom " What's your name?" She finished a curious tilt of her head.

Dusk Shine faltered slightly but continued on his way, the opening was closer. It seems even in another place, the exit was the same. He weaved through huge roots, vines and others as he tried to think on how to respond to her question.

"Dusk Shine, Prince of..." Dusk's eyes glazed over slightly but a quick blink and the look was gone, "Its just Dusk Shine." he simply stated.

The fillies waited for him to continue but after a few moments of silence they didn't push, they may be children but they knew that it was a touchy subject. Their eyes lit up suddenly, maybe Dusk was a Prince of a neighbouring kingdom that was separated from his Twin from birth? and he was exiled because his Kingdom knew of Twilight being Princess Celestia's student and thought he was a spy! 

That's why he's an alicorn! its because he's a Prince! they nodded in satisfaction, now they knew why he had those scars he must have been surviving after being exiled. The fact he had no mare with him made them slightly sad but that's okay! he had them to keep him safe even if they're the one being saved right now but that's also okay, just classic Stallion Maternal Instinct.

Just wait till their back to Ponyville, then they're gonna do the saving.

It's a Fillies job to be there for the Colt after all!





He dropped them from his back and onto the clearing separating the Everfree forest and... Ponyville. Dusk looked over them trying to see if they somehow got injured on the trip and discretely used some Detection spells on them as well. After seeing they were no injuries other than just a few specks of dirt and messy furs, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Why don't you fillies go home?" he said after some time. He finished his task and he didn't want to confront them "Im sure they're worried about you" He explained. This was as far as he could go, he saved them and got them home. The fillies looked at each other, nodded, waved their goodbyes and left the stallion alone.

Something he finally fixed, maybe this was indeed a dream to let him fix his past mistakes.

He was satisfied with just fixing this one in many mistakes he's made. Dusk's just glad he got some form of redemption by helping them and he was fine with that, maybe if the dream continued he could also continue with his redemption?

Thoughts for another day Dusk, another day.




Memories




It has been... what? a month? Dusk had no absolute idea on what the exact date was, but all he knew right now is that this isn't a dream.

Dusk couldn't help but laugh, even dying! he failed at dying! his laughter turned into sobs, why? he just wanted to be with his family? is that too hard? he did everything he could, so why can't Faust grant him his wish?

Dusk smacked himself, trying to focus on something other than his emotions. He's a soldier! he should know how to control his emotions! especially since the Crusaders keep on prowling around. He growled, be an example to the foals. Do not be like this around them, do not distress them further. 

They don't need to know what is going on with him.

"Mista' are ya there!?" The voice caught his attention and he placed on a smile, the crusaders as of right now is kinda the only thing stopping him from just killing himself. Dusk chuckled once more, he wouldn't do it per se. He just won't stop it when the opportunity comes.

Wow, way to be grim Dusk. Let's just focus on the foals eh?

"Over here!" he cheerfully called out. The 'clip, clop' of their hooves along with their enthusiastic chatter brought a small nostalgic smile on his face, a memory of a life that could have- should've happened.

What went wrong? he couldn't help but ask.

"Mista' Dusk, are ya' feelin' down again?" questioned Apple Bu- Bloom, the clear concern in their eyes nearly caused me to laugh the moment they appeared on my vision. You truly are pathetic aren't you Dusk? even foals! -bucking foals- can see right through you! Lookie er' everypony! Prince Dusk Shine! the Prince of Patheticness!

"A good-looking colt like you looking sad would ruin your looks!" added in Silver- Sweetie Belle, her determined look mirrored by her compatriots as they nodded simultaneously at her statement.

"Hey! sir Dusk, don't go into that sad corner! it's a bad place and it doesn't need a cute colt like you!" blurted out Scootaroll, he- he meant Scootaloo. Dusk blinked and turned to the blushing pegasus, he couldn't help but chuckle; If this was their way of distracting him then they are doing a fantastic job.

Dusk smirked and sat on his haunches, the fillies mostly visit him whenever there was some kind of 'Friendship lesson' they learned or heard during the week. He leaned on a hoof and listened as they began their tale, Dusk wondered if this was what being a teacher felt like. if it was, then it's a rather nice feeling.

"Oh yeah! did'ya know that Pinkie's mah' cousin?" grinned Bloom, Dusk rose a brow before shaking my head. He didn't exactly have the time to research any of his friend's bloodlines back in my world, with the war and all.

"Oh yeah! hey sir Dusk, do you have a version of the 'Equestria Games' from where ya from?" asked Scoots, he tilted his head to the side in contemplation. There was supposed to be one if he remembers correctly, however, the sudden invasion stopped it from succeeding.

"Nope, from where I'm from. We were rather busy with our duties to have time for a sporting event" He stated as Scoots, slowly 'scooted' closer to his wings; the other fillies watching closely. He just sighed before pulling them closer with his wings, Dusk carefully nudged Bloom to continue her story.

"Umm... Prince Dusk?" He tilted his head to Belle and waited as she tried to form the proper words for her question. "Why haven't you joined us in Ponyville?" she carefully asked.

He rose a brow at that, it wasn't like he was ignoring the place entirely. Dusk was just way too busy trying to keep the foals from danger, like shortening the number of predators in the Everfree Forest. The time where the Everfree tried to consume Ponyville, he was in the background trying to shorten the damage to a minimum. Luckily not a lot of ponies saw him and if they did, Dusk was sure that they confused him with this... 'Twilight Sparkle.'

He huffed lightly, "I'm just busy I suppose, why? would you like me to come with you girls next time?" Dusk asked as he carefully watched the surroundings, even when he already showcased how much of a threat he is. It seems the beasts of Everfree can't seem to get a hint.

He still couldn't stop the lifting of the corner of his lips the moment he saw the fillies under his wing stage-whisper, didn't they know that he could hear them? he couldn't stop the slight shaking of his head as he watched in amusement.

"But like... we're suppos' to bring our elda' siblin' and Dusk's just like that for ya!" whispered Bloom as she turned to Belle, Scoots seem to agree with Bloom especially with her nodding; They stared at Belle before they all simultaneously nodded.

"You girls done?" 

"Yeah! so like... there's this thing" Started Scoots, she crossed her hooves as she turned to Belle. 

"It's this thing where you have to bring your older..." Belle continued hesitantly and Dusk could just feel his brow rising "uhm..." Belle just nudged Bloom when she couldn't find the words after a few moments, they could clearly see how amused he was because Dusk wasn't even trying to hide it. 

"We have to bring a olda' sibling... figure... or something like that for school tomorrow!" blurted Bloom, "and we wanted to see if you can come for Sweetie's!" she added.

"Yeah! her sister's busy or something that's why she couldn't join!" interrupted Scoots, a grin on her muzzle.

"And since you've been actin' a lot like a big bro to us we decided!" added Bloom.

"If you can come for Sweetie Belle's as her olda' brother!" cheered both Scoots and Bloom as an embarrassed Belle hid closer to Dusk's body by diving deeper into his wing.

"You don't have too... but since big sis can't, i would've liked it if you came as my big brother" whispered Belle, as she peeked out of Dusk's feathers. 

("Yes Dusk, you're my Best Friend Little Brother Forever")

Dusk couldn't stop the slight sadness in his eyes, he rubbed it for a moment before turning back to the fillies, a big happy grin in his features. Dusk stood and brought all of them into a hug, he tightened it and laughed.

"Well, why didn't you say so! i would be honoured to be your big brother!" he grinned.

Dusk may have failed in a lot of things but he won't fail this one.



chapter 5

Dusk stared down at the three fillies, a contemplative look on his face as he questioned the fact that he is actually here. He would actually go with them into Ponyville, he sighed. Well, his friends didn't die for a coward, let's just get this over with.

"Heya Mista' Dusk! this is yer' firs' time to be in Ponyville right?"  Dusk turned to Bloom and realized, she's tiny. The dark purple male alicorn stared in full confusion before looking at the other two, they're all tiny. Were they always that small?  Dusk just shook his head, let's just move on and ignore that.

"Yeah... I've mostly stayed near the outskirts" holy Solaris, why is he just noticing that they were that small. "and none of that mister, sir or prince stuff making me sound old" Dusk added with slight annoyance in the end, his hoof messing with his already messed mane. 

"wait..." Scoots tapped her chin as she tried to think "how old are you?" Scoots proceeded to point straight at Dusk's muzzle, that she can't reach because she's short.

The self-exiled prince stared unimpressed, he thought his age was pretty obvious... was he wrong?

"How old do you think?" Dusk shot back, a frown on his muzzle. He was sure he atleast looked young, Solaris was thousands of years older than him and he looks young!

"ahm... fifteen?" Bloom answered, her voice clearly questioning instead of answering.

Dusk's stare turned even more unimpressed, his stare baring onto them; Dusk's disappointment clear, she clearly was trying to placate him by giving a low number. He turned to Scoots, his brow raised as he turned on her. It rose, even more, when Scoots sent a betrayed look at the bow wearing Bloom.

"thirty..." insert even more brow-raising "... one?" she added weakly, a hesitant laugh coming from her as she looked away.

Dusk couldn't help but face hoof. Clearly, he thought wrong when he himself thought he looked young. Was it the scars? or the light side-burns(1) he's growing? He couldn't help it! It's not like he can just shave it off! He livse in the Everfree, you think there are free shavers there? it's not like he can just use magic and poof it off, it would scar and he'd rather not deal with that. 

Dusk has enough scars thank you very much!

"Hey, Prince-" another stare, "Uhm... Dusk?" Dusk nodded and Belle continued "Just who are you?"

His once careful trot halted and Dusk tried to find his composure, he cleared his throat and smiled hesitantly, Dusk's voice wavering slightly as he spoke: "What do you mean?" He continued to move, trying to focus on something else. Honestly, he didn't know who he is either. He was a simple student than a prince than a war hero then this.

"Yer' an alicorn, that means that you're royalty" started Bloom, her eyes trained on Dusk and he harshly bit his tongue when another pony took her place for a second. "But me and the others don't see you with the Princesses"

Dusk exhaled and tried to keep up his smile but he felt so tired so suddenly and he didn't know what to do, "I... where I'm from," Dusk's voice hitched and he gulped, "I'm the last of where I'm from... so to speak"

"You're alone?" Scoots stated, a worried look on her face "Don't you have any mares with you?"

The old Prince blinked at that statement and shook his head, a rueful laugh escaping from his mouth as they neared Ponyville, "I'm a busy colt, Scoots. No mare wants somepony like me, especially with-" He circled a hoof towards himself, a self-deprecating grin on his scarred face "-how i look right now. I'm not exactly prime stallion material, girls" Last he knew, Dusk wasn't the best looking compared to his friends. They had a scale before the war and he was the least attractive stallion compared to the rest of them. It sure helped with his confidence back then, it really did.

Not noticed by Dusk, the three fillies looked at each other and nodded. Their sisters have been rather lonely lately and Dusk is a good colt, they trust Dusk to give them a nice time.




Dusk stood literally outside of Ponyville, his rueful smile still on place. It looks so normal, so innocent and so real. Dusk couldn't help but feel like it was mocking him, telling him that he didn't belong. He snorted, like he didn't already know that. He would never belong in such a free world, he had no place here and Dusk wondered why he even was here in the first place.

Dusk got his answer when the fillies he was with began pushing him forward. Dusk sighed and moved, 'Let's just get this over with, they wouldn't even recognize him anyway. They'll just think he's some rabid fancolt and that'll be the end of it' he thought, his movements stiff as he finally entered Ponyville.

"Now that I'm here, what are you girls gonna do now?" Dusk asked, he wanted to know his objectives so he can finish it quickly and leave. The amount of memories he remembered by simply standing here is starting to get to him and he'd rather not have a breakdown in a public place. He needed to focus on something else, Dusk clicked his tongue and waited for a reply.

"Well... you wanna explore? this is the first time you've been to Ponyville right?" Dusk absentmindedly nodded, technically it is his first time in this Ponyville. He shook his head around and strengthen his resolve, this is for the girls. 

'Don't you mess this up for them!' he nodded to himself and gave a bright smile to the fillies, last he remembered that the Male! CMC liked sweets maybe that would be a good place to visit?

"You girls want to go get some sweets?" he got such quick nods, that Dusk worried that the girls would get whiplash and throw their head out of their necks if they continued. "Alrighty then! come on and let's go!" But Dusk stopped when he realized that he didn't have the money.

"How about we save the sweets for last..." That would be enough for him to go and get some money.

He hoped.
> 1- Wise Owl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



 
1


Wise Owl





Dusk was and still is tired. 

An ache was in his bones and he felt it with every shuffle of his body. He would drag his wings if he could but years of practice has taught him otherwise

Sleep was hard to come by since his arrival here and he couldn't figure out why. Was it because the natural magic of the forest he was in, both oh so familiar and different at the same time? That could be the case, but Dusk didn't exactly have the materials to cross-reference the ambient magic from his world to this one.

To think that he'd be thinking of magic in times like these, just how far gone has he gone ever since he arrived?

Maybe it could be blamed on this world. It made him ache in someway, all familiar but wrong because it clearly wasn't on the verge of being plunged into darkness. If anything, it was the complete opposite. With so much harmony magic around, comparing this place to his world was like comparing literal day and night. It's two completely different things that somehow connect to each other.

Dusk yawned, his dark blue hair flopping into his face and with a hoof, he swiped it back. His once dark purple eyes had a tinge of red in them as he observed his surroundings. The makeshift campfire crackled across from him while the trees surrounding him swayed lightly in the night breeze.

'Crack-'

His ears would flick at the barest hint of sound and he sighed when he realised that his body is still hypervigilant. Dusk wondered why he wasn't panicking before remembering the fact that he was probably too tired to fully register what was going on. The purple stallion brought out his saddlebags and began to rummage through, after a few minutes his hoof stopped on a familiar shape.

He carefully brought it out, his once glazed eyes now filled with... Something as he held the picture frame. The wooden frame was chipped and the edges were barely held together by threads of colourful string. Dusk placed a hoof on it, the light thrumming of magic was simultaneously familiar and comforting to the tired alicorn. The stallion let out a breath and wondered what his friends would've thought of him now as he cracked a small smile. The action was unfamiliar and he almost laughed at how awkward he must've looked.

Dusk attempted to bring out his own magic but frowned when all he got was a small burst of magic. Still injured, was his thought as he brought the picture closer to him and started to get comfy. Deciding he should at least try to get some rest while he still can. Dusk laid on the grass before he turned and stared up at the night sky. 

It glinted with its stars twinkling in its canvas of black and blue. If he stared long enough, maybe he'd recognize it.

It was… beautiful and oh so familiar. So familiar yet so different. 

A breath of air escaped him and his lips thinned.

Just another reminder that this wasn’t his world but that didn’t stop the fact that the view was nice.





Another day to wake up, another day for a stroll through the forest.

Dusk trotted around, his movement slow as he travelled. He didn't exactly have a destination in mind as he moved, this world was clearly so much more peaceful than his and he didn’t know what to think of that. It made him feel irrational, made him think he was clearly seeing things when he did.

The light rustling of the trees wasn't a signal of an enemy but was simply just the wind. Snapping of twigs and dry leaves weren’t the signs of someone moving around, sneaking with malice but the wildlife going through its day.

It was… odd.

He'd just been so used to getting attacked that it's uncomfortable for it to be this peaceful without a catch. Dusk blinked when the sounds of sentience were heard. It wasn’t the roar or the mewl of a usual animal, instead it was…

Chatter?

A spark grew in him and Dusk couldn’t help but feel a little bit of hope grow.

Civilization? How long had it been since he last saw civilization?

The alicorn checked his bag and brought out his journal. After rereading a few of his entries he realized that it had been anywhere from a few weeks to a month since he'd had any contact with another sentient race. Dusk couldn’t help but tilt his head at that. It seemed much longer than a month but that was probably due to the fact that nothing major had happened during his travels other than the usual wildlife.

In any case, he needed to know if they were hostiles or civilians and the only way to do so was by observing them, so with a flap of his wings Dusk took off. His body managed to blend in with the trees around him as he swiftly made his way towards the noise.

A brow rose when he managed to deduce that the sounds came from a trio of fillies. Dusk's eyes narrowed at them. They weren’t talking about a lot of things, no murmurings of an attack, none of their plans. Instead, the three were simply chattering about… school. 

{How long has it been since he went to school?}

Was this a trap? He wondered. Well, only one way to find out.

With a leap, Dusk came closer to see if what he saw was true. After some time he realized that his eyes weren't actually playing tricks on him. What were a bunch of fillies doing in a forest? 

A grimace grew on his face,

Did Umbra sink so low as to train foals now?

He shook his head.

No, stop thinking like that, he inwardly scolded. This wasn’t his world, he reminded. You would think their parents would stop them from going into this sort of place, he continued as he came close. While it was nothing to the ex-prince it could be something far more dangerous for the foals.

Dusk quickly scaled the tree he was at, deciding that if this was indeed a trap then an eagles-eye view would help immensely. He wrapped his hoof around the trunk and with a heave, pulled himself up.

Purple eyes that glinted red met brown ones and he blinked when he noticed that he was eye to eye with an owl. The bird looked rather shocked and Dusk just gave it a shushing motion. While he would've originally killed it because it may be a familiar, he quickly decided not too. It’d be annoying to clean up and he’d rather not risk alerting the fillies.

The bird was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and Dusk wouldn't kill it because of such a petty reason. He would've, once upon a time but he didn't exactly feel like adding another unnecessary kill to his belt right now.

Just as Dusk was about to go continue his observation, the back of his head was smacked by a wing. Letting out a quick startled, "Ow!" The irate alicorn turned to the owner with a glare.

"Who."

Dusk tsked and ignored the bird and once again tried to observe but he got smacked. Again. The very irritated Dusk Shine spun and faced his attacker, his eyes gazing straight into the face of his enemy.

"Will. You. Stop." Dusk growled out. How could he observe the trio when there was an obstacle in the way? "If you continue with this, I will kill you." he finalized, making it clear that if the bird didn’t listen then he'd follow through with his threat. 

He couldn’t stop the twinge of satisfaction that grew in him when the owl lightly shivered before seemingly gaining its composure with a ruffle of itself.

"Whoo," The owl pointed at the direction of the foals with a wing and Dusk’s brow rose once more. Was he somehow correct that the bird was a familiar?

"Are you watching over them?" He asked, "Where is your master?" Just who were these fillies if they had a familiar watching over them? Perhaps nobles?

But that didn’t make sense, they looked far from nobility with their scruffy fur and joyous laughter. They were far from the nobles he remembered.

"Whoo... who," was his reply.

Dusk sighed and shook his head. Of course, he wasn't able to fully understand the owl. He wasn't Butterscotch, much to his dismay.

"Listen, I'm not going to do anything bad unless they start it first." He clicked his tongue when he realized that he was actually talking to a bird. He really is desperate for companionship. "I'm just trying to find my way to civilization. They may be young but I'm just making sure that they're not going to be a problem to me."

The owl tilted its head and blinked, causing Dusk to exhale roughly and rub his face with a hoof. What was he doing? Was he so starved for communication that he's actually talking to animals? He groaned, he was pathetic. Dusk gave the bird a 'Shoo-ing' motion. The stallion just felt tired, he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now and he especially didn't feel like talking to a bunch of foals.

Dusk leapt away, his form soon disappearing past the treeline and leaving behind three unaware fillies and an owl that was a little too smart.
> 2- Wide Eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



 
2


Wide Eyes





"Burn in the depths of crimson purgatory! Fire Style: Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A dark red magic circle appeared in front of Dusk Shine where it glowed for a moment before a large stream of fire shot towards his enemy. It exploded on contact and engulfed them in a sea of flame for several short minutes before the stream tapered off. Dusk grinned when he saw that the only thing remaining was a coat. After quickly shaking the soot off his own fur, Dusk walked closer, his hoof scooping the item into his forelegs as he observed his trophy.

It was a fur pelt, rather thick and no doubt good for the cold but it was sadly summer and he'd rather not get heatstroke simply because it looked cool. Functionality over fashion... something he had learned during the war and something that had led to Elusive's...

Dusk rubbed his face, no longer in the mood to hunt anymore. After quickly tucking the pelt into his saddlebags, the stallion made his way back to the shelter.

The shelter wasn't anything fancy, a small tent made from his surroundings and a simple fire pit for food. Dusk entered and laid the pelt on the floor, content that he now had a comfortable place to lay down. Dusk sniffed and rubbed his nose tiredly. He didn't exactly feel like eating nor did he feel like he should go out and hunt. 

The stallion sighed, his eyes drooping slightly. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get a lot of sleep considering the last time he’d done so had been a few days ago but he couldn't help it. Insomnia is a female dog but it didn't really affect him other than making him be a bit more sluggish than usual.

"Groowllll."

Dusk clicked his tongue. He knew that he had forgotten something. He had forgotten to renew the barrier seals. As he was busy getting pissed at himself, a howl resonated throughout the forest and Dusk realized that it was rather close to his location. He couldn’t help but groan at that. 

He didn't exactly feel like fighting a pack of the weaklings that ponies called Timberwolves but he'd also rather not deal with rebuilding his shelter. Dusk groaned even more when the familiar smell of decaying wood slammed right into his nostrils. Having sensitive senses was something he regretted right then.

He peeked out of the flaps and right into a set of jaws made of wood. His nose wrinkled at how repulsive the smell was. He exhaled roughly, still not in the mood to fight so a simple knockback spell should do the trick. It was a pain to do anything more specific and he’d rather not risk his horn healing wrong. Mana flowed through   his horn and in a blast of force, the jaws that could've chopped his head off instead exploded and scattered across the ground outside of his tent. The cracking of wood and the sounds it left as it slammed onto the grass was all Dusk heard as he went to the edge of his barrier.

After a healthy chunk of time spent walking, he stopped and picked up a large stone with little engravings written through its surface. He focused through his hoof and soon, a large array of runes and other languages appeared and Dusk began swiping through them with practiced ease as he quickly deactivated it. Pouring his magic into its battery, the runes gradually began glowing a light blue. 

