> The First Twilight
>  by darkforce95
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - The Eclipse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a bright day in Ponyville, the sun was shining, birds singing, and a purple haired youth was walking back from her activities in the park with an owl perched on her shoulder.  Her violet eyes shown bright in the sunlight and her smile was even brighter.  She opened up the door to the hollowed out tree that she called her home.

“Owlowiscious, would you mind getting my calendar for me?” said Twilight coming in the door of the tree bound library.  

“Who” responded the owl as he floated over from her shoulder to the drawer where it was always was.  

“That was one of the play dates ever!  I was totally surprised when Pinkie decided to do a play staring all the pets, and even more surprised at how well you guys did with no rehearsals!”

“Who” responded the owl with a sense of pride.

“Okay with the play date done, that leaves the rest of the week free to get ready to watch the lunar eclipse!”  She mused excitedly.

“So let me guess,” a little boy clad in a purple and green jacket said coming down the stairs, “We need to get started on a checklist of all the items we’ll need to write the checklist of all the items we need to watch the eclipse?”

“Oh Spike, “ chided the purple haired girl, “You know we need to first make a verbal checklist of what we’ll need for the first written check list.“ 

Before Spike could interject on behalf of his hand, his cheeks puffed out before letting out a burp and flash of green flame that coalesced into a rolled up piece of parchment.

“It’s a letter from the Princess!” said Twilight, curiosity welling up inside her as to the contents.

“From both Princesses!” corrected Spike after seeing both the solar and lunar seals on the letter.

“Oh my, it must be an important task if both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sealed it.”  She noted with some worry.
Spike cleared his throat before reciting the letter.  

My dearest, most faithful student Twilight Sparkle, 
Since the changelings were pushed back to the wastes, there have been pockets of Equestria that before were under their influence that have now been released.

“It looks like Princess Luna wrote this next part,” noted Spike before continuing

It is the opinion of our my sister and ourself myself , that these lands be thoroughly explored before the changelings amass in again and retake the land lost.  We have sent expedition teams to most of the locations now liberated however…

There is a section of land nearer to Ponyville that has remained untouched and we cannot spare the extra help to search it.  We would ask for your assistance in exploring this area and report back to us directly in Canterlot.

This is a task of the utmost importance Twilight Sparkle. We hope you send a swift reply so we may coordinate the other task forces accordingly.  

“Wow, this is heavy…” lamented Spike as he rolled up the parchment

“Did the message say where exactly the territory was?”  she asked, clearly exuberant.

“Uhh, no.  Maybe they’re waiting for a response?”

“Then take a note Spike!”  she said with haughty enthusiasm. 

Dear Princess Celestia,

“And Luna,” added Spike.  He was aware that she was just in a routine when dictating these letters.

“Right, Right, thanks Spike!” she answered with great appreciation.

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,
I humbly accept this great task you have set out for me.  Please let me know which direction is the section you would like me to take care of.

Twilight blinked a little before turning to Spike.

“That seems a little short doesn’t it?” 

“Well yeah” said Spike rereading the letter. “You really don’t have much to go on right now so that’s natural.”

“Well then,”

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Spike rolled up the piece of parchment and wandered over to the window to deliver it.  After coming back Spike had a question on his mind.

“Twilight, I thought you were looking forward to watching the lunar eclipse.  Why did you accept the Princesses’ task?”

Twilight blinked multiple times.  She ran on automatic, whenever the princess asked her for help she always accepted.  But this time it may come at the cost of missing the eclipse.

“B- But the princesses asked for my help, I can’t rightly say no to them can I?”

“Well, yeah.  They said it would help, not that you needed to do it.”

Twilight paced around the room thinking.  The letter was sent so there wasn’t much she could do about that.  But she really wanted to see this eclipse.  It only happened once in a generation, and hadn’t happened at all while Princess Celestia was tasked with both heavenly bodies.  Princess Luna was the one who thought of the eclipse as a way to get everyone to enjoy her night a bit more.  Not enough as it turned out, but she never shared the secret of the eclipse with her sister.  Thus, this was going to be the first lunar eclipse in over one thousand years.  There would never be another event like it in her life time!  

“Oh, what should I do Spike?  If I don’t get back in time to watch the lunar eclipse, I’ll never get another chance to see it!”

“You could always ask Princess Luna to hold off on it ‘til you finished the task she assigned for you” said the young boy flatly.  “After all, she’s the one who-“

“NO!” Twilight said loudly while nervously pacing about the floor.  “I couldn’t ask Princess Luna to delay such a momentous occasion just for me!  What about all the other people looking forward to it as well?  They’ll be prepared for it and eclipse that won’t come!”

“You could always watch-“

“No Spike, I’ll just have to send another letter.  She won’t be too disappointed if-“

Another burp and flash of green flame interrupted her and Spike quickly read the letter.

“They say that you’ll have to take the other wielders of the elements since they don’t know what to expect where they are sending you….” He kept reading past fluff and official wording and looked back at Twilight worriedly.  “The other side of the Everfree Forest…”





The six girls were walking through the forest in a tight formation for safety.  The front of the group was the golden haired Applejack.  Her hard, farmworker’s body was perfect to trail blaze through the unknown wilds they walked through.  

“It’s a good thing the Princess asked us to come along.  Ah’d hate to cross the whole of the Everfree forest m’self.” Said Applejack.

“Mmhmm” answered Twilight from behind her, she was navigating the group with the map given to her by Celestia and updated by Zecora.  They had decided to travel during the day to avoid getting lost through the thick branches and kept mostly to the trail until the map dictated they should leave it for the fastest route.

“It’s a good thing that Zecora knows this forest like the back of her hand, I would hate to be lost in this dreadful place for too long.” Said Rarity, tip toeing her way through the dirt and sludge in an effort to stay relatively clean.  She of course brought the ‘best traveling dress’ to wear, a shorter length on her usual dress and her high heeled boots were ‘clearly useful for such travels’.  Applejack had nearly snorted her drink out her nose when she heard Rarity say that.

“Ummm, did we really have to leave the road?” said a clearly nervous Fluttershy hiding behind Pinkie Pie and her own long forelock.

“Yes,” answered a concentrated Twilight.  “This is the quickest way to the area we need to search.”

“And safest right?” asked AppleJack pushing past another branch.

“Uh huh, sure…” said Twilight disinterested.  She was concentrated on the map, trying to find any shortcuts so she could make it back in time for the eclipse.  Only she had noticed that they had looped back twice already in her efforts.  She prayed that no one would notice if they had to do it again.  Rainbow Dash, who brought up the rear of the group, was stomping through the path that her friends cleared through, clearly getting impatient.  

“Seriously, why do we have to go through the forest?  You gals could go around it while Fluttershy and I fly over and make a camp ahead of you guys.” 

“Because that could take a week or two!” said Twilight distressed.  Then I would defiantly miss that eclipse!

“Ah don’t think we should be splittin’ up in any case.  We don’t know what’s waitin’ for us on the other side.” Affirmed AppleJack.  She looked up at the canopy above them trying to get a sense of direction or time.  She only found the answer to one.  “Whooee, where did the time go?  Maybe we should make camp girls, it’s about to be gettin’ dark.”

“What?  No!” Twilight cried. “I’m sure we didn’t loop back that much!  How did we lose that much time?” Her eyes shot back to her map.

“WHAT?!?” the other five said in unison.

“You mean to tell me that not only have I been walking in muck and filth for the better part of a day, but I may have walked through the same muck and filth TWICE?” Rarity complained.  “These boots weren’t meant for this kind of abuse!”

“Sugarcube, why didn’t ya tell us we were lost?” Applejack asked after rolling her eyes at Rarity’s comment.

“Yeah, it already stinks enough that I can’t fly through this fast.  But twice?  And I wasn’t even going for a speed record.”

“I mean, I’m okay with having a sleepover party as much as the next person,” Pinkie Pie piped in. “But not in this super dark, scary, don’t even know what maybe around the next corner forest!”

All Fluttershy could manage was a small squeak at the prospect of having to stay even one night in the forest.

Twilight backed into a tree as all five of her friends pushed in with questions and accusations.  She couldn’t tell them the real reason she had them circling around.  That was much too selfish.  Come on, think Twilight, think!  Suddenly an idea to get them out of the forest quicker hit her.

“H-Hey,” she said channeling an illumination spell to her hand. “If I light the way we can keep walking ‘til we get out of the forest, then we can set for camp right?”

The five girls looked at her incredulously.  

“What good does that do us if you don’t know where you’re going?”   Rainbow said taking the map from Twilight and took off straight up into the air breaching the canopy.  Before anyone can call up to her to find out what was going on, she came back down.

“Okay, I got some good news.”

“Spill it already!!”  Pinkie said over excitedly.

“Chill Pinkie, from up there it looks like we’re around here.”  She pointed to a spot on the map that was really close to the other boarder of the forest.

“Rainbow, I didn’t know you could read maps that well!” said a surprised Fluttershy

“The newer books of Daring Do have cloth maps of her adventure tucked in the front cover.  I just compared the map to the layout I saw up above the trees just like she did!”

“Thank goodness,” sighed Rarity looking about her, “I don’t think my hair could stand sleeping in this mess.”

“Rainbow, you tell Twilight where to go.  If’n ya need to take a survey of the land let us know before you take off.” Said Applejack taking command of the group.

“You got it!”

“ ’N Twi?”

“Yes…” she answer guiltily

“Yer gonna take the lead and light the way so we kin see where we’re goin’” Applejack finished sternly.

“Yes……” Twilight said dejectedly and leading the way out to the designated point navigated by Rainbow Dash.





Twilight woke up the next morning groggy.  After Rainbow took charge of navigating, it only took two to three hours to get out the other end.  Of course she wanted to begin the survey when they got there but everyone was exhausted and de facto leader AJ knocked that idea down.  Twilight sighed as she got her first good look of the area.  From the look of it, it was going to be a quick search, map it out, and be back by the time the lunar eclipse rolled in.

She decided she had put her friends through enough trouble and grabbed as much of the gear as she could and started the survey.  So far it looked just like rolling plains, nothing much different from the area around Ponyville.  
After about an hour of looking she decided to take stock and map out what was seen.  She took out the map and noticed that, if the scale was correct, and if Rainbow Dash led them out of the forest that easily then it was, she hadn’t even covered half of one acre of the fifty acres she had to survey.  

No no no no no no no!!  At this rate I’ll never finish the survey in time for the lunar eclipse!!  Come on Twilight, pick up the pace!  But before she could start moving, her shirt got caught on something and pulled her back.  She whirled around to see her five friends looking mighty cross at her.

“Twi, we may not know much about this surveyin’ stuff,” began AJ. “But we CAN tell when our friend is rushin’ to finish everything that she can’t even see her own hand in front of her.”

“Honestly Twilight,” said Rarity walking up and stroking Twilights purple locks, “You’re running yourself so ragged that your beautiful hair is suffering and I cannot stand to see my friend do this to herself.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to these sentiments.  

“Oh girls, you really worry too much I-“

“Sugarcube, the faster you tell us the truth about what’s going on the faster we can help you finish this thing.”

Twilight sighed, she should have known better than to keep something from her friends.  She recounted about the lunar eclipse and how and when the letter arrived to the girls.

“Welp, I guess that means we all gotta pick it up double time.”  Said Rainbow smiling.

“Yeah!  There’s no way we would let our friend miss a once in a lifetime opportunity!  That would be like missing the best party ever!  gasp That would be terrible!” Pinkie Pie continued.

The gesture warmed Twilight’s heart as she laid out the plans of how to survey the area.  With six pairs of eyes the survey went much more quickly and by the end of the third day they were three-quarters the way done.  When the fourth day began, Twilight was less than enthusiastic about the survey.

“Oh Twilight, you don’t look as energetic today, what’s the matter?” asked Fluttershy.

All the girls listened in on what could be bothering her.  Twilight, knowing she couldn’t keep the truth from her friends this time, came clean.

“The lunar eclipse is tonight.  So there’s no way we can get this finished before tonight AND make it back to Ponyville before the eclipse starts…”

“So why don’t we watch it here?” asked Pinkie Pie.  “We can have an eclipse watching party!!!  I think I brought balloons in my pack!”  

That comment left everyone blinking.  Of course they could watch the eclipse from here.  Why didn’t anyone think of that?  Of course, Twilight wished she had brought her telescope but she could still see the eclipse with just her eyes.  It probably would be just as wonderful as from her home in Ponyville.  And even better, she would spend the time with her friends.  

Once they arrived at the last part of the land, the land closest to where the changelings were biding their time, they slowed down.  There, the land was almost as if they had reached the wastes that the changelings called their home.  And scattered across this barren territory were the empty husks of other people.  They could only assume these were the previous meals for the creatures that lived not far from where they stood.  The sight sent shivers down everyone spines.  None more so than Twilight.  

This could have happened to Shining Armor if the Changeling Queen didn’t need to keep up the charade. She thought to herself.  Thank goodness she had been skeptical of ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s’ actions so she and the real Princess Cadence could rescue her brother from such a fate.

“This is so cruel, no one deserves a fate like this…” said Fluttershy quietly hiding deep behind her hair.

Twilight steeled herself and pressed onward.

“Come on girls, all we have left is this area.  After this we can head toward home…” her voice trailed off at seeing the sheer number of victims.  Was this a feeding ground way back when?  Or just a dumping site for the bodies.  Either way no one cared for this area, and Twilight detailed out the map as necessary.  They pressed on until nightfall.

Right at the edge of that territory, the last necessary part to map, was another patch of green, much like all the lands previous.  They would have all commented on the beauty of such a piece of paradise among the wastes, especially its timing as night fell, had it not been for the statue in the middle of the emerald blades of grass.  One could quickly mistake it for another one of the former inhabitants of the land, however this one seemed more expertly carved and not worn and cracked.  The statue was of a boy, seemingly no older than any of the girls.  He seemed to be taking a defensive posture with his arms crossed in front of his face and his body crouched down low.

“Reminds me of how we left Discord.” Rainbow Dash said trying to alleviate the party somewhat.

Rarity chimed in, “Yes, the craftsmanship on this piece is exquisite!  I would think that a young man was merely incased in the stone as opposed to the statue being sculpted out of one.”

Pinkie Pie was already knocking on it to see if it was hollow.

“Pinkie, don’t go touching things we don’t know.  What if you break it?”  Twilight scolded.

“Oh he’ll be fine, and lookie!  There’s some writing!”

Twilight brought her face, with hand illuminated, close to the writing

The man who balanced both day and night, shall see neither until the time
That both sun and moon, titans of the sky, refuse to shine.

“The sun AND moon not shinin’?” asked a confused Applejack.  Everyone seemed to mull over that point.

“I’m more curious about the line ‘The man who balanced both day and night’, what could that mean?”  Twilight thought aloud.

“Maybe he slept at night and took naps all through the day?  Ooh, or he balanced between that and staying up all day and night!”  offered Pinkie Pie.

Everyone looked at her skeptically.

“Either way, why write a riddle like this on a statue?  It couldn’t have been made by the changelings and Princess Celestia or Princess Luna would have told us about an important piece of art like this out here.”  Twilight posited.  

“What if it IS someone trapped in stone?” asked Applejack.

“We’ll find out whether or not it is soon enough” said Twilight.

“What are you talking about?” asked Rainbow Dash for everyone present.

“A lunar eclipse is when the moon is blocked from sight.  And the sun isn’t in the sky so technically the riddle here comes true.”

Everyone turned toward the moon as a bit of it was already going dark.  Everyone could feel the weight of the process as, little by little, the light of the moon was going dark.  The shadow cast darkness on the land that was enveloping it faster that the moon was being obscured.  Suddenly the six girls felt as though they wished they were witnessing this marvel from the safety of their homes in Ponyville.  Soon enough the darkness shrouded the collection of shivering women in pitch darkness.  Or was it?  

Twilight opened her eyes and saw the marvelous stars twinkling more brightly than they ever had before.  

Without the moon the stars look wonderful!  If only-

Her train of thought was interrupted when there was a light suddenly shining from behind them.  She turned to see the statue surrounded in a dim glow.  Soon everyone was looking at the statue as it was the only source of illumination, save for Twilight’s spell.  As soon as the moon became unblocked, even in the slightest, the statue seemed to vanish.  As the moon lit the area again the statue was replaced by a boy, slumped on the ground.  Unlike the statue, he seemed battered and bruised.  He writhed in pain, mumbling something no one could hear.  Twilight reacted first.

“He’s hurt!” she cried running toward the youth, hand flaring up with some healing magics as everyone followed her toward him.  Rainbow sped past Twilight and held him up in her arms for Twilight to start with the more critical wounds.
His murmurs caught Rainbow’s ear.  Her earlier statement now came back to her mind.

“Guys, he’s saying Discord!  How does he know Discord?” she asked.

“That ain’t important right now Rainbow.”  Scolded Applejack.

“That’s right, now lay him down, Rainbow.” Said a still concentrated Twilight.

Rainbow Dash slowly complied and set him on the ground.  Now everyone could clearly see most of his features.  He was a unicorn, athletically built.  His hair was an orange red, almost the color of sunset.  He had on the same clothing as the statue.  With the statue it looked timeless but now, in the flesh, it seemed dated, although familiar to Twilight.  

“Hey!” interjected Pinkie Pie “Isn’t that the royal insignia?”

Everyone looked at the symbol. The sun was the predominant feature but the moon was encased inside it, almost seeming like it was supporting it from the inside.

“I don’t think so Pinkie…” said Fluttershy “The royal seal is just the sun with princess on the inside of it ….. um.. right?”

“Yer right Fluttershy, that looks like A royal signin’, but not THE royal signin’.“

“It is the royal insignia, just an old one.” Said Twilight, hands ceasing their glow.  “They were thinking of bring it back but Princess Luna decided to have her own seal.  He’s wearing an old version of the guard uniform.  I remember seeing it in History of the Guard back in the Canterlot library.”

“But why would he have that dreadfully outdated uniform?” Rarity questioned.

“Why would he poof in from nowhere?” countered Applejack.

“Umm, I think he may be coming to.” said Fluttershy.

The boy’s eyes fluttered open, he was barely conscious.  

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said harshly. “Who are you, what’s your name?”

“Rainbow, settle down.” Scolded Twilight.  She turned to the youth and gently put her hand on his sweat laden brow.  “Can you tell us your name?” she said gently almost cooing.

“….name.. is… Star… Dusk….” He said with a breathy voice before passing out entirely leaving the girls looking to each other for any answers.  

“Um, what should we do now?” questioned Fluttershy.

“Well, today’s been a long day.”  Admitted Twilight, “And I’m sure Princess Celestia will recognize the old uniform so she can cast more light on the situation.  So, I suggest we sleep here for tonight then take him home with us.”

“But what if he’s dangerous?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“Then it’ll be up to you an’ me to keep an eye on him, that’s all.”  The blonde haired girl suggested.

“And you’ll get that chance too.  I’ll put a sleep spell on him so he stays out.”  Said Twilight, “I healed most of the external wounds but if he has any on the inside… well I don’t think he should be moving around by himself so soon.  Plus the change in scenery-“

“We get it...” Said Rainbow Dash, “Let’s get some shut eye, I wanna get the full story from this guy ASAP.”

Everyone agree on the sleep sentiment and all slept soundly on that field of green underneath the bright stars.

> 2 - The Legend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride to Canterlot was fairly stressful.  For one thing, the unknown male being forced to sleep the whole way there kept Rainbow Dash on edge.  She, in turn, kept everyone of the girls on edge with her audible frustrations about the boy.  For Twilight, this compounded her nerves since the reply from the Princesses over this boy was so...

Not them...





Upon their return to Ponyville, Twilight instantly sent a letter detailing Star Dusk's discovery and her estimated arrival to Canterlot with the newly created map.  Before she could get ready for the trip Spike came to her with the Princesses reply.

Twilight,

Make haste in your preparations.  Please bring this 'discovery' of yours as soon as possible.  Please make no further efforts to contact us over this topic, it shall remain between the eight of us.  To assist in your transportation, we have sent a private train with priority to leave or pass through each station before any other train.  We cannot stress how important it is that you reach us with speed and in the safest manner possible...





She turned to look at the boy.  He had been asleep the whole trip thus far, mostly thanks to the sleep spell she casted.  They had brought him to the doctor in Ponyville and got him cleared of all injury.  The spell was only for safety's sake, his as well as theirs.  Twilight couldn't be sure how he would react to the new world around him, and there was no telling what Rainbow's pushy questions would do to him.  She remembered when Rainbow had mistrusted her as a spy on the night Nightmare Moon had returned.  She had felt helpless against that onslaught of questions.  Had it not been for Applejack calming Rainbow down, she would have ran away, adding to the suspicions.

"Yawn Well, I'm gonna turn in ladies.  It's gettin' late." admitted Applejack.

"I think it's time we all did the same." agreed Rarity.

"Twilight, you'll keep him sleeping the whole way there right?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, but I'm going to stay up a bit longer.  It's almost time to refresh the spell." She replied.

"Alright then," the athlete replied. "Once that's done bring him over to our cabin so I can keep an eye on him."

"Why not two eyes?" asked Pinkie as they shuffled to the sleep car.

Sorry Rainbow, Twilight apologized silently, But I want to know what's making the Princesses act so strangely.

In truth, she had refreshed the spell giving enough time until morning.  However, now she was removing the spell and waiting for him to come to.

After a few minutes, the auburn haired youth slowly opened his eyes.  Twilight was ready with the spell once again if he freaked out, but it didn't seem necessary.  He stretched a bit, his joints audibly cracking.

"Goodness, it feels like I slept for ages!"  he said slowly bringing his arms down and relaxed back in the chair.  "So, how shall we begin this conversation?"

Twilight blinked.  He already knew she wanted just to speak?  Why isn't he freaked out about being in the train?  According to History of the Guard, which she read to verify what she remembered as soon as she got back to Ponyville, he should be from over a thousand years in the past!

"If thou has not lost thy voice, then use thy tongue to speak the questions in thy thoughts." He said still looking forward, away from her.

Twilight stared for a moment.  He speaks just like Princess Luna used to.  Although without the overwhelming force, but he speaks with just the same amount of confidence.

He finally turned to her, seemingly in an effort to let her know he was talking to her: "I will listen to thy questions first, then thou shall answer mine."  

She blinked again.  No royal we.  Well, he's not royalty.

"Well, you probably have a lot more questions than I do.  You should probably start first." she said finally.

He smiled warmly, "Verily, I was beginning to think thee a mute.  However, dear lady, thou shall have the first question as it seems they are more pressing than mine."

A soft warmth came to Twilight's face at the prospect of being a 'dear lady' before putting it out of her mind.  She inhaled and began: 
"Whoareyou?Whyareyounotfreakingout?Imeanitsbeenonethousandyears,youmustfeelabitoverwhelmed....."

Five straight minutes of questions and four more deep inhales and she was done.  She put her head down and took deep ragged breaths to recover.  It didn't take long for the realization that she overwhelmed him with so many questions all at once.  If he wasn't stressed before with all the changes around him, then for sure he must have been overwhelmed at all the rapid fire questions.  She slowly looked up, worried of what his face was going to look like.  To her surprised the guard was smiling.  More than that, he was trying to stifle his laughter though he was doing a great job of that only letting out a small chuckle.  

"In truth, I will not be able to answer naught but the first of thy questions.  Some due to the safety of the kingdom being at stake, others due to the great haste of thy words."

"Then," she cut in. "Just answer these questions, who are you, what were you doing there, and what was, or is, your relationship with the Princess?"

"I cannot answer what I was doing there other than I was on a mission for the Princess, I apologize for that dear lady."

"Twilight."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"It seems thou will seek to answer at least one of my questions before I answer any of thine." he responded with a smile.  "Very well Twilight Sparkle, I will answer the other two of thine questions.  First, I am Star Dusk.  From my attire you can gather that I am one of the Princess' guards."

"And your relationship to the Princess?"

"Her guard."

"No, I get that that was your job.  But what is your relationship to her?"

"I suppose that either I do not fully understand the question or thou does not understand my answer.  I was the Princess' guard no more, no less."

Twilight sunk back in her chair, deep in thought.  Then why did the Princesses act so.... hostile?  No, more worried, about him.  She thought deeply on it for about a minuted before Star Dusk spoke up again.

"Apologies, Twilight Sparkle.  It is seems that my answers were not adequate."  He said somberly.

"Oh, no no no." she replied quickly.  "It's only that I had some questions still floating in my head.  But I think we'll have to wait to see the Princess before I get them answered."

"If the Princess permits, then perhaps I may speak more freely on whatever topics thou pleases.  Now, if thou does not mind..."

"No, go right ahead."

"Since I already know thy name, I shall ask on our method of conveyance."  he asked turning his head to the dark night outside.

"Oh, this is a train!  It's a series of cars that are linked together and the engine is powered by steam in order to push us forward!"  It was an opportunity to lecture which Twilight could not pass up.  He would ask questions about the present and she would answer him as completely as possible.  She wasn't quite sure if he understood all the scientific terms but he listened to her lectures the whole way through.  Once dawn had arrived, Star Dusk walked into the center aisle and stretched his whole body.

"Then it is true.  Much has changed since last I was awake." he said forlornly.  He seemed like everything has finally stacked on.

"That may be true, but-"

"HEY!" a voice called out from the direction of the sleep car.  Twilight turned and saw a clearly agitated Rainbow Dash.  "What the heck is he doing awake?"

Star Dusk turned to Twilight.  "A friend of-"  before he could finish Rainbow dashed over and tackled him to the floor.

"Rainbow, wait! He's not-" in another instant he brought his palm to Rainbow Dash's face and pushed her off him as if she was light as a feather.  The next moment he popped up into a standing position, grabbed her, threw her down, and pinned her to the floor.  He straddled her body and placed his knees on her wings, right hand pinning her left arm, and his left forearm pushing down on her throat.

"Thou has picked thy opponent most terribly young one!" he said pushing his forearm deeper into her throat.  Rainbow was gasping for air her right arm trying in vain to pull his arm away.  Twilight mouth was agape and eyes as wide as dinner plates.  One of her most athletic friends was just thrown around like a rag doll, without the use of magic even!

"Imma comin' Rainbow!!" yelled Applejack running down the aisle.

"No, AJ wait!" cried Twilight in a feeble attempt to stop her friends from hurting themselves.  Suddenly the car halted sharply throwing Applejack forward and Twilight kept herself up right using the seat in front of her.  Star got up off his knees and divided his weight between his right arm and his feet that posted outward gripping the floor.  The blonde girl tripped and landed face first behind the two on the floor.

"Now arriving at Canterlot!"  said a voice over the intercom.  "Now arriving-"

"GET OFFA ME!" Rainbow yelled using her newly liberated wings to hit her target.

"ENOUGH!"  Twilight cried out, eyes glowing full of magical power.  She rushed forward and before Star or Rainbow could react she cast the sleep spell on both of them.





"Seriously, why is that I have to carry him?" complained Rainbow Dash.

"Because, you won't let me wake him up AND it's because of you that I had to put him back to sleep again." said Twilight clearly agitated.  

"An' I carried him all the way to to th' train from out where we found him."  Applejack pointed out. "I'm plum tuckered out" she finished theatrically.

The six made their way to the the palace labyrinth outside the castle having been told that's where the princesses were waiting for them 'away from prying ears' by the letter left with the throne room guards.

"Hey Twilight, you know history right?" said Pinkie stopping behind.

"Not all of it b-"

"Who was Starshine Dust?" The pink haired girl asked turning to the group that waited for her.

Twilight thought for a moment before arriving at the answer.  "That's not history Pinkie, that's myth!  Starshine was mythological hero.  He did the most amazing things, but we don't have time for stories now."

Pinkie began poking at the boy in tow.  "What are you doing now?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Don't you think he looks kinda like Starshine Dust over there."  She replied pointing at the statue she read the title from.  They all walked over and saw she was right.

"'Cept for the clothes, he's the spittin' image of Dusky here." said Applejack.

"But that makes no sense!" said Twilight.  "He was a myth, the things he was said to do were impossible!"

"We could always ask him."  said Pinkie knocking on his head again.

"Hey quit that.  We don't need him to wake up." said Rainbow moving him away from Pinkie.

"Actually Rainbow," Rarity began, "I wouldn't mind hearing him out.  Especially with this new information coming to light coupled with whatever is making the Princesses so secretive..."

"No, we don't know what he could do!  He was choking me for crying out loud!"

"Only cause you took him down to the floor first." retorted Twilight putting her hand to his forehead once more.

"Ugh, fine!  Don't blame me when he runs amok later."

Star's eyes slowly fluttered open again.  Putting his weight under his legs again, he stood on his own rubbing his neck.

"Twilight Sparkle," he said seeing the first familiar face. "What has happened?"

"Sorry, I had to put you to sleep before you hurt my friend or she hurt you." she answered apologetically.

"I was not any where near hurting her!" he defended.

"Yeah right!" shot back Rainbow.

"Believe me when I say that had I wished it, you would not be here winged one."

"The brash one," interrupted Twilight, "is Rainbow Dash.  And she's terribly sorry for attacking you like that, AREN'T YOU RAINBOW?"

Rainbow huffed in response but extended a hand in peace which Star Dusk took begrudgingly.

"Ah'm Applejack, pleased to be makin' your acquaintance!"

"The pleasure is all mine."

"I am Rarity good sir!  I hope your reputation as a gentleman by Twilight, is well deserved."

"I hope I am given the opportunity to demonstrate it Lady Rarity."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!  And you sound like I would have thought the statue would sound!"

"The what?"

"You... um... have a statue.  It isn't you though, but... um.... he looks a lot like you, but if you think it doesn't that's okay too."  Fluttershy offered pointing the way to the statue.  Star walked up to the statue, taking note of the different name but uncanny resemblance.  

"Twilight Sparkle," he began.

"Yes?"

"How many years has it been since I last was in Canterlot?"

"By my estimation, well over one thousand years.  Although I'm not sure exactly."

"One thousand five hundred fifty-seven years, eight months, fifteen days to be precise." said a voice coming up behind them.  Everyone turned around to see both Princesses walking up.  

"We were wondering what could have taken you so long." continued Princess Luna.  Everyone knelt down low as the Princesses walked closer, their hair billowing and ethereal wings folded behind them.  Luna and Celestia walked up to the young man who kept his face down low.

"Arise young knight, and properly greet your Princesses!" boomed Luna in the traditional royal Canterlot voice.

Star slowly rose taking the Princess' hand in his and kissed it softly, "Thy humble servant has returned, your highness." he said before moving to Princess Celestia and repeating the gesture.  After completion of the obviously archaic ritual, both Princesses closed in and hugged him tightly.  He was visibly frozen by the gesture.

"Princesses, please!  This is most improper!" he said wiggling himself out of their grasp.

"Hardly Star Dusk." countered Princess Celstia, "After losing you on that mission so many years ago, it would be IMproper to greet you in any less of a fashion.  After all, Luna's personal guard is like family to us."

"Wait, WHAT?" asked Twilight.

"Yes Twilight Sparkle, Star Dusk was, is, my own personal guard.  We thought him dead when he did not return from the last mission he was sent on!"  Luna seemed to have a smile that must have been at least one thousand years in the making.

"Luna, why don't you catch up Star on what's been happening in his absence."  Said Celestia.

"Come Star Dusk, allow me to educate you!" said Luna jokingly although it seemed to confuse the young knight.

"Princess," began Twilight once the two had left.  "Can you explain to us a little bit more about him?  I mean, why does it look like the statue of the mythological hero seem like it's modeled after him?"

"Because it is, although not just the statue.  All the stories about Starshine Dust were modeled after either his actual exploits or bedtime stories he would tell Luna when she was smaller."

Everyone stood agape at the comment.  Really?  Like really really?  This myth is not a myth?  Twilight tried to wrap her head around all the revelations that were happening at once.

"It seems I'll have to start from the beginning  to let you understand a bit more." she continued closing her eyes as if to remember a long old tale.

"When Star Dusk became Luna's personal guard, it was at the behest of our parents..."

"WAIT, stop right there... No offense Princess but you had parents?" interupted Rainbow.

"Did you not have parents?" pointed out Celestia

"Well yeah but-"

"Then what makes you think that we didn't?" she continued smiling, showing she wasn't offended.  "Just because we have a longer lifespan than most people, doesn't mean we were never birthed.  Now, as I was saying...

"His appointment was at the behest of our parents.  It may not look like it, but Star Dusk has a number of years on Luna.  And to answer your question, no I am still older than he is.  He would tell her stories of grand adventures he would be on whenever he was not around, some based in fact.  Others would be great fantastical fictions entertain her before bed."  

All of a sudden the Princesses demeanor changed.

"Then one day, he went on a mission that was so important, my parents had to go with him.  I was too young to be a part of the group that new what the mission was.  It was months before he returned, battered, bruised, and barely conscious.  He arrived without my parents and they would never arrive again."

The Princess took a chance to breathe, suppressing that memory.  Twilight could tell that that memory hurt something fierce.

"After tough bouts of questioning from my new advisers, he reclaimed his post as Luna's guard.  I had noticed however that he wasn't quite himself.  He never smiled on his own, never came up with any stories not even for entertainment.  Then one day he came up to me and asked if I could erase some of his memories.  I asked him why but he just said it was necessary to make Luna happy again, apparently she had taken notice of his change of character.  I agreed on one condition, that he let me see the memory that he wished to erase..."

Suddenly, there was a shriek from Princess Luna from inside the labyrinth.

"Luna!" cried Celestia, fanning out her incorporeal wings and taking to the air.  Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed suit with the others quickly running into the maze being guided to the location by Fluttershy.

In front of them all in the small clearing was a group of ten to twenty creatures.  They seemed almost like a more 'alive' version of the husks out in the territory that they were exploring just days prior.  

"Come on girls!" said Twilight as the six took formation.  "Let's do this!"

"Wait," said Luna regaining her confidence. "I nearly had forgotten my personal guard.  Please stand back and allow him to do his job."

"There's no way he could handle all of that on his own!" said Rainbow.

Celestia blocked the girls path from advance.  "This should be enough to show what was myth and what was history."

Star took a position completing a triangle formation between Luna and the group.

"Star Dusk, if you please..." Luna said with a disinterest of a monarch looking at a ruffian that was ruining her party.

"With pleasure, your highness!" he said getting into a fighting stance.  "I hope thou art prepared, for with the Princess' permission, thou shalt not leave unscathed!"
> 3 - The Task
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Star Dusk jumped forward quickly landing a heavy fisted blow on the closest creature sending it flying into it's compatriots.  He then whipped around to his left side striking another one with a heel to it's face with an audible crack.  Twilight cringed at the two blows and the same blows seemed to put the husks in a state of confusion.  