A few minutes passed and a blue transparent dome flashed around him for a split second before disappearing. He glanced through it once again to see if there was anything wrong and after seeing that nothing was out of place, Dusk nodded and made his way back.

This was his life now. Hunting with no purpose, surviving with no purpose, killing with no purpose. It was a mundane lifestyle but it was his and that was good enough for him.

"Who~"

Dusk's head shot up and towards the noise, his magic halfway charged for a spell before he realized that it was just the irritating bird. His brow twitched. He wasn't in the mood to deal with overgrown food. The alicorn ignored it and started his trek back to camp hoping that maybe if he ignored it long enough then it would go away.





He was wrong.

So. Flipping. Wrong.

The bird was persistent, he'd give it that but everything else? Nope! Dang thing kept on hooting and hollering outside the barrier and Dusk was beginning to get pissed.

"Whoo~"

If the tent flap had been replaced by a door, Dusk would've slammed the thing open. Instead, he had to settle with angrily bursting through the makeshift flap of the tent and glaring at the irritating bird who insisted on keeping him up - not that he was getting any sleep anyways, but it was the principle of the matter - all night. He began stomping closer to the owl and soon faced it eye to eye where the small thing just stared back as if it was challenging him.

"Don't you have a bunch of foals to look after?" He growled out. The bird simply fluffed up at what he said and hooted at him. 

Not only was the owl annoying. It was inconpetent too.

The irate stallion looked away and clicked his tongue. The bird clearly needed something. What that something is, Dusk didn't know and he didn't care. He blinked when he realized that the bird had stopped making noise. His eyes carefully trailed back to the owl and the purple stallion nearly reared back at what he saw.

The owl... it looked adorable. Its eyes were staring up at him with wetness in its irises and Dusk flinched when it seemed to get larger the more he stared.

"Stop-" Dusk hissed, his eyes narrowing as it seemed like the bird did the complete opposite and opted to waddle closer. 

"Stop." The small owl answered with even more fluffing up. 

Dusk groaned, frustrated as he glared at the thing. "Faust, dammit. I said stop." The adorable annoying thing was now pressing up against the barrier, its eyes as wide as ever as it stared up at the much larger stallion.

A few minutes passed and Dusk's resistance was rapidly crumbling to the ground.

He couldn’t help it, there was just something about the owl that made him not want to kill it- much to his dismay.

"I'm going to regret this." He whispered to himself as he brought up the barrier seal.  After reworking it a few times the bird was finally allowed permission to get inside. I am so going to regret this. “You're lucky I even let you step inside ya little..." After a bit more grumbling, Dusk made his way back to his tent, a rather happy and stubborn owl flying behind him and occasionally hooting in joy as it flew circles around him.

"You're only staying until nightfall, any later than that and you'll be my breakfast." He said gruffly. Spending time with an owl? Not the oddest company he’d had he supposed. All the bird had to do is follow his orders. If it did that then they would have a great relationship.

Dusk reared back when the bird flew into the rat’s nest that was his mane, flinching at the contact before his face blanked when he felt the bird begin to snuggle into his hair. 

A twinge of relief bumbled inside him when he realized that the owl wasn’t going to stab his brain but was instead getting comfortable in its new nest.

Dusk couldn't stop the small smile on his muzzle as he entered his tent, Maybe the little nuisance could stay a bit longer than his original proposal?

"Who!"
> 3- A Rather Daring Move
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




3
A Rather Daring Move




Time passed by rather quickly after that fateful meeting. The days since then of lonely trots and feasting on food alone were now filled with poor Dusk's head being smacked by the ever so vigilant owl and joyful hunts where the bird had to work to maintain pace up with the bloody stallion. Good times, really. Great times even.

Smack!

"Ow! This is the third time in the row! The heck is wrong!?" Dusk turned to the owl nesting on his back with annoyance. This was the third time in the journey. What was wrong with the thing? The bird simply narrowed its eyes at the stallion before smacking him once more.

Smack!

He growled and gave his companion the stink eye before continuing his trot, it wasn’t painful. Far from it but he still felt the impact and it was more of an annoyance, really. "I know that you don't smack me for no reason but I just don't get what's wrong with exploring those ruins." How I didn’t notice the crumbling buildings is beyond me. “Besides,” the stallion continued, “Hunting has started to get boring while exploration has not."

Before, he would’ve thought twice before entering such places but when you’re in a whole new world with barely anything to do and peace just everywhere, you can’t help but feel a bit…

Enclosed.

It wasn’t his fault that he lived in danger for years- 

The sudden change was jarring and if exploring places where he could possibly get such a thing helped then yes, he shall do it.

The bird glared at him and nipped his ear, somehow knowing his thoughts and punishing him for his recklessness.

"Yeowch!"





Dusk glared viciously at the bird who had been relegated to the timeout corner as his hoof lightly rubbed against the side of his left ear which was now clearly missing a sizable chunk, appearing to have been bitten off. 

That bag of feathers was lucky that he knew instant healing magic, if he hadn't... Dusk clicked his tongue. The bird had clipped an artery and he would've bled to death if he hadn't acted quick enough. He chuckled at the very idea of death by bird peck, and gave an amused shake of his head. That would be a rather lame death that Rainbow Blitz would clearly not approve of. The amusement he felt dimmed as memories flashed into the forefront of his mind. Memories of a dark sky, rain and broken hopes and wings

("Hey Dusk..." 

"Yeah?”

A crackle of thunder came from the distance, the pittering of the rain slamming onto his coat but even with such loud sounds and blinding lights, it couldn’t drown the harsh beating of his heart and the dimming of rose colored eyes.

"If I'm gonna go out, can you?..."

...A huff and a rueful chuckle escaped, eyes half-lidded as it stared at the pegasus laying on his forelegs.

"Sure... I'm an egghead after all. I can do anything")

His eyes focused on the campfire before him, the crackling of the burning wood comforting as he sighed. Not like he would’ve died anyways. His magic would've kept him alive until it fully burnt out which would have taken a very long time. 

Dusk couldn’t help but wonder how Solaris and Artermis dealt with the fact that they would live for that long. He even found himself wondering how Roll - Or Prince Amorcito Roulade if you wanted to be fancy - dealt with it.

Dusk leaned back onto the fallen log behind him, his eyes trained onto the beautiful night sky above him. His form would occasionally tense before forcefully relaxing. He exhaled roughly, his eyes shifting to the fire once again. 

He didn't feel like stargazing tonight and instead attempted to go back to sleep, even though he knew that he probably wouldn't get any rest at all. When the overgrown bag of feathers finally decided to slip underneath his wing sometime during the night, Dusk didn't say anything instead simply shifting to accommodate his feathered companion.

It was comforting to have someone close. Someone that isn’t clearly out for him.



Even after realizing that he had in fact managed to sleep well, the pony maintained his silence after he woke up the next day with the bird still sound asleep underneath his wing. Though he refused to acknowledge it, Dusk had a warm feeling in his stomach as his mind swirled.





Dusk knew that today would be a crappy day the moment he’d felt that warm feeling. Whenever something good happened it was inevitable that something bad would appear to balance it out and as always he was right.

What a pain.

Because if he was wrong then he wouldn't be stuck underneath some dumb chamber because of a stupid activation seal! 

Dusk clicked his tongue as he brought out a flashlight from his pouch and with the help of his hooves, he strapped it to his chest. After several short moments the stallion looked around in annoyance as he realized that he still couldn't see even with the extra lighting. 

Damn this place!

It was a waste-

(not really, he was just making excuses and he knows it)

-To use magic but it was dark and he’d rather not risk a surprise attack simply because of his pride.

Taking a breath, Dusk shifted his position. His voice quiet, his magic began to thrum in excitement at the prospect of being used once more. 


Oh, lady of the night



Please give me sight



In darkness and through conflict



So I can face it all for you, your highness…


As he finished his chant, a small silver magic circle appeared directly below his horn. In the centre was now the symbol of a crescent moon. With a blink, his once darkened sight was then blanketed in a light green. The owl tilted it's head when it noticed his companion's eyes glow faintly before returning to their original colour with a tinge of grey. 
Dusk brought out his coat and wrapped it around himself, deciding that it was chilly enough down here to warrant it and that he'd rather have it on just in case. He hadn’t spent hours enchanting it to help defend against abrupt attacks for nothing, after all.

He made his breathing careful, noticing that the place was blanketed with a thick coat of dust, clearly unused for a long time.

How long is the question.

As he continued to explore the chamber he’d found himself in, the stallion noted that it was attached to a long and sparse corridor. There wasn’t much to be seen in the new corridor other than some extra rubble and a metric ton of dust. 

Dusk clicked his tongue in disappointment before he realized something and his eyes narrowed into his surroundings. The place looked like it was barely held together. Barely, and yet despite that when the pony shifted a pile of rubble a little bit, it hadn't moved. An illusion? It was certainly possible, but he hadn't felt anything drape over any of his senses nor affect his magic in any way. Just as he was about to make another move, he halted and focused his sight on the floor.

Tripwires were everywhere. From high up on the ceiling to the lowest corners of the floors, Dusk immediately shuffled backwards cautiously. He may have shifted back a bit too eagerly as he felt the ground crumble beneath him, his hindleg sinking into the floor slightly. His ears flicked around the moment the sound of gears long old starting to move, the crushing and grinding caused the already paranoid stallion to tense. The dust in the walls started to fall as green magic began to pour out of the cracks in the wall.

'Buck, I screwed up.' Dusk gritted his teeth. If these were anything like the traps in his world then this was really bad. He brought his cloak forward and wrapped it around his muzzle, his eyes flicking around. 

He needed a quick way out but his eyes couldn't seem to focus, was it that green magic? Dusk flinched the moment something bright flashed into his eyes. Buck that hurts! The stallion brought a hoof to his eyes and quickly cancelled the night-vision spell, knowing that bright light mixing with such a sensitive spell could injure his eyes 

After blinking away the resulting spots, Dusk found himself with a spotlight on him.

'Okay, i need a way out but-' Dusk’s ear twitched just before he rolled to the side, a low whistling that flew past the only indication that he’d been attacked. His head shot towards where it came from and he had to duck again as another whistle rang above him. The alicorn clicked his tongue when he noticed just how slow his reactions were. He was starting to get rusty and he didn't like it. Another whistle and he quickly threw his coat in front of him, holding his ground as the weapons continued to attack.

Fwoosh! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sounds continued for a long time. Enough time that Dusk no longer knew how long he’d been hunkered down behind his cloak. Could stand for a watch… The stallion mentally noted before his ears flicked again as the faint whistling noises finally died down. But what was that green magic? It hadn’t seemed to do anything. Perhaps it was simply excess magic? But if this room holds excess magic… an absorbing chamber perhaps? Or a ceremonial place?

He did see the circle stand just a few feet from him.

Well, if the room just wanted to offer extra magic then Dusk would just have to use it to his advantage.

Getting into position, his hoof quickly moved in front of him as he chanted his incantation. As the stallion continued to speak, the magic around him began to condense and float around him. His ears would twitch occasionally when a sudden large 'CREAK!' was heard. A low rumble roared around him and he gritted his teeth as a pressure settled over him. 

He was already nearly done and if he were to stop now then the magic would implode on itself and damage both him and his surroundings, possibly excessively.


Absorb, glow and turn.



Let thy power shine.



Break from your seals.



And become what is mine!


As Dusk finally finished his chant, the finished magic circle beneath him glowed a light purple before bursting into a bright light, blinding anyone potentially peeking in.





Owlowiscious was concerned. Very concerned. He flapped and flew around, pacing as he searched around. The scarred purple one was reckless - a clear opposite to his first - but he was sure that the scarred one knew what he was doing. 

As the bright light died down - a particularly difficult annoyance to his sensitive eyes, he was so going to scold the stallion when this was all over. Owlowiscious quickly tried to find where his charge had gone. After flying through the large and crumble opening the scarred one made and gliding down to where he knew the stallion went, the owl was rather confused.

He couldn’t see his charge and that was especially confusing, given the scarred one was traditionally rather easy to find with his bright orange lining but now the scarred one was nowhere to be found.

After a bit more time spent flying around and trying to call out, the owl still received no answer. That is until he heard his charge start shouting. The scarred one was always annoyed when he was saved. Owlowiscious still didn’t understand why. 

Wasn't it a good thing to be saved?

Questions and inquiries for next time, the small bird decided. He has already located his charge and he needed to go and meet him.

What he saw and heard the moment he managed to focus on his charge's usual orange silhouette concerned him. 

The pony was accompanied by his usual shouting, except it wasn’t directed at Owlowiscious as it traditionally was, instead it was now at the second silhouette standing next to his charge. This was somewhat worrisome to the brown owl until he realized that his charge could very much handle himself.

It still didn’t stop him from being concerned however.

"WHO THE HELL-" The scarred one was angry, extremely so and it was obvious with his gritted teeth and furrowed eyes. His magic pulsing, so ready to lash out. The look immediately vanished when the scarred one saw him and the look of relief that quickly appeared was obvious. 

The bird wondered if he should come close because despite his rather calming deposition, the stallion was still mad as one can see with his volatile magic.

The annoyance quickly came back as he flew closer but Owlowiscious wasn't fooled. The scarred one was concerned - he seemed to hide it but it was probably because of the orange winged one with him - and he would definitely show his appreciation to him later.

"That bird yours?" questioned the orange one. Owlowiscious was a bit confused because she looked rather similar to the rainbow blue winged one but with some kind of circular hat. He decided to ignore it as he landed on his charge, his wing lightly rubbing against the crest of the scarred one and he could feel his tense muscles relax on touch, though not fully. The scarred one was still clearly guarded.

The scarred pony clicked his tongue - a clear sign of annoyance and irritation - and spoke, "Yes and no. He's a free bird that can take care of himself." The passive aggression was clear in that one sentence and he didn't really know what to do about it. The scarred one was always explosive in expressing himself as was his way, but he knew that his charge could control himself.

Somewhat...

The owl hoped so anyways. He'd rather not attempt to break up another fight.





When Daring Do found out about the chamber underneath the Castle of the Two Sisters, she was excited. It meant that she would be able to find more history about the tired old structure, something that not a lot of ponies could claim nowadays. She was far less excited when she found a stallion about to be skewered when she finally unlocked it.

After quickly checking her surroundings and seeing that the place was about to crumble  -was that the stallion's doing? - She had to act quickly and get him out of there. After a particularly stressful situation which involved her flying him out of there, - no easy feat, the winged stallion was heavy! - something made infinitely hard as he kept on struggling, she’d finally settled on knocking him out before carrying him to freedom.

She had expected gratitude, fear or even awe when he woke up but she got none of those from the colt across from her, instead receiving only a hard right hoof straight to the face.

Daring felt her head snap to the side as pain flared at the side of her muzzle. She stood there, agape as she held her cheek. 

"Who. The. Hell. Are you!?" Those were his first words, his teeth bared and form guarded. She didn't even know how to respond. Why was he acting like that? Acting so cautious? Daring Do's eye narrowed onto the stallion. She hadn’t been able to fully observe him with how much he flailed before but now that he was simply upright in front of her...

Daring Do's had to place a hoof over her mouth to stop a gasp at what she saw. If she were asked to describe him, she could do so with one word, scars. 

Dozens of them littered across every inch of the purple stallion's body. It wasn't readily obvious with his coat, but they were there. The most obvious examples were the long and jagged one running alongside his jugular, as if one tried to drag a rusted blade through and the two resting on the other side of his muzzle. 

Claw marks, her mind noticed. Rather deep too.

There was no doubt in the pegasus mind that there were more, but those there were the most readily apparent and obvious ones in her view.

It was.. horrifying.

"Oi, stop staring."

Daring's eyes flicked back to the stallion and she realized that he looked similar to somepony else she had met.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused on his colour scheme, trying to recall who the resemblance was and yet no matter how hard she thought, it escaped her. 

The snarl on his muzzle was still there and her eyes widened at the slightly elongated canines right in front of her. 

Was he a Thestral? He didn’t seem to have the attributes of one, other than the teeth and rather aggressive behaviour.

The sounds of flapping caught her attention and her position shifted to the one flying closer to them. 

Is that an... Owl? What was an owl doing here? 

"Is that bird yours?" She asked awkwardly. Her question was answered by the bird when it landed onto the stallion, a wing wrapping around his crest. A clear sign of comfort, with the way the stallion tensed before lightly relaxing. Sadly, it was obvious that his guard was still up. She would need to try and establish a bit more trust before she could ask what he was doing in the long-forgotten ruins...

He clicked his tongue - he seemed to have been doing that a lot, something the mare knew she would keep in mind - and answered her, his voice gruff as he spoke: "Yes and no. He's a free bird that can take care of itself." She flinched at the hidden meaning in his words. 

She had no doubt that the stallion could take care of himself but with how he looked… it certainly didn’t seem that way. 

She was just concerned, same as any other mare would be in her situation! Stallions like him should be cared for, not be stuck in some hidden chamber in ancient ruins.

Especially with his ruffled fur and the specks of dust and dirt that dominated his messy mane. 

It was like he’d been living in the wild... 

Her posture shifted upright at that thought, her eyes wide as everything began to suddenly click. No wonder he was in there! If he’d been living in the forest then he was probably looking for a home, which would explain what he had been doing in there.

A determined look crossed her face and she nodded, no longer doubting that she needed to get him out of here. No stallion deserved to live in the awful conditions the forest would provide. 

The look of determination turned into one of contemplation. Where was she going to take him? She definitely couldn’t bring him with her during her exploration, nor could she let him live in her stink of a house. Honestly, with how she tended to keep on moving… no stallion wanted nor needed that.

Most Stallions weren’t particularly keen to keep moving. It didn’t allow them to feel safe. The constant traveling prevented them from marking a room with their scent and truly making a home.

Daring was definitely off of the list. She’d need to try and see if someone else could take him in. Her eyes drifted back to the colt in front of her, and it finally struck her as to who he so readily resembled. 

He was reminiscent of the newest princess, Twilight Sparkle. 

The ramifications of such a thing settled in and Daring’s eyes quickly went to work.

The mane and tail were both similar and so was the coat. The only readily apparent difference was the light yellow streak in his mane and his gender. It was no stretch to say that they could be twins.

Daring Do nodded when she finally decided on where the stallion was going to go. Pointing a hoof to his face - he reared back and snarled at it, further reinforcing her train of thought that he needed to be somewhere safe - she gave voice to her conclusion.

"You're coming with me to Ponyville!"

"What!?"
> Interlude: A Short Flight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Interlude: A Short Flight





Ponyville.

It was a quaint little town and only a short ride from Canterlot would take you to it. Even a short flight would see you arrive in short order. 

All in all, it was a nice town. Adding to that, it was filled with wonder and an abundance of history. After all, it had lived next to one of the most unstable and unnatural forests in Equestria, The Everfree Forest, for countless years and on top of that, the forest held the Castle of The Two Siblings.

Dusk had learned a lot in Ponyville. He had experienced so many things in his short time in the quaint little town and he had come to cherish it. Cherish its friendly occupants, from the little fillies to the joyous adults. Such a large contrast to when he had once lived in Canterlot, where nobles raised their nose and foals had to hold face.

It was home.

When the place was burned to a crisp by Umbra, the alicorn felt something die a little inside and he’d been at an absolute loss as to what to do when he was taken away from the burning, crumbling town of his.

(“NO!- LET ME GO-” A ring slipped onto his horn, stopping it from powering up the teleportation spell he was planning to make. 

It sputtered and magic sparked, dying off like his faith as he was dragged away.

“Take him to the queen…” Spoke a stallion, voice airy and empty as the mask he wore. “She has personally ordered for his presence.”

Dusk tried to scream.

He didn’t know why. Was it to call for help? To beg for them to let him go? He wasn’t able to make a choice, not when something was thrown over mouth and a large amount of force slammed onto the back of his neck.

The last thing he saw was that welcoming sign crumbling to ashes before his very eyes.

With it, was his consciousness.)

From there on, Dusk had realized that he loved that town. He had before the incident of course, but he never truly noticed the depth of his love for it until it was taken away. 

It had been a lesson hard-learned and from that day onwards Dusk had cherished his precious with a fervent zeal. It was much more than any normal pony should, but the recently turned alicorn’s situation had been particularly stressful and taken place so quickly that he didn’t fault himself for his new nature.

He’d already long accepted that the quaint little town was gone. When he managed to escape his capture and return to the little town with only ashes to show that this was indeed the place he’d called home for so long… But now? 

To hear that there was another Ponyville in this place nearly crushed stallion’s heart all over again. 

He wouldn't dare hope. 

He couldn’t hope. Hope that maybe he was in the past, before the towns untimely end, because if he simply hyped himself up and then saw there was nothing… 

Dusk knew that it would break him in ways even time wouldn’t mend...

The stallion gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed on the mare who dared use the name of his long-gone home. 

He growled, knowing that he needed to see if she was telling the truth. 

To see if it was actually there. 

He needed to know. 

Need to know if what he thought was real. To see if this new world was actually just the past. Because if it was-

He could change so much.

...if it wasn’t…

And it was instead in the future, where the war was over and the world has flourished-

What’s so wrong with a little visit? To see this new Ponyville?

At the very least, he owed them that much.

And if she lied... 

Then she'll pay with her life.





Daring Do knew that there was something off about this... Dusk Shine. Not just from the way he moved but it was like everything was an enemy to him. Adding to that was his rather uncanny resemblance to Twilight Sparkle and his rather odd way of using magic. 

Dusk Shine, as she came to learn he was named, was clearly a pegasus. 

She knew this at a glance, but somehow he had managed to cast spells? He’d been in the process of one when she flew him to safety, now that she thought about it. 

Just who are you? Daring wondered, glancing back at the stallion who was flying behind her. 

Was he just some abused colt who grew up in a harsh herd? Had he learned those techniques as a way to escape and survive such a herd or was there something else? Something more?

The mare would keep her questions to herself for right now. She’d have the chance to ask the necessary questions when they reached the safety of Princess Twilight and Ponyville. 

If he was an enemy, then she would have a princess to help subdue him. It was far easier to subdue a pony when they didn’t know what was happening and you held them aloft high in the hair. 

Her eyes flicked back to the pegasus who had since taken to flying next to her. Daring sighed as she found herself genuinely hoping that he wasn't some supervillain. 

He was certainly a little… rough in the edges - okay, a lot of rough everywhere complete with spikes - but she knew that he couldn’t have become that way of his own accord. He’d had to survive in a mare's world and assuming the mares had been abusive would readily explain why he was so cautious at being saved by her.

The scars on the other hoof, those were a huge problem all their own. The scars running alongside his neck and face were glaringly obvious. 

Everypony knew that when a pony got a scar, the fur on that particular place would always grow a lick shorter and the pigment would become ever-so-slighty lighter - or darker, depending on the colour of a ponies fur - when it came back. 

But Dusk? Dusk's fur wasn't regrowing and that only happened when the scar was made with anti-magic properties. Few ponies knew this on account of those kinds of magics being made illegal thousands of years ago, the laws dating back to when Princess Celestia had just taken the throne.

When her eyes once again flicked back to the stallion, she nearly lost balance in flying and yelped. The stallion had taken to flying behind her once again and it only now dawned on her that when he did so, he was staring right at her!

 Her eyes turned back to the front, a blush of embarrassment appearing on her face. Well, that was embarrassing, She concluded as she made an active effort to avoid looking in Dusk's direction.

"What a weirdo," She’d heard him mutter the line underneath his breath as they flew closer to Ponyville. Such a comment made her cheeks burn so much more. 

How is that even possible? She shook the thought from her head. She was not going to be embarrassed! She was just staring at a strange stallion... that doesn't make her a weirdo!





Dusk couldn’t help but stare at his companion before rolling his eyes. If this was really in the future, he wondered why even years later, ponies would still be rude and stare.

Smack!

"Ow! I'm flying here! I can't deal with you right now!" Dusk snarled under his breath as he turned his concentration to flying once more. That concentration did him little good as the familiar owl yet again smacked him in the back of the head.

Smack!

Dusk's brow twitched as he tried to decipher the reason why the overgrown bag of food was doing this. Up to this point, he hadn't done anything like this for no reason. 

Or was it because he was insulting the pegasi infront of him in his mind?

No way...

Unless Dusk had done something wrong, he was traditionally placid. Was it because of the bright light from one of his earlier spells? It wasn't his fault that the spell was designed that way! 

Ignoring the fact that he was the one who designed it but that isn’t the point.

"Who!" the owl pecked his already messy mane, somehow making it even messier. To say it annoyed the alicorn would’ve been an understatement.

That aside, He fell back into his thoughts as the bird stopped assaulting him. He was going to this world's version of Ponyville. 

What if his friends were there? He would need to give a good first impression but… he frowned, remembering how he looked. That would be easier said than done. 

I look like I’ve been through Tartarus… I mean I have, but not the point here.

Another peck snapped him from his mind and drew his gaze to the owl once more.

"Listen... Stop screwing with me.” The firm tone made it clear that it wasn’t a request. “I'm sorry about the bright light if that’s what you’re up in feathers about. That was my fault, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you nearly could’ve bit my other ear off!" He growled out, though his annoyance was quickly sidelined so it could give way to mounting excitement, the emotional shift courtesy of him spotting a bunch of buildings in the distance.

He let out a breath, ruffling his feathers in an attempt to stop himself from zooming into the oh so familiar town. 

The bird gave a low trill, his way of saying sorry and Dusk sighed. He slowed down slightly and brought the owl to his chest before he continued his flight. It was all he could do to ignore the fact that the bag of feathers immediately cuddled closer to his shaggy fur. 

The stallion did everything in his power to ignore the growing bundle of warmth and he definitely ignored the small smile that steadily grew on his muzzle as they slowed their flight to a halt and landed at the southern edge of Ponyville.

As they landed, Dusk felt like someone had just slugged him in the gut as his eyes were drawn to stare at the slightly worn down sign near the entrance of Ponyville. 

(He remembered once, long ago. Of a similar sign, burning and broken.)

His throat hitched as his eyes carefully burned and traced those familiar words.


“Welcome to Ponyville.” 


It stated and he wondered just how welcoming it was.
> 4- Conflicting Emotions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




4
Conflicting Emotions





Emotions. At a young age, Dusk learned that they were a double-edged sword. And for some reason, the sharp and outstandingly painful edge always seemed to face him. After a few years, he’d just decided to throw that sword away. It just kept on hurting him and he'd rather not go through all of that again.

Sadly, he was not so fortunate as it seemed to somehow pierce right through him all over again as he stood outside of Ponyville. He couldn't stop the wetness that was threatening the corners of eyes nor could he stop the feeling of relief he felt when he found out that it was true. That there was a Ponyville that was alive, standing strong and still happy. Dusk couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter, it looked so similar. Just like his but at the same time, it wasn't.

But what if it was? A hopeful part of him whispered, filled with naivety and joy at such a thought.

What if... What if we're in a world where Umbra didn't attack? And if she does, then we can save them! 

We can start over! 

We can be happy.

Dusk closed his eyes and tried to calm down by counting to ten… he failed. The hope and conviction in all of those statements made him gnash his teeth together in anger and a bit of shame at what he had just thought.

No! He growled, anger in his mind. Never! I will not disgrace what my friends and family suffered through by acting like it never happened and just starting over! 

Just because there is another Ponyville doesn't mean there is another 'Stallion Six'! He argued and opened his eyes. Already he could already feel an ever-familiar headache coming. He slowly rubbed his face as he tried to keep his thoughts in order. He had already got what he wanted. He saw Ponyville and now it was time for the stallion to leave.

He gulped, noticing that his throat was starting to clog up, the sight of the homey village nearly causing his eyes to blur.

If he stayed much longer, he just knows that he would break down and he'd rather not do that in the company of a stranger or near the replica of his beloved home.

It would sully their memory and he wouldn't dare do that to them.

Dusk's eyes trailed back to the entrance and a certain melancholic look appeared in his eyes. 

Maybe he can visit once in a while but... 

His eyes flicked to the owl that just flew around him, a rueful smirk crossed against the purple alicorn's face and he couldn’t help the relief that came forth when he found a valid excuse that allowed him to visit this world's Ponyville.

He would only do this for that owl's bird seeds. The overgrown bag of feathers had turned out to be a surprisingly picky eater when it came to his treats and that was the only reason that Dusk was going into that town. 

He huffed and lightly booped the owl, causing the bird to squawk indignantly and attempt to nip his hoof, which only served to bring a small smile to his face when it came closer to him. Only for the bird. That’s all. He reaffirmed in his mind.

It wasn't like he wanted to see if there was in fact another version of his friends. 

No, that wasn’t the case at all. 

It wasn't like he just wanted to torture himself with the hope that maybe his former thoughts had been correct and That just maybe his friends could indeed be there, just as happy as the first time he saw them, all those years ago.

And what if they aren't there? A small dark part of him whispered, Dusk's lips dropped as he continued to gaze into Ponyville. He could feel a heavy grip beginning to settle around his heart.

"We won’t know unless we try." Dusk stated softly, internally knowing that he was setting himself up for disaster but he just couldn't help it. 

He had already stabbed, what was wrong with twisting the blade and driving it just a little deeper? It wasn't like it would kill him. He had gone through far worse than this after all. 

Besides he wasn't going to stay around permanently, especially if there was another version of his friends. If there were other versions of his friends, then it stood to reason that there was another version of himself. 

His other self deserved his time with his friends and the grown alicorn wouldn't dare take that from his counterpart. It was what he would've wanted if he was his counterpart's hooves, after all.

We are way too open. 

Dusk didn't answer the thought, despite knowing it was correct. It was dangerous of him to act this way. 

To be happy and once more have hope, but once again, he couldn't help it. A little pain won't leave anymore lasting damage, and it definitely wouldn't kill him.

The alicorn jerked his head towards the town, a frown on his features when he noticed that the mare has been staring at him quietly for quite some time now. 

Dusk scowled and lightly bowed his head in 'gratitude.' 

What! just because most of his recent life was spent fighting in a war, didn’t mean he had no manners. "Thank you for guiding me here. I will be fine on my own when we enter..." he gulped and turned away from the mare, trying to hide the sudden onslaught of emotions that threatened to overtake him. "Ponyville."

Luckily, the mare didn't say anything, only giving a firm nod as they walked into the quaint little town. She also maintained her silence when the scarred stallion wrapped his cloak tightly around himself as if it would shield him from ponies gazes...





Ponyville- Town Hall





Dusk followed the mare, his eyes soaking in the sights before aggressively burying them deep in his mind. He couldn't however stop a breath of awe from escaping him when he saw just how normal everything looked. 

It turned into a grimace, as flashes of memories flew to the front of his mind, his overly-analytical mind immediately pointing out just how much of a clear opposite this town was to his... 

No! no bad thoughts in this place! Dusk rubbed his face once more before speeding closer to his 'saviour.' He needed to focus on something else, like where this mare was leading him.

"Where are you taking me?" He questioned lowly, his head ducked slightly in an attempt to meet the mare eye to eye as they continued to walk. He had learned long ago that it was far easier to sense one's intention through their eyes. As most would say, they were 'a window to the soul' after all.

"I'm going to change your life," She stated proudly, a smile on her face as her eyes flickered to his before moving forward. Dusk’s brow rose when she seemed to turn a faint crimson. Was it warm? He didn't think so, but his body was used to far harsher environments so he wasn't that good of a judge.

Still, it was an interesting way to proposition him. Maybe she would hire him? Being a mercenary wasn't new to him and it had always brought in money. Since he now knew the way to the closest town then he could actually buy new wares. 

Dusk's ears flicked towards the bird. Despite regularly hunting and sleeping with him, the small owl was surprisingly unused to sleeping in the wilds. The alicorn would've allowed the bird to sleep in his saddlebags but he'd rather not risk losing him because of the expansion spell. Maybe a small pouch? He nodded to himself. That seemed acceptable.

"Then by all means, lead the way," Dusk replied, a brow raised and an amused smirk on his muzzle as he fell a step behind the mare. 

He couldn't stop his smirk from turning into a wide smile at what he had just said. The mare looked confused when she turned to glance at him and all he could do was give her a secretive grin.

"Hoo!" Having been rather busy enjoying the scenery, Dusk never expected the bird to suddenly dive. With a casual step to the side, the alicorn dodged the feathery missile, causing the bird to slam onto the ground with a shocked squawk as it realized that it had been unable to hit its target and instead buried itself to the collar in the dirt.

Said target just snickered as he continued to watch the rather pitiful attempts the bird was making in an effort to escape. From rolling around to attempting to fly to simply flailing like a child who needed milk.

Dusk crouched down in front of the bird, a large grin in his features as he stared at the owl and started to wipe away the dirt that clung to his companion before carefully freeing him. Despite the laughter at his friend's expense, he was far from a cruel pony who wouldn’t help them. He brought the owl up with one foreleg and trotted closer to the mare who was calmly watching from the distance.

"You know, I bet that you're one of those ponies who acts really tough but are secretly a big softie." The mare chuckled, a small smile on her muzzle. Dusk snorted at that. Soft? He was simply returning a favor. The bird had given him many moons worth of company. It couldn’t continue to do that when it's stuck in the ground, he rationalized.

"Seriously, what are your intentions for me?" He asked, he just wanted to get to the point. If she truly wanted nothing more than to be a good samareitan and help a 'lost' stallion then why was she still waiting around him? She would've just gotten her validation and left.

Dusk's brow rose when the mare looked confused for a while and he waited in silence. She was probably looking for an excuse. Deciding he'd let it go for now, he knew that her reason had better be a satisfying one. If she had something else in mind… 

Well, he could always raid her and leave. He ignored the bird as it started to shuffle out of his hoof and into his back, probably looking for food. For such a little avian the small creature had turned out to be a rather large eater. Speaking of the bird and his dietary habits, he still needed to buy it some bird seeds.

To say that he never expected it to unclasp his saddlebags and fly away would be an understatement. 

Dusk turned the moment he felt the weight that usually accompanied him disappear and then watched with his mouth agape as the bird flew a certain distance away. 

It…

It just left.

Why? A part of him whispered.

His mind pieced the reason for him.

The stallion glared, having finally puzzled out the reason it had joined him.

How could he have forgotten the bird was potentially a familiar that wasn't his. Just as Dusk got into position to quickly pounce and kill the traitor, his brow rose once again over the slight confusion that presented itself when it started to fly in circles around the same spot, all the while hooting.

The owl raised the saddlebags - thankfully charmed to be far lighter - and jingled it about while continuing to give him its usual loud calls. "Who!"

He stared for a moment, his confusion coming to a head. If the owl was indeed going to steal from him then why is it not flying away? He got his answer when the bird flew within grabbing distance of him before flying back into the air, another hoot escaping the bird.

"Maybe he wants a chase?" The tan mare offered, drawing the conflicted alicorn’s gaze towards her. A chase? But why? Another hoot took his attention and Dusk faced the bird who continued to fly in circles above him. His eyes narrowed to focus on the bird and… did it just- Smirk? How is that even possible!?

That was the last straw! 

Dusk growled at the audacity and his wings began to flare wide  -something the nearby pegasus of Ponyville seemed to notice - as he got into position to shoot after the bird. If it wanted a chase then he'd give it a chase! His wings flexed one more time and with one move, he shot towards his target at a blistering pace.





Daring's mouth gaped open as she watched the streak of purple race after the bird. Her eyes traced his figure and while he was quick to close the distance, she realized that he wasn't fully chasing after it but was instead doing some tricks and twirls while on his way to his prize.

Daring saw the competitive grin that had appeared on his face as he shot forward and she couldn't stop the breath of awe as she watched. From the wings to the way he flew, it was...

"Beautiful." She heard herself whisper, her eyes carefully attempting to trace after the speeding pegasus. As she sat and watched she realized that she heard something other than the whiplash sounds he was making with his rather sharp turns. His words, once filled with hatred and caution, were now true and happy as he shouted 'threats' at his target.

"Get back here! If you wanted a chase you should've just said so!"

"Who!"

With a sharp turn and a barrel roll the bird dove as a way to dodge, leading to Dusk doing a rapid swan dive.

"Who your face! Get over here! If you do I'll lessen your punishment you insufferable-"

"Who! Whoo!"

"The heck do you mean-"

Daring's eyes widened at the sudden blur of blue that slammed right into the scarred stallion, almost immediately him and whoever had crashed into him into a vicious spin before they both crashed right into one of the town’s buildings. 

Everypony around them winced and simultaneously let out an 'Oooh' at what they saw, even the bird seeming to wince as it landed closer to the crash site.

The owl cautiously hopping closer to the crashed pair, it let out a low trill and Daring let out a sigh of relief when a few groans were heard from the tangled purple banner hiding the duo in the wake of their collision.

"Get off me!" she heard the stallion roar, and she winced. No wrath like a stallion scorned and the poor pegasi that crashed onto somepony like Dusk... 

Daring shivered when she remembered their meeting.

"What!? You're the one that crashed onto me!" a familiar raspy voice spoke and Daring stilled. 

Oh, shoot...Why was it Rainbow Dash that crashed onto him? She groaned and galloped closer, hoping that the rainbow-maned mare wouldn't drive him off. 

There was no telling what damage the crash could have caused to the stallion and she didn't want him to run away if there was now even more trauma on top of his other issues. She had brought Dusk here to keep him safe! Not get body-slammed by somepony!

Suddenly, she saw Dusk just rip through the cloth with Rainbow Dash not too far behind him. 

She watched them glance at each other for a split second before taking a second look. The adventurer couldn't help but raise her own brow at their reactions. Did they know each other?

"Blitz!?" "Twilight!?"

Another minute of silence as they mulled what they heard each other say before they looked at each other in even more shock.

"Who?"
> 5- The Panic has been Doubled!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




5
The Panic has been Doubled!





Dusk didn't expect a lot when he decided to journey into Ponyville. 

Deep down, he didn't want to expect much. He just wanted to see if it was true. To see if the town was truly alive and still standing. He had his answer and now it was time for him to leave… 

Or it would have been if not for the unexpected and sudden chase nor the equally as sudden crash into another pony.

He couldn't help that he had nearly snapped their neck on reflex. Only the familiar magenta colour of their eyes stopped him from doing so. That moment of uncertainty had led the both of them to crash and become entangled in a cloth dangling from the town hall.

It went without saying that the rather annoyed stallion wanted to get as much distance between him and his assailant as possible before he did something he may regret. However, that was easier said than done as it seemed like the more he tried to escape, the tighter the woven threads seemed to tighten around him.

Dusk's brow twitched when his attacker shuffled a bit too close to comfort and the stallion finally snapped, "Get off me!" With an almost feral growl, he managed to shove them a few hoofs away before renewing his efforts to get out of the cloth without damaging it. 

After a bit more shuffling Dusk decided that he no longer cared. This was beginning to piss him off and he wasn’t even close to the mood required to care about some stupid cloth. He had no doubt that the other flyer said something as he shoved them, but he didn't bother to register it.

With a mighty heave, he ripped through the cloth before sparing a glance at his attacker. Dusk's eyes widened when he saw the familiar prismatic mane free itself through the hole he’d just torn in the fabric and his breath hitched in his throat as he saw… 

One of his... 

...Friends.

Dusk gaped in shock at the familiar visage of his friend, still trying to wrap his head around everything that was clearly wrong. 

Was it because his friend's mane was longer than it was supposed to? Or maybe it was how small he was compared to the shocked alicorn? 

Or maybe it was the fact that he was sure that Blitz was a stallion and… 

Well, not a mare.

"Blitz!?" He asked, a bit lost for words at what he was seeing. His ear flicked when he heard her say something equally incredulous.

"Twilight!?"

Dusk blinked at that. Twilight? Did this Blitz looking mare just call him 'Twilight?'

"Who?" they chorused in tandem as the stallion continued to observe the mare. His mind had finished connecting the dots, bringing a rather startling realization to the stallion's mind.

His breath hitched as he was about to speak and he stopped, his mouth hanging open as he tried to find the words to say, but he just couldn't. 

He instead just settled on staring, his eyes continuing to observe, still not entirely over just how similar she was to the stallion in his memories. From the confused tilt of her head, to the furrowed brow on her face. It was exactly like Blitz... Just far more feminine in a weird way that he wasn’t quite sure he could articulate.

The ridiculousness of the whole situation slowly dawned on him and made him laugh. 

It was like life was screwing with him! He had explicitly stated that he wouldn't be near any of his friend's counterparts, but it seemed that even in another life, they were still fated to meet. 

So cruel…

His laugh gradually turned into a hollow choking sound midway as his mind reminded him that despite the circumstances, he was fated to live alone. 

That was simply his life.

He stood up, suddenly feeling both exhausted and sluggish, like every movement was being taken at half the speed of reality. It was something that Dusk hadn't experienced since the bird came crashing onto his life. 

With a heavy sigh, the stallion rubbed his face tiredly before turning away from the mare and speaking softly. "I'm sorry, I should've paid attention to where I was going" He didn't have the willpower to meet her face on.

What a coward, He heard his conscious whisper in the back of his mind and the exhausted stallion wholeheartedly agreed. He couldn't even face Blitz's counterpart because he knew if he did… 

Dusk allowed himself a little peek, watching as the confusion and light surprise on the mare's face transformed into something... No, someone and the alicorn immediately looked away with gritted teeth, his hoof dropping to the floor in regret.

It was so familiar.

It was painful to even look.

"Hey- Um... I'm sorry as well, I wasn't really paying attention either." Even the sheepish tone was similar and Dusk was way too tired to tune her out, so he let out a breath, sucked up his angst and tried to give his best smile - which he was sure looked more like a grimace since he hadn't had much practice in recent years - and nodded like some bobblehead, hoping it was the quickest way just get the whole situation over with.

Rainbow gave an embarrassed and apologetic smile and Dusk could feel something slowly die inside of him. 

Why do they have to look so similar? A part of him gasped. More than anything, the stallion just wanted to hug her and reassure her that everything is alright and-

The thought was cut off immediately when a pony came bouncing from behind Rainbow and his voice was once again taken away by a familiar sight.

"Raaaaiinnnnbow! Didya know that there was a new pony-" The pink pony that looked a bit too much like Bubble Berry had started to exclaim happily before she stopped in the air mid hop and let out a gasp at what she saw "Omigosh! You found him! Great job Dashie!"

Dusk had to stop himself from instinctually attacking when she somehow appeared right in front of him. Just like Bubble, was left unsaid and the purple alicorn didn't know what to say, so he instead opted to step back a short distance, his eyes slowly ingraining the counterparts of his friends in his mind.

They looked happy and… well, alive and he didn't really know what to think about that. 

Anytime he tried to analyze the pair and the situation his mind would immediately replace them with his friends. 

(This… they were so similar.

They’re so happy.)

That image inevitably led to a familiar ache in his chest, which he would try to offset by further analyzing the situation which only led to a vicious cycle, occasionally broken by the question of why his universe had suffered but this one remained whole. Why did his friends have to suffer while their counterparts remained whole? 

Don’t think like that. He suddenly berated himself. That’s selfish!

"Hey, are you okay?"

Dusk blinked and snapped his focus to where the voice had come from before he flinched once more. Familiar turquoise eyes and pale pink bangs had greeted him and the icy grip around his heart began to tighten immediately.

Breathing heavily, he began to backpedal once more before being forced to stop himself when he bumped into someone, his first instinct having been to attack. 

Instead, Dusk turned sharply, his body tense and guarded as he tried to see who had stopped his retreat. His breath was taken away when a familiar apple-trotting earth pony came into view with clear concern in his her green eyes.

"Sugarcube, Fluttershy over there is askin' the right questions because you don't look right. Do ya' need help? Where is yer’ herd?" The southern accent was on point and he gulped, his eyes switching between the four mares that now stood a semi-circle in front of him.

They stepped closer, and Dusk got ready for a fight.   

Theyweren'thisfriend,neverhisfriends- imposters,liars,fakers,theywanthimdead.