"Is that all you have?  I expected more of a challenge!"

Almost as if in answer, all the former people rushed in overwhelming him, including the ones he had struck with unbelievable force.

"Okay, can we go in now?" asked Twilight of her teacher.  But no sooner than she asked that question that the earth shook and two sections of the earth pulled themselves from the ground and pushed the attackers back.  In the middle, Star Dusk slowly rose.

"He can control the earth?  You mean that part is not myth?!!" said a surprised Twilight.

"What part?" asked Rarity.

"He could control the physical elements of the world.  Earth, Water, Fire, and Air."

As if on cue, he moved close to the pond in the clearing and stuck his hand in the water momentarily.  He brought it up and the water followed almost like he was pulling on the it.  The emboldened guard wound up and tossed the water connected to his hand and as it flew across the air it froze into icicles impaling every one of the gloomy figures.  The forms cried an unearthly cry that sent shivers down everyone present, save for Star and Princess Celestia, and they all turned to dust.

Even Luna stared, wide eyed, as one of the stories she must have heard as a child took place right in front of her.  The others on the other hand were flabbergasted at the scene, how quickly the attackers were all subdued.

"Woah, that was awesome..." said Rainbow quietly.

"It's not over." said Celestia seriously.  

The dust coalesced together and created only one of the beings however this one seemed to be more grotesque with more veins pulsing throughout its body and Twilight could sense strong magic coursing through it.  The hero, still by the water, stood ready as the beast charged in toward him.  Everyone expected more of the same but instead the monster charged in and tackled him into the shallow pond.  

The battle was fierce, and Twilight would probably would have taken note of every little detail if not for the water being thrown around by the lunar guardian.  He obviously aware that freezing the water while drenched was not the best idea.  All of a sudden the the water dropped and Star could be seen breaking the creatures arm at the elbow.  He had grappled the arm, shifted his body inward, and, with his free hand, struck upward causing hyper extension of the joint and then fracture.  

He must have been faster than Twilight thought because the beast stood dumbfounded.  She could see as the pain shot it's way up and finally hit its brain and it let out a howl.  What seemed like an eternity was a mere second as in the next moment Star rotated to face it planting an elbow right in the rib cage causing an audible crack.  

That's a broken rib, no, two. thought Twilight as Star brought that same arm back and pushed it out of the pond and back on dry land.  Now the pause in the action let everyone take notice that he was injured, though not majorly, it was enough to draw blood that was dripping from his forehead.  His demeanor seemed to have shifted.  Where before he was brash and confident now he seemed focused and serious.

"He looks... angry..." commented Fluttershy behind Twilight.

"No, he's not angry.  He's just done playing around." answered Celestia.

The husk charged forward with it's good arm up poised to strike.  Star sidestepped the blow and grappled the arm and brought it back behind the creature.  It tried to spin around but Star grabbed the broken arm and stuck his right foot on its spine.  The creature went to its knees as the hero pulled back on the arms until there was an audible pop.  Star immediately released and jumped backwards putting distance between them.  

Now even Star Dusk was shocked to see it slowly stand, clearly dislocated arms hanging limply at its side.  It quickly spun around and charged again, this time biting down on the guard's left forearm blood spraying from the wound.  He quickly crouched down, beast still attached and pulled a spire of earth straight up through the throat and out the skull of the attacker.  It finally fell limp and turned to dust that floated away on the wind.  

Star cradled his wounded arm running out of the labyrinth with everyone following him as he made his way to the nearest lit torch, a ways away from the battle scene, inside of the castle.  He passed his good hand through the flame and pulled it over his wound, cringing as the injury was cauterized.  

"He must be running on instinct with that field dressing." commented Luna.

"Not so Princess," corrected Star Dusk.  "The husks have a venom that can infect the blood stream if bitten.  The earlier thou cauterize the wound the better percentage you have."

"So they're like zombies?" asked Rainbow.  

"While they may seem like the walking dead, thou does not turn to one of them.  Thou would seem under a control from afar and walk toward whoever that puppet master may be."

Twilight shivered at the story.  To be under someone's mental control and not even have an inkling to who it might be?  Only Shining Armor came close to knowing how that feels.

"I think it might be time to have a debriefing."  said Celestia.  "Let's head back to the labyrinth."

"Why to the labyrinth your majesty?"  he asked.

Twilight blinked in surprise.  Of course she was in the dark, these three had been friends since so long ago.  But even Star Dusk was confused as to all the secrecy.

"To avoid prying ears.  Although there might not be as many as there used to."

"Twilight Sparkle, I would ask that you and your friends remain here."  said Luna.

"Why?"

"Don't worry Twilight," reassured Celestia, "Once we have all the information, and I see that it won't pose any harm to know beyond the three of us, I am sure that Star Dusk will share with you what he shared with us."

"As promised."  finished the soldier.





It had been two hours since the three entered the labyrinth and even Twilight was getting worried.  Rainbow Dash had been hovering back and forth since they left.  Applejack had taken residence by the windowsill, watching for their return.  Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity kept themselves occupied but would turn to Applejack every so often when she had made any slight noise.

Star Dusk had proven himself easily to four of the others, but Twilight was curious.  

"Rainbow,"

The rainbow haired girl finally landed for the first time and turned to Twilight.

"What'cha need?" she asked burying all the worry that had been across her face.

"What are you so worried about?  You're pacing like crazy."

"I'm not worried!" she quickly denied, however everyone looked at her with eyes that showed disbelief.

"Okay fine, I'm worried about leaving him alone with the Princesses.  Who knows what he could do them."

"Rainbow, lemme get this straight," said Applejack leaving her post.  "This guy, which none of us know anything about ah'll grant ya, turns out to be a legendary hero, even going so far as to prove some of the legends true right in front of your face while protecting the Princesses, and you still don't trust him?"

"Don't forget that so far he's been the most perfect gentleman as well."  added Rarity.  "He's given us every reason to trust him.  Even the Princesses trust him."

"And if you're really worried" continued Twilight, "you really shouldn't be, the Princesses have been taking care of themselves for years, the personal guards are just there for formality."

Rainbow had been backed into a logical corner.  Twilight knew she hated not being able to fight against logic.  But before Rainbow Dash could admit or further fall into delusions with more denials, one of the guards entered in.

"Twilight Sparkle and company?"

"Yes?"

"The princesses state their gratitude in the return of their dear friend and would ask that you return to Ponyville."

"WHAT?"  the five said in unison.  The guard must have been warned of their possible reaction since he merely continued.

"Princess Celestia has sent ahead instructions on your next task, Twilight Sparkle.  She would like you all to return post haste in order to prepare for the coming task."  The guard quickly bowed and left them.

"She can't be serious..." said Rainbow.

"After all that work, she just wants us to go home?" Rarity agreed.

"Well, if there's something important at home..." said Twilight forlornly.  "We better get back."

Everyone begrudgingly agreed and filed out of the castle.





The train ride back was uncomfortably silent.  Where as the train to Canterlot had talking and laughing amongst the friends and good conversation later in the evening from Star Dusk, that ride was deathly quiet.  Although it was already getting late, the group decided to head to Twilight's library as Spike probably had the letter from the Princess already in hand.  As they entered, Spike excitedly greeted them at the door.

"Welcome back guys!" he began.  "Oh you wouldn't believe all the preparations I had to go through.  It'll be awesome, I mean hanging out with you girls is fine and all, but having someone else-"

"Spike," Twilight interrupted, "We've had a long, confusing, and disappointing week.  Can we just get to the letter that the Princess sent ahead?"

"That's what I'm talking about!" countered the small boy opening up the familiar looking scroll.

To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle and her friends,

I know it seems abrupt to be sending you home without too much notice.

"Well, duh!" commented Rainbow.

"Shush!" chided Twilight.

However, you may wish to prepare Ponyville for the arrival of a special guest, Star Dusk.

"He's coming here!  Whatever for?" asked Rarity.

"Oh my..." gasped Fluttershy.  Spike cleared his throat for the attention of the girls then continued.

We are sending him to live with you, Twilight, so that he may also learn the magic of friendship.  Being away for so long, he suffers the same loneliness as Luna did when she first arrived, although he may not show it.

Twilight recalled both the face he made on the train and the other in front of the statue.  She knew he felt distanced, and Princess Luna had made great strides in acclimating to the new atmosphere so he must have felt as though no one understood what he was going though.

I hope that he may learn from such great wealth of knowledge you all possess on friendship.  This is a personal request from me and I hope you take it on as seriously as any other request I've made.

"Alright girls," Twilight began, "The Princess asked for a personal favor.  Let get things ready so we can get working!"

"We should totally throw a welcome party!!" said Pinkie Pie

"YEAH!"  everyone else agreed.





One month later, All the girls went to the train station to greet Star Dusk when he arrived.

"Why the heck did he delay coming here so much?  I thought these were the Princess' orders?" said Rainbow, clearly miffed at the delay.

"The Princess said he wanted to prepare before living among all the modern folk.  What's so hard to understand?" asked Applejack.

"I think it very admirable that he's taking this so seriously." added Rarity.

"Hey look!  Here comes the train!" called Pinkie Pie pointing into the distance.  Sure enough, there was a train riding in.  Twilight took stock of her friends' feelings with Star's time in Ponyville beginning.  Rainbow still seemed a bit sore at the delay.  Pinkie was just excited, his party was already set back at Twilight's place so no need for worry.  Fluttershy seemed more confident that a month ago.  That could be due to the correspondence that he had been sending to all six of them.  Rarity seemed expectant while Applejack's smile kept her ambiguous on how happy she was.

The train stopped in front of the station and all the doors opened up and a sea of people flowed out, much more than the girls had anticipated.

"Keep your eyes open girls!" called out Twilight and everyone complied.  

"Squeak Why is the train so full?" said Fluttershy struggling to keep in place with the others.

"They must be transferring from this train to another coming by later." Twilight theorized.

As the rush slowed to a trickle, Twilight felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's nice to see a friendly face, Twilight Sparkle." said a familiar voice.  

She spun around to face the person and then stared surprised at what she saw.  It was defiantly Star Dusk, but he looked so different with civilian clothing.  Not only that, but his sunset-colored hair was not wild and loose any more.  It had grown a little longer and he had pulled it back into a ponytail.

"Heeey!  Did you get taller?" asked Pinkie Pie popping in from no where getting the other's attention at the same time.  It was true, where he used to be about the same size as Applejack, the tallest of the group, now he towered about a half a head over her.

"Yes Pinkie Pie, it seems I was due for a growth spurt after one thousand five hundred years.  How have you all been?"

"And you got rid of that oldy speak" commented Applejack.

"One of a lot of things I studied before coming here, Applejack.  I did want you girls defending me because I talk funny."

"I love what you've done to your hair, darling!" Rarity put in.

"Well, this was more of a necessity, Rarity.  My hair seems to be growing back really fast now."

"You've healed up well..." Fluttershy quietly.

"Well Fluttershy, Manehatten has wonderful doctors and healing salves.  Beautiful city that Manehatten."

"Wait, you went all the way to Manehatten?!  I thought you were studying to not be awkward!" accused Rainbow Dash.

"I did study Rainbow Dash.  I holed myself up in the Canterlot library for about two weeks.  Then took a trip spending at least a day in a bunch of other locations."  He began counting the stops on his fingers. "Manehattan, Baltemare, Fillydelphia, Los Pegasus, Hoofington, Trottingham, Appleloosa, Braeburn says hi by the way, and Dodge Junction.  Of course I took a tour around Caterlot while I was there."

"Why the heck did you do that?" she countered.

"Field study, you can only learn so much from books when you've been gone as long as I have.  There were so many changes, sights, people..."

"A real cross-country trip, huh?" Applejack stated.

"Close enough."

Rarity took notice that Twilight was still dumbfounded and slack jawed and nudged her back to her senses.  

"Aren't you going to say something Twilight?"

"Oh- Uh... Welcome to Ponyville?" That was the absolute worst thing you could have said.  Stupid, stupid stupid....

"Thanks, I'm glad to be here." he answered ignoring the question taking it as a statement.

"Oh, hey!  We have a party all set up to welcome you to Ponyville!" said Pinkie Pie.  "I've been planning it all week!"

"Oh, you didn't have to do that Pinkie Pie."  he said as the party started to leave the station.

"Don't worry none.  She does this for everyone new in Ponyville." informed Applejack.

"Well then, let me drop off my things at Twilight Sparkle's place and we can get going."

"The party IS there!  So all we have to do is head there and get started!!"





After the party was well over, Star Dusk slouched in the windowsill staring out into the night.  

"Sorry for the party, it's kinda like Pinkie's way of saying hello."  Twilight said climbing the steps to the window.

"If this is the way that she says hello, I'm pretty sure everyone would feel welcome." He said smiling.

"Then why is it that you seem so tired?"  

"I'm not all that tired.  Just wanted to take more stock of the town before tomorrow."

"What's so important about tomorrow?"

"Nothing in particular, just have a schedule to keep and I don't wanna get lost in town while getting the things I want done."  he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of parchment.  Twilight looked over his shoulder at the contents and saw a fairly detailed checklist, most of it remained undone.  

"Was all that supposed-"

"-To be done today, yes.  I'm not tired Twilight Sparkle, just a little frustrated at-"

"The fact it feels like nothing was really done today?"

Both of them blinked realizing they just finished each other's sentences.  

"Would you like help making up another list for tomorrow?"  Twilight offered.

"There are a couple things on this list that can still be done now." he replied getting up.

He must have ignored the sync like it was just coincidence... Wait, why am I disappointed?  

"But I won't refuse your help on those things.  First, well third after arrive at station and arrive at Twilight Sparkle's house, I have to unpack in my room.  Where will I be staying?" he continued while picking up his luggage.

Twilight snapped out of her unknown disappointment to answer: "Oh, well... the only private location I have is down in the basement, b-but I cleaned it up for you!"

"It'll be fine Twilight Sparkle, just lead the way."

They went down to where Twilight's lab used to reside.  She had cleaned it up one month prior in preparation for his arrival.  Luckily, she didn't need any of the equipment between then and now.  She and Spike had gone and bought some extra furniture to set up the room.  It had all the essentials: a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand with a lamp.  

"It's great to see I won't have to go upstairs for reading material."  he said with all seriousness looking at the bookshelves that covered the walls.

"Well," Twilight said laughing "It IS a library after all.  If you need any books let me know!"

Star Dusk set his luggage on the bed and arched his back stretching.  "Well, if I unpack and put everything away then all I would have..." he paused. "... missed... would be to find out the layout of the town."  He seemed to not take the incomplete task list well.  Right then, Twilight was struck with an idea.  

"Wait!  I think I have a current map of Ponyville somewhere!  Give me a second."  She ran upstairs turning her work area and the library upside down looking for it.  She eventually found it.  

"Twilight, you got a letter."  Said Spike coming down the steps from their bedroom.  

"What could it be?" she asked opening up the letter.

My dearest and most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

I would like to add another task to that request regarding Star Dusk.  I need you to make sure he lives a normal life.  He's led a life of a soldier since birth.  I think he has earned more than a little respite from that job.  I told him not to worry about his duties, but as you will discover, he can be a bit stubborn when it comes to that.

That doesn't sound like him, he's been very accepting of everything thus far.  Maybe this is based on history, he probably adjusted already when doing his studies.  She thought before continuing reading.

It would make us happy if we could see him live out the rest of his life like a normal person with no duties to the crown whatsoever.  So please try and make him see the value of such a life.

"Oh this'll be easy."  she said before heading downstairs.

"I hope so..." commented Spike.  "Cause the clean up here is gonna be hard"

Once she got downstairs she saw he had already organized everything on bed and was putting things in the dresser.

"I found it, I knew it was somewhere up there."

"I thank thee- I mean, thank you Twilight Sparkle."

"Still getting used to the colloquialism of the present?"

"Somewhat.  I got most of it down, just slip back and forth when I have time to think to myself."

"Well, here you go!" she handed the map over.

"This is great, I was hoping I could find a decent place for my morning training exercises."

Twilight blinked.  "Hahaha.... your what now?"

He pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing aloud.

"First thing, do morning exercises.  I have to keep myself prepared should the Princesses need anything after all.  It really is a great thing that you found this map!"

"Yeah.... right..... great" she replied.
> 4 - The Challenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!  You have failed in the task that was set out for you!  Everything was spelled out, it was supposed to be easy!  Instead you have doomed all of Equestria because of your selfishness!"





Twilight heard the door down to the basement close shut awaking her from her nightmare.  It was still the early morning hours, it reminded her of her excitement for her first winter wrap-up and how early she was up for that.

Okay, so even my dreams want to add pressure.... Still no big deal, just because he hasn't adjusted to civilian life yet doesn't mean he CAN'T adjust.  Right? She quickly shuffled her way out of bed.  Maybe I can convince him while he's still tired and groggy this morning!  I gotta hurry...

"Good morning, sleepy head."  she called downstairs, hoping not to wake Spike in the process.

"A good morn to thee- I mean, Good morning Twilight Sparkle."  he answered back as she came down the steps.  "I didn't mean to wake you up so early."

"Oh, it's okay.  I had questions to ask you anyway and they're kinda weighing on my mind tonight." she replied hurriedly.  

Star Dusk turned his head away from her and started stretching.  "Perhaps it can wait until-"

"No no, it really can't.  You ever have a question you need answered and it rolls around your head all night and-"

"Twilight Sparkle-"

"-you can't get to sleep until you figure it out or-"

"Twilight Sparkle-"

"-find the answer yourself or-"

Dusk turned around and grasped her shoulders making her jump for a moment.  He looked up at the ceiling averting his eyes purposefully from her.  "What I was going to say is that it could wait until you've made yourself decent."

Twilight blinked for a moment before looking down at her attire.  Her purple, star laden pajamas looked decent enough.  Oh wait, maybe since he's from the past the 'nightgown' look is not very becoming.  Suddenly she felt a chill in her legs and she looked further down.  Her face became very warm as she realized she must have kicked her pants off under the heat of her comforter.  She quickly ran upstairs and searched her bed for the missing article of clothing.  Thank Celestia I at least was wearing underwear tonight.  Although it doesn't make it any less embarrassing.  She thought as she slipped the lower part of her pajamas back on.  She stopped to take a breath before facing him again.  But before she could muster her courage back up, she heard the front door open and close.  

She spun around and ran downstairs.  To her dismay, Dusk had already left for wherever he had decided to do his morning training.  Beautiful, Twilight, the perfect way to start the day... Well, might as well get started on the things for today.  She levitated her checklist for the day over to her.  

"First thing.... has been postponed." she said to her self passing over the item marked 'have conversation with Star Dusk'.  "Alright next thing, finish re-reading History of the Guard.... not really in the mood for that right now.  After that.... I have nothing on this list I could do until Rainbow Dash comes by to pick up Star Dusk."  They had agreed on rotating who would be showing him the magic that is friendship.  Rainbow Dash hurriedly called first so as to 'Do a final evaluation to see if he's safe'.  Of course no one bought into that reason.  

Ohhhh, what the in the world can I do until 8 AM?  Her eyes wandered the books in her library, many of whom she'd read multiple times.  Her eyes fell on a older leather bound volume.  She pulled it out and read the title Legends and Lore: The Best of Myths, Parables, and Fables.  She stared at the cover for a couple moments before opening to the table of contents.  

"There it is, The Tasks and Trials of Starshine Dust."  She stared at the entry for a long while before closing up the book.  "Let me finish one reading task before the other.  If I get to know what makes him who he is, maybe I could convince him to change."





There was a tap at the door and Twilight looked up from the last page of History of the Guard.  

"Hold on a minute!" she called to the door before finishing the last page.  "I always enjoy histories more than I intend to."

Closing the book, she went to answer the door.  There stood a rainbow haired girl in short running shorts and a light blue tank top crossing her arms.

"So, is he ready?" she asked bluntly.

"Huh, who are you talking about Rainbow?" asked Twilight still lost in the world of history.

"Who am I-  Star Dusk?  Remember?  I was supposed to take him today for 'friendship training' or whatever."

"Oh right, he stepped out earlier this morning.... B-But maybe he came back while I was busy with some studying.  Give me a second."

"You let him out on his own?  What if he gets lost?"

"I gave him a map, Rainbow.  He's also not that stupid as to go somewhere with out any kind of direction." Twilight turned from the door.  "Spike!  Has Star Dusk come back yet?"

"He came back?" came the reply from atop a ladder where the young boy was organizing books.  Twilight's heart had sunk.  She was really hoping that he had returned while she was distracted.  This just meant he was still out there.

"Great, that means I gotta go find him, doesn't it?" said Rainbow clearly displeased.

"Well, I let him go out.  So I'll help you find him."

"Thanks, Twilight."

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash as she searched the nearly the whole of the town with neither hair nor hide of the young knight.

"Wait a second Rainbow," said Twilight now putting in her input  "We're going about this the wrong way.  He said last night that he was going to train this morning."

"For what?"

"His... job.  You know, he is a guard after all...." she replied recalling Princess Celestia's assignment for her.  "Anyway, he'll need plenty of room.  So maybe the park?"





"I don't see him!"  called down Rainbow Dash after doing a fly over of the park while Twilight walked.  

"I think this will be the one time that staying on the ground had benefits!"  Twilight called to her search partner pointing towards a tree the Dusk was sitting in the branches of.  As both girls walked over to the tree, he leaned back until he was hanging upside down and returned back to his sitting position.  

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Rainbow laughing.

"Oh Good... Morn... ing Rainbow Dash... and hello..."

"Hello again Star Dusk."  Twilight assisted.  The memories of the early morning incident flooded her mind and she felt her face flush again.  "I'm sorry for this morning."

"There was... no issue.... from me.... I just thought.... you were not.... showing that... purposefully."  Twilight felt the burning sensation in her cheeks spread to her ears.  He doesn't have to make it sound like he 'enjoyed the view'!  Calm down Twilight, he probably meant nothing lascivious by it.

"What happened this morning?" asked an unknowing Rainbow Dash.

"NOTHING!" Twilight responded instinctively causing Rainbow to jump back and stare at her friend cautiously.

"Okay.....  Anyway, why are you hanging from the tree when you can do sit ups on the ground?"  rephrased Rainbow to Dusk.

"Full range... of motion... for a more... all over... exercise.  You work... the abdominal muscles... and your... lower back.  Especially if... you descend slowly." 

"That's cool!  Does it help for flight speed?"

"Rainbow, he's in the middle of something.  And he doesn't have any wings, how could he know if it makes you faster?" pointed out Twilight, the redness in her face fading.

"Nearly.... complete.... just a moment."  he countered finishing with his set of fifty.  Once he came down from the branch safely, he answered:

"It helps less with speed and more with precision and agility, being able to hold your wings in certain positions.  Although that can be done more effectively with reverse wing push ups since that targets those specific muscles."

"How do you know anything about flying with wings?" asked Twilight confused.

"I spent some time training with the winged ones."

"You gotta show me some exercises!  I'm trying to do this thing called the sonic rainboom on command but so far no dice."

"What do die have to do with flying?"

"Come on dude, you need some more field training."  

Twilight was left behind by the two chatting about some slang and flying.  It looks like this won't be too hard.  Just the training is the problem. she thought to herself walking back.





After five days, the girls got together at Twilight's place to discuss what they had done with Star Dusk that week.  Twilight had tried to learn about the time in which he came from.  The Tasks and Trials of Starshine Dust didn't really clear anything up but Twilight hadn't had the time to ask him about the stories to get his take on them.  

"And then,"  Pinkie continued, "he said... giggle he said.... 'What does the punch have to do with you being pleased?'  It was classic!"

"It looks like his field study didn't get him very far did it?" commented Rarity.  "He had asked what was the purpose of the jewels on the collar of the new piece I was making, distraction or were they just for extra protection."

"Well, it's to be expected I guess.  He missed over one thousand years of development." pointed out Twilight.  "Well, did he learn anything this week?"

The girls all looked at each other blankly.

"Hey, just like the Princess told you Twilight.  You can't rush these things."  stated Rainbow in defense.

"True, true.  You girls all spent more time with him this week than I did.  Can you tell me more about him?"

"A course we can, he... well, he.... he's good at harvestin' apples!" started Applejack

"Come now Applejack, surely he must have said something to you about himself." Rarity put in.

"Now that I think about it," Fluttershy interuptted, "all he really did was ask about me, the area, and how he could help me."

"Yeah, same here." agreed Applejack.  "Hey, what about you Twi'?  He's living with you."

"In all honesty, between his morning workouts and the work he did for you girls, all he does when he gets back is shower and pass out.  He's usually gone by the time I wake up so... yeah.  I should really know less than you all."

"Okay then Twilight," proposed Rainbow Dash, "It's your turn to watch over him tomorrow.  You gotta at least get some kind of information from him."

"Yeah, it feels strange not knowing anything about him."  agreed Fluttershy.

"You can't really start being friends until you know a little about that person!"  chimed Pinkie.

"Okay, Okay!  I got it, I'll see if I can get him to open up tomorrow after his workout."





"Twilight!  You should wake up now!  Vinyl Scratch is back in town and I'm pretty sure you don't wanna be woken up by the music from next door."

"T-Thanks, Spike.  Vinyl's music is fine... to somebody I guess, just not so... yawn early in the morning." Twilight replied groggily and slowly getting up out of bed.  "Well I got to go pick up Star Dusk from the park."  She went over to her dresser to start her day.  As soon as she was finished dressing came, like clock work, a vibration that shook all the walls of the library.  Twilight rolled her eyes as she heard Vinyl call over the din:

"AWWW YEAH!!! GOOD MORNING PONYVILLE!!"

Suddenly the basement door slammed loudly open and Star Dusk was there wearing his pajamas and a look of shock on his face.

"Great Scott!!  What in the name of Aether and Elysian is going on?!?!" cried out Star Dusk before crumpling on the ground holding his head in pain.

"Oh, Star Dusk!  I didn't know you were still here!"  Twilight said running up to him.  "I'm sorry!  If I knew you were going to stay behind I would have warned you about Vinyl's alarm clock."

"That is- That's supposed to be an alarm to wake up to?" he replied as winced in pain, though this one seemed less than the first bout.

"Well, yeah... If you knew Vinyl you wouldn't be surprised."  The music died down as it seemed that Octavia came in to scold Vinyl over the volume, again, as she could hear the usual one sided chastising from next door.  "Anyway, what are you doing here so late?  I would have thought you were at the park doing your morning exercises....  gasp  Are you thinking of giving that up in favor of just living out your life here in Ponyville?" Twilight forcefully surmised.

"What? No, no... just a recovery day.  You can't work out all the time, you'll end up hurting yourself." he replied getting up and rubbing his head.  "I don't recall meeting any 'Vinyls' yet."

"She just got back from a concert tour yesterday."  Said Spike organizing the chaos that Twilight had left out the night before.

"Although you have met Octavia, her roommate.  Or at least Rarity said you did." pointed out Twilight.

"Yes, she was a decent enough person.  Although, truth be told, I did not speak with her much.  We were just delivering the repairs to her concert attire."

Silence fell on the three and the only noise was from Spike cleaning up.  After some time Twilight spoke up.

"Would you like to have some breakfast?"

"Yes, please.  I'll go prepare myself for the day if you will take care of that."

"Not a problem!"

Star Dusk disappeared back into his room while Twilight prepared breakfast.  





"So, what are our plans for today?" Star Dusk said having finished the breakfast.

"Well, I was thinking about just talking.  I really don't know anything about you other than the old tales. Soooo, yeah other than that I don't have much planned."  

"My history really isn't anything worth noting..."

"You were... well, are... a hero of myth!" She countered grabbing her copy of Legends and Lore.  "The Princesses felt very strongly about propagating stories of your heroic adventures!  If they thought it was worth noting, then it must be important, or at the very least amazing!"

"I assume they give me far too much credit.  I'm just a humble servant and guard to Princess Luna, nothing worthwhile."

Twilight was beginning to get irritated with his 'humble' nature.

"But, the stories-"

"Most likely just tall tales by Princess Luna."

"But you can control the physical elements just like-"

"Every old wives tale has basis in fact, it does not mean-"

"Have you even read the stories?"

"I... may have glanced at the book..." he was beginning to evade her glance.

"Did... You... Read... It?" she asked moving the book forward as she spoke until she pushed it in his face.  He quickly got up and moved away.

"I didn't read it okay?!  I was busy getting ready for this move, so many things had changed I needed to be ready for anything that may be unfamiliar!"  He clearly was uncomfortable with all the questions.  What Twilight couldn't fathom was why.  Especially since he seemed so willing to answer any of her questions when they were riding the train.  Humility is one thing, this seems to be a deliberate avoidance of the past.  And it didn't seem like the Princesses had any kind of gag order on him surrounding his past.

"I-...You-... But-..." Twilight stopped herself from chastising him further.  She took a deep breath before continuing.  "I'm sorry Star Dusk, I didn't mean to belittle everything else you've accomplished in such a short period of time."

There was an long and very awkward silence.  Neither of them moved nor looked at the other.  Apparently I still need to work on friendship just as much as he does... Wait a minute....

"So, hey..." she broke the silence turning back toward him.  "What have you learned about friendship since you arrived here?"  

" 'Tis a difficult... I mean it's really hard to put my finger on." he began slowly turning to face her again.  "I haven't really seen anything that screams to me 'That's what friendship is!'  Almost makes me wish I was just being a guard again."

"Ha!  At least you had some acquaintances when you came here!  When I was first sent here, the Princess basically dropped me off and said 'Make friends, bye!'  Not the easiest thing to do."

"You didn't even want to make friends that day anyway." pointed out Spike having gone to organize things again during that uncomfortable silence.

"Haha, you can stop helping Spike!" called back Twilight.

"Seriously?  There was a time that you didn't want to make friends?"  Asked Star Dusk incredulously.

"Yeah, well that was... wait... you're doing it to me too?"

"Doing what?"

"Doing that thing where you ask more questions about the people you're with than revealing anything about yourself."

"How am I going to get to know you all otherwi-.... oh." A realization seemed to come to him.  "I think I see what you were talking about before.  About why you wanted to know more about my history."

"Yeah, it's really hard on someone trying to be your friend if you don't extend the same courtesy you asked for." 

"Well then.  I guess I have a letter to write to Princess Luna." he said moving out towards the library proper.  Twilight quickly reported between Star Dusk and the door.

"Nuh-uh.  Not until you put what you learned into practice!  Your supposed to learn what friendship is about not just study it."

"I'm not gonna run into full discourse about my history."  he said plainly.

"Then don't.  Not like you have to write a detailed report about it to the princess or anything..." said Twilight averting her eyes in an effort to guilt him.  He continued to stare at her until he sighed in defeat.

"I won't be able to tell you everything that's happened."

"The Princesses haven't placed any kind of gag order have they?" she responded suspiciously.

"When we get there, you'll see what I mean..." Twilight moved out of the way to go sit down and levitated the other chair closer to her.  Star sat down, closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair.

"Where do I begin?"

"We'll start easy, what was with the mission that got you trapped in stone?"

"I wasn't trapped in stone.  Discord doesn't do those kinds of things."

"So Discord was involved..."

Star Dusk moved on to explain that his mission to that area, like hers, was more exploratory.  Although they knew of the presence of people that existed there, what turned out to be the changelings, there was no information on them.  He was sent, according to Princess Celestia, as a two-fold punishment against him and political ploy against her though neither he nor Twilight could fathom for what reason.  Celestia had only discovered what had happened after Discord was pushing his way into Equestria.  

Star Dusk theorized, due to meeting him on the way to changeling territory, that he ruled over them in chaos for so long that it must have cause their evolution from regular people, magicians, and seraph, into the changelings they knew in order to deal with the constantly changing surroundings.  And their constant unhappiness with the surroundings caused the new diet of love and kindness.  Discord in turn must have gotten bored with the newly evolved creatures and set his sights on Equestria.

"Okay, that explains a lot of things... except one."

"Which is?"

"You said Discord didn't imprison you in stone."  She recalled Discord himself stating something to that effect as well in their first encounter.  "But when we found you-"

"A misunderstanding, one that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made as well.  That's the full reason why they had encased him in stone."  He corrected.

"Okay, and that explains why Discord seemed to strike a negative cord with Celestia as well... because of what he did to you.  But if he didn't trap you in the stone, then what did he do?"

"He sent me to the... well what was the future from that point."

Twilight was taken aback by that point.  "He did what?!"

"Created a statue that would replace me at the point in the future that the riddle would come true." he explained.  "A temporal chaos if you will."  he finished with a smirk.

Twilight was thoroughly confused.  Sure, Discord can raise chaos based in time.  But this is far beyond what I thought his powers could reach to...

"According to him it was an act of mercy."

"WHAT?!?" Now Twilight was really lost.  This sounded nothing like the Discord she had defeated barely a year prior.

"Well, I was very much aware of what kind of unhappiness he was reigning on the people of the area.  So I challenged him in combat.  I was not about to allow his chaos to reign in Equestria."  Twilight was now engrossed in the story:





"Oh this is rich.  You are challenging me?" Discord said with a scoff.

"Prepare thyself villain!  You shan't threaten Equestria with thy foul magicks!"  Came the serious response of the knight as he charged toward the creature.

Discord laughed and turned the path Star Dusk ran upon into soapy water causing the warrior to slip and fall face first. 

"Hahahaha.  Oh this will be a riot!  I'm having fun in this new land already!"

Star Dusk slowly rose shaking his head.  Finding a slight grip on the land that was below him, he stomped down on the floor causing it to rise up beneath him.  Once it reached it's zenith he used the upward momentum to leap from it toward Discord.  

His blow would have landed were it not for Discord placing a cotton candy cloud in front of himself and Star Dusk found himself stuck in the sugary confection.  

"Come now Star Dusk, it doesn't look like you're having any fun..." taunted Discord.

"THIS IS NOT A GAME!" Star Dusk yelled back while freeing himself from the sweet trap.  Unfortunately, he could not control his fall and ended up falling right on some rocks, scathing him.  Discord took notice.

"Okay, it's no fun if you go hurting yourself.  Let go and have some fun!  That's the way to deal with me!"  Discord offered.

Star Dusk brought up the water near by and threw it at Discord soaking him.

"Now you're getting it!" he cheered.  Star Dusk followed it up with a blast of cold air freezing the dripping draconequus.  

"Thou art correct.  This was entertaining."  quipped the knight turning away.