Changelings- Umbra’s soldiers-

Dusk only now realised just how haggard his breaths had become, air now rapidly exhaling in harsh puffs. He could see them saying something but he didn't know what. 

It was then it dawned on him that all he could hear was a high-pitched ringing, no matter how hard he tried to focus and hear them but he simply couldn't… 

And the smell...

Terror flashed through him when the visage of his friends appeared in the mare's place. His breath quickened and his flank bumped against the town hall. He had nowhere to escape, they were surrounding him and they weredeadanditwasallhisfaultand-

A hoof reached for him and he moved back immediately, his mind now certain that they were going to attack him and shout at him, no doubt rightfully blaming him for all his misdeeds and failures. 

How I’m wasting my new life when someone else deserves it far more than I-

His breaths coming in ragged gasps and his eyes scanning wildly for an out, he found he could no longer look away.hey were surroundinghim,theywereallaroundhim- the scarred stallion felt dizzy, his eyes hurt, his neck hurt, everythinghurt.


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(̵̛̙͌̋͋T̵͎͖͎̟́̈̚h̷͎̆̿e̷͇̩͎̿͗͗̋y̷̮̍̾w̴̺̞͚͑e̶̖̖͉̝̐ṛ̵͕̲̌̓̄̓ͅe̶̛̬̟̙̣̒͘͠h̸̙͐̾͑͆û̶̻͚̠̮̓͠͝r̸͓̜͈̅t̵̼̗̖͖͑)̵̜͍̰̈́͗͘͜͝



(̶̟͗Ĩ̴͇̹̠ť̸͎̣̹͒́ ̷̳̥͓̋ẅ̴̘̫͍̈́̍͝a̵̝̣̖̽́s̴͖͝͝ͅ ̶̪͍͎̅a̵̖̔͂̓́l̵̥͊̕l̶̲̒̄̂̀ ̷͍̼͇̅͂ḫ̸̨̢̎̋͊̿ͅi̶͈̞͐͛s̷̹̦̏̏̀ ̷̟̺̈́̚f̷̭͚͙́̿ͅà̷͖ȕ̴͉̹̻̘̓̑l̶̼͙͎̅̿t̴͉̠̯̯̀̑̇͒)̴̛͕͍͈̤̃̂


He tried to speak, tried to say sorry, tried to beg for forgiveness, tried to say so many things but he couldn't. He couldn't-


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(̷̧̢͉̼̗̼͖̱̯̪͔̗̥͐̉H̶̖̹͙̿̂̄͌̓̇̈́̃̀̾e̶͈͛̀̿̀̕ ̶͕̭̞̮̻͙̍̈́͗͋̓̅̀̕c̴̫̟̬͙̜͊̐̈́̓ȯ̴̭ü̵̦͙̪̥̃͐l̶̼̗͓̞͎̦̜͔̓̈́͆̏͐̓̀̿̆̑ͅḑ̵̥̖̿͂̅̐n̴̥̠̮͈͕͛̇̆͗̎̎̏͘͘̕̚͝'̵̡̣͖̯̺͍̬͙̞̥̙͒̄͊͂̇͐̍͌͌̽̿͊͜͝͝ͅt̴̛̛̠̙͒̍̈́̌̿́̑̓͒̈ ̵̨̭̬̟̻͉̣͙̈́͐̉̊̚͝s̸̿ͅá̸̯̘̜̈͌̌͗̊v̷̜̲̾̈́̃̎͊̆̅e̷̛̙̪̠̦̝̘̠̝͍͍͖͙̭͎͆̀̇̀̽͛̀͆̄̕ ̶̜͉͖̬̈́̾͒̒́̃͐̄̂̽́̕͝t̶͇͈̥̱̅̈́͊͌͂̉̈́̂̄͘͝ḧ̶̢̛͚͇̮̺̜̙͖͈͉̗̥̞̝́̇͌̓͆e̸̳̝̬̦̩͖̞̗̪̰̖͙͓̅̒́̇̃̇͂̊͑͊͘̕̕͝m̶̧̛͇̟̲̯̜̦͕̙̗̺͚͕͌̌̈́̃̀̐͝͠)̶̯̩̗͂̓́̓̐͊̆̓̂̀̏͜͝͠ͅ



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Everything was spinning and everything was after him-
He heard something and he immediately flared his magic to ward them but they still didn't move and Dusk made his decision. If they wanted to fight then he would give them a fight! 

He wasn’t going down without one! 

Heowedthemsomanythings- 

He Couldn't Die Unless He Finished It. 

How could he have forgotten? He felt his fur stand on end as a burst of magic flowed through him.

A pitch stung his ears and he slouched on himself, his hooves digging onto the side of his head, trying to make the pain stop.

He Wanted It Gone.

A cool liquid dripped onto his hooves.

Something grabbed him and he immediately moved, letting his instincts guide him to freedom. 

Death was closing in and that was unacceptable.


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(̸̧͈̘̝̬͎̜̹͉͚̫̝͐̄́̐̈̈́̾̀̈́̕͠͝H̴̢̱̙̖̯̦̱̲̞̮͚̣͕̪̣͕̯͗̔̐͆͒̎̂̒̈́̚͠ͅȅ̴͉̤̲̟̘͚̞͔̜͔̪̠̪͇͍̟͖̿̐̾̅̂͆̀̌͐̀̿̋̿͛͊̀͌̅͐̾̚̚ ̷̧̒̈́͆͐̊c̷̜̮͗͊̑̀͐̌̕͝͝ǫ̶̳̺̥̙̙̣̪̳͈̂̐͑̊͂͋̾̋͛̂̂̕͜͝u̸̺̪͖͐̾̉͂̌͐̉̎̂̌̋̂̓͝l̸̥̘̝͔̜̫̒̒̅̅̃̔̋̒̀̂̈́́́̑̄̈́͘͘͝d̶͓͍̬̥͕̻̰̩̗͖̣̣̖̆́̉̊̐͛̇̂͐́͗̿̐̍̌́͋̅̉͌͋̕͜͝͠ͅn̶̡̛͙̦̪͈͒͊̿̅̋̌̈͑̐͆͛̏̋̕͜͝͝'̸̨̧̰̮̝̬͎̭̞̲͉̬̩̗̼̖̫̠͍̫̍̐͌̾͒̓̇͂̎̈͌̒͒͋̓͑̈́̚̕ͅͅͅṱ̸͍̎͆͋̓̏̈́̄͌̐̾̿͌̌͠ ̶̧͖̞̮̤̗͔̟̣̗̜̙̗̲̣̘̌͌̌͜͝d̵̨̢̮̞̳̺̺̜͖̬͍̠̪͉̖͎͓̔͑̀͗̈́̚i̶̲̔e̵͔͋̆͆̎̍̈́̇͋͋́̐͆̋́̒́̅̍͆̆̚͝)̷̘̞͖̞͍͎̙̻̰̙̈́̈̀̑͛̃͂́͑̐̈́̌̀̋̐͜



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(̸̩͔̰̜̯̩̙̥̥̣̫̜̘͉͕̝̦̀͗̒̓͒̉̆̋H̶̛̠̭̱̦͙͈̤͙͕̼̬̟͖̩̮̥͋̔͗̾̒̓͆̃̄̑̇̈́́̉̌̐̀̓͘̚̕͝͝͝ͅͅͅe̴̢̨̢̱͚̙̯͎̟͖̪͕͕̝̜̤͔͖͚̝̥̯̟̒ͅͅ ̶̨̛͔͈̗̟͔͉̥̹̯͈̯̤͂̃̏̓͛̋͋̑̐̇̌̀̀͌͂͋̐̇̓͗̎͝d̵̡͗͂̐̈́̔̿̓̍̀͛͋̆͒̆̔͋͘͝ơ̷͍͈̜͖̝̰̞̜̯͕̼̺̱͓̞̘̖͇̐̀̈̿͆͑̊͒̀͆̈͛͆̄̐͛̅̇̈́̊̈́̐͝͠è̸̗̜̲̒̊͌͛̉͒̌͂̈́̕͝s̶̯̠̝̙̦̮̞̠͎̘̺̈̓̾͆̑̎͑̕͝n̶̡̦̩̺̜̫̹͈͔͍̣͕̼̯̪̤̠̺̝͒̄̚'̵̢̛͓̝̱̪̘̞͙̺̝̪̬͉͉͙̠͛̍̈́̀̑͌̉͒̆͒̋̀̆̋͐͂͝͝ͅt̶̡͕̬͉͍̫̥̮̬̞͍̤̣̍͂̇͊̿͊̎̋̒̊͗̈́̈́́̍̔͐̋̋͝ͅ ̶̢̖͙̲̯͔̼̹̗̲̩̣̣̙͕̝̞̈́̿͗̂͐̽̑͜͜͜d̴̢̧̧͇̣̘̺̼̫̬̫̯̞̹̪̜̭̜̭͔̭͈̲̩̻̒͛̅̾͐̂̂̚͘͝e̷̛̯̳͐̎̓̀̔̾̔̈́͊̾̅͗̑̾́̉͌̚ṣ̶̨̨̭͕͚̯̳̟̥͈̦̟͖͙͕̬̦̥̗̜͒̋̒͜͝e̸̢̛͇͉̖̫͍͍͆͛͋͌̂̾̊̇̏̏͘͠͝r̸͚͇̺͉̣̻̮͖̟̀͠v̴̢̡̛͙̺̞̰̤̺̬̪̰̟͖̹̞̗̪̳̤̖͐̆̒̎̔̐͊͛̾͆́̔̒̉̿͗́͑̋̀̂̊ͅȩ̶̨̨̧̖̻̻͚͇̱͚̙͍̜̔́̌͋͋͐̓̐́͛̋̌̿͘̚͜͝͠ ̸̘̼͈͇̮̺̼͚̫̘̩̂͌͋̇̃̃̈̏͒̀̂͌̈́̈̿̾̽̋́̒͊͌͝i̸̢̛̦̬̐̎̾̽̽́͊̇̓̃̑̄̀̄̓́̾̊͝͝͝ţ̵̫͍͉̼̟̥̝͓̽͒̉̓̔͌̀̀̉)̴̛̙͚̙̱̺̻͙̯̫̜̝̦̳̞̯̯͎̳͙͈̮̈́̐̌̈́̐͒͆̌͌̓̈́̆͑̉͘͜͝͠͠



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Darkness.

It wasn't a surprising sight to Dusk but it was nevertheless an unwelcome one. He tried to move but everything felt heavy, like he was struggling to move through sludge. 

Again, not terribly surprising. Abandoning that struggle, the purple alicorn tried instead to remember why he was submerged in the inky blackness yet again. It was hard, to even try and think but he had too.

A quick attempt to sift through his mind soon found the reason and after a few moments to process it, the stallion let out a groan of shame.

An outburst? In Ponyville? And just after meeting his friend's counterparts, no less.

He gritted his teeth and tried to rub his face but his hoof barely moved and only made him feel worse.

He wasn't a foal anymore! 

He couldn't afford to just throw magic everywhere like a bumbling newborn unicorn who didn't know how to use his magic. 

He was an alicorn and the Prince of Magic itself and yet he couldn't even control his emotions? 

You’re a disappointment, Someone hissed. A disgrace! Solaris should’ve never made you a prince! 

Dusk laid there, tormented by his thoughts.

He was too unstable, he knows this. He sees how his magic pulses, controlled by his emotions compared to before.

Too reckless. 

Too attached.

They were right. 

No, he was right. He knew better. He should've never let himself feel again. 

If he hadn't, then maybe he wouldn't have gotten to this point. Maybe he wouldn't have been the one to destroy Ponyville this time…

The very thought crushed him. Tears began to pool around his eyes and he tried in vain to raise a hoof and remove them, but he still couldn't move. 

You can’t do anything but lay there and wallow in your weakness…

Why?

Why was he so... weak?

Why was he still here? He knew that he would never belong. That he’d never be able to be a part of such a harmonious world. They could never accept someone like him. Never should accept someone like him. 

They already had their Dusk Shine, after all. This world didn’t need a cheap and broken extra like him.

The stallion let out a sob at that thought. He knew this. He’d known it since he realized the kind of world he’d landed in. He just didn't want to admit it. Even now he couldn't bring himself to vocalize that truth, only think it.

I’m a coward. A pathetic, snivelling-

His thoughts halted as his mind registered something coming close.

Someone was there.

“A coward, you say?” a voice purred. “If you were a coward… then how are you still alive?”

Dusk stared, not answering.

What?

“Do you really think a coward would survive as long as you?” it continued, voice as soothing as it sounds. “You’re far from a coward, my little pony.” 

Dusk breath hitched as a warm touch pressed against his head. It was… comforting, especially compared to the cool inky pool that encased him. 

“No no no, toss such thoughts away. You’re not a coward, my prince.”

What… what is going on?

Dusk’s eyes tried to focus but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t..

What was he trying to do again?

He felt drained.

No, not drained.

He felt tired.

So tired...

“No, you are my champion. How else are you still alive? Why else would you still be here?”

...Why?

Why was he alive?

“You will find your answers one day, my chosen.”

Was… was that a smile he felt?

“I can’t wait for that day.”





Purple eyes blinked, hazey and unfocused.

“Ah… i'm awake.”

How unfortunate.
> Short Interlude: Awaken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Short Interlude: Awaken





Dusk woke up in a familiar place. With a fading dream in his mind and a slight tingling in his brow.

At least, it was familiar to his groggy and tired mind. The moment he focused, he realized that something was clearly wrong. As he opened his eyes to the view of a crystal wall, he knew that something happened.

Where am I?

He didn't know exactly, but the magic saturating his surroundings was familiar. Friendly even, in addition to a type of magic he hadn't seen for well…

Forever! At least, not since...

Dusk clicked his tongue and attempted to move but the familiar effects of magic exhaustion made themselves obvious with how sluggish and tired he suddenly felt. He rubbed his forehead and tried to calculate just how much magic he had wasted during his outburst. His eyes widened when he felt a band wrapped around his horn, he quickly tapped around it and let out a sigh of relief.

Okay... They didn't slice it off, that was good. It would've been absolute Tartarus to wait for it to heal once more. In fact, it seemed to have grown from its old stump, given how he could feel the horn poking out of his rat’s nest of a mane. Now, to remove the band.

Despite no longer using his horn in the conventional sense, it didn’t mean that it was any less restrictive, and if there was one thing Dusk hated, it was being restricted.

After tapping it for several moments and finding the sealing sequence, he rose a brow at how... mundane it was. 

Apparently it could only be removed by the creature who had secured the seal on him, not that it was a problem. It could be overwritten easily enough. It also had a recycler, which served to take in any magic he attempted to channel through it and charge the seal, making it stronger.

In addition, it also periodically sent a quiet ripple to the creature who had keyed the ring to their magic, silently alerting them if he tried to 'tamper' with it. Icing on the cake, there was a locator as well. 

All in all, it was a rather standard magic-inhibiting ring… and very boringly simple. Dusk liked it simple. The more simple something was, the less time he had to waste in completely disassembling it.

Should he tamper with it though? He'd been given a comfy bed and was surrounded with a pleasant magic surrounding him, one he hadn't had the privilege of feeling in a long while.

It was… 

Nice.

It was like meeting a good friend that you hadn't seen in years. He just knew that the familiar magic wouldn't let anything harm him.

He hadn't felt this... placated in a while and the relaxed alicorn wanted to know why. Thinking about it a bit more, it was rather concerning that he was like this. He panned his gaze across his surroundings and after some time spent lazily searching for it, he found it. 

Dusk brought the seal he had discovered closer and his brow rose. Compared to the band around his horn, this one was like comparing a boulder to a pebble. It was good quality, for sure but compared to his work? Maybe somewhere in the middle.

The seal battery would need to be fed at least every three hours to fully work, and… Is that... dream magic? The purple alicorn's interest grew exponentially as he focused more intently on the seal. He knew that dream magic could help in placating and relaxing creatures. To actually see it in motion was fascinating as best he could tell, you either stopped panicking or you started dying. 

He winced and lightly rubbed his crest with a hoof. He’d learnt that last little bit the hard way. His eyes trailed to the top of the door, a clock that showcased that it was somewhere around noon, which showed him that a day has passed.

"Hoo!"

Dusk immediately perked up and turned to the source. 

He couldn't help but let out a little "Oomphff-" as the little brown missile dive bombed him in the stomach. With a quick movement of his hoof, the seals affecting him immediately dissipated. In an instant, everything came back to him all at once and he flinched at the mental damage he’d just dealt himself. He could already feel a headache coming on and with the concerned hoot of the featherbag it was obvious that it wasn’t fading anytime soon.

"Yes yes..." he continued to rub the birds head as an attempt to lessen its noise, but it seemed to have failed, "I'm alright-"

"Hoo!"

"Hoo, yourself. I said I'm alright and you know that I've faced worse than this."

The bird let out a low trill, clearly annoyed, though Dusk couldn’t bring himself to admonish it, so he instead simply rolled his eyes at the foalishness.

"Oh shut up, as I just said, I went through far worse before you ever found me- Yeawoch!" The bird had decided to nip his hoof to which the injured alicorn retaliated with a boop to the overgrown chicken's beak.

Dusk glared half-heartedly and simply patted the bird on the head a bit harder than normal. He knew that the owl was simply concerned and he accepted that. He however didn’t accept that the avian apparently couldn't fathom him being able to take care of himself. 

He wasn't that reckless. 

As he continued to fight with the bird, he felt a magical presence thone in on him and he frowned.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that he was probably being monitored. But how was the real question. Maybe if he acted normal enough then they would let him leave, though with his recent outburst...

Dusk grimaced at that thought. Maybe it would've been good to have left that calming seal alone, but he didn't feel like reactivating it in his current state. Before he could sink into his thoughts the bird smacked him in the back of the head. The stallion couldn’t help but snort.

"You sure are troublesome aren't ya?" The alicorn yawned and laid back on the comfy pillow, having made his decision. No evil kidnapper would have such comfy beds for their prisoners. 

It looked like he was staying. 

He stared up to the ceiling as he silently began to think. Dusk knew that he was still acting a bit different than normal, but he'd just chalked it up to the seal that he recently deactivated. If the change persisted until he woke up the next day...

He grimaced, and just like that, he was out like a light, not realizing that he had accidentally curled around the bird who puffed his feathers a bit and looked rather proud of himself.





"Sister."

Celestia turned, her eyes leaving the image of a sleeping stallion for her little sister. Said sister didn't look pleased, as evidenced by her small frown and the light crease of her brow.

"Yes, Luna?" The princess of the Sun answered, her eyes flicking back to the stallion on screen before quickly shifting to her sister once more, netting her a sigh.

Luna sat next to her sister and slowly leaned into the white mare’s embrace, the princess of the night immediately looking tired as she exhaled softly.

"Who would treat a stallion like this? Why would they do that to him?" She softly questioned as she continued to snuggle closer to her sister's warmth.

Celestia’s response was only to wrap a wing around her little sister, a sorrowful look on her usually serene face as she nuzzled her comfortingly.

"I do not know," Was the simple reply, her rose-colored eyes seeming to turn into steel as she continued. "But we will get to the bottom of this. No creature is allowed to hurt my little ponies and escape retribution." Celestia chuckled softly as she carefully tapped horns with her little sister. "Even if he's not so little everywhere else."

Almost immediately Luna's expression went blank as her mind registered what her older sister just said. She groaned and attempted to pull away in embarrassment but found herself unable to because of the white wing wrapped around her. She sighed and just settled for pushing the much larger alicorn away with a disgusted look on her face.

"Tia, no!" Luna admonished, an annoyed look on her face as she struggled to get away from her captor.

"Tia, yes!" said Celestia with a grin as she hugged her sister closer to her. "Admit it! You're just as interested as I am!"

"Absolutely not! That's indecent, sister! This is a stallion we're talking about! Have some dignity!"

All Celestia did was laugh at the statement which seemed to infuriate the shorter alicorn, leading the Princess of the Sun to get a face full of her sister’s hoof, leading to even more laughter.

"Stop it!"

The efforts of the lunar princess were all for nought as they began to fight once more, but throughout the battle there was something else in the elder sister's eye. A calculating glint that wasn't seen by anyone else in the room. Thoughts had begun to whirl, plans began to form and it all centred around that new alicorn stallion.

'This is going to be so much fun!' Celestia's eyes flickered to the sleeping stallion on the magical screen and her grin widened. ' I wonder just what kind of pony you are Mr. Dusk Shine. Show me how you are worthy and prove yourself.'

Unknown to anyone, in another room, magic began to work. The mystical energy began its process and with it, sealed a destiny. The destiny of a certain slumbering alicorn. Now it was time to wait.

Wait for their time to awaken once more.
> 6- Understood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




6
Understood




"Wait... you're telling me that the Crystal Empire is good?" 

"Hoo!"

Dusk let out a small hum as he laid back on his bed. What? It was his bed. He’d scented it and he had every intention to steal it the moment he got kicked out. The bird was nesting in his mane yet again, internally causing the stallion to strike the idea for a carrying pouch. He sighed and brought his bag closer, his eyes narrowing when he found out that... 

No one had tampered with it. Not even a single attempt. It was both suspicious and very insulting, to say the least. Did he really look like he didn't deserve to be investigated? He blinked as his thought process dawned on him and he couldn't help but sigh at his skewed priorities. Ever since the outburst, his head had been everywhere. The bag of feathers let out a hoot as it perched on his horn, causing the stallion to give a snort and slightly lean backwards.

His magic... it thrummed and hummed underneath his skin and he clicked his tongue when he couldn't find out what was different about it. His eyes glared at the book resting at his side, one of the reasons for his mental state. Nothing makes sense. It just doesn’t.

His world had the Crystal Heart and by extension the Empire, but the heart had been destroyed by Umbra before he and his friends even arrived in the Crystal Empire. The stallion gritted his teeth as he tried to find out what had happened to make this world and his own so different. Where was the divergence?

The dastardly book didn't even give any specifics, only serving as a vague overview along with copious amounts of praise for this... Spike.

Dusk growled before he had to actively stop himself from throwing the book in rage. It’s useless! He brought another book titled 'Bearers of Harmony' and quickly skimmed it, though as he continued to read, his ire continued to rise with every page he read. 

This world... It just didn't make sense. Nothing makes sense! The book was telling him that in one night, this world's version of the Elements of Harmony had been found and then shortly after managed to defeat this... Nightmare Moon in one go!?

Where was the fairness!? Why did this world have it easy compared to his!? His anger began to slowly sizzle down when he remembered something and his grip on the book slowly relaxed until he sighed. I have no right to be like this. I should just be happy that there was another universe. Another world where they’re happy and they don’t suffer.. He repeated the words over and over again until he’d ingrained the fact into his head like a mantra.

Dropping the book, Dusk rubbed a hoof over his face. His magical exhaustion and the fact that he was still in an unknown place for the past two days since his outburst was starting to make him stir-crazy. The only things keeping him from raiding this place and escaping was the familiar magic and the warm sack of feathers. It was likely that they had some inkling of what he was planning. If they somehow managed to foil his plans… no, better to stay put and steal what he can in the interim.

Dusk clicked his tongue and stared at the clock casually ticking away -nothing has happened other than them giving him food- before exhaling as his eyes began to drop, forcing the stallion to rub his face with his hoof once more. I’m exhausted. too exhausted. 

His eyes trailed back to his bag laying on the nightstand and he tiredly brought it close. With the flick of a hoof, the clasp on the saddlebag glowed for a moment before opening and showcasing several items from his... adventures. He shuffled through most of the items on the surface level and brought out a familiar picture-frame, his eyes carefully tracing the faces of those he lost.

The frame glowed briefly as Dusk carefully charged it before finally, with a flick of his hoof, a seal was brought close to him. The stallion’s eyes watched carefully as the magic began its work and he let out a breath of relief when he felt their familiar flares of magic. It dropped and he allowed himself to slowly be lulled into the peaceful clutches of sleep of their magic. Magic that should've disappeared long ago, though somehow it still persisted. Holding the frame tight to his chest, Dusk’s body tensed a bit. Even asleep, when one is supposed to be at their safest, Dusk remained firmly on guard.

It was sad, the watcher thought. Pitiful, even. The pony was cracked, they had stated. Having long decided to help seal the fractures by this point, the Watcher gave a soft nod as they glanced at the stallion’s slumbering form once more before concluding their watch and sinking into their own slumber, knowing that they would awaken once more when called.




Dusk didn't like a lot of things. He didn't like being alone despite being well aware of the fact that he pushed everyone away. He also didn't enjoy the fact that he knew that he was cursed. Adding to the growing list, he didn't like the fact that he was the reason he had it in the first place. And finally, he didn't like the fact that no matter where he went, he would inevitably hurt someone, even when he didn't mean to.

It was painful the first time it happened and heartbreaking the second time. So on and so forth it went until he’d finally just grown numb to near everything. He had once fought for freedom, because that was what they would've wanted, but what now? In a world that didn't need it, he couldn't help but question what his purpose was now.

What was the point of him being here? Why was he here? Were they taunting him by waving the fact that this could've been his world in his muzzle? Or were they simply torturing him for his sins? Taking a life was a massive offence. Every life bore worth, and it would be more than understandable if this was his hell.

A hell disguised with happiness as the front and countless hidden 'what if's' in the background. Perhaps this is my punishment. He never doubted for a moment that he deserved it after all he had done. He understood.

He understood when a royal guard was sent to fetch him and he was told that his presence was ‘requested’ by the Princess. He understood the moment the doors to the 'throne room' opened and he was escorted inside. As he sat and felt their eyes train on him, no doubt trying to figure what to do with him, Dusk understood.

No matter where he went, he was still chained. Whether it was his regrets, his magic, himself or the government…

Dusk understood.
> 7- Why?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




7
Why?





Dusk stood silently by the door, his eyes drifting from pony to pony -hadn't the guard said that it was just the princesses? Why were the bearers here?- as he swallowed roughly. He had no idea what to do, they were just there. Smiling, happy and alive. He wanted to move, to hug them, to apologize for his mistakes to his friends' counterparts but he couldn't move. No matter how many times the stallion tried to lift a hoof, he simply couldn't. It was as if his body was frozen solid. 

"Dusk Shine."

The moment he heard the familiar voice, his body somehow fell back into old habits. It may have been the wrong timbre, the wrong tone but it somehow had the same... it somehow had the same core as somepony he knew. He couldn't explain it, but his body certainly knew and reacted accordingly.

He stood straight, a slightly awkward and wistful smile on his face, "At your service, Prince-" His voice hitched as he blinked and the sight of Prince Solaris disappeared, leaving only his counterpart. He swallowed roughly and tried to salvage his statement, "Prince- Princess..." he trailed off, hoping that they hadn’t caught his slip.

Faust... That was pathetic. The slight wince from the ponies in the room made it obvious that he didn't hide it nearly well enough. His eyes shifted up to stare into the familiar rose-coloured ones as he tried to convince himself that it was indeed Prince Solaris-

"Celestia, It's Princess Celestia."

Faust... They all looked so similar. Dusk rubbed his face with a hoof. This was growing frustrating and not the good kind. He exhaled roughly and tried to stare elsewhere but the moment he looked to the side, he found himself face to face with his... counterpart? Flinching, he began to back away immediately. Under normal circumstances he would've attacked, but his better judgement held him at bay. Given that would’ve led to him fighting three alicorns, it was probably the right call.

"Yes?" He asked his counterpart hesitantly, his form tense as if expecting some kind of secret attack.

He didn't get an answer because the mare seemed rather busy given how intently she was staring at him, something that had immediately unnerved him. It felt as if he was being dissected and he absolutely hated it. Several moments passed and he growled a warning, indicating that if she continued to do so then she had better be ready for a fight.

"...What?" He snarled, his teeth bared as he leaned further away. He made sure that his back was against the wall and he faced all of them. It felt as if they were trying to figure out his weakness through his counterpart. If that was the case, then he needed to get ready for an attack. His eyes flicked from his counterpart to the others who continued silently watching what's happening and he clicked his tongue. "What do you want? If you're asking me to pay for you're hospitality" He spat the last word with hostility, "Then just say so-"

Dusk was cut off when light yellow pegasus abruptly hugged him, his words hitching in his throat and his hoof, prepped and ready to strike his attacker instead stopped. What’s going on? He tried to get away but the more he tried the more he just felt something... what was this sorcery!?

She was murmuring something but he didn't care. She was too close and that in and of itself was a problem. With one mighty heave, he managed to push her back towards her seat -if the cutie mark on the throne was any indication- and immediately backed away. He rolled his shoulders and neck and got ready for a fight. if they thought to weaken him with the fact that they looked like someone he knew then they had no idea what was coming for them.


....

...

..

.



(̴̡͔͎̮̫̭̱͉͇̯̪̹̲̄̾̾̋̀̈́̋̽̈́̏́͒̐́̈̐̓̕̚͠█̵̡̢͕̹̻̯̪̝͙̞̥̗̹̗͇̜̩̼̫̝̳͖͛̈͐͑̇̿͊͛̚͜͝͝█̶̺̮̺͉̥̬̬̥̱͔̘͕̱̲͔͚͍͆͐̾̄͛̓̽̇͠ò̷̡̡̖̼̱̙͎̣̲̮̮̠͙̭̦͎̹̖̗͕̝̤̬͕͗̾͂̽͌̓̎̋̌̾̊̂̏͑̾̓͂̄̓̈́͑͜͜͠ ̵̧̨̣͕̠̟͔͙̮̹̥̮̺̼͙̤̱͎͉̜͖̠̙̫̻̮̬̫̘̫̍̆͛͂̋̍͒̇͂̊̈̅͂̈́̈́͑̌̅̃͑̈́̉̔̄̍́͑̚͠͠͠ͅ█̴̨̺̟͇͓̰̼̩̼͍̬̞͋͂̀̃͜ͅͅͅ█̴̡̡̛͙̯̻̞̎́̊̈́̐̓̍͊͑̆́̾̾̅͂͒̽͛̚̕͘͠ ̷͙̟͙̋̇̾̐̑̉̈́̍̈́̉̈͊̋͐̇̆̋̒͆͗̄̋̏̃̃̑͂̕͘̚͜͝͝█̵̢̢̧̨̡͇̠̫̭͇̠͚͚̠̱̠̮͕̮̭̼̱̠̝̭͖̲͇̫̮̰̦̹͔̀́̒͌͊█̶̡̞̯̭̺̯͆͑̔̃̄́̄͋̑̽͒̓̔͛̍̇̀̅̀͠͝͝ư̷̢̡̧̛̛̦̟̗̩̰̺͚̟͎̲̭̮̭͈͖̥̟͚̗̝̰̠̖̯͔̰̰̙͑̏̂͑́̌̈́͋̈͗͐̓̃̎́̉͋̀́̅͊͌̆͑͜͠͝ ̵̧̧̢̭̘̭̥͈̙͍̘̭̗̬͚̻͍̝̞̺̞̺̯̅̀̊̓̈̈́͋͌̒̉̽̿̾̈́̆̀͑̂͜͜͠ţ̶͓̪̣̫̟̭̹̰͕̺̿̊̏̏̅͐̉ḩ̸̡̧̧͔̪͎͍͔͇̖̥̯̥̺̼͔̼̙̭̯̻͖̣̩̻̖͈̬̯͕̺̈́͒́͜█̵̢̢̢̻͉̗̤̜͔̯͕͎̯̩̤̩̣̏́̎̽̾̂͂͐͂̔̃̓̅̊͑̋̓̔̉̚͘̚̚͜͝█̷̨̧̨̡̨̛̭̪͉͙̙͓̬̘̳̯̘̺͓͉̮͚̜̠̘̝͚̙͈̭͇̩͆́̌͐̎̓͆̎̋̃̍͂̈́̅̒́̀̃̍̈́̋̆̈͒̂̐͑̄̉̃͝͠͝͝k̸̢̧̨̢̨̗̲͔̟̟̫̪̺͔̫̦̫̗͎̻͓̫͎̰̹̯̻̣̙͓͚̮̀ ̵̧̛͉̰͍̭̭͓̯̟̪͓͇͓͛͊͗̍̎̿̔͗̈̿̉͒̿̒̋̈͋̚̚̚̕ͅę̶̢͓̝̘̪͓̖̘̹̲̫͍̩̪̳͕͈͙̼̥̤̻̳̱̉̀̈̀͒̀̑͐́̅̓̎̉̑͊̾̅̓͗̅͋̆͆̈́̍͌͒͌̕̕̕̕͝͝͝ͅͅ█̸̨̢̨̣̣̻̼̪͙̟͓̟̣͉̠̩̥̗͖̗͙̟͚̝̟͖̔̓̇̇́́͊͂͐̏̊̽̀̓̅̊́͆̄̓̇̊̒̂̈́̉́̚̚͝͠͝͠ͅͅ█̶̛͓̰̈́͒͐̐͂̽̋̉̂̅̈́́́̎͗̽͊̀̐͆̓̈́͐͘͜█̵̢̧̨͚̳͔̠̠̱̮͈͇̰͕̟͂͒̄́̑̓̆̊̽͑̈́̑̐̀̾̉̉̿́͆̔̀̕̕ͅ█̷̧̧̧̣̟̝͔͕̻͙̥̙̰̠̖̮̫̻̻̪̱̙̱͕̣̆̐̃̈́͠ͅ ̶̧̖̱͈͍̦͕̥̲̮̩̜̙̬̟̙̜̻͎̫̺͓͇̰͆̿͆̾̄̊͂̓̿͌̏͠ͅt̷̨̨̧͔̭͚͈̜̗̖̬͍̬̮̞̮̥̭̮̹͍͍̦̳̖̬͔͉͔̹͎̽̃ͅ█̴̡͔̫̠͔̞̤͌̀̂̌̒̎̿͗̌ͅͅ█̵̧̨̡̛̛̝͚̫̳͉̝̜̞̘̯̦̥͍̩̘͉͎̼̬̎̉̃̾͂̎̓̄̾͋̃͊̅́̉͆́̈́͗̔̓̾̕̕͘͘͝͝͝ͅ█̴̡̢̨̛̭̼͓̭͎͚̩̹̲͎̣̬̜̬̘̟̻̹̘̉̌́͆̈́̍̆͑̆̉̔̅̈̍͗͑̍̒̍̎̍͆̎̑̌̓̍͊͘ͅͅ ̷̨̨̨̡̛͔͚̻̲̙̦̪̟̣̞͓͕͓͕̩̼̦́͂̿̆̾̐̎͆̈͛̎̉̄̉̄͝͠ͅͅͅ█̵̨̮̖̘̙̗̲̱̜̫̳̱͔̖̮͖̦͖͉͖̱̖͚̼̼̺̪̮͈̙̻̪͔̀̇̓͑̎͑̂̇ͅ█̷̡̨̛̲͔̩͉̣͇̹̗̥̥̙͚̮͉͚͈̭̔̒̎̑̈́̊͛̅̐̿̽̅̎̎̒̃͛̿̎̈̿̇̓̚̚͜͝͝͠͝ ̷̢̢̫̬͇̹̹̹͕̙̝̺̯̱̗̯̠̠̹͈͓̣͊̆̈́̇̈́͋̍̃̃̋̍̒̒́̎̚͝ͅ█̵̢̥̫̹̠͔͕͉̦͗̑́̓̈́͗͌̾̏͝█̸̢̨̡̨̛͙̝͉̠͓͍̘̻̠̥̯͕̰͎̫̩̠̗̙͓͕̻̫̟̗͚̦͙̬̣́̔͗̂͒̓͘͜e̸̢̙̤̘̱̙̣̣̘͙̮̠̿̓̊ ̴̨̲̪͉̩̥̳͈̗̬̫͖͉̤͕̳̞̹̙̖̪̦̥͚͉̥͇̥͈͈̺̜̰͍̊͛̿͒͂̌̂̑́͘ͅf̵̜͈̖̪̘̞̞͙̰͙̤͇͇̫͉̠͙̯̠̣̤̟̔͐̃͑̔̇͗̾́̒̇͌͐͆͋͊͛̂͊̌͘͝͝͝͠█̴̧̳̘͔̦̤̣̦̖͍̫̥̦͚͎̘͖̹͖͔̳͙̜̺̬̹͖̈́̀̽̓̅̈̿͗̃̇͆̀̂̾̀̿̇́̋̉̈́̚̕̚͜͜͝͝͝͠͠█̴̛͈̯͍̝͊́̃̃̔̅̆̓̆́́̉͐̑̓̉̏̒̍̓͝█̴̢̞͔͉̖̘̬̭̳̤̖̪͉̞͒̚̕█̴̡̡̧̨̛̫͓̙̙̘̱̠̟̫̹̜̻͖̞̝̬̳͍̥̼̈́͛͊͋̿̂̓͛̔͂͘͜͜͜ͅ ̷̨̗̞͐̾̿͋̔͘͝ ̴̧̧̥̟̰̜̪͍̖͎̹̳̗͚̞̦̹̀̅̓̕͘̕█̵̧͙̜̟̳̹̗̲͕̹̝͚̹͖̰̍̊̒̃̔̀͌̇̌̇̽͊̃̇͊̓̉̚͝͝l̸̞̤͙͙͎̼̲͈̬̥̯̫̤̣̄█̶̢̣̙̲͉̫͓̐͂̊̆̇͂̃̈́̒͆̔̐̈́̎͒̍́̊͜͠͝█̸̢̧̧̧̝̠̖̭̝̠̣̠͓̳̹̞̟̝̺͇̻̬͓̻̌͑̇̂̆̌͑̋̆͑̈̑̐̎̽̏̀̕̚̚͜͠͝█̷̢̤̜̦̖̗̩̫͎͍̘͚̦͉̺̟̼̪̖̥̪̳̗͙̣̭̭͆̐͊́̽̅͌͊̽̀̓̇͘͝ͅͅͅ)̴͓͇̩͔̐̎͐̃͒͋̏́̈́̉̈͑̅̈́͐͑͐̀͒̈́̆͗̔͌͒̅͋̀͆̚͘͘͠͝ͅ



.

..

...

....




Dusk winced at the sudden pang of pain that blossomed throughout his skull and given how concerned the ponies of the room now looked, he didn't seem to hide it well. What in Tartarus? What just happened? His jaw snapped towards the blue pegasus that had flown a bit too close for his liking before he remembered where he was. If he’d been able, he’d have smacked himself. This wasn’t his world!! He couldn't afford to show weakness! He’d been too lax and forgotten a long-learned lesson. It was unacceptable.

"Get to the point! What do you all want?" He snapped again, wanting this over with. The sooner they told him what they wanted the sooner he could finish it and escape with his life, along with the things he’d stolen. He just hoped that they wouldn't notice and take umbrage with him, putting him back in a cell. 

"We want you to relax-" Dusk's brow twitched at what the Solaris-wannabe said but he otherwise remained still and waited for her to continue. "And we want you to explain your situation to all of us."

Information... His eyes narrowed. That was all? Where was the rest of the-

"And if you meet these demands, then we will grant you temporary citizenship and a monthly stipend for a.." As she continued to list off her 'demands,' Dusk just gaped as the deal continued to lean in his favour.

What’s her game? A few moments passed until the white alicorn had finally finished listing all of her demands and silence blanketed the room as they waited for his answer.

The demands had been… they were so... easy. He didn't really know what to think about that. Put simply, they were asking him to explain his situation and what had transpired since his arrival and in exchange, they would give him a monthly stipend of two hundred bits for a year. During said year they had offered him temporary citizenship with the end of the trial serving as when they would make the decision of whether or not he was allowed to stay in this Equestria. 

There were other little agreements here and there such as the stipulation that he should have a job for at least three months before the trial ended and that he shouldn't do anything illegal, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

At the end of the whole spiel, he still didn't know what to say. Everything had just been so easy. There was no catch? His eyes carefully read through the contract they’d presented to him, hooves trembling. As he finished reading it for the fifth time, Dusk carefully brought the paper down. The mares all waited in silence and the stallion could almost feel the tension in the room. What were they waiting for, he wondered.

"What's the catch? There's always a catch when it's too good to be true and this is too good to be true. What do you want?" He softly murmured, he just wanted the truth. He just wanted to know if this was a farce or something genuine. He knew better than to hope. Hope was a slow poison and he had no desire to swallow something so painful.

"..."

"Is it wrong to want one of my little ponies to be happy?" Was the alabaster mare’s simple answer, though it was what followed that caused his breath to hitch... "Everypony deserves happiness. Even you Dusk Shine."

The pony in question looked away, the paper crumpling slightly as he gripped it tightly with his hoof. He wouldn’t cry. He’d gone through far worse struggles than this and they hadn't drawn tears from him and neither would this. He sniffed and rubbed his eye with a free hoof, taking a small feeling of relief when he felt that his eye was dry.

A few more moments passed in tense silence before he gave his answer to the white alicorn.

"Fine, I'll accept responsibility." Of what happened after his outburst and of what he’d inevitably do during his trial. They were giving him a chance, it was the least he could do to accept gracefully and be as responsible as he can during his stay. 

The spitake and rather painful sounding coughs that followed his statement confused the scarred stallion. Was it something he’d said?
> 8- Teach
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




8
Teach




Dusk was told to sign a bunch of documents with the bearers being sent out of the room shortly afterwards. Apparently they were there primarily to serve as witnesses for what turned out to be a bunch of simple things. Like his name, cutie mark and meaning, date of birth, relatives, birth parents-  

The quill on his hoof stilled and he found himself starting blankly at that particular line. After a moment had passed, he decided to skip it and instead continued to fill in the others, though something had clearly changed. A gnawing feeling dug into his gut when once clear writing turned shaky, nearly indiscernible the more he continued. 

He abruptly flinched when a dark blue hoof took hold of one of his trembling ones. A small tune struck his ears, a lil humm that scratched a part of his brain and his body relaxed with habit.

It was frightening, just how easily he had gotten into a routine long forgotten. If he were to close his eyes it would almost be like he was back in his world, casually signing papers that Prince Solaris gave him while listening to the humming of Artermis but he knew the truth. He bit the inside of his mouth hard enough to draw blood and moved his hoof away, sharp enough that it could be considered rude.

Memories like those needed to be buried. If he kept on digging it up then he would become a liability. Emotional, like a foal fussing over his ice cream.

"I'm alright," was his answer to an unsaid question, his eyes still trained on the nearly finished packet of papers in front of him. Atermis or Luna, or whatever his counterpart is named seemed to disagree, but as moments past with nothing else happening, she finally left his side. The little brush of air that escaped with her caused his fur to bristle as he became all too aware of how alone he is from his side of the table.

A stranger in front of royals. A murderer in a court. Was this his judgement? Would they turn him away if they knew of the atrocities he has committed?

Dusk was a criminal, yes but he meant well. He could cry that he was coerced, forced to become what he is now but those were excuses.

Meaning well, doesn't hide your actions and he knew that deep inside.

Just thinking of it deeper made him nearly slump in his seat and he longed for the weight of somepony by his side. A simple brush against his hoof brought back memories that he dearly missed and if he pressed his snout against his leg he could think of it as somepony else other than himself. He grimaced at that thought. It seemed that no matter where he wound up, he still found himself hoping for companionship no matter how much he wished otherwise. 


Pathetic...


Dusk froze and with a Snap! The quill he was writing with broke into two. 

His eyes flicked to the two pieces and he quickly sputtered out an apology as the bitter feeling in his gut grew almost immediately, almost making him sick as he spoke. "I- I'm sorry! I haven't written with a quill for such a long time that I must've accidentally-" he was cut off by a laugh from Solari- Celestia and he couldn't help but tense as he sat still. He could feel the blood rushing to his face immediately, making it warm to the touch. 

The sickness in his stomach curled and Dusk has never wanted to punch himself so hard until now. Where was his composure? his training? He had made a fool of himself! And in front of Solaris and Artermis, as well as his counterpart no less. 

He has snapped bones with the control and finesse of a pony willing to do what is done, yet he fumbles over a simply quill?