"Oh, are we done playing?  I thought we were just getting warmed up!"  

Star Dusk whirled around to see using an inhuman sized tongue to lick off the now grape colored ice.  "Thanks for the popsicle it was delicious." 

Star Dusk grit his teeth once more and charged the beast.  Discord countered with a snowball rolling on the ground toward the young lad.  As it moved forward it, inexplicably, picked up mass and speed.  Instead of getting out of the way, Star Dusk took the rolling obstacle head on.  The ball crushed him to the ground and dragged him across some more stones once leaving the path.

"No no no no no!  This is not what I wanted!  I wanted something fun!  Not... well, this!" A quick snap of his fingers and a statue in the likeness of the boy was created as Star Dusk rose up slowly once more.

"I want chaos, not pain.  That's just.... ridiculously foolish on your part."

"Have... Have at thee..." Star Dusk said weakly.

"Consider this a mercy, especially considering all the wounds you have were all your doing."  He snapped his fingers once more and there was a blinding flash of light before coming to rest on the ground again.  Pain racked his body and he began spitting words at Discord for what Star Dusk had perceived to be his faults.

"He's hurt!" called a girl's voice from the side...





"Actually, it's quite embarrassing now that I think about it.  He was absolutely right.  Well, except for the whole chaos is fun thing.  But I was the cause of all my injuries once you found me.  I only pieced together everything once I was in the Canterlot library."

Twilight was dumbstruck.  That sounded just like the myths about Starshine Dust.  Well all except the part where he loses.  She thought.  "Hold on though, you said that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had mistaken the fact that you had been encased in stone.  But they acted as though you had died... and now that I think about it.... There were a couple of lunar eclipses in the meanwhile before the 1000 year drought of those.  So how-"

"Stop right there."  Said Star Dusk raising his hand in protest.  Twilight blinked at the abrupt interruption of her train of thought.  "Think about what you're doing."

"I'm... trying to rationalize problems in the story?  I think?"

"More than that, you are trying to make sense of how a being of chaos should work or act.  Granted, without some order you can't tell the difference between that and chaos but you can't really make sense of chaos.  You're gonna end up talking yourself in circles."

Twilight rubbed her head.  She was still trying to spin the story to make some sense. But as Star Dusk mentioned, it was near impossible.  Like trying to make sense of some of Pinkie Pie's rants or where they come from.

"Okay... but the Princesses are not part of chaos, they are very rational.  In fact, Princess Celestia abhorred Discord.  Why would they have made the mistake you were dead if there was the statue there with the riddle?"

"You never lost someone close to you have you?  You don't act rationally when you see something like that.  Additionally, who was the one who created the statue?  Discord could have put the riddle there later."

"Guh... Discord hurts my head.  I thought his riddles were logical enough."

"Probably the only part of him that is that way."

After Twilight settled her mind again, she decide to move further back.

"What about the mission before that?"

"Just being the personal guard to Princess Luna.  Didn't get to see much outside of Canterlot."

"That's funny...  Well, what about that mission you went on with the Princesses' parents?  It was real important apparently."

Star Dusk closed his eyes to try and recall.

"You came back really injured she said.  Barely hanging on?"

"I... don't recall such an event."  he said opening his eyes.  "Are you sure you heard her correctly?"

"Yes, she was very clear.  You had come back changed and... oh."

" 'Oh'?  'Oh' what?"

"She said you had asked for some event to be erased from your memory. Maybe that's why your not recalling anything.  Sorry I asked."

Star Dusk still looked pensive.  "This could be that mental block I warned you about.  But I really want to tell you as much as I can.  Just give me a moment more."

"Star Dusk, if you wanted it erased there might be a perfectly good reason for-"

Suddenly the knight hunched forward in pain and his hands shot to his head.  

"Are you okay?"  Twilight asked worriedly.

"Nnngh... Okay, that pain feels familiar.  I must have really wanted....  to block it out.  I thought I started to recall the event, but as I did-" He once again held his head in pain.

"Don't try to remember anymore.  I don't need you hurting yourself to satisfy my curiosity."

A deep silence pervaded the air as the hero recovered from the obviously heavy pain.

"I feel a bit sick..." he said getting up heading in the direction of the bathroom.

Wow...  I wonder who's decision it was to put such a heavy lock on those memories?  If it was Star Dusk, what was it that he wanted to not remember it THAT badly.  And if it was the Princess, what was the need of having the pain reaction to the point of sickness...

Sounds of the toilet flushing came from the bathroom and Star Dusk came wandering back in the room.

"If it's all the same to you, I'm going to leave that memory alone for a while."

"Yes, that's fine.  We can even stop here for now if you like.  No need to chance getting the same reaction from another memory."

"Thank you Twilight Sparkle."  He slowly sat back down in the chair and took a couple of deep breaths before continuing.  "Is there anything I can help you with today?  After all, I couldn't answer much of your questions and you've been kind enough to let me stay in your home."

"You have a letter to write first.  Then we can worry about what you can do today."  Reassured the young girl.

"Yes..." He replied taking a couple more deep breaths.

"Spike!" called Twilight.  "Can you take a note for Star Dusk?  He's not feeling too well."

"That's not necissary." he countered.

"It's fine, I do it all the time for Twilight anyway.  Even when she's feeling fine."  pointed out Spike entering the room with quill and parchment in hand.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Dear Princess Luna,

I learned today that friendship cannot be a one way street.  It's fine to want to know all about your friends.  But if you don't let them know more about you, you can't really know each other well enough to call yourselves friends.  

From this point on, I will try to get to know everyone here and also let them get to know me as well.

Your humble servant,
Star Dusk
> 5 - The Empire Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was thick with mist and smelled of death.  Twilight whirled her head around trying desperately to find someone.  Husks littered the floor making it difficult to move around.

"Princess?  Star Dusk?  Where are you?"  She called into the abyss.  As if in answer, the fog rolled back revealing a blood stained warrior in the center.  The blood dripped from his finger tips of his left hand as he heaved heavy breaths.  The sclera of his eyes were pitch black with magical energy flowing out of the outer corners and his pupils were narrowed, focused on his last opponent.  The blood soaked man held it by the throat in his right hand as it spat and thrashed at the restraint.  His look sent shivers down Twilight's spine.  He had so much hatred in those eyes.

"_______, please...  stop...." called a weak voice from the side.  Twilight turned and saw a blood soaked woman.  All blood seemed to be hers, exiting a wound in her chest and she seemed like someone Twilight had seen before.  "_______, no more... you must escape.  You must worry more about ____________.  Leave!"  she pleaded with the combatant.  Twilight tried to clear her ears in order to hear the clearly blanked out words.  Suddenly came a loud crack from the fighter and Twilight saw that he snapped its neck.  All of a sudden there was a terrible howl and a familiar buzzing noise coming from all around.  Once Twilight focused back on the young woman she seemed to be trying to comfort the knight who was now by her side, his eyes seeming more regular and tears streaming down his face.  

"It's okay... ________ and ____ can take care of everything in our stead.  However, I forsee great peril if you are absent from their side.  I know it may come as a shock to hear your relationship with them was not as it seemed.  But you must put that aside and be the balance between ___and_____.  You must be their twilight."

Twilight jumped at the mention of her name but settled down quickly after realising the true implication of the word.  

"Please do not shead tears for us _________.  We.... We are so... proud of.... you..."  The woman's eyes closed and her chest ceased to rise.  The warrior hugged the body close, trembling sharply before snapping his head back to let out a pained howl that rivaled the one before it.





Twilight woke with a start and quickly whipped her head around the room.  She relaxed seeing her room around her.  That dream was so vivid... Wait... What was it about?  Twilight rubbed her head trying to coax the memory back.  I wonder if it's for the best that I don't remember.  She shivered remembering the feeling of the dream even if the details did not come to her.

"TWILIGHT!!" called Spike running up the stairs to her room.

"What is it Spike?"

"A letter from the Princess!" he said hurriedly.  "It looks real important!"





Star Dusk came in the library humming a little tune.  

"Oh where are my quills?" called Twilight running past him a number of times.

"Hey there partner." welcomed Applejack, motioning him to join her and the other four friends present.

"What's up!  Had a good session over at Vinyl's?" asked Rainbow Dash.  "Any thing you can show us?"

Star Dusk shook his head.  "Octavia seems intent on teaching me all the basics before I get to write anything.  I understand her point of view but I really wish she would at least give me some writing practice as well."  

"You'll get there eventually darling." reassured Rarity.

"Yes, I know.  I just wish we could get through these basics a bit faster.  It's already been 6 months after all..."

"Some people take a lifetime to become good at singing or an instrument.  Don't get discouraged so soon."  reassured Fluttershy.

"Yeah! You know we'll go see you in concert and everything!"  asserted Pinkie Pie.  Star Dusk blushed in embaressment.

"Concert?  It's a bit too soon for that Pinkie Pie.  Anyway enough about me, what's with her?" he said motioning towards the overly excited magi.

"Apparently she has a test with Princess-"

"HEY! STAR DUSK!" interrupted Twilight.  "You need to be getting ready too!  The test is for both of us! GASP Flashcards!  I need flashcards!"  She continued running around the library

"She's taking it well.... considering." pointed out AJ.

"Twilight Sparkle, you can't seriously be this wound up because of a test." said the knight.  Twilight stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to Star Dusk.  Her friends slowly vacated the area around him.

"Just a test?" she began slowly, "Just a test!? Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam and you're trying to tell me to calm down because it's just a test?!"

"Well yes, I don't believe it's anything to fret-"

He was levitated and pinned to the bookshelves by a rather powerful magic spell.

"Whoa boy, looks like she's gonna pop a blood vessel!" cried Spike taking cover in some pillows with the others following suit around the library.

Twilight slowly walked to the restrained man and softly put her hand to his face.  Her bangs were covering her eyes from his view.

"Star Dusk, we're friends right?"

"Yes..." he answered suspiciously.

"And friends help other friends out right?"

"Yes......."

"And friends especially help their friends out when both friends are going to see the Princess and face the same challenge together, riiiiiiiiiiight?" Twilight finally showed her now narrowed beady eyes with a twitchy Cheshire grin to the warrior, stress showing across her face, and used both hands to slowly drag her fingers across either side of the collar of his shirt.

"Oddly specific but, I would believe so yes."

"Then...." she said, taking grip of the collar, "GET READY FOR US TO GO TAKE THAT TEST!!!" she tossed him over her shoulder, magic assisting a bit in the weight, and toward the open door leading to his room.  There was a loud crash letting everyone know he landed.  

"AND WE'LL DO IT, TOGETHER!!"  She finished posing triumphantly.

"Got it...." came the weak reply from the basement.





"Excuse us..." Said Twilight walking into the throne room with Star Dusk carrying her giant sized backpack in tow.

"Then at least trust him, Little Sister.  Like you trust me." Celestia said to Luna as she was walking out.

Luna shoot a look at Twilight before turning to Star Dusk.

"Please keep your eyes on her and help in anyway you can." she told him.

"Of course, your highness.  As you wish." he replied without hesitation and a bit of confusion, as if there was any doubt he would follow her commands.  A look of pity shot across both Princesses' faces momentarily and Twilight's heart sunk.  

Great... Before I can even write my name on THIS test, he goes ahead and shows that I'm failing at the other task they assigned me...  Twilight thought.  Luna continued on out of the throne room and Twilight quickly attempted to change the subject.

"You wanted to see us? To give us a test? I brought my own quills. And plenty of paper to show my work."  she said grabbing and shaking the backpack, nearly causing Star Dusk to lose his balance.  A roll of parchment fell and rolled out to the foot of Celestia.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she said trying to roll up the parchment.  Celestia levitated the parchment and rolled it up.

"This is a different kind of test. The Crystal Empire has returned." she stated handing Twilight her scroll.  Star Dusk eyes became as wide as dinner plates and he only just caught his jaw from going completely slack.

"The Crystal Empire? I'm sorry, I-I thought I'd studied." Twilight said as she pulled on the pack again causing Star Dusk to fall to the floor.  "Ooh. I don't think there's anything in any of my books that could tell me.... Star Dusk, help me out here!" 

"There wouldn't be any information in those books." he said standing up, relinquishing the backpack to the floor, and turning toward her.  "Few remember it ever existed at all. My knowledge of the empire is severely limited. But if I recall correctly, it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a magi whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire. He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow and banished to the ice of the arctic north.  Or at least that's what I remember..."

"That's correct.  It's good to see that your memory has not failed you." complimented Celestia to Twilight's chagrin. "But before he was banished, he was able to put a curse upon the empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air." She moved to a crystal underneath some glass and picked it up.

"Another legend stated that if the empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria." continued Star Dusk as Celestia used her magic on the crystal creating a rainbow of colors floating around the room.  The effect amazed both of the 'testers'.  

"Correct again Star Dusk.  However," Celestia added with dark intent.  "If hatred and fear take hold..." Her eyes went black with magical energy spilling out the sides in sinister fashion.  Twilight froze in her tracks remembering a piece her dream from the other day.  The look made her blood run cold.  

The crystal then cast a shadow across the room causing dark crystals to grow wherever the shadow touched.  The shadow raced toward Twilight but before it could reach her, Celestia ceased unleashing her magic and Star Dusk stepped in front of Twilight and controlled a cold wind to slice through and destroy all the crystals as the shadow moved back.  

"This is why I need both your help finding a way to protect it."  Celestia finished putting the crystal back in its resting place.

"You want us to protect an entire empire?" asked Twilight with wonder.  

"It would be a grand undertaking, your highness." added Star Dusk though not with worry.

"As I said, it will be a different kind of test."  Celestia reassured.  "Although it is one I am sure you both will pass."

"How do we begin?" asked Star Dusk.

"By joining Princess Cadence and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire"

"Who-"

"My brother is there?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"He is."

"And who-"

"And your Ponyville friends will join you there as well. I have every confidence you will succeed. And when you do, I'll know you are ready to move on to the next level of your studies, Twilight."  Star Dusk sighed and moved toward Twilight's back back to pick it up.

"But what if I fail."

"You won't" said Star Dusk heaving the backpack onto his shoulders.  "I won't let that happen."

"But what if-"

"You won't."  reassured Celestia.  "But Twilight, in the end, it must be you and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadence and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the empire. Star Dusk's task is only to assist you.  Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes." stammered Twilight.  Star Dusk nodded in agreement.

"Then go.  There is no time to lose!"





The train ride had been quiet as both Twilight and Dusk had been focus on planning their respective roles in this task.... separately.

"I think we need to do something." suggested Rarity.  The others nodded in agreement and split to the two of them.  Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy going to Twilight at the front of the car and Applejack and Rainbow Dash to the back with Dusk.

"Twilight, darling, can we talk?" asked Rarity.

"Yea-huh...." said  Twilight distracted by her notes.

"Umm... since both of you are taking this test... don't you think you need to talk with Star Dusk?" suggested Fluttershy.

"It'll be fine.  After we talk with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, we'll solidify all the plans.  He's only helping me out after all.  Not all too complicated."  she replied matter-of-factly.

Pinkie wanted to say something witty to draw Twilight out, but she saw the brick wall in front of the hyper-focused Twilight.  They looked at each other then looked back to see if the other two were doing any better.  Rainbow motioned excitedly for the others to come down once they made eye contact.

Soon the pleading noises from the back of the car were too loud for Twilight to ignore.  

"Okay, what's going on back here."  She asked walking back.

"Oh, Twilight!  Star Dusk says he's written a bit of a song behind Octavia's back!  We just wanna listen to it!"  said Pinkie excitedly.

"C'mon man, you were already humming a couple notes when we got back here." coaxed Rainbow.

"For the last time, no.  It's not done and besides, it's not all that good anyway."  he said with a sense of finality.  

"Gasp, Twilight!  He has to help you out right?  Can you ask him to sing it?"  asked Pinkie with her nose nearly touching Twilight's.

"It's not really about the task so I dunno..."  All her friends looked to her for at least an attempt.

"Sigh  Fine.  Star Dusk, so they can focus on the task at hand, can you sing whatever part you have completed?"

"Not important to the task at hand." he said plainly.

"I tried."  Her friends push her back toward him.

"SIGH  Please?" she asked disinterestedly. "If they don't focus then it will be important to the task at hand.  Plus we still have a couple extra minutes before we get there anyway."

Star Dusk looked back at the party for the first time.  He sighed, seeing no way out of his predicament, and hummed the tune he had been working on.  After the first couple bars, the girls' eyes widened as they recognized the old tune followed by a new addition.  Then the lyrics came in:

When danger makes me wanna hide, you'll Rainbow Dash to my side,
Kindness is never in short supply, once smitten twice Fluttershy.
For honesty nobody can deny, you are the Applejack of my eye,
A heart that shines so beautiful, a Rarity to come by
And you all make fun and laughter as easy as Pinkie Pie!

He continued his way humming the rest of the song to it's conclusion.  Everyone there was dumbfounded.  

"That was amazing!" said Fluttershy breaking the silence.  "You took that old piece and added a bit extra with some lyrics."

"That's mostly why I didn't want to share.  Not really an original work."

"Well, it's original enough.  Ya got all of us in there!" Applejack commented.

"And a perfect match to our elements too.  That is impressive!" complimented Rarity.

Everyone except me.  What, nothing rhymes with Twilight? I bet I could think of at least a couple of things.  And magic is not all that hard to write about.... Wait, that's not important.  Stop worrying about the little things Twilight.  You have a test to pass!

The train whistled and came to a stop.  Everyone filed out of the car to the frozen artic.  

"How're we supposed to find the Empire in this blizzard" yelled Applejack over the howling winds.

"Wait!  Someone's coming!"  said Star Dusk seeing a figure wrapped in what seemed like rags and wearing some strange eye protectors.

"Twilight!" the figure called out removing the eye wear and part of the rag covering his nose and mouth.

"Shining Armor?" responded the excited little sister.

"Twily! You made it!" he responded hugging his sister.  He turned to the see a face he didn't recognize.  Before either man could say anything there was a loud growl across the land.  "Introductions can wait for later.  We have to get moving. There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark."

"What kind of things?" asked Star Dusk.

"Talking later," uninterrupted Fluttershy running forward, "Running now!"

Everyone turned to see a cloud of black smoke rushing forward and a loud roar.

"RUN!" Shining Armor cried out and everyone ran in the direction he came from.

The smoke seemed to envelop everything as it chased them down.

"What is it?" asked Star Dusk looking back at the slowly advancing cloud.

"It keeps trying to get in!  We think it's the old magi that cursed this place!"

"But Princess Celestia said we were being sent here to find a way to protect the empire! If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected."  Twilight noted.

"We're nearly there!" pointed Shining Armor.

"Not enough time!" Star Dusk said standing his ground.

"Star Dusk, No!" called Rainbow back towards him.

Shining Armor turned back and joined the knight as the vapor howled at both of them.

Twilight and her friends ran on until they passed the barrier.

"Everyone... make it?" panted Twilight.

"Yeah, Ah think so..." responded Applejack.

Suddenly both Star Dusk and Shining Armor were thrown through the barrier.  Star Dusk seemed to block whatever blow hit them both.

"Shining Armor!  Are you okay?" asked Twilight worriedly.  Black electricity ran across his body stemming from the black crystal formations covering his hands.

"It's fine.  I'll be okay." he responded.  "Just no magic anytime soon."

"So this is the Crystal Empire."  commented Star Dusk looking at the land ahead of them.  A beautiful crystal city lay before them.  Everyone save for Shining Armor was awestruck to some degree.

"I don't think we were introduced."  said Shining Armor approaching him.

"We weren't.  Busy times for knights, no?" Star Dusk responded with a smirk across his face.

"Star Dusk, behave!" scolded Twilight. "I'm sorry Shining Armor he-"

"I meant no ill will with my comment Twilight Sparkle." he interrupted.  "I'm Star Dusk, one of Princess Luna's guards.  I guess you're Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle's brother?"

"Yes a pleasure.... has anyone ever told you that you look like Starshine Dust?"

"He-"

"Yeah, I get that a lot.  You look like you got some guard training."  Star Dusk said interrupting Twilight and starting to walk towards town.

"I used to be Captain of the Guard."

"Really?  Tell me how that post was. It must have been fascinating."

The girls all looked at each other and shrugged before following them.





They walked into the castle at the center of the land, the two males still chatting away at their military experience.  They moved into the throne room and Twilight ran ahead.

"Cadence!"

A clearly exhausted Princess Cadence looked up and smiled. 

"Twilight!"

Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hands and do a little shake!

They laughed at their memory before Cadence winced in obvious pain.

"We really need to meet when the fate of the world isn't at hand."  She said jokingly.

"Are you feeling okay."

"No, she's not... Cadence has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra." said Cadence's husband coming over to support her.

"I'm fine Shining Armor.  Really..."

"No she's not.  And both of us have been busy, Cadence with her barrier and me with scouting the arctic for threats.  There hasn't been time to research anything on the crystal denizens."

"Crystal?  Did you say crystal denizens?  As in crystal people?"  said Rarity excitedly.

"Focus Rarity." Applejack pointed out.

"Oh, ahem  Please continue."  

"One of the denizens must know how to protect the empire.  Any way that we could do that without Cadence's magic would be best."  finished Shining Armor looking worriedly at his wife.

"A research paper!"  said Twilight excitedly.  "That must be part of my test; to gather information from the crystal denizens and deliver it to you!"

"Uh... Twilight Sparkle, I don't believe-" began Star Dusk.

"This is gonna be great! I love research papers!  Don't worry big brother I got this!  Let's go interview the denizens girls!" she continued running out the door.  

"Hey!  What about me?" asked Star Dusk.

"Just keep an eye on Cadence, the barrier, and the boarder!"  she called back.





After failing to gather any intel from the population of the empire, Applejack's information suggested to head to the library.

"All these books!  There's just so many of them!  I could spend days, months in here and still not read it all!" said a thoroughly impressed Twilight.

"Can I help you?" asked what seemed like the librarian coming up to them.

"Hi there, we're looking for a book!"

"We've got plenty of those."

"You do. You really do." Twilight replied in awe of the library once more. "Anyway, we're looking for a history book that might contain how the empire was protected way back in the day."

"History, history... um... oh yes!  Of course we have that!"

"Great! Where is it?" asked Rainbow Dash impatiently.

"Oh, well... I don't quite recall..."

"That's fine."  interrupted Twilight.  "We can find it on our own.  Thanks anyway!"

After an hour of searching the whole operation seemed to be coming to stand still.

"Anyone find anything?" asked Twilight sorting through a stack of books in front of her.

"Nothing yet." Applejack replied

"Ditto." said Rainbow.

"I found an awesome cookbook, does that count?" asked Pinkie.

"I doubt that food protected such a magnificent city as this, Pinkie." chided Rarity.

"I... um, no I didn't find anything either." finished Fluttershy.

"'The 'Crystal Faire', established by our first queen Serenade, has become our most important tradition. The Faire must be held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity throught the empire so we could protect our beloved kingdom from harm.'" came a quotation from between a set of bookshelves.

"Who's there!?" asked Rainbow Dash agressively.  Star Dusk came out from around the corner with a book in hand labeled History of the Crystal Empire.

"It seems everything we need to set up this 'Crystal Faire' is in this book.  Jousting competitions, crystal berry confections, hats, music with specific instruments.... yes it looks like everything is here.  I think we can do this." he finished and closed the book.

"Alright Star Dusk!" cheered Rainbow as all the girls came over to view the book.  Star Dusk manuvered his way out of the crowd towards Twilight who was less than pleased.

"How was that for a research paper?" he asked.

"I told you to watch Princess Cadence!" Twilight responded harshly but quietly so as not to worry her friends.

"I thought I was to help you.  So since you were out doing interviews, I figured I'd come here to do some extra research to supplement your findings.  I didn't expect that you would wind up empty handed.  Either way, you can do all the planning from here.  That's gonna be the harder part after all." he reasoned.

"What if Cadence collapses?" she rebuked.  Now Star Dusk seemed offended.

"Okay one, I asked for permission to help you from both Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.  Both said that I needed to help you any way I knew how.  And two, I've been keeping my eye on the tower every fifteen minutes to make sure I can be there in a moments notice.  So cut me some slack." he defended quietly

"And what about the test huh?  What if you finding this book makes me fail?  I'm supposed to be the one to do all this, you're only here to help." 

"Oh-ho! I see how it is."  he replied mockingly.  Now he made no attempt to keep his voice low.  "This is all about passing a test to you.  You didn't even once think about saving these people.  'Oh no, if I can't save the empire then I fail.  I wonder if there's a way to pass now that I've doomed a whole empire!'" 

"What?!" Twilight responded at the same volume, "You think that I-... What the heck is wrong with you, huh?  Why do you always think of 'being the protector of the princesses'?  Don't you think that's getting kind of old? I mean they've been taking care of themselves since you disappeared on them."

"Wait, when did this become about me?"

"When you decided not to just give up the guard duty stuff and become a regular person!"

"And what good would that do me?  The Princesses may be able to take care of themselves now, but you can never know what comes in the future. They-"

"ASKED ME TO HELP YOU INTEGRATE INTO NORMAL SOCIETY!!! THEY DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE! gasp" Twilight held her hands up covering her mouth, surprised at what she had just done.  As the words still echoed in the vast library, Star Dusk looked downwards to the floor and slowly clenched his fists shaking his arms.  Everyone was now looking at the two, worried where this argument would lead.

"Star Dusk, I- I- didn't mean-"

"S-So... even everything that you've done for me to this point was for your own benefit.  Here I thought you were doing this from the kindness of your heart." His voice trembled as he spoke. 

"Let me tell you this, Twilight Sparkle..."  He always called her by her full name, but now it felt like he was doing it like a parent angrily calling his child.  He slowly looked up at her, tears in his eyes.  "You will fail." he advanced on her as he spoke. "You fail this test and any other that Princess Celestia deigns to give you.  And you know why?" 

She moved back until she was pinned up against the book case.  She could feel a fear shaking from her heart as he spoke.  His tears slowly dissapeared, replaced by a blackness and energy leaking out the side of his eyes.

"Because you are THE most selfish and manipulative person I have ever met!  And you do NOT deserve the personal attention that EITHER Princess gives you.  If you want to save the empire, do it on your own!"

He quickly turned from the group and left before anyone could say anything.  Twilight sunk down to her knees, eyes welling up, held herself, and quietly sobbed.





"Everything seems to be set Twilight." said Rarity apprehensively.

"Everything's in the right place so far as I can tell."  added Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks girls..." Twilight responded checking off the last things on her list.

"W-Well hey, what's this thing?" asked Applejack pointing to a heart-shaped crystal on a pedestal in the center of the plaza in an effort to raise spirits.

"Well, the book mentions something about a 'Crystal Heart' as the center piece to the faire.  I just cut one out of a crystal block using my magic."

"That's great Twi!  Now we kin get this faire up and running!" Replied Applejack over enthusiastically.

Everyone split up to gather the citizens for the faire as Twilight looked out at the land.  

If this doesn't work... it'll be all my fault.  I'd feel much more confident with Star Dusk here.

She remembered back to the Princess's throne room.

'You won't fail.' he said.  He could have reassured me again here.  But I had to go and screw it up.  Why do I have to learn about all the friendship lessons I already learned all over again when it comes to him?

"Twilight!  We have a problem!" called Rainbow Dash flying in, interrupting her thoughts.

"What is it Rainbow?"

"That 'Crystal Heart' thing you made?  There's supposed to already be one!  King Sombra had hid it!"

"What?"  Twilight opened the book and furiously tore through the pages finding that the last page had been torn out.  "No!  How did I not notice it before?  The book is missing a page!"

Applejack ran up to the pair.  "Twilight, I got people askin' to see the heart.  Kin I let them up?"

"NO!" Twilight and Rainbow said unanimously.

Rainbow filled in Applejack who then turned to Twilight and said: "Rainbow 'n I'll keep 'em from seeing this thing.  You go find the real one."

"Rainbow make sure that the peoples spirits are lifted.  If not they won't be able to charge the heart!" Twilight said as she went to the only place she could think that King Sombra would hide such a relic, his own castle...
> 6 - The Empire Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight ran about the castle trying to find some kind of clue to where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart.  She searched high and low for it and in every nook and cranny.  

Where the heck could he have hidden it?  I mean this castle is huge!  You would think he would keep it close by.... wait...

She quickly moved towards the throne room, running through the crystalline halls.  Once she arrived at the room she noticed a gaping hole in the floor with stairs leading downward.  

This wasn't here before.  I was going to check for magical ways to find it but... Oh well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

She quickly ran down the stairs, catching herself against the wall whenever she stumbled.  The stairs seemed to go on forever, tiring out her legs.  But she did eventually get to the bottom and saw a figure staring at a closed door.  He had his eyes closed but she could tell that he was concentrating energy, dark energy seeping from the corner of her eyes.  

Before she could say anything, the man opened his dark eyes, extended his hand, and the same dark magic that Celestia had used in her throne room was tossed at the gem above the door causing a flash and the door swung open.

"Star Dusk..." she said softly.

He either didn't hear her or ignored her and walked toward the door and froze.  Twilight moved around him and noticed he was staring at a blank wall behind that door.

Ooookaaayyy, what the heck is he looking- she stopped thinking when she saw tears streaming down his face.

"No..... No... Please...." he started saying.  His voice, where it had shook with anger when confronting Twilight in the library, now shook with fear and sadness.  He did not sound at all like he should.  

"No, don't do this to me.... Not again, please.... Not like Aether and Elysian...  Please NO!!"

"Star Dusk, Star Dusk!!!" Twilight shouted as she shook the self destructive knight.  

"Please Celestia, Luna, Tw-" She shook him harder.  He shut his eyes and shook his head sharply his own train of thought.  He fell to one knee rubbing his temples.

"What was that?"  she asked him.

"I had a vision, I..." he began.  He seemed to realize who was next to him without looking before continuing.  "I don't want to talk about it."

Twilight felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart.  He still hasn't forgiven me I guess...

"Alright," she said walking over to the wall, "But what caused it?"

All of a sudden there was a bright flash of light and she was in the middle of Celestia's throne room.  Her teacher was in the middle of writing a note before looking up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Twilight with contempt in her eyes.

"I... I don't know.  I was with Star Dusk trying to find the Crystal Heart and he was staring at a wall and I was trying to see what he saw and now-"

"And now you must go." her instructor finished, turning her back to her student.

"Go?  Go where?"

"Anywhere but here!  I don't care.  You failed the test, Twilight Sparkle."

"Wait, I was in the middle of the test when-"

"Not only will you not go on to the next level of your studies, you will not be studying under me at all."

"But I.... You didn't say that I wouldn't teach me anymore if I failed!" replied Twilight, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Didn't I?"  Twilight fell to the floor, tears now streaming down her face.

"But.... w-what am I s-supposed t' do now?" she choked out.

All of a sudden the flash was back, but this time what she saw was the door closed.

"Now I see what it does..." said Star Dusk methodically.  Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to stifle the last sniffles she was having.

"W-What do you mean?"  she asked.

"King Sombra must have enchanted this door with his dark magic.  It's a door to your worst fears..." he answered without turning.

"I was back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia told me that I failed my test...." Twilight recounted softly.

"That remains to be seen." replied Star Dusk unflinchingly as he continued to inspect the door.

That cinches it.  He defiantly hasn't forgiven me.  But...  "You don't have to put it that way!" she answered out loud angrily.

"It's purely fact, Twilight Sparkle," he replied in the same tone, "You haven't passed, you haven't failed, you have yet even to be graded.  Therefore, it remains to be seen."

"'It remains to be seen'" she imitated mockingly.  "Anyway, what are you even doing here?  I thought I had to save the empire on my own."

"Unlike someone who I won't name, I will not relegate an entire empire to suffer only to prove my point."

"Will you at least look at me when you're insulting me?" 

"Only if you can get this door to open properly."

Calm down, Twilight.  Technically you were at fault first.  I swear I don't know what it is with my reactions to him anymore.  And I think better calmly too.  She looked at the gem he had hit with the dark magic.

"This wasn't King Sombra's castle..." she mused.

"Not always, no." Star Dusk replied.

Twilight took a breath and hit the gem with the same kind of magic that caused the amazing light show in the Canterlot throne room.  The door opened up slowly and led to the outside.  They both walked through the door.

"Great... More Stairs." complained Twilight.  She turned to Star Dusk hoping for insight, or at least for him to look at her. He  was staring straight up.  Checking the height, she assumed.

"This is gonna take too long." she continued trying to coax him to speech.

"Agreed." he said lowering his gaze.  A smirk crawled across his face.  "If I remember correctly, you studied some gravity spells on the way to Canterlot."

"Yeah... and?"

"So.." he swept her off her feet and held her laying in his arms.  She could feel a slight updraft and Star Dusk initially try to steady himself on what she could only assume were air pockets.  She got the drift and channeled her magic in a finger pointed towards the sky.  The whole world seemed to flip over and they slid 'downwards' towards the top of the tower.

"Looks like I was prepared for this!!" commented Twilight looking at him.  He was looking at something beyond her head quite worriedly.  She crooned her head to see what was going on but saw easily enough that Cadence's barrier was fading.  It must have shone on her face that she was worried.

"Don't worry so much, we're almost there.  Unless you feel like falling toward the sky, could you please?"

Twilight shook her worry away and once again pointed upward towards the floor concentrating her magic.  Star Dusk jumped and flipped over along with the rest of the world and landed up at the top, Crystal Heart within reach.  

"There it is!" she said excitedly hopping out of his arms and running towards the artifact.  As soon as she hit the decorative circle around the Heart, an alarm went off and dark crystals sprang from the edges trapping Twilight and the heart inside.

"Twilight Sparkle, are you okay!?" called Star Dusk.  Twilight could hear him thumping on the walls of her prison.

"I'm fine!  I have the heart, let me just teleport out and we'll be good!" she responded.  The thumping ceased as she concentrated her magic and transported herself out of the prison.  In the next second, dark magic swirled all around her and she found herself back inside the rounded enclosure.  There was a notable difference though.

"Twilight Sparkle!?"

"I'm back inside... wait where's the Crystal Heart?"

"It's out here!! You must have dropped it before the fail safe kicked in!  You have to find a way out!  Or else you'll fail your test!!"

Idea after idea shot through Twilight's brain, trying to figure out a way to escape to no avail.

"There's no choice, you have to do it!!"

"But your test-"

"You said it yourself!  Protecting the empire is more important that any silly test!  Now go do-"

Suddenly there was a sharp thump on the wall.