Pathetic, he truly is pathetic. Breaking such a feeble thing, just how weak was his self control? 

"It's alright Dusk," was she placating him? he wondered. What a kind monarch, he bitterly thought. "It's just a simple quill. It’s nothing to worry about." Dusk didn't believe her. Simple quill his flank, creatures had grudges for less and quickly casted a quick -Reparo- spell on the quill with his newly grown horn. A few more moments passed as he finished all the papers he needed to sign with a flourish. 

As he looked up from his fifth recheck, he had to back away at the crazed look on his counterpart's face when she abruptly appeared in front of him, a hoof around his as she grasped the quill. His heart lurched at that and his horn sputtered with charged magic once he realized who it was.

He flinched, hard. Like so hard that he ripped his hoof away, somehow dragging his counterpart closer to him and causing him to still immediately. 

The flapping of wings caught his attention and his eyes cleared as realization dawned on him. 

A princess is touching him, an alicorn. 

He nearly assaulted an  a l i c o r n.

No one in the room seemed to have noticed his sharp movement and he couldn't stop the relief he felt at that as his eyes dragged to his counterpart. She sat in front of him as she continued to look at the quill -formerly held in his hoof - with a keen eye, doing all sorts of perspective experiments. 

What the fuck, just who does that!? He kept his words to himself tho, a fighter he may be but he had dabbled in democracy before.

"Fascinating..." He heard her murmur and Dusk didn't know what to do, opting to move his head to the side and stare at the Sun and Moon as if hoping for an answer. All they did was simply shake their head with exasperation, a fond smile on their faces. Insane, these ponies are insane. Where was the tact? the control? 

Dusk couldn't stop the pang of longing when he saw how they reacted -was that how his teachers would react to him?. As he turned back to his counterpart, he had to move his head away from familiar purple eyes. It made his skin crawl, to has such focus on him. 

"How did you do that!? I've never seen a spell like this before, did you perhaps repair it with some kind of glueing spell?" The other purple alicorn didn't seem convinced with her guess as she brought the quill much closer to her face. "I don't see any crack that showed that it was broken in the first place though! This is fascinating! Can you tell how you did this?" She smiled and Dusk couldn't help but give her his own in courtesy, though he was sure that it looked like a grimace.

Polite, Dusk. Be polite. This is a princess, royalty and power in form. It would be rather unfortunate to him if he started throwing hooves like a hooligan.

Calm.

"It's..." He couldn't help but feel an odd sense of confusion as well as something else. It was such a genuine and normal question that he didn't know what to do but answer. When he realised that he had trailed off, he cleared his throat and continued. "It's called -Reparo- and it's usually a low charge spell, but the amount of magic used mostly depends on the size of the object that needs repair." Dusk placed a hoof on his chin as his brain churned with what to say, partially talking out of his flank. "For the best results it’s ideal to have all the pieces along with good concentration-"




Celestia couldn't stop the fondness in her amused expression showcase on her face. She was certain that she would've needed to step in the moment Twilight got a bit too close for comfort but something had changed her mind. 

It was such a simple thing, Twilight tending to forget a simple thing called 'personal space' whenever she was interested in something. Normally this would only happen around mares, given Twilight mostly spent her time around them and they didn't particularly mind. Only very rarely was she ever around stallions she didn't know.

Then again, considering how he reacted with Luna, maybe she saw it as a go ahead sign?

With how jumpy Dusk is, she had expected that she'd need to explain to Twilight why she couldn’t just go and invade a ponies -especially Dusk's- personal space unless they knew each other well enough to be comfortable with such proximity, but it seemed like she wouldn’t need to. Before she knew it, they were sitting side by side, with a hyper focused Twilight -along with tons of paper and quills- and Dusk, who was now explaining the ins and outs of the spell he’d cast. Just two purple alicorns, the latter being a shade darker, sharing what they loved most: knowledge.

The solar diarch’s rose coloured eyes narrowed onto Dusk. She had known they looked similar, but side to side? They were practically clones. The only differences that were glaringly obvious were the scars that littered the large purple stallion and the sheer size difference between him and his unscarred other self.

To see a stallion in such a state made her stomach churn but in the end, it gave her another reason.

Celestia turned to look at her sister and her smile grew exponentially when she noticed that Luna was trying to look like she was 'accidentally' eavesdropping. When the dark blue alicorn saw her gaze she couldn't stop the raising of her brow as her sister continued to try and look like she wasn't caught. The higher her brow was raised, the more she could see the barely hidden embarrassment freeing itself from her sister.

"Shush Tia! This is actually interesting." Luna stage whispered as she gave her smug sister a side glare and a small frown. Aforementioned mare just smiled innocently and turned back to the pair of purple alicorns where it seemed that Dusk was now enthusiastically -it was nice to see that he seemed to come out of his shell when he was teaching, she would need to keep that in mind- explaining, now with examples in the form of being surrounded by different packs of paper, seemingly summoned by a still writing Twilight. 

"Wait- So while it is highly advised against, it can still be used on creatures?" Twilight asked and she could see that Dusk looked kind of - alot of - uncomfortable with that question, given how he rubbed his crest with a hoof.

"Its, highly advised against for a reason," Dusk gave a short laugh, dry and forced. Celestia winced and wondered if she should step in. "It's not... exactly good to use on anything alive. Reparo helps repair things sure, but you need to understand the composition of what you're using it on. On living things, especially ones who's flesh is living and constantly moving will result in massive scarring because of the almost forceful way of healing.." he trailed off and his hoof fell to the side of his neck and Twilight seemed to take the hint, given the flash of realization that seemed to come into being in her eyes.

"Sorry..." Twilight softly stated. All Dusk did was let out a small awkward smile, placatingly polite. Celestia's eyes narrowed and she leaned closer to a sorrowful looking Luna.

"Can you check up on him during his dreamscape?" Celestia -actually- whispered lowly. While most would think that she was playing favourites given her focus, this was far from the case. At the end of the day, he was an alicorn who had the potential to be wildly unstable. As much as she wanted to help the stallion, she would also need to keep an eye on him to make sure they won't have another Sombra-esque problem on their hooves.

She watched as Luna carefully nodded and then turned back to the chatting pair of purple alicorns. It seemed that she would need to shift her plans for a bit, but she wouldn't lose sight of her original idea. With a smile, she clapped her hooves together and said joyfully, “Speaking of check-ups, how about we go to Ponyville Central Hospital for your medical check-up Dusk? We need to see if you have a clean bill of health.” and see whether or not those scars were what she truly thought or simply fur shaven off.

“Checkup?” Dusk asked hesitantly, a hoof raised as if he was in a classroom while Twilight nodded in response to her mentor’s statement. The sunbringer of Equis couldn’t stop the small grin that grew from the wave of nostalgia triggered by that move.

“Yes, a checkup.” She repeated the statement and her smile shifted to one of concern as Dusk turned a bit paler than what was considered healthy.

“Buck.”
> 9- In a bit of a Pickle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




9
In a bit of a Pickle




Dusk was a simple stallion.

He tended to focus on certain things in his life and avoid some very specific other aspects of his day-to-day. Medics and doctors tended to be one of those things he avoided. His opinion on them tended to change depending on who the medic was that was fixing him, really, but he’d wager he’d had more bad experiences than good at this point.

Medics he personally knew? Yeah, they were good. They were more than welcome to do their job with him. Anything more than that? Yeah, no.

Medics he didn’t know however? Screw em', there was no way he was accepting their help. Who knows what they would do to him? He didn't even know them enough to properly dispose of them if something did indeed happen to him in the event that he’d stupidly accepted their aid.

Dusk clicked his tongue as he followed the trio of female alicorns leading him. He couldn’t understand why they didn’t just bring the nurse or doctor to the castle. It’d certainly make them much easier to dispose of in the unfortunate event they do something, Besides, weren’t alicorns royalty? This particular decision had led to them creating a scene as they made their way through Ponyville causing Dusk to frown and lower his head slightly in an effort to draw less attention. I’m glad I had the foresight to bring my cloak with me. I’d rather not be the center of attention. The cloak in question was a bit burnt because of his magical outburst and perhaps a bit worn from his time in the forest, but the enchantments still held strong  and it had the benefit of covering his wings.

He didn't have his trusty saddlebags by his side, courtesy of the flock of alicorns who kept on insisting that it wasn't needed. Like they would know anything about what I need. He couldn't help but grumble as he closely followed them, a keen eye constantly scanning his surroundings. The moment the relief that he wouldn't be banished had faded away, the reality of the situation had slammed right into him and made itself at home. Just because they were his friends' counterparts didn’t mean that they devoid of ulterior motives. That was the primary reason he had a summoning seal ready to bring his things to his side at a moment’s notice. It would also allow him to snag some non-perishable foods, so he wouldn’t have to go straight back into hunting for food immediately should he need to escape to the woods.

His brow twitched as the murmuring began to grow the closer they got to the hospital. Don’t they have better things to do than just stand around and stare? He inwardly grumbling, his body beginning to tense as his hyper-sensitive hearing picked up some of their words.

"A stallion... Is he their consort?"


"He's huge! I bet he's using..."



"He looks rather similar to Twilight... related?"


"Probably.. looks like a ... Gold digger"


"Is that a scar?... bad influence to the... "


Dusk's brow began to twitch even more at their assumptions. Consort? Gold digger? Bad influence? His eyes narrowed and he was about to go and give them a piece of his mind but a wing brushed against him causing the irked stallion to stop and shift his attention elsewhere. The only reason he hadn't attacked the wing was due to the the familiar scent that lingered so close to him. Instead, he let out a sigh and focused on the sympathetic smile Luna gave him. Right... Artermis' counterpart. His eyes crinkled slightly as he fought back the slight wistfulness that was trying to make its presence known on his muzzle.

He still needed to tell them his situation though he wondered just how much he should actually give them. He still didn’t really know what to think about them. Their magic... while it was similar, it had a slight difference that was obvious to an eye like Dusk’s. The same went for their scent. It had a slight tang of wrong and he didn't really know how to feel about that. More than that… am I replacing my friends? He hoped not. He fully realised that he may have been a bit too comfortable given such a short amount of time had passed. He grimaced slightly. If he was too comfortable, then he was blaming the similarities and habit.

"Dusk?" he perked up and bumped right into blue fur before he sputtered out a short apology and backed away. Only now did he realise that when he wasn’t sitting, he was around half a head taller than the Princess of the Moon. He tilted his head to the side and stared at Celestia. He was a bit shorter than the solar diarch, but Dusk was fairly sure that that was a good thing. After all, he could far more easily pierce her eye with his horn if they were going to butt heads.

"Yes, Luna?" He answered lowly, his head ducking lightly on instinct as he moved his attention back to the pony he was speaking to. Dusk's brow rose when Luna turned away suddenly before craning her head back around. A worried look appeared on the stallion’s face. Was her neck okay? Changing positions so quickly was bound to hurt. Perhaps she was the one that needed the check-up and not him? The stallion snorted at the thought. He was just making excuses.

"Can you tell me more about yourself?" Luna asked with a small smile and Dusk couldn't stop the small glimmer of suspicion from gnawing at the back of his mind. But, something stopped him from awkwardly dodging the question like he used to. His eyes instead widened when a bright idea popped into his head. He could've smacked himself for forgetting such a simple yet great lesson on gathering information.

 After quickly straightening himself, Dusk gave a disarming smile, hoping that it would serve to lessen her guard. He needed information and books didn’t usually give what he really needed. A princess? Now that was a whole archive he could use to his advantage.

"I could..." He paused before letting out an embarrassed chuckle "But you’d have to tell me about yourself in exchange." He finished and his eyes once more focused on what was in front of him. Silently, he hoped that she'd take the bait and answer. Something in the back of his mind told him that what he was doing was wrong and he agreed, but here he was. In a world, he didn’t know, surrounded by ponies he wasn’t entirely sure he could trust. He needed more information. 

"Very well! What would you like to know?" The lunar diarch shot back cheerfully, her smile growing even wider when she got his attention. The genuine nature of her response caused his guilt to grow further,  as well as his hesitation. They were so nice and accommodating... should he really be using them? Some part of him knew that he couldn't actually face them. If he did, his consciousness would come after him with a vengeance and if he had to flee back into the field, he couldn't afford that.

"Anything, really. I'm rather new to Equestria remember?" He stated softly before he realised something crucial. "How did you know that I wasn't from here anyway?"  

Luna tilted her head at that before answering. "It's not every day a male alicorn appears without our knowledge. After spending a few days in the archives to see if you were indeed a citizen we realised that you were not. It goes without saying that we decided to try and rectify that."

Dusk nodded. So that was why it had taken two to three days for them to call him to the throne room. They wanted to see if he was a citizen that had somehow slipped through the cracks or not. Understandable, he supposed.

"So... do you like pickles?" He asked after a moment of silence. A blank look crossed his face almost immediately when he realised just what he had asked Princess Luna and he wanted to smack himself. Pickles!? What kind of ice breaker was that!? Just as he was about to dig deeper into his mind to find the answer, his thoughts were interrupted by laughter.

It was soft and it caught his attention immediately. It was the kind of sound that you stare at because it's just so... gratifying in some certain way. He mentally patted himself on the back at the way he’d described it. Truly he was a poet and a scholar. Dusk just watched in silence and before he knew it, he was just standing still while watching the lunar princess enjoy herself.

Dusk secretly wondered if he could listen to the soft laugh forever.

"Princess Luna! Dusk! Why are you two just standing there?" Twilight's voice snapped him out of his trance and he couldn't help but flush in embarrassment. I can’t believe I just zoned out like that! He rubbed his face with a hoof and tried to catch up.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just enjoying the view...." Dusk exclaimed as he neared. Twilight seemed to accept his excuse and continued on but Celestia had a gleam in her eye that he didn't know how to feel about. His ear flicked when he heard Luna catch up to him and he peeked to the side to see that she was smiling amusedly.

A few moments of content silence passed and Dusk gave a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar cross of a hospital. Had it always taken that long to arrive here? Dusk shook the question from his head. He was sure that it was shorter than it had been, but they’d probably taken the scenic route or something. He was technically a new pony in town.

"Welcome Princesses and company, the room is already prepped." Dusk perked up a bit at that. A nurse was waiting by the entrance. She had a white coat along with a pale pink mane and tail. In her hoof was a notepad and she wasted no time coming closer to the group when they arrived. 

"Thank you nurse Redheart.” Celestia turned to the rather displeased stallion trailing after her and cheerfully stated, “Come along Dusk! Your check-up awaits!" The alabaster mare took the lead and entered the white halls. Dusk couldn't help but grimace. He thought he’d made it obvious that he didn't like that kind of thing. Twilight seemed to pick up on the fact that he was displeased given how she tried to comfort him by draping a wing over top of him. Dusk mentally gave her an A+ for effort and awarded her with a placating smile. His counterpart smiled back. It was a nice smile, he realised.

"Come on Dusk." Dusk turned his head to the blue alicorn that walked alongside him. She gave him a teasing grin as she nudged him lightly with a hoof. "Weren't you some tough colt? Don't tell me you're scared of a little doctor’s appointment?" 

Said tough colt huffed lightly in amusement, and he snidely answered. "Me? Scared? Who do you think I am? I ain't an alicorn for nothing. Princess"

Luna snorted lightly before smiling, "If you manage to survive such a simple treatment, then maybe I'll tell you if I like pickles or not."

"I'll hold you to that then, princess." he grinned back at her. Now he just had to make good on his point. Game on Luna!
> 10- Blood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




10
Blood





Horror seemed to be the default expression after the doctor first came in and asked him to remove his cloak. Apparently, scars weren't terribly normal in this world. As he was asked to turn around and face the doctor once more, the pity and sadness in his eyes began to quickly piss him off a bit. So what? It was just a bunch of flesh wounds, everyone had them. He had no doubt that there were far more deserving creatures for the directed sympathy and sadness than him.

His vitals had turned out a bit difficult to check, though they were successful after a bit of time and more than a few retries since Dusk kept unconsciously stilling himself, causing him to slow his heartbeat and breath. They checked his wings and the look of worry in the doctor's eyes deepened, but after checking it himself, it was clear that the expression was caused by the scars on the inside of his wing[. Dusk rolled his eyes. The amount of overreaction was almost to be expected at this point. They soon moved on, checking his horn. He got the all-green for that at least,, which was to be expected since it had recently started to grow in and didn't yet have the chance for cracks or wrong fillings.

The ear and eye portions were also easy but the doctor kept on pestering him about whether or not he had Thestral blood in him, which was an easy 'no'. Last he knew, he didn't have any in his lineage. They had decided to take some of his blood just in case he needed a transfusion at some point and when the nurse looked away, he quickly made and placed a summoning seal on the bag filled with his blood. Who knew for certain what a pony would do with his blood. He is never going to allow himself to go through voodoo magic again! Not this time, especially after the blood taken away for ‘safekeeping’. Afterwards, he was pestered about his teeth. 

"Your teeth seem to have grown small hooks but this is probably due to your hunting," The doc trailed off with a rather concerned look on his face as he continued to poke around Dusk's mouth and the much larger stallion had to stop himself from unconsciously chomping down on the metal intruding his maw.  "and are rather sharp to say the least. if you'd like i could assign an appointment with our local Orthodontist if you wanted to blunt them?" The doctor finally released him and started to write something down on the notepad next to him.

Dusk clicked his tongue and rubbed his sore jaw. Keeping it open for an extended period of time was annoying. "No thank you, I'm fine with my teeth" he politely stated as he shut his mouth with a frown. The slightly irked stallion started to observe the doctor in front of him more closely. He was a tan unicorn with a brown swept back mane and tail. He was also lean and had some degree of muscle, probably from regular exercise.

His ears flicked when he heard the notepad be set down and he snapped to attention, a bored look on his face. The doctor now wore a slightly anxious expression as magic began to build up in his horn and he spoke. "Now Dusk... This might be an odd request since we don't do this unless necessary but from my observation..." The doctor winced as his eyes turned to the first scars he saw, specifically the scars wrapped around Dusk's jugular. The purple stallion grunted in annoyance at it being pointed out. "It could be good to see, just in case." the doctor finished with a small and awkward laugh.

Dusk rolled his neck and clicked his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to get this over with. Besides that, it was just a simple diagnostic. He was sure that there was nothing on him that needed any immediate attention. His healing factor and magic would've healed anything considered 'life-threatening' anyway.
 
"Fine, let's get this over with" The purple stallion answered, a bit of his annoyance bleeding through in his tone.

The doctor gave a small smile and in a flash, his patient was surrounded by light brown magic. Dusk couldn't stop the glimmer of interest in his eyes. This was definitely a new kind of diagnostic spell, for him. He'd definitely have to ask about it later.

The scarred pony sat perfectly still and waited in silence. The doctor was probably seeing if he needed any kind of healing, given how much he was scribbling on his notepad. That's… pretty fast for someone who's writing with his mouth. It was impressive in a way. Allowing himself to break his stillness, Dusk shifted his head to look around. The next thing he knew the door of the room he was in clicked open and a nurse -it was Redheart again, he realised- poked her head inside with a sheepish smile.

"Doctor Horse?" She asked and with the doctor's nod she entered with her own notepad. She handed it to the brown stallion and within a minute Doctor Horse had taken it and quickly read through its contents. Dusk saw a multitude of emotions flash across his expression before he ripped the paper out of his own notepad and gave it to Redheart.

"Dusk, please stay in the room for a bit. It seems that there are some problems with your medical history that we’ll need to update." he stated before, not even acknowledging the nod his patient gave him, he walked by the nurse and left a very bewildered Dusk by his lonesome in the room.

The purple stallion simply sat and waited there. Soon, ten minutes had passed, or so the clock on top of the door told him. Then ten minutes turned into twenty-five, then forty minutes then a whole hour and then two hours! It was now six in the night and with every tick of the clock, Dusk's paranoia grew more and more. He would've gone and investigated but this could've been some kind of test or something along those lines, he didn't know and he didn't like it.

He stared anxiously at the door as he sat on the room’s bed. He wasn't worried. Nope! Not even a little. It wasn't like they were going to plan something against him or anything, absolutely not. They just needed to update his medical history that was all. Speaking of history… His brow furrowed and he ran his own diagnostic spell on himself, with a specific intent in mind. Spots, slashes and marks of various injuries on his body started to glow differing shades of red.

A confused look crossed his face. There wasn't any injury that needed any immediate attention, to be sure. They all seemed to be healing alright and as long as he didn't get attacked for a few more days then everything would be alright but... The confusion turned to a frown. Ever since his outburst, his magic had seemed to have a problem with recharging. Was that the problem? While he knew of a diagnostic spell that could see a ponies’ magical core, the last he knew was that there was a very specific type of process to use it and the doctor hadn't done any of that.

When the door finally clicked open, Dusk immediately shot up and faced the door as the magic on him faded away. 

"Doc! What's the situation?" He asked. Then again, this was a new world and while similar to his own, might have had a completely different magic system. Different magic, probably different results, one could say. But he didn't see the doctor, he instead saw... 

Twilight?

What was his counterpart doing here? He tilted his head and tensed immediately. Something about her felt off and he didn't like it. He had to approach this with caution and without warning her that he had noticed something.

"Twilight?" He asked hesitantly, a frown on his face. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to wait outside?"  She didn't answer and his caution and paranoia grew as she walked closer, she circled him slowly and Dusk followed her with his eyes. She stopped along his right side and just stared.

Dusk didn't know what to do. She was just… staring. All Dusk could was wonder just what she wanted.

"It's similar..." He heard her whisper, though he still didn’t know what to think. This was the first time someone had just literally walked up to him and stared at his flanks. He had a peek of his own to try and see what had her so enthralled, but he still couldn't see anything special. His ears flicked when he heard her add more to her 'observation' and he had to stop himself from flinching when she pushed his wings away and over her so she could press her side against his.

"Uhm.. Twilight, care to tell me what this is about?" Dusk asked in confusion, his face scrunching as he turned his head to the muttering purple princess. His voice seemed to snap her out of her trance and drew her attention but the oddness of her was still present and it was beginning to unnerve him. She was analysing him and he did not appreciate it. 