"Don't worry about...." she couldn't finish her sentence as blood started seeping through the small crevices between the crystal walls.  The walls came down and Twilight saw a heavily bleeding Star Dusk being held aloft by magic.  The bleeding wound was due to a dark crystal impaling him in the abdomen.  The magi responsible?  King Sombra.

"Thank you for holding on to MY Crystal Heart for me."  he said slowly.  He threw the barely conscious knight off the tower.  She ran to the edge to try and catch him magically but was cut off by the dark magi.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to return it to me, I would make sure that you can service the castle instead of the crystal mines." he said menacingly.

"I don't have it.  The fail safe on that enclosure knocked it from my grasp."  she said seriously, all the while searching the floor for the missing relic.  There was a loud gasp and screams coming from below.  Twilight bypassed the evil ruler and looked over the edge toward the base of the tower.  There was a circle of people surrounding...

"No... This can't be happening..." she said softly.

"Don't worry about him.  He probably didn't even feel the impact.  Now, GIVE ME WHAT IS MINE!!"  he said grabbing her and threatening her over the edge.  Tears welled up in Twilight's eyes followed by a flash of anger allowing the same dark magic he was using to course through her and she pushed him back.  The air rushed around her as she fell.  

I guess I have a lot of time to think before I hit the floor... I don't really have many regrets do I?  Or else I would be think about them now. Wishing... I guess my only real regret is that I didn't apologize...

All of a sudden, she was washed in a bright glow followed by a strong up draft of air.  The updraft slowed her down enough for her to land on a tall earth spire.  She looked around in confusion as she saw all the darkness get pushed back and heard the loud and pained throws of King Sombra from the top of the castle.

But how did I?  A realization hit her as she looked at the base of the castle.  As the spire slowly lowered itself down, she saw the Crystal Heart in place, everyone literally glittering like crystals, and Shining Armor supporting a weakening Star Dusk as he lowered the spire back to the floor.  Once she returned to solid ground, she rushed over to her brother bypassing all the congratulations from friends and denizens alike.

"Shining Armor!  Star Dusk!"  she saw Star Dusk passed out on the floor as Shining Armor slowly laying him on the ground.  "Oh no, is he-"

"He's resting."  Reassured a newly recovered Cadence.  "He must have pocketed the Crystal Heart before he was attacked."

"And he sent a strong updraft of air slowing his fall.  He didn't hit the ground nearly as hard as your thinking, Twily."

"Not only that, but he noticed you falling and asked for Shining Armor's help to catch you!" finished a excited Rainbow Dash.  "It was totally like out of the stories!!!"

"You read th' stories Rainbow?" asked a surprised Applejack.

"Yeah well, I had to get to know him one way or another right?"

Twilight slowly knelt down by Star Dusk, brushing his hair from his forehead.  She saw his chest slowly rise and fall.

"Everything worked out fine, Twily."  said her BBBFF sitting down next to her.

"Except for the fact I failed my test." she said softly.

"You don't look so broken up about that."  Twilight knew her brother was right.  She was softly smiling and a warmth was welling back inside her that had left the moment Star Dusk was thrown from the tower.

"There are more important things than tests... even if they do come from the Princess." she replied looking at Shining Armor.  She got taken aback by the giant grin that he had plastered on his face.  "W-What?  Is there something on my face?"

"No," he said getting up slowly.  "Just wondering how long it'll be before I'll get to be your honor attendant."

"My what now?"  Cadence joined her husband in the joke.

"What?" she said sarcastically.  "I thought I was going to be her maid of honor." she finished, mock disappointingly.

"Wait!" said Twilight standing up, finally getting what they were poking at.  "I-It's not like that!"

"Sure it isn't."  said Rainbow from the side.  Twilight saw all her friends smiling knowingly at her.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!!" she yelled blushing all the way to her ears.





Everyone was waiting outside the operating room in Canterlot hospital.  Only Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were allowed in the viewing room for the procedure.  And they had looked mightily disappointed at her before entering.

"Don't worry Twi, everything'll be fine..." Said Applejack trying to reassure her friend.  No one quite believed her.

The light above the door turned off and one of the doctors exited.

"Twilight Sparkle?"

"Y-Yes!" she said standing up nervously.

"The Princesses would like to see you inside."





"You wanted to see me?" Celestia and Luna stood next to the operating table with Star Dusk resting atop it.

Luna whirled around, her eyes glowing the same white that was there when she had first cancelled Nightmare Night.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"  she began in her booming royal Canterlot voice, causing Twilight to cower backwards..  However, she was interrupted by her sister putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Twilight," Celestia began.  Her words carried the same gravitas with less volume.  "How could you have let this happen."

"I... I don't understand...  The Crystal Empire is safe r-"

"And we thank thee for your work in regards to that task." interrupted Luna slipping into her old speech.  "However, we did not intend our personal guard to brush so closely with death!"

"But I thought he was just exhausted.  And the doctors said it was a routine surgery to fix the other issues." said Twilight now thoroughly confused at the accusations.

"Twilight, when you arrived there, what state was Princess Cadence in?" proposed Celestia.

"Tired, exhausted, hungry... What does-"

"And you've studied the effects of severe magic depletion, am I right?"

"Yes but-"

"Our guard suffered such depletion that there maybe a possibility that he will never again be able to use magic.  Granted this is a step up from the worst case scenario of magic depletion, however, the fact he came so close, we cannot overlook."

"I- I didn't know... I thought most of the damage was physical..."

"How could you have let it get to that point?" said Celestia uncharacteristically.  "He was sent to assist you, not to take the brunt of all the difficulty."

"Princess, may I speak?" came a weak voice from the operating table.

"Star Dusk!  You are well?" said Luna turning to the table excitedly.

"Just enough for consciousness your highness.  But, if I may?"  Celestia nodded softly a smile finally spreading across her lips.

"The fault lies squarely on me."

"What?" Luna looked so unbelieving and surprisingly, so did Celestia.

"I had abandoned Twilight Sparkle in the middle of the test.  When she needed me most.  Had I been there from beginning to end I would not have over exerted myself as I did.  And-"

"No!"  cried Twilight running to the other side of the table from the Princesses.  "Star Dusk, it wasn't your fault.  Don't say that!  I'm sorry, I should have been thinking more about the others that were relying on us."  Tears streamed down Twilight's face as she continued,

"You were right, you were right.  And I'm so, so sorry that I pushed you so hard.  I didn't realize-"  her apologies were cut off by Star Dusk's hand softly resting on her lips.  He continued where he had left off.

"And in the end, it was my selfishness that pushed me beyond my limit."

Everyone present was thoroughly confused.

"Star Dusk, we heard Twilight's report on the subject.  But if I recall there was three times that you both were separated, however briefly." said Celestia

"Would you like to inform us of what you were doing during those periods of time?" asked Luna.

"Well, during our first separation I let Twilight know what I did during our... disagreement.  If I can add anything, it would be that I used a certain spell to let me see the contents of all the books in a shelf-"

"That spell is dangerous!!" interrupted Twilight.  "That's way too much information to process than ones mind can take!"

"My first selfish mistake, I wanted to be of some use to you.  Other than just standing guard.  The second separation was less eventful.  I had just stood out of the way allowing Twilight Sparkle and her friends to attempt the Crystal Faire.  If they succeeded, it would be solely due to the strength of their will."  He took a breath before continuing,

"I over heard the fact the Crystal Heart was, in fact, a relic that was necessary to protect the kingdom.  That's when I had begun my search."

"You were the one who opened up the first staircase." Twilight verbally put together.

"Using the dark magic Celestia had shown us earlier, yes."

"Same as the door then..."

The celestial sisters stared at each other in surprise.

"You were able to manifest that energy?" asked Celestia.

"Yes.  And the third gap was when you were in the trap..."





The Crystal Heart lay on the floor before him.  

"Twilight Sparkle!?"

"I'm back inside... wait where's the Crystal Heart?"

"It's out here!!" he said quickly picking up the relic.  "You must have dropped it before the fail safe kicked in!  You have to find a way out!  Or else you'll fail your test!!"

After finishing his sentence the barrier came down.

I can't worry her right now...

He looked into the distance as Twilight thought what to do and he saw King Sombra approaching the castle, heading directly towards them.  He smoothly slid the artifact into one of his pockets and awaited the opponent.

"Well, it seems my fail safe was a complete success."  the evil lord mused to himself as he walked toward the crystal enclosure.  Star Dusk immediately stood between the prison and the regent.

"You shall not pass."  he said quietly so that Twilight would not worry.

"How amusing."

Dark crystals sprang up from all directions and Star Dusk narrowly avoided them all.  King Sombra telekinetically ripped out one of the crystals and threw it at Star Dusk.  Star Dusk was not defenseless however and used his own telekinesis to keep in from moving forward.  They were at a stalemate thanks to Star Dusk being depleted from earlier spells and King Sombra still not fully formed and returned until,

"There's no choice, you have to do it!!" called Twilight from inside the trap.

"But your test-" That was the distraction that tipped the balance.  The crystal shot forward and impaled him, flinging him against the crystal prison.

"You said it yourself!  Protecting the empire is more important that any silly test!  Now go do-"

He felt the cold crystal strike him in the back.  The dome must have come down soon after.  The next thing he was fully conscious of was falling from the tower.  He tried his best to slow down and was able to survive the impact, but not the damage.

He handed the Heart to Princess Cadence and as he did so, he noticed Twilight falling from the castle as well. He tried to force himself up with little success.

"Shining Armor, help me up."

"Sure, the least I could-"  Shining Armor was interrupted by a big gust of wind that was thrown straight up at Twilight.

Not enough....

He painfully picked up his leg and slammed it down to bring up a spire underneath her.  Once she landed, he slowly descended the spire until it was consumed back into the earth and blacked out.





All three women in the room stood dumbfounded.

"Star Dusk, that is the most selfless act I have heard in my life!" said Twilight incredulously.

"Agreed, how can you claim to be selfish with such an act of bravery and heroism." added Luna.

"Intent is what separates a selfish act from a selfless one.  Everything I did that day was to help Twilight Sparkle in her goal."

"Which means you were thinking of her, not yourself."

"Normally true.  However, I did so in the hopes becoming a closer friend, and then as apology for fear of losing said friend.  While Twilight Sparkle was the cause of me over stretching myself, I made the choice willingly and with only her praise in mind."

Again the women could not answer the weak soldier.  Twilight started to laugh through her tears.

"Y-You... You're so ridiculous you know that?  How could I let go one of my best friends?" she said smiling at him.

"I'm sorry," he replied eyelids looking heavy, "We might have to wait a bit-" Now Twilight put her hand to his lips.

"Rest, you need it.  You deserve it." she reassured.  Star Dusk slowly closed his eyes and his breathing slowed and became more regular.

The sisters looked at each other before nodding and turning to Twilight.

"We- I believe in my guard's words."

"Agreed.  Twilight, you showed exceptional selflessness when the matter really counted.  You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own. Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice than one who only looks out for her own best interests.  And I apologize for being cross with you..."

"It's alright Princess, he's like your family after all."

"I also must congratulate you."  Said Luna.  "Not only did he commit a selfish act, but Star Dusk even admitted as such.  This is surely the first steps to having him integrate with the regular citizens and have him leave his post as my guard.  And I will also apologize for being short with you.  After all, it was I who asked you to teach him how to be that way."

They all looked at each other and giggled.  





"Do I seriously have to be in this wheelchair the whole way home?" complained Star Dusk as Twilight pushed said chair through the middle of Ponyville town square.

"Yes, Doctor's orders." said Rarity.

"Besides, after becoming a hero again you need some kickback time!" added Rainbow Dash.

"But my legs are itching to move!  I haven't left the bed in over a month and now I'm confined to a chair?"

"You hurt your spine when you hit the cage and the ground so sharply."  explained Twilight.  "If you don't take it easy, you run the risk of not being able to walk."

"Not to mention that you only just recovered most of your magic."  added Fluttershy, "It was a miracle in itself that you can still use magic after that stress."

Star Dusk slumped in the chair and sighed.  "This is going to... what's that word you use Rainbow Dash?  Suck?"

"Heh heh, yeah that's it."

"You know, I think Imma call you Hero from now on." said Applejack changing the subject.

"What for?  I have a name you know."

"It's called a nickname silly!  Like Twilight, Pinkie, AJ, and Dashie!" explained Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, I notice that you always call us by our full names." pointed out Twilight.

"Okay, I get that.  But my 'nickname' has nothing to do with my real name."

"Well, it doesn't help that neither name seems to fit your demeanor so well Star Dusk.  And well, you are a hero." postulated Rarity.

"I don't like it."

"Come on Hero, you'll get used to it." said Rainbow Dash.

"You do it again and I'm going to start calling you Dashie then."

"Go ahead, see if I care."

"Alright Dashie, have it your way"

"Gah, fine.  It's sounds creepy coming from you... Just stick with Dash."

Star Dusk smiled and sighed.

"I'm still getting called Hero aren't I?"

Everyone laughed.

"Definatly gonna stick with me." said Applejack.

"At least I know who to blame for this." he replied jokingly.  "Alright, I'll call you Jacks then.  Just because it's convienent."

"Fine by me!"

They arrived at the library in no time.

"Now let's practice!" said Pinkie Pie excitedly.  Star Dusk sighed and began:

"See you all later."  he said slyly.  Everyone stared at him until he relented and he rolled over to each of them in turn.

"Later Dash.  See you Pinkie.  Work Hard Jacks.  I'll stop by when I can walk Rarity.  And Fluttershy, bring by some of your animals some time."

Everyone left with smiles on their faces and in their hearts.

"Twilight?"

"Yes?" she smiled wider than any of her friends and was grateful that her face was hidden since she was pushing his wheelchair.

"I don't ever want to lose your friendship.  Ever."

Twilight bent down and hugged the chair bound warrior from behind.  "You don't have to worry about that, both of us will remain friends for a very long time.  I do have a question though, were you still mad at me when we were just starting to work together again at the door?"

"Only thanks to your angry reactions to my plain statements." he said

"Yeah, I think I have to work on that..."

"Well I think I need some more rest..."

"Let's get you back in bed.  I'll do the levitating down the stairs, you just relax."

"Thank you, Twilight.  If you can send Spike, I wanna write a letter before I sleep."

"Sure."

Dear Princess Celestia,

I think I've been going about my friendship with Star Dusk all wrong.  I thought that I could just treat him like any one of my other friends and it would be fine.  But I found that my friendship with him is very different than the ones I have with my other friends.  Even different that the relationship I have with Spike.  And it seems like my friends know this better than I did.

I may need some guidance as I move to study this new relationship.  I'll write to you whatever findings I come across.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S.  I think I like where these studies will lead me.
> 7 - The Music
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good Morning Twi."

"M-Morning YAWN"

"How's my loverly one this morning"

"Giggle Loverly one?  Seriously?"

"You try coming up with cute nicknames while cooking delicious food."

"It does smell good doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but nothing will top the taste of last night though."

"Last night?  What do you mean?"

"I think it started somewhere here..."

"Hey, pay att-mmmph"

"Stove's off... Maybe we should just have part two here."

"Here?  In the kitchen?

"I wouldn't want to waste any time."

"Eep, b-but what if Spike comes back?"

"Then stop wasting time..."

"Ah! Eep!  Not there!  Oh, oooh!





Twilight awoke in her reading chair, a book tightly hugged to her midriff.  She blinked a couple of times trying to realize what had just occurred.  

"Oh no... It's getting worse..." she commented to herself.  A knock came to the door.

Gah!  Shining Armor and Cadence were supposed to be coming today!  she ran upstairs to get changed before zipping back down by the time the second round of knocks were finished.  

"Hello," she began opening the door and stood shocked to see that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both accompanied her brother and his wife.  "Oh Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!  I didn't know you would be arriving too!"

"We wanted to surprise both you and Star Dusk.  May we come in?" said Celestia smiling.

"Of course, Of course!!  Come in everyone."  Thank goodness I went and changed first.

"Where is he anyway?" asked Shining Armor as everyone took seats that Twilight had levitated out.

"Who?  Star Dusk?  He's over at Vinyl's and Octavia's again."

"You sound disappointed." said Cadence leading Twilight to an obvious topic.

"No, nothing like that.  He enjoys learning music with Octavia.  She even let him start to write his own music after we got back from the Crystal Empire."

"Considering that was six months ago, you probably listen to it all the time!"

There was an uncomfortable pause.  Luna broke the silence.

"He does allow you to listen to his work, right?"

"I... uh... I've never asked him to.  I don't really want to intrude on his hobby, he can have fun with it without having me to listen and critique or whatever."

"But if you guys are together you should be sharing each other's accomplishments." said Cadence with the air of a mentor in the subject.

Another silence.

"You guys are together right?"

"You haven't sent us any letters on the subject of your relationship since your return to Ponyville."  said Celestia.

"I was also interested to see where Star Dusk would be on this topic." added Luna.

"So Shining Armor, how's the Crystal Empire?" Twilight tried to deflect.

"Oh no, I'm staying out of the girl talk here.  Don't go dragging me down into it."

Twilight's eyes fleeted from person to person looking for a way out.  The Princesses seemed intent on getting the information they desired and Shining Armor kept his eyes on the door, probably hoping for Star Dusk to enter and taking him from the 'girl talk'.

"sigh Nothing's happened, we're not really 'together' or anything."

"Why?" asked Cadence.

"Well,"

The door suddenly slammed wide open causing everyone to turn around.

"Hey there Ponyville Library!  WHAT UP!?" yelled an enthusiastic Vinyl Scratch, wearing her trademark magenta sunglasses along with white jeans and tank top with two bridged eighth notes in the center of the chest.    "Oh.  I didn't know the Princesses were here." she finished uncharacteristically quiet as she fell to one knee.

Thank Celestia.  She can actually be respectful.  From outside the door came Star Dusk's voice.

"Vinyl wait!  I think I changed my mind!  Don't go and- oh."  he quickly dropped to one knee beside her.  "I thought our guests were Princess Cadence and Shining Armor."

"Nice to see you back on two feet!"  said Shining Armor getting up.

"We came as a surprise visit.  Seemed like it worked well." said Luna.  "You both can get up."

As soon as they rose, Star Dusk went back to his conversation, "So yeah, I don't think I wanna do it anymore."

Everyone in the room froze and looked at them save for Twilight.

"Aw don't be like that, man.  What your able to do with those fingers is like magic."

"Please don't phrase it like that." said Octavia as she walked in the door, bowing low for a moment to show respect to the royalty present.  She wore a simple oxford shirt with pink bowtie and grey slacks.

"Okay, maaybe not as magic as Tavi's but...."

"Vinyl!  The Princesses?" Octavia nodded her head in the direction of the seated company.

"Right, Right.  Sorry 'bout that."  Apologized Vinyl, bowing her head slightly before returning to the conversation.  "But for serious dude, you need to do this.  You're better than you think you are.  Ain't that right Tavi?"

"As much as I hate agreeing with Vinyl so much, she's right Star Dusk.  While your music is not to my tastes, it does have its own unique charm, much like her's does.  And you can't have the same two people critique your work and expect to improve as an artist.  You have to have different points of view to see where you need improvement."

"So, Star Dusk," began Princess Luna loudly, "When did you start getting into music?  You haven't relayed anything about that in your letters."

Star Dusk froze in place.  Even without turning, everyone could tell he was sweating bullets trying to think of an answer.

"He...... wanted... to surprise you!" said Vinyl spinning him around and draping her arm across his shoulders.  "That's why we're telling him to perform with me at my next concert."

"Concert?" asked Twilight, her brow twitching slightly.

"Yeah!" continued Vinyl. "It's gonna be here in Ponyville in about three months.  When I was scheduling it I thought about having him be an opener, but I heard his more recent work with Tavi and thought 'What the heck, we'll do a proper co-headliner concert'.  I was thinking DJ-PON3 and THE H3R0.  Hero spelled with a three and zero by the way.  It's gonna be awesome!" she finished, wrapping her arm around his neck and hugging him in a headlock of sorts.

Twilight got up, liberated Star Dusk from the lock, and placed him behind her.

"Don't you think that co-headlining with a major known artist is a bit too much to pile on someone who hasn't performed in front of a crowd before?"

"While I would agree with you in theory," answered Octavia, "His talent and dedication to the craft has improved him leaps and bounds since he started learning with me.  It probably would help more if there was more pressure on him."

"Or it could cause a major melt down and he'll never perform again."

"Wait a sec," Vinyl said stepping in, "What kind of guy do you think he is?  He's not some kind of namby-pamby mamma's boy.  You were with him when he saved the Crystal Empire for Celestia's sake."

"Now I'm not saying he shouldn't perform, I'm just saying maybe don't heap so much pressure on his first performance."

"Yeah, I know that.  That's why I'm having him start at home, with people who already know him."

"Well that could be true or that could make it worse.  Some people care more when it's people they know."

"Again, are we talking about the same guy?  Your making him sound like a little kid who can't take a little heat!"

"And your making assumptions on how he'll react based on criteria that is irrelevant to this kind of performance!"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Girls!" interrupted Celestia, drawing all the attention to her.  "We'll let him decide when he returns."

"Returns?"  both of them said in unison.

Star Dusk had taken the opportunity that Shining Armor wanted and ducked out with him during the argument.  Octavia seemed to have stepped away as well.

"Alright, it's better that way anyway." said Vinyl as she crossed her arms behind her head looking out the door.  "Lemme know when he gets back."  She walked out the door and back to her place.  Twilight shut the door and returned to her seat. 

"I'm sorry you hand to see that..." She said embarrassedly. "I haven't been able to control myself when it comes to him lately."

"Oh Twilight, that just shows that you care about him." Reassured Cadence. 

"I don't know. In retrospect, I think I come across as over protective. Like I'm his mother or something." She replied. 

"Then ask him out already!  Then it would be like you staking your claim on the man!" Suggested Cadence. 

"I would normally agree," inserted Luna, "however Star Dusk has never shown any interest in courting before.  It might be better to see if that stance has changed before asking."

"Speaking from experience?" Asked her elder sister. Luna blushed and looked off to the side. 

"Oh Princess Luna, I didn't know you had felt that way about-"

"That ship sailed a long time ago. Like I said, he had no interest in courting at the time so.... Yeah..."

The four fell silent for a while each one trying to find a new topic or a way to get back on topic without mentioning Luna's attempt.   Twilight was curious however, and she could not keep it to herself for much longer.

"Princess Luna, when did you ask him?"  Luna, thankfully for Twilight, seemed to consider her question and not be offended.

"Correct me if I'm wrong sister, but I believe it was one year after his mission with mother and father?"

"That sounds about right."

"He had been so sullen.  I was hoping to be able to cheer him up, but alas.."

"Wait, Princess Celestia, how did you know when?  Was it because it was before his request?"

"What request?" asked Luna intrigued.

"You mean you forgot?"  Asked Celestia.

"Wait," interrupted Cadence.  "Can we start from square one?  I think you girls left me behind about the time you mentioned he was as old as you two."

"Okay, I'll recap what I know.  Princess Celestia and Luna, if you could please fill in when appropriate?"

The two sisters nodded, both very interested to see where their shared memory of him went astray.





Star Dusk had been assigned as Princess Luna's personal guard soon after graduation from the academy of the guard.  Top marks in almost everything except diplomacy and literature which was odd.  Celestia's personal guard had been a woman, Sparkling Gauntlet,with top marks across the board and was valedictorian.  Had she not been tapped for that duty, she would have defiantly been captain of a platoon easily.  So having a guard that was less than that for her sister had initially disappointed Celestia.  But she would not go against her parents decision.

Her feelings on the matter had shifted once she saw how much Luna enjoyed his company.  Sparky, as Celestia had taken to call her guard, was all business.  Star Dusk on the other hand had a very human and interpersonal relationship with Luna which seemed to betray the grades he had gotten in diplomacy.  He had easily become the favorite of the two protectors although that did not seem to affect Sparky in anyway.

One day there was disturbing reports of Equestrian citizens being attacked along the border with the badlands.  Celestia and Luna still couldn't fathom why their parents had gone to deal with the problem and not sent a regiment of guards to look into it.  As a measure of showing their leadership skills as well as worry over the situation, the Princesses sent their personal guards as escorts citing that they were the best of the best and thus were more than qualified.

It was a full month before there was any sign of progress.  The attacks died down slowly and stopped entirely.  Then a week after that, Star Dusk stumbled back onto the castle grounds, heavily wounded and whispering apologies.  Later that day, the royal council declared that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had inherited the crown and would rule jointly like their parents before them.

None of the council would fill them in on the details of the demise of their parents and for a time would not even allow them to visit Star Dusk.  It wasn't until Luna demanded that he return to his post, seven months after his return, as should have been his duty that they could see him again, a very changed man from the one that left.  He reminded Celestia of Sparky which of course caused her to worry since he had been so different from her.

Two months back on the job and Luna had become worried.  She had realized she loved the way he was before.  She began to get close to him, embarrass him, and otherwise flirt with him to get a glimpse of the old guard she had fallen for.  She saw she could temporarily force the old version of him return with her actions and three months into it she had asked him to court her.  He had stood there for a long moment, worrying Luna.  He took a deep breath and gently let her down, letting her know that it was highly inappropriate for a guard of his standing to be courting her.  Of course she pointed that if his qualifications were the criteria, then he was the most suitable of all the men in the world to court her.  He apologized once more and walked away.

Unbeknownst to Luna, he walked directly to Celestia for a very important and personal request.  He wanted her to erase a specific memory in order to stop worrying Princess Luna.  Now this had intrigued Celestia.  What was in his memory that he willing to forget to let her sister be happy?  She agreed with the condition that she saw what the memory was.  At first he had argued that she shouldn't see the memory as she would change her opinion of him.  She told him there was two reasons for the condition, first was that she had to know what the memory was in order to lock it away, second was that she needed to know how much she had to lock it down, whether it was just forgetting certain details or the entire thing.

He relented and allowed her to see the memory.  





Celestia stopped her discourse and brought her hand to her chin pensively.  Twilight had heard up to this point before so she was unaware of any other details and Luna did not know of this exchange at all so it was up to Celestia to fill this gap.

"I'm not so sure I should share this memory..."

"You can't stop there!" said Cadence who had become extremely engrossed in the story.  "It's like almost at the climax I bet!"

"And you had shared to this point last time with us when we first brought him back.  Please Princess?"

"Sister, this could be very important."

"Memories are personal things, the only reason I saw it was-"

"We know!" The three others interrupted.

"And it's not all important to Star Dusk's current condition since even he doesn't remember the event." she finished.

They all let out an exasperated sigh.  

"Sister, you cannot be serious!  This is very important!  It could explain a lot of things from the time in which-"

"I thought you said that was all in the past?"

"But if I could-"  Luna put her hand to lips, stopping herself and slowly looking at Twilight, who had realised just a moment before she did, now kicking forlornly at the floor.

"Twilight Sparkle, I do not have any intention of-"

The door opened, interrupting the conversation, and Octavia walked in.

"There is something you all should hear."  she said motioning everyone to follow her.





They all arrived at the edge of town.  Octavia stopped them all a ways from the tree where Shining Armor was sitting.  Star Dusk seemed to be just arriving as well.  He was setting up some musical equipment.  Octavia joined the gentlemen and took a seat.

"Alright, let's hear it." He said.

"It's a work in progress alright?  It's not all too good and-"

"Let me be the judge, go for it."  Star Dusk inhaled and started the first chords on his guitar.

Change my attempt good intentions

The other instruments behind him, another guitar, an electric bass guitar, and a set of drums, began playing under his magical influence.

Crouched, 
over, 
you were not there, 
living in fear,
But signs,
were not,
really that scarce, 
obvious tears,
But I, 
will not, 
hide you through this, 
I want you to help,
And please, 
see, 
the bleeding heart perched on my shirt

Twilight wondered where in the world this came from.  It was a very interesting song, but unlike the ones that Vinyl or even Octavia had written where it seemed to suit their personalities, it seemed very uncharacteristic of him.  Especially when she considered her first encounter with his music on the train to the Crystal Empire.

Die, 
withdraw, 
hide in cold sweat, 
quivering lips ignore, 
remorse, 
naming a kid, 
living Wasteland
This time,
you've tried,
all that you can,
it's turning you red

Change my attempt good intentions
Should I? 
Could I?
Here we are with your obsession
Should I? 
Could I?

Crowned,
hopeless, 
the article read,
"Living Wasteland",
This time,
you've tried, 
all that you can, 
it's turning you red

Star Dusk's expression changed from on of concentration to one of pain and sadness

But I,
will not,
hide you through this, 
I want you to help

Change my attempt good intentions
Should I? 
Could I?
Here we are with your obsession
Should I? 
Could I?

"This was nothing like the first song he proposed to me." said Octavia loudly over the music so all could hear.  "But it was much better, more from the heart."  Another change in expression, this time to anger.

Heave the silver, 
hollow sliver,
piercing through another victim
Turn and tremble, 
be judgmental, 
ignorant to all the symbols
Blind the face,
with beauty paste, 
eventually you'll one day know

His face seemed more pained than before from this point.

Change my attempt good intentions,
Limbs tied, 
skin tight,
Self-inflicted his perdition,
Should I? 
Could I?

Change my attempt good intentions
Should I? 
Could I?
Should I? 
Could I?

All the instruments slowly lowered themselves back to rest and Star Dusk found it very difficult to meet Shining Armor's eyes.  

"The first half still needs work."  said Octavia standing up.

"I was thinking that too."  added Shining Armor.  "But it probably had more to do with the fact that you looked out of it for the first part."

"That's why I'm not ready for a concert.  I really don't-"

"Musically and lyrically, you're fine.  It's just performance skill that you lack.  What if you did a small concert for your friends and us?" suggested Octavia

"W-what?  No, no, no, no, no, no, no, there's no way I can do that!  I'm no where near ready."

"Then," said Shining Armor, "how about doing a little at a time?  Let's start with doing a full set, three songs or so, and then add one person to the crowd until you get really comfortable.  Kinda like practicing fighting multiple opponents."

"That sounds perfect." agreed Octavia, "That way we can see if is just nerves that you shake off as the full set rolls on and then crowd size issues.  That should belay even Twilight Sparkle's worries."  Twilight blushed hearing the shot at her worries.

"I'm gonna have to go tonight but I'll defiantly be here for the full concert."  said Shining Armor getting up.

"We should get back to the library before he notices us here."  suggested Celestia, and the other three followed her lead.





"I wonder where that song came from, especially if Octavia says it seems to be coming from the heart..." said Cadence once they came in to the library.

"It did seem very out of character.  Nothing like the person we know now."  commented Luna.

"And nothing like the first song he wrote..."  finished Twilight.

"I thought you haven't heard his work?" questioned Luna.

"Oh, it was a real work in progress and kinda based on that old lullaby that goes like..." Twilight hummed a couple bars, "I don't even remember how it went, but it was obviously different from that song."

"Twilight," began Celestia who had been unusually quiet until this point.  "Has he been having any dreams or nightmares?"

"Uhh," Twilight was thrown by the off topic question, "Not that I know of... Why do you ask?"

Celestia once again took a pensive look on her face.

"Sister?"

"I'll ask him after hearing the song without being hidden."  she settled with herself.  The others looked at each other in confusion.





Three months later and Twilight was pacing.  Star Dusk had been doing a number of these private concerts but she was never invited.  At this point the concert was going to be in a week and everyone she knew had already properly heard a preview.  Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Bon Bon, Lyra, Cherilee, and even Derpy had been invited.

"What the heck, I thought we were supposed to be close friends!  Why am I the only one not going?!  I mean I know that I'm not supposed to know about the sessions but when all my friends disappear for fifteen or so minutes, you would think it'd be too obvious at this point.  Argh!!" 

She heard her friends exiting Vinyl and Octavia's house chatting away.  As if hearing about it like this isn't obvious either...

"So Hero, where do wanna go eat?" came AJ's voice.

"You girls really don't have to treat me to anything."

"Aw, come on.  It's the least we can do after all the free concerts!" said Pinkie who was shushed collectively.

"Twilight's not supposed to know about this, Pinkie.  You know that."  Said Fluttershy quietly and if it wasn't for the fact Twilight had her ear to the door she would have missed it.

"By the way, why is it that you don't want Twilight to know?" Pinkie asked who was again shushed.

"I'll tell you but let's go away from the library.  That way we can talk without worry."

Twilight grit her teeth then ran to her bookshelves searching for a specific spell.

Where is it, where is it.... AH HA!  Spy Spells Specifically Suited for Swiping Secrets, I knew I still had this copy laying around.  She flipped through the book and found the spell she wanted and casted it.  Then she ran to the mirror and saw...

"Nothing!  No one here!  Perfect... now to find out what the heck they're hiding from me..."





She found them outside of The Daisy Flower restaurant.  Chatting away like I don't exist. she thought jealously. Well now that I really don't exist, let's get to business.

"Wow, I didn't think Twilight would be that protective of you."  laughed Rainbow Dash.

"I mean, I was worried about it at the time," continued Star Dusk, "but I have a feeling that she would still be against the co-headliner thing.  I'm kinda looking forward to it thanks to everyone so to have her try to convince me otherwise would.. suck."

Twilight heart sunk.  Was I really that nosy?  I-I just thought that he would do well with... ohh....

"One thing darling, why didn't the set contain a love song?" asked Rarity.

"Well, Octavia thought I should write what I've experienced or felt from the heart so..."

"Ya mean ya never even liked somebody?" asked Applejack.

"Well you guys and the Princesses have been my only really good friends-"

"Oh why not, darling?  Being in love is the most wonderful feeling in the world!!"

"Oh come on Rarity, you mean it's great to have crushes.  You've never had anything returned."

"Well for your information Rainbow Dash, Fancypants and I have been corresponding regularly since I met him in Canterlot... what a year and a half ago?"

"Really Rarity?  That's wonderful." congratulated Fluttershy.

"So you really never had a special somebody?" asked Pinkie Pie again.

"sigh No Pinkie I-"

"What about now!  Anybody you feel really close to?"

"I... I don't know... maybe?"

"Ooh, who is she?" joined Rarity

"Wait, no.  I-"

"How long have you know her?"

"I-"

"Where did you meet?"

"She-"

"Is it a 'forever' kind of relationship?"

"RARITY!  Let him answer, girl." interrupted Applejack.

"Oh, sorry... Go ahead."

"Well, I'm not even sure if I like her like her.  I don't know what that kind of feeling is like."

"Have you ever read any romance novels?"  asked Fluttershy.

"I'm not big on fiction liturature."

That explains his grades in literature in the academy.

"Alright then, do as I say and let's find out." said Rarity taking charge, "Close your eyes and imagine her."