His ears flicked when another round of whispers descended on the mare once more. He didn't want to intrude, but she was literally saying it in front of him. He couldn't help but not listen.

"Rather similar to me.... potential sibling?" She added but she shook her head afterwards. "No... I just checked with mom and dad and they said they didn't know either." She tapped her chin with a hoof and started circling once more before she stopped again, this time in front of him. Dusk pressed his wings against his body. He could see her eyes narrowing at his action but she continued with her observation. "A clone gone wrong? No... different gender, no spells available for that kind of magic yet... then a dimensional counterpart? Probable..."

Dusk had to stop himself from doing a spit take -he might have, but since he didn't have a glass of water he instead settled with inwardly panicking- when she nearly got his situation correct. This needed to stop. He didn't particularly want to burden them with his problems. He just wanted to get this check up over with and get out.

"Twilight" he said, a pinch of annoyance seeping through. She hadn't responded, too busy staring at him and mumbling to herself. The fact that he was ignored started to fan something in him.

"Twilight..." he repeated, his annoyance now clear as his ire grew even further when she still didn't answer. 

"TWILIGHT!" He shouted, unable to stop the slight feeling of glee he felt when she jumped at his loud voice. When he noticed that he had her attention, he glowered down at her. "What. Do. You. Want?"  He growled out. He’d decided that he didn't like this room. Not one bit. If Twilight was the reason why he hadn't been allowed to leave, all because she wanted a diagnostic done by herself...

Twilight seemed to have realised something with how her mouth gaped at him and she let out an embarrassed giggle before dropping onto her haunches in front of him. 

"Sorry Dusk!" That odd expression came back and Dusk furrowed his brow and frowned, though his waved a hoof, he beckoned her to continue. "It's just... when you didn't sign anything about your birth parents, we used a lineage spell to see who they are..." a conflicted look crossed Twilight's face as she looked away while rubbing  her forehooves together. "What we found was shocking to say the least and I don't know if even you know..." she peeked at him and saw his frown was still attached but the annoyance was clearly dwindling away "But your parents matched with mine..."

Dusk blinked at that, and asked confused "What do you mean your parents matched with mine? That’s impossible.” They just filled each other's specific role in their own universe. It wasn't like they were the exact same person genetically. Sure they looked the same,  but the chances of them being literal duplicates of one another… I’m sure that there is at least some difference... right? It wasn't like he would see his exact family again but with different genders... right? He furrowed his brow, unsure of what he should think of this new discovery.

Twilight seemed to have expected that answer, given how her conflicted look turned even worse, "I knew that you'd say that. That was why we called them over to try again. To make sure that it wasn't a fluke. We sent a letter and it somehow just spiralled from there. Shining and Cadence are coming with Flurry Heart tomorrow-" And just like that, she’d lost him and he now had a headache throbbing in the back of his skull. This isn't how it's supposed to work! He wasn't supposed to meet his counterpart's family! He wasn't even supposed to have been in Ponyville! But here I am…

He had to place a hoof on her wither to catch her attention once more "Shining? Cadence? Flurry Heart? Who are they? And explain slowly," he stated as Twilight finally seemed to get herself together and relax. She seemed to assume some kind of role, given how she puffed her chest out proudly and started her explanation with a small smile.

"Shining Armor is my brother! He was the Captain of the royal guard but now rules the Crystal Empire with his wife and my sister in law, Cadence! Or better known as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. They had a foal and just like you, she's an alicorn!" Twilight finished proudly as Dusk was busy trying to run those words over in his head. His mind immediately clicked however when he heard those familiar words.

Crystal Empire? Rule!?  What do you mean rule!? That place was a barren wasteland to say the least and it had absoloutely sucked! He knew that himself first hoof! He’d been chained and dragged into that blasted crystal palace once upon a time. Who would want to rule a place like that!? But Dusk maintained his silence, instead forcing his jaw shut as something he still didn't accept came to the forefront of his mind.

Similar world, different rules… and different world. This wasn't his world, so he needed to stop acting like everything was like it was in the past. In his past. He rubbed his face with a hoof and groaned.

"Twilight...  just... am I free to go?" He groaned out the question. The whole situation was turning his headache into a migraine. He just wanted to go to sleep and completely ignore the possibility that he could deal with even more issues. Was getting citizenship always this hard? He honestly didn't know. He’d been busy slugging his way through a war, he didn't exactly have time to learn about such a specific thing, doubly so given he was too busy in the field to care about such. 

Twilight noticed his state and nodded with a small sympathetic smile, "Yes... but we'll need to continue your appointment tomorrow." Her look brightened up before his could sour. "I know you don't like hospitals though so we moved it!" She looked so happy that Dusk couldn't help but want to correct her that not only did he not like hospitals, he wasn’t keen on doctors or medical services at all. Instead, he settled with clicking his tongue and leaving the wooden hospital. His usually tense form relaxed when he finally escaped the halls of that particular Tartarus. He was glad he’d escaped.

He and his counterpart took the scenic route back to the castle. Dusk knew this because he usually took it back in his own world when he wanted some alone time. It seemed his counterpart did the same, showing another similarity which he mentally noted.

However, even though the route looked the same didn’t mean it feel the same. Sure it had the same look, the same trees, the same plants but it didn’t exactly feel like his route. It felt… wrong. Odd and oh-so out of place. Dusk silently wondered if it was him or the place. Whatever the case, it didn’t feel like his- Dusk now realised that he needed to stop gritting his teeth whenever he was frustrated, because he was pretty sure that if he continued they would soon be ground to nothing more than powder. He sighed and looked around once more, but it still didn’t feel right.

The silence was kind of suffocating but he noticed that Twilight looked kind of uncomfortable leaving it as such. He sighed and tried to mentally picture what she would enjoy. He thoroughly enjoyed books… she must like them too right? He rubbed his crest and frowned. He wasn't the most sociable type of pony, but he was trying.

"Twilight?" he asked softly, the purple princess seeming to perk and immediately as she focused her gaze on him. The intensity was kind of off-putting but he shrugged it off. He’dl deal with it for now. "What happened to the other princesses?"

The purple princess perked up immediately and answered with a sheepish smile "They had to leave earlier in the day. They apparently had some issues in Canterlot Castle and they were needed in pony." She turned back to him and beamed "Don't worry though! Princess Luna will be able to be present tomorrow to supervise everything." Her smile shifted a bit to an expression Dusk didn't know quite how to describe, much less feel about. "It's nice to see Princess Luna spending time with somepony other than us." 

Dusk simply nodded and continued on until they finally reached Twilight's crystal palace. Dusk grimaced when he realised that he’d forgotten the directions to his assigned room. While he could've manually searched for his saddlebags -they were keyed to his magic, after all and that would allow him to locate it quite easily- he didn't want to show any more of his arsenal then he had to, so he instead swallowed his pride and asked.

"Twi' can you show me my room? I didn't exactly remember how to get back, with everything that’s been going on." he asked in a low voice. He was tired and he just wanted this day to be over with. Twilight seemed to perk up and immediately beam at him with a happy smile. It was infectious and he could feel his frustration dwindle a little at just how gratifying it felt to be responsible for it.

"Sure Dusk! Come on, let's go!" With that she grabbed his hoof and dragged him inside and through the halls. As they began to trot towards their destination, his eyes began to wander. They narrowed however as he drank in the sight of his counterpart. He hadn’t been able to fully observe her yet, since he hadn’t wanted to be mistaken as leering but seeing as no one else was here other than the two of them then it would be fine.

She had a bit of pudge distributed around her body, but her horn was masterfully cleaned and filed correctly. In addition to that, no scars were obvious on her body. Either not a lot of things would attack her, she was very agile or she knew a lot of defensive spells. Dusk nodded as he filled that nugget of info away in his head. Her wings were still purple but were slowly starting to turn more akin to his own. o her magical core isn’t as large as my own yet. She was also slightly larger than the average pegasus mare, and was well-groomed, clearly taking some degree of pride in her appearance.
 
Overall, it was impressive. Doubly so given she was an alicorn in such a quaint town like Ponyville. It seemed like she could handle herself. 

His eyes, however, were gradually drawn elsewhere and isoon landed on her flanks. A familiar cutie mark stared right at him and he blinked. It’d yet to really sink in, but it seemed that they were much more similar than he had initially thought.

"-usk! Dusk!" He snapped to attention and removed his eyes from what he was staring at and focused to a flustered looking Twilight. He gulped lightly. No doubt she probably thought that he was leering.

"Twilight it's not what it lo-" he was interrupted by a short and embarrassed laugh from Twilight.

"We're here." she dipped her head lightly and moved away from the door that was apparently the entrance to his room.

Dusk just stood there awkwardly before opening the door. As it opened, he didn't notice Twilight's nose flare as she was allowed a whiff of the inside.

"Sorry Twilight..." he stood inside and tried to decide what to do next. He rubbed his crest and wondered for a moment before an idea suddenly winked into existence in his head. "We can talk more tomorrow?" He gave her a smile, hoping that he'd finally get some good information the following day. "I'll explain more when you pick me up from here. I... unfortunately still don't know the layout of this place." There we go. Now, ideally, he would have some alone time with her tomorrow and he could use that to explain and hopefully get rid of any misunderstanding.

His face turned confused when he noticed that Twilight had a flushed face and a small smile, though she nodded quickly "O- okay! See you tomorrow Dusk!" She trotted away with a bit of a hop in her step, leaving a rather confused and tired of everything Dusk behind.

As the other purple alicorn disappeared past a corridor, Dusk dropped his smile and groaned as he closed the door to his room. He didn’t have enough energy to try and puzzle out why she had started acting differently towards the end on their walk and he definitely knew that he wouldn’t have the energy for it tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow…[/i It seemed he would be meeting his counterpart’s parents, or atleast her family. Thought that was only for colts who wanted to court a mare? See their family and get their ‘blessing? Wait… do you even need a family’s blessing when you’re gonna live in their foal’s house? …should I ask? He sighed heavily. Questions upon questions. He couldn’t help but wonder just how well this meeting would go compared to the first time he met his friends' counterparts. It didn’t take long for a frown to make its way onto his muzzle. He still needed to apologise for how he’d acted.

So many things to do and so little time to relax.

He removed the cloak and dropped it to the floor as he crawled his way into his bed. Future him could deal with it, present-Dusk wasn't in the mood. He rolled around and tried to get comfortable, but the thought of what would happen tomorrow had him slightly worried until he realised something. It wasn’t his problem! He was far too busy with trying to sleep, not some meeting that would definitely haunt him for the rest of his time here.

With that, he conked out with a single thought in mind.

'Good luck future me, you'll need it.'

His stomach grumbled less than half an hour later -just as he was actually about to fall asleep too!- and he realised that it was still very early in the night and that he hadn’t eaten the whole day. He didn’t swallow his pride this time however and instead opted to sleep through the night with an annoyed stomach that had been deprived of it’s needed nourishment.

He would wake up early the next day and go out to hunt for food. It wouldn’t be the worst thing he’d do on that fateful day… no doubt he’d regret ever waking up.
> 11- Is Thicker Than Water
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




11
Is Thicker Than Water




He was so done with this.

"Stupid stomach, suddenly in the mood to eat for no dang reason," Dusk grumbled, his eyes glaring into his surroundings as he leapt from branch to branch in search for a quick meal. His stomach just couldn't choose whether it wanted food every few hours like a normal stomach or not. The urge to feed just tended to come up randomly and he was expected to deal with it.

And for that matter, where was the wildlife when you needed them? A manticore or a parasprite would be good food for now but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find any prey. The stallion clicked his tongue as he combed through the forest, twice in his attempt to find food but he still couldn't find any! There were none on the trees, none in the bushes and none in the caves!

It was as if they all decided to go hibernating at exactly the same time as he searched for them which served the function of pissing him off!

Dusk knew that he was much more irritable than normal but it was easy to blame that on his stomach when in reality he just had nerves on his meeting. He perked up when he realized that he hadn't searched the waters yet, he couldn't help but face hoof at the realization and he quickly sped towards his new destination. Due to him hyper-focusing on his goal, he was wholly unable to notice the figure carefully observing him.

He flapped his wings to quicken his pace and a wide grin broke out across his face when he saw a stream filled to bursting with fish swimming about. He landed on the earthy ground of the bank and stared into the stream as he got ready to pounce on his prey. He knew better than to get too close. They would notice him and that wouldn't be good for him. Not if he wanted to eat. His four legs slightly shuffled around as he got into position and tensed.

One.

He stilled and willed himself to relax.

Two.

He exhaled silently and as he took in a breath, focused.

Three!

With all of his might, Dusk Shine pounced into the water and bit down on his food. The water splashed all over his surroundings and face but he paid it no mind as he chomped down on his prize. He couldn't stop the small feeling of pride that grew inside of him at finally catching his meal and he quickly began to make his way out of the water, a grin on his muzzle as he waddled onto land. He couldn't help but feel a bit ridiculous with how proud he felt just because he’d managed to catch his food but he was still a bit high on the achievement so he didn't care much. 

The stallion quickly shook himself in a weak attempt to dry himself, his lips tugging upward slightly when he felt his fur poof up a bit. Wasting no time, the pony began to search for some wood for the fire he’d need to cook his food. While eating his dinner raw was something he had done from time to time, the alicorn rather preferred when it was cooked. Fish in particular had a rather satisfying crunch. He didn’t even know why he liked the crunch in the first place. Maybe his mind saw it as a cheap replacement for the actual crunching of bones that  the stallion would always hear when he fought? That was kind of morbid now that he thought about it, his mind looking for a substitute for that particular experience.

Thoughts for another time. Right now he needed to go and ready whatever he needed for an impromptu camping trip out in the woods.

After finding all he needed for a quick campfire, Dusk lit it and began to start the process of scaling and gutting the fish with a magically conjured scalpel. The warmth of the fire on him as he worked was much more comforting than his bed back at that… castle.

He frowned. It was a nice enough castle and it wasn’t that bad. He just didn’t exactly like the resemblance it had to hers. The whole crystal thing the castle had going on as a whole was something he’d rather not see again but he had no choice. Orders were orders and like every normal pony, he had to follow his because he’d rather not be an illegal immigrant. He really didn’t want to deal with all the trouble that would come with that.

When he finally got his citizenship however… he was going to escape that castle and maybe try his hooves at living a normal life. I suppose that’s a little impossible. Nothing about him is ever normal. His whole life was proof of this, especially with what had happened recently. If being transported to a parallel universe was normal then he would be a bit worried.

His whole body immediately tensed at that thought when a possible idea popped into his head, causing his eyes to narrow onto the food carefully cooking above the fire and he gritted his teeth. 

If he was transported into this world… then what about her? Could she also be here as well? 

The stallion could already feel his exhaustion at the mere possibility but another part of him gradually grew a bit vindictive. He could feel a part of him smile at the possibility of fighting her once again. Maybe he could beat her into the ground just like she had once done to him? He rubbed a hoof against his chin and nodded slightly at that thought. It sure would be satisfying to do such a thing.

The way she had ended his world was too quick, too simple. It wasn't the most gratifying death and to know that there could be another version of her, that also seemed to have done the same deeds? It was too good to pass up! Who would let such an opportunity slip through their hooves? Not him, that's who!

But... the contract. His smile dropped into a grimace before it grew into a smirk when a thought hit him. What they didn't know wouldn’t hurt them. After all, he knew a lot about hiding information. It was a bit ironic considering that he loved teaching more than most things but, out of necessity, he was also skilled in hiding information at the same time.

Craa- ckle

The snapping of twigs within the fire caught his attention and he grabbed his food by the stick and began to eat. He swiped his past thoughts from his mind and focused on his food. He had a rule, to not stress or think of anything of importance whenever he was eating. It was a bit stupid to do so in the eyes of most, he didn’t exactly care because doing such actions allowed him a bit of a reprieve from whatever was happening.

Right now, he was going to focus on the crunching of his food. Not on the possibility of murdering her once again, not the contract and the huge possibility that he'd be seeing his family -even if they looked different- once more. He wasn’t going to focus on that right now. His focus was solely on eating because he was hungry.

The feeling of meat between his teeth allowed him to relax slightly and he leaned back on the grass below him. It was still dark out, showing just how early he woke up. He pondered if he should go back but he quickly shook his head. He would rather not go back to that place unless necessary and given how early it was, it wouldn't be necessary for a few more hours.

He yawned and continued to chew his food, his eyes drifting lazily to the night sky above him. Everything was wrong, from the way they were shaped to where they were placed. It was just wrong. Another piece of proof that what was happening wasn't just a simple illusion spell his mind had conjured up.

Dusk sighed as he thoroughly finished his food, with a flick of his hoof the stick was tossed into the fire and he watched as it began to burn. Despite him being somewhat night-themed, he actually enjoyed the sun and in turn, also enjoyed fire. His eye got a bit teary when he remembered a certain fiery mare, with her flame-themed mane and crystalline cyan eyes.

The alicorn wondered what she would think of him right now. She would probably scold him for going into the forest alone and not bringing her along. His lips tugged up slightly when he remembered the times where they were practically inseparable. It was especially prevalent on the battlefield. The smile turned a bit more wistful as he reminisced about their times together.
 
She wasn't a good mare, that much he knew, but it still didn't stop him from loving her and that itself had been the cause of his downfall. He chuckled lightly. The second time he was captured was because of her and he was turned into this… his eyes trailed to the wings laying on his back and he stared at them blankly. 

Umbra... She was a vicious queen with a love for power and she, for some reason, had decided to give him a pair of wings during his second time under her care The queen would soon regret it when he escaped with the very pair of wings she had given him. Sometimes, when he was so busy reminiscing, he would look closer at one of his wings and he'd be able to see the resemblance it had to its previous owners. 

His smile turned into a rueful smirk when he felt the wings pulse. He ruffled them slightly and then focused on the night sky once more. He could feel his eyes grow steadily heavier as each second passed and he begrudgingly allowed it to fall before yawning once more. 

A quick barrier spell later and he was ready for an impromptu nap in the forest. The grass wasn't exactly comfortable, but the burning fire right next to him was all the comfort he needed and within moments he was out like a light.

If he had stayed awake just a few minutes later, he would’ve been wide awake and ready for a fight at the sudden burst of magic that usually signified the teleportation of a magic-user but he wasn’t and so he didn’t, instead continuing to slumber, now with a rather curious foal watching him with wide and confused eyes.

The foal babbled quietly as she shuffled closer to the big stallion, not yet noticing the dome covering them. A hoof was lightly pushed against his muzzle and she frowned slightly when she didn’t get any reaction. Her eyes widened in wonder at the sight of the scars around his neck and she poked them lighty.

She wondered how he got them.

She started to circle the stallion and she couldn’t help but tilt her head, a bit confused when she realised that he looked rather similar to Aunty Twili’ and she wondered why. A few more moments passed as she looked around, now noticing the large dome made with purple magic. It looked like the one from home!

She smiled as she came closer and poked it with a hoof. She frowned when her hoof didn’t go through and she began to push it with two hooves instead. 

Still, nothing happened.

She shakily got on her back legs and began pushing with all her might, her eyes narrowing as she tried to move the barrier. All she got for her efforts was her slipping and falling on her flanks and she pouted at the mean dome. She huffed and began making her way back to the big stallion, her mouth opening for a quick yawn as she wondered just where she would nap.

Her eyes soon turned to the big and fluffy wings that were connected to the stallion and she couldn't help but babble excitedly at the very pretty looking feathers the big stallion had. As Dusk was sleeping on his back, she carefully waddled on top of the wing. She let out a sound of excitement when she saw the colours shift slightly every few seconds. She was mesmerised. 

She yawned and perked up when she saw a bunch of oddly placed feathers. She remembered Mama telling her that correctly placed feathers are good and so she set off to try and do so. She shuffled closer and bit into one clumsily before trying to push it into the correct position. She couldn't stop the triumphant grin that appeared on her small muzzle and she cheered quietly when she noticed that she had finally been able to correct it after some time. 

She blinked when she realised that she was suddenly curled in somepony's wing, she wriggled about and popped her head out of her cage, coming face to face with the sleeping pony. She tilted her head in confusion and booped him once again. She giggled softly when all he did was snort lightly and go back to sleep.

Papa reacted the same way, as did Aunty Twili', she noticed. A few more moments passed with her staring before she yawned and began to get comfy. The big stallion was warm, kinda like mama and papa and that was all she needed to know as she fell asleep.





"Cadence... Cadence wake up-"

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza woke up to the worried sounds of her husband. She was a bit confused, but she opened her eyes groggily nonetheless. She wondered what was the problem now.

"Yes Shiny?" She asked sleepily, her eyes meeting the blue ones of Shining Armor.

"Cadence..." He must've had a nightmare if he was this shaken up, Cadence realised as she got up from her lying posture, suddenly far more alert.

"Yes Shiny?" She repeated, a hoof rubbing her eyes to try and wake herself quicker. When she fully woke up, she turned and focused on her husband, her brow furrowing when she noticed that he was shaking.

"Flurry... Flurry is..." 

Cadence tilted her head slightly, confused. What about Flurry? A few more minutes passed as her husband continued to stutter out what he wanted to say and she simply waited patiently.

"Flurry's gone!!" Shining abruptly shouted as he pounced on her. Normally when this happened she would be excited but considering the context, her mind began running a hundred miles a minute as she stared at him in shock, mouth agape as she tried to comprehend just what her husband had just told her.

Her eyes widened as her mind finally registered that statement and the resulting reaction was obvious.

"What!?" 
> 12- Family Instincts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




12
Family instincts 





Dusk expected to nap for at least half an hour, trek back to his bed soon after and wait for Twilight to guide him to their meeting.

She didn't tell him when the meeting was, so they wouldn't fault him if he arrived a bit late right?

His eyes blinked open slowly and they traced over the hastily made dome in front of him. It was thick and made it rather obvious that it was there in the first place. A rookie mistake but it was hastily made, so he could let himself off the hook for once. He stood up and stretched, a small refreshing smile on his muzzle when he realized that he didn't have a weird dream for once. It was a rather nice surprise.