Star Dusk rolled his eyes and stared at Rarity, "Are you serious?"

"DO IT!" she yelled and he complied.  "Do you see her?"

"Sure."

"Okay, what do you feel like?"

"That's a very subjective question Rarity."

"Answer it."

"sigh  Okay, I feel... I dunno.... normal."

"Rarity, if he doesn't know what love is how can he-"

"Shush Rainbow.  Now imagine her captured by some dastardly villain!"  

Once again he opened his eyes, "Seriously?"

"Do... It...." she intimidated and he followed the direction.  "How do you feel?"

"Rarity is this really necessary?" he asked.

"Hero, come now.  We're trying to see if you have some one special."

"Rarity, let me handle this."

"You Rainbow Dash?  Really?"

"Hey, some of the action books I read unfortunately has some really sappy stuff in it.  I can't help it!  I tried to skip over it but I would keep missing important stuff and-"

"Come off it Rainbow, I saw you giggling and mentioning something like 'Oh Silvermane, I wish you were real.'" said Applejack teasing her causing a deep red blush from Rainbow.

"Dash, if you're gonna take over, can we get this over with?" asked Star Dusk impatiently.

"Oh, sure.  So you still have her in mind right?"

"Yeah..."

"So imagine her caught from behind and some evil-"

"Wait, that was the same as me!"

"You need more detail for it to hit closer to home Rarity.  Anyway, imagine her captured with the bad guy's arm across her throat."

Star Dusk still made no motion.

"I guess he doesn't-"

"Hold on there Fluttershy, I'm not done.  Now imagine her getting stabbed in the stomach."

"Wait a sec Dash-" Star Dusk quickly grabbed the table edge in reflex nearly causing all the drinks to tip over and causing everyone to blink.

"But I bet he would do that for any one of his friends." finished Applejack.

"Yeah, if I see a friend in danger I would jump immediately."  he said relaxing.

"Alright then Hero, you can safely say you don't like me like me, right?"  she said confidently.

"Yeah, you're a good friend Dash but I don't feel anything special.  It would be like dating my sister or something"

"You didn't need to put that much detail..." she said with a little hurt in her voice.  

Did Rainbow just...  No, it probably was just insulting.  That's what's written on her face.  'What I'm not good enough to date?'  Always competitive Rainbow Dash.

"Anyway, imagine me in that same situation."  Star Dusk did twitch in reflex but nothing on the level of the first move.  "And there you go.  You can open your eyes."

"I didn't realize that she meant that much to me." he said opening his eyes slowly.

"Soooooooo, who is she!" asked Rarity excitedly.

"What?  No, definatly no.  I'm not gonna do that."

"What?"  they all said collectively.

If he's discovered who he likes.... I have to know.  It should be between me, Vinyl, and Princess Luna.

"That's not fair."  complained Pinkie.

"Hey, I just figured it out.  What makes you think I'm gonna spill everything when I'm still sorting things out."

"Then will you answer yes or no questions?" plugged Rarity.

"Maybe?"

That opened up the floodgates.

"Do we know her?" asked Fluttershy.

"I-I would think so."

"Is she younger or older than you?" asked Rarity.

"Isn't everyone technically younger than me?"

"So it's not Princess Celestia." she concluded.

"Wait, you thought I could have-"

"What's her cutie mark?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"That's not a yes or no question and that would imply I've seen her naked."

"Have you seen her naked?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"NO!"

"Come now girls, let's ask questions to narrow the field." suggested Rarity.

"She ain't anyone of us right?" asked Applejack.

"No."

"No she's not or no she is?" clarified Rarity.

"No no no."

"Does she teach you?" asked Fluttershy.

"Kind of?"

"Great job, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie Pie, "That narrows it down to... Princess Luna, Vinyl, and Octavia!"

Twilight's heart hit rock bottom.  Of course....  He lives with me after all.  I must be like a sister or roommate.  I was an idiot.

"Still includes Twilight too." pointed out Rarity perking Twilight's ear.

"How d'ya figure?" asked Applejack.

"Well we all have been teaching Star Dusk here about friendship right?"

"Yeah and he said that we weren't the one." reiterated Rainbow.

"Yes, but Twilight is not with us is she?"

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.  Thank you sooooo much Rarity!! she thought, her heart making more than a full recovery.

"Well I think you've all asked enough questions.  It's already bad enough that you've made me so nervous she's gonna be at the real concert."

"Ooh, ooh!  That means it can't be Octavia or Vinyl since they've been at the practice sets!" said Pinkie excitedly.

"Good one Pinkie!" said Rainbow Dash slapping her on the back.  "That narrows it down to Twilight and Princess Luna!"

Star Dusk now looked exasperated.  He probably hadn't expected them to whittle down the list so quickly.  The food then arrived at the table.

"Okay, I think I'm just gonna eat so I stop digging myself into a hole..." he said taking the first bite of his sandwich.

"Aww, c'mon.  It can't be all that bad.  You've already handled a pretty good crowd." reassured Applejack.

"Yeah, and it's not like she's gonna be judging your songs.  She'll enjoy them just like we did." added Rainbow.

Star Dusk sunk into his seat.  

"O-oh girls, I need to use the ladies room.  Why don't we all go together?" asked Rarity.  Applejack and Rainbow were the only two not starting to move.

"No thanks, already went before-" Rainbow noticed Rarity giving a signal to follow her.  "I mean, might as well let out before refilling.  Am I right?"

"Please not when I'm eating..." complained Star Dusk.

"Aw, don't be such a wuss."

"Well, be back soon!  Don't go anywhere!"

Twilight ran into an indecision.  Should she stay and talk to Star Dusk, or should she see what Rarity wanted to talk to the girls about in private.  She decided on the former and released the invisibility spell.

Act natural Twilight, like you haven't heard a thing...

"Hey there!  I haven't seen you all day."  she said approaching him.  Star Dusk was visibly startled and started beating on his chest and drinking water.

"I... Hey there Twilight, I didn't expect to see you out of the library today." he said worriedly.

"Yeah well I needed some fresh air."  she replied sitting at the table.  "So what have you been up to?  Besides lunch, with five people?" she said suspiciously.

"O-oh, Pinkie, AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Dash happened to walk by right as I got here.  They're using the restroom right now."

"Oh, what a coincidence.  I wish I had run into you all earlier too so we could all have fun together." she said with heavy implication.

"Yeah... It was a strange co... How does Pinkie put it?  Co-wink-y-dink?"

Twilight could not keep a straight face and burst out laughing.  Watching Star Dusk quote any unfamiliar term for the first time was hilarious.

"Y-Yeah, that does sound like something she'd say."

"We're back!" said Rarity in a sing song voice.  They all then noticed Twilight at the table and froze.

"O-Oh hey there Twi." said Applejack nervously as they all took their seats, Rainbow grabbing an extra one.

"What a happy coincidence...." said Rarity.

"I know, right?"

"H-Hero just finished telling us that he has a concert coming up!" said Rainbow Dash.  Obviously they wanted to talk about his music again without mentioning the private concerts with Twilight there.

"Yeah I know."  she began, "Are you feeling more ready now?"  That's it Twilight.  Just don't be over protective.  Be nice and understanding.

"Yeah, much more than three months ago."

"Great, that's just great!"

"Well, we were wondering if there will be any love songs in your repertoire, dear." started Rarity.

"Well, not really." he answered simply.

"I bet you can't even right a love song." stabbed Rainbow.

"Like you care if I have a love song in there or not, Dash.  Or are you that deep into the romance novels?" Star Dusk's words were back to normal.  No hint of something awkward.

"I am not!  I just think you might understand your feelings better if you tried."

"Dash!" scolded Applejack.

"A-Anyway, if you can do that then we'll quit bothering you on it."

"Wait," cut in Twilight, "You want him to write a song within a week on a topic he's not all that familiar with?"

"Umm, yes?" answered Fluttershy.

"That's so ridiculous.  He can't do something like that in that amount of time!"

"Wait a second there Twilight." cut in Star Dusk, "What makes you think I can't do it?"

"It's just too little time." she answered meekly.  I did it AGAIN!  ARGH!!

He took a deep breath, "Okay, I'll try.  If I can't finish it in time, then I won't perform it.  Nice and clean cut."

"Ooh, Ooh! If you do write one, make sure it's got more hints in it!" added Pinkie Pie.

"Now that's enough Pinkie." chided Rarity.

"Hints?" asked Twilight pretending not to know.

"Oh yeah!  You weren't here!  Well Hero here has someone he likes and we were trying to guess and-"

"PINKIE!" the other five scolded.

"Oops..."

"Is that right?" Twilight asked turning to Star Dusk.  He was pensive, very deep in thought.

"...and this life....  I think I have something.  Thanks for the lunch girls.  I'll see you all at the concert!"

"Wait, Star Dusk!" called Twilight after him.

"He'll be fine, Twilight.  Let him grow a little." Rarity said.

"So I do act like a mother." she pouted.

"Just relax a bit.  He'll be more receptive after the concert, I'm sure of it." Rarity supported.

"That right!  Twilight likes Hero!" remembered Pinkie, garnering collective groans from the others.  "Oh, we're really gonna have to see this love song now!  I can't wait for this concert!!!"

"Your not the only one." said an apprehensive Twilight.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Wasteland
Orginally performed by: 10 Years
Written by: Jesse Hasek, Ryan Johnson, Matt Wantland, Brian Vodinh
Label: Universal Records
> 8 - The Concert
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pleasure shot threw Twilight's body and she looked down to see Star Dusk kissing her midriff, slowly moving lower.

"Oh so I'm continuing this dream huh?" she said aloud.  "First dream I've been aware of in a while."

"What makes you think it's a dream, sunshine?" asked Star Dusk playfully.

"That right there.  I don't even know if you like me or Princess Luna or-"

Her words were cut short....





Twilight popped awake with a start.  Her heart was in her throat, beating at a million miles per hour.  How she wished it was due to the pleasure being too much.  

I have a book on dreams!  Maybe it was just symbolic!!  Yeah I'm sure Star Dusk wouldn't do those things... yeah.

She hopped out of bed, changed, and searched for the book in question.  

There's no way he would start choking me like that... and what he did to the Princesses....

Her thoughts and search was cut short, much like her words in the dream and the dream itself.

"No, No, No!!!" cried Vinyl running in.

"C'mon, you promised if I could make a song like that you would sing it!"  pressed Star Dusk.

"No, no, no.  I refuse to sing anything!"

"What's going on now?"

"Sorry for barging in Twilight." said Star Dusk, "But Vinyl is refusing to honor a bet we had, I'm just making her pay up!"

"I refuse to do it during the concert!  I never agreed to that part!"  she retorted turning away from him.

"So you're just being a coward.  Afraid of the crowd?"

"HEY!  DJ PON3 does not get stage fright!" she replied, spinning around and pointing a finger in his face

"But apparently Vinyl Scratch does." he said with a smirk across his face.

Like you weren't having that three months ago?

"Oh!  It's on hero boy.  Name your terms!"  Star Dusk's smirk widened.

"Arm wrestling.  If I win, you sing tonight in the concert."

"And if I win?" 

"You won't.  But to satisfy you let's say I'll wager having so sing some sappy song that was meant to be sung by a woman in the concert."

"You're on!" Vinyl quickly agreed and laid down on the floor, arm extended out.  The young knight followed suit and clasped her hand.

"Vinyl?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah, what is it?  I'm ready to hear this little wussy singin' in falsetto."

"You do know who you just agreed to arm wrestle right?  The hero of the Crystal Empire?"  The realization dawned on Vinyl just as they began.  The match to a total of five seconds, Star Dusk was feeling generous.

"Argh!!  How did I forget who the heck I was challenging!?"

"Two things Vinyl," started Star Dusk.  "You have to stop taking bets when someone puts you down, easy prey.  Secondly, you haven't even read the music and you were so opposed to it.  Read it, then make your decisions."

"It's gonna suck or it's gonna really suck.  That's all there is to it." she said walking out depressed.  Star Dusk looked up at Twilight for answers who only was able to respond with a shrug.

The hero himself started for the door, "The concert starts at eight, Twilight.  Please don't be late!"

As if I would miss it... she thought to herself, having forgot about her nightmare.





Everyone took their seats a medium distance from the stage.  Of course Twilight and her friends were there but also attending were Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, who were wearing cloaks so as not to draw attention to themselves.  The area was full of concert goers, apparently people from all over Equestria were here to listen to DJ PON3 and the new artist she 'discovered'.

"I hope he'll be okay, a lot of his most important friends are here and it's a lot fuller than I thought." worried Twilight.

"Calm down Sugarcube.  Hero's got this." reassured Applejack.

"I don't know... with the bets and his own music..."

"What bets?" asked Cadence.

"Well he bet us that he could write a love song." informed Rainbow.

"And he bet Vinyl he could make songs a certain way." filled in Twilight.

"What way?" asked Luna.

"You know what, I don't know... All I know if that Vinyl really didn't want to sing for them."

"SHE'S GONNA SING?!" cried Rainbow loudly.

"Um.. yeah?"

"ohmygosh,ohmygosh,ohmygosh,ohmygosh, the only thing she's ever done is speak her lyrics.  This is gonna be so awesome!"

Before anyone could add anything more, the lights dimmed and Vinyl came on stage and started her set.  Not much different than her usual stuff, dubstep and electronica.  Once her set finished she took a breath and slowly walked off stage.  Star Dusk blocked her path and she reluctantly went back to the DJ station, picking up a microphone and taking of her signature glasses.  Star Dusk took her place at the DJ station grabbing another mic.

"Hello everybody!  I've got a special treat for you all!  DJ PON3 and I, H3R0, collaborated on a couple songs.  Would you like to hear them?"  The crown voice overwhelming a approval.

"Alright then, let's get started!" he said as he put down the mic and grabbed a set of headphones with a mic attached.  Music much like Vinyl's started and both musicians moved their heads in time with the music.  At first, Vinyl seemed apprehensive though it didn't come across in her voice, just body language.  After the first chorus, she relaxed and started to really move to the music and Star Dusk began his verse.  

During her last verse, Vinyl's demeanor changed.  She moved close to the booth and started giving Star Dusk sultry looks.  Star Dusk, however, kept his eyes focused on the panel.  After the song ended, he took off the headphones and grabbed the microphone again.

"I dunno, Hero didn't look quite into it.." said Rarity.

"Well that was a song for Vinyl to sing, maybe he wrote it for her?" suggested Applejack.

"That's probably it."  settled Rainbow.

"Twilight, are you okay?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm fine..."  What was with those looks she gave him?

The next song started, a better blend between Vinyl's and Star Dusk's styles.  They came to the front of the stage starting the song:

Girl I've been all over the world
Looking for you
I'm known for taking what I think I deserve
And you're overdue
And if you listen you can hear me through the radio
In that bright white noise
What I been missing in my life
What I been dreaming of
You'll be that girl
You'll be that girl
You'll be-

Everything you want so let me get up there
I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere
Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like

You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You, you make me feel good

Star Dusk kept playing to the crowd but Vinyl kept her eyes on him,

Get a little closer to me girl
And you'll understand
'Cause if you want a guy that knows what you need
Well, then I'm your man
And if I listen I can hear you through my radio
In that bright white noise
What I been missing in my life
What I been dreaming of
You'll be that girl
You'll be that girl
You'll be-

Everything you want so let me get up there
I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere
Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like
Oh
Everything you know I'm flipping upside down
Take you 'round the world
You know I like it loud
Tell me what you want 'cause we can do just what you like

You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la

Vinyl got his attention and started applying pressure while singing to him,

Put your hands up, put your hands up
Let the lights drop, let the lights drop
Make my world stop, make my world stop

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in for a kiss.  Everyone in the crowd cheered, all except for the main group of friends who were all in shock.  The music continued as both Vinyl and Star Dusk missed their initial cues.  Once they broke the kiss they both, like pros, continued at the point they were in the music, Vinyl now playing to the crowd while a dumbfounded Star Dusk kept staring at Vinyl.

La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la
You make me feel good
La la la la la

Once the song was over, Star Dusk quickly grabbed Vinyl and ran off stage as the crew began preping the stage for his solo performance.  Twilight tried to stay composed but could not control the tears welling in her eyes.

"That came outta left field..." said Applejack.

"But it still fit in with the hints, we just assumed he wasn't going to be nervous with Vinyl."  pointed out Rarity.

"I guess that counts as the love song, but then why would he be shocked?  Shouldn't he have been happy when she kissed him?"  asked Rainbow.

"Maybe he wasn't expecting an answer during the concert?"  suggested Fluttershy.

Twilight buried her face in her hands in order to hide the tears now flowing out.  Her brother put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It'll be alright Twily."

"No, I'm fine.  I'm just resting my eyes before the next part." she lied as she let loose silent tears that fell to the floor.  "I just need a couple minutes is all."  

"Is it just me or was he not into that one either?" pointed out Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, not now." scolded Rarity softly.

"Sister, was it just me or did Star Dusk seem-"

"A little more than frustrated?" finished Celestia.

"Yes, mostly when he walked of the stage with 'DJ PON3'." 

"Y-You two don't have to cheer me up.  I'm fine."

"There's no need for us to do that,"  pointed out Celestia, still with her warm voice, "You have great friends to do that for you."

"Ooh, Ooh there he is again!"

As Pinkie said, Star Dusk walked up to the microphone and picked up the guitar next to it, putting it around his neck.  He clasped his hands together and put them to his forehead as the crowd cheered.

"He seems nervous." pointed out Cadence causing Twilight to look up.  At each of the instruments, a magical replica of himself picked up the instrument and prepared 'himself'.  Star Dusk took one more deep breath before continuing.  

"Let's get started!" he said excitedly with the crowd answering in kind.  He began his first song which the five recognized from the private sets.





After a number of songs, all well received, H3R0 was dripping in sweat.  

"Okay, I'm done warming up.  You ready to go?" he asked jokingly.

"He's really nervous, huh?" said Applejack.

"Yeah, he's been looking a bit off." said Cadence.

He turned around and shook his head quickly before starting the intro, much longer than those that came before:

No, 
we cannot see
Who are we, 
to look to

No, 
We cannot hear
What is to believe in

He spun around, now looking very invested in the song.

And we keep dreamin' of a world
Where all that's good so we were told
We need a hero

And we keep dreamin' of a time
Where good is all that we can find
We need a...
We need a...
Hero

No, 
we cannot tell
Who's the one to lead us

But you know that we'll be there
Waiting for them to find us

And we keep dreamin' of a world
Where all that's good so we were told
We need a hero

And we keep dreamin' of a time
Where good is all that we can find
We need a...
We need a...
Hero

"Wow, who knew he could sing about himself?" said Rainbow sarcastically.

"He's doing pretty good instrumentally though." pointed out Shining Armor.

"What ever happened back stage seems to be subsiding finally."  said Celestia.

"I wonder why he's singing about himself from the point of view of the rescued?" asked Twilight, trying to remain invested.  It was really hard to stay, but she would do it for her..... friend.

"Twily, if you want to go."

"No, no.  Like I said, I'm good." she said flashing a cheap smile to her brother.

And we keep dreamin' of the world
Where all that's good so we were told
We need a hero

And we keep dreamin' of a time
Where good is all that we can find
We need a hero

And we keep dreamin' of a world
Where all that's good so we were told
We need a hero

And we keep dreamin' of a time
Where good is all that we can find
We need a...
We need a...
Hero

He finished with another strong instrumental section.

"Two more songs to go!" he warned the crowd, who voiced their disappointment at the prospect of an end.

"I wonder what he'll finish with?" Rainbow mused.

The bass player kicked in loudly and the music began proper with another extended intro:

And so you fell
into the danger
And you're all alone tonight
Well you're surrounded by the hurting type
And you just don't care for the sight

Well we'll come runnin' to your side
We will protect you from your fright
All of us are on your side
We'll take them
We'll take them... down

Fight! Fight, fight, fight

"There's his point of view." said Shining Armor

You know you must be strong and hold your own
'Cause the power's on your side
The enemy will try to give you fear
But you never run nor hide

And we'll come runnin' to your side
We will protect you from your fright
All of us are on your side
We'll take them... down

Fight! Fight, fight, fight

"But the 'we's are kinda weird." pointed out Cadence.

"Well he was a royal guard, maybe he's referencing the guard as a whole." her husband counterpointed.

And we'll come runnin' to your side
We will protect you from your fright
All of us are on your side
We'll take them
We'll take them... down

Fight! We'll take them down, fight

The crowd cheered loudly again.  Some of the magical clones flickered but was brought back up by the lead musician looking quite ragged now.  

"Oh no," realized Twilight, "It's exhausting enough to do a concert like this, but to also keep out magical clones is nearly impossible.  He must be close to the end of his rope!  That must be why he wasn't so invested before!"

"Then why doesn't he stop? Take a break?" asked Rainbow.

"He must feel like it's his duty as a musician to finish the concert.  He's being selfless again!"

"I'll go stop him!" said Shining Armor getting up.

"I had a bet with some friends of mine." Star Dusk began.

"Wait!" said Luna grabbing the Prince.

"They said I didn't know any thing about love, so I should write about it to wrap my head around it."

The crowd laughed, some calling for DJ PON3 to come on stage and let them know they're wrong.

"Well, here's my attempt.  Lemme know how I did, huh?"

"Wait, you mean that song with Vinyl wasn't the love song?" said Rarity flabbergasted as the music began:

And tonight the coastline is quiet,
It's quieter than it's ever been.
Honey this town is a prison,
With it's four walls closing in.
And they have one pill to make you smaller,
They got one pill to make you scream.
Darling this heart is on fire,
And this life is but a dream.
All right, all right.
All right, all right.

"This isn't a love song..." said Fluttershy.

You see this town pulls my heart strings.
I fell in love with the Shrewsberry stars.
But there's far too many diamonds,
In the back seats of borrowed cars.
And I could never stop this burning.
Honey, I can't tell no lies.
I could never stand no weather.
Darling this heart is on fire.
All right, all right.
All right, all right.

Tonight, tonight,
We're gonna ride like Silver in the desolation moonlight.
Tonight, tonight,
I ain't coming back until the morning light.
Tonight, tonight,
It's all right, all right.
Tonight, tonight...

"There it is." said Celestia turning to the five friends,  "Seems like he understands the concept fine."

All right, all right...
All right, all right...

Dancin' by moonlight,
My old friend the Twilight.
Dancin' by moonlight,
My old friend the Twilight.
Dancin' by moonlight,
My old friend the Twilight.
Dancin' by moonlight,
My old friend...

Everyone was shocked.  So shocked, in fact, they couldn't hear the roar of the crowd in approval.  He said Twilight's name, three times.  The performer heaved his breaths, the instruments falling and striking the floor hard as the replicas dissipated.  He walked off the stage, seemingly, with great confidence.  But Celestia and Luna got up and quickly made their way to the stage with everyone following.





"I'm telling you he's fine." said Octavia to the group of friends outside the backstage area.

"But he really stretched his energies to their limit.  Are you sure-"

"Rarity, I can tell you that he is absolutely fine.  He's just..... in the green room!  Recuperating...." 

"Then can you answer another question?"  started Twilight, her eyes still a bit red and baggy from her earlier tears, "What was with Vinyl on the stage?"

"Yeah, why'd the heck did she kiss him?" pushed Rainbow Dash.

"Oh.... That...." said Octavia quietly.  "Well, I don't know if I'm at liberty to talk about that..."

"Are you sure?" said Princess Luna, walking forward and pulling down the hood of her cloak.

"Oh Princess Luna!  I... I don't want to..."

"It's fine Tavi." said Vinyl Scrach walking up to the group, trademark glasses back on her face.  "I got this."

Her face was not the usual, exuberant DJ they all knew.  She seemed ashamed and ready for punishment.

"There's a reason I wear these glasses when I perform." she began, "When I started out, I had a more traditional sound, well, as far as DJs go anyway.

"I was decent enough, got a few cool gigs at night clubs here and there.  The only problem was that I couldn't keep myself from getting into the music.  I would find all sorts of problems with my music, that didn't really exist, right in the middle of a set and try to fix it, live.  

"The good thing is that it's what gave me my current sound.  Bad thing?  I would get so lost in the sounds, like I had found some kind of high just making new sounds."

"That doesn't sound all too bad."  Rarity sighed.

"It wouldn't be, if I could keep myself in my booth on stage.  It's like I was getting drunk in the music and waking up with regrets and mistakes."

"So like a musical hangover?" suggested Rainbow.

"Okay, I guess I can't dance around the issue... Dash, you were closest.  Yeah, like a musically induced hangover.  Except I remember all the drunken debauchery every morning I woke up, next to someone new.  Every Time.  I wish I could say it was due to something else, alcohol, drugs, anything.  But it just seems like I was on an uncontrollable roller coaster that never let me off.  I loved music too much to give it up, but the idea of acting like I was a drunk person on a boat load of aphrodisiacs scared me."

"That probably scare me too." sympathized Applejack.

"That's when I met Tavi, I went to a concert of the Canterlot Philharmonic.  Half to get new ideas for music, the other half of me wanted to test and see what this music would have as an effect compared to my usual stuff.  Tavi actually came to me."

"I saw her during the performance," continued Octavia, "She was so unlike our usual audience members so she stood out like a sore thumb.  I went to ask her why she had come to such a performance.  To which she took offense."

Octavia smiled and began a flawless imitation of Vinyl's speech patterns but kept her own accent.

"'What?  I can't come here and listen to music?  I know there's no dress code for this concert.  So why don't you take your silly oversized fiddle and back off.'  I could obviously tell that something had been bothering her the whole night and just let loose on the first dissenter. 

"After talking with Vinyl I deduced that all she needed to do was try and remain focused.  To which she countered, 'Oh, you think I just play around when I'm on stage?  That I don't have the same work ethic?'"

"'No,'" said Vinyl imitating Octavia, accent and all, "'Every musician needs to lose themselves from time to time.  It helps when you have to focus on the multiple parts that may change during the performance.  However, if you lose yourself all the time you end up in a rut, or the strange situation that you find yourself in I guess.'  She asked me about everything leading up to the blackouts.  Since everything turned white right before she suggested adding color.  

"At first I had no clue what she was talking about.  I wandered around Canterlot a few days and found these glasses.  I thought they looked cool and I thought it would give me a cool edge for my gigs.  The next time I had one, I wore them but nothing happened.  I was able to keep myself flowing and focused on the music.  I finally got what Octavia was saying."

"Though that's not what I meant, I'm glad I was able to help, Vinyl."

"That was a touching story," said Twilight softly but her demeanor showed annoyance,  "but still didn't answer my question.  Why did you kiss Star Dusk?"

"Well, he asked me to perform with out my glasses.  It was part of the original bet.  He said something like 'I want the audience to see the emotion of the song related through everything, not just the lyrics.'"

"So that's why you said it would suck either way.  Either the song was going to be no good or you would end up losing control again."  equated Twilight.

"Yeah...  It's especially worse when there's lyrics involved.  I tend to become whatever the lyrics are describing and since he wrote party songs about 'making me feel good', well... you know the result.  Heh. Though he thought I did that on purpose to throw him off his groove for his set as revenge for making me sing."

"He probably was also angry for another reason..." said Cadence not particularly under her breath.

"Oh yeah, sorry didn't mean to steal your boyfriend or anything.  I didn't know you two were dating."

"We're not.  Not really."

"Oh... OH!  Wow, I'm really sorry!  I didn't know both of you were still sending feelers and all.  Damn, I thought he was the only one who didn't know."  Vinyl was very uncharacteristically apologetic.

"Then, I'm really glad he was able to snap you out of it." mentioned Octavia.  "If left to your own devices... well.... I've experienced that before."

"Yeah not an easy thing to do.  It might have gotten worse back stage if he didn't bring me out of it."

"How'd he do that?"  asked Rainbow Dash.

"You know, I wish I knew." she replied.

Suddenly there was a lot of clamor coming from the outside.

"Tavi check that out will ya?" As Octavia turned to go to the stage, Star Dusk burst out from further backstage running at a break neck pace jumping through the curtains and on to the stage.  

"What's his-" before Vinyl had finished, everyone then ran past her to see what was going on.

On the stage, Star Dusk was fighting with a group of husks with the other half of the platoon being down in the seating area.

"What the heck are those things?" cried Cadence.

"Doesn't matter!  Star Dusk needs our help!" replied Shining Armor, ripping off his cloak and charging in to help.

"Come on girls!  We'll take the group down with the audience!" instructed Twilight with the others nodding.

With all the assistance, even some from the Princesses, the crowd was thinned very quickly.

"We did it!" cheered Twilight as she took out the last husk.  She turned back to the stage to see Shining Armor and Star Dusk take out the last one there.

"Woo Hoo!  Go us, it's our birthday!" cheered Pinkie.  

"Star Dusk where are you going?" said Shining Armor.

"I need to take care of something." he answered before being tackled by a figure coming through the curtains.  They both flew back into the front row of seats.

"Hero!" called Rainbow Dash as she and the others ran to see him.  Before anyone could get really close two figures quickly popped up and shot back away from each other.

One of course was Star Dusk, battle damage still all over his body, breathing very heavily and visibly exhausted.  The other...

"Wait, am I seein' double?" said Applejack.

"I... what's going on?" asked Fluttershy.

"Stay back!" said the knight on Twilight's left.  "He's dangerous!"

"No I'm not!" said the one to her right.  "He's trying to trick you!"

"Liar!"

"Said the pot to the kettle!"

Twilight finally wrapped her head around what she was seeing, "There are two Star Dusks?" 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: You Make Me Feel...
Originally performed by: Cobra Starship featuring Sabi
Written by: Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen
Label: Fueled by Ramen, Decaydance, Warner Bros.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: We need a Hero
Originally performed by: Ron Wasserman
Written by:  Ron Wasserman
Label: possibly Universal, more likely self recorded

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Fight
Originally performed by: Ron Wasserman
Written by:  Ron Wasserman
Label: possibly Universal, more likely self recorded

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Wooderson
Originally performed by: The Gaslight Anthem
Written by:  Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz
Label: XOXO

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 9 - The Separation and The Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How could there be two of them?" asked Luna.

"A Changeling.  It has to be." said Cadence.

"That's it!" both Star Dusks exclaimed.  "Stop confusing them.  You're the changeling!  No you are!"

Twilight smirked, "You may look like him, but you don't have his memories!  What was your job before coming to Ponyville?"

"Princess Luna's personal guard."  They both answered.

"Wait... How did he?"

"What was my most favorite of the stories that you told me?"  said Luna stepping forward.

A personal question!  Good job Princess!

"The one where I solved a puzzle deep in the temple by using all four physical elements on stones in separate corners of the room to release the captured princess."  They answered in unison again.  Then they turned to each other and began grappling with each other.  Luna grit her teeth.

"How could the changeling know something like that?" she asked.

"Maybe," postulated Twilight, "after I was able to see through the fake Cadence, they developed a spell to help them absorb the memories of the person they're copying so as to fool everyone."

"Hey, maybe he can do that.  But there's no way they could copy his talent!"  suggested Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, you're a genius!" commented Twilight.  The Star Dusks must have heard it as well because they both began throwing lifted pieces of earth, cutting winds, and fire lifted from the torches in the area.

"Argh, this is startin' to tick me off!!  How the heck are we gonna figure out which one's the real one?" groaned Applejack.

Twilight noticed that Princess Celestia was conflicted in thought as the Star Dusks once again grappled with each other.  The struggle ended up with one of them mounting the other and raining blows.

"I guess.... it's the only way to tell.... Forgive me, Star Dusk..." Celestia said to herself as she took a couple of steps forward.

"Sister, what are you-"

"Solaris, you may awaken!!" she called out to the pair of warriors.  The top one looked at her in confusion.

"Your highness, I don't understand.  Why would you call me to awaken?  I'm right here." 

"You wouldn't understand, since you didn't have a memory blocking spell cast on you." she replied.  The one being beaten pushed up the earth behind him with no warning, launching them both in the air.  They both landed on their feet, now with clearly marked differences in look thanks to the ground beating.

"Princess what just happened?" asked Twilight.  

"I temporarily released the lock on his memory.  The fake would have no such lock and would be confused when I called his true name."

"True name?"

"Now you will really see where those legends came from."

The outed changeling remained in his form, picked up a piece of earth and launched it at Star Dusk.  Star Dusk put his hand  up and as the rock made contact with his hand, it began to melt away and fall down in orange-red clumps that quickly cooled.

The soldier looked down and heaved a giant breath.

Oh no, that's right!  He was already low on magic!  Remembering how to do more difficult spells won't change that!

The changeling noticed the moment of weakness too.  It seemed to know better than to test its luck fighting Star Dusk and ran towards the group of spectators.  Shining Armor stepped forward to protect the girls, favoring the Princesses and his wife.  But the changeling, using the abilities endowed by Star Dusk, bypassed the soldier and went straight for his sister.

"Twily!"

In a moment, the changeling grabbed her by the throat and took off back towards backstage.  They both landed on the floor with a heavy impact.  Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked into her own.

"He'll know, he knows his friends." she spat at the changeling as she backed away both rising at the same time.

Star Dusk burst through the curtains and saw the twin Twilights.

"Star Dusk!" cried the impostor, "He changed into me!  Get him!!"

"N-no!  She's lying!" Twilight defended.  Both of them tried to look into his eyes to plead their case.  He came to a decision and began walking over to Twilight.  He nearly collapsed, causing both Twilights to gasp, but was able to get his hands on her shoulders for support though they had knocked heads a bit.  

"Are you okay?" she asked the soldier as he got his weight back on his feet.  

<<Take a deep breath and hold it.>> Came a voice from inside her head.  It had sounded like Star Dusk.

"What are you-" before she could finish her statement she reflexively complied as Star Dusk wrapped his hands around her throat and lifted her off the ground.

<<You cut it pretty close.>> Came his voice again, she could see he wasn't speaking.  

When he hit my head-

<<I opened up a telepathic link, yes.>>

So you can hear my thoughts?

<<Every one.  Now I know you're the real one.>>

How?

<<It's the look in her eye when I started choking you.>>

And if you started choking the fake one?

<<You know, a normal person would ask me to put them down if I knew they are the real one.>>

Please and thank you?

<<In my current state, I won't be able to beat her.  I had to make physical contact to open up the link after all.>>

Twilight began to feel her lungs begin to burn in pain, pleading for new air to replace the old one.

And choking me will help?

<<I want to ask permission for something first->>

Yes, Yes!!! Go! Do it!  I can't breathe for crying out loud!!