He was going to roll over but stopped when he felt something- no, someone press against him. His sleepiness was immediately dashed away as he started to rationalize as to just what was next to him, his eyes narrowing as he took in the one who had broken in his barrier.

He blinked, confused at what he was looking at. He ran a quick scanning spell, trying to see if what he saw was real or if it was some kind of illusion but whatever he tried, it still came up positive that what he was seeing was indeed real.

It was... a foal? A rather healthy one at that, with her pristine looking coat, mane and horn. He tilted his head, a bit confused on just what a foal was doing next to him. Was she the one that had broken in? Perhaps a botched teleportation spell had taken her to him?

His mind went a bit dark, perhaps a foal assassin? His eyes narrowed at that thought. That was a possibility but it wouldn’t explain why she hadn't attempted to murder him in his sleep like every reasonable murderer.

He furrowed his brow, a bit insulted when a thought came into mind. Did this child think he wasn't worth killing in his most 'vulnerable' state? Was she that arrogant? Thinking that she could fight him when he was at least awake, such an arrogant foal. He straightened himself and sat on his haunches, his wing instinctively folding against his side but what he saw as his wing was shifted shocked him.

Wings?

He blinked a few more times, a hoof poking the rather large wings that were connected to the foal, trying to see if what he saw was still real.  The illusion didn't waver, the wing instead batting at his hoof as the foal shuffled around probably trying to find a comfortable place to sleep.

His brows rose as he stared at his hoof. Well, that definitely wasn't an illusion. Last he knew, illusions didn’t affect the physical world.

Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised anymore. An Alicorn foal?  Plausible. Just as plausible as the fact that he was from another world. Dusk couldn’t help but wonder just what the foal had done that was so worthy to be ascended at such a young age. Mentally he made a note to ask Solaris or Artemis' counterparts about that.

He poked her one more time,  causing the filly to squirm about. It was quite adorable and made him want to boop the little foal, but if there was a foal then she probably had parents. Parents that'd probably be panicking at the loss of their foal.parents that he'd rather not deal with, given how he was accused on the way to the hospital. No doubt he’d be a possible suspect in the foalnapping.

Dusk's eyes turned to the foal, with the light shade of pink as her coat and the obvious blue streak in her mane, she looked rather familiar.  He tilted his head to the side, his focus now fully on the foal as he tried to see just what made her so familiar, perhaps he had seen her parents in passing? 

He snorted at that thought. With the sheer number of creatures he had killed during the war it'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 

Welp, not my responsibility. Dusk got on all four hooves but he wondered whether he should leave the foal in the forest or not. Deciding that he wasn't that heartless, he has chosen to search around for her parents. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go and it was still rather early. More than enough time to go walk around and maybe find the family and do his good deed for the day.

So, summoning one of his scarves from his saddlebags and quickly swaddling the foal in it, the stallion made an effort to make it as comfy as possible before securing it in front of him, the foal's back -there was space for her wings of course- was against his chest fluff while the body was held up by the scarf. Dusk lightly hopped from side to side, trying to see if it would accidentally unclip and after a few more moments of seeing that nothing was wrong began to trot his way to  Ponyville.

During the trip,  Dusk's ear flicked to the side when he heard the foal babble quietly. She was either waking up due to his movement or going back to sleep. He looked down and nearly had his eye pierced by the alicorn's horn, something he found slightly hilarious as he snorted his amusement towards the baby.

The foal seemed to enjoy that with how she babbled excitedly, hooves raised to reach towards his face and Dusk decided to humour the 'lil foal. What he got caused a small smile to grow on his face when she booped him, the expression growing even wider when his muzzle instinctively scrunched and he sneezed lightly leading to the foal to let out peals of laughter at his expression.

It was rather refreshing, to see something this innocent and he instinctively nuzzled the foal before abruptly pulling his face away half a second later, eyes wide at what he had just done. Giving the foal an awkward smile, he inwardly hoped that his scent wouldn't mix and that the foal wouldn't be uncomfortable.

He didn't even know her parents and it was insulting to the parents to have an unknown pony scent their child. Then there was the fact that foals don't necessarily like a random pony's smell, especially if it doesn't even resemble their family's, so they whine and cry. To say that Dusk would rather not deal with that was an understatement, so he quickly pulled his head as far as he could from the foal in a weak attempt to not be in the blast radius of a crying filly, much less an alicorn one.

He blinked in confusion when nothing happened. If anything, the foal looked as equally confused as she turned towards him, eyes blinking innocently as he hesitantly moved his head closer. Timidly, Dusk poked the side of her head with his muzzle, trying to see if any kind of movement might set her off. 

"You're not going to scream right?" He asked the tiny foal, though the answer he got was a confused babble which led him to sigh. Maybe he was just being irrational? It was just a foal after all, what could a little tiny pony do?

(It's never just a foal, it's never just.)

He gritted his teeth and shook his head, ears folding. No! This is different, this world is different. Don't go making random assumptions, don't jump to conclusions and focus on returning a foal to her parents. This was also his good deed for the day. His chance to be a normal helpful member of society. He could absolutely do this! 

So with a nod, he hesitantly began to climb a tree. Once the foal didn't show any discomfort, he gradually began to increase the speed of his climbing. Rather than upsetting, the foal seemed rather joyous with how he pulled himself up from branch to branch, the wind hitting their coats and mane seeming to excite the alicorn foal, evidenced with how much she was babbling and swinging her hooves. 

Adorable. He’d just met the foal but already he knew that he would murder anyone who tried to harm her and then likely himself because he was sure that he could live with the fact that such an adorable foal harmed or worse.

Well not now. Maybe when he got his citizenship, but he was certainly getting attached. He personally blamed the amount of floof and the pair of adorable eyes that the foal had. There was just something about her that drew him in in a fatherly, platonic way. He felt something press and rub against the bottom of his jaw and his eyes darted down to a quiet and very content looking filly. After a moment’s hesitation, he gripped a branch with one hoof and hesitantly nuzzled back much to the joy of the light pink foal.

After managing to get on the highest branch, he flared his wings and took off to the direction of Ponyville but at a much slower speed, using his wings to glide from branch to branch. He wasn't used to this slow speed, but seeing as the foal was enjoying it, with her face swivelling side to side, eyes wide and looking around in awe he decided to maintain the pace. He could almost cry at such innocence, for a filly to look around not in caution but with wonder.

Dusk shook his head. He was being sentimental again and to a foal no less. 

(How pathetic...)

His steady pace slowed as he managed to get into the border between Ponyville and the Everfree forest. His wings slowly guided him to the grassy hills near the edge of town, where the moment his hooves pressed against the blades of grass he began to trot his way to Ponyville, his pace still slow and unhurried. 

However, his brows furrowed when the town in the distance seemed to be in such a large commotion. Was something going on? He looked down at the foal then back to Ponyville, a slightly nervous look on his face as he hoped that his assumption was wrong. He'd rather not accidentally be labelled as a foalnapper. That was something he'd rather not have tied to his name. No doubt it was a hard title to drop

The foal didn't mimic his worry, however. If anything his misery seemed to excite the foal as she babbled and waved away, her wings nearly smacking his face but instead settling for thumping against his torso. It didn't hurt, he’d been hit with worse after all, but it did make him panic for the briefest of moments.

As he stood by the entrance of Ponyville, a feeling of dread washed over him when he saw a certain group of ponies wearing royal guard armour running around and clearly making a large ruckus. He stared down at the foal strapped against him and sighed, ears and tail drooping, already knowing that his assumption must be true.

He's going to be in so much trouble and he didn’t even do it deliberately this time!
> 13- Suspicious? Absoloutely not
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




13
Suspicious? Absolutely not





The moment Dusk saw the guards in the distance, he did what every respectable stallion would do in his situation.

He decided to trot in the opposite direction, pace slow and definitely not suspicious. Running away would make him very suspicious and he'd rather not deal with that, he thought as his eyes began searching for a non-conspicuous spot for him to go and teleport back into his room.

What? Did you expect him to go and walk through town where a large number of guards are running around, possibly searching for the baby strapped to his chest? Absolutely not, he wasn't stupid. 

Sadly, he was on the outskirts of Ponyville and there weren't a lot of inconspicuous places for him to teleport without getting noticed but then again, when did he care about risks? It wasn't like he was potentially commiting treason or anything!

He glanced down at the babbling foal that started this whole mess and stuck his tongue out, face scrunching in faux annoyance as he puffed out his cheeks.

"You're such a troublesome foal," he started, before lightly sneezing when the younger alicorn bopped his nose with hers. He had to fight the smile from growing on his muzzle at that action. He just couldn't help himself around foals. Something about their stubby legs, tiny bodies and small frames just made him feel a certain way. As if somehow activating an instinct deep inside him. His buddies from back home had always teased him whenever he visited the refugee's orphanage, saying that he was called 'Papa Dusk' by the foals behind his back. 

His eyes darkened, face turning blank as he trotted away from the homey town, busy in thought.

He wondered, how they were now? Were they happy? Did they grow up well? 

Before he could spiral further, he was snapped into reality when he heard a whine and stopped in his tracks. With how fast his neck snapped towards the foal, he wondered if he would need a medic but he quickly shoo-ed those thoughts away to focus on the pony that made the noise.

The tiny alicorn looked uncomfortable, muzzle scrunching up as she shuffled around and Dusk blinked in realization when his nose picked up on a rather peculiar scent.

With a quick surge of magic from his horn, the foal strapped to his chest was immediately pulled away and unwrapped from her confines. With practiced ease, the older alicorn unclasped the diaper and checked if his assumption was true, not bothered by the sudden smell of feces and urine that escaped its own confines.

(Umbra's forces, despite being brainwashed, were a rather creative bunch after all and with how long he'd spent with them, he was bound to get used to it.)

He gave the foal a sympathetic gaze before quickly clasping the diaper once more. Yes, it was disgusting, but it wasn't like he had any actual diapers with him. The foal would have to deal with it for the time being... But if she whines more… What's the worst that could happen if I just teleported into Ponyville? He supposed he could just cloud himself and his companion in invisibility or perhaps cast a -notice me not- spell and just waltz inside.

"Erm…" grumbled the tiny alicorn, still shifting in his magic. "Merhmm.."

"Hey hey hey," he started, sharply turning and dropping the alicorn onto his hoof so he could start up the illusion spell. While he could multitask, he'd rather not accidentally mess it up with an infant alicorn nearby. Unicorns or more specifically any active-mana using babies always wanted to break spells, an instinct brought on by how sensitive they were. His horn glowed and an array appeared in front of him. HIs eyes flickered around, his horn occasionally bursting as it added or removed symbols.

What he was doing was a mixture between an illusion and a field spell. He wasn't going to cast the illusion on himself but rather in the space directly around him, so anyone looking at the alicorn duo would see something other than a pair of alicorns.  

While he would've originally opted for a simple illusion spell, he'd rather not have the potentially unstable alicorn baby accidentally dispelling it with a mana burst, so he instead settled with what he thought was the best compromise.

Once he had it all fixed, he quickly anchored the spell onto himself and began to speed towards the town, bypassing a group of panicking royal guards, confident in his spell.

He didn't have time to notice that they weren't the usual stallions like the guards in his world, busy as he was in trying to make the foal as comfortable as possible. After all, he'd rather not have his eardrums shattered.





A few moments later, In a shop specifically made for foals, one disguised Dusk Shine was casually waiting in line, eyes watching his foal as she played with another, the other foal’s father in front of him in the line. The alicorn foal’s diaper and accompanying nappy had been changed and she was happily playing around with some kind of toy

He knew that she wouldn't be attached to him most of the time and if she wasn’t attached to him, the spell would falter so he had decided to buy her a pin which he quickly enchanted and then attached to her nappy. The pin served to change her outward appearance, leaving her as a unicorn foal with a whole different coat and mane color but the same eyes as always. Her mane was a light red with pale yellow streaks while her coat was a light amber. He had to safely bind the wings to her body so she wouldn’t break her disguise by flying around but it wasn’t anything harmful. Pegasi often did the same thing to their young if they kept on flying around all the time instead of walking. Something about developing leg muscles and not being lazy. 

To sell the deal, he himself looked like a unicorn and just like the filly, his coat and mane had been changed as well. Compared to the foal he was with however, his scheme was the complete opposite with a silver mane and dark blue coat. It was as if they were day and night. 

An annoyed glint appeared in his eyes when he saw several other stallions from the store not so subtly stare in his direction before glancing towards the foal. His brow twitched at that and he frowned. Was the spell not working? Did they somehow figure it out? He stepped closer to the disguised alicorn and frowned, the action causing most to turn away. Since it was now his turn to step up to the counter, he broke eye contact so he could place his goods onto the table.

“Mornin’,” A grey pegasus colt from the counter greeted, waving a hoof and quickly counting the goods, which weren’t much. Just a pack of diapers, along with some toys that the foal seemed to like. Dusk’s eyes narrowed a bit. There sure were a lot of colts in here. How… peculiar. “That’ll be ten bits please.” The registrar placed the items into a bag expecting the bits to be placed on the counter.

A burst of magic came from Dusk’s horn and a bag of bits appeared in front of him. He didn’t bother to look at it, already knowing that his magic would get the correct amount. He grabbed the bag and placed it onto his back just as he floated the bits onto the wooden table, his ears flicking up when he heard the registrar comment something.

“Are the wives busy today?”

Wives? A confused look crossed his face. Was the colt across the counter asking if he had wives? Dusk shook his head, a huff escaping his nose. What a joke… the moment he had a wife from this world that’d actually stay around once finding out his background, the day something would invade the land. However instead of the self-deprecating humor obvious in his face, it seemed that the colt thought that he was confirming something else.

“Huh, they must be lazing around. Leaving the colt to do all the work, typical.” The registrar shook his head, leaning on the counter with a hoof.

“You misunderstand, I don't have a wife or wives,” Dusk finally stated, scooping up the disguised alicorn with his magic to plop onto his back as the foal began to scour around the bag, cheering at the sight of a pacifier that he quickly took and cleaned with a spell before giving it back. 

The colt immediately shot up, agape at what he just heard and Dusk couldn’t help but feel like he may have said the wrong thing. A flash of dismay flashed on his face before quickly disappearing. I should’ve read up this world’s customs. What a rookie mistake…  

When his eyes flicked around him, he noticed that the stallions nearby as well as several others in the rows were staring at him. Did he accidentally insult someone? 

“Is there… something wrong with that?” He hesitantly continued. Was what he said a code for something? His body tensed and he wondered if he should really blow his cover right now. He could fight disguised, but with an alicorn foal to the mix… he might leave his magical signature and get tracked to his Dusk persona. His tone turned serious, staring down at the slightly athletic-looking colt. Threats it is then. “If so, please say so to my face.”

The colt backtracked, waving his hooves around in what was supposed to be a ‘placating’ gesture, though it only served to make Dusk wonder if the guy was going to swing a hoof at him. “No no no! It’s nothing like that, it’s just… are you okay? Is everything okay? Do you need help? I noticed just how ragged you looked but I didn’t know if it was rude to say something-”

“What?” Dusk blinked, confused at the different reception.

“What’s your name? I’m Thunderlane!” Thunderlane gave a hoof from over the counter. 

“I…” Dusk gave a hoof, hesitantly grabbing it at first before firmly shaking it once he noticed that there wasn’t a hidden blade or anything along those lines. “It’s Sirius, Sirius Skies.” Why was the pegasus so friendly? What was he up too?

“Sounds fancy,” Thunderlane commented as their hooves detached before his eyes narrowed. “Actually, I haven't seen you around before, did you just move in?”

Dusk tilted his head to the side. What he was saying wasn’t exactly a lie and it was vague enough to not be tracked. “Something like that.” He didn’t even wince when the younger alicorn clambered up his mane and started to mess with it. He’d gone through worse after all and he didn’t even react when the foal began to nom on his hair, only poking her with a hoof.

Loud thumping of hooves was heard outside and as Dusk glanced at the window, he could see the Royal Guards still walking around, obviously alert for the alicorn playing in his hair. Welp that was a sign for him to skedaddle. He’d rather not stay in one place.

“Anyway, thank you for the chat.” Dusk ducked his head in gratitude. “But I’d rather not hold up the line.” He began to step away but before he could fully turn away, he was called out.

“Hey listen! I… if you need help or at least someone to talk to, you can come here,” Thunderlane seriously stated, flourishing a hoof towards the shop as Dusk surveyed the establishment. He soon realized that other stallions were nodding as well. “Ponyville strives to help everyone, including single parents like you. It’s going to be hard, but everything is much better with friends,” the pegasus finished with a smile.

(Friends…)

Dusk simply nodded and pushed open the door, not looking back, now deep in thought.
> 14- Breaking wishes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




14
Breaking wishes





Dusk strolled past several guards, a blank look on his face as he trotted through Ponyville. Occasionally slipping through alleyways, where he wouldn’t be so easily found and noticed.

(friends…)

Dusk wasn’t good with the whole friends thing, he wasn’t good at socializing, period. The fact that he somehow ended up with not one but five good friends that he regularly spent time with before the… incident- 

Was a miracle.

A grimace crossed his face as he thought back to his time in the field. Sure, he spent time with other creatures but they weren’t friends per say. Just companions that helped him in his journey, never once giving a significant memory other than-

“What are we?” he had once questioned, his eyes trailing to the body that lay next to him. Who would’ve thought that the pony who owns such a lithe and small form was someone who could make him sweat?

The mare didn’t answer, not for sometime. She turned to him, an indiscernible look in her eye as she spoke:

But it wasn’t the lightly scratchy voice he was used to, instead it was….

“Bubaba! Da-bu!”

Babble?

Ah, right. There is a foal on him.

Dusk blinked before snorting, his head shaking as he realized that he must’ve zoned out. Just what has been going on with him? Letting his guard down, allowing himself to even zone out, did he really allow himself to let himself go so easily?

He tilted his head, leaning it back to glance at the bubbly and rather joyous alicorn foal on his back. She was still sucking on that pacifier and as he scrutinised her. He was glad to not see anything off with the disguise. Not even a little flicker that usually came with most illusion spells.

That’s good, with how weird his head has been, he wouldn’t be surprised if his concentration went wack and made a rather easy to destroy spell.

While he liked to have faith in his arts, he'd rather not risk being exposed and trialed for foalnapping.

Dusk shook his head, a bit of exasperation in his face. 

Who would've thought that out of all the crimes he did. He'd be brought in for foalnapping?

With a light shine of his magic, the foal from his back was hoisted up and brought in front of him.

He couldn't stop the pang of something coming forth when he saw how she looked. 

Faust, maybe he should've gone with a different look because the more he stared, the more he could feel memories he had long forgotten began to slip right into his head.

Memories of a time where he felt just a little bit hopeful, where he could still smile because he felt like he wasn't so alone in this world.

("You're somepony to me, Dusk.

Isn't that all that matters?"

Dusk stared, his mouth drying before he brought a smile onto his muzzle. Acting as if her words hadn't affected him as much as it should be.

With such an answer… 

How could he say that she was so much more?)

"What a troublesome foal," he murmured. "First I have to deal with ponies and now you're bringing up memories." He continued to trot, ignoring the fact that the alicorn in disguise was patting his cheek, a happy smile on her face.

His slightly soured mood rose at that. 

Foals were troublesome, yes. But foals were a reminder. A reminder that he fought for something. Even when he's alone and no one is by his side. The thought that winning could leave foals to grow up like how he did instead of the barren bloody one he had long gotten used to was a push he used when he couldn't find anything else.

Maybe it was that small part of him, a tiny piece of a colt he once was that made him have faith.

Or maybe it's because foals had always reminded him of his little sister. With that bright gleam in their eyes and enthusiasm of simply living. Vaguely, he can remember the time where he was but a young colt peeking over a crib where his sister laid. Remember the time where he glanced up at his mother, wondering if it was alright to even hold such a tiny thing.

The warmth that burns in his chest is as comforting as being hugged.

And sometimes, when his head gets too tired to keep up, when his energy is as drained as his magic. Where it's so hard to breathe and he wonders why should keep going, keep on living in a world that takes and keeps on taking. He doesn't just see his friends when he closes his eyes.

He sees his family too.

With a dorky father who edits, a mother with that fond exasperated eyes and a sister that despite her rather icy exterior, truly loves him.

Sure they were busy but they did their absolute best to raise them. In the darkest of times, Dusk remembered when he wished that he visited more instead of focusing on his studies because he knew that that magic wasn't worth it if he was all alone in the end. Magic wasn’t worth the tears he shed when he was greeted with his empty home. Magic wasn’t worth the drenching pain and agony he felt when he was sent the ashes of his loved ones. Magic wasn’t worth the times where he wished that he could still think up their names and not be met with the blurring faces of a family that he is slowly forgetting. 

He just wished that he could see them one more time and say;

"I'm sorry."

Faust-

Dusk blinked as a hoof brushed against the bottom of his eye and he stilled.

A sad cooing noise was heard and he met the eyes of the alicorn foal he held. Pressure was pressed and Dusk simply watched as she wiped at something. The feeling was odd and he wondered what she was trying to do.

Then it clicked.

Oh.

She was wiping him.

Why?

His ears flicked when he finally registered the blur of his eyes and the wetness that was trailing down his cheek.

Ah.

I'm crying.

Dusk likes to think he’s strong. How could he not have with a body count as high as his? 

But as he stands in one of the lone alley ways of Ponyville, he hears the chattering of ponies, the clopping of hoovies and the laughter of foals. All pointing to the fact that they were happy, peaceful and alive. 

This could’ve been how his world would’ve looked if he succeeded, he noted.

This was a world where he succeeded instead of fleeing like a coward.

Dusk just reached for the foal and placed her onto his back. His cheeks already dry and his face blank.

To the castle, Dusk. 

There is no need to embarrass yourself anymore. You already do that enough as it is.

Just keep on walking and get the foal home.

Dusk is strong, he knows he is.

But even the strongest of creatures break and he wonders if this is the world where he finally does.