Twilight felt a tingle around her body and the burning sensation went away as Star Dusk dug his fingers in deeper to her throat.

What did you do?  I'm still not breathing but-

<<You and I are sharing now.  Everything.  That's why I wanted your permission, it can get a bit awkward but I guess you're just noticing your lungs are fine.>>

Okay... So what's the plan from here?

<<I'm going to borrow some magic from you.  I'm practically fresh out.  That way I can stand some chance against this thing.>>

You can do that?

<<And you didn't question the whole breathing through me thing?>>

Well I... you.... shut up...  Star Dusk smirked but she could feel that that was supposed to be a smile with laughter.

<<If I'm right you'll feel a warm feeling in your neck, where the contact is made and cold in the limbs.>>

Wait, 'if you're right'?  You mean you've never done this before?

<<Not even the true link one but both theories are sound.  Besides, the first one worked right?>>

Twilight began failing trying to hit him.  WHAT?  You mean I could be dead on a hunch!?  Twilight could feel a happy feeling coming from the attacker, he was thinking that now the choking looked realistic.

<<Not if you knew the developer of the two spells.>> Another warm feeling, along with a quickly flashing memory of a beautiful woman with golden eyes and hair that started white at the roots and slowly shifted to a light orange and then lighter purple.  Then a sharp, powerful pain which was quickly squashed along with the memory.  <<I'm sorry.  I didn't mean for you to feel that.  I'll try to have more control.>>

It's fine... Are you okay?

<<Let's take care of one thing at a time shall we?>>  He began the spell and just like he warned, her fingers and toes were the first to be hit with the cold while her throat felt comfortably warm.  Twilight then focused enough to feel what Star Dusk was feeling.  He was warm all over.  She tried to see what he was thinking and she felt as her consciousness was being pulled in a different direction.  To another memory....





"Princess, I beg of thee... Do not ask me such things."  said Star Dusk to a younger Princess Celestia.

"Young knight," She began, "We cannot help thee with thy troubles if thou does not assist us in finding the memory in question."

This must be from the time when everybody talked like this.  Although the Princess isn't using the Royal Canterlot voice, only the royal 'we'. Twilight thought as she saw the scene unfold.

"Thou wouldst have a different opinion of me if thou knew what it was..."

Wait, is this....

"We cannot help you if we don't know what needs to be blocked.  Or how much."

It is!!  I'll finally get to see what the heck was hurting him so bad!!

"Very well..."  The young knight relented.  Celestia smiled then spread her ethereal wings and placed her hand on his forehead.... and nothing happened.  They just stood there, the princess's eyes darting around behind her eyelids while the knight kept still.

Wait.... Oh shoot!  I'm in Star Dusk's memory not Princess Celestia's!  He's not actively thinking about the memory, she's sifting through them to find the right one!  I won't be able to see anything.... pouted the magi.  She sat down on the railing nearby waiting for them to finish.  What seemed to be nearly an hour later, Celestia opened her eyes.

"So... it was thou who was the cause of the King and Queen's death..." she said quietly.  Twilight blinked disbelievingly.

"T'was I who was responsible... yes.  No amount of punishment can be adequate for my crime."

"What?  No, that can't be."  said Twilight to the knight.  "You were a hero!  The Princesses both cared for you like family.  Why would they do that if you killed their parents?"  They did not react to her words.  Right, it's a memory.  It already happened.

"I see.." she began, faltering her royal voice, "Then I assume thou are also at fault for Sparkling Gauntlet not returning as well?" 

"I... I suppose so...." he answered dejectedly.

"Then if I block this memory, it will be as it never happened.  Thus thou would escape any need for punishment."

"T-That was not my intention!  I just-"  

"Thy thoughts were purely on our sister." she interrupted, returning to her royal speech.  "As they should be."  Celestia closed her eyes in thought.  "Their deaths are not due to any folly of yours.  Thou hadst specific instructions per the king.  You followed them to completion."

"You are much too kind Princess..." he began, looking away from her.  "Had I not put them in danger in the first place, I would not have to follow such instructions.  Thus-"

"Thus they would still be here?" Celestia finished incredulously.  "Star Dusk, allow us to repeat, thou are not at fault for what happened.  Thou could not have had the foresight to predict what would happen from that point.  There is no reason to blame thyself for what happened.  I certainly do not and I am sure Luna would not harbor any grudge against you as well."

Star Dusk still looked away.  "I still feel just as guilty as if I had placed the blade myself..."

Celestia sighed deeply, "If I did this could you be able to love my sister as she desires?"

The knight flinched at the question before answering.  "If the memory is blocked, then possibly.  However-"

"It would be a lie.  And if thy memory should return..."

"She would be hurt worse than now." finished Star Dusk as silence pervaded the air.  

"Very well, we shall grant thy request.  We will have to block the entire memory as even a fraction of the mission may remind you."

"However it must be..."

Twilight suddenly felt a tug and was pulled away from the scene.





"Twily?  Twily!" called her brother hovering over her.

"She should be back now." said Star Dusk's voice from the side.

Twilight slowly opened her eyes and saw her friends and family around her with the Sisters hovering over Star Dusk who seemed to have a headache. 

She slowly rose up and saw herself, caged in an earth jail cell.

"Why does she still-"

"Bound that way." Cadence interrupted pointing out the ethereal binds on her hands and feet.

Star Dusk fell to his knees holding his head.

"The lock on his memory must be closing..." deduced Celestia as Luna looked to her for an explanation.

"This hurts... a little... more than last... time" Star Dusk said through winces in pain.

"Blocking out memories...  What a kind and compassionate ruler you are."  the encaged changeling said sarcastically.

"HEY!  You take that back!" Yelled Rainbow.

'That' Twilight smirked saying, "I would, if she didn't condemn him to death by doing that."

Suddenly, Star Dusk fell to the floor convulsing violently and every one save for Rainbow, Shining Armor, and Twilight ran to his side to hold him down.

"You can't just relock a memory all willy nilly like that, oh no.... That would make it far to easy to lock up someone's memory.  That kind of spell was ment for deep cover agents of the kingdom so they would forget their previous life until the time came."

The smirk broadened to a grin, "It was never meant to be a permanent solution.  Only memory erasure could do that, but I'm sure your 'dear' Princess knew of the terrible side effects related to that spell."

"I will take him to Canterlot hospital!" said Luna, clutching his larger frame to her, opening her wings and quickly taking flight.

Celestia and the others went to face the impostor.

"Princess, what is she saying?" asked Twilight worriedly.

"I didn't think I would ever need to unlock the memory, now who's fault do you think that is?" 

"Your idle threats don't work on me Princess." she spat, making Celestia imperceptibly twitch since it seemed like her student was talking back at her.  "You had to have known that one day or another you would have to release the lock."

"Yes, but I did not intend to have to reinstate it."

"Excuses, Excuses... So, when are we gonna get to the meat and potatoes of the matter huh?  Why was it in the first place you had to lock out a specific memory?"  

"That doesn't matter!" cut in the real Twilight, "He wasn't even the one at fault anyway."  Everyone turned to her in surprise.

"What would you know?  You weren't even there." she spat back, "And there are no books on the subject miss bookworm."

"It's not important right now.  I know him well enough to know he wouldn't do anything without cause to do so."

"He wanted to forget to change himself.  He was a much different man before you even met him."  the fake countered.

Twilight grit her teeth, hatred seething from her heart.  Her eyes went black, "He was a kind and gentle soul before he had to deal with whatever was in the badlands protecting Equestria.  I don't want to hear you dirtying his reputation with filth and lies."

"Twilight, stop!" said Celestia reaching for her student.

"Ooh, what are you gonna do to shut me up then, princess?" goaded the doppelgänger.

Twilight grabbed her using her magic and forcefully pulled her from her cage and physically held her by the collar.

"I have half a mind to kill you!" she threatened looking herself square in the eye.

"ENOUGH!" Celestia cried out, magically separating the two of them and looking down intensely at her protege

"Uh oh, you went and ticked off your teacher.  Not a very smart thing to do." joked 'Twilight'.

"Silence." Celestia spat back in a tone that no one had ever heard her use.  "You need to watch your tongue very carefully if you want to keep yourself alive.  The only reason I stepped between you two was to keep my student from dirtying her hands and reputation due to your goading.  I, on the other hand, would not be above killing you for the protection of my kingdom.  You insult either one of my vassals again and I will not hesitate to help you cease breathing."

Everyone froze.  No one had ever heard Princess Celestia make such threats.  She had never had to kill any threats to her kingdom up until this point.  But her eyes showed she was deadly serious to this case.  The changeling looked at her with as much shock as everyone else before swallowing her saliva in fear and turning away from the demi-goddess.

Satisfied that she got her point across, Celestia turned to Twilight, helping her student up off the floor.

"I know I was the one who showed you that dark magic Twilight.  But please, don't sully yourself with it.  It's not necessary for you to use it and you will regret it." she instructed, regaining her usual tone of voice.  "Come now, we all have a train to catch."





Princess Celestia and Shining Armor took the 'honored guest', as she put it, somewhere in the castle while Twilight and Cadence went to the hospital.  The others had stayed behind in order to help clean up the mess left by the fight.  The two girls found Princess Luna slumped in a waiting room chair, barely keeping herself awake.

"Princess Luna!" called Twilight, running up to her causing her to startle to a more awake state, "Is Star Dusk alright?"

"He... is.  However he is in a comatose state." Luna replied as carefully as possible.

"He's what?!"

"Twilight," chided Cadence, "I'm pretty sure the doctors are working him as we speak so calm down."

"They are trying to find the cause of the coma." added Luna.

Twilight began pacing back and forth in thought, "It would probably have something to do with the memory spell."

"That is what they are looking into.  They are not sure how to let his conciousness through the lock."

<<Twilight.>>

"So the lock is not allowing him to regain consiousness?  Maybe he's locked inside..." mused Cadence.

<<Twilight.>>

Twilight cleared her ears from the buzzing she heard, "Have they tried using mind reading magic to get in and maybe help him out?"

"The lock seems to be keeping them out.  I wish my sister had... YAWN come with you.  We could ask her about the details of the spell..."

<<Twilight.>>

"You go rest Luna, Twilight and I will wait for news."

Luna sleepily nodded and walked out.  Twilight still had not stopped pacing the entire time, worry shown across her face.  Cadence took a seat and took a deep breath, wordlessly encouraging Twilight to relax.

<<TWILIGHT!!!>>

"WHAT!??" she yelled at Cadence.  Cadence jumped up in her seat and stared blankly.

"What, what?" she asked in confusion.

"You've been calling my name since before Princess Luna left, what is it?" Twilight replied calming down a bit.

"I haven't been calling you but I will say, since I have your attention, that you need to sit down and calm down.  Worrying yourself to death will not help matters any more than waiting it out calmly.  Plus, you've always thought better when you've been calm."

Twilight chuckled and sat down across from her, "Leave it to my old babysitter to know me too well."

<<It's also a lot easier to talk to you when you don't have a million other of your own voice inside your head.>> 'said' the young man sitting next to her.

Twilight turned and jumped out of her seat, "Y-You!  W-What, H-How-"

"Twilight, relax.  If you're starting to see things it's because you're stressed."  Cadence said calmly.

<<Or that our telepathic link was still open, like I had hoped.>>

"I... I uh, think I need to wash up... I'm seeing things."

"Go ahead, you'll be fine."

<<Alright I understand that this doesn't-  hey, wait TWILIGHT!>>

She quickly arrived at the bathroom and splashed her face with water several times.  Once finished, she let the cold water drip down back into the sink as she took a couple deep breaths.  She looked up in the mirror and saw herself, face soaked and clearly sleep deprived.  

Maybe I need to head to the castle and rest...  Cadence should be able to keep track while Princess Luna and I get some sleep.  Plus Princess Celestia and Shining Armor should be able to pick up the slack should she get tired.

<<Please don't.  I can't go that far from my body.>>

Twilight froze and slowly adjusted her gaze to see a translucent Star Dusk leaning up on a stall behind her.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" she whirled around and pressed herself backward.

<<Are you done being freaked out yet?>>

"B-But you're a ghost!!  Are you dead?!?!  How are you talking to me??"  she countered nearly jumping on the counter top.

<<Twilight Sparkle, are you calling me something that's not scientifically possible?>>

"Because you're right there!!!  With no body!"

<<You do realize that your future self was also doing that, with her body of course, yet you claimed her has not scientifically possible.>>

"That was different!  That was... Wait...  How did you know that?  You were still stuck in time limbo when that happened."

Star Dusk took a breath, <<Are you calm now?  Can I talk and explain or are you gonna flip out or interrupt with other questions?>>

"Well..."

<<Right, conditional I got it.  I'll try to get through it quick.  So,>>

"Do you still remember the memory that was locked away?"

Star Dusk crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.  Clearly he was on edge.

"Oh, right.  Sorry.  Continue.."

<<So that memory spell would normally lock me in my own body.>>

"So Cadence was right!"  She claimed excitedly.

<<TWILIGHT!!!  I've been playing inter-dimensional pinball for at least twenty-four hours!  The least you can do is listen without commenting until the end!>>

"Sorry, Sorry...." she sadly.  Star Dusk's expression softened at her apology. 

<<No, I'm sorry.>> he said rubbing his eyes. <<I didn't mean to snap.  I just have been having a hard two days....  I feel like I should be exhausted but obviously I don't have a body to exhaust.>>

Twilight walked over and tried to put a hand on the knight but her hand went right through him.  She quickly recovered and decided to use words to relax him.

"Well, you can work your mind to the ground.  I guess that would be like exhausting your consciousness?"  she suggested.  Star Dusk smiled gently in response.  Suddenly his form flickered.

"Maybe their waking you up!"  she suggested excitedly.

<<No.  I know this feeling.  You need to take me inside you.>>

"Wait, WHAT?!"

<<NOT LIKE THAT!!  I knew you liked me and everything but that was going a bit far don't you think?>>

"Wait, how did you-"  he flickered again.

<<No time.  I'm gonna have to use your mind like a hard drive to store my consciousness>>

"A what now?"

<<You're gonna have me inside your head.  That way I can stay here.>>

"Wait, that means you'll see all my thoughts and memories."

<<We've already connected so we could do that.>>  he flickered more harshly.  <<Okay we're gonna have to kiss.>>

"WHAT!?"

"Twilight what's the matter?  I could hear your yelling from the waiting room."  Called Cadence through the door.

"I-I'm fine!"  Twilight ran to the door and leaned up against it to bar entry to her sister-in-law, "I just... ummm..."

<<You're getting rid of your frustrations by yelling at the mirror instead of her.>>

"I'm getting rid of my frustrations by yelling at the mirror instead of you.  Wait what?"

"O-Okay... If you're sure..."  Another flicker.

"Yes I'm fine!!"

<<Okay, are you ready?>>

"I don't know if I'm emotionally ready for this...."

<<By my estimation of your feelings, you're ready.  And you know I like you from that song I wrote.>>

"Couldn't you have said something instead of-"  He flickered almost to the point of vanishing.

<<We can argue about that later!!  Kissing now!>>

He leaned in close to her and their lips found each other.  Twilight felt a familiar warmth at her lips that flowed into her mind.  When she opened her eyes again, he was gone.

"Star Dusk?"

<<In here.>> his voice echoed in her head.  

"Good, you're safe.  I wish our first kiss would have been more romantic though.."

<<We can work at it.... Wow, I guess I hadn't seen how..... explicit your dreams can get.>>

Dear Princess Celestia,

Please kill me now.....
> 10 The Relationship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe you!  Looking at a girl's personal memory like that!!!"

<<You start yelling like that again, Cadence is gonna worry again.>>

"No, don't you change the subject!  You looked into my personal memories without my permission!!"

Twilight felt the exasperation from the knight in her head and could picture how he was looking in her minds eye.

"Oh no!  Don't you look at me like that!  I'm serious!"

<<Are you done?>>

"I guess?"

<<Good, because I'd hate to call you a hypocrite.>>

"A hypo- wait... You mean when you were borrowing my magic?  History is different from fantasies.  Fantasies are personal things."

Twilight could picture him opening his mouth to counterpoint but slowly thinking it through instead.  Twilight heard all his thoughts and work arounds colapsing in on themsleves and began to smirk.

Obviously Star Dusk could feel her triumphant emotions, <<Fine, you're right.  Still, I asked for permission before opening the link.>>

"I was choking at the time.  So my choices were choke and die or let my mind be an open book.  What would you chose?"

<<Point taken...>>

The young man fell into an awkward silence though his feelings of shame piercing through.

"Listen, I-" She was uninterrupted by Cadence walking in the bathroom.

"Twilight, are you feeling any better?"  

"Uh, yeah!  Yeah.  I'm fine...."

"You don't look it." she said moving in closer as she took a towel to dry her still damp face.

"Ca- Cadence, I can... take care of myself!"  Twilight complained as Cadence wiped her face much like one would do for a child.

"I know you're worried about Star Dusk, but that's no reason to reason to yell and scream out in a bathroom.  You're gonna end up disturbing everyone else."

"Enough Cadence!  I'm not a foal anymore!!"  Twilight said as she pulled away from her sister-in-law.  Cadence blinked a couple of times.

"Your not a what now?"

<<Sorry!  Sorry!  I'm trying to stay out of your mind but some of my memory leaked in!>>  Star Dusk said with emphasis and embarrassment.

A foal, really?  What kind of memory is that?

<<I'll explain.  I just need your full attention.>>

"Look Cadence.  I'll be fine.  I can take care of myself just fine.  I'll just walk around for now.  I need to think these things through.  Straighten out my thoughts, you know?"  Twilight said honestly.

Cadence sighed and smiled gently.  "Just make sure you get all the kinks knocked out by the time Shiny and Princess Celestia get here, okay?"

"Alright." 





Twilight left the hospital and went directly to the place she would be able to concentrate most, the Canterlot Archives.  Entering the Starswirl the bearded wing, she shut the gate behind her and began looking through the scrolls and books in the wing.

After two hours of pouring through many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, she stopped and leaned up against the hourglass in the middle of the wing.

"Jeez, you would think if anybody had a way to fix this it would have been Starswirl."

Silence permiated through the archive.  Twilight then suddenly remembered something,

"Oh that's right, you wanted to explain what's been going on so far.  Right Star Dusk?"

Nothing....

"Star Dusk, you awake?"  she said worriedly.  "Star Dusk?"

Oh wait!  He said he couldn't move too far from his body!  Shoot!  I have to-

<<Sorry again!  I just was trying to keep my thoughts and memories from permeating over too much.  I guess I was too concentrated on that to notice that you were talking to me.>>

Twilight sat down to the floor sighing.  "Don't do that to me....  I was gonna get worried..."

Once again the knight's guilt flashed through Twilight's mind.  But before she could belay his fears, he spoke.

<<Twilight, I want you to see something.  See if you can find a spell that allows meditative trance.  Something to look inside yourself.>>

"What for?"

<<Just.... Just do this for me?  Before I get apprehensive about this again and change my mind...>> 

Twilight sat for a bit trying to sort out her feelings from his.  He was feeling a bit apprehensive, almost reluctant.  But he was determined to do this, at least for the moment.

"I think I saw something like that when I was looking around before.  Just give me a minute."

After sorting through the mess she created she found the spell she was looking for, Introspection.

"Okay, according to this, I should be able to see everything in my mind as if it were the real world.  Will this do?"

<<Yeah, that'll work...>> he sounded even more worried.

"If you don't want to do this-"

<<If I don't do this, then I'll feel like I'm lying to you.  You've done so much for me so far and I really care about you, whether you believe it or not, so I NEED to do this...>>

"Alright, if you say so..."

She sat down, closed her eyes, and concentrated on finding her magical center.  She found it right below her sternum, where it should be.  The magic was then directed up through her heart and to her brain.  She opened her eyes to see Star Dusk pacing around... naked.

"STAR DUSK!!  Make yourself decent!!  Seriously." she said shielding her eyes.

"Not that I have anything to hide from you but that's just the way it works.  Look at yourself."  he replied.

Twilight looked down at herself and found she was just as nude.  She quickly ducked and wrapped her arms around her body to hide.  She looked back over to the male and as she focused, she noticed there was something weird about his body.

"We are naked in here," he began explaining, "because the physical objects of the world don't matter inside.  But as you've noticed I am missing certain.... assets.  That's due to the fact you have no memory of me naked.  That's also why my cutie mark is missing.>>  He pointed to his hip.  She looked at herself and saw Full Monty, including cutie mark.  

"But that means you can see everything of mine..." She stated, embarrassed clutching her form.

"Did you not read a thing about the spell before casting it?" he asked, putting his fingers to his temples.

"Just how to cast it... I didn't think I needed-"  She was interrupted as the hero seemed to channel some magic and their blank black speaking arena changed to a field of flowers in the middle of dawn.  Star Dusk also was now sporting pants were loose around his legs and a t-shirt with long coat.

"Then excuse me as I hijack your mind for a bit." he said as he reached out a hand to her.  She relaxed and took it as she realized she too was wearing clothes in a similar style though they fit in a way to accent her more feminine features.

"Where are we... and what the heck are we wearing?"  she asked.

"Right now we are in a field a dawn.  My point is anything you can imagine, happens.  I just needed to show you that."

Twilight concentrated a moment and changed her clothes back to the usual ones she wore.  "Convenient.  So I was showing everything because I have seen myself naked."

"You got it.  But I guess having two minds in one body doesn't make a difference.  I saw me as full naked but not you since I don't have a memory of that."

"Okay, enough naked talk.  Why are we doing this in the first place?"

Star Dusk inhaled and the scenery changed again, this time to a household.  Twilight didn't recognize the house at all.

"Welcome to my home in Canterlot.  This was, oh... near sixteen hundred years ago."

"Your home?" 

"Mama!"  called a young boy running in the door.  He went straight into what would be the kitchen.  "Mama did-"

He stopped short upon seeing a magnificent woman sitting opposite what Twilight presumed to be the boy's mother.  The woman had golden eyes with long hair that reached her hips that started white at the roots then shifted to orange and then a light purple, almost like the color of the sun as it past through the sky.

Where have I seen her before? thought Twilight

"Where have you seen what now?" asked Star Dusk

"Wait... you heard that?"

"We're in your head.  Your thoughts are like speech in here."

"I'll try and be more careful then."

"Star Dusk, manners in front of her majesty." scolded his mother, looking sternly at the young boy.

"Starshine, please.  It is not necessary."  said the regal figure gently while raising her hand.

The boy nonetheless took one knee right next to her, "Good afternoon Queen Aether.  I thank thee for the lovely day."

The queen smiled gently and placed her hand on his lowered head, "It is good to see thee as well, Star Dusk.  Is it correct to assume that thou hast finished with thy studies for the day?"

"Yes, your highness." he replied without raising his head.

"Oh yes, Thy day of birth happened to pass by recently did it not?" she said, clasping her hands together in excitement.

"Indeed it did your majesty."  replied the young boy's mother.  The regal woman rose from her chair before looking to her subject.

"Then rise young lad, let us be off to the castle to select a gift!"

"It is not necessary, highness.  There is no need to trouble thyself with my birthday."  he said plainly, bringing his head up to gaze at her.  However, his body language clearly betrayed his words as his eyes shown with excitement.

"We will not hear another word of dissent on the subject.  If necessary, consider this a command."  she said with the same seriousness, though her face clearly showed her words to be in jest.

The scene went black.

"Wait, what happ-" before Twilight could finish, they were in the Canterlot archives.

"Just a scene change.  It would bore you as well as take much too much time if we followed me from that point to the end of my story."  Star Dusk explained.

"Now," began Queen Aether, "Thou may choose from any of the books in the archives for thy gift this year."  

Star Dusk was clearly older, probably in his early teens.  He looked about the archives in wonderment.

"It is a momentous year after all." she continued.  "Thou still intends to enter the royal guard academy, correct?"

He excitement waned at this revelation and he looked to the floor.

"I... I don't believe I will..." he said softly.

"And why not?" came a voice from behind them.  In the doorway stood a very young Princess Celestia and a male wearing regal armor, hair the color of the blackest night, and eyes that shown bright like stars.  Celestia walked forward towards the younger man.

"I did not take thee to be a coward, Star Dusk." she cut at him.

"I- I am not a coward!!  .... Your Highness..." 

"My family routinely worked with the royal house.  I can't recall for what purpose but I was basically raised along-side Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." explained Star Dusk.

"That's why Princess Celestia isn't using the royal we." posited Twilight.

"If thou intends to consider us as your superior, though we were raised as close as siblings, then thou may as well enter the academy."  reasoned Celestia.

"Celestia, enough." gently chided the older male.  

"Yes, father."  Celestia relented and allowed him to become the focus.

"Come, Star Dusk, walk with me." he said, taking the young lad by the shoulder.

"Wait, he didn't use-"

"If you notice, that has me a bit worried."

Just as Star Dusk said, the younger Star Dusk was stiff with eyes shot open, fraught with worry.  Once out of ear shot, the king turned to face him.

"What worries thee?" he asked simply.  Star Dusk swallowed down a lump in his throat, trying to form the words.

"I... I do not believe I have the physical characteristics of a royal knight..." he admitted.  Twilight then noticed that, for all the similarities, he was built much smaller.

"Does thou think that the academy stands merely as a place to equip the citizens that are already gifted with the talent of becoming a guard?" He pointed out.

"N-No!  Of course not, Your Majesty!  I just don't believe-"

"Right there.  That is what is keeping you from enrolling." the king interrupted, pointing at the confused young man.

"I... I do not understand-"

"Thy belief.  'Thou believes' that thou art not ready or not capable.  Knighthood is not thine to decide whether or not thou art capable, it is granted to thee if thy instructors and other knights deem thee able to take on the task.  That is the point of the academy.  Thou hast allowed thyself to fail before thou hast truly begun."

Star Dusk listened to the wise words of his ruler with care and seemed to mull them over.

"But enough of such talk for now." continued the king, motioning his wife and daughter to join them. "There is still the matter of selecting thy gift!  What volume does thou hast thy eye on?"

Star Dusk thought and came to a decision as the ladies joined them.

"Does the archive still posses the copy of The Art of Battle by General Brimstone?"  he asked.

"Why that is a very old tome," Queen Aether commented, "From the days before Equestria was founded.  The archives contains the only known copy, if memory serves."

At this revelation, Celestia spoke up, "Father, you cannot seriously consider giving the only copy of such an ancient tome to him.  It is a treasure to be kept by the royal family."  The King closed his eyes in consideration.

"Is thou curious to the contents of the volume, or is this a tome to assist thou in thy studies at the academy?" asked the Queen.

Star Dusk thought for a moment, eyes flicking from each of the royal families facades.

"If one such as I, with all my shortcomings, intends to become a knight of the royal family, then I must improve myself in anyway necessary to become the guard that I envision."  he said, clenching his fists in determination.

Queen Aether looked toward her husband and nodded.  The King still looked toward his wife with doubt.

"Mother, thou cannot seriously entertain this foolishness?"

"Why is Princess Celestia so against you getting that book?  And why is she so mean to you overall?" asked Twilight.

"She still did not have any royal responsibility beyond her studies.  Most people would tend to be a little selfish, though Luna would soften that part of her as they grew up.  That and even she wasn't allowed to take such a priceless book from the archives. So being given such an exception could not have helped it any."  Reasoned Star Dusk.

"Then I will take responsibility for what happens.  That way the 'foolishness' will be mine and not his."  she said moving toward where the volume was located.

"MOTHER!"

Celestia's pleas went unheeded from that point as she retrieved the book and handed it to Star Dusk who carefully took it and clutched it to his chest.

"Thou need not spoil the lad so much."  laughed the king.

"Well, one comes of age only once."

"It was the first book I ever owned.  You know I'm not one for fiction, this was one of the major reasons.  You stick to what you know.  

The scenery changed again, following what was being said by the knight.  

"I refused to let the Queen take the fall for my selfish request.  I made sure to take as many notes on the volume while waiting for the letter back from the academy."

"And you were accepted of course." said Twilight confidently.

"Well, yes but...."

Star Dusk was flung into the sand of a sparring pit.  The crowd that was suddenly next to them cheered causing Twilight to jump a bit.

"It wasn't like I was taking the academy by storm or anything." he finished.

"Superb toss, cadet!"  exclaimed the trainer ignoring the trainee slowly collecting himself from the floor.  "Everyone, dismissed."  He turned to the now standing Star Dusk.

"Except you, Star Dusk.  Report to my office in fifteen minutes.  Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes sir."  

"Can you explain how the sparring matches go?"

Star Dusk turned to face Twilight.  "The goal fluctuates dependent on the class, usually to execute a certain technique or tactic.  The trouble was that it had to be in live combat.  With the others being so much more in shape or more adept than me, it made it very difficult to execute any of the required curriculum."

The scene shifted to the office.

"Thou wanted to see me sir?"

The trainer pushed some paperwork aside, "Do you know why I called thee in here, cadet?"

"I have an idea... sir."  he admitted.

"An idea?"  the trainer rose out of his seat quickly.  "Cadet we do not expect thee to have clairvoyance, however we do expect our officers to be much more decisive with their answers!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Now," he sat down again slowly.  "Now, go and pack thy effects.  Thou art returning home."

Star Dusk was dumbfounded.

"B-But sir, why?"

"Why?  Has thou had a sack over thy head the whole time thou was here?  Thou has not improved in the six months since thou has arrived."

"B-But I have been improving!  I have lasted longer in the arena every time I entered it.  And I am sure that thou art aware of my exam scores.  They are the highest in the class!"

"We do not need soldiers that know all the machinations of combat but cannot execute them!  I would have sent you home within the first month were it not for the Queen's intervention."

Star Dusk was taken aback and blinked momentarily, "Pardon?"

"She personally asked me to keep thee in longer than I would have liked.  She wanted to give thee a chance to adapt, to become better than thou were.  Obviously, it was a wasted chance."  The trainer pulled the paperwork back to himself.

Star Dusk stood there, clenching his fists.  Looking at the floor.

"What were you thinking at that point?" asked Twilight, looking to her guide.

"Why is it that the queen would put her reputation on the line for the likes of me, not once but twice?  She needn't have put herself at such a needless risk embarrassment." 

Star Dusk's head rose quickly, "One more opportunity!  Please!"

"I have already given thee an inordinate amount of opportunities.  What would one more do but confirm what I already know?" the trainer said without raising his gaze.

Star Dusk's fist shook with fury.  "There is no guarantee that the Queen will allow my departure without my consent.  Thou has said so thyself, she had asked thee to forgive my transgressions.  If you force me out, she may merely appeal to her husband the King.  Then we would be back where we started."

The trainer looked up and leaned back in his chair, "Continue."

"If thou will allow, I propose one final spar.  Allow me one week to prepare, thou may choose my opponent and the challenge.  If I should succeed, then I will continue my training here."

"And if thou should fail?"

"Then I will resign.  The Queen will accept decision as mine and thus pose no further obstacle to my expulsion.  Thou will become the victor in either case as thou will either be rid of me or have a cadet that you may boast about reforming into a better knight."

The trainer pondered the conditions for a long time before speaking, "Very well.  Since, as thou has said, thou has no current issues academically, I will allow thee leave from class to prepare for the full week.  I would hate to have thee complain after the fact that you were not given adequate time to prepare."

"Thank you, sir!"  Star Dusk saluted the trainer and walked out the office.

"In retrospect, I should have stipulated more conditions..."

"Why do you say that?"

The scene shifted to the sparring pit at night.  Star Dusk stood prepared for his opponent.

"By this point, everyone had heard about the fight.  The odds were against me though."

"Yeah, it looks like your playing as the away team." commented Twilight.

"Not to say I didn't have friends in my corner though." he said pointing out a seraph, a magi, and a human leaning over the railing by him.  "Thunder Blitz, Wind Ring, and Evergreen.  These guys helped me train in their free time throughout the week.  I owe them a lot."

The voice of the trainer interrupted their train of thought, entering the pit with an obviously older student.

"Star Dusk, art thou prepared for thy sparing match?"

"Hold sir!"  spoke up Wind Ring.  "I was not aware there would be two judges for this match."

"There is but one judge, cadet.  That would be me.  This young man you see," he said, motioning to the magi next to himself.  "Will be Star Dusk's opponent."

"He can't be serious...."

"Thou are not seriously considering pitting a first year cadet against the top of the fourth year class."

"HE'S A SENIOR?!?"

"Look, as much as I adore your inquisitive nature, you and Wind Ring have a talent for stating the obvious.  Please don't preempt him when he's bound to ask the same questions...."

"This was all decided in the terms.  And Farrier Forger here was willing to take up the challenge."  stated the instructor.

"Wind Ring, I thank thee for thy concern.  However, regardless of the situation, I must perform to the best of my ability."

Both trainees stretched out preparing themselves.

"Remember Star Dusk, stick to everything we practiced and everything should turn out well.  Regardless of the goal."  coached Wind Ring.

"Thou hast stated as such over and over, Wind Ring.  Allow Star Dusk to prepare, he is more than ready."  chided Evergreen.

"Cadets to the center!"  called the judge.  Both walked to the center, looking each other in the eye.

"This shall be a free sparing match with no time limit."  he continued clearly.

"H-Hold instructor!!"  called out Thunder Blitz, "Thou cannot seriously think that a first year can win against a fourth year in a free spar.  This is not a fair test of his ability."

"Free spar?  What makes this different?" asked Twilight.

"Well, remember how I said all the sparring matches have a goal in mind?"

"Yes..." she responded hesitantly.

"Well, the goal of a free spar is either forcing your opponent to yield or to knock them out.  Kudos on holding back until something that probably wouldn't be explained."

"Give me a bit more credit than that." she replied embarresedly.

"Thunder Blitz, please hold thy tongue" said the young Star Dusk, "As I said to Wind Ring, I thank thee.  However, I set the terms.  I must abide by the instructors decision."

"Nerve wracking, huh?" commented Twilight.

"You have no idea."

"Cadets ready?  Begin!"

The two began the fight moving, feeling each other out with a couple jabs.  A couple swings came from Farrier just barely missing their target.

"Is this a boxing match or a spar?" questioned Twilight.

"Well at the earliest levels, all we learn is how to do basic face to face fighting.  Farrier Forger must have been keeping himself to the most simple techniques in order to be fair."

"More than I can say about the instructor...."

Star Dusk made a shift forward to dodge another hook punch and came in with a clean upper cut to Farrier's jaw.  But Farrier just stepped back, completely unfazed.  

"And it was such a good hit too...."  sighed Twilight.

Farrier moved in, the same way Star Dusk had, and landed the same hit but with much more effect.  Star Dusk stumbled backwards just barely keeping his guard up.

It was of no use however, as Farrier Forger landed quick, powerful blows in both his face and torso.  He then followed up with a sweeping kick, taking Star Dusk to the floor and following up with a quick blow to the face before backing up.

Star Dusk got back up slowly, wincing along the way.  Luckly, Star Dusk seemed to only suffer a broken lip from the beating.

"Good, not too bad."

"Not all injuries can be visible.  I had.... one?  No, two broken ribs here.  Or was that later?"

Twilight now looked more concernedly back to the sparring match where Star Dusk was now doing worse thanks to the wear.  After a couple more take downs, Farrier turned to the instructor while waiting for Star Dusk to pick himself back up.

"Instructor, how can this whelp be in the Queen's favor?  He has no talent whatsoever."

"Well, he has no cutie mark!  What didst thou expect?!"  jeered someone from the crowd.

"He cannot even levitate a feather!  What kind of magi cannot levitate a feather?" came another stab.

Twilight got up on the wooden fence enclosing the ring, "Leave him alone!  He's got limitless-"

"Twilight, they can't hear you.  This already happened remember?" reminded Star Dusk.

Twilight blushed and returned to the floor.  "I... I don't know what came over me."

"Thanks though."

"For what?"

"For backing me up when you didn't need to."

Twilight's blush went from red to crimson and spread to her ears.  "W-Well, it's only natural... You're my-"

A loud cheer from the crowd brought her attention back to the fight.  Star Dusk was once again recovering himself from the floor as Farrier Forger was pacing, waiting for his opponent to get back up.

"When the instructor said that I would be sparring a favored subject of the queen, I thought the challenge would be much greater than this, even if thou art a first year.  I cannot fathom what has happened to the queen's mind if thou is what passes as 'favored'." 

"Uh-oh... He shouldn't have said that.  Especially since you hold the Queen in such high regard." pointed out Twilight

"You're learning quick." Star Dusk said while smiling at her.

"Maybe he deceived her with purported skill."

"Of course!  There would be no other way if the Queen favors him."

Farrier walked up to Star Dusk and picked him up by the collar.  "What is it about thee that has her favor?  Huh?"

"M-Maybe... thou art too blind to see!"  Suddenly Star Dusk threw some sand he had clutched in his hand into his opponents eyes.  Farrier instantly dropped him to clear out his own eyes.  Star Dusk wasted no time when he hit the floor and pushed forward tackling his opponent raining down blows with wild abandon.

Farrier did not take long to recover however and magically pushed him off and back into the dirt.

"I refuse to lose to a whelp!" he cried out, grabbing a sword and shield magically from the arms rack near by.

"Farrier!  No!"  called the instructor, running toward them.  He was too late.  The blade swung down and made contact.

Everyone was shocked as Star Dusk seemed to manifest a shield, no bigger than the one that Farrier had, of pure magical energy to block the blow.  Star Dusk's demeanor changed and he pushed up against the blade and deflected it away as he hit him with punch.  This time it had great impact.

The upperclassman staggered back and stared at the younger soldier for a moment.  Star Dusk had tears streaming down his face and magical energy leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh no...." said Twilight quietly.

In the next moment, Farrier threw another punch but his arm was caught in his opponents left arm.  Star Dusk wasted no time and swung his right to cause a mild hyperextension of the elbow causing Farrier to reel backwards.  

Star Dusk advanced and struck Farrier in the throat next.  Farrier quickly fell to the floor clutching his throat and putting out his bad arm in surrender.  Star Dusk still approached with intent to fight.

"Star Dusk!  Stop!  He's given up!"  Called Twilight, forgetting herself once more.

"Enough cadet!"  Yelled the trainer and stood between the two fighters.  Star Dusk halted and cocked his head confusedly at the instructor.  Almost as if registering a new opponent.

"You damaged his voice box, he will not be able to voice surrender."  He explained.  Star Dusk seemed to adjust himself again and lunged and the instructor but was cut off by a flash of energy that pushed both parties back.

When the light died down, the King was revealed in between the opponents.  

"We had hoped that thou would not traverse down this dangerous road, boy." he said painfully.  He turned to the instructor quickly, "Knight, take the cadets inside.  It will be getting dangerous out here."

"Of course, King Elysian.  Cadets!  Do as the king commands!  In the buildings, NOW!" 

Everyone ran towards the buildings and Twilight followed the three friends as Star Dusk picked himself off the ground.  The king reached for his ethereal wings and pulled them off, reshaping them into swords.

"The King's famed ethereal blades!" exclaimed Wind Ring, "Legend has it that they can cut through any material!"

"Wind Ring, he intends to use them on our friend, correct?" asked Evergreen.

"I would think so... oh."

As Evergreen said, King Elysian charged at a clearly enraged Star Dusk and swung at him.  Star Dusk rose up and caught the blades in his bare hands.

"So much for the 'cut through any material' blades." commented Thunder Blitz.

"That's impossible!" said the flabbergasted magi as the combatants continued their bout with Star Dusk only getting gashes in the palm of his hands.

"Gentlemen, I think it's time for us to assist our comrade."  said Evergreen.

"Evergreen, didst thou hit your head when we came to this cover?" questioned the seraph, "Did thou not witness the power our friend is wielding?  And the power we all know the king possesses?"

"Regardless, he is our friend!" countered the human, "And I refuse to let him hurt himself or anyone else.."

"Agreed." Wind Ring spoke up, pointing to the battle "And I believe I have a tactic that could assist.  It seems like the king is not trying to kill him, merely incapacitate him.  If we can help him by holding Star Dusk down..."

"Then his majesty can complete his own tactic to stop him!" finished Thunder Blitz

The magi nodded, "We will have to rely on your speed Blitz and your strength Evergreen."

"You will be helping with your magic right?" asked Evergreen rhetorically.

"So long as Star Dusk still cannot cancel binding spells, then yes."

They work so well together.  They obviously are very good friends thought Twilight before turning back to the battle raging outside.

Both combatants were wounded as they grappled each other.  King Elysian was only slightly less wounded however his ragged breaths showed a severely exhausted man whereas Star Dusk still seemed determined to destroy his opponent and was only looking for a bit of reprieve before pushing for the finishing strokes.

Before either man could make the next move, a blur of speed hit Star Dusk hard knocking him to the ground.  Before he could recover, Evergreen leaped on top of the prone cadet and there was a chime of magic which followed and bound his hands and legs together.  Evergreen pinned down Star Dusk legs while Thunder Blitz came around from his initial blow and pinned his arms.

King Elysian noticed the tactic midway through and quickly moved in and put his hand to the lad's chest.  Another chime of magic rang through and he raise his hand bringing out a black substance from within Star Dusk as he screamed out in agony.  

Behind them landed the Queen who quickly moved toward the group.

"Dearest!"

"Just in time."  King Elysian said, turning with the darkness fully extracted in his hands.  "You know where to take this."

The scene faded to black.

"Wait, what happened next?  What was that thing?  Where did she take it?"

"I have no idea.  I was knocked out." Twilight jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see Star Dusk.  His eyes were a little red, as if he had been concentrating heavily on the action without blinking.

"Don't DO that.  You nearly scared the living daylights out of me..."

"Not exactly my fault if you get sucked into the story now is it?"

"Well... no but..."  The last scene recreated itself around them and Twilight look at the dark matter for a bit before her eyes moved toward the three holding him down.

"I wonder whatever happened to them since your fight with Discord?"  Twilight thought aloud.

Star Dusk face took a somber look that seemed to match the condition of his eyes.  "I... looked them up when I was in Canterlot before coming to Ponyville.  They... They.. uh... They did well with their lives.  Nothing that was truly impactful on the history of Equestria.  But... um..."

Tears began to well in his eyes as he put his hand to his forehead.  Twilight quickly went over to him and put her arm around his shoulder.

"It's alright.  They lived good lives I bet.  And I bet they missed you too."  she said in attempt to console him.

"I'm fine....  I'm just feeling really old right now.  I feel like nothing has changed when I hang out with you and the others and I'm able to see the princesses with no issues.  But so much HAS changed."

Twilight felt a sympathetic twinge in her heart.  Or maybe she was directly feeling his emotions, she couldn't quite tell.  

"It's fine though." he began, wiping the tears away "If all that happened to me didn't happen, then I wouldn't have met you.  And you don't make me feel old or out dated.  Even when I was clearly straight out of a fantasy novel." he finished, smiling at his own expense.

Twilight smiled sympathetically at the now emotionally reinforced knight.  

Suddenly Star Dusk started to fade away in her arms.

"Star Dusk, what's happening? You're fading away!"

"That can't be good..."

"What is it?"

"I don't know." he said trying to focus his magic.

In the next instant, Twilight saw Princess Celestia slowly removing her hand from her forehead and Shining Armor next to her.

"Twilight, are you alright?"  Celestia asked in her usual calming tone.

<<I'm fine.>>

"Twily?  I know it must have been a jolt coming out of the trance to the real world but, we really need your help."

<<What do you need?>>

"Twilight?"

"Twilight, say something." Twilight said aloud.

Twilight blinked and slowly looked around.

<<Star Dusk, what's going on?>>

"I don't know... It looks like-"  Twilight's hands shot to her mouth in shock.

"Twilight, take it slow.  I forced your consciousness back to the forefront instead of swimming in your subconscious.  It'll take a moment to adjust."  Said the princess gently

<<Oh dear Celestia... She pulled your consciousness back instead of mine meaning->>

Meaning, I'm in control of your body while you are inside your own head.
> 11 The Interrogation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here Twily, let me help you get to your feet." Shining Armor went to 'Twilight's' side and slowly raised her up.

<<Okay, you're going to have to listen to me if they are going to buy that you ARE me.>>  Twilight said, mind awash with ideas.

"What do you need, Princess?" Star Dusk asked.

Princess Celestia cocked her head to the side eyeing over 'Twilight', "We... were getting no where with the interrogation of that changeling.  And were wondering if you could have a look.  You can be much more perceptive than most other people so we hoped you could enlighten areas we may have glossed over."

<<Okay, now I want you to quote me word for word.  She already looks like she feels something's off.>>

Fine, fine...

"Of course, Princess.  Though I'm not sure what I could really do that you two haven't done already..." said Star Dusk.

"Don't worry Twily, maybe a new face will be all it will take to throw her off." reassured 'Twilight' as he set her on her feet.

"If you think so."





Behind the magically enhanced one way window, the three stared at the clearly relaxed prisoner sitting in a chair, still bound, across from another chair with a table between them.

"If anything, she's relaxed more and more since we started.  Like she's had counter-interrogation training." commented Shining Armor.

"That might be the case..." said Star Dusk absentmindedly.

"Twily?"

"Oh- Uh, I mean, if you two haven't been able to get anything then that might be the reason why.  Heh." He corrected.

"Right... Regardless, if you can at least disorient her mental state a bit, perhaps we can get some new information." Princess Celestia added.

Star Dusk stared intently at the carbon copy of Twilight in the room.  

"Shining Armor, I need you to knock on the window in about 5 minutes.  Like you want to talk over what I 'found' or because I'm getting no where."

"Huh?"

<<I wouldn't put it that way!  You're gonna bring attention to us!>>  Twilight's apprehension was pervasive in their shared consciousness.

Relax, I've got a plan.

"If you're sure Twily."

'Twilight' opened the door and walked in, instantly drawing attention from the detainee.

"Well, well, well... Hello there princess!" she said mockingly, "I didn't think I would have to see you in this process."

"Well, you left us no choice.  I had to step in."

"Hah!  Like you could do any better than your brother or the Princess.  You don't even have any proper interrogation training!  I know," she pointed to her head. "Remember?"

"J-just because I don't have proper training doesn't mean I can't-"

"Oh, this will be fun.  I know everything about you and you don't know a thing about me.  Let's see how long you last before your brother knocks on the window."

<<How did you know?  When Shining knocks on the window, she'll think exactly what you want her to.>>

Interrogation training.  Now watch and learn, you may need this in the future.

'Twilight' sat across from her, looking very uncomfortable by comparison to the changeling who looks exactly like her.

"W-well, are you going to say anything?"

"And what?  Ruin the surprise?  Hardly." she leaned back in her seat, looking as confident as possible.

"S-so there is something happening.  This 'surprise'."

The prisoner cocked an eyebrow, "So you aren't a useless interrogator..."

<<I could have caught that one!>>

"Doesn't mean that you'll get much more than your brother did."

"So we've established that there is something.  Now let's establish what."  'Twilight's' demenor changed.

<<The last time changlings were here, they wanted to feed...>>

"Like I would-"

"You're a changeling.  The last time your kind was here, the goal was to feed on our love.  So it must have to do something with that."

"Yeah, like that was a hard conclusion to come to." she said, her frustration growing.

"Then stop me when I'm wrong." 'Twilight' said with her confidence growing in kind.

<<Why attack so broadly?  You would think that they would want to stay under the radar until it was too late... Is there something they need now to force a move on our hand?>>

"So, since hiding didn't work that time.  You tried a full frontal assault.  But why in Ponyville.... Less defenses?  The fact that I was there since I was the main catalyst for thwarting the plans?  Maybe... especially considering the memory copying technique you all developed."

"You got a big head, you know that?" she interrupted irritatedly.

"I'm not done.  So, attacking me to take me down... No, No that's not right.  You went to attack Star Dusk first... Why?"

<<Why indeed... The first thought would make more sense.  Take out all opposition.  They shouldn't have known you were here.  And even if they did they shouldn't know you.>>

That's a great question...

The detainee looked curiously at the long pause 'Twilight' was taking.

"You're so smart, but you can't see what's in front of you?" she taunted.

"I'm stuck on how you found out about Star Dusk.  He wasn't a factor in the invasion.  It wasn't even widely known about his abilities.  Did you know who he was before this?"

"Well, I'll give you credit on getting further than the other two.  But if you can't work it out, I'm not telling you anything."

Twilight wracked her mind for thoughts on how or why to no avail.

Time's up.  Just as Star Dusk predicted, there came a knock on the window.

"Awww, too bad.  Maybe you need to hit the books a little more.  Though only experience could give you real insight."  

Confidence now was back with the prisoner as 'Twilight' got up and walked to the door, frustrated.

"So, what did you need me to knock for Twily?"

Twilight, I'm gonna borrow your magic.

<<Not like I can argue about it, but what for?>>

Star Dusk gathered Twilight's magic and formed a disguise of himself.  A perfect replica, except for the color of his eyes.

"Excellent!" praised Princess Celestia.  "She'll think you are Star Dusk and that will get her unnerved.  But the eyes are off...."

"Shoot.  Well, hopefully she won't notice."  'Twilight' wished aloud.

<<You kept my color eyes on purpose, why?>>

Patience, you'll see. he reassured as he walked back in the room.

"Good show!" he exclaimed.  "Now, let's get to real business."

Shock passed over the changeling's face.  "You, but... That's impossible.  You should be in a coma or worse!"

"I was, but I got better." he said while sitting down.

There was a silence pervading the room as both parties stared each other down.  After a few minutes, the prisoner lean back with a smirk on her face.

"Hoo, you had me going there for a second, princess."

"Princess?  Really?  What makes you think I'm anybody but me?" asked Star Dusk imitating the move.

"You screwed up with the disguise.  His eyes don't look like that."

<<I hope you still have a plan because she's back in her groove.>>

"You spent a lot of time looking at my eyes huh?  So you did know who I was before getting to Ponyville.  Or at least you have a superb memory..."

Star Dusk leaned forward and rested his head in one hand.

"I'm gonna bet on the former."

"Yeah, well. That's not the important thing now-"

"I'm not finished." he cut back.  "Don't interrupt.  Now regardless of that fact, you came to the dressing room with some intention toward me...."

"Like you're so special."

Star Dusk quickly grabbed the table, raised it up, and slammed it on the floor harshly.

"Don't interrupt." A deathly seriousness invaded the room.  "'Kay?" he finished with a smile as he went back to his pensive thoughts.

<<What the heck was that for?>>

Really old interrogation tactic. Now, I know she won't sit at that warning so I'm going to ask you to trust me with what comes next.

"You came in disguised as Twilight.  Wanting to get me away... away... What for?  Maybe to keep me safe?  Nah, more to make sure I don't mess up the plan..."

The changeling shifted in her seat a bit, eyes still staring at Star Dusk as he was walking though this in his mind.

<<That's it isn't it?  They tried to take you out of the equation and take out the ones that got in the way the first time.  After all, Cadence and Shining Armor were there too.>>

There's something more to it.  It's hard to explain, but I feel it in my bones...

<<MY bones.>>  Twilight felt the smirk from Star Dusk as minutes pass by in the interrogation room.

"The only thing I wonder," Star Dusk said, breaking the silence, "Is how you knew that all the royalty was there.  Without them, of course take over would be easy.  But, there was no way to know that they were there.  How-"

"I'm done helping.  You can walk it through on your onesies." she cut back, clearly frustrated with the amount of time passed with the same thought.

In one motion, Star Dusk stood up, levitated his chair over to barr the door, and grabbed her head and slammed it forcefully into the table.

<<What are you doing?!>>

Star Dusk ignored both Twilight and the jiggling of the handle of someone trying to get in the room and proceeded to grab her by her throat and slammed her up against the wall.

"I told you not to interrupt.  That was your third strike." he spat at the changeling.

"Hah." she choked out, "Three strikes?  I haven't seen this kind of interrogation for years."

Star Dusk turned around and threw her back in her chair.  He quickly came up on her and leaned the chair backwards while putting his foot up on the table, staring straight into her eyes.

"Oh, you know this game do you?  Well, I have a variation on it that I like to do.  After three strikes-"

"Every time I interrupt you, you're gonna make sure to break some part of my body?"

Star Dusk quickly retreated away from the bound woman in shock.

"Probably gonna start with my fingers, easy to break plus leaves enough space for the criminal to think about both the pain and the answer to the questions he's asked."  she recounted.

<<She already said she knew about the tactic, what's wrong?>>

The changeling continued, "Then what?  Move on to dislocating the shoulder?  No, you were always meticulous with this version of the 'game'.  You would go to the elbow next and if you were too enthusiastic you would pop the shoulder too.  That always frustrated you."

H-How could she know?

"This wasn't a documented version of interrogation, how could you know-"

"Come on, Starshine.  Did I really stump the man who was able to deduce almost anything from the smallest of details?" she said with a warm smile.

"You can't... You can't be..." he stammered in disbelief.

"You can'tve forgotten your old partner.  Remember?  It was old Starshine eyes and-"

"Sparkling Gauntlet..."
> 12 - The Recollection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

<<She's what?!>>  Twilight said in disbelief.

"I knew you wouldn't take too long to reach that conclusion." the prisoner praised.

"You can't be, last time I checked Sparkling Gauntlet wasn't a changeling." said Star Dusk suspiciously.

"I couldn't rightly be considered a good one if everyone knew what I was under my disguise now would I?"

"I still have a hard time believing that."

"If you want, I could shift to the form that would let you see clearly." she replied, sheepishly putting up her bound hands.

<<Oh, no.  There is no way we're gonna let her loose, even for one second.>>

"You expect me to believe you at your word, a word that at the moment doesn't hold any weight, and let you go so that you can shape shift to a form that, of course, would look just like Princess Celestia's old personal guard?"

She stayed with the same look holding her hands a bit higher.  After a minute, she lowered them.

"I guess I shouldn't blame you...  What do you want to know?  I'll share it with you." she said turning around toward the table again.

<<What?  Why would she do this?>>

"Feeling talkative all of a sudden?" Star Dusk said leaning on the table across from her.

"I trust you." she replied, her soft smile with Twilight's features unnerved Star Dusk a bit.

"If you were Sparkling Gauntlet, wouldn't you also trust the Princess?"

"Starshine, I protected the Princess for years before you entered the academy.  Heck, I remember seeing you and her together raised like siblings.  You know as well as I that she was never the forgiving type if crossed to a perceived degree."

"She's grown since then, she's much more wise."

"Okay, there was also the threat she made against me while you were being taken to the hospital.  You could go ahead and ask the little princess about that."

<<How did she->>

What happened? Star Dusk interrupted internally.

<<Well, when she was insulting you and me, the Princess threatened to kill her.>>

Star Dusk shot his eyes to the mirror for one moment before coming back to rest on the 'Twilight' in front of him.

"Don't blame her.  I was still in the hive mind, connected to Queen Chrysalis.  I probably deserved the threat.  Just feels weird to cave due to a death threat you know?"

"And what about now?  Are you still connected?"

"No," she raised her hands again, "These seem to have a side effect of cutting off that connection.  I had a weak connection because I was trying to force it open.  It was forced shut when I came into this room, same stuff must be in the walls.  That's why I don't mind sharing with you."

"Two more things,"

"Shoot." she said leaning backwards.

"First, how did you know it was me for real.  You mistook me for Twilight for a while."

"There's no way that she would have known how you and I did interrogations.  After all, I came up with it and taught you.  And only you.  AND we only had to use it a handful of times so not even the King and Queen knew about it, though we were given whatever leeway necessary for it.  And before you ask, no, I didn't know that it was possible to have two consciousnesses inside one body.  I just went with the belief that it was possible, it was the only way she could have known about old interrogation techniques as well as our version of it."

<<First complete answer we've gotten out of her.>>

Star Dusk leaned in closer to the table, "Then why do you trust me?  I was trying to kill you earlier and I probably would have gone through with the whole interrogation if you hadn't surprised me."

She leaned forward as well, staring straight into his eyes.  

<<She's getting creepy...>>

The changeling leaned back and shrugged, "I got nothing.  I was gonna say something about your eyes showing that you were willing to listen, buuuuuut technically they are Twilight Sparkle's eyes soooo... yeah.  I got nothing."

Star Dusk grunted a bit before standing straight up again.

"So, I hardly have a reason to trust you."

"Nope, I guess not."  she said shrugging once again.

"I don't have much reason to believe your 'information' so we don't have much reason to keep you alive." replied Star Dusk, his tone shifting darker.  The prisoner blinked and visibly twitched.

<<What are you doing?!  Just because she has no useful intel doesn't mean she should die!>> Twilight interjected.

I'm gonna ask you to trust me again.  I know what I'm doing. he replied internally.

<<I hardly have a reason to as it stands, you would have injured her unnecessarily while you were questioning her.>> she pointed out, <<What are you going to do now?>> 

If she's who she says she is, she won't be hurt. he reasoned

<<And if she isn't?>> she jabbed.

"Wait a minute Starshine, you can't be serious..."

Then she'll only be hurt once, probably enough for us to get good information.  She'll heal.  Besides, she's a changeling, you KNOW their structure is tougher than even the toughest human, not to say anything about magi or seraph.

Twilight mulled it over for a moment.

"Starshine, come on.  You never made any kind of threat like that when you were unsure...  I know it looks bad, but it IS me." the changeling said shakily as she leaned closer.

<<You promise not to hurt her too much?>>

Yes, but if I'm right then I apologize for the bruises.

<<Wait, what?>>

Star Dusk quickly push down on his end of the table with his foot causing the other end to jump up and crash right into her jaw, causing her to reel back a bit.

He then moved to flip the table up and kick it toward her.  She got her senses back and was able to jump and dive over the table.

"Starshine, hold up!"

Ignoring her, Star Dusk moved forward punching and kicking as she retreated, blocking or dodging each of the blows.

"I, I don't wanna hurt you!" she said once she was backed against the window.

"You could have fooled me!" he said winding up a hay maker punch.

She jumped up, grabbing on to the frame of the window, and wrapped her legs around his head.

"Calm down!  You don't have to do this!" she said, keeping him under control by keeping her grip on the frame and locking her legs behind him.

Star Dusk brought up an arm while struggling and shot out a beam of magic that shattered her manacles, missing her face by mere millimeters.

Now free, and her anger rising, she shifted into her changeling form.  She tossed her arms forward suddenly, causing Star Dusk to bend backwards until her hands reached the floor.  Using strength that could not have come from the form she was previously in, she performed a handstand with the knights head still locked in place.  She whipped her legs around quickly and released the young man to fly to the table that now rested at an incline.

Pain wracked his body and Twilight was not shielded from the shock.  The changeling walked over slowly as Star Dusk tried to pick himself up.  She quickly straddled his body and grabbed him by the collar.

"Mmmmm, I could eat you up." she said licking her black lips with her green tongue.

"T-That," Star Dusk winced before continuing, "That stopped being funny after the third time."

She burst out into laughter shifting form into a tall, blonde magi with emerald eyes wearing what Twilight could only assume to be Royal Guard 'civilian garb'.  

"Come on, even with the irony of me being a changeling?" she chuckled, standing up and offering her hand.

"Then it's not funny, it's frightening.  Quit while you're ahead."  he replied accepting the offer of help.

"Alright, Alright.  Point taken." 

"Sorry, I'm not used to the way you sound with modern speech."

"Honestly, it creeped me out hearing you speak that way too.  I dunno, you seem much more dashing and knightly when you speak in 'thous' and 'thees'."  she commented walking toward the window and leaning up against it.

Star Dusk gave a slightly confused look before continuing, "And it doesn't help that I really haven't gotten any respite from that battle 2 days ago."

"Who attacked you two days ago?"

Now both Twilight and Star Dusk were confused.

"You were there too, you know.  I didn't think you'd reach the age of memory loss but-"

"Wait, WHAT!?" she exclaimed, dumbfounded.

<<How could she have forgotten?>>  asked Twilight.  The two knights seemed to come to a conclusion quickly.

"Time Displacement!" they cried in unison.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!  How could we have forgotton that the interrogation rooms flow of time is different than that of the outside world!" Shining Gauntlet chastized hitting her head with her fist.

"It usually runs in reverse!  Time is longer in here than out there, but we needed you to think that your plan still could be foiled so Princess Celestia must have-"

"No time for that, Starshine!  Did you forget what happened during the fight?  You fought with-"

"Those husks.  They did break skin!"

<<The doctors must have sterilized the wounds before they did any procedures.>> pointed out Twilight.

"No, they have to be burned.  Close the wounds and kill anything in there all at once.  Damn it how could I be so stupid!!"  Star Dusk quickly turned and removed the chair blocking the door way.

"Starshine!  I want to come with you." said Sparkling Gauntlet, grabbing his wrist.

"I'm not going to stop you."

"It's not that.  First, the two who have been watching might not let in happen.  Second, the moment I step out there, Queen Chrysalis will sense me and I'll bend to her will again." she looked down to the floor, not letting go, "I... I really wanna help and make up for what I did."

Star Dusk quickly grabbed both of her wrists and bound them with the same binding as before.  He threw open the door and dashed outside only quickly pausing to inform the Princess and Shining Armor that the prisoner would be in his care.





Star Dusk arrived at the hospital with Sparkling Gauntlet not too far behind.  The doors were on the floor 15 feet from the actual frame.  Guards and rescue personel had already swarmed the place.

"Looks like Queen Chrysalis already has control of your body..." Sparkling Gauntlet said apologetically,  "I should have just told them at least to burn the wounds..."

Star Dusk whirled around to face the changeling, "Not important right now.  What was the plan?  Or is this just outside the bounds of that plan?"

"The plan probably should remain the same.  The only difference is their using you as opposed to any of the princesses."

"Then what is the plan?"

Sparkling Gauntlet looked down sheepishly, "A, uh... An alliance with an old ruler?"

Star Dusk quickly dashed a couple feet after the realization of the plan but fell flat on his face after a couple feet.

"You alright?" she asked helping him back to his feet and as he did so, the magical disguise fell off.

<<What happened?>>

"I think this body hit its limit, I must have pushed it too hard to get here.  I stopped thinking and just acted like I had my own body."

"From all reports, Twilight Sparkle wasn't the most athletic person."

<<HEY!  I'll have you know I keep myself in fine shape, thank you very much.>>

"Regardless, we have to get to the hedge maze gardens."

"Use my body."

Both Twilight and Star Dusk were taken aback by the comment.

<<What?>>

"Transfer your consciousness to my body.  I've kept up my training so you shouldn't be able to push my body so far past its limits." she clarified.

Twilight, she's right.  And I'm sorry to have to do this.

<<What are you going to do?>>

Before Twilight could voice any more questions, her body moved forward and her lips met with the other magi's.  After a moment she was able to pull herself back and ended up falling down.

"What was that for?!" she cried before realizing that she spoke the words her body used.

"I apologized didn't I?" said the magi, quickly blinking in surprise.

<<You moved out of the way?>> Twilight heard his voice inside her head.

<<Well, if I were in control, then neither you nor the little princess would trust me.>> came the changeling's voice.

<<Point taken.  I'm going to have to shape shift or else everyone will think you're escaping.>>

<<Well, your consciousness should still contain the majority of your magic so you should be able to break the bonds.>>

<<And Chrysalis?>>

<<Your consciousness should act as interference since you weren't built to handle the hive mind. >>

The magi raised her wrists and broke the bonds from the inside.

<<Good.  The shifting process is kinda like the disguise you had the little princess put on.  Just visualize yourself and->>

The body then shifted from the blonde magi to Star Dusk's figure.

<<And there's not even a need to concentrate on it to keep it up.  Cool, huh?>>

"Twilight," Star Dusk began as he turned from her, "I have to check on something.  I'm sorry but-"

Twilight, still having plenty of magic even though her body was out of energy, teleported to him and wrapped her arm around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere without me.  I have just as much at stake here as you do.  Whatever the plan is, it has involved my family and friends.  And I can't let that go."

Twilight's grip faltered and she fell to the floor.  Star Dusk quickly picked her up in his arms and took off for the gardens.

<<So she demands she come a long and you cave.  I thought you had more wherewithal than that.  You'd think you were the little princesses guard or something.>>

Twilight had had enough of the put downs, "Hey!  I've had enough of you calling me names and-"

<<Woah, Whoa, Whoa....  She can hear me?>>

<<She and I are mentally linked.>> Star Dusk explained, <<It's a side effect of borrowing her magic to fight you.  I guess since she and I are connected, she can hear you through me and probably vice versa since I'm in your body and all.>>

And yes, I've heard everything you've said. Twilight thought 'aloud'.

Star Dusk took off running in the direction of the gardens.  <<We don't have time to argue anymore.  We have to get to Discord.>>

Discord was the plan?  Really?  The embodiment of all chaos and you think he'll help you?

<<One, I didn't come up with the plan.  Two, revenge is a pretty good motivator.  Three, shut up.>> enumerated Sparkling Gauntlet.

Excuse me?!

<<Alright, enough.  I'm not going to run here and be the mail carrier for your argument.  We have bigger things to->>

Star Dusk's head whipped to the side for a moment.

What is it?

<<You saw that too huh?>> commented Sparkling Gauntlet.

<<I just hope its not what I thought it was.>>

Worry permeated the rest of the journey until they arrived at a pedestal that was missing its sole occupant.

"This... is in no way good..." said Twilight

"The good news is it looks like they couldn't free him from the statue.  Look, there are drag marks from detaching it from the pedestal." she continued.

<<But then, why bother with your body at this point.  If your magic didn't work to free him then->>

"A trade." interrupted Twilight.

"What makes you think that?"

Twilight turned her head to look at the knight directly in the eyes, "Sparkling Gauntlet herself said that she kept the link to the queen open as long as she could.  The queen must have seen and taken note of both Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's reaction to your suffering.

"She knows you are important to them in one way or another.  They could free Discord directly or, more likely, order the elements of harmony to do so in trade for your safety."

<<She's really good.  I see why you're following her, reminds me of a younger Luna. >>

<<It has nothing to do with that.  She's my dearest friend.  I would do anything for her if she asked.>>

<<Friend?  Really?>>

I would appreciate it if you didn't talk like I'm not here.  And, really?  You're that surprised he had friends?

<<I wouldn't expect you to understand the term 'comrades in arms'.>>

What's so different between the two?  Ones friends in battle and the other-

<<And you just proved that you know nothing.>>

I know more about friendship than you would, Changeling!

"ENOUGH!!!"  

Both women froze at the booming voice of the knight who now looked more than a little cross.

"If I could walk away from both of you right now I would.  I don't need both of you trying to one-up each other.  Especially since we have a bigger issue at hand."

Both girls assented to Star Dusk's assessment of the situation.

"Right now, the priority is to bring the Princesses up to speed of the situation." he concluded as they headed back to the hospital.
> 13 - The Standoff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"As far as I'm concerned, all they took was an art piece." huffed Rainbow Dash.

Everyone was gathered together in the throne room and had just finished listening to Star Dusk and Twilight enumerating all that had occurred to them in the past two days.

"And the fact they got control of Hero's body doesn't bother you in the slightest?" asked AppleJack, cocking her eyebrow.

"He's got a new body already!  A cool one that can turn into anything!"

"There are limitations to the shapeshifting like everything else, Dash."  corrected Star Dusk.

<<That's not the problem in the first place...>> said Sparkling Gauntlet ominously.

<<Hush now.>> scolded Star Dusk.

Princess Celestia sat back down on her throne and put her hand to her forehead.

"Sister," Princess Luna spoke up, "We cannot allow the changelings to do what they will with Star Dusk's body.  Regardless of its ability to release Discord."

Princess Celestia did not look up, looking even more pensive.

Twilight spoke up, "I agree with Princess Luna.  Star Dusk's body can still be used as a weapon against Equestria."

"Has anyone ever come back from becoming.... um.... well.... that?"  asked Fluttershy asked gently.

"No," replied Star Dusk walking over to a window to look outside, "But this control has never happened with the person's conciousness outside of the body.  There may still be a way to recover it."

<<Not without open battle though...>> 

<<Hush.>>

The silence was palpable with everyone looking for some sure ray of hope in the situation.

Star Dusk finally spoke, "I could go and try and take my body back myself.  They probably expect all out war for this, one man will throw them off."

"Woah, whoa!  One does not simply walk into changeling territory!" said Pinkie, speaking up for the first time.

"Pinkie's right," chimed in Rarity, "It would be a fool's errand to go on your own."

"I can't rightly take you all with me now can I?  They'll need the elements of harmony in order to free Discord."

"Then we will go with you."  said Princess Celestia standing up with Princess Luna nodding in agreement.

"Absolutely not!" he replied harshly, "It's much too dangerous for you two."

"Star Dusk, you yourself told Sparky that we had grown.  We can handle ourselves." countered Princess Celestia.

"No, out of the question."

Princess Luna's frustration already reached its peak,

"Star Dusk, consider this a direct order from your Princess!" she boomed, "You shall take us along with you for safety."

Silence fell as Star Dusk lowered his head.  Twilight felt the apprehension and fear flowing in from Star Dusk.  There was no way he would fight a direct order.  Everyone waited for what seemed like a eternity until Star Dusk responded quietly,

"I refuse..." 

Both sisters were taken aback.  "Excuse me?" asked Princess Celestia.

"I refuse." he repeated a bit louder.

"Did you misunderstand?  This was not a request." added Princess Luna.

"I understand entirely, your highness.  I still refuse." he replied standing his ground.

Everyone stood dumbfounded.  This was a different man from the one they found entrapped in the statue.

Princess Celestia drew a breath before speaking, "Then you shall be banned from leaving the castle.  If you are certain it is that dangerous for anyone to follow you, then it must be much to dangerous for you to go on your own."

Princess Celestia took her seat again, looking resolute in her decision.  "We will reconvene tomorrow to see if we can come up with something more feasible or if Star Dusk changes his mind."

"It may be too late for any brainstorming by tomorrow." he muttered turning once more to the window.

Princess Celestia looked at the six ladies, trying to look as benevolent under the extreme pressure put on her.

"Please, will you excuse us a moment ladies?" she asked sweetly, "I believe Star Dusk wishes to say some more on the matter in private."

<<Of course, shift all of the blame on to me.  Makes complete sense that way.>>  he shot back internally.

Do you want us to stay?  asked Twilight worriedly.

<<We got this princess.  We're no strangers to interrogation, if it goes that far.>> informed Sparkling Gauntlet.

<<They won't do anything that rash....  But keep your mind clear.  If I need you, I'll 'broadcast' the conversation so you can listen in.>> added Star Dusk.

If you're sure.

"Of course, Princess.  Just let us know when you need us." Twilight answered for the six.  

The others slowly followed suit as she walked out of the throne room.





"Twilight, why are we walking out on him like that?" asked Rainbow confused.

"We're not walking out on him, we're giving him space to argue his point." she corrected, taking a seat on a bench in the common area outside the throne room.

"But you cannot seriously be supporting him going on such a dangerous mission himself?" asked Rarity.

"Hold on there Rarity.  You can't possibly think he can't handle it.  He's Hero after all." pointed out AppleJack.

"B-But, if it's as... dangerous as he said it would be, then why would he want to go on his own?" asked Fluttershy.

"Because he's awesome.  Besides, he's got the changeling's body. He could sneak in on his own without so much as a second look at him."

The girls bickered and offered competing points slowly growing in volume until Twilight couldn't concentrate anymore.

"GIRLS!" she yelled over their din, garnering their attention once more

"Right now I am going to support him, even if I disagree with him." she continued calmly.

"How can you do that?"  asked Rainbow Dash, "I mean, if you disagree wouldn't that mean that you can't support their choice?"

"I can't accept his choice.  That doesn't mean I can't respect his decision and be an emotional support for him."

"Okay, now ya lost me..." said AppleJack with a raised eyebrow

Twilight sighed, "How would you all feel if I disagreed with you on something and left you standing on your own?"

The young women looked at each other a bit worriedly.  

"You would feel like you didn't have a leg to stand on, right?  Now, if he asks my opinion on the matter I will fight his decision.  But so long as he's resolute, I won't do anything to stop him." she finished, closing her eyes to relax again.

I hope I never have to fight your decisions... she thought.





Before sunrise the next morning, Twilight went to meet Star Dusk to see what had happened in the throne room.  He had not contacted her for support or help and, save for some scant emotions of frustration, it seemed like he cut himself off completely from her.

She ran straight to his room that still had a standing guard, set there by the princesses to make sure he did not leave.

"Good morning gentlemen." she greeted the soldiers.

"Good morning miss Sparkle." they answered.

"I assume you are just here to keep him in and not others out, right?"

They chuckled, "Of course you can enter.  He's been quiet all night after getting a late night visit from Princess Luna."

"Oh, the Princess came to speak to him?  What about?"

"You know we wouldn't ask her her business unless our orders explicitly asked for it."

Twilight smiled, "I see, alright then."

She opened the door and saw him tossing and turning in his sleep, completely covered in his blanket.  She chuckled to herself before approaching the bed.

"You feeling any better?" she asked sweetly.

The body stopped moving but made no move to remove the covers.

"I know they probably were hard on you yesterday," she began reaching to pull down the covers, "but that's only because they... care... about...."

The revealed figure was not Star Dusk.  It was Princess Luna, magically bound to look like a sleeping body and bound to the bed to keep her from getting out of bed.

Twilight quickly released her with the help of the magi guards posted at the door.

"What happened Princess?"  she asked worriedly.

"Star Dusk... he left.  I came to try and convince him once more to take some form of assistance but... you see the result."

"But your highness, we saw you leaving the room!" exclaimed the guard.

"Changeling." said Twilight simply.

"Yes, he used his acquired ability to change shape with out magic to impersonate me on the way out." said Luna standing up before doubling over and holding her head.

"Are you okay your highness?" asked the guards, just barely catching her.

"Yes... Yes... I just need a moment." She said regaining her composure.  "That didn't work..."

"Princess Luna?" asked Twilight worriedly.

"I am fine Twilight Sparkle.  Let us go see my sister and inform her of the news."





"Then we follow him." said Princess Celestia once she heard the news.

The other elements of harmony had joined Twilight and heard the whole story as well.

"But, wouldn't that undermine Star Dusk's plans?" asked Rarity, "I mean, if the elements of harmony go then the possibility that Discord is freed is high."

"When Star Dusk decided not to heed our wishes, he forfeited the right to whatever plan he was making." said Luna seriously.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Princess, but it sounds as though a freed Discord is an acceptable outcome to save Star Dusk." positied Twilight.

"That's right Twilight.  You have only scratched the surface of our relationship to Star Dusk." said Princess Celestia confidently.

"We would go to the ends of Tartarus and back in order to save him" added Luna.

The six girls looked at each other worriedly.





"Are we seriously going to go through with this?"  asked Rainbow Dash.

"We're already half way through changeling territory and now you ask that?" whispered Rarity incredulously.

The girls had been following their monarchs for two days now.  Once they had crossed the boarder they carefully made their way in using cover to avoid detection by patrols.  Princess Celestia was the one tracking Star Dusk using a spell she had apparently cast that created a physical beacon that she could sense.

"Well, the closer we get to where Hero is, the more it worries me."

"I hear ya," chimed in AppleJack quietly, "This is gonna get real hairy real fast."

"Like Rarity said, it's a bit too late to worry about that.  All we can do at this point is back them up." Twilight pointed out.

"Silence." said Luna wincing a bit as she crouched down next to Princess Celestia at the edge of a clearing.

There was no cover anywhere in the clearing and the other side of the clearing was black.

"No telling what's between us and the other side of the area." said Princess Celestia.

"How far are we from Star Dusk, Sister?" asked Luna.

She concentrated and looked surprised when she received the result.

"He's here, somewhere.  We're moving forward, keep your eyes open."

The all moved forward slowly as to not attract attention.  The full clearing slowly came into view, there was a group of figures at the far end.

Suddenly the area was flooded with light and the air filled with high pitched squeals and cackles with one loud laugh over the din.

As their eyes adjusted to the bright light, they saw a whole battalion of husks and changelings with Queen Chrysalis at the rear.  Next to her were the body of Star Dusk looking dead eyed and the body of Sparkling Gauntlet, in her changeling form, locked in a cage.

"Well, well, well.  And here I thought I would have to be closer to your lands before I made my demands to the beloved Princesses of Equestria." Chrysalis said assuredly.

"Give them back!" yelled Rainbow Dash, only held back from charging by AppleJack grabbing her tanktop.

"Only if my... requests... are met." Chrysalis hissed, her minons laughing with her.

"What is it you want?" asked Princess Celestia.

"Release Discord and surrender your kingdom."

"You must be joking." said Rarity incredulously.

"Do you know what I hold in my control?" Chrysalis said, her confidence growing, "Both pieces to the missing link." Gesturing to the two prisoners.

"Missing link?  To what?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"The missing link to the royal family."

"We already know that.  He was always a close family friend to the Princesses." Twilight shot back.

Chrysalis and her army laughed once more, "Then you know nothing!  The link to your dear princesses is much closer than that."

Chrysalis finally moved forward, the body of Star Dusk following in suit.

"You see, the royal family had a big secret.  One that was even hidden from their poor little daughters..." she continued tauntingly stopping at the front of her battalion, "To Queen Aether and King Elysian were born such beautiful children"

"Get to the point!" yelled AppleJack, only just able to control herself.

"Two beautiful daughters," she continued undaunted by the threat slowly putting her hand on Star Dusk's shoulder, "and one handsome son."

Everyone was dumb founded.  Princess Celestia looked as surprised as everyone else and Luna was holding her head seemingly trying to remember.

"That's impossible!" yelled Sparkling Gauntlet.

Chrysalis whirled around to her imprisoned subject, "You were the one to inform me!  How do you not-"

Chrysalis blinked a moment then rushed up to the cage, grabbing Sparkling Gauntlet by the throat and casting a spell that melted away the magical disguise she apparently wore revealing Princess Luna.

"Okay then, it seemed like that one worked." said Luna bringing her head up, walking to the front of the group and shapeshifting to Star Dusk's shape.

"Now... What was that about having both pieces?"
> 14 - The Struggle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait... What just happened?"  asked Rainbow Dash confused.

In a moment, the newly revealed Star Dusk burst forward and grabbed his body.

“Seize them!” cried Chrysalis to her hoard.  

Before any of them could move, Star Dusk locked lips with his original body and the new body shifted into Sparkling Gauntlet’s form.

Star Dusk swiveled around and both he and Sparkling Gauntlet leaped back away from the encroaching horde.  

“Well then,” began Sparkling Gauntlet, “How do you want to handle this?”

Star Dusk took one step forward, “You do your duty and I’ll do mine.  Although I wouldn’t mind if you took an offensive bend to it.”

Sparkling Gauntlet stepped up next to him taking a fighting stance.  “You don’t need to ask me twice, Starshine.”

Both knights leaped towards the leading group of changelings and came to blows.

“Okay, even ah’m lost right now.  Twilight, what in the hay just happened?”  Asked Applejack as the battle raged on with the two warriors dominating all who stood in front of them.

“W-Well, I think that Princess Luna was the one to enter and exit the room the whole time.  She tied Star Dusk as she went to retrieve his body on her own, being able to shape shift with minimal magical output and-”

“English, egghead!” cut in Rainbow Dash shortly.

“It was an unplanned double switch.” Celestia filled in, “Luna left to get Star Dusk’s body disguised as Sparkling Gauntlet.  While Star Dusk, tied to the bed by Luna, took on her form so he could get out and chase after her.”

Their attention came back to the battle ahead of them.  Star Dusk and Sparkling Gauntlet stood back to back facing the mob around them.

“I gotta admit, I missed this.” commented Sparkling Gauntlet.

“We only did this once.” corrected Star Dusk.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t miss it.  So what’s the plan from here?”

“I still need to get to the princess.”  he replied looking toward the cage.

“So I clear the way?” she said as she generated her magical gauntlets.

“No need to waste time.  I just need a lift over the crowd.”

“I take it crowd surfing is out of the question?” Sparkling Gauntlet said with a smirk across her face.

They still seemed to be on the same page as they bursted in opposite directions, with Sparkling Gauntlet charging toward the cage.  In an instant they both spun around and Star Dusk began sprinting toward Sparkling Gauntlet and she got set to give the ‘lift’, folding her hands together and crouched a bit.

“GO FOR IT STARSHINE!”

Star Dusk stepped into her hands in stride and she lifted him up and launched him over her head.  As soon as he was out of sight, Sparkling Gauntlet jumped toward the group of girls in front of her.  The changeling hoard turned and encroached on the group.

“Sparkling Gauntlet, what are you waiting for?” asked Fluttershy hiding in the middle of the group.

“All Starshine has to do is save the Princess and she’ll be able to fly them out and we can bolt from here.  That’s the general plan anyway.”

“And if he needs help?” asked Twilight worriedly.

“Hey, this is Starshine we’re talking about.  He can handle him-”

“I’LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!” roared Star Dusk’s voice above the din of the raging changelings, who all spun around rushed back toward their queen.  In the distance, changelings were hovering at a distance for safety, probably not running due to the Queen being in danger or telling them not to.

“What is going on?” asked Rarity as the fight seemed to be coming closer.

Twilight hadn’t felt anything from Star Dusk since his private meeting in the throne room so she was at a loss to what could be happening but she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something terrible must have happened. 

He doesn’t throw around death threats that easily. she thought, I should help, even if “Sparky” doesn’t think so.

Twilight charged her magic to clear a way through the crowd but she couldn’t feel the familiar tingle that came along with channeling the energy.  Sparkling Gauntlet must have sensed what she was trying and put a hand to her shoulder.

“Don’t bother, I already tried using magic and got nothing.  Starshine and I have been fighting with our basic guard training.  Would have been a cakewalk otherwise.”

Twilight turned to Princess Celestia who seemed to have a similar issue, a look of shock and fear slapped across her face.

“You don’t know what’s causing it?” she asked of the knight at her side.

“I do, but the only cure when there’s no one who has magic is to wait it out.  The changelings have made strides to prevent magic to be a hinderance to any other invasion attempts.”

Suddenly, Chrysalis exited the crowd of her subjects.  But instead of attacking the group, she wheeled around as the crowd of changelings were blown back by Stark Dusk, who seemed to have punched the ground using a combination of earth and air manipulation to push the crowd back.  

A realization seemed to strike Sparkling Gauntlet, “Darn it, Starshine!  Why didn’t you use your magic from the beginning!  Would have made everything so much easier.”

“How can he use magic when we can’t?” asked Rarity.

“Our party all were affected with the anti-magic spell.  But Starshine’s body wasn’t with us so he wasn’t affected.”

Star Dusk looked up and showed his eyes were pitch black and green magical energy was leaking out of the corner of his eyes.  Rage was plastered across his face as he stared directly at Chrysalis.

As he stood back up, Celestia rushed in front of the changeling queen with her arms open wide.

“Star Dusk, stop!”  she cried out to him, “It’s fine!  It’s over, we can go home now!”

Celestia’s words reminded Twilight of the memories that Star Dusk shared with her.

“Princess!” she called out grabbing her attention, “We need to get out of here!  Once we hav-”

In that instant, Star Dusk created a blade of dark energy that extended from his arm, rushed forward, and buried into Princess Celestia’s chest, his arm exiting out her back.  Everyone stood dumbstruck as the co-regent of all of Equestria was impaled on her vassal’s arm.

Celestia turned her head back to Star Dusk and slowly embraced him as her body began to glow.  Her head lowered to his ear and whispered something inaudible before her body converted itself to energy and rose up to the sky.

Star Dusk, his eyes now back to normal with tears streaming down his face, fell to his knees and wept into his hands.

Chrysalis and her remaining troops fled in the momentary lull knowing full well that if he could kill Princess Celestia, that taking him on would be foolish.

Twilight was the first to move toward the fallen knight, embracing him tightly.  He gripped the sleeves of Twilight’s blouse as the liquid pain stained the front of it.  

“They’re gone… It’s all my fault… It’s my fault they’re gone….” he sobbed as the others quickly descended around the two, all except Sparkling Gauntlet who went to the cage which housed Princess Luna.

Twilight stroked Star Dusk’s head in an effort to console him as he continued to blame himself.  She wanted to do more for him, but she knew that as soon as she opened her mouth that her own tears that she was holding back would come flowing out.

Princess Celestia, her beloved teacher and mentor, was gone.  By all rights, she should hate Star Dusk.  

Despise him.  

Loath him.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do that.  If the story that Chrysalis was spouting was true, even in the slightest, then he should be suffering worse than her.  He had lost his parents and his sister, both under his watch.

Footsteps announced the return of Sparkling Gauntlet, stopping just short of the group.  The others turned to look at her.  

“How’s Princess Luna holding up?” asked Applejack softly.

“She’s… not.”  she replied just as quietly, as if to keep Star Dusk or Twilight from hearing though it wasn’t working, “There’s a hole that looks like it opened up at the bottom of the cage.  It looks like she landed on some sharp rocks and… I guess she ended up the same as Celestia.”

Both celestial Princesses were gone.  Twilight could no longer hold back her tears as the other five comforted her about as well as she was comforting Star Dusk.

“I know we all really don’t want to do anything right now.” interrupted Sparkling Gauntlet after some minutes, her face also stained with tears, “But I think it might be best if we start heading back to Equestrian territory.  I doubt Queen Chrysalis will sit back with all of us here in her land without amassing a veritable army to take us out.  R-Right, S-Starshine?”

At the center of the huddle, Star Dusk quivered one last sob and slowly stood up.  

“You’re right…” he said, not even bothering to wipe the tears and mucus from his face.  “T-They’ll know better than to attack anytime soon so we don’t have to hurry.  But we need to get moving.”

Star Dusk…

After a few more moments, the group slowly made their way back to familiar lands under the constant gaze of the two great celestial bodies.

Dear Princess Cel Cadence,

Please come to Canterlot as soon as you get this letter.  It is of the utmost importance Please get here soon.  I need your help.  Please…

Twilight

> 15 - The Favorite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight paced the main hall outside the throne room, hands folded behind her in worry.  Cadance was inside the throne room listening to a group of military personnel explaining why a trial to convict Star Dusk of regicide would not be necessary.  

How did it get to this?…





The train ride from the closest train station to changeling territory had culminated in the girls agreeing that they would not speak a word of what they had witnessed.  If pressed, they would claim that Chrysalis killed both of the Celestial Sisters.  

Twilight turned to the front of the car to see how the auburn haired boy was.  He had been quiet the entire journey thus far, though that could have been due to the fact that he and Sparkling Gauntlet had been carrying the stone body of Discord over which Star Dusk was now standing guard.

“To answer your unspoken question Princess,” began Sparkling Gauntlet, garnering Twilight’s attention, “He’s going to hate this idea.”

“But why?” cut in Rarity.

“Because he blames himself.” said Twilight.  Sparkling Gauntlet nodded her head to confirm.

“But none of it was his fault!” interjected Rainbow Dash.

The emerald eyed knight turned to her with disbelieving look, “If you were standing over a dead body with a bloody knife in your hand, would you think that you weren’t responsible?” she posed.

The five girls thought deeply on how it could be explained away.

The violet haired magi looked over her shoulder at the guilt laden guard, the glowing aura that usually is there was gone.  If it weren’t for his pointed ears, she would have guessed he was an earthbound human.  “He is guilty of the crime.  But that doesn’t mean he deserves the punishment.”  she spoke as if musing aloud.

“Not saying that I want him to be punished but, what makes you think he doesn’t deserve to be punished?” posited the blonde knight, “Right now, it sounds like you’re playing favorites.”

“So what if we are?” shot back Applejack while standing up.

The car grew silent save for the click clack of the train along the tracks.  Everyone wracked their brains for a solution to the problem.

“If,” Twilight began, breaking the long silence, “If I could get him to at least agree to a compromise, do you think you all will accept the changes?”

The girls looked at each other and nodded.

“If you think you could convince him to even accept a little of our plan, be my guest.” said a skeptical Sparkling Gauntlet.

Twilight stood up and walked to the front of the cabin.  She sat across from Star Dusk, garnering his attention momentarily before his gaze went back to the statue.

“Can we talk?” she began.  Star Dusk shifted his position, leaning forward toward her showing he was listening.  “Look at me.”

“I’m listening.” he replied unflinchingly.

“Star Dusk, I want you to look at me.  Discord isn’t going anywhere.”

He turned to her, his eyes seeming to well up for a moment and he blinked the tears away, leaving behind his bloodshot eyes.  Twilight’s heart ached in her chest.  It pained her so much to see him in such emotional agony and holding it all back.

Star Dusk slowly blinked and took a deep breath while leaning back.  “Did you get bored back there?” he asked, forcing a big smile across his face.

“Stop it.” Twilight unintentionally snapped, causing him to momentarily lose his control of his smile.  “You don’t have to fake anything with me.” she finished softly.

“Then please don’t ask for the impossible.” Star Dusk replied, smile fully fading from his face and tears welling up once more.  He leaned forward once more and buried his face in his hands.  “I can’t stand to see the suffering in your eyes.”

Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, stifling a sob.  “We’re both reasonable people.  As such, I want you to listen to me to the end, okay?”

Star Dusk pulled his face from his hands but still looked downward.

“The girls and I discussed it and we decided that, as far as we’re concerned, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were,” she paused to collect herself, “They were killed by the changelings.”

Silence pervaded for a few minutes before Twilight continued, “The whole situation was out of our control.  There was no way we could be expected to… to…”

Her tears flowed freely again.  She sniffled and hiccuped in vain to keep the emotions from coming out.  “W-We h-have t-t-to *sniff* We just have to a-accept that some things j-just were beyond our control.”

Star Dusk remained silent as asked, even through her sobs.  She rubbed her violet eyes now tinged with red.  “S-So, that’s fine right?”

“We both know the answer to that.” he replied flatly.

“But why-”

“Tell me something...  Why don’t you hate me?”

All of Twilight’s thought processes stopped.  It was the one thing she’d hoped, wished, that he would never ask.  She had rationalized a reason why she shouldn’t hate him back at the changeling ambush.  But now, she wasn’t as certain as to why she didn’t.

Her silence lead Star Dusk to continue, “I’ve killed both rulers of the land you hold dear.  I’ve killed your mentor.  I could have killed your friends.  What cause is there for my forgiveness, from you or from anyone?  I am a daemon, my presence heralds death to all-”

“Stop it!” she snapped again, “You are the most honest, kind, generous, and loyal knight I have ever met.  You would never do anything that would cause harm to anyone purposefully or without cause.”  She rose up, looking down upon him, “So don’t you dare belittle yourself to that level!  You are not a herald of death!”

The car fell silent again.  Twilight slowly sat down again, eyes falling to look at her own feet.  “So I’ll ask again.” she began, “Why can’t we just use our interpretation of the story?”

“Because it wasn’t the changelings who had their arm through Princess Celestia’s chest.”

Twilight flinched at the blunt answer.  “But you weren’t yourself either.  There is such thing as hypnotic magic.” she offered, raising her head

Star Dusk met her gaze with heavy sarcasm in his eyes, “Did it look like the Changeling Queen was manipulating me?  She was just as scared of me as you were.”

“I was not scared.” she replied indignantly, “I was worried.”

“For whom?” he asked as if expecting the answer.

Twilight sighed before answering, “I won’t lie to you.  Of course I was worried for the Princess.  But that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t concerned for you too.  But that’s not the point right now.”

Twilight stood up and turned as if returning to the back of the car, “If you won’t accept our plan, then we will compromise.”

Star Dusk moved to argue but Twilight continued undaunted, “If someone asks for details of the event, we will not hide any of what happened.  But if the questions asked are not for specific detail, all we will say is that the Princesses were killed.”

She squeezed her eyes shut.  She hoped, prayed, that he would accept her terms.  The minute of silence stretched out into several, then soon into hours and days... or so it felt.  She was just about to turn around to gauge his thoughts when he finally spoke up.

“If that’s your wish.  I will honor that much, but I’ll not have you take any of the blame for me.”

Twilight breathed a silent sigh of relief and walked back to her waiting friends….





Twilight continued pacing the hall in front of the throne room.

How are they still discussing this?  I didn’t think anyone would have stood up for him.  And Cadence is supposed to be neutral in all of this.  

She unwittingly began playing with the trinket that now hung from her neck.





They arrived at Canterlot what should have been late in the day, the two celestial bodies were high in the sky with neither one looking to lower anytime soon.  Once they pulled into the station, the group was swarmed by guards asking for the Princesses.  A quick, and purposeful, fainting spell by Rarity got them by any details and allowed them some rest in the castle quarters while Discord got taken back to his pedestal by the guards.  

The group walked the halls of the palace toward the bedrooms.  Star Dusk continued on once they had reached the bedrooms they had been assigned.

“Where do you think you’re going Starshine?” asked Sparkling Gauntlet.

“To think.” he replied continuing on his way.

“He ain’t thinkin’ of ‘fessing up right?” Asked AJ.

“He agreed to our terms.  Unless he’s asked, he’ll remain silent.”

The girls all stared at his back as he walked deeper into the castle.

“Lie of omission...” said Sparkling Gauntlet turning into the room.

“I should go talk to him.”  said Twilight.

“Let him think Princess.” Sparkling Gauntlet advised as Twilight began her first steps to follow.  “I know that face all too well.  He needs to think.  Alone.”

“But I’m his friend!” she replied spinning around “He should be able to-”

“And I was his brother-in-arms.  He should be able to share anything with me too.”  She sat down on one of the beds, hung her head low, and had her eyes meet her feet.

“I ain’t saying you’re wrong there Sparky, but he ain’t made a tissue either.”  countered AJ.

“You’re right, he is made of tougher stuff.”  she said, “But then again, even the most steeled person would bend upon the revelations, to speak nothing of the actions, that were done last night.  He found out he had family, BLOOD family, still alive in this era of the far flung future.  AND that family had ALWAYS been by his side just like they should.  But then in that same very instant….”

The room fell silent as the unspoken finish permeated the air.  The weight fell heavy on Twilight as she was torn between chasing after Star Dusk to further comfort him or to leave him to think.  

When she came back to reality, she noticed that all eyes were on her save for the changeling knight’s.  She took a deep breath before speaking:

“We’ll let him think for a bit.  He already knows that we’re there for him so it’ll be fine.”  I hope…





The doors finally opened up and Star Dusk was led away with both his arms and legs in chains.  Twilight tried to meet his eyes but the guards blocked her view and dragged him away.  She went into the throne room and found Cadance with her forehead propped up on her hand, eyes closed as if she was fighting away a headache.

“Cadance?” asked Twilight timidly as she walked in.

Cadance raised her head and smiled brightly.  “Twilight!  Finally done with that business for now.  How’re you feeling?”

Twilight walked in further, a smile spreading to her face as well.  The two hugged as if they hadn’t seen each other in ages.  

“I’m doing fine.  What happened?  I thought they would convince you to not hold a trial.”

“I may not have been a princess for very long, but I do know my way around laws and social gatherings.  Though admittedly one of those things was of little use in this case.”  she chuckled.  

“And you remained the neutral party?”

“Well honestly I fought pretty hard for holding a full trial.  But I can still claim to have no conflict of interest as I was acting within my role here.” she replied, pride swelling in her voice.

“Well, tell me!  What did you do?”

Cadance cleared her throat.  “According to Equestrian Law, a citizen of Equestria has a right to due process of a trial by jury.”  she smiled looking at her sister-in-law, “They of course had to argue that it would not apply in this case.

“Their first argument was that since the crime did not take place within Equestria, the law did not apply.  To which I played devil’s advocate, well within my rights as overseer of proceedings might I add, and claimed that this loophole is clearly non existent as the law states the specific person to have the rights of a trial, not the location of the crime.

“Then they countered with the fact that he had been proclaimed as MIA which counts as a death certificate and that proclamation was never officially revoked.  The argument being that a dead man could not be a citizen.”

“Which is ridiculous since they want the death penalty.”  Twilight commented.

“Exactly.  I said that by the very nature of the crimes brought against him, the state DOES recognize he was alive enough to put to death…  That’s where it got interesting.”

Twilight cocked her head in confusion, “How do you mean?”

“The last argument against having full proceedings was that, well, it was something he had brought up at the start of the hearing.  We went through the motions and had him state his name, rank, etcetera.”

“Which he would have said Star Dusk, none, and none.”

“Well, no.  He said his rank was royal guard.”  Twilight sighed before Cadance continued, “But when asked who would have been his next of kin, he said Celestia and Luna.”

Twilight’s heart stopped.  “Why was he asked that?  That’s not normal procedure.”

“I’m not sure as to why.  But that fed their last argument after the first two failed.  They claimed that his motivation was not the regicide itself but a coup attempt.”

“WHAT?!  That’s absurd!  First off, He wouldn’t need to kill Luna if it was a coup.  Secondly,-”

“Unfortunately for them,” Cadance interjected, “that would change the whole premise of the case from that of regicide to an attempted coup d'etat.  Which means they would need more evidence to support the claim.  Of course they had no such evidence and requested an extension to gather the evidence.”

“You didn’t grant them that extension did you?  They are basically going on a changeling hunt.” said Twilight, ignoring the irony of Sparkling Gauntlet being a guest of the castle.

“I couldn’t deny the motion without presenting myself in a conflict of interest.”  

Twilight hung her head.  But Cadance just smiled at her.

“I did, however, say that since the hearing could not proceed without proof of the intent to commit a coup then the swifter route would be to charge him with attempted coup d’etat.  If he is found guilty then the regicide can be assumed and the trial process for THAT charge could be circumvented.”

“CADANCE!” cried Twilight, “Why did you do that?!”

“Relax Twilight.  I did it because they cannot prove attempted coup without a conviction under their belt.  And the charge of attempted coup d’etat cannot circumvent due process and a fair trial.”

Twilight’s face brightened one hundred fold.  It had been ages since she had felt so elated.  She unconsciously fiddled with the trinket at her neck again.  Cadance took notice of the new habit.

“Where did you get that, Twilight?”

“Where did I get what?”

“That locket that you’re playing with.”

“Oh, this?  Well…”





Twilight woke up in what would have been the middle of the night, wide awake.  She saw each of her friends sleeping soundly before her ears caught a floating melody from the balcony.  She got up and went there and found it empty though the toy like melody persisted.

Twilight closed her eyes and found it coming from higher up than her position.  She bathed in the dulcet tones and wonderful melody of the song until the last bar was played.  She felt relaxed for the first time since the ordeal started though her concern remained.  The song came to its conclusion and Twilight opened her eyes and looked toward the source.  She found a figure up on the upper balcony she recognized as Princess Celestia’s chambers.

She sprinted from her balcony as quickly as she could.  The wind whistled in her pointed ears as she passed by countless doors.  The cold marble floors barely registering as her feet seemed to only graze the ground.  She flung open the door and saw the same figure still on the balcony.  

She slowly walked forward as if the violent movement of the door had not already alerted the figure to her presence.

“You shouldn’t be walking through the castle barefoot.”  said the figure in a very familiar voice.  She walked forward more briskly and found Star Dusk sitting on the edge of the balcony, a box in his hand.

“What are you doing up so late?” she asked sitting across from him.

“I could ask you the same thing, if-”

“You don’t have to finish that thought.”  she interrupted.  “I guess we both know why.  The clearer question is what are you doing here?”

Star Dusk looked down and fiddled with the box within his grasp.  “I’m not so sure myself…”

Twilight to a seat next to him.  He didn’t seem as distant as he was on the train ride or when they first arrived.  It was almost as if they were back to the way it had been.  She looked down at the borrowed nightgown she was wearing and she recalled the first night he had spent at the library and how she tried to keep him from training.  

“What’s so funny?” Star Dusk asked.  Twilight had not noticed that she was giggling at the memory.

“Do you remember the first night you spent in Ponyville?  Particularly the early morning?”

The young man snickered, “Yeah, you had some questions or something but came down in nothing but your panties.”

“Hey!  I had my top on thank you very much!”  she shot back, her cheeks feeling like a hot stove.  “I had thought that you, coming from the time that you did, thought that my ‘nightgown’ wasn’t decent to wear as the ‘fairer sex’.”

“Forsooth, Twilight Sparkle.” he replied, mocking his old way of speaking.  “Thou should give great care of protecting thy dignity and maidenhead considering thy station.”

Twilight slapped his shoulder, “Mine ‘dignity’ and ‘maidenhead’ are well considered good sir.  They shouldn’t be part of your consideration, sir.” she replied haughtily and laughing.

“A little broken, but your point is taken.”  he said rubbing the afflicted area, stifling a few more laughs.

The laughter died down and silence once again took the air.  Star Dusk fiddled with the box in his hands.  Twilight's gaze followed the box as he stood up and walked back in the room, setting the box on the dresser.  

“What’s that?”

Star Dusk took a moment and heaved a short but heavy sigh, “An old music box.  It’s remarkably well kept considering its age.”

“How do you know?”

“I gave this and one just like it to Luna and Celestia after graduating from the academy.  Though I’m sure that this is just a replica and the original has since been lost to decay.  It plays the same tune though.”

Twilight went to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “I’m sure it’s the same one, and they kept it in good repair because they cared about you.”

“A bit of favoritism doesn’t really suit the rulers of a nation.”

“They were people first, and it’s human nature to have people you like more than others.”

Star Dusk turned toward Twilight and held up a necklace.  “Here, I think Celestia wanted you to have this.”

“What is it?” she asked, looking at the pendant that hung from the necklace.  “And why do you think that it’s for me?”

“It’s jewelry and it’s something that her- our mother gave her before leaving on that mission.”

Twilight carefully took the necklace from him.  It seemed to twinkle in the light of the two heavenly bodies in the sky.  The pendant actually seemed to be a locket.  She tried to open it to no avail.

“Since Celestia was teaching you personally and had no children of her own, I can only assume that that would go to you.”

“It must have gotten jammed over the years” she commented.

“Or you aren’t opening it right.”

Twilight looked at Star Dusk and saw that he was quite serious with his statement.

“So you’re saying it doesn’t open with the latch or physical force.”

“That would be my guess.”

“So you opened it already?”

“Nope, but the latch does not seem broken or jammed so I made an assumption.”

“You know what they say about assumptions…”

“They are a statement that is accepted as true without any proof.”

“I didn’t ask for a dictionary-” she stopped realizing the statement “You made a joke!”

“Are you saying that it wasn’t funny?”

Twilight smiled warmly as the thought that he was coming out of his depression took hold in her mind.  She then put on the necklace and began fidgeting with the locket.

“That’s gonna become a bad habit.”  Star Dusk noted.

“Shush, it doesn’t matter.” she chided back while looking back at him, “Thank you.”

No sooner than the words left her mouth, the door burst open again and a unit of guards poured in separating the two.  She could see them push Star Dusk onto the bed face first and cuff him in magically enhanced binds.

“Star Dusk, you are under arrest for the murder of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”

“No wait, there must be some mistake!” Twilight cried out, trying to push through the guards in her way as they dragged him out of the room.  “He didn’t-”

“Twilight, please.” said a guard that was blocking her view, “I don’t want to have to restrain you too.”

In a matter of moments, Star Dusk was taken away and Twilight fell to the floor.  

“You should go back to bed, Twilight.”  said the same guard as warmly as possible as they began following their team.  “Everything will be better in the morning.”

Twilight sat on the floor with fresh tears streaming down her face.  Her hands then reactively went to the locket around her neck.

“But.... he was our favorite…